The Damned: Age Of Magic - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Tales of the Feisty Druid Book 6)

by Candy Crum

  Without saying a word, the girls snapped their heads up and the arms pointing behind them swung forward. Their hands clapped, and a thunderous boom echoed in front of them as the wall exploded into hundreds of thousands of pieces, blowing forward and taking out several men in the front line.

  In front were the mercenaries, which didn't surprise Arryn at all. The men behind called out their battle cries as they rushed forward, jumping over their fallen friends. The twins lowered their bodies and then jumped straight into the air; Arryn's eyes widened as she watched them clear more than twenty feet. They slammed down hard on the ground, creating vibrations that shook the men, and knocked several in front off balance.

  Cleo turned and looked behind her, her eyes blue. Arryn could see her panting, and knew they had expended way more energy than they should have. "Now!" Cleo called out.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Arryn ran forward, but Snow was faster. She leapt over Arryn, rushing the first man she saw. His eyes widened, a scream forming in his throat, before Snow clamped down hard on his head and squeezed with her powerful jaws. Arryn could hear the sickening crunch as his head exploded in her mouth, and the tiger dropped him to the ground, moving on to the next.

  Animals that were under the control of the dark druids were attacking her friends and their familiars all over. Snow rushed forward to take several out, which she hated, because the animals were innocent. They didn’t want to do their bidding, but they were forced. Fighting their influence was far more painful than death.

  From what Arryn could see, as the battle raged on, the dark druids were beginning to lose some of their control; many animals were starting to flee.

  Grabbing her bow, Arryn called for Snow and jumped on her back. They raced forward, zigzagging out of the way of attackers as Arryn did her best to thin the crowd. She took shot after shot, each one hitting her target. She had improved her technique while riding tiger-back, having practiced on horses.

  The crowd began to thicken as more bandits rushed forward, and Arryn and Snow raced back to the makeshift creek. Arryn jumped down, hearing a loud grunt to her right, and a man fell at her feet, a knife in the back of his head. She looked up to see Celine making her way over.

  "Boy, look who's come a long way," Arryn said with a smile.

  Celine laughed. "You know it. How about we make use of this water?"

  "I was thinking that myself," she agreed, her eyes flashing black.

  Celine's eyes changed as well, and both women turned toward the water as Snow ran off to join the battle once again, making sure to keep the enemy out of reach of her master. Arryn heard a loud growl, and she looked over to see Dante taking down a would-be attacker.

  "Good boy!" Arryn praised him as she lifted her hands.

  Water began to lift from the creek, and the women froze it in tiny shards.

  Arryn felt the searing pain before she heard the sound.

  A magitech rifle blast had cut straight through her shoulder. She yelled out, grinding her teeth as blood began to pour down both her chest and back from the wound.

  Looking ahead, she saw a wall of men holding magitech rifles and coming straight for them. She screamed loudly as she took a step forward, thrusting her hands out. Ice shards whistled through the air, impaling some; other men threw out a blast of telekinetic energy, shooting the ice right back at her.

  Celine reacted quickly. A shield exploded around them and blocked the ice. As the men readied their weapons again, Arryn lifted her hands, raising water from the creek and freezing it into a solid wall. She dropped to the ground, yanking Celine down with her.

  Ice chunks exploded all over as the men shot at the wall, approaching slowly and still firing.

  Arryn drew on her nature magic and healed her shoulder. "Keep this shield solid," she ordered Celine.

  Celine nodded, and Arryn threw her arm straight up to the sky. A vine unwound from the tree and wrapped around her waist before quickly pulling her up into the canopy. Once she was concealed inside, the vine fell away, and she could see the shadow warriors with their glowing green eyes.

  "How about we have some fun?" Arryn asked, as blind shots from the magitech rifles began to shoot up through the trees.

  It was Alehah that answered. "Absolutely."

  Arryn smiled and nodded. "Good, keep my ass from hitting the ground."

  Alehah stood straight and nodded only a second before Arryn jumped, diving headfirst toward the ground. When she was nearly ten feet from plummeting to the earth, vines whipped around each of her feet and legs individually, just as she grabbed the magitech rifle out of a mercenary’s hand and smashed him in the face with the end of it.

  Before they could retaliate, Alehah pulled Arryn back high into the tree, the vines falling away again.

  "Stand back!" Arryn shouted.

  All Schatten warriors in the tree backed against the trunk, where they were less likely to be hit. Down below, Arryn heard a war cry before she heard a heavy thump, and she knew Samuel was there to save the day.

  There was no mistaking his screams in battle. That wasn't going to stop her from saving his short ass from getting killed in the process of trying to save Celine, who probably didn't need saving anyway.

  Arryn nodded toward Alehah once again before running to the end of the branch and taking a dive. This time, she jumped much farther out, which allowed Alehah’s vines to move her in an arc.

  She swung down, shooting the pilfered rifle and taking out two fighters before swinging it like a stick to take out a third. Just as before, Alehah yanked her back into the tree before they could get a steady shot on her.

  "Step back!" Arryn said, everyone once again backing against the thick trunk.

  Arryn stepped forward, putting her hands in front of her and slowly parting the leaves, willing the branches to separate just enough to allow her to see below. She whipped her head back just in time to dodge a shot; by the time she looked back, Samuel had already swung his hammer into the man's chest and was delivering the final blow to his head.

  Arryn looked over to Alehah and smiled. "Thanks for the fun!"

  Arryn used the vines that were still wrapped around her legs, to wrap around her waist before jumping down, carefully lowering herself the rest of the way so she wasn't injured.

  She rushed forward and roundhouse-kicked a man in the face as he went after Samuel. He rounded on her and lifted his weapon, but she kicked the end of it, knocking it upward before she charged him, taking him down to the ground. His arms went out at his sides as he landed hard on the ground with Arryn on top of him.

  As he tried to correct himself, Arryn pulled a ram's horn dagger from her belt as she brought her head down, breaking his nose. As she lifted her head, she stabbed him in the side of the throat. Then she willed the vine that had lowered her to take the magitech rifle into the canopy.

  ***

  Bast and Cleo had used quite a lot of energy in the beginning of the battle, but they weren't out entirely. Off in the distance, they could see Arryn diving in and out of the tree, taking men out left and right.

  "She's kind of awesome," Bast said as she stopped a man mid-run with a punch to the face. His entire face collapsed under the force of the impact, and he fell dead to the ground.

  "She's playing in the trees," Cleo said, picking a large branch up off the ground and swinging hard, taking down three men at once. "She's pretty awesome, but we have yet to see what she's really capable of. Let's hold our praises until she’s showed us her cards. She's seen ours, we still need to see hers."

  Cleo ran toward a group setting in on the Chieftain. Her eyes flashed blue as she forced power down to her legs and jumped. Just as before, she landed hard in front of the Chieftain, and the blast of energy that was forced outward in a large circle, threw ten men back.

  "It's amazing what physical magic can do," the Chieftain said.

  "I got more where that came from," she promised. Despite her confident words, she was feeling the extreme fatigue, a
nd the Chieftain could see it all over her.

  A man ran straight for her, and she focused the power in her arm and hand. She caught him by the throat, lifting him in the air with one hand before slamming him down on the ground and squeezing, effectively crushing his windpipe. She stood and turned toward the Chieftain, who was now staring at her with wide eyes.

  "You know, it's funny. As far as natural physical strength goes, I can barely do my own hair some days without my arms hurting."

  The Chieftain burst out laughing before whipping his staff around, hitting a man directly in the face and throwing him back to the ground.

  "What about you, old man? Bast and I are curious enough to see what Arryn has to offer, but I'm betting you're hiding a lot under that grey hair."

  Alexander smiled as his eyes flashed bright, neon green. Thunder cracked overhead, and the sky grew dark. Cleo’s eyes widened as the wind began to blow. Her hair, even in braids, stood out as the charge in the air grew.

  The Chieftain lifted his staff to the sky, and lightning bolts crashing down all around. He took down all the men that were struggling to stand from Cleo's attack, and several more that had approached. They all sprawled out on the ground, dead.

  He turned toward her with a smile on his face, but it quickly fell as he whipped his staff around, knocking her legs out from under her. She was about to ask what the hell he had just done, when a blast of wind blew, and she peered back in time to see two approaching men fly backward onto their asses.

  The Chieftain stepped forward and extended his hand. She smiled and took it to stand. "Thanks, old man."

  "You saved me first, young woman. Now, let's go find my old friend, Alaric, shall we?"

  ***

  Cathillian narrowly missed a swipe from one of Snow’s massive paws as she attacked one man before going on to another. Most of the men ran when they saw her coming for them, but some thought they were crafty enough to outsmart her.

  That will never be the case.

  Cathillian sliced his sword downward, managing to dodge a blast from a magitech rifle before bringing the sword up again and slashing the mercenary across the face. The man screamed out just as Samuel took the final blow.

  "Well, there you are!" Cathillian said. "I was wondering where my best little friend was."

  Samuel laughed. "And I was wonderin’ where me skinny ogre friend had gone to."

  Cathillian gave him an offended expression before stepping back and throwing an elbow into the face of one of the bandits, knocking him down before running his sword through his chest.

  "Now, I'm surely not that ugly, am I?" Cathillian asked as he turned back to Samuel.

  Samuel swung his hammer and knocked the legs out from under one bandit as Cathillian pulled the knife from his belt and threw it, stabbing another in the face.

  "Come on," Cathillian said. "You know you think I’m pretty."

  "Yeah, lad. Yer just the girl fer me," Samuel said with a sarcastic tone, grunting as he took another swing.

  "See? I told you!" Cathillian charged to his left, jumping up and wrapping his legs around a bandit’s head before flipping himself backward, the momentum taking the man to the ground. He twisted his hips, effectively breaking the man's neck.

  "If you plan to marry me, you might have to fight Arryn for it," Cathillian said with a grunt as he stood.

  Samuel laughed. "Lad, I'm pretty sure she’d sell ye fer a half pint of the shite rearick brew. Not even the good stuff."

  Cathillian laughed as he ran over and grabbed the knife he had thrown earlier, pulling it from the man's eyes socket. "I’d guess you're probably right about that."

  A knife came out of nowhere, whizzing right past Cathillian’s head and stabbing into the throat of the man that had been coming after him. They both turned and saw Celine standing there, hands on her hips.

  "Are the two of you ladies seriously going to stand around and flirt all day? I don't know if I can continuously save you damsels in distress," Celine said.

  Samuel's face turned red as he shook his head. "I'll be good."

  Celine pointed behind Cathillian, and he nodded. He quickly turned and stomped his foot outward, breaking the knee of the approaching enemy before slicing upward with his sword, scoring a fatal gash from left hip to right shoulder.

  He turned back to Celine and smiled. "I'll be good, too."

  She sighed and shook her head. "Glad to hear it. We have to find Arryn before she does anything crazy. Elysia said she hasn't seen Alaric or Jerick, and she's worried Arryn will go after them alone."

  "Would Elysia even know ‘em if she saw ‘em?" Samuel asked.

  Cathillian snorted. "My mom knew them when she was a kid. She may have been a toddler at the time, but her brain is like a steel trap—she never forgets a face."

  They all turned, about to head back toward the creek where they had last seen Arryn, when two explosions sounded in quick succession.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Alaric stood in the middle of the battle, watching everything fall apart around him. He looked down, his eyes widening as he stared into the cold, dead eyes of Locke, the very man who was supposed to be the best of the best.

  At least, that was what he had said. Obviously, he was wrong.

  Alaric smiled. “Sorry, Locke. I guess when we succeed without you, we won’t be going to the Heights after all. Thanks for your sacrifice. It will be promptly forgotten, I assure you.”

  Jerick ran up, out of breath. "Brother, I hate to say this, but this is a lost cause. Alexander is too strong. His people…" He looked around, watching everyone locked in combat. "Alexander has always been more powerful than either one of us. That was years ago. These people are even stronger than Alexander was when we left decades ago. So, how the hell strong is he now? And we’ve seen what Arryn can do…"

  Alaric's nostrils flared as he became angrier by the second. Alexander had always bested him; he wasn't about to let him do it again. At the very least, if he lost, he was taking Alexander out with him. But he wanted Arryn first. Alaric wanted to deliver her dead body to Alexander, wanted to see the look of absolute horror on his face when he realized he had lost his best champion.

  Looking down, Alaric kicked Locke’s body over and retrieved his pack, which contained four magitech grenades. He slung it over his shoulders and smiled at his brother.

  "What are you doing?" Jerick asked. "Didn't you hear me? We have to leave. Now. Leave the rest of them. They don't matter now."

  Alaric shook his head. "Follow me into battle, brother. We don't have to fight for long. We only have to deliver the contents of this bag to Alexander and Arryn. Let's take out as many of them as we can and then flee. We can run east into the Valley. They won't expect us go there."

  Alaric watched his brother's expression lighten from irritation to understanding. Finally, Jerick nodded. "As you wish, brother. Let's do this together."

  Alaric nodded and began walking toward the enemy. He sensed a life force from above just as it descended upon him. His eyes flashed as he lifted his hand, looking up into the terrified eyes of a woman, dangling from the tree as she clutched at her chest. Her magic failed; the vine went limp and dumped her to the ground, snapping her neck on impact.

  They continued moving forward. Jerick whipped his hand out to the side, and vines tightened around another druid’s neck hard enough to crush her larynx. They moved through with confidence, going around the outside of the battle and picking up speed.

  It took some time, but they were able to make it around the majority of the fighting, only having to take down stragglers or shadow warriors as they dropped from the trees.

  Then there she was. Arryn.

  She took two rapid back-to-back shots with her bow before slinging the weapon over her shoulder and running forward, jumping into the air, and mule kicking a man in the chest before tumbling over backward to land on her feet.

  She knelt, whipping the bow from her shoulder again before grabbing an arrow that had falle
n to the ground in her assault. She took aim, shot, then immediately nocked another fallen arrow.

  "She is brilliant," Jerick said. "It really is a shame we have to kill her."

  Alaric snorted. "I’d give my right arm to have that woman by my side. She’s fearless and powerful—but she'll never give in."

  Alaric took the bag from his shoulder and reached inside, handing his brother one of the magitech grenades.

  ***

  Arryn had retrieved her bow and was doing her best to thin out more of the mercenaries and dark druids as they rushed forward in groups. She had watched many of her druid friends go down, but they were winning. The battle would soon be over, and she still had yet to find Alaric and Jerick.

  Before this war could be considered truly over and finished, the dark Chieftains had to die.

  They would stop at nothing to have the Dark Forest. Now that she knew they were capable of hiring mercenaries and using magitech weaponry, she would put nothing past them. Too many lives had been lost, and she refused to risk losing any more.

  Something sharp pierced through her back, straight through her abdomen. She looked down to see a sword jutting out. She heard a familiar scream before the sword was swiftly—and painfully—pulled out. She clutched at her side, turning around. There was no one behind her except enemies fighting other druids.

  She looked up just in time to watch a body fall from the trees with a sword run through the chest. She peered up again to see Corrine dropping down just behind him, a vine wrapped around her waist and eyes glowing bright green.

  Arryn's eyes widened. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be with Zoe and the other children!"

  Corrine reached out and touched Arryn, heat immediately rushing through her as she healed her wound.

  "I couldn't let anything happen to you. I know I can't fight down here with you, but I'm fast and I'm good in the trees. I'm not going back, not until I know this is over and all of you are safe."