The Paladins of Naretia

  *

  Aria hadn't meant to sever the dwarven king's right arm, not that it mattered much as she had intended to kill them all once Aramus's head was cut from his body. Whatever ill-feelings the self-appointed king of the dwarfs might harbour against her for killing his champion, he was just another treasonous subject she would have to deal with at a later date. She was still his monarch, after all, and siding with the wizard was nothing short of a betrayal against the crown.

  Despite the fact that these half-men were now her enemies, she still felt Bernard's deep sorrow hang in the heavy mist around her as he sobbed quietly into his brother's chest. From behind, she heard Luscious hiss at her to "get on with the job", but she ignored the worgen. Reminded of her own bond with Pearan, a small side of her recognised Bernard's pain. She wasn't so heartless that she couldn't give this fiery haired dwarf a moment to grieve for his brother, before she killed him too.

  As Bernard laid his brother's head gently on the soft moss, Aria didn't see him pick up his axe again. She didn't see his stout figure move quicker than a striking snake, and only barely noticed the sharp edge of his axe swing for her head. She leaned backward and the dwarf's blade scraped her chestplate, sending a shower of sparks into the air, and missing her neck by a hairs breath.

  Bernard swung again, and again, and each time she blocked his attacks with her sword. His strikes were powerful and the fury in his wet, steel-blue eyes told her that as long as his heart still beat, he would not stop swinging. Flashing gritted teeth from beneath his red beard, Bernard showed no sign of tiredness, and dodging his swings was becoming increasingly difficult.

  "You there, subdue this dwarf," she ordered the nearest ogre.

  The ogre looked on stupidly and snarled a toothy sneer at her. The dwarf swung again and Aria had to take a step backward to avoid being sliced in half. As she stumbled a few paces away from the grief-stricken dwarf, one of the ogres pushed her roughly back into the fight. She reached for her necklace.

  "Are you deaf? I said to?"

  Aria felt the blood drain from her face as she searched her neck. The golden pendent she had used to control the Dark Ones was no longer there. Her heart took off in a gallop and her stomach formed a painful abyss that swallowed everything but her fear. It seemed that the dwarf's axe did not miss, and buried somewhere in the soggy ground around her was the only control she had over her army. The ogre's stupid minds caught up with the events and, one by one, they joined in the battle as bloodlust took hold.

  A cleaver barely missed her ear as she spun around searching for any glint of gold amongst the mud. The dwarf fended off two ogres before lunging at Aria again. His mighty axe ricocheted off her sword in a blurred frenzy of dwarven iron. All the while the worgen looked on with apathy. Aria's sword swung in wide arcs as she fended off the attacks.

  "Luscious, what are you waiting for? Help me," she shouted.

  Luscious sat on his hind-quarters and watched the scene unfold. He cocked his head to the side and curled his lip, revealing his missing canine. His red eyes followed her lazily. For a moment she thought that he was enjoying watching her stumble to the floor as another wave of ogres came after her.

  "My Queen," she heard Edwel's voice call out.

  "Stay where you are, Edwel," she commanded. "If I should fall and cannot take his head myself, then you must do it."

  "But Aria?"

  "You will obey me," she shouted whilst ducking another cleaver.

  From the corner of her eye, Aria spotted the old wizard standing up again.

  'Oh, no,' she thought. 'The Etherium must be wearing off.'

  "Luscious, we both want the same thing." Aria stumbled over a severed limb of an ogre and fell onto her back. She only just managed to get to her knees before the next wave of deadly blades came after her. "There is no time for this. The wizard is regaining his strength."

  Luscious shot a look at the old man, who was now rummaging through his tattered hat, and howled. In a flurry of deadly claws and snapping teeth, the worgen began to fight their way through the ogres, ignoring the furious dwarf. But Luscious had waited too long and Aria knew it.