Refuge: Kurt's Quest (29 page)

Chapter Eighteen

“I can’t believe we actually got here before
them,” said Garios, staring at the glowing crown sitting on the pedestal across
the large chamber.

[We did not get here before them,] sent White Paw,
observing from a high pathway he had run up to on the wall of the chamber. 
[They are here, waiting for us.]

[Your animal is correct,] came another voice
through mindspeak.  [Or is it more than an animal?]

“Come out where we can see you,” yelled Kurt,
his voice echoing through the chamber.  He did not like this playing hide and
seek, and wanted to come to grips with the enemy, especially since that enemy
already knew where they were.

“Why did you not take the crown?” yelled
Garios, his eyes searching all of the chamber, their glow bespeaking the spell
he had cast to allow him to see in total darkness.

“The Crown decides who takes it,” said the
voice that they all recognized now as the leader of their enemies.  “It does
not answer to any of our Gods, as its maker faded from existence long ago, and
it recognizes no other master.”

A dozen figures stepped into sight from some
shadows that had an unnatural look to them.  One, an Ellala, wore the ornate
armor of a high ranking officer.  One wore dark robes, and had a look that sent
shivers down the spines of whomever caught his gaze.  There were several others
in the robes of mages, all with their gazes locked upon James Drake and a pair
of priests, both looking somewhat ill and weakened.  The one that caught Kurt’s
attention was the huge Ogre in black armor that seemed to glow, the hilt and
pommel of a large blade jutting over his right shoulder.

“I am Marshal Ellessa Ellisandra, once
commander of the Empire’s Armies in the East, until your people defeated me with
those damnable tactics of yours.”

“Only a fool fights fair,” said Kurt with a
laugh. “If you wish to beat my people, you must out think them.  And so far
your Empire has not proven capable of such.”

The Marshal returned a glare that might have
scorched the flesh from the Immortal’s bones if he had magical powers, and Kurt
wasn’t immune to most magic.  “You are arrogant, human.  We will see how
arrogant you remain after we kill your people, and capture you for my Emporer.”

“So you waited on us so you could get revenge,
said Fenris, looking at the Marshal with a sneer.  “You would have been better
served to have grabbed the crown and run.”

“As I was saying, whelp of a degenerate Ellala
kingdom, the crown chooses who it will go with.  And it has decided that we
will fight, with the winner taking the prize.”

“And how do you want to settle this?” asked
Garios, tightening his grip on his hammer.

By answer the enemy charged forward without
warning, several of their warriors releasing arrows while their mages threw
spells.  It became apparent in an instant that they had already formed a
strategy, as particular people on the enemy force headed for particular
targets.  Kurt almost smiled when he saw the huge Ogre heading his way, knowing
as he did the lack of speed and agility of such creatures.

So he was shocked when the Ogre broke into a
swift run and pulled the blade free from his back sheath to spin it through the
air with consummate agility.  “I am Krug, wielder of the holy blade.  And I am
your death,” roared the Ogre.

The Black Blade swished from its sheath,
glowing with dark power, and the Ogre seemed to grow even larger as the glow
spread to his armor.

“Shit,” yelled Kurt, taken off guard, trying to
get his blade out in time to block the killer that was now in striking
position.  Lenoris seemed to leap into his hand, faster than he could have
drawn it on his own.  It sang a clear angelic song as Kurt brought it up to
strike the Black Blade, which howled in anger when coming into contact with its
opposite.  Sparks, bright as starfire and dark as hell, sprang out from the
contact.  Kurt felt a shiver run up his arms, and as he tried to push the Ogre back,
he found he could not move the creature.

“Shit again,” cursed Kurt as he disengaged,
dropping down and avoiding the sword of the Ogre that the warrior was still
pushing down at him.  Kurt back pedaled away, keeping his sword in front of
him.

[I thought you were made to fight that thing,]
he sent to his sword.

[I am.  But it is also made to fight me.  You
need to be careful, Kurt.  I am not sure what that blade will do to you if it
penetrates into your body.]

[What do you mean?] asked the Immortal, as he
ducked under a swing and swung Leonoris into the exposed side of the Ogre.  The
Paladin Blade of Arathonia, the most powerful weapon of her pantheon, hit an
equally powerful artifact and bounced away without a scratch.  Kurt turned and
ran as the Ogre tried to get into position for another attack.

[You are immune to magic, at least the kind
used by mortals.  But that blade is imbued by the God of Death to steal life.  I
am not sure your immunity will work against that.]

Wonderful
, thought the Immortal, spinning in
place and blocking the Black Blade yet again, then pulling his sword back and
striking at the head of the Ogre, only to see the Black Blade seem to twist
into the way.

The Ogre swung again, this time speeding
through Kurt’s guard and hitting him on the shoulder.  The enchanted armor
bounced the Black Blade away.  The weapon screeched like a banshee, then came
back in and hummed as it cut through Kurt’s armor and bit into his flesh.  Kurt
felt the bite of that blade as something more than physical.  With a surge of
strength he swung a gauntleted fist  into the chest of the Ogre and knocked him
back, then dodged to the side as the ugly creature recovered much too swiftly.

I’m not going to brute force a victory over
this thing and his weapon
, thought the Immortal as he twisted away from another
thrust and knocked the Black Blade down with a chop of his own sword. 
I
have to out think him
.  And as he was trying to do that the Ogre scored
another hit that cut armor and flesh, and Kurt felt some of his life energy
leave his body.

He had faced vampires, werewolves, trolls, even
dragons since coming to this world.  And now he found himself facing an enemy
he might not be able to defeat.

*    *     *

Xenonodes saw the enemy charging at them, and
noted that none of them were actually attacking him. 
That’s good
,
thought the Halfling, his eyes seeking some nearby shadows that looked
promising.  With a quick step he was within those shadows, wearing them like a
cloak, hidden from friend and foe. 
I’ll just stay here and watch, and
decide what I need to do when I have to.

*     *     *

“You are mine, Dwarf,” yelled the black robed
Death Priest, waving a hand at Garios.  Dark energy flew from that hand and
struck the shield the Dwarf had just erected.

Garios could feel the threat of that energy,
the power of the dark priest attempting to suck the life from his body.  A life
priest would be the best match in opposition to this kind of foe.  He was a
priest of Law, though he controlled some life magic.  But his most powerful
powers were in the realm of Law.

Then it’s time I use some of that magic
, thought the Priest,
saying the words under his breath that caused his hammer to glow with power. 
He raised the hammer overhead, just as the barrier between him and the death
magic began to fail.  He felt the sharp bite of that magic as he brought his
hammer down on the floor.  With a thunderclap of sound the power went into the
stone, which cracked all around the strike.  The Death Priest fell from his
feet, landing hard on the floor, then being thrown back into the air away to
land hard again.

Garios ran toward the other Priest on his short
legs, desperate to get in a killing or disabling blow before the Ellala could
recover.  He raised his hammer in the air, depending on its natural enchantment
to get through any defenses the man might have.  He was bringing it down,
aiming for the unprotected head of the man, when the Ellala looked up and moved
like a striking snake.

Garios felt the shock run through his body as
all of his muscles spasmed, and he fell back with a cry.  His tough body threw
off the effects of the spell quickly, much faster than any Ellala or human. 
Still, when he looked up he still felt some of the daze of the electrical
shock, and the Death Priest was getting to his feet with murder in his eyes.

And far behind him his two lesser priests
chanted the words of spells, feeding more energy into the master.

*     *     *

Fenris drew back his bow and sent a crackling arrow
streaking into the breast of one of the enemy archers.  The man released his
own arrow, which flew harmlessly into the air, while the Ranger drew, aimed and
loosed on another.  Not having to draw arrows sped up his rate of fire, and he
had a third arrow off, and another kill, before any of the enemy archers could
draw again.

“Face me,” yelled the Marshal, running toward
Fenris with drawn blade, his eyes filled with murderous hate.

Fenris dropped his bow and drew his sword in
one smooth motion, catching the blade of the Marshal on his own just before it
could strike his flesh.  Fenris twisted his wrist, pushing the enemy blade
away, then slashed at the face of the other Ellala.  His blade mostly missed,
leaving a slight scratch on the Marshal’s left cheek.

“You cannot win this fight, Marshal,” said
Fenris, swishing his blade through the air with a flourish.  “You may be a
general, and a leader, but it has been centuries since you were a proficient
warrior.”

“But I don’t have to be a better fighter than
you,” said the Marshal, laughing as three of his men ran up, blades at the
ready.  “Only a leader of warriors against a single fool.”

*     *     *

Another fireball came in and struck the ground
at Drake’s feet, exploding and adding to the firestorm that already engulfed
him.  He knew why the enemy mages were using fire.  Fire spells were actually
some of the easiest to throw, and even a low level mage could generate forces
that made them feel almost godlike.  And they were very powerful spells,
capable of destroying a number of enemies with one strike.

Unfortunately for them, they didn’t know much
about Drake and his abilities.  He was not completely immune to fire.  Just
extremely resistant.  But when he was working magic, fire became not a threat,
but a source of energy.  The robe he had acquired at the shrine also proved
immune to flame, and it was channeling energy into him even faster than he
could normally absorb it.

James drew the fire into him, shaped it, and
sent it in a wave at the enemy mages, intending to obliterate them in one
action.  A powerful shield caught his fire and bent it around the mages, and he
recognized that there was at least one archmage in that group, if not more.  He
sent another wave of flame into the group, his intention to overwhelm their
defenses.  Even an archmage couldn’t stand against him when he was feeding his
power with flames like the ones surrounding him.

A bolt of lightning and a beam of cold struck
him at the same instant, both powerful enough to have come from masters.  He
was not prepared for those attacks, and had no natural resistance to them.  His
body went into shock and the flames around him died down.  Then he felt himself
almost wilting under the gazes of the other four magic users, all calling up
their spells and preparing to blast him from existence.

*     *     *

Jackie decided from the start that superior
strategy would help win the day more than just rushing into the attack.  So at
the moment the enemy revealed themselves through speech, she had faded back
into the shadows and started making her way in a flanking maneuver.  The enemy
attacked while she was still in the movement phase.  She stopped in place and
looked over the attack, making her decision on who to help first.

“I was hoping I would be able to test myself
against you,” said the voice of a female Ellala, followed by the appearance of
the speaker from the shadows.  Even though she was now in the light, it was as
if the shadows had followed her and were wrapping themselves around her in a
protective cloak.  “They say you are faster than anyone alive,” continued the
female, drawing a pair of short blades from her back sheaths.  “More agile than
the most graceful Ellala.  This I wish to see for myself, see if you are the
match for a Master Assassin.”

“And what is your name?” asked Jackie, watching
the woman closely, noting the smooth and graceful movements of the Ellala. 
“Oh, come on.  You know who I am.  You can at least give me the courtesy of
your name.  If you know about me, you know I cannot use magic.  So what harm in
giving me your name?” 
And thanks for buying into my delaying tactic, while
I track your two friends with my ears.  They’re quiet, alright, but not to
someone with ears like my kind have.

“My name is Glassini Ellishanana,” said the
Ellala with a cold smile.  “I am the greatest Master of Assassins this world
has ever seen, and I will be your death.”