Only one of the arrows found a home, smashing through the thin slit in the helmet and killing the soldier instantly. Two others fell from the impact of multiple arrows, but the remaining three ran on. Another volley took a heavier toll. Two of the soldiers were wounded with arrows finding the joints between their armor, and the final man turned and ran away from the castle. Lorik was exposed and he knew it. He could have raced to the castle and been up the wide front steps in less than two seconds, but the archers were ready. He felt the surge of excitement and recognized the feeling. It was the same emotional rush he got whenever he spotted an animal he was hunting. The archers saw that he was vulnerable and were about to take him down. Lorik had no doubt that his own armor could deflect the arrows, but his armor didn’t cover his entire body. And while his magically enhanced form might be able to survive being riddled with arrows, it was not something he wanted to experience.
He bent down and grabbed the two wounded soldiers by the back of their armor, just under their helmets. He hoisted them up in front of his body as if they were children’s dolls. The men screamed as more arrows slammed into them as Lorik moved forward, holding the soldiers close to shield his body as he ran toward the castle doors. He tossed the soldiers to the side as he raced up the stairs and kicked the doors in. The two large wooden doors swung in with a crash, almost tearing them off their hinges. Four soldiers with spears dashed toward him, lowering their weapons to run him through.
Lorik drew his swords and spun to the side, batting the nearest spear aside and sending the soldier’s head flying from his body with one powerful slash. The other three soldiers slid to a stop beside the castle doors, but their weapons were cumbersome as they tried to turn back toward Lorik, and he was in a battle rage. He charged the soldiers, stabbing two of the men at the same time, one on each of his swords, then he slung their dying bodies into the last of their number. All three men fell in a heap, and Lorik ran further into the castle.
The resistance inside the castle was more fierce than outside, as the commander’s best men were close by to protect their liege. Lorik saw Braynar only for a moment when he ran into the feasting hall. Lorik was met by another group of soldiers, who were armed with spears and came running toward him. Braynar was on the king’s dais, surrounded by men with swords. They ushered their commander out the rear door that led to the king’s dressing room. For an instant Lorik thought of Kierian, then he flipped over one of the long tables and lifted it like a shield. He was sweating, his heart pumping with excitement. He crashed into the line of spearmen, many of them losing their weapons when their spears punched into the wood and wedged there. He shoved the table into the men, who fell back, some even falling down on the ground. Lorik dropped the table on the men, vaulted over the obstacle and wrenched a spear free. He let the weapon fly toward the king’s throne, and it arced down, impaling one of Commander Braynar’s guards just before the last one slipped into the dressing room and out of sight.
Lorik wanted to chase after the commander, but the spearmen who were still armed rushed at him again. He was forced to spin away from their attack, slashing at the men as he went. Blood and screams filled the great hall. More men came in, and Lorik roared his battle cry. His swords struck like bolts of lighting; his slashes and thrusts were so fast that most of his opponents were killed before they had a chance to launch their own attacks. One well aimed spear thrust did manage to scrape Lorik’s massive upper arm, gouging a hot gash in his shoulder muscle. But he didn’t slow down, the sight of his own blood only making him bolder. The archers who had been stationed on the upper floors began trickling down. Without their commanders forcing them to shoot their own comrades, most took one look into the feasting hall and then ran away.
The battle ended just as suddenly as it had begun. The last of the soldiers from Baskla fled, and Lorik stood in the middle of the carnage looking for an enemy to fight, but there were no more. He realized that Braynar had fled, and Lorik ran out to the front steps of the castle. He couldn’t see Spector but he could feel his friend’s rage. There were no more archers on the walls; they had finally fled from the wraith that was slaughtering them like sheep. Spector was gliding toward the castle, hidden by the dark night sky.
“Braynar is fleeing through the escape tunnel,” Lorik shouted. “See if you can catch him and kill him.”
There was no response from Spector, but Lorik felt him dart away. The wraith could move quickly, and flying allowed him to travel toward the small house that hid the other end of the escape tunnel nearly half a mile from the city walls in a direct line, which was much faster than Lorik could go. He might have sprinted down to the tunnel and chased after the commander, but running full speed through a narrow, dark corridor was a great way to be ambushed. Lorik looked around at the bodies lying on the cobblestones and realized that his short reign in Ortis was marked by death and marred by blood.
The city was terrified; he could feel the fear like the heat from a bonfire. The darkness in him fed off the fear, making him strong, but it didn’t make him happy. Nothing seemed to bring him joy anymore, Yettlebor had stolen that from him, and he wasn’t sure if he would ever get it back. He was the king in Ort City once more, but he had no time to rest. The Outcasts were waiting for him, and he wouldn’t leave them till morning. He wanted to introduce them to their new home.
Chapter 28
Brianna took a running start, diving out of the tunnel and flipping through the air before spreading her arms and gliding over the pool of molten lava. She felt the Bollarg’s attention fix on her as she fell. Her clothes burst into flames as she neared the lava, and then she flipped down, headfirst into the super-heated rock.
The lava felt like water to her; there was no difference in the way heat felt to Brianna. She curved her body and used her control over heat to propel herself back up. She launched herself into the air, flipping and send blobs of magma flying through cavern. There were screeches and roars, but Brianna ignored the other creatures. She knew the Bollarg was watching. The fiery beast’s attention was a tangible pressure on her mind, as if an invisible fist were gripping her brain.
“Come!” the Bollarg’s deafening voice boomed through the room like thunder.
Brianna would have landed at the fire giant’s feet, but instead she sent a wave of heat ahead of her and dove into the rock at the bottom of the cavern. The roar of fury from the fire giant was so intense it made her feel as though she had slammed her head into a wall. She hesitated, her body held in a pocket of molten rock while she shook off the effects of the Bollarg’s rage. Then she swam back up to the far side of the cavern where she’d seen the dwarves march in.
“Bring her back!” the Bollarg demanded in a slow, rumbling voice.
Behind her, Brianna heard the fire giant’s minions screaming in fury as they hurried after her. Brianna ran, her feet bare now, her body covered with flames so that only her arms, lower legs, head, and shoulders were visible above the flashing red fire that engulfed her body. The tunnel that led away from the massive cavern was large, but not finely crafted like the caverns above. She ran but not too fast. She wanted the hideous creatures to chase her, to feel like she was just ahead of them.
As the fastest of the creatures—the Gorslings, as Jute called them—began to close in on Brianna, she picked up her speed, outpacing them. Her heart was pounding hard as she raced through tunnel after tunnel, making turns and waiting for her opportunity to double back to the main cavern. It finally came when the tunnel she was in branched into three different directions. She took the nearest tunnel, glancing back to make sure she was out of sight. Then, after running several paces into the new tunnel, she dove into the wall riding a wave of radiant heat.
Brianna swam through the stone knowing that, if the creatures chasing her were smart, they would realize what had happened. The wall she’d hit with a wave of heat so intense it allowed her to swim through the molten rock would show the newly melted area. Not to mention the heat in that section woul
d be extreme for some time, but she guessed that most of the creatures that chased her weren’t smart enough to discover what’d she done.
Moving through solid rock wasn’t difficult for Brianna, but she couldn’t see where she was going and had to rely on luck to ensure that she didn’t end up in the wrong place. Eventually she made her way into another cavern. She proceeded on foot again and quickly found the main corridor she had escaped into. She was much more cautious on her return to the large cavern. Once she was just outside the huge cave, she could see that not every creature had followed her. Many were simply too deformed to chase after anyone or anything. She looked frantically for Jute but didn’t see the dwarf. She hoped he’d had time to reach the others and wasn’t still waiting in the tunnel she’d left him in.
Distracting the Bollarg would be more difficult than she realized, but she had a plan. It wasn’t perfect—in fact it probably wouldn’t work for long—but she didn’t need to immobilize the fire giant for a long time. She only needed to distract the Bollarg long enough for the dwarves to escape. And if she caused enough havoc in the cavern, the dwarves would at least have a chance. She wished that she could do more, but she knew the rest was up to Jute.
***
When Brianna made her dive, Jute felt his chest tighten, and he couldn’t breathe as he watched her twirl through the air. He’d known that Brianna was a powerful master of fire and earth, but he didn’t realize just how amazing she was until she dove into the pool of lava. He felt his hopes suddenly die as she splashed into the molten rock, only to be revived again when she came flipping out.
One glance told Jute the time to move was upon him. Every eye in the cavern was on Brianna, and Jute tore his own gaze away from her and hurried out of the tunnel. There were paths that angled down from various tunnels into the main cavern. Jute hurried down the crudely carved path and raced from group to group, stealing glances back toward Brianna. He heard the fire giant’s voice and then felt the chaos erupt as hundreds of strange creatures raced after her. Jute had to slow his progress once most of the able-bodied creatures had left.
He began to drag his foot and shake his head, hoping to blend in with wretched creatures whose only purpose was to suffer for the Bollarg. He stopped once the dwarves were in clear view, waiting for them to take notice of him. It took several moments as the dwarves searched the cavern to see what would happen next. Then Babaz saw Jute. The proud dwarf’s curly beard was mostly gone, and what remained was streaked through with gray. His shrewd eyes locked with Jute’s for a moment, then he acted as if he hadn’t seen his fellow dwarf.
Hand signals were passed, and all the dwarves were made ready. Some were exhausted but roused as they waited for their opportunity to flee. Others had suffered injuries and would have to be helped, but the dwarves had a plan in place. Their belief in a rescue had never wavered. It only took a few moments to ready themselves, but the Bollarg was still in the main cavern. Jute knew the fire giant rarely moved. The ancient creature was content to let his minions do his bidding, and the dwarf also knew that Brianna would have to return. Something would have to happen to truly distract the Bollarg, or all was lost.
Then, after what seemed like an eternity to Jute, the stone ceiling around the Bollarg began to glow. Jute saw it before the fire giant, who was motionless on the great throne which had been carved into the side of the cavern. Then the rock above began to fall in great blobs around the Bollarg.
The fire giant roared in absolute fury, and without a second glance, the dwarves were running. They knew their window of opportunity was small and closing fast. Jute dropped the charade and waved his kinsmen to him. As the first ones reached him, he waved them on.
“To the mine shafts!” he cried. “Hurry.”
Jute grabbed a dwarf who was limping and lent his strength to the injured dwarf. Their progress was slow, but the fire giant paid them no heed. Jute was drenched with sweat, and his ears were ringing by the time he reached the ramp that led up to the tunnel. Half of the dwarves were ahead of him and the other half behind, just as Jute started up.
“Stop them!” the fire giant’s voice boomed through the cavern.
Jute had just enough time to look up and see that the massive creature was pointing toward the dwarves, then he put his head down and ran.
***
Brianna swam in a large circle, moving as fast as she could. The molten rock grew hotter and hotter; she could tell it was getting more fluid, and then it began to fall. She raced higher and higher, letting the blobs of lava drop down around the fire giant, who was snarling up at her. She had no time to worry about the dwarves. It took all her strength to keep moving. She felt like she had run for miles without stopping; every part of her body ached, and her lungs were screaming for breath.
Then she heard what she had been waiting for. The fire giant had screamed and tried to reach her, but she was inside the stone. Then the Bollarg called on his minions to stop the dwarves, and Brianna knew it was time for the last part of her plan.
She had no idea how deep the furrow she was making around the rock that was directly over the Bollarg was. But she knew it was the perfect time to have it drop on the creature’s head. She turned from her circling and began heating the rock directly over the fire giant. Only this time, as she raced from one side to the other, she came out into the gap she had made. Once the layer she was swimming through grew hot enough, the stone below it fell.
It was a huge cylinder-shaped block of stone. It fell directly onto the fire giant, who couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. Brianna wanted to wait and see what her plan had accomplished but she knew there was no time. She swam through the thick ceiling of rock just as the huge boulder she’d made hit the Bollarg. The impact was so great she felt it even in the sold rock above the cavern.
There were vibrations from every side, and when she popped out over the opening where the dwarves were running, the dust and noise hit her like a physical blow. The last of the dwarves were on the ramp now, followed by a horde of the Bollarg’s minions. Brianna fell from the ceiling and crashed into a group of the fire giant’s most disfigured Gorslings. She landed on her right side, the impact jarring her spine and making bright spots float in her vision.
Pain lanced through her back and neck as rough hands took hold of her. For one brief moment, she let flames erupt all over her body, driving the wretched creatures back. Then she looked up as the last of the dwarves disappeared inside the tunnel that led away from the main cavern. She lifted her left arm and channeled all her power into a fiery blast that melted the stone of the opening. It only took a moment, and the tunnel was sealed behind the dwarves. It was all the help she could give them before she collapsed in exhaustion.
***
“Get those dwarves up the wall!” shouted Babaz. “We’ll stand guard here.”
“Where’s the wizard?” Hammert asked as Jute came through the tunnel into the smaller cavern that led up to the mining shaft.
“He isn’t here,” Jute said through clenched teeth. His arm was aching so bad it was hard for the dwarf to breathe, but he kept moving. He pushed the limping dwarf toward the wall to start the difficult climb up toward the mine shaft.
“Where is he?” demanded Babaz, who had a large stone in his hand to use as a weapon.
“The fire spirit said he’s in the Highlands, helping our kin,” Jute shouted back as he began his own climb up the wall.
“I don’t see anything else in the tunnel,” said Babaz as the last of the dwarves staggered into the cavern.
“She melted it,” said one of the dwarves. “Nearly singed my backside as the stone collapsed behind us.”
“Then we have time,” Babaz said. “Let’s get everyone up the mine shaft.”
“What’s going on at home?” Hammert asked as he climbed up beside Jute.
“I don’t know, but there is evil all across the land.”
“We knew that, didn’t we?” Babaz called as he helped one of the other dwa
rves climb. “The witch’s army saw to that.”
“No,” Jute said. “The wizard defeated her, and the army broke. The humans won.”
“I can’t believe it,” Babaz said. “Why only come looking for us now?”
“That’s a question we’ll have to ask the wizard when we find him—now climb.”
It wasn’t an easy task, but the dwarves made the climb up to the mine shaft, then they began the long ascent back up into the glorious caverns above. Those with the most strength gathered the fallen tools left behind in the mine’s depths. It was the closest thing to weapons the dwarves could get. They ascended the mine shaft at a steady pace. The most able-bodied stayed at the rear in case the fire giant’s wretched army came after them, but they didn’t.
Jute expected to see Brianna at any moment, but she never appeared. He wanted to stop and wait for her, even go back and help her, but he knew he couldn’t. He had to keep going and lead his people out of the caverns. Even if that meant sealing Brianna in the underworld, forever.
Chapter 29
The roar sounded above Zollin again, the terrifying noise echoing down the massive chamber. It was impossible to tell just how tall the circular room was, but Zollin didn’t think he could get to the top carrying both the gold and his prisoner. He had to make a choice, and while he couldn’t fathom not helping Ferno, he wasn’t even sure if the dragon was still alive to help. Amvyr, on the other hand, was alive and beginning to stir.
Zollin had no idea if the worm creature he’d seen high up on the stairs was real, or if the roaring that echoed down from above was from a living, breathing, creature, but he knew he had to go up. He was tired, his legs shaking from his efforts already, sweat making his hair stick to his forehead and burning the raw skin on his face. He was so thirsty that swallowing was impossible, and he knew that if he didn’t escape soon, he would be too weak to break free from the sinister presence inside the ancient castle.
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