It became a headlong dash, mirroring that led by Auum to the gates of the college. Strike-strain fell about their heads, nipping, bidng and scratching. No sooner had he pulled one away from himself or Thraun beside him than three more cackled and attacked. Others threatened Erienne. Thraun ignored his own pain to keep her as safe as he could. Hirad could hear the sounds of karron in the buildings either side of the narrow alley, running through thin walls, trying to get in front.
'Left ahead!' shouted Denser.
Hirad relayed the message forwards. A few yards behind The Raven, karron beat a wall into the passage, spilling out after it. He risked a glance and saw elves driving through the sudden barricade, kicking, punching and butting. There wasn't time for artistry and the only saving grace for the runners was that the alley was too narrow for all but the smallest reavers.
The leading elves turned the corner flat out. Hirad and Thraun were falling back a little. Hirad could see light that indicated Seam-stone Square and the playhouse. It flickered like the light above them. The sky was filled with demons.
Hirad chewed his lip. In the square, the enemy would be waiting. They needed spell cover but the incessant picking of strike-strain and the force of numbers running through the alley wouldn't give mages much opportunity to cast.
'We need a safe corridor,' he said, panting a little. 'Mages, get the nearest door open. Swords and maces left and right. Pass the message back. Thraun, stay in the passage. You too, Unknown.'
'Forget it.'
They reached the square. The nearest playhouse door stood less than ten yards across the open street. Reavers crowded the entrance. Hirad heard prayers and the Al-Arynaar went to work. Unable to kill without using Auum's move, the elves chose containment for the moment and all used blade and fist to quickly force a small space. Hirad ran into the centre of it.
'Let's go, Raven!'
In front of Hirad, an Al-Arynaar backhanded his blade into the chest of a reaver. It skittered backwards, squealing. The elf moved left allowing Hirad in. He accepted, powering his mace through in an upward arc, connecting with his enemy's face and following through. The demon's head snapped back and it staggered into those behind it.
'Pressing!' yelled Hirad and then Rebraal and The Unknown were beside him.
The elf s mace pushed end-on into the gut of his enemy. The Unknown's carved left to right, clattering his aside in a flurry of claw and wing. Ark led more Al-Arynaar from the passageway, strengthening the break-out and driving further across the street. The demons, surprised at the ferocity and organisation of this attack sprung from the ashes of a rout, struggled to maintain any cohesion.
Strike-strain descended. Hard to ignore, their claws like sharp frost, they flittered over the heads of elves and men, trying to get into their faces where they could be most effective.
His mace in his right hand, Hirad ducked a claw to his face and whipped in a blow of his own, seeing the spikes rip into flesh and drive the demon back. Strike-strain locked onto the back of his head, scuttling forwards. He grabbed at one with his free hand and jerked it clear and flung it away, feeling blood begin to trickle from his scalp.
His limbs felt leaden. He roared to clear his mind and wiped a hand across his sweating face. He had to keep going, had to drive them all. He knew his arms were fatigued and his back sent pain through his body with every pace, every blow. They had no choice but to push on. Blocking aside another blow, he took a pace into the shadow of the playhouse. Their goal was only three yards away. He heard the dull rumble of falling stone and the crack of shattering masonry topped by the exultant squawks of demons. The karron had reached the square.
'What the fuck is going on!' bawled Dystran at his mages and Chandyr, ranged around his balcony.
Demons were clouding in two areas of the city. He watched them dive into the attack and soar high, cackling. He could hear fighting and screaming. Men's voices sounded out when the demon cacophony lulled. Dust clouded the air in the direction of the playhouse.
'The ward grid has failed,' said Chandyr.
'Oh, do you think so?' Dystran rounded on his commander. 'And do you also have in that incisive mind of yours the memory of my request for a contingency?'
'You know I do, my Lord.' Chandyr's face was unreadable.
'Care to enlighten me, my esteemed commander?'
Chandyr nodded. 'Prexys, would you be so land?'
The old Circle Seven mage closed his eyes briefly. 'He is coming,' he said.
'Well he'd better be quick,' said Dystran. 'Our new friends are getting slaughtered.'
From the centre of the city, one shape detached itself from the mass and sped back towards the college. The familiar, one of only three that still remained at the college, landed lightly on Prexys's shoulder.
'Master,' it said, drooling slightly, its chest heaving in and out.
'You know it occurs to me that we should have persuaded these things to leave the college earlier. They'd have made useful spies.'
Prexys calmed his tired familiar. 'It is risky enough now,' he said. 'And enemy attention is diverted from us. Speak. Tell us what you saw.'
And the familiar related everything. The attacks on two fronts. The elves approaching at speed and the larger group trying to get into the playhouse. The lack of any real watch on the college and the breaking of the ward grid. It was enough for Chandyr.
'We can get the elves inside,' he asserted. 'We can also trigger the rest of the wards but they'll all go up at the same time.'
Dystran looked heavenwards. 'Yes, I mean there are a few buildings that haven't been damaged yet. And how do you propose to get the elves in?'
'Well,' said Chandyr. 'I don't want to bore you with the fine detail but in essence, we open the gates and rush the demons. There's more to it than that. I mean, every mage knows position and casting for a run up The Thread. It was always the most likely route into us. It'll work.'
'It had better.'
'It will.'
'And another thing,' said Dystran. 'Will somebody please tell me what in all the hells has happened to our other new friends the Wesmen?'
Auum knew every approach to the college of Xetesk but he felt lost for the first time in his life. Duele was dying in his arms. Every pace he took seemed heavy, referring vibrations through his stricken Tai's body. He held on as gently as he could but surely his arms were like bindings, constricting more and more. His very breath crushed his friend and all his prayers would not be enough.
It was Evunn who retained his purpose and direction and would lead them all to safety. They ran at the head of around fifty Al-Arynaar warriors and mages. The karron would not catch them and many of the strike-strain had chased after The Raven. But enough reavers remained in the sky to threaten them. He could hear them above, harrying him, and he could see them in front, landing and challenging, aware of the relative vulnerability of their quarry.
Evunn was an elf possessed of a focused rage. He led a dozen Al-Arynaar hard at the reavers, snapping out orders and signalling positions. Auum ran in behind the crescent that formed, defended on both flanks and to the rear by more of the elven elite. His Tai did not break his stride under the torrent of taunts and the confusion of
wings and cursyrd bodies advancing on him or dropping from the sky. He had his own way to respond.
Auum muttered a short prayer. Evunn struck low, foot sweeping into the ankles of two enemies. They went down even as he bounced back to his feet, snapping kicks into either face and coming down hard on bodies stunned to the ground. Auum heard his voice, indistinct words in the clamour. The Al-Arynaar responded. Blades flicked out. Fists and feet blurred. Cursyrd were driven from their path. Wings were sliced and torn, their owners tumbling from the sky.
Ahead, Evunn faced a powerful, black-skinned reaver. He leapt at it head first, turning onto his back, a move Auum had seen before. In the last instants before impact, the Tai reached forwards, grabbed the creature's shoulders and pivoted around them. The cursyrd didn't kno
w how to react. Evunn's momentum brought him slamming down behind the reaver, ripping it from its feet. They landed hard. The cursyrd squealed its frustration and flailed its arms to try and break Evunn's grip. It was the last mistake it ever made. An Al-Arynaar blade drove into its armpit.
Auum increased his pace. More cursyrd were flying at them from the direction of the college. He ducked under a reaver that flew at his head. It came back for a second pass. He crouched again. This time, the reaver landed ahead of him, sensing his slight isolation and seeing his burden. It hissed at him, spreading its arms and wings in challenge.
In Auum's arms, Duele moved weakly and coughed blood. He was broken, his soul a mere touch away from being taken. Auum felt the disgust on his tongue. Duele was being targeted like the weak of a herd by its predators. Not Duele.
'You know nothing of our strength,' said Auum, covering the space between them, accelerating all the way.
He planted his right foot, half turned and struck out with his left. The blow caught the cursyrd on its extended knee, driving the joint backwards. He felt sinew snap and bone crack. The creature screamed, collapsing to its right. Auum followed up, his knee thudding up under its chin as it fell, forcing lower teeth through upper lip.
He didn't pause. Those behind would finish it before it had time
to heal. He ran on after Evunn. Scant yards ahead, the fighting was growing more intense and Auum feared they would be overwhelmed. Cursyrd flocked, tracking the elves' movement. Near them, a tentacled master floated, observing the chase. They had not managed to slow Evunn's pace. The wedge he had forged through the cursyrd on the ground was reinforced by those flanking him and Auum, leaving the TaiGethen to run with his cargo.
But the demons would not allow the situation to continue. Dozens, hundreds of reavers had now gathered, interspersed with strike-strain. They curved up into the sky, turned and dived, along the length of the street.
'Yniss preserve us,' breathed Auum. But not even Yniss could counter this. 'Evunn!' he called. 'Shelter. Get to the sides, get inside.'
The Al-Arynaar scattered left and right but they were all going to be too late. Auum prayed again. This time, his plea was answered.
Spells washed across the sky, dashing cursyrd into the sides of buildings. Cold air swept above his head, shattering wings and freezing bodies. Reavers and strike-strain plummeted down. The attack disintegrated. And then the buildings started to erupt. Huge sheets of flame grabbed at the sky from the rooftops. FlameOrbs sheared through clusters of cursyrd trying to regroup. Detonations rocked the ground under his feet. Across the street, a building buckled under the strain of the spell it held and began to crumble.
'My brothers, we move!' yelled Evunn.
He led them, this elf. The light that even Auum needed in this darkest of hours with his friend fading in his arms. Through the smoke and ash they ran. Through the acrid stench of burning and the rubble bouncing down into the streets they went. Heedless of demon attack now that their enemies had a far greater immediate threat to counter. Auum stared through streaming eyes at the figure of Evunn leading the elves to sanctuary. It wasn't only the smoke that brought his tears.
The Xeteskians. At last the Xeteskians had fought back.
'Hang on,' he whispered to Duele though he doubted the elf could hear him. 'Please hang on.'
More IceWind howled above his head. ForceCones battered great swaths through the demon attack force, driving them high and distant. Auum would have laughed aloud but for the clogging dread in his throat and the burning of exhaustion in his lungs, his arms and legs. He pleaded once more with Tual to keep his friend alive. And with Shorth to stay his hand and wait a little longer.
He felt Duele breathe, coughing again as the smoke touched his lungs. But it was life that they could save if they could get him to a healer quickly enough.
Rounding a bend, he saw that the gates of the college were open. And this time he couldn't suppress the shout of triumph.
Chapter 36
Hirad stood in front of the two mages and swept his mace ahead of him again. Strike-strain were flung right. He brought the weapon down sharply, connecting with the claw of a reaver, sniping in from the left. Beside him, The Unknown stood, a massive presence. Mace in one hand, long sword in the other, he fought like the Protector he had once been. Hirad at once drew strength from him and feared for him. The blow to his head had slowed him. Blood ran freely over his face and slicked his arms. And his old hip wound was locking his right leg periodically, threatening his balance.
Hirad spoke over his shoulder at the mage crouched at the door's heavy lock.
'We don't have much time,' he said.
'I am aware of that,' came the testy reply.
'I am not losing any more of my friends.'
'Then leave me to work.'
The second mage swept his ForceCone back out over the elven-wrought pathway through the throng of demons, scattering the enemy from the sky. On the ground, three steps below, the situation worsened by the heartbeat. Demons were pressing in hard from both sides. Karron were at the fore, backed by reavers. The Al-Arynaar were fighting a desperate rearguard action, trying to keep the pathway open for those still in the alleyway.
The elves barely had room to fight now. They had been forced into close quarters and most had dropped swords for knives and daggers. In the midst of them, Ark battered away, oblivious to the strike-strain covering his huge body. He used his mace in both hands as a ram, relying on the elves flanking him to keep away the flailing limbs of other karron.
Back in the alley, Thraun held Erienne and was ready to run. With
him, Denser, Pheone and the two surviving Xeteskian emissaries. All three mages had ForceCones deployed. Hirad knew that without that trio of spells, they would all have been killed already. But even so, inch by gradual inch, the demons were forcing the elves back into each other. Already, the pathway was barely two men wide and it was closing visibly.
At his back he heard the plop of molten metal and felt a brief wash of heat.
'Come on, come on,' he whispered.
There was a click. 'Got it.'
'Well done,' said Hirad. He thudded his mace into a reaver's face, feeling its skull crack. The creature shrieked and flew high, straight into the path of the elven ForceCone that drove it across the street to slap into the part-rubbled wall of the building opposite. 'Both of you, get inside. WardLock the other doors. Go!'
He didn't look,round. Instead he drew in breath and roared: 'Mages! Mages to me.'
The chaos was instantaneous. Al-Arynaar warriors ran to fill spaces in the wall left and right as their mage companions withdrew. They rushed from the alley under the protection of Denser and Pheone, neither of whom made any move to leave Thraun. Suarav and Sharyr began to run, the latter with his ForceCone playing over his head, shielding those that came with him.
To either side, the demons surged. The Al-Arynaar held firm, Ark in their midst, bellowing his defiance. Hirad saw the hammer of a karron crush the skull of an elf, driving his body into the ground. Standing next to him, Ark's face darkened and he grabbed the creature by its throat and crashed his mace single-handed into the top of its skull again and again before flinging the squat body into the press behind it.
The first mages reached the stairs and the door to the playhouse. The Unknown and Hirad made space for them to pass, the barbarian issuing orders to each as they went.
'We need light inside. Globes to rid every shadow. I want Force — Cones on every window above head height. Let's start investing WardLock in the stone. These karron do not need to use doors. Prepare IceWind, hold it in reserve. Not one demon gets in before I do, understand?'
Elves were pouring through the decreasing gap. At the alley end, karron had forced the Al-Arynaar back, threatening the rest of The Raven.
'Unknown, stay here,' he said. 'I've got to get back for the others.'
'I'm not going anywhere.'
Hirad jumped off the steps and pushed back t
owards the alley, roaring on the elves that passed him. He found Rebraal in the line and pulled him back.
'Get to the steps. We need the defence marshalled inside.'
Rebraal, blood dripping from his nose, nodded and moved away. Hirad pushed on. Just seven yards.
'Thraun! Get ready. Denser, keep that Cone up.'
Hirad clattered back into the action at the mouth of the alley. Karron had killed two Al-Arynaar. Their broken bodies were dragged clear down the narrow passageway giving Hirad room. He swung his mace down, striking a dripping spiked limb, and immediately up into the throat of the same karron. The demon staggered and Hirad helped it back, driving into its body with his, regaining a little lost space.
'Faster. You have to move faster.'
His voice echoed into the alley. Still the Al-Arynaar poured out. At the back of their number, the battle continued as it had since they ran from The Thread. Karron poured in from all sides through shattered buildings.
Hirad pushed away, feeling revulsion at the writhing body matting. He brought his mace down on its head, keeping it back. From his left he saw the swinging spike of another karron. He blocked it aside. The limb struck him on the upper arm, spikes just grazing his back. His left arm numbed under the blow which shunted him sideways and into the alley mouth.
He heard a satisfied squawk. More karron pressed in. Hirad levered himself from the wall, striking out with his mace. He felt it connect with flesh but couldn't see where in the confusion. Al-Arynaar drove in again. Kicks swept low, unbalancing the enemy. He heard the roar of falling stone. A cloud of dust erupted from the alley. He shuddered.
'Thraun, Denser, move!' yelled Hirad.
And so it began. Denser came first, hanging onto his ForceCone and still sweeping it above their heads. Thraun was after him, Erienne still in his arms, with Pheone in his footprints.
Hirad rocked back and thudded a straight kick into an enemy midriff. In the moment's space, he glanced down the alley. Through the clogging dust, he could see Al-Arynaar fighting the karron. Just a handful against the storm, unaware of the situation at their backs.
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