The horse bared his teeth, flattened his ears and pranced between her and the Yurgha. Suddenly the horse was lifted bodily and slammed against the cliff face.
‘Duskar!’ Issa screamed, as the horse slid to the ground.
The stick that had caused her so much pain lifted in the air and struck her again. She convulsed and screamed, unable to do anything but endure it. She glimpsed Duskar struggling to his feet, sides heaving, nose to the ground.
The Yurgha advanced slowly and a cruel smile cracked Lona’s face. Through the agony, Issa fumbled for the Flow or the Under Flow, she no longer cared which.
‘Block her!’ Lona shouted.
Just as she touched the magic it vanished. The stick lifted in the air, Issa tried to roll away, her entire body shaking as if she had been hit by lightning. The terror of that pain was uncontrollable, if she could run away from this fight, she would, but her body had been turned into useless jelly.
Lona made a strange movement with her hand. Her fingers danced in the air, and the Yurgha beside her did the same. The vortex surged forwards swallowing Issa and enveloping them all in walls of swirling black.
Lona advanced, lifting the black orb and stick, her eyes predatory.
There was a shudder, a vibration in the ether that made Lona pause and the Yurgha look around them. It came again. The air rippled and swayed, making nothing appear to be quite solid.
‘What was that?’ Lona hissed to the man beside her who wore his black hair just on the back of his mostly bald head, tied into a small but elaborate top knot. His eyes were black and as cruel as Lona’s.
‘Something comes,’ he growled, looking back into the vortex—then his eyes widened in fear.
Issa heard and felt nothing, not even in the Flow, but all the Yurgha fell to the ground as if the earth had been pulled from under them. A golden rope snaked out of the black and lassoed the man around the neck. He screamed and grabbed at it but the rope tightened, yanked back and beheaded him in a spray of white blood. His head and body fell into the black vortex.
Issa gagged.
‘Anukon!’ howled a female Yurgha.
Another golden rope darted out of the bulging black walls of the vortex, lassoing the female who had screamed in warning. The other Yurgha leapt to her aid and then they were all battling against a force Issa could not see. She rolled on to her stomach and scrabbled to her knees, her body shaking so much there was no way she could stand.
She watched as the Yurgha screamed and fought and died in front of her, their alien howls piercing her ears – a sound she would never forget.
A Yurgha dropped right in front of her, felled by a strange alien being that shimmered as it appeared on top of him and stabbed down with a glittering blue shard. The Yurgha screamed and writhed and then vanished. The being stood and turned to Issa. It was bigger than a Yurgha and humanoid in form but hairless, and a little like a Histanatarn. However, this beast was powerful and heavy with muscle. Its skin was green, becoming pale peach on its chest and stomach. Dark green spots flecked in an orderly fashion over its hairless face and head. Its nose was wide and flat, and its mouth long and turned down. Its ears were large and pointed and its eyes small and yellow-orange.
Issa caught her breath. It opened an impossibly large mouth to reveal a blue tongue and rows of tiny, dark, pointed teeth. It roared and started towards her.
Issa crawled weakly away, crab-like. The black stick that had tormented Issa now turned upon this creature. It battered the Anukon on the head, sending it to its knees with a roar.
‘Die, Anukon!’ Lona screamed, and the Under Flow burst from her orb into the creature. It howled, convulsed, went silent, and then exploded, showering everything in pale green gore. The smell was something else. Issa vomited.
The vortex wavered erratically and the walls that had imprisoned Issa now began to flicker and fade. Another Anukon leapt close, but it didn’t see her trying to crawl away and whipped its lasso to snare another Yurgha. Chaotic energy exploded and the whole vortex shuddered and shrank.
She had to get away before the Anukon came for her as well. Issa crawled onto her feet, hunting for a way out, but the vortex walls still surrounded her.
Lona screamed suddenly and ran towards Issa, panic vivid in her black eyes. In her desperate haste, the Yurgha dropped her orb and agony wand. A lasso whipped up and Lona fell, her arms out-stretched. The look of absolute terror on her face made Issa lurch towards her.
She caught Lona’s pale, delicate hands, a wave of conflicting emotions assaulting her. An Anukon lunged, blue shard raised.
‘No,’ Issa screamed as the shard descended.
She felt Lona jerk, her hands clench and release. Her black eyes opened wide and stared at Issa as a pearly white liquid fell like tears from them and from the corners of her mouth. Lona gasped, her eyes glazing over as she was viciously yanked from Issa’s grasp and back into the vortex.
Five Anukon appeared before Issa and roared. The black orb rolled towards her, capturing their attention, and they scrambled for it. One fell in the struggle, impeding the others, and a fight broke out between them. Another pulled free and lunged for the orb.
‘No!’ Issa screamed and lunged for it as well, sprawling on the ground in the process.
The Anukon got to it first and with a roar of victory grabbed the orb. A look of surprise formed on its face, then it twisted in pain and jerked violently. The veins in its neck turned black and it screamed as its skin burst into flames, the orb tumbling from its grasp.
The vortex trembled violently; there were no Yurgha to manage or sustain it. Air rushed into it, sucking on Issa as she got to her knees. She fell back to the ground as tornado-like forces tore at everything. The vortex heaved, then folded into itself and vanished.
Issa lay on the red dirt gasping, her cheek pressed into the ground. She looked up, there was nothing, no Yurgha, no Anukon, no bodies or blood of any sort. She sucked in the heavy air, wishing it would give her sustenance. In the next moment, Asaph and Ehka were by her side.
‘Are you all right?’ Asaph helped her to sit. ‘What happened, did you fall? Another vision?’
‘No.’ Issa almost laughed at the thought. ‘Didn’t you see anything? Something much more…much worse—Lona came, in the vortex. There were many Yurgha and then the Anukon attacked them. Hah! Maioria is being attacked by far more than Baelthrom and the Dark Rift.’
She suddenly remembered Duskar and staggered to her feet, using Asaph for balance. The horse had trotted over, his ears back and his head drooping. He seemed unharmed apart from the grazes on his side. Thank the goddess, she thought, and hugged his neck.
As she drank water from her canister, she told Asaph what had happened. Some of her strength returned but she longed to lie down and rest. Duskar could do with it too.
‘The Yurgha are always fighting the Anukon and the Rorsken, so Freydel said,’ she finished. ‘That was how they fell in the first place. I…I tried to save her, I don’t know why. I saw her terror, like my sister’s, like any other being afraid. But I could not.’ She felt confused.
‘That bitch just tried to kill you!’ Asaph growled. ‘I hope she died painfully. Pray to Feygriene, they don’t return. The last thing we need right now is more enemies attacking us.’
She nodded and was about to climb into her saddle when she froze, her gaze falling onto the black orb lying innocently on the ground.
Asaph stared at it too. ‘What the…? That thing is evil.’
Issa walked slowly towards it. ‘It is evil, I suppose.’ For a long moment she looked at it remembering how it had destroyed the Anukon. She crouched down beside it and slowly reached forward her gloved right hand, the strange demon magic in her hand tingled.
‘Don’t touch—’ Asaph spoke too late. She touched the orb. It became hot and energy flared from it over her hand, not painful but sharp, like pins and needles. It was testing her just as the other orbs in her care had done, and then it accepted her. Is it the black
drink running in my veins? But she could not know why it hadn’t destroyed her.
Illendri did not respond to the orb at all, not like it did when in the presence of its true sisters. Slowly, Issa stood lifting the orb. ‘It killed the Anukon because they’re enemies of the Yurgha, and perhaps because Lona was not dead at that moment. I suppose she’s gone now. We’re not enemies of the Yurgha, though they try to make us so. This holds Yurgharon power, I assume it uses the Under Flow.’
‘Throw it into the Abyss before it destroys you,’ Asaph growled.
‘I’ll get rid of it, but not into the Abyss where it can be used by something worse than demons,’ said Issa, pondering on what to do. ‘It must be destroyed, but for now I must keep it away from those who would use it to do harm. It will destroy me in time, just as Freydel’s orb has destroyed him. I won’t keep it long, but I feel that this thing has an as yet unforeseen purpose.’
‘I don’t like it at all,’ Asaph shook his head but said no more as he helped her into the saddle.
They took an easy canter to catch up with the others, and all Issa could see in her mind was Lona’s face, her terror, her fading eyes. The woman murdered my sister, destroyed my mother and tried to kill me several times. She corrupted Ayeth and caused the fall of Aralansia.
Issa did hate her and it was a burning hatred, yet in the woman’s last moments she had felt pity. The Dark Rift might be within me, but it has yet to destroy my humanity. She clung to that, even if being human was painful. How long would it take before the black drink consumed her completely? How long before she could no longer fight it? If there had been any more poison on that dart, the change would have happened already. She would not think about that, there was still time to do what she had to do before the end.
I’ll be dead before the black drink takes me, she promised herself.
Issa stared at the monstrosity that were the mountains of Maphrax. The three peaks of black rock she’d seen in visions and nightmares made the breath catch in her throat. They towered above an otherwise flat plane, bridging the gap between the barren land and endless stormy sky.
Between them and the mountain stood hordes upon hordes of Maphraxies, more than she had ever seen, an insurmountable number.
‘Do not be put off by their numbers,’ Marakon said gruffly by her side.
‘Whatever our numbers, our soldiers are worth two to every one of them,’ spat Bokaard, who stood the other side of the commander.
She glanced over her shoulder and saw legion upon legion of their own glorious army, helmets gleaming gold and silver, pennants trailing above them. Her heart swelled, how could they fail?
Her raven mark tingled. She closed her eyes and felt for the dark moon. She imagined it rising, huge and dominant over the mountains, casting its blue light over the barren land and banishing the unnatural storms plaguing this place.
Thunder peeled, making her jump and forcing her eyes open. Black light burst down through the clouds hurling straight into the central mountain.
‘What’s this, more trickery? Better get on with it,’ growled Eiretonne, indicating the impending battle. The dwarf looked rather awkward atop a huge chestnut stallion. He had his axe already drawn.
Dark energy moved, and the Flow became erratic. Issa gripped Illendri in a sweaty palm, licked her lips and prepared to use it in an instant. She glanced up, Asaph flew above them with five other dragons, all keeping their eyes on the huge forms of the Dromoorai perched on the mountainside of Maphrax. The Dromoorai had not yet been given their orders, otherwise they’d be attacking, and somewhere, deep within his lair, Baelthrom watched and orchestrated this whole evil scene.
Soldiers shifted nervously as the air became charged with unbearable anticipation and fear. Issa forced her breath to come slow and deep.
Light flared and the Under Flow surged towards them, faster than she could track. It smacked against their magic shields, shattering them. Horses reared and bucked, soldiers fell or were hurled into the air. The Under Flow engulfed them, confusing minds, making horses bolt, spreading terror into every living heart. Their entire ordered front line scattered into disarray.
A piercing horn sounded, followed by a roar and the shaking of ground as the Maphraxies advanced.
Perhaps it was the black orb at her side or the black drink within, but Issa regained her senses before the others. She struggled to control Duskar but he whinnied and shied, and her mind could not reach him.
‘No, no, no,’ she gasped, whirling around to see the Maphraxies and their Foltoy and death hounds pounding towards the floundering army. They struggled in the Under Flow, whereas she did not. I must break the spell!
Issa leapt off Duskar and forced her shaking legs to run towards the enemy horde. She tried not to look at their howling faces, their swinging black iron maces, and paused somewhere between the two armies. Unsheathing Illendri, she let the Flow fill her body, and with a scream, plunged her sword down into the earth.
The Flow burst out of her body, through her hands and into her sword, joining with Illendri’s power as it streamed into the earth. The immense force threatened to drag her with it, and she pulled herself back, fighting to withstand the unleashed power of Illendri.
The ground heaved and became like liquid around her blade. It rippled outwards from her in a wave, the ripple growing in size as it rolled towards the enemy with increasing speed. Issa stared open-mouthed as the enormous wave smashed into the Maphraxie front line, hurling them into the air. The lesser waves that followed it knocked those still standing to their knees.
‘Maioria fights back!’ she gasped and pulled Illendri from the ground.
A roaring cheer split the air behind her, and she joined them. Duskar came to her and she remounted him and turned back to her position beside Marakon. The armies of the Free Peoples quickly ordered back into line, their faces alight with renewed confidence.
‘A neat trick,’ said the commander. Then, without waiting for a response, he roared, ‘Soldiers, charge!’
The horses needed no telling, and they leapt towards the floundering enemy. Issa gripped hold of Duskar, excitement rushing through her. The gap between them and the enemy closed before the Maphraxies had managed to form a defensive line. Metal clapped against metal like thunder as they hurtled through them before being forced to slow, at which point the world turned into chaos.
A Maphraxie loomed before her. Duskar rose and cut it down. Another swung a battle axe, and she fell to the left, dodging it. Righting herself, she slashed down into its face. She never saw it fall for Duskar turned to another. Seconds later, a Feylint Halanoi spear took it in the throat. For a moment she saw nothing but a sea of ugly howling faces and black weapons shaking, then, knights pressed in around her and she was behind a line of comrades.
Duskar stumbled over a body. There was a clash of steel and iron barely a foot from her head and smoke filled the air. Something sprayed in her eyes; black or red blood, although she couldn’t be sure, but it stung, and she struggled to see.
A hand grabbed her leg with a crushing grip. She kicked and stabbed her sword, seeing the Maphraxie fall through the blur. Regaining clear vision, she parried a descending club, the bludgeoning force shuddering her entire body. Her right hand strengthened its grip on Illendri and she struck back, releasing the Flow. The club severed into two, and the Maphraxie blinked at its broken weapon, then a spear tip exploded through its shoulder.
The battle heaved forwards and back. Sometimes she faced Maphraxies, other times she couldn’t see them for the press of knights before her. In the brief lull behind a line of knights, a roar from above caught her attention. The golden dragon dove and breathed fire upon the enemy. A red dragon followed and clawed the ground, filling his talons with Maphraxies. It crushed them and hurled their mangled bodies onto the enemy below.
Three Dromoorai darted in and chased them away, and Issa lost sight of Asaph and the red. Energy shook the ground, and she looked to Maphrax. In the Flow, black magic pou
red from the sky into the mountains. Cold fear trickled down her spine. What was the bastard up to? I should be fighting him, the head of the beast, not out here fighting his hordes.
Another power made itself known and she suddenly felt light-headed. Two powers are rising, the dark moon and that of Maphrax. A wave of energy tingled through her body and she gripped Duskar’s mane. I cannot fight in battle and command the Flow. The dark moon is rising.
She hunted for a way to get out of the melee. To the West, the press of soldiers thinned, and she spied a bare patch of ground beside some rocks. She urged Duskar towards it.
It took an age to get through the press of spears and soldiers. Even as she made the inches to the bare ground, she felt the moon’s power increasing in ever greater waves. Her raven mark burned, the talisman flared, and shimmering indigo magic suddenly swamped her vision. She could no longer see Duskar beneath her for the indigo light filling the Flow. It grew and grew within her until she felt as if her body would burst into light too, pushing back the Under Flow, pushing back the darkness that infected her.
Stopping Duskar, she gripped the talisman finding it helped to channel the overwhelming magic. In the Flow, an enormous black vortex appeared over the battlefield. She blinked to look into the physical, and it was there too! Soldiers and Maphraxies fell back from it, forgetting their fight between each other.
‘The demons are waiting, Issy,’ said Maggot, the shadows moving beside her. ‘King says they need a portal.’
She looked into Maggot’s yellow eyes, all that had materialised in front of her. ‘Tell Marakon now, Maggot. He has the spear that will open up a portal, and I can’t reach him from here. Don’t be scared, he won’t hurt you.’
Another surge of power came from the blue moon and her reality expanded. Her body began to feel distant as she felt herself rising, becoming detached from all that was happening around her.
The power receded, and reality came back to her in a rush. Maggot was no longer there.
War of the Raven Queen: The Goddess Prophecies Fantasy Series Book 6 Page 44
