Fifer removes his sword and while Illan holds the sword in a blocking position, strikes it hard. When his sword strikes Miko’s, it rings out and Illan says, “Again!”
Strike! Strike! Strike!
Three more times Fifer hits Miko’s sword, after the third strike, Illan nods his head and gestures for Fifer to halt. Turning to where Miko stands, now dressed in armor, he says, “This sword is better than any other I’ve ever seen.” Handing it to him hilt first, he continues, “It will serve you well.”
“Thank you,” he says, taking it. Placing it within the scabbard, he glances to James. “I’m scared.”
“I know,” he says. Then a horn sounds from those within the pass and they turn to see Abula-Mazki returning on foot with the clan chiefs. “It’s time,” he tells Miko.
James, Illan and Jiron accompany Miko out to where the duel will take place. With dread, Miko advances toward the spot where he will meet Abula-Mazki in combat. I can’t do this!
When the two groups meet, Abula-Mazki says, “So, who plans to die today?”
“None of us, actually,” James says. He gestures to Miko as he continues, “Miko here will meet your champion.” Looking around at those with Abula-Mazki, he adds, “And which one of you will be brave enough to meet him?”
The clan chiefs break out into a gruff laugh as Abula-Mazki says, “I had thought this to be a serious match.”
“It is,” James assures him. “He is far better than you’d imagine.”
Looking upon Miko, Abula-Mazki’s expression shows he seriously doubts his abilities. “Okay,” he says, “so be it. I will be my own champion for there is no other better than I.”
“Just one thing before we begin,” James says.
“What?” he asks.
“Should we win,” he replies and then points to the clan chiefs, “I want your word they will not attack us. Nor will they try to seek any sort of vengeance against us.”
With an amused smile upon his face at the very thought, Abula-Mazki says, “You have it.”
“Very well then,” says James.
The clan chiefs back away from Abula-Mazki as he draws his sword.
James can feel the prickling as he calls the magic. He puts his hands on Miko’s shoulders and looks him in the eye. Miko looks back with naked fear at the thought of facing him in battle. “You can do this!” asserts James. Then in a hushed whisper, adds, “The Fire will protect you.”
“How can you be sure?” Miko asks.
“I am,” James replies. “Trust me.” He continues gazing at Miko until he gives him a barely perceptible nod.
Miko turns to face the warrior priest. Drawing his sword, he steps forward as James and the others step back.
He watches as Miko closes with Abula-Mazki and begins to notice how his movements are slowly changing, becoming more streamlined and relaxed. The Fire is beginning to take control.
With sword at the ready, Miko waits for Abula-Mazki’s attack. When it comes, it’s so incredibly fast that no one even realized he’d even attacked before Miko’s sword moves and blocks it.
The ringing of the clash of swords slowly dies away, and the clan chiefs begin murmuring among themselves. They cast looks from Abula-Mazki and then over to where James waits with the others.
As he watches Miko and Abula-Mazki begin to circle each other, Illan says, “He might be able to win.”
“Let’s hope so,” James says.
“If he does,” says Jiron as he points to the clan chiefs, “do you think they’ll abide by Abula-Mazki’s word?”
“I doubt it,” replies James. “But let’s worry about that after Miko wins.” He looks to Jiron who gives him a nod.
Clang! Clang!
Their swords move at speeds so fast, the eyes of the onlookers aren’t capable of following. Then suddenly, Abula-Mazki disengages and backs up. He looks at Miko with a new found respect. This isn’t any ordinary foe, he realizes.
Suddenly, the tingling James has been feeling since the beginning of the match spikes. He tries to call the magic forth to help Miko but is too late. A ball of fire flies the short distance from Abula-Mazki to Miko, and explodes in a giant fireball.
When the smoke clears, Miko is still standing there, untouched. James can faintly see a reddish shell begin to dissipate from around him. He glances to the warrior priest and sees the look of utter amazement upon his face. Smiling in satisfaction, James hollers, “Go Miko!”
Miko doesn’t acknowledge his support, instead, he strides forth and begins attacking. With incredible speed, he launches into a series of attacks that Abula-Mazki successfully blocks. But instead of pausing, he keeps on attacking and actually succeeds in making him back up two steps before ending the series of blows.
Enraged at the temerity of this boy, Abula-Mazki lashes out with his magic again and watches as the bolts of energy are deflected by the red tinged barrier. Using an attack combining both magic and sword he goes on the offensive. The magic is countered while Miko’s sword blocks the attacks.
At this time, Fifer and the others have come and joined James’ group. “Incredible,” he says to James as he stands next to him.
“Glad I’m not in there,” admits Yern.
A jubilant cry from Abula-Mazki and they watch as Miko’s sword goes sailing through the air and lands point first into the dirt ten feet away.
“Miko!” cries James.
Then suddenly, the sword is no longer in the ground, but once again in Miko’s hand as he goes on the offensive again. A series of blows has Abula-Mazki giving ground and in disbelief, everyone watches as Miko’s sword rips through his armored leggings and slices the thigh beneath.
Miko has drawn first blood!
Abula-Mazki takes a few steps back to gather himself, a strange expression now upon his face. He glances down at the blood beginning to drip from the cut on his thigh. It’s not deep and will hardly even slow him down. But to score on a warrior priest, inconceivable! Never has such happened to Abula-Mazki.
He looks at his opponent and sees the glazed look in his eyes, eyes that look as if they see nothing, yet do. His senses tell him that there’s nothing magical about this boy, but yet he has managed to counter everything he’s thrown at him. For the first time in Abula-Mazki’s very long life, he begins to believe he may have met his match.
During the brief pause in the fighting, James takes a look around at the riders who’ve surrounded them. Relieved to find them still in their original position, he turns his attention to the clan chiefs. The expressions on their faces show the fight is not going as they had anticipated. They had thought it would be quick and decisive, now they have doubts as to whether Abula-Mazki will even win. He sees them huddled together talking while at the same time keeping their attention fixed on the fighting.
“I think they’re planning something,” James says to the others.
“Would they go against the agreement made?” asks Hinney.
“Wouldn’t put it past them,” he says. “From the little I’ve been around them, I haven’t known them to be all that honorable.”
“What should we do?” asks Uther.
“If Miko falls, I’ll go with them and hope Abula-Mazki will hold to his word,” he explains. “Should Miko prevail, we better be prepared to fight.”
“I believe you are correct,” agrees Illan.
The clash of swords brings their attention back to the fighting. Abula-Mazki has launched another series of blows which Miko is blocking successfully. A line opens up on Miko’s forearm where Abula-Mazki’s sword scored. Not very deep, but they can see a small amount of blood beginning to run down his arm. Miko doesn’t even act as if he knows he has been struck.
That small victory gives Abula-Mazki an impetus to win the fight. Launching into a series of blinding attacks, he actually manages to push Miko back several steps.
But Miko doesn’t move back very far before he begins to go on the offensive once again. In disbelief, Abula-Mazki is beginning to almost
not be able to block the blows raining down upon him. How can he move so fast? Blow after blow he successfully blocks, but each time he has been almost a fraction of a second too late.
Not stopping, the blows keep coming, and as unbelievable as it sounds, they’re increasing in speed. He gasps when he sees twin fires in Miko’s eyes, flames of unholy light. Light that is familiar somehow.
Then suddenly, he recognizes the truth. The Fire! It’s no longer hidden and is in the hands of this infidel. Once he realizes that, he understands that he cannot win this battle. But there is one more act he must perform for his god before the end comes.
He disengages from the battle and sees Miko’s sword slow down as he moves backward. Readying himself, he watches as Miko approaches, sword ready to resume the battle.
From the sidelines, James watches as Abula-Mazki takes a few quick steps backward and comes to a stop. The prickling suddenly begins to intensify and he knows the warrior priest is about to cast a spell of mammoth proportions. He readies the magic to counter whatever he may try to do.
Suddenly, a psychic cry of tremendous power rips through his head like a knife. The Fire walks with the Star!
Everyone around him suddenly cries out from the pain of it as they each grip their head in an attempt to ease the pain.
Through eyes blinded with tears of pain, James looks to the combatants and watches as Miko strikes out at Abula-Mazki who, caught up in the spell, fails to defend himself. His sword strikes him through the chest and the psychic cry is abruptly silenced.
Miko pulls out the sword and hacks his sword arm off before following through with a slice that severs his head from his neck.
When the psychic cry stops, so does the pain it caused. James looks up in time to see Abula-Mazki’s head strike the ground. He hears a cheer from Hinney and Keril as they begin running over to congratulate Miko. “Stop!” he orders commandingly.
They both stop and turn to look at him. “Don’t go near him yet,” he tells them. Moving past them, he brings himself near to where Miko is standing motionless. He walks around until he’s standing face to face with him.
“Miko?” he asks as he gazes into his eyes. He can see more changes the Fire had wrought. All signs of Miko’s childhood are gone. What stands before him is a man in his early twenties at least. “Miko?” he asks again, in a soothing voice. “It’s James.”
James can see the fires burning in his eyes, and for the first time, he’s worried his friend may not come out of it. “Miko, come back to me,” he says as he reaches his hand out.
Then his eyes take notice of him there and his sword moves to a guard position. James backs up a step and holds his hands up, showing he’s not armed. The fires burn as the eyes come to rest upon him.
Pointing to a sack lying in the pile that had been removed from Miko, James yells to Jiron, “Toss me the sack!”
Not sure at first what he is talking about, Jiron looks down and then understanding comes. Picking it up, he throws it to James who catches it.
“Would you like some tarts?” James asks as he pulls one from the sack, holding it up for Miko to see.
Miko’s expression changes subtly and the fires begin to diminish. “Tarts?” he says in a far away voice.
“Yeah,” James says, lowering his arm. “Here, have one.” He watches some sort of internal struggle taking place within Miko. Suddenly, the fires in his eyes go out and he knows that it’s his friend who’s now looking out at him.
“Oh, James,” he says and takes a step forward before collapsing to the ground.
He moves quickly to catch him before he hits the ground. Laying him down, he waves the others to come join him.
Upon reaching them, Illan says, “James, we got problems.”
Looking up at him from where he kneels next to Miko, James asks, “What?”
Pointing to the pass, he says, “Look.”
Turning his attention to the pass, James sees the clan chiefs have returned and mounted their horses. One of the riders with them brings a horn to his lips and two loud notes sound. Answering horns come from all sides as the riders who had waited patiently at a distance during the fight now begin moving toward them in a decidedly hostile manner. Hundreds of riders are quickly closing the gap, swords are being drawn and bows readied.
James grabs Jiron’s arm, causing him to look at him. “You know what I must do?”
Jiron nods his head and gathers the others around while James prepares to defend them. “Form a circle around James, let nothing get close to him that may disrupt his concentration,” he tells them. Once he sees that they understand, he continues, “We may yet live through this.”
“Arrows!” hollers Fifer as over fifty archers release their deadly arsenal.
“Shields!” Illan hollers and those with shields raise them to protect James. The others hide behind them as best they can. They watch as the arrows arc in the air as they begin to descend toward them. Then suddenly, they bounce off a barrier that surrounds them.
“What happened?” asks Keril.
“James,” replies Jiron. “That’s what happened.”
They still remain behind their shields as the deadly rain continues to fall, harmlessly bouncing off the invisible shield.
The sky begins to darken as clouds move rapidly from all directions to merge together in the sky above. Those guarding James look nervously out at the rapidly changing sky, Illan calls out to them, “Stand fast!”
The front line of riders comes crashing into the barrier that had so successfully stopped the rain of arrows. Horses and men cry out as they strike it hard, bones of some can be heard snapping. One man is actually thrown upward from his horse and lands on the barrier itself. The defenders inside watch as he slowly slides down the outer side to the ground.
Hinney cries out when a dozen translucent orbs suddenly appear among them.
“Don’t worry,” Jiron assures him. “James has lots of tricks.”
The orbs begin floating away from them in various directions. When they reach the barrier, they pass harmlessly through. The riders beating upon the barrier step back as the orbs float harmlessly past them before resuming their attempt to breach the barrier.
“What are those?” Yern asks.
“Something nasty for them,” replies Jiron. “You can be sure of that.”
The riders have stopped the hail of arrows when they realize how ineffective they are. The wounded from when the charge hit the barrier are being taken away and the mood among the riders is beginning to become one of unease.
In the sky above them, the cloud cover is now dark and the wind has begun to blow in earnest. Suddenly, a flash of lightning strikes one of the translucent orbs, blasting over a dozen riders that happen to be near.
ZZZT! Wham!
Another bolt of lightning strikes an orb, and more riders are thrown from the force of the explosion.
“That was bigger than the last one!” Uther exclaims.
“Look!” Jorry says as he points to one of the orbs. “They’re getting bigger!”
Jiron glances to James and sees he’s beginning to pant and sweat is pouring down his face. Shouting loud enough for all the defenders to hear him, he hollers, “Should James lose consciousness, the barrier will fall. Then it will be up to us to finish this.”
“Bring it on!” Jorry hollers from where he stands shoulder to shoulder with Uther.
ZZZT! Wham! ZZZT! Wham! ZZZT! Wham!
Bolts begin striking orbs with more frequency and more riders are thrown only to fall lifeless to the ground.
Once the last orb has been struck, it becomes eerily quiet. The riders outside the barrier pause in what they’re doing as they take notice of the quiet.
“Illan!” Fifer yells as he points to James.
James is tilting to the side and looks like he’s barely able to remain upright. “Help him!” Illan commands and Fifer goes over and helps support him so he won’t fall over. To the others, Illan says, “It won’t be long! Be
ready!”
From the clouds above, a swirling mass begins descending toward the riders outside the barrier. “What in god’s name is that?” Uther cries out.
“A tornado!” Jiron replies, remembering the ones James used in their escape from Al-Kur.
The swirling mass of clouds smashes into the ground not far from them, riders and horses caught within it are thrown and broken. It starts moving toward the pass and the chiefs waiting there.
A cry escapes James as the tornado splits in two, the second half moving quickly in the opposite direction toward a large congregation of riders.
The chiefs see the tornado coming toward them and turn as they begin riding fast further up into the pass, trying to outrun the approaching swirling mass of death.
“How is he?” Jiron shouts to Fifer.
“Not good!” he tells him. “His heart’s beating fast and he’s having trouble breathing.”
Jiron comes over and kneels down next to him and says, “James! You’ve done enough!” When it doesn’t look like he’s getting through to him, he shakes him and hollers, “James! You can stop!”
Eyes suddenly pop open and a great cry of pain escapes him. Then he suddenly collapses into unconsciousness.
The barrier collapses and the tornadoes begin to dissipate. “Alright boys!” Illan hollers. “Stay together and protect James and Miko.”
When the wind dies down and the tornadoes are gone, they take in the destruction James has wrought. Hundreds of men and horses lie dead or dying all around them. On the outskirts of the devastation, over twenty horsemen can be seen still on their horses. They’re all that remain of the host which accompanied Abula-Mazki.
A horn from the pass announces the return of the chiefs and their men. They pause there momentarily as the horn blasts again. “Here they come!” Illan says to the others as both the riders in the pass and the ones on the outskirts break into a gallop as they move in to attack.
Two archers remain and they begin firing off arrows but none strike their marks. One manages to hit the ground within a foot of Miko, the other was deflected off Uther’s shield.
“Strike the horses if you can’t get the men!” Illan tells them as they brace for the attack. “Remain together!”
Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li: The Morcyth Saga Book Three Page 47
