Richard Tuttle - Island of Darkness

“Now, Temiker,” Ukaro said softly. “Make it quick. His power is strong.”

Temiker raised his hands and pointed at the Katana. Lightning streaked out of nowhere and slammed into the Katana’s shields. Tiny tendrils of lightning sparkled and spread across the surface of the shields protecting Omunga’s leader. Thunder pealed loudly as Temiker studied the outline of the Katana’s shields.

Outside the door of the garden the Monitors heard the thunder. They turned nervously and tried to open the door. It would not budge. The Monitors put their shoulders to the door, but it still would not open.

Temiker held the lightning spell on the Katana to outline the shields while he cast a spell of resonance. A fury of sounds assaulted the Katana’s shields even as the Omungan leader retaliated with a force bolt. The force bolt slammed into the shields that Ukaro had erected around Temiker and himself. The Chula’s shields shuddered as they absorbed the massive energy blast.

Temiker varied the pitch of his spell of resonance as he watched the Katana’s shields react to the different frequencies. When he found the proper pitch, he held it and let it work in conjunction with the lightning. The Katana’s shields were outlined for all to see, and they were shrinking as the sonic vibrations rattled them.

The Katana’s frustration showed as he realized that Ukaro must be holding a shield around Temiker, while Temiker did the attacking. His eyes narrowed as he sought a spell to defy the enemy’s protection. Suddenly, flames flashed from his fingertips again, but it was not directed towards Temiker. Instead it was aimed at Ukaro. He sighed and bit his lips as the flames bounced off and died. The shields were protecting both of the mages against him.

Temiker held both the lightning spell and the spell of resonance in one hand as he summoned a spell of winter wind. A cold column of air began circulating around the Katana. Snowflakes blew in a flurry as the surface of the Katana’s shields first turned white, and then blue as the freezing air pressed hard against the shrinking shields. Ice formed on the shields, even as the lightning sparkled and tried to melt it.

At the other end of the room, Goral put his weight against the door. He grunted from the effort as the Monitors started slamming some hard object into the door to break it down. Goral wanted to shout to the mages that he could not hold the door much longer, but he knew that Temiker was already working as fast as he could. No amount of urging would speed things up. The giant grunted and concentrated on holding back the Monitors.

The Katana raised his arms high over his head. He cast a spell to create a whirlwind, a tornado with enough strength to batter Ukaro’s shields. He knew that the spell might actually kill them all, but he was determined not to let the Sakovans win. Besides, he felt confident that the shields created for the Katana were stronger than anything that the Chula could devise. He grinned victoriously.

Temiker suddenly released all of his spells, dropping his arms and pointing his fists at the Katana. He felt the tremendous power within his body surge into his arms, his skin rippling towards his fists. A huge force bolt shot from Temiker’s combined fists. It slammed into the Katana’s shields, which instantly exploded in a spray of ice and snow.

The shock of the exploding shields rocked the Katana. He staggered backwards as his tornado veered out of control. The whirlwind weakened as it slammed into the stone wall surrounding the garden, throwing a spray of dirt and rocks high into the air.

Ukaro saw the Katana’s shields disintegrate. He immediately threw a freezing ball at the Omungan leader. It struck the Katana and instantly froze him. Temiker was shaking from the exertion of battle. He put his hands on his knees and exhaled loudly.

A loud crack reverberated through the room as the door that Goral was holding splintered. The Sakovan giant groaned loudly as he put all of his effort into holding the split door.

“The door,” Ukaro shouted. “Put a physical shield across the doorway.”

“I can’t,” Temiker shook his head as he stood erect and turned to stare at door. “It would kill Goral.”

Ukaro stared at Goral as the giant struggled to keep the Monitors out of the room. He saw the exertion causing Goral’s arms to quiver.

“He doesn’t have much left in him,” warned Ukaro. “Count to five and erect the physical shield.”

The Chula shaman immediately threw a ball of light towards the door. He shouted for Goral to leap clear, but he aimed his magical projectile towards the very top of the door. The ball of light flattened as it soared across the garden. Blades of light flew outward as it skimmed over the top of Goral’s head and slammed into the top of the door. The blades sliced through the door and over the heads of the Monitors on the other side. They dropped the ram that they had been using on the door and dropped to the floor.

Goral leaped away from the door just as Temiker’s physical shield started to form. He rolled away from the door and remained on his back for several moments letting the muscles in his arms recover. Ukaro walked across the room and knelt by his side. He placed his hands on the giant and mumbled something under his breath. Goral smiled up at the Chula shaman.

“Thank you,” Goral said. “I have never felt so drained before.”

“Your stamina is remarkable,” smiled Ukaro. “Return to your hiding place. There is no need for the Monitors to discover you.”

Goral rose and walked through the illusion in the corner of the room. Seconds later Ukaro disappeared. Temiker smiled broadly as he watched the cat slip under a bench near the door.

* * *

SkyDancer made the Councilors turn around and face the wall. HawkShadow moved towards the door and dragged the bodies of the slain Monitors into a corner. He examined the two Monitors for a moment and then began undressing one of them. He stripped off his Imperial Guard uniform and put on the clothes of the dead Monitor. When he was done he rotated slowly as he sought SkyDancer’s approval. She nodded enthusiastically.

HawkShadow arranged the bodies in the corner so that the undressed guard was covered by the one still in his Monitor uniform. He tore the Imperial Guard outfit into strips and passed them to SkyDancer. She used the strips to first blindfold the Councilors and then gag them.

* * *

Colonel Zanta walked through the corridors of the Imperial Palace, his mind still back at the Council Chamber as he tried to figure a way to save the Councilors while capturing the Sakovan. He reached his office and opened the door. His eyes opened wide as he saw the woman sprawled out on his floor, her long golden hair splayed over the long red dress. His senses went to full alert as his eyes began to scan the room. Suddenly, the woman moaned and moved. Colonel Zanta moved swiftly to kneel at her side and cautiously turned her over so he could see her face. As cold steel brushed his neck, the colonel realized his fatal mistake.

“You should not move,” warned StarWind as she placed her sword against the neck of the kneeling colonel. “I would prefer not to kill you.”

“What is going on here?” Colonel Zanta asked softly.

“I wanted to talk to you alone,” StarWind replied, “but this tramp recognized me. She will live. I only hit her on the head.”

Cherri groaned and opened her eyes. She gazed up at Colonel Zanta.

“Colonel,” gasped Cherri, “Did she get away?”

The colonel looked down at Cherri. He wanted to shake his head, but the touch of the sword at his neck prohibited it.

“No,” he said in a whisper.

“She is a Sakovan spy,” Cherri trembled. “I saw her enter your office and knew that she was intent on stealing information. I tried to stop her. I guess my decision was a poor one.”