The strategy worked for a little while, the scores of fallen Blighters helping by providing additional barriers and hazards for the enemies to traverse. But the defenders slowed, and little by little they were whittled down.
Their front line retreated. Before long they were holding at the end of the room.
"Why don't we fall back again, use the narrow corridor?" Lara said.
"It's hard to reinforce, and we are getting closer and closer to the Vault. Any setback at all would have us practically running backwards," Rengin said.
"So, we're going to hold here as long as possible," Lara said.
"Exactly." Rengin was about to shout out again but abruptly stopped. Vincent noticed it too. The Blighters were all moving to the sides of the room, filling the space but leaving a passageway through the middle. The Tainted Ones too.
"I don't like the look of this," Vincent said.
"It's an odd arrangement.” Certan leaned against a wall to catch his breath.
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. A shape was slowly advancing from the distance. Each step was measured and powerful. Deliberate and strong. Designed to cause fear. The monks looked at each other. A mixture of curiosity and anxiety crossing their faces. Rengin was resolute, overly so. Vincent could see him putting on a brave face for the other monks. As the shape advanced, it began to take shape.
"No," Lara said softly.
"Is it him?" Vincent said, peering into the distance.
"Definitely," Certan said, clenching his fist. The shape continued to advance.
"What is it? You seem to recognise it," Rengin said.
"You'll see soon enough. It is our enemy," Lara said, spitting onto the ground. In answer to her question the creature arrived and stood in the middle of the room.
"It's a Shade?" Rengin said.
"And here we are at last. Thank you for the welcoming party," Wraith said. His voice still had the muted and shrill harshness of a Shade, but it was more controlled and understandable.
"It speaks?" What are you?" Rengin said.
"I am Wraith. I am the epitome of the power and majesty of the Blight. I have come here to destroy your pathetic little trial and claim the wizard for myself," Wraith said.
"I've never seen this before," Rengin said to Certan as quietly as possible.
"It's a wizard turned into a Shade. He's managed to overcome this form, and use it to his advantage. When we encountered him he was still wrestling with it, but he seems in control now," Certan said.
"Are you going to be smart and give in, or are you going to die horribly?" Wraith said.
"You will not reach the heart of this temple, you foul thing. We have already dealt with three of your kind," Rengin said. His monks rallied behind him.
"Don't underestimate him, we don't know how powerful he is," Lara said.
"I won't. I expect I won't survive this encounter either. I will make a stand here. Certan, stay with me and learn what you can to aid the monks. Vincent and Lara, you should retreat and prepare to fight him again. I fear you will have the best chance against this monster," Rengin said.
"Are you sure?" Certan said.
"Of course, the rest of you go now," Rengin said. Vincent and Lara turned and ran swiftly out of the room and into the dark corridor beyond.
"Leaving already? I'm glad someone has the courage to stand here. What's your answer?" Wraith said.
"You will die here!" Rengin said. Before Wraith could respond the monk charged ahead. Rengin quickly feinted an attack, then dashed behind to try an additional strike. None of the Blighters or Tainted Ones moved to protect their master.
Wraith let Rengin's attack connect. He moved slightly with the blow, but was otherwise unharmed. Rengin darted back to his waiting monks.
"Was that it?" Wraith said, mockery in his voice.
"Just an initial attack," Rengin said.
"Charming. I'll allow this for now, but I can't let it drag on. I have other business to attend to," Wraith said.
"I need to prepare something. The rest of you, attack in constant waves. Test all of his body for weak areas. But don't stand around, dodge away after each strike. Let there be no cheap deaths." Rengin sat on the floor, legs crossed and eyes closed.
The monks attacked as ordered, landing blows all over Wraith's body. Mostly he let them land, others he swatted away. But subsequent attacks to that area left no mark.
"A Shade would have felt at least some impact; his form can't be that different. He must be using some sort of spell," Certan thought. He looked back at Rengin, intrigued by what the older monk was doing. It had to be something more than his own technique of gathering energy into a single strike.
"Ugh," a monk said, rolling away, nursing a broken arm. He had been a little sloppy and Wraith had punished him.
"I tire with these simple attacks. Show me something else, or I'm moving on," Wraith said.
"It is now time for you to answer for your actions," Rengin shouted. He stood but his feet were not on the ground. He was hovering.
"Watch carefully then retreat. My final act is a gift to you. A gift of time, and also a demonstration of what is possible. Farewell Certan, and good luck." Rengin gently placed his hand on Certan's shoulder.
"Thank you for your generosity and leadership," Certan said.
Rengin nodded and readied his stance. “I call this the seven strikes of salvation," Rengin said. Wraith just laughed and waited. Rengin dashed forward at incredible speed. Certan could not follow him. It was if Rengin appeared next to Wraith and delivered a stunning blow. The sound of the impact reverberated around the room. Wraith was knocked back slightly, but showed no other signs of damage. Before he could recover, Rengin appeared behind Wraith, and circled around again at great speed hitting the same spot a second time. This time Wraith lunged out with his arm, but was too slow and Rengin slipped away.
The super speed monk appeared above Wraith, and dove down, striking this time with a foot on the same spot. The impact was so great, that Wraith was forced to stumble backwards. Clearly the attacks were beginning to have an effect. Wraith created a wall of stone around himself, to prevent the next strike. But Rengin came again, and passed through the stone as if it weren't there, landing another crushing blow. Wraith dropped to one knee, then quickly stood again.
The older monk appeared back with the others, but before they could see anything he was off again. Wraith held his arms out to block the strike. Rengin, dodged under, and with two successive palm strikes hammered the same spot again.
Wraith was knocked over, skidding along the ground. He rose, and dusted himself off. There was a small crack in his skin, where Rengin had been attacking.
"That was only six. Is that all you have?" Wraith said. Rengin was frozen in the pose of his last attack. He was motionless as a statue.
"Maybe you can't move anymore? Oh well, I'll enjoy this!" Wraith said, he ran forward leading with his right arm. As he connected with Rengin's head something strange happened. An explosion of light appeared at the point of impact, knocking Wraith back to the end of the room. Rengin dropped to the ground. The monks rushed to his aid.
"Bring him with us, and let's retreat," Certan said. Rengin had bought them some time and space, but it looked like at a great cost.
34
The Crossroads
Alrion let the spell dissipate and sank down with frustration. He had made the most of his confinement in the Vault, but it was time to get out. He had tried many things, none of which had worked.
He knew that spells would not be the answer, so he tried many different tricks to use his Will to alter the situation. Nothing had even looked like working.
"What am I missing? This Vault doesn't seem to be a real space, everything is wrong about it. The monks must have something to do with it. Maybe they are using their Will to keep this place as is, and prevent me from leaving. That must be what is happening," Alrion thought. If that was true though, how could he counter that?"
He let his mind wander
, to imagine the construction of the Vault. How would he build it, if it was his own creation? He designed the entire construction in his mind, down to the smallest detail. A model so impressive that if he could just flick a switch in his mind it would become reality.
"Why can't I just do that?" Alrion thought. There was no reason why not. He took his model of the Vault, and implanted it on the surroundings. There seemed to be some sort of resistance, but he ignored it. His reality was fact, and it had the construction of the room in a particular way. He felt the walls vibrating and moving, as if they were alternating between different extremes. Finally, they settled, and he knew that the Vault was as he designed.
"Time for a change," Alrion thought. He walked over to a wall, and redesigned it. He added a doorway to the outside world. The wall reshaped itself to his command. He could see out into the room. There was a great battle going on.
"Time to make my grand entrance," Alrion thought. It wasn't too early, or too late. It was the perfect timing.
"There's no time!" Certan said as he reached the heart of the temple. Vincent and Lara were in a defensive position in front of the four monks. Certan and the rest of the monks moved to the front of the room. They could hear Wraith stomping down the corridor towards them.
The monks bearing Rengin placed him down carefully at the rear of the room and joined their companions.
"Any weaknesses you can help us with?" Lara said.
"No, he seems almost impervious to harm. Rengin managed to create a small hole in Wraith's skin, but that was after repeated attacks of amazing power. He seems stronger than when we first encountered him. I think he is using his spells to somehow shield his body further," Certan said.
"Maybe Alrion will be able to counter. But there's still a good chance Runesteel will work," Vincent said.
"I hope so. Good luck to all.” Certan turned to face the sound of Wraith entering.
"Here we are, everyone together at last. We never met officially, but I assume you are Alrion's father?" Wraith said, pointing at Vincent.
"That's correct. And you are Branthor the monster?" Vincent said.
"Actually, we did meet a long time ago. Back when you were following your father around like a puppy," Wraith said.
"I don't remember, I guess you weren't that memorable without your costume," Vincent said.
"Are you still disappointed that you couldn't cut it? Don't take that out on me. Anyway, I'm more interested in your son. Where is Alrion?" Wraith said.
"He'll be here when he's ready."
"I've come all this way, it would be rude not to wait. You can entertain me instead," Wraith said. He raised his arm and sent spirals of earth and fire at Vincent.
"Look out!" Lara shouted, pushing Vincent to the side. He rolled to the ground and held up his sword, blocking the last trail of fiery death and knocking it aside. "Certan would have a decent attack, if we can buy him some time and opportunity," Lara said.
"Seeing Rengin's attacks I am not sure how effective it will be, but it is worth a chance," Certan said.
"Very well, let's see what we can do," Vincent cautiously advanced on Wraith.
Lara let loose a series of discs which bounced harmlessly off Wraith's chest, but did get his attention.
"You can't possibly hope to hurt me, I have become something more than any other wizard," Wraith said.
"That may be, but there is nothing that Runesteel cannot cut through," Vincent said, twirling his sword with menace. Wraith watched the blade very carefully, which confirmed Vincent's suspicions. Despite his improved power and control, the blade was still effective.
Wraith raised a wall of earth right in front of Vincent, but he sliced it in half and kicked it down. A wave of force tugged at his feet and a spear of earth flew through the air, but Vincent used the momentum of force beneath him to roll to safety.
Vincent quickly rose and kept walking, closing the distance between them. Lara crept forward from another angle, waiting for an opportunity.
"He doesn't know that my dagger is also Runesteel, he may give me an opening," she thought. As Wraith focused on Vincent, she stalked closer and closer.
"This is it!" she thought and stepped forward with a quick slice. Wraith noticed at the last moment, and moved just enough. The slice became a light graze, but it did break the skin. Wraith looked at her in horror.
"Too slow!" Vincent said as he swung his sword. Wraith managed to blast Vincent back with a wave of force, slowing his strike and increasing the gap between them.
Out of nowhere Certan appeared, and struck with his charged palm. The blow exploded with power and knocked Wraith back. He paused to examine his body. The crack created by Rengin was larger now, and appeared to be an open wound, albeit minor.
In a fury, Wraith whipped through the air with his arm. It created a diagonal wave of shearing force, striking all of his three opponents. All the surfaces that were hit suffered deep cuts, and all three limped back to a defensive position.
"That was our best shot, and he just blew us away," Lara said.
"True, I'm not sure how much more we can do," Vincent said.
"What's that?" Certan said. They looked over and saw a shimmering doorway appear at the rear of the room, in-between the four older monks. All they could see on the other side was white. A man stepped through. It was Alrion.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said.
"Alrion!" Vincent shouted. He staggered to his feet and ran over to his son.
"Easy there, you're hurt." Alrion accepted the hug, then guided his father to crouch down. Alrion gathered his Spark and used his healing spell, knotting the skin back together. "That's different," Alrion said, but said nothing further.
"I feel like I should be saving you, not the opposite," Vincent said.
"Sorry, this a once-off. You can save me again later," Alrion said.
"Good, that's better. Did you pass the trial?"
"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't be here. Lara and Certan come over here," Alrion said.
"You look different. Better and stronger.” Lara gave him a hug too.
"Good to see you," Certan said, slapping Alrion on the back.
"Let me patch you up a bit." Alrion healed their wounds in the same way. "Anything I should know?" Alrion said.
"He's terribly strong, but the Runesteel seems to work a bit. Do you have any ideas?" Lara said.
"I think we should just leave, Rengin mentioned a secret passage in this room," Certan said.
"Find the passage, I'll deal with Wraith," Alrion stepped forward and looked at his enemy.
"Alrion, finally. We've all been waiting so long. What took you?" Wraith said.
"I was busy. I see you have been too. Do you have any humanity left?" Alrion said. Wraith just laughed.
"Maybe you have just misplaced it. Why don't you just leave?" Alrion said.
"Clearly, I can't do the trial, not with you all here and it relies on those pesky monks. But you are here, so I'll settle for that. I made you an offer before, and it's still available. If you're feeling a little shy, I'll just accept on your behalf. It's easier that way," Wraith said.
"I won't join you, there's nothing you can say to convince me."
"Who said you needed to be convinced?" Wraith said, and launched a rolling wave of earth at Alrion. The young wizard concentrated then stopped the earth in its tracks, letting it settle back down into the ground.
"Oh, learned a few new tricks? That won't be enough." Wraith let loose with a stream of fire and earth, attacking in a criss-cross pattern.
Alrion extinguished the fire and knocked the earth back down to the ground.
"My turn," Alrion sent wave after wave of force at Wraith. Nothing happened, as each one hit. Alrion did the same again, but alternated with fire. Again, Wraith let each attack hit and nothing happened.
"You thought that would work?" Wraith said. Alrion did not respond, but tried again. This time the waves of force alternated with waves of fire and earth. Like before W
raith let them crash against him. But something was different.
The ground around Wraith's feet sucked him in like quicksand. It quickly solidified, binding him in place. As he struggled to break free, Alrion fired an intensely bright white-hot rod of fire directly at Wraith's chest wound. He roared in pain and broke his feet free.
"That smarts, it really does. But it's not enough." Wraith was trying to shake off the pain, but it seemed to linger.
"Alrion we found the path. Come with us," Certan said.
"No, I have a chance. I can beat him," Alrion said.
"It's too risky. Just come with us, it'll be fine," Lara said.
"She's right Alrion. You've done enough, let's regroup and move forward," Vincent said.
"No, I'm sorry. I can't have this thing following me around forever. I need to deal with it now, so I can focus on the next trial. Just go on ahead, I'll catch up." Alrion felt his friends had not moved, so he turned to face them. "Please go, I need to do this. I promise I'll come find you," he said.
"Very well, let's go. Don't keep us waiting," Vincent said.
Alrion watched them go, then turned back to face his enemy.
"I see you are now alone. Such a pity," Wraith said.
"You sure do talk a lot," Alrion said. A grin stole across Wraith's face and suddenly hundreds of projectiles flew towards Alrion. They came from every direction and were incredibly fast. He dove for cover and built an earth shield around himself. As fast as he could reinforce it, dents embedded in the surface at an alarming rate. In seconds the whole thing would collapse. Alrion threw up more walls, opened an exit and ran. With a crash the whole thing toppled and Alrion was scrambling for breath.
"You were saying?" Wraith said.
"That you don't talk nearly enough," Alrion said, chuckling.
"I think I should be honest with you, it's only fair. You got a good attack in, I have to admire that. It's the least I expect from you. However, you can't possibly win."
"Why is that?"
"The Blight has a power all its own. I can break the rules, enhance this already strong body even further, and employ a bag of tricks so large I can't even begin to tell you all about them. No spell you throw at me will be enough."
Vault of Silence (The Hidden Wizard Book 2) Page 24