killing him. He jumped just as the ground shook and the air crackled from another heavy bolt of magical lightning.
The Dragon Spawn had to catch its balance, smoke pouring from the wound. That was it! He flung a dagger, true to aim, catching the thing right in the eye. As it reared back, letting out a pretty decent roar, he was on it, stabbing it repeatedly in the throat. He rode it to the ground, landing to find a spear of light moving inches from his face.
He ducked, rolled, came up behind the catkin and buried the still steaming dagger into its spine. The catkin was slowly falling when another Dragon Spawn charged him.
Damn. He felt his muscles protest as he moved to meet this new foe. As he moved, he could see how the battle was flowing. How it was changing. The men, catkin and Antia included, realized they could never touch him in this state so they were converging on Gen while the Dragon Spawn began to swarm him.
Not good.
In that second of thinking he turned to find a heavy hammer thrusting forward. The only thing that slowed the hammer was his head. He felt himself lifted into the air, spun by some other attack, landing in a heap of pops and snaps. Pain should have taken him out right there but then things got… weird.
He felt the stab of countless little swords, forcing him up. A quick look showed him the grass he had fallen on was, in fact, an army of little creatures. Sprites? Fae? He had never seen their like before. They were chattering away in a language he did not understand.
When they all started pointing their sword over his shoulder, he jumped aside. The hammer smashed into the ground. If it hit any of the creatures… he couldn’t tell.
As he came up from the roll, he realized he could feel…in a way. And that wasn’t right. He knew he had broken bones. He’d heard them break. Yet he felt no pain. No movement was impaired.
In that second of thoughts, the hammer came whistling at him again.
Not again…
He spun under it, even as it changed direction to try and catch him, he slipped out another dagger and buried it into the Dragon Spawn’s middle. The creature snarled, preparing a hard, crushing elbow when he jumped up, dragging his dagger through it.
As he flipped over and glanced back, he could see the steaming ropes of entrails falling.
A wave of red shot through him. Literally. He watched it cut through man after not man as it sped away. He looked to Gen. Her eyes were bright. Glittering red diamonds. Her glow brighter. She was tossing out death as easily as he pissed when he awoke every morning. The very air was vibrating around her. Around them all.
Why didn’t she use this power before?
As he thought it…another thought hit him. With enough force to send him flying up into the air. Again. As he reached a peak of maybe three men tall, he spun around, drawing daggers and whipping them as fast as he could.
Dragon Spawn went down with daggers to the face as quickly as any man. When he landed, he was already rolling away, taking a few daggers with him. The Dragon Spawn were becoming more frenzied. More angry. More hungry for his blood.
They were part dragon after all.
He had trouble keeping track. It didn’t help that the thunderous power around him was shaking the ground. Shaking his senses. Everything seemed to hum. Even as he watched the men and catkin, he noticed they were moving faster. Damn.
I’m almost used up…
Not a shock really. He was–
The polearm cracked him across the back of his skull. He was lucky it was the dull side. As he went down, he heard a sort of cry. What…ahh. Gen. The Dragon Spawn that leapt towards him…this time point first with the polearm... was wrapped up in a bundle of red. As a magic being, the Dragon Spawn dropped the polearm and grabbed for its artifacts. Its dark amber magic flared around, trying to fight off Gen’s.
It looked like it would not win in the end, but he didn’t leave it any chance. He jumped forward, thrusting with a dagger that sparkled white as it went into the magic bubble.
He cried out as he struck home. His arm was on fire. Pure agony swept through him. Falling back, he saw the Dragon Spawn’s glittering hate filled eyes. But only for a moment. Then Gen’s magic obliterated it.
He rolled away as best he could but he was still splattered with a large amount of gore. And it stank. He flopped to his side, gagging. When he landed on his arm, fresh agony shot through him. Then… nothing.
What…
He looked down to see the same sickish purple green magic swirling into and over his arm. Filling the gaps in his flesh with a viscous fluid. He had to look away. He didn’t feel it…but it was in him.
What is happening to m–
“Go go go!!” A little voice shouted.
“To her to her!!” Many voices shouted. He looked up to see Gen. Arms weaving this way and that. Flickering through movements that he had trouble following. Stepping and spinning on the ground and in the air. Her body gyrating this way and that.
It’s like a dance.
Yet, as much as she killed, more came. And now a few of the Dragon Spawn had turned to her.
Some of them with enough magical artifacts to fight her attacks.
“Go mule go go!!’ The voices shouted. Their strength somehow pushing him to his feet. He searched for daggers as he ran. Finding only one.
Shit. This was one of those times when you realize you can never have too many daggers.
Growling, he elbowed a man out of the way while grasping his sword and yanking it free. He snarled at it.
Too long. Too heavy.
Swords were such clumsy tools. At least to him. But, it worked well enough as a spear, testing its weight, changing his grip. With a snarl he launched it at the nearest Dragon Spawn. It blasted through the back of the creature, sending a red spray before it. As it turned toward him, he ripped his dagger across its throat and moved on.
He felt a pain. Glancing down he saw an arrow in his calf.
No time.
He cut through it where it met his flesh, leaving only a bit of shaft exposed. As the Dragon Spawn moved swiftly past the men, they cut as many down as he did. In a way they were helping.
That tingle. The nape of your neck. He ducked, rolling forward with his speed. A splash of nasty yellow whipped through the air, killing a few slow motion men and splashing harmlessly off the Dragon Spawns ahead of him.
Before he could turn, a thunderous percussion pressed him flat. Knocked them all flat. He lifted his head, ears and body ringing. It was Gen. Again.
She was floating in the air now, ribbons of color whipping up from the ground into her feet. Her arms outstretched as long ropes of red death filled the air, jumping out from her fingertips. Her hair… he could no longer see her hair.
The top of her head was too bright. Like a sun. Long strands of the brightest white shot upward, twisting and twining their way as high as he could see.
A glance around showed him the men and catkin and even Antia hunters had been flattened. Some were staring around, other were slowly getting to their feet. He wondered if they saw her as he did. The Dragon Spawn? They saw. He could tell as his eyes traveled over them, some were staring skyward. He met the wide reptilian eyes of one. He imagined he looked the same.
What in all the hells is she? Those reptilian eyes asked.
I have no idea. His own wide eyes replied.
As they stared, looping ropes of red flared out and around them all, filling the sky. Now and again one would reach down and turn something… someone…Into powder. It was one of the more impressive things he had seen. He lay there…watching.
“Go go!!!” The ground yelled at him, stabbing at him.
“She’s got it all– ouch! Hey!” He growled as a little sword stuck him.
“Go go you great mule!” They piped as one.
He frowned. Getting a better look at her again as she floated closer. “I think she has it under–damn it!” He sat up. “I’ll crush the next one of you little turds that–”
“Look! Look!!” They chirped. He
did. He saw. The fool girl. She was using all her strange powers. It looked like a magical version of the warrior’s trance. She was not used to it. In her face…he could see.
No way is she going to hold that for long…
Gods damn it all!
He shot to his feet, toppling over onto his stomach.
Damn it.
His warrior’s trance was gone. Blasted away by her magic. Coming more slowly to his feet, he began to go for the Dragon Spawn. Now that he was normal, more turned to him. Not just Dragon Spawn.
Ah shi…
After that thought, it was insanity and motion. If he slowed even a bit, a weapon touched him. He spun and twirled. Pirouetted away and landed to leap and roll into a jumping kick.
Each move. Every action. Landed a blow from his dagger. If he hit groin, he hit groin. If he only nicked…he nicked. The only thing that mattered was not stopping. At this point…he knew.
I stop. I die.
He could feel the excitement growing around him as he swayed and ducked and bucked his way through the mass. Hurry. He had to hurry. Gen’s magic was fading. He could feel it.
Come on girl…where is this Source of yours now?
They needed help. They needed support. He watched the grass as he spun through the air off a spurting Dragon Spawn corpse that had not fallen yet. He could see the little masses of creatures. What were they waiting for?
He landed on a knee, ducked under a flash of orange and sliced the groin area of two different men as he flipped back behind a Dragon Spawn’s corpse. Arrows plunked into it. He took a breath and rolled as a flash took what was left of the Dragon Spawn.
The Source Page 18