The saerid were fast and agile, able to dodge most of his swings, but when one failed to move fast enough, Aeon Invictus cut right through the carapace and severed the flesh underneath. The mercenary warrior dropped two of the creatures in short order, but would soon be overwhelmed and surrounded. It was also entirely possible they would simply bypass him completely and strike deep into the column of fleeing refugees. Aiden couldn't allow that to happen.
Having activated both gauntlets, he charged towards Robert's last remaining opponent and struck it with his armoured fist. The saerid was thrown back half a dozen yards and landed awkwardly, oozing blood.
“Keep close to the column or they'll just go around us,” Aiden advised Robert who paused for a moment to catch his breath.
“You think I don't know that?” he shot back as they surveyed the approaching horde. “What are you going to do?”
“This,” Aiden replied, raising his left fist, and twitching his thumb when the back of the gauntlet was aligned with his desired target. It was an odd way to activate the device, but the instructions in the Lexicon had described it this way. The gauntlet emitted a high-pitched whine and a moment later a brilliant light burst forth, filling his ears with the sound of crackling energy.
The bolt vaporised everything in its path, leaving a trail of saerid carcasses with huge, gaping chunks seared from their bodies, and steam rising from the ground where the snow had melted. The remaining creatures swarmed around the smouldering carcasses and continued their advance.
“So much for avoiding us,” Aiden lamented as the monsters bore down on their position. With a tight grip on his sword he invoked a layer of spectral armour to protect himself, heedless of the need to use sorcery once more.
The battle was a flurry of movement and screeching insects as the two men fought back to back. Although Aiden wasn't an expert like his counterpart, the pure strength afforded him by his relic gauntlet, allowed him to simply power through any attempt at defence. Shells cracked and limbs snapped as he frantically swept his blade back and forth.
More and more of the saerid fell, but Aiden also felt the sting of more than one claw as the creatures battered away at his spectral armour. Once the immediate area started to clear he could see the two men had gained support from nearby. Jenovia, armed with her massive arbalest, was taking down a saerid with each shot.
Through their combined efforts, the assault collapsed and the few remaining saerid were smart enough to break off the attack and run for cover, gradually disappearing into craters on either side of the path. Aiden and Robert pulled back to Jenovia's position, and together they fell back as one group to rejoin the column.
The three of them moved ahead, noting the number of injured amongst the ranks of the refugees had increased. Nellise was being kept busy trying to keep them on their feet and moving, While Pacian kept a close eye on the surroundings. Half a dozen saerid lay around him, some severed entirely in half.
Guessing he had things under control, Aiden pressed on until they arrived at another skirmish, where Carthack and his team were trying to push back another horde of the monsters. Jenovia set about reloading the arbalest while Robert charged straight in, confident his equipment and training would keep him safe.
Aiden moved to one side, seeking the optimal position from which unleash his deadly weapon. When he found a spot clear of defenders, he once again raised his fist and a brilliant lance of energy seared everything in its path. The shriek of dying saerid was drowned by the detonation, magnified as part of the landscape simply collapsed beneath their skittering feet.
A dozen of the creatures scrambled for purchase on the disintegrating ground and eventually fell into the yawning abyss the gauntlet had opened up. The ground cracked and fell away, dropping most of the saerid into a deep gouge in the earth that now stretched across the path the column had been following.
With the enemy numbers greatly reduced, Robert and Carthack were able to press their advantage. The huge escardi warrior used his great club with devastating effect, cracking skull casings and sending more of the monsters flying back through the air with his immense strength.
Sensing the battle was turning against them, the remaining saerid finally broke off the attack and withdrew into the dead forest. In their wake were nearly twenty gravely wounded men and women, along with half a dozen who had not survived the ambush.
“This can't be normal,” Robert said between ragged breaths. “If our friends were under attack by this many all the time, they should have perished long ago. Damn I hate it when I'm right.”
“Let's just get them to the portal in more or less one piece,” Aiden suggested, taking in the crevasse across the path. It was so deep he couldn't see the bottom of it, although the perpetual twilight wasn't helping in that regard. The conduits leading to the portal continued on over the abyss but appeared to be otherwise unaffected.
“Hell of a weapon you've got there,” Robert remarked. “Try not to destroy so much of the landscape next time.”
“This isn't all my doing,” Aiden corrected as the strong wind whipped at his robe. “Look at the gouges along the crevasse walls. It looks like the area has been excavated in the past, and was simply covered up by decaying old braces.”
“I'm not a miner, Aiden,” Robert grunted. “I'll just take your word for it. Carthack is already starting to lead his people around the scenery so don't be overly concerned about the carnage. If this all works out, there won't be anyone remaining to care. Move along the left flank and watch for further enemy movement. I can't speak to the escardi scouts so I need you and Pace to be my eyes and ears.”
“I'm on it,” Aiden concurred, moving through the ranks of the escardi refugees to keep watch as Robert instructed.
The column began moving once more, but fewer in number. Although accustomed to loss, the escardi felt vulnerable outside their fortress and the tension showed on their faces. Staying near the front of the column, Aiden watched their left flank as they marched on and before long, the small building housing the portal could be seen.
With their goal in sight, the men and women in the column began hurrying forward. The door ahead was wide open, beckoning them on but Aiden detected a faint trace of dark smoke wafting from within.
“That can't be good,” he muttered. He noticed more saerid approaching from the left, and contemplated whether to charge out and run them down, when a curtain of light flared before him, extending far to either side along the length of the column. Nellise stood not far from Aiden, her eyes on the heavens and a look of serenity on her face.
“Keep moving,” she ordered with a voice strained from effort. Realising she couldn't keep this up forever, Aiden rushed to aid those who had been injured. With his enhanced strength still surging through his body, he was able to easily lift an older escardi man who must have weighed nearly three hundred pounds.
Yard by yard, they pushed on behind the protective screen of Nellise's wall. Those at the head of the column had already entered the building ahead, and were hopefully stepping through into the Black Tower back in Aielund.
The sheer size of the man Aiden was assisting made it difficult to pass through the door, but after a little manoeuvring they managed to squeeze through. Smoke billowed from the portal's arch, but the centre was lit with a familiar shifting light. Of Terinus, there was no sign, so Aiden assumed he had already gone through.
Reluctantly at first, the escardi moved through the portal. It was something of legend to these people, but the situation did not warrant staying behind or even pausing to contemplate the possibilities of what lay ahead. To remain behind was to die, and so they moved through the portal with increasing speed.
Aiden handed his passenger across to another escardi and moved closer to the portal device itself. The heat rising from the conduits was substantial, and smoke was pouring from where they connected to the arch. As he suspected, the generators were providing too much energy to the portal and it was slowly disintegtrating. There w
as nothing he could do except hope it remained open long enough to get everyone through.
Peering out through the door, Aiden struggled to see what was happening through the press of people rushing for the portal. The light from Nellise's barrier still illuminated the area, and the escardi, so used to the dim half-light of their world, squinted and shielded their eyes. The wall of radiance itself had been adjusted to bend behind the column as people moved past. Robert, once again carrying Sayana, passed through the door.
“Not many to go now,” the mercenary shouted over the noise. “Pace and Nel are still out there, though. More of those bloody insects have gathered on the other side of the wall and are hammering away at it. If she drops the wall, they're going to be inundated.”
“We need to get back out there and assist,” Aiden responded.
“We need to move these people out of here,” Robert shouted. “Nellise is planning to keep the wall up as long as she can, and she told us to return to the tower and shut down the portal from that side.”
“You're willing to strand her in this bloody place?” Aiden retorted.
“Do you really want these monsters swarming through into Aielund? We shut the bloody portal as soon as possible or we risk losing everything. I'm getting Sy out of here, and I suggest you don't hang around.”
Aiden swore in frustration as Robert took his place in the line and disappeared through the portal. The escardi were practically running now, and the end of the column was in sight. Over two hundred of them had made it through the arch, and within moments they would all be clear. Jenovia was the last to go through, laying a hand on Aiden's shoulder in silent thanks before disappearing from sight.
Outside, Nellise was on her knees, barely able to stay upright as she struggled to keep the barrier of light intact. Dozens of saerid pummeled and lashed against it, heedless of the burns they suffered. They did not appear to be carrying weapons anymore, nor were they attempting to reach Nellise specifically. In that moment, Aiden was struck with the sudden thought that they too were looking to escape, and the level of intelligence they had shown in their brief engagements left him pondering the possibility they too were only trying to survive.
It was too late for anything to be done, however. Smoke billowed from the chamber as the portal's machinery caught fire, and the last of the escardi made it through. Nellise was alone out in the freezing wilderness, wilting under the pressure to maintain the wall which had saved all of their lives, but there was nothing Aiden could do to reach her in time.
Finally, she faltered, falling to one side as the wall of light vanished. The saerid leaped through and began heading in her direction. It wasn't clear if she was their target, or they merely wanted to reach the portal in time but in any case, she was going to be trampled under their taloned claws.
Reluctantly, Aiden backed towards the portal, unable to pull his gaze away from the horde rushing towards the chamber. Just before they reached Nellise, Pacian appeared next to her with a flash of violet light, put his arms around her and vanished again. Startled at this, Aiden saw them appear right next to him in front of the portal.
“What the hell are you waiting for?” Pacian shouted as he leaped through the ephemeral curtain. Aiden didn't hesitate further, leaping through the device as the flames began to spread. When he slammed into the back of Pacian on the other side, he immediately yelled “Shut it down!” in the hope Terinus was standing by for just such a signal.
The curtain vanished almost immediately, taking with it the smoke and cold wind which streamed in from the other side, leaving a breathless Aiden to stare up in silent gratitude at the crowded laboratory's ceiling.
Chapter Twelve
The floor upon which Sayana sat was cold and hard, in spite of the repurposed table cloth she’d turned into a makeshift cushion. She leaned against the wall, watching the hectic proceedings inside the tower with mild interest. Over two hundred escardi had arrived and there simply wasn't enough room for them all, even with the tower's impossible dimensions. Lucas and Saffron were in quite a state trying to deal with the sudden increase in population.
Terinus finally relented and opened a door which, as Sayana recalled, lead to the lower floors. Evidently Robert remembered them as well, judging by his reaction.
“You can't be serious,” he growled. “This tower of yours is a deathtrap. Do you want them to freeze to death in the chamber of frozen horrors, or be mashed into a pulp by your mechanical guardians? I know, it's a hard decision so take your time.”
“Sarcasm is beneath you, Commander Black,” Terinus rasped scathingly. “This door allows direct access to the outdoors, if I will it so. Our guests will bypass the security levels and remain safe, I assure you.” The escardi began filing out through the door which, as Terinus had suggested, showed the calm forests surrounding the tower.
It was their first experience with living trees, and the look of astonishment on their faces was something to behold. Sayana guessed they probably thought they had arrived in paradise, and for all intents and purposes, compared to the blighted world they had escaped, it was. Carthack paused near the door to stare in wonder at the abundance of life outside, and then turned and clapped a hand on Robert's shoulder and pulled him in for a crushing bear hug.
“Killing me is no way to say 'thanks',” Robert wheezed, although Carthack was oblivious to the meaning of his words. With a large grin on his dark features, the big man joined his people in the land of plenty.
“Beggin' your pardon,” an out-of-breath Lucas said as he threaded his way through a forest of giant legs. “Am I going to ‘av to feed all these people too? It wasn't part of the deal, is all I'm sayin'.”
“I believe they will find all their needs met in the surrounding woods,” Terinus replied as he watched his guests file out through the enchanted door. “We need only care for the sick and injured, until they are able to stand on their own two feet.”
“Phew, I mean, not that I begrudge a little company, but it never rains it pours, y'know?”
“Is Saffron coping with the wounded?” Terinus asked, ignoring the rambling little butler.
“She's just gettin’ Nellise back into action,” Lucas conceded. “We need all ‘ands on deck for this one.”
“Stay focused and see to your duties,” Terinus rasped, prompting Lucas to scuttle off once more. Sayana could tell the wizard was tired. They all were, given the likelihood they had been stranded on Placidus for a full day and had never felt the desire to sleep. The relief at seeing the sunrise was immeasurable and she wanted nothing more than to sit and regenerate in its warm radiance. Even now, energies were building within her body without any effort on her part. The urge to levitate was strengthening, but she stifled the sensation and kept her focus on surrounding events.
“You don't think those insect things are going to figure out how to get through, do you?” Robert asked of Terinus as the last of the healthy escardi departed the tower. “They weren't stupid, I'll give them that.”
“Aiden informed me the generator was already on fire as he came through,” the wizard answered. “Even if they were intelligent enough to understand the mechanisms, the chance of repairing the portal is virtually nil. Think no more of it. Come, let us see how our guests are faring.”
“Just a moment,” Robert hesitated, looking to Sayana. She knew what was coming. “Sy, are you up for some translating?”
“Yes, I'll manage,” she conceded, rising to her feet and joining them in the hall. Robert's concerned gaze lingered on her for just a moment, and she responded by putting an arm around his waist as they walked. Terinus seemed to take the hint and walked on ahead without them, his staff clicking on the floor with each step.
“Your armour is very cold,” Sayana whispered as she leaned up against Robert's metal sides.
“It was a cold place,” he replied. “Don't ever do that again,” he added softly, getting straight to the point as always.
“But I like cuddling with you,” Sayana te
ased.
“Not that, I mean the...you know what I mean. From now on, when you get it in your head to take off and deal with some kind of situation, you're taking me with you, got it?”
“Maybe,” Sayana hedged. “You were really angry with me so I didn't feel inclined to bring you along. I've felt like an outsider since undergoing this change, almost as if everyone was afraid of me.”
“It's not every day we see a blue-skinned demigod walking among us,” Robert explained casually, looking at her with his blue eye. Sayana recalled the battle in which she had cost the man his other eye, slashing it out with an axe. How he had forgiven her for this terrible injury she might never understand, but in their private moments, his tenderness shone through and she hated the thought of losing it.
“What exactly did you see in that city anyway?” Robert continued, absently rubbing his chest with one hand.
“Darkness,” Sayana answered cryptically. She didn't really want to talk about it.
“I still think you should have taken me with you.”
“Honestly, you would have just been in the way,” Sayana answered. “That place was crawling with strange shadowy creatures who tried to suck the life out of me. Look, we can go into that more later. I'd rather talk about us.”
“Yeah, okay,” Robert grunted. After a few moments neither of them had said anything.
“This isn't talking, it's walking,” Sayana pointed out.
“Probably.”
Okay, I'll start, Sayana said, switching to her mind-speech without even thinking about it.
“Do you have to do that?” Robert sighed.
It's difficult not to, she admitted.
“Your eyes just started glowing again, too. I take it you'll be flying above the ground again any minute now?”
Soldiers of the Heavens Page 19