Refuge: Kurt's Quest (31 page)

Kralisis was a specialist in the opposite of
fire, water.  He controlled the seas, the lakes and the rivers, and the cold
that was associated with water.  He felt the power of an underground river
flowing near, and tapped into the energy of its flow.  When he had gathered all
the power he could hold, he threw a blast of sub-freezing cold at the human. 
The blast hit with some effect, but not enough, and the human continued to pull
fire from the floor of the cavern and weave it around himself in a protective
shield.

[Everyone hit him with cold,] the Archmage
mentally shouted to his followers.  [Lonoris,] he sent to the lightning mage,
who he knew could serve better dealing out his elemental specialty.  [Continue
to hit him with lightning.]

The other four mages sent back their
acknowledgments, and three started to send massed cold based spells into the
flaming shield of the human.  The flames increased in intensity for a moment,
but the Ellala kept pouring it on, until they noticeably weakened.  He could
see the human mage through the flames now, and he was staggering with every hit
by cold or water that came at him.

[We’ve got him,] sent the Archmage, drawing as
much power as he could into his body, grimacing as he went over his limit, then
sending the ball of cold out with a scream of rage and pain.  The ball hit the
human mage, slicing through the weakening flames and washing over the human.

In an instant the moving, powerful human who
had been standing in the flames was turned into a statue of ice, one hand
raised as if to throw a spell, his mouth open.  Kralisis shouted in triumph. 
We
killed him
, he thought, walking forward to look at his vanquished foe. 
No
one could survive that.

Knowing there was not time to waste, the
Archmage started giving orders to his other men, sending them off to help the
other fights.  With their help his side could not lose, and the crown would be
theirs. 
And perhaps I can wear it
, he thought, thinking of no one
better suited to control that must power.

Chapter Twenty

Kurt backed with speed away from the Ogre, not
wanting that blade to again make contact with his flesh.  He had felt the life
energy flowing from his body as the blade was stuck into his thigh.  It was a
horrifying feeling, beyond a simple injury that might lead to death.  He had
the feeling that his soul would be sucked from his body along with his life
force, and he wasn’t sure where it would end up. 
Not anyplace good
, he
thought.  He was not a worshipper of the Earth deities, and was not protected
from the Hells of this world as those people were.

Shouldn’t I feel weaker
, was his next thought,
his mind running in overdrive along with his body. 
How much of my life did
he take?  And how much do I have left.

[There is no limit on your life energy, Kurt,]
spoke Lenoris into his mind.

[How can that be?] thought the Immortal back to
his sword, swinging it into the Black Blade as he looked for the next opening. 
[Everything has a limit.]

[You are correct,] said the sword as it sparked
bright light against the dark energy of the other sword.  [But even the Goddess
cannot see yours.]

Kurt continued to work on that thought as he
moved to the side and swung his sword into the side of the Ogre, putting all of
his strength into the blow.  He didn’t expect his blade to cut through the
tough God armor.  He did expect the blow to rock the Ogre on his feet, which it
did.  Kurt followed the blow with a hard shoulder into the side of the Ogre,
knocking him off his feet.

Yes,
thought the Immortal, pulling his blade up and
aiming the point down, looking for the perfect place to strike.  The Black
Armor covered ninety-five percent of the Ogre’s body, but there were some
openings, on the inner joints of the elbows, behind the knees, even one small
area between gorget and helmet.  Kurt went for the one he was sure would cause
the most damage, the point of his sword streaking down to punch through the chain
that protected that spot.  Though part of the God Armor itself, and capable of
defending against most weapons, it was not strong enough to keep the Paladin’s
Blade from punching through, at least partially.

The Ogre gasped as the point separated several
links and pushed into his neck, partially severing his windpipe.  Kurt pushed
down on the sword, hoping to do more damage, until the Ogre kicked him with an
armored foot and the Immortal was pushed away, his sword coming free from the
wound.

I need to finish him while I can
, thought Kurt,
starting back toward the Ogre as the big creature forced himself to his feet,
coughing up the same kind of blood that flowed from beneath the helmet.  Kurt
led with his blade, aiming for the same spot, and the Black Blade seemed to
move of its own volition to block Lenoris.  The Ogre coughed again, and the
rent in the armor on his neck knitted itself back together as the plate glowed.

“I will kill you now,” said the Ogre, his voice
showing none of the damage that Kurt must have done.

That damned armor heals him and itself
, he thought, taking a
defensive position as the Ogre advanced.  [Show me some of your God endowed
powers, blade,] he sent to Lenoris, hoping that the blade had something up its
sleeve.

[I have shown you all I have,] said the sword. 
[I am powerful against creatures of evil, the undead, demons and such.  And I
am equal to that blade in combat ability.  Unfortunately, you don’t have armor
to match his.]

[Is there such armor?] asked the Immortal,
dodging the strike of the Black Blade, Lenoris intervening at the last moment
as the other sword twisted to follow Kurt despite is dodge.

[There is, but it is not available at this
time.]

Crap
, thought the Immortal, swinging Lenoris in
once again, only to be blocked again. 
There has to be a way to defeat a
mass of muscle encased in invulnerable armor and wielding an intelligent sword.
 
He laughed at that thought.  There might not be a way to defeat such a warrior,
short of pushing him into deep water and hoping that he drowned.  And there was
no water like that nearby, as far as he knew.

Bright light flashed at that moment, a bolt of
power that flowed through his body with minimal effect.  But the light itself
blinded him for a moment, and that was all the time the Ogre needed to strike. 
He felt the Black Blade strike his armor to rebound once again, then it struck
it once more, and this time it ripped through.  He could feel the cold of the
sword piercing his flesh, striking through his abdominals and into his vitals. 
Where it locked into place and started to pull the life energy from his body.

*     *     *

White Paw didn’t have time to dodge out of the
way of the incoming arrow.  He could send a mental bolt at the Ellala who had
fired it, but, while that would cause damage to the bowman, it would do nothing
to stop the arrow.  So, in desperation, the wolf sent the mental bolt into the
arrow itself, while he tried to twist his body out of the way.

The power of his mind struck the bolt, and
pushed it partially out, just enough to make it miss his twisting body. 
Telekinesis it was, a different power than the telepathy the wolf had been
using, translating his mental power into physical force.  The arrow streaked
by, barely cutting through his fur and slicing a furrow in the skin
underneath.  White paw continued the roll, coming back to his feet and facing
the Ellala bowman, who was notching another arrow to his bow.

[Die,] sent the wolf with his most powerful
mental blast.

The Ellala’s eyes rolled up in his head, the
bow fell from his hand, and his body soon followed it to hit hard on the
stone.  The wolf contacted the mind, and found the man was still alive.  But he
would not be active again for quite some time, and White Paw could get on with
targeting others of the enemy.  He turned back to the Ellala he had been
attacking when the bowman struck.  The man was trying to get back to his feet. 
Another bolt, and the man fell back to the floor, unconscious.

White Paw moved to the edge of the path, giving
him a view of the cavern below, and the battles going on.  It was not going
well for his friends.  Most were holding their own, barely, some were in
serious trouble, and it looked like one had been overwhelmed, while he had been
kept busy by the attacks of the three warriors on himself. 
Time to change
this
, thought the wolf, finding a priority target and launching a mental
bolt.

*     *     *

Garios staggered back after the sword had
nicked him in the neck.  He knew that it was not an ordinary blade as soon as
it touched his skin.  It sliced his flesh unlike an ordinary blade, like it was
made of something unnatural.  As soon as his muscles locked up, he knew that
the blade had attacked his system in an unnatural manner.  Like it was
poisoned, but not with any material.  No, it was Death magic, plain and simple,
and it ran through his veins, running straight to his heart.

No
, thought the Dwarf, trying to fight the poison
while he attempted to bring up a life spell that would free him of the
effects.  He knew some spells that might suffice, but, unlike the Law magic
that was ingrained in him, these required thought.  And the Death Priest was
not about to give him that time.  The man was moving in again, shuffling his
feet and leading with his blade. 
I’m sorry, my friends
, was what he was
sure would be his last thought. 
I’ve failed you.

The Death Priest cried out in pain, the blade
dropping from his hand to hit the floor, turning from a long rapier back into
the dagger it had started off as.  The other Priest grabbed his head in his
hands, his eyes wide with pain.

[I have given you time, friend Garios,] came
the mind speech of the neo-wolf.  [That is all I can do to the Priest.]

[Thank you, White Paw,] sent the Dwarf, then
concentrated on the problem at hand.  His heart was starting to seize up, his
muscles quivering as sweat poured down his face.  He frantically grasped at
memories, until he found what he was looking for, he hoped.

Garios whispered the words to the spell as he
felt his heart slowing to a stop.  As soon as he said the last word he felt the
energy flow through his body.  A moment later his body warmed, his limbs
strengthened, and he felt the fingers of death release him.

“Thank you, Goddess,” he prayed for a moment. 
“Though I do not serve you, I am grateful for the aid.”

[You do serve me, good Priest,] came the voice
of Arathonia in his mind.  [You protect those who do my will, as well as those
who fight in my name, even if they don’t give their will to me.]

Garios smiled as he thought of Kurt and
Jackie.  They were servants of the Goddess, but they would never admit to such.

Garios was about to answer when he saw that the
Death Priest was no longer incapacitated.  In fact, the man was glaring at him
and repeating the words of a spell.  The Dwarf glanced up a moment, seeing the
fire gathering above him.  He immediately turned and ran, just before the
pillar of flame struck the ground where he had been standing.

“Good try, Priest,” yelled Garios, gripping the
haft of his hammer.  “Now try this.”

The Priest pulled the hammer back and moved his
arm forward with all of his strength, releasing it at the end of the arc.  The
hammer flew straight toward the target, the Death Priest.  The Ellala stopped
the spell he was saying in mid-sentence and flung both hands up, forming a barrier
that bounced the hammer away.  The hammer flew up into the air, reoriented
itself, and flew back into Garios’ hand.  As soon as it made contact with his
palm he drew his hand back and threw it again.  The hammer bounced away again,
this time coming slightly closer to its target.

It returned again, and Garios picked new
targets with this cast, the two lesser priests who were still praying to aid
their master.  The hammer sped out, hit one man in the head with the sound of a
crushed melon, then bounced before righting itself and heading into the
forehead of the other.  The prayers died in mid-word as the two bodies fell to
the floor, and the power they were sending to the High Priest was cut off.

The Death Priest looked discomfited as he lost
that connection the other priests were giving him.  He looked unsure of himself
as he poured more power into the barrier he had put up.  Garios smiled as he
threw the hammer again.  He had the other Priest on the defensive, and he
didn’t intend to let him gain the initiative again.  He made ready to throw
again, prepared to put everything into it.  He had just started his forward
motion when the energy balls slammed into him, raising his hair from where it
cascaded from under his helmet.  With a croak Garios tried to fight the pain
that was coursing through his body.  He turned a bit to his left and saw the
source of the newest attack, an Ellala mage, who was waving his hands and
mouthing words, preparing another spell to hit the Dwarf.

*     *     *

Fenris did not want to let himself be backed
into a corner, even though it wasn’t really a corner.  But it was a trap, plain
and simple, but he was sure that if he let them put his back against the wall,
he would never leave this place.

The Marshal stood behind four of his men,
shouting orders to the warriors who had backed the Ranger up.  Mostly he was
telling them to kill the Ranger, something they were trying to do anyway. 
Mostly he was confusing his own people, yelling for them to do things different
from what they were already doing.  One man started coming in, going for an
opening, then retreated as the Marshal yelled for him to flank the Ranger.  He
got in the way of the man who was already in that position, leaving Fenris to
only worry about the two on his right for the moment.

The Ranger took a step that way, feinting with
his sword, then shouting the trigger word of a simple spell he had held in
reserve.  Both of the Ellala yelled and covered their eyes as a bright light
sparked in the air in front of their faces.

Fenris stepped and lunged with his sword,
punching through the throat of the rightmost warrior.  He withdrew the blade in
an instant, hoping to get in a killing stroke against the other man.  He caught
the movement of the two to the left out of the corner of his eye and turned
that way instead, swinging his sword in to block the thrust of one of those
warriors.  And he stepped back again, doing what the enemy wanted so he could
live just a little longer.

“Move out of the way, idiots,” yelled the
Marshal, and the three warriors fell back, letting the mage that had just
appeared step forward.

Shit
, thought the Ranger, knowing he didn’t have a
chance against a battle mage that was throwing spells from point blank range. 
He prepared himself to rush forward, right at the mage, sure that the warriors
would strike his flanks while he was doing so.  But the only choice he had was
to go for the mage, or get burned to ash where he stood.

*     *      *

Jackie coughed deeply as the poison continued
into her system.  She could tell that it was a powerful agent, and that she
should have already fallen over dead.  But her body was fighting back,
defeating the poison.  That was good.  What was bad was that the effects
weren’t going away fast enough, and she could hear the female assassin moving
toward her, talking about taking her head.