“You’ve improved our odds again,” Nate reminded him, surprising Endreí with his praising tone. “Three of them may be dead, Endreí, but it was all by your hand.”
That fact certainly wouldn’t earn him any sympathy if Dreya captured him, and Endreí suddenly felt the need to get as far away from the scene as he could. Despite his sense of confidence, Endreí still felt that distance was his best defense.
“Yeah, umm, maybe,” Endreí replied awkwardly. “Can we leave now?”
Kara needed no further urging before taking off into the forest, and they followed behind her, leaving Insleí’s body lying on the ground for Dreya to find. With any luck, Tási would be the one to pry the dagger from her corpse, but even if it was someone else who removed the dagger, Endreí hoped the ensuing Vortex would take her life as well. Unfortunately, the Blade wasn’t like one of his traps, and Endreí only realized too late that he had no idea whether or not he’d receive a notification when its magic was triggered.
Speaking of notifications…
Endreí quickly pulled up his UI and clicked on the single prompt to see just how much XP Insleí’s death had earned him. After the high rewards from the two previous kills, he knew it would be worth taking the time for a peek.
Experience gained – You have gained 4950 XP.
Nearly five-thousand XP from a single kill was… ludicrous. He knew Insleí had been a formidable opponent, but seeing the result of his victory over her made Endreí realize just how lucky they’d been to survive the encounter. Knowing that she’d only been one of Dreya’s underlings didn’t provide Endreí with any comfort either as he remembered Tási cowering in fear when the would-be Empress had threatened her—that woman’s power simply had to be incredible. If the Blade he’d left sticking out of Insleí’s chest didn’t put an end to things, Endreí was fairly certain that their deaths were all but assured.
Yet Endreí didn’t let himself dwell on that possibility, and as he closed the UI, he focused on the forest around him and the sounds of life that echoed in his ears instead. The birds and creatures of the woodlands seemed to care little for his concerns, and he let their songs and echoing calls distract him from his potentially troubling future—at least for a time.
Nearly completely devoid of any conversation, that night’s camp was a far quieter affair than any other. Despite their victory, none of his friends had overlooked the relatively effortless way Insleí had taken both Rissa and Khael out of the fight. Had she chosen to press her advantage rather than simply trying to stall them, or backed off from Endreí’s magic instead of attacking, they might all be dead. Although they’d known that Dreya and the others were stronger than them and probably should have felt some sense of satisfaction in having eliminated three of their pursuers without suffering any casualties of their own, Insleí’s display had only served to heighten the sense of danger. They each understood the true disparity between them, and with seven powerful enemies just like her still hunting them, no one felt like the occasion was one worthy of celebration.
Renewing the magic of Detect Life as he took the first shift on watch, Endreí attempted to come up with yet another way to triumph over Dreya and Tási. However, with Tási’s ability to track him wherever he went and Dreya’s apparently insurmountable power, no new schemes came to mind. Although he didn’t quite give up hope, Endreí realized that if the dagger they’d left behind didn’t put an end to things, he wasn’t sure anything else he might come up with would.
With just a slight nod, Stephanie relieved him to take over the watch, and Endreí settled in beside Rissa as he tried to get some rest. Laying his hand on Rissa’s leg as she slept, Endreí found comfort in feeling her healed skin beneath his fingers. Despite the disturbing events of the day and their uncertain future, he managed to sleep well lying beneath the blanket beside her.
Chapter 15
The following ‘morning,’ they got off to an early start, courtesy of Kara waking them well before daybreak. After a cold breakfast of dried fruit and stale bread, she set off again, leading the way through the gloomy pre-dawn darkness. The chill air and low mist that hovered just above the ground lent an ominous feel to their journey that day, one that Endreí hoped wasn’t some sort of omen.
After the battle with Insleí the day before, they’d only been able to travel a few miles before being forced to halt for the night. Kara had barely led them for a couple of hours that day when Endreí stumbled, falling to the ground as the magic he’d poured into the enchanted dagger was released in a sudden rush. Although the Blade he’d created wasn’t precisely a ‘trap,’ nor did it hold any of his Aura in reserve, Endreí had hoped that he’d somehow be made aware should its magic be triggered. But the sensation he experienced when the weapon’s power was released went far beyond any mere notification.
As he lay on the ground, Endreí felt thoroughly disoriented, and his mind reeled in confusion. With his limbs completely numb, he gazed from face to face while his friends gathered around, unable to hear their voices through the loud buzzing in his ears. Unlike the Spells that relied on reserving a portion of his Aura, as Endreí’s mind slowly cleared, he realized that the device he’d created had drawn upon his very Essence instead. The sudden unleashing of its fury had nearly overwhelmed him, leaving him entirely depleted as he struggled to regain his breath. While Rissa helped him back to his feet, Endreí understood that he’d only narrowly averted tragedy yet again. The risk he’d taken in creating the Vortex Blade had only been half the danger—triggering the item’s power had invoked an equally dangerous circumstance.
“What happened? Are you alright?” Rissa supported him with trembling hands as her voice finally filtered through the haze.
Obviously, none of them had known what precipitated his abrupt collapse, and while Stephanie was still looking him over for any signs of injury, Endreí uttered his reply.
“The dagger,” his words came out in a low whisper.
“Did… did it work?” Although Rissa was still helping to hold him upright, it was Kara who’d asked the question as she returned to stand beside him.
“I don’t know,” the fog was beginning to clear, and Endreí knew what he needed to do next. “Let me sit for a minute and find out.”
If Tási had survived the trap he’d left behind for her, she might very well detect his presence once again—perhaps she’d even have some special ‘surprise’ waiting for him. But Endreí’s hope was to catch a glimpse of her battered corpse, so he ignored the potential risk as he cast Scry and looked in on the location where they’d left Insleí’s body behind.
Once Endreí completed the Spell, the small clearing where Insleí had ambushed them the day before came into view. His heart soared for a moment when he caught the image of three bodies on the ground around Insleí’s corpse and another just a few paces away. The lone body was the large human Warrior, Jorum, and another was clearly Stel, with Venna weeping over his lifeless form, but Endreí’s sense of anticipation grew as he took in the other two corpses, one of which was a slightly built female.
Dreya stood over the woman’s body, blocking his view. Unfortunately, when Endreí shifted his position, he saw that it was the elf, Líann, that the ‘Empress’ was clearly mourning—not Tási. Endreí was shocked to see the callous woman kneel beside Líann’s body, gently stroking her cheek while tears fell freely from her face—as far as he’d been able to tell, there had been little besides rage and ambition that motivated her. Glancing away from the emotional display, Endreí looked over at the final corpse; her long chestnut brown hair and the wicked spear she still clutched in her hand identified her as the Warrior, Ella. His device had certainly done a great deal of damage, yet as he looked over the scene, Endreí realized it had also failed in its ultimate goal of eliminating either Tási or Dreya.
Aside from Venna and Dreya, who still knelt on the ground beside their loved ones, Broda had also survived. In an obvious state of shock, the dwarf stood a good distance apart from Tá
si; the halfling’s expression seeming to be a mixture of dismay and absolute terror. Knowing something of Dreya’s temper and the previous threats that had been made, Endreí wondered if perhaps his trap might still manage to succeed. While Tási may have avoided his snare, would Dreya’s fury be the end of her?
Needing to know the answer to that very question, Endreí maintained his viewing, perhaps unwisely. She’d sensed his presence before, and knowing he might look in on her again, Endreí understood that Tási may have prepared some unanticipated surprise for him. Yet it was a risk Endreí had to take; he needed to know if Dreya would make Tási pay the ultimate price for her failure.
The image before him seemed almost frozen in time for a while, with no one moving at all as he looked on. Finally, Dreya rose to her feet, and after staring down at Líann’s body for a long moment, she slowly stalked over to where Tási stood waiting—visibly trembling as Dreya approached her. From his vantage, Endreí could see both of them quite clearly, and he looked on intently as he tried to decipher their conversation.
‘Magical trap… you fucking missed it.’
‘… sorry… never even heard of… not possible.’
‘Find them… pay for this.’
‘I will.’
As soon as it was clear that Tási was not only going to escape Dreya’s wrath but also continue leading her toward him, Endreí immediately canceled his Spell and returned to Rissa once more. The news he had to relay was a mixed bag at best, but an even higher priority was lengthening the tiny gap between them and Dreya’s fury.
“We have to move fast, they’re much too close,” Endreí got up and began walking once again, his brief statement and quick actions telling his friends all they needed to know.
Kara responded by rushing forward, scouting the way through the unfamiliar territory just as she’d done almost the entire time they’d been on the run. While she ranged ahead, marking the path for them to follow, the rest of his friends strode closely beside Endreí as he told them what he’d been able to observe.
The news that his deadly creation had whittled away their pursuers to less than a handful was well-received, but knowing that the four who were still coming after them were even more intent on slaughter dampened any enthusiasm they might have felt. Both Venna and Broda had lost their spouses to the traps Endreí had left behind, and Dreya’s profound display of emotion over Líann’s death made it clear that he’d also wounded her quite deeply. Although they had far fewer enemies to contend with, Endreí couldn’t help but feel that their situation had only gotten more dangerous, not less. The enchanted dagger he’d created had been the last card Endreí had to play. Out of options and with Dreya only hours behind them, he felt the walls beginning to close in on him, wondering how much longer they could stay ahead of her.
“Maybe it’s time for us to stop running,” Rissa offered, sensing Endreí’s growing despair. “If the odds aren’t going to get any better, perhaps we should focus on finding a good place to make our stand.”
Considering the circumstances, Endreí realized that Rissa probably had the right idea. Choosing a favorable battlefield for their final confrontation was just about the only thing they had left. He let out a resigned sigh as he nodded back to her, and after the rest of his friends agreed with her assessment, Rissa ran ahead to let Kara know that she should start searching for a promising ambush site.
It didn’t take long before Kara drew them to a halt, and Endreí glanced around at the area she’d chosen. They’d worked together long enough for him to see exactly why she’d stopped there; the dense cover would conceal them quite easily until it was too late.
They hastily put together a plan for their ambush: Kara and Daisy opening with an initial volley of arrows while Rissa and the others would rush out and try to focus down their opponents one by one. Endreí’s role would be to simply lead their enemies into yet another trap, turning Tási’s ability to track him against her. Once the battle had begun, he could then cast his magic at any target that presented itself. With the two-to-one odds stacked in their favor, it should have been an almost guaranteed victory. But as his friends took up their positions, he could see the grim looks of determination on each of their faces, and Endreí wondered if any of them would even survive the coming encounter, let alone prevail.
Once everyone else was in position, Endreí tried to tilt the scales a little further by sprinkling a few well-concealed traps around the area. Hopefully, one of their enemies would step within range of the devices while they were distracted during the heat of combat. It was all he could do to help at that point, and once he’d placed the last one, Endreí wandered ahead a bit to a position that would lead Tási straight into their ambush.
Concealing himself in the dense cover, Endreí waited anxiously for the first sounds of combat to break the peaceful stillness of the forest. While he sat there, he recalled the four kills his enchanted dagger had made and pulled up his notifications to see what kind of rewards he’d earned.
Experience gained – You have gained 4250 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 3950 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 3750 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 4250 XP.
Wow. All of them were quite remarkable, yet Endreí also noticed that none of the rewards were equal to what he’d gotten for killing Insleí. Clearly, she’d been a bit more dangerous than the others—not that it made much of a difference. Any one of them was more than a match for him and could have probably taken on several of his friends without much difficulty. Endreí consoled himself at least somewhat with the knowledge that, although the battle ahead would be difficult, there was a slight ray of hope now that he’d eliminated those four threats. All he had to do was find some way to kill Dreya and the three other survivors…
A pained cry shattered the silence, likely the result of Daze and Kara’s opening volley, jolting Endreí from his thoughts. As soon as the sound registered in his ears, he bolted out of his hiding spot and rushed towards the ambush site, but then drew himself up just short. With the battlefield laid out before him, Endreí cast his first Spell as he remained hidden in the thick underbrush.
Tási was down on the ground with one of Kara’s arrows jutting from her side. As planned, Rissa and nearly all his other friends were surrounding Dreya, attempting to overwhelm her before turning on another one of their pursuers. Kara remained hidden, just like Endreí, firing arrows at both Venna and Broda in an effort to keep the two from joining the fray. Despite the numbers she faced, Dreya seemed to be holding off her attackers, and Endreí even thought he caught a smile on her face as she batted away one of Daisy’s strikes.
Endreí rushed out from his hiding spot to stop Venna from aiding in Dreya’s defense, and the elf reacted by taking a vicious swipe at him, her mace connecting with the side of his head when her blow struck home. But Endreí didn’t fall to the ground as she clearly anticipated. Instead, he only turned and slashed at her with the long dagger in his hand.
Shocked by the failure of her attack, Venna stumbled back clumsily in an effort to avoid Endreí’s thrust at her. Off-balance and clearly perplexed by his apparent immunity to her assault, Venna tripped over a protruding tree root and tumbled to the ground. Seeing her desperate state, Broda rushed to Venna’s defense, and her hammer struck a clean blow in the center of Endreí’s back.
Yet again, the strike caused him no harm, only sailing harmlessly through his body. Unfortunately, by that time, Tási had recovered from her wound enough to rejoin the fight, and she cast a quick Spell of her own, dismissing the Illusion he’d created. Endreí silently cursed her interference as the false image he’d conjured melted away before his eyes—during the brief period he’d maintained the mirage, it had kept both Broda and Venna completely occupied.
With his deception undone, Endreí cast Empower and then began hurling Shards at all three of the women, trying to keep them distracted while the others continued their battle
with Dreya. Unfortunately, Tási erected some sort of barrier between them, deflecting his missiles harmlessly into the dirt at her feet. Both Venna and Broda reacted quite differently, however, taking a more offensive stance as they immediately rushed towards him with their weapons bared.
Endreí had no hope of withstanding an assault from either one of them, let alone both at the same time. Desperate to at least slow their advance, Endreí cast Frozen Earth at the two women’s feet, and they both slid to the ground as the soil beneath them instantly transformed into a slick sheet of ice.
Venna’s head struck the surface hard, and she seemed dazed for a moment, but Broda recovered quickly from her misfortune, rising up again almost immediately. As she closed in on him, Endreí could see his own death staring back at him from within the smoldering depths of the dwarven woman’s eyes, reminding him that he’d been the one who’d slain her husband, Khorim. Intent on exacting vengeance, Broda gripped her hammers tightly, becoming increasingly enraged with every step she took.
Reflexively, Endreí cast yet another Spell, and a wall of brilliant light erupted in front of him as his Flame Barrier came to life. Focusing its full force directly in front of her and with the effects of Empower still active, the surging fires he summoned engulfed Broda’s form completely—she didn’t even have the opportunity to cry out in pain before the fires reduced the dwarven woman to a mere pile of ashes. But those same flames also cut Endreí off from the fighting, and he was unable to offer his friends any additional aid, or even see how they were faring, until he rushed around the edges of the conflagration and the scene came into view once more.
Echoes: A Second Skin Novel (Second Skin Book 6) Page 17