King Of Souls (Book 2) Read online

  The stairs behind Tara creaked, and General Demos appeared at her side a moment later. “Mistress, I’ve ordered the oarsmen to follow the Meranthian demands.”

  The rhythmic groaning of the ship’s oars ceased. The Damocles slowed, drifting to a halt twenty yards from the Meranthian war vessels.

  “Thank you General Demos. Make certain we properly greet the Meranthian boarding party.”

  General Demos bowed before retreating across deck. In his wake, a pair of Baerinese crossbowmen followed as they fell back toward the Damocles’s shadowy stern.

  Tara moved from the ship’s bow and strolled along the starboard side’s wooden railing. She stopped and gazed at the Meranthian boarding craft cutting through the black water below.

  A trio of soul knights sat in the first of two rowboats laden with well-armed and armored soldiers.

  Tara tracked the yellow, blue, and white strands of their souls leaving tracers across the black sky. Their souls, protected by life magic, remained out of her reach, but she could handle them nonetheless. Her mouth watered while she counted the souls of the unprotected soldiers weighing down the rowboats.

  A rope ladder flew outward and rattled against the Damocles’s frozen hull.

  Blue shields flickered to life, surrounding each soldier in the Meranthian raiding party.

  A golden-skinned soul knight wearing officer’s insignia grabbed hold of the frozen rope ladder. He climbed up and stepped onto the ship's deck while his crew joined him.

  “Greetings Captain,” Tara said. “On behalf of the crew of the Damocles, I offer you a warm welcome and safe passage. Please come aboard,” Tara said.

  The knight trained his piercing eyes on Tara, and her skin crawled.

  One by one, the soul knights and soldiers climbed the rope ladder until two dozen warriors stood atop the Damocles’s icy deck. The blue shields surrounding the soldiers shimmered, bathing the deck with an eerie glow.

  A tug of nervous anxiety gripped Tara’s chest. She stood exposed and vulnerable to the combined power of three fully imbued soul knights. Did these men and women understand the true power they held?

  The golden soul knight’s aura blazed, and he leveled his gaze at Tara as if he could bore a hole through her head and harvest her thoughts. “I hereby seize this vessel and all aboard under the authority granted by King Ronan Latimer. You’ll remain where you stand until we’ve searched this vessel from top to bottom.”

  Hard goose bumps rose on Tara’s flesh. “Gregor.” Her single word hung frozen in the still night air.

  A whooshing sound followed by the hard crack of two inbound crossbow bolts landed behind the soul knights.

  The soldiers and soul knights spun as a dozen more crossbow bolts whizzed by sticking in the bottom of their two boarding craft. Cold seawater seeped through fresh fist-sized holes in both boat’s bottom.

  Golden weaves of energy flowed over the captain’s skin while he turned his gaze skyward toward the source of the attack.

  Tara, channeling void magic, sent tendrils of death mist curling from her outstretched palm. She pushed it toward the nearest of three soldiers scanning the ship’s deck for the source of the attack.

  A brilliant orb of light appeared in the outstretched palm of the blue soul knight. The shield circling the knight’s body flared sending bright blue light across the ship’s deck.

  Tara’s attack met brief resistance from the shield’s surrounding the soldiers. But, her power far exceeded the soul knight’s even in her weakened state.

  Black mist passed through the translucent blue shield. It coiled upward circling the soldier's neck and drifting up his nostrils.

  A ripple of pleasure coursed through Tara’s body. She shuddered as the man’s life force drained from his body, adding to her depleted reserves.

  The soldier’s dull gray soul flickered, and Tara hooked the last wisps of magic to his soul thread and yanked. The trapped soul popped loose like a suction cup lifting free a piece of cut glass.

  Gray soul energy weaved through Tara’s death mist traveling across the deck and entering her body. She shuddered with pleasure and added the soldier's soul to her growing reserves. Her raw power increased while the soldier’s actions came under her control.

  Tara pulled on the trapped souls of the two soldiers near the first further heightening her growing power base. With three soldiers already under her control, could she capture more before enlisting their aid?

  The golden-skinned captain whirled and glared pointing his bright yellow blade at Tara’s chest. “Helena, shield that woman.”

  Blue light burst from the outstretched palm of the shield knight while Tara wrapped her body in a thick weave of pure black mist.

  An opaque wall of blackness appeared between Tara and the wide-eyed shield knight. The blue orb collided with the as her spirit attack disappeared into the void.

  A crossbow bolt slammed into the blue knight’s shield. A second bolt landed with a dull thud near the golden knight’s feet.

  The captain whirled and faced a short round man standing over his right shoulder.

  The old man’s white soul thread hummed with nervous tension while he cowered behind a thick blue shield circling his body.

  “Stand ready Ivan.” Ten-feet overhead, the golden knight leaped atop the ship’s wheelhouse. He grabbed hold of the central mast's ladder and climbed.

  Tara sent three more death tendrils spiraling across the ship’s deck toward a trio of Meranthian soldiers. The mist met increased resistance from the shield, and Tara channeled more power into her attack. The mist thickened before burrowing through the spirit barrier and finding fresh victims beneath. A moment later, Tara added three more souls to her cache of raw power.

  The shield knight, Helena, peered over Tara's shoulder. Her gaze settled on the Meranthian warships moored off the Damocles's bow. A blue cone of energy sprang to life her lips and she spoke. “All hands to battle stations.” Her voice boomed across the ship’s deck.

  A half-smile curled Tara’s lips, and she shook her head. “I believe they’re occupied soul knight.” She spat out the words as if speaking them nauseated her.

  Confusion bloomed on Helena’s face.

  Tara sent three more death spikes surging toward soldiers sprinting toward her with blades drawn.

  Tara’s dark mist ate through their spirit shields, and a second later, the color drained from their faces. As Tara took their souls, the soldiers stood frozen and lifeless under her complete control.

  Tara controlled nine soldiers and smiled. Spirit shields surrounded her new pets. She tugged on their soul strings and ordered them to attack the female soul knight.

  Black mist radiated from six of Tara’s dark soldiers. An oily balm oozed from the extended palms of three others she’d created as souleaters.

  In the crow’s nest high above the ship’s deck, the golden knight leaped into the basket with the Baerinese crossbowmen.

  A loud hiss slid past the crossbowman’s thin lips and the high-pitched squeal from a pair of circling draco’s filled the air.

  The golden soul knight’s eyes widened in shock. His soul blade blazed with a fresh burst of energy, and he brought it to bear on the approaching draco.

  Tara couldn’t capture the souls of those under the direct protection of Elan’s magic. But, nothing prevented her from killing them outright. She sent tendrils toward the remaining soldiers guarding, Ivan, the white threaded soul knight.

  Tara’s souleaters flung oily acid from their outstretched hands. It splattered against Helena’s blue spirit shield like spilled paint. The black gel sizzled as a heavy bitter stench smelling of burned tar hung thick aboard the ship’s deck.

  Fist-size holes opened in Helena’s shield as a mask of stark fear settled on her face.

  High above deck two thin-skinned dracos glided above the crow's nest. Long leather straps dangled from their saddles, and they swooped above the Baerinese crossbowmen.

  The soul knight surged ahead
in a streak of golden light. He swung his blade at a speed beyond any normal Baerinese soldier despite their advantages in strength and speed.

  The crossbowmen grabbed hold of the dangling leather straps. They held firm while the draco pulled them free of the crow’s nest while the battle knight’s blade found empty air.

  The gold knight would come for her next, and if he reached her first, she couldn’t guarantee her survival. “General Demos. To me!” Tara eased backward moving from the melee on deck toward the ship’s bow.

  A dark shadow streaked past Tara’s pets moving from amidships toward the bow. General Demos paused in front of Tara, and slipped free a pair of gleaming katars sheathed at his hip.

  “The golden knight,” Tara said. “Don’t let him touch me.”

  A loud hiss passed General Demos’s parted lips. His white forked tongue flickered as if tasting the seething violence.

  A pair of dark soldiers ripped open Helena’s spirit shield. The mist surrounding their bodies touched her flesh, and Helena staggered. She dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands weeping.

  The gold knight leaped from the crow’s nest landing atop the wheelhouse twenty feet below with childlike ease. He surged toward Helena, his blade radiating gold light across the ship’s deck.

  Tara bristled, standing frozen while the gold knight drew nearer carving through her pets standing a few feet away.

  With a blinding streak of gold light, the battle knight cleaved through a dark soldier’s neck. The dark soldier’s head skittered across deck, but his assault on Helena continued without pause.

  Two souleaters flung oily goo across the white knight’s spirit shield. Black smoke curled skyward as gaping holes appeared in his shield.

  Ivan produced a thin dagger from his belt sheath and jammed its needle-sharp tip into the nearest souleater’s eye.

  Black ooze sprayed from the wound and splattered across Ivan’s exposed face. Ivan screamed and his soft flesh burned. The souleater’s acid ate its way through the healer’s flesh and muscle. Deep pockmarks, curling with smoke, formed in his cheeks, nose, and lips.

  Ivan howled clutching his face as he dropped to his knees. Soothing white light washed over his face forming new skin. But, the soul eater’s acid attack continued, chewing through flesh and bone.

  A dark soldier towered over Ivan and raised his blade skyward.

  Ivan's eyes widened in shock, and he raised his arms to shield the blow.

  Lacking any empathy, the dark soldier dropped his blade across the healer’s neck like an executioner.

  Ivan’s headless body flailed on the Damocles’s frozen deck like a fish caught out of water.

  With Elan dead, might his soul protection have changed? She wouldn’t know until she tried. Tara sent a tendril of death mist toward the fallen healer as his pure white soul thread dimmed.

  Searing pain pierced her brain like a red-hot poker. She screamed, dropping to the deck holding her head.

  General Demos spun turning his back to the battle knight. His neck whipped from side to side scanning the ship's deck.

  Tara released the death magic, and the pain receded. Elan’s magic held true. She waved off General Demos and struggled to her feet.

  Behind General Demos, the soul knight raised his steel boot and leaped toward General Demos’s back.

  Tara’s jaw dropped, and she screamed, pointing toward the surging knight.

  General Demos glanced over his shoulder in time to find the battle knight’s steel boot connect with his lower back.

  A gurgling hiss rushed past General Demos’s lips. His body jerked forward flying over Tara before smashing into the ship’s wooden railing. Frozen wood cracked and splintered while his katars flew from his hands and skittered across the icy deck.

  General Demos lay motionless as the raging soul knight towered over Tara's body. He lifted his blade over her trembling body with death in his eyes. The blue spirit shield surrounding the battle knight dimmed and then flickered out.

  The knight whirled in time to watch the once proud members of the Meranthian Marine Corps slice open Helena’s stomach.

  Warm blood spilled from the shield knight’s midsection flooding the deck. Hot steam billowed into the cold night air. Helena’s expression froze in wide-eyed shock. Her blue soul thread fled her body and rushed toward Elan’s sphere.

  The battle knight’s shoulders tensed as he whirled to face Tara his face a red mask of rage and hatred.

  Black mist shrouded Tara, and she pushed away from the gold knight. She inched toward General Demos lying still atop the ship’s deck.

  “You murdering bitch!” The battle knight’s face shook with rage as his grip tightened around his blade’s hilt, and he closed on Tara.

  Tara’s chest tightened with fear as she ordered her pets to attack the enraged soul knight.

  Black ooze flew through the night air and connected with the knight’s plate armor. The stench of corroding steel mixed with hot blood and burning flesh prickling Tara’s nostrils.

  The mist surrounding Tara rolled forward seeping into the battle knight’s nostrils and eyes. But the knight’s enhancement power overcame the psychological impact of Tara’s magic. He marched forward as if bent on destruction.

  “General Demos!” Tara shook the Baerinese general, and he stirred.

  Cold steel gleamed under the full moon as a half-dozen dark soldiers closed on the battle knight slicing open his exposed back.

  The gold knight screamed and dropped his soul blade. The dark soldiers descending like a pack of hungry jackals cutting him to ribbons inches from where Tara sat shaking.

  A hard knot formed in Tara’s throat as she watched the knight die. “Elan, you could’ve avoided this fate.” She whispered the words for her ears alone as the knight’s golden soul thread disappeared in the frozen night.

  Tara stood and leaned against the ship’s railing peering into the shadowy stillness.

  Aboard the Meranthian naval vessels, dark soldiers and souleaters had slaughtered the remaining marines. They stood frozen like statues aboard quiet still decks. Dead Meranthian soldiers and sailors lay piled in grisly stacks at their feet.

  General Demos staggered to his feet and searched for Tara. “Mistress!”

  “I’m here Gregor,” Tara said. “All is well.”

  A streaking blue light shimmered in the sky above the Damocles.

  Tara snapped her gaze upward.

  A blue soul knight flew through the chill air. He rode atop one of the Earth Mother’s creatures circling the disaster aboard the Baerinese frigate.

  “It’s one of Lora’s creatures Gregor,” Tara said.

  “I’ll send the dracos after him.” General Demos turned to leave when Tara grabbed his wrist.

  “No Gregor. Leave him. He’d only capture them. That’s a powerful knight. His soul burns too bright.” Tara watched helpless, as the knight fled escaping across the frozen landscape.

  Mara

  On the desert horizon, the setting sun sparkled from the jagged peaks of a mile wide jeweled forest. The twilight’s orange hue heightened the crystal’s natural beauty. Rays of violet, amber, and green light shot miles high in every direction.

  Danielle, flying as a red-tailed hawk, pushed higher into the breezy evening air. On her back, she carried Brees and Keely.

  Brees pointed to the glittering expanse. “Mara lies just ahead. I think it’s best if you land on the town’s outskirts.”

  Heat prickled the skin beneath Danielle’s feathered neck. Keely hadn’t moved once during the trip, and she wanted Brees to help her sooner rather than later. Landing on the town’s outskirts would delay her healing. “Why? Keely needs your help, and I’ve kept up my side of the bargain.”

  “Relax. I’ll help your friend,” Brees said. “Mara’s a big enough town that I’d prefer to take precautions.”

  Danielle descended, gliding fifty feet over the desert floor closing in on the city of Mara. “Precautions? From what?”r />
  “More like from whom,” Brees said. “Sorcerers mainly. They use Mara as an oasis between raiding attacks.”

  “Now that I’ve proved I’m no sorceress, can you please explain just who these people are?”

  “Before I do that, I’d like to understand how you shift your body into birds, cats, and who knows what else,” Brees said.

  Danielle extended her talons and touched down on the sandy hard-packed ground and shifted into a lanky paka. She gave silent thanks to Fizzle’s paka, Karli, for offering the perfect disguise.

  Brees jerked in the saddle and yanked at the leather straps wrapped around Danielle’s chest. “Could you give a guy some warning before you do that?”

  Danielle let loose a short bray of laughter and slowed to an easy walk two hundred yards from Mara’s glittering crystal gates. She didn’t know how far to trust Brees. But, between her accent and exotic magical powers, anyone could see she didn’t live in Mara or anywhere else in Obsith. She opted for the truth. “Keely and I traveled to your country from far to the north. From a country we call Ayralen.”

  Brees stiffened in the saddle. “That’s impossible.”

  “Yet here I am.”

  “How do you make yourself change into different animal forms? And Fizzle told me about the trees you sprouted on his atter farm,” Bree said. “I thought he’d tasted a bad batch of cactus whiskey, but he insisted.”

  Danielle’s silence lingered for minutes before she stopped a hundred yards from Mara’s gates. “I don’t expect you to believe this, but in Ayralen trees grow so thick their branches touch. When you climb to the top of a tall tree, you’ll see miles of never-ending trees growing in every direction. Nature magic, and my ability, come from this very special place.”

  Brees stared down at Danielle for thirty seconds holding silent before bursting into laughter. “You must think I’m a real idiot. Listen, if you don’t want to tell me, fine. Suit yourself.”

  Danielle walked ahead and held her tongue before asking a question. “How did you heal that man’s feet?”