Curse Of The Dark Wind (Book 6) (42 page)

“Maybe it’s only the first part that is fake,” he wonders out loud.

With a roll of his wrist, one of the chaos elves appears in Stephen’s hand and his grip tightens around his victim’s neck. The struggling young man reaches out for Trinity, who is knocked back by a slap from her ally. The callous nobleman hurls the chaos elf at the stairway and he passes through, his body plummeting to the ground. Stephen is already looking away when Trinity leaps over the edge and draws an ebony bullwhip. She swings and lashes it around the flailing man’s arm, a surge of crimson magic tearing at the cobalt flesh. Casting a burst of force, the caster launches them back to the cliff where she lands on her feet and catches her injured follower.

“I’m so sorry about this,” Trinity apologizes as she quickly unwraps the whip. The flesh is torn to the bone and bleeding rapidly, so she encases it in a cast of fiery aura that cauterizes the wound and protects it from infection. “Get some rest and I promise to bring you to the priests as soon as we’re done here. Again, I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay, my queen,” the chaos elf weakly whispers, reaching up to touch his ruler’s cheek. “I prefer wounded to dead.”

“How sw-” Stephen begins to say before a fist of ice knocks him from the cliff. He reappears a second later only to get driven into the ground by a boulder from above. With a hearty laugh, he throws the chunk of stone through the stairway and dusts himself off. “Thank you for amusing me, dear Trinity. I was getting bored.”

“You know our deal. I will defend my people if you try to hurt them,” she growls while the other chaos elves help their injured ally to the far side of the cliff. “Do what you want to me, but leave them alone.”

“An interesting idea,” Stephen says, licking his lips. He lunges at Trinity and catches her by the wrist, twisting her against his body. “Save as many pawns as you want, but I’ll do as I want. I wonder what your people would think if they witnessed what we did in private. Do you think your people would lose faith in you? It would be delicious to see the look on their faces as I humiliate you.”

An explosion of light erupts between them, knocking Stephen through the stairway and slamming Trinity against the white pillar. He is back on solid ground and about to charge at the vulnerable chaos elf when he sees that another of their allies has joined them. The naked woman with black and white skin looks around, her green hair whipping in a wind that nobody else can feel. Even Stephen refuses to attack the Chaos Goddess, her raw power emanating from her pores until she taps her nose and her aura vanishes.

“I’ve come for you,” Yola Biggs says while pointing at the injured chaos elf. The man tries to scramble away, but disappears with a snap of the goddess’s fingers. “Baron Kernaghan’s will has been done.”

“What did you do to her!?” Trinity shouts, leaping to her feet and rushing to grab the naked goddess by the hair. “Tell me where she is, Yola!”

The deity falls to her knees bawling like a scolded child, a sudden increase in her weight dragging the caster to the ground. “You said you wanted him to be helped and the Baron was listening, so he told me to get him and send him to the Ambrosine temple for healing while I told Stephen to behave himself and he will have to answer to his father if he keeps killing off our forces while he hides in the shadows and plots to control a dangerous channeler who will probably be the death of him, but he’s too arrogant to listen, so let my son do whatever he wants because if he has not listened to me in all these centuries then he is not likely to do it now.”

“I’m not sure what she said, but I’m certain my father is disappointed in me,” Stephen says with a shrug. The sight of several stars appearing in the sky makes his skin itch and he snarls at the cosmic lightshow. “I believe you’re being observed, Yola. I suggest you return to my father’s side before your family comes to take you away.”

The goddess stops crying and jumps to her feet, hovering a few inches off the ground. She waves at the sky with a hand that grows to the size of a small horse. The enormous extremity fires off her wrist and spins into the heavens where it explodes in a crackling display of light. For a brief moment, everyone can see large silhouettes shielding their eyes. As the fireworks end, the suspicious stars fall below the horizon and everyone in Windemere swears they hear a chorus of muffled curses.

“Is there another reason you’re here?” Trinity asks, nervously watching for more signs of the gods. She takes some joy in the fact that Stephen is looking equally unnerved by their ally’s actions. “I don’t want to face one of your kinsmen.”

“You’re safe since you’re mortal,” Stephen mentions as sweat forms on his brow and vanishes before it can drip past his eyebrows. “I’m not really sure if I count and killing a god would be more trouble than it’s worth. Speak quickly, Yola, or things will get messy.”

The goddess opens her mouth and a garbled mess of noise comes out for several ear-wrenching seconds. She proudly stands with her arms crossed and nods her head. Her companions rub their eyes in frustration, stopping and glaring at each other when they notice the shared action.

“Speak clearly and stick to the point, Yola,” Trinity groans.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on the Dark Wind as you requested since I can smell through the barrier. The Meraphor has merged with the mirror you had me slip into the chair room, which cost me three kidneys and two-thirds of my second brain. Many of the infected have been killed and the survivors are continuing their suicide runs. The emerald vanished for a few minutes, but it’s back to where it needs to be for whatever you’re planning to happen.”

“Then we should get in position to greet any surviving champions,” Stephen says with a cruel grin. He removes his gloves and flexes his fingers, the nails becoming clean and finely manicured. “You can stop paying attention, Yola.”

“Doing what?”

He glares at the goddess as she innocently smiles at him. “Go away.”

Sticking her tongue out at the scowling man, Yola casually walks off the cliff and plummets to the ground. Trinity is the only one who bothers to watch the goddess splatter on the base of the Widowhorn and slowly drag herself through the dirt. The chaos elf is still watching the odd sight when a low grunt catches her attention. She unleashes a swarm of acidic lances that pulverizes the incoming boulders, coating the cliff in a layer of hissing dust.

“We will defend the Garden of Uli!” shouts one of the titans from below.

“Not these things again,” Trinity groans, blasting a thrown tree out of the air with a lightning bolt. “All these idiots do is hurl the landscape at us.”

“We are in need of our own stairway,” Stephen casually says as he passes his foot through the wooden steps. He scratches his chin and glances at the one-armed giants below, his eyes settling on a cowering form behind the titans. “Can you handle that geyser giant in the back? I never get any fun out of those. If you’re going to argue-”

“I don’t care about that sniveling creature.”

With her enhancer gems glowing, she creates a solid orb of dark green aura. She enjoys the palpable fear of the titans, but notices the geyser giant is already slipping away. Before the creature can escape, Trinity hurls the spell and adds a wind burst to make if fly faster. Striking the misty skin of its target, the orb creates a vortex of shredding energy that engulfs its terrified target. With a screech that mixes with the geyser giant’s dying screams, the spell implodes and sucks the wispy remains of the creature into oblivion.

“Thank you,” Stephen says as he runs a finger up Trinity’s spine. “I’ll handle the rest of them. It never hurts to stretch before the main event.”

With a chilling spark in his eyes, Stephen jumps off the cliff and hurtles toward the roaring titans. The sounds of breaking bones and tearing flesh echo throughout the area as the side of the Widowhorn is bathed in blood.

*****

Timoran’s battle cry echoes throughout the castle as he leaps off the crystal tower and lands on the head of the giant creature. He drives his great axe into the limbless monster that is composed of sticky Dark Wind, but he cannot tell if he has done any damage. Red eyes appear in front of the barbarian, so he punches one of the orbs and hangs on as his enemy thrashes in surprising pain. It bends backwards in an attempt to smash the warrior against the ground, but it is frozen in place by a blast of ice from Sari, who is standing in a nearby pond. The gypsy continues pumping freezing magic into the creature while Timoran dislodges his axe and drops to safety. He charges and shatters his enemy with a swing that carries his weapon completely through its frozen skin.

“Are you okay?” Sari asks as she hurries out of the pond to help dig her friend out of the icy shards. “Some of these look sharp.”

“I am fine, my friend,” he replies with a grin. He tackles Sari out of the way of a lightning bolt that blasts a hole in the ground. “We should find a way to stop Nyx’s magic. There are no more monsters, so I do not know why she is still casting.”

“I’ll flush her out.”

The gypsy spins and flips back to the pond, dodging the combat spells that seem to follow her. A fireball hits the water and fills the air with steam, which is split by a spiraling geyser that rushes toward the shed. It strikes the barrier and becomes electrified, forcing Sari to stop her attack and leap out of the water. The jolt of energy catches her right foot and knocks her into a frost-covered bush.

“Well I’m out of ideas,” she says as she crawls out of the shrub. She frowns at the scratches on her arms and ducks a blast of force. “This is getting ridiculous.”

“We need to get their attention,” Timoran states as he bats several spells away with his great axe. “Stay behind me and we will make an approach.”

“Are you going to knock on the door?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

The barbarian marches forward and knocks the incoming magic out of his way. Their progress is slowed down by several swarms of smaller spells, causing both adventurers to dodge around the minor explosions. Sari tries to put a barrier around them, but Nyx’s stronger aura shatters it within seconds. When he only has a few steps to go, Timoran rushes forward and presses his axe against the door. The barrier sparks and surges against the deflector weapon while cracks appear from the constant pressure. He puts his shoulder against the axe and braces his feet, several spells flying inches above his head. Sari helps him push by pressing against the barbarian and tries her best to redirect the close range spells.

“The monsters are gone, fire sprite! Sari and I took care of the last one!”

With a small pop, the barrier vanishes and the door swings open. Timoran and Sari crash to the wooden floor, but catch a brief glimpse of their friends jumping away from each other. The gypsy quickly notices Nyx wipe her mouth and massage her jaw. A dazed look on Delvin’s face leaves no doubt in her mind what the pair were doing. Sari is about to hug and congratulate her friend, but the half-elf sprints out of the shed.

“What happened?” Timoran asks in confusion.

“Nothing,” Delvin calmly answers, rubbing his injured shoulder. “We were talking about Stephen and Isaiah possibly knowing she’s a channeler to keep her angry. That helped keep her spells going and I guess we went too far.”

“Guess you two . . . talked so much that Nyxie’s jaw hurts and you ran out of breath. I love conversations like that,” Sari interjects with a grin. Her face changes when the warrior flashes her a stern glare of warning. “I’ll go check on her while you two figure out how we can find Luke and Fizzle.”

Sari backs out of the shed while Delvin talks to Timoran and she bolts after Nyx once she is out of view. She finds the half-elf hiding behind a thick, leafless oak, her fingers pressed to her lips. The caster is not crying, which Sari considers a good sign, but the bouncing on her toes puts the blue-haired girl on edge. When she gets close enough to be noticed, her childhood friend yanks her out of view of the shed.

“I don’t have to ask what happened, but I really want to know,” Sari excitedly whispers. She catches Nyx by the cheeks to stop her friend’s head from moving randomly. “We have until Delvin and Timoran make a plan, so talk quickly. You’re clothed and your hair isn’t a mess, which means-”

“I kissed Delvin. Oh by the gods, I kissed him and loved it and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do now,” Nyx rapidly rambles. The half-elf is trapped between terrified and giddy, only calming down when Sari mutters a relaxation spell. “Our auras merged and swirled, which was so . . . I don’t know the right word to use. If we weren’t in danger, I don’t know what I would’ve done to him . . . or is it with him? It was just so intense and nothing like I ever imagined.”

“I don’t see what the problem is.”

Nyx grabs her friend’s hands and moves them away from her face, pulling the gypsy close enough to whisper in her ear. “I don’t know if I love him. I mean, love him enough to risk my heart. I know he loves me, but what if it’s the channeler scent that Stephen mentioned. This could all be about how I smell and not about the rest of me.”

“Do you believe that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Blurt out the first thing that comes to your mind.”

“No.”

“What did you think?”

“I’m not after Luke.”

Sari pinches the caster’s palms, using enough force to make her friend cringe. “Let’s not get into that. I need you to focus, so we can save Luke. To do that, I want you to say what is making you act like a stuttering fool. I can drench you in cold water if you need that kind of relief. Work with me, Nyxie.”

“I want to kiss Delvin again, but I’m scared it would give him the wrong idea,” the half-elf explains, peeking around the tree to see if the others have left the shed. “Hate me or call me an idiot, but I simply don’t know what I feel or if I trust his feelings. Please don’t tell him that I doubt his sincerity.”

“Your secret is safe with me. By the way, you’re beautiful when you glow like this. For your sake, I hope you’re wrong and this is love because it looks good on you.”

“Thanks. I think I’m good now. Time to find Luke and Fizzle.”