Knight of the Sword (of Knights and Wizards Book 3) Read online

  KNIGHT OF THE SWORD

  A. J. Gallant

  The ignoramus dims his own light,

  but mustn’t be allowed to darken the light of others.

  A. J. Gallant

  Copyright © 2014 A. J. Gallant

  All rights reserved

  No part of this novel may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Purchase only authorized editions. This book is a work of fiction born of the author’s inspiration. Characters, names, incidents and places are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

  This novel is dedicated to the memory of Kevin Morash 1956-2014

  You’re missed and you certainly deserved a better fate.

  Books by A. J. Gallant

  Madman in the Mirror Moon Diamond

  Dracula: Hearts of Stone (trilogy) Dracula: Hearts of Fire

  Dracula: Hearts of Glory Dracula: Hearts of Ice (forthcoming)

  Knights of the Dragon (multi-series) Knights of the Wizard

  Knight of the Sword The Saucer Club

  Destiny The Martian Matter (short)

  Braeden the Barbarian (forthcoming)

  *****

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

  CHAPTER SIXTY

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

  CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

  CHAPTER SEVENTY

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

  On a parallel Earth that isn’t comes a place of wonder and struggle, a place where life is ensconced in magic.

  The first novel of this series is Knights of the Dragon. http://www.amazon.com/Knights-Dragon-A-J-Gallant-ebook/dp/B00BIRAI5Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1382447111&sr=1-1&keywords=knights+of+the+dragon

  Second novel Knights of the Wizard.

  http://www.amazon.com/Knights-Wizard-Wizards-J-Gallant-ebook/dp/B00IJC07AO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395521621&sr=1-1&keywords=knights+of+the+wizard

  Knights of the Wizard is the second novel of the series (of Knights and Wizards) originating from Knights of the Dragon. Marcus is working hard at becoming a first class wizard but he definitely has a lot to learn, and even Adorok’s spirit is becoming frustrated at his progress. Ash is an exceptional baby dragon who dreams about an evil grey dragon that will come out of the bowels of the earth and become a danger to everyone.

  “Of Knights and Wizards”

  Knight of the Sword

  A novel by A. J. Gallant

  CHAPTER ONE

  A bright bonfire gave atmosphere to the night; the crackling of the wood burning was satisfying as the three hunters watched the embers float into the dark sky, drifting up toward the crescent moon. The smoke from the fire was strong and irritating to Henry’s eyes, especially when the wind momentarily changed directions he tried hard to wave it away with his right hand. At sunrise they would head into the forest to hunt deer, whatever they managed to kill would be shared equally by the three families. Their friendships made life a little easier, sharing the good times along with the bad, the weight of the world just a little easier when shared by three, their aid often immeasurable to one another.

  Quinn had a scraggly beard and was rather rough looking at 40-years-of-age but he was the best shot of them all, and when he took aim with his crossbow he rarely missed. His father would beat him when he was younger for not hitting his target and so he had practiced long and hard until his fingers were blistered and bleeding. Quinn scratched his head vigorously as the fire revealed some of his rugged features, his face and nose much too wide and scarred for anyone to call him handsome. “Can’t wait to cook some venison, me mouth waters for it.”

  “Aye,” said Dain. “Nothing like fresh meat. Salt keeps ‘er from spoiling but nothing like a fresh kill. The little uns will be dancing at the sight of it. I like the raw heart best.”

  It was a risk being out after sunset, no telling what sort of beasts lurked once the darkness pushed away the light, some that had never been seen before were observed wandering through some forests, and never little fluffy creatures, always something that looked like it could eat a person arrow’s and all. Magical emanations into the atmosphere were increasing and complicating nature’s ability to exist naturally.

  Hadrian nodded at the thought of unsullied meat. “Eaten muh share of rotted meat, sickened muh but once. Green trenchers wiff plenty of gravy to cover the green.”

  They all nodded knowingly. They were going to hunt illegally in the morning and they knew it was risky as King Crewe was a cruel man but life had many risks and this was simply one of them. A man would do just about anything to feed one’s family. Crewe’s forest was vast and they always hunted on the outskirts. They had been in this area several times in the past without seeing anyone and so they hoped that luck would again be on their side, one thing was for certain there was usually plenty of game in the king’s forest.

  Bain attempted to rub the weariness out of his eyes, simply wasn’t safe to sleep at night out here, his yawn made the others yawn as well. They usually took turns but when he had awoken last time to find the others asleep it certainly made him wary of dozing off. Bain never saw it coming, a huge axe cut into his left shoulder and down through his ribs so deep that it stopped his hear
t. Hadrian went for his crossbow which had a bolt in it but he never made it, a two-headed niiwu thrust his sword through his throat, enjoying the sound as he gurgled through his own blood and his last struggles of life, laughing/snorting at the sound of it. Henry screamed a second before he was decapitated and then his head hit the ground with a thump, and for almost ten seconds he could still think and hear as the second niiwu sniffed his head before biting into his face.

  The other niiwu pried Bain’s shoulder apart from his chest, both heads nodding appreciatively at one another at the meal they were so going to enjoy. One head noisily licked his blood as the other sniffed, and then both heads crunched into the bones, blood running down both faces as one tore a piece out of his lung.

  CHAPTER TWO

  THE BLACK DRAGON cut through the air thoroughly enjoying the view of the Kassa River. Below Ryxa were several puffy white clouds and beneath them a magnificent landscape to ponder; she liked to hear the whoosh of her wings pumping, the wind in her face was heavenly, nothing could compare to the freedom of flight. Her muscles were easily up to the task of producing sufficient energy to keep her in flight. How could humans stand not being able to fly? She supposed that they wouldn’t miss what they hadn’t experienced but everyone should be able to fly.

  Ryxa flew down through a cumulus cloud at more than six thousand feet, following the mighty river’s twists and turns, taking in the sights and scents of the forest and no matter how many times she flew over it there was always something different to see. The spicy scent of cedar trees came up to meet her as well as the sound of children playing, and now the resonance of laughter. She had ten eggs back in her nest but she just had to get away and stretch her wings, flying was the best medicine. Ryxa glided for a time, slipping through the air like a fish through water, launching a burst of orange-yellow fire towards the heavens and then flying through it before it completely dissipated. Could she smell the faint odour of the pterocrit that she had for lunch?

  The air was abruptly cold, rising up from a section of the river where winter existed from an old but powerful spell, down through the v-shaped valley she could see that it was snowing large snowflakes, floating down haphazardly with almost no wind, quite a pretty sight. Humans sometimes loved snow, other times hated it. The flakes were the size of a child’s hand and the scene that was unfolding below looked magical from her point of view. The fast flowing river never froze over even in the winter section but the water was definitely frigid. Several children had gathered; four boys and two girls were having a snowball fight; one of the girls noticed the dragon as she flew over and pointed up at Ryxa as she had flown down to a lower height to get a better look.

  The dragon heard a splash and circled around to see that one of the two girl’s had fallen in the river and was now struggling in the fast flowing water; the other girl screamed her loudest as the current took her best friend away, perhaps never to be seen again. Anyone that would dare to jump in would almost certainly suffer the same fate and she could tell that all the children were in a state of panic. Ryxa landed in front of Cecelia with a huge splash, picked the girl up with two claws making sure not to tear her delicate skin and flew her back to the summer area where she could dry off under the hot sun, her friends running their fastest to catch up, pointing up at the dangling girl as she was flown to safety. Her friend screamed again but this time with joy, thanking the dragon profusely. It was an unwritten rule that dragons didn’t interfere with humans but Ryxa was more than happy to help out, besides being friends with Marcus had broken that rule like squashing a bug.

  She circled over a hunting camp where two hunters were following the tracks of an elk that had walked near their log cabin, the smoke from the cabin’s chimney was rising into the sky and dissipating, but when the animal left the winter area they lost its tracks and then stopped to eat on the face of a large flat boulder, and even from high up Ryxa could smell their coffee brewing. She had never tasted such a brew and had no intention of ever doing so; to her sensitive nose it smelled bitter and she’d rather drink muddy water. The dragon watched as a beautiful elk came out of the forest and the men dropped everything to grab their bows, and as two arrows pierced the animal’s chest it fell and then vanished as they ran over to it. The elk had been an enchantment that continued to wander through the forest; the hunters were not impressed to discover that their arrows had also disappeared. They cursed whatever sorcerer had created such stupid magic. It was hard enough to put food on the table without wasting time in the pursuit of animals that weren’t factual although its hoof prints had been real enough.

  “I’d like to kick whatever bloody wizard did this right in his arse!”

  Ryxa spotted a flutter of Cherry Blossom butterflies, tens of thousands of them had gathered in a big swirling ball and were now heading down towards the ground and she knew what they were up to and so she followed. It was always interesting to see nature in the act, even if there was magic in it. Sure enough a little ways from the river they had started to form a tree, starting at the base as one piled on top of another and the tree commenced to take shape, branches and all. In a few minutes the tree was completely formed, its spectacular colors of pink, white and red moving gently with the wind. Some believed the spectacle was only accomplished by the females and was done to attract the males but she wasn’t sure about that. The sight of it made Ryxa smile. Another tree commenced to form beside the first as thousands more danced out of the sky forming another tree and although she couldn’t be sure she assumed they were the males, and then both trees met in the middle forming a huge tree as they began to mate.

  The dragon was thoroughly enjoying the indirect journey she was taking to visit Marcus. Past the area of snow it was again a warm summer day, with a foggy area that now separated the two. The sparkling blue water of the river was beautiful to look down upon, several large fish were jumping out of the water, creating large splashes as they re-entered. A little further down was a short waterfall of about five feet; the sound of the falling water was as soothing as a mother’s song to her child. Ryxa liked to nap near waterfalls as the sound of the falling water helped her sleep, usually facilitating wonderful dreams. She flew back down to about a thousand feet over the river, seeing a huge black bear with its right paw inside a hole in a tree, scooping out honey while being attacked by bees, seemingly immune to their anger as it enjoyed the feast.

  Finally Ryxa flew onto the wall of Marcus’s castle to watch the goings-on, snorting she released a plume of fire as she observed, cocking her head slightly. What must it be like to be a human? They had such small weak bodies and only two legs; how they managed to remain upright without falling over must certainly be magic.

  Thirteen-year-old Marcus walked up to the grey knight that he had conjured while he had been sleepwalking, remembering the warning that should he conjure a black or grey knight it would likely be evil. Although he would have liked to run away he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The dark knight was surrounded by Marcus’s twenty-five golden knights that the boy had also summoned while sleepwalking, dedicated guards every single one. Marcus made his way through the others in order to get close to the grey knight who was tall and formidable looking. Sleepwalking was tricky business, especially a sorcerer that was tossing around spells who didn’t realize what he was doing. At times Marcus frightened himself. What if he did something so terrible that he wouldn’t be able to reverse?

  “Knights, draw your swords and protect me.” The sound of many swords being drawn made Marcus’s girlfriend Raina back up, she certainly didn’t want to be in the middle of a battle should it come to that. A creation from such a powerful sorcerer might have the strength of twenty men.

  Raina grimaced. “Marcus be careful.”

  The sorcerer approached the knight with his wand in hand, and then decided to hold it behind his back lest the grey attempt to destroy it. “Are you or are you not an evil knight?” As soon as the words left his mouth he felt silly, knowing that even if the
knight was evil it wasn’t likely to admit it. He wasn’t about to say yeah I’m evil so what about it. And besides there were many different interpretations of evil, some were of course obvious but others not so much and many levels of good and bad with lots of grey areas in-between. The deadliest evil might be a person or knight that feigned virtuousness. Might this grey knight pretend to be valorous and then suddenly lop off Marcus’s head without warning? He would be certain that Brother and the others kept their eyes on him at all times.

  “I am not,” said the grey knight. The voice sounded hollow from inside its armour, and seemed louder than all the other knights he had summoned who mostly spoke in whispers. Was there a familiar timber to it?”

  “Raina, hold my wand so he can’t get at it.”

  Raina was a combination of beautiful and cute and she turned many heads wherever she went, the most beautiful girl that the boy had ever seen, having full lips and long blonde hair. She didn’t want to touch Marcus’s wand but she did as he asked, it had been difficult to get and she didn’t want it destroyed. She took it and moved closer to the castle and away from the crowd, now noticing Ryxa up high on the castle wall; she waved up at the dragon and Ryxa nodded down. The black dragon would come to his defense if the knight was evil she was sure of that, but with Marcus’s proximity to the grey it might end up being too late.

  “Raise your visor,” Marcus said in as commanding a voice, as forceful a voice as he could muster being more frightened than he’d like to admit. He knew the suit of armour should be empty but what if it wasn’t? All the others were empty, containing the souls of long past knights pulled from the other side so of course it would also be empty but why did he have the feeling that it wasn’t? The unknown was usually more frightening than reality as one’s imagination tended to run wild, there were always monsters in the dark even when there wasn’t.