The strider tossed the torches on the blanket of wood at Georgio’s feet. The wood caught quick. The fire spread and smoked. In seconds, flames crackled all around. Georgio screamed.
CHAPTER 32
Venir lay still, pinned beneath the stones from the hallway above. The heavy rock and marble had knocked him from the saddle. His fingers touched Chongo’s hair. The two-headed dog’s breathing stirred the rubble. Helm throbbed.
The fiends are getting desperate.
Through a crack in the rubble, he could see an underling mage hovering over him. It floated high. Its emerald eyes were wary. Its fingers clawed at the air and began to sparkle. Shards of green energy jolted through Venir. His exposed arm straightened in the air, shocked for a long moment. It fell down once the energy passed through.
Racked with pain, Venir held his position. He tasted the bitter tang of metal in his mouth. In his lifetime, he’d been hit with more underling energy than every lightning storm that passed over him. Life was pain. He was used to it.
His arm lay still between the broken rock, the hairs singed off. The underling mage lowered from the air. Its robes dusted the top of the rubble inches from Venir’s fingers.
Come on, little fish. Just a little closer.
The underling touched down. It reached for Venir. A hard nail poked his meaty forearm.
Venir’s hand shot up. He snatched the underling by the throat and squeezed. The throat gave way to his iron grip in a sickening crunch of inner flesh. The underling let out a ragged sigh as it died. Venir shoved it away. With a heave, he shoved a half-ton of rock from his chest and pulled out his pinned legs.
I’m free!
He touched Chongo’s exposed snout. “Let’s get you out of there, boy.” Venir still sensed underlings. There were two mages before, but the other one was nowhere to be found. He grabbed a rock that he could barely get his arms around. With a grunt, he hauled it up to his shoulder. An underling, half-buried in the rock, began worming itself free. Venir dropped the huge stone. Blackish-red blood shot out over the rocks in a greasy smear. Venir let out a little laugh. “It’s been a while.”
One of Chongo’s heads whimpered.
A huge section of wall had the dog pinned down. Chongo didn’t have the leverage to wriggle out. Venir worried the dog’s leg or hip was broken. He lay there like a lame horse. Venir needed to act fast. Helm gave him a strong feeling that the second underling mage was gathering reinforcements. They were on their way. He needed a pry bar, or something, to help him move the rock just enough.
“Father!” Brak called out from the end of the hall.
“Brak! You were supposed to leave.”
Running up to him, Brak said, “I couldn’t. I had a dream.”
“Just now?”
“No, days ago.” Brak put his shoulder against the slab of stone. Digging his feet into the rubble, he pushed.
Venir joined in. Father and son grunted. Muscles bulged in their necks and legs. Pulsing blue veins burst up under the skin. The slab shifted. “Heave, son! Heave!”
The slab moved a few inches. Helm throbbed. Venir and Brak were lifted off their feet by an unseen force. The force propelled them both, slamming them hard into the walls.
The underling mage was back. Using its telekinetic power, it slung Venir and Brak from wall to wall. In a malicious act, the mage slammed both men together.
Brak’s face cracked off Venir’s helmet. His nose bled. Venir and his son fought to get back to their feet only to be tossed aside by magic.
Helm gave Venir a strong sense of the mage’s great power. It was one of the stronger ones he’d faced. Brak sagged against the wall, his body crushed into broken shelving. “Stay down, Brak,” Venir said from the other side of the room.
Quick for a big man, Brak scooped up a chunk of stone and flung it hard at the mage. The stone busted the mage in the face. The mage sank to the ground.
Venir darted to his feet, running at full speed toward the mage. The mage’s glowing hands shot up, shielding its face. Venir hacked the fingers off and split its face. “Brak, we’re going to have more company!” He rushed over to Chongo. “Help me move this. What are you doing?”
Brak was on his feet. He sought the cudgel, Spine Breaker. It lay on the floor. The moment he picked it up, the white ash glowed a soft white. It lit his face up. “Let me try something.”
Venir stepped away from the huge slab of stone that pinned Chongo down.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Brak cocked the weapon back. The cudgel turned a brilliant white. Letting out a roar, he swung into the slab with wroth force. Crack! The slab pulverized into a hundred large pieces.
Chongo lurched out of the rubble and licked Brak’s face.
Venir climbed into the saddle. “Come on, son! As much as it’s going to kill me to go so soon, we’re getting out of here. Get us out of here, Chongo! Yah, Chongo! Yah!”
A squad of underlings jammed into the exit at the far end of the hall. Chongo charged through them. Venir let the two-headed dog lead the way. The beast leapt like a horse from one of the balconies into the smaller courtyard filled with shocked underlings. Chongo raced through them. Venir and Brak swung at the surging fiends. Steel and wood made contact with flesh and bone. Chongo took the stairs from the courtyard up to the castle’s outer wall. Up on the ramparts, they killed another handful of underlings.
“Hang on, Brak!” Venir roared.
Brak held his father tight.
Chongo leapt from the castle wall down into the street. They raced down the roadway, shocking the Bish out of everyone they passed. When they ducked into an alley, Venir took off the helmet and let out a sigh. “Brak, are you all right?”
“Never better. Now what?”
“I’m going to see Kam’s body.”
CHAPTER 33
Dogs! Of all the things, they have dogs! Melegal climbed over the outside railing of the top flag spire. He climbed over the rail and underneath the deck. Carefully, he crawled into brackets that held the outer railing and catwalk suspended. Clinging there, he waited. Within seconds, the underlings and dogs appeared on the outer catwalk. The underlings circled around the catwalks, making confusing chitters to one another.
Idiots!
The cave dogs were a different matter. Two of the huge, mangy beasts clawed at the planks above Melegal’s head. Their foul slavering drool dripped between the planks onto Melegal’s clothing. Yecht! He fought the urge to stab a beast in the face.
The underlings tugged at the dogs’ collars, but the beasts wouldn’t give. One of the underlings flattened out on the catwalk. He peered underneath, scanning side to side, but looking for a long moment on Melegal.
Melegal could see that he was still invisible, but it was an odd thing, not being able to see oneself. It gave him an unwelcome sense of insecurity. He relied on more than his eyesight to exercise his skills, but total concealment was intense. He held his hand out in front of him. It wasn’t there. It makes me wonder if I even exist. He stuck his tongue out at the underling. Vile thing! I hope you run into my friends on the way down. The underling rolled back onto the catwalk and talked to the others.
A commotion started in the courtyard below. All the underlings leaned over the railing. Venir and Brak were on the back of Chongo, riding though the underlings like they were oversized rodents. There was about thirty seconds of intense action before Chongo charged up the ramparts and leapt the castle wall into the streets. The small of Melegal’s back tightened. How grand? I’m the only one fool enough to still be in the castle. Let the annuals show that it was I, Melegal, that rescued them. Lousy, louts.
Melegal remained in his perch, arms wrapped around the metal, feet planted into the wall in a crouched position. His arms started to burn. I can’t hang here all day. To his dismay, a pair of dogs remained. It was clear the dogs could either see or smell him. He wouldn’t be able to climb back onto the catwalk without having his hands bitten off. There was only one way out—down the neck of the towe
r. He wriggled his nimble fingers. It’s been a while, boys.
With saliva dripping from the planks to his shoulder, he broke free of the brace and began the agonizing downward climb. The tower consisted of chiseled stone blocks and mortar. There was enough of a ledge on each block for him to get a toe hold. His hands, never sweaty or clammy, gave him a dry grip. Taking his time, he moved down the surface one level at a time. Twenty feet into it, his muscles were burning.
This used to be an easy climb. I’m already winded.
Melegal climbed everything he could scale back in the day. It started in his youth. He crawled up into the highest places to hide from people. It continued when he made a career of robbing people. Climbing was freedom to him.
He made it halfway down the tower with only fifty feet left to go before the first spider appeared. The pony-sized bug with eight tiny red eyes that gleamed like jewels came right at him.
I’m sick of these things!
Clinging to the tower like a fly, he didn’t move. The sand spider’s front legs touched his back. It paused. Slowly, its feet massaged Melegal’s back and legs. The sticky feet stuck to his clothing. The spider opened its mouth, revealing fangs dripping with venom. It leaned into Melegal’s face. The acid-like venom dripped from its mouth onto Melegal’s shoulder. It burned through the clothing, scorching the skin underneath.
Melegal’s mind cried out. His fingers dug into the rock. He bit the inside of his cheek. The spider’s legs patted over his body for a long minute. Its gaping mouth snapped open and closed. Below its abdomen, the spinnerets started to open.
Slat on this! I might be many things, but I won’t be spider food!
Fighting to keep his hold on the wall, Melegal touched the spider with the tip of his finger. He sent a charge from his ring into the giant insect. The spider’s legs curled up. It fell like a stone, bouncing off the balcony below and into the bushes. Underlings in the courtyard stared upward and aimed their crossbows at the tower.
I might be a dead man, but at least I’m not a meal.
The underlings aimed from spot to spot on the tower.
What’s this? Melegal realized he was still invisible. Haha! I can use both rings together! How treacherous for my enemies? In his excitement, he lost his grip. Oops! He fastened back on. Easy, rat. You aren’t out of this yet. One section of block at a time, he climbed to the bottom courtyard.
The underlings opened the pedestrian gate. They were giving chase after Venir.
Melegal slipped right out the gates. Heh-heh.
CHAPTER 34
Mood came within a foot of burying his axes in the giant’s ankle before a dragon’s roar shattered the sky. Every face turned up. Blackie hung in the air, gliding like an ebony cloud. Boon rode on the monstrous beast’s back. The delay of battle ended. The fighting resumed, aside from Mood and the giant. The dragon landed in the rocks. From the dragon’s saddle, Boon shouted in an amplified voice. “Ogar! The underlings are your enemies! Not the dwarves! Not this day!”
Ogar, a gray-bearded thirty-foot-tall giant chucked the dwarf aside that he was about to crush in his hands. Dark-eyed and hook-nosed, the giant pointed at Boon. “You tricky wizard! You will come back home with me! But today, I feast on underlings! I will have vengeance.” He scooped underlings up in his arms. Squeezing them tightly to his chest, he popped their bones.
“Mood! Keep your forces fighting the underlings!” Boon said. “The giants are with you!”
“The giants are never with us!”
“Come! See for yourself!” With a flip of his fingers, Boon lifted Mood from the ground with an invisible hand. He dropped the dwarf down beside him. Pointing to the fighting surrounding the columns, he said, “Look!”
Dozens of giants were battling the underlings. Metal armor rattling and steel weapons swinging, the giants swept underlings aside with fatal blows. Mood had never seen swords and axes with blades so huge. The giants that came and went often didn’t carry any kind of weapon. No man was a match for them or their thick skin. This group of titans meant business. It was war.
“What did you do, Boon?”
Studying the war with his bright eyes, Boon said, “I took the underlings to the giants’ castle. I dropped them off in the nursery. Needless to say, innocent lives were lost.”
“That is a cold-blooded thing to do.”
“I’m not proud of it, but in the end, I know this: All giants are evil. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Mood had spent time in the giant world beyond the mist. He was a prisoner there. The giants made it clear they were beyond redemption, save a few. He and Chongo wouldn’t have escaped without them. The giants were bad, but they weren’t as bad as underlings. Still, he didn’t agree with what Boon did. “Desperate times. Unfortunate measures.”
“That’s many giants, but it will take more than that. The underlings haven’t turned loose all of their nasty tricks yet.” Mood spoke of the underlings at the furthest end of the army. They rode on the backs of gargantuan spiders that stood over twenty feet tall. He shouted down, “Aaluun! Sound the horns! Today, the dwarves fight with the giants!”
“A fine decision, King Mood.” Boon patted Blackie on the neck. “Fly, Blackie. Unfurl your wings and fly.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m a busy wizard. I’ve got things to do.”
***
Lefty fought against his bindings. Georgio’s shrieking was more than he could bear. The striders made his bonds so tight, even he couldn’t wriggle his little hands out. He wanted to cover his ears. He needed to help Georgio. What have I done? “Hang on, Georgio! Hang on!”
The flames rose higher, consuming Georgio’s body. Black smoke rolled up in the air. The smell of crisp hair and skin became so strong Lefty’s eyes watered. His only clothing steamed and began roasting.
Lefty begged with the striders. “Stop this! Stop this! Please! This is cruel! How can you do this? I thought you were a good race of people!”
Kocus looked right at him and said, “I wasn’t going to burn either one of you. It was, in your words, a bluff, but you suggested it. You are stupid people. Still, the wind and sand spirits must be paid. Your friend will make good soil.”
“No plants grow here!”
“He’ll mix well with the sand then.”
Georgio’s wailing stopped.
Lefty’s heart sank. “Georgio?”
The burning man’s feet kicked the logs away. The striders, one and all, jumped backward. Georgio walked out of the flames. His ropes had burned off. His skin was burned to a blackened-crisp. He fell to his hands and knees. Flattening out, he rolled. Finally, the last of the flames on his burning body extinguished. The marveling striders started chanting, “Hauk! Hauk! Hauk!”
Kocus silenced them all with a wave of his hand. “This is a mighty sign from the wind and the sand! Warrior,” he said with widened eyes. “What is your bidding?”
Looking up from his hands and knees, Georgio said through cracked lips, “Get me some water before I kill somebody.”
CHAPTER 35
“Look there!” Nikkel pointed at the highest spire of Castle Kling. A lone red-and-white flag had been raised. “They did it. I don’t know how, but they did it!”
Billip slammed him in the shoulder. “Of course, they did it. Did you ever have any doubt?” They were staying in the hayloft of one of the barns that overlooked the streets. The royal knight, Hoff, was down on the ground level. He had rounded up two score horsemen but promised many more. Billip shouted down at him. “The flag is flying, Hoff. It’s time to ride.”
Hoff led a coal-black horse covered in chain mail under the hayloft ladder. He climbed into the saddle. His eyes gleamed. “I’m ready. I have two of the finest horses ever ridden for you down here. Do you know how to ride them into battle?”
“Of course. Do you?”
“Hah!”
Billip and Nikkel hustled down the ladder. The men Hoff gathered were all formidable in one way or another
. They were royal soldiers loyal to their house. Each wore the colors of their house over their armor. Billip had never seen so many royals united together. He said to Hoff, “Eh, the house of Kord is among some of the riders. Have you vetted them?”
Scratching the back of his neck, Hoff said, “There is only a handful. We shall see, won’t we?”
Nikkel led two horses over and climbed into the saddle. With Bolt Thrower in one hand and Skull Basher in the other, he said, “Let’s cause some chaos.”
Billip mounted his horse and said to Hoff, “I’m known for shooting, not leading men into battle. Should we wait for the suns to set?”
“The first sun will be setting soon enough.” Hoff’s horse nickered. “Easy, brother.”
“I thought you had over a hundred riders.”
“I can’t hide them all in one place. They’ll join us along the way.”
“I guess it will have to be.” Billip strapped the dwarven horn that Mood gave him over his shoulder. He touched the tip to his lips.
Hoff leaned over. With his hand, he pushed the horn down. “Don’t blow that horn in here. Have you ever heard one of those things?”
“Yes.”
“Inside?”
“I see your point. On your signal then.” He cracked his knuckles. “It’s going to be a furious battle.”
“Ride or die,” Hoff said. “Ride or die!”
***
Inside the old barn, Fogle sat with his legs crossed, fingers together. He’d been trying to connect with the ebony hawk, Inky. The link was gone. The familiar had been destroyed. “Drat.”
“What was that?” Jubilee asked. She was standing nearby, chewing on her nails, holding Erin in her arms. The toddler looked too big for the girl’s arms. “Did you find them?”
“No. I’m afraid not. I’ve lost the connection.” His knees popped when he stood up. “Have you checked on Kam?”
The Darkslayer: Series 2 Special Edition (Bish and Bone Bundle Books 6-10): Sword and Sorcery Adventures Page 50