The Cor Chronicles: Volume 02 - Fire and Steel Read Online Free PDF Page A

consuming the rain of crossbow bolts as quickly they were fired and then was extinguished. The Loszian crossbowmen were momentarily stunned into inaction, and it took several shouted orders and whip lashings from officers for them to shake off their shock and begin reloading. Even from her hilltop, it was difficult to see due to the massive number of people surrounding the Dahken, but Erella thought she saw an unarmored woman in the middle of the Dahken’s defensive ring.
    The Loszians, their focus returned to the task at hand reloaded their crossbows and prepared to fire. Orders were shouted, but from her position some distance off, Queen Erella could not make out exactly what was said. Another order was shouted, immediately followed by the twang of crossbows, but Erella could see that only perhaps a third of the quarrels had been loosed. Again, a wall of fire sprouted from the ground to protect the Dahken, incinerating the bolts in flight. The flame’s roar obscured the sound of more crossbows being fired, but Erella could see an almost constant barrage assaulting the wall of flames. The Loszians were firing their crossbows in groups, which allowed time to reload, but kept a constant pressure on the Dahken’s magical protection. She idly wondered where the Dahken had found such power, but she also knew it wouldn’t matter much longer. In only a few minutes, the wall of flames lost volume and became thin and translucent. Erella knew that without help, the Dahken would soon be at the mercy of the Loszians.
    It was with that thought that Queen Erella of Aquis awoke in her plush bed. She thought back to the last time she had such a dream; then it had been more like a nightmare. She had bolted upright in bed, covered in sweat, and she could feel the presence of her god in the room. This time, she was calm and serene, and while she could not feel Garod, Erella knew he had brought her this vision. And oddly, she was fairly certain as to what it meant.
    The aged queen arose from her bed and clothed herself in a thick, warm robe to conceal the simple shift in which she had gone to sleep. Wrapping the robe about her body, she then stepped into a pair of soft slippers that she kept at her bedside. She crossed the room to her door with a smooth grace that for her apparent age would have amazed an onlooker. Of course, she was actually much older than she appeared, and she appeared ancient.
    Normally, she would have asked one of her chamber guards to find Palius, who would most likely be asleep in his own chamber, and bring him to her. But this time, she felt it better to go to him. She exited her chambers, motioning for the guards to stay at her door so that she may cross the palace alone in her thoughts. She crossed paths with several guards on her way, and they would all straighten quite suddenly upon seeing her approach. Even those who already stood at a perfectly erect posture found a way to stand more so.
    Even though he was Queen Erella’s most trusted advisor, Palius’ chambers, like most in the castle, stood unguarded. The old man actually requested it to be so; he said on many occasions that he would not be so presumptuous as to believe he was as important as his queen. She soundlessly opened the door and slipped in, allowing only a small lance of flickering orange torchlight to penetrate the dark interior. Palius’ first chamber was his study and office, and the queen quietly glided through a portal to her right that led to his bedchamber. The autumn had been unseasonably cold so far, and a fire burned to one side, warming the room and bathing it in a bouncing light.
    Palius lay asleep in his bed as she expected. Erella could hear his breathing across the room, and it was labored and raspy. The man had grown old quickly in the last few years, developing a bend in his back, and his beard and hair were thinning. But, there were other signs as well. Palius’ hands shook slightly, but almost constantly, and he had begun to