Free Valkeryn 2: The Dark Lands by Greig Beck

of the room.
    Goranx snorted. ‘No creature passed us.’
    Orcalion rose on one elbow from the floor. ‘But how could you tell mighty Goranx? You were amongst the battle in the forecourts. I do not accuse you, but, perhaps Goranx did not have the information from his warlords that a general in battle deserves.’
    Another Lygon thundered forward and held out a hand half the size of the Panterran, claws bared, and shook it at the smaller creature. ‘You dare question our skill. No one passed our troops, no Man-Kind, no Wolfen.’
    Orcalion got to his feet, confident now the conversation was heading in the direction he wanted. ‘And yet, Hogar the brave, they all escaped, and right by… you.’ He lifted a small hand and pointed one long talon accusingly at the giant creature.
    The queen turned to whisper something to one of her attendants who nodded, and then quickly returned with a small box, which he placed beside her on the throne. She lifted the lid, and dipped in her hand, setting off a scuttling and hissing from inside.
    Orcalion noticed the box and stepped back and to the side of the queen. The giant Lygon roared his fury at his ability being questioned. The small Panterran’s grin split his face revealing the small needle sharp teeth inside his mouth. His eyes glowed with excitement and he kept pointing at Hogar’s chest.
    ‘Not everything can be won by brute strength alone, Hogar. Perhaps some better judgement, and concentration, might be of more use to all of us.’
    The enormous Lygon lunged forward, even as Goranx roared at him to hold his place. Hogar swung a huge fist, with Orcalion easily ducking out of his way, and moving again closer to the queen… and in reach.
    As the huge Lygon swung back around, Mogahrr flicked her hand out and scratched his forearm. Her long black talons were coated in a sticky green fluid.
    The Lygon’s eyes bulged and he gasped, grabbing his wrist. Immediately, his lips turned black and pulled back from his long teeth. He coughed and as the room watched in silence, he brought his hand to his throat as his breathing became ragged. Hogar’s eyes dropped back in their sockets as though he was suffering the dehydration of a month in the desert. He dropped to his knees, his arms falling to his sides, and his head drooped. He seemed to shrink, and while they watched, his huge orange and black body collapsed in on itself, finally falling forward like a giant empty sack.
    The room remained silent. No one needed to ask if was he dead.
    Mogahrr was handed a goblet, dipped her hand inside and swirled her claws around in the fluid. Her eyes slid to Goranx. The stare burned viciously yellow and the entire gathering held its breath, waiting.
    Goranx held the gaze, and bared his teeth, his chest moving like enormous bellows under his armor.
    ‘Undersssstanddd?’ Mogahrr never blinked, the golden yellow eyes like small windows to some horrid world of pain, torture and corruption.  ‘Underssstanddd?’ He held her gaze for another few seconds, and then finally he nodded and lowered his eyes. The silence stretched as Mogahrr searched out any who would challenge her. There were none.
    Then, floating in through the windows, from somewhere out on the dark, far hillsides, there came a sound, rising and falling on notes that caused the queen to bare rotten teeth. The Lygon’s heads moved on their trunk-like necks, the confusion clear in their luminous green eyes.
    The recognizable howl continued for many long seconds. It pulled Mogahrr’s eyes towards the open window and she hissed in return. She spun back to the room, fury burning like a cauldron behind her eyes.
    ‘Seemsss all the Wolfen are not dead. Your job is not yeeet done, miiiighty Goranx.’ She turned to glare at Orcalion, ‘Fiiind me the Man-Kind, fiiind me the offssspring of Grimvaldr. Killll all the Wolfen onccce and for all.’
    She leaned in close to Orcalion’s face, making him wince at the putrid breath. ‘But the