Flames of Awakening: Faemoch Cycle Book 1 (9 page)

Chapter
Fifteen

Do you think you can explain that to
Jaxius well enough?

"I think I got it," Bergar
said aloud, accidentally.

"What's that?" Jaxius
asked. "You have a plan?"

Well. I guess we will see, won't we?

"Actually. Yes." Bergar
tried to mimic Tolian again. "If we can find the right mix of things from
the witch's workroom we can create a diversion large enough to let us slip out
and get Grundar. From there, hopefully, we can get to the woods. In the woods,
we can fight the natives … um ... locals like we did …  the ... ahh"

Alaviel. A-la-vee-el rangers.

"Alaviel rangers of..."

Abordal. A-bor-dahl.

"Abordal."

"That just might work. Once in
the woods, their numbers could work against them. Now, if we can just find the
right mix of the hag's magic powders. There may be one small problem with that
plan, though. I believe your oversized barbarian pincushion knocked over her
table."

"I thought of that. She had, at
least, one bowl that I saw when I was ... um ... on the floor. It looked and
smelled remarkably like a powder that I have worked with before. It flashes a
bright white when mixed with fire. That could be the perfect distraction."

The two scrambled back up the stairs
to find the necessary parts for Tolian's plan. They found, upon reaching the
top of the stairs, that fortune was on their side. The bowl and powder that
Bergar had described to Tolian were sitting right where he remembered it.
Luckily, the witch had left everything as it was when she tried to flee. Bergar
walked straight to the bowl and scooped it up, being especially careful not to
spill any of the precious powder.

That's the stuff? And it really
flared like that?

Yes
, Bergar thought.
It almost blinded me. And the
heat was unbearable. How do we get it out through the window without spilling
it all on the ground?

Well, we need to find a dry
container. A pot or bottle of some sort. Dry on the inside.

Scanning the contents of the room,
Bergar spied a suitable bottle.

Now, pour the powder in and stuff
some cloth in the top. That will work nicely.

Bergar, as he did what Tolian's
thoughts commanded, said to Jaxius, "There, that will work nicely. We just
need to catch this bit of cloth on fire, and it should create quite the light
show."

He handed the bottle to Jaxius.
"You go ahead, Jaxius. I will destroy what's left so no one else tries to
fiddle with dark magic."

The half-elf nodded, "Hurry. We
don't want to keep Grundar waiting too long. He's a mighty warrior, but I doubt
even he can manage to fight off so many." Jaxius left the tower room at a
trot, taking the stairs two at a time.

Then the barbarian wearing the bard's
skin walked to the crushed table and pushed the jumbled mess of broken bowls,
jars, and bottles next to the hearth. As Bergar had guessed from watching the
witch work, many of the liquids and powders would catch fire quickly. He heard
behind him a sizzle as he dashed into the stairwell, ignoring the jarring in
his ribs with every heavy step. He made it down to the window just in time to
see Jaxius lob the now flaming bottle.

They both ducked behind the
windowsill. Bergar heard the crash as the pottery bottle shattered on the
ground, then the much louder explosion as the powder ignited a split second
later. Hopefully, Jaxius threw it far enough away.

"You first," Bergar said.
"I will drop his body down to you."

"Careful, though, we don't know
how well the body will hold." With that, Jaxius slipped out the window and
dropped, catching hold of his short-spear only for a fraction of a second on
his way down. He landed and drove the tip of his
viortassi
into the
ground. He glanced up just in time to catch Bergar's lifeless body in his
cradled arms. His knees bending slightly under the weight, he slung the wrapped
barbarian over a shoulder, grabbed his sword, and sprinted toward the now
distracted group surrounding Grundar.

Bergar watched as Jaxius sprinted off
with his body. That half-elf was surprisingly strong for his size, he thought. 
Here goes nothing. Bergar slipped his feet over the ledge. He could smell the
burning concoction at the top of the stairs. At length, he let his weight drop.
He, too, grabbed the spear on his way down. But unlike his companion, he did
not let go. Too much weight, in too many odd directions, weakened the spear's
hold on the mortar in the stone wall. The spear slipped, taking Tolian's body
along. Bergar managed to steady himself quickly enough that when he hit the ground,
his feet were in mid-stride.

Jaxius slipped into the circle of
barbarians without being noticed. Grundar looked up just in time to see Jaxius
unload Bergar's body onto his chest. Grundar hurriedly followed Jaxius to the
other side of the circle. They reached the other side of the group at precisely
the same time that the first of Fylzia's remaining lackeys realized the
distraction for what it was.

"They're escaping!" he
yelled.

Jaxius stopped cold and squared up,
both hands on the
viortassi
handle.

The first of the barbarians leaped
for Jaxius but never made it. He was caught mid-air by a shock wave of force.
Bergar's final act of revenge against the witch was played out as the top floor
of the tower exploded. The sudden ear-splitting sound was accompanied by a
concussion strong enough to knock every man within the clearing to the ground.

Jaxius and Bergar were the first on
their feet after the explosion, followed by Grundar. They dashed straight for
the wood line, not daring to look back to see if anyone followed. Jaxius ducked
low and grabbed his shield as he ran by its hiding spot, never missing a step.

Forty yards into the woods Jaxius
slipped behind a tree and dropped to a crouch.

Bergar sped through the forest just
behind Jaxius.

Now, you need to get to a different
spot from Jaxius, further away.

I know the plan
, Bergar thought.
By the gods, my
people may be rugged and enjoy a simple life, but we are far from stupid.

I know this. I am simply remindi...
never mind. I am sorry.

Good
, Bergar thought. He raced past
Jaxius and slid behind his own large tree and waited.

Grundar, confused by everything that
was going on, followed Jaxius into the forest. He barreled onward and would
have passed Jaxius by had Jaxius not caught quickly him by the arm and pulled
him down into the snow and brush.

Jaxius clamped a hand over Grundar's
mouth to stifle any protest. The half-elf held a finger over his lips to
indicate the need for silence. Grundar, veteran of many a battle, nodded.

The shouts of some of the tribesmen cut
above the crackle of the tower's roaring blaze. Jaxius leaned around the back
side of the tree and watched through the brush as about half of the men fanned
out into the woods to search for them. The other half attended to the fire.
Jaxius thought that whatever Tolian did to cause the explosion was genius.

"Cover yourself with the brush
and stay down on the ground," Jaxius whispered in Grundar's ear.
"Tolian and I will take care of this."

"But what of me boy?"
Grundar asked the unnecessary question.

Jaxius frowned and placed a hand on
his shoulder watching the tears fill the old Nordrasian's eyes. He set his jaw
and nodded. "Honorably, standing like a man."

Grundar grumbled his acceptance and
slid down under the brush. He pulled his son tight to him and held back the
sobs that he knew would soon follow.

Jaxius moved back into the shadows of
the brush and paused, letting his prey come to him.

The warrior thought the ruffians made
a terrible racket as they crunched through the snow looking for him and his
companions. As the lead barbarian passed Jaxius' hiding place, the half-elf
tensed the muscles in his arms. The grip of his great blade felt solid and
real, but now, he knew he had to make himself intangible. A ghost in the woods.
His elven heritage gave him a heightened natural grace, but he was a warrior,
not a woodsman.

Just as the man passed his position,
he sprang from the shrubbery and flew past the man at an almost impossible
speed. He did not stop after passing the confused barbarian. He did not stop to
see the man's body, cut in half by the razor-sharp blade, fall to the forest
floor. Instead, he circled around, past where Tolian sat in wait for the remainder
of the raiders.

The nearest man to Jaxius' first
target yelped in fear and ran to his friend's body. He looked out through the
forest to see the bushes shake and the tail end of a cloak. He jumped through
the underbrush like a wolf on the hunt. He slipped past Tolian's tree and was
knocked to the ground by the force of a spear impaling him from behind.

Good, now go deeper into the woods.
About as far past Jaxius as he is from us now.

I get that
, Bergar thought.
But this feels
an awful lot like running away.

We are outnumbered at least ten to
one. Probably closer to fifteen of them for every one of us. Now, we stick to
the plan, or everyone could end up dying. And for you, twice in one night?
Really? I, for one, rather enjoy living.

Bergar was really starting to hate
those types of comments. They hurt the most. He sprinted off through the woods,
making sure to hit all the bushes and trees he could as he passed. Their plan
was to run away a bit and make as much of a scene as they could. Bergar didn't
like it at all.

More of the barbarians caught sight
of them and followed. Jaxius remained hidden, letting the raiders rush by him.
When he was sure that they had all gone past, he stood and whooped at them.
Most of them turned toward his loud exclamations; the closest was only a few
feet from Jaxius. This one Jaxius did not allow to see his face. He turned
about just in time for the
viortassi's
thick curved blade to slice his
head from his shoulders.

The horde rushed at him, and Jaxius
set his feet, preparing himself for the battle. A familiar tingle behind his
eyes caught his attention. He had that unshakeable feeling that someone was
watching him.
Good
, he thought,
I like a crowd
. But the half-elf
knew that feeling was no crowd cheering him on. In fact, Jaxius had no idea
where the sensation came from, but it was the same as one he had felt before .
. . in the tower. He just hadn't had time to think about it, then or since.

He realized, then, that his last
foe's severed head had not yet touched the ground.

He leaped forward, feeling the raw
power surge behind every swing. Jaxius cut down a barbarian with each of his
strokes. Not a single one of them was able to strike at him even once. He
reached the end of the line of men leading to Tolian and stopped. His chest
heaved with each breath he took. His eyes glowed emerald again. His glowing
green eyes shined out into the darkness of the night, bathing the ground in an
eerie light. He could see the smallest of details on every leaf on every tree
and bush within his expanded range of vision. He was used to seeing farther
than humans at night, but this was more than he had ever experienced. Jaxius
looked down and saw that he was not meeting the ground. His feet hovered inches
from the bared ground where the snow had melted away. Green vines sprouted from
the earth. A verdant patch of grass permeated the space between the vines. As
the last blade of turf grew in, Jaxius lowered to the ground. His feet touched down
upon the grass without bending a single shoot. Jaxius' world had changed this
night. He was not sure why or how, but he was certain it had. He was determined
to find the answers to those questions.

Bergar looked on in amazement as
Jaxius flew past the string of Fylzia's lackeys. He saw them all fall as one
when Jaxius raced past the last one. He watched, unable to move, as the snow
melted and Jaxius sank to the patch of springtime. He stared into the warrior's
glowing jade-like eyes and saw in them the wild chaos of life screaming to
burst forth. What had Jaxius become?

What has he become indeed? I have
known him for years and have never seen this. This is disturbingly new.

"Are you alright?" Jaxius
asked. His breathing slowed, and his eyes faded. The grass and vines receded
into the bald patch of dirt.

"Y... yes," Bergar
responded in Tolian's voice.

Ask him what that was.

I will. Give me just a second.

"Um . . . what was that?"

"I don't know. I thought I might
ask you if you have ever seen anything like it before," Jaxius asked
Tolian, hope in his voice.

"No, I can't say that I
have."

"Then we shall find out
together. I think, if we hurry, we can get far enough away from here to rest
safely this night. Come, friend. We have a very sorrow-stricken comrade to tend
to, and it is a long walk back to the border camp."