Tarrin Kael Firestaff Collection Book 3 - Honor and Blood by Fel ©

by James Galloway (aka Fel)

  The effect was visible all over the city of Suld, to all the enemies surrounding its walls. The main Conduit suddenly flared with a bright white light, a pillar of magic that rose into the heavens, bathing the city below in the milky radiance of the power that had always been a part of their city, yet had rarely been visible to them. Within the Conduit, Tarrin felt its power coarse over him, caress him, flow through him, infusing him with the unmitigated power of the Goddess. He could feel her closeness, could sense her eyes looking down on him, could feel her almost as if it were her gentle, loving hands that were holding him in the air. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall within the Weave, felt his consciousness separate from himself and hurtle into the light, joining with it and becoming one with it.

  He hadn't been in the Heart for a while, but it was as it always was, an endless blackness streaked with the light threads of the Weave, and the countless stars that represented the Sorcerers upon which the Weave depended. And behind them all, seen but unseen, were the eyes of the Goddess herself, smiling down on him in gentle benediction. But he wasn't there to adore her or waste time. He could feel that, whatever it was, that black obelisk, could sense it through the Weave in the amount of magical power it was drawing from wherever Arcane magic drew its power. He sent his awareness out into the Weave, searching through it, using the techniques Spyder taught him, tracing that flow of power from the nether boundary from which it came down to its destination. The enemy army was only fifteen longspans away, but the geography of the Weave did not correspond to the geography of reality, and he found himself travelling a great distance through it before he found a pathway to the sense of intense Arcane magic that he had sensed from the Heart. Once he had reached that place, he breached the Weave with his senses and reached out into the real world, felt around until he felt the unmistakable presence of a Demon and the same sense of presence that he'd felt in the soultrap that had once held Faalken. The soultrap created by Kravon's power.

  He found them. He wove together an Illusion of himself, a projection, and then pushed his awareness into it.

  He opened his spectral eyes to find a rather startled, thin, rather cadaverous man staring at him in shock. The six-armed, bare-breasted woman creature beside him looked on with only mild interest, but the armed men and scaly blue-skinned Cambisi guarding the platform upon which they stood all rushed forward as one to attack and destroy the intruder. The first one drew his sword as he reached him and swung with all his might--

  --and then crashed harmlessly through the Illusion, to dive headlong off the raised platform and crunch into the grass below in a rattle of armor. Tarrin allowed the Cambion to pass through his projection calmly, not even flinching as its sword went through his Illusory head. "Typical," he snorted absently, then he focused his eyes on the two of them.

  "Fools," the six-armed Demoness growled at the Cambisi. "It's an Illusion!" She looked to him, her dark eyes speculative. "It's a pleasure to get a chance to meet the famous Tarrin Kael, at least before I take your soul back with me to the Abyss," she purred. "It's already been promised to me. Isn't that right, Kravon?"

  "Of course, my dear," the man Kravon said in a hollow, chillingly dead voice. "One must always give one's allies suitable compensation. Wouldn't you agree, Were-cat?" he asked conversationally.

  "Be glad I don't fry you where you stand, but I'd be robbing someone else of that honor," he said coldly, and that made Kravon flinch. "He's already caught up with you, hasn't he?" he asked in a chilling, evil chuckle. "How long did it take to stop the bleeding?"

  "It was of no moment," he shrugged. "I can't say the same for some of my sycophants, however. If he'd have chased you with half the enthusiasm he's been hunting down my servants, you'd not have lasted a month."

  "They're the appetizers. You're the main course," Tarrin warned him with a baleful glare. "When they're all dead, he'll come after you. And there's nowhere in the entire world you can hide from him, human. He'll slit you crotch to chin and watch you bleed to death."

  "I'm sure you didn't reveal yourself just to state the obvious," Kravon said. "I take it you're here to ask for terms of surrender? Or did you just feel the urge to chat? We've never been properly introduced, you know. I guess it would only be proper."

  "I'm here to show you what's waiting for you when the sun comes up, Wizard," he said in a hiss, raising a paw.

  "Illusions don't frighten me, Were-cat," Kravon said with an amused look.

  It took every ounce of his willpower not to attack Kravon, but Jegojah had rights to him. Tarrin wouldn't deny that from him. Tarrin's paw began to glow with Magelight as Tarrin touched High Sorcery through his physical body and channeled it to his projection. Kravon scoffed at it, until Tarrin turned and levelled his clenched fist at a large group of Trolls that were lounging on the grass nearby. Fire erupted from Tarrin's Illusory paw, real fire, and it erupted into a hellish inferno as it raged towards the suddenly screaming Trolls. It slammed into their encampment, incinerating most of them where they lay, then the mass of fire suddenly exploded in a horrendous blast that sent fire, smoke, dirt, charred grass, and the smoking parts of Troll bodies flying in all directions, showering the startled creatures that had been resting near the group of Trolls with grisly flaming chunks of charred flesh and red-hot globs of steel.

  "Now," Tarrin hissed, his eyes blazing with an incandescent white that suddenly shifted to an evil reddish aura, his paws erupting into flame. "Now, face me." He raised his paws at Kravon. "Face the power of my Goddess!" he roared, and he threw consideration and caution to the four winds and wove together his favorite weave, the chaotic mess of Air, Water, Fire, Divine power, and token flows to grant the spell the power of High Sorcery, and then unleashed it right at Kravon's head. He struck to kill.

  Kravon would have had his head vaporized from his body if the Demoness had not intervened. She interposed herself between Tarrin and Kravon at the last second, shielding the human with her body. Tarrin's Sorcery could do her no harm, but the physical impact of it was sufficient to blow both of them off the platform, sending them crashing to the ground below.

  In that moment, of having his lust for vengeance against Kravon denied, Tarrin lost all semblance of control and flew into a rage. Raising his Illusion into the air, Tarrin unleashed the full force of that rage against the amassed armies surrounding Suld, sending fire and lightning and raw power down upon them. Men and Gobliniods and other creatures screamed and ran away, but there was no escape. Weaves were formed and released with staggering speed, causing absolute destruction wherever they struck. For long moments, he vented his fury on the fleeing figures below, slaughtering them by the hundreds as they fled in mindless panic from his fury. He killed them singly and in groups, blasting them with spells and raw magical power in ways that left very little of them behind to be buried. At least the parts that could be found, anyway. He kept on killing them until some semblance of sanity returned to him and he remembered what he was doing there. He turned in the air and focused himself on that black obelisk, forming the weave of the Sunbolt and releasing it. It tore through the air, right at the black stone--

  --then was absorbed into its black stone as it touched it.

  That done, knowing that that was going to happen, Tarrin pulled aback, as if in surprise. In that moment of inactivity, one of the Demons managed to get itself together enough to use its own magic. Tarrin felt that alien magic attack the integrity of his Illusion, just as the Demon had used its magic to disrupt the anti-magic Ward that Tarrin had woven back in Dala Yar Arak. But before, Tarrin could do nothing about it. This time, he realized, he could have blocked that attempt to destroy his Illusion with ridiculous ease.

  But he did not.

  He let the Demon's spell affect his Illusion, pulling his awareness from it a split second before it was unravelled, and then recalled his consciousness back to his body.

  As soon as he opened his eyes, he felt the exhaustion. Weaving through the Weave like that was very exh
austing, despite the fact that he was only weaving across fifteen longspans. The reality was that he was weaving through the Weave, and manipulating that kind of power over that much distance wasn't easy, even for him. He blew out his breath and removed himself from the Conduit, landing lightly on the roof of the Tower, feeling his knees wobble a bit.

  "Tarrin, what in the blazes was that stunt?" Jenna's voice reached him immediately.

  "Misdirection," he panted in reply. "They know I'm strong, and they were expecting me to try something like that."

  "What in the nine hells does that mean?"

  "It means, sister dear, that now they think they can stop me," he told her. "I took a shot at that obelisk and let one of the Demons disrupt my projection. They had to know that I'd try to destroy the obelisk, and now they think that their spells can stop me from trying again. They'll be worried about me trying to destroy it, so it should give you an easier chance. After all, we both know that we'll have to attack it through the Weave instead of physically."

  There was a long silence. "Dammit, Tarrin, I hate it when you have a good explanation for things," she growled. "But you may be right. If they're going to defend it from you, it'll give me the chance to attack it the right way."

  "I just revealed one of my new tricks, but it should certainly keep them on their toes," he mused grimly. "They'll be so paranoid about seeing another projection of me appear that they won't get much rest. And it should pin those Demons in place. They'll have to stay with the army to protect it from me, instead of trying to cause trouble for the soldiers on the walls. Especially if you weave up an Illusion or two every now and again to keep them where they are. You're closer than I am, you should be able to do that without wearing yourself out."

  "That'll be handy. Alright, I know you're up there, brother, so get yourself into the courtyard," she ordered. "Let us handle this for you. You just keep the Goddess company, and keep her safe."

  "Alright," he said. "Is Kerri there with you?"

  "Right here," she replied.

  "Tell her no heroics. I'm going to the courtyard, just as soon as I pick up my mate, daughter, and Jula. If anyplace in this city is going to be safe, it's going to be the courtyard."

  "Good luck."

  "You too," he said, then he turned towards one of the staircases.

  It was tense, waiting for the sunrise, but it did eventually come. It was the dawn of a fateful day, a day whose outcome wasn't entirely certain.

  Tarrin stood near the fountain, fidgeting uncomfortably, looking through a magically created window in nothing he had made. An image within it showed the enemy army, massing up and preparing for the assault. Jula stood beside him, watching in nervous worry, and Jasana sat on the bench at the foot of the fountain, playing with the doll Triana gave her and chatting idly with Miranda as Jesmind paced near the tent, and Phandebrass' drakes chased each other through the air around the fountain. Everyone else was out there. All his friends and family were out there, out in the danger. His sisters, Triana and Thean, Kimmie and Dar, Azakar and Phandebrass, Camara Tal and Sarraya, they were all out there, all ready to fight. Keritanima had forced Miranda to seek refuge in the courtyard with Tarrin, knowing that it would be the safest place in Suld. Miranda had bristled at the command, but she couldn't argue about it for long. This would be a battle fought primarily with magic, before the magic broke down and it turned into a melee. Miranda was not suited for fighting either kind of battle. Miranda was suited for wars of rumor and messages and looks and plans, not spells and swords and muskets and blood. The little mink Wikuni needed to be out of harm's way. Phandebrass had left Chopstick and Turnkey with Tarrin as well, leaving him a note to kindly watch after his pets, and not discount how useful they may be in his serious task to defend the last line. Phandebrass had managed to say as much in only a page and a half. That was rather brief for the long-winded mage.

  Right about now, Tarrin regretted not having Keritanima tell him what was going on. He scanned the area of the city, seeing lots of Wikuni and Sulasians and Arakites, but little else. All of the katzh-dashi were hiding, which was only smart seeing as how they would be targeted for elimination, but where were the Were-kin? Tarrin looked carefully at the lines on the walls, and recognized Audrey, the sharp-tongued Were-wolf. She was wearing a Wikuni uniform, and was in her human form. Clever! Hiding the Were-kin among the Wikuni, who resembled them too closely to tell them apart when Were-kin were in their hybrid form. He watched Audrey shift into her hybrid form, a bipedal body with fur and a wolf's head, and then she was totally indistinguishable from any other wolf Wikuni. He didn't know the battle plan, so he wasn't sure if everything was ready. About all he remembered was that they were going to open with Shiika, because they knew that the first thing the other side would do would be to send in their Demons. Shiika had arranged to eliminate that threat.

  "When's it going to start?" Jula asked, with a quivering voice.

  "I don't know, daughter," he grunted in reply. "I wasn't sitting in the planning sessions. I don't have much idea what's going to happen."

  "I should be out there."

  "I need you here," he told her. "If they get this far, then it's up to us to stop them. You, me, and Jasana."

  "I know, but it feels...cowardly, hiding here in the courtyard. I know about them, I should be out there helping."

  "You're not a part of them anymore," he reminded her. "You're one of us now."

  "I know, but after what Kravon did to me--" she cut herself short, closing her eyes. That was still a very raw wound for her. "I just wish I had him right here. I'd show him how it feels to be a lab rat!"

  "You may get your chance," Tarrin said absently, seeing that the ki'zadun had finished forming up their lines. Now, they were just waiting for the sun to rise, so it would put the light of the sun in the faces of their enemies. Tarrin watched, and he considered what one of them would have to go through to get to him. The katzh-dashi at the walls, and the combined forces of some four kingdoms, complete with a large number of cannons. Then they'd have to get past the Centaurs and Selani charged to defend the streets against anything that got past the walls, as well as the other soldiers stationed in the city proper. And if they got to the Tower fence, they'd find themselves facing the rest of the Sorcerers, the venerated Knights of Karas and the fearsome Vendari dug in behind impressive fortifications. If that weren't enough, the priests of Karas were also stationed on the Tower grounds, to provide even more magical assistance, and Phandebrass and the handful of Wizards that lived in Suld were also picketed within the monstrous defenses surrounding the Tower. Priest magic could affect Demons, as it was the power of a god, just as Wizards could affect Demons because their magic originated from outside the world, so they were set in the one place the Demons were guranteed to come. Phandebrass may act like a scatterbrained old fool, but Tarrin knew fully well how educated the man was, as well as how experienced and skilled he was in his chosen magical profession. If the other Wizards were as good as him, then they could probably turn back any Demon that managed to reach the Tower.

  All that protection, yet in the face of the countless numbers arrayed against them, Tarrin did not at all feel as confident as he did a few days ago.

  The sun finally managed to peek over the eastern horizon. Tarrin knew that they'd wait just long enough for the sun's light to cause a problem for their advesaries, and then they'd attack. He explained that to Jula, who growled in her throat. "The cowards," she snapped.

  Something was happening. Tarrin saw it on the corner of the image, and mentally moved it. He adjusted it to include sound, and the sound that greeted them was a massive, hideous tearing of the earth. Tarrin watched in mute fascination as a great thing clambered out of the soil of the earth, leaving a massive crater behind, and that fascination turned to utter awe as the thing stood up. It was absolutely immense! He could actually see the very top of its head in the distance, towering over the buildings and the city wall. It had to be a hundred spans tall! What power h
ad summoned up something so huge?

  When it turned to face the inhuman armies sieging Suld, Tarrin realized what it was. It was an Earth Elemental, and its size meant that it was a druidic Elemental. That was Triana's work!

  Goddess! All this time, Triana had had that kind of power, to summon forth something so absolutely massive that it defied rational explantion? And he'd never known!

  "What is that?" Jula gasped, making Miranda leave Jasana's side and come over to look.

  "It's an Earth Elemental, a Druidic one," Tarrin replied. "Triana summoned that thing up. It should take a big bite out of Kravon's army."

  "Then we're right on schedule," Miranda mused.

  "You know the plan, don't you, Miranda?" Tarrin asked.

  "Of course I do," she said with a cheeky grin. "It's easy to miss me, you know. I don't think they even realized I was there. And if they did, they certainly didn't think I was paying attention."

  "I've been standing here mulling all that over, and all I had to do was ask you," he said in disgust.

  "I can't help it if you forget things like that," she teased.

  "It's been a while since I've seen you, Miranda," he said defensively. "Given your attributes, it's easy to forget how smart you are."

  Miranda gave him a beaming smile. "It's not often a girl gets complimented on her mind and her cleavage in the same breath. I feel honored."

  "Save it and tell us what's going on," Jula said impatiently.

  "Well, we all know that this is a battle of magic," she told them, pointing to the image in his magical disc. "Triana's sending that thing out first, because only the Demons can do anything about it, since its sheer size makes most magic useless against it. That keeps them pinned with the army. As soon as it starts stomping on the enemy, Shiika is supposed to summon the Demons that hate the Demons on their side, and hope that they'll get in the first shot while the Demons are trying to slow down Triana's little surprise." She tossed her hair back over her shoulder. "With any luck, they'll keep the Demons too busy to break down the walls, and that'll force the ki'zadun to attempt an assault to compromise the wall."