The Final Redemption by Michael Manning (novels in english .TXT) 📗

Making matters worse, two moreof the enemy appeared in the doorway behind them. It was now six tofour.

“Careful boys, the bitch has teeth!”shouted one of the invaders, pointing at the man Ariadne hadstabbed.

Desperate, Ariadne leapt sidewaystoward one of the stoves, before the circle could close in.Snatching a boiling pot from it, she ignored the sudden pain in herhands as she flung the contents at one of their foes. The boilingbroth hit him solidly in the face. Blind and screaming he fellback.

Her attack seemed to galvanize thecastle staff into action. Coming out of their paralysis, the cooksand maids began snatching up pots and pans, skewers and knives. Thekitchen had no shortage of potentially deadly implements. Severalgrabbed soup pots and flung them at the warriors in Hightower’scolors.

Their enemies were surprised andsurrounded before they could adjust for the sudden change. Thebrawl that followed was rapid and ugly as they were struck bythrown pots and long skewers from one side, and Alan and Evan’sswords when they turned their backs on them. Amazingly, neitherAriadne nor her guardians were injured, although one of thescullery boys received a bad burn to one of his arms when somethrown soup struck him by accident.

The servants were energized by theirviolent success, and Ariadne seized the moment. “Pick up theirswords. Take their armor if you can wear it. Skewers and knives,use whatever you can find to arm yourselves! They won’t take uswithout a fight,” she said grimly.

They quickly did as she said, but oneman voiced their uncertainty, “I’ll gladly fight for you, Princess,but do you think we can win?” Everyone paused, waiting to hear herreply.

Ariadne Lancaster straightened up,instinctively making the most of her five foot three inch stature.She was a small woman, barely more than a girl, and her dress wasripped and bloodied. “It doesn’t matter if I can win or not. Thequestion is whether they can convince me that I should give up,”she said in a quiet voice, barely loud enough to beheard.

It was a trick she had learned fromwatching her father address his men, whether they were powerfullords or simple servants. The room grew quiet as everyone tried tohear her, and she had their full attention now.

More loudly she repeatedherself, “I’ll say it again. It doesn’t matter if we can win. Theonly thing that is important is whether they can convince us togive up. It doesn’t matter if they have more swords, or men! Canthey invade our home and trample us under? Is it our place to beobedient to the will of an aggressor simply because we don’tthink we canwin?”

The room was deathly still now, andthey had all unconsciously moved back a few feet, creating a clearspace around her. Turning she looked each of them in the eye, oneby one, letting them see her conviction.

“I say itis not!” she shouted,answering it for them. “I don’t give a damn, whether they have more men orswords. I will fight. I will make them fight for every inch, and ifI am beaten—I will spit in their eyes!”

A shout went up from the castle staffas they brandished rolling pins and iron pans above theirheads.

“It doesn’t matter if wecan win! They cannot make us surrender!” she shouted, finishing herspeech.

Chapter 19

The dragon was veering off to theright again, ever so slightly, sending us morenorthward.

You’re changing courseagain, I told him mentally to avoid thecomplication of all the wind noise. Youneed to head due west from here.

I am heading duewest, he argued.

No you aren’t. The magicis interfering with your mind again.

I would sense something ifthere were magic nearby, and dragon minds are highly resistant tothe types of magic that affect human minds, he informed me.

I sighed inwardly.There are no ‘dragon minds’, you are the onlyone. Regardless, this magic isn’t of human creation. We need toshield your mind with an enchantment, simple spells won’twork.

How do you intend tocreate an enchantment up here? I cannot simply stop. I am far toolarge to hover, he responded with asarcastic note to his thoughts.

Then maybe you need to goon a diet! I shot back angrily. Once againI found my anger seemed to appear for very little reason, despitethe fact that my overall level of emotion had been slowly droppingfor the past two days.

Moira’s amusement cameacross lightly. I doubt a skinny dragoncould carry both of us.

Fly close to thewater, I told him, ignoring herjoke. I will make a place where we canland and take care of the necessary enchantment.

How?

Just fly low andslow, I instructed him.

A few minutes later wewere skimming just a few feet above the surface, although our speedwas still considerable. I removed my gauntlets and gave him onefinal instruction, flare your wings as ifyou were landing.

The wing beats stopped ashe complied, and we dropped toward the surface of the water.Uttering a short phrase in Lycian, I used a bit of magic to makethe waves stop. The ocean surface was as hard as stone now for adistance of some twenty yards in every direction. It was similar towhat I had unknowingly done years ago when I first discovered mymagic. Correction, when he firstdiscovered magic, I thought. Keeping upwith the distinction was tiring.

Once we were down, I brought out twosets of stones, the ones for my flying device as well as the onesthat would create an enchanted shield. “You’ll need to take asmaller form to fit inside this,” I told Gareth.

“A human form?” he asked,skeptically.

“You can use that lizard-man crossoverof yours if that makes you more comfortable,” I explained. “Themain thing is that you can’t be much larger than we are.” Igestured to Moira and myself.

Moira frowned,“Lizard-man?”

“You’ll see,” I answered.

In the span of less than half aminute, Gareth had shrunk and reformed into the same half-human,half reptile shape he had used when I had first met him. The easeand speed with which he shifted from one form to the other wasnothing short of amazing.

“You certainly don’t waste time,” Isaid, somewhat admiringly.

He replied with an unsettling smilefull of sharp teeth, “The family gift.”

I hadn’t given it much thought. “Ithought it was an archmage talent.”

Moira stepped in, “It is for us, butthe Gaelyn