“Medic,” came the shout again.
Amir knew no medic would come. He’d recognized the headless lancer’s body as that of the elves’ medic.
Richard stepped forward and knelt beside the paralyzed lancer. As Amir watched, the human removed his glove and gripped the elf’s hand, seeming to take care not to touch the wound itself.
Amir sensed Power flowing out of Richard and into the elf. He’s healing him like he did the elves during the attack on the city.
Richard groaned and suddenly stiffened. The blood spurting out of the lancer’s arm slowed, then stopped altogether. The elf rose to a sitting position with the help of one of the other lancers.
Mia rushed forward and knelt beside Richard. “You fool. We need you more than ever now. You cannot do that again.”
Despite the high priestess’s words of admonition, she seemed hesitant to stop the human from crawling to the lancer with the neck wound.
Richard grabbed the second elf’s hand.
Again, Amir sensed Power flow out and into the injured elf. Although Richard had his helmet on, he grabbed at his armored neck. The wounded elf groaned. Almost immediately, the elf sat up and stared at the blood on his hands.
Before anyone could do more than stare, another series of distant explosions echoed down the stairway. The explosions sounded closer than they’d been before.
Richard staggered to his feet with Mia’s help. One of the lancers handed him the pistol he’d dropped.
The human glanced around. “This is it. There’s no time to grieve. The yellow gem is at the top of those stairs. I feel it. Enemies are there waiting to stop us. More are coming. It’s now or never.”
Mia placed the butt of her staff on the floor. The gem at its top shone a bright blue. “We are ready,” she said. “Lead the way.”
“Aye,” said Lord Derander as he took up a position on the high priestess’s left side. “Lead the way, human. You will not go alone.”
Master Freestrod, the remaining monks, and each of the elf lancers raised their weapons and stepped forward. Only a slight hint of fear was visible on their faces along with a lot of determination.
The image of Glory came again to Amir’s mind. The pouch under his chainmail remained warm. The yellow glow no longer surrounded the hammer, but it didn’t matter. In his heart, he knew Glory was with him.
She will always be with me.
Retrieving his shield, Amir raised his sledge and looked at the human.
“Lead the way, friend Rick. If we are to die this day, we will die together, as teammates should.”
The sound of explosions grew closer.
As one, elves, human, and giant stepped forward to meet their fate.
Chapter 51 – Intersection
____________________
With only a dozen left in their dwindling group, Richard spread the elves out into what Nickelo insisted was the best formation to keep them alive, at least for a little while. Surprisingly, even Lord Derander had followed Richard’s instructions without argument. When everyone was ready, Richard led the way up the stone steps three abreast with Amir to his right and Commander Astradis on his left. Mia followed with Grapeon and Skylark flanking her sides. A half dozen steps behind came Lord Derander and two of the remaining lancers. The rear guard of Tracer, Freestrod, and the only other surviving monk, Cramis, brought up the rear.
“Twelve is not going to be enough,” Richard told his battle computer.
“Well,” replied Nickelo, “if it helps any, you can count me as lucky number thirteen. Plus, someone or something’s at the other end of your ring. You’ve helped each other before. You might be able to do it again.”
Richard had his doubts but kept them in his private space. He took a moment to replace the empty magazine in his Deloris blaster with a fresh one.
“That only leaves you with one other mag in your ammo pouch,” said Nickelo. “My advice is to save your ammo for an emergency.”
Three explosions sounded from above, distant but getting closer.
“What are those demons up to?” Richard said. “Are they creating some kind of trap for us?”
“I calculate it isn’t the demons causing the explosions. I know the odds are low, but perhaps we have some allies after all. Stranger things have happened.”
Richard glanced at his passive scan. Two score life forms were at the top of the stairs just out of sight. He didn’t need to see to know what the area looked like. He’d been there before.
“That’s where I first met Shandria. There’s a T intersection ten meters past the top of the stairs. The hallway is about five meters across.”
“Are you trying to explain the layout to me, Wizard Scout? I’m the one who made the map.”
“Then you’ll remember what happened up there. The wall at the intersection disappeared. The demon Efrestra came out of the wall in the form of that black dragon. There was a large cavern behind the wall. I vaguely remember seeing a pool of water. I’ve got a feeling that’s where we need to go.”
“Hmmm,” said Nickelo. “Your memory seems to be getting awful good considering you couldn’t recall much of anything when we first appeared in the desert. Are you starting to remember anything else?”
“Yeah,” Richard said. “I am. But it’s still pretty much hit or miss. I remember flying around in the Defiant. I’ve also started to remember some of my wizard scout friends like Jerad, Tam, and Telsa. On top of that, I’m getting images of past missions I did for ‘the One.’ For some reason, silver eyes and silver hair keeps popping up in my mind.”
“Based upon the information in my databanks, Shandria had silver eyes and hair. I calculate that is who you must be thinking of.”
Richard brought up an image of Shandria, remembering her eyes and hair. They were indeed silver, but something told him that wasn’t the silver in his mind. The ring on his left hand tingled as if trying to force him to remember more. He tried, but nothing came.
With only five steps remaining to the top of the stairs, Richard forgot about trying to bring up lost memories, silver or otherwise, and concentrated on the life forms at the top of the stairs. Based upon his passive scan, there were dozens if not hundreds of life forms in other parts of the time-bubble, heading their way. At least a hundred or more, some marked in the red of magic users, were making their way toward the stairs from behind them.
Richard turned around and caught Tracer’s eye. “You’re going to be getting some company from the rear right quick. Make sure you’re ready.”
Without waiting for a reply, Richard turned his head to look at Mia. Her eyes had a tint of red through the battle helmet’s visor, but he could tell her silver flecks were churning away furiously. He sensed a buildup of Power in the staff she held.
“We’ll take care of the zombies and ghouls,” Richard told Mia. “Derander and you should save your Power for any demons that show up. Some of them can use magic, so be ready. The rest of us can’t make defensive shields to protect us from their spells.”
“We will be ready when you need us,” said the high priestess.
Standing behind Mia, Derander nodded agreement.
With nothing more to say or do, Richard turned back to the front and began running up the remaining stairs. Amir and Commander Astradis stayed at his side step for step. As soon as he got to the top of the stairs, Richard saw what waited for them. It was a mixture of two score undead; some zombies and some ghouls. They weren’t alone. A three-meter-tall, six-armed monstrosity with four legs stood in the midst of the undead. Energy that had hidden the creature fell away. The large Power reserve now appearing on Richard’s passive scan made a shiver run down his spine.
“Demon,” said Nickelo using the battle helmet’s external speaker. “It had a stealth shield.”
The demon drew Power from its reserve and formed a ball of magic in its hands. At the same time, the two score undead surged forward to meet Richard and his companions.
“This may interest you,�
� said Nickelo, keeping his words in their shared space. “Based upon the frequency of the ball of magic, I calculate it will be a very large fireball. I have a feeling the demon does not care that it will be burning up its allies along with you and the others.”
Richard also doubted the demon’s concern. As the first of the zombies and ghouls drew close, he met them with a dozen shots from his Deloris blaster. Since Nickelo didn’t bother chastising him for his wanton use of phase rounds, Richard had a feeling this was the emergency his battle computer had warned him about. Three ghouls and six zombies in the first wave fell to the floor. A second wave clambered over their companions’ bodies with arms and claws outstretched.
Before Richard could fire again, Amir stepped forward and met the leaders of the second wave with his shield, stopping them in their tracks. Commander Astradis dove into the fray, driving the blade of his dagger into the eyes of zombies and ghouls in movements too fast for Richard to follow.
Not to be outdone, Richard lashed out with his phase rod, dropping a ghoul and two zombies. It didn’t seem to matter. Twice that number of undead took their place.
The ball of magic in the demon’s hands had been growing in intensity. Just as the spell shot out, a shimmering wall of blue magic appeared two arm-lengths to Richard’s front. He sensed the combined frequencies of Mia and Derander. The demon’s spell exploded against the defensive shield in a blast of fire and brimstone. Stone tiles fell from the ceiling, but the elves’ shield held firm, resisting the demon’s magic. The same couldn’t be said for the zombies and ghouls on the other side of the elves’ defensive shield. The intense heat of the fireball’s magic turned the undead creatures into smoldering lumps of flesh. The force of the demon’s spell splattered pieces of burnt corpses against the hall’s walls and ceiling.
When the last of the flames from the demon’s spell dissipated, Mia and Derander dropped their defensive shield.
Richard charged forward with Amir and Commander Astradis at his side. Swords of fire appeared in the demon’s three right hands as three fiery spears materialized in its left. With no more zombies or ghouls to worry about, Grapeon and Skylark left Mia’s side and took up flanking positions to the left and right of Amir and Astradis.
Richard fired four rounds from his Deloris blaster at the demon’s head. He pulled the pistol’s trigger a fifth time but was rewarded with a click.
“You haven’t been doing a very good job of counting shots,” replied Nickelo, failing to mention that he also hadn’t bothered warning his wizard scout that he was getting low on ammo.
Dodging the thrust of a fire spear, Richard let the empty pistol fall from his hand and exchanged it for his short sword.
A sword of fire from the demon came straight at Richard’s throat. The battle suit moved of its own accord, twisting him out of the way. Trusting Nickelo to help dodge the demon’s blows, Richard dove headfirst on the floor in an attempt to slide behind the six-armed monster. He didn’t make it. A clawed foot came down, pinning the leg of his battle suit in place.
Skylark charged forward and thrust the tip of her sword into the knee of the leg holding Richard. The demon roared as the sword’s Holy Metal bit deep into cartilage and bone. At the same time, two balls of blue magic hit the demon full in the face, making it stagger back a step.
Suddenly free, Richard low-crawled between the demon’s legs while Amir and Astradis kept the monster busy from the front. Grapeon and Skylark continued attacking the demon from the sides.
Rising to his feet behind the demon, Richard stabbed his short sword upward between the demon’s ribs. Driven by the strength of his battle suit’s assisters, the blade of Holy Metal sunk all the way to the handguard. The demon roared. The sound of agony was so loud it activated the battle helmet’s sound suppressors. Richard followed up the sword’s blow with a strike of his phase rod to the back of the demon’s head.
The massive creature spun, tearing the sword out of Richard’s grasp. The demon stabbed out at Richard with all three of its spears. One of the flaming spears caught Richard on the left leg of his battle suit. The flaming point penetrated the suit’s armor, tearing a hole in Richard’s thigh. Fiery pain that was more than physical tore through his body. The other spears passed by Richard without touching him, but the damage was done. He dropped his phase rod and fell on the stone floor of the hall.
Before the demon could follow up its spear thrust with blows from its swords, Amir stepped over Richard and struck an overhand blow with his hammer at the demon’s chest. The demon was knocked back two full paces.
Richard felt hands pulling at his shoulders. He looked up to see Skylark and Grapeon dragging him away from the fight. They placed him in a sitting position with his back to a part of the wall that was semi-clear of the fighting, then left him to rejoin the fight.
Power from the reserve Richard used to self-heal wrapped around the wound in his leg. The Power quenched the fiery pain racing through his body.
“I calculate six seconds until your wound is healed enough to stand,” said Nickelo. “You have a hole in your battle suit’s left leg, but the assisters are still functioning.”
The seconds ticked by as Richard watched helplessly from the floor. Mia and Lord Derander had joined the fray against the demon at close range, sending blasts of magic at the creature’s head. The demon had its back to Richard, seeming to concentrate on the two magic users. A glint of light from the lower part of the demon’s back caught Richard’s eye.
“That’s the blue gem in the hilt of my short sword,” Richard told his battle computer. “It’s still stuck in the demon’s ribs. Maybe I can…”
Knowing he couldn’t yet stand or fight, Richard focused on the handle of the sword. He tried twisting the sword hilt with telekinesis, but the little residual Power leaking out of his reserve wasn’t enough to do the job. He felt the ring on his left hand tingle and grow warm. Taking what little Power he could gather, he pushed it down the link to whoever was on the other side of the gem. An image of silver flashed in his mind. In less than a heartbeat, more Power came up the link than he’d sent. He wrapped the returned Power around the handle of his sword and jerked it back and forth.
The demon raised its head and roared. When it did so, Amir stepped forward and struck a mighty blow with his sledgehammer straight at the demon’s gaping jaws. Broken fangs and dark blood splattered into the air as the big man drew back for another blow. At the same time, Commander Astradis jumped onto the demon’s leg and used it to raise himself up until he was level with the demon’s head. Striking out twice, the monk blinded both of the demon’s eyes with the blade of his dagger.
Grapeon and Skylark charged forward, stabbing at the demon’s sides. The screaming creature went down on two legs, but it was far from defeated. Dropping two of its spears, the demon got hold of Grapeon by the throat and twisted the elf’s head off. Tossing the bloody head and lifeless body to the floor, the demon started to reach out for Mia, somehow sensing where she was. Lord Derander stepped in front of her with staff at the ready. The demon knocked the staff aside, tearing at the mage’s chest with two of its razor-sharp claws. The demon pulled its claws back, taking bloody pieces of torn robe and flesh with them.
Ignoring the pain in his leg, Richard rose to his feet. He fell more than he did lunge at the demon. As he stumbled forward, he levitated the phase rod into his hand using the last of the precious Power he’d received through the gem. Falling against the demon’s back, he ripped out the short sword and shoved his phase rod into the bloody wound all the way to the hilt.
This time the demon didn’t roar. It screamed. Falling backwards, the demon landed on top of Richard. His battle suit’s armor took the brunt of the blow, causing no harm, but he was pinned in place. He was able to move enough to jerk the handle of the phase rod back and forth. He sensed microscopic explosions of phase energy ripping the demon’s insides apart. Giving the phase rod a hard jerk to the right, he forced the tip of the rod onto the demon’s hear
t. The tortured muscle exploded on contact. The demon gave a final scream, then lay still. The dot on Richard’s heads-up display that marked the location of the demon went out.
Explosions and shouts from the bottom of the stairs told Richard the battle was far from over.
Skylark and Amir rushed over and dragged Richard from underneath the demon’s body. Mia looked at him for a second before running down the stairs. Within seconds, he sensed magic exploding in the cavern at the bottom of the stairway.
“Lord Derander’s hurt,” said Amir. “He is in bad shape.”
With his leg now fully healed, Richard was tempted to follow Mia down the stairs, but one look at his passive scan confirmed that between Master Freestrod and the high priestess, the elves had the situation under control. He turned to look at the injured Derander. The light chainmail the mage wore beneath his robe was as torn as his robe. Beneath the ragged chain mesh, Richard could see white bone through the torn flesh.
Lord Derander opened his eyes long enough to look at Richard and whispered, “Go. Save Mia. My time has come.”
Richard shook his head and removed his right glove. “Arrogant to the end, aren’t you?”
Kneeling next to the dying magic user, he took hold of the mage’s hand and pulled the elf’s wounds into his own body. The flesh of his chest ripped inside his battle suit. He heard a scream in the distance.
The scream sounded familiar. Then everything went dark.
Chapter 52 – Orange Time-bubble
____________________
Coming to her feet in the orange time-bubble, Jeena found herself in a two-hundred-pace wide cavern. Dozens of elf-high boulders were scattered on the stone floor in seemingly random patterns. The ragged stone ceiling was nearly fifty paces overhead. Except for the X-shuttle’s crew, the place was empty. The cave was dark, but that mattered little at the moment. Everyone on Jeena’s team had night-vision abilities. She’d made sure of it.
Wizard Gigantic (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 9) Page 43
