Martin Hengst - The Darkest Hour

The High Priest smiled and was gratified to see the shaman and several of the warriors grinning as well. A battle was never to be shirked from as one of the Chosen, but there were many ways to enter combat. Zarfensis urged them on. He wanted to get to the relic as quickly as possible. The sooner they had it, the sooner they could be home and free of the vermin.

* * *

“What is that?” Wynn had dropped all pretense of stealth and practically had to roar the question over the thunder that was spreading up the tunnel toward them.

“I don’t know,” Tiadaria replied, loosening the straps on her scabbards and pulling her scimitars free. “But it doesn’t sound like anything good.”

She cast a sidelong glance at the young apprentice. He had sworn to her that he could fight. That he’d fight for her…for them. This might be the first time his resolve was tested. Tia hoped he’d be able to live up to the challenge.

“Are you ready?” Tia looked him in the eye. The weight of the question hung in the air between them. Wynn nodded.

“I’m ready.” The quintessentialist spun his staff around his hand, catching it at the balance point in the center of the rod. As he did so, flames sprang to life along its length. The magical fire danced over his hand but didn’t scorch his glove or the sleeve of his robe.

It was the first time that Tiadaria had seen him completely in control of his magical gift. Both in Ethergate, then again during the attack in the ravine, his magic had come at a moment of great extremity, exploding in an uncontrollable burst of rage and fear. This was a different Wynn. A mage in control of his mind and his weapon. A mage with something to fight for and the will to see it through.

Tia put aside the pride she felt for him and prepared herself for battle. Two ice elementals skidded around a distant corner of the corridor. They had a clear run toward Tia and Wynn now, with not so much as a snowdrift between the aggressors and their intended victims.

The thundering footsteps of the elementals made it difficult to remain upright, even with the added help of the spikes strapped to their feet. Tiadaria went to the balls of her feet, spinning the scimitars in a fluid motion of wrist and arm, testing their weight and balance.

To her surprise, it was Wynn who attacked first. She heard him invoke the ancient words of power and call the essence of flame forth from the Quintessential Sphere. His staff moved dizzyingly fast, spinning a great circle over his head that formed more streams of flame with each revolution. Finally he dropped the end of the staff, pointing it toward the elementals as if he intended to use it as a lance.

The ball of flame he had conjured was immense. As Wynn released it toward their targets, it roared down the length of the corridor, steam rising from the walls on either side. It slammed into the crude arm of one of the elementals, blasting it to pieces and melting a crescent hollow where the flame had touched the body. Ice quickly turned to steam, which turned to snow, drifting down from the damaged titan as they continued forward.

With a throaty war cry, Tiadaria leapt toward the damaged elemental. Her arc took her to a height impossible without the use of magic and she jackknifed in the air, bringing her swords down in a vicious slash. One dug a deep furrow in the shoulder that still had an arm attached to it. The other glanced off the creature’s head harmlessly.

Tia almost made it clear of the elemental, but its grasping hand knocked her off balance as she tried to twist away. She was thrown into the wall and slid down the slope, ending sprawled on the floor of the tunnel behind the attacking monstrosities. Wynn wanted to go to her, to ensure she was okay, but they were closing on him too quickly for him to do anything but defend.

Wynn hefted the staff over his head, chanting in the language of the sphere. He brought it down, slamming the end into the ice and watching with savage pleasure as a wave of fire raced out from the point of impact. It intersected the approach of the elementals and boiled away some of the stumps of ice they used as legs before fading out completely. His skills were of particular use against these foes, but it was slow going. He could really use Tia’s help in splitting them up and giving them two targets to contend with.

No sooner had he finished that thought then he saw Tiadaria struggling to her feet. Her face was a bloody mess, but most of the blood seemed to be coming from her nose. She flashed him a thumbs up, just long enough to assure him she was okay, and waded back into the fray. She seemed disinclined to battle the creatures where their hands could reach, so she snuck up behind them as they advanced on Wynn and sliced out at the legs Wynn had already weakened.

The enraged elemental turned to face the new attacker and swiped ineffectually between its own legs. Tiadaria, her movements a blur between the physical realm and the sphere, easily danced out of the way before ducking in to strike again and again. Shards of ice littered the floor of the cavern. There was a crack like a whip and a deep fissure appeared in the elemental’s leg, racing up into its blocky, angular torso.

“Wynn,” she yelled. “This one! Now!”

The apprentice threw his hand out in front of him, his fingers curled into a claw. He drew essence from the sphere, weaving it, folding it, compressing it into a tight ball of flame different in both character and composition from the one he had summoned with his staff. He hurled it toward the damaged elemental, willing it to find the seam that had opened in the smooth ice skin. The projectile flew straight and true, slamming into the crack and making the elemental glow from within. A moment later, it exploded, pelting them with shards of ice no larger than a fingernail.

Tiadaria let out a whoop and turned to the other elemental, which was getting dangerously close to Wynn. Following the same strategy she had used on the first elemental, she attacked the legs. She had only a stroke or two before the towering giant of ice kicked her legs out from under her. She landed hard on her back, the air rushing out of her lungs. She looked up and saw a huge foot descending toward her. She only barely managed to roll out of the way before it ground into the floor of the cavern, making the floor quake.

A series of small fireballs pelted the elemental. Barely larger than a snowball, they weren’t enough to cause any real damage, but the incessant assault was enough to draw it away from Tia while she got her bearings. She had to admit, for someone as reluctant to fight as Wynn had been, he certainly had a knack for it.

While he kept it occupied, she approached the elemental from behind and drove her blade deep into its leg. She twisted the hilt and the leg shattered, topping the elemental over on its side. Wynn motioned for her to get clear and then summoned a ring of fire that surrounded the elemental, shrinking in on the rapidly melting form until only a puddle of water remained. A few wisps of steam danced in the air and then they were gone. The water on the floor of the tunnel was already starting to freeze.

As the sphere gave, it also took away. Tiadaria was gripped with a coughing spasm so powerful that it dropped her to her knees. The tears that formed at the corners of her eyes froze on her cheeks while she struggled for breath. She tasted the familiar copper tang of blood on her tongue and knew that the same sickness that had claimed the Captain was already inside her. He’d lived a full and active life, even dealing with the side effects of his condition. She could do the same, although she now had a new respect for the enthusiasm he had exhibited. Especially on the battlefield.

Wynn was crouching next to her, his hand on the small of her back, the link-shock sending a painful jolt into her spine.