“If we stay here and wait for them to come to us then we will die here. We have to move,” Kromm said.
“Agreed,” Lor-telliam added. “Everyone! Quickly, come near me!”
They hurried to obey, surrounding the Ekahal as he began to chant. The ghasts marched slowly and relentlessly closer. They seemed to sense there was no hurry, that they had them trapped, almost as if they enjoyed the added suspense of delaying the kill.
But they had never before battled an Ekahal. Suddenly Lor-telliam shot his staff into the air as he completed the words of his spell. Everyone looked up to see dazzling blue arcs of lightning flash across the black sky, then almost immediately they bolted straight back down towards them. Everyone instinctively dove for cover, expecting the lightning to burn them to ash. But instead, the blue bolts converged on Lor-telliam's staff, shooting back out from its glowing tip in dozens of bright tendrils of lightning that pierced the darkness, bouncing from one ghast to another, incinerating them into dust. In seconds they were all destroyed, and the lightning had disappeared as quickly as it had materialized.
Lor-telliam, panting heavily, slumped to one knee, propping himself up with his staff.
Kromm was up first and helped the elf to his feet. “Are you okay?”
“Give me a moment. That spell is very wearing on the body.”
“It looked it,” Cade rumbled, clearly impressed.
Tulari trotted from the darkness and nuzzled her massive head against Jonas’s chest. She was so large and strong that her gentle touch almost knocked him over. No one said anything as they regained their breath and waited for the Ekahal to find his. After a few moments he stood tall and breathed deeply.
“I am ready, let us go,” he said.
“Lead on, wizard,” Tolvar said, gripping his axe and unhooking himself from his brother. The wounds on Tolvar’s arm and neck looked bad, but they bled very little and he appeared oblivious to them.
“Allindrian, how are your wounds?” Jonas asked.
“I will survive,” she said with a reassuring smile. “My armor did its job and kept most of the claws from my flesh.”
“Most?”
“As I said, several scratches only. Let us be on our way,” she said, averting his worried gaze. She was going to heal herself but changed her mind, opting to save her strength for the possibility of more serious wounds.
They were off again and running at a fast jog, hoping to eat up the distance and get to the monument without further pursuit. Though they knew that would be highly unlikely. Still, one could hope.
They had run a decent distance without further attacks. Finally Lor-telliam stopped at the base of a gentle hill. Jonas recognized the spot. It was Ullis Hill, and before them were the stone steps that meandered up the slope to the monument at the top. On a bright sunny day you could easily see the structure erected above. But today the hill was covered in mist and darkness. And the stairs led into it.
“Do we need to take the stairs?” Fil asked. “They will surely be guarded.”
Everyone was wondering the same thing and no one knew the land better than King Baylin, or perhaps Lor-telliam, but it had been a long time since his return.
“The other side of the hill is a cliff face over thirty paces high. We can climb the rise on this side without using the stairs, but there are small cliffs and boulders scattered across it that would make traversing it difficult,” the king said.
“I think whatever is here knows we be here,” Cade said, “I’d rather face me enemies on stable feet than guess what obstacle I will be facin' while I fight.” His brother nodded agreement. Everyone looked at each other and assessed the situation.
“Let us take the stairs,” Lor-telliam agreed, breaking the silence.
The stairway was wide, maybe four paces, allowing two or three people room to fight on them. Jonas recalled that they meandered up through a series of switch backs, periodically leading to a landing that opened out onto lookouts where visitors could rest on benches and take in the beautiful scenery. But it wasn’t beautiful on this day and there was no rest to be had.
They had made it to the first landing when Jonas noticed that his chest had again begun to glow blue. At the same time Lor-telliam halted them and Tulari growled, each of them sensing danger. They fanned out defensively at the base of the next set of stairs, their eyes peering into the shadows, searching for signs of the next attack.
Fil’s hands were sweating and his heart was pounding. He had never felt this kind of tension before. Here they were, facing creatures that would make even a seasoned soldier run in terror, and yet this group was standing firm and resolute, eyes focused intensely, facing whatever would come. If he were with any other group he was convinced that he would have run long ago. But the strength of their will was contagious and helped Fil find his own courage. He glanced at Jonas and saw that same calm focus and wondered if Jonas felt as nervous as he did. Maybe he wasn’t giving himself enough credit. He wiped the sweat from his hand and re-gripped his sword. His shield felt heavy and he took two deep breaths to calm his nerves.
Jonas glanced at Fil and met his eyes. He worried for his friend. Fil was a strong fighter, there was no doubt. But he did not have the experience that the others had in fighting foes such as these. He could face a man, or even a boarg or an orc, but had never faced an enemy that could not be harmed by normal weapons. They were fighting creatures that only cavaliers, heroes, and wizards should fight, not young infantry soldiers. Nor did he have the weapons and armor needed to combat some of Malbeck’s minions. But he did not lack courage, and despite his meager experience, Jonas felt much better with him near. He nudged Fil with his hand and smiled. “We will make it, my friend.”
“And if we don’t?” he said with a wry grin.
“Then we die a hero's death, boy,” Tolvar said matter-of-factly.
It was then that they heard a slow rhythmic clanking coming from above, descending towards them on the landing. The sound grew louder, but the pace stayed the same. It sounded like iron shod boots walking on stone. And sure enough, that’s what it was.
From the stairs above a dark form materialized from the shadows, moving toward them with slow deliberate steps, the black metal of its boots clanking ominously on the stone stairway. It wore black armor covered in serrated spikes and a long tattered red cloak swept the ground behind him. In one hand he carried an oval shield with Gould’s white eye embossed in the middle and long wicked spikes sticking out around the perimeter. His other hand held a long sword that glowed an intense red, matching the eyes that were glaring down at them through the black slits of its helm. The helm encased his entire head and it too was covered with black spikes.
“A Banthra,” Jonas whispered nervously. He had faced one before and had come out of that fight victorious. But that had been when he was a cavalier, with all the powers of one. Now as he looked at this creature waves of fear washed over him. He felt himself unconsciously slowly stepping away from the demon warrior.
Then, from behind him, a devilish laugh nearly shattered his nerves and he almost dropped his sword. Next to him, Fil did drop his sword, and the clanging of metal on stone reverberated loudly in the stillness.
Another Banthra rose from the mist behind them. The demon knight looked the same, but its cloak was a deep purple, almost black, and it was lined with some sort of dark fur. He carried no shield, only two maces capped with spiked heads. They were large, about as big as Kromm’s fist, and the spikes were each as long as a dagger. The weapons looked cumbersome and yet the Banthra carried them with apparent ease.
“Now these two be worthy of a Dakeen,” Cade grumbled behind Jonas. Jonas looked at the dwarf and noticed he was smiling. How could that be? He himself was struggling against the desire to flee into the darkness, and yet this dwarf faced two Banthras with a smile on his face. Jonas knew that these undead warriors projected a magical fear few men could withstand. As a cavalier he could combat that fear, but now, he had a difficult ti
me subduing his desire to run.
“Stay close to me!” Lor-telliam ordered as he chanted a few quick words. Again, light flashed from his staff and washed over the group. Suddenly Jonas felt himself again. The elf had dispelled the Banthras' magic spell, repelling the fear that emanated from them. It was as if there had been a fist squeezing his heart, and then it just disappeared. His nerves calmed and his focus returned. He saw Fil quickly reach down and grab his sword from the ground. Obviously the effect was universal as everyone readied themselves for battle.
“Your spells just prolong your inevitable deaths,” the Banthra behind them hissed. Its demonic voice grated on Jonas’s spine and he shivered with the vileness of it. “I will relish spilling your blood, especially yours,” the Banthra said, easily lifting his mace and pointing it at Jonas.
“One of your own said that to me before, and yet I survive, and he did not,” Jonas retorted.
“You were protected then, now you are not.”
Somewhere from deep inside, Fil found the courage to speak. “We protect each other.” It sounded lame, but it resonated well with everyone, and they gripped their weapons with new courage bolstered by the proximity of comrades.
Just then Tulari turned and growled into the mist that covered the sloping hill. Silent shapes had emerged from the darkness and were advancing toward the landing. Jonas’s breath caught in his throat as he recognized their forms and movement.
Fil did as well. “Boargs,” he said through gritted teeth.
The landing was twenty paces square and the back side had been dug into the hill to keep it level. The hillside had a stone retaining wall, three paces high, and the downward side was wrapped in a smaller wall lined with various benches on which to rest and enjoy the view. The terrain beyond the landing was sloped and rocky, but the boargs traversed it easily. They were surrounded on all sides.
“Time to die,” the Banthra on the stairs growled.
“Exactly!” Kromm roared and charged the Banthra with the sword.
Everyone reacted instinctively as they readied themselves for battle.
But the boargs were quicker, and their powerful leaps carried them up and over the wall to land in their midst. Bodies tumbled and screams erupted as the landing became a chaotic whirlwind of steel and blood.
As Jonas attacked the second Banthra he noticed that Shyann's symbol on his chest was glowing with a blue light, which grew brighter as he got closer to the demon. Jonas felt alive again, rejuvenated, and he easily parried and spun, avoiding the descending mace. His other sword led the spin but it was intercepted by the Banthra’s second mace, and they exchanged attacks and parries as they moved across the far end of the landing.
Kromm came in low at the Banthra. He had no choice as the demon was standing at an elevated position. His sword missed as the black knight jumped back, bringing his sword down on top of Kromm’s shield. The red glowing blade cut into Kromm’s shield and struck his forearm guard underneath, like a hammer, forcing him backwards. His shield was not magical, but his armor was and that was what saved him. The force of the blow would leave a nasty bruise, but other than that his arm was intact. And he didn’t have time to remove his shield; besides, it was still usable.
The Banthra leveled his sword at Kromm, red flames shooting from the tip. Kromm could do nothing but crouch low, and lift the damaged shield in front of him, hoping that it would save him, but instantly feeling intense heat as his shield turned red and his skin began to blister. Just as he thought he couldn't bear the pain, he heard a swoosh and the flames vanished. He frantically unstrapped the red hot shield and dropped it to the ground. He glanced up and saw that the Banthra had been forced up the stairs by Lor-telliam. The elf’s staff was alight with the blue blade and they fought in a shower of sparks as their weapons made contact. Kromm had no doubt that the Ekahal had just saved him from a fiery death.
But Kromm had no time to revel in his salvation as two boargs immediately came at him. One came in low, going for his powerful legs, while the other was preparing to leap off the edge of the wall towards him. Kromm snapped his leg out and his metal shod boots took the boarg in the face, stopping it instantly and crushing the beast’s jaw. A kick from any other man would have been thwarted by the aggressive power of the boarg attack. But from Kromm it ended the fight.
He spun, pivoted, and swung his blade in a deadly arc that took the flying boarg in the side. Cormathian sliced through ribs and organs and by the time the boarg landed it was already dead. But he had no time to rest, as more boargs came for him.
Kromm, Allindrian, Fil, King Baylin, and the Dakeen brothers had their hands full with boargs, while Jonas and Lor-telliam battled the Banthras. Boarg bodies littered the landing and it didn’t take long before the stones were slick with their blood.
The space was too tight for the brothers to chain up, but they still fought next to each other with deadly efficiency. They knew each other’s moves and they had honed their fighting styles over many years of combat together. They were experts in axe fighting where every part of the weapon was used. The flat of the blade blocked deadly claws while the spikes at either end punctured more than one boarg hide. But it was the deadly razor sharp blades that were the most efficient, cutting through boarg flesh like a butcher preparing his wares for sale. And they relished the fight. Dwarven battle cries bellowed as blood splattered their faces.
Allindrian was trying to get to Jonas’s side but boargs were coming at her from all directions. She used all her skill to keep them away and was forced to use her magic yet again. She had skewered a boarg through the chest but in its dying spasms it ripped the sword from her grasp. “Fihr Anthos Seathay,” she said, calling forth six glowing bolts that appeared in the air next to her. She sent three into an attacking boarg and three more into another that was attacking her flank. They both fell to the ground while she catapulted on top of the dead boarg behind her, yanking her sword clear.
“Look out!”
Allindrian turned on a coin just in time to glimpse a boarg before it struck her solidly in her torso, forcing the air from her lungs as she landed hard on her back with the boarg on top of her. Claws dug at her chest but once again her armor saved her, though it felt as if her ribs would break from the weight of the beast. The force of the strike had caused her to drop her sword again, and she struggled to grasp the hunting knife at her hip. Then suddenly she was drenched in blood as the boarg convulsed. She heard the solid thump of steel hitting flesh as more crimson splashes splattered her. She scrambled out from under the dead boarg to see Fil standing before her, panting heavily, his eyes filled with rage, and grasping his shield and sword. Allindrian retrieved her sword but had no time for gratitude as more enemies attacked.
The banthra's mace had struck Jonas in the shoulder, the force of the blow causing him to stumble backwards. Though the pain was severe, his shoulder guards had kept the spikes from biting into his flesh. The Banthra just laughed and swung its other mace in a downward strike at Jonas’s head.
Jonas quickly summoned his cognivant powers, forming an invisible mental shield in front of the demon’s arm. In the cognivant spectrum he saw the world for what it was; millions of tiny particles that made up everything, all of them connected. Jonas could not explain it to anyone, nor would they believe him, but what he saw in his mind looked as if everything was made up of the same stuff, although he had no idea what it was. But he could control the particles to a significant degree, and that was what mattered. He could have controlled the particles around the demon’s arm and willed them to hold it still, but that would have taken too long and the mace would have already crushed him. But forming a small invisible shield could be done in seconds. The flying mace struck the shield and was repelled backwards…and Jonas took advantage of it. He lunged forward and rammed his right blade into the exposed stomach of the black knight. Blue sparks erupted from the wound as his sword broke through its magical armor. The Banthra dropped the extended mace and shuffled backward
s away from the deadly sword. But as Jonas pressed the attack, the Banthra lifted its empty hand which instantly erupted in red flame. Jonas was only a few steps from the demon when the searing flames shot towards him. But just before they could reach him, something struck Jonas, pushing him away from the fire's path. He heard a wrenching howl pierce the din of battle and as he landed and scrambled to his hands and knees he saw Tulari, her fur erupting in fire, but before it could consume her, she took a powerful leap and flew over the stone wall, escaping the continued onslaught of deadly flames.
Jonas’s eyes narrowed in fury and he again called on his cognivant powers, this time forming a swirling translucent shield in front of him, just as the Banthra again aimed its flames towards him. He felt the heat, but the flames roared around him causing him only discomfort. He strained against the mental fatigue as the power of the Banthra's attack pounded against the shield. Finally the flames subsided and Jonas, fueled by anger, bolted forward, jumping off the body of a dead boarg, with both swords coming down to strike the Banthra who had raised his mace to block the attack. Sparks flew as the swords struck the mace. But the Banthra, who had been a skilled warrior in life, angled the mace downward, side stepping at the same time, and forcing Jonas’s blades down and away. The demon knight followed up with a punch to Jonas’s side. Its gauntlets, covered with deadly spikes, slammed into Jonas with enough force to lift him off the ground. The air left his lungs and pain lanced through his kidney, and though he was fortunate that his god-made armor had kept the spikes from puncturing his flesh, it could do nothing to stop the damage of the blow. Jonas tasted blood in his mouth and he fell to the side in tremendous pain, the Banthra looming over him like a deadly shadow.
Meanwhile Lor-telliam, still battling the other Banthra, had whispered a protective spell as he held his staff up with both hands, catching the powerful strike of the demon’s blade. The power rocked his shoulders and he thought they would break. His spell would protect him from other spells, but not physical attacks. But he thrust his staff up with surprising strength for one so lithe, and then snapped his leg up at a seemingly impossible angle, his foot connecting solidly with the Banthra’s chest, forcing it off balance. His staff, in a blur of movement, sliced left and right with its blue blade across the demon’s chest. Sparks flew as the blade cut a deep X pattern on the demon’s cuirass. The Banthra lifted its shield as Lor-telliam’s staff reversed direction seeking an opening at its neck. But the Banthra met it cleanly, lunging forward while attempting to smash the agile elf with its sword. Lor-telliam jumped down six steps away from the Banthra and called on his magic again. With a few quick words crackling energy erupted from his hand and crashed into the Banthra’s shield. Sparks and smoke erupted into the air and the Banthra stumbled backwards farther up the steps. But the demon righted itself and returned magic with magic, aiming its sword at the elf for the second time as it shot forth a searing barrage of flames. The roar of the fire assaulted the Ekahal’s senses, but it harmed him not at all, his protective spell doing its job.
The Cavalier Trilogy: Book 03 - Glimmer in the Shadow Page 21
