by Ben Hale
“Elsin.” He spit her name.
Fire brightened on his sword, reflecting his tightening grip. The guildmaster of the Verinai rode a giant reaver of white light, her gauntlets visible even from Toron’s position. She came to a halt out of arrow range and called orders to the Empire army.
“Doesn’t look like they want to talk,” Galathon said as the titans lumbered towards the city.
“Get ready,” Toron said, dropping from the roof and retreating back into the city.
Taking up position behind a maze of pitfalls, they watched the demonic titan advance towards them. It flexed its huge arms and strained against the host of enchanted leashes. Its roar shook the ground and sent birds in the elven forests flocking into the sky, their cries of alarm echoing across the battlefield.
“Galathon,” Toron said. “Go for the right wing. I’ll take the left. The moment it steps into a trap, we strike together.”
As if anticipating the pitfalls, the demon snarled and spread its wings. Fashioned of air, the wings beat upon the ground as the demon reached the city wall. Great gusts filled the streets of the city and sent dust swirling in miniature tornados. Then it rose into the air.
“The traps will be useless,” the Demon Dwarf growled.
The demon rose high and then dropped, banking over the city and unleashing a barrage of dragon’s fire from its jaws. The fire engulfed a trio of structures and spilled into the street next to Toron. He ducked away and watched it soar by.
“We have to get it on the ground,” Winter said. “Toron, draw it to the Dawnskeep tower. If it follows you inside . . .”
Toron smiled in anticipation. “Its wings will be useless.”
Toron turned and sprinted through the buildings, dodging pitfalls. Springing off a fallen inn, he caught the battlements and threw himself over, landing on the ground next to a section of broken wall.
The dwarves had laid a trap using the chains from the broken portcullis. Toron kicked a stone onto the trap, causing it to trigger. The street opened up and the ground snapped shut, revealing the chains. Toron reached down and yanked them free.
“Are you mad?” The Demon Dwarf bellowed from nearby.
“I need a leash,” he said.
Coiling the large chain around his arm, he watched the demon titan banking for the other Paladins in his command. They launched boulders while the mages and crossbowmen sent their own missiles into the sky. The barrage caused it to veer towards Toron, and he stepped into the open.
Drawing his sword with his free hand, he activated the fire and roared at the titan. It spotted Toron and folded its wings, diving to him. Toron whirled and sprinted down the street. He ran faster than a horse, his great legs pumping as he leapt a weakened section of the street and landed in a dead run. The demon cut off its fire to roar. Then it dropped closer, its claws reaching for Toron . . .
Toron raced for the fallen fortress. Halfway along its length a great gash split the tower, the opening large enough for even the titan. Much of the interior had crumbled when the tower had struck the ground, leaving piles of rubble and heaps of twisted metal. Books, broken furniture, and shredded tapestries added to the mess. Shards of aquaglass littered the area, making passage precarious.
Toron uncoiled the chain and formed a loop on the end. Just as he passed through the opening he tossed it into the air. The demon titan was nearly upon him and the chain flew around its neck. Toron dived to the side as the demon’s claws snapped upon his shadow. Like a rider pulling on the reins, Toron yanked on the chain, bringing the titan to the ground.
Bellowing its surprise and fury, the titan crashed inside the oracle tower, sending rubble and metal clattering against the tower wall. The titan slid across what had once been the library of the huge tower and collided with the opposite side.
Toron was dragged across the turret and bounced over the rubble, the impact dislodging the armor on his shin. His Paladin received the damage as his mind spun. The demon titan twisted and rose, spreading its wings to roar at Toron.
Toron shoved a fist into the rubble and rolled to his feet. Then he darted forward and used a fallen bookcase as a springboard. Spinning his sword, he plunged his blade into the demon’s knee. The beast swung its claw, striking him and dislodging the sword. Toron tumbled away, crashing through a wall and coming to a halt in a fireplace. The beast roared and took a step towards him, but the chain around its neck caught on a pillar, causing it to trip onto the mangled remains of a spiral staircase.
The staircase was little more than steel spikes, and they dug into the beast’s side and back, cutting one wing all the way to the joint. Toron vision spun from the fall but the Paladin had taken the damage, and he rose to find the beast flailing in the rubble, trying to regain its footing.
The impact had ripped Toron’s sword from his fingers. Following the clink as it skittered away, Toron dove for his blade and scooped it up, turning as the demon righted itself and rose to its full stature to release a titanic roar. Toron darted away from the ensuing dragon’s fire and used the chamber to his advantage. The piles of rubble were unstable, making the demon’s footing weak and uncertain. But they provided refuge for Toron and he leapt from one to another.
The demon tried to take a step but its foot slipped and it slid back. Taking advantage of the lapse, Toron slipped to the wall and flanked it, striking at the demon’s leg. Liquid magic spilled from the wound as the titan whirled, but Toron had ducked into a surviving room, using a hole in the wall as a door.
The tower had become a patchwork of broken rooms. Using the damaged walls like a ladder, he scaled up the corridor as the room below filled with dragon fire, the flames chasing Toron upward. He caught a strongdoor and ripped it open. Diving inside, he used it to close off the searing heat. Then he spotted another hole and ascended to a higher level. A break in the floor allowed him to peer into the cavern containing the titan.
Like a raccoon digging through a rotting log, the demon clawed at the stone, tearing great chunks of stone free in its effort to find Toron. More fire filled the holes, turning the lower rooms into an inferno.
Toron pushed through a smaller opening to what had once been a receiving room. Jumping over a fallen couch, he reached an opening and peered down at the demon titan. It was just below him, its horns pressed up against an opening as it searched for Toron with its claws. Toron grinned and leaned over the titan, dropping when the demon bent to the ground. He fell through the opening and landing on the demon’s back. He brought his sword down and used the weight of his fall to sheer the damaged wing from the demon’s body.
Its roar was deafening, obscuring the crash as the huge wing landed on the piles of rubble. Bereft of the magic that sealed it, the wing burst like a water bubble, the blast of air sending rocks and Toron tumbling away.
With only a single wing the demon was off balance, and apparently its Verinai masters realized it could not fight in the cramped hall. It leapt to the gash in the turret wall and began to climb out, only to encounter the rest of Toron’s command.
Led by Winter and Galathon, the other Paladins charged the opening. The Paladins caught the beast’s horns, wing, even its jaws, and forced the titan to fall back into the library.
It landed hard, and all tumbled away except for Galathon. The rock troll had positioned himself to land on the creature’s chest. Diving past the snapping jaws, he sliced the demon’s throat and landed on the ground.
Trapped in the confines of the fallen tower, the demon titan sought to rise, but the Paladins and Galathon attacked on all sides. Its jaws reached out and snapped a Paladin, ripping it in half. Then a claw managed to catch another and crushed it into the rubble. Both were destroyed, but the demon could not withstand the assault. With magic spilling from hundreds of wounds, it released a final roar before bursting into sparks of broken magic.
His chest heaving from the exertion, Galathon spit on the remains of the demon and spun his axe. Winter stared at the remains before ordering her command b
ack into the city. Toron picked his way through the gap and slid down the rubble to the street. Then he led his Paladins back to their position on the west watch. Winter walked at his side, her expression one of triumph as she pointed to the three great corpses littering the city.
“Look at that,” Winter said, pointing to a swath of fire to the east.
The inferno was tinged with sparks of different magics, the size suggesting it had come from another titan. On the opposite side of the city, the body of another titan seeped into the earth, melting buildings, rocks and soil. A third was on the ground while Paladins hacked at the giant form.
“The titans have been destroyed,” Toron said.
“The Verinai were arrogant,” Winter replied. “Alone the titans were vulnerable.” Despite her words, Toron noticed that a quarter of the Paladins had been destroyed.
Shouts rang out as orders came from the Empire army, and thousands of boots began to advance. Toron climbed the outside of the fallen tower and grasped a protruding balcony, using the vantage point to see outside the city.
“The second wave approaches,” he called down.
Galathon growled and wiped blood from his face. “Time for the real fight.”
“The Verinai won’t be able to avoid the pitfalls,” Winter said. “But we need to get back to the western watch.” She stabbed a finger to those in her command and they hurried back to their post.
Toron scanned the army for Elsin, spotting the woman shouting and screaming to the Verinai army as she directed them to advance. Toron flashed a savage smile, pleased they’d managed to incite her to anger.
Galathon released a rumbling laugh. “We took her titans. Now let’s take her life.”
Chapter 44: Elsin
At Elsin’s command the Verinai began their advance. Thirty thousand strong, the Verinai were further reinforced by entities, sentients, and guardians. Despite their might, there was an aura of hesitation about the advancing battlemages. The sight of their titans being vanquished had shaken them, and a trickle of fear seeped into their pride.
“Draw them into the traps,” Winter said.
The Paladins spread out and positioned themselves in streets and alleys, maintaining visibility. The entities did not charge, showing their masters caution as they directed their enchanted servants to enter the demolished city of Horizon.
Predators of light, fire, water, and air darted through the fallen gates of the city. Dividing into packs, they began their hunt, their growls and snarls reverberating across the city. Toron watched a wolf guardian stalk the nearest road until it spotted Galathon. The beast was the size of a lion, its massive frame phasing to fire and back again.
It growled and charged, the hackles on its neck rising. But the rock troll remained rooted in place and taunted the beast. The giant wolf snarled as it accelerated, streaking down the street as a pack of wolf entities filled its wake.
The beast leapt a pile of rubble and landed ten paces from Galathon, the impact triggering the trapdoor and sending the guardian plummeting onto enchanted spikes. Its snarl turned to pain as the spikes pierced its form, but the beast was made of fire, and it fought to free itself, snapping spikes as it flailed.
Galathon dropped into the pit and approached the guardian. Pinned, the beast breathed fire but the rock troll evaded with ease, and then swung his axe in a great circle, bringing it down upon the guardian’s skull. Two more blows and the fire cooled, the wolf going still.
Galathon returned his axe to his back and then ascended to the street. As he did, the rest of the guardian’s pack split to either side, avoiding the pit with ease—only to fall into neighboring traps.
Two wolves leapt through a window into a demolished home. They landed on the hidden chains and were yanked through the door into the pit. On the opposite side of the street another wolf circled the hole in the street, the shape of the ledge forcing it under an overhang of a roof. The roof collapsed, knocking it into the pit and onto the spikes. The remaining wolves were caught in other traps, all dying before any got close to Galathon.
The scene was matched across the entire city of Horizon, the ruins rising to claim the lives of entities and sentients, and even the guardians. Many tried to avoid the streets but that was a mistake, and buildings collapsed in plumes of dust, crushing the enchanted army. The defenders roared their defiance as dust and magic rose from the ruins of the city.
“You’ll have to kill us with your own hands!” Galathon bellowed.
The Verinai captain on the western flank scowled and signaled an advance, and the Verinai began to work their way into the city. Stone mages went first, using their magic to identify traps by the shape of the earth. But Princess Ora had anticipated the tactic, and she’d ordered other traps hidden on the approaches.
Spikes of light exploded from a wall, killing two Verinai as they pointed to a hidden pitfall. The Empire had lost titans and entities, sentients and guardians, but the sight of their own blood being spilt shook them to the core.
The rebellion began to shout and smash their weapons against stone walls, the clash reverberating across the city as the small force taunted the Empire. Goaded, the Verinai formed themselves into tight groups of varying magics, each group capable of seeing and stopping every magic.
More blood was spilt but the Verinai finally began to advance, the soldiers triggering traps so those that came behind could pass safely. Many pitfalls remained but Toron realized that to let the Verinai disarm the city would be a mistake. Apparently realizing the same thing, Astin and Ora ordered a flag to be raised at Dawnskeep.
“Time to fight,” Winter called, descending from a rooftop.
“About time,” the Demon Dwarf said, spinning his axe so fire erupted on the knobby head.
Winter ordered the Paladins and rebellion forces to separate into groups, each with one of Winter’s Verinai in their midst. The smaller units spread out to block every approach, barring the way to Dawnskeep and the precious Requiems.
Toron raced through an abandoned inn and dived through a window. The opening was too small for the Paladin body, and wood and glass rained upon a scouting party as he rolled to his feet.
Unprepared for his appearance, the quartet of mages swiveled to face him, instinctively casting protective magic. But he kept his momentum and twisted, swinging his huge sword in a devastating blow.
Half-formed entities crumpled as the flaming sword cut them apart, the length of the sword reaching the first two Verinai. Both folded in half and went down, never to rise again. The remaining two scrambled backward—into the Demon Dwarf’s hammer.
He crushed them both and then retreated into the building, and Toron did the same. Again the Empire ordered scouting parties forward and managed to gain fifty feet before they were crushed from all sides. Their screams echoed back to the Empire army, sending fear into the soldiers. Then Elsin decided on a different tactic, and ordered the whole of her army to advance.
Toron retreated to an alley where Winter watched the advancing forces. Her expression tightened as she watched the thousands of soldiers charge into the pitfalls, dying by the hundreds.
“Elsin cares nothing for their lives,” Winter said, her voice stricken.
“We can’t let them get to Dawnskeep,” he said.
She nodded and together they stepped into the street. As darkness fell on Horizon they fought the Verinai, striking at the larger force before retreating deeper into the ruins. For the first time the rebellion began to suffer losses, the Empire’s sheer numbers enough to punch a hole in the rebellion defenses.
Toron scowled as he saw one of the Paladins get caught in the open. The Verinai pinned him with stone from the street and then struck on all sides, ripping the enchanted armor apart. Although he knew the woman inside was not harmed, Toron winced. A moment later another perished, and then another.
The Empire continued to advance, plunging into the city defenses at the cost of lives. Thousands of Verinai perished, but the reckless charge cut deep
into the city, some of the approaches coming within fifty feet of the Dawnskeep walls.
Toron fought with every shred of his ingenuity, grateful for Galathon and Winter at his side. The trio were devastating, killing nearly as many as the traps around them. Their unity drew attention, and shortly after the Verinai retreated. A solitary figure appeared in the street.
Rising from his latest duel, Toron turned and spotted Elsin striding towards them. Her unhurried pace indicated a supreme confidence. Toron held his breath as she stepped on a trap, but she soared across the pit with ease. A smile appeared on her face as she spotted Galathon with Winter and Toron’s Paladin.
“Your defiance is futile,” she called.
Galathon pointed his axe at the woman. “Amplious or not, we’ll kill you.”
She laughed and shook her head. “You are like insects that sting . . . and then get crushed for their impudence.”
“Elsin,” Winter said. “If you don’t stop, the Verinai will perish. Just look at how many have died in this city.”
“Ah, the traitor,” Elsin said, her expression hardening as she looked to Winter. “I think I will enjoy killing you the most.”
Elsin gathered lightning into a spear and hurled it at Winter. The woman dived to the side, the bolt impacting a tavern behind her. The detonation brought the roof down, the plume of dust engulfing Toron as he charged.
With Galathon on his flank he closed the gap and swung his sword. A hand of stone exploded from the street and caught his blade. The hand twisted and pulled, sending Toron tumbling away. Tiny compared to the rock troll, Elsin raised her hand and stopped the axe with her bare hands. Her gauntlets glowed as she wrenched the axe from the troll’s grip and swung it herself, smashing it into the troll’s armor and knocking him into a wall.
“Wonderful weapon,” she exclaimed, and then sniffed in disdain. “But a little light for my tastes.”