Geffen had pinpointed the location of what was stealing the magic from his spells. It was located in the passageway just on the other side of where Captain Lyrun and the rest were battling.
His gaze couldn’t pierce the shadows of the passageway to discover exactly what it was. But as their men continued pushing the others backward, Geffen entered the passageway behind them. Foot by foot, their enemies continued to fall back.
Whether they were winning or losing mattered little to him. All he cared about was finding the source of what was stealing his magic. Then, as the combatants moved further back, he saw a small box on the floor sitting against the wall. It was opened!
Casting two more minor spells, he knew that whatever was within the box was the source. He had to reach it and close that box! Edging forward as Captain Lyrun and the Tribesmen soldiers pushed their enemies back, he edged closer to it. If closing the box nullified the effects, then this battle would be over quickly. Biding his time, he waited.
Pain. His whole body was throbbing with pain. As consciousness returned to him, he cracked open his eyes. The pain wracking his body made it difficult for him to concentrate. He didn’t immediately remember where he was or how he came to be there. Then, memory began to return.
“Riyan?” he croaked. When he didn’t receive a response, he said, “Chyfe?”
Clang!
Not too far away, his attention was drawn to the sound of swords striking together. “Bart?” he asked as he tried to prop himself up on one elbow. Pain flared anew as he shifted position. Looking down the passageway, he saw Chyfe, Chad, Seth, and Soth facing off against five others.
Movement from the far side of the battling men caught his eye. It was the enemy magic user. He stood just on the other side and seemed to be staring at something on the floor not far from where Chyfe and the rest fought for their lives.
Kevik propped himself up even further despite the pain of his burns and tried to see what was going on. His first thought was why the magic user wasn’t using magic. Then he remembered the box of gray powder. Maybe Chyfe had opened it? He quickly looked around where he lay but couldn’t find it.
Then dread hit him as he turned his attention back to the magic user. Looking to the area of the passageway the magic user was staring toward, he saw the opened box. “No!” he shouted, but in his weakened condition it came out as a hoarse whisper.
Reaching out, he took hold of his staff and tried to rise to his feet. But struggle as he could, his muscles were no longer up to the task. He was too weak and the pain of the burns unbearable. Collapsing back to the floor, he fought the onset of unconsciousness his exertions had brought. Taking deep breaths, he faded in and out but never quite succumbed.
Turning his head toward the combatants, he saw Chyfe and the others being pushed back. His vision started to blur and he blinked several times to clear it. When at last he could see again, the combatants had moved past where the box containing the gray powder sat. To his horror, he saw the enemy magic user kneeling next to it.
Kevik knew there wasn’t much time before the magic user would close the box’s lid and negate the effects of the powder. He raised his arm, and trembling in weakness though it may be, worked his hand within his robe. When his fingers brushed against the firm end of the wand, he grasped it and pulled it forth. The effort almost caused him to black out again but he managed to hold onto consciousness.
Once more, he turned his gaze down the passageway toward where the magic user was reaching for the lid of the box. As the magic user took hold of the lid and began to close it, Kevik brought the wand to bear. Then, as soon as the lid was closed, he used the last ounce of strength left to him to aim the wand directly toward the magic user and activate it. The last thing he saw before consciousness left him, were ice shards shooting down the passageway.
We can’t win this, Chad thought to himself. The soldier he faced off with had skill far above his own. All he had been able to do since the battle was first joined, was to maintain defense. It reminded him of the times back at the Guild when his instructors would practice with him. Block, block, parry, and dodge to the side were all he could manage without even considering trying to go on the offensive. He had tried that once and all he did was open his defenses. Now his left arm was bleeding from where his opponent had made it through.
Battling beside him, Chyfe and the twins weren’t having any better luck. Their opponents were simply too skilled for them to make any headway. Not to mention the fact they outnumbered them by one. All four sported at least one wound, Soth had the most and was growing weaker by the minute.
Then, Chad saw the magic user come to stand behind the soldiers and he knew it was over. But curiously, the magic user failed to employ his magic. Instead, he was doing something else that Chad currently didn’t have the luxury of time to figure out. When the magic user knelt near the side of the passageway, Chad let his concentration slip minutely as he glanced to see what he was doing, and almost had his opponent’s sword slice him in the face. Dodging backward to avoid the blow, Chad slipped and hit the ground. His eyes widened when he saw his opponent move forward to finish him.
All of a sudden, he felt the temperature drop dramatically. Poised above him for the deathblow, the soldier paused in mid-strike and glanced further down the passageway.
Wham!
Ice shards suddenly came from out of nowhere and ripped into him before continuing on to slam into the magic user. A score of the shards flew over Chad, devastating the soldier and the magic user.
The suddenness of the attack distracted another of the soldiers enough that Seth was able to land a lethal blow to his midsection.
“What the hell was that?” yelled Soth. Moving his sword quickly, he brought it up to block the downward hack of the man he was facing.
“It must have been Kevik!” shouted Chad. Getting back to his feet he moved to aid Soth. Before rejoining the battle, he saw where the magic user laid, multiple shards had ripped through his robe and blood was pooling beneath him. Now that he was out of the way as were two of the five soldiers facing them, maybe they would have a chance.
Wham!
The sound of the ice shard attack distracted Lord Kueryn just enough that his blow failed to strike Bart.
Bart rolled to the side, and then bracing his feet on the bottom step, launched himself up and onto the dais.
Lord Kueryn glanced back and saw Geffen fly out of the passageway amidst a spray of ice shards. When he saw one exit the magic user’s back, he knew Geffen was dead. Rage at the loss flared to an overpowering need to kill those responsible. Turning back to the thief who was the cause of it all, he raised his sword and moved to attack.
Bart was shocked to witness the death of the magic user. As incredible as it may seem, Kevik had triumphed!
“You are dead, thief!” Lord Kueryn exclaimed.
Rolling to the side, Bart remained on the floor of the dais as he continued to roll across its surface away from the enraged lord. Behind him, Lord Kueryn stepped onto the dais and followed.
The thief was trying to get away from him, rolling like a dog. Lord Kueryn quickly caught up with him and was about to strike when he felt something hit his arm. In his rage and need to end the life of this thief, he paid it little heed. Then when another sharp jab brought pain to his sword hand, he looked and saw the tip of a small, two inch dart embedded in his skin. Already, red tendrils were beginning to spider their way across his skin. Ignoring the pain, he raised his sword to kill the thief.
Bart saw the darts protruding from him. He had hoped his roll would trigger the traps guarding this place. Now, he scooted backward off the dais and rolled down the steps, remaining low in case more of the deadly projectiles were launched. All the while he kept his eyes riveted on the lord who was intent on his death.