by Rosie Scott
I did not raise the dead. Not yet. Cerin was immensely powerful, and his spell had reached all the dead in the area. I would wait to use my own necromancy for when the dead needed to rise again, or even to raise the dying Serans. For now, my spell could do little.
As Cerin's dead cleared the middle of the battlefield to abide by their orders, I heard Hasani order the infantry to charge. The lancers desperately needed to be reinforced. Between the initial assault from our ranged units and the charge of the lancers, we had taken many Seran casualties. Even still, we only had two hundred of the lancers, and they were in the midst of being surrounded by hundreds more of the Serans.
The infantry surged forward, including many of my friends. My heart shredded my chest as I watched Nyx, Theron, Jakan, Anto, and Cerin charge forward with the others. Hasani and I followed the charge, but we also needed to relay orders. I watched as the skies darkened above the clash of soldiers ahead, just before a lightning bolt crackled out of the sky, funneling through one of our infantry and her hyena, causing soldier and mount to smoke and fry before collapsing dead to the ground.
I pulled back on my hyena's reins, and it jerked its head, frustrated and wanting to join the battle.
Tranferra la terra ti meta, I thought, a swirling whitish cream energy whizzing above my palm. I directed the energy to the sands beside my hyena, watching as the earth was transformed from sand into metal. Granules zipped together, hardening and crystallizing into a dense steel. Ahead, Hasani slowed his hyena, watching my spell as it altered the desert, before he hurried forward into battle. He knew that whatever it was I was doing, I had my reasons.
The Orders of the Mages were decimating our infantry ahead, using the elements to burn flesh while healing their own troops. Even from here, I could see orbs of life energy surround friends and soldiers as Cerin gave them shields and wards as defense, but he could not reach everyone.
My earth spell finally ceased beside me, and I whispered a new one. “Summun te golum.” Death energy built in my palm, and I waited for its power to tremble within its magic barrier before I released it into the metal below.
Crr... Metal cracked off of metal, sharp cubes of the thick material rising from the earth with black magic, the energy connecting cubes and shards together as the golem rose. I watched as my magic created the monster, forming two arms and legs. The golem had no facial features, only forming a jagged outline of a head and chest. A deep metallic groan sounded from my creation, and I willed it to stay beside me for the moment.
Ades in bolta, I thought, and lightning began to flicker and vein out from my palm. I directed the energy to the golem, imbuing the monster with the air magic. The lightning encapsulated its metal, sizzling in purple jagged lines against silver.
My creation would not only be helpful in battle, but as an intimidation tactic. The Orders of the Mages were powerful, but even the dual casters would not know how to deal with my golem. It utilized three different elements, which was out of their reach and understanding. I willed the monster forward, and it jogged slowly toward the battle, sizzling with lightning as it went.
I kicked my hyena into a gallop, and it ran forward with glee, eager to be a part of the fray. I released death magic as I rushed into battle, willing the black tendrils to seek out corpses both old and new. I caught glimpses of Theron and Jakan, and headed there. Though I cared for all of our soldiers here today, I was biased toward my friends.
My hyena stubbornly detoured toward a nearby horse, lurching forward to rip into the other mount's jugular. I cursed at the animal, even as the enemy rider jabbed a sword out to try to injure me. As his horse died beneath him, the man fell. I dismounted as well, thrusting an arm toward the fallen man and leeching his life. He was halfway to standing when his body simply fell to the sands, depleted of energy. My mount continued to tear through horse flesh, so I left it, hurrying toward my friends.
Jakan, too, was on foot. A hyena lay dead nearby, its head almost separated from its body from strikes of an enemy sword. I figured the animal had been his, and was just thankful he had made it through the initial confrontation. The Vhiri was in the midst of reloading his crossbow clip, his eyes on the sands some meters away. I realized one of the Seran cavalry meant to charge him, and since he was on foot, he was vulnerable.
I hurried to him, life energy building in my left palm and fire in my right. The horseman charged, and Jakan lifted up his left arm, aiming down the sights of his one-handed crossbow. He squeezed the trigger as the horse neared, and the bolt shot through the air, crushing through the rider's right nostril and piercing his brain. The horse's path started to be jagged without the encouragement of its rider, and it cantered away from battle, even as the corpse slumped backward into the saddle.
“You fight well,” I complimented the elf as I neared him. Jakan glanced back, relieved at my presence.
“I try,” he replied. “Theron and Anto have trained me well this season. I didn't wish to be baggage.” As he said it, he released another bolt into the enemy army. His scimitar hung from a sheath at his belt. For now, he built up his charm spell in his sword hand, thrusting the energy to a nearby enemy.
“Where is Anto?” I found it odd the two lovers were separate.
Jakan shook his head, distracted. “Lost sight of him.”
It was an easy thing to do. The sounds of battle were headache inducing all around us. Screams of man and beast alike echoed through the air, holding tones of both anger and agony. I heard someone get crushed to the sands somewhere behind me, and knew my golem had reached the enemy.
Then came the sounds of explosions. I whipped around, my eyes finding the culprits. The vibrations of battle above ground had brought forth the scorpions.
Jakan laughed loudly with frustration and disbelief, even as we both hurried to the approaching creatures. “I love Nahara!” He yelled, sarcasm dripping from his words.
I prepared ice shards as I hurried toward the creatures. I couldn't wish to use the arachnids against our enemies, for they had come from our side of the battlefield, and would be able to cut through our soldiers at the edges of battle. We would need to kill these intruders before they could work on attacking the backs of our army as the Serans beat down on us from the opposite side.
Theron and Cerin both came into view as they hurried to intercept the beasts from other parts of the battlefield. Both of the men had good weapons for piercing, and immediately got to fighting when they reached them. Today, there were many more scorpions than the first time we'd fought them. I counted at least seven, and even as we went to intercept them, two hurried toward the battle past us, unable to be contained by our lesser numbers. I shot an ice shard at the pair of them. Though it penetrated through one of the beast's thick armor, the scorpion simply hissed and continued on its path. I did not follow it, instead hurrying toward those who threatened my friends.
Jakan immediately charmed one of the scorpions as we neared them, and it quickly went to attack its former friend. Theron and Cerin thrust blade and scythe through thick plates, leaving splashes of acidic blood sizzling along the sands. I shot ice shards through the nearest foe until it was prickled with bluish-white and fell to the ground. Cerin and the charmed scorpion were in the midst of teaming up on another, and Jakan shot a bolt through another's eye, where it punctured the creature's brain. It did not fall yet, but it did walk around drunkenly until the Vhiri finished it with his scimitar.
I turned to Theron. The three of us had demolished the few scorpions that had met us in battle, so I looked to aid him. A shield flickered over the ranger from where Cerin had given it to him some time ago, though it was almost out of hits.
The scorpion snapped at the ranger with a front claw, and Theron blocked it with his short sword. His foe tried to land another hit with its second claw, and Theron's saber was just in time to block that hit as well. Out of claws, the scorpion lurched its tail forward, and the long, sharp stinger sunk deep into the ranger's neck.
I was yel
ling my friend's name, even as I rushed toward him. I could save him. I had saved my friends before; I could do it again. Even still, my stomach sunk as I neared him, for everything was slowly unraveling.
Theron didn't move. He trembled where he stood, both hands going limp and releasing his swords, which fell with a clatter to the sands. The scorpion's tail rippled toward its stinger, over and over again, pumping into my friend. As I watched in horror, Theron's veins darkened beneath his skin, becoming more pronounced and going green.
Paralyzing venom. I remembered now. It was Theron himself who had told us of it. Gods. He was paralyzed; it was of little wonder why he did not defend himself with his swords.
My legs were scrambling beneath me, unbalanced as I tried to save him. The scorpion jerked its tail back from Theron's neck, satisfied with forcing its foe to be still. Theron stood stiff, though gravity began to pull him toward the arachnid. The scorpion thrust forward with both its claws, grabbing ahold of the ranger. One claw clamped on the torso just beneath his heart, while the other clamped over his thighs.
I thrust my shield toward the ranger, and it zipped over him in an egg shape. I felt sick as my friend's thick blood seeped out of his body and over the scorpion's claws in sheets of red. I knew my shield could do nothing to protect him from the scorpion's claws, for they were already within it. I was too late.
The scorpion noticed my approach, so it hurried to kill its foe. Both claws snapped close with a crunch, before it jerked both of its arms out to the sides. I skidded to a stop, paralyzed myself, watching my friend fall to the sands in three pieces and a fountain of blood. My body was shaking with both horror and mourning. The smell of my friend's blood and internal organs was heavy in my nostrils, but I was too shocked to be sick.
Theron's head and upper chest had fallen feet away from his lower gut, which was even farther from his legs. His eyes were open, and I hurried to him when I saw him blink. I paid no mind to the scorpion even as it lurched toward me, because I had little mind present to pay attention to it. I heard Cerin's scream as he came to battle with the creature behind me.
I collapsed to the sands, grabbing Theron's head and pulling it into my lap. I shook fiercely, traumatized from what I'd witnessed. I breathed through my mouth, unwilling to smell my friend die.
I could not save him. Theron's body was too ruined to be saved, even with my advanced healing abilities. He had lost too much blood. It puddled over the sands by my legs, too thick to be quickly absorbed.
Theron's eyes trembled in their sockets. He was fighting to understand what was happening to him, and his body was in shock. He was slowly dying, and he didn't fully understand it. That terrified me. His eyes must have caught a glimpse of another piece of his body, for they tried to move to the sides of their sockets to look at it.
I grabbed the side of his face, pulling him to look back toward me. His last moments could not be in horror.
“I am so sorry, friend,” I stammered, my voice so hoarse it sounded male. “I am so, so sorry.” Only when the ranger's face moistened in a small circle of skin did I realize I was crying.
I was losing one of my best friends, and I could do nothing. I felt just as helpless as I had during Bjorn's death, and it brought back all of those feelings of anger and self-reflection I thought I'd left far behind.
No—I could do something. Theron was not dead yet, but I knew his pain was likely immense. I put my right hand to his chest, at his slowing heart.
Absort la mana del life. Death energy crackled in my right palm. I leaned forward, putting my lips to Theron's cheek.
“Goodbye, friend,” I murmured, as I took his remaining life, ending his suffering. He went limp in my arms, and my own body became refreshed with the last remnants of a good friend. My face heated, and I held the ranger in a tight hug as his body cooled.
Theron had been right. He would not be there to see any of my future successes. I sobbed against his face, my tears mixing with his blood.
Twenty-seven
“Shit.” Nyx's voice echoed behind me, minutes after Theron's death. She hadn't been there to see it, but somehow, she had found us at the edge of the battlefield, and recognized his armor strewn across the sands, still covering mutilated pieces of him. “No,” she gasped, next, before I heard her collapse to the sands beside me.
I let her cry over his body, because I'd had enough of it. Theron was gone, and if I did not force myself back to the battle, more of my friends would join him. I let his head fall softly to the sands, and stood quietly. I found Cerin and Jakan standing feet away, both looking sick and upset. Anto was still lost in battle; I hoped more than anything he was safe.
I looked off over the still clashing armies. My eyes caught on a javelin as it twirled through the air, before it impaled through the chest of a Seran mage. I followed its trajectory, finding Hasani safe and fighting amongst his troops with his ax.
Then, a flash of green. I found my brother amongst his troops, fighting with both his sword and earth magic. My eyes bored like lasers into his side, and he glanced up, finding my gaze. He kicked his horse into a gallop toward me, as two water spells built in my palms.
I was too angry over Theron's death right now for my mind to be clear as my brother charged his horse toward me. The crackling of ice was heavy in my ears before I released the shards. He was too far to be hit right away, but his horse was fast. Both shards pierced his horse's chest, and the animal fell heavily to the sands, its thick body skidding for a few feet. Terran lurched forward as it died, but one boot was caught in a stirrup. He scrambled to dismount the dead animal as I stalked toward him.
A glint of silver hurried toward my brother in my peripheral vision. Because my focus was so intense on Terran, my minions were coming to swarm him. Many of the corpses were held back by Seran soldiers, but the golem charged right through them, the lightning still flashing in purplish streaks over its metallic body.
My brother would be crushed. He saw the golem approaching, grunting as he tugged his boot back from the stirrup, time and time again. My heart ached as my mind began to clear. As angry as I was, I did not want Terran to die.
“Tranferra la terra ti granula!” Terran screamed, forcing a spell at the charging golem. Over the next few seconds, the metal transformed back into sand, collapsing the golem as its charge faltered. When the sands fell to the earth, the lightning that had imbued the golem fizzled out in a hiss. The death magic required to join metal blocks was not strong enough to fill in all of the cracks of the granules of sand. Terran had effectively countered my spell.
My brother finally released himself from his stirrup, and hurried off of his dead horse. His sharp green eyes raised to meet mine, full of turmoil. Above my palms were two spells made of fire, but I hesitated to use them. I would defend myself, if need be, but I did not want to kill my brother.
“I would never in a million years have hunted you down like you've done with me, Terran,” I yelled at him, my voice pained.
“Wouldn't you?” He retorted, his voice thick with emotion. He glanced to his side, where my skeletons hobbled toward him. “What do you need allies for, Kai, if not to wage war?”
My nostrils flared. “My issues are with Sirius, Terran. Not with you. Remove yourself from this war and you will be safe.”
“So that is what you want,” my brother breathed, building earth energy in his palms. “War. War over a fucking necromancer.”
“If you think that is my only qualm with Sirius, you are ignorant,” I warned.
“It matters not, sister.” Terran's eyes flicked behind me, where I heard running. “He is the root of all of our problems. And if you want Sera for yourself, you will find it hard to take.” Terran released his earth energy, the deep brownish-black spell sinking into the ground at his feet. “The people do not think highly of you after your massacre.”
I saw Cerin run past me in a flash of black, both hands on his scythe. He knew I hesitated to kill my brother, and was set on doing it for me.
My heart nearly pounded out of my chest. I did not want two men I loved to go at it. This day had taken enough from me as it was.
Terran clashed against one of my approaching skeletons, his sword scraping against metal and bone. The earth beneath us trembled, preparing to reveal my brother's spell. As Cerin neared my brother, the earth broke open at his feet. He skidded to a stop, separated from his intended victim by a growing crack in the earth.
I could not easily combat Terran's earthquake with my own spell. I could technically fill the cracks of the earth with water, but that would take immense energy, and it was limited today, for the Seran mages and some of the Naharans were taking from what little reserves we had. I had not leeched enough energy yet to have an abundance of reserves, and we were off to the side of the main battle, which was mostly devoid of enemy soldiers to leech from. I'd simply need to avoid the spell.
Many of the skeletons I'd raised lost their footing and fell into the opening earth. I heard Nyx yelp, and turned to see Jakan grab her from the edge of a new opening, keeping her from losing her balance. I watched with sadness as the lands opened up even farther back than that, swallowing the corpses of both the scorpions and Theron. New pain swelled in my chest as I realized we would be unable to bury him properly.
“Oh, yes, you! You're the one I want to fight!” My brother's voice was mocking, and I turned back to find Cerin rushing along the other side of the crack in the earth. Terran's eyes were full of anger as they watched the necromancer approach.
Terran sliced his sword toward the rib cage of the skeleton he'd been fighting, and it finally collapsed to the ground. With a kick of his boot, my brother forced the bones into the nearest crevasse of earth. He held his sword at the defense as Cerin's scythe finally swept toward him.
Cling! The scraping of metal was shrill in my eardrums. Cerin wielded his scythe with two hands, the blade curved in past my brother's sword and toward his chest. Terran used both hands as well, though his sword wasn't built for it. My brother was not as good in melee as he was with magic. I knew Cerin could overpower him.