The Paladins of Naretia

  *

  Luscious stopped abruptly, nearly sending Aria toppling head first over him. Ignoring her fumbling arms and legs as she tried to right herself, he sniffed tentatively at the ground and then turned his red eyes on her.

  "What is it?" she asked, before remembering that she had forbidden him to open his mouth. Grabbing her amulet, she said, "Speak."

  "Blood," Luscious said, stretching his jaw muscles. "Black blood."

  "He's hurt?"

  "Not really, it's only a small bit. But now that I have his blood scent, I can track him anywhere."

  "Good," Aria said, feeling a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. "What are you waiting for then? Find that monster and I shall release you from your duties."

  Taking large bounds over the juts of ice, his sharp talons provided a powerful grip on the slick surface. Luscious followed a path that led toward the peak of the mountain. Aria's fingers grew numb with the cold air and she found it hard to hold on. 'How am I going to fight him like this?' she thought. 'My muscles ache from tiredness, and my fingers are too numb to hold my sword. What am I going to do if I do find him?'

  "You never asked me what my demands were," Luscious said.

  "Why would I be interested in your demands?" she asked coldly.

  "Believe it or not, Your Highness, we actually want the same thing," he answered, taking a few more bounds over ice boulders. "It is true that we worgen are the creatures of Dantet, and as one of his subordinates we hear his every command. But some of us do not blindly follow him. We have our own minds and desires - unlike the brainless ogres that you have commandeered as an army. Granted, there is nothing I would rather see then a little more chaos and destruction in this world, but the plans our master has told us about are not in our best interests."

  "What plans?"

  Luscious laughed, taking a sudden spurt of speed up a steep incline.

  "I am not so stupid as to tell you that much and suffer his wrath. But what I will say is that his plans pivot on a prophecy told about his son, Aramus, the winged man you seek." Aria had not heard of any prophecy and wondered if the all-knowing wizards were also aware of it. "If that prophecy should come to fruition, then I do not believe any creature on the surface of Naretia would survive it. I have come to like living on the surface, as have the rest of my pack, and the only way to stop the prophecy is to kill Aramus.

  "So, you see, we have the same goals, you and I, we both want him dead. But he cannot be killed by my hand as it belongs to Dantet. If the Dark God heard of how we conspire against him, we would suffer greatly for our treason. We are taking a great risk helping you, and so my demand was only to make sure, without a shadow of a doubt, that you do kill him and leave no ogre behind to report back to our master."

  "Oh, I didn't know," Aria said quietly.

  Edwel had always told her that she was too impetuous, and remorse for her overreaction at the camp began to creep around the certainty of her actions. Tarra and Lobok need not have died, and now, more than ever, she knew that killing them had been wrong. Aria bit her bottom lip, forcing the heavy feeling of guilt to be replaced with pain.

  "No, you didn't know, and that should be something you learn from. You need not rule your kingdom with suspicion in everyone, Your Highness. Some will have purity in their hearts, others treachery, but for the most part people will come to you as a means to an end. All you have to determine is if that end is beneficial to you too. But you will never find that out if you dominate them without dialogue, and murder them before they have said their piece."

  Although it was basically the same thing Edwel had been trying to teach her for two years now, somehow it sounded different coming from an enemy. It sounded more truthful, real, and sage. After all, what did Edwel know about real life? He was nothing but a stone man, created by self-righteous wizards, who were only pretending to be alive. But Aria didn't have time to think on it long, because as Luscious bounded further upwards she saw something she had been waiting to see since that day.

  The silhouette of a young man, against a large shimmering dome on the highest plateau of the mountain, became clear. Wrapped around him like a cloak were his two enormous black wings. Her heart leapt into her mouth at the sight of him. So close now, she could almost taste his black blood, and it was pre-emptively satisfying.