“Did you see that?” Nikkel said. “Your arrows are too slow, Billip. Let me try.”
Elypsa engaged in battle with a blood ranger. Her swords struck like snakes that made the burly dwarf’s finely honed skills with an axe seem clumsy.
Nikkel fired. Clatch-Zip!
Elypsa, with both hands filled with flashing steel, knocked the bolt aside while disemboweling the blood ranger at the same time. With his bowels hanging out, the blood ranger fought on. Elypsa cut him into hunks and pieces then turned her sights on Brak and Georgio, who were coming her way.
Time seemed to freeze. Elypsa moved in like a jackrabbit. She ducked underneath Georgio’s swing and gored him through the chest. As he collapsed, he turned to look at Brak. She chopped him in the leg. Venir’s son went down.
“Brak!” Venir yelled.
Elypsa caught his eyes and smiled. She jabbed her sword into Brak’s throat.
CHAPTER 35
Melegal and Lefty joined Fogle on one of Castle Kling’s many terraces that gave full view of the courtyard and the city streets. Every man they had left fought from on top of the castle wall behind the parapets. The underlings came like a swarm of locusts. Victory blazed in their gemstone eyes.
“The hourglass of life is running out right before our eyes, Fogle.” Melegal scratched his nose. “Don’t just stand there with your eyes rolled up in your head. Find Sinway.”
“I am doing all that I can.” The mage looked straight on, his eyes wide and spacey. “There are only thousands of underlings to sift through, and those are the ones that I can see.”
Melegal gave Fogle’s eyes a deeper look. He could see tiny windows of a bird’s-eye view from the sky. “There!”
“What is it?” Lefty said. The little halfling balanced himself on the back of a chair. Standing tall, he looked over Melegal’s shoulder.
He got nose to nose with Fogle. “I see Elypsa coming out of that castle.”
“I don’t see her,” Fogle said.
“How can I see it and you not see! There, she comes underneath the barbicans now!”
“I don’t—”
Melegal slapped Fogle in the face. “Look harder!”
Fogle’s jaws clenched. With heated words he said, “Yes, I see her now, and you better never slap me again.”
“Just find Sinway,” Melegal said. “She had to have been with him, and that castle is just as good a place to hide as any.”
“I’m sending Inky in.” Fogle’s head moved in stiff, birdlike movements.
Melegal tapped his foot.
“Are you nervous?” Lefty said. “I’m not used to seeing you fidget.”
“I’m impatient. I want to get this fight over with.”
“Even if I find Master Sinway, who are we going to fight him with? It’s just us. We need Venir,” Fogle said.
“Just find him. We’ll worry about Venir later.” Melegal moved to the edge of the terrace. Underlings were slipping through the castle’s defenses. “This is not good.”
Lefty hopped onto the terrace wall. “We aren’t going to make it, are we?”
“Would it be so bad if we didn’t?”
The halfling shrugged. “I suppose not.”
Fogle let out a startled “Whoa.” He shuffled back a step. He rubbed his temples. Holding onto the back of a chair, he steadied himself. “He’s there.”
Ebenezer and Rayal emerged on the terrace. The handsome father and daughter looked like they’d just escaped the battlefield. Ebenezer asked, “Who’s there?”
“Master Sinway,” Fogle said. “I’ve located him. We need to find Venir.”
“He’s stationed at the East Gate,” Ebenezer said, shaking his head. “He’ll never make it back here. If we have a chance to strike at Sinway, now is the time. He’ll be expecting Venir, but he won’t be expecting us.” Ebenezer drew his sword. “Now, we must strike.”
Fogle looked at Melegal. “He’s right.”
“I know, but he’s a royal.” His eyes met Rayal’s. “I don’t think we have time to debate the matter.”
“I can open a portal and keep it open a long time,” Fogle said, eyeing Rayal. “But I’ll need some assistance on the other side. Can I count on you?”
“Of course.”
He handed her his spellbook. “Just keep these pages open. If you see anyone but us coming through, close it. The portal door will allow anyone to pass.”
Lefty tugged on Melegal’s hand. “I can fetch Venir. Remember, I’m fast and sneaky. I can do it.”
Melegal rubbed the halfling’s head. “Feel free to bring all of the help you can find, except Quikster. Leave him out of this, and if I don’t come back, he’s yours.”
“I’ll take care of him.” Lefty gave him a subtle salute. He hopped off the wall and, quick as a deer, departed from the terrace.
Melegal made a quick study of the group. There was a comfort zone with Venir that he always had, no matter how much he hated it. This was a different group. He had his doubts about Fogle and didn’t know anything about Ebenezer. It was the coolness in Rayal’s eyes that gave him ease. There was grace and honesty about her that he’d rarely experienced with another royal, aside from the likes of Kam. Adjusting his cap, he said, “Do we need a plan?”
Fogle’s eyes shifted. “Inky is perched just outside of a chancery window. I can see Sinway. He is alone, sitting at a table, and his attention is elsewhere.”
“It’s time that we dropped in on him.”
“I can open the portal in the room, but he’ll see it coming. It would be best to cross into another location,” Fogle suggested. His fingers began making circular patterns in the air. “We can approach from one of the corridors. I don’t think he’ll expect us to walk in, as opposed to popping in before his eyes.”
“Fogle,” Melegal said, checking the dart launchers on his wrists, “I’m waiting.”
With a nod, Fogle began to recite a full incantation. Within seconds, an oval the size of a door appeared out of nothing. On the other side was a stone-block corridor. Fogle poked his head in. He leaned back. “The way is clear.”
Melegal stepped through the portal as if it was another door leading into the hallway. Ebenezer was right on his heels. He pointed toward the closed wood-frame door on the other side.
Fogle nodded at him. “He’s in there.”
“Don’t you find it a little odd that there aren’t any guards outside his door?”
Ebenezer shrugged. “When you have nothing to fear, there is no need for guards. Let’s see to it he regrets it.” He started forward. Melegal hooked his arm.
“The two of you go first. I’m going to conceal myself. It will give us an edge.” He went to twist the vanishing ring on his finger. “Slat.”
“What’s wrong?” Fogle asked.
“I believe Lefty pilfered my ring.”
The door at the end of the hall swung inward. Master Sinway stood on the other side of the doorway. His eyes were molten iron. His floating body radiated with magic. “Welcome, fools. I’ve been expecting you. Your time to die has come.” Tendrils of lightning blasted from his fingers.
CHAPTER 36
Venir exploded into action. Seeing Brak fall under Elypsa’s piercing blade split Venir’s heart open. Rage built inside. Eyes fixed on the brutal scene, he watched as Chongo pounced between Elypsa and his son before she delivered another fatal blow to the young man. Racing down the wall, he unfastened the leather cords at his waist that were fastened around Helm. With his fingers stuffed in the eyelets, he started to put the helmet on. The hairs on his neck rose. Small shadows fell over his back. His chin turned toward the sky.
Lightning streaked from the sky at the hands of underling magi. Their pulsating power tore through Venir’s body.
Venir’s strong neck tossed backward. “Gah!” The fierce jolt put him down on his hands and knees. He lost his grip on the helmet. The ornate hunk of metal skipped out of his reach. With his axe in hand and body aching, he crawled straight for it.<
br />
The underlings floated downward in their billowing robes. Their hands produced coils of mystic rope. In unison, two of them lashed out with the mystic whips. The mystic tendrils found purchase around Venir’s neck and legs. They yanked the warrior backward, keeping Helm out of reach.
“Nooooo!” Venir fought like a tiger against the magic bonds. He wanted to get to the ground and avenge Brak. He would have Elypsa’s head. In the deep recesses of his mind, he realized his mistake. He should have killed her when he had the chance. Now, Brak was dead. Venir’s wriggling jerked at the underlings that snared him. Sitting up, he grabbed the flesh-burning whip of energy and reeled the underling in. His hands smoked. “I’m going to kill you bastards.”
More magi floated up over the battle. Crossbow bolts ripped into their bodies. Many of the missiles were deflected by mystic shields. The magi floated past Venir’s eyes and over the other side of the gate. The City of Bone’s last moments were closing in.
Hand over hand, he tugged the underling toward him. The underling pulled back, but his strength, mystic or not, was nothing compared to the angry man. The underling’s pale-sapphire eyes were the size of plates. It came within Brool’s striking range.
Venir stabbed.
Glitch!
The underling’s body buckled. The fiend fell onto Venir’s legs, which were still tangled by the other magi. Venir took his axe and chopped at the cords. The mystic bonds fell away. The underling’s hands flared up with glaring light. With rage-fueled eyes, it prepared another lethal strike.
Clatch-zip!
A heavy crossbow bolt rocketed through the underling’s heart. The fiend lurched backward, clutching its chest, then floated down the outer side of the battlements. Nikkel, reloading Bolt-Thrower, gave Venir a nod.
Venir climbed to his feet and checked the battle at the front of the East Gate. The wall of flames flickered. More enemies charged through it. He lost sight of his son in the chaotic sea of blood and guts. Something throbbed inside his head. Helm! He caught sight of it being kicked around the parapet wall. He ran for it. His time had come. Just paces from the object being back in his possession, a strand of lightning blasted into Helm on the rocky deck. It flew upward in an arc, turning over in midair, just a hand’s breadth from Venir’s diving reach. The helmet seemed to hover in space for a long moment, then it dropped below the parapet into the hordes of underlings on the outside of the wall.
***
Elypsa’s flashing blades licked out and bit into Chongo’s noses. Fearless, she marched into the slavering jaws of the biting beast, cutting hunks of fur from his flesh. Chongo’s jaws bit and snapped. Elypsa evaded with the speed of a fly dodging a giant’s swats.
On the ground, Georgio lay in wait with his chest burning. Her swords needled his healing innards. Now, he played possum. Elypsa skipped backward out of Chongo’s range, landing inches from Georgio’s face. He closed his arms around her like a bear trap and tackled her. “I have you, murdering fiend!”
With uncanny agility, Elypsa squirted free of his grip. Behind her, Chongo charged. An ogre barreled through the weakening wall of flames. It rammed into the attacking dog. The tangled-up beast and brute went at it like starving bears fighting for a hive of honey.
In a backspin, Elypsa kicked Georgio to the ground. He dropped to a knee. With her head tilted, the bewildered underling fighter said, “You are not dead. How can that be?”
With a sword in one hand and his throbbing crotch in the other, Georgio rose to his feet. “I can’t be killed, underling.”
Elypsa’s cool lavender eyes brightened. “Now that sounds challenging. Have at me then?”
Georgio rushed the woman. Using his superior length, he jabbed at her belly.
With more ease than a jungle cat, Elypsa sidestepped Georgio’s sword point and slashed.
Slice!
Georgio’s sword hand came off at the wrist.
“You are an awful swordsman,” she said. Using the tip of her sword, she flicked Georgio’s sword into the air, stuck hers in the ground, and snatched Georgio’s out of the air. Her eyes caressed the length of steel. “Now, this is a fine weapon. You are not worthy of it. It’s only suitable that the blade avenges itself and kills you.”
“Do your best,” Georgio said. Standing tall over the woman, he pulled his shoulders back. “As I said, I can’t be killed.”
“We’ll see.” Using Georgio’s longsword, which at one time belonged to the royal Tonio, Elypsa gored him through the heart.
Georgio pushed himself on that blade. He grabbed her wrist. His voice cracked. “You… can’t… kill me!”
She jabbed the sharp end of her thumbnail into his eye. “You will die, human buffoon!”
“I’ve felt pain worse than this!” Georgio sunk his good fingers into Elypsa’s hair.
“Let go of me!” She stabbed him repeatedly.
Georgio held on. “I just need to hold you a little longer.”
“Why?” she screeched. “I am stabbing you to death, you fool. Release me.”
He tilted his bleeding face to one side and peered beyond her shoulder.
Elypsa turned. Brak stood behind her, glowing cudgel gripped in hand, with his stormy white eyes rolled up in his head. He was murmuring. The vicious hole she put in the side of his neck no longer bled freely. She cringed.
“That’s my friend, Brak. I think he’s hungry,” Georgio said.
Gathering her senses, Elypsa said, “No matter.” She twisted under Georgio and cut his other hand off at the wrist. She was free in time to parry Brak with crossed swords.
The cudgel came down. The blow’s power drove through the swords into Elypsa’s perfect face. The jarring impact sent her to her knees. “You cannot defeat me!” she shouted in defiance. She thrust at his body. The blades slid through the links of Brak’s armor. The berserker kept swinging. Her body was crushed underneath the relentless anvil heavy blows. Whop! Whop! Whop! Whop! Whop!
CHAPTER 37
Melegal pressed his body against the wall the moment lightning erupted from Master Sinway’s fingers. The white-hot strands scraped over his back, scorching his flesh like a hot iron. The crackling energy that lit up the hallway in pure whiteness winked out. Something sucked the power strands out of the hall.
“Impossible!” Sinway raged. The wisps of energy on his fingertips were fading.
Fogle held a ball of energy in front of him. The big-headed wizard smiled. “Nothing is impossible when you cast the spell of negation. I mastered it after you destroyed my orb. I even made some improvements.” Sinway’s energy that was harnessed by the sphere now flowed into Fogle. The mage unleashed the lightning with a fling of his hand.
Sssssssrazzzzz!
The charge of power smote the underling in the chest. Master Sinway somersaulted back into the chancery, skipped off the table, and slammed into the wall.
Ebenezer, Fogle, and Melegal made surprised looks at one another. Ebenezer charged ahead. “No time to hesitate, men. Let’s see to it that he’s finished!” Brandishing his sword, he said, “For Kling!”
Inside the chancery, Master Sinway was against the wall, with his back to them on all fours. He began to rise.
In great strides, Ebenezer crossed the distance and bore down on the underling. He lifted his broadsword to strike. The blade came down on the underling master’s back. The metal blade busted like glass. The rangy royal attacked with the pommel. The metal skipped from the underling’s head like a stone.
Sinway swiped his hand backward. Ebenezer flew from one side of the room to the other. He hit the painting on the wall with a loud smack. He body sagged. Sinway rose from the floor. His appearance became larger than life as he hovered over the floor with his head only a few feet from the ceiling.
Fogle unleashed a barrage of brilliant-green bolts from his fingertips. The beads of light deflected. Calling on greater words of power, Fogle’s arms became tornados of mystic light. The power blasted across the room into Master Sinway. The un
derling lord absorbed the fire that danced harmlessly around his body.
“You humans have no power over me. I’m always prepared for everything.”
Melegal summoned the power of his cap. It allowed him to master a few commands in Underling. He focused his thoughts on a single word. After all, he’d battled the likes of Scorch, and certainly, Sinway wouldn’t be more powerful. He needed the ultimate distraction. Quit, Sinway! Quit! Quit! Quit! Quit!
Master Sinway dipped toward the floor. His expression went blank. The fire in his eyes dulled.
Fogle turned up the heat, unleashing more of his powers. The dazzling beams washed over Sinway like a waterfall pressing him against the wall
Quit! Quit! Quit! Quit! Quit! Quit! Quit! Quit! Melegal felt warm blood running down his nose into his mouth. His head was splitting. Quit! Quit! Quit! Quit!
“What is this tickling inside my mind?” Master Sinway’s voice grew in strength. Fogle’s powers washed over the underling, searing the wall but nothing else. “Quit? Why, I don’t quit, I conquer.” His eyes recharged with the glare of smelting iron. He threw an arc of energy from his arms that split through Fogle’s spell and the rest of the room.
Melegal was flung from his feet. He struck the wall, knocking the breath out of him. His bones ached and his head throbbed. He lifted his head. Fogle was suspended upside down with rings of energy encircling him. Like a top, he started to spin faster and faster.
“A pitiful attempt on my life. After all, I was expecting someone vastly more powerful,” Sinway said. He approached Melegal. “I think you know who I am talking about, but he appears to be busy.” Sinway waved at an image on the wall. There was an aerial view of the battle on the wall. Venir was bound by coils of magic. “I don’t think he’s going to make it. As for you, I don’t think you are going to make it, either.”
***
Fogle lost all control of his body, but not his mind. With all of his innards swishing inside his belly, he choked them down and concentrated. He reached into Master Sinway’s mind. He’d done the same with the underlings, Verbard and Catten, when he got into a mind grumble with one of them. Sinway’s defenses were strong. He kept on knocking just outside of the all-powerful underling’s skull. “What do you have to fear? Except my challenge!”
The Darkslayer: The Battle for Bone (Book 10 of 10) (Bish and Bone) Page 12
