Into Storm

by Jason Hamilton

  In that instant, her suspicions were confirmed. She could feel the energy that surrounded all living things swiftly drain from Yewin. This was what almost killed him, and what killed many of the gnomes and dwarves in Mt. Harafast. The link syphoned away all the energy that each participating Fae contained.

  Unless that being was the embodiment of energy.

  Mentally, she felt again at the link between her and the troll. It was not draining of energy. It received its power from the very ground beneath them, and from the storm above. It was, itself, a source of energy. And if she could channel some of that…

  In a rush of intuition, guided by the knowledge gleaned from Yewin’s link, she took some of that power and channeled it into Yewin. The Bright Fae’s face grew brighter, and he gasped in shock as his physical strength returned. He stared at her, dumbfounded, but he did not break the link.

  Jak had one more task to complete before she finished her job here. Though the very air seemed to glow around her from all the power she channeled, she activated a relatively small gift. The magic was, by comparison, insignificant, and yet it had become her most important ability above all.

  Her Gifter brand blazed with a white light and she grabbed her opposing arm, willing another brand to become part of her flesh. She did not even notice the pain as a perfect Thunder brand etched itself into her right arm. This was not a brand she had practiced, but she knew the theory, and her link with Yewin provided her with the knowledge which she did not yet possess.

  When she was finished, the Gifter brand faded and she was left with yet another offensive brand. She had almost all of them now. What had she become?

  The troll still held the link, but Jak could not count on him doing so forever. She had to finish what she started. A new well of power filled her, not unlike the power she felt coming from the troll itself, and from the world around her. Perhaps Thunder was a far more important brand than anyone had realized. It provided control over that which gives life.

  But she would have to think about that later. Instead, she reached out with that newfound well and connected with the energy crackling all around them. Thunder rattled across the plains as lightning illuminated the ongoing battle.

  The time to forge the link had cost them. A demon came hurtling out of the darkness, straight at Yewin. Caught up as she was in the larger view of the battlefield, Jak missed it until the very last second. The jaws of the demon opened wide as it prepared to close them around Yewin’s throat. “No!” Jak called out in a voice that echoed with a power she did not recognize. All that power rushing through her and for that one moment, she could not bring it to bear in time. It was like trying to guide a river through the eye of a needle.

  Elva lunged in front of the demon, catching its body with her own and preventing it from killing Yewin. They fell, and the impact snapped Elva’s spear in two. She rolled to the side, and the demon wasted no time in changing its plan of attack. It slashed at Elva, and Jak’s eyes widened as the claws met their mark on Elva’s neck and face. Elva choked and blood burst from her lips, but her arm was already raised with the sharp half of her spear in hand. It cut into the demon, who screamed and collapsed on the dying woman.

  Jak could do nothing. Yewin and the troll still clung to her, rendering her immobile. She screamed, as rage filled her. Rage at seeing Elva’s death, but more importantly rage at the knowledge that she could have done nothing to stop it, that she had not been meant to stop it. It was Elva’s sacrifice to make, and it had been her time. That knowledge, gained through the link with Yewin, was what angered her most. Well, fate would not stop her from what she had to do next.

  With the troll’s link fueling her, and Yewin’s link guiding her, Jak called on the power in the heavens and struck. A bolt of lightning flew down from the clouds and connected in an instant with one of the demons. It did not even cry out, but fell over dead.

  She called another bolt of lightning, then another. But her link with the troll allowed her to do far more. She called down as much of the crackling energy as she could muster, until the entire field and nearby mountainside were in a constant state of flickering illumination. This truly was power beyond anything Jak had ever controlled. It was exhilarating.

  Demons died by the dozens every second. Shadow Fae, dwarves, humans, and others on the battlefield let their weapons drop to their sides. Because their valiant service was no longer needed. The demons they had fought mere moments before lay dead at their feet.

  Jak drew on more of the lightning, reaching out further to attack all of the demons that still lay some distance away. Some tried to run, but there was no place they could hide from her. Not only could the lightning find them, but her connection to Yewin provided her with all the knowledge she needed to target each one, distinguishing between friend and foe.

  With this much magic, she could do anything, she could kill every enemy, stop any threat. Perhaps she could even level the mountainside if she wanted to. Anything was possible, perhaps even…

  She brought her attention closer, to the body of Elva in front of her. That energy that filled all living beings was no longer in her. Perhaps Jak could change that.

  She summoned a bolt of lightning, guiding it straight into the lifeless body of Elva. The body convulsed, and more blood spurted from the woman’s wounds. When the lightning faded, her body relaxed and lay motionless, the energy once again gone. She needed another dose.

  Again, Jak summoned another lightning bolt, which lit into Elva’s lifeless form. Again, and again.

  “Jak!” Yewin’s voice brought her crashing back to reality. His golden eyes pleaded with her. “You can’t do this. This is one thing beyond your reach.”

  The Bright Fae spoke the truth, as was his nature. And Jak knew it. She knew it in her heart, and from the knowledge gained from the link. Tears stung her eyes, and she stared at Elva’s corpse. Smoke rose from her extremities and armor. The lightning would not bring her back.

  White-hot fury filled her.

  She turned that fury outward, searching for something to blame. Her mind came to rest on the queen’s army. It was close, and advancing throughout the entire battle, ready to pounce upon whoever proved the victor. They would be there within half an hour at least. Should she do something to stop them? She could. The ability to wipe them all out lay within her grasp. No one could fight her like this. Not even Cain could stand up to her. She could eliminate the queen once and for all, she could take over the kingdom, make things the way they should be.

  No, a voice seemed to whisper to her. Was it her own voice, or that of another? It seemed to come from the link itself, and had a familiar quality to it. Soothing. Like when her father told her stories before falling asleep. That would make you no better than the queen.

  And the voice was right. As if in a rush, all the anger drained from her, replaced by pure sorrow. There were some things that she could not...should not change. She would find another way.

  Turning her attention away from the queen’s army, she focused once more on the demons. This threat, at least, she knew she could eliminate.

  With one final surge of power, she called on every ounce of energy still present in the storm. It came crashing down on the remaining demons, though not a soul of her own army was harmed. All of the grasslands and the sides of the southern mountains lit up like midday.

  Then all at once, the area plunged into darkness. Had Jak not known better, she would have thought she was using the Pillar of Eternity again, for all the silence that greeted her. The only sound was the falling of rain. No more lightning graced the sky. Very little energy even remained.

  Perhaps sensing that his work was over, the giant troll released her from its grip and the link, as did Yewin. The Bright Fae’s golden eyes were wide.

  Jak swallowed, only truly aware of the power she had just wielded now that it was gone from her. She took several deep breaths and leaned on the rocky arm of the troll for support.

  Everyone was staring straig
ht at her. Not only those in her immediate vicinity, but everyone she could see. The entire army looked to her. Even the Flamedancers, gnomes and Water Fae that had stayed behind with Skellig were likely staring at the spectacle that she had just presented. Everyone within a hundred miles had probably seen something.

  A few of them, the humans that followed Seph, began kneeling. Some of the Watchers did as well. The Shadow Fae remained standing, they knew her more intimately to revere her in the same way, but many looked to her in awe.

  Jak let her head drop to see the dead corpses of those who had fallen fighting the demons. Closest to her lay Elva, her face bloodied and broken, but her expression one of peace. Why did that trouble her so? Elva had given her life willingly to protect Jak and to protect Yewin. She would be honored for that. But ultimately it was her devotion to Jak, to the promise of Illadar, that she had given her life. What a terrible weight that was, to have the burden of prophecy and the lives of hundreds, perhaps eventually thousands, rest on her shoulders. It was not a burden she wanted, but it was a burden she would carry. Like Elva, she would carry it until it killed her. She must.

  Jak knelt and closed Elva’s blank, staring eyes. Then she wept. All stood around her, watching their savior cry over the loss of their dead. As rain washed away their own blood and tears.

  21

  Jak stood. She could not remain here and mourn too much. The battle was not over. There were still the trolls to deal with, not to mention the queen’s army. A glance in that direction told her that they were nearly here. Would they attack now that the demon army had been pacified?

  “You’re all needed at the pass,” she choked through her tears, letting her eyes survey the warriors around her. She stopped when she met those electrifying eyes of the troll. Her next words were for him. “We need your help to stop your brothers. They would kill us if they had the chance.”

  The troll stood tall, and nodded slightly. It was ready to follow her.

  “Good,” she said. Then she turned and began at a slow trot back to the opening of the mountain pass. The clink of armor and weapons, and the great, shuddering booms of troll footsteps told her that others were following. She increased her pace to a run, not wishing to call on her magic for aid. All of that magic was almost too much to handle, and that was a realization she had never made before. Would it be enough power to corrupt her? Would she just become another tyrant? In those moments when she held that power, she had felt like a goddess. She could have done anything. But not everything. Once all of this was over, hopefully she could take a long break from using her powers, give herself a chance to think.

  But it had felt so good.

  That thought haunted her until she reached the foothills. It had taken far longer now that she was on foot instead of flying through the air. But her followers were right on her heels.

  If Skellig and the others had paid them any attention, they were not doing so now.

  A mountain of rock greeted them, almost covering up the mountain pass entirely, well above Jak’s head, and stretching sometimes as high as thirty feet in places. Trolls were partially submerged in the wall, left that way after the molten rock had hardened. Growles and inhuman shouts came from their rocky mouths.

  A ditch lay in front of the wall, where the gnomes had drawn the molten material used to create the wall. They were still at it now, using their innate Fae magic to melt stone, which the Flamedancers then took to pile up on top of the wall. Steam still hissed as the Water Fae then directed wave after wave on the burning rock, turning it into hard stone.

  They were holding off the trolls, but it was barely enough, and from the look of things, it would not hold them for long. The Flamedancers and gnomes all had sweat streaming down their faces, not only from the heat but from exertion. Skellig stood at the center, her arms raised as she directed a tendril of molten lava at a struggling troll that was beginning to break free of his stone prison. They would not win this fight. Sooner or later, the trolls would break free and they would not have the strength to continue patching the lava that held them.

  And from the pounding that radiated through the stone wall, not all of the trolls were contained in the hardened lava. Some of them must have remained on the opposite side, and were doing their best to smash at the wall to bring it down. It was all Skellig and the others could do to reinforce it.

  Had they even realized that the fight with the demons was over? They must have seen the lightning.

  Jak took a step forward to help the other Flamedancers. Maybe her added strength could give them the edge they needed to patch the wall into something not even the trolls could get through. But no, that would ultimately prove fruitless. They needed the trolls on their side. And besides, they had to get through the mountain pass one way or another, otherwise the queen would have them trapped where they were. They’d have nowhere to run.

  Suddenly Skellig spun, realizing that a troll stood behind them, a huge troll.

  “Behind you!” she yelled at the others. Already exhausted, the faces of humans and Fae alike paled when they saw the troll that stood behind Jak. The troll did not react like the others. He merely surveyed the view in front of him. His eyes moving from humans, to Fae, to his fellow trolls trapped in the stone wall. Those eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not move.

  “It’s okay.” Jak put out her arms to stop Skellig and the others from attacking. “This one’s with us.”

  Skellig eyed the troll warily, but did nothing at Jak’s request. Jak turned to face the enormous Fae behind her. “We don’t want to hurt any of the others, but they’re trying to hurt us. Can you help?”

  The troll’s head looked from one troll to another. Many of them had stopped bellowing once they saw their companion, though the sounds of banging against the back of the wall still continued. Rock chips fell from its summit, and small cracks appeared in the center.

  “Please,” Jak said to the large troll again as he continued not to react. “We all need to work together on this. Like you did when we linked. If you could somehow talk to…”

  She cut off as a roar nearly deafened her. She spun to see a troll climbing over the lip of the rocky wall. While the gnomes and Flamedancers had been distracted, they hadn’t watched the advancing creatures. The troll rose at the edge of the wall and beat its chest with one arm. Its only arm.

  It was the leader of the trolls, the one who seemed to hate their little group so much.

  It leapt and its feet hit the ground with an enormous crunch. Gnomes scattered out of the way as it swept its one arm at them.

  Then its eyes found Jak.

  Ignoring Skellig and the Flamedancers, it broke into a run, lowering its head and shoulder, making a bee-line for Jak’s position.

  Jak summoned her magic, ready to take the thing head-on. Thunder had worked against these creatures before, she could use it now. She activated her newest brand, prepping it to take care of this troll once and for all if she had to. The last thing she wanted was to kill a Fae, even an aggressive one. But sometimes life didn’t give you much choice. She had just found that out the hard way.

  Her fingers glowed with an electric light as she called the energy around her.

  Then the large troll lunged at his one-armed brother.

  The impact as the two of them fell to the ground nearly caused Jak’s knees to buckle. The larger of the two remained on top, and swung a rocky fist at the other. It connected with a noise like the thunderclaps Jak had summoned just minutes before. Everyone dove out of the way to give the two trolls some space.

  The one-armed creature fought back. He kicked at the larger troll, which knocked him off. They both rose to their feet, pausing to consider the threat the other posed. Then the one-armed troll lunged at the other. It bellowed in that gravelly voice that seemed to fill the entire mountainside. The larger of the two did not respond, but waited tense for the other to arrive. They collided with another ear-shattering crunch, but the larger of the two managed to hold his ground fro
m pure mass alone. One-arm was big, and he was angry, but he was no match for a peer who was not only larger, but had the use of both his arms. He held his companion in place, though the latter struggled hard.

  Then the larger troll said something. It was almost indistinguishable from an animal roar, but she could sense structure in those words. The troll was trying to communicate something to the other.

  The eyes of One-arm flashed. It understood, but it did not like what it heard. It roared at his larger brother that held it in its grip, struggled, and managed to free one of its legs. It kicked at the troll and the creature’s knee buckled under the attack.

  One-arm was on him in a flash, bringing its good arm down over and over again at the other’s head. The troll from Riverbrook protected itself with both arms, though it was temporarily at a disadvantage.

  The other trolls remained suspended in the stone wall, but none tried to escape. They all stood as transfixed as the rest of them, watching their leader and this other of their number fight it out. Jak had a feeling that their ultimate allegiance would depend a lot on who won.

  Should she interfere? She could easily send a small bolt of lightning at the aggressor, causing him to freeze up and give her troll the advantage.

  A hand gripped her shoulder, and she turned to see Gabriel there. Where had he been this whole time? Had he stayed here with Skellig and the others, or had he fought against the demons? He shook his head at her, as if knowing what she had been considering. “This has to be a fair fight between them,” he said, nodding at the trolls.

  Jak nodded. He was correct, of course. If she wanted any chance of bringing the trolls to her side, she could not interfere. This had to be done.

  She turned her attention back to the battle. The large troll had recovered, ripping off a loose chunk of the wall and slamming it into the one-armed troll’s head. It connected and shattered into a million loose pieces. Jak covered her face to keep stray bits from hitting her.