Kazin looked at Amelia in amazement. She had cast an ‘eradication’ spell and had succeeded in eradicating the evil spirit!
Meanwhile, Olag had fired arrows into the limping minotaur who opposed him, but the great beast wasn’t even slowed down. The minotaur raised its axe to end the skink warrior’s existence and brought it down with all its might. The axe would have succeeded if it wasn’t for the intervention of another similarly sized axe coming out of nowhere to stop it. The axes clanged together loudly, loudly enough to be heard above the din of battle in the distance.
“You should pick on someone your own size,” snarled Zylor. He gave a great shove to the opposing minotaur and sent him tumbling to the ground.
In the meantime, Olag was already in motion, his ears still ringing. The orcs who had been watching the exchange were now within striking distance and he was felling them rapidly with arrows. His job was made easier with the ‘slow’ spell Amelia had cast on them. They looked like they were trying to push against a heavy resistance, not unlike what Olag and Zylor had experienced when they had first encountered Amelia themselves.
Kazin was firing ice bolts into Galado’s men but could only slow their advance, as they could not be killed.
Sherman pulled his sword free of the orc and turned to meet his next adversary. He didn’t get far because he made the mistake of looking into its eye. Olag paused from his assault of the orcs behind them to fire an arrow into the cyclops’ eye. The eye exploded in a spray of gore. With a howl, the cyclops staggered backwards, holding the place where its eye had been.
Harran used his axe to freeze a few more orcs who had come up from behind and then turned to attack the cyclops. He hacked through one of its arms and deep into its chest. The evil spirit within emerged, but was no match for Amelia’s spell. It sizzled like the previous one and vanished. The cyclops fell to the ground, completely lifeless.
Kazin used a spell to remove the paralysis on Sherman, and the big warrior turned to look for Galado, who was retreating from the fight. He charged forward, slashing the two orcs Harran had frozen moments earlier. Two more evil spirits screamed into oblivion.
Zylor was having a tough time with the other minotaur. He had chopped a lizardmage in half on his way to finishing off the minotaur. He didn’t notice the evil spirit depart the dead body of the lizardmage and fly into one of the orcs Olag had shot down earlier. The orc rose up and crept up to Zylor, who was concentrating on his other enemy.
Olag shot more arrows into the orcs but they had no effect. “Zylor, behind you!” cried the skink warrior.
Zylor turned just in time to give the orc a kick, sending it flying. Olag pounced on it and used his dagger to slit its throat. But the orc refused to give up. It tried to put its arm around Olag’s neck. Olag managed to squirm free and kicked himself free of the green creature. At that instant, a spell from Kazin incinerated the orc’s body. As the spirit rose from the charred corpse, Amelia did her magic and eradicated it like the others.
Zylor’s opponent was by now so severely hacked up it was impossible for it to move around any longer. The evil spirit rose from the mangled minotaur body and surged toward the cyclops body, entering it instead. The cyclops clumsily staggered back to its feet. Harran swung his axe past the cyclops’ body and froze it in place.
Kazin nodded at Amelia and she nodded back. Kazin cast a lightning bolt through the cyclops’ body and Amelia waited for the spirit to emerge. As soon as it did, she cast her spell and eradicated it. The cyclops fell to the ground a second time and lay still.
By now the remaining orcs formerly under the ‘slow’ spell had come up behind the spell casters. With Amelia casting her ‘eradication’ spell, her ‘slow’ spell had been negated. Harran barged through their ranks, freezing them where they stood while Olag sat on the ground pelting them with arrows. Kazin and Amelia cast a ‘shield’ spell to surround themselves with an invisible barrier and used the reprieve to determine if there were any more evil spirits to eradicate.
Zylor assisted Harran with the remaining orcs, and that’s when Kazin spotted the existence of another evil spirit. It was elusive, jumping from one orc body to the next. No sooner did it feel it was in danger before jumping into another body.
The orcs near the spell casters were dispatched, so Kazin and Amelia dropped the magical barrier. Then Kazin anticipated which body the spirit was going to take over next. Amelia nodded that she was ready for her spell.
“Cast your spell at the body over there,” said Kazin, pointing to an orc killed by arrows. “I’m going to blast the body the spirit’s using now so it will have to jump into that one. We have to catch it just right, before it enters that body.”
“Got it,” said Amelia.
As the orc moved closer to the orc body Kazin had indicated, Kazin blasted it with a bolt of lightning. Just before it struck, the evil spirit left its host and moved through the air toward the one Kazin had pointed out. At the same time, Amelia cast her spell. The timing was just right. With a scream and a sizzle, the spirit vanished.
Kazin looked over to where Sherman was battling with more of the evil spirits. He told Amelia to check the orb but it hadn’t changed. It was still vibrating and glowing with a bright red light. She could not determine the outcome of Sherman’s battle.
“Let’s go and help him,” said Kazin.
By now the last of the orcs were dispatched and the others were ready to follow.
Meanwhile, Sherman was very busy. He had caught up to Galado but had his last two guards to face. One was an ogre, and the other was a female human mercenary. Sweat trickled down the warrior’s face as he battled the two opponents at once. The ogre was strong, and drove the big warrior back step by step with his giant club. The mercenary was agile, darting around the two combatants and jabbing her sword at Sherman with every opportunity. Already Sherman was bleeding from several places.
Finally Sherman seized an opening. He feinted toward the ogre, making it move to protect itself from Sherman’s deadly sword. Then the warrior swiveled around the ogre, who was in the process of swinging his club. Ignoring the ogre, Sherman made a thrust at the mercenary. Instinctively, she jumped back out of the way, only to be hit with the ogre’s club. This prevented her from dodging as Sherman’s sword repeated the thrust, jamming deep into her chest. She let out a blood curdling scream as her spirit was removed from this plane of existence. Her body sagged slowly to the ground as Sherman felt the momentary pain of taking a woman’s life.
By now, the ogre had recovered from this trick and swung at Sherman’s exposed side. The sharp spikes from the ogre’s club bit into the warrior’s flesh and he went down with a grunt. Then the ogre raised its club to finish the job, but Sherman had the presence of mind to raise his sword. At the last possible second, he rolled out of the way just as the ogre’s club crashed down. The lack of an object to strike caused the ogre to overextend itself, and it fell headlong onto Sherman’s upturned sword. It convulsed as the evil spirit within was removed from existence. Then it lay still.
Sherman rolled back to retrieve his sword and gingerly rose to his feet. His side was sore and soaked in blood but he ignored it. There was one more battle to fight.
Standing there facing him was Galado.
“You have done well,” snarled Galado, “but you will now die. You are in no condition to defeat me.” He twirled his sword deftly, showing his expertise with a sword was no joke. Sherman noted that the sword he held was identical to his own. The swords in both men’s hands vibrated with magic.
“Why are you doing this?” asked Sherman.
Galado laughed. “You cannot understand, mortal.”
“How did you obtain Galado’s body?” asked Sherman.
“Are you referring to this body?” asked Galado, indicating himself.
“Yes,” said Sherman.
“He was in a place where he did not belong,�
�� said Galado. “I simply used his body to prevent my own untimely demise.” Galado’s face darkened. “It didn’t work out as planned.” Then his face brightened. “But things are generally happening as I had hoped. The human race will be wiped off the face of this continent!”
“I think you’ll be disappointed,” said Sherman. “There are things happening that you hadn’t counted on.”
Galado laughed. “Even you and your friends will not stop what is happening right now!”
Sherman looked to see his companions running up to where they were. Amelia stood out with her glowing orb in her hand.
That momentary glimpse gave Galado the opening that he needed. He brought his sword down on Sherman, who parried at the last instant.
The clang of the two swords pierced the entire region. The magic of the two swords, which shouldn’t have been in the same place at the same time, collided. The magical connection of the spirit blades was so powerful it was felt far and wide. Spell casters everywhere lost their concentration. The spells they were casting malfunctioned, with erroneous effects. All low level magic was momentarily disrupted. Only stronger magic was still working.
The colliding of the swords caused the dragons to go into a frenzy. More dragons appeared, drawn to this mysterious event.
An earthquake occurred, creating mountains where there were previously none, and valleys and lakes were formed in places where they previously weren’t. The wasteland east of the human realm suddenly rose up out of the ground. It rose to majestic heights, killing a vast army of approaching minotaurs in the process. Those minotaurs would not have the opportunity to reach the battlefield. Other areas of the world changed as well. Some entire continents sank beneath the sea, while other tracts of land broke to the surface. Massive tidal waves were created, their force building up to wash over other continents. This force of water would wreak its havoc on the world for days to come.
For long seconds, the two swords were fused together by their magic. The two combatants glowed with the aura of two brilliant suns. Then they were thrown apart and the clash of the magic was severed.
At the same time, the orb Amelia had used so faithfully suddenly reached its climax. It engulfed the mage’s body with a brilliant red hue and flooded the entire battlefield in the distance with red light. When it receded, the mage was lying on the ground, motionless.
“Amelia!” cried Kazin, who had lowered his arm after shielding his eyes from the bright light. He ran to the dormant mage and shook her wildly. “Amelia! Wake up!” There was no response. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at the beautiful mage who had helped them so much on this quest. He had always feared he would lose one of his companions, but he knew they knew the risks. Amelia was different. She was a new member of their group and probably didn’t have a full understanding of the danger they were in. In addition, he had grown attached to her more closely than he had expected. “I didn’t know!” he wailed. “If I had known this was going to happen, I would have done it differently! I - I wouldn’t have even attempted it! History be damned!” Still crying, he bent to kiss her on the lips. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder to pull him away from the red-haired mage.
“She was a good person,” said Harran gently. “She was an honourable soul.”
As another tear fell from Kazin’s cheek, it landed on Amelia’s lips. There was an imperceptible twitch that Kazin missed. He was about to stand up, when the blue-cloaked mage opened her eyes. But instead of blue, the eyes were bright fluorescent orbs of red. The red hue slowly faded, however, to give way to the blue pearls Kazin had been so fond of.
Amelia smiled. “What’s wrong? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost!”
Kazin cried out jubilantly and held Amelia close to hide his tears of joy. “You’re alive!”
Amelia returned the embrace and waited for Kazin to regain his composure.
Meanwhile, Sherman was slow getting to his feet. Galado was no quicker, having been stunned as well. The swords both lay on the ground nearby. As they both stood up, Galado charged the big warrior, knocking him over. A fist fight ensued, as both big men fought to incapacitate the other in order to get to the swords first. Sherman was the stronger of the two, but his wound was giving him trouble, so Galado pummeled him in the side. Sherman collapsed in pain and Galado made a break for his sword. He didn’t reach it as an arrow from Olag pierced his leg. He went flying and landed with his hand just out of reach of the swords. Crawling forward, he just about managed to get a grip on one of them when Sherman pounced on him. The two men grunted as they rolled on the ground.
“Can’t you do something?” asked Olag. He was unable to get a shot away with the men so close together.
“That would be dishonourable,” said Zylor. “This is Sherman’s fight. I will not take that from him.”
“What about our guests?” said Harran as he came up to them.
Zylor looked where the dwarf pointed. He readied his weapon. “That is where I come in,” he said. The commotion that Sherman and the orb had created had drawn the interest of a group of orcs. They were approaching in the hopes of a fight.
Olag had already started firing arrows into them. “I’m sure glad I have unlimited arrows. But my arms are beginning to ache.”
Galado laughed as he was on top of Sherman. “I’m free at last! I am no longer bound to this body. It was that damned sword all along!”
The combatants rolled a few more times and Sherman managed to get a foot in between them. Then he shoved Galado aside with a kick that made his side scream in agony. Oblivious to the pain, Sherman took his sword from the ground and lunged at Galado as he was getting up. Seeing the warrior lunging toward him, Galado’s evil spirit exited the body just in time. The sword pierced Galado’s chest, and he grabbed hold of Sherman’s shoulders. The fierce expression softened as Sir Galado once again got hold of his original body. With the evil spirit gone, he had full control of himself again.
“Sherman!” he rasped. “Forgive me!”
Sherman saw the recognition in Galado’s face and held onto him. “It’s not your fault, Wilfred. You were possessed!”
Galado shook his head. “I stopped him, Sherman. But in so doing, a spirit far more powerful has taken the warlock’s body! You must stop it. It will destroy us all!” Sir Galado gurgled and blood appeared at the corners of his mouth. “I - I have caused all this trouble just to give you the sword. You forgot -,” his voice faded and Sherman gently laid the soldier down.
“You did what you thought was right, my friend. It was I who forgot the sword. It was me who caused all this to happen.”
Sir Galado raised a hand to touch Sherman’s face. “Stop the warlock. Then all will not be in vain.” He coughed once and his hand fell to his side. His eyes glazed over and he breathed his last.
Sherman closed Sir Galado’s eyes and then closed his own to hide the pain. “I will stop the warlock, my friend. You can count in it.”
No one noticed as the evil spirit who once controlled Sir Galado moved over to the ogre on the ground nearby. With unusual stealth for such a large creature, the ogre rose and drifted off into the night. The rest of the companions had been too busy fighting the orcs who had come upon them. They were just finished dealing with that threat when Amelia spotted Sherman’s wound.
“Sherman!” she cried, running over to him. She only spared Galado a brief glance before tending to his wound. She immediately applied a salve and chanted healing spells. Then she wrapped the wound in some cloth from the clothing of the sword-woman Sherman had killed earlier.
“Now what?” asked Harran as he wiped the gore from the orcs off his axe with more cloth from the sword-woman.
“We should give Galado a decent burial,” said Sherman. “He was a good man.”
“With all the problems he caused?” asked Olag.
Sherman glared at him. “You mean the evil spirit who controlle
d him.”
“Is the evil spirit dead?” asked Harran.
“I’m not sure,” said Sherman. “It might have left Sir Galado’s body before I killed him. The sword didn’t react like it did with the others.”
“The ogre is gone,” said Harran, looking around.
“Then the quest is not finished,” said Zylor. “That spirit must be slain.”
“The spirit is still out there,” confirmed Amelia.
“How do you know this?” asked Olag. “You didn’t consult your orb.”
“The orb is gone,” said Kazin.
Amelia nodded. “In a manner of speaking. When the two spirit blades clashed, the orb exploded. Now it seems the orb lives within me. I can see what it shows me. I can see bits and pieces of the future. It seems we can correct the future if we act quickly. There is still time.”
“Then we will continue until the threats to history are eliminated,” said Kazin. “But first I’ll see to it Galado’s body is not disturbed.” He chanted a spell and Tyris appeared within his orb. “Tyris, I need you to guard Galado’s body. Can you do that?”
“Of course,” said Tyris. “I will send some of my fiery minions to do the job. They will be there momentarily.”
“Thanks,” said Kazin. He looked at the others. “We’ll begin our search for the evil spirit once Tyris’ friends get here.”
“No,” said Sherman. “The evil spirit can wait. We must stop the warlock.”
“Is that part of the mission?” asked Olag.
“It is,” answered Sherman. “Sir Galado told me before he died that an even bigger evil spirit controls the warlock.”
“Sherman’s right,” said Amelia. “The warlock should be dead now. Every minute he lives he has the power to change history even more.”
Zylor regarded the transformed red-haired mage suspiciously. “Then we will have to destroy the warlock.”
Amelia smiled at the minotaur. “Zylor, in order to make things right in the future, we will need to split up once again. Because Sherman is in no condition to travel on foot right now, he can ride on Kazin with me. After Tyris sends her flame creatures here to guard Galado, you will need to lead a group to track Galado’s former evil spirit into the battlefield. Because you are a minotaur, you will not be hindered by the orcs. But be aware - the evil spirit will not hesitate to control numerous different bodies as it goes.”
Spirit Blade: Book III of the Dragon Mage Trilogy Page 38
