Rage of the Diamond's Eye (The Guildsmen Series Book 1)

by Becker, Shawn

  “Understand me, Vettis Hillden. You are no longer welcome in my family’s house and we are no longer bound to each other. Tonight, you and I may fight side by side to protect Joram’s Bend, but afterward, if both of us still live, you will speak to me no longer. If you step foot near me, my family, or Tair – I will sit and watch as she bleeds you. Am I clear?”

  Vettis whispered a hoarse yes.

  “Now, get the rest of the militia down to mid-gate,” she ordered.

  Myst removed her hand as Tair removed her weapon.

  Vettis stumbled away, his hand touching the small cut Tair had given him. His face was a stony mask, but his eyes were a black wave of rage as he stared at both women before exiting the tavern.

  Tair sheathed her dagger. “You gave me chills,” she said half-mockingly.

  Myst offered her a brief smile. “We need to return to mid-gate,” she said. “The Zynnashans have a whole squad of those wolf creatures waiting to attack. Uncle Teeg is going to try and stall them, but I don’t think…”

  “Maybe its time we just used the lift and found friendlier surroundings?”

  Myst shook her head. “My father declared me an outcast tonight.”

  “More of a reason to leave this place,” Tair snapped.

  “I cannot do that, Tair,” Myst said quietly. “Though I may be an outcast to my father, my family is still important to me. My uncle is down there ready to give his life to defend the people of Joram’s Bend. That man was more of a father to me than the one I had. At the very least, he knows my heart better than my father ever will. I will help him. I would prefer it if you protected by backside, but I understand if you won’t. Our success isn’t a sure bet.”

  Tair shook her head angrily; her arms became folded against her chest. “You and your honorable notions make me sick.”

  Myst nodded sorrowfully and turned to leave.

  “But, I owe you one for dragging my behind from Valdine to Tabaan. So, I guess we’re in this together.”

  Myst quickly turned and gave her friend a hug, which she returned just as fast. “Come,” Myst said. “We have little time!”

  Tair kicked at a chair as she followed her friend and laughed cynically. “I knew this town was going to kill me.”

  18

  By the time Myst and Tair had reached the mid-gate, the militia was standing ready near the wall nervously fidgeting with their iron swords and spears. A line of eight men crowded on the parapet with bows at the ready, their copper and iron-tipped arrowheads pointed at the horrible, slavering wolf beasts. The smoke had grown thicker, but each and every man that stood upon the gate could see the gleaming yellow eyes that were eager for their blood as fear coursed through the Joram’s Bend militia.

  Myst saw Vettis giving orders and straightening the line of young farmers. She also spotted Laridiya talking to her uncle Teeg near the rope bridge. Lynth was nowhere in sight and Myst hoped that the strange monster was talking to his people – telling them the circumstances of the situation and that they could call off this attack at any time.

  “What is that?” Tair said with a mixture of awe and fear. She pointed to the center of the rope bridge that lay draped across the Tebis’non like an empty water skin. The heat from the raging field fires produced thermal winds that caused the bridge to rock gently back and forth, the creaking of the aged wood and hemp rope was nearly drowned out by the fury of the rapids below. Standing in the middle of the bridge was a hulking mass obscured by smoke and shadow. Its focus was upon Sheriff Teeg.

  Myst shook her head. She was concerned only for her uncle, who now looked as though he were in a heated argument with Laridiya. He pointed at the bridge and then at the surrounding devastation of the ruined fields. Laridiya threw up her hands, her brown robes causing the rising smoke to swirl in thin waves around her. The Ethaean druid then stomped away from Teeg, her face showing clear signs of agitation. Myst moved away from Tair, desperately wanting to know what the two were discussing.

  Laridiya’s eyes widened in relief when she saw Myst and placed both hands upon the swordswoman’s shoulders, “Talk to him,” she pleaded. “He intends to meet with that creature,”

  Myst looked past Laridiya’s shoulder to the figure on the bridge. She shuddered involuntarily. “Is that…?”

  “It is the commander of this group of Zynnashans,” she answered, anticipating Myst’s question. “It is the one who tore Elder Bakus’s head off in Tabaan because he did not know where the Purestone had gone.”

  Fear clutched at Myst’s heart. “It was here!” she shouted to the druid. “Vettis saw it on three men who were traveling to Fhaalvak!”

  “Tell this to your sheriff and pray he is shown mercy.”

  Myst tore away from Laridiya and ran for her uncle. He was prepared for her to argue against meeting the Zyn Beast commander. He held one hand up while the other rested firmly upon her shoulder. “Don’t ye’ try an’ stop me, Myst,” he told her. “I have requested lajee with their commander. It’s a form of parlay that is rarely given.”

  “Leave it to you to know about Zynnashan customs,” Myst said. “But I must tell you something.”

  She told Teeg about Vettis and the three strangers heading for Fhaalvak. She told him of Tair finding the strange panther-like Zyn Beast and his quest to stop the rampage of his kin. Teeg listened intently and nodded sagely.

  “I’ll tell it to the beastie and I pray to Diathanos that they’ll take it an’ go,” he said solemnly. “But, ye’ and I know how things sometimes go sour, hmm?”

  “Don’t say that, uncle…”

  “Now ye’ listen to me!” Teeg said, his voice rising to match the level of panic in Myst’s own. “No matter what happens t’me…I want ye’ to go to Kaalé and look for Tienn Draanyr; he’ll set ye’ on the right path. Get as far away from the Bend as ye’ can and make sure ye’ take Tair’Lianne with ye’.”

  “COME HUMAN,” called the figure on the bridge. “THE SEARCH FOR THE PURESTONE MUST NOT BE KEPT WAITING!”

  Myst watched her uncle’s face, noting the resigned clench of his jaw and the hard set of his eyes. “If something should happen…”

  “Uncle, don’t…”

  Teeg shook his niece to keep her attention. “If something should happen t’me, ye’ get to the cell room and take what is behind the painting of the river…do ye’ understand?”

  Myst nodded once, never needing to be told twice.

  ‘I love ye’, girl. Like ye’ was me own daughter.”

  With that, the sheriff of Joram’s Bend turned and marched to the bridge. Myst could say nothing for fear of losing all control and begging him to stop. She knew if she did this, the tears would come and she would fall to her knees, embarrassing him. She would not do that to her uncle. Instead, she watched as the sheriff walked slowly across the little bridge, her heart thudding harder the closer he moved to the Zyn commander.

  Myst felt Tair next to her, but did not acknowledge her. She could only watch as her uncle stopped before the mighty bulk of the Zyn Beast. The creature made her uncle look small and frail; it towered over him as Teeg bowed in respect. The beast nodded and listened to Teeg in silence. Myst held her breath. She could almost imagine the townsfolk above remaining quiet, waiting to discover the outcome.

  The creature roared, its bulky arms outstretched; one pointed at the top of the mesa and the other pointed at the mid-gate. Fire erupted from creatures on the ship, stretching out like red fingers to strike against the town of Joram’s Bend. Their destructive magic, however, failed to reach the very top, and seared only the lip of the mesa, singing only a high wall that belonged to the Hillden estate. Myst tugged on her sword and ran for the bridge, knowing in her heart that there was nothing she could do to aid her uncle until he reached the safety of the mesa.

  Behind her, she could hear Vettis shout the order to fire upon the approaching wolf beasts. The twang of bowstrings was followed by piercing yelps and howls of pain. She heard Tair yell something and felt her mo
ve away. Myst ignored it all, focusing her concentration on her uncle’s progress. The flames from the Zynnashan Fire Magi chased away the darkness of night, giving Myst a clear look at the lion Zyn Beast. It was powerfully muscled and wielded a barbed mace the size of her head. Its face was covered in golden brown fur, its snout twisted in a savage grimace of rage and bloodlust. Daggers of yellow fang snapped at her uncle while eyes of deep green focused hatred upon him. A thick mane of hair framed the creature’s face which whipped around in a golden haze as it continued to ferociously assault the sheriff of Joram’s Bend. It wore a shiny chain mail shirt and a blue and gold tabard with the image of a beast’s claw upon its center. The creature also had steel bracers on that extended from his wrists to his fur-draped elbows.

  The Zyn Beast attacked first, swinging the gargantuan mace at the sheriff. Teeg parried the massive weapon as best he could and barely kept his balance upon the rocking bridge. He would duck, weave, strike, parry, and take horribly small steps backward. Myst hoped against hope that the Zyn Beast would slip; that it would make some mistake and her uncle would find a way to reach her, but it was only a matter of time before he fell. Her uncle was outmatched by the sheer strength of the lion beast.

  The creature did make one mistake, leaving himself open after a wide swing of his mace. Teeg was able to slip in and cut the beast along the inside of its forearm, making the creature drop its weapon. The mace plummeted end over end to the river below, making a mighty splash heard over the din of the starting battle. Holding his sword point at the Zynnashan’s chest, Teeg took a moment to look behind him and get his bearings.

  It was a costly error.

  The lion Zyn Beast had fought with a weapon and both Myst and Teeg knew that the creatures could attack with its claws. A blinding flash of white light came from a medallion the beast wore, striking Teeg in the chest. She watched her uncle fall a few steps backward and watched in horror as the Zyn Beast leapt at him, its talon-like claws fully extended. Teeg made a feeble attempt to raise his blade, but it was pushed aside and then crushed against him as the lion creature bore its full weight, digging its claws into the sheriff’s ribcage.

  Myst screamed. Her ragged shout lost in the tumult behind her as the wolf Zyn Beasts began breaking through the gate. She ran toward her uncle who was caught in the lion-man’s embrace. She raised her sword, knowing only that she had to kill this thing to save the man she considered a father. The Zyn Commander saw her coming, removed his claws with a wrenching jerk and took a step to face her. It stood there, waiting; its jaws open in gleeful anticipation of another kill. Myst brought her sword to bear, raising it with both hands clasped against the hilt.

  Suddenly the bridge snapped, wavered, and then tilted to one side. The Zyn Beast grabbed hold of the still connected side, its eyes widening at the view of Sheriff Teeg who was raising a dagger to cut the other side of the rope bridge to take them both down hundreds of feet.

  Myst caught the dying light of her uncle’s eyes, the blood-stained smile as he severed the remaining ropes holding the bridge together. For one hysterical moment, Myst thought she might be able to swing out and grab him before he fell, but she only stood at the edge, watching his body tumble through the air until it glanced off the rocky side of the mesa and splashed into the river. The Zyn Beast commander was able to grab hold of the trailing rope and rode the bridge towards the other side, dropping into the churning waters.

  Myst could only stare in a rising tide of red anger as her uncle disappeared into the rapids down river while the beast that killed him swam safely to the other side. So engrossed was Myst in the outcome of her uncle’s battle, she didn’t see the Zyn wolves breach the mid-gate.

  ***

  Tair watched Myst argue with her uncle for a short while before growing bored with it. If the old fool wanted to sacrifice himself over some noble ideal, then let him get on with it. Watching Myst get upset over it only made her angry, so she marched over to the mid-gate to get a good view of the wolf creatures Myst had described. Tair leapt nimbly up the narrow stairs of the parapet to where the eight men stood with their bows held tight, the tips of readied arrows shaking from hands trembling with fear. These men were farmers, not warriors. They wielded scythes, not swords. Yet, here they were, ready to defend what was theirs.

  Tair knew most of them and she also knew that each of them believed Jes when he accused her of stealing the town treasury. After all, he was one of their own. She was just an orphaned outsider. They didn’t care about her, she didn’t care about them. If some of them happened to get their bellies torn open by the claws of a wolf Zyn Beast, Tair would be the last to mourn them.

  Coming to the center of the parapet, Tair nudged between two men to catch a glimpse of the enemy. What she saw almost made her feel sorry for them – almost. Two dozen pairs of yellow eyes stared out of thick, swirling smoke. Some of the creatures held weapons of steel that shined in the destructive firelight while some had nothing but their claws. All of them wore some form of armor made of pliable leather. They stood at the ready, some emitting the occasional growl or snarl. Tair took a step back, shaking her head in a mix of wonder and trepidation. Taking another step away, she bounced off one of the militia men. She turned to see Vettis staring back down at her.

  “What do you want?” he demanded.

  “I wanted to see what we’re up against,” she answered.

  “Death,” he said without blinking. “We are up against death and we shall lose our lives by tooth and claw.”

  Tair glanced at the archers, who were, in turn, looking back at their commander with a bit of confusion. “Nice way to rally the troops, Vettis,” she said and pushed past him to return to Myst.

  “If ever a chance arrives,” Vettis whispered, “I will kill you.”

  Tair turned to face him and was nearly stunned by the hatred in his eyes. Tair had done no wrong to the man, but the animosity she felt was there like an inferno. She couldn’t understand his anger. If anything, she was the victim. She was the one he tried to frame; she was the one he tried to murder. And now he was angry at her because he failed in his twisted endeavor to claim Myst.

  She shrugged her arms, producing her daggers. “Why wait?”

  Vettis actually reached for his sword, but stopped when he heard the guttural cry from the rope bridge. He and Tair turned to watch Sheriff Teeg walk across the span and talk with the lion Zyn commander. She knew it had gone bad the moment the beast roared and pointed skyward and then pointed straight at them.

  “Shoot them…don’t wait!” Tair yelled and sprinted for the stairs.

  Vettis turned to see the front line of wolves running for the gate as though commanded from an unknown signal. They were nearly there before Vettis screamed the command to fire.

  Tair flew down the stairs three at a time as the first wave hit the wall, shaking the construction so badly, she nearly lost her footing. She heard the uneven twangs of released bowstrings and the roars of pain as a few arrows hit their targets. She paused briefly to look upon the line of archers as they released another volley.

  They didn’t get a third chance.

  The Zyn Beasts were using their claws and brute strength to scale the wooden structure. Three of them reached the top. One was felled by Vettis’s sword, but the other two were able to reach the parapet. The bestial cries of the Zynnashans were soon mixed with the dying screams of humans. Three more of the creatures breached the gate and soon the archers were fighting for their own lives.

  One of the creatures jumped down from the parapet, landing with a savage grace upon the mesa stone beneath it. In one fluid movement, the wolf-beast used its razor-sharp claws and tore the heads from two of the farmers in the militia. In that moment, half of the remaining seventeen fled back towards the town, while the others attacked the beast. The creature stood no chance against eight armed and terrified men, but they were quite outmatched when two more landed nearby.

  Tair tried to stop the men from running, but it was use
less. The militia was getting slaughtered, running back and forth in a dance of chaos. More of the Zynnashans were bounding from the parapet – not a single archer was left standing and Vettis was nowhere to be found. Tair stood unmoving, stunned at the scene before her. She could smell the blood of the villagers mingled with the smoke that still rose in the air; she could hear the hoarse shouts of men, the howls of Zyn Beasts, and the roar of flames licking the high levels of Joram’s Bend. At one point, she heard Myst scream, and it brought her out enough to notice one of the wolves running toward her.

  It snapped her out of the stupor instantly.

  She raised her daggers, suddenly realizing the small things that would force her to move in close to those claws. Having none of it, she jogged backward, hoping to bump into someone who could aid her. She slammed against someone and nearly bounced off. She heard a gruff female voice order her to duck her head, which she did quickly. A thick staff of wood cracked against the Zyn Beast’s skull. The strike was so hard that the beast lost its balance. Its forward momentum caused it to crash against the mesa wall. With a quick twirl of her staff, Laridiya brought the weapon down hard, making sure the creature did not rise again.

  The Ethaean druid hauled Tair up by her collar. “Pay attention to what’s in front of you, girl! The Zyns will be going for the gate latch to let the rest in!”

  Tair looked beyond the fighting in front of her to the wolf beasts struggling with a large latch that kept the mid gate closed. Tair looked at Laridiya helplessly.

  “I can tend to this,” she said with a smile. “You find your friend. We will need her steel.”

  She gave Tair a slight shove in the direction of the bridge and then took two steps toward the fighting. A Zyn Beast came from the left of Tair, swiping its claws at her. She bent backward; slashing as the creature ran past, cutting a deep line in its ribs. Rising up, she watched Laridiya finish it with her staff.

  Tair watched in horror as the creatures were able to manipulate the latch and began pushing the gate outward to the waiting army of wolf beasts. Tair scanned the ledge where the bridge was moored with desperate thoughts of her and Myst escaping to the other side of the river. That’s when she felt the rumbling and turned once more to find Laridiya praying urgently to the goddess Ethaea. In on hand she held her holy symbol, its silver face now alight with an emerald fire that seemed to want to explode. In her other hand, she held her staff aloft, steady, unwavering.