“We need a plan,” Devon panted as he drew even with him. “If we just run in headlong, we’ll get massacred with the rest of them.”
Zod nodded despite himself. The man was a soldier and a good one. His understanding of strategy was an asset.
“Do you have one?” Zod said.
“Give me a minute,” Devon replied and studied the scene.
Zod followed suit. The Eldenbergians were using a three-pronged attack. Two large groups assaulted his forces from the left and right. A third, smaller unit was in the center. This one, though, appeared to consist of two magicians and a detachment of soldiers who themselves did not attack. They formed a protective barrier for the sorcerers, who were blasting Zod’s men with spells.
“The group on the right is faring better,” Devon observed. “The left flank is in trouble. They’re going to need help if they’re to hold out much longer.”
“Then let’s get over there,” Zod said. “My presence will help rally the men.”
“Hold on,” Devon said. “We need to think about the whole battle. We have to do something about the wizards. They’re giving support, which is making it impossible for your people to turn the tide, even if they weren’t terribly outmanned.
“I suggest one of us goes to the right flank, gets a small group of soldiers and rides over to the left flank to reinforce them. The other takes a second small force and attacks the sorcerers.”
“That’s an awful lot of soldiers to take away from one position, and it doesn’t give us much of an advantage in manpower,” Zod countered.
“True, but it will give your men a boost in spirits, and that may be what they need,” Devon said. “We’ve got to start taking the fight to the Eldenbergians, or they’re going to push your men back into the lake.”
Zod nodded. The plan was desperate, but so was the situation.
“All right, then,” he said. “Follow me. You reinforce the left flank; I’ll attack the wizards.”
“If you think that’s best, Lord Zod,” Devon said. “But I suggest we try to get our horses first. We need speed, and a mounted soldier is a deadlier one.”
“Good thinking,” Zod said. Calibot’s lover really was talented at this. It almost made putting up with the brat worth it. “Let’s go now, though. We’re running out of time.”
***
Elmanax watched the battle with pleasure. Vicia and Hedron had done a good job bottling up Zod’s forces. They were pushed back against the lake and had no means of escape. The overwhelming numbers would do them in eventually. Moreover, the two magicians had crafted a fine strategy of striking from two sides while using their spells to devastating effect. Without some change in the conditions of the fight, this was going to end badly for Zod.
Then it would be an army and two wizards against five people. It wouldn’t matter if they had the Eye of the Dragon or not. They wouldn’t have full control of it, and the only one who could do anything with it anyway was Zod’s advisor.
Elmanax winced at the memory of the lightning strike the foul human had conjured. He leaned uncertainly on his makeshift crutch. He was still weak from that attack, and it hurt to move. He was going to make the bastard pay for that. Of the five of them, he would kill Alistair first. He owed him. He would make the sorcerer’s death unpleasant. That would have the triple effect of avenging himself, removing the only person from Calibot’s party who could use the Eye, and demoralizing the others.
Then he’d let Vicia and her soldiers kill the rest. In the confusion, he’d take the Eye of the Dragon, killing Vicia if he had to. She was a useful ally, but, once he’d gotten the treasure, he would have no more need of humans. If he had to kill her to take it back to the underworld, so be it.
Just then, he felt a tremor in the earth. Was it an earthquake? No, it didn’t have that feel to it. It came again, only stronger. What was it?
He reached out his senses to the earth. It wasn’t shaking. The earth spirits slumbered as usual. It was coming from the tower.
He looked up to see Gothemus’s unnatural monolith swaying gently. It was in no danger of falling over, but it was definitely moving. Small bits of stone fell away from it.
Something surged in Elmanax’s heart. A feeling he hadn’t known in a long time came over him – freedom. Yes! Something was happening with the Eye of the Dragon. Gothemus’s hold on it was weakening!
Calibot was doing something in there. Somehow, he was prying the Eye of the Dragon loose from its long imprisonment. Gothemus’s magic was finally dying!
Elmanax licked his lips in anticipation. Finally, after years of suffering and months of scheming, his plans were at last coming to fruition. Revenge and absolution were at hand. It wouldn’t be long now.
***
Zod didn’t know what the hell was going on in the tower, but he knew an opportunity when he saw one. Whatever Calibot did, it caused the building and the ground to shake. The fighting stopped as everyone looked up to see what was happening.
“Now!” he ordered his strike force.
He’d taken a mere twenty men. He needed at least three times that many to effectively accomplish what he wanted, but he’d had to give thirty more to Devon, and he just didn’t think he could spare any more without crippling the resistance on the right flank. Twenty would have to suffice.
He spurred his horse and charged toward the magicians’ position while everyone gaped at the tower. His soldiers were well trained. When he spoke, they followed orders. Like Zod, they surely wanted to know what was happening in there. But they obeyed his urgent command.
Consequently, they were nearly on top of the defensive phalanx before they were noticed. The Elders’ guard were armed with bows, but Zod’s team had gotten close enough they were almost useless. Most of them panicked, dropped their bows and tried to draw swords.
“Stop them, you fools!” one of the wizards yelled as she pointed at Zod’s charge.
Her orders were too late. Zod’s soldiers crashed into the line with their lances, goring several Eldenbergians and scattering many more. Zod brought his sword down into a man’s face. The results were gruesome.
As the defenders attempted to organize a resistance, Zod’s men dropped the lances and brought out their own swords. They proceeded to hack at anyone near them, cutting a wide swath of devastation and agony through the Eldenberg line.
Once again, Zod knew an opportunity when he saw one. With a hole in the defense, he charged through it in pursuit of the Elders and spotted the second sorcerer – this one a man dressed in green. Zod had no idea which of them was in command, but the man wore a torq and was closer, so Zod elected to get him first.
He put himself low in the saddle and urged speed from his mount. The big, black destrier responded, galloping with abandon towards the Elder.
The wizard saw him. He turned to face the charge, set his feet, and waved his staff. Zod hated fighting sorcerers. How did a normal person compete with magic? His opponent pointed his staff at them, and a bolt of green energy shot out of it and struck his horse full in the chest.
The poor beast screamed in agony and fell forward. Zod was thrown. He sailed through the air towards the Elder. Realizing he would come up well shy, he threw his sword at him, hoping to get lucky. It missed, sticking in the ground at an odd angle short of the target.
Zod had no time to think about the consequences of that. He landed hard, tucked his head, and tumbled forward with terrifying speed. On his second bounce, his left shoulder separated. On the third, a bone in his right foot cracked. After two more rolls, he came to a stop, dizzy and in pain. By good fortune, his sword was within reach.
“Fool,” the magician taunted. “I am an Elder of the Council, a sorcerer able to command the very forces of the universe. You thought to run me down on a horse? Now pay for your stupidity.”
He raised his arms and summoned magical energy to his staff. Speaking a command word Zod couldn’t understand, he pointed the staff at Zod, and another green, energy beam came
shooting towards him.
Zod rolled out of the way just as the bolt blasted the ground. He felt tremendous heat from the attack. His shoulder screamed at him, but he did his best to ignore it. He came up on one knee and snatched his sword from the ground.
“Steel is no match for magic,” the wizard said.
“Too bad you’re not as good a sorcerer as my brother was,” Zod called back. “You might have a chance then.”
The Eldenbergian’s eyes flared at the insult as Zod got to his feet. He waved his staff again.
But before he could complete the spell, one of Zod’s men charged past him on a horse. Zod took off in pursuit, using the animal as cover. Pain exploded in his foot and ran up his leg. He could only limp, but he staggered forward as fast as he could manage.
There was a flash of green light, and the soldier fell off his horse. Zod didn’t waste the opening. He emerged from behind the beast right on top of the wizard. He swatted the magician’s staff aside and then gored him.
“It may be no match for magic,” Zod said, “but steel fares pretty well against flesh.”
The sorcerer sank to his knees, a look of horror on his face. Zod lopped off his head. It was best to make sure he couldn’t cast any more spells before he died.
He turned in the direction of the other Elder. A woman in a red robe and purple cloak wielded a wand against two more of his soldiers. The rest of his men tried to hold off the remainder of the defense phalanx, which had organized while he’d been fighting their commander. He needed to move quickly.
The earth shook again with another, larger tremor. The tower swayed dangerously, and the top split, dropping stone to the ground. It looked as though the thing were going to fall apart.
In the name of the gods, Calibot, he thought. What are you doing in there?
Chapter 31: Calibot on the Battlefield
Devon had no idea what had happened inside the tower, but he knew it was fundamentally transformative. The Calibot who emerged after the thunderous crack that split the stone structure at its top wasn’t the same person. Even from a distance, Devon could see a wild, unfamiliar look of determination on his face. He was serious in a way he never had been. There was an aura about him Devon could only describe as a darkness.
Liliana wasn’t the same either. She exuded confidence – a quality Devon wouldn’t have believed she had.
The two of them walked down the stairs purposefully, turned towards the battle, and kept going. As they neared the fighting, Calibot drew Wyrmblade. It flamed brightly, as though it was looking for someone to scorch.
Calibot stalked towards the center of the battle, aimed at the wizards, where Zod had taken his taskforce. Liliana fell in a little behind him. He was clearly leading, but she matched him stride for stride. Whatever they’d discussed or planned, Liliana was committed to Calibot. Devon wasn’t surprised. Somehow, deep inside him, he knew Gothemus had planned that detail along with all the others.
He didn’t get long to notice all this. The battle stopped briefly in reaction to the thunderclap that rent the tower, but it quickly resumed. Devon was soon surrounded by clanging blades and screaming soldiers.
He was forced to deal with an Eldenbergian warrior attempting to decapitate him. He brought his own blade up just in time to deflect what would have been a killing blow. Then he swatted at the man, making contact with his helmet. It did almost no damage, but it unbalanced him, and he fell off his horse. Devon used the opportunity to spur his own mount and get away.
He put some distance between himself and the fight and then scanned the battlefield looking for Calibot. He and Liliana had been intercepted by several Eldenbergians. Devon was alarmed at first, but then he realized that, despite being surrounded, Calibot and Liliana were having little trouble with them.
Calibot swung Wyrmblade in a wide arc, slicing two men in their bellies. They wore mail, but the enchanted blade sheared through the chain links and found soft flesh underneath. The Eldenbergians fell to their knees, clutching what looked to be fatal wounds, although Devon suspected they would take a long time to die.
Meanwhile, Wyrmblade left a trail of fire behind it. Liliana waved her hands, transforming it into a devastating wall of flames that encircled the two of them and immolated several more Eldenbergians. Two unharmed soldiers threw up arms to ward off the blaze, and Calibot and Liliana stepped through the fire and continued on as if nothing had happened.
“By the gods,” Devon whispered.
He spurred his horse and took off in their direction. He had no idea what Calibot intended or how he would accomplish it, but his instincts were clear. His beloved poet was in danger – in danger of losing himself completely. He needed his conscience, his love, to help see his way through this crisis. Devon wasn’t about to let him down.
***
Elmanax clapped his hands gleefully. The Eye of the Dragon was free. He’d felt the change. He felt Gothemus’s dead fingers slip off it at last just before the earth tremor that split the top of the thief’s tower.
He also perceived it was different somehow. Elmanax didn’t know how or what it meant, but he could tell the Eye of the Dragon had been altered.
That didn’t matter, though. Calibot had brought it out of the tower. It was free from Gothemus’s influence at last. He would kill the little shit, take the Eye from him, and return to the underworld.
He raised his arm to snap his fingers, and pain shot through his shoulder down to the base of his spine. He winced and cursed. In his giddiness, he’d forgotten his condition. He was still recovering from Alistair’s attack. He was weak.
He was going to have to be careful about this. He couldn’t just battle Gothemus’s son and take the stone. He was chagrined to admit he would need assistance.
No matter. He had an ally. He’d get Vicia to kill Calibot and anyone else necessary. Then he’d take the Eye and disappear.
Elmanax hated relying on others, especially humans, but he didn’t see that he had a choice. He’d started this plan with Lord Vicia; she was going to have to help him finish it.
***
Vicia was sweating. The strain of the fight was getting to her. She hadn’t fully recovered from the wounds Calibot inflicted on her when he sundered her staff, and the wand she had to replace it simply didn’t have enough magic to provide the force and breadth she was accustomed to. Thus, she’d had to cast many more spells than usual to achieve the same results. A force bolt from her staff would have killed two to three times as many people as one from her wand. Having to perform this much magic was taking a toll on her.
She also worried about Zod the Fearless. She was pleased he’d killed Lord Hedron, saving her the trouble. But now he was coming for her, and he was making considerable progress. He fought with the savagery of a feral beast. She’d never seen a warrior with such a killer instinct, such a passion for blood. She’d never met him in person, and she wondered in the back of her mind whether he was always this brutish or if he transformed once he hit the battlefield.
Regardless, he was methodically cutting his way through her defenses. She sent soldiers to stop him, but he rallied his few allies, and they formed a wedge her men had been unable to flank. She tried to get him with magic, but somehow her spells always managed to hit someone else, usually an Eldenbergian.
As she tried to think of some way to stop him, there was a flash, and Elmanax appeared next to her. She hadn’t seen him since the battle started.
“Where the hell have you been?” she demanded.
“Watching the tower,” he answered, as if that explained everything. “Calibot has emerged with the Eye. Now is our chance to get it from him.”
Vicia was both surprised and suspicious. If Elmanax knew Calibot had the Eye of the Dragon, why didn’t he just take it from him? She was sure he was planning to betray her. Why involve her in getting the Eye?
Unless, for some reason, he couldn’t do it himself. Did he need her help? What had changed?
Maybe he was too
weak. Maybe, like her, he hadn’t recovered from whatever had happened to him. Maybe it would take both of them to defeat Calibot.
And if that was the case, she had an advantage. A weakened Elmanax was in no position to dictate terms. He could be made to serve her instead of the other way around.
“I don’t know if I’m strong enough, Elmanax,” she said. “I’m hurt, and this wand doesn’t have enough magic in it for me to use my full power.”
“Wait here,” he said.
He vanished. She used the opportunity to check on Zod’s progress. He felled another of her soldiers. He was almost through her defensive line.
Elmanax reappeared a second later. He had Hedron’s staff under his arm. Against his tiny body it looked like a large tree branch.
“Here,” he said, dropping it on the ground. “Lord Hedron won’t be needing this anymore.”
Vicia smiled. By telling Elmanax she was weak, he made her more powerful. And by doing that, he put her in a position to make sure she got the Eye of the Dragon, not him.
She reached down and picked up Lord Hedron’s staff. She felt its magical energy pulse up her arm and into her mind. It was refreshing.
Then she waved it over her head and pointed it at Zod. Two cougars materialized on either side of him. They roared and leaped.
“That should give him plenty to deal with,” she said. “Let’s go.”
“Follow me,” Elmanax said and set off across the battlefield.
Vicia fell in behind him. An involuntary tremor went through her. She hadn’t forgotten the last time she faced Calibot. Whether she liked it or not, she was afraid to take him on once more. What if he destroyed her staff again? What if this time she wasn’t lucky enough to survive?
She pushed the thought out of her mind. She had Elmanax with her this time. Two people wielding sorcery would be more than a match for a poet with a magic sword, even one as powerful as Wyrmblade. They would take him.
She smiled grimly. Everything she wanted was within her grasp.
Chapter 32: Unstoppable
The Sword and the Sorcerer Page 21