by Ben Hale
She winced as a blade cut across the back of her leg, drawing blood. She whirled and cut through Zenif, but again her blade passed through his body as if it was made of smoke. He laughed, the sound seeming to come from everywhere.
She spared the spinning prison a look. Bartoth had begun opening cages, ripping the hatchways off the top and ordered the prisoners to hunt Shadow and Lorica. One dwarf refused, and Bartoth slashed the chain, letting the cage fall into the acid. The others were quick to join Bartoth’s cause.
Zoric had retreated into the barracks, and Sentara and Rune had followed, the three locked in a duel, the sounds of ringing swords and blasts of magic echoing up through the door. The dark elf guards were on the floor of the courtyard, dead or wounded. Captain Jefsor leaned against a barrel, breathing hard as he held a gash in his side.
Elenyr turned ethereal, preventing the mage from striking in her direction, and then leapt through the portcullis into the control chamber. Zenif called from outside and tapped his sword on the steel.
“You cannot escape forever.”
“I’m not here to escape,” Elenyr replied, searching the panel of levers and runes for a way to help Shadow.
She began to work the controls, reading the symbols and pressing runes. The spinning cells began to slow, and the tracks shifted in the ceiling, sending cages going one way and then another. Then she spotted the symbol for acid placed on a symbol for the courtyard. She smiled and slammed her fist on the rune.
A shout came from the courtyard, and the mirages faded. Zenif appeared as if from thin air, only she knew his magic had shielded him from her eyes. He’d been standing too close to a column of acid, and the liquid had burned up his side, catching his hip and elbow. He removed his cloak and used the unspotted portion to wipe at the acid, furiously attempting to remove it before it ate into his flesh.
Elenyr took a step towards him, but then saw Shadow and Lorica battling the sudden army of prisoners. They jumped across the cells and attacked the pair, pushing them back by sheer ferocity. The Red Elf crept from the side and lunged, but Shadow slashed his dagger across the elf’s shoulder. The next attacker was not so fortunate, and he fell into the acid, screaming. Siphon got close as well, but Shadow sent a throwing knife deep into his heart.
Elenyr turned away from the opportunity to strike at Zenif and resumed her place at the controls. She pulled levers and pressed runes, attempting to separate Shadow and Lorica from the other cells, all while Bartoth reached Mimic’s cell and ripped a portion of the roof free. She expected him to help the woman exit her cell, but instead he pulled a dark green cloak and tossed it to her. Mimic didn’t hesitate, and donned the cloak. Elenyr did the only thing she could think to do, and reached for the rune that would break the chains holding Mimic’s cage.
“Elenyr!” Zenif shouted.
She heard the anger in the mage’s voice and turned to see Zenif standing at the edge of the courtyard on top of the low wall. He had his hand around Rune’s throat, the girl’s eyes fluttering, as if she were struggling to stay awake. The acid had burned Zenif’s arm, and the flesh was mottled and damaged.
“You drop mine, I drop yours,” Zenif growled.
Elenyr held his gaze, her hand on the rune that would sentence Mimic to death. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Mimic began to change, the cloak sinking into her flesh and skin, turning her into the final general. Mimic did not scream, but rather clenched the bars of her cage, her eyes darkening inside the cowl.
“You drop her and I’ll cut you to shreds,” Sentara shouted, and Elenyr heard Zoric strike at her flank, the two battling for dominance in the doorway leading to the road. Zoric used his magic to anticipate Sentara’s blows, sensing enough to prevent Sentara from landing a lethal blow, or intervening with Zenif and Rune.
Elenyr! I cannot wake Rune!
Elenyr flinched as the voice of the Unnamed echoed in her thoughts, and she heard the panic in her voice. Zenif’s greatest skill was a sleeping charm, and he kept Rune subdued, even as the Unnamed fought to wake her. Elenyr locked eyes with Zenif and the man’s lips curled into a sneer of triumph. Then Elenyr shook her head, and pressed the rune.
The chains holding Mimic’s cage snapped, and it dropped toward the lake of acid. Bartoth growled and leapt to a neighboring cell, just managing to catch the edge. Zenif bellowed his fury and released Rune, who dropped down the side of the cavern. Elenyr turned ethereal and plunged into the floor, speeding downward and reaching out of the stone wall. Her fingers turned corporeal just as they closed over Rune’s arm. She grunted as the girl’s weight pulled on her, but managed to retain her grip. The unconscious girl hung above the acid, and Elenyr forced them upward.
She rushed upward, her body ethereal inside the stone, her corporeal hand extended out, lifting Rune up the side of the cavern wall. She angled her path to go to the window of the control chamber, allowing her to pull the girl over the controls and lay her on the floor. Then she heard a strangled cry.
Leaving Rune where she lay, Elenyr leapt to the closed portcullis and passed through it, arriving in the courtyard to find a shocking scene. Zoric leaned against the wall, holding a cut across his stomach, while Sentara stood behind Zenif, her sword through his back.
“Father!” Zoric cried.
Zenif gasped for breath, but Sentara’s sword was through his lungs. She used the sword to push Zenif to the edge of the drop and leaned forward to speak in the mage’s ear, her voice so savage it made Elenyr cringe.
“You killed my only family.”
Zenif struggled to speak, to breath, to push his magic on Sentara, but the old woman’s fury kept him at bay. Sentara placed her boot on his back, and with a savage kick, pushed Zenif off her sword, and into the air. Still fighting to breath, Zenif fell down the inside of the cavern, the exact fall Rune had just taken, but without Elenyr to catch him. He bounced off the stone and splashed into the acid.
Weak from the gash in his back, he swam to the surface and uttered a final shriek of pain, the acid seeping into his body through the wound, eating his armor. Again he screamed before finally slipping beneath the surface.
“Father!” Zoric screamed.
He’d stumbled to the wall and watched in horror as his father died. Sentara turned on him, her features forbidding. Zoric’s eyes pulsed with rage and he raised a hand to point at Sentara, his arm trembling.
“You killed him.”
“He killed Rune,” Sentara snarled. “And she was worth far more than your wretched father.”
“Sentara,” Elenyr said. “Rune is alive.”
Sentara whirled and spotted Rune behind the portcullis. Without a word she jumped to the courtyard wall and climbed above the acid lake to reach the open window, where she leapt inside the control chamber and crouched at Rune’s side. Elenyr raised her sword to Zoric, who glared at her with unbridled hatred.
“You think yourself impervious?” he demanded, his chest heaving, his eyes glowing with hatred. “Sentara will pay for what she has done.”
“Not if you are dead,” Elenyr said coldly.
“Zoric!” Bartoth bellowed.
Elenyr risked glancing his way. To her dismay, the powerful rock troll had caught the chains of Mimic’s cell, preventing her from falling into the acid. He swung the chain and the cage, building up momentum, swinging the cage towards the cavern entrance. His intention was obvious, to throw the cage to the entrance, where Zoric could help Mimic escape the cell. But Zoric bared his teeth in a snarl and stepped closer to Elenyr.
“Zoric!” Bartoth barked, his voice full of command.
The mind mage scowled, torn between battling Elenyr and Sentara, or helping secure Mimic’s release. Elenyr too, was torn. She wanted to stop Mimic, but if she left, Zoric might overcome Sentara and kill her and Rune. And why was she sick to her stomach?
She clenched her waist as her last meal heaved. The prisoners that Bartoth had released were similarly struggling, with some kneeling in their cages to vomit. One l
ost consciousness and fell to his death. Another managed to wrap a chain around his body before he lost consciousness. Another leapt to the outer wall, an impossible leap.
He caught the stone with nimble fingers, and climbed like a crab along the surface. As everyone else suffered from the sudden illness, the man did not seem affected. Without a backward glance, he dropped onto the road and slipped away, his escape unnoticed by anyone in The Melting.
“You feel that?” Zoric asked. “That’s the birth of Plague, the final general. It cannot be stopped, and none of you will survive what she will do to you.”
Elenyr turned ethereal but the sickness continued. She dropped to one knee and fought to hold her sword upward. Zoric regarded her with distaste and knelt to her level. Pointing to the swinging cage, he lowered his voice.
“Mimic is a disease now,” he said. “And you cannot stop a disease with blade or magic. There’s nothing you can do to prevent your end.”
Elenyr cast about in desperation, but half the prisoners were dying, the other half retching and writhing. Lorica had managed to reach a further cage and Shadow had lashed her in position, but she was vomiting on the cage. Shadow alone seemed unaffected, but then again, Shadow could not get ill. His magic was weaker than every other type, but he was also immune to physical ailments.
“You forget your foe,” Elenyr said in grim satisfaction.
Zoric frowned and turned. On the cages. Shadow abandoned Lorica and sprinted to the next, leaping from one to another with the agility of a night panther. Zoric shouted a warning but Bartoth could not move. Braced as he was, he could not fight Shadow without releasing the cage. Shadow leapt to his position. Bartoth swung a meaty arm, but Shadow slashed the rock troll’s hand and then dropped down the chain toward Mimic’s cage.
It was swinging upward, toward the entrance, and Shadow danced along the chain, sprinting its length like it was a tree limb, and then dove for the end. Bartoth growled and heaved, intent on throwing the cage the remaining distance. But Shadow caught the pin where the cage connected to the chain, and yanked it free.
The chain parted, the cage flipping awkwardly. Mimic screamed her dismay as it tumbled towards the entrance of the cavern, and all eyes fixed on the spinning cage. With a great clang, the cage struck the side of the road . . . and fell into the lake of acid. Shadow managed to get his feet and jumped off the sinking cage, leaping into a flip that carried him to the road. He caught the edge and stumbled with a laugh of delight, before turning to watch Mimic sink beneath the surface.
The sickness vanished, the sound punctuated by Zoric’s bellow of disbelief. Bartoth too, seemed stunned, and hung on the top of the cage as he stared into the acid lake. Zoric rotated to face Elenyr.
“Your victory will be short lived,” he snarled.
“It’s still a victory,” Elenyr retorted.
Zoric didn’t speak again, and his body seemed to fade into nothingness. Bartoth too, seemed to disappear, both obscured by Zoric’s magic. Elenyr raised her sword, ready for an attack, but the rocking of the cages and the sounds of fading footsteps indicated Bartoth and Zoric had retreated. For now, at least, they had won a battle. Elenyr breathed a sigh of relief as Shadow sauntered into the courtyard.
“Looks like we win,” he said.
Elenyr engulfed Shadow in an embrace. “Well done my son,” she breathed.
But Shadow merely laughed. “I love The Melting.”
Elenyr leaned back and tousled his hair. “Of course you do.”
Chapter 18: Vanguard
At midnight, Water and Lira joined the small gathering at the edge of the alliance camp. Rynda was already present with a knot of rock trolls, a pair of dwarves, and a trio of dark elves. Fire arrived shortly afterward with two members of the Bladed. Mox, the rock troll that was first of the Bladed, and Dek, a slim woman with a knot on her shoulder showing her to be a mind mage. The group shifted and Water spotted the woman Rynda was speaking to, Alosia, queen of the elves. Rynda spotted Water and Lira and motioned the group together.
“About time you arrived,” she said.
“We’re right on time,” Water protested.
“Then you’re late,” Rynda said, and then swept her hand to the group.
“With Alosia, Erisay, and Mox, we’ve come up with a plan for our assault.” She pointed to the two dwarves. “Bint and Bellin are stone mages. They’re going to get us up the cliff. We’re going to avoid the road entirely, and go straight for the fortress. We have ten rock trolls, including Mox, Lira and Dek, as well as the two fragments.”
Mox motioned to Dek. “We know Serak has two lieutenants, Zenif and Zoric, both powerful mind mages. It will be Dek’s job to keep them from causing you harm.”
“And causing them harm in turn,” she said dryly, fingering the purple dagger on her hip.
“Erisay and her two guards have the task of insuring silence,” Rynda continued, nodding to the dark elf queen.
“You’re coming with us?” Water asked.
The small woman smiled faintly. “There is little point in hiding my magic now, and although there are some talented sound mages in the alliance, few can do what I can do, if I’m not being boastful.”
“Not at all,” one of her guards muttered, making it clear her guards were not happy about their queen’s intention to secretly assault Xshaltheria.
“Once we breach the top of the volcano, it will be Lira’s job to get us across the gap. Remember, there’s a fifty foot gap between the mouth of the volcano and the top level of the fortress. If we fall, we’ll enjoy a long drop through volcanic air until our flesh melts in the magma. Are you up for getting us across?”
Lira, the only air mage of the group, nodded, her jaw set. “You can count on it.”
“The top of the fortress is mostly flat,” Rynda said. “A few entrance points leading below, and if Serak hasn’t moved it, the Dark Gate should be there. Our job is to destroy it and get out.”
“What about the dragons?” one of the dark elf guards asked.
“Ten rock trolls and two fragments,” Mox said. “One of which should be able to negate the dragon fire.” She motioned to Fire, who grinned.
“A lovely jaunt into a foe infested volcano beneath a dragon filled sky,” Bint exclaimed.
“Beautiful this time of year,” Bellin said.
Alosia swept a hand to the alliance. “Dothlore is meeting with King Justin as we speak, and I will be with him. Our job is to keep the army unaware of your activity. We cannot risk this effort fracturing the alliance we have built. We protect the alliance, you destroy the Gate. If all goes well, the assault will begin tomorrow and we can destroy the Order of Ancients for good.”
“And what if Draeken or Serak are guarding the Gate?” Lira asked.
Rynda laughed. “They’re too arrogant to pull guard duty.”
“Which is why this is our best chance to destroy the Gate,” Mox said. “Rest assured, this group represents some of the best warriors and mages on Lumineia. Fight together. Survive together.”
“And if you die, you die for Lumineia,” Alosia said.
Rynda groaned. “Can we move this along? We aren’t here to talk.”
The elf smiled up at the towering rock troll queen. “Always to the point, my dear friend.”
“I just want to kill what needs killing,” Rynda said, and then pointed west. “Let’s move.”
The group slipped into the darkness, but Water noticed Erisay step to Alosia. The elven queen, fair and beautiful in her gown, and the dark elf queen, beautiful and imposing in her black armor. Erisay embraced Alosia.
“Be safe, sister.”
“I’ll try to get Rynda back,” Erisay replied.
“The world needs her,” Alosia said. “And you.”
“My daughter can reign in my stead,” Erisay said dismissively. “Rynda does not have an heir.”
Erisay noticed Water watching and gave a final nod to Alosia. Then she joined Water. As the rest of the vanguard had pushed ah
ead, the two of them walked alone. Water lowered his voice so they would not be overheard.
“How is Princess Aranian?” Water asked.
“She is well,” Erisay said. “And your brothers?”
Water grimaced. When he and Fire had joined the army, they’d informed the kings and queens of the events at Blackwell Keep, and how Draeken now stood apart as the fragment of Power. The news had not been received well, but Erisay had sat in the back of the room, and watched Water and Fire with curious eyes.
“My brothers are well,” he said. “Alive, at least.”
“Your presence among the living suggests you conquered Draeken in Blackwell Keep,” she said.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to,” she replied. “I could see it on your face when you spoke of the separation. Since tonight may very well lead to the death and ruin of everything, I thought I’d let you know that I’m proud of you.”
“For what?”
“For being strong enough to do what is necessary,” she said. “Would that we all had such courage.”
“I do not deserve such praise,” Water said quietly.
She patted him on the arm. “Just make sure you keep that woman of yours alive.”
“Lira?” he asked. “How did you know she was with me?”
“You’re a loud kisser,” she said.
He flushed and stuttered, “Sorry, I mean, I—”’
“I could hear you halfway across the camp,” she said. “But don’t worry, only the other sound mages would have noticed.”
“How many are there?” he hissed.
“A few dozen,” she said with a smile.
As he groaned, Queen Erisay accelerated a step and hurried to the front of the group, joining Rynda. Lira dropped back to Water’s side.
“What’s wrong? You’re bright red.”
