“I see no one,” Jadeth whispered. She clawed a streamer of hair from her eyelashes. “There is nothing moving out there.”
“I don’t understand,” Dehil pushed past Ivo and Jaeger. He stared east, his keen gaze sweeping the landscape for a cloud of dust, a battle horn, or a ripple of energy, anything that could herald their allies’ approach. “This was the agreed upon day and time. They should have reached us by now.”
Nothing.
All eyes turned to him, and his heart missed a beat, for a long moment he dared not turn. He dared not look and see the suspicion and judgment clouding Jadeth’s sapphire eyes. He swallowed and his heart squeezed as if the lithe Elf had reached for it herself.
He looked.
Clear blue eyes, brilliant and trusting, stared right back.
“Something has happened,” Ivo broke the stunned silence, his frown on the eastern sky, not the Elf spy. “If they don’t approach from the east, where else could their path be?”
“Our way from the north, but that is far longer,” Jaeger grunted. “We are abandoned.”
“Or betrayed,” Dehil whispered. His heart struggled to beat around the cold fist of fear now clutching it. “Someone high in the ranks is suspected of being an enemy agent. My Master and I had yet to decipher the clues as to who.”
“Your Master? Is not Rodon your Master?” Ivo asked, not turning around.
“Not truly. He rules the Warrior caste. I am not of that caste.”
“Then who rules the spy ranks?”
“If that was known,”—Dehil scowled—“Then not a good manner of spies we would be. It is secret to most.”
Emaranthe eyed the ball of fire at the top of the plateau. “Our time runs out with the suns.”
Ivo scowled and turned south. The light faded even as they struggled to comprehend what had happened.
“We act now, or never,” Jaeger said. “And we have faith that our allies are just that.”
“Aye or nay?” Ivo asked the group at large. His fingers twitched to where his sword shimmered in its protective shadows. A true Immortal weapon could only be wielded by its owner, and the shadows prevented all else from controlling them.
Gold flared within the shadowed hood, briefly illuminating a face pale and drawn; but Emaranthe’s chin lifted and her shoulders squared when Ivo’s gaze clashed with his lover’s.
“Fight,” she snarled.
Jaeger growled a wordless agreement.
Jadeth nodded, her full lips tilting up at the corners.
Gabaran’s fingers tightened around the bow until wood creaked.
Dehil reached for his sickle knives and spun into a flat out run toward the plateau and their enemy. His lean body shimmered and vanished as if he were the very heatwaves rippling over the rocks at their feet. The rest broke into a pre-planned formation and followed at his heels. The elevator came into view; and as predicted, a dozen guards stood watch. Invisible in sight and sound, Dehil reached the closest enemy first.
The others spread out, no longer able to hide their approach, and waited for Dehil to take out the first guard. Silver flashed; a slash of curved steel on flesh. The blades reflected the remnants of the orange sun as it sank behind the plateau. The guard dropped to the dusty ground, his throat so cleanly cut that blood only flowed once the body was prone.
Ivo and Jaeger leaped before the enemy could gather their wits and weapons. They landed hard between the guards, iron boots bowing the rock beneath their feet. Twin roars echoed off the cliff face.
Jadeth skidded to a stop near enough to heal, but far enough to keep an eye on the guards atop the plateau. Ears twitching, she kept a wary eye out for any interlopers and let her hammer bathe the shadows in green.
Emaranthe darted toward the brothers, but a broad arm snaked about her waist and dragged her to a halt.
“You’re with me, Little Sister,” Gabaran grunted when she thrashed in his arms. Panicked kicks and scratching did little to loosen his gentle grip. “I need your help to cover Jadeth.”
She stilled, twisted, her mutinous glare a fiery swirl.
“I need to help—” she panted, her gaze now on the swift moving fight a hundred yards ahead in the green tinged shadows of the plateau.
“I need fire, now!” Gabaran barked and let go. She crashed to her knees, twisted, and sent a fireball high into the air. A dark arrow rocketed through the ball of fire, ignited, and sailed high and true, trailing fire like a shooting star. It slammed into a guard readying his bow on the cliff top. The enemy archer fell from the edge, a trail of smoke and screams in his wake.
Emaranthe stood and reached for her weapon. A furious heatwave blasted her hood back as flames erupted from her staff, engulfing it in a layer of heat and embers. The flames slithered and curled, twisting and crackling up her outstretched arm to spread over her shoulders, head, and body like a second skin.
Fully engulfed, she turned white-hot eyes on Gabaran.
“Ready?” her amused voice echoed from within the burning shield. She knew this game well. Gabaran’s lips peeled back in a feral grin.
“Oh, yes.”
He drew his bow, loaded now with three black arrows. Fire curled and writhed within Emaranthe’s palm.
“Now!”
Fire and arrows met midair, and then rushed toward the remaining guards atop the plateau.
Three shapes dropped and no alarms sounded.
Gabaran’s grim smile inched up.
***
A blur spun and slammed a sickle blade deep into his opponent’s chest with a sickening thud. The shimmer shifted away, shoving the dead man to the rocky ground and dragging the curved blade free in one smooth motion. Dehil paused to study the battle playing out on the desert floor, his breathing a soundless rasp in the near darkness.
The gloaming light, melded with the eerie green of Jadeth’s hammer, did little to hamper his vision. Keen of eye during the day, it was in the dark while invisible that his sight grew even sharper. His gift for spying was a given and his rank among them was unmatched. His Master alone, one of the only other Immortals or Mortals he trusted, held a superior gift. He could see… without eyes. A shout snapped his attention back to the battle in time to see Ivo and Jaeger each drop a guard and face off with another set.
Ivo shoved the limp body aside. He roared and ducked as a sword slashed from the side, twisted about, and threw his shield at the still outstretched arm of the clumsy guard. The brittle snap of bone was lost in the cacophony.
“You got that one then?” Ivo laughed between ragged breaths. He watched his brother’s cold, calculating movements with approval. Slightly leaner, yet far colder in demeanor, Jaeger’s killing efficiency was second to none. Even without his powerful ability.
Blue eyes glared daggers at Ivo from the depths of the gore-splattered helm before he returned to the enemy aiming a halberd at his skull. Jaeger’s angry hiss, punctuated by grunts and growls, was aimed at his brother as well as the enemy. He smashed his shoulder into the guard’s midsection and flung him aside. His axe gleamed red in the fading light, but it didn’t drip. Frozen blood frosted the edge of the sharp blade.
Ivo grunted in approval and turned back to the battle in time to see a blur wind through the remaining guards. Impressed, he watched as Dehil appeared here and there, in and out of the fray, no more tangible than the wind he let seethe around their battleground as feelers for more incoming enemy. The sickle shaped blades dripped blood as he spun and darted, slicing and slashing in sleek, efficient silence. Bodies dropped as if of their own accord.
Jadeth hovered on the edge of the battle, her hammer high, its green glow battling the nearly black night. Sapphire eyes darted between Ivo, Jaeger, and Dehil to her right, and occasionally back to Gabaran and Emaranthe, her bodyguards. Fireballs launched with stunning precision to the sound of roaring flames and the melodic twang of bowstrings.
Just then, Dehil paused, shimmered into view, facing her across the width of the battlefield. She inhaled, s
tartled. They studied each other amidst the sea of cries and clashing weapons, blue locked on blue for one hopeful moment in time. A fireball arced high, turning the night into a dance of shadows.
A steady beat of marching feet rolled over the desert and echoed off the cliff walls. The sound froze Jadeth’s blood. A curl of fear widened Dehil’s eyes. They turned to the west to see a small cloud of dust growing larger as it neared. The last enemy guard fell with a wheeze and all eyes turned to the approaching group in stunned silence.
“That’s not The Unknown Sun,” Dehil swore. The eerie green of Jadeth’s hammer faded, their superficial cuts mended. The near darkness stole everyone but the three elve’s vision. “It must be a regular patrol returning. We can’t let them join whatever forces await on the plateau.”
“We make a stand, don’t let them reach the top,” Ivo barked. “Gabaran, you and Emaranthe watch for any ranged attackers. Take them down, but try to keep your position unseen. Jadeth we need your light for this. Gabaran and Emaranthe will have your back.”
Gabaran grunted. Emaranthe narrowed her eyes at her lover, but didn’t argue. Her fiery shield guttered and faded, throwing them into the pitch-black night. Everyone shifted into position for round two just as the attackers forded the wide river that cut a broad swath around the base of the plateau.
Jadeth’s hammer blazed, throwing stark shadows outlined in green along the orange rock walls and pillars. A shout rang out from the approaching enemy.
“Ready!” Ivo growled.
Gabaran’s bowstring creaked.
Dehil vanished.
Fiery eyes shielded deep within a worn hood narrowed on the enemy.
Emaranthe pulled a fireball into the palm of her hand, the scalding heat of no consequence to an Immortal. She smiled and waited; every muscle in her body tense and ready to move.
The band of soldiers attacked without pause, savage and ruthless, not seeming to care that they faced five Immortals and a legendary Hunter. Howls of rage bled into screams of pain, then silence. Axes, swords, and shields flashed in the green light, only to be dulled with the red of blood. Squelching thuds echoed and dancing shadows made for grim puppets on the orange rock cliff face.
Gabaran’s bow sang relentlessly. Each black arrow hit its target with audible thuds. Hidden in the darker shadows, both he and Emaranthe waited to pick off the more troublesome soldiers.
From her position, Emaranthe could see these new guards were no ordinary soldiers, but well trained and skilled, far more skilled in fact, than the guards who had been posted. Fear tightened her lips into a white line as Ivo narrowly missed a spear jab. As it was, the heavy wood shaft grazed the armor plating on his left side, scraping a dent into the already battered metal.
“Gabaran, let me go to them! They need help!” Emaranthe whispered, knowing that he could hear her over the raging battle.
“Can’t, Little Sister,” he grunted and loosed another arrow. Her fireball caught it and it sailed into the tangle of allies and enemies to find its target unerringly. “Ivo would kill me.”
“I have do something,” Emaranthe hissed. She watched in horror as Jaeger shoved Ivo away as a double bladed axe cleaved the air between them. She broke away from the old Elf before he could drop his bow and snag her.
Swearing, Gabaran bolted after her. As he raced beside her into the fray, the large wooden elevator clattered to the ground and another four soldiers rushed the unaware males from behind.
“No! Help them!” Emaranthe screamed. The attackers immediately ganged up on Ivo, leaving Jaeger to fend off the two remaining guards. She slid to a stop and gathered energy from deep inside. Fiery eyes lit up the darkened sky. Her hair writhed into the air on invisible threads of power.
“Duck!” Jadeth screamed. She gasped and leaned against the pull. The ground skewed and the air rippled toward the Mage, the tide of an energy filling a boundless vacuum.
Her family hit the dirt, leaving a dozen surviving guards stumbling in confusion, their blades slicing only air. Another half dozen ducked aside.
Heat waves roared ahead of the rampaging inferno. An explosion of fire swept out in a complete circle, blasting the enemy across the landscape. In a blur of fire and screams, bodies slammed into the sheer stonewall and crumpled at its base in burning heaps.
Ivo rolled aside and leaped to his feet as soon as the inferno swept overhead. He turned as Emaranthe dropped like a rock, and his stomach mimicked her collapse. Gabaran reached her before she could hit the rocky ground. The stench of charred flesh stung his eyes.
The few survivors charged and, heartsick, he turned away from her to the battle. He forced the twinge of fear to the edges of his mind where it wouldn’t interfere. A blood soaked axe sliced the air in front of his face. He ducked away and swung his sword low. The blade caught his attacker at the knee and sent him sprawling to the ground at Jaeger’s feet.
Jaeger spun and buried his axe deep into the guard’s chest. The meaty thud masked the Warrior’s snarl. Ivo turned as a shimmer blurred past him, sickle knives a silver and scarlet blur as they turned aside a sword meant for Ivo’s neck. The blur paused and materialized, face to face with Ivo.
“Dehil,” Ivo studied the Elf spy, noting the ashen pallor and resigned set of his mouth. His gaze weary, steeled against showing emotion, locked with Ivo’s and a grim understanding passed between them.
“Ivo,” Dehil bowed with a smirk. “Try to keep up, old man!”
Wordlessly, they spun away from each other and rejoined the melee. No other words were needed.
It was not the time to point out that Dehil was certainly thousands of years older than him.
***
Three left. Ivo and Jaeger, wearied by pain and exhaustion, staggered as they hacked and swung weapons. Blood and gore streaked their armor and dripped to the earth. The mesmerizing green glow of Jadeth’s hammer was as much a light in the dark for them as a means to heal. They were well beyond too exhausted to even think about using their powers. They preferred the more tangible means of attack. Their gifts were a curse, after all.
Dehil shimmered into focus, his movements slow, his breathing harsh. He sliced the third guard’s throat from behind. The body fell with a thud as he turned and vanished again, leaving Ivo and Jaeger a guard each to finish off.
Jaeger spun on his heel and swung his axe down and across, but the guard dodged to the side and his axe bit only air. Gasping, his chest burning with the effort it took to breathe, he parried an incoming blow and shoved his attacker aside. His arms and legs felt leaden, his throat thick and dry. Everything was a blood tinged blur and beside him, his brother’s exhausted breathing told him he wasn’t alone.
Dehil blurred into focus before Jaeger could take another agonized swing at the second guard. He shoved Jaeger aside with a narrow shoulder and a sharp hiss meant for both him and Ivo.
“Take the others and go. Up the elevator! Hurry!” Dehil flung himself in front of Ivo, and blocked the guard’s heavy sword with a sickle knife. The screech of metal nearly drowned out his last word. “Go, there is something wrong here!”
Jaeger spun on his heel with a snarl and rushed toward Jadeth, Gabaran, and Emaranthe.
“Go! He’s distracting them! Get on the elevator!” His cry echoed over the ring of swords glancing off the sickle knives.
Jaeger gripped Jadeth’s arm and shoved her toward the elevator. Ivo turned to see the old Elf and Emaranthe obeying the command without question. They stumbled onto the wooden planks, Gabaran half dragging the weakened Mage.
Jadeth dug her heels into the ground. She stared after the black-haired Elf fighting off two guards with deadly precision. Jaeger shoved her onto the elevator. She stumbled on the lip of the uneven planks, her view of Dehil lost for a split second. Her heart curled within her chest, robbing her of breath at the sight of his lean, graceful body twisting and ducking with the shameless grace only an Elf possessed.
“Dehil?” her whisper cut through the melee. He spun to face
her, his blades dripping blood and gleaming in the eerie green of the hammer hanging loosely in her grip. “Hurry!”
He ducked beneath a clumsy punch and halted before the elevator. Sweaty, out of breath, and weary, he met her gaze in silence. Sapphire locked with cerulean blue. One pair confused, the other resigned.
The sickle blades flashed. The heavy ropes holding the counterweight of the elevator snapped and zipped apart. The elevator hurtled skyward with a rattling groan, trailing Jadeth’s piercing scream in its wake.
“Nooo!”
Ivo swore. He steadied himself against the flimsy railing as they rocketed upward. Jaeger staggered as the wooden beams beneath their feet creaked and rattled. Both of them stared mutely at the female Elf crouched over the edge of the elevator. Her scarlet braids whipped in the wind as the cliff walls rushed by.
Sapphire eyes stared down in horror where Dehil battled the two remaining guards.
“Dehil…” her whisper carried on the violent wind, anguished and lost. Ivo and Jaeger traded worried glances.
Far below and shrinking away into the distance, Dehil glanced up and smiled at her.
Tears burned paths on Jadeth’s cheeks as their eyes met over the impossible distance and held. He didn’t bother to look at the two guards as he spun on his heel and slashed twin streaks across their midsections. They fell, dead, unnoticed.
“I’m sorry, Jadeth,” Dehil said. His smile faltered as the words carried to them over the thunderous noise of the shaking, rattling elevator. She smiled down at him, her full lips trembling, as she watched him get farther and farther away.
A huge object bounced down between the elevator and the cliff with a rocketing boom. The sound echoed like rumbles of thunder. It was followed by a singing blur of rope. The counterweight had just passed them by in a complete freefall, its moorings undone by the Spy. Ivo frowned at the blur of rope, uneasiness dropping his stomach as Emaranthe gasped from within the depths of her hood. Twin flares of light lit up the elevator. She shoved away from Gabaran’s supporting grip.
“No, stop him!” Emaranthe's strangled cry burned an image into Ivo’s mind. One that chilled his heart. He turned, his mouth open to warn Jadeth, to stop Dehil.
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