Katla and Hester moved fast. It reminded Hanna of the first demon warrior she’d fought. They waded into the crowd and bodies went flying. Hanna already knew how dangerous Katla was, and the demon spirit only made her more so, but it was Hester that intrigued her. The mild-mannered mage was blasting men, sending waves of energy at them that sent the hurling through the air, smashing them into buildings or other warriors.
Further up the street Hanna could see a large force of men coming at them. At the front of the lines were the witch and the pair of demon warriors. Hanna relaxed, letting her magic flow through her body. She could feel all three spirits flowing into her body, their power amplifying her own. She charged forward.
…
When Koyo came crashing into the hidden bakery basement, Katla knew that it was time to use her new demon spirit. There would be no time to test and experiment with her new power. She ran outside and immediately saw the situation. The men loyal to the king had been gathering and making their way to the meeting place under the bakery when Lord Blackpool’s men ambushed them. As other men loyal to the king came to meet them, they joined the fight, but the numbers were against them.
Katla opened her magic, letting the demon spirit Vedoch flow into her body. The power was undeniable. As she reached the first warriors, Katla felt like everyone else was moving in mud. She slashed the first man she met, and then crashed into the next. Her movement never slowed. She could hear the ribs of the man crack as her shoulder slammed into his chest. Beside her, was Hester. Whatever reservations he had about fighting before were gone. He was slamming people with magic, sending them flying in every direction. The men Sharla and her brother Edward had gone to find started to regroup as Katla and Hester pushed back the attackers.
Then Katla saw Hanna running past her. She looked up the road. More men were coming. And at the front of the line were a witch and two demon warriors. Seeing the demon warriors triggered Vedoch. The demon seethed, Katla could hear it in her head, attack.
Katla turned to Hester. Get these men organized. I’m going to help Hanna.”
Hester nodded and then returned to smashing people with his magic.
Katla ran, and was a few feet behind Hanna when the new witch with the demons started to rush in. Katla watched as Hanna, in one smooth but swift motion pulled her axe and shield from her back and spun around with her arms fully extended. The edge of Hanna’s shield and the blade of her axe struck the first group of men rushing in. Hanna then ducked under a blade while bringing her axe up into one man while her shield went down, smashing into the foot of another warrior. Hanna surged forward making her way towards the demons. Katla arrived behind her and started in on the mass of men Hanna left in her wake.
It was a slaughter. The men, so focused on Hanna and stopping her from reaching the demons, hardly even noticed Katla and by the time they did it was too late. Her blades moved with speed and precision, keeping two steps behind Hanna. The crowd of men started to fall away as the warriors realized they were facing two warriors instead of one. From behind her a wave of magical energy slammed into a group of warriors on her right. Hester was now moving towards the witch and demon warriors as well.
As Hanna reached the demon warriors the crowd of men separated. Behind her, Katla was still killing men, and the sounds of the king’s men regrouping and joining them reached her ears, but her focus was on the demon warriors in front of her. They were dressed as warriors and had a calm almost arrogant demeanor, as if they expected to walk through Hanna like they had every other warrior they’d faced in Yanga.
Hanna waited despite the rage she felt. Her anger at losing Koyo was filling her with a desire to destroy, a feeling she could tell Thorodd shared and Anso approved of. From what Hanna could tell, the demon Botzhar was indifferent to the situation. The demon warriors attacked as one. With wicked speed, they attacked. Their swords sliced through the air, attacking from two directions at once. But Hanna was ready and more than up to the task. She blocked with her shield on one side while her sword blocked all the attacks from the second demon. As fast and powerful as these demon warriors were, Hanna could match them move for move.
Suddenly, Katla was beside her, fighting the demon warrior on her left, leaving Hanna only one demon warrior to fight. From the corner of her eye, Hanna could see the witch fighting with Hester. His magical shield stopping a vicious looking whip that was no doubt poisoned.
Focusing on the demon warrior in front of her, Hanna attacked. The demon warrior was skilled, powerful and fast, but even that wasn’t enough. The demon warrior made a critical error, raising his arm too high in an attempt to land an overhand strike to her head. Hanna twisted, bringing her shield up high against his arm preventing it from coming down while her own sword stabbed into the man’s heart. The demon spirit let out an ear-piercing cry as it was sent back to its own realm in the seven hells.
Hanna turned to help her friends, but Katla was standing above the other demon warrior, both of her deadly blades buried in the eyes of the dead demon warrior. Hester had defeated the witch and was looking around for another target.
Another group of men loyal to the king came into the battle and were now routing Lord Blackpool’s men. Without the demon warriors, the attackers had lost their advantage, and were now paying the price. Soon all of Lord Blackpool’s men were scattering off the streets.
Edward and Sharon Pyrga walked up. Edward had a cut on his arm and Sharon had a bruised face, but other than those small wounds they looked okay.
“Koyo?” asked Sharon.
Hanna shook her head.
“We were on our way back to meet with you,” said Sharon. “But one of the men we thought loyal to the king was a spy and led Lord Blackpools’ men to us. We were trapped, but Koyo led a charge to break through their lines. He fought magnificently until that last arrow struck him. He just looked back at us and said “I think it is time I went and got reinforcements. I fear my use in this fight has come to an end. Goodbye my love.”
“If it weren’t for Koyo we would all be dead,” said Edward Pyrga.
“What happens now?” asked Hester.
“Without the demon warriors Lord Blackpool and his men no longer have the upper hand. There are still plenty of men loyal to the king that haven’t been organized yet. These are only a small percentage of them.”
“I think I will go take a look for Lord Blackpool,” said Katla.
Just then a bird flew into the group, swooping down out of the sky and landing on Hester’s shoulder. The bird wasn’t alive though. It was made of paper.
Hester took the paper bird off his shoulder and ran his hand down the birds back. The bird turned into an envelope. Hester opened the envelope and read the letter inside. “Katla, I’m afraid your search for Lord Blackpool is going to have to wait. The Fangris witches are on the move. Quivna is coming to Yanga, and she is using her magic to recruit all the men in every village between here and Eastfell. Thousands are under her spell.”
“You know this for certain?” asked Edward Pyrga.
“Yes. When we left Eastfell, I sent a message back to the Towers of Gorro. Masters Wolden and Brutis led a group to keep watch on the caves. They have been following the witches and have witnessed what happens in the villages.”
“We can’t let them get to Yanga,” said Edward. “We would be fighting our own people.” Edward looked around at the bodies on the ground. “We already may be. Many of these men are not from Yanga. They could have been under Quivna’s influence.”
Hanna turned to Hester. “If Quivna is sent back to hell, does the spell on the villagers end?”
“Yes,” said Hester. “When the demon returns to hell the spell will be broken.”
Hanna turned to Katla. “Ready to go hunting?”
Katla grinned. “Absolutely.”
17
Quivna
Finding the witches was easy. Master Wolden sent magical paper birds from every village the witches hit. The witches were zig zagging
across the map, but the path they were taking was predictable. They were hitting all the largest villages and towns on the way to Yanga. Between Yanga and the witches were the towns of Burton and Elm Grove. The witches would hit Burton first, and then Elm Grove.
Hanna, Hester, and Katla ran as fast as they could, which with the demon powers they all now possessed, was an impressive sight. On two occasions, they ran past galloping horses. Not only was their speed enhanced, but their stamina as well. They ran all day and part of the night. Arga, the smaller of Terak’s two moons was full, while Duno was in quarter cycle, giving them plenty of light to see the road. Not that they needed it. As darkness came they discovered that their night vision was also enhanced by their demon spirits.
They slowed to a walk as they approached Elm Grove.
“From the last report from Master Wolden, they should be close to Elm Grove now. But they wouldn’t march all night. The people may be under Quivna’s influence but they don’t have special powers. They will need food and rest.”
“Five miles east of Elm Grove is a wide-open field with a creek running through it. It is a logical place for them to rest for the night.”
“It wouldn’t take us long to get there,” said Hester. “Not with our new powers.”
Hana thought about it. Hitting the witches camp at night wasn’t a bad plan. Most of the influenced villagers would be sleeping. Keeping them out of the battle. “So, we attack tonight.”
They started to run again. When they got to Elm Grove it was easy to see the witch army hadn’t arrived yet, so they kept moving. Soon they could see the torches surrounding the horde.
“Our priority is to find Quivna,” said Hester. He reached into his pack and pulled out a piece of paper. He started folding the paper.
“Magical canaries. They will tell us where Quivna is,” explained Katla as Hester folded.
“They will fly over the camp and stop over the most powerful demon. It is a slightly different spell than we used in the witch’s cave,” said Hester.
“If you wait until Hanna and I are in the camp that will be even more helpful,” said Katla.
Hester nodded. “They won’t go into the camp until I tell them.”
“Wait here,” said Katla. She then disappeared into the night.
“Where is she going?” asked Hester.
“Probably killing all the night watchmen on guard,” said Hanna. She hadn’t bothered trying to follow Katla. The assassin had far greater experience in this area. Hanna was a fighter, stealth wasn’t her forte. Katla on the other hand was trained in all skills needed for assassination. The King’s Guard were all trained to stop assassination, so they trained as assassins to better understand the ways of those trying to kill their king.
Hester frowned. “I see.”
“I doubt they would use villagers for guard duty. The people she will kill are not innocent. They are the warriors loyal to the witches or their hired warriors. Need I remind you what will happen if we don’t stop Quivna?”
“I understand. I just wish there was another way.”
Hanna appreciated that Hester didn’t like killing, but when your enemy comes looking for you, you have to react.
Minutes passed before Katla returned. “We can enter now.”
“Were any of the sentries demon warriors?” asked Hanna.
“Two,” said Katla. She turned to Hester. Wait four minutes and then let your birds go. Stay here until you see the sign.”
“What sign?” asked Hester.
“You’ll know it when you see it,” said Katla.
While Katla talked to Hester, Hanna prepared for battle. She thought about what they would face in the witch camp. Two more demon warriors were now gone, plus the two they had defeated in Yanga. There would only be a couple left. The witches supply of spirit stones would be used now unless they had found a second source of the magical gemstones. Barring that, the odds weren’t bad as long as they defeated Quivna. The powerful demon spirit was the key. “Let’s go.”
Hanna followed towards the camp. “You don’t want Hester joining us?”
“Hester has a hard time with killing. I don’t worry about him during the fight, I worry about what would happen to him afterwards,” said Katla. “Besides, of the three of us, Hester is the only one with healing magic.”
Katla had been right to leave Hester behind. It surprised Hanna that the woman who could kill so easily was so considerate of Hester’s feelings. Was the assassin interested in the mage? Whatever her reason, she was right. Hanna had seen the way Hester had hesitated when told that Katla was killing the guards. For his own sake, it would be better if he missed the first part of this fight. Later, if needed, Hester could contribute. His magical birds, if they marked Quivna would be all Hanna needed.
They slipped through the woods along the outside of the meadow where the army of Quivna had camped. A cloud was covering Duno, but it looked like it would clear at any minute so they couldn’t rely on the darkness as their ally. Leaving the woods, they crept forward. Hanna spotted the body of one of the sentries. She ignored it and kept following Katla further into the enemy camp. The sounds of men sleeping filled the air. Deep steady breathing and the occasional snore. Most of the men were sleeping on the ground with only a blanket, some had been more industrious and gone into the forest to grab fresh tree branches to make a bed with.
In the middle of the camp was a fire. Katla started towards the fire. As they drew closer, Katla stopped and pointed towards a group of people sitting around the fire. Katla leaned in and whispered. Half of the witches are in that group. The other half are sleeping. I’m going to visit the sleeping ones. Hester’s little birds will soon be here.”
Taking a deep breath, Hanna waited nervously for the birds. Soon she would be fighting with the demon witch. Her nerves would be fine during the fight, but now, the moments before a big battle were often the hardest. With so much at stake, nothing short of sending the demon witch back to hell would be an acceptable outcome, even if it cost her her own life. Hanna needed to kill her, no matter what. She looked over at Katla. The former King’s Guard was calm and had a look of determination on her face. Just seeing the capable warrior at her side make Hanna comfortable. Hanna gave Katla a nod. It was time for Katla to find the witches who’d brought Quivna back, and make sure they joined Quivna in hell.
Katla snuck off, going around the fire towards the sleeping witches. Many of whom would never wake again. But Hanna didn’t feel sorry for them, if the witches got their way, thousands would die and those who lived would be their slaves, entrapped by Quivna’s magic.
Hanna watched the sky for the tiny little magical birds, finally the flock flew over the fire, swirling about the group of witches talking. Hanna groaned. She already suspected it was one of them. She needed something more exact. Suddenly the flock of magical birds dived down at one young witch. The birds swirled around her. That’s more like it, thought Hanna as the magical birds swirled around the witch.
Thank you, Hester, thought Hanna. She now knew exactly who to kill. The young witch was attractive, but her eyes, black as polished black onyx showed the truth; the demon witch was in her.
As Hanna started to run towards the young witch, Quivna stood and raised her hands and started chanting. The magical canaries all went up in flames and then the ashes fluttered to the ground. Quivna looked around for the source of the birds and spotted Hanna running at her.
While Hanna ran, she focused on her magical connection to the spirit stone. Her three spirits flowed through her. Power surged through her, as her spirits, human and demon joined her.
Quivna scowled and fired magical balls of flame at Hanna.
As the deadly magical balls of flame flew towards her, Hanna ducked, twisted and jump through the air avoiding them demon witch’s attacks. As she drew closer she was forced towards the camp’s fire pit. Soon only the fire stood between Hanna and Quivna. With a loud war cry, Hanna jumped over the fire and brought her axe down to st
rike Quivna. A fireball zinged past her head as she attempted to finish the demon witch with one might swing of her axe.
Quivna raised her hand and a magical shield went up. Hanna went face first into the shield and then bounced off it crashing to the ground. Quivna walked up to Hanna, pulling out a bullwhip. Quivna moved her magical shield over Hanna so that she was pinned to the ground. She then started striking Hanna with the bullwhip.
Each lash of the whip struck Hanna with deadly force. Even Hanna’s troll skin dress was getting cut by the witch’s whip. But Hanna was stuck, the energy shield had her pinned to the ground. Even with the strength of three spirits, Hanna couldn’t move. Her heart pounded, she knew she was in trouble. If she couldn’t escape the witch’s energy shield she would be whipped to death. Hanna struggled with all her might, but the energy shield held. Hanna was stuck and each blow of Quivna’s whip weakened Hanna faster. Her time was running out.
“Foolish mortal, did you think you would kill me? You are no match for me. You wouldn’t even make a good slave. I will scatter your bones to the four corners of the world for daring to attack me,” said a booming voice that couldn’t have belonged to the young witch holding the bullwhip. Quivna was speaking. “When I am done with you I will find your friends and kill them. When I am ruler of this land I shall send warriors to your homeland. Everyone you love will die for your insolence.”
Anger surged through Hanna’s body. Rage, her own and that of her spirts, fueled her. She pushed against the energy shield with more force than she had ever used before, but still she couldn’t get free. Quivna was too powerful.
Let me speak to her, said Botzhar in Hanna’s mind. Hanna was surprised to hear the demon in her mind. Neither Thorodd or Anso was able to speak to her, except during her dreams. But Hanna didn’t have time to reflect on the difference between Botzhar and her human spirits. Quivna was whipping her ass, literally. And soon she would be whipped to death. There was nothing to lose by giving her own demon control. Desperate for a chance to break free, Hanna gave Botzhar control over her voice.
Hanna Halfblood: Spirit Warrior Page 15