by Pedro Urvi
The Sorcerer noticed what he was doing and took advantage of it.
Before Haradin could finish his spell, a strange image in black began to form under his feet. He glanced down an instant and saw an arcane black circle, with a bloody-eyed skull inside it, taking shape on the ground.
“Damnation, he’s caught me!” he cursed, knowing it was already late. With resolve, despite the upset he had received, he kept on with his enchantment. He had to finish it at once in order to confront that evil spell which was meant to end his life.
And at last Haradin’s powerful spell came to a climax.
In front of the line of Norriel, a huge wall of fire rose from the ground and spread along the whole line of defenders. The protective barrier of fire was so intense it burnt the first attacking lines to ashes. Anyone trying to reach the Norriel would be consumed by fire instantly. But borne on by the advance of their own troops, the first lines of the Black Army crashed against the barrier, unable to stop. The screams of pain as fire took hold of them reached all corners of the plain.
Haradin sighed in satisfaction. The barrier would slow the advance of the black tide, causing uncountable casualties as it did so. This will make you think, and give the Norriel a moment’s respite at the same time. But the spell came at a price. The skull under his feet began to shed a negative energy, of death, which Haradin felt even through the protection of his sphere. Instinctively he tried to get away from it, but as he took a step sideways he found he was trapped in the arcane circle.
He could not escape!
The eyes of the skull flashed blood-red.
Haradin knew his protective sphere would not hold.
A hundred and fifty paces away, Isuzeni felt deep satisfaction as he watched the power of his spell trapping the enemy Mage in a prison of death. He smiled, knowing he had defeated the great Battle Mage of the Rogdonians. He who squanders his power in great spells cannot defeat one who is both powerful and focused. Today the great Haradin will wish he had never dealt death and destruction to our men, for now not enough power remains to him to allow him to fight this, my one and uniquely powerful spell.
“I’ll grant you an unworthy death, Battle Mage, since that is all you deserve,” Isuzeni said with a sneer.
The High Priest gave a final glance at Haradin, trying unsuccessfully to escape his mortal trap. Then, turning his back on him, he went on towards the nearby forest.
The Destiny of Glory is approaching.
Komir was trying to reach Haradin. He was carrying the unconscious Hartz over his shoulder, and it was like carrying a mountain. The Norriel warriors had blocked the flank which Iruki and Kayti had been taken through, and the fighting in that area was now demented. The enemy army had sent more troops and was pressing once again to take the breach in the wall and thus enter the city. The Norriel were defending it to the death.
I must get to Haradin, he’ll think of something, he thought, not knowing what course to take. We can’t go after Iruki and Kayti, the enemy would hack us to pieces. There’s a whole host out there. He wanted to go after them, to rescue them, but he knew that if he did it without a plan, driven only by foolish heroism, he would die before he had taken ten steps. A pang in his chest which he recognized as anxiety for his two companions tortured him with each step. He went on carrying the giant Norriel until he reached Haradin.
Komir had a shock when he found the great Mage in serious trouble. He was caught in some sort of magical trap and was struggling to break free. Komir left Hartz on the ground and went to help the Mage. He saw the impressive barrier of fire Haradin had created in front of the Norriel line, and knew for a fact that without him they were doomed.
Sonea, her eyes wide with fear, was beside Haradin, trying to understand the prison of death he was trapped in. “We have to help him,” Komir said to her.
At this point Hartz woke up. He tried to get to his feet in confusion.
“What… what… happened…?” he asked.
Komir could see that his friend was dizzy. He had to tell him what had happened but he was deeply uneasy about his reaction. He thought about not telling him, but that would be even worse.
“Where’s Kayti?” he asked, looking around for the redhead as he spoke.
Slowly, trying to convey as much calm as possible, Komir told him what had happened. The reaction he had feared was not long in coming.
“And you didn’t go after them? You let them take them? What have you done?” he shouted as he got to his feet.
“Hartz, you know me. You know I tried to stop them, but we couldn’t manage to get to them.”
“And why didn’t you go and rescue them? Why didn’t you wake me up? Who knows what they might do to them! Who knows if they’re still alive! I can’t believe you didn’t go after them! I simply can’t!”
“Hartz, they went into the middle of the enemy army. We couldn’t follow them there!”
“I don’t care if they took them to hell itself! You should’ve gone after them! I’m going to go after them!”
“You can’t, they’ll kill you!”
“I don’t care! They have my Kayti! I’m going to bring her back!”
“Think about it, Hartz! There are thousands of soldiers surrounding us. It’s suicide.” Komir pointed at the sea of enemies trying to take the city. “Look down there!”
The giant turned round and began to walk back. “I don’t care! I’m going to rescue Kayti!”
Komir knew that Hartz, led astray by his great heart, was heading straight into a death-trap. He had to stop him.
“Don’t be a fool! Come back!” he shouted at him, and grabbed his arm.
A lightning right hook got Komir on the cheekbone. It was as though he had been struck with a hammer. He fell to the ground and shook his head in an attempt to recover.
Hartz jabbed his finger at him. “The thing is that you’ve always hated her!”
“I don’t hate her… but I don’t trust her, which is totally different.”
“You won’t be able to separate us. I love her, and nothing can change that.”
“I know you love her, but she’s not to be trusted. She’ll lead you to ruin.”
Hartz threatened him with his fists. “Shut up, Komir! Or you’ll be sorry for your words.”
“Don’t go after her, my friend, you’ll be killed.”
“If I must die, then so be it.”
“We’ll find a way, but this isn’t it.”
“If they’d taken Aliana, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“If Aliana had been taken we’d be having this same conversation, but the other way round. You’d be trying to stop me, just as I’m trying to stop you now, and you know it, my friend.”
“I won’t leave her to her fate!” Hartz said. He turned and set off once again.
Komir watched his friend leave. He understood how he felt, he knew the crossroads he had come to. But he could not let him lose his life for that woman, not for her and not like this. He got up and went after him. He came up behind him, searched on the ground and found what he was looking for. Holding the rock firmly with both hands, he hit the big Norriel hard on the back of his neck. Hartz dropped like a felled tree.
“I know you’ll hate me forever for this. I know it’s the end of our friendship and it breaks my heart. But I’m not letting you die. I just can’t. I’m sorry, my friend.”
He turned round and went to help Haradin.
Redeemed
In the forest, six Moyuki surrounded Iruki and Kayti. Iruki felt fear, an icy fear clutching at her stomach. But she fought against it. She would not let it overcome her, not let herself be defeated by worry. She drew on both her fortitude and her rage, and composed herself. Two of the Moyuki grabbed them by the hair and ruthlessly dragged them into the middle of the clearing. Pain tore at her mind again until she thought she would faint.
“Damn pigs! Let go of me and give me a sword and I’ll teach you what for!” Kayti hurled insults at them and str
uggled to get free, but it was all in vain. The bonds were expertly tied and would not yield. The High Priest had passed judgment, and now their heads would roll. Iruki thanked the good spirits; that vile man was not there to witness her death. She breathed deeply and gave herself up to Mother Steppe.
They were made to kneel. Two of the Moyuki placed their feet on the women’s backs, forcing their heads parallel to the ground. Two others stood at their sides and drew their swords. The gleam of the sun on the steel momentarily blinded Iruki. The moment had come. She looked at Kayti for one last time.
“Stay strong,” the redhead said. “Don’t give them the satisfaction of seeing fear in our eyes. We’ll die like warriors, with our heads high, resisting to the last moment.”
Iruki nodded. She thought about the beautiful, endless mother steppe; about her tribe, the Blue Clouds; about the sacred lake beside her village; about the foot of the Fountain of Life; about her land and her race, and courage filled her heart. The image of Kaune Eagle Warrior, her brave and much-loved father, came to her mind, and immediately she felt herself to be a proud Masig once again. I’m a worthy daughter of the people of the steppes. They’ll never force me to submit! Never! Courage brought rage along with it, and her indomitable spirit surged once again.
“Those swine will never see it!” she told Kayti, and pride gleamed in the redhead’s eyes.
“That’s the way to talk!” Kayti said. “Let’s show these revolting outlanders how the women of Tremia die.”
In that last moment of her life, Iruki’s thoughts flew high, like an eagle, in search of her beloved, her Yakumo.
“I love you…” she whispered, as the sword rose above her head, “with all my heart, now and forever.”
The sword was just about to fall on her neck when Iruki glimpsed a green flash through the bushes in front of her. Amazed, she recognized the flash. She had seen it more than once before…
Lasgol’s Gift!
The lethal whistle of two simultaneous arrows cutting the air in flight reached her ears. The arrows struck the two executioners in the neck with a hollow thud. The huge Moyuki dropped their swords, staggered and fell to the ground, choking on their own blood.
Chaos took over the clearing. The two Dark Assassins disappeared at once as if they had vanished into thin air, and Narmos the Sorcerer threw himself down to crouch behind the two girls. The four Moyuki still standing ran at once towards the source of the arrows. Iruki heard the lethal whistle once again, and two other Moyuki fell dead. Lasgol rose from behind the bushes with his bow at the ready. Iruki was about to shout a warning as she saw that the two Moyuki were lunging at him and he would not have time to nock another arrow. But the terrible headache made her slow to react, and in the same moment Yakumo materialized out of the air behind the two warriors. Her beloved’s black daggers traced their deadly arcs and the Moyuki fell dead without knowing who had killed them.
Iruki’s heart was flooded with happiness. Her love Yakumo was there. At that moment she heard Narmos’ spell behind her, and the joy turned to fear. She glanced back and saw the sinister axe of the Sorcerer pointing at Yakumo and Lasgol. The Tracker gave a grunt of pain, took two steps into the clearing as if he had been blinded, dropped his bow and fell to his knees.
Iruki realized that Lasgol’s face was covered by a dark creature, a huge worm which seemed to be eating his face. It was an enormous leech!
Kayti was struggling to get rid of her bonds. “Let him go, you bloody sorcerer!” she shouted. But Narmos hit her hard on the head with the handle of his axe. The redhead fainted, and blood began to flow from the wound.
Iruki wanted to kill the brute, but she realized that on her knees and with her hands tied there was nothing she could do. She decided to try her Ilenian medallion. It was desperate and risky, but she would never give up. She would fight to her last breath.
“Now what are you trying to do, you bitch of the steppes?” Narmos yelled.
Before Iruki could conjure anything, a new and terrible explosion of pain hammered at her mind.
“You never learn, do you?” Narmos said. “Do not dare try conjuring again, you are too clumsy and slow. I can interrupt your spell before you can even think of it. If I catch you again I shall cut your throat.”
Iruki realized it was useless. She could never use the medallion; she could barely stay conscious amid that kind of pain.
Yakumo tried to help Lasgol, but one of the Dark Assassins materialized in front of him and hit him with lightning speed. Iruki’s heart pounded in her chest so hard she thought she would die there and then. Yakumo recovered from the surprise attack, and the two daggers began to trace arcs of death. The speed of the attacks was dizzying and inhuman. Yakumo’s lethal skill met its equal in his opponent. Each attack of Yakumo’s black daggers was countered by those of the Dark Assassin. They appeared to be carrying out a well-rehearsed dance of death. Each step, each gesture, each arc of the daggers seemed choreographed to an unbelievable perfection, with moves so fast that Iruki could barely follow them. She was well aware that her beloved was fighting against someone as lethal and dangerous as he was himself, perhaps even more so. The thought filled her with anxiety.
With a cry of pain Lasgol got to his feet again. The diabolical leech of death was sucking out his life, draining him of the essence of his being. He called on his Gift and heaved with both hands until at last he managed to get rid of the monster. He tossed it away through the trees and drew his two short swords. Livid as a ghost, he began to move towards Narmos.
“You damned Norghanian,” Narmos said with perfect confidence. “You are tougher than you look! But that is nothing. I shall put an end to you all the same,” He pointed with his axe and invoked a spell on Lasgol. The skull with ruby eyes shone deadly black.
An insubstantial black snake coiled around Lasgol’s feet and forced him to fall to the ground a few paces from Iruki. The Tracker fought to rid himself of the reptilian monster which was trying to poison him. He used his Gift and dodged aside from the snake, piercing its head as it was about to bite his neck.
At that instant a red flash caught the Masig’s eye. The second Dark Assassin appeared from behind a nearby tree. With a tremendous leap, more like a cat than a man, he came to stand before Lasgol.
“No!” cried Iruki, seeing the two black daggers rise above the Tracker’s back.
Lasgol twisted skillfully and tried to defend himself. A green flash ran through his body. Miraculously, he managed to block the first dagger, but the second penetrated his defenses and caught him deep in the right shoulder. He grunted in pain. The Assassin, with devilish speed, attacked again, hitting Lasgol sharply and precisely on the head and knocking him out. He rose above the helpless Forest Ranger, ready to deliver the fatal blow. Yakumo appeared behind the Assassin with an incredible leap and struck him with both feet, sending him flying between the trees.
Immediately the other Dark Assassin used his Gift. He took a shadowy step forward and vanished in front of Iruki’s eyes, only to reappear instantly behind Yakumo. Before her beloved could even turn, one of the Assassin’s daggers slashed him deeply from one side of his back to the other. Yakumo arched in pain, and Iruki felt the wound in her own back. The Assassin prepared to cut him again the opposite way with the other dagger. Yakumo turned his head swiftly, put his hand to his mouth, used his Gift and blew. A reddish dust covered his enemy’s face, and Yakumo bent to one side. The stroke missed completely.
He had blinded his attacker.
Yakumo thrust with lightning speed and caught the Assassin in the arm, but even in his blinded state he managed to roll aside and get out of reach.
A new red flash made Iruki turn. It was the other Dark Assassin. Iruki’s heart almost stopped when she saw the three throwing-daggers, red as blood, flying at Yakumo. It all happened in a heartbeat. He had managed to dodge two of the daggers, but the third was embedded in his shoulder, inches from his heart. Ignoring the wound, Yakumo rolled on the ground towards the Dark
Assassin, and their daggers met. The Assassin moved his body like a snake, so that Iruki was reminded of a black viper. Yakumo shone with a red radiance. With a two-handed blow, like a charging bull, he penetrated the Assassin’s defenses and hit him in the chest with such force that he folded over like a felled tree. Yakumo took advantage of this and went for his jugular. But his opponent saw him and ducked aside. Yakumo’s dagger cut clavicle and shoulder. The Assassin kicked Yakumo in the stomach, so that he was forced to step back. At that moment the second Assassin, like a shadow, so stealthy and dark as to be almost imperceptible, came up behind him.
“Careful, Yakumo! Behind you!” Iruki shouted.
Yakumo turned like lightning. He blocked the first dagger, but it was a distraction. The second reached him in the side.
“He fights well, this traitor,” Narmos said. “His dishonor deserves the most agonizing torture, and gladly would I condemn him.” He looked at Iruki. “But he will not be able to defeat two Dark Assassins. His fate is sealed, he will die, but unfortunately he will not receive the just punishment I would assign to him for his infamy.”
Iruki gave Narmos a look of hatred and loathing. “You revolting pig!” she shouted.
The two Dark Assassins lunged at Yakumo simultaneously, and the combat flared. Yakumo gave the snaky Assassin another wound, this time a deep cut in his side. But the second Assassin used his Gift and launched two crossed strokes, too fast for the eye to catch. He gave Yakumo a fresh wound in the back, with two long cuts from side to side. Yakumo responded with a backstroke, but his opponent stepped skillfully aside and avoided it.
Iruki could not contain her agony. She knew Yakumo was badly wounded.
The Assassin prepared for his deadly blow with a pirouette, dropping down on Yakumo like a giant black widow spider. At the same time the wounded Assassin attacked like a snake, aiming for Yakumo’s ankles.
