Inktober Day 30: Rush

 Chapter 25

Magda’s circlet was beautiful, a truly masterful work by a great craftsman, and Magan’s horned and bulbous head made a mockery of the delicate artifact. His head was not the shape of a human’s, and so it sat wedged between the scaly horns atop his head. It did not shine as it had when Kandra wore it, and Magda wondered why.

“Now,” he said, turning to Magda’s parents and bowing dramatically. “Your majesties, it looks like your services here were not required after all. How fortuitous that I did not have to use you to take my prize from your daughter.” 

While Magan was distracted Magda noticed the dagger still lying by Kandra’s body. She inched towards it, not daring to make a sound lest Magan turn his attention to her.

“Now I have everything I need, we can return to your kingdom and begin our work.”

Magda continued to inch towards the dagger at Kandra’s body, but Magan turned then and addressed Wendell.

“I do not foresee any use for you,” he said and looked to be about to raise his hand, so Magda decided now was the time to act. She snatched up the dagger from Kandra’s body and spoke.

“What do you want?” Magda cried out suddenly. Magan turned to face her after a moment’s pause.

“Ah, princess,” he said. “I forgot that you were still here.”

“What do you want my circlet for? What do you want my parents for?” Her hands shook as she held the dagger by her side.

“You know better than most, the power which lies within this pretty circlet.”

“But you said it only worked if you are loyal to the king.”

“Yes, for mere humans that is the case,” he said. “But you see my dear, this circlet has more than one power within it. Do you even know why this circlet was made?”

Magda’s gaze shifted to Wendell, who was rising slowly from his position on the ground, sword gripped tightly in his hand. She dared not look long or else Magan would turn back to him. She looked into the beast’s eyes.

“I admit, I do not.”

“Allow me to enlighten you.” He seemed to relish the opportunity to talk, so Magda was determined to keep him doing it.

“Several generations ago, your very forefathers sought to drive me and my followers out of these lands. They burned temples of mine, they killed my devotees. What they did not expect was that one of my most loyal disciples would find a way to call me into this land, where I helped her to protect her fellows against the onslaught of persecution your ancestors inflicted.

“So, a great craftsman of the time fashioned this very circlet to protect the king and his family from harm. In particular, harm from me. You see, imbued in the fabric of the so called ‘Power of the King’ is my power.”

He took a couple of steps toward Magda as he spoke. He was getting agitated, and Magda was not sure whether this was good. Her eyes darted to Wendell again to see him on his feet, slowly approaching Magan from behind.

“And what exactly does that mean?” Magda said, trying to sound brave. Magan laughed.

“What does it mean?” He roared these words, stepping closer to her. She did not have much room to back up and she was soon caught between him and the battlements. “It means, foolish child, that I can command this power whether I am loyal to some pathetic, earthly king or not!”

Wendell was very close to Magan now, and he raised his blade.

“It means...” Magan said, and he whipped around suddenly and grabbed Wendell by the throat, his sword clattering to the ground. He chuckled. “It means that your little swords cannot hope to harm me.”

Wendell’s face was turning red quickly as he clawed at Magan’s scaly hands. Magan merely laughed and brought his face very close to Wendell’s. Magda had to think of something fast, but what did all of this mean? The circlet was made with some of Magan’s power? What about the dagger? She knew it had been a powerful tool in the past, but was it the same? Would it help her? As these thoughts rolled around in her head, she felt a warmth from the dagger in her hand. She looked to her parents for a moment and caught her mother’s gaze. The dagger seemed to vibrate now, and she knew it was answering her, it was reassuring her.

Wendell was still kicking in Magan’s grip, but his movements were growing weaker; she had to act.

“Magan!” she called. “Do you know if they imbued anything else with your power?”

Magan must have been surprised because he looked like he loosed his grip slightly on Wendell as he faced her once again.

“Anything else?”

“Kandra,” she said and he sneered. “She said she had collected the power of two kings.”

“That woman was a liar and a fool,” Magan said.

“Are you sure?” Magda said.

Magan’s manner shifted, and she thought she could read annoyance in his reptilian features.

“Do you not think I would know if my power were not fully restored to me?”

“It has been a long time,” Magda said. She held the dagger out now, pointing it at Magan.

“And what do you hope to do with that toothpick?” The clouds parted and Magda smiled. The dagger felt one with her arm, and its thrum bolstered her resolve.

“This is no toothpick,” she said. “You may not be able to see from there, but it bears the markings of the very circlet currently being tainted by your filthy head.” He laughed at her, finally dropping Wendell to the ground, where he fell onto his knees.

“You’re very good, princess. Very fierce!” 

“She told me,” Magda jerked her head in the direction of Kandra’s body. “Two families separated? The powers of two kings? These two are brother artifacts are they not? This dagger and that circlet are two sides of the same coin, am I right?” Magan frowned at this.

“It can’t be..” 

“I think you’ll find it can,” Magda said. As she held the dagger, the words came to her. “And you said yourself, one who is loyal to the king can bear the full power!”

He rushed her then, whipping a clawed hand out to snatch her up, but it was no use. For, Magda was a true daughter of the king, a child of that ancient line who had wiped out this beast before. No matter what power had been restored to him, he could not stop what was coming.