Paladin's Rise - Lich Lord Wars Book 4

Chapter 2

"It is just about time, prepare your knights. We move as soon as Tonal says the sacrifices have begun."

"I still don't trust Tornal, something is strange, the other lich lords won't let any of my men anywhere near where Tornal has taken the prisoners. He is up to something."

"If he is, I promise this battle will be his last. Whatever happens, I appreciate your loyalty, it has been nice working with an Aguerius again."

The cold wind howled through the barren landscape, stinging Kade's cheeks with its icy bite. He stood shivering among the other captured children, their hands bound behind their backs, awaiting their grim fate. The ragged line of young prisoners trembled under the gaze of the lich lord Tornal and his equally sinister ally, Vorath.

"You are here to pay for the insolence you showed when you let our prisoners escape," Tornal hissed, his voice like a thousand venomous snakes slithering through the air. His skeletal fingers traced the edge of Kade's chin, the touch colder than the harshest winter storm. "Your lives will be the price you pay for your failures. You will be sacrificed in the place of the prisoners you lost. It is an honor, really, to be chosen for such a vital role."

Kade's eyes blazed with defiance despite the chill settling into his bones. "Oh, I'm honored all right," he spat. "How about you untie me and let me show you how grateful I am?"

Tornal's pale yellow eyes flickered with anger. "You insolent brat! I've looked forward to the day I could silence that mouth."

"Should I take this as an end to the alliance between the Kadus Knights and the Lich Lords?" Kade asked, a wicked smile spreading across his face.

"Silence!" Tornal snarled. Turning to Vorath, he commanded, "Sacrifice this one first, and make it slow." With that, Tornal vanished in a swirl of darkness, leaving the children to the mercy of Vorath.

"Your death will serve a greater purpose," Vorath sneered, circling Kade like a vulture over carrion.

"Really?" Kade shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're just a bunch of boneheads playing dress-up."

Vorath's bony jaw clenched in fury, his yellow eyes burning brighter than before. "You will rue your insolence when your soul is torn asunder!"

"Yawn," Kade replied, rolling his eyes. "You'd think after all this time, you undead creeps could come up with some new material."

Kade smirked as Vorath approached him pulling out a dagger to end him. Seeing Kade's grin he narrowed his eyes at the boy. "What do you have to smile about, child?" he hissed.

"Two reasons," Kade replied nonchalantly. "First, there's only one lich lord left for me to deal with. Second, these bindings? Not as secure as you thought." He raised his hands, revealing that they were no longer tied behind his back. In one hand, he gripped a boomerang-shaped dagger with a gleam in his eye.

Vorath's eyes widened, but before he could react, Kade hurled the dagger with all his might. Like a bolt of lightning, it sliced through the air, cutting deep into the lich lord's bony frame. Vorath crumbled to dust, his last gasp echoing across the battlefield. As he disintegrated, so too did the revenants under his command, their lifeless forms collapsing like marionettes with severed strings.

The dagger continued its deadly arc, slashing through two more revenants that must have belonged to other lich lirds before being snatched out of the air by a figure that seemed to materialize from nowhere. Ulec, an elvish boy who appeared no older than twelve despite his true age of 126, caught the weapon effortlessly. In a flash of light, the boomerang dagger transformed into a short sword in his grasp.