She wouldn’t make them suffer for what they’d done, Alserah decided coldly, despite the urge to draw things out. No, she would do everything she could to end the battle as quickly as possible. If they were at fault, at least. She had to remind herself that it wasn’t certain that they were.
Despite hugging the treetops, Alserah wasn’t surprised when some of the angels reacted, obviously having seen their company, and she could see the angel in the center pause and look in Alserah’s direction, her eyes narrowing. When she was close enough, Alserah stopped and waited, glancing back to look at the others.
It took a minute for them to catch up, and Vinara took one look at the group, then scowled as she said, “It’s definitely them. The one in the center has… about twelve strands extending from her? No, thirteen. I can’t tell exactly what she’s wearing to control the phoenixes and worms, but she’s definitely the source.”
“In that case, I’m not even bothering with a warning,” Alserah replied, her rage boiling over at last, and she concentrated as she drew the bowstring back, taking aim.
“Your Grace, we can’t afford for the item to—” Vinara suddenly began speaking, sounding almost panicked, and Alserah smiled, concentrating her power into an arrow that manifested on her string, and another ten formed around her, floating in midair.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to destroy it. I’m going to see if I can’t convince them to surrender. Those who survive,” Alserah interrupted.
Then she loosed her arrow.
“It looks like there’re five of them, Milady,” Devrial reported, her voice taut as she peered through the spyglass. “One succubus, two angels, the goddess, and one… I’m not sure, they have wings that’re see-through. Maybe a fey.”
“Interesting. Hellspawn with them, though… the corruption runs even deeper than I thought it did,” Haral replied, scowling. “Now—”
“The goddess just drew her bow!” Devrial exclaimed suddenly, her voice tense. “She’s firing!”
The exclamation was unnecessary, as even Haral could see the moment that the arrow left the bow, as eleven glowing stars shot toward the heavens, hung in the sky for an instant, then began coming down on them. Haral smiled, confident that their shield would hold against a mere handful of magical arrows.
Her smile froze as the arrows suddenly exploded, splitting apart once, twice, then into dozens, until instead of eleven brilliant attacks, there were more than two hundred arrows descending on them.
“Take cover!” Haral snapped out, and quickly took shelter behind a nearby rock, swearing as the deific barrage descended.
Chapter 45
The silver arrows descended like falling stars, and a glittering dome of gold energy snapped into existence over the hill and some of the trees around it to block them. Kitania hissed in surprise at the sight of the barrier, and how it rippled as it blocked one arrow after another from reaching the angels while they scattered to take cover. Most of the arrows exploded in flashes of light against the barrier, but it cracked and allowed a handful of the arrows through to descend on the angels without mercy.
The barrier had at least slowed the arrows, giving the angels time to take cover, and Kitania scowled as the arrows blasted craters in the hillside, startled at the sheer power of Alserah’s attack, even if most of it had been blocked. Only a single angel had been injured, but it showed just how angry Alserah was.
“That isn’t good. The barrier will make it difficult to defeat them quickly from a distance, and I don’t think you can shatter it easily,” Vinara said bluntly as she looked at the barrier unhappily. “I don’t think the barrier will stop us from entering.”
“Which means it’s a trap,” Kitania said, her tone flat, and she looked at the others for an instant, hesitating before she added. “In that case, I believe I should go in first.”
“Why would you—” Isalla began, then her expression fell slightly as she looked at Kitania, seeming a little more crestfallen as she swallowed, then spoke softly. “Oh. Of course, because you won’t die.”
“Yes, but there’s no guarantee that the attack won’t be something along the lines of what took you away to begin with,” Rose added, her voice quiet as well. “It could also be set up to attack someone they designate, not just the first one inside.”
“Either way, we don’t have time for this. While we’re speaking, my people are dying,” Alserah said harshly, her eyes shining as she looked at them. “Decide, quickly.”
“Agreed.” Kitania said, and without a further word she willed herself forward, mentally taking stock of her mana levels. Not having the transmutations on her bones had given her far more mana to work with, and she quickly decided that she should have more than enough mana to get through the battle, even with the defensive spells she’d woven and the mana gem maintaining her flight being partly depleted.
She saw a flicker of movement as one of the angels took aim at her, and Kitania quickly took a more evasive route, one which churned her stomach a little from how much it jerked her back and forth in midair. Even so, it made their arrows fly wide, and Kitania gripped the haft of her cloudpiercer even more tightly. Once she could’ve knocked most arrows out of the air with it, but she was too out of practice to manage that, at least not yet, and especially not while flying.
It took a couple of minutes for her to reach the barrier, but at least most of that time was spent out of easy bowshot, so the attacks were scattered. She managed to dodge all but a few of the attacks, and those few bounced off her armor uselessly. Kitania made a note to thank her mother for the armor once she had a chance. Then she flew through the barrier… and directly into a column of fire.
“Eat that, hellspawn!” an angel exclaimed as the fire sprayed off Kitania’s armor and wards, and it prompted her to laugh as the angel protested. “What the… how?”
Kitania lunged through the fire at the nearest angel, a woman who looked extremely startled, and that was a little too long to hesitate, as Kitania brought the cloudpiercer around with all her strength, severing her head with a single blow as she retorted, “Using fire on a demon? What are they teaching angels these days?”
“Most of us are rather resistant, yes,” Vinara agreed, and she chanted rapidly as she soared through the barrier, surrounded by gusts of wind that deflected an arrow as Kitania caught a glimpse of her, then the roots beneath the hill’s surface began to writhe and stretched out to restrain the angels.
“Don’t just stand there!” the woman at the back exclaimed, and Kitania’s eyes suddenly narrowed as she recognized Haral’s voice and saw the woman behind a vaguely familiar looking man. Haral was now wearing a breastplate and armor with a sword on her belt, while a glittering bracelet of gold and platinum was wrapped around her left wrist, the onyx and ruby gems set into it glowing visibly.
Most of the angels quickly recoiled out of reach of the roots, but two were immobilized, and hacked at the roots desperately. Fortunately, the angels weren’t going after Kitania, so she braced herself to go after Haral.
“You filthy traitor!” Isalla’s voice interrupted Kitania, causing her to hesitate a mere instant, and Kitania saw Haral hesitate as well, before she abruptly fell back, her wings beating to take her higher into the air as Isalla lunged toward her, two arrows sticking out of her shield. The angel who’d been guarding her intercepted Isalla, blocking her blow with his shield, though he grunted loudly as he was driven back a couple of feet.
“Isalla? Good, I can finish you off at last—” Haral began, then dodged again as a bolt of fire lanced out at her and she scowled, her whip uncoiling as she lashed out, the golden length knocking Rose backward as she spat. “Emberborn, I should’ve known. You too? What depths the pair of you have fallen to, consorting with demons.”
“Better than killing innocents,” Alserah said, abruptly appearing within the barrier, her bow drawn as she aimed at Haral, a glowing arrow ready.
The next instant, an angel fired an arrow at Kitania, and she dodged j
ust as she saw the golden barrier flash again, then it suddenly constricted around Alserah in a set of brilliantly glowing chains. The goddess cried out in alarm, and several angels attacked Isalla, Kitania, Rose, and Vinara.
“Good to see you made it, Alserah. Unlike these rats, I was expecting you,” Haral said, looking like she’d relaxed as she smiled nastily. “Fortunately, as it seems. How does it feel to have your own attack used to fuel your imprisonment?”
Kitania dodged the attacks of the swordsman that came after her, her thoughts racing. It made no sense for the angel to be so confident, not under the circumstances. Even if there was a prison which could hold Alserah, it couldn’t last for long. That meant they had to have another—
She caught a glimpse of movement to her right, and Kitania’s blood went cold as she saw the archer nocking an arrow made of mithral with gold fletching. She recognized the arrow, and the angel was so well-hidden that it was only the pristine arrow which revealed him. Kitania didn’t even hesitate, instead casting a spell instantly, the same one she’d used to rescue Isalla when she’d fallen into the hells.
The swordsman hit her hard, knocking Kitania sideways as he swore, her armor and spells holding under the blow. She ignored the clash of metal, the sense of bruising, and the explosion as Rose threw fire at her attacker, along with Vinara’s sordid cursing as the succubus defended herself with her staff. Her only focus was on the spell, and purple tendrils lashed out as the man drew the arrow back, taking aim at Alserah, but the instant before he could loose it, the tendrils wrapped around the arrow.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Kitania snarled as she ripped the arrow and string away bodily, prompting a yelp of shock from the angel. The arrow spun through the air, and Kitania almost ignored it as she spun her cloudpiercer around and up into her attacker’s armpit, biting deep into his body with a spray of blood, then she shoved off him with both feet to free the blade as she lunged toward the woman attacking Vinara, calling out, “Vin, here!”
The butt of the polearm slammed through the wing slit of the man’s armor, and he screamed as the bone shattered, falling from the sky as his wing stopped beating. Vinara blinked and caught the arrow with a questioning look, but Kitania didn’t pause, instead flying straight at Haral as the woman’s whip slammed into Isalla’s arm, biting deep into a joint and coming away bloody as Isalla gasped, losing her grip on her shield as she fell back under the bodyguard’s assault.
“Lady Haral!” the man cried out, obviously shocked at Kitania’s abrupt attack, but unable to intercept her in time.
“You foolish demonic bitch!” Haral snarled, falling back as Kitania swung her cloudpiercer, gripping a length of whip between her hands which she used to block the attack, hissing as she was driven backward. “I’ll kill you for that!”
“You tried once already,” Kitania replied softly, her anger bubbling up, and she just waited for an opening.
“What?” Haral asked, her eyes widening as she looked into Kitania’s eyes, understanding dawning on her face. The moment of distraction was more than enough, and Kitania took ruthless advantage of it.
Kitania willed the cloudpiercer to shrink, and suddenly there was no blade for Haral to brace against. The angel surged forward as her wings beat frantically, and Kitania spun, thanking her mother again for the near-perfect maneuverability of her armor, whipping the blade around and through the first elbow of Haral’s right wing.
The angel screamed, beginning to fall, and Kitania grabbed her left hand, trapping the whip in her grip as she grunted and stabbed the cloudpiercer through the angel’s elbow. Haral screamed even louder as her full weight slammed down on her arm, and Kitania hissed as she almost lost her grip, staring at the bracelet around Haral’s wrist. She wasn’t going to let them get away with the device or allow them to hurt her friends, not again.
“Milady!” the man’s yell was all the warning Kitania had, then someone slammed into her from the side, and she felt a blade punch through a seam of her armor in her side. Kitania gasped, feeling the whip slip through her grip, just as there was a tearing sensation and spurt of blood as Haral’s arm tore free.
Kitania went flying to the side, sliding off the man’s blade as Haral screamed, and Rose cried out in shock. “Kitania!”
Hissing in pain, Kitania released her cloudpiercer, reaching down to rip the bracelet off the angel’s wrist, then dropped the limb while the man came after her with murder in his eyes.
“Enough of this!”
A sound like shattering stone echoed through the air like a thunderclap as Alserah ripped free of the magical binding, her eyes blazing with anger as the pressure of her power descended like an avalanche. The pressure struck Kitania and the others as well as the angels, and Kitania gasped as the goddess drew her bow again, but this time she didn’t hesitate.
An arrow slammed into the man attacking Kitania, and it shattered the backplate of his armor before ripping into his body and sent him flying toward the ground. The goddess spun, loosing another five arrows in what seemed like a heartbeat, each of them hitting, and likely killing, another angel. As the man in front of her fell, Kitania saw his eyes go wide as he tried to speak again but no breath came.
Kitania saw a flicker of movement from Haral as she knelt on the ground, half-restrained by animated branches, and as she saw the woman touch her necklace, Kitania called out. “Look out, she’s—”
With another thunderclap, Haral flickered and was gone. Kitania swore, but in seconds the other angels were dead or dying, except for the two who’d been restrained by the roots and the one whose wing Kitania had broken. From the looks of the bodies, Kitania guessed that Rose and Vinara had each accounted for three as well.
“Kitania, are you alright?” Alserah asked, her expression taut as she spun to Kitania, who laughed shakily, pain stabbing through her with every heartbeat as blood seeped from her side.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse,” Kitania replied, grinning as she raised the bracelet, then tossed it toward Vinara. “Deal with the monsters first; I’ll be alright.”
“You crazy… what’s with the arrow, anyway?” Vinara asked, shaking her head as she hastily caught the bracelet and descended toward the hill, quickly trying to put it on.
“It’s like what they shot her with, to send her here,” Isalla said, descending quickly as well, gritting her teeth as she held her arm for a moment, then pulled out a vial and downed it. Kitania saw the faint green glow envelop the angel’s arm and let out a breath of relief, which she immediately regretted. Obviously Isalla had consumed a healing potion.
“Wonderful, they intended to murder me and my nation at the same time.” Alserah seethed, glaring at the angels in the roots. “Vinara? Can you deal with the creatures?”
“Already done,” Vinara said, an expression of concentration on her face. “I’ve ordered the worms into the sea or nearest lake, which should kill them, and the phoenixes are now coming to us. I can keep them under control long enough for you to finish them off.”
“Good. Let’s finish this,” Alserah said, her gaze hardening as she glanced at them, then spoke. “Isalla, Rose? If you’d restrain the captives, I’d appreciate it. Kitania… rest, if you would. You deserve it.”
“Thanks,” Kitania said, and collapsed onto the hilltop, barely breathing as she closed her eyes and waited for her injury to heal. It wasn’t pleasant, and she didn’t want to think about trying to find her cloudpiercer when she was done.
It’d been a horrific morning.
Chapter 46
The dull whump of air from the back of the house drew Sorm’s attention first, but it was the scream of pain that made him spring to his feet. His beloved’s voice was unmistakable, and he rushed toward the back room instantly, his thoughts racing as he wondered what had happened.
Bursting into the back room, Sorm froze for an instant, horror rippling through him as he saw the blood spurting onto the floor from the stump of Haral’s arm and wing, and he unconsciously blurted o
ut, “What happened?”
“Love… help, potions…” Haral gasped, her face unnaturally pale as she staggered, her whip laying abandoned on the floor.
Sorm shook off his shock and rushed toward the cabinet, opening it and quickly pulling out their emergency potions, since they’d always known that if either of them had occasion to use the teleportation charms, they’d probably be injured. He grabbed three and rushed over to her, uncorking one and handing it to her, then pouring the others over the injuries directly, which quickly stemmed the bleeding.
“What happened, Haral? Who did this to you?” Sorm demanded, anger quickly replacing his horror. “Was it that goddess?”
“No, it was some demonic bitch. Somehow she survived being beheaded. I thought her soul was trapped, and she ruined everything.” Haral gasped, wiping her lips with a bloody hand, smearing blood across her face as she did so, her eyes dilated. She continued, almost rambling now. “She stole the arrow, or Alserah would’ve died, and they had Isalla and Emberborn with them! So many targets in one place, we have to stop them, or… or…”
“Shh, no, you need to calm down, dear. You need to get healing, then to report in to the Council,” Sorm interrupted, his concern and anger growing still stronger. “Once that’s done, we can deal with them, and this time I’m going to help, council or no council. No one hurts my beloved and gets away with it.”
A flash of stubbornness flickered across Haral’s face, but only a flash, and then it was gone as she visibly relented, her wings and shoulders drooping as she nodded. “Alright… alright, love. I’m just… I was so close!”
Mortal Gods (Mantles of Power Book 2) Page 39
