With a nod, Akemi and Quickrock stood next to each other. She gave him a nod, and Quickrock lifted his hands over his head. With startling speed, the ninja was lifted to the hole on a small stone platform just wide enough to hold her, and at the same time she ascended the hole, a stone cylinder rose to surround her. She withdrew Sekimaru and cut a slit into the wall in front of her. The intensity of the cutting sandstorm had already begun shaving the wall away. On impulse, she stepped to the side of the slit anticipating a sandy assault to come in. She laughed at herself upon remembering that the wind traveled in her favor. She slid the whistle into the slit and blew three times. It made no sound to her ears, but she knew that the wind would carry it to where the horses would hear. She descended the hole and all looked up as the stone cylinder was ground away by the storm.
“It’s done,” she said.
Marblehead gently stomped his way to stand before her. “On your mission, much luck we wish. Of us tell the guardian. Know us he will and visit someday he may.”
After many farewells and promises to return, the five human companions departed down the dark tunnel. Trusting in their senses and the fact that they were told that the tunnel was fairly straight, they reached the end of the corridor where two of the tunneling team remained. The stone men were awash in the golden glow of dawn. They knelt and cupped their huge fingers together.
“You’re going to give us a boost?” Kita asked, doubtfully.
“Throw you out, we will!” one of the grongolians said, and the two shared a rumbling chuckle. One by one, the five warriors were launched up and out of the tunnel.
“If one of them so much as thumped us with a finger,” Kita said, once they had gathered, “we’d just crumble.
“You’re right,” the samurai said. “When that one hit me, I could tell he held back.”
“You realized this after you awoke, you mean?” Akemi teased. Kenjiro didn’t laugh.
“I know I have asked this before,” Shinobu said, “but how are our horses supposed to find us?”
Akemi sighed. “I told you before. They will run straight in the direction that the sound came from. Since we will not deviate from our path, they will overtake us soon enough.”
“That seems a bit convenient,” the strider said, moving beside her. After seeing the questioning look from the woman, he continued. “How is it that our path is in a straight line from the valley, which is in a straight line from the patch of woods where we left our horses? This just seems so easy and well-placed for us.” The strider looked at her skeptically. “I do not believe in coincidence, but the fact that the tower”—he did not bother trying to pronounce the name anymore—“lies in a path straight from a valley that happens to have a path that carries sound for an incredible distance straight in the direction that we left our horses just seems a bit strange.”
The ninja frowned, growing impatient. “When this is all over you can ask the guardian, if you choose, and I am sure he would be happy to explain it to you.”
Shinobu started to say more but stopped short when he saw the strained look in her eyes. She was weakening and needed all of her strength for the road until the horses caught them.
“Then let’s go,” he said.
* * *
Grimhammer looked around at his forces and the surrounding magical warriors. All stood passively and waited, unmoved and unaffected by the unnatural darkness surrounding them. The tallest and sleekest of the Rizanti stepped to the front of their diamond formation and leaned forward.
Knowing the magical creation could see perfectly in light and dark, Grimhammer watched it. The Rizanti leader lifted its disk blade and held it over its head. The other Rizanti set their feet and lowered into a crouch, with their disk weapons raised over their backs.
Grimhammer turned to his clan. “It is time, my brothers. Let these magical shells carry us into battle with the same honor as if it were our own physical bodies. The Quentranzi believe this darkness will steal our courage!” He turned toward the darkness and raised his mighty warhammer. “We will show them!” The centaurs roared and thrust their weapons into the air, rearing up on their hind legs.
The brunts, as usual, had not said anything. In fact, they hadn’t waited for a signal or to see their enemies, but were already gone into a thicket, moving from patch to patch.
Once they had decided on a formation from within the trees, Grit looked around uneasily.
“Somethin’ wrong?” one of the soldiers—a rather wide fellow with big, wrinkled cheeks, and arms that looked like short logs—whispered, moving up beside the leader of the brunts.
“This place ain’t right,” Grit replied. “Somethin’ watchin’ us from all round.”
They looked around in the blackness. From the trees, they could see strange forms moving skulking about that seemed to materialize right out of the trunks and slither from tree to tree.
“Look like they try to surprise us for a change!” Grit said, a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
“We surrounded!” the big one next to Grit cried, thrusting his club in the air. The Kalistyi materialized everywhere, from the trees, bushes, from the ground, and even out of the sky.
“Everywhere!” Grit yelled. “Be knowin’ they everywhere! More fun than we thought!”
The band of compact fighters practically hopped up and down at the overwhelming prospects.
“We do this now!” Grit shouted, and on his signal, the band exploded into action.
* * *
“The brunts have found battle,” Iel said.
Mira leaned forward and squinted at the wall of darkness. “How can you know that? It’s pitch black that far out.”
The Ilanyan smiled at her. “There are those that can see even in unnatural darkness. Those that cannot must use their mind’s eye to see what cannot be seen by physical eyes.”
He put a hand on her shoulder and her nerves stilled. “Go now, and prepare yourself. It’s time.”
Without a word, Mira retreated back into the tower. Her thoughts whirled as she walked from corridor to corridor until she came to her modest room. Aside from the bed and a circular white rug in the center, the room was bare.
Mira sat cross-legged and rested her hands on her thighs, palms facing up. She closed her eyes, and within a few moments, her body began to glow with white light. The time had come, she focused her mind, and her power grew.
* * *
At Grimhammer’s side, a youngling pawed at the ground impatiently, shifting his weapon from left hand to right. “Patience, my young warrior,” Grimhammer admonished, not taking his eyes from the darkness before them. “No war has ever been won on strength alone.” The young centaur still fidgeted a bit more, but did calm somewhat.
“I smell the filth,” he said.
“So can I,” the centaur leader responded. “Our time draws near, but we must be patient.”
He then noted that the Rizanti had lowered into a crouch with their disks raised over their backs, he hefted his warhammer and signaled for his clan to be ready.
“Be ready, my brothers!” Grimhammer cried. The words had not completely left his lips when the Rizanti darted off into the distance, moving at a speed impossible to match by any living creature. “To battle!” Grimhammer bellowed. The mighty clan reared on hind legs and thrust their weapons high into the air. With a crash, their front hooves hit the ground and they ran into the darkness, charging after the Rizanti.
* * *
Iel watched as some of the magical defenders charged into the darkness while others remained behind, serving as the last line of defense. The Ilanyan could hear everything that was happening in that blackness. The charge was met with unnerving ferocity.
Iel closed his eyes for a few moments, then smiled. Inside her room, Mira sat meditating and raising her energy level. Her body glowed in several colors. The closest to her body was white, and the other layers glowed in various colors of the spectrum. She was calmer now, sitting erect with a peaceful appearance to
her face. Iel could feel Mira’s power growing with every second.
“You look worried, Master Guardian,” Siti said. She was one of the more powerful of the magical defenders, spawned purely of earth magic. Her bluish silver skin radiated energy, and a cold mist wafted from her body.
He imagined that if a crystal or a diamond could talk, it would sound like the exotic Siti. Iel withdrew from his thoughts and looked into her blue face, her soft, yet icy features marking her with an unusual kind of beauty. “I cannot sense the Drek or his Quentranzi general,” Iel replied. “I don’t think he is here.
“Is that not a good thing?” Siti asked.
“Not at all,” Iel answered. “This means that he is controlling everything from his fortress and can most likely see everything from a more advantageous point of view. He rubbed a hand over his smooth head. “I had thought that he would want to have a direct hand in taking Takashaniel, but he must have faith in his army.”
“Is he right to have such confidence?” Siti asked.
Iel gave her a confirming nod and looked back fields shrouded in darkness. “This also means that he may be concentrating some of his attention on the humans. It is likely that they won’t arrive as soon as I had hoped.”
Siti put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Do not worry, Master Guardian. They will arrive in time to help.” A mighty roar split the darkness.
“Grimhammer has met battle,” Iel said.
“As soon shall we all,” Siti responded.
* * *
The five warriors rode as fast as their horses could take them. It had been half a day before the horses had finally caught up to them, and they had to make a few stops to allow Akemi to rest. The demonic taint was growing stronger, and it was an effort for her to simply stay in the saddle. On they rode, through copses and open fields, across plains scattered with hills and through heavily wooded paths, blazing a trail to Takashaniel.
“We’re not far,” the ninja yelled to her companions. “Perhaps a few hours, but not much more.”
The others rode in silence, each contemplating the battle to come and what they might expect.
“I see no trace of the tower,” Kenjiro finally said. “I remember it stretching toward the heavens, but I see nothing ahead.”
“I can feel it, brother,” Akemi said. “Our journey is near its end.”
* * *
Grit swung his spiked club left to right, up and down felling any Kalistyi that ventured too close. The brunts, true to their name, had taken the first blows early on, slamming head-on into the wall of evil. Despite the terrible odds, the sturdy band mowed through the Kalistyi forces, hacking and slashing every shadow demon in their path. What their magical bodies lacked in actual strength, they made up for with unlimited endurance. And endurance they needed, for every shadow demon that was defeated, two materialized to replace it.
“This fight not have an end soon,” a fighter closest to Grit said. Dok, his name was, and he was highly regarded in their ranks. Grit made a noncommittal sound, noticing a gash in Dok’s arm dealt by the arm-blade of a Kalistyi. What looked like liquid light seeped from the injured arm, and he knew that his part in the fight was nearing its end.
“Me magic is failing, Leader Grit,” Dok growled. Despite his diminishing magical essence, he fought beside his beloved leader until finally, in a cloud of pale blue light, he diminished and was no more.
* * *
Back at the cave in the brunt city of Brickdawn, Dok’s eyes popped open and he gasped from the shock. The others were still standing, silent, eyes closed with their full awareness in the battle miles away. Defeated and angry, he stomped to the mouth of the cave where the three sentinels stood guard over their helpless physical bodies.
“First one back, eh?” one of the guards chuckled. Dok cast him an even look and the chuckling faded.
“Damned lucky blow,” he growled. “If it was me really there, I would still be in the fight!”
They turned to the sound of two more of their kin waking with an angry fire in their eyes. One particularly angry fellow stomped and spat, shaking his fist in the air.
“Danged things er gave me a cheap shot. I ain’t done yet!”
* * *
The centaurs charged behind the Rizanti into battle, allowing the sleek warriors to cut a path into the demon forces before they branched into their own formation. Grimhammer was impressed by the efficiency in which the Rizanti fought. They ran in a perfect diamond formation, the leader in front cutting a trail while the others cut at the sides, sending fiend after fiend back to the dark world.
Before they were deep into the horde, Grimhammer pulled his clan up short. He looked in the distance to see the Rizanti, still blazing a trail farther into the demon forces. It was a suicidal tactic, but he knew they would accomplish their goal. No living warrior would dare such an advancement, but the Rizanti existed only for battle and would cut a path straight into the heart of the army and fight till the magic sustaining them dissipated.
The centaurs made their stand and bashed demon after demon, sending dozens of the abysmal creatures back to their world. Beside Grimhammer, the youngest of the centaur clan bashed a Tasarien in the head with his club and sent it flying away. As soon as it hit the ground, he was on top of it, pounding the big demon with his hooves until it finally fell apart and faded back to the abyss.
A ripclaw came behind him and snapped at his back with a spiked pincer. The young centaur was faster. With a mighty leap, he jumped over the dissipating Tasarien and once landed, spun to face the pursuing ripclaw.
Grimhammer swung his mighty warhammer and bashed a Tasarien in the side of the head. The demon was launched away and faded into mist before it hit the ground. A smaller, silver demon worked fast against one of the other centaurs, catching it off balance, but with one powerful swing of his weapon, Grimhammer blasted the thing apart. With a nod of thanks, his companion was away to seek his next adversary.
The Rizanti continued their advance, cutting down every demon in reach. Once they were fully immersed in the demonic horde, they stopped. As one, they turned outward into a defensive formation and continued to cut their enemies down.
* * *
Hooves pounded the ground as the horses sped across the land. Shinobu was amazed at the changes to his beloved homeland. As a strider, he had traveled the world and seen many places. Never in all the years he lived in Japan had he seen so much landmass on the island, and especially so many untouched places. Maybe the world is changing, he thought.
In its descent toward the western mountains, the sun cast a fiery orange light upon the undersides of the clouds. The day was calm and serene despite the evil they raced to confront.
“Time passes faster than our progress,” Kenjiro said.
Akemi gave him a sidelong glance. “It seems so, but we have no choice but to follow this path. Hold faith in the guardian. He would not lead us wrong.”
“Especially when it’s his tower at stake,” Kita added. He glanced at the setting sun. “Looks like we will be fighting in the dark. Unless any of you have night vision, this is gonna be tougher without light.”
Akemi responded with a strained smile. “Then your training is not yet complete.” Kita could only guess what the ninja was referring to with that comment.
The five companions rode in silence for a few more hours before slowing to a walk to allow their exhausted horses to rest. The brave animals’ heads hung low and their nostrils flared as they caught their breath. Once they cooled down, the companions dismounted and shared the water from the ration that Iel had given them. Despite the animals’ larger size, the water did its work, and after only a few deep gulps of the wondrous liquid, the horses were energized.
“We must let them rest a bit longer,” Kenyatta said. “The water does satisfy them and give them energy, but we’ve driven them hard.”
Akemi shook her head as he spoke. “You would be correct if this was a magical potion,” she replied. “But this is natu
ral water from Takashaniel. The horses will be good to ride in a few minutes.”
Kita looked into the distance in the direction of the tower. “And how long will our ride last once we continue in a few minutes?”
“There is no exact distance that I can give you,” Akemi replied. “Only that it will not be much longer.” She saw Shinobu’s disbelieving smile from the corner of her eye. “If the strider has a better path for us to follow, then let him speak it now.”
“Nothing better,” he replied flatly. “Faith is not one of my strongest attributes.”
“Then perhaps that is the major theme you chose to learn before you came to this life,” the ninja said. That set the strider back on his heels.
Kenyatta walked up next to his friend and enjoyed the little daylight that was left. “Anodar day on the battlefield?” he said, reverting back to his version of the western language to soften the mood.
“Not another day,” Kita replied soberly. “I haven’t felt this type of anxiety since we had our first real fight.”
Kenyatta smiled at that memory. “Ya man, you could barely hold your staff because your hands was so sweaty.”
Kita shoved Kenyatta away, and the Jamaican laughed. “And you weren’t shaking so hard that your swords were banging together?” he shot back.
“But me palms wasn’t drippin’ wit sweat,” Kenyatta said, laughing louder.
Beside Akemi Kenjiro shook his head. “They find fun before they jump from the cliff to the jagged rocks below,” he criticized.
Akemi watched the friends with amusement. “Because they enjoy the life they lead during their descent to the rocks, regardless of whether or not they survive the fall. Worry is useless.”
Kenjiro frowned.
Akemi sighed. “You know that I am not implying that you worry, older brother, but look,” she motioned at the islanders. “They enjoy themselves now, but have you seen a reckless moment in battle with them?”
The samurai grunted and walked away, and Akemi let it go. She was surprised that these foreign warriors had his respect so soon. Her brother would never go into battle with incapable allies. Even the strider, with his amusing but sometimes annoying sense of humor, proved to be a valuable ally.
Echoes of a Shattered Age Page 31