Death Mage's Nemesis (Death Mage Series Book 4)

by Jon Bender

  Chapter 12

  Keller’s shadow-made gauntlet flashed out to grip arounds a rebel’s throat and squeezed, the sharpened claws at the end of each finger digging deeply into the man’s flesh. With a thought and twist of his wrist, Keller tore it away to expose the white of his spine.

  He had given up using the void long ago in the close quarter fighting, the drain on him and the risk of hitting his own men too great. It also reduced the exhaustion of continuously casting. His body was already feeling drained of energy and his reflexes slowed. For the last ten minutes as they pushed to the wall, he had let the soldiers and priests lead the attack. Benkt stood nearby, his lips moving as his lanky shadow beast tore into a group of the traitors, the creature killing three men before it was hacked to pieces by those remaining. He saw the priest rock back at the sudden loss of his creation, but he accepted the shock without complaint. He had accomplished his intended goal as soldiers rushed in to fill the hole created by the beast. After that, the rebels broke once more and began retreating into doorways and alleys. At first Keller had ordered pursuits, but had swiftly learned that the men and priests he sent, often walked into ambushes, many of them never coming back.

  He was forced to give grudging credit to the traitors. They had met his forces openly at first, but learned that their attacks were more effective when done with smaller groups. They had no magical support, but were still managing to inflict as much damage as they received. The fighting had devolved into quick attacks followed by even faster retreats from the rebels as they had approached the wall. More than once, dozens of men had been killed in seconds when flights of arrows had rained down from the rooftops, the attacks timed for when they engaged with militia on the streets. When the priests responded with shadow daggers and other forms of magic, the archers melded back into the night. Only when Keller had told Hailey to fight the rebels on their own ground could they advance in relative safety. She had relayed his command to the other shades with them, most of the magically-enhanced men and women quickly scaling the buildings to obey. Even now the bond allowed him to feel the mixture of excitement and fear coursing through Hailey as she pursued the traitors across the tightly packed buildings.

  “We are pushing through, but their tactics are working,” Taft said. He had a long gash in his black tabard showing the broken links of chainmail beneath. “We won’t reach the wall in time if we keep going like this.”

  “I could break off a group of men and try to find another way, possibly through the building themselves or perhaps some of the alleys,” Prasil offered.

  Keller looked at them as he tried to find another way beyond what they had been doing. They didn’t know what the situation was in the rest of the city. Or’Keer’s forces, including priests and presumably the few loyal mages, were spread out in their attempt to reach the wall. The rebels’ strategy to defend the positions they held had turned the tables against Keller, those loyal to the Dark God forced to attack in the tight streets. Assaulting a city was difficult enough for any army, the attacker needing an advantage in numbers to be successful. That difficulty was only compounded when done at night. For Keller and the others who harnessed that very darkness, it was not an issue. For the common soldier, it was far more problematic. What he needed was more information.

  “All right. Prasil take some of the men and try to find another way around. Taft, keep pushing forward,” he told them. “I will rejoin you when I am done.”

  “Done with what?” Prasil asked.

  Keller placed his hands to either side and cast. The shadows darkened and coalesced at his feet before moving upward like a thick blanket. Recognizing what was happening, the two men stepped back to give room as his wings formed. Spreading his wings to their full length forced the soldiers moving past to press against the sides of the street.

  “Can you carry me with you?” Benkt asked, coming out from the press.

  The priest had said very little to him since the incident at the bridge, and Keller was surprised that he was now asking to come with him. He had thought the man would continue to scorn him, but obviously that was not the case. Perhaps all this time, all Benkt had needed was for Keller to act as he expected him to – as a ruthless weapon of their god. Whatever the reasons, the priest no longer seemed to hold a disrespectful attitude.

  Giving the priest a nod, Benkt stepped in front of him and Keller expanded the harness to secure the man to his chest. It was an awkward position, and the only way he would be able to manage the additional weight. Now ready, he concentrated and sent power flowing to the wings to beat and lift them from the ground. His body felt even more sluggish now as he poured more of his will and strength into the magic to carry the additional weight. Climbing above the buildings, he was able to take in the city as he had before at the bridge. Almost every major avenue held columns of soldiers moving toward the south wall at a painfully slow walk, their pace dictated by the random and often destructive ambushes encountered. He watched as one of those ambushes occurred four blocks away. He could not make out the rebels, but saw several soldiers crumple to the ground as others disappeared into the buildings. He wondered how many of the innocent people who lived inside would be caught up in the fighting or be mistaken for the traitors. He laid those deaths at the feet of the rebels as well. Their disregard for life only proved the point further that they must be destroyed.

  “Look there,” Benkt said over the steady thumping of Keller’s wings.

  He was pointing to the wall. The main gate and the wall around it were completely destroyed. It would take near a year or more for masons to repair the damage, even with the aid of the few stone mages faithful to Or’Keer. Another section of the wall was in just as bad shape. The only good news was that the two remaining points chosen by the rebels to create a breach were unfinished. From what Keller could tell from their position, was that they had been forced away by the advancing city defenders. He saw flashes of red and white in the city streets near those areas, likely the mages who were pulled from their work to stop the rebel forces from being overrun. As long as they were kept busy, it gave Keller more time to keep them from escaping and finishing the destruction of the wall.

  Below, Taft was leading the men closer to their goal as Prasil moved a large force of nearly fifty men through a narrow alley. He thought to return to the ground and order Taft to change direction, to have their force head toward the embattled rebels and overwhelm them quickly but was distracted from the idea when he saw another fight closer to the destroyed gate, only this one was not between the rebels and soldiers. At the center of a crossroad were two large units of soldiers fighting each other. He had no idea what had happened, but they could not afford to have their own forces killing each other. Willing himself forward, he flew closer to the battle.

  Once over the center, he saw that the struggle was not a case of mistaken identity in the dark as he had originally thought. There was plenty of moonlight for them to recognize each other. The larger group, which was currently winning, wore white cloth tied to their arms and he quickly came to the conclusion that they were not loyal followers of the dark god, but a part of the rebellion against him. Seeing the traitors wearing black tabards depicting the visage of Or’Keer reignited his anger and without realizing that he had done so, he was in a controlled dive to the heart of the fight. Leveling his descent, his hands came up around Benkt whose head was slightly bowed. He could not hear the priest’s words over the sound of the wind in his ears, but knew he was praying. Taking aim, Keller cast the void from each hand as he flew over the heads of those wearing white on their arms. Normally, he could not sweep the beam of darkness, but his movement in flight meant he did not need to move his arms to achieve that effect. His surprise attack was devastating as it sliced through their ranks. Men were cut in half or had their limbs wholly removed. Benkt had timed his attack as well with daggers flying beneath to strike half-a-dozen more. In that one pass, near thirty men were down, but the panic that ensued was far more des
tructive. The true soldiers of the Dark God let up a cheer at their rescuer and rallied behind the attack. They charged through the hole Keller had created to burrow deep within the traitors ranks. Still, he was not satisfied and lifted back up above the buildings to turn for another pass. He struck again killing more of the traitors. The second attack broke their will and forced them to find cover. With his rage sated, Keller lifted back up and away from the battle, certain the defenders would be able to deal with the rest.

  “The depth of deceit is worse than we thought,” Benkt said once they were hovering again. “It will take many weeks to hunt down all those who took part once this is over.”

  “Yes, but we have to deal with what is in front of us first.”

  “I think we are done here. It looks like the cowards are giving up,” Benkt replied.

  Keller looked about the city and found him to be right. There were already fewer battles in the streets, and he could just make out groups of people moving quickly away from the fighting. “Then this is our time to strike hard.”

  With that, he flew for the largest fight he could find. No sooner than he had come to the edge of large battle when a bolt of lightning flashed up from below. The aim of the caster was true, and only Keller’s involuntary jerk to the side saved them from being stuck directly, the white and blue magic momentarily blinding him with its passing and burning a large hole in one of his wings. The mental shock to his conjured appendages nearly broke his concentration completely and it took all of his will power to spiral down to the flat rooftop. At the last moment, he wrapped the remainder of his wings around them to soften the impact of the crash. Hitting the hard surface knocked the wind from him and the magic flowing to the wings dissipated quickly. Rolling onto his back, Keller laid there struggling for breath as he stared up at the stars. He could hear the sounds of fighting just over the edge of the building. A nearby explosion shook the building they were on and he knew there was no time to rest.

  By the time he gained his knees, Benkt was already looking over the edge and casting below. Firing several shadow daggers, he took a step back and fell into a deeper chant. Before him his shadow beast began to form. The thin limbed creature crouching low turned to the edge of the roof and leapt down, its fall immediately followed by the screams of men. Keller joined the priest and searched for the mage responsible for nearly killing him. He had only begun to scan those below when a sharp pain erupted in his side throwing him back. Even as he landed he could see two archers standing on the roof opposite the street, one taking aim at him again. A wall of complete darkness formed blocking his view and likely stopping the arrow aimed at him. Benkt leaned out from behind the wall with his hand raised. Keller could not see what form his magic took, but when the priest leaned back and nodded he released the cast. The two archers were nowhere to be seen. Checking his wound, Keller found the arrow had just grazed him by skipping off a rib. A few inches to the right and he would have been dead. Climbing back to his feet, he looked over the edge again, this time paying more attention for hidden archers. A small tornado formed near the front of the rebel ranks, and Keller could not help but respect the mage for taking such a vulnerable position. Once it was fully formed, the spinning mass of air sprang forward into the soldiers’ ranks. Men were tossed aside like so much rubbish, many slamming into their comrades, a few unlucky ones finding only a stone wall to stop their flights. When the magic finally spent its energy, over twenty soldiers were on the ground.

  He could already see the mage preparing another cast and raised his own hand. The void reached out for the storm mage striking him in the shoulder and cutting clean through to his hip. For the span of a second, Keller could see the street through the man. He wasted no more time on the caster. Determined to turn the tide against the rebels as quickly as possible, he directed both hands down into the press of bodies. The clawed gauntlets formed around his hands before streaking out as a blur. The void would have been more devastating, but at the cost of consuming more of his dwindling strength. The first hit a woman in the center of her back, sharp claws digging deeply into her flesh. The magic allowed him to feel her spine sever, and his eyes watched her crumple like a puppet with its strings cut. The second found a man’s head as it scraped the bone of his face and gouged one of his eyes from its socket in the process. The claws then returned to him before he sent them for their next victims. He repeated the process several more times with Benkt by his side, the priest’s shadow beast continuing to cut the rebels down.

  They continued attacking for several more minutes when he felt a streak of panic from Hailey through the bond. He did not know why, but felt an urgency to turn around. The move saved his life. Standing mere feet away were two rebels with swords ready to strike. The claws were still formed over his hands and he flung them at the men on reflex. Too late did he realize there was a third standing near a trap door in the roof and holding a drawn bow aimed at Keller. With his magic already flying for the first two, he would have to cut the flow of magic to the claws so that he could erect a wall, but to do so would give the swordsmen time to cover the last few feet. Benkt would be of no help having yet to notice that Keller had turned. The only choice was to try and stop the swordsmen. He could only pray to Or’Keer that the archer would miss, or at least not kill him outright. The gauntlets hit their targets in the center of each man’s chest, just as the arrow fell from the nock of the bow with the string cut. Keller’s first thought that Or’Keer had answered his prayer, but knew that not even his god worked in such ways. The archer jerked several times before collapsing. It was then Keller noticed a darker patch of shadow near the trap door. The darkness shifted to reveal a set of eyes staring at him, the bond confirming his assumption it was Hailey. Benkt finally took notice that Keller was no longer looking down into the street and briefly glanced over his shoulder to take in the scene before turning back while Hailey approached.

  “Thank you,” Keller said, as she moved closer to the edge of the building. “That is the second time you have saved my life.”

  “You are lucky I got in here time. After you sent me to chase down those rebels, I found that you had left Taft and Lord Prasil. I have spent this whole time trying to catch up with you.”

  He could hear the edge of annoyance in her voice and feel the emotion itself flow across the bond, a reaction none of the other faithful would ever express to the chosen. More surprising, was that Keller actually felt guilty for leaving her behind and making her worry. He had never concerned himself much with how others felt about him in the past, or giving much thought to what their concerns were.

  “I will be more considerate in the future,” he said to appease her. Another sentiment he was not used to expressing.

  The hard edge in the bond softened as she moved to look over the edge. “It seems we are winning.”

  He joined her to see that since he had looked away, the ranks of the rebels had thinned considerably as they tried to retreat. “Yes, but we need to stop as many as we can from escaping.”

  “I think whoever has command of our soldiers has things well in hand now,” Benkt said, ceasing his chant to look at them, his eyes no longer holding the hint of contempt Keller had become accustomed to. “It might be a good idea to return to Taft and Lord Prasil.”

  Keller nodded. “I can’t carry both of you.”

  “If you don’t go too fast I will be able to keep pace from the rooftops,” Hailey said with confidence.

  Trusting in her abilities, Keller motioned for Benkt to join him. In moments he had reformed his wings and expanded the harness to hold the priest as well. Lifting from the ground, his concentration faltered causing them to dip to the side before he was able to gain control again. Benkt looked over his shoulder with concern but said nothing about the incident. Keller was glad the priest had remained silent. His strength was continuing to drain with every cast, and he did not want to the priest to worry they might simply fall out of the sky because Keller was tired. Using the bond to keep a
general idea of where Hailey was, he was grateful at having an excuse to keep a slower pace so she could match their speed.

  It did not take long to find Taft and the men he led, without needing Keller’s instruction or having the benefit of seeing the city from above. He had come to the same conclusion about the situation and was moving away from the destroyed gate. When Keller got close enough, he found them in an area made up of narrow streets and alleys. They were not moving and stood amongst dozens of dead soldiers. Landing in the confines was not easy, but he managed to slowly lower himself onto the street. By the time the wings had broken apart to rejoin the natural shadows surrounding them, he knew he would be unable to perform the cast again until getting rest and food. It took all of his willpower to stand straight and not sag with exhaustion. When Hailey appeared at his side, the bond grew stronger again, her presence somehow helping to increase his fortitude.

  “I am glad to see you are back safely, Chosen One,” Taft said, stepping away from the closely packed soldiers.

  “As am I. What happened here?” Keller asked, looking at the scattered bodies. “Were you ambushed again?”

  “No. In fact we have not met any more of the rebels since the last fight. It has allowed us to move with more speed.”

  “Then what?” Looking around, he saw only a few rebels among the dead. He thought it strange that they could kill so many without taking more casualties themselves.