“Aperu!” Marilee exclaimed, “back to the others, quickly!” She ran back the way they had come; Grelsor and Delgart followed, running through the organized chaos of their camp toward their own squad’s place among the other squads of the Third Legion’s Eighth Company. Delgart noticed that both Marilee and Grelsor were looking, as they ran, in the direction the alarm and roar came from.
“What color?” Grelsor hissed to himself.
Then Delgart saw what he meant and what they were both watching for: a ball of red light shot straight into the air, and he heard both speak at the same time. “A red, which means fire breath.” Marilee unslung her bow and nocked an arrow; Grelsor took a small crystal vial from his belt filled with a silvery substance and, as they were running, put a drop on Marilee’s head and mumbled, “nemfagelu.”
“Take out your shield, Delgart,” Marilee said while Grelsor put a drop on Delgart’s head and mumbled the same word. Delgart felt himself surrounded by cold; he shivered and looked a question at Grelsor.
“Fire protection,” he noted, “to help protect us against the aperu’s breath.” He put a drop on his own head and mumbled, “nemfagelu.”
“The two maghem and the other kailu,” Marilee said, “are currently protecting the rest of our squad. When we return, we will form a diamond, with the maghem and kailum dispersed among us, half the squad with shields, the other half ready to shoot at the aperu as it flies over our camp.”
“We kailum” Grelsor added, “will reinforce the physical shields to help protect us from attacks, giving the archers opportunity to aim and fire at the aperu. The two maghem will also shoot ortheks at the aperu.”
Delgart could see other squads as they ran through their camp, doing exactly as Marilee and Grelsor described. They were near their own squad and could see them forming up, Marilee’s second, Rellik, organizing the squad while watching for Marilee to return.
“Ready?” she asked, as they ran up.
Rellik nodded. “Just waiting for you to put in an appearance,” he said, smiling. Rellik was of medium height and build, with reddish-brown hair that hung straight to his shoulders.
Marilee took her place at the center of the formation; Grelsor steered Delgart to a position behind Marilee’s right shoulder, Grelsor standing just behind and to her left. Delgart looked around, then shifted his shield, holding it up and ready as he saw the other members of his squad who held shields, facing north. Delgart turned his eyes north, trying to get a glimpse of the aperu; seconds ticked slowly by in silence, then he saw a flash of red light to his left at the valley’s head.
“There!” Tregla, who was first shield, pointed and exclaimed; the first shield was a stocky female who had limp brown hair, matching her eyes, her hair cropped short just below her ears.
Something happened then that stunned them all to momentary silence: to the west of where the red aperu attacked, a ball of yellow light shot skyward, followed immediately by a ball of orange light and a ball of blue light to the east of the original sighting.
“Yellow aperu west of north!” Rolva, third sword, exclaimed; she was wiry with an olive complexion, her hair black as midnight and tied back at the base of her neck.
“Blue aperu east of north!” Hranda, third shield, exclaimed. She was young and lithe with blue eyes and curly blond, shoulder length hair.
“Orange aperu north-northeast!” Peltha, fourth sword, shouted, “moving our direction.” The fourth sword was broader than the others, with thin brown hair also cropped short.
Delgart heard similar shouts echoing all around them, as the other squads took note of the new alarms.
“Track them,” Marilee noted, “so we know how to alter our preparations.”
“Aye,” Tregla, Rolva, Hranda, and Peltha replied in unison.
“Should we,” Grelsor asked, “alter our protections?”
“No,” Marilee replied, “let’s wait and see which passes over us; you can alter your shields according to which one attacks us.”
“Maybe some squad will get lucky,” Luthina, second maghi, noted wryly. She was of medium height with brownish blonde hair and a pretty face; her gray eyes had tiny wrinkles of concern revealed when she smiled, which was seldom.
“Not on the first pass,” Marilee said with a shake of her head.
“It will take a while to break down their teka protections,” Rellik added.
“Red moving toward us,” Tregla said.
“Blue moving away,” Hranda said.
“Yellow moving away,” Rolva said.
“Orange, nearest, and moving toward us,” Peltha said.
Delgart watched, eyes darting from one aperu to another. He could see each colored shape moving in the light of the sunrise, and the flashes of colored light, matching the particular aperu in color, issuing from what must have been the mouth of each. He heard the shouts of the squads under attack, along with screams of pain, knowing that some of his fellow seklesem had been injured by the attacking aperum.
“What are the archers aiming at?” Delgart asked Grelsor.
“The wing joints,” Grelsor replied, “trying to disable its wings and bring it to the ground.”
“So be prepared to run at a right angle, in the direction I command,” Marilee noted, her eyes still watching the sky.
“If it looks like it will crash directly on our position,” Grelsor added, “and the command is simply, ‘scatter’, then you go right with Marilee while I will go left.”
“And after it hits the ground?” Delgart asks.
“The archers will aim for its eyes, trying to blind it,” Grelsor replied, “the shields try and get close enough to strike at it with swords. Watch out for the tail, especially on the orange and the yellow, as both have poisoned spikes. So the shields only close with it when it is distracted by others. If we can surround it, we can usually keep it distracted, turning this way and that, giving the shields time to dart in and strike.”
“Watch for its head, too,” Marilee added, “it can still breathe on us. If its head points toward you, fall back and try to cover the archers.”
“How do we kill it?” Delgart asked, but was interrupted by those tracking the aperum.
“Red turning away,” Tregla said.
“Blue turning toward us, but still distant,” Hranda said.
“Orange turning away,” Peltha said.
“Yellow turning toward us, but distant,” Rolva said.
“We do enough damage to it,” Grelsor replied, “that it collapses.”
“That could take a long time,” Delgart noted, “and many of us could suffer serious injury.”
Grelsor nodded.
“Is there a faster way?” Delgart asked.
“There is,” Grelsor replied, “but only a fool, or a hero, would try that way.”
“What is it?” Delgart asked.
“Simply run onto its back, and drive your sword to the hilt at the point where its neck meets its wings,” Grelsor said.
“And pray to the One your sword severs its spine,” Marilee added, “before its tail crushes you.”
Delgart could now make out the shape of the nearest aperu, looking like a lizard flying on bat-like wings, and he could see the ortheks cast by each squad’s maghem at the attacking aperum. He could see the orange swerve as blue bolts of power shot toward it. He saw red bolts streaking toward the blue, which also swerved to avoid the bolts of power. The other two aperum were still too far away to see more than flashes of light, but he could see that they, like the two which were closer, were breathing on the seklesem they passed over.
“Is it my imagination,” Grelsor noted, “or does it look like the aperum are looking for something?”
“Orange turning this way, bearing down on us!” Peltha exclaimed.
“Blue turning away,” Hranda said.
“Red turning toward us, but distant,” Tregla said.
“Yellow turning away,” Rolva said.
“Change our protection,” Marilee said.<
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Each of the two maghem and two kailum touched those nearest and around her or him with rod or staff. Grelsor touched his staff to Marilee first, mumbling “patorake,” and then he touched Delgart and mumbled the word, then Rellik, then Rolva, then Kreega, the third scout, who was a thin, small wetha, her long brown hair braided down her back. When Grelsor touched him, Delgart felt as if he were surrounded by something cool and slick.
“Ready stone shield,” Marilee said, “but do not raise it unless you are sure the orange is about to breathe on us, so the archers and the maghem have time to attack.”
“On my word,” Grelsor said.
“Ready,” Lidelle replied. The second kailu was tall and thin, with hawk-like features beneath a cap of thin black hair, spotted with gray.
The orange roared suddenly, a deep bubbling sound, then dove toward them.
“Orange diving toward us!” Peltha exclaimed.
“Blue turning this way!” Hranda shouted.
“Red turning this way!” Tregla exclaimed at the same time.
“Yellow turning this way!” Rolva also shouted.
“Archers ready,” Marilee said, pulling the feathered end to her cheek, taking careful aim, and shouting, “loose!”
Bowstrings thrummed in unison; two bolts of blue light shot from the upraised rods of the maghem, following their shouting, in unison, “pleugikel!” For an instant, they thought that their missiles had some effect upon the orange, as its pulled up, slowing its forward motion, but then they realized it was preparing to land on the piece of ground they occupied, talons opened wide to grasp and crush any too slow at getting out of the way.
“Scatter!” Marilee shouted, leaping to her right.
Grelsor had opened his mouth to signal Lidelle, but moved with his half of the squad to the left. holding his staff behind him and shouting, “plakaskoit!” Lidelle mirrored Grelsor’s actions, shouting the same word and raising the same shield to protect his half of the squad. The ground shook as the orange landed, and the aperu moved its head left, breathing a stream of acid on Marilee’s half of the squad, but Lidelle’s shield did its job, sending the stream of acid bouncing back at the orange. The grass between Lidelle’s shield and the aperu smoked and turned instantly black. Lidelle dropped his shield as the aperu turned toward their half of the squad.
“Archers!” Marilee shouted, nocking an arrow and raising her bow. “Loose at will!”
“Ware the tail!” Rellik shouted from behind the orange. “Shields, attack as you can!”
Delgart drew his sword, and heard his fellow shields do the same; the arrows loosed only bounced off the aperu’s thick, scaly hide. A loud thud, followed by a scream of agony, came from behind the orange, and Delgart knew one of his fellows had been struck by the orange’s tail with its poisoned barbs. The orange threw back it head and roared in pain; its tail thrashed violently, and someone else behind the orange screamed. Delgart heard commands from around their position, and he knew that other squads of the Eighth Company were moving to aid them.
“Blue diving!” someone shouted from behind the orange.
At the same time, horns rang out from the north, signaling an attack and call to aid, but the squads on the right flank had their hands full, with one aperu on the ground, one diving, the other two still flying but closing on their position. Delgart could see past the orange to the blue that was diving to land in the space occupied by the other half of his squad.
“Scatter!” Rellik shouted.
At the same moment, the orange opened its mouth to breathe on them, and Reena, first scout and archer, loosed an arrow that found its mark in the orange’s left eye. Instead of breathing on them, the orange screamed in agony, shaking its head wildly. Delgart saw both the opportunity, and the urgency, of their situation, as the light in the orange’s left eye went out. Time slowed around him as he leapt forward, brandishing his sword and slinging his shield over his left shoulder; the blue reared back, opening its talons to land and rend any seklesi too slow to get out of its way; Marilee’s shout, slow and slurred, echoed behind him. Heedless, he ran up the orange’s foreleg and onto its back at the wing joint, whirling his sword around, point down, both hands gripping the hilt. The orange swung its head left, feeling, rather than seeing, something climbing onto its back. Delgart’s eyes were focused on the point Grelsor had described, and he saw the thick scales lift as the aperu twisted its neck, and he drove the blade into the orange’s neck. The other half of the squad scattered; the squads moving to support them from that side pulled up short. Delgart’s momentum carried him forward, over the orange, which crashed to the ground, suddenly limp, and into the face of the blue just landing. He rolled over the fallen orange’s neck, releasing his left hand from his sword, wrenching the sword out of the orange’s neck with his right hand as he landed on his feet facing the blue, which reared back its head and opened its mouth to breathe on him. He dropped to his knees, grabbing his shield with his left hand, holding it between him and the blue; he saw the blue, icy breath issuing from its mouth, bracing himself and hoping the heat of the orange he had just killed would moderate the cold breath about to engulf him. Instead of going blue, the light around him turned red as he was covered with flames; he heard hissing and cracking as the blue’s icy breath crashed into the flames surrounding him. The red light winked out, and he looked up in time to see the blue head, mouth open, moving toward him. He rolled to his left and onto his feet and dropping his shield; turning back, he grasped his sword with both hands, swinging it over his head with as much force as he could muster. The blue’s head struck the side of the dead orange at the same moment as Delgart’s blade cut into its neck, sheering through hide, flesh, and bone. The headless blue body reared back, wings beating the air and flipping it onto its back. The squads approaching from behind scrambled out of the way of the death throes of the blue.
A momentary silence fell on that part of the valley after the blue’s body stopped twitching; the seklesem, stunned by the results of Delgart’s actions, stood staring at him, but the silence that had fallen was rent by the roar of the red, diving toward Delgart, mouth open to incinerate the fool who had killed two of its comrades in seconds.
“Form up! Shields!” echoed around him, as the squad leaders around him tried to prepare for the attack of the red.
Grelsor sprinted toward him, brandishing his staff as the flames issued from the red’s mouth. Sliding the last distance, Grelsor held up his staff and shouted, “plotuskoit!” At the same moment, he and Delgart were surrounded by flames and water, and their ears were filled with the sounds of hissing and steaming, but the water shield was stronger, and, although the ends of their hair burned and their clothing smoked, they were otherwise unscathed. The red flew over them, rising and turning to the north. But Delgart’s performance inspired the seklesem who had witnessed it to even greater effort, and the red shuddered as it turned, every arrow finding the chinks in its armored hide. As it tilted on its left side, bringing its left wing closer to the ground to turn and fly north, the left wing joint became to the arrows as a lodestone is to iron: several arrows pierced it together, breaking the joint. The outer half of the red’s left wing folded back; the aperu screamed in agony as its left side dipped closer to the ground. The right wing beat frantically, trying to keep it in the air, but this only turned the aperu onto its back, just before it struck the ground.
“Scatter!” came the frantic shouts of the squad leaders to their west, as the seklesem tried to get out of the way.
The red aperu tried to right itself, but the suddenness of its overturning had confused it, so it tried to lift its head, which brought it more quickly into contact with the ground. The head caught on the ground, and the body flipped over again, breaking the red’s neck and slapping its belly hard upon the ground with a hideous crunching sound. The concussion knocked down the seklesem nearest to the place where the red crashed. Before they could even take in what had happened, the scouts, who had been watching the yello
w, shouted a warning. “The yellow is upon us!” many voices exclaimed.
The yellow, however, had witnessed the fall of its three comrades, so it did not dive, but opened its mouth and let its breath escape as it passed over them, a yellow stream of smoke that sank slowly to the ground, spreading as it fell. Its breath was, in some ways, more powerful than the breath of its comrades, for its breath poisoned the air, killing any who inhaled it. The squad leaders shouted, “gather,” and the seklesem who were not injured lifted their fallen fellows and carried them to circle around their leaders, all squads dividing in two and grouping tightly together. Each part of the squad included one of the kailum, who would surround each group with pure air. Meanwhile, each maghi, one with each part, would try and conjure a gentle breath that would waft the poisonous fumes away from them.
“South!” one of the leaders shouted.
Grelsor stood with Marilee, leading Delgart back to stand beside her. No one spoke, but all looked closely at Delgart as he passed. Grelsor lifted his staff. “Kweklo-kenawet-patno,” he stated firmly, and they were surrounded by the freshest, sweetest air Delgart had ever breathed. The yellow aperu turned north, beating its wings and gaining altitude. Hrelga held up her rod, facing north, and whispered, “gheusmelth.” She turned and pointed her rod to the south. A gentle wind stirred, then began to move the yellow mist hovering around them. As other maghem used and repeated the same words and gesture, the yellow mist was carried from their midst, thinning as it mixed with the breezes conjured by the maghem. Once the air around them cleared, the kailum released their ortheks.
Marilee rounded on Delgart. “You fool!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a fierce hug. “My heart nearly stopped when you leapt forward! I don’t know whether I should kill you for your foolishness, or kiss you for saving us!”
Delgart shrugged. “I saw an opening and took it,” he noted. “It is not my fault that the blue chose to stick its neck out, within easy reach of my blade.”
The Redemption, Volume 1 Page 50
