Ulu stood in the foothills of the aridest mountains Lydia had ever seen. If they could even be called mountains—small and unimposing as they looked.
The rest of the southern terrain was flat and barren. The sun’s constant barrage had no doubt beaten every inch of foliage into submission, allowing only the most resolute to remain.
It reminded her of the ghost towns she had read about in old storybooks. But those fairytales didn’t do this desolate land justice.
“This is it,” Redmond announced. “The village of Ulu.”
The Slifer smiled slightly. Even though he’d never visited this part of Vallas before, he was still happy to return to the frontier of his home kingdom.
The others—Marsie, Dorian, Lydia, and Lucius—simply stared in confusion.
“Where is everyone?” Marsie asked in awe. “I’ve never seen a place so empty.”
They walked into the small town but saw no one. It looked as if it had been abandoned years ago. The yellow buildings were colored like the sands on which they stood. A large clock tower in the center of the tiny village seemed to tell the correct time.
But who was around to notice?
“This ghost town is giving me the creeps,” Lucius hiccupped.
“Not to be that guy,” Dorian said, “but you always seem to have a bad feeling.”
Lucius looked at the young wizard and frowned. “You sound like my granddaughter.”
“And what’s so wrong with that?” Lydia asked.
Lucius dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. He took out his flask and tipped it back.
Not even a drop was left to fall on his tongue.
“Well, it looks like I’ve got some business to attend to.”
The others watched him take off down the empty streets. His neck strained as he tried to find the nearest watering hole.
“Should we spread out?” Redmond asked. “Maybe one of us can find a villager who has some information about the Royals.”
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” replied Lydia. “I feel a presence. I’m not sure if it’s the Royals, but there’s definitely something here.”
Lydia looked around at the desolate buildings, trying to pinpoint the presence. It was like a steady hum that rumbled deep in her bones. She had only ever really felt something similar when she was next to Gabriel.
It had to be a sign.
“I can feel it too,” Marsie said.
“We all can,” Dorian observed. “It’s exactly what Gerard described.”
“We need to stick together. If this is a trap, everyone needs to be prepared,” Marsie warned.
“Tell that to him,” Dorian said, pointing down the road.
Lucius was jumping up and down, waving his hands. Lydia’s cheeks flushed. Another day, another chance to be embarrassed by the old wizard…
“Hey!” he screamed breathlessly. “Over here. I found people that’ll talk!”
Lucius turned and disappeared inside a darkened doorway. Above the entrance hung a sign that read:
The group headed for the small, hole-in-the-wall cantina, keeping their eyes trained on the buildings they passed. A few curtains wavered as they approached.
There were still people left in the town.
But why didn’t they want to come out and meet their new visitors?
“Dino, you son of a…” Lucius burped, interrupting his own sentence. “This is the strongest elderberry rum I’ve ever had! What’s the secret?”
Dino looked at the drunken wizard with equal parts contempt and admiration. It’d been a long time since he’d had a patron worthy of taking his most potent drink down in one single gulp, and none of them still had the breath to discuss it afterward.
“If I told you that,” Dino grumbled, “it wouldn’t be a secret.”
“A man after my own heart.” Lucius raised a second glass and gulped it down. The warmth burned his throat like fire and sucked the breath from his lungs.
So far, this mission was turning out better than he could have imagined.
“Please tell me that was just juice,” Marsie said drily.
She and the others had entered and were looking around the poorly lit bar with suspicion.
“Don’t be daft,” quipped Lucius. “But if you want me to lie to you, just say so.”
Marsie and the others found a spot at the bar. Lucius’s nose curled in annoyance. The damned place was nearly empty, save a few barflies in the corner. Couldn't they have sat anywhere else?
“The chancellor will have my ass if you get drunk and something bad happens,” Marsie said, glaring at Lucius.
Lucius hiccupped and then took one extra shot for good measure. “That’s assuming anything happens at all.”
“What’s that about the chancellor?” Dino asked in a gruff voice.
The group looked at one another, unsure how to answer his question.
Lucius noted that these youngsters probably weren’t used to frequenting too many bars—especially dingy, dirty ones filled with unsavory characters. But this was just the kind of dive that Lucius lived for.
“We’re here on official business,” Lucius responded.
“There’ve been rumors that a mysterious power has been traced to this village,” Redmond added. “I’m originally from Vallas. We’ve been tasked with visiting the area to learn about anything out of the ordinary.”
Redmond looked at Marsie to see if he should continue. She nodded before turning her attention to the men in the corner. Lucius had noted them as well. Before the rest entered, they showed little interest in the wizard. Now they were beginning to stir.
“Have you seen anything extraordinary lately in Ulu?” Redmond asked the bartender.
Dino puffed his chest and shook his head. “Nothing of the kind.”
“Good enough for me,” Lucius retorted. He reached out for his full glass of rum, but Dino slid it away.
“That’s enough. I think it’s best your kind leaves.”
“Our kind?” Lucius gasped. How could he be lumped in with these others? It was an outrage! “You listen here…”
Marsie grabbed Lucius’s arm with a firm grip. “Not now,” she warned.
“We don’t want any trouble,” Lydia responded. “We only want to help.”
The barflies in the corner stood up. Their chairs scraped against the weathered wooden floor, drawing everyone’s attention. It didn’t look good…
“There won’t be any trouble if you leave now,” Dino growled. “That’s your last warning.”
Dorian grinned at the bartender. “Your hospitality will always be remembered.”
The group stood up in unison. It was never easy to walk away from a threat, but getting in a bar fight wasn’t the mission they’d been sent to accomplish. As they walked toward the entrance, Lucius shot one last wobbly look at the bartender.
“Damn it all to hell,” Lucius blurted. “Looks like I won’t get another taste of that piss you call a drink. Better that way! Save my coin for a reputable establishment worth my time.”
Dino’s eyes lit up with fire at the insult. He reached across the bar to grab Lucius’s cloak, but the wizard anticipated his movement. He grabbed Dino’s hand and looked into the stunned bartender’s eyes. Even in his drunken state, he was still as quick as ever.
“That was a bad choice,” Lucius slurred. He conjured a quick spell, breaking all the bones in Dino’s hand.
The bartender screeched in pain and tumbled to the ground. In an instant, the barflies in the corner bounded toward the old wizard, but the others covered him.
Marsie stepped forward and kicked a stool hard, sending it flying across the room. It smashed into one of the brute’s legs with unbelievable force. He flipped end over end, eventually landing onto a table with a thud, tipping it to the floor.
A second galoot plucked a liquor bottle from the bar and hurled it across the room. Lydia blasted it back toward the man with her flames, effectively turning it into a flaming projectile. It flew across the room and smashed into the wall, lighting it on fire.
The man squealed as he tried to escape the heat. He collapsed over the bar, ending up on top of the still-reeling Dino.
Redmond’s arms turned into vines and shot out toward a toad-like man holding a knife. The vines wrapped around his body, and the man’s eyes bulged in fright as he became bound where he stood, unable to move.
One last man remained. A scar down his cheek showed he was used to these rough-and-tumble encounters. He broke a glass bottle and held it out like a shiv.
“Who wants some,” slurred the brute. “I’ll take you all on.”
Dorian smiled and stepped forward. A dark purple glow filled the room as he lifted his hands from his side. Out of the ground rose the figure of a massive celestial wolf.
The scarred man dropped the glass bottle, trying to cover up his trousers with his hands.
He’d pissed himself right on the spot. Without another word, the man sprinted toward an open window and jumped through it.
Lucius clapped his hands gleefully.
“Now, that’s what I call a show!” he squealed in drunken delight.
“Idiot!” Marsie screamed. “Not only did we fight a bunch of nobodies—we managed to get zero information in the process!”
She slammed her fist on a tabletop. The wood splintered and cracked from one side to the other. Lucius immediately shut his mouth.
“Chancellor Alastair will have our asses for this. Mine most of all!” Marsie added, enraged.
“Damnit, Lucius!” Lydia shouted in anger, but her grievance was cut short.
Screams from outside the cantina drew everyone’s attention away from the mess they’d made. One by one, they rushed outside into the burning midday sun. What they witnessed made them all stop in their tracks.
The clock tower in the middle of the square wavered under some unseen pressure. It lurched too far to one side and began to topple over. With a massive bang, it crashed to the ground like a fallen giant, demolishing everything in the immediate vicinity.
Locals hiding in the buildings nearby scattered in all directions.
“By the Gods!” Lydia yelled. “What’s going on?”
As if in response, from the sky floated a majestic figure awash in a dull green glow. The figure landed on the ground only a few strides from the group…
“Queen Adria!” Redmond gasped. “We found you…”
