As the center column raced towards the temple door, the unicorns trampled anything still on the ground. Those warriors who managed to get back on their feet after Tanya’s wind spell were met with steel and staff. Tanya’s two-handed sword skewered the early risers, while the king’s Sword of Heavens and Tedi’s magical staff killed everyone else. The charge to the temple took only seconds, and there were a considerable number of followers still alive outside the cleared zone. Tanya erected shields over the temple door before dismounting. The rest of the Knights dismounted, and Alex shouted orders for them to take up a protective cordon around the king.
“I have the door shielded, both magically and physically” announced Queen Tanya. “K’san has retreated inside, and he might be hard to find. How do you want to do this?”
“He will hide and try to buy time,” replied Jenneva. “He is rebuilding his strength.”
“He hardly used any power,” frowned Fredrik. “Why would he need to rebuild his strength?”
“He used a tremendous amount of power,” retorted Jenneva. “Why do you think none of his followers surrendered?”
“He was using his power to control the mob,” agreed Tanya. “Still, he is not drained. His shields were still quite powerful when I last saw him. We should not take him lightly.”
“Agreed.” Jenneva nodded. “I will keep a shield over Tedi and myself once we enter the temple. Tanya, you shield the king and yourself. Fredrik, maintain shields over the doorway once we enter. Do not let him escape.”
“And the rest of us?” asked Alex.
“You remain outside and guard the entrance,” answered Jenneva as she nodded towards the mob fleeing the valley. Several dozen of the followers had halted their flight and turned to watch the Knights of Alcea. “It looks like you will have your hands full,” she added as one of the followers pointed towards the temple and shouted to his comrades.
Chapter 34
Knights of Alcea
Hundreds of bodies littered the ground of the valley south of Marchek, but hundreds more of the followers of Balmak were fleeing from the deadly arrows of the gypsies in the hills. One tall follower halted near the mouth of the valley. He turned and saw the Knights of Alcea charging towards the temple. While he wanted desperately to flee from the carnage, something had caused him to stop and watch. Seeing the Knights of Alcea dismount and gather at the door to the temple, the tall man shouted to gain the attention of his fellow followers. The words that came out of his mouth were not his own, and the tall man frowned as he listened to himself.
“Balmak commands us to stay and fight,” he shouted. “Those who flee will suffer a slow, painful death. We are to fight for our god. Follow me.”
Scores of men within the sound of the speaker’s voice halted and stared at him. Without further words, the tall man drew his sword and started running back towards the temple and the waiting Knights of Alcea. Those who felt compelled to stop and listen, found themselves following the tall man into battle. Across the valley, four of the Knights of Alcea stepped through the door of the temple and disappeared. The other Knights watched the approaching followers.
“K’san must still be working his mind magic on the followers,” commented Fredrik. “I can’t believe that any of them would willingly return to fight us.”
“I care little about their reason for attacking us,” scowled Alexander Tork. “There are more than enough of them to kill us. Spread out and use bows until they close in on us.”
“But don’t fire too soon,” added Prince Garong. “We need to make our arrows count. Those of us who live by the bow will shoot early, but the rest of you should wait until you are certain of a hit.”
“Our horse bows don’t have the range to be of much help,” retorted Natia. “We would only get one or two shots off with this plan.”
Alex turned and gazed at the gypsy princess. “Do you have a better plan?”
“I am a gypsy,” Natia said. “When it comes to fighting, I belong on a horse.”
Alex smiled thinly and nodded. “The same could be said for Sheri, Bin-lu, and Rut-ki. You all use horse bows. Work the edges and avoid getting entangled in the mob. I don’t want to lose any of you.”
Natia grinned and ran to her unicorn. The other three riders followed closely. Sheri followed Natia to the east while Bin-lu and Rut-ki angled westward. The riders veered away from the temple perpendicular to the path of attack, as if they were leaving the valley and did not want to meet up with the charging followers. Fredrik and Niki backed up to the door of the temple, Fredrik still maintaining a shield over it. Prince Darok stood protectively in front of them. The dwarf held his short hunting bow. He was a fair shot with it, but it was not his weapon of choice in battle. While he waited for the enemy to come within range, he adjusted the numerous throwing axes attached to his belt. Wylan, Karl, Alex, and Prince Garong spread out in front of the temple.
“They may be crazed,” Karl commented as he watched the charging horde, “but they are not stupid. They are keeping to the center of the valley to avoid the arrows of the gypsies.”
“I disagree,” replied Wylan. “They are charging into battle against the Knights of Alcea. That is pretty stupid in my book.”
“Do not underestimate them,” warned Alex. “It takes only one wound to kill the mightiest warrior.” Alex turned and stared at the group of unicorns standing nearby.
Kaz, divide your people into two groups. Have each group move to a different side of the temple, but have them act like horses until the attackers get close.
I understand, Alex. When it comes time for your people to abandon your bows, my people will swing in from both sides.
The unicorns silently split into two groups and slowly meandered away from the front of the temple. While they did not bother to hide their horns, they bent their heads as if grazing on the sparse grass near the sides of the temples.
While the charging horde was still a fair distance away, Prince Garong nocked an arrow. He quietly pulled back the bowstring and let his arrow fly. One of the followers fell to the ground, but the others simply swerved to avoid his body. As if the elf’s arrow had been an unspoken signal, Karl and Alex nocked arrows and fired. Wylan waited a few seconds until he felt comfortable with the range. As the four archers continued to fire arrows into the mob, the followers began to spread out and run in a serpentine fashion to make it harder to target them. That was when the four mounted Knights of Alcea struck. Natia and Sheri looped around and flanked one side of the followers while the two Lanoirians did the same on the other side. As the unicorns ran alongside the followers, the Knights of Alcea picked off the outermost men.
When the enemy got closer, Prince Darok started using his bow to help the other archers, but there were too many followers to halt their advance with arrows alone. Alex and Wylan were the first to discard their bows, and the dwarf followed their lead. As Alex drew his two-handed sword, Prince Darok fisted the first of his throwing axes. Karl unslung his quiver and tossed it to the elf who stepped back towards the door to keep firing. Karl drew his sword and joined Alex and Wylan as they strode forward to battle the enemy. Prince Darok exchanged places with Prince Garong and started throwing his axes. Alex led the small group a few paces forward and then ordered them into an arc protecting the steps to the temple. The dwarf drew his mighty battle axe as the first of the followers drew near.
“Don’t get too spread out,” Alex warned calmly. “Stay close enough to aid the others if it becomes necessary.”
And then the time for talking was over. Two dozen followers shouted threats of death as they charged into the four Knights. The four forward Knights of Alcea tore into the mass of followers like the skilled warriors they were. On the right flank, the dwarf shouted dwarven battle cries as his heavy battle axe cleaved through anyone that got within his reach. Alex and Karl had the most forward positions, and they held their ground as the brunt of the followers headed for the steps. Their long two-handed swords sliced left and right, a
nd a mound of bodies began to grow before them. Wylan held the left flank, and his staff moved at a dizzying speed as kept anyone from getting past him.
The four mounted Knights of Alcea came up behind the attacking group, their horse bows singing continuously as they unloaded all of their arrows into the followers. As the battle was joined, the unicorns attacked from the sides, their sharp horns slicing through flesh and cloth alike, but that was not the only surprise of the defenders. The followers in the very center of the horde were suddenly attacked by swarms of bees. The stings were so numerous that the afflicted followers dropped their weapons and raised their arms to ward off the stinging insects, but the bees knew nothing about surrender. They continued to attack as Niki had commanded them.
* * *
The four Knights of Alcea stepped cautiously into the dark temple. The din from outside faded rapidly and they halted silently to listen for any sounds of the priest. King Arik stuck his finger into his pocket and roused Prince Midge. The prince of the fairies stuck his head out and silently flew to the king’s shoulder.
“How may I serve the Bringer,” the fairy whispered in the king’s ear.
Button and Bantam joined their prince on the Bringer’s shoulder, and King Arik spoke softly. “Search the temple and find K’san. Do nothing but report back with his location.”
Prince Midge stiffened and saluted the Bringer and then three fairies flew off in different directions. King Arik used hand signals to advise Tedi of his intended path before moving off to the left. Queen Tanya followed the king and kept them shielded both magically and physically. Tedi moved off to the right, and Jenneva followed him, maintaining shields around both of them. The gypsy prince moved slowly and quietly, taking each step with care while he tried to detect the priest with his sensitive hearing. He heard nothing other than their own footsteps.
While the temple was similar in some respects to the other temples taken over by Balmak, it was also different. It had been a temple devoted to the goddess Dora before being abandoned. Followers of the Goddess of Soil believed in simplicity, and the temple had only one level. Without the need to check other levels, Tedi and Jenneva made it to the rear of the temple fairly quickly. The king and queen showed up a moment later.
“There is no way he could have escaped,” whispered the king. “We must have missed him.”
“Let’s switch sides,” suggested Tedi.
“And check each room thoroughly,” interjected Queen Tanya. “He has to be in here somewhere.”
* * *
K’san frowned as he watched the arrows rain down upon his followers. At first, he had thought that the Knights of Alcea had come alone, but he soon realized that was mere wishful thinking. When their mages succeeding in destroying his black-cloaks, the priest had felt a tinge of fear, and that feeling worried him. He had spent his entire existence hoping to meet the Warrior King and his band of knights, but now that the day had arrived, it was not working out as he had planned. While he knew about the slayings of his fellow priests, he was certain that each of them had made some simple miscalculation that resulted in their deaths. Now he was not so sure. He had felt the power of their mages, and it troubled him greatly. He could not afford to meet all of them at the same time, but he still felt confident of destroying them one or two at a time.
When K’san slipped into the temple, he sought a place to hide in ambush. He also developed a plan to keep most of the Knights of Alcea occupied while he whittled them down. Using his considerable mental powers, the priest called out to his inner circle of believers and commanded them to attack the temple. With that out of the way, he pondered the appropriate place to stage the ambush. He had only spent a few days in the temple, but he knew it well enough to know that it held few places of concealment.
The entrance of the temple was much like the temple he had used in Marchek. The door opened into a large entry room, and two corridors ran to the rear, originating on opposite sides of the entry room. Between the two corridors was an altar with a curtain behind it. While the curtain in his old temple concealed a third corridor, this curtain only concealed a small room used as a place of contemplation in solitude. K’san moved the split in the curtain aside and stepped into the small hidden room. Moments later, he heard people entering the temple.
K’san peered out through the split in the curtain and saw the four Knights of Alcea enter the large room. He frowned as he sensed the shields surrounding them. For a moment, he debating the wisdom of attacking all four of them at once, but he needed time to regain his power. Eventually, the Warrior King made the decision for him. The four Alceans split up into two groups and left the room. K’san let them search the temple while he regained his strength.
* * *
Prince Midge glided through the corridor and landed on the king’s shoulder.
“I have found him, Bringer,” chirped the fairy prince. “He is hiding behind the curtain in the entry room.”
“Excellent, my little warrior,” smiled the king. “Tell the others to meet us there.”
“We must get between him and the door quickly,” stated Queen Tanya. “He cannot be allowed to escape.”
The fairy prince leaped into the air, and the king and queen hurried towards the front of the temple. As soon as they entered the large room alone, K’san stepped out of his concealment.
“Now you die, Warrior King.”
King Arik’s head immediately began spin and his movements became sluggish. While the king struggled towards the priest, K’san’s arm rose and pointed at the queen. Lightning bolts slammed into her shields, and the room brightened as if the sun were sitting in a corner. Tanya closed her eyes tightly and called softly to her husband.
“Think of me, Arik. Don’t let him get to your mind.”
“Wise words, Warrior Queen,” sneered the priest. “He should think of me feasting upon your corpse. In fact, I might let him live to watch.”
King Arik fell to his knees, but he kept his grip on the Sword of Heavens. Struggling with effort, the king crawled towards the tall, black priest. The queen grunted with effort as another blast of lightning bombarded her shields. She struggled to maintain both shields and block the mental spells the priest was using on the king. She had no energy to waste on offensive spells. When King Arik got close enough to the priest to strike out with the Sword of Heavens, he rose to his knees and swung with all his might as the priest’s legs. The sword rebounded off the invisible shield with a ringing sound, and the king fell backwards.
K’san laughed loudly, his voice echoing off the walls of the austere temple.
* * *
Prince Midge hovered in front of Tedi, and the gypsy prince halted.
“K’san has been located. He is in the entry chamber. The Bringer and his wife are already on their way there. Hurry.”
Tedi nodded and started running, but Jenneva called for him to slow down. He stopped and waited impatiently as Jenneva walked towards him.
“We have to hurry,” Tedi said urgently.
“Do not act with haste,” chided Jenneva.
“I don’t understand,” frowned Tedi. “Why are you delaying us?”
“If the priest was hiding in the entry room,” answered Jenneva, “he already knows that you and I are in the temple. He watched us come in, and he is prepared for our arrival.”
“Are you saying that we can’t help Arik?”
“Not at all. I am saying that we must be clever in how we help. Hurry to the entry room, but do not show yourself. I will speak in your mind when we get there.”
“Like the unicorns do?”
“Exactly.”
Tedi nodded and started running again, and he soon reached the end of the corridor. Tedi gazed into the room and saw the king on his knees, struggling to crawl forward. A blast of lightning temporarily blinded him, and he turned away from the brilliance. That was when he noticed that he was alone. He looked around frantically for Jenneva, but she was not there. He turned back to gaze into t
he room and saw Arik swing his sword at the priest. He heard the bell-like tone and saw the Sword of Heavens rebound.
As I suspected. We have never fought a K’san with physical shields protecting him. We will have to time this carefully.
Tedi heard Jenneva’s voice in his mind, but he could not see her. Thinking she was invisible, he reached out with his hand, but he could not feel her either.
Stop being distracted and pay attention to the priest. I am on the other side of the room in the other corridor.
Tedi looked across the room and could just see Jenneva’s face peeking around the corner. No one else was aware of her presence. King Arik swung the Sword of Heavens again, and it rebounded again. The king’s face was distorted with exhaustion as he fought to keep control of the rebounding sword.
As soon as K’san attacks me, rush to him and hit him with your staff as hard as you can.
The room lit up again as K’san sent another bolt of lightning into Tanya’s shields. While the brilliant glow was still affecting everyone’s eyes, Jenneva stepped into the room and faced the priest. She did not approach him, but she raised both arms and pointed at him. Twins streams of fire soared towards the priest and flared on his invisible shields. K’san pivoted to face Jenneva.
“Begone, gnat,” snarled the priest as he pointed at Jenneva.
Two huge fireballs sped from the priest’s hands and impacted Jenneva’s shields. Tedi rushed out of the corridor and raced across the floor. K’san must have heard him coming because he spun to meet the new threat. As K’san’s arms rose towards Tedi, the gypsy prince swung his magical staff at the black priest. The staff struck the invisible shield, just as the Sword of Heavens had, but it did not rebound, nor did it strike K’san. The swing merely ended a few inches from the priest’s shiny skin. Tedi stared with disbelief as the priest readied to release his spell.
At that moment, King Arik had gathered his strength to strike once more. He swung the Sword of Heavens at K’san’s legs and was amazed when the sword sliced through the flesh. The priest howled in pain, and his brow furrowed in disbelief. Tedi swung his staff again, and this time he struck K’san squarely in the head. The priest’s head flew from his body and smashed into the curtain and then toppled to the floor. His tall body wavered for a moment before crashing to the floor. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Knights of Alcea Page 44
