Page 89 of The Dragonrider and the Void
“Yes,” Hardin called back, relief washing over his face at the sight of Venrick. “The bolt missed the main tendons.”
“Then go,” Venrick urged. “Get Ingamar, bring him to the temple. We’ll need both dragons if we’re going to get Lark out of that Keep now.”
Hardin hesitated only a moment before nodding. He mounted Quinthara, and the young dragon launched skyward, disappearing into the night.
Venrick turned back toward the gate, where the battle had begun to shift. The rebels were pushing the Knights back into the city. The people’s numbers were their advantage here as they overcame what they lacked in training. Among them, Venrick spotted a familiar face with bright blue eyes and thick braided blonde hair. Sasja was among those leading this group of insurgents.
“Venrick!” she called, making her way to his side. “Where is Hardin?”
“You just missed him. Hardin’s with Quin. He’s just gone to bring Ingamar into this fight. Where’s Cheyanne?” he asked.
“She’s at the temple, coordinating our forces.” Sasja ducked a wild swing, then countered with practiced precision. “The city is in an uproar.”
“I can see things have escalated since we left,” Venrick said.
“Three districts are already in open rebellion. The King has sealed himself in the Keep with his most loyal Paragons andordered General Ashbrook to use magical force against Lamar’s citizens.”
“General Ashbrook has failed us one too many times,” Venrick spat in disgust. “Come on, stay behind me and I’ll clear our path.”
Together, they fought their way back through the gate and into the city streets. The industrial district was largely abandoned, its residents either fled or joined the rebellion. They encountered little resistance, and none that could match a skilled warrior in brismil plate.
As they approached, Venrick could see that the temple had been fortified. Barricades blocked the surrounding streets, manned by determined troops of rebels. Archers positioned on the roof provided cover fire against any approach by the King’s forces.
Entering the temple’s main hall, they were greeted with organized chaos. Wounded were being tended to along one wall, while maps and plans covered tables at the center. Messengers came and went, delivering reports from throughout the city. And directing it all was Cheyanne, her silver-white hair catching in the torchlight. Her eyes turned white for suspenseful moments as she warged into her hawk, undoubtably gaining real time visuals of the battle.
When her eyes cleared to green, she looked up. Venrick and Sasja met her eyes as they entered and relief briefly softened her battle-hardened expression. She strode to them. “Thank the gods you’ve returned.” She looked over his shoulder, saying, “Where are Hardin, and Ezra?”
“Hardin is getting Ingamar and will join us soon enough. Ezra and the rest of your forces from the camp were behind us. They were going to try to sneak into the city with the festival’s crowds, but things have clearly changed. I sent a scout back to warn them of the increased patrols and stations along the citywall,” Venrick informed her. “We hope they’ll make it through. But as we were coming over near the East Gate, they spotted Hardin and Quin.”
“I’ll put a team on getting Ezra and the others into the city. What happened to Yarla?”
“She got over the wall but disappeared into the industrial district with the others. I haven’t seen her since then.”
“Do you have the ritual pages?” Cheyanne asked.
“We have them,” Venrick confirmed. “But it’s not everything we need. There’s an alloy we still need to recover before the final binding can be performed. It’s a dwarven alloy that we believe Barrik has retrieved. If he’s survived retrieving it from Thorgan, that is. And in that case, he’ll be leading a Nordraven Army to the city commanded by his son, King Greggor.”
“A Nordraven Army at the city gates will shift the focus away from attacking our forces in the city, but even if we were to join the Keep’s troops, I don’t think we’ll have enough force to fend off a Northern assault.”
“Which is why we need to stop the Void Drinker before they arrive.”
“We don’t have what we need to complete the binding, even if we can free Lark.” Cheyanne cursed. “Nothing is ever simple,” she sighed. “I’ll brief you on what’s happening in the city. We can put our heads together and try to figure out our options.” She gestured for them to join her at the central table. “The situation is accelerating faster than we anticipated. According to our most experienced elven mages, the Flashover will begin within twenty-four hours.”
“Twenty-four hours?” Venrick’s stomach dropped. “We thought we had multiple days left.”
“So did we, until the signs began appearing.” Cheyanne pointed to a map of the city. “Magical anomalies are occurring throughout Astral City. Drastic weather changes, spontaneousold growth trees appearing from thin air, otherworldly creatures appearing erratically, and lower-level magic behaving strangely. The barriers between realms are becoming dangerously thin. It’s creating the perfect scenario for the Void Drinker to use the Realmstone and force a permanent opening.”
“I care about the fate of our world, but more so, is what’s happened to Lark,” Venrick admitted.
Cheyanne’s expression darkened. “She was being held in the central tower of Vermillion Keep. But something happened around the time you left. A magical discharge of tremendous power. Since then, our sources inside the Keep report that the King is in a rage and demanding her immediate recapture.”
“She escaped?” Hope flared in Venrick’s chest.
“Or was taken elsewhere,” Cheyanne cautioned. “We don’t know. But the King and that entity, the Void Drinker, are still within the Keep. We’ve intercepted messages sent from the King as well as from General Ashbrook. The King is ordering Stormwatch and Lamar City to stand down to any calls for aid. General Ashbrook’s messages are calling on all Paragons for aid to support the Keep. So far, there is no sign any of the other Keeps are sending help.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a commotion at the temple entrance. Yarla rushed in, accompanied by the rebels who had crossed the wall with them.
“Dragons approaching from the north,” she reported breathlessly. “Not the Keep’s forces. It’s Hardin and Quinthara, with Ingamar behind them.”
