Three days later, Alistair, Lucyan, Tariana, and Sorana set out for Aylesbury manor. They’d spent the past two days preparing, and each carried three soldiers, the absolute maximum they could bear. The weight did slow them down some, but it was still far preferred to riding. The excitement brewing in Alistair’s breast made the burden seem lighter than air.
Remember, Tariana said in mindspeak as the border came into view, we do not torch the estate until we have secured the king.
We know, sister, Lucyan said in a longsuffering voice. They’d gone over the plan a thousand times. They had to take King Wulorian alive—if they killed him, he would merely be replaced, and they would have nothing to negotiate with.
Yes, General, the others said.
Tariana ignored Lucyan—he was always flippant, and the two of them had a bit of a love-hate relationship. Alistair had no doubt that if not for the riders they carried and the gravity of this mission, Tariana and Lucyan would be blowing smoke and fire as they chased each other across the skies. Perhaps one day they would take to the skies for the mere thrill of it. But today was for war, not play. If everything went as planned, this would mark the end of the war. But if they failed…
Don’t think about it, Alistair chided himself. Failure was not an option.
Still, he thought as he counted the raiders again. Twelve, plus the four dragons, made sixteen. Shadley’s spies had told him there were a mere thirty guards protecting the estate—not nearly enough to pose a threat. But he knew well enough from the first raid that the guards were the least of their worries. The amulets would protect them from certain things, but they still needed to be wary of traps.
An hour later, the manor finally came into view—a lovely building with red roofs and white stone on a hilltop in the center of a large agricultural estate. Alistair picked out an additional fifteen workers tending to the fields, and he imagined there were more in the buildings.
Leave the field and the workers be, unless they attack us first, he ordered the team.
They may be field workers, but they are still the enemy, Solara protested. We should burn them, and their crops, too.
Our primary objective is to capture the king, not terrorize innocents, Tariana said sternly. Focus on the soldiers, not the peasants.
Very well, Solara said, a little gruffly. She folded her wings in at her sides, then dove straight for the manor. Alistair and the others hung back—Solara had insisted she be allowed to go first to ensure the amulets were working properly against their defenses. Lucyan saw a ripple in the air that he assumed was from some ward being triggered, but to his relief, Solara remained airborne and in dragon form. Opening her mouth, she let loose a blast of fire on the gate, singeing the guards who stood at the ready.
More guards ran from the manor, a few carrying spears. Alistair, Lucyan, and Tariana dove down to join the fight, spewing fire everywhere and doing their best to avoid the spears. One of them hit Lucyan on the shoulder, and he let out a roar of such intense pain and rage that a ripple of nerves washed over Alistair. He feared his brother would crash-land and injure or kill his passengers, but he managed to reach the ground safely, then shifted back into human form. The soldiers shielded him while he hurriedly pulled on his clothes, then drew his sword and rushed to join the fight.
Alistair and Tariana continued to circle in the air, burning to a crisp any guards they saw while Lucyan and Solara made for the manor’s entrance. The soldiers they had brought were more necessary than they had anticipated—some of the soldiers were carrying fire-resistant amulets and had to be taken down using physical force. By the time Lucyan and Solara made it inside, they still had ten guards left to take down.
Enough of this, Tariana snarled. She swooped close to the ground, grabbed a soldier, and tore his body in two. The other soldiers watched in horror as his entrails flew, and after a split second, they turned tail and ran.
I’ll get these last few, Tariana said. “You go after the others.
Alistair dove to the ground, changing as he went. He hit the ground in a roll, diving out of the way of a particularly vicious sword slash, then sprang up and spewed fire all over the attacker. His pack weighed heavily around his neck as he ran inside the house, and he ducked into one of the rooms to pull on his clothes before he continued inside the manor.
After all, he couldn’t meet the king of warlocks wearing only the skin he was born in.
It wasn’t hard for Alistair to figure out where Lucyan and Sorana went—he merely followed the trail of bodies. A few guards had been overlooked, but these he took down easily, either with sword or fire as he ran. By the time he caught up with his siblings, his blade was slick with blood.
“Don’t come any closer!” a terrified male voice cried. “I’ll kill you all if you set foot in this room!”
Lucyan and Alistair exchanged glances. “He sounds like he means business,” Lucyan said.
“We could simply torch the place from within,” Solara pointed out. “I’m sure Tariana could come around through the window. They wouldn’t know what hit them.”
Alistair shook his head. “We cannot risk it,” he said. “King Wulorian is a powerful warlock, but even he might not survive the blast. Our primary objective is to take him alive. He is useless to us dead.”
Sorana bit her lip. “I can smell magic all over this door,” she said. “Our amulets might withstand the wards…but they might not. It is impossible to know until we try the door.”
“Let me go around from the outside and get an idea of what we’re facing,” Alistair said.
Lucyan smiled. “I have a better idea,” he said, pulling out a device from his pocket. It was a shiny red sphere, and as Alistair leaned close to sniff it, he caught the stench of sulfur. “This is a magical explosive device used by warlock spies to break through doors or walls when necessary.”
Sorana scowled. “Why have you not distributed these to the Dragon Force? We could make use of items like this!”
“Because I only have a box or two, not enough for an entire army,” Lucyan said. “Shadley has a few, and I have what I was able to take with me from Inkwall.” He pressed a button on top, then set the ball in front of the door, just outside the perimeter of the ward. “Come quickly now.” He grabbed Sorana’s hand. “We must get clear before it blows!”