The Sorcerer's Destiny (The Sorcerer's Path)

by Deskins, Brock

  Ellyssa turned just in time to catch a glimmer of movement out of the corner of her eye. She dived to her left as a dark, child-sized shape hurled itself at her from the darkness of a nearby building. She felt pain flare across her back just above her kidney and the warm rush of blood. Ignoring her injury, she rolled to the side and prepared to blast the creature to pieces. A stream of arcane orbs smashed into the knife-wielding, blue-skinned creature before she could attack it. The luminous orbs drove the creature to the ground and left its body a smoking ruin.

  “Are you okay?” Roger shouted as he ran to Ellyssa’s side and pressed a bandage against her wound.

  Ellyssa nodded as she used a bandage from her satchel to tie Roger’s wadded piece of cloth in place. “Yeah, it only cut me. How did that thing ignore my wards?”

  “I don’t know, but we better keep an eye out for them. I would also like to know how they got into the city and this close to the gates.”

  The two wizards felt the ground tremble beneath their feet and noticed discordance with the normal rumbles of war. A section of the road sagged before crumbling into a large hole. The fissure widened and stretched until it reached one of the gates’ pillars. Ellyssa and Roger looked on helplessly as the obelisk fell like a sawn tree into the gaping wound. To add a nightmare atop the horror, ravagers began pouring out of the crevice like roaches into the street. The creatures hacked at the nearly defenseless people trying to flee, causing pandemonium as women grabbed children and tried to run only to find there was nowhere safe to go.

  “They’re in the sewers,” Roger said hoarsely.

  “Just like the vermin they are,” Ellyssa snarled and began drawing in the Source without reserve. “Time to squish some rats.”

  Several mages sent red balls of light streaking into the sky to indicate their dire emergency. Thousands of soldiers left their defensive positions and converged on the plaza with all haste. Hundreds of cavalry arrived and laid into the ravagers with sword, spear, and arrow as people fought for their lives or just tried to break free from the chaos and escape.

  Ravagers continued to spew from the hole in the street, and others could be heard above the din opening up elsewhere and expelling more enemy into the heart of the city. A massive column of fire fell from the sky, striking the gaping fissure at the gate and incinerating scores of ravagers as they tried to climb out. The ground shuddered and the walls of the crevice collapsed leaving a smoking trench in its place and sealing off the ravagers’ point of egress. Ellyssa and Roger ran to Raijaun as he touched down with a beating of his wings near the fallen gate. He struck out with his awesome power, cleaving through masses of ravagers but also humans. The battle was so chaotic, the combatants locked in such fierce struggles, it was not always possible to fight the enemy and avoid collateral damage. It tore at his soul knowing that some of his magic brought down friend as well as foe, but he knew he had to force the invaders back to protect the gates and continued the barrage.

  “Raijaun, they’re coming through the sewer!” Ellyssa shouted.

  “And the aqueducts I imagine.”

  “Can you fix the gate?” Roger asked.

  Raijaun shook his head. “No, the obelisk is gone. This is very bad. Continue to hold the plaza. I must see to clearing the aqueducts of these invaders before they get too entrenched within the city and prevent our people from reaching the gates. With only two functional gates, we will have to defend the city far longer than anticipated.”

  “Can we hold long enough?”

  “I do not know. Clear the surrounding buildings of civilians and whatever it takes to hold the remaining two gates. If you think you are going to lose this position, destroy the gates so the ravagers cannot use them.”

  “But if we destroy the gates…”

  “If we lose the gates, we are already lost. At least those in the valley will have a chance to flee.”

  Raijaun leapt and thrust his body into the air with the powerful beating of his wings. From his aerial vantage point, he saw the situation was possibly even direr than he first thought. Fires were burning in several locations within the upper district as ravagers clamored out of the tunnels beneath the city and onto the streets. Furious battles raged across several blocks as wizards, warriors, and citizens fought with the tenacity of cornered animals. Raijaun reached into his cloak pocket and focused on the speaking stone.

  “Headmaster, there is dire news.”

  The Academy Headmaster’s stressed voice came to him a moment later. “It is dire here as well, Raijaun. The ravagers are charging the walls and I’m about to order the gates opened.”

  “Wait! Do not activate the gates yet!”

  “Raijaun, there must be half a million of those things blanketing the countryside, and I have a city packed with more than two-hundred thousand people to evacuate. I don’t have time to wait.”

  “The ravagers came through our sewers and aqueducts. The moment you activate the gates, they will know precisely where they are and will come streaming out in the middle of the city. They undermined one of our gates and destroyed it already.”

  “Dear gods above,” Maureen gasped. “Can you still flee?”

  “I…don’t know. You need to flood the tunnels beneath the city or fill them with fire. Do whatever it takes no matter the damage.”

  “Understood. Thank you. We may owe you our lives again, Raijaun.”

  “Duty accrues no debt. Protect the gates and get everyone out.”

  A powerful blow blasted the air from his lungs as taloned paws wrapped around his body and drove him toward the ground. Raijaun and the dragon struck hard enough to bounce once before settling in a cloud of dust and churned earth. The dragon’s grip loosened enough from the impact to allow him to twist around just as the creature’s massive jaws snaked down and tried to snap his head off. Raijaun’s muscles burned and his arms trembled as he held the huge head at bay. Hot, sticky drool poured from the dragon’s maw onto his chest and face. The Guardian sought his spiritual center, found tranquility, and shaped the Source with a thought. The dragon roared as electricity coursed through it. Raijaun felt the dragon fight back with its magic, dampening the spell’s power and forcing it to arc harmlessly into the air.

  The dragon squeezed harder and called upon its magic to return the powerful jolt. Raijaun cried out and his body convulsed with the arcane attack. The dragon’s head came down as his arms failed. A gust of wind blew over him, he felt the thud of something heavy striking the ground nearby, and the pressure on his arms eased then vanished. Raijaun opened his eyes and saw that Sandy had her jaws clamped behind the dragon’s head. The dragon tried to fight and roll away, but Sandy was cutting off its airway and its struggles quickly ceased.

  “Thank you,” Raijaun said as he stood. “It is a good thing you were here.”

  “I’ve been flying around the edges and picking strays off from the herd. I’m getting pretty good at it. When I saw you fly out of the city, I figured you’d catch someone’s attention and might need help. What are you doing outside?”

  “Ravagers are in the tunnels beneath the city. I figured they are coming in through the aqueducts to the north or the sewers exits to the south.”

  “That’s not good.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Let’s get up there then. I’ll help.”

  When Raijaun and Sandy neared the channel sending a manmade river beneath the city, they discovered that his hunch had been right. Hundreds, possibly thousands of ravagers crowded around opening to the aqueduct. A canal led to the aqueducts just under a mile from the city’s curtain wall. The canal disappeared into a tunnel running below the ground and into the labyrinth of waterways. A dam and floodgate controlled the amount of water flowing into the city, and this was Raijaun’s destination.

  “There are so many of them!” Sandy exclaimed. “And those are only the ones we can see. Who knows how many there are already inside?”

  “It’s not going to matter. Have you ever seen a pon
d get struck by lightning?”

  Raijaun landed atop the dam’s control house and turned a large iron wheel. The floodgates opened and water poured into the canal. The wall of water slammed into the masses of ravagers wading in the channel and swept them into the cavernous pipes below the city.

  “Now we just need the lightning,” Raijaun said to Sandy.

  Sandy grinned evilly. “I can do lightning.”

  Sandy and Raijaun called upon their magical powers and sent bolt after bolt of electricity into the canal. The electrical current coursed through the water and electrocuted scores upon scores of invaders. Raijaun and sandy pressed forward and aimed their bolts into the mouth of the aqueduct, sending the killing jolts as far as they could beneath the city. They then send rays of freezing cold into the water. Ice formed immediately where they struck. The air filled with the popping and cracking of ice forming all along the flow of water. The entrance to the aqueduct became completely clogged with ice but still they directed the intense cold into the channel. As the water froze beneath the city it expanded, crushing everything inside the tunnels and buckling several streets. The pair stopped when the air around them became so cold it burned like fire. They stepped away from the intense cold and admired their handiwork.

  “I don’t think they’re getting in or out of there again,” Sandy commented.

  “I just hope it was soon enough to avert disaster. I must return to the gates. We stopped them here, but there were already hundreds if not thousands within the walls.” Raijaun looked up into a sky lit almost as brightly as daylight from the constant barrage of magic and dragon fire streaking into the air and crashing down into the city. “The dragons have increased their assault as well, so we are far from safe.”

  “I’ll try to harass them as best I can, but I’m staying away from the city.”

  “I understand. I am almost anticipating someone lashing out at me thinking I am one of these creatures. Humans are a rather short-sighted people. Be careful. That was a lot of power we used just now.”

  Sandy glanced at her inscribed scales and smiled ruefully. “I have a lot of reserves.”

  “Have you forgiven us?”

  “I have come to understand, and I suppose understanding is a large part of forgiving. Better a hideous body than a beautiful corpse.”

  Raijaun stroked Sandy’s chest. “You could never be hideous.”

  “Thank you, the flattery of a five-year-old means so much to me.”

  Raijaun laughed and opened a portal above the city. He stepped through into open, smoke-tinged air and made a quick survey of the damage. Fire teams worked furiously to control the burning buildings while soldiers and wizards battled the ravagers still wreaking havoc inside the city and repelling those climbing the outer walls. The walls still held and the enemy inside appeared to be contained to pockets of resistance away from the gates.

  Raijaun glided down to the plaza and saw that the battle here had been brutal. Bodies littered the ground, and most of the nearby buildings lay in ruin. Those still standing appeared ready to fall at the slightest urging. Noncombatants packed the plaza, but they were not moving as swiftly as they should. Raijaun’s stomach felt like it was about to implode when he saw the reason why. Only one of the gates still stood. The other lay in a mass of rubble near the end of the street.

  “Raijaun!” Ellyssa called out as she shoved through the mass of people.

  “What happened?”

  Ellyssa had to swallow to get the words out. “We lost another gate. The dragons started dropping those little blue creatures from the sky like stones. We had our best wards around the gates, but they just went through them like they weren’t there. One of them struck right next to the eastern gate and exploded.”

  Raijaun raised his hand and focused on the ruined gate. “Runic magic of a destructive nature. The Scions will not allow any of their minions to wield magic, but they are not beyond using them as vessels for such when needed.”

  “We’ve managed to keep the dragons from dropping any more of those things now that we know the danger, and they have mostly given up doing so. Can we get everyone out with just one gate?”

  “I don’t know,” he lied. “Just keep everyone moving as fast as we can. I need to speak with the King. There are some hard decisions we have to make.”

  Raijaun opened another portal and stepped into the hall Jarvin had declared as the war room. As he expected, the King was there with his generals and strategists. Leafs of paper lay on the table in front of him, reports in chronological order and separated by key locations. All eyes looked up and hands went reflexively to sword hilts.

  “My apologies again, gentlemen.”

  Jarvin waved a hand dismissively. “We are all agitated. I am very glad to see you. My reports from the gates are sketchy and third-hand at best.”

  “The mages and soldiers there have been extremely hard-pressed. I expect their reports to begin reaching you soon.”

  “I hope you can you fill us in on what you know until they do.”

  “The situation is beyond dire, Your Majesty. Ravagers entered the sewers and aqueducts through the northern waterway. Sandy and I managed to flood the tunnels and freeze them solid.”

  “Sandy is one of the wizards?” Jarvin asked.

  General Haskins answered, “That’s Lord Giles’ pet dragon isn’t it? I heard he had one of those. What kind of mad sorcerer would he be without a pet dragon?” The General laughed loudly.

  “Sandy is a dear friend and considered family. She is no one’s pet and has been risking her life fighting for our cause. It would be ill-advised to show her disrespect again,” Raijaun warned, his voice as frigid as the northern wastes.

  The laughter abruptly ceased and General Haskins looked chagrined. “My apologies. My attempt at levity was poorly applied, and I meant no disrespect.”

  “How bad was the damage at the gates?” Jarvin asked, quickly getting back to task at hand.

  “Nearly total. We have lost two of the three gates to the surprise assault and some unexpected tactics.”

  “What of Brightridge? Have you been in contact with Headmaster Florent?”

  “I warned her of the attack from the sewers. They had not yet come under attack, so they had a small chance to counter it. I lost the speaking stone while in combat with a dragon and have not spoken with her since.”

  Jarvin nodded, his face ashen. “Is our plan still viable? Can we evacuate the city through just one gate?”

  “From what I saw of the multiple battlefronts, it is very unlikely we can evacuate the city in its entirety. That is why I came here now, because only you can choose our course of action.”

  “What are out choices?”

  “Stand and fight to the last man and send word to the valley for everyone to flee. Some will survive in the world to come, although most might prefer not to. Our other choice is to give our fighting forces priority of the gates, particularly the wizards. If all our allies have answered the call, we will have a substantial force waiting at the valley, but they will require all of our mages if they are to make a stand. It is possible that we might still win this war there; assuming Brightridge is able to reach the valley mostly intact.”

  “You would abandon nearly half the city and leave those people to the hands of those monsters?”

  “No, Sire, you would. I would stay and defend the gates. The amount of power I can wield is substantial if I hold nothing back and allow it to consume me. I should be able to oppose the Scions and their horde long enough for most of the fighters to get away.”

  Jarvin stood and smashed his fist against the table, upsetting several brass figures placed on a map like chess pieces. “You give us a devil’s choice! We’re damned no matter what we choose.”

  “It is not I who forces the choices but our situation. I merely point them out.”

  “No, I will not abandon my people. Not one. Not even to save ourselves. If we do that, then we are no better than these false gods. It is best
not to exist at all than to give up the one thing that defines us.”

  “Here, here,” his officers declared solemnly.

  “Then there is but one last thing we can do.”

  “What is that?”

  “Pray for a miracle.”

  CHAPTER 19

  “…So I shifted my tower between dimensions and disturbed the sleep of some giant dragon,” Azerick said. “We fought and he tossed me into your world. That’s my life story and how I got here. It’s quite a lot when I sit down and actually think about it. I think the worst part of all this that it has become normal, almost rote. What kind of life is that?”

  The borghast matron sighed deeply. The killer had been making noises for two days almost nonstop. She wished it would simply kill her and be done with it. Instead, the creature sat on the tree helplessly pinning her on the ground barking noises at her. It even brought her food and water. If this was its method of torture, it was a bizarre one.

  Azerick’s hand hovered over one of the runes etched into the face of a large boulder. “Well, I think it is time for me to go.”

  The sorcerer gripped his staff and used it to feed power into the runes and enhance the latent energy trapped within them. It was an agonizing effort, like trying to breathe through a very small tube. His mind and magic demanded more, but there was no more to give. The runes began to glow, faintly at first, but they steadily grew brighter as they shaped the meager magic leached from the rock, trees, and air. When the power reached its crescendo, Azerick released it.