by Ben Hale
"Almost there," Iris said with a frown. "But I don't think the trolls know the Harbingers are coming."
"Can you warn them?" Rox asked.
Iris considered the question as the wind pulled at her hair. "I think so, but it would come with a price," she said. "The other techno mag would detect me, and once he knows I am in his system he will start taking measures against me."
Tess weighed the choice. Instinctually she was reluctant to give up the edge that Iris had provided. But if the rock trolls were ambushed before they were prepared, the sword might be gone before Tess and her friends even arrived.
"Do it," she said. "I don't see that we have a choice."
Iris sighed and focused her gaze. "Let's wake 'em up," she said under breath.
Ten miles ahead a piercing whistle began to sound. In moments it built into a shrieking howl that reverberated throughout the region. It echoed off the rocky terrain of southern Utah with a grating harshness. Seconds later Tess was forced to clamp her hands over her ears.
"What did you do?” Rox yelled.
Iris seemed oblivious to the screech. "I directed every signal in the area to their doorstep. Forced together like that, they vibrate the air and emit a high frequency sound."
"I think that's enough, Iris!" Tess shouted. "We don't want to kill their hearing."
"Oh . . . right," Iris said, and the sound died. "Now how long do you think—wow, that was fast. They are piling out of their tower now." Her eyes were glazed as she muttered under her breath.
"They are arming themselves. It looks like . . . war shields and weapons. Why don't they use more magic? Oh, never mind, the women seem to be gathering the wind—Grayson, I can't talk right now. Yes, I will be on later, now go away before I wipe out your system—okay, they have formed into a ball behind their shields."
She paused, and then said to herself. "I like this auren satellite. It can do pretty well when configured properly—although I think the security agency is going nuts trying to figure out who took control of it . . ." She laughed to herself.
"Iris," Tess said loudly, "let me know if they are attacked."
Iris jerked her head and her features became focused. "I will. We are five minutes out now, so prepare yourselves. Tess, you should probably put on your gauntlets."
Tess jerked, and then nodded. She looked at her arms and watched the fire blossom into sight. Curling and coiling into shimmering bracers, they pulsed with suppressed energy. She felt a rush of gratitude for everything that she'd learned from Hawk.
Over the next few minutes she packed as much power as she could into them, until they roiled and pressed against their limits. When she was satisfied with her work, she sealed the spell so it wouldn't blow up in her face.
The ground sped by in a blur of reddish rock. Towers and arches of stone rose into the twilight sky, radiating the afternoon heat from their craggy surfaces. A moment later the fading sun reflected off a rock formation in the distance. As one unit, Tess banked the four boards through a massive arch of stone.
A mile ahead was an enormous, free-standing plateau. Rising from the ground like a squat stool, its walls were craggy and sharp. Its top was a flat shelf of barren stone. At Iris's direction Tess turned them toward it, and a moment later lowered them into an almost invisible crack in the ground. In seconds the surface disappeared as they dropped into the tight crevasse.
Tess's desire to rush was tempered as the walls closed in. In single file the others slowed as well. Together they glided between the narrowing rock walls. Just as Tess began to feel claustrophobic, they plunged into darkness as the crack became a cave. A moment later the walls widened.
Bursting into the open, Tess came to a halt at the edge of a large, hidden grotto. Oblong and rough, the walls of the pit towered above them. Then she realized that the grotto was not a cave, it was a hole. Hollowed out in a giant column, it lay at the center of the plateau she'd seen from the outside.
She cast her eyes upward, expecting to see the fading light and the sky. Instead, the few stars appeared fuzzy, as if she were looking through a thin cloth. The top of the shelf was evidently an illusion, preventing anyone spotting the troll village from above.
Pinpoints of light illuminated the massive hole, and revealed a tower of rock on one end. Windows and terraces had been carved into the citadel. Rather than inviting, the living space had been designed with defense in mind, giving the impression of forbidding reserve. A wall of overlapping shields stood in front of it, guarding the main entrance to the tower.
Tess dropped them to the deck and slowed, her eyes roving the bowl as she sought for attackers. Her skin prickled when she didn't see any. The uneven rock was devoid of movement, and silent except for the whistling wind.
"Did we beat them here?" Tess murmured.
Iris shook her head. "I doubt it, but the other mag has been blocking me since I forced the echo."
Tess frowned, her fear heightening as she scanned every crevasse and cave. She swallowed against the dryness in her mouth, but forced herself to turn to the rock trolls. As they reached speaking distance she whispered to her friends.
"Keep an eye out, I will let them know what's going on."
She brought the four of them to a halt fifty yards from the trolls, and for the first time registered how big they were. The shields themselves were over six feet in height, and the figures holding them looked closer to ten. Armed with blades and spears, the hulking forms appeared content to wait for her to speak first.
Gathering her confidence, she called to them, "A group called the Harbingers is seeking the Sword of Elseerian. They are on their way here."
Nothing moved. Then a gap formed in the shields and a towering troll stepped out to face them. "Of what do you speak?" The wall reformed behind him. "Who are you to come and issue such a warning?" The question was made without condescension, but rather wary concern.
"I am . . . a friend of Hawk's," Tess said, acting on impulse as she glided forward. "He sent me to—ˮ
The black strands exploded from behind her and wrapped around her arms, neck, and waist. Stretched taut by her forward momentum, they yanked her from the board, which careened off to the side. Her focus shattered, she slammed into the rocky ground only moments before her friends.
Then chaos erupted as a tidal wave of magic exploded from the walls of the grotto.
Black-cloaked men and women detached themselves from the shadows, their hands raised to attack. Balls of flame blossomed in the space and reflected off strips of water hardening into icy spears. The salvo streaked across the gap and crashed into the troll shields.
Stone golems tore themselves free of the walls and stumbled to their feet. Pebbles and loose rocks scraped across the surface and joined them, increasing their stature until they were even bigger than the trolls. Then they hurled themselves into a sprint, their joints grinding as they accelerated.
Fury surged through Tess, and she strained against the bindings that held her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her friends doing the same as each of them fought to break free. The strands of black energy flared darker, and a wave of weakness swept over her.
"What's happening?" she spit the words out.
"Anti magic," Derek forced the words through clenched teeth.
Fear blossomed in her gut as she understood, and she cast about to find the magic's source. Layered in cloaks and hoods, nine Harbingers stood behind them in a half-circle. Each one held enchanted ropes like they were leashes. Pure black, the strands brought Tess to her knees.
She tried to call out for help, but the rock trolls were being pounded by the advancing figures. Sparks exploded off their shields as fireballs bounced away or detonated against them. The ice spears dented and scratched the massive shields, or plunged into exposed flesh.
Then the trolls struck back.
Their wall disintegrated as they went on the offensive. Deflecting the attacks with their shields, they struck with their weapons. A trio with hammers slammed int
o a stone golem, shattering its arms and legs with clinical precision. Another rock troll used his shield to bash into a charging golem. Equal in stature, it was the stone golem that went down. An overhand blow from an enormous maul snapped the golem's leg in half. The next struck its back, and it cracked in two. By then the other trolls had reached the cloaked men.
Leading with their shields, they deflected the desperate attempts to stop them and bellowed a ground-shaking war cry. Cloaked men crumpled as the massive swords cut into their ranks, tearing through them like summer's wheat. From within the ring of battling soldiers the female trolls attacked with wind.
Compressed air poured into the dying cloaked ones, knocking them sprawling or into the sweeping blades. Screams of the dying accompanied the explosions of fire, the howling wind, and the muted thud of weapons striking flesh. As skilled as the mages obviously were, they were no match for the mighty trolls. In minutes the surviving Harbingers were cornered and they raised their hands in surrender.
Weakened and still on her knees, Tess expected the ones holding her to flee, but instead they held their ground as the rock trolls turned toward them. They reformed their line and began to advance, their weapons pointing at the anti-mages. Tess felt a moment of intense satisfaction at what was to come . . . and then a voice called over the battlefield.
"I wouldn't," it said.
In a swift move the rock trolls split into two formations, now guarding their rear as well as their front. Through a gap Tess spotted a trio of figures exiting the troll citadel. The man in the center carried a darkened sword in his hand. The one on the left was tall and thin. His hands twitched oddly, identifying himself as a techno mage. The third appeared younger, and he wore black gauntlets that were wreathed in flames.
For a long moment silence replaced the din of battle, and was only broken by the groaning of the wounded Harbingers. Then the one with the sword reached up and pulled back his cowl. As the hood fell he raised his head and looked straight at Tess.
"Oracle," Chancellor Ranson said. "It's a pleasure to see you again. I must say you are weaker than I have heard."
She strained at the end of her bindings, at a loss for words. Finally she spit at him. "The mage world put its faith in you, Ranson. How can you turn your back on them?"
"I didn't turn my back," he sneered, the wrinkles on his face tightening in anger. "I am redeeming them. That is what the Harbingers are dedicated to, bringing light to the lightless—ˮ
"Through death?" Tess challenged.
"If we must," he gestured to the man at his side. "You would have learned the right way from the beginning, if you had gone with him."
The one with the gauntlets nodded, and withdrew his own hood. "Hello, Tess."
"Drake!" Tess hissed. "I thought Shorn was the one who came after me."
He bared his teeth in a snarl. "I was forced to mark him for underestimating someone." He slid his fire gauntlet up his arm, revealing a scar across his hand. "Just as you marked me."
"You tried to kill me!" she screamed, and forced herself to her feet.
"You misunderstand," Drake said. "The Master merely sought to bring you to the public eye. How long would Hawk have held you back? How long would he have hid you from your role?"
"You could have killed my friends," Tess shouted.
"A necessary casualty," Ranson interrupted with a dismissive wave. "But you managed to rise to the occasion, saving them in epic fashion. I applaud your ability, but now I'm forced to ask you to make a choice. You can either join us . . . or die with the trolls."
Tess felt a deep foreboding at the utter confidence in Ranson’s voice. With just a handful of his forces remaining, Ranson spoke as if he had the upper hand. She shoved the fear from her response.
"If death stared me in the face, I wouldn't join you."
"Oh, my dear Oracle . . . ," Ranson said, and his smile turned malicious, "it does."
Ranson raised the dark sword in his hand, drawing all eyes to it. Then he stepped to the stone wall of the citadel. His eyes glittering, he placed the tip against the rock.
"Ranson!" Tess screamed, causing him to pause. "Don't be a Master of war!"
He gave a low, chilling laugh. "My dear girl," he said, "whatever made you think that I was the Master?"
He turned to the side and plunged the black sword into the stone citadel. Instantly the stone shifted and widened, making room for a black oval to shimmer into place. It expanded hungrily, absorbing the rocky surface until it stood taller than a rock troll. Before anyone could react, Drake caught the techno mage at his side and leapt into the sky. Ranson pulled the sword from the wall and was only a step behind. His laughter was drowned out by the cacophony of sounds issuing from the portal.
Then black creatures poured from the opening and flooded the grotto.
Chapter 33: Remnant
Howling in hysterical fury, the man-sized fiends covered the ground faster than seemed possible. The trolls reformed their ranks in time to receive the brunt of the assault, but the entire line slid back as the fiend mass thickened with screaming bodies. Then a larger creature exited the portal . . . and then another.
Bearing obsidian swords that were as large as the trolls, they plowed through their smaller counterparts, roaring their hatred. Armored in charred bone growing from their flesh, the enormous fiends attacked the trolls in a frenzy of rage . . .
And the trolls gave ground.
Then a high pitched snap of metal echoed throughout the bowl, and Tess watched a rock troll tumble to the ground, his shield broken in two. The rock trolls were quick to fill the gap, but were still being driven back. In moments another pair died, and then three more. And still the fiends poured from the portal.
Tess yanked at the ropes that held her, helpless to do anything to prevent the slaughter. Her magic sparked feebly in her hands, drained away the moment she called it forth. Screaming at her captors, her anger shifted to desperation.
Then she heard Iris's voice in her head.
Tess, don't fight the anti-magic, control it.
Like a ray of light had pierced the darkness, Tess saw what she was supposed to do. Gathering her magic inside of her, she pulsed a fraction of it into the lines that held her. They shuddered, unable to bear the increased power. Her weakness subsided as the ropes struggled to cope.
She snarled at the taste of victory and launched herself off the ground. The Harbingers managed to stop her a dozen feet up . . . but she could sense the panic emanating from them. Her teeth bared at the sign of weakness from her adversary, and she gathered herself again.
Energy sparked and crackled off her arms, morphing into a hurricane of lightning around her. She clenched every muscle in her body and screamed as the ropes tore into clothing and flesh. Then she sent a mountain of power into her bindings.
The strands pulsed a blinding white, their darkness overpowered in an instant. The one attached to her arm snapped, and then the one at her waist. One by one they broke or outright shattered. Wrenching the last from its wielder's grasp, she whirled to face her attackers. Magnified by need, heightened by fury, her magic exploded into her foes. Men and women cried out and slammed into the ground. Before they could rise she turned the scraps of anti-magic ropes on them.
At her will they wrapped around the cloaked figures, leaving them immobile and helpless. A glance showed her friends free as well, so she whirled to help the trolls. A blast of magic launched her into the air and toward the battle, and from on high she unleashed her power.
Liquid flames coursed from the gauntlets she'd created, burning the lead fiends to ash. Soaring across them, she extended the line of fire until it spanned the gorge, pouring every bit of power from her gauntlets into the creatures’ flanks. She turned back to find that many of the fiends were plunging through the firestorm, heedless of the damage they sustained. Despite their charge, Tess's attack had allowed the rock trolls to retreat toward the grotto's entrance.
The trolls regrouped at the cave and fo
rmed an arc of shields across the gap. Tess felt a flood of relief as she saw her friends behind it. Thinned by Tess's firewall, the mass of fiends slammed into the shield wall. This time the trolls didn't budge. Roaring their war cry, they plunged their weapons into the dark flesh of the enemy.
A moment later they made a gap near the center, and a small stone golem barreled through it. Controlled by Derek, it trampled through a knot of the smaller fiends and rammed a larger one. The two fought for supremacy. Then Tess spotted a flicker of silver on the ground.
She turned, and realized it was one of the Tempest boards. Forgotten and discarded, it lay under a fiend corpse. A flicker of power brought it soaring to her. She caught it with one hand and placed it under feet. Then she rocketed toward the advancing fiends.
With the board helping her to stay balanced, she warped the gravity around the larger fiends, the ones doing the damage. One by one they sank to the ground, unable to fight the magnified gravity. She cringed as she heard bones snap, and the subsequent bellows of pain. It reminded her of stepping on a cockroach.
Gritting her teeth, she picked the crumpled figures up and tossed them against the walls. Then she sought for more. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw something spin toward her. On instinct she brought the board up to intercept it. The board shuddered as the massive black sword plunged through it, grazing her leg.
She sucked in her breath at the sting, and fought to keep her altitude—but the board was tearing in half. Its magic damaged, it disintegrated under her. She caught herself in time to avoid striking the ground but was too close to the fiends.
Hands clawed for her legs and arms, tearing at her clothing and skin. Pain and terror abruptly overpowered her, depriving her of the focus necessary to destroy them. Then panic engulfed her as a hulking figure raised its sword above her. Throwing everything into her magic, she exploded off the ground, narrowly missing the descending blade.
She was forced to dodge as a creature leapt toward her. A foot from her throat it collapsed, shrieking a horrendous scream. Tess didn't wait to find out why, and sent a torrent of flame into its head. It crumpled to the ground.
