“Tamara?” said Ridmark.
She nodded and lifted her staff, lightning snarling around the fingers of her free hand. Tamara gestured with the staff, and the lightning leaped from her fingers and coiled up and down the staff.
A lightning bolt screamed out of the sky and crashed into the charging distortion.
Ridmark had seen the Augurs use that spell during the battle against the muridachs. He didn’t know whether Tamara had learned it from them or if it had been in some of the memories and skills she had recovered. Either way, the attack proved effective, and the lightning bolt slammed into one of the distortions. Ridmark saw a half-dozen jastaani warriors go tumbling through the air, becoming visible at the lightning set their strange cloaks on fire.
“Ha!” cried Khulmak. “Glad you’re on our side, girl!”
Tamara grinned at the orcish captain and summoned another lightning bolt that sent more jastaani warriors tumbling into the swamp.
The jastaani, seeing that they had lost all hope of an ambush, flung aside their cloaks and became visible.
There were hundreds of the warriors, hundreds of brilliant golden eyes glaring up at them. Like the jastaani they had fought yesterday, these creatures were armed with bronze spears and swords and wore cuirasses and helmets of the same metal, wooden shields on their arms.
“Janaab Kal!” screamed one of the jastaani, brandishing his sword.
“Janaab Kal!” roared the rest of the warriors in unison, striking their swords and spears against their shields with a ringing cacophony. “Janaab Kal! Janaab Kal!”
The jastaani roared, the sound exactly like a hunting cat leaping upon its prey. The warriors charged, racing up the slope with terrific speed as their clawed toes grasped the turf. Ridmark supposed the jastaani had one great advantage in the swamps – they did not require boots or shoes, and their clawed feet let them keep their balance on nearly any surface.
“Archers!” boomed Khulmak. “Feather the bastards!”
The dvargir crossbowmen raised their weapons and loosed a volley of shafts. Ridmark feared that they had aimed too low, that they would shoot their own spearmen in the back, but again the competence of the mercenaries surprised him. The dvargir and Magatai both sent their shafts soaring over the heads of the spearmen and falling into the charging jastaani like a bronze-tipped rain. A dozen jastaani fell. But a half-dozen were only a few compared to the hundreds that charged up the slope of the causeway.
Then the jastaani drew close, and Ridmark had no more attention to spare for anything but battle.
Two of the warriors rushed at him, and Ridmark strode to meet them. He parried the thrust of a sword with his staff and stabbed with Oathshield, the soulblade’s power driving his arm with terrible strength. The blade ripped through the jastaani’s throat in a spray of crimson blood, and the creature fell. The remaining warrior slashed again, and Ridmark deflected the blow with his staff. Blue fire flashed behind the jastaani, and Third appeared, plunging one of her longswords into the creature’s neck.
Tamlin moved in a blur, his air magic giving him inhuman speed, and started cutting down jastaani left and right. Krastikon crashed into them, using the wards of earth magic on his shield and armor to deflect the blows of his enemies. Calem followed in his wake, slashing through the jastaani thrown off-guard by Krastikon’s reckless charge. Khulmak flung himself into the fray, his crimson cloak billowing behind him like a banner. No doubt the cloak and the horned helmet made him an obvious target for their enemies, but Khulmak was up to the challenge. As before, he used his weapon as both axe and shield, deflecting blows with the shaft, and then using the blades of the axe to deal killing strikes. It was a pity that Khulmak hadn’t marched with the Warlord of Mholorast during the campaign against King Justin. The mercenary captain’s ferocity would have been useful during the Battle of the Plains.
But despite the efforts of Ridmark and the others, the jastaani rushed past them and engaged the shield wall. They had kept the jastaani from reaching the shield wall in a single solid mass. Instead, the jastaani attacked in ragged bands, and even then, they struck with enough ferocity that the shield wall wavered under the press of the attack. The jotunmiri standing at the flanks roared, swinging their clubs and sending the jastaani tumbling through the air.
Calliande cast spells of her own, controlled bursts of earth magic that made the ground ripple and fold. Even the clawed feet of the jastaani could not keep their grip when the earth moved beneath them. Kalussa sent crystalline spheres from the Staff of Blades, while Tamara conjured curtains of acidic mist that set the jastaani aflame. Angashalis cast spells as well, and his magic seized a jastaani warrior, lifted him a dozen feet into the air, and then smashed him against the earth with bone-crushing force. The jastaani he caught in that spell tended not to get up again.
The jastaani pressed closer, and Ridmark cast aside his staff for lack of room to swing it. He took Oathshield in both hands, the soulblade’s power thrumming through him and making him stronger and faster. Ridmark carved his way into the enemy, Third flickering in circles around him, and left a trail of slain jastaani in his wake.
###
Calliande watched the battle, the magic of the Well surging through her and the Sight showing her the currents of power as the others unleashed spells.
They were winning the fight, if barely. Several of the mercenary spearmen had gone down, torn by spear and sword, and a few had even been killed by the jaws and claws of the jastaani. Should they survive the battle, Calliande would do what she could for the wounded with her healing magic. Right now, her attention was on the fight, throwing her magic into the fray when it could help.
And she held the Sight ready, watching for dark magic.
Someone was commanding the jastaani. Someone had ordered them to attack the xiatami patrol, had brought them over the Tower Mountains to the Serpent Marshes. Calliande suspected that the Janaab Kal might prove be yet another of the Maledicti, and she would be ready if the Maledictus decided to appear. Angashalis had said that the jastaani priests possessed powerful magic, though Calliande had not yet seen any of them. For that matter, the Scythe possessed powerful magic, and the urdhracos might attack.
But so far, neither the Maledicti nor the Scythe had shown themselves.
Then two things happened at once.
One of the jastaani produced a war horn and blew a long, wailing blast, and the warriors fled back down the side of the causeway and into the swamp. Many of them dropped to all fours for greater speed, throwing their cloaks over themselves for camouflage.
And in the same instant, twisted magic flared before Calliande’s Sight.
She sent the Sight northward, trying to find the source of twisted power she sensed. Something was coming south, moving with great speed…
A distant roar came to her ears. No, a chorus of roars, like a whole pack of beasts howling at once.
At the edge of her sight, something moved, ripples going through the water.
“Oh, no,” said Calliande.
“What is it, Keeper?” said Kalussa, and then her eyes widened.
The hydra lumbered through the swamp, water foaming around its massive legs, the ground vibrating beneath Calliande’s boots as the beast charged.
It was far larger than the hydra they had fought earlier. This creature had a body the size of a small house, its spiny back rising nearly twenty feet above its clawed feet. The serpentine necks were as thick as ancient trees. And the hydra had not three heads, but nine, each one of them filled with fangs, their malevolent yellow eyes glaring in all directions. Calliande thought the beast could fight an entire army by itself.
And it was headed right for them.
Something caught Calliande’s eye. She thought the creature was wearing golden collars just below each of its heads, but she realized that the collars were actually rings of golden flame. That was the source of the twisted magic she had detected with the Sight. Someone had placed a spell on the hydra to drive it
into a frenzy and then had sent the creature at them. Something about the spell reminded her of the magic of Rhodruthain, of the damage in Tamara’s aura, but she was certain that Rhodruthain had not cast the malignant spell upon the hydra.
“Keeper, what are we going to do?” said Kalussa.
“I don’t know,” said Calliande, and the hydra roared again, all nine of its mouths creating a hideous chorus.
###
Ridmark stared at the charging hydra.
Already the mercenaries were starting to waver, even as Khulmak bellowed for them to hold. Ridmark could hardly blame them. That hydra would tear through Khulmak’s mercenaries like paper.
No, if the creature was going to be defeated, if they were going to get out of this with their lives, it was up to Ridmark and his friends.
“Scatter!” he roared at the top of his lungs. “Khulmak, let your men scatter! If they stay in formation, the hydra will rip them apart.” Khulmak glared at him, nodded, and shouted the command. “Attack the hydra’s flanks, keep it distracted. Tamlin, Calem, Krastikon, we’ll need you to take the heads off.” The three knights nodded, moving to join him. “Kalussa and Tamara, burn their necks once we get the heads off. Calliande, we’ll need spells to protect us from the hydra’s fire.” She nodded and started casting a ward, white fire dancing around the staff of the Keeper.
“What will you and I do?” said Third, rolling her shoulders. The sword in her left hand snarled with lightning, while the sword in her right crackled with magical flame.
“It’s simple,” said Ridmark. The hydra surged out of the water with such force that it sent a wave onto the bank of the causeway. “We distract the hydra so the others can cut off its heads.”
“Ah,” said Third, and she grinned. “I like the simple plans.” White light flickered around her as Calliande cast a ward against fire over her, and Ridmark saw that a similar light had appeared upon Tamlin, Calem, and Krastikon.
One had appeared around him as well, come to think of it.
“Well,” said Third, “if I am to distract the hydra, I suppose I should go first.”
Ridmark gestured. “As you wish.”
The hydra clawed its way up the slope. Once the creature was clear of the water, it moved with terrific speed, at least as fast as a cantering horse. In a creature so large, it was terrifying.
Third disappeared in a swirl of fire and reappeared atop the hydra’s back, somehow keeping her balance despite the creature’s lumbering gait. She whirled her swords and drove both weapons deep into its spine, and the hydra jerked. Three of its heads rotated back and spat gouts of fire at Third, but she vanished before the flames struck. The fire washed off the hydra’s scales without leaving a mark.
Regrettably, it seemed that the hydra was immune to its own fire.
Ridmark charged, drawing on Oathshield for speed, and attacked, aiming his swing at the base of the nearest neck. The soulblade struck and crunched through the scales, sinking into the flesh, but even with Oathshield’s power augmenting his strength, the blade did not cut all that deep into the thick neck. Nevertheless, the wound drew the attention of the hydra, and two of the heads darted down. Ridmark leaped back, and one set of the hydra’s jaws snapped shut a few inches from his chest. He hammered Oathshield, sliced a gash across the hydra’s snout, and backed out of reach of the hydra’s whipping necks.
As he did, he saw the wounds he had inflicted already vanishing from existence. It seemed this creature regenerated even faster than the smaller one they had fought previously.
A crystalline sphere shot past Ridmark’s ear and punched through the hydra’s nearest head. The serpentine neck whipped back and forth, and the head struck the ground and bounced. Ridmark seized the opening and attacked, swinging Oathshield down with both hands. On the third blow, the soulblade sheared through the thick neck, and the head bounced away in a spray of crimson blood.
Ridmark started to shout for one of the women to cast a spell of fire, but Calliande was already moving. Kalussa and Tamara were both skilled and strong with fire magic, but Calliande exceeded them both. A shaft of fire leaped from her hand, no wider than her forearm, and it slashed across the stump of the hydra’s neck. The heat of Calliande’s magical fire seared the torn flesh to smoking char, and the neck lashed once more and fell like a limp rope to the ground.
That did nothing to slow the hydra, and the creature’s eight remaining heads roared and spun towards Ridmark, mouths breathing fire.
###
Tamlin charged as Ridmark retreated before the fury of the hydra’s attack. The Shield Knight managed to dodge the first three plumes of flame the hydra belched at him, but the fourth clipped him. The fire should have set him aflame, but the white light of Calliande’s warding spell flared brighter, and her magic turned aside the fire that would have killed her husband. Ridmark dodged to the side and slashed at the hydra’s front right leg. Third appeared next to him and joined the attack but to little effect. The hydra’s stumpy leg was as thick as a tree, and even with the augmented strength of a Swordbearer, Ridmark could not hack through the leg faster than the hydra could regenerate the injury.
For once, the Sword of Earth had an advantage over Oathshield. The Sword of Earth could cut through nearly anything, and the armored scales of the hydra were no exception. Tamlin surged forward as the hydra twisted to follow Ridmark and Third, and he swung the Sword of Earth. The green blade sliced through one of the hydra’s necks, and the head fell at his feet with a thump.
“Tamara!” said Tamlin, and Tamara struck. A whirling sphere of fire leaped from the end of her staff and struck the end of the hydra’s severed neck. It exploded in a bloom of flame, and the hydra’s neck lashed like a whip. It clipped Tamlin’s shoulder and spun him around, and he hit the ground with jarring force, his armor rattling from the impact.
Two of the hydra’s heads swung towards him. One started to breathe fire, which didn’t concern him since he was protected by Calliande’s magic. The other yawned wide to bite him, which was much more alarming. Tamlin heaved himself to his feet and dodged out of the way, the jaws snapping closed a few inches from his face.
He tried to recover his balance to attack, but blue steel flashed before his eyes first.
Khulmak roared and swung his axe again, the blade sinking halfway into the hydra’s thick neck. Both the head and the serpentine head jerked as Khulmak ripped his axe free, and Tamlin struck. His hasty blow wasn’t aimed right, and he wound up splitting the hydra’s head in two. The long neck reared back, the hydra’s other heads roaring in rage, and a new head grew out of the bloody ruin of the one Tamlin had wounded.
Tamlin went back on the attack, trying to land a blow on the heads.
###
Calliande had her attention split in dozen different directions as she wielded the flows of magic maintaining the warding spells around the others. It was a strain, but she had done it countless times before, and she had enough power left to cast spells to strike at the hydra.
Calem leaped back, blood spraying from the stump of yet another of the hydra’s necks, and Calliande struck. Her mind called power, and her will shaped it, and she sent a shaft of elemental flame bursting from her fingers. The blast of fire slashed across the stump of the hydra’s head, and the bloody flesh turned to smoking char. The neck cracked like a whip and then collapsed limp to the ground.
Three heads down, six to go.
Yet those six heads were putting up a ferocious fight, as fierce a fight as the original nine together had done. The necks were as thick as trees, yet they were as quick as serpents, and their heads struck with the force of hammer blows. Third had barely transported away from the snapping bite of one of the heads, and Ridmark had taken the bite of another full in the chest. Had he not been wearing his dark elven armor, Calliande feared that the fangs would have punched through his torso like ballista bolts. As it was, the impact had thrown him to the ground. He had leaped back up at once, but she suspected the bite had hit him
with enough force to crack ribs.
Tamlin, Krastikon, and Calem had the only weapons capable of severing the hydra’s heads, and while Krastikon was strong, he just wasn’t fast enough to keep up with the hydra’s whirling necks and snapping bites. Khulmak had taken off one of the hydra’s heads, but Calliande was not sure the mercenary could repeat the feat. Tamlin and Calem were fast enough, but only when Tamlin used a spell of elemental magic and Calem called upon a minor power of the Sword of Air. Even then, they had only moved fast enough to take off three of the six heads, and their stamina would only last for so long.
The hydra had no such weakness.
Calem stumbled, turned his stumble into a forward leap, and took off another of the hydra’s heads. Calliande, Tamara, and Kalussa all attacked at once, hurling blasts of elemental fire at the stump. Yet the hydra was pursuing Ridmark and Third, and the blasts of fire missed the stump by mere inches. Calliande hissed in frustration and gathered power for another spell, but it was too late. The hydra regenerated a new head, one that hurled a gout of flame at Krastikon. The former Ironcoat raised his purple-glowing shield, and between his earth magic and Calliande’s ward, he survived the gout of fire.
Yet Calliande felt the strain growing in her mind. How much longer could she hold all the wards in place and continue throwing spells at the hydra? She didn’t know how intelligent the hydra was, but if it realized that the fire she and Tamara and Kalussa threw at it posed a danger, it might lumber over and kill them.
The rattle of bone came to her ears.
“Keeper of Andomhaim!”
Sevenfold Sword: Sorceress Page 12
