“The knights were disbanded within the city and soon every Magi was harassed until they left the gates. I convinced Tevic that I was reopening the Guild and wanted to be affiliated with House Diathanos. By doing so, I was able to track his paladins and help any Magi that they illegally held.”
“So, the foci that I found within the High Temple…”
“Belonged to Magi I helped to set free,” Cassius finished.
Both were silent for a moment.
“Why are you telling me this?” Sajiix finally asked.
Cassius leaned forward, patting his nervous steed. “If anything should go awry with this, I wanted you to know the truth. The Guild and the Knights of Kaalé…they are my life and I would not give them up for all seven gods of Vasalius.”
“Would you give them up for Saerle?”
Cassius’s lips tightened into a straight line, his eyes hardened. “Why would you say such a thing?”
“To keep you focused! Look there!” Sajiix pointed to the Zynnashans closing the distance. “Those things are going to tear across this field and attempt to take back what they believe is theirs by holy right. If they succeed, they will return to Fhaalvak to retrieve their boat and finish what they started.
“I need your head cleared of weak, emotional drivel!”
Cassius nodded, saying nothing. The growls and snarls of the approaching monsters began to grow louder as Sajiix spurred his horse across the creek. The former knight looked after him wondering how so many women could adore the cold-hearted bastard.
Cassius kicked his horse into action, leaping into the creek and galloping hard to catch up with Sajiix. The others had already reached the trees and Sajiix was halfway there. He urged his mount faster and the horse agreeably quickened its pace. The thundering of its hooves and the blasting wind on his face surged Cassius’s adrenaline. Danger chased him – like it did when he was younger and he reveled in it. He only wished the man riding next to him felt the same way.
Sajiix kept low, avoiding the buffeting wind, his shoulders hunched over, and his purple cloak billowing out like a purple flag caught in a gale. He saw Cassius trying to overtake him and suddenly, regardless of the horror that chased them, the competitive streak that was one of the basic foundations of their decades-long friendship broke free and he kicked his horse’s flanks to stay ahead of his old friend.
Cassius pushed harder, slowly matching the Magi’s speed. Both horses were at their maximum running gait. The former knight’s brown mount was bigger and stronger, but the barding it wore slowed it down, allowing the smaller horse to keep up. Cassius leaned forward, trying to gain an edge. Both men looked at one another for a moment.
And neither one could stop from breaking into unchecked laughter.
Memories of adventures past; of dangers they had escaped in much the same manner as they did now, came forth. They were suddenly reminded of their youth and the friendship they carried throughout the years. Sajiix recalled wagers he had made with Ayce and Tienn on who had fled the fastest during times of peril. Cassius could remember moments when he, Sajiix, Tienn, and Baris would ride gloriously into combat, unconcerned with the risk that lay before them, only to ride away just as fast from the underestimated menace. The more they laughed, the harder it became to stop as the ridiculousness of the situation presented itself.
Both were cackling madly as they broke through the thin tree line, but sobered quickly enough as they took in the scene before them. Ayce was dismounted, staring across the wide, fast-moving waters of the Tebis’non. Jordyn, Myst, and Tair still sat upon their nervous horses, staring in shock at the charred remains of the Eastmoor Ferry. The pulley and the flat boat were gone and the docking ramp was a blackened ruin.
“The Zynnashans are thorough, I’ll give them that,” said Ayce.
“What do we do?” Myst asked, looking at Cassius.
“What we must,” Sajiix sighed, raising a leg and dismounting with little effort.
Jordyn and Cassius followed suit, but Myst only nudged her horse closer to the Amethyst Magi. “You are going to use the diamond against them?”
“If we do not, they will kill us, take the gem, and destroy Fhaalvak before leaving the kingdom,” he told her.
“Wait a second,” Tair objected. “Didn’t you say that this would make them stronger or make them go crazy?”
“Some of them,” Sajiix said.
Tair gave him and then Myst an unconvinced glance. “How will we escape with those odds?”
“We don’t,” said Ayce, marching past them as he shrugged off his ruined coat.
Tair shook her head, unwilling to accept what they were doing. “So, we just unleash the diamond upon them and then let them kill us?”
Ayce smiled at her as he pulled his shirt off, exposing a broad, muscular chest covered with dark hair. “We’ll take as many of them with us as we can. It’s a good way for a Guildsman to die.”
“But, I’m not a Guildsman!” she shouted back in anger.
“You are today,” said Cassius, offering her a hand to assist in dismounting. She ignored it and scanned the riverbank to the north.
“The ferry rests on an outcropping of land,” informed Cassius. “You will have to ride back the way we came to be able to move north. And it is much too late for that.”
“Why is it too late?”
As if in answer, a line of Zynnashans came through the trees. They no longer ran, seeing as their prey was trapped between them and the waters of the river. Tair moaned and looked eastward. For a moment, she gauged her swimming skills versus the current of the Tebis’non, but she knew it was folly. She had never been a strong swimmer.
“Well, that’s it then,” announced Myst as she jumped from her horse.
Tair slid off behind her. “I have two daggers, two daggers against an army of those things.”
Myst patted her shoulder comfortingly. “Just stay close to me. We’ll fight them as a team, like we did with the other ones.”
Tair could only nod, swallowing the sudden lump that formed in her throat.
Sajiix approached Ayce, who was now taking off his boots and socks. “Keep them off of me and the white hat,” he said, referring to Jordyn. “It may take a while to awaken the Purestone.”
“I’ll do what I can,” he replied, unbuckling his sword belt. Another line of seven wolves appeared behind the first six, all of them padding slowly toward them.
Myst gripped her uncle’s sword tightly and then noticed Ayce dropping his weapon in the pile of clothes next to him. “What is he doing?”
“Oh, you haven’t seen this yet, have you?” Tair commented dryly. “You’re going to love this.”
With nothing more than a shrug of his broad shoulders, Ayce began the transformation from human to werewolf. Thankfully, the river’s flow drowned out most of the bone-popping, skin-stretching noises that accompanied it. But the visual remained horrifying. Ayce grew two feet taller, his body thickening with muscle and coarse black hair. The change seemed to flow from one side of his body to another in waves. His face expanded, growing a large snout laced with massive fangs; his eyes shone yellow, staring intelligently at the growing number of Zynnashans before him. His arms grew impossibly long with corded, sinewy muscles covered in black fur and ending with sharpened claws that were exceptionally larger than those carried by the wolf pack.
With one quick swipe, the werewolf ripped off what was left of his shredded leggings. The creature turned his canine head to Myst and gave her a wink.
It was the most disturbing thing she had ever seen in her twenty years of life.
“Remember, he’s on our side,” Cassius told Myst, whose mouth was still agape at the transformed Ayce.
Another group of six Zynnashan wolves emerged from the trees, this time followed by their leader – the Lion Zyn Beast Havaas. The green-eyed beast, his golden mane flying wildly from the chase, focused his gaze upon the diamond that Sajiix now held before him.
Havaas roared and the wo
lves were upon them.
Sajiix gripped Jordyn by his shoulders. “Use the diamond the same way you would with your own foci,” he instructed. “It may take some time, but we will give you all that we can.”
The Diamond Magi nodded, both hands grasping the gem that Sajiix placed there.
With a nod to Cassius, Sajiix began using his own power, blasting at the oncoming Zynnashans with arcane amethyst energy. Cassius charged forward, running to meet the oncoming wolves with his borrowed sword flashing in the autumn sun. Myst and Tair stepped forward, both women staying together, fighting as one. Ayce roared and closed the distance faster than his friends. With one leap, he toppled five Zynnashans, his claws raking death with every strike.
Sajiix concentrated his energy on those wolves that held weapons. It would take Cassius and the others longer to defeat any of those and the more time he could give Jordyn, the better. The problem was that the Zynnashans had a natural defense against magic. Since they were created with magic, they could repel it as well. It took three globes of amethyst energy to drop just one wolf. It took twice as long to use his lightning spell. He did what he could, but there were just too many. The earth below them shattered with mud and purple eldritch energy, and still they came closer.
Cassius used every ounce of training he had learned in his thirty years as a swordsman. His mind screamed physical commands for every enraged wolf visage that lunged: thrust, swipe, parry, riposte, stab, duck, and start again. He moved in and out like a roiling tide of steel. Every time he would feel a pull on his padded armor, he would turn to strike, knowing that another Zynnashan had scored a hit upon his body. A nightmarish image of a slavering wolf beast rose before him. Cassius’s blade whistled, slicing one of its arms from its body. The beast still attacked, coming at him with snapping jaws and ripping at him with its one good arm.
Myst and Tair weaved in and out of wolves, moving in unison against the raging monsters. When a Zynnashan would shift away from Myst’s blade, Tair was there to meet it with her now bloodied daggers. Not a single wolf could defend against their strategy, but it was not long before two, three, and even four charged at them. The pair fell back quickly, desperately trying to stay alive to keep the wolves from the Diamond Magi who still held the Purestone in his hands, his eyes closed in concentration.
Ayce left a trail of death as he rampaged amongst the Zynnashan wolves. He struck with intelligent grace, attacking in vital areas. He cut throats, raked eyes, punctured heart and lung. He was a monster among monsters, cutting a swath of red down the center of their attack force. The wolves could not match his speed; his supernatural skills over-matched their own. His speed and agility, however, did little against Havaas.
The lion Zyn Beast leapt from behind, grabbing Ayce in a powerful hug that pinned the werewolf’s arms to his sides. Havaas hoisted Ayce in the air, keeping his thrashing legs from gaining any purchase on the ground. The werewolf tried throwing his head back to crack the Zynnashan’s face, but Havaas held Ayce too high. The lion flexed and Ayce howled in silent pain as his lungs were unable to get any air. There was an audible snap and Ayce’s struggling began to weaken.
Sajiix saw this and canceled the lightning web that entangled five Zynnashans. Aiming carefully, the Magi summoned a disc-shaped form of dark violet energy and threw his hand toward Havaas. The spell struck the lion Zyn Beast in the face, forcing him to release Ayce, who slumped to the ground unconscious. Havaas staggered backward, trying to rip the arcane shadow magic off of his face as it slowly entered his nostrils, mouth, and eyes. Sajiix returned his attention to the rushing wolves – but the distraction was successful.
One of the wolves fired a crossbow at him.
Sajiix could do nothing but dive out of the way as the bolt whistled past. A few shards of magic shattered the crossbow and Sajiix rolled to his feet. He knew there was precious little time left. If Jordyn didn’t find his focus soon, they would be overrun and slaughtered. Sajiix turned to urge the young Magi to hurry and saw only his body on the ground; the white of his robes stained red from the expanding blood caused by the crossbow bolt. Next to him lay the diamond, unused, unhelpful.
Sajiix channeled his power deeper. The lightning web burned hotter, the three Zyn wolves trapped within screamed in agony, dying from the Magi’s rage. His power waning, Sajiix cut off the source and shuffled to Jordyn. His sightless eyes stared up at the autumn sky and his mouth was agape from the last surprise he would ever receive.
Sajiix leaned down and took the diamond, cursing his ill-luck. He would have to attempt to channel the diamond and he knew how dangerous it was for one who walked the shadows to try to direct the light. He was so tired, but there was no other way. A wolf Zynnashan bounded toward him and jumped intent on pouncing upon his body. Sajiix, using the last of his strength, conjured a jagged lance of purple energy and impaled the beast as it sailed toward him. Ignoring its wailing death cry, Sajiix lifted the diamond and used his skill to awaken it.
The surrounding battle ceased; the noise, the blood, the churned earth – all of it disappeared. Sajiix felt as though his body were being drawn into the diamond. He could actually feel his spirit lifting, rising like a vapor and entering the now glowing gem. His vision became white; everything was covered with a soft, perpetual feeling of calm and peace. A voice was speaking to him, but he could not understand its baritone language. It was questioning him, its tone pleasant and kind. Sajiix could feel the warmth of that voice and he could sense a powerful presence within.
Images of a murky swamp came to him; a large lake surrounded by moss-covered trees, their roots reaching into its dark waters. He could feel a clammy mist swirling about his ankles, but he knew he was not physically there. Insects the size of his skull swarmed around him as his boots were sucked into a foul-smelling muck that surrounded the swamp. He felt himself glide over the still waters, disturbing giant lizard-like creatures that floated upon the surface until he came upon an island of dry land surrounded by a protective ring of narrow trees. Within the center, he saw the glow of something caught within a natural cage of swamp-bark and moss. His heart skipped as Sajiix realized what he was staring at…
Then the voice seemed to recognize what he was – and it became angry.
It yelled in a rage never before heard by mortal ears. His surroundings shattered into thousands of pieces, burying themselves in his mind. The presence demanded to know why a being that walked in shadow would be allowed to denigrate the holy purity of light! The voice became many, its shouts and demands creating a dissonance that nearly burst his skull. When no answer came, it took a hold of Sajiix’s spirit and rent it in two.
The scream that followed from the Magi’s mouth was very real as he fell to the ground, convulsing in the mud around him. Everyone heard the scream and everyone saw the Magi drop with the diamond rolling to a stop.
The wolves ignored the humans to gain purchase of the fallen prize. Cassius was too far away to grab it, his own strength lagging from the dozens of wounds he had received. Myst hacked and cut everything in front of her to reach the Purestone, but there were just too many in front of her. They were going to get the diamond, they were going to win.
It was Tair’s deft hands that snatched the gem. She twisted, turned, and dove away from the frustrated Zyn Beasts. She was trying to reach Myst, but there were still too many Zynnashans standing between them. Myst knew she would not be able to reach her in time. Tair knew this, as well, so she did the only thing that made sense.
She threw it to Myst and disappeared under a mass of snarling wolf-beasts.
Myst dropped her uncle’s sword and had to lunge to catch the Purestone. Her hands touched the cold surface of the jagged diamond just as Havaas’s mighty paws did. The beast had freed himself from Sajiix’s spell and watched as the little human had thrown the Purestone. Both human and Zynnashan stood staring at the other, their concentration not forced on holding the Purestone – but bending it to their will.
Myst saw no images of
strange places; she saw no light. She saw only her uncle, smiling at her as he reminded her to keep her arms straight when deflecting another person’s sword swing. She saw Uncle Teeg sending her back home to her father when she begged to be allowed to live with him instead. She saw Uncle Teeg as he admonished her for striking a child that had been teasing her and instructing her to never fight without a good cause.
She saw her uncle die.
The diamond answered her and flared brighter than the sun, blinding the Zynnashan forever. Havaas roared in pain and fear as the energy continued to build. A throbbing hum came from the diamond, stopping every Zynnashan on the river bank and in Fhaalvak. Havaas fell to his knees, still unable to release the Purestone. Myst shook with the power she held in her hands and held the gem steady. The humming paused just before an energy wave surged outward like a rippling of air, encompassing everything for many leagues. The Zynnashan wolf pack and their commander dropped like sacks of flour and fell unconscious.
Myst felt the diamond’s power radiate, she felt it leave the gem and course through her. It was blissful and terrifying at once. She knew the link between the Purestone and the Zynnashans had ended, its influence on them was gone. She dropped the diamond and let it fall upon the prone figure of the lion man-beast. Falling to her knees, Myst retrieved her uncle’s sword and held it steady, ready to slice through the golden mane of the unconscious Zyn Beast before her.
Suddenly, memories of her uncle returned and Myst could almost swear that she saw his image through tear-filled eyes. ‘Mercy is just as important as victory’, she could hear him say again. ‘An ignoble warrior will not find peace without mercy and those without mercy roam the realms with black hearts.’
The tears ran down her cheeks as the memory of her uncle saved her once again. She had mercy in her heart. It was what the Purestone found in her and what allowed her to awaken it.
She pulled her uncle’s sword away – her sword – and fell backward into the muddy riverbank. Somewhere to her left came Tair’s muffled and weary voice: “Can we leave now?” Myst could only let out a small giggle in reply.
Rage of the Diamond's Eye (The Guildsmen Series Book 1) Page 39