Turning his back on the Minions, Wulfgar went to Merriwhether and asked, "Would you like to do the honors? After all, it was your idea."
As Merriwhether smiled, his white teeth showed brightly against his dark skull.
"Of course, my lord," he answered. He raised the blanched bones of one arm and pointed at Olaf.
"Goodbye, you winged freak," he said softly. "May your soul rot in whatever place you call the Afterlife."
He shot an azure bolt at Olaf's pitch-laden boots. The Minion's feet burst into flames. The fire fed quickly on the pitch and roared up his body and wings.
Merriwhether did the same to the others. In mere moments, all of the warriors were ablaze.
Wulfgar looked at Olaf, already smelling the sweet, sickly odor of burning flesh as the smoke darkened and took to the sky.
Olaf didn't scream or beg for his life. Nor did any of the others hanging there with him. They died as they had lived, warriors to the end. Eventually their charred carcasses proved too heavy for the burning ropes that suspended them, and what remained of their lifeless bodies crashed to the ground.
Wulfgar suddenly felt the touch of the Heretics on his mind. He turned toward the shore and went to his knees.
"You have done well," sang the heavenly chorus of voices. "Now, release one of the creatures that waits in the hold of your ship and turn it against the remains of the Minion garrison. You have but to think of the command and it shall obey you-just as the others shall also obey your dark captains in your absence. It will be a paltry use of their formidable talents, but from this you shall learn their amazing gifts. Then send six of your Black Ships to lay siege to the palace. While they do that, you must go west, toward the azure pass through the mountains. From there you will turn south, to Tammerland. But you must hurry. As we speak, the Jin'Sai and his First Wizard attempt to unravel the secret of his azure blood."
Wulfgar raised his eyes skyward. "It shall be as you command," he replied. He rose and walked back over to Merriwhether.
"Your orders, my lord?" his captain asked.
"Bring the ships," he said. "It is time to unleash one of the beasts. We are to finally learn the secret of their power."
Merriwhether walked to the shore and sent an azure bolt soaring through the air.
Almost at once, the ships' anchors were pulled up, and the ships rose above the waves, turned, and approached the shoreline sterns first.
The first ship finally crossed over dry land. As her massive hull settled, crushing all of the rocks and vegetation beneath her, she groaned and came to rest a bit toward her starboard side.
The massive ship's stern door lowered to reveal an impenetrable darkness.
From deep within the ship, one of the Earthshakers emerged. No demonslaver rode atop its back. First its great skull appeared, its long, dark horn protruding from the center of its forehead. Then the huge body followed. Finally came the massive, bony tail-a gigantic paddle that swayed back and forth as the beast stopped and stood upon the lowered stern door. For a moment the door threatened to buckle beneath the thing's great weight, but it held.
The creature looked around, saw Wulfgar, and let go a terrifying scream. Wulfgar held out his hands.
"Come to me," he ordered.
The Earthshaker stepped onto the shore and lumbered toward its master. As it walked, the ground trembled beneath its feet. It stopped about five meters away. Wulfgar pointed to the Minion outpost.
"Destroy it," he told the creature. With another earsplitting scream, the Earthshaker walked over to the garrison, lifted its tail, and gave it a mighty snap. The air erupted with a massive, sonic boom.
The wall exploded. Pieces of wood flew everywhere, and the dust raised by the blast obscured everyone's vision for several moments. When the scene finally cleared, even Wulfgar was stunned by what he saw.
The entire wall was gone. Pieces of wood no larger than toothpicks rained down, covering everything. The monster screamed once more and lumbered into the compound.
With another swipe of the thing's tail, the first of the Minion buildings exploded into nothingness. Then another, and another. Soon nothing of consequence stood in the inner yard.
The creature walked to one of the remaining walls and, with another concussive blast, tore it apart. The other two walls and the remaining lookout posts quickly followed. Shards of wood drifted down slowly, and all became quiet once more.
"Come to me," Wulfgar ordered the beast.
The Earthshaker returned to its master, and Wulfgar affectionately rubbed the front of its face. The beast moaned softly.
"Return to the ship," Wulfgar ordered.
The Earthshaker walked slowly back to the vessel from which it had come. Once it was aboard, the demonslavers hauled the ship's stern door back up into place. Wulfgar turned back to look at where the Minion outpost had once stood. Nothing remained.
"Come here," Wulfgar ordered Merriwhether. The captain obeyed.
"I leave for the azure pass," Wulfgar said. "Take six of the Black Ships and make for Tammerland. Whatever remains standing, once the polluted Sippora has set the city ablaze, have the Earthshakers blast it to ruins. Make your way to the palace and begin the siege. I will meet you there after I have released the Heretic hordes and overseen the destruction of the orb. If you can take the Jin'Sai alive, then do so. He and I have unfinished business. But feel free to make an example of the populace in whatever manner you see fit."
Wulfgar took another step closer.
"Do not fail me, Merriwhether," he added with menace. "It was I who plucked you and your brothers from the icy depths of the Sea of Whispers, and I can just as easily oversee your return."
Merriwhether bowed his dark head. "Have faith, my lord," he answered. "Everything shall be as you order."
"Good," Wulfgar said. "Go now, and may luck be with you."
Merriwhether walked to the first of the great vessels and boarded, barking out orders. As Wulfgar watched, six of the massive ships slowly righted themselves. Their black sails snapped open and their hulls rose into the air, heading south over dry land, toward Tammerland.
Soon they were gone from sight, leaving the Enseterat with one ship, one captain, and a host of demonslavers. The remaining captain was Cathmore. As his dark heart beat within the tattered folds of his uniform, he smiled at the honor of escorting his savage messiah to the pass in the Tolenkas.
"Make way," Wulfgar ordered. "We leave at once."
As the ship lifted into the air, Wulfgar and Cathmore levitated themselves onto her black decks. Her sails snapped open and she turned toward her mission and her destiny.
CHAPTER LXXV
Why does my shoulder hurt so much? he wondered. can't they just leave me alone? I wish they would stop talking and let me sleep. Don't they know that I'm the Jin'Sai?
With a groan, Tristan opened his eyes. At first everything was out of focus. Soon things became clearer. Celeste's lined face looked down at him, and her gray hair brushed against his cheek.
Wigg and Ox's faces appeared behind her. Celeste and Ox smiled broadly. Wigg wore the typically condescending scowl that seemed always reserved for castigating him.
"So you have finally decided to return to us," the First Wizard said. "By the time we reached you, you had lost a great deal of blood. How do you feel?"
Tristan tried to sit up, but the pain in his shoulder forced him back down. He was in his tent, lying on several Minion blankets.
Wigg pressed a wooden cup against the prince's lips. "Drink," he said.
"What is it?" Tristan asked thickly.