The covens were spread out over the mountain. Each of them represented a point in a great pattern, a focus of the energy being directed toward the central altar. As she looked down at it, a smile of triumph flickered on Maiev’s lips. The Betrayer himself was there, directing the operations, standing arrogantly at the altar. He wove the great spell like the master magician he was, shaping it into a swirling vortex of potency.
She paused to consider the magnitude of the gateway being opened. So much energy, all of it centered on this one spot. Either Illidan proposed summoning a being of truly awesome power, or the portal was intended to bridge a gap across an unimaginable distance.
Not that it mattered. He was not going to be given a chance to complete his spell. By now the rest of her squads should be in position. Sarius and his group were in place, ready to slay the sorcerers nearest to Illidan.
After that, justice would be done for all of the Betrayer’s victims. It would be done with her own sharp blade. She ran her finger along the edge and shivered, imagining it.
She glanced over at Akama once more. The Broken licked his lips and nodded. He knew as well as she did that it was time. She raised her armored hand and gave the signal to attack.
A roar sounded in the distance. A panther-like figure emerged from the shadows and leapt at the throat of a blood elf magician. The sin’dorei screamed and fell. The other sorcerers barely noticed. They were too wrapped up in the casting of spells.
Maiev had perfectly chosen the moment to attack. Even the Betrayer did not seem to notice them for an instant. Her draenei and Broken followers emerged from the rocks and charged downslope, brandishing their weapons, invoking powerful spells of offense and defense.
The few Illidari surrounding the clumps of sorcerers were taken off guard. Some managed to pull weapons free of their sheaths and form up in small groups, back-to-back. Maiev could only respect such bravery, even if she despised the cause they fought for.
Their courage would not make any difference. The numbers favored Maiev and her troops. She did not even need Akama’s followers. The Ashtongue lacked the hard competence of her own people. They had not been honed by months and years of guerrilla warfare in the wastes of Outland.
Maiev used her power to blink from her position and reappeared behind a naga sorcerer. Her blade licked out and slit the creature’s throat before she could react. A swift step took her within reach of another mage. She struck off the blood elf’s arm with one blow.
The air shivered. The pulse of magic briefly halted. The other magi redoubled their efforts. It was possible that the spell would run out of control if too many of them were killed. The backlash of such unleashed magic could be catastrophic.
Maiev did not care. As long as the spell destroyed Illidan, she would not consider her own death too high a price to pay. Of course, he might yet escape. He was as slippery as a serpent and had a talent for self-preservation equaled only by his talent for treachery.
She needed to make sure. Only if he died beneath her blade could she be absolutely certain that her purpose was achieved.
The altar lay ahead, and it looked as if, at last, the Betrayer was starting to pay attention to the attack. His warglaives spun in his hands, and he glanced around to see where the threat had come from.
Maiev sprinted toward him, hoping to get within range so that she could blink behind him and strike.
Illidan’s head swiveled to look directly at her. He raised his warglaives as he invoked powerful magic. The spell he wove seemed to have nothing to do with the ritual taking place around them.
A magical signal blazed.
Maiev sensed the sudden opening of the portals all around her. Gaps appeared in the fabric of reality. Clouds of mist billowed forth from them as differences in temperature and air pressure between the point of origin and the point of terminus manifested. The fog provided cover for the masses of reinforcements emerging through the portals.
Hundreds upon hundreds of naga slithered forth, along with companies of fel orcs. The gates appeared between the parties of magicians. In places, the emerging fighters smashed into Maiev’s own soldiers.
She saw that they needed to throw Illidan’s forces back through the gates before the superior numbers could be brought to bear. The portal mouths were not huge. A small number of troops could choke the exit points.
Maiev shouted orders, telling her soldiers to strike at the emerging Illidari. It was a stopgap measure. Sooner or later greater numbers would prevail. That was not the point. All they had to do was buy her time to reach Illidan and put an end to his evil career forever.
Even as her troops reacted, she realized that the Betrayer had taken her response into account. There were too many portals for her small force to close them all. Groups of Illidari emerged on the flanks of the swirling melee.
She lengthened her stride to try to reach the Betrayer, determined that if nothing else, she would be avenged. As if he knew what she was thinking and wanted to mock her, Illidan spread his wings and leapt into the sky.
Maiev sensed more magic being woven and looked around. Amid a court of powerful naga sorcerers stood Lady Vashj. The leader of the Illidari’s serpent folk lashed about her with potent spells. Maiev’s troops fell as if poleaxed.
The bitter taste of defeat filled Maiev’s mouth.
A massive fel orc leapt in front of her. His monstrous axe swept down. She ducked beneath it, rolled forward, and hamstrung the creature with her umbra crescent.
A phalanx of fel orc warriors charged at her. She tensed, ready to spring. A bolt of pure cold shivered through her body, shocking her to a stop. Lady Vashj had made contact with a spell. Howling maniacally, the fel orcs rushed in. Maiev tried to move her frozen muscles, but they refused to respond. She was going to die and Illidan was going to go free once more.
The fel orcs closed the distance with terrifying speed. Spittle drooped from the lips of one massive red-skinned creature as he raised his axe to take her head. Maiev refused to shut her eyes. An arrow whizzed out of nowhere and buried itself in the creature’s throat. Another one hit him on the shoulder and sent him twisting to the ground. More arrows rained down, killing more fel orcs. All of them had Anyndra’s green-and-red fletching. A fel orc tripped over the corpses of his comrades. A berserker leapt over the growing pile and closed the distance. Maiev managed to get her arm moving, attempted a parry. Too slow. Too slow.
The great hunting cat that was Sarius leapt in from the side, caught the berserk fel orc’s arm, twisted his weight to overbalance him, and gouged him with his claws. Reddish-black rents appeared in the fel orc’s neck. Blood spurted. More fel orcs piled onto the druid, determined to bring him down. Sarius rose, this time wearing the form of a bear, shifting the enormous weight of the fel orc warriors. Their blades hacked his fur, drawing blood, but magic surged around the druid to close his wounds.
Maiev felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Anyndra’s appalled face. “We have got to get out of here!” her second-in-command bellowed. Her voice was already hoarse from shouting orders above the clamor of battle.
Not many of Maiev’s troops remained: a handful of her draenei and Broken fighters, and Anyndra and Sarius. The gates were fully open now. Fel orc after fel orc and naga after naga poured through. This was more than a force of bodyguards. It was an army.
For a moment she considered flight. She could order her troops to run and fight another day, but she might never get another chance like this. She must kill the Betrayer this day. Even if it meant giving up her life and the lives of all her companions, it would be a price worth paying.