Richard Tuttle - Army of the Dead

“Force bolts would be appropriate,” answered Xavo.

“You do realize that once we attack,” warned Lady Mystic, “Santiock will move to kill us? There will be no further chance to manipulate him.”

“I understand,” replied Xavo. “Let’s make good use of our time. You start at the east end of the line, and I will start at the west.”

Lady Mystic moved away silently. Xavo turned and headed towards the western corner of the roof. When he was as close to the westernmost catapult as he could get, he unleashed the first of his force bolts. A surge of invisible power shot out of his fist and soared through the air. The magical spell impacted the farthest catapult with devastating results. The wooden frame of the catapult disintegrated in a fine shower of splinters. Motangan soldiers in the vicinity of the destroyed catapult fell to the ground, blood running freely from numerous punctures. Xavo ignored the sudden commotion surrounding the destruction, his eyes already moving closer to the temple as he sought out the next catapult. He unleashed another force bolt and sent it streaming towards the siege engine.

Shouts of alarm drifted up to the roof of the temple as Lady Mystic and Xavo methodically destroyed the catapults. The two mages backed slowly towards the center of the roof as they worked their way along the line of catapults. When all of the machines had been destroyed, Lady Mystic and Xavo stood back to back in the center of the roof.

“Santiock has called up the reserves,” warned Lady Mystic. “A thousand soldiers from the dock area are rushing towards the temple.”

“Let’s meet them inside,” nodded Xavo. “We can make the stairways into killing fields.”

“What about the elves?” asked Lady Mystic. “They may need more help from us.”

“I think we have given them more help than we realized,” grinned Xavo as he pointed out to sea. “By drawing Santiock’s reserves off the docks, we have cleared the way for the elven ships to land. Santiock will not even see the elves arriving before they have taken control of the docks.”

Lady Mystic followed Xavo’s gaze and saw scores of small ships approaching the island. They were still far enough off the island to not be visible to anyone at ground level. She smiled and nodded as the two mages entered the temple.

Xavo led the way to the top of the nearest staircase. He leaned over the railing and saw Motangan soldiers streaming in from the front door. The soldiers split into two groups, each heading for one of the stairwells. The dark mage wasted no time in attacking. He unleashed a light blade into the thick of the Motangan ranks on the ground level. Bodies were sliced open by the magical blades of light, and the soldiers scurried towards the stairs and what they thought was safety.

Lady Mystic had already reached the opposite stairway. She looked across the atrium at the stairs climbing the wall on Xavo’s side of the temple. She unleashed her own light blades at the soldiers hurrying up the stairs. Xavo could not see the results of Lady Mystic’s spell as the soldiers were directly underneath him, but he smiled with satisfaction at the sound of the fresh screams. He aimed his own spells at the stairway underneath Lady Mystic.

As the two mages continued to crisscross the atrium with their spells of destruction, a river of blood began to cascade down the stairs and flow onto the floor of the atrium. The soldiers bravely continued to ascend the levels of the temple, but their numbers diminished rapidly. Out of the thousand Motangans sent to the temple, only a handful of soldiers survived the long climb to reach the top level. Those few soldiers were quickly eliminated before they could reach the mages. The temple in Vandamar suddenly succumbed to a tomblike silence.

Lady Mystic breathed heavily from the exertion of summoning up so much magic in a short period of time. She leaned against the railing to catch her breath. After just a short pause, she turned to look at Xavo, but her lover was gone. Confusion clouded her features as her eyes scanned the floor of the top level in search of Xavo. At first she was concerned that he might have succumbed to the stress of the magical battle, but fear quickly overrode her concern when she saw the doors to the throne room standing open.

Lady Mystic pushed herself away from the railing and ran to the throne room. The room was empty, but the door at the rear was also open. Pushing her fatigue aside, Vand’s daughter ran through the throne room and out the back door. She charged along the corridor and around the corner to where the door to Dobuk’s chamber was located. She saw Xavo’s hand reaching towards the door to open it.

“No!” she screamed. “Stop!”

Xavo looked up in surprise. He saw Lady Mystic running towards him and knew that he would not succeed in opening the door before she intercepted him. He sighed in defeat as the woman plowed into his body, knocking them both to the floor of the corridor. For several moments they remained quiet. Only heavy breathing broke the silence. Finally, Lady Mystic rolled off of Xavo and sat up.

“You will not enter that chamber without resting,” Lady Mystic said softly. “You must be rested and in top physical condition. Your recent exertion must be overcome first.”

“Then you do not object to my entering the chamber?” Xavo asked with confusion as he sat up.

“Of course I object,” scowled Lady Mystic, “but you are pigheaded and will not listen in any event. At least rest long enough to give yourself the chance to do something useful with your life before you die.”

Xavo nodded suspiciously as he stared at his lover. “I will rest a bit,” he conceded, “but why do I think you are trying to trick me?”

“Perhaps because you attribute your own sneakiness to others?” shrugged Lady Mystic. “I am not responsible for your thoughts.”

“Perhaps,” responded Xavo, “but I doubt it. You are up to something. You may try to distract me from your true intentions, but I know that you will answer my questions truthfully. When I am rested,” he asked pointedly, “will you try to stop me from entering Dobuk’s chamber?”

“No,” sighed Lady Mystic. “I have tried everything short of attacking you to get you to see reason, and I will not do that to you.”

“Well,” chuckled Xavo, “I think you actually did just attack me. Fortunately the only harm was a few bruises from falling to the floor.”

Lady Mystic tried to smile at Xavo’s attempt at humor, but she could not. She rose to her feet and straightened her clothes. Xavo also stood and continued staring suspiciously at his friend.

“Do not distract me by making me wonder about your motives,” Xavo said softly. “I must concentrate on what I will do inside the chamber. What trick are you planning to keep me out of there?”

“I will not stop you from entering,” declared Lady Mystic. “I know that your mind is made up. Forget about me and put your mind to the task.”

He knew that Lady Mystic was being truthful, but Xavo was still skeptical. He was missing something, and he knew it. He continued to frown at Lady Mystic.

“Get your mind on your task,” Lady Mystic said sternly. “We will have precious little time to act once we enter the chamber.”

“We?” echoed Xavo as his eyes grew large with disbelief.

“We,” Lady Mystic nodded determinedly. “While I may not be able to stop you from entering, you are also powerless to stop me from doing the same. If we are to die to help your daughter, we shall do so together. Now, what is your plan?”

Xavo stood silently as the extent of Lady Mystic’s love became clear. His eyes teared up with the knowledge that he was throwing away something he could treasure for many years, but he also knew that Lyra could not withstand Dobuk if the demon was uninjured. He sighed with finality.