“You slaughtered my entire tribe,” Miri hissed. “And you expect me to trust you on your word?”
“True, you will be bound to my whims,” Slane said. “But it is better to risk staying alive as opposed to being killed in battle that one cannot possibly win, is it not?”
Miri’s face was a mask of stone. “I think it is more prudent for you and your men to walk away, and I will spare your lives instead.”
Slane smirked as he shook his head. “Well, it seems that all this talk has gotten us nowhere. So it means we fight. I do think it is better this way.”
Rion tried to sprint towards Miri, but Slane held out his hand and the boy was violently thrown into the base of the floor. Rion’s forehead was slammed violently against the smooth stones and the boy was quickly unconscious, blood oozing from his nose as he lay still. Slane then gestured at his pet canis to attack Miri as he drew his sword. The four-legged beast snarled as it dashed forward, but Miri used her mindsense on it. The canis suddenly stopped, turned around and began growling at the other Magi. Baradine and Turru suddenly stopped their advance and looked at their leader.
Slane’s eyes were bulging out of their sockets. He had not expected this. He bent low and smiled at his pet while the canis began to approach him instead. “Calm down, my beloved beast. I am your master!”
Miri extended her mental tendrils right into the beast’s set of instincts. Deep in the canis’s garden of memories was a time when Slane had slapped it around to teach it how to sit properly. Miri focused on that one memory and increased the beast’s aggression by a hundredfold. She amplified the animal’s senses from being fearful of its master to one of hate and vengeance. The canis snarled malevolently as it launched itself at Slane, who used his mindforce to throw the animal up into the air just before its jaws got hold of his throat.
Baradine had had enough. He knew that the best way to defeat an enemy was to cut off its head. He used his Vis to leap up three yards into the air. He swung his axe in a downward strike, hoping to cleave Miri in two. But the Striga refocused her mindsense to bore through his lowered mental defenses as she moved sideways. Baradine screamed as the pain receptors in his head overloaded his senses. The large Magus fell to the floor on his knees, his axe clattering beside him. Miri thrust at him with her spear, but he used his reserves of Vis to push himself sideways at the last second, and Miri’s attack narrowly missed his exposed neck.
Turru had been confused for a brief moment as he saw Slane trying to use his mindforce to ward off an attack by his own pet at him. Baradine was struggling with the Striga and he was unsure as to who he should help. A part of him believed that he could easily dispatch Slane’s crazed canis, but he would have to answer for killing his leader’s beloved pet. After deciding to finally help Baradine instead, he gathered his Vis to launch himself into the air to land directly behind that accursed Striga and finish her once and for all. But just as he was about to activate his mindforce, he failed to notice a teen girl dropping down behind him from the upper ceiling.
From her hidden perch, Nyx felt her whole body shake upon hearing that the entire tribe had been slaughtered, and she had nearly lashed out with her Vis right at that very moment. But Miri had been able to sense her presence above them and had instructed her not to reveal herself until the right moment. When Miri had turned the thoughts of that strange beast to attack its master instead, she knew her time had come and she quickly jumped down, right behind the Magus who wore the mask.
Turru suddenly sensed another presence behind him and turned around. Nyx’s rage at the thought of the fate of the tribe had now overcome her reluctance, and she grabbed the back of his head and drove the point of her bone dagger underneath the Magus’s exposed chin, then she used all her strength to drive the knife up to its hilt. Turru’s eyes opened wide as the point of the blade passed through his tongue and into the base of his brain. The Magus fell on his knees and began to choke on his own blood. Nyx noticed Turru had dropped his sword, so she picked it up. Now the battle was even.
Miri and Baradine were at a standoff. The Magus had thought about using his mindforce to crush her skull with just his mere thought, but he was wary of shifting his Vis away from his mental defenses, lest the Striga use her mental powers to overcome his mind once more. Feeling that he had the physical edge over her, Baradine shouted out a war cry as he stepped forward, swinging his axe sideways and hoping to get a piece of her torso. Miri stepped back in order to give her spear an advantage, the axe blade whizzing by ever closer. Baradine kept moving forward, hoping to trap her against the sides of the room so he could shatter her spear and finish her off.
Slane was feeling a mixture of irritation and concern as the canis kept lunging at him, as he used his Vis to throw the beast to the other side of the hallway, but it seemed to make the animal even more determined to attack him. He could not bring himself to kill his beloved pet, so he used his mindforce to keep it at bay. Suddenly, he sensed the slashing of a sword blade as it connected with his back, ripping through his cloak before being stopped by the steel cuirass he wore on his chest and torso. He quickly whirled around and was able to parry another attack with his own blade. Standing in front of him was another female, but this one seemed somewhat younger, and she had Turru’s sword.
Nyx cursed at herself for trying to slash the man at his back when she should have swung for his head instead. Now that he was on guard, she had lost the element of surprise. Nevertheless, she was more determined than ever to kill him. “This is for my tribe!” she shouted as she hacked towards his neck.
Slane’s rage had finally reached its tipping point. “You are another Striga,” he said as he parried another blow with his sword. “There are two of you!”
“Die, you piss drinking dungbug!” Nyx said as she gritted her teeth and used her Vis to smash through his mental defenses while at the same time swinging her sword, hoping the dual attack would be enough to overwhelm him.
Slane had anticipated it as he kept his thought blocks near their limits. He still had some Vis in reserve, so he used it all to redirect Nyx’s sword swing towards the canis coming in from the opposite direction. Nyx cried out as she seemingly swung her sword too far, and its blade sliced into the canis, severing its spine. The animal cried out as it fell onto the stone floor, its four legs convulsing in its death throes. Nyx had overextended herself and her body was wide open to attack. Just as she drew back the blade for a parry, Slane crouched down and used his sword in an upward thrust. The point of his blade penetrated just beneath her ribcage and Slane used an extra bit of Vis to drive the edge in deeper, slicing through her lungs and heart. Nyx fell to her knees and dropped her weapon as Slane withdrew his blade from her body.
“No!” Miri screamed as she saw Nyx being mortally wounded from the corner of her eye. Baradine sensed her desperation as he stooped low and lunged forward, this time swinging his axe towards her legs. Miri deflected the swing with the shaft of her spear, then she kicked him in the face since he was close enough. Blood spurted from Baradine’s broken nose as he staggered backwards. Miri sent a spear thrust into his right leg, just where his exposed knee was. The spear point tore through the knee cartilage and severely injured the joint before Miri quickly withdrew it, ready to attack again. Baradine screamed in pain as he fell to one knee, his blood soaking the floor around him. The bearded Magus held out his hand for one last attack as he shifted his entire command of Vis into a giant, unseen vise to crush Miri’s head in.
Miri suddenly felt something invisible gripping the sides of her head as the pain in her temples increased. Baradine was grimacing at her and gesturing, it was clear he would either strangle her neck or cave her skull in, using his sheer force of will. Her vision became blurry and it felt like a giant boulder was crushing her head. Miri fought the urge to fall down on her knees as her body began trembling from the pain. Sensing that Baradine’s mental defenses were down, she refocused her own Vis despite the pain she was feeling, creating a small bun
dle of reverse agony which she then sent directly into his nervous system. Baradine suddenly lost his concentration as the pain in his torn knee was unbearable. Miri quickly gathered her own thoughts as the pain in her head had subsided, and she dashed forward, plunging the point of her spear through the bridge of Baradine’s nose. The spearhead tore through Baradine’s eyes and all the way into the back of his skull. Miri fell on her knees beside the dying Magus while using her mental disciplines to recover her senses.
Slane knelt down beside the dying canis. As he looked into its whimpering eyes, he could once again feel the love and devotion of his pet. In its final moments, Slane realized that the Striga’s hold over it had abated, and it was back to being his beloved possession for one final time. The canis gurgled one last cough of blood and then its eyes glazed over. Slane fought back tears as he stood up and walked over to the dying young Striga nearby. He could see her breathing had slowed and her life was leaving her.
Nyx tired to say something to him as she lay on her back, but she just ended up coughing out more blood instead. Slane wiped away the moistness in his eyes as he looked down on her, then he swung his blade down onto her neck, severing her windpipe and spine, but leaving a little bit of skin at the back when his blade bounced off the wet floor. As he brought his sword back up to a guard position, he saw the older Striga on her hands and knees across the other side of the room, beside the now dead Baradine. Recovering his Vis, he just stood there, waiting.
Exhaling deeply as the pain still throbbed in the sides of her head, Miri pulled her spear out from the dead Magus and turned around. Nyx was dead, she had already accepted that, but it didn’t make the pain she felt any easier to swallow. There would be time to mourn her passing in the coming days, but she had to finish this battle first. She would avenge her, along with Jinn, Devos and the rest of the tribe. Miri focused her mindsense with her desire for revenge, rechanneling her Vis into a powerful reserve.
Slane threw off the remains of his tattered cloak while he faced her. “It looks like you got your wish after all, Striga. It has now come to this duel.”
Miri could see that Rion was still knocked out cold. The boy let out a soft groan while lying stunned at the floor. “No more talk,” she said while hefting her spear.
Slane extended his Vis, using his mindforce to sense for any loose stone in the redoubt. In less than a second, he soon realized that there were plenty of movable blocks in the upper gallery of the ceiling above him. Miri took a few steps forward, hoping to get in range with her spear while trying to anticipate his moves. Her mental tendrils were trying to get around his thought blocks, but Slane’s defenses were formidable, and he countered her probing by singing nonsensical chants in his head.
Just as she got to within range of her spear, Miri suddenly heard a loud, grating noise coming from above her. The moment she glanced upwards, Miri saw a huge block of stone crashing towards her. The Striga instantly rolled sideways on the floor, narrowly evading a chunk of rock that fell onto the spot where she had been standing on. The crashing slab reverberated across the entire floor, and the whole building shook for a brief second.
Using his Vis to propel him in the air, Slane quickly leapt up and landed close to Miri. The executor thrust his sword, hoping to stab her in the neck, but Miri was able to react in time despite being off balance from the crashing of the slab nearby. Her spear shaft partially deflected his attack, driving it to her side as the upper part of the blade tore into her leather cuirass, but the blow was too weak to penetrate the hard leather. Nevertheless, she staggered backwards from his determined attack. Since he was close, Slane elbowed her chin, which sent Miri reeling in reverse, and she crashed down onto the floor. Swinging his sword in a return arc, he drove it down towards her chest while giving it an extra surge of Vis, hoping that there was enough force in his attack to penetrate her chest armor. Miri was able to react in time as she moved her body sideways, but the thrust of the blade caught the side of her arm and it tore a bloody gash as the sword nearly impaled her.
Miri screamed in pain as she rolled away from him. Slane moved in step with her as he wanted to keep her close. He had the advantage since she was on the ground. As Miri held the shaft of her weapon sideways to parry his thrust, Slane used his mindforce to hold the spear down and swung the sharp side of his blade against the shaft of the weapon. This time, Miri’s spear was not in a deflecting angle and the steel edge of the sword tore through the ancient, lacquered wood and splintered it. As Miri rolled away for the second time, she realized her spear had been broken in two.
Getting up, Miri now held the lower part of the broken shaft on one hand and had half a spear in the other. Slane used his mindforce to slide forward right in front of her and made a downward swing, aiming for her head, but Miri used both the broken shaft and the half spear in a cross parry and trapped it. Before Slade could withdraw his blade, Miri kicked him in the groin before backing away. She started moving sideways, hoping to get at one of the other weapons lying on the floor.
Slane shrugged as he brought his blade in a guard position once more. His attacks against her had begun to weaken her Vis, and he could now channel his reserves to destroy her. “That kick of yours did not hurt, you know. We Magi have nothing down there.”
Miri was only a few steps away from where Nyx’s body lay. She saw the sword on the ground and made a dash for it. Slane gestured with his free hand and Nyx’s dagger suddenly rose up from the blood soaked floor and whirled through the air, piercing the back of Miri’s right leg. The Striga screamed in pain as she fell onto the floor, her broken spear still in her hands. Her concentration broke down, and her mental attacks against him quickly dissipated.
“Oh, so you wanted that sword then?” Slane said as he gestured with his hand once more. The other sword suddenly flew up into the air, as if wielded by an invisible spirit. The moment Miri stood up on one leg, the sword turned horizontal, its blade in line with her body and it suddenly flew right at her. Miri sensed it coming and turned away, but she reacted too slowly and the point of the blade ripped through the leather armor with terrific force, impaling itself on her stomach.
Miri fell on her knees as she tried to pull the sword out using both hands, but some sort of spectral force kept the blade firmly lodged in her abdomen. Blood began to pour from her mouth. The pain was making everything hazy and she could barely move her arms.
“I have yet to lose a battle,” Slane said as he sheathed his own sword, this time gesturing with both hands. Miri was suddenly floating in the air, the sword still lodged in her belly. “This is where it ends,” he said. “I did so enjoy our duel, Striga, but as you can see, my Vis is superior to yours. Farewell.”
Miri was losing consciousness. The last thing she sensed was being thrust out of the window and falling towards the sun baked ground below.
Chapter 19
Rion woke up as the hot currents whipped around his face. While gathering his senses, he felt being rocked back and forth, caught in a sensation of movement. He opened his eyes and realized his hands were tied behind his back. He was on his side, lying beside a tall metal spar with a large leather sail harnessing the gusts of heated air above him. The terrain slid past him as the vessel he was traveling in continued its slow movement across the flatlands. Judging from the position of the sun up above, it must have been around midmorning. The boy tilted his head up and looked around. He was lying on the top platform of the sand sail, with a flooring of leather and furs serving as a barrier between his bare skin and the hot metal hull of the ship. Standing right behind him was Slane. The Magus held two lines of leather ropes in his hands, while shifting the angle of the sail in order to steer the vessel.
Slane quickly saw that the boy was awake. “You are now a guest in my vessel, boy.”
Rion looked up at him. There was some dried blood on his upper lip, but his nose had apparently been healed because he could breathe through it again. “Where is Nyx and Miri?”
Slane smiled a
nd shook his head while concentrating on the sail. He could see the upper spires of Lethe in the distant horizon. “Both Strigas are dead, boy. You belong to me now. I must admit that it was a rather … memorable battle, perhaps the best I have ever experienced. In the end, my power was stronger than theirs.”
Rion looked down on the flooring. His lips trembled. The ones who protected him all this time were gone. He was alone once more. Soon, his shoulders began to shake and he let out a dry moan, for he was too exhausted to shed any more tears.
Slane could see that they would make it to the last city within two more days of sailing. Since there were no obstacles directly in front of the vessel, he didn’t need to steer any further for now. There were small rock outcroppings nearby, but he could easily steer the land ship in between them. The Magus tied a knot around both lines and hooked their ends near the edge of the mast. Now that both his hands were free, Slane moved forward until he stood over the boy. “Behave, and I will let you live. If you attempt to try and escape from me, then the wastes will swallow you up.”
Rion grimaced as he stared into the man’s crimson colored pupils. “I do not ever want to lie on that stone slab again! I would rather die!”
Slane knelt down grabbed the boy by the throat, choking him lightly. “You are to cease your complaints. Do not worry, there is no need to place you on a slab to draw out your blood any longer. All the Magi in the citadel where you came from are dead too.”
Rion could hardly breathe as the gauntleted hand constricted his windpipe. “What… do you want… from me?”
“This,” Slane said as he took his hand away from the boy’s throat and used it to draw a dagger from his side. The Magus then sliced a deep cut along Rion’s chest. The boy cried out as Slane scraped the blood off his body with the flat part of the blade. Slane brought up the still dripping dagger to his mouth and licked the crimson drops from it with his forked tongue.
Lands of Dust (The Dying World Book 1) Page 23
