Holding both weaves in place while reaching for a third would have been impossible for him until after the war. The Grey Council had abandoned their posts as teachers and leaders of the Red Tower, which ultimately led to its downfall. Long before that, they’d undermined the school and its students by hoarding their knowledge. They had known about so many Talents, but very few of them were taught.
Across the west, mages became nothing more than living weapons. In other parts of the world they were teachers, scholars, and people of learning whose counsel was highly valued. The failure of the Grey Council was one of the reasons many students left the Red Tower with a deep sense of wanderlust as they were still hungry for knowledge.
Taking a slightly roundabout route Balfruss retraced his steps towards the ramshackle building from the previous day where he’d found Kaine’s students. He checked the direction of the wind and circled the area until he was upwind, just in case they had scouts. Part of him still thought this was an elaborate trap set up by Kaine using his own students as pawns. A little caution wouldn’t hurt and could save his life.
Balfruss closed his eyes and scanned the area with his magic, moving very slowly across the buildings. All of them were empty of people and there were no signs of the Forsaken. There hadn’t been any indication up to now that Kaine’s pupils were working with them, but he was taking nothing for granted. Once he was certain the area was clear Balfruss edged closer to the students’ building.
When the building came into sight he hunkered down behind a pile of rubble. At this range he would need to be extremely careful, as even though the students couldn’t sense him, they would feel him using magic if it wasn’t subtle. It was painfully slow work and it required a lot of concentration, but Balfruss had learned patience while hunting in the emerald jungle. Whether a magic user or not, his tribal hosts had expected him to do his share and that meant putting meat on the table. Now he was hunting quarry of a different kind.
With a filament of magic as fine as a spider’s thread, he touched the outer stones of the building. Numerous echoes of magic immediately rang in his ears, like a multitude of heartbeats, but each was slightly different in rhythm and tone. Every person’s connection to the Source was unique.
As before, he counted twelve people but took no aggressive action. Instead he expanded the magical threads a little bit further until he could sense more about each individual.
Some of the students were sleeping in a curtained-off corner of the basement. They were more active during the night, shielding the building and running errands for Kaine despite the threat of the Forsaken. They were also the strongest and oldest students, which made it easier to see a peculiar synchronicity to their dreams. Kaine’s fingerprint on their minds had remoulded them into something similar, though this wasn’t obvious when they were awake. The others were younger, so the imprecise joins of what their Master had done to their thoughts were easier to see, like weeping sores in the mind. Eventually the wounds would heal over and they would become slaves to him without ever realising it. They would follow his orders and never question them because the idea of doing so would never occur to them.
Hardening his heart about what had to be done, Balfruss seeded more filaments of magic in the building. Instead of extending them towards the people he passed them into the stone walls. The columns supporting the basement had once been well made, but now they were old and one was cracked. Balfruss found pockets of damage in all of them, which he reinforced with magic, pressing it deep into the stone like wet clay. It was delicate work that had to be done slowly so that those inside didn’t realise he was there. After an hour of concentrating and gradually trickling magic into the building, Balfruss was sweating and a headache was starting to form behind his eyes. Cramp had set in from sitting in one position for so long that his legs and hips ached, but he persisted and ignored the pain. Sweat was also starting to freeze against his skin as the temperature was falling as the day wore on. The snow was almost here.
Finally the last tiny thread of magic was in place. An earthquake could hit the entire city and Balfruss knew this building wouldn’t fall. His magic had shored it up in so many tiny places it was almost indestructible. Drawing more power from the Source he flexed the magical filaments throughout the building, as if clenching a fist, and then quickly withdrew them all simultaneously. The people inside were immediately aware of his presence but not of what he’d done.
Balfruss stood up in plain view of the building and forced himself to watch. The tiny fissures and pockets he’d dug into the building’s structure were torn open. The damaged support column cracked even further, then began to slide sideways. Pieces of stone started to trickle into the basement, first a few and then more as the other columns deteriorated, suffering decades of damage in an hour.
With a grinding of stone and a loud rumble, all of the support columns collapsed at once. Tons of stone from the two floors above dropped down onto the basement and a huge cloud of dust rose up into the air. It took only a few minutes but eventually the rubble settled until all that remained of the building was a huge mound of stones and one jagged wall.
Even though he knew what he would find, Balfruss had to make sure. Using magic again he extended his senses into the basement, searching for any signs of life. There were none. Everyone inside would have been killed almost instantly, crushed beneath the rubble before they had a chance to protect themselves.
Bile rose up in the back of his throat but Balfruss forced it down.
The Stones board had been cleared. There was no one left now, just him and Kaine.
Just as he started to turn away he sensed something, a faint prickle of life. At first he thought someone had survived, but after only a few seconds the pulse of life became much louder and stronger. Something was moving towards him with incredible speed. The echo of magic was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. In fact it didn’t seem human.
“That’s impossible,” he whispered, moving to one side of the street. He stood just inside the open doorway of a building that was moderately intact, checking there was a back door before weaving a shroud of camouflage. Slowly, as the alien pulse of magic became a throbbing drum in his temples, he faded from view and blended in with the stones behind him.
Balfruss heard it long before it arrived, skidding to a halt at the end of the street. The creature was unlike anything he’d ever seen before and he struggled to recognise anything familiar. It was only when it turned to sniff the air and paw at the rubble that he thought there was something vaguely canine about it. It was roughly the size of a bull but it seemed to be part bear and part jackal with huge shoulders and short hind legs. Its leathery skin was deep purple, the same colour as a ripe aubergine, and its whole body was corded with lean muscle. Worst of all was the face. It had an unnaturally long muzzle, dripping with saliva, and a dangling black tongue that lolled as it caught its breath. A heavy bone ridge protruded from its forehead and its deep-set eyes were a pure emerald green that looked human.
As it scanned the street Balfruss could see it was looking for him as much as using its other senses. With its nose held high, tongue tasting the air and flappy ears tilting one way and then the other, he didn’t think it would be long before it found his trail.
Kaine had created this creature. Balfruss could feel the familiar echo of Kaine’s magic at work. It should not have had any sort of connection to the Source and yet the heavy thump in his ears told him that part of the creature had once been human.
Using the blackest of magic, Kaine had blended beast and man to create something new and abhorrent. With his students dead he had sent this bloodhound monstrosity to finish Balfruss off.
As he drew a little power from the Source the bloodhound’s head whipped around. Balfruss released the power but held on to the weave that concealed his appearance. The bloodhound kept sniffing the air as if it could smell him, or perhaps it had sensed him using magic. It started to drift down the street towards him, glancing in
doorways in a very human fashion before moving on to the next. It would reach him in less than a minute.
Balfruss considered a number of options. He didn’t think hiding from it would work for very long. Dropping his camouflage Balfruss drew heavily on the Source and immediately released it, directing all of the energy at the bloodhound in a broad wave of force. It hit the bloodhound just as it was turning its head.
The creature was thrown sideways off its feet where it collided with the side of the nearest building. The amount of energy he’d thrown should have been enough to send it through the front wall and out the back. Much to Balfruss’s surprise the bloodhound merely slammed into the front wall, shook its head to clear away the grogginess, then turned its eyes on him. It was shielded. Somehow it had shaken off the full force of his magic. His first attack should have killed or at least severely wounded it, but instead it merely looked angry.
Wasting no more time on speculation Balfruss slipped through the door into the building and ran towards the back. The bloodhound crashed into the doorway a second later with enough force to shake the building. Its broad shoulders prevented it from getting inside, even when it tried turning sideways. From the rear doorway Balfruss watched as its massive claws started tearing the stone to create an opening.
Dashing out the back door he ran down a narrow lane between two roads, cut down another alley and continued to zig-zag across the city using the smallest roads possible. The drumbeat of the bloodhound’s connection to the Source faded only slightly before he heard it draw closer again. Its long powerful legs meant it was gaining on him.
Running into the nearest building Balfruss went up the stairs to the top floor and then out onto a flat roof. Making a sharp twisting motion with one hand, he ripped out the stairs on the lower floors. The stone cracked and tumbled away leaving him staring down into a void.
He needed a moment to think but the bloodhound had other ideas. It appeared beneath him in a matter of seconds. Undeterred by the lack of stairs it dug its claws into the outer wall and started to climb.
Taking a couple of seconds to settle himself, Balfruss changed tactics. Drawing more power from the Source he focused it into a tight ball, no bigger than an egg, then poured more energy into it until it glowed like the sun. He could hear the snarling and gnashing of the bloodhound, but didn’t let it distract him. When the pain from drawing power from the Source outweighed the drumbeat at his temples he let go, driving the ball of energy down with several tons of force.
Burning as it went, the energy entered the bloodhound’s chest and continued to travel down the length of its body before exiting its flank. Screaming in agony and thrashing about, the creature lost its grip on the wall. Dark purple blood gushed from the holes in its chest and back and Balfruss smiled grimly. He was about to finish it when something changed.
The wounds began to close up, black tendrils writhed beneath the creature’s skin and he sensed a strange whisper in his mind. It was the same connection he’d felt when Zannah had captured one of the Forsaken. The bloodhound was far more of an abomination than he’d previously imagined.
It shook off the wounds, climbed back to its feet and snarled at him. A dozen ideas ran through Balfruss’s mind as it resumed its climb. The parasite possessing the bloodhound was not without its limits. It could heal wounds, but it could not bring the dead back to life.
“Let’s see just how tough you are,” said Balfruss, rolling up his sleeves. Fire had always been something he’d used as a weapon, but since the war he’d avoided it. After what had happened to so many of his friends on the walls of Charas, he couldn’t bring himself to wield it. Now as he contemplated using it to save his life a snowflake drifted down to land on his hand.
A smile touched Balfruss’s face and he grinned at the creature. Drawing heavily from the Source, he reached into the sky for what he needed. Above the mist thick clouds were gathering and he focused on one, watching as tiny drops of water fell, froze and then drifted towards the city. Scooping them up with his magic, he reshaped them while they were still pliable, blending dozens together without having to summon any ice of his own.
The bloodhound was almost upon him. Its breathing was loud and he could smell its rancid breath. It didn’t matter. All he had to do was stand in one spot and let nature take care of the rest. Weaving a shield around his head and body, Balfruss sat down on the roof and waited.
The bloodhound climbed out of the hole and paused, its sides heaving from the climb. The once-human eyes stared at him with hatred but it was also being cautious. It tilted its head to one side and looked at the area around him, as if it could see his shield. When it snarled at him and prepared to charge Balfruss began to laugh.
The creature’s snarl faded and it seemed puzzled by his reaction. Perhaps it was the look on its face or that he was simply tired, but it only made Balfruss laugh even harder. Tears ran down his cheeks and his eyes hurt as the tears started to cool on his face.
The creature’s muscles tensed as it prepared to pounce but Balfruss knew it was already too late. The first ice spear pierced the bloodhound through its left shoulder, pinning it to the roof. It yelped in pain and pulled back, snapping the icicle in two. A second later two more were driven into its back, stabbing huge holes in its skin. The parasite started to respond, driving out the shards, closing up the wounds and doing its best to maintain its host. Six more spears hammered into the creature’s back, severing its spine and flattening it on the roof. Before it had a chance to recover, the rest of the shower fell in a single wave, peppering every inch of the building with countless icy spears.
They bounced and shattered as the ice collided with Balfruss’s shield, but he maintained his grip on the Source and not one of them touched him. The creature’s screams tore at his eardrums as the daggers fell from the sky. Every inch of the creature’s back was covered and more hit it every second, ripping open wounds before they could close, tearing flesh and piercing organs beneath its malformed muscles. As the creature tilted its head to one side an icicle slammed into its face, popping one of its eyes like an overripe tomato.
A growing pool of purple blood started to cover the roof. Despite its injuries the bloodhound inched towards Balfruss. It seemed determined to kill him with whatever remaining strength it had. Finally the shower tailed off, the last icicle pinning one of its forelegs to the ground as it reached towards him.
Balfruss stared at its one remaining eye and waited. Its body was a mass of open wounds, some so wide that he could see pink muscle and even white bone in a few places. Black wires ran throughout the creature’s innards but they were limp and lifeless.
The remaining eye glared at him balefully but then even that glow faded until the creature was just a misshapen monster freezing in the falling snow.
Taking no chances Balfruss drew the axe from his belt, raised it high overhead and brought it down with both hands on the back of the creature’s neck. It took him three swings but eventually he severed its head from the body.
Raising his bloody axe on high Balfruss screamed at the sky in defiance.
All of Kaine’s students were dead and he’d butchered his abomination. It was almost over and they both knew it. There was a chance that Kaine might try to run, or even continue to hide, but Balfruss didn’t think his arrogance or his pride would let him. Soon Kaine would call him out and they would battle until one of them was dead.
Since he’d first learned about the Warlock at the start of the war, everything he’d done had been leading up to this moment. Kaine was responsible for it all. The Warlock, the Splinters, the Flesh Mages and now all of the deaths here in Voechenka. For years Balfruss had been playing a game of Stones against Kaine’s pawns without even knowing.
Every struggle, every triumph and loss, every lesson he’d learned about magic and the Source. All of it was for this fight.
This was his crucible and he was ready.
CHAPTER 36
Alyssa stared into the dark, desperatel
y hoping that someone would walk down the street. As night fell they lit the torches above the gate and her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“They’re not coming.”
On her way back from the old wood with Zannah, she’d visited the other mercenary camps. She’d made the same offer and once again they’d rebuffed her with bravado that barely masked their terror. Alyssa had hoped at least a few people would change their mind, but it seemed that no one had.
The Forsaken ruled the night. Everyone else would be huddled behind their walls by this hour, praying and waiting for the dawn. Praying that the terror in the dark would come for someone else. But with each base that fell, the odds became much smaller. Tomorrow she would try again and even make the longer journey to the temple where Fenne ruled. Alyssa despised him but she knew that there were many innocent people trapped inside his base. She owed it to them to at least try and help.
Since coming back from the woods Zannah had retreated into herself again. Her behaviour hadn’t changed. She still barely spoke and not once did she smile, not even at Alyssa. If she hadn’t been there with the Morrin it might seem like she dreamed it.
Stood beside her were Balfruss, Tammy and Kovac, who looked warm in his grey furs. Zannah stood nearby, wrapped in silence, all of her attention seemingly focused on the city. She didn’t join in the conversation but Alyssa knew she was listening.
It seemed as if today marked a significant change for all of them. Balfruss had spoken briefly about what had happened to Kaine’s students. He clearly loathed what he’d been forced to do, but no one offered him any sympathy. He didn’t want any and it had been a difficult decision to make, but in this city, that was all that remained. Despite his calm exterior Alyssa could feel a river of rage bubbling just under the surface. She was reminded of the stories she’d heard during the war about his final battle with the Warlock. She wondered if any part of the city would be left standing if he and Kaine went to war with one another.
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