Eternal Conflict - Book 7 (The Ruby Ring Saga) Read online

  It didn’t take long for William and Victor to disagree though, and in the long run, William threatened to leave with his much-needed troops.

  Victor took me outside and asked for my opinion.

  “If we alienate William, we’ll lose his men,” I said. “Will his way work?”

  “It’s not the way I’d recommend.”

  “If we get past this initial battle, we can separate and do things your way.”

  “Very well,” Victor finally said, rolling his gorgeous eyes. “We will go with his plan for now…and later undertake our own.”

  * * *

  Steep cliffs towered over us, and hundreds of knights waiting in those cliffs began hurling logs, rocks, and boulders. Just as a huge one came within inches of hitting the men in front of me, I threw out my hand and activated a shield. The big rock bounced off it and crashed against the cliff wall. I couldn’t cover everyone, for that required too much energy. Jackson came over and gripped my hand. Together, we created a yellow force-field, large enough to offer us all an umbrella of protection. Heavy limestone boulders landed on top of the force-field. Victor, Liz, Charles, and some of Jackson’s men joined in. As we kept the force-field intact, our army passed through unscathed.

  Suddenly, a frantic knight reported back to us. “It’s a trap! There are 10,000 men waiting for us ahead and countless more behind!”

  Victor looked at William. “I told you this was a bad route to take. The enemy has the vantage point from these cliffs.”

  “That is not the problem. The plan would have worked, if not for a loose tongue. Someone had to clue them in that we were coming. The Aushorians do not just sit around hoping to ambush someone and pummel them with rocks. Clearly, they’re working with Ethano….and somehow, Ethano knows more than we realized.”

  “So you’re saying we have a spy in our midst?”

  “That is exactly what I am saying, Victor.”

  “So how do we get out of this trap?” I asked.

  Della pointed. “The swamps!”

  William’s eyes widened. “But they’re cursed.”

  “I’ve been in this situation before,” I said.

  Victor peered at me. “When you were running from me?” he whispered.

  “Yes, and I lived to tell about it. We might not if we stick around here. Come on!”

  “Can we keep the force-field up?” Della asked.

  “Only a little longer,” Liz said, “but it should give us enough of a head start in the swamps.”

  We made our way away from the cliffs, toward the damp, murky swamps.

  “We’re losing the shield!” William shouted.

  While our force-field began fizzling and blinking on and off like a television with poor reception, it didn’t take long for our enemy to notice we had problems, and they intended to take advantage of it. More horseback knights burst through the vegetation, yelling noisily and brandishing swords. They charged at us ferociously, trying to cause mass havoc. Most were atop horses, but many were on foot. Swords clanged, sparks flew, and battleaxes swung, but we fought valiantly and intended to end the battle fairly quickly. It was the stuff of a Hollywood epic, but in that world, it was simply a way of life.

  Suddenly, a powerful ball of energy struck all of us, knocking us off our horses.

  Other immortals, I thought as I crashed to the ground and slammed my face against the grass. My horse was spooked and whinnied loudly. Just as hooves came pounding down, I summoned barely enough energy to create a force-field around me. It flickered out but gave me enough time to move. Scrambling to my feet, I watched as my horse bolted away.

  An attacker swung wildly at William as he quickly moved to the side. In a blur, William sliced the man’s neck. He fell as William ran toward his next opponent. Charles swung his sword in a high arc and took down his pursuer in one clean swipe. Liz brought her weapon around in a dramatic overhand motion and cut into three knights coming at her with battleaxes.

  Next, a sword-wielding knight came at Victor. Metal chimed, and sparks flew as the swords collided. William raised his hand as he struck another knight. Jackson and his men fought with their powers, as they weren’t quite combat ready with their swords alone. When an angry-faced knight ran at Della, she swung her sword and attacked in a flurry of strikes.

  Suddenly, a blade hissed through the air, coming at me. I drew my weapon and quickly countered the attack. Steel clanked against steel. I moved fast, using my speed against his size, but it wasn’t enough. Victor had taught me basic sword fighting and fencing, but that guy was way too powerful for me in one-on-one combat. I threw out my hand and summoned a red fireball, one that quickly rendered the knight unconscious. A few more knights came at me and I sent them flying backward, watching them stumble over their fallen comrade.

  Another one came at me, and his cold eyes met mine. He lunged at me, but I sidestepped. Our swords flashed in the sunlight, but the blow was so strong that I dropped my weapon. As his blade swung for my neck, I went invisible and ducked, allowing Charles to finish the brute off for me. “Boy, that was a close one!” I shouted, my heart thundering.

  Almost before I got the words out, my immortal hearing clued me in to the hissing of a blade cutting through the air in my direction. I spun around and grabbed my sword from the ground, and another duel ensued. He shifted backward and forward, taking small steps and broad ones to stay just one step beyond the sharp tip of my blade. I focused on my super strength and tried to tap in. It was all the advantage I needed, and I swung my sword so hard that the knight went flying.

  The power was difficult to tap into, so I had to let it go, but there were others I could more easily tap into. I started to command their horses to retreat, leaving the knights dumbfounded and baffled as their horses obediently galloped away from us. They desperately tried to steer the animals back into battle, but the horses refused to comply and even threw some of the knights off.

  A heavy cavalry of mounted knights, armed with lances and swords, broke the lines. I gasped as they came straight toward me.

  Liz gripped one hand, while Della grabbed the other. “Firenado!” Liz shouted.

  We joined forces and focused on creating a blazing tornado. Suddenly, a fiery whirlwind spontaneously combusted, spinning into existence and rapidly reaching great lengths. I could feel the rising heat and turbulent wind as it churned into a spinning vortex of flames. The fire rose in a vertical rotating column and grew in power, causing the poor horses to buck and thrash. Wind speeds hit at least 100 miles per hour, so powerful that large trees fell like toothpicks all around us. Before the knights knew what hit them, the fiery cyclone barreled into them. Horses whinnied, and men screamed as they were thrown high into the air.

  When Della led us to the swamps, I was mortified to see that more knights had caught up with us. My feet sank in the mud, and I knew that would slow us down if they decided to follow us.

  As if our torment would never end, a hailstorm of arrows flew at us. With immortal speed, I ducked as they whizzed by. I opened my hands and returned fire with a dozen red, flaming balls. Jackson commanded his men to fire, and dozens of blazing fireballs flew into the impending enemy.

  “Run!” one of our men shouted. “We’ll hold them off.”

  Liz tugged on my hand again, and we quickly made our way into the swamp.

  Suddenly, a piercing pain ignited in my back, and I screamed.

  “Sarah’s hit!” Liz shouted.

  “‘Tis but a flesh wound,” William said.

  I winced a bit. But I was immortal and would survive it.

  William ordered us to take cover. He then pulled me behind a tree and pulled the arrow out.

  I screamed again, because it hurt like hell. I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

  “We must keep going,” William said.

  “Where’s Victor?” I asked.

  “He’s right behind us, holding them off with some of the others.”

  I let out another shaky breath as
another arrow whizzed past my ear. Our men were known for their strength and bravery, ready to die if need be. Some stopped, wondering if they should keep going.

  Fortunately, Victor caught up to us and, with that fearless courage he was known for, demanded that we keep going.

  When William asked for an update, he was assured that no one else was following us.

  That news was a relief, but my joy was short-lived before dizziness overwhelmed me and I felt myself fall into the mud.

  “Sarah!” Victor said. “What happened?”

  My mouth opened, but no words would come out.

  “She was hit with an arrow,” William said. “I got it out as fast as I could.”

  “Could it have been laced with guardian poison?” Della asked.

  “No,” Victor said. “That is far too difficult to attain, and even if they did have it, they would not waste it on random arrows being shot into a swamp. It was regular poison, meant to kill our human knights.”

  “So she’ll be okay?” Liz asked, concerned. “The poison just has to work its way out of her system, right?”

  “She will be fine, my love,” Charles said.

  They continued fussing over me, but it all became a blur. I was awake and could feel my extremities and body go limp as Victor carried me in his arms.

  Chapter 5

  When I woke up, I felt my body being pulled along in water.

  “Victor…” I said.

  “She’s awake!” Liz said.

  Victor helped me stand, and I glanced around. We were still in the swamp, wading through waist-deep water. I peered ahead at vast sawgrass prairies, with bonsai-like cypress trees covered in bromeliads and orchids, as far as my eye could see.

  Liz came over and hugged me. “It took you forever to wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

  “Guess I needed a nap,” I said.

  “We should be out of the swamp in about an hour,” Della said.

  My feet treaded through the goopy glop as I walked on the slippery mud. My foot got caught in a hole, but I was able to easily pull it out. I kept moving through the limestone bedrock and hidden logs in the water. We passed a few islands of slash pine that rose a little above the algae-covered surface of the swamp water.

  “You’re doing great,” Victor said.

  “It will all be worth it,” I said, smiling at him.

  “Getting our kingdom back will not be an easy feat,” he said.

  I nodded. “Thanks for carrying me back there,” I said.

  “Anytime, my love.”

  “The water’s getting warmer,” I noticed.

  Liz swirled her hands in the water. “Yeah. It feels like bathwater.”

  Della wrinkled up her nose as she looked down at the green, oily murkiness, with bugs buzzing above it. “It certainly doesn’t smell like it,” she said.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked.

  “We’ll take Ethano by surprise. He expects us to come through Perlan, but we’ll ambush him from the city of Tiara.”

  “He has a huge army,” I said. “Even with our powers—”

  Victor shook his head. “No matter. We will gain all the support we need from the countless wise souls who loathe him. I will have all the forces I need to crush Ethano like a snake.”

  “You’re a natural-born leader and a warrior,” I said. “I have no doubt we’ll beat your brother.”

  “Sarah,” Victor said, “you must retrieve that book Jackson requires.”

  “What!? You want me to go to Ethano’s castle?”

  “Yes. He will be…otherwise occupied and will not be there, nor will the great majority of his guards. It is the best chance we have to recover it safely. You have amazing powers, and I know you can defend yourself.”

  “Are you sure about that?” I said. “I almost got my head whacked off. I guess it’s just as dangerous for me with you out there. If you get killed, I die too.” I closed my eyes as I sensed more from our bond. “You don’t mind me fighting alongside you. You just feel I need more training, and you’re right. I don’t know much and shouldn’t be risking my life or yours by being out there, but I wanna fight for our kingdom too.”

  “I admire that, but the best time to get that book is when Ethano least expects us to sneak into his castle. We can take it right out from under him, while he is too focused on combat to notice.”

  “I’ll go too,” Liz said. “It’ll be just like old times, except we probably won’t get those fancy dresses and jewelry.”

  “I’m not going in as a captured slave this time,” I said.

  “We’ll come up with a different guise,” she said, smiling.

  “We have stronger powers now, and Ethano can’t drain them this time.”

  “You’re right. Easy-peasy, like checking out a library book,” she said, “and then we’ll rejoin the others. I’m sure these boys can take care of themselves without us for a while.”

  “Boys?” Della asked.

  Liz laughed. “Sorry. Boys and girls.”

  As we trudged through the remainder of the swamp, the water began to get hotter. Millions of tiny bubbles popped at the surface, as if we were in a giant, stagnant Jacuzzi. It actually felt kind of good, but it smelled disgusting, and the whole thing was odd. We kept wading through the swamp as the water grew progressively hotter and hotter.

  “It’s like a steaming-hot bath!” Liz said.

  The knights began to make a ruckus, and when I glanced over, I saw an invisible shield keeping the rest of our army out. Only about a dozen of us had gotten through. Knights from both sides pounded on the impenetrable shield.

  “What the hell?” I asked, then waded back over to the invisible force-field. I placed my hands on it and tried to use my powers to break down the wall, but nothing happened. “Liz,” I called out, “c’mere, so we can see if the two of us can take it down.”

  “I’ll help too,” Della chimed in.

  “Good,” Liz said. “We need all the girl power we can get.”

  Jackson and his men didn’t make it over to our side, but they all held up their hands, and we all placed our hands on the walls from both sides.

  Still, nothing happened, except that a man screamed, and my heart began to race.

  “What the…?” I shouted.

  Jackson’s eyes widened as he met my gaze.

  “What’s going on?”

  He turned and started shooting fiery balls into the water, and more knights screamed. One was pulled underwater, followed by another. One by one, something was dragging them into the boiling ooze. Jackson’s men and some of the other immortal knights lit up their powers, and again the place looked like the Fourth of July.

  “Victor!” I shouted. “Something’s grabbing them!”

  Glowing yellow eyes peered out of the water, and a long tail splashed.

  “It’s some kind of creature!” Charles said.

  “There’s more than one!” Della said.

  I peered into the dark water and spotted dozens of glowing eyes, just barely peeking out. Whatever they were, they grabbed humans and immortals alike, eager to feed on their flesh. We all pounded on the wall and gave our powers another shot, but nothing would penetrate it.

  Jackson suddenly burst out of the water and pounded his hands on the wall.

  I pounded harder. “Open, damn it!”

  A looked of fear and terror washed across his face as something snatched him into the deep, like some horrible shark in a movie.

  “They’re gone, all of them!” Liz wailed. “What the hell?”

  The water was actually starting to burn my skin; I felt like a lobster thrown into a pot. Some of the knights started climbing onto the nearby islands to escape the boiling water.

  “Why’s it so hot?” Liz asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  We followed the others and climbed onto one of the islands that jutted out just high enough to rescue us from being cooked alive.

  I looked at Victor, William, Della, and Char
les. “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know,” Charles said, gasping. “I’ve never seen or heard anything like this.”

  “None of us have,” William added.

  “This swamp is forbidden,” a knight complained. “We should not be here!”

  “We can’t even leave, or we’ll be scalded in the process,” someone else said.

  Another knight looked across the bubbling surface. “I knew there had to be a reason the knights quit pursuing us.”

  “What was with the force-field?” Liz said, her voice trembling. “We couldn’t even help our own!”

  William put an arm around her. “It was as if someone put up the barrier to keep the beasts from devouring us.”

  I shook my head. “I highly doubt anyone is trying to help us. They’re trying to boil us alive!”

  “We must be separated for a reason,” William said.

  “But what?” Liz asked. “None of it makes sense.”

  I was numb and dumbfounded, and my body wouldn’t stop trembling.

  Victor noticed and walked over to put a consoling arm around me.

  I glanced up at him. “I brought Jackson here. It’s my fault he’s dead. My world just lost their leader.”

  “Beth will be devastated,” Liz said. “She loved him.”

  “We shouldn’t have let him come,” I breathed out, “but he made it all sound so simple, like we’d just get in, get out.”

  Liz wiped a tear away. “He was so damn charismatic and charming. He could talk us into anything, even talked Sarah into getting stabbed. Who, in her right mind, would fall for that?”

  “Maybe I wasn’t in my right mind,” I said in my own defense, trembling. “He knew his stuff. I’d give anything to go back and leave our world without him, so he’d be safe and alive.”

  “He knew the risks,” my sister said, sobbing, “but he had to have that damn book. He should have been trying to get the immortal world back in order, not here chasing a dream. That’s what power does to you. You get some, and you want more and more. Why couldn’t he just be happy with what he had? He had to try to take a mile, and now he’s dead.” She let out a long sob, and Charles tried to comfort her.