Jade pointed a finger at the front row and Commanded: “Sleep”. Ten men dropped like stones, unconscious. The rest simply stepped over them. Seconds later, the sleeping men staggered upright, her magic countered by Zhudai’s.
She tried again, this time with a different word: vomit. A dozen men began to spontaneously throw up on their companions. It caused confusion and disgusted outcry for almost a minute before Zhudai again broke the spell and the soldiers recovered.
Desperate, Jade cast a mind-talk spell and broadcast a cry for help in the direction she hoped Marcus and Brynn were hiding. Even as she thought, a stone whistled through the air, taking Li Lei in the head. The girl collapsed in a pathetic heap of fluttering silk. An arrow followed, aimed at Zhudai. For one heady second, Jade thought it might hit but, at the last instant, it stopped dead in mid air and combusted in a flash of red-purple flame. Another stone soared past, this time heading for the contingent of guards but they were too far away for it to be effective. It rebounded uselessly off their armour. They marched on.
At her feet, Phoenix groaned and sat up, holding his head. The guards came closer. Zhudai released his hand with a smile of satisfaction. The tips of his fingers glowed again as he regained full control.
Hurriedly, Jade cast the first spell that came into her head: laufsblad hrid. Leaf-storm. Wind whistled into the open courtyard. Picking up magnolia and cherry petals, debris and small rocks, it howled toward Zhudai and the guards. Increasing in speed, the winds formed into a miniature tornado, spinning a blinding spray of pink and white into their faces.
Phoenix scrambled to his feet, staring in amazement at the chaos beyond Jade’s shield.
“Sweet,” he admired. “Can we use it to hide our retreat?”
Jade shook her head, frowning with effort. “Zhudai is too strong. See, he’s already stopping it. The guards are almost here and they have iron weapons. My shield won’t hold against them and Zhudai’s magic for long. Where’s Marcus? Where’s Brynn? Why hasn’t he blown the Horn?”
Phoenix rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know. Can you reach them with telepathy?”
Jade whispered the mind-talk spell again and reached out to her friends.
Marcus?
Coming. Was his terse reply. Faintly, she heard running footsteps coming from across the courtyard behind them. Her heart sank. He was running right toward the guards and there was no way she could drop the shield to encompass him. Even a moment’s vulnerability would give Zhudai time to destroy them. Brynn and the Horn of Aurfanon were their only hope now.
Brynn? Where are you? Blow the Horn.
There was a pause; a sense of hurry and breathlessness thenBrynn’s hollow voice sounded in her head. Busy running. Guards everywhere. Right on my tail. They took us by surprise. Hold on. I’ll blow it as soon as I can find a spot to hide.
Realising Brynn was in no position to hold a conversation, Jade frowned at Phoenix. “Brynn’s dodging guards. They must have been watching for him and Marcus. I don’t know if he’ll be able to blow the horn without getting caught.”
“Damn,” Phoenix swore. “Tell him he can’t let it fall into Zhudai’s hands no matter what happens to us.”
Jade grabbed at Phoenix’s arm. “I think we may have run out of time, anyway. Look.”
The leaf-storm had settled. Above the palace, dark clouds were gathering. Purple-blue lightning zipped ominously between them. Even through the shield, the air felt thick with power and intent. Zhudai’s exultant, arrogant expression was triumphant. His whole body glowed and crackled with magical energy. His contingent of guards spread out to surround them. Jade and Phoenix stood back to back, facing overwhelming odds.
With a battlecry that rang across the courtyard, Marcus fell on the nearest guards, taking them by surprise. Steel struck steel and sent a shower of sparks into the air as Marcus attacked without mercy or fear. Phoenix started forward, gripping Blódbál – only to be brought up short by Jade’s shield.
“Drop it so I can help him,” he ordered, watching their friend’s swordplay.
“I can’t,” she cried. “The second I drop the shield, Zhudai will attack us. Can’t you see he’s just waiting for the chance? She glared at the vizier, who returned a gloating smile then went back to watching both her and Marcus. There was no doubt - he waited only for her to break.
“Dammit, Jade,” Phoenix growled, “I can’t just stand here and watch him get slaughtered. Think of something.”
She casted around for something, anything that would give Marcus and advantage over his opponents; something that Zhudai couldn’t immediately counter. Ah! That would work.
“Bresta vapn” she muttered, pointing at the man Marcus fought. Marcus struck again and the guard blocked. This time, his sword didn’t ring true. The Roman’s sword hit it and, with a muted crack, the Chinese blade shattered into five shards that tinkled dully to the paving below. The guard stared at his broken blade in astonishment. He backed away before Marcus could follow through with a killing blow. Another took his place.
Again Jade pointed and repeated the spell. Again a weapon shattered. And again; and again. Five times she cast the break weapon spell before it suddenly stopped working. A quick look over her shoulder showed that Zhudai smiled smugly at her. He had offset her magic. His soldiers were once again closing in on Marcus – this time on all sides.
“Jade!” Phoenix warned. “Come on. Marcus is good but if you don’t let me out of here, he’s going to be overwhelmed any second. We haven’t got time to wait for Brynn. Drop the shield now!”
“Hang on!” She held out an arm to stop him, thinking hard. Time! That was it. There had been something in the old Svear magician’s spellbook. Two spells about manipulating time. What were they? Jade wracked her tired brain, trying to recall the spells she’d thought too powerful and dangerous to try out before. Yes! That one.
Drawing a deep breath, she carefully formulated the words. If she got this one wrong, the results could backfire in a disastrous way.
“Skjotr oevi,” she murmured, twisting her fingers and drawing a circle that encompassed herself and Phoenix. For a moment, nothing happened and Phoenix growled as Marcus traded blow after blow. Jade watched anxiously. The Roman flinched and a spreading stain of bright red blood appeared on his side.
Then, the world outside the shield seemed to thicken and slow. The air grew murky. Overhead, clouds boiled sluggishly; swords were swung in freakish slow motion; battle yells sounded like a too-slow soundtrack – deep and incomprehensible. Each blink of a soldier’s eye and turn of a head took longer and longer.
“What the...?” Phoenix sent her a puzzled glare.
She closed her eyes, trying to maintain the thread of concentration needed for this difficult spell. Sweat broke out all over her body, such was the effort.
“I…can’t… hold this for long,” she grated. “I’m…not strong enough to slow time for a large area….like the druids did, so I’ve sped us up a little. Just enough to get over to Marcus and let him into the shield without giving Zhudai enough…time to cast a spell. Help me.”
She held out a hand and Phoenix grabbed it. Together, they stumbled over the hard ground toward their friend. A sword descended, ever so slowly, toward his head from behind. Marcus’ own was raised to block a blow from the front. He couldn’t possibly defend against both. Inch by inch, the blades came closer.
“Hurry up, Jade,” Phoenix urged.
“Ha…ha,” she replied, breathless. “Get ready. I can’t hold both spells any longer. I’m going to have to drop both at once and then raise the shield spell fast. There’s a chance I….won’t be able to do it quick enough. Be ready to stop…that sword.”
“Right,” he raised Blódbál. “Shut up!” he muttered.
Jade blinked at him, startled.
“Not you,” he pointed at the sword, “this stupid thing. It keeps singing at me.”
She grimaced. “OK. Be ready...Now!”
There followed a brief, bizarre sensation of ine
rtia; like being in a car when the driver hits the brakes quickly. All around them, the rest of the world sped up to normal. Jade saw Phoenix brace himself to not run into Marcus. He only just managed to get Blódbál up in time to catch the stroke aimed at the Roman’s back.
With an almost-visible flash of purple-blue, Jade’s domed shield sizzled into life around them again. Unfortunately, it included the guard, whom Phoenix now fought.
To Marcus, it must have been as though his friends had simply vanished then miraculously reappeared right beside him. The sword he had been about to block rebounded off Jade’s new shield. He staggered back, colliding with Jade.
She slipped his arm around her shoulders as he fell against her. “I’ve got you,” she smiled up at him.
He nodded at the shield. “So I see. Thanks.” Straightening, he grimaced. With a quick smile down at her, he disengaged himself.
“Shall I heal this?” Jade tore a strip from the bottom of her silk shirt and knotted it around the deep slash on Marcus’ side.
“Save your strength,” he advised, pointing with his sword. “I don’t think Zhudai’s done with us yet.”
She glanced up. Sure enough, the Chinese sorcerer glowered at them. He began to pace back and forth, hands clasped behind his back, yelling directions at his soldiers, who scurried to do his bidding. Dark clouds above built into the mother of all thunderheads. An ominous green tinge suggested hail and all sorts of other nasties were in store, should he unleash his full fury. At his direction, Zhudai’s guards began an assault on Jade’s shield; striking repeatedly with their iron swords and spears.
Behind, Phoenix dispatched his opponent in three short strokes then joined them. Jade pulled the shield in closer.
“OK?” he asked Marcus.
The Roman nodded. “Thanks for the rescue.”
Phoenix jerked his head toward Jade. “All Jade’s doing, that one.”
Jade didn’t reply. She couldn’t. Every fibre of her being was focussed on her shield as Zhudai and his men struck it over and over. Her clothes clung to her, her elaborate hairstyle had tumbled free and sweat stuck tendrils to her face and neck. She trembled at each painful blow.
Glancing at Zhudai’s soldiers, fruitlessly striking at the invisible dome, Phoenix ran a hand through his sweaty hair. “Think you can hold Zhudai off much longer, Jade?”
She shook her head jerkily. “I’m…only just keeping this shield…intact. You can’t see it but, as well as the iron outside and your swords inside, he’s…throwing something magical at it every couple of seconds.”
“Can you do the time-thingie again so we can get away?” Phoenix looked back over his shoulder. “At least that might give Brynn time to blow that damned Horn.”
“No.” She drew a short, gasping breath. “And I’ve been…trying to reach Brynn…but…I can’t get him. I think…we’re on our own….this time.”
From the corner of her eye, Jade saw him catch Marcus’ solemn look and nod in return. “So this is it then,” he said.
“So it would seem,” the Roman shrugged. He gripped Phoenix by the forearm. “If we die here, today, my only regret will be that it is by Zhudai’s hand and not a more honourable enemy.”
“My only regret will be the dying part,” Phoenix muttered. “I’m out of lives.”
“It’s been fun,” Marcus sent him an ironic smile.
Phoenix grinned back and turned to face their enemy. “You have a truly warped sense of fun but I agree.”
Jade whispered. “Give me your Life-blade, Phoenix – and your amulet.”
“Why?” He drew the knife from its sheath. A single ruby glittered in its hilt. He pulled his necklace off over his head, yelping as it caught in his hair.
“No time to explain. We can’t let Zhudai get his hands on them.” She gritted her teeth and drew her lips back in a snarl, feeling her energy slip away. Phoenix handed her both. She now held hers and his all in one hand. Swiftly, she turned away from Zhudai’s penetrating gaze and knelt on the ground. Feeling Phoenix’s puzzled gaze on her, she looked quickly at the sun, high overhead, muttered a spell and mimed putting the blades and amulets into something. They vanished. She felt a strange moment of disorientation, as though her mind was somehow linked to the objects and was now split in two.
“What the..?” Phoenix stuck at foot out, kicking at the place the knives had been. His foot met empty air.
Jade struggled to her feet, her legs like rubber. “If there’s a later, Phoenix, I promise to explain. I just know we’d be stupid to let them fall into Zhudai’s hands. At least I can do this much right.” She swayed and Marcus steadied her, thrusting a long, staff weapon into her hand; a trophy from the fallen Chinese guard. She leaned on it, gasping for breath. “But now…get ready. I can’t hold the shield any longer.”
With a fizzling soundless, purple-blue almost-flash, her shield collapsed. They now stood alone, surrounded by dozens of enemy warriors and vulnerable to the magical onslaught of the most powerful sorcerer in the realm.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Zhudai’s triumphant laughter rang out across the courtyard. Phoenix saw Jade shiver at the sound. She gripped her new staff as though to keep from collapsing. She looked drained: her lips almost blue; magical reserves probably exhausted. Zhudai could do whatever he liked now, and she was as helpless as Phoenix felt. Where was Brynn? Where was the Horn? Where was their eleventh-hour rescue from dire peril?
The first guards approached cautiously, waving their weapons in the air; testing for Jade’s now-vanished shield. Emboldened by its absence, they advanced more quickly, slipping into fighting stances with swords, spears and knives at the ready. Behind, a rank of ten crossbow-wielding men stood, awaiting Zhudai’s command to fire.
“You sure there’s no more spells you can cast to save us, Jade?” Phoenix tried to keep as many of the enemy in sight as possible. “Can’t you even reach Brynn?”
“I’m sure,” she replied. “I’ll be doing well to even lift this staff, let alone cast a spell. I’m sorry I got you both into this. I’m sorry I’ve been such an idiot.”
“You are not to blame,” Marcus’ deep voice behind them assured her. “We all would have made the same choices, I’m sure. Let’s just take as many of them with us as we can.”
“Deal,” Phoenix said grimly. “Bring it on.”
That was the last chance they had to speak. The attack began and Phoenix was too busy defending himself to wonder how they would escape – or even if they would escape. He caught a downstroke on Blódbál’s edge and redirected the blade just enough to avoid it. Turning, he slipped out from beneath the descending sword and swung high overhead. Blódbál sliced easily through the iron-and-leather armour, killing instantly. Phoenix grimaced as his opponent collapsed and another took his place. Crouching and blocking at once, Phoenix rose up with a new dagger in his left hand, taken from his fallen enemy. He used it and the second guard went down.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Marcus’ sword swinging, falling, cutting and killing with rhythmic efficiency. On his left, Jade held her own with the staff. The sound of hollow skulls being cracked echoed across the courtyard and man after man fell, unconscious, at her feet.
Two guards came at him together. Phoenix opted to ignore any rules of nicety and kicked one of them in the nuts. The man went down with a groan, clutching at himself. The other overreached his strike just a fraction – enough for Phoenix to pull him offbalance forward. He cracked him over the back of the head with Blódbál’s hilt, shoved him aside and turned to the next in line.
This time, not two but four swords jabbed at him. He managed to deflect two and catch the third on his dagger but the fourth slid under his guard and into his body. It glanced off his ribs, leaving a long, shallow cut across his chest. With a gasp of pain, Phoenix jumped backward, out of reach. His new mortality suddenly hit home. He had absolutely no spare lives left. He could not afford to be reckless any longer. A fatal blow was, this time, going to be truly f
atal. If he died here, he had no idea if his body would die in his own world, or if he would just wake up. It was a risk he wasn’t prepared to take.
Frowning in concentration, he took a deep breath and tried to put pain and Blódbál’s insidious song out of his thoughts. Various bits of his sensei’s advice came to mind. He took a deep breath, relaxed his shoulders and extended his senses, feeling the ground beneath his toes; hearing the movement of enemy and friend alike. Unfocussing his gaze, he allowed peripheral vision to catch any sudden movements. Then Blódbál sang in his head and jerked at his hand, distracting him with its dreams of bloody glory. His moment of awareness shattered. Growling, he swung the sword again. It rejoiced in the blood spilled.
He saw Jade begin to lay about her with the staff like a wild thing. She had to be running now on sheer adrenalin. One, crack, two, crack, three, crack; the guards fell like wheat beneath her weapon. She jabbed the staff into the stomach of one man, twirled it above her head and brought it down like a hammer on the sword-arm of another guard then spun to sweep the legs of a third so he crashed into his neighbour. Phoenix knew that desperation lent temporary strength but it wouldn’t last for either of them. How long until Brynn blew the Horn? How long until Marcus fell beneath so many swords? How long until either he or Jade was killed for the last time and the game was, truly, over? How long could they last beneath such an onslaught?
There was a brief hiatus around them as Zhudai’s men paused, surprised by the ferocity of their defence. They fell away, leaving the three friends temporarily alone, in ringing, ominous silence. The smell of blood, vomit and death rose sickeningly from the warm ground. Zhudai waved a languid hand. The footsoldiers moved back. Twenty bowmen stepped forward and knelt, raising their weapons. Twenty bowstrings creaked in unison. Twenty bolts pointed in their direction.
Unexpectedly, Jade turned her back, grabbed Phoenix and Marcus by their shirts and hauled them close. She closed her eyes. Phoenix saw the faintest shimmer of purple-blue as she drew on the last of her strength to cast a feeble Shield spell. Could it work? Could she save them?
The Yu Dragon Page 9
