“Painful, but still not enough,” he says as his body heals all of the damage. Catching a plume of fire in one hand, he pushes against it with enough brute force to shove Nyx toward an alley. “I made a mistake trying to match my magic against yours. Foolish of me to think even I could stand up to the power of a channeler. You have my complete respect, but it is long past the time I removed you from the game.”
“Sounds like my cue to leave,” Nyx admits with a crooked smile.
The fire explodes and coats the entire street, giving the champion enough cover to escape into the alley. She can hear the Baron bashing through the obstacles she creates in her path, the warlord almost catching up. Tossing a fiery orb ahead of her, Nyx dives onto the spell and lets it launch her into the sky. The blast is enough to push her enemy back, but she flips to see find he is jumping after her. Lightning bolts whip off her fingers, the comfort of moving her arms allowing her magic to move more freely and naturally. All of her attacks are dodged or smacked aside as the Baron hurtles through the sky. Seeing a glint of metal below, Nyx hurls a spear of light that reflects back to strike the warlord in the leg. He falls back to the rooftops, but leaps with enough force to collapse the building and close the distance. Caught by the throat, the channeler pounds on the immortal with fists of fire that burn holes in his clothes and shatter the shields he has erected around his body. His grip tightens and she begins to lose consciousness as a gust of wind drives them into Rainbow Tower’s wall. Smacking at the Baron’s hands, the half-elf gasps for air and tries to slice his arm off with a blade of fire. The weapon shatters against his hardened flesh, the cooling shards sizzling against both of their faces.
Nyx abruptly goes limp, so the Baron tosses her to the ground where she turns into a pile of damp clothes. Confused by the transformation, the immortal’s eyes turn gold and he attempts to locate the real channeler. He nearly jumps at the sight of an enormous hand looming out of the destroyed tower, acid dripping from its nails. The fingers melt large chunks of the wall, but they miss their target, who turns them into harmless water. Leaping into the street, the Baron is about to charge at where he senses his opponent when a wave of heat hits him from behind. A spiraling beam of fire bursts through the wall to strike him in the back while a similar blast of lightning hits him square in the chest. The spells explode with equal force, neither knocking him down, but the combination leaving him momentarily stunned. He can only watch as Trinity rushes out of the smoke to kick him in the face, a strike he is unable to avoid due to Nyx catching him by the waist. The Baron can feel his jaw go numb before he is tossed to the ground like an unwanted toy.
“I’m glad she left me a piece of you,” Trinity says, knocking her former master up to his feet with a fist of stone. She attempts to smash him by dropping a chunk of wall on his head, but the immortal pulverizes the animated stone with a single blow. “Don’t act like you’re surprised to see me here. After everything you put the chaos elves through, I owe you a thousand years of agony. Too bad I have to settle for only a few minutes.”
“The truth is that I was looking forward to fighting you,” the Baron admits before he darts forward. His arms become long blades that the two channelers barely deflect with their shields due to his unexpected burst of speed. “Traitors should be punished. Not only death, but torture to make sure a message is sent. This does not mean I will avoid killing you. After all, there are plenty of chaos elves for me to make points with. Your entire race will be punished and remolded to suit my needs. My granddaughter will be the perfect replacement for you since she is too young to have been corrupted.”
“Damn it!” Nyx shouts as she pulls a gold coin out of her pocket. She flips it to Trinity before the two women dive to different sides and avoid the next attack. “I really didn’t think he would go so low as to threaten your child. Remind me to never bet with you again. At least when it comes to how evil and shortsighted a person can be. Do you really believe threatening a mother’s child is the best tactic? I mean, I don’t have a kid and you’re making me mad. She must be livid and imagining what order she’s going to feed you your own organs.”
Trinity sends a spray of magical poison into the Baron’s face, the burning liquid eating away at his flesh. He moves to stab her while stretching his other arm to keep Nyx at bay, but both of the channelers gracefully float out of reach. Circling around the garden, they hurl matching spells that batter the cornered immortal. Every time he tries to counterattack, one of the women briefly creates a dome that absorbs his spell. When the Baron teleports behind Trinity, she does a split that allows a fireball from Nyx to knock him away. A gust of wind grabs him by the pants and flips him back into the middle of the circle, the immortal landing in a muddy pool. The channelers return to their barrage, but change tactics to pass a single spell back and forth while they unleash weaker spells. Once the shared attack is potent enough to make their fingers quiver, they stop it in midflight and work together to whip it into the Baron. He is sent flying into the ruins of Rainbow Tower where a trap spell explodes to wrap him in jeweled vines.
“That is enough!” the warlord shouts, tearing himself free. Landing on the ground, he finds that the garden has been covered in fog, which hides the channelers from sight. “After all of that, you retreat. I can only guess that what I survived was your best. So much for the champions and my traitorous agent showing true courage. Is there nobody here who is willing to fight me to the death?”
“Such a ridiculous question,” Delvin answers with a laugh. The fog clears enough to reveal the warrior sitting on a fallen turret. “Why willingly fight to the death? Better to work with a strategy that guarantees survival. After all, we have responsibilities and plans for the future, so we’d rather not die.”
With a tired sigh, the Baron summons a broadsword and plants the tip into the ground. “You again. Are you going to run away? Perhaps another distraction that you champions are so good at. Whatever you plan to do, I doubt it will make much difference. The only thing you have been, King Cunningham, is a nuisance.”
“At least I’m working with my strengths,” the champion responds while lifting his shield to block an incoming spell. He slides to his feet and casually dodges more of the Baron’s attacks while circling toward the center of Rainbow Tower. “Another strength of mine is being able to see the spells that you’re going to cast. Thanks for that gift since I’ve been using it to tell Nyx and Trinity what you were about to do. That way they didn’t have to fight you with their full strength and could put some of their energy toward something else. You were right that a certain telepath was involved too, but Dariana wasn’t alone.”
“And what is the next step of your plan?”
“I only thought as far as the evacuation, which should be done by now.”
“Giving you an empty city to protect.”
“Not really.”
“And what do you mean by that?”
“The thing is that cities can always be rebuilt.”
Bowing to the Baron, Delvin jumps back and falls into the warded basement of Rainbow Tower, which he enhances with his powers. No sooner has the warrior disappeared than the colorful pieces of stone rise into the sky and circle a crackling orb of magic. Nyx and Trinity stand next to each other, their auras linked and focused on creating the powerful spell. Roaring dragons of flame and shrieking eagles of lightning churn within the globe that shudders as it threatens to collapse. Drifting closer to their creation, the channelers plunge their hands into the energy and grit their teeth at the pain rippling through their bodies. Beautiful faces and ghastly skulls appear in the beautiful surface, the images repeatedly merging and separating. Unsure if he can survive such a blast, the Baron retreats towards the ocean and leaves a trail of barriers in his wake. All of them shatter when the orb is fired and strikes the immortal in the back, his skin sizzling and blistering from the contact. He pushes against the spell as it slams into the ground and explodes with enough force to level most of Gaia.
18
Only the outer rows of houses and the ancient arena remain standing while the rest of Gaia has been reduced to a sea of destruction. Lightning continues to jump across some of the streets, the metal lampposts having fallen in a way that has captured the deadly magic. The ocean side of the city has been flooded due to the water returning after being pushed miles away. Any boats that stayed in the port have been carried onto dry land, many of them sitting among the broken buildings. Only the bottom of the griffins’ mountain remains, the top having collapsed inside until there was no more room for the burning rubble. Smoke continues to flow out of the entrance and drift across the street, the feeble sea breeze having no effect on the thickening cloud. In the middle of the ruined city, a hole leads to the very bottom of the layered sewer system. Wisps of ash drift up from the depths like hungry serpents that wind through the barren sky. The only sounds in Gaia are the occasional crumbling of stone as the buildings continue to collapse into unrecognizable piles.
Standing on top of the arena, Nyx and Trinity struggle to breathe while using each other to avoid falling to the distant ground. They watch for signs of life in the city and try to ignore a needling fear that the fight is not over. Waving to the other champions, the exhausted channelers watch their friends walk into the arena entrance. Eyes turning gold, they scan the destruction in search of the Baron and find nothing more than traces of their own power. Stepping away from the edge, the former rivals collapse and slump against the warm stone. Trinity is the first to move, but it is nothing more than pulling out a flask of water and offering it to Nyx. The half-elf gladly accepts with a harsh cough and hands over her own waterskin. Neither point out how silly they feel trading containers that hold the same drink, but the thought of anything stronger makes their stomachs twist.
A shadow suddenly falls across the channelers and they look up to find the Baron hovering above high them. His body is covered in blood and half of his hair is missing, but it is clear that he still has the strength to fight. Before they can stand, the warlord sends the pair flying across the arena with a wave of his hand. Nyx and Trinity hit the stone stands, the impact breaking bones and causing them to cough up blood. A coil of lightning strikes between them, the explosion tossing the women into the center of the fighting area. They are unable to move as the Baron flies at them, two long blades sprouting from his palms and aiming for their hearts. The immortal is almost upon the channelers when Delvin’s shield hits him in the chest and sends him crashing into the wall. The spinning disc is still dripping orange magic as it flies back to its owner’s arm.
“I was hoping to behead him,” Timoran admits, drawing his own weapon. He runs as fast as he can and leaps over the women, who are struggling to stand. “This is the time to press our advantage. We must not give him any more chances.”
“I’ll guard Nyx and Trinity,” Dariana says as she moves in front of them. Focusing on her father, the telepath fights to reduce his power and slow his movements. “I will try to give you openings by attacking his mind, but he is angry. Not in a reckless way, which is what I would have preferred. He wants to cause pain more than kill us.”
“Foolish strategy if you ask me,” Delvin mutters while he inches closer to the fight. As soon as Timoran is kicked away, the warrior darts in to slash the Baron’s side. “What happened to fighting to the death? I’m thinking you’re the one treating this more like a game than the rest of us.”
With a primal growl, the Baron catches Delvin by the face and hurls him to the top of the arena. The champion hits the stone with enough force to crack it, but is back on his feet and rushing down the stairs within seconds. He does not get very far before the immortal unleashes a rippling storm of magic that obliterates part of the arena. Jumping at the last moment, Delvin avoids getting killed, but the edge of the attack makes enough contact to shred his enchanted chainmail. Coming down with a slash, he tries to hit the Baron, but misses and is sent flying by a crushing kick to the head. Broken bones and internal bleeding prevent him from standing, so the determined champion crawls back to the fight. He is finally stopped when Timoran is slammed on top of him, the heavy barbarian dragged off the prone warrior to receive more echoing punches to the face.
Daggers strike the Baron along his spine, which causes him to sigh and toss the red-haired champion over his shoulder. Turning to face Sari, he extracts the weapons from his flesh and turns them into metal orbs. With a snap of his fingers, the projectiles rocket toward Dariana and smash into her body. The gypsy is already charging when her friend collapses and the Baron regains full control of his muscles. Ducking and flipping around the immortal, Sari slices at every opening and is soon joined by Luke. The agile pair avoid getting hit, but they quickly find that it is impossible to land a blow. The champions’ weapons repeatedly pass through their enemy like he is nothing more than a ghost, which forces them to retreat. There are no illusions in the arena, which is gradually flooded with water that is drawn to Sari’s power. Unsure of what is happening, Luke moves back to give the gypsy room to create a powerful wave of ice and steam.
“That is what you were building up to?” the Baron asks, stopping the large attack with one hand. He turns the water into vapor and casts it into the sky before hitting Sari in the thigh with a dagger. A blast of lightning hits the weapon and pulses through her body, which twitches and spasms as it falls. “I assume she is still alive since you champions are proving difficult to kill. I have destroyed mountains with my fists, but that barbarian continues to breathe. Perhaps it is time for me to strike a more sensitive spot and you are the perfect one to use, Callindor. After all, champions are only as strong as their spirits and yours has been weakened before. It cannot possibly be fully healed.”
“I’m never going to turn against my friends,” Luke says as he tries to attack. A rumble in the ground forces him to jump away, the spear of stone missing him by an inch. “Here I thought you hated distractions and tricks. The reality is that those are all you have. We would have already won if this was a straight fight, but you keep dividing us.”
The immortal laughs loud enough to shake the city, a single tear running down his dirt-covered face. “No, you did that on your own. The only times all of you attacked me as one was at the start of the real fight and when you were already injured. Beyond that, you wasted your energy saving those foolish enough to get involved in events that were beyond their purpose and understanding. People like this young woman.”
The Baron snaps his fingers and Kira appears next to him, the startled heiress looking in every direction. When she sees the warlord, she attempts to jump out of reach, but she is grabbed by the chest and lifted into the air. Blood seeps down her shirt as the powerful hand digs into her flesh and wraps around her breastbone. The idea that he can flick a finger and slice her heart in half makes Kira hold her breath, but she can only do it for so long due to the pain. Tears flow down her face and she clings to the Baron’s arm out of fear of her own weight making the wounds worse.
“Leave her alone!” Luke screams as he charges. He skids to a stop when Kira screams in agony and coughs up blood, her pain subsiding as the half-elf backs away. “Put her down and fight me, you bastard. I promise not to do any more tricks as long as you promise that Kira won’t be hurt. She didn’t even try to fight you, so let her go.”
“Love is a beautiful thing,” the Baron declares, easing his grip. Caressing the young woman’s cheek, he numbs her pain to prevent her from passing out. “We draw so much strength from it, but it can be our greatest weakness. People will do anything for those they love more than life itself. Some go to the ends of the world while others fall into darkness. Even more sacrifice their lives for the sake of love.”
“What do you want from me?”
“Those blades and that ring are a threat to my new kingdom.”
“I won’t destroy them.”
“Oh, I want the joy of that myself.”
“Stop playing games and tell me what you want in return for Kira
.”
The Baron grins and raises his other hand, which causes Luke to lift his weapons. “Take your sabers and remove your own head. I can only put them in the correct position, but you must finish the job. Kill yourself and Kira Grasdon will be allowed to live under my protection. She will want for nothing and I swear to even erase her painful memories. She will remember only the happy parts of being with you. This gives her the life you know she deserves instead of a death that you are partly responsible for. Can you live knowing that you chose your own life over hers?”
Luke glares at the Baron, his arms shaking as he tries to put them to his sides. The limbs refuse to obey his mind, which is becoming overrun by a chorus of hideous voices. Looking at Kira, the forest tracker sees nothing more than her fear and a hint of acceptance that this is where she will die. His thoughts are flooded with memories of watching his family getting murdered and not having any chance to save them. Luke can feel his sabers get closer to his throat, his arms moving against his wishes. The realization that the Baron has him under a spell does nothing to make him feel better, his subconscious and festering guilt gradually becoming stronger. The half-elf mutters a curse at how his own weakness has given his enemy an opening that could lead to the champions losing. More shame and fear cloud his thoughts, which allows his sabers to start slicing into his flesh.
“Put them down!” Sari screams, a geyser launching her at the Baron. Drawing her stiletto, the gypsy slashes the immortal across the eyes and weakens his spell over Luke. “As long as I’m around, you aren’t hurting either of them. Love is my core and I will carve your heart out if you try to destroy it.”
Warlord of the Forgotten Age Page 34
