by J D Cowan
“Don’t kill him,” Matthew chimed in. “Hold back.”
“Didn’t think I’d hear that from you.”
“If you kill Richter, it might cause a bigger scene: we don’t know these people. Act smart. Just beat him.”
“You have to be kidding me.”
Richter nodded to the boy. “Are you talking to devils, little man?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
That much was definitely true. But now as the two warriors, one clearly with a bigger advantage, circled each other, the silence became deafening. Except for the noise miles away that only Jason could hear.
The clatter gathered closer. It could be lizards or more of Richter’s men. Maybe it was an entirely different group. Unless he beat Richter, he wouldn’t be able to tell.
Jason stabbed, and the sword struck the shield and slid off. Richter closed the gap instantaneously. He brought his blade up. Blood flew from a graze on Jason’s cheek.
The sword snaked for his chest. He pivoted. His arm stung as blood dripped from his bicep.
This man was fast, and he was good.
“Is that all, boy? I must say, I expected more from the great Pollux!”
Richter’s men laughed. Alain and the others grew grimaces as wicked as death. They all knew what he had already realized. This battle was Richter’s to lose.
Thunder rolled like drums in the distance. The pounding beats rolled inside his mind. The storm or the mystery men: which would arrive first?
Jason dodged another attack as a raindrop slapped against his cheek. Pollux begged to be let loose. But could he trust it? Richter lunged forward, and Jason swung, cutting air instead. The enemy ducked back.
Chills like cold fingers ran across his spine.
He was going to lose.
Chapter 8
Duel on Mist Mountain
Jason could do little to strike Richter. He tried to use Pollux, but couldn’t portion out the power properly. Every strike he made had to be pulled back to avoid killing the opposing warrior. He had to hold back on speed for the same reason. This gave Richter a clear advantage over him.
Jason tried to get in closer but his efforts were in vain. Richter did not allow him any momentum. With every shortened gap, the more experienced warrior glided out of the way. Richter’s reprisal lashed against Jason’s cheek.
The boy wiped his wound with the back of his hand before lunging in again.
“I hate to tell you this,” Matthew chimed in. “It’s almost sunset.”
“This isn’t helping,” he thought back.
“You’re using Pollux like a light switch. It’s not off or on, Jason. Look at his speed and try to match it. You can see the intensity in his swings. The cut you got on your arm was pretty good. Give it back.”
“I will.”
The sky rumbled, and another heavy drop splashed against the mountain stone. The storm would arrive shortly.
Jason concentrated on Pollux and parsed it out with his thoughts. The sword strikes beat against his blade like a drum, but he kept his head on the task at hand.
Pollux had chosen him—or was it the other way around? They fit each other like a revolver and a bullet. Pollux was not just a tool; it was a part of him. It burned inside him like a desert sun.
He thought only of Pollux. Like a muscle it pumped when he moved and like a muscle it grew tired with him. It had molded into him. He just needed to train it right.
As Richter fought with him, Jason reined in Pollux as if he were doing a push up with a hand behind his back. His movements tightened as the bracelet adapted.
“Slightly sharper, lad,” Richter shouted. “But I am still waiting for this Pollux of yours.”
Jason’s muscles tore against him with every move. His sword reflected Richter’s blow. One good hit would be enough, but Richter was too good to jump in.
They exchanged swings a few more times before he saw his opening. The boy pulled back with his blade ready. As if he saw Jason’s intent, Richter froze.
He nodded to the younger fighter. “Do you have a plan?”
“Not particularly. I think I have you pegged now.”
“Put those words into action. Break my shield. Or are you a child pretending to be a man?”
“I have nothing to prove to a scoundrel who robs corpses for a living.”
“Very good, boy.” Richter’s expression did not change, but swirling darkness welled in his eyes. “If that is what you believe, then you can die with those thoughts on your feeble mind.”
“Sore spot?”
But Richter didn’t answer. Instead, he moved in. His sword struck out like a cobra.
Pollux had never been more difficult to wield. Jason could not gauge when to use it for offense or defense, and ended up with cuts and loosed blood. Richter’s speed was no joke. But the warrior’s rage did help, and let Jason calmly assess the situation. His sight now felt the strength of Pollux, allowing his eyes to follow the quick movements.
The sword came down on his neck, but he saw it coming. Jason slashed at the shield guarding Richter’s chest. Pollux and his legs burned as one, allowing speedy movement. Every breath was like a heartbeat, steady and predictable in an easy to understand pattern. Richter’s blade may have been quick, but Pollux allowed Jason to be quicker.
Richter’s sword came down and parted the boy’s blonde hair. In a flash, Jason whipped out his blade and shifted Pollux into his arms. His weapon smashed into Richter’s sword and the attacker shook from the force. Both blades broke in the impact, spraying metal splinters sideways.
Richter grasped Jason by the shirt, but the boy was already moving. Jason tackled Richter to the dirt and pointed the broken sword in his face. Richter could only concede. The battle was over.
“You failed to break my shield, but you did far better than I thought.”
Jason’s eyebrow slanted. “Then you believe this is Pollux?”
“My sword’s destruction is proof of that. But don’t give yourself credit. You’re far too sloppy to have beaten me otherwise.”
He couldn’t deny it. Pollux was the only reason Jason had accomplished anything.
“Call your friends off, Richter.”
“As you wish,” Richter shouted for his men to stand down. No longer did arrows or blade tips point towards Alain’s group. “This would the perfect time to explain who you are.”
Jason told the fallen leader a condensed version of all that had happened since they first arrived in Tyndarus. As he went on to explain it, Richter only blankly nodded back.
When the tale was finished, Jason got to the point.
“My senses are improved with Pollux. It isn’t as direct an improvement as my muscles or bones, but my sight, hearing, and smell are also stronger. I can hear something in the distance. I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“From where?”
“I don’t know. Sometime during our fight it stopped.”
“Then it was only rockslide somewhere out there. May I sit up now? I don’t like women seeing me like this, you understand.”
Jason rolled his eyes. He allowed Richter to his feet and discarded his broken weapon.
The leader of the Vultures addressed the entire crowd. “You are welcome to travel with my men to our village. I have no doubt that you would rest well there.”
The reaction to his invitation was much arguing, though mostly among his own men.
“Preposterous!”
“We know nothing of them.”
“Exactly!” Richter answered. “They have escaped from the Great Sorcerer King and found their way through the mountains without succumbing to the elements. Do you not think they would be an asset to us?”
This time even Alain and the other ex-prisoners argued with him. No one would ever convince Ordopha’s brother to trust anyone. But as they continued arguing, Jason’s uneasy feeling returned.
Sunset was coming, bathing the mist in a fuzzy orange light through the thickening
clouds. Jason smelled wet sewage as the sun dropped lower and thunder grumbled. He couldn’t make out what the scent was from.
Ordopha crossed through the chattering groups toward him. “Are you hurt?”
“Only my pride. That was the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done.”
“It was . . . not pleasant to watch.”
“Not to fight, either,” he agreed. “What do you think of his offer?”
She scanned over Richter from his thick black boots to the scars on his sharp cheeks. He was a man who had been through many worse battles than this one. And yet he lived through them all.
“Alain will argue because that’s his way,” she said. “But Richter makes a good point. I don’t entirely trust him, but we have little choice.”
“The weather?”
She nodded. “We also do not know where we are. The others are tired, and Case is still on their minds. This man could have easily killed us all, but he didn’t.”
“I’m not sure if Alain will accept. His pride even outdoes mine.”
“That’s not entirely true. Alain only does what he must for the others. That requires shrewdness and cleverness.”
“You’re just like him, though.”
“If you compare our accomplishments then there’s no competition. Now I only want to get them all to safety. You too, you stupid boy.”
She ruffled his hair, and he tried not to blush. Matthew laughed in his mind.
Clouds gathered in and blocked the orange beams in the sky. Soon only muted light shone through the gathering clumps of nimbus. Drops fell from the clouds.
The thunder cracked from above, and the rain poured down. Alain came running over to the pair with Shaula in tow. The droplets plastered down their hair, and their soaked clothing made them look like drowned animals. Ordopha’s brother shouted to them.
“We’ve agreed to go with them!”
“What was that?” Ordopha answered. The shrieking wind made hearing difficult.
“Jason! Look up!”
As if falling from the storm clouds, stocky and long-legged men with flashing swords and helms dropped from the nearby ridges. Dozens flowed from nowhere.
Frog men.
“Everyone, attack!” Jason pointed to the plunging attackers.
The large group shouted at their oncoming enemies. They brought out their blades and bows as the attackers fell upon them. Clashing steel erupted with rolling thunder booms and the dancing rain under their feet. Frog men bounced everywhere. Visibility faded with the downpour.
Ordopha drew her bow and fired, catching an enemy in the throat. Alain shouted to Matthew to come out. They needed as many men as they could get.
Matthew obliged, joining them in battle.
“We need to stick close,” Matthew said to Jason. A large tongue lashed like a whip, smacking against his sword. His hands shook. “We need to keep Shaula close and our backs covered. You and Ordopha stay with her. We can’t tell if they’re here for her, or she’ll use the chance to run.”
She laughed. “And where would I go, you imbecile?”
“Quiet, woman.”
Matthew and Alain struck out at the frog men that dove upon them. Alain took one head, and Matthew cut another. Jason took up a fallen spear from the dead and joined in. Ordopha flung arrows from her quiver, striking several amphibians as they leaped. The quintet soon found themselves backed up to the sheer mountain wall. They would be surrounded quickly.
“Jason!” Matthew yelled. “Give me a boost!”
Jason looked at him. “Why?”
“If I can get higher I can see where they’re coming from. It’s about fifty feet up. Can you do it?”
The steep wall went up far, but it only meant that Matthew would be a sitting duck ready for slaughter up there. The frog men would easily surround him on his own.
“I can, but I think you should take Ordopha with you.” There was only one way out of this corner and anyone left alone was at a massive disadvantage. “We should stick together.”
“Fine,” Matthew agreed. “But make it quick. I’m not sure how much energy Pollux has left.”
“It has plenty!”
Matthew and Ordopha stood together, and Jason used Pollux to lift them up in each arm. Power burned in his muscles causing them to shiver. He shifted Pollux’s energy through him evenly, peaking with his arms. With carefully managed strength, he tossed the pair. They soared through the air through the downpour and above the target. Jason cursed his aim.
Matthew clutched Ordopha close as they flew. They transformed into mist in the rain and slowly drifted down to the top of the wall.
When he was sure they were fine, Jason turned to Alain. The boy seized Shaula by the waist and then Alain.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Watch yourselves,” Jason said. “This is going to be a mess.”
Using all the strength he felt in Pollux, Jason jumped into the rain-soaked sky, breaking stone underneath his shoes. He flew thirty feet above target before kicking downward towards Matthew and Ordopha.
He slammed shoes first into the stone. His legs let out crack and pops. Both Alain and Shaula were held high at his side and missed suffering the impact.
Jason yelled as he let Shaula and Alain go, stumbling over his own feet and falling on his face. Pollux ran out of energy at the last possible moment. His muscles numbed as the power cut out. The backlash gripped him hard, seizing his body. Jason’s vision blurred.
The frogs landed on the stone, surrounding the group. He couldn’t stay lying down.
However, that was when he felt it. The vision. He was close. Gold waited close by, brighter than any sun that might hide behind this storm. It was their best way out of this mess.
Alain and Matthew still fought the frogs while Jason slowly crawled back to the stunned Shaula. She watched him with an open-mouthed stare as she sat against another flat rock wall. He needed to prevent her from getting away.
That was when he realized: the others were all gone. He couldn’t even hear their blades banging against frog flesh in the distance anymore. His enhanced senses had been lost. The five were alone in this mess.
Jason crawled up and realized he had lost his weapon. He lifted a sword from a dead frog, his muscles burning. He ran through a leaping enemy and backed up against Shaula. Rain dashed on his stained blade. Jason shook off a groan as the storm, and fatigue beat against him.
They needed to find the gold before either the frogmen or the storm finished them.
Chapter 9
Battle on Frog Mountain
The rain streaked Matthew’s vision as he guarded against the leaping frogmen. With Jason falling all over himself to guard the witch, Matthew could only hack the enemies pouncing upon him. He kept glancing over his shoulder and around the rain-slicked mountain for any sign of the separated escapees. The frogs were all he saw, and they only grew in number. He couldn’t fight them off alone forever.
His control of Castor was also weakened. Rain made the enemy’s weapons hard to gauge, and misting and solidifying became difficult because of it. They slashed at him as he struggled to track their movements.
“We need to find cover from this blasted storm,” he said to Alain.
“And these monsters.” The other warrior downed one foe before two more fell from the dark sky toward him. “We could use an extra sword or two. Where is Jason?”
Matthew glanced back. Jason leaned against a nearby rock wall with Ordopha and Shaula at each side. He was breathing hard. The boy had taken a bad spill. “What happened?”
“Pollux cut out.” Jason drew in a ragged breath. “Never mind it. I think I can find the golden light.”
“We can’t go. I’m not leaving the others.”
“What others, Matthew? I can’t see or hear them. Can you?”
No, he couldn’t. There was no sign of any life in the storm. Thunder growled, and lightning kicked, but only the rain kept them and the attackers company. He fear
ed the worst.
“We must get to shelter!” Alain yelled. “When this storm clears we can return to find Bran and the others. We are easy prey right now.”
Matthew’s sword flashed against the spear of an attacker. He became fog and flew through the weapon, and ran the frog man through.
Sharp pain ran through Matthew’s ribs. Castor throbbed inside of him. Low energy.
“Okay, you’re right,” Matthew replied. “I don’t know about your gold, but we can’t stay here.”
An arrow whizzed past Matthew and struck an oncoming frog man. Ordopha signed to him. He returned the gesture and decapitated another aggressor.
“I’ve got the path in my head,” Jason called out. He pointed to a shallow crevice in the rock wall to his left. It burrowed deep into the mountainside. “It’s far, but we can make it from here.”
“If I didn’t know you were crazy,” Matthew responded, “I would commit you for this.”
Matthew clapped the boy on the shoulder. The two merged together leaving Matthew as the host body. The remaining four barreled through the crevice. Frogmen screeched after them.
“Good thing the sun went down during that mess,” the kid said.
“Not that you can tell with the rain. So tell me which way.”
The rain kicked dust into the air making visibility even worse. Matthew swirled down winding paths with Jason yelling the directions in his brain. Alain and Ordopha followed after, holding onto Shaula. The rumbling behind them told him that their enemies still pursued them.
Sharp drops awaited in every turn through the thick mist. One slip and they would be done. Yet cautiousness could not be afforded. They kept on through the darkening skies, spray beating them down from above.
A small gap in the path waited ahead. Ten feet wide or so, Jason pushed him through it. Matthew leaped over the death drop and kept running.
“Wait!”
Behind him, the other three remained on the opposite side.
“Why are you guys just standing there?”
