The Dragon Throne: Knights of the Frost Pt. II (Legends of the Dragonrealm) Read online

  KNIGHTS OF THE FROST

  All rights reserved copyright 2017 by Richard A. Knaak

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the author.

  Published by Porta Nigra Press

  Cover Art by Larry Elmore

  Legends of the Dragonrealm:

  The Dragon Throne

  Book I: Knights of the Frost

  Book II: Empire of the Wolf

  Book III: Dragon of the Depths

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I would like to gratefully acknowledge the countless fans of this series for its longevity, with special thanks going to the following supporters:

  Adam Harrison, Jon Cazera, Samir Schwayri, and James Evick for adding to the new generation of mages.

  Keith Homel, Jeremy Corlis, Jesse High, Brian Johnson, Jeremy Reynolds, Stuart Gormley, Wade Atkinson, Chad Armstrong, David Moniz, Brian DiTullio, James Hancock, Dylan Griswold, Andres Montoya, Jeffrey Nelson, Patrick Cowan, Ivan Ho, Joe Hollowell, Daniel Centelles, Ashley Blodgett, Ryan Paque, Michael Keith, Amanda Niehaus, and Jimmy Svensson for their added contributions to this effort.

  Jeremy Reynolds again for light editing.

  And everyone else who has taken it upon themselves to join in seeing more tales of the Dragonrealm come to life!

  Richard A. Knaak

  Table of Contents

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  VIII

  Icy Death

  Valea railed against the sphere as she materialized. Not at all to her surprise, she found herself at the Manor.

  Anger finally gave away --- at least in part --- to sense. Focusing, she finally found a flaw in the sphere. A simple spell melted it.

  As that happened, Valea sensed her mother approach. To her surprise, her brother was with her.

  “Valea!” Gwen shouted. “Valea! What’s happened?”

  “He sent me to safety, damn him!” She concentrated, seeking Gerrod’s unique magical signature. To Valea, he was no longer Shade, the legendary warlock. He was Gerrod, the man she loved.

  Yet, when Valea tried to locate him, she felt only that strange veil of nothingness that he had first noted and informed her about.

  “No...”

  Aurim took hold of her arm. “What is it? Is Shade all right?”

  He did not question her ties to the warlock. Valea suspected it was due in part to his own unique relationship, but it felt good to her to have him react with concern for Gerrod.

  “We were going to tell you...but we wanted to make certain. Then...the those strange Seekers appeared...”

  The story poured out of her. Her mother and brother understood that time was of the essence and so even as she explained, Aurim started his own spell.

  “I sense...I sense where he might be...”

  “We should contact your father first,” Gwen responded. “He and Darkhorse ---”

  Aurim looked at Valea, who shook her head slightly.

  Their mother realized what was happening. “No! I forbid it ---”

  Aurim and his sister vanished ---

  --- and then immediately reappeared.

  Valea turned on her mother. “He needs me! You shouldn’t stop us ---”

  “She didn’t stop us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Aurim grimaced. “Something...negated my spell. I tried to compensate, but it was as if it knew how I planned to alter it.” He cleared his throat. “If I had not known any better, I would have thought it Father responsible.”

  “’Father’ is not responsible, but he would like some explanations,” came a voice Valea knew so well.

  Cabe Bedlam had started out an innocent, the heir to a magical legacy both good and ill who had had no choice in his destiny. Yet, when Valea looked at her father, other than the youthful exterior his power granted him, she saw only the most trustworthy, skilled spellcaster in all the land.

  “Father! It’s Gerrod! He sent me to safety after some strange Seekers came upon us! I think they took him into the ---”

  “Into the Northern Wastes. I know.” Cabe eyed his family. His relief at seeing them all here was evident to her.

  She wished that he could feel the same about Gerrod.

  “Darkhorse and I were just in the Hell Plains. There’s something ominous going on there, as well. Something very disturbing.”

  “Where is Darkhorse?” Gwen asked.

  “He’s still watching the citadel.”

  Despite her fear for Gerrod, Valea could not help asking, “What citadel?”

  It was her brother who answered. “You mean Azran’s citadel.”

  There was something in his tone that made not only Valea but also her parents stare at him. He, in turn, eyed his sister, as if expecting something.

  When she merely continued to look at him, Aurim swallowed. Gazing at his family, the golden-haired mage explained, “Even if you had not said the Hell Plains or mentioned the citadel, I would have already been thinking of Azran.”

  Neither sibling called the long-dead sorcerer ‘grandfather’ nor did their own father acknowledge Azran as his sire. Azran’s dark history assured that he had no place in the Bedlam clan even as a memory.

  Or so Valea had thought. “Why would you have been thinking about Azran, Aurim? What would he have to do with Gerrod and the Northern Wastes?”

  “Because, although I did not recognize it at first, I realize now I have felt what turned my spell around only one other place.” Aurim met their father’s narrowing gaze. “At the ruins of Azran’s monstrous sanctum.”

  * * *

  The horrific beast lunged forward, one glassy paw seeking to crush the warlock. Shade covered himself with his cloak just as the paw touched.

  Despite what appeared to be a futile defense, the powerful paw immediately stopped the moment it came down on the cloak. Shade felt the full force of the behemoth’s might press down on him and knew that his magical shield would not hold for long. The warlock quickly turned, peeling away from what became the outer shell of his cloak rather than the garment itself. Shade slipped from the icy creature’s attack just as the shield failed and the paw crushed the empty remnants.

  The leviathan pulled up its paw and hissed when it saw only the fading fragments of the former cloak. As that happened, Shade, already fully clad again in the flowing garment, clapped his gloved hands together.

  The thundering boom created by the clap exploded through the vicinity. The cavern shook violently enough, but the dragon did even more so. Hundreds of tiny fragments spilled off the macabre beast and for a moment it struggled to maintain cohesion.

  It’s hold in the mortal world is tenuous...thus far. There is still a chance to send it back to oblivion. Although Shade knew this to somehow be the Ice Dragon come back into existence, there was something not quite right about the vengeful spirit. The former Dragon King thus far had reacted more like a beast than a cunning tyrant.

  The Seekers, meanwhile had broken up their circle and now were spreading throughout the chamber. Shade sensed each still played some part in an overall spell, but the warlock had no time to wonder just what the avians had in mind. The dragon appeared to be very interested in him in particular. While it made sense t
hat any drake lord would do their best to eliminated the accursed spellcaster, Shade could not help feeling that there was more. The Ice Dragon wanted --- no, needed, the warlock corrected himself --- something from Shade.

  The Seekers finally acted. A blazing red circle nearly the breadth of the cavern fell down over the gargantuan monster. Even from where he stood, Shade could feel the incredible heat radiating from it.

  It immediately dropped down over the Ice Dragon. A sizzling sound arose as the heat instantly began to melt its target.

  For a moment, Shade thought that the Seekers had found the way to victory. Then, the dragon shuddered. It was the exact movement that the warlock had seen used by many animals, especially wolves and dogs.

  The melting ceased. The Ice Dragon shook one more time...and the blazing circle froze solid. It dropped like a rock on the reanimated Dragon King’s shoulders.

  The behemoth shook one last time. The circle shattered, the pieces spilling down to the Ice Dragon’s paws.

  Barely had that happened than the leviathan opened its maw and exhaled. A stream of long, sharp icicles shot forth...all of them aimed at Shade.

  Concentrating, the warlock vanished. His intention had been to take the battle outside, but, to his dismay, he instead reappeared back in the cavern and right in front of the oncoming missiles.

  Cursing under his breath, Shade was forced to again use his cloak for protection. The first icicles struck just as he draped part of the garment before him.

  The initial wave hit the enchanted cloth, then either shattered or bounced off. Had the assault ceased then, Shade would have emerged unscathed. However, the stream continued, the sharp missiles striking the cloak one after another after another...until at last they began piercing his cloak. Shade eyed the needle points as more and more battered his protection.

  Shade did not fear death, only that death might resurrect him as something Valea would find as monstrous as this recreated drake lord. Borrowing from the Seekers, he muttered a spell and turned the shielding clot red hot.

  The icicles melted. The first to hit after them did the same. The warlock allowed himself a breath ---

  Accursed one, came a cold, grating voice in his head. Give to me that I might feed...give to me that I might follow him to life again...

  Shade did not have to ask if the voice belonged to the Ice Dragon, but did wonder what the drake lord meant. If the the warlock was correct, then he not only understood why the Dragon King focused on him, but also knew that it was his own presence that had actually served to recreate the former lord of the Wastes.

  I am feeding him! He is using my latent energies to not only maintain his form, but strengthen it!

  How the Ice Dragon was doing that, Shade could not say. He had heard stories of the Dragon King’s plot to eradicate all life and leave the continent under a permanent sheet of ice and snow. Elements of those stories hinted at a force unleashed by Lord Ice that had literally absorbed both magic and natural energy. The warlock could only assume that this phantasm was using some remnant of that force now.

  Whatever the reason, Shade believed that he had one chance. He vanished again, but this time made no attempt to escape the cavern. Instead, he catapulted himself to where last he had seen the Seeker leader.

  As he materialized, he heard silence. The Ice Dragon had cut off his foul attack the moment his target had disappeared. It would not take the leviathan long to correct matters, though.

  The Seekers now had the icy behemoth surrounded, but that hardly meant that they had it at bay. Indeed, Shade saw that it was more that the Ice Dragon could not keep from constantly losing bits and pieces. As many parts of the dragon tumbled off as adhered. Still, the chilling behemoth was a tremendous threat to all.

  In fact, two Seekers were already dead and even as Shade reached the leader, the Ice Dragon exhaled on one of those in flight. A barrage of icicles perforated the hapless avian and sent its bloody, torn body tumbling back some distance.

  Without hesitation, Shade seized the sphere from the Seeker. She eyed him, but did nothing else. Shade concentrated on the sphere, identifying its pattern and core.

  The female Seeker squawked, then grabbed the warlock. With astonishing strength, she dragged him into the air just as the ground around them collapsed into a hole.

  I will have you, Shade, the Ice Dragon whispered in his head. We are all freed and this world will be changed! Better you let the known take command then the unknown...

  Shade paid little attention to his adversary’s words. He could feel the Seeker finally having to struggle to keep them not only aloft, but moving quickly enough to evade the beast’s attack. Shade remained aware that they were all fortunate in one manner; the Ice Dragon did not have complete control over the makeshift body. Still, the warlock knew he had to act fast.

  The key to the sphere’s creation and function finally revealed itself. Shade ran one hand over the sphere, adjusting things as needed.

  “Set me down!” he shouted to the Seeker.

  The squawk with which she replied managed to relay her sense that the warlock was mad for making such a request. However, she still obeyed.

  Shade blew lightly on the sphere. It rushed from his hand, but did not fly toward the icy beast. Simultaneously, the warlock made certain that he drew every bit of the monster’s attention by creating three more images of himself and then having all converge on their foe.

  Fool of a Vraad...yes, I know you are of those...an illusion has only a bare trace of your magic, whereas ---

  The Ice Dragon hesitated. The glittering orbs darted back and forth between the four. A long, angry hiss escaped the creature.

  This is not possible! All of --- you --- cannot be him!

  Quickly scraping the ground, the leviathan sent a deadly shower of frozen rock at the Shade farthest to the right. At the same time, the Ice Dragon’s glassy, spiked tail swung around to strike at the Shade on the opposite side.

  The first hooded figure leapt to the side to evade the rocks. The other vanished just as the tail would have crushed him, the materialized immediately after.

  The warlock could imagine the resurrected drake lord’s confusion at this lack of confirmation concerning either. Had these been phantasms created by most spellcasters, they would have been just as the Ice Dragon had claimed. Yet, as the behemoth himself had said, Shade was Vraad...or at least some vestige of it. With that legacy went a unique grasp of magic, a unique kind of magic. Each of Shade’s three doppelgängers carried his trace as fully as he did. There were other ways of proving which was the true warlock and which was not, but Shade hoped that before his undead foe realized just how, the hooded spellcaster’s plan would come to fruition.

  Stand still! roared the voice in Shade’s mind. It was all the warlock could do to keep from grabbing his head, which surely would have revealed to the Ice Dragon the truth. Instead, Shade forced himself to keep his three duplicates moving with him. He needed just a few seconds longer before the truth about which of the four was actually him would no longer matter.

  Around him, the Seekers joined in the effort. Shade appreciated their addition to his plans, but knew very well that the behemoth would accept almost any damage to the recreated body if it meant gaining the warlock’s unique magical essence.

  That concentration was what Shade needed. The act of manipulating three images of himself while pursuing his own path was a tremendous strain. Even Shade could not long maintain things much longer.

  Then, Shade finally sensed the other part of his plan fall into place. At that point, he released his doppelgängers from his complete control. Now, they would no longer diverge from the paths ahead of them. Now, the Ice Dragon would be able to quickly divine which Shades were the false ones.

  By then, the warlock hoped it would be too late.

  The leviathan opened its maw. Another horrific torrent of icy needles bore down on the Shade nearest the middle.

  The sharp projectiles cut through their target, then
continued on without pause.

  You are a false one!” the Ice Dragon roared in sudden dismay. You are not the Vraad!

  No...I am, Shade silently proclaimed. Here...

  The hooded figure that had dodged the rocks now laughed at the Ice Dragon. It was not that Shade found the situation humorous, but that he needed that one last moment where the leviathan would see and hear nothing but the warlock.

  Certain that he had done all he could to prepare, Shade unleashed the second and most crucial part of his spell.

  The second doppelgänger faded away as a breath of bone-cold air overtook it. The Ice Dragon swung to gaze at the two remaining figures.

  That was when the sphere that Shade had sent flying outside returned through another gap in the stone walls and fell upon the Ice Dragon.

  The gigantic creature looked up just as the sphere broke apart. However, the pieces did not fall randomly, but rather spread around the drake lord. As they did, they swelled inside.

  No!

  However, the Dragon King’s protest abruptly faded as the pieces of the sphere not only drew back together, but but sealed around the fiendish dragon as well. The Ice Dragon stood trapped within, the monster banging at the translucent barrier.

  Shade knew that the sphere could not last long against the power of the drake lord, but hoped that he was right about what would happen if the Ice Dragon remained sealed inside for more than a few seconds.

  The behemoth roared. it unleashed another volley of deadly icicles, but the enhanced sphere held. Shade was not certain how long he could maintain the sphere, but then at last he beheld the first hint that his plan might be working.

  Cut off by the sphere, the traces of ice seeking to adhere to the macabre dragon tumbled around the drake lord’s prison. Inside, the fragments already bound together started to break off. Tiny fragments, yes, but their numbers swiftly grew.