Scowling in Jarla’s direction, Jubilee said, “I don’t think we need her at all.”
“What do you think, Slim?” Brak asked.
“At least we know what to expect from her.” The healer stood in between Ugg and Olg, just as tall but not even a quarter their width. He patted them on their backs. “Besides, these big fellas will protect us. We just need to get some meat in them. The sooner we eat, the better.”
“They aren’t going to be able to get into Bone. Only humans are allowed,” Jubilee said.
“Eh, we’ll think of something.” Slim rubbed his strange hands together. “Besides, I have more of my powers back now.” He wiggled his spidery fingers. “Something will come up.”
Jubilee raised a brow. “Like bugs?”
Brak held his stomach. He didn’t remember eating the bugs, but he did remember burping something up that tasted funny. He felt Jubilee digging her fist into his ribs. “Well, what are we going to do?”
He took one last look at the Red Clay Forest. It didn’t feel right leaving Fogle behind with the magi. It left a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach. If there was ever someone they needed that they could trust, it was Fogle.
“Brak, are we going or what?”
***
Led by the forest magi, Fogle had squirmed through rough foliage that covered a huge mound of dirt. It didn’t take long until he severely missed his friends. The magi, though human, were weird. He found their preference to live in the earth appalling. Sitting inside a cavern dimly lit by the glowing juice of bugs splattered on the wall, he dusted debris from his hair. At the moment, he was alone aside from the bugs that crawled over the dirt floor.
Such a bad idea. After he’d squeezed through the hole, they’d gagged him again. His hands were bound in front of him, and he couldn’t even wiggle his fingers. Someone is not taking any chances.
There was something he didn’t understand. How did they know that the spell book was his? And why had Rane brought him to them? It was odd. Perhaps it was my robes.
He sat and waited, doing his best to recall any of the magic he still had left in him. There was little that he could use to his advantage. He’d used up most of his powers when they fled from the underlings and into the forest. Most of what he’d had left had been sapped. The spell book helped him recharge at a faster rate. It centralized his focus and enabled him to do more specific things.
Perhaps I should have dabbled more in sorcery than spell casting.
There was a difference between magic and sorcery. The mystic powers of Bish could be summoned through practice and study. For some, like Kam, magic was in the blood. They were born with it. They could summon it with concentration much like the underlings did. Fogle’s powers came through hard work and endless hours of study. But it was the application of his magic that made him strong. A sorcerer’s powers were limited without deeper study. Jealous students like Fogle always considered sorcerers lazy. Fortunately, like his grandfather Boon, Fogle felt a little magic all the time.
A mage squeezed through an entry hole that Fogle hadn’t even noticed. Two others followed. Then a fourth body came through. It was Rane. In silence, the forest magi crawled over on all fours and surrounded him. Rane removed the gag from his mouth.
“Hello,” Fogle said in an awkward manner. He didn’t see the spell book among the magi.
One of the magi dragged a clay pot over. A lid sealed the top.
Rane spoke in a haunting tone. “There is still too much magic in you. We can sense it. We need to drain it. Otherwise, you’re too dangerous.”
Eyeing the pot, Fogle licked his lips. “What is in there?”
“Fleeg.”
“Fleeg?”
The forest magi lifted the lid from the pot. A soft yellow glow came from within. The jar moved. Something slithered out in the shape of a snake. It didn’t have eyes, head, or scales. It just glowed. The forest magi held Fogle fast.
The wizard recoiled. “No, get that thing away from me.”
“Thing?” Rane said. “You mean things.”
More fleeg slithered out, one right after another. They slid around Fogle’s arms and legs and latched onto him like leeches. He screamed.
CHAPTER 14
“So what did you discover?” Venir asked. The warrior was sitting with his back against Chongo.
Melegal and Billip had returned. Their faces were ashen.
Dusting off his knees, Billip said, “The same as always. Trouble.”
“Aye,” Melegal said. “We were doing well until that legless bastard gave us up over a biscuit.”
“You should have given the half man more jerky,” Billip said. “You’re too stingy.”
“He’s half a man. I gave him half a share.”
“Who is the legless man?” Venir asked.
“Probably some watchmen you chopped up back in your day. He tickled our ears long enough to capture our attention.” Melegal gathered up his gear and carefully strapped it on. “He ratted us out to the soldiers. We gave them the slip.”
“You’re certain of that?”
“It’s me we’re talking about.” Melegal concealed a small dagger in a boot sheath. He checked his dart launchers. “There is no soldier that I cannot slip. I can’t say the same for this sandbag.” His eyes slid over to Billip. “Eh, somehow he made it.”
“So you learned nothing?”
“No, I say we learned plenty.” Billip slung his quiver over his shoulder. “The half man might have turned for a nibble, but his words were true. The underlings have flooded the south. As for Bone, none come in or out. They are all left to starve to death.”
“What about the underling forces within?”
“The citizens are still superior in number,” Melegal said.
Venir’s hand clawed at the dirt. “Bone! What are those royal arses waiting for? Certain death? Annihilation?”
“They’re making the same bad deals as the royals in the City of Three,” Melegal said. “Scared to lose what they have, they will eventually lose everything.”
“We’ve had a thought,” Billip said.
“We?” Venir smirked. “I’m curious what that might be.”
Billip continued. “A desperate and starving army lies dormant at the underlings’ door—”
“And all we have to do is let them in,” Venir said. “Huh, now that’s an idea I can get behind.”
“Of course you can, because it’s mine,” Melegal said, cleaning his nails with a thumb knife.
Billip rolled his eyes. “So the rat of Bone is a master of military strategy now?”
“I’m a master of everything.”
***
The troop of men arrived back in the dwarven army camps shortly after the second sun had set. Kam hugged Venir. Rubbing his arm, she said, “I honestly thought you’d be gone much longer. I’m not used to you returning so quickly.”
Engulfing her voluptuous body with his arms, he replied, “You sound a little disappointed.”
“No, not at all. Shocked is more like it. I’m glad you’re back even though I’m sure you’re just syllables away from announcing your departure again.”
His lips parted, but Kam put her finger to them. “Just hold me.” The more time she spent with Venir, the more time she wanted to spend with him. He’d grown on her again. She wanted him. She needed him. “Let’s go for a walk.”
“Where to?”
“I don’t know, but grab a blanket.” She left Erin in Jasper’s care. Holding his hand, she led Venir out of the camp underneath the dark tapestry of the cloudy sky. When the sounds of the encampment became no more, she took the blanket and spread it out on the ground. “Sit.”
Venir complied.
Kam stripped off her robes. Her body filled his hungry eyes. She gave him all she had, panting on and off through the night until the second sun rose again. Lying side by side with Kam nuzzled in his arms, Venir exclaimed in a whisper, “Bish.”
***
Standing
over a map spread out on a table, Mood said, “The underlings aren’t moving fast, but they are crowding us inches at a time. They bait us.”
Venir stood inside a huge command tent that included only the barest of necessities. Billip was there. A pair of Blood Rangers, a dwarven black-bearded general, and a renegade knight of the royals named Hoff who had also joined up with them. Tarcot the strider stood behind them all, staring down over their heads.
The king of the Blood Rangers tapped his sausage-sized fingers on the table. “We’ll have to engage soon. That, or we’re going to have to take the fight into the Black Column. I’m not going to march my army around that city for an eternity, waiting for them to strike first. They’ll have us hemmed in at one point or another. I can’t risk getting squeezed from both sides.”
“That’s why we need to take the army into Bone,” Venir said.
“None of my dwarves has ever set a foot inside Bone, and none ever will,” Mood said.
“Things change, Mood. It’s a sound idea. We need to do it.”
“You don’t even know what lies in there.”
“No, but I’m going to find out. Just give me a week to slip inside, and you keep an eye on the western gate.”
CHAPTER 15
Ebenezer Kling scanned his familiar surroundings. He stood inside the arena of Castle Kling. It was a small courtyard that soldiers used for training. Often tournaments were held there. The arena was round, about twenty-five yards from one side to the other, and surrounded by about ten rows of wooden bench seats.
Underlings filled a small portion of those seats. Master Sinway sat four rows up with two juegen underling soldiers dressed in dark plate armor from head to toe. The citrine-eyed Kuurn sat one row in front of him and to the left. The other underlings were not notable.
Ebenezer rubbed the calluses on his strong hands, warming the skin. The female underling, Elypsa, sparred with one of his soldiers. She was a gorgeous thing with a strange beauty that defied comprehension. Her skill with a sword wore her bigger, stronger opponent down. Her black steel struck like biting snakes.
Clang! Ching! Ching! Clang!
The soldier, Ruland, a captain in Kling’s guard, parried with both hands on his hilt. The mouth on his clean-shaven face puffed for air. The collar of his leather armor was coated in sweat. He swatted at her striking steel. Elypsa sidestepped a desperate swing. She slipped her blade between the man’s ribs. Ruland’s eyes bulged. With her second sword, she stabbed him again.
Glitch!
Elypsa yanked out her blades. With her boot in Ruland’s chest, she shoved the man backward. He stumbled from side to side. His sword slipped from his grip. Falling backward, he died. He lay in a growing pool of blood right beside another dead soldier.
Kuurn applauded. A smile of sharp teeth filled the underling’s elongated face. “Well done, Elypsa. Well done!”
Elypsa hadn’t broken a drop of sweat. With blood dripping from the blades hanging at her sides, she faced Ebenezer. “Are you certain that you don’t want to warm up?”
“Watching you fence warmed me up enough.” Ebenezer smiled. “Am I to assume that this match will also be to the death?”
“It depends on how well you fight. I get offended fighting those that are not any kind of match for me.” She shook her wrists, shaking some blood from her steel. Eyeing him up and down, she added, “I’m certain you will fare better.”
Ebenezer removed his finely embroidered long coat in Castle Kling’s colors. He tossed it onto the arena wall. Fixing his gaze on Master Sinway, he said, “Is this going to be a death match?”
“It will be a death match for you,” Kuurn said. “Impudent human.”
Master Sinway’s gaze was elsewhere.
“Are you looking for some kind of mercy?” Elypsa lifted her swords for display. “I think having twice the steel in my hands should be a concern for you.”
“It gives you an advantage. Two—if not three—strikes to my one.” He dropped his hand to the hilt of his broadsword. The blade was almost twice as heavy as one of hers. “It certainly gives you an edge, in a manner of speaking. My sword is made for battling an opponent in heavy armor.”
She circled him. “True, but you have a towering advantage in length, size, and strength.”
Looking at his dead soldiers, he said, “That didn’t bode well for them.” A bead of sweat ran down the side of his cheek.
“You have a fine choice of lighter weapons over there.” She tipped her chin at a nearby weapons rack. “Take a pair of them.”
“No, this blade is sentimental. Besides, if you want my best, it would be with this.”
With his chin resting in his hands, Kuurn said, “Please, get on with it. The sooner she spills your entrails, the better.”
Ebenezer and Elypsa squared off. He was over six feet of solid man. Though tall for an underling, she rose to no more than five feet. It wasn’t any different with the men that she’d just finished off. She made quick work of the both of them. He drew his sword. The metal scraped out of the sheath. “Your beauty is paralyzing. There’s no avoiding its use against me.”
“That’s the problem with the men of your kind.” She made a bouncing little wiggle. “Lust blinds your eyes.” She struck.
He parried.
Clang!
She hopped backward. A grin formed on her face. “Your steel might be heavy, but it’s very quick.”
“Just a natural reflex.” Ebenezer sank into his stance.
Elypsa’s eyes narrowed into lavender slits. “No, I think you saw it coming before it came. Well done.”
She moved in. Metal clashed. The pair went back and forth like a wolf battling a mongoose. Elypsa cut. He parried. Using his superior height, he kept her strikes at arm’s length. She slashed at his ribs, missing the mark by inches. The dance of swords led them all over the arena. Elypsa faced him with a mask of concentration. She struck. He parried. She slashed. He moved. They went back and forth for a minute. She sprang away, lowering her guard.
Kuurn and the other underlings sat on the edge of their seats.
Ebenezer dripped with perspiration. He took deep draws of air through his nose. Elypsa showed a thin film of sweat on her neck. “This is much more to my liking.” She switched swords.
It was a strange move, one that Ebenezer had hoped for. When he parried, he parried hard, ripping his sword down, jarring her arms. He might not be able to move more quickly than her, but he could tire her out if he was patient. Perhaps then she would yield.
He advanced. “Again?”
With a coy smile, she replied, “And I figured I’d have to make the first move again.”
“I was merely being polite.” Ebenezer swung hard at her face with a devastating chop.
Elypsa crossed her swords to parry. Metal skidded into metal. The impact drove her down to one knee. She ripped her blades away, rolling to one side. Ebenezer’s powerful strike bit into the ground. Rebounding like a cat, she was on her feet again, attacking with wide swings snaking in. Ebenezer hammered the smaller blades aside with sudden impacts. He shuffled out of reach, knocking aside her swords again and again.
Sweat stung his eyes. It astonished him that her wiry arms hadn’t given in yet.
She pressed forward. The tips of her blades twisted. He parried. Her steel skipped away in a counterattack. Rolling her wrist, she sliced into his sword shoulder. The iron in his sword arm softened. His timing was a fraction off. She’d struck faster than he could parry.
Elypsa’s sword sliced him across his bowels.
CHAPTER 16
Fogle sat with his head slumped into his chest. He swayed from side to side. The rough-handed mages kept him upright. Peeking from under his eyelids, he watched the fleeg slither away into the jar. Each of them had a brighter glow. The lid doused the light. With his stomach inside out, he said, “Glad that is over.”
“The fleeg will make for a juicy meal later.” Rane peeled Fogle’s eyelids back with his thumb. Peering into
his eyes, he said, “How do you feel?”
“Like the marrow has been sucked out of me.”
“Good. That’s what I wanted, Fogle Boon.”
With considerable strain, he lifted his chin. “You know me?”
Rane snapped his fingers. A forest mage scurried away, returning moments later with the spell book in his hands, which he set at Rane’s feet.
Eyeing his spell book, Fogle said, “I could use a drink, Rane.”
“Not yet,” the leader of the mages said. “A dry throat makes it difficult to cast spells.” The man with the oddly painted face smiled. “You don’t remember me, do you?”
Fogle lifted his narrow shoulders. “I don’t usually forget anything, and I’ve never been inside this place before.” He studied Rane’s face. “You speak with a northerner’s dialect, but I don’t recall your name. Why? Should I know it?”
“I’m one of many faces you’ve seen in the Halls of Wizardry. I must admit that I was not like you. I was more of an outcast.” Eyeing the dirt walls that surrounded them, Rane spread out his arms. “A fitting home for an outcast. Hah. The likes of you said that I’d wind up in a place like this.”
Fogle closed his eyes. His mind raced through his memories. Rane knew of the training towers in the City of Three. He controlled magic. He knew enough to realize that he and Fogle had crossed paths before. The life Fogle had once known in the City of Three seemed as if it was a hundred years earlier. He’d changed. He wasn’t the cruel and cunning wizard that he used to be. In a dry voice, he looked the man in the eye. “Say your name again?”
“Rane.”
Fogle chuckled. “I remember now.” The features on the man’s face became crystal clear. The heavy eyes of the man were a ghost from Fogle’s past. It wasn’t something he was proud to remember. “Enar.”
“So you do remember?”
“That’s a clever twist on your name, Enar,” Fogle said with a bit of a sneer. “Did you come up with that yourself?”
The Darkslayer: Series 2 Special Edition (Bish and Bone Bundle Books 6-10): Sword and Sorcery Adventures Page 18