and the light that floated beside him came closer. The wizard peered down into the sarcophagus expecting to see the desiccated corpse of the Phoenix Queen. Instead he saw a comely middle-aged woman dressed in red and gold armor, she looked as if she was peacefully sleeping.
A sword in a red scabbard lay clutched in her hands, the pommel of the thin-bladed long sword was a golden phoenix. He slowly unwrapped her lifeless fingers from sword’s hilt and slid the weapon through his belt. The famous sword of the Phoenix Queen would make a fine addition to his collection.
When he touched it, he could sense its magic but not enough to be the thing he was looking for. There was something else in the casket that was much more powerful. He could feel it.
He looked again his sharp eyes caught something; he motioned the light back and dimmed it just a little. The wizard saw a faint dark glow coming from under the dead Queen’s arm, turning her body slightly, he removed a small stoppered vial of dark liquid.
His magical senses reeled from the power inside the tiny bottle. Its power was not a power created by a sorcerer. It was something else something beyond magic, then a grin spread across his face, tucking the vial inside his robe, he turn to leave, when a slight noise cause him to look back.
The Queen had sat up in her sarcophagus, her auburn hair spilling over her shoulders, slowly her head turned towards him until she gazed into his eyes.
Startled but unafraid, he turned to face her; this was not his first encounter with the undead. “What you intend with that will not bring you what you want, evil one.” Her voice sounded soft, but she spoke with great authority.
“How do you know what I want?”
The Queen gave him an ironic smile. “The dead know many things; if you use what you have stolen the consequences will be dire. You will alter the fate of this world and your destiny will be forever changed. What you intend to do cannot be undone, sorcerer, you have been warned.”
The Queen lay back down in her sarcophagus, he walked over and looked in, wanting to know more, he found the Queen was gone and only a dried up corpse now rested in her armor. “Thank you for the warning, Your Majesty,” the wizard said as he slid the lid back to cover the renowned monarch, “I wish I could heed it.”
Chapter 20
No one could remember it being so cold. Even the old men and women of the Kingdom could not remember such a bitter wind. Winter had come early to Bandara, already over two foot of snow covered the ground outside the walls of Turill.
K’xarr couldn’t sleep, he stood on top of the wall looking down on Havalon’s camp, it was still hours before the attack but he was just too tense to rest, there was a stiff breeze on top of the wall and he had seen the sentries shivering when he passed them earlier.
He knew the cold had to be hard on the soldiers of Abberdon, as well as the Bandarans. The Abberdonians had built rough barracks out of the wood that was left over after building their siege towers and catapults. It made the camp look like a small town. There were not enough of the crude buildings to house all of the Abberdonian soldiers. Many of the foreign troops only had the protection of tents to keep out the cold and the biting wind. They had tromped down the snow throughout the camp making the ground hard and slick. The enemy was having a miserable time of it. So much the better, K’xarr thought.
Their King must be a hard man, there was no sign he would ride back to Abberdon and return in the spring. Too much could change by spring. Havalon would not give up his position. If he left and returned in the spring, the old King knew he might have to fight his way back to Turill. No, he would stay and suffer through the winter. He would not give up the ground he had already won.
The weather would work to the Bandaran’s advantage. Havalon’s troops were cold, hungry, and discontent and they would not be expecting an attack in this kind of weather, the Bandaran troops didn’t like it, but at least they had the shelter of the city to keep them warm until they had to