A Lich's Love (Death Knight Series Book 5)

by Michael Chatfield

  Solomon gave her a fancy bow.

  “Good to see you woke up.” Dave smiled, but his eyes chilled as he faced the enemy again.

  “I was supposed to be a peaceful clan spirit.” Bruce laughed.

  “I was looking forward to retirement,” Penelope said.

  “You, retirement? Do phoenixes do that? I just thought you kept on being reborn again and again?” Wendy quipped.

  The familiars grinned.

  “The old game?” Dave said.

  “You’ll lose this time!” Bruce yelled and ran forward with a yell.

  Penelope hit her staff against the ground and spell formations appeared around her.

  Wendy raised her hand and a spell formation appeared above the Drafeng.

  A gold arrow appeared in Dave’s hand. As he drew back his bow, Solomon disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

  Dave fired arrows, creating beams of light around him. Solomon appeared above a Drafeng; his blades cut them apart before he disappeared in a flash of black smoke again.

  Bruce hit the Drafeng like a force of nature, his pole laying them out.

  Penelope’s spell formations burst into flames and revealed flame elementals that shot out fireballs into the Drafeng. She tapped her staff; a line of fire ran across the ground, into the Drafeng lines, and exploded. A small volcano underneath the Drafeng tossed them away.

  A pillar of light shot out of the ground, killing the Drafeng underneath. The spell formation glowed with power and several smaller spell formations stemmed from the main spell formation.

  The loose rocks that had been the pass above were crushed and tossed away with the forces at play.

  The power drained out of the main formation, falling apart. The secondary formations sent something crashing toward the ground, sending Drafeng flying and covering the area in dust.

  Spirit knights appeared in the craters, created from the power of Dena.

  “Being outdone by my familiars!” Anthony was covered in purple lines. He turned into a purple blur, his sword a howling afterimage as he tore into the Drafeng.

  He threw his sword, killing a Drafeng. His arm glowed green and he punched a chaotic beast, sending them back the way he came. He flashed forward in a puff of smoke. His sword turned gold; he snatched it out of mid-air and Solomon saluted Anthony.

  Six stood against hundreds, slowing the Drafeng.

  Drafeng targeted Bruce with their ranged beams but he moved out of the way. Solomon appeared behind him. His normal impassive devil mask had changed into one of a grinning devil. Drafeng blood colored the white, red, and black mask.

  Anthony dodged an attack, throwing his sword at the attacker. He fired a beam of crackling golden lightning through several beasts, arcing through their ranks as Wendy’s sword cut through the air itself. A blade of white light extended from her weapon as it cut through the ranks of the enemy, slicing through them with ease.

  Wendy created a barrier, protecting Penelope, who had turned into her phoenix form, getting out of danger. Penelope flew over the Drafeng, pulling the snow up with her passing. Embers fell from her wings, burning all below her. She transformed into her humanoid form, using her staff once again to send out fireballs that hit a Drafeng aiming for Bruce’s blindside.

  He let out a “huah!” as he slammed the ground with his pole. The area around him shot out a blast wave, throwing the Drafeng into disarray; three of them caught arrows from Dave before they landed.

  “Those were mine!” Bruce yelled.

  “Boys—such a low score.” Wendy ran forward with Anthony.

  The two worked together as if fluid water: they covered each other, their sword art complementing each other’s. It was the same, allowing them to understand the actions of the other perfectly to cover them.

  “Your footwork is too slow! Come on—blade higher there, Anthony! Did you forget everything I taught you as you were napping?”

  Even fighting, Wendy was teaching him.

  Anthony looked at the battle. They were only slowing the Drafeng; they were getting around them at the edges. Dave, Solomon, Penelope, and Wendy were doing their best to contain the sides but they were getting past, with more Drafeng making their way to Shivernsin, which was still working to open their sealed ports, clear the rubble from their defenses, and rebuild them where they had been crushed with falling rock.

  Anthony ducked as a spell shot over him, killing a Drafeng.

  He glanced back to see Ramona, Ryan, and Rachel emerge from the wall of dust and snow. They landed on the ground, their legs digging into the snow as they carried Tommie, Claire, and Aila forward.

  Claire’s hands flashed with magical power and stone stakes shot out of the ground, piercing Drafeng. Aila stood in her stirrups, firing arrow after arrow that burned with purple light. Tommie fired gnome grenades from his arms, blowing up the Drafeng and pushing them back.

  Anthony ran forward, taking an arm from another Drafeng. He turned and jumped. His sword cut an arc through the air, cutting into the Drafeng’s neck. He dropped to the ground, rolling as a hammer hit the ground.

  All of his familiars were fighting. Claire stayed back with Wendy and Penelope as Tommie and Aila ran into the battle, jumping off Rachel and Ryan. They landed on either side of Anthony.

  Tommie slammed into a Drafeng, his left arm a shield; his right turned into a blade. He stabbed it forward, killing the Drafeng. He used the blade to cut the bag on his back. Smaller Gnominators dropped to the ground, wrapped up in Aila’s spells, which animated the miniature Gnominators. The bags on the side of Rachel and Ryan burst open and five Gnominators ran forward under Aila’s command.

  “You—” Anthony started.

  “I’m not letting you fight without me again!” Claire yelled. Lightning shot out from her fingers, connecting to several Drafeng.

  She raised her hand, drawing a stone slab from the ground and tossing it into the air.

  Dave’s neck turned red, expelling flames that launched the slab away, crashing into a chaotic beam, raining down on the Drafeng.

  The Gnominator spat out Goblin bombs, taking the pressure off of Penelope. With a screech she turned into a phoenix, passing the Drafeng in a blur. Bodies dropped behind her.

  “Aren’t we friends? Can’t leave you out here on your own,” Tommie held up his arm as it switched to a crossbow.

  Several purple arrows passed him. As if they had eyes they weaved across the battlefield around animated mini-gnominators.

  Drafeng dropped to the ground, staring at the small machines in accusation.

  “You’d get into too much trouble!” Aila laughed.

  Bruce in his bull form smashed into a group of Drafeng. As they fell, a shadow flashed around them.

  Solomon stood next to Bruce, playing with his thin blade. Bruce reached out, his staff appeared as he slammed it on his ground. Vines appeared from the ground, grabbing onto Drafeng. A flash of light cut across the land. The light faded back to Wendy as Drafeng slid apart.

  “Too right, I was always telling him to be more social. You know just talking to imaginary friends will make anyone lose their minds.”

  “You might be imaginary Fairy!” Dave Expanded again, releasing a breath that shook the entire are, melting stone and vaporizing Drafeng.

  Anthony looked at them all fighting.

  “What are you doing, stab!” Claire yelled.

  “Ah! Yes dear! Sorry! Come here you!” Anthony charged into the fray.

  Can’t let them fight by themselves.

  ***

  Logan’s body trembled. He couldn’t see the group out there. He could hear the sounds of fighting and see the flash of light even through the thick cloud.

  Beams still landed on the barrier but there was less of them.

  Mortar doors were kicked open and port gears engaged, starting to pull them up. Many were still stuck, the sealing wax now a hindrance instead of a protection.

  He watched, looking out at the lights, fearing that they might be the last t
ime that he saw them clash.

  The Drafeng were coming, but they were buying them precious seconds. Rocks were broken below and used to repair the new walls of Shivernsin that had been crushed with the falling roof above.

  His hip vibrated. The runes upon it glowed purple and it shot from his hip. He reached forward, with an alarmed yell that died in his throat.

  His family’s stone hammer—the heirloom that had been passed down with each generation and a promise, an oath to hold the north—fell toward the ground. Its purple light was almost swallowed up with the dust and snow; it was settling but the lack of wind and the mountains on either side kept it contained.

  The hammer landed and the air was tossed away. Logan knew that someone had caught it.

  His scalp tingled and goose bumps covered his body. His eyes shook as he saw them now. The breeze was enough to see the purple lights below. He strained his ears, hearing the sound of jogging formations, rushing to battle, to the call that pulled at their very bones.

  He saw tens—no, hundreds, possibly thousands.

  And then...then he heard them. The words once forgotten, but now spread to every corner of Dena once more.

  “We fight the strong and the armed.

  “We stand beside those who would stand beside us.

  “We stand for those who can’t stand for themselves.

  “We teach justice, not war.

  “We drive for peace, not destruction.

  “We will not look away from the world, whether it’s darkness or it’s light.

  “We are the harbingers, the peace seekers, the blood letters, the god killers, and the farmers.

  “To those who know these words, they know our oath.”

  Their oath, their war cry, their vow that they honored, even in death.

  ***

  Anthony yelled out as he blocked the Drafeng close combat with his sword. Claire created a spear of stone that shot up through the ground, piercing his body.

  He heard it; he heard the oath; he heard the call he had answered. He looked back to see Guardians, wreathed in purple flames, armored knights and cloth-wearing mages.

  Arrows shot out, killing the immediate Drafeng and giving Anthony and his group the space they needed.

  “I swear that something is wrong with him,” a big armored ox complained as he rushed forward with a war hammer.

  “Glutton for punishment, really,” a dwarf said, holding a stone hammer as the pistol barked in her hand, killing a chaotic beast.

  “I thought that you were having a lie-in,” Anthony said, seeing Troga and Tairlyn once more.

  “Making too much noise out here!” Troga yelled as he dove forward with his war axe, smashing through a Drafeng guard.

  Anthony shot forward, taking the opening and killing the Drafeng.

  A wave of wind came from behind, expelling the dust and snow to reveal the battlefield as the Guardian army smashed into the Drafeng army, tearing into them with abandon.

  Shivernsin was revealed once more, a small mountain blocking the northern pass.

  Anthony and his group had been pushed back again and again, which just happened to bringing them well within the range of Shivernsin’s weapons.

  Mages atop of Shivernsin worked together, calling down their attacks upon the Drafeng. Cannons and mortars adjusted their aim and fired.

  All of Shivernsin was alive. Spells lashed down upon the Drafeng; cannonballs smashed holes within their army that had been forced to bunch up.

  “Hold the line, you scabby bunch of bones!” Claire ordered.

  “Ha! The war mage is fired up today!” someone called out. Mages grouped together, buffing the Guardians and their bodies shone with brilliant power. They cut their line in the pass—Drafeng on one side, a wall of Guardians on the other.

  Shivernsin supported them from the rear. There were no more Drafeng to charge in; they had no more forces left.

  They fought savagely. The Guardians were cut down, but a flash of power from Claire was able to repair them and get them back into the fight.

  The Drafeng’s fighting spirit wavered as they were unable to take a step forward or do anything. A noise came up from the Drafeng as the rear of the army turned and started to run.

  Anthony and the others weren’t going to let them go that easily. They redoubled their efforts, expending all of the power that they had left. Shivernsin’s mages fought on with all of their power, expending all that they had as the cannons and mortars fired as fast as they could be reloaded.

  The Drafeng front lines folded as everything behind them had fled already.

  The Guardians and people of Shivernsin watched the fleeing Drafeng who passed their camp and kept running.

  “I could do with a beer.” Troga rested his battle axe on his shoulder.

  “You always want a beer,” Anthony said.

  “Bad habit—drinking all the time, Mister Kagan,” Wendy tutted.

  “Sorry, ma’am,” Troga said, looking embarrassed.

  Wendy smiled and hugged Tairlyn.

  “Going to be hard to drink, you know, you being undead and all,” Tairlyn quipped.

  Troga looked down at himself. “Ah crap.”

  Wendy moved to him and he put his war axe down, hugging the diminutive woman.

  “It is good to see you both.” Wendy sighed, looking at them all.

  Anthony felt that he was flying as he heard a thwang from somewhere.

  He passed over the Guardian in a big arc.

  “Hey Steve!” He waved at the big Guardian, who let out a high-pitched squeal.

  Huh, where is my hand? Anthony waved his hand and brought it up to his face.

  “Who hit my he—ahh!” Anthony cried out as his head was pulled back in the direction it had come from.

  He landed in Claire’s arms, looking up at her eyes. Oh shit!

  “What were you thinking charging all the way out here without backup!”

  “It worked out!”

  “It worked out? Is that all you have to say for yourself!”

  He could feel the mana in the area building up and he looked to his friends. Tommie studied rocks, Aila was whistling and looking at the sky; his familiars were nowhere to be found. Wendy and Tairlyn were talking about something.

  Troga flashed him a thumbs-up and an awkward smile that seemed to say you’ve got this... I hope?

  “Could you possibly put my head back on my body?”

  “Just so you can run away?”

  “No!” Damn!

  Chapter: Shifting Tides

  Two days later, Damien arrived with the forces of the Combined Army. With them, all of the fortresses watching the Northern Basin and the passes leading out of it were fully barracked and Shivernsin now had a strike force that could advance forward.

  “The plan, as it stands, is to use the mana restricting formation. With it, the doorways will have a harder time functioning and we can move forward without fear of the Drafeng getting more power.

  “It should reduce the rate that they can produce chaotic beasts. Though, it will hamstring us as well. We can’t use mages within the area of effect. Magical tools will, however, work. The plan is to create a series of fortresses as we move north, like they have done in Cheon, to support one another as we advance,” Logan said.

  “With that, it means that the Guardians and the mages in the area are rendered pretty much useless,” Aila said.

  “Hey,” Troga complained.

  “No more mana”—Tommie raised his hand and smacked it against his other hand—“lights out for the undead. Ask Anthony and Damien.”

  “Feels worse than that time we got that Falerian ale,” Damien said.

  “No thanks.” Troga held his hand to head in memory.

  “So, the Guardians as well as a large number of mages will head to the northeast. There, we will meet up with the First and Third Fleet of the Island Alliance. They will ship us to Cheon and we can support them there.”

  “Why Cheon and not to Cresmon
d Peak?” Logan asked. “Isn’t that where the fighting is the worst, other than here?”

  “Yes, but it will take us longer to get to Cresmond Peak. Watcher Cecilia believes that she can hold on there. I also talked to Tamarra, commanding the Island Alliance. When the Island Alliance pushed into Cheon more, then the fighting at Cresmond and Shivernsin increased in intensity. Though, in Cheon they are making camps, and although they’re fighting heavily, they’re not going all out like they have on the other two battlefronts.”

  “Seems that something is up. If we were looking at just one battle and we didn’t have the communication to know about the other battlefields, we wouldn’t send people away for fear that we would be pressed too hard here,” Tairlyn said.

  Logan and the other dwarves all looked at her with a kind of reverence. She was the reason that they had stayed in Shivernsin. She had created this home and was the first bearer of the Stone Hammer. To them, she was some kind of deity.

  “So off to Cheon we go. Remember when we had to get rid of that group of demons that climbed out from the undercrust? I wonder how they’re doing,” Troga said.

  “Undercrust?” Aila asked.

  Tairlyn stomped her foot under the table and the sound of breaking bones could be heard.

  “Oh, um, nothing, just you know, story tales, myths...legends!” Troga laughed and brought his fist up across his chest, as if some jolly sailor.

  Everyone looked at him in suspicion and Aila cleared her throat.

  “We will head out by the end of the day and reach the harbor in two days. It will take us another four to five days to reach Cheon from there by boat.”

  “Where are Claire and Anthony? I wanted to thank them as well,” Logan said.

  “They’re having a little chitchat,” Wendy said.

  “Oh, and you might want to have the builders take a look at the block of housing they’re in,” Tairlyn said awkwardly.

  “Why? What happened?”

  “They’re having a little chitchat,” Wendy repeated, wincing as she held her forefinger and thumb together.

  “Ri—ght,” Logan said slowly, nodding but not quite getting what they were talking about.

  Chapter: Plans on Both Sides