Tales Of Nevaeh: The Trilogy and Backstory of the Epic Sci-Fi Fantasy Series Tales Of Nevaeh: (The 4 Book Bundled Box Set)

by David Wind

  Just as the two front lines met, The Masters pushed a terrifying flash of power. The Nevaen shield faltered and dozens of kraal riders flew from their saddles, their clothing ablaze, their mounts screaming in agony as flames consumed them.

  We must get to our platform! she called silently.

  Not yet, Mikaal stated. Not yet! They will be here. They must.

  Then she was into the ghazi, her sword blurring as she attacked the grizzly warriors, the blade dancing with the blue-white power of her abilities. Neleh on her right, used shortsword and magic to destroy whoever stepped close to her. Mikaal, on her left, cut a path through the ghazi with each swing of his sword, turning his strokes into side-to-side figure eights, while Charka weaved in perfect sync with Mikaal, their minds one in battle.

  They pushed on as the main body of Nevaens reached the ghazi and the hand-to-hand fighting grew fierce, the ground became slick with the blood of both sides. The deeper they rode, the slower they moved. The overwhelming number of ghazi formed an almost impenetrable wall of flesh, rusting metal and stiff leather armor.

  From Gaalrie above, she saw what was happening as The Masters controlled their slaves, pulling them closer to the platform, bunching their soldier-slaves together so tightly they became a living wall that nothing could get through: for every ghazi struck down, two more fought mindlessly to take its place.

  From their platform, the eight Masters wreaked disaster wherever their hands and fingers pointed, killing a half dozen Nevaens with each directed wave of their hands. In the center of the platform, surrounded by the eight Masters, lay a group of ghazi, there to reinforce The Masters’ life energy. When a ghazi’s life force was drained, and the Master re-energized, the dead ghazi tumbled from the platform.

  The cries ringing in her ears tore through Areenna’s heart, but she knew she could not let it affect her. To her right, a ghazi drew back an arrow, the sharp head pointed at Neleh. Before he could release it, she sent a streak of blue light at the archer. He died before he could release the arrow.

  All around her, bodies fell, Nevaen and ghazi alike, as The Masters indiscriminately used their power to hold back the Nevaens.

  We must stop The Masters and force them to fight us! The Eight are not coming. Neleh, use us!

  <><><>

  Roth, watching the destruction, called to Enaid, “The red!”

  Enaid set the arrow; wrapped it in the second cloth while Roth fought next to her, clearing any attacking ghazi from her. Mikaal!

  Mikaal turned to his mother and cast a short flash of fire at the arrow she held up, and then spun to take on the ghazi racing up behind him.

  The cloth burst into flames, and Enaid spoke the formula. The instant the flames turned deep red, she released it. The shaft went up at a sharp angle, speeding high into the blue sky, the red fire burning sharp.

  From the south came a roar as the thousands of kraal-riding warriors closed the circle around the ghazi and The Masters turned in unison to send skewering flashes of power zigzagging at the riders.

  <><><>

  Areenna looked over her shoulder and spotted Noslen ten feet back. “Protect us,” she shouted. “Circle us!”

  Without waiting for Noslen to move, she drew back on Hero’s reigns. To me, she called Neleh and Mikaal.

  Both came alongside and jumped to the ground even as Areenna did. Noslen and his Sixes surrounded them, leaping from their kraals to form a barrier of flesh, armor, and swift swords.

  Joining, Neleh in the center, Areenna and Mikaal flanking the woman-child, they put their hands on Neleh’s shoulders as she raised her palms toward The Masters. “Noslen, give us an opening.”

  Noslen glanced at them: his eyes widened and he pushed the man to his right away. The instant there was space, Areenna commanded, Now!

  From deep within her, she brought up every bit of the scorching powers racing through her body. Mikaal did the same, his flesh turning as hot as the fires awaiting release. Neleh took both into her in the fraction of a second it took for her heart to beat once. She combined them as she had learned and then released them.

  A white stream of power erupted from her palms; within it were the blue lightening of Areenna and the orange-red flames of Mikaal. The light streaked toward The Masters, struck their shield, and then, in an eruption of light and noise, shattered their shield.

  Before it could reach the Eight, three of The Masters turned in unison and raised their hands. The power struck a new shield, which deflected it into the air.

  The Masters’ attack on the kraal warriors stopped, even as The Masters regrouped, raised a new shield, and lashed at the three with multiple streams of red thunderbolts. Two of Noslen’s Sixes fell before Areenna could raise the shield.

  Mikaal, use your shield. Neleh, work with me.

  Mikaal released his hold on Neleh’s shoulder and raised the shield without thought, pushing it with all the strength of his powers. Then he stepped next to Noslen, to replace one of the fallen men, his sword weaving the figure eight that left no one near him alive.

  Behind him, Areenna and Neleh, still joined together, released their fighting abilities at The Masters, no longer hoping to reach them, but only to occupy them so they could not control the ghazi.

  Suddenly, two separate battles were taking place: one battle, amidst the flashes of Neleh’s white streaks mixing with Areenna’s blue, striking and exploding against The Masters’ shields as The Masters’ red bolts continually smashed against Mikaal’s shield; the second battle was fought with the steel swords and wooden arrows of the Nevaens against the swords and axes of the ghazi.

  Within moments of the battle between the sorcerers, the ghazi, in their Masters’ induced battle frenzy, fought without guidance, swinging at anything that moved. Because The Masters occupied by Neleh and Areenna, lost control of the ghazi, the Nevaen fighters charged through what had been a solid wall of defense only moments before, killing and wounding triple the number they faced.

  Hold them! Mikaal’s thought came as loud as a shout.

  An instant later, four battle crazed ghazi charged him, their axes and swords blurring in the air. When the first reached him, Mikaal blocked the mindless creature, spun and sliced through its neck. The second launched himself at Mikaal, but before he could take two steps, Charka reared and came down, his front hooves smashing the ghazi’s skull.

  Next came the one on the right, while another screamed and charged from his left. He ducked low and pushed the tip of his sword into the first ghazi’s chest. The crazed fighter kept moving forward, skewering himself to the hilt.

  Before Mikaal could free his sword, the fourth ghazi leapt. From behind Mikaal, a tawny blur jumped over his head to strike the ghazi in the chest, Duv’s four-inch fangs ripped the ghazi’s throat open.

  Behind him, Areenna and Neleh continued pouring their powers at The Masters’ shield, allowing them not a moment’s space to re-energize from the ghazi kneeling at their feet.

  And then came a mind-tug from Gaalrie, who flew a thousand feet above, showing Areenna that the Nevaen riders surrounding the ghazi, and the foot soldiers who raced behind them were free of The Masters’ attack and were slicing through the multitude of the ghazi, taking down four and five times their numbers.

  The frenzy on the battlefield built as the Nevaens moved slowly forward, the ghazi falling in every direction and The Masters fighting Areenna and Neleh. It seemed like hours passed with every minute, and Areenna lost all sense of real time.

  Sweat poured from her skin, drenching everything beneath her armor. Her muscles screamed in agony from the fighting, both physically and mentally, but she was unaware of it all as she continually pushed forward.

  Her senses turned acute, and everything around her had a clarity and intuitive feel. She sensed The Masters, trapped within their uncontrolled army, had raised yet another shield: this one in the very center of the platform, where two of The Masters stood, each with their claw-like hands atop a ghazi, their fingernails dee
p within the poor soulless creatures’ skulls, sucking out every bit of their life force.

  When they pulled their hands from the now dead ghazi heads, they kicked the dead bodies from the platform and the two took control of the ghazi army, while the other six fought Neleh and Areenna.

  Mikaal, we need you, now! Areenna called as he put yet another ghazi onto the ground. He spun and raced to them, warning Noslen of his leaving. When he reached them, he sheathed the longsword and grabbed Neleh’s hand. What?

  Join us. We need your strength. They regain life force. We must keep them on us! All of them!

  “Noslen, Sixes, down!” Mikaal ordered as brought up his power with a massive rush and, using his free hand, sent a line of fire before them, burning a path through the ghazi.

  Forward! Now! Mikaal ordered and as one, the three charged The Masters, Neleh taking their abilities and combining them to send the rush of triple powers against the eight MAsters. As soon as they passed Noslen, he fell in behind them with the three other surviving Sixes. Charka was at Mikaal’s side, and Duv ran before Neleh taking down anything that came close to her, his claws and fangs merciless as he led the three forward, creating havoc with every step. From above, Gaalrie swooped and struck at the heads of any ghazi nearing them.

  To Areenna’s far left, Enaid lifted and flung four ghazi with her abilities, firing an arrow into a fifth. Next to her, Roth wove his sword in the same pattern as his son had moments ago, overwhelming anything near.

  “They again fight with purpose,” Noslen shouted as The Masters battled back. Flares of light burst between six Masters and the three, while two of The Masters controlled the fighting on the ground, directing their killing streams of power at the Nevaens, killing dozens with each widespread stroke of their dark powers.

  <><><>

  Fasil, most powerful of The Masters, stood at the front of the eight, his powers enhanced by the five other Masters as he fought the three who dared try to stop them. His anger grew with every wasted second. They distract us! Their purpose is for us to lose control of the ghazi. So little they know. We must get to that mountain. We must get to the entrance. Nothing else matters! We have waited too long.

  The fire is too strong, said one of The Masters.

  It matters not. We must get away from them. We must keep control!

  Ignoring the constant waves of arrows raining down on them, their shield strong enough to stop weapons and powers alike, the two Masters controlling the ghazi continued to slaughter Nevaens, along with any ghazi fighting near them.

  We must go to the mountain, now! said the great, great grandson of Afzal Mohamed Tarek, from behind Fasil, and he raised his powers. A gray cloud formed around the eight Masters, thin at first but thickening as it wove in and out between them, building deeper and thicker, their bodies becoming barely visible behind it.

  <><><>

  “They prepare to escape!” Areenna shouted. We must stop them.

  Suddenly, over their heads, bolts of red-rimmed yellow and orange streaks shot toward The Masters, hitting their shields in an explosive flash that shook the ground. When the glare faded, The Masters were still on the platform: no trace of the gray cloud remained.

  Areenna turned to find The Eight Sorceresses standing on the platform, shoulder to shoulder, their hands held outward, their fingers pointing at The Masters.

  Hold! We are here! Ruth’s silent thought came as a half dozen flashes of orange lightning jetted toward The Masters, exploding thunderously when they hit the shield. Before they died out, more streaks, some orange, some red, others yellow, raced toward The Masters, again, and again, with no rest between.

  While The Masters and The Eight Sorceresses dueled with inconceivable powers, Areenna drew her sword again. Closer. We must be closer.

  <><><>

  Roth blinked at the afterglow of the explosion, and focused on the platform where the Dark Masters reappeared. Taking a fast look behind him, he saw eight robed figures on the Nevaen platform, sending bolt upon bolt of fearsome energy at The Masters and he knew they would be occupied in defending themselves.

  The ghazi were again out of control, their war frenzy minds lashing at anything near, be it ghazi or Nevaen. He cut a ghazi down as he fought closer to Enaid. When he reached her side, he signaled the Six group behind him to surround them. “Let nothing through,” he told them before turning to Enaid.

  “The green arrow. Send it now. This is our chance.”

  As she drew the arrows, she looked for Mikaal, who was a hundred feet away. “I have no fire.”

  “Make some!” he shouted as a ghazi dove over one of the Sixes, rolled on the ground and scrambled to his feet. His eyes rolled wildly, his tongue lolled from the corner of his offset mouth, which was closer to his ear than his chin.

  Roth drew his sword over his shoulder as the ghazi reached his feet, and swung the sword. Its edge, created from three-thousand-year-old metal, shattered the ghazi’s raised sword and sliced through its neck. Then, as if time stopped, the ghazi’s head slowly toppled from his shoulders to bounce on the ground, its eyes still rolling wildly.

  He turned to Enaid, who knelt on the ground, her hands cupped around the cloth wrapped arrow, her attention locked on it as she built the formula for kindling.

  A half-minute later, with the cloth burning bright, Enaid stood, set the arrow, and repeated the formula to color the flames. Standing quickly, she sent the shaft skyward, a hissing ball of sparkling green flames to signal the Nevaens.

  Roth followed the arrow’s path and as he did, saw the sun had long passed the midway point in the sky. How much longer can this last?

  “Solomon!” Enaid shouted as two of the Sixes protecting them fell under an onslaught of a dozen ghazi who charged directly toward them.

  Without thinking, he lunged forward, his sword already whirring in the air. Enaid raised both hands and set flashes of blue lightening at the oncoming fighters. Three blew backwards but the others kept coming. Roth reached her side and, as they’d done twenty years before, Roth and Enaid fell into the same pattern, his sword and her powers interacting, weaving together, and destroying anything in their path. The attacking ghazi died as they lived, mindlessly.

  To me! Enaid called silently. All along the lines of fighters, the most powerful women of Nevaeh heard her call, and without hesitation, used their powers to cut a route through the ghazi, toward Enaid. Their soldiers and husbands all fighting at their sides.

  The fighters of Nevaeh, prepared for this moment, had no hesitation. To a man, and woman, each pushed forward, their voices raised, their weapons bringing death to their enemies.

  As the women with power fought to Enaid’s side, the warriors of Nevaeh, and every man and woman who carried sword, knife, bow, or axe moved forward in a concerted charge. Areenna, Mikaal, and Neleh cleared a path toward the platform of The Masters, the combination of their powers left no one standing before them.

  Soon, the Women of Power merged together behind the three, Enaid, Ilsraeth, Layra, Laira, Tissel, and thirty others formed a phalanx, ten feet wide and fifteen feet deep, Enaid at the head of the women, not two feet behind Areenna.

  Irii took down any ghazi who came near, while Duv and Charka did the same on the other side. Above them, Gaalrie flew a yard above Areenna’s head, watching her, watching for anything that might harm her.

  They moved forward beneath the steady streaking, flashing, thunderous battle of The Masters and the Sorceresses, this assemblage of women and rantors, gorlons, treygones, and traimores. Then, at Areenna’s signal, Enaid stretched her arm forward and laid her hands firmly on Areenna’s shoulder. Next to her, Ilsraeth and Layra did the same on Enaid’s shoulders.

  Behind her, every woman connected with the woman next to her and the woman in front of her until all became joined to each other by touch as well as mind. Then Areenna raised her hands and the entire formation stopped.

  On each side, and surrounding the ghazi and The Masters, the Nevaen Army moved forward, the
ir swords, bows and spears biting into anything moving before them.

  Areenna looked up at the platform and at The Masters fighting the orange powers. We are ready. Shield us! she ordered The Eight of the Island.

  The instant her silent words reached The Eight, the streaks and the flashes of light stopped. Done it is, came the feel of Ruth’s familiar touch. Look at us!

  Areenna and Mikaal looked over their shoulders at the same instant. They saw The Speaker at the edge of the platform, the two sections of the Staff in her hands. Her eyes glowed a brilliant orange, and the Staff disappeared. An instant later, the two pieces appeared at Areenna’s feet.

  Areenna scooped them from the ground and held one in each hand. Staring again at The Eight Masters, she called a single name, Neleh!

  The instant her name echoed within her head, Neleh released the incredible weapon that was hers alone. A beam of pure white light exploded from the palms of her hands and struck the shield of The Masters.

  As it flared up, sideways and down, the ghazi below the platform, in the path of the splaying powers, disappeared. Then Mikaal released his flames, two spears of angry fire shot toward The Masters, striking the shield and splaying outward in every direction, turning whatever they touched into a burning mass.

  The Masters remained safe behind their shield, staring at the Nevaens.

  Now, Enaid.

  It started mildly, the flow of power to Areenna, but soon Areenna’s body vibrated with the powers and the abilities of every woman standing behind her. Then Neleh, her powers still focused on The Masters, grasped Areenna’s hand. The instant she did, Areenna took Mikaal’s hand and placed it on one piece of the Staff. She did the same with Neleh’s hand on the second.

  Closing her eyes, Areenna drew it all to her: from the women behind, from Neleh on one side and Mikaal on the other. She pulled it deep within herself, absorbing the powers, combining the abilities into a weapon, which she settled into her core within the center of her womanhood.