The Chronicles of Lumineia: Book 02 - The Gathering (17 page)

“You always
did know how to pick a campsite,” Gaze said, and he heard a weak chuckle.

“And you
always knew how to start a fire,” Anders replied with a sly grin.

Gaze laughed
and rolled over. Glad to finally rest, he was unable to shake the sense of
foreboding enough to sleep. They had seen no sign of anyone from the eastern
kingdom for days. No one had been fleeing and there had been no enemies to
prove the Oracle’s words. But the lack of movement had been more troubling than
comforting. Late fall always brought travelers from Griffin, tradesmen and
caravans arriving before winter snows blanketed the eastern mountains.

No travelers
could mean two things. Either they were being prevented from leaving . . . or
there was no one to leave. The latter thought gave disturbing support to the
Oracle’s description, and kept him awake for longer than he would have liked .
. .

—Someone
grabbed Gaze’s arm and shook him awake. Lurching to his knees, he scrambled for
his knife but Prince Anders restrained him. His heart hammering, he rubbed his
eyes and tried to orient himself. A glance at the horizon showed the pre-dawn
glow was just a glimmer above the eastern peaks.

“What’s going on?”
Gaze asked in a low voice.

“A sentry
spotted movement in front of us,” Anders whispered.

Gaze grabbed
his sword belt and stood up. “What kind of movement?”

“He said the hill
rippled.”

Rippled?
Gaze thought, and hurried to follow the prince through the already awake and
battle ready men to the front of their camp.

As soon as he
arrived he squinted into the darkness, trying to see anything in the shadowed land.
After several moments of searching he spotted what looked like a ripple in
water cascade across the darkened terrain. About to ask if anyone else had seen
it, he was stopped by the sudden appearance of the king. Covered in a dark
riding cloak and dressed for battle, the white-haired king nudged Gaze.

“Can you make
a lightning bolt strike the ground about a mile out from us?” the king asked in
a whisper. “I’d like to see what is going on without giving away our position.”

Gaze hesitated
and felt a flash of irritation at the king. Early in their journey, he’d told
the entire command of Gaze's magic, saying, “It’s important they know.” Few men
had been willing to ride beside him after that. Shaking his head, he realized
that at this point it probably didn’t matter, so he nodded and reached his
senses skyward. Searching among the clouds, he found the energy he needed.
Mentally he condensed it until it contrasted with the energy in the ground,
building it to a breaking point . . .

Bolts of
lightning arced down and blasted into the ground, launching debris into the
air. For a split second, the world flashed into view as the strobe of light
pierced the darkness—and Gaze felt his heart stutter to a stop.

Unmasked by
the light, an unending horde of dark creatures rippled into view. While some
were twice as tall as a man and appeared to be armored, others were man-sized. Still
others resembled dogs or giant scorpions—and their vastness left not a single
patch of ground in sight. The lightning itself had even struck the army, and
the flying debris had been the scorched bodies of fiends.

But the flash
of light had been enough to reveal their position, and the nearest were only a
few hundred yards away. As the strobe of light faded from view, a sea of evil rising
to their feet was the last thing in sight. Then black darkness fell, bringing blindness—and
fear.

The tremendous
roar sounded like a thunderclap, shattering the calm and unleashing the fiends'
fury. Howls rent the dark, rising in intensity as they betrayed an unearthly
hunger, merging with the snarls of beasts intent on their prey. Then the earth
began to rattle underfoot, vibrating bones and teeth as it increased in
strength . . .

"Get to
the horses!" the king bellowed.

Cutting
through the din, the order released the men from their terror, launching them
into a panic. Galvanized into action, they scattered to their steeds and rushed
to mount, stumbling in their haste.

Gaze raced for
his horse, struggling to hear the orders over his beating heart. As he leapt
into the saddle, Prince Anders snatched his leg.

“Gaze!” he
yelled, “bring down more bolts as we retreat so we can see them coming!”

Gaze fought
his panic with action, and wheeled his horse east. Looking back, he threw his
mind skyward until he felt the fingers of energy strike the ground in response.
Terror filled his soul as the flash of light revealed the chaos around him, and
he yanked on the reins to escape from imminent death. Men raced to mount,
horses bucked in fear, and dark bodies burst into the camp. Within moments the
entire company was galloping as fast as their animals could carry them.

Darkness
returned as the screams of those too slow crushed his ears.

Reaching
upward for more energy, Gaze sent it into an arc of lightning across the sky. Spinning
to look backward, he saw several dog-like creatures shimmer red as they growled
and surged after them.
Sipers
, he thought, recalling the description from
the elven messenger. Almost as big as his horse, (horse or lion?) the demon
dogs overtook the last of the stragglers. In moments, more cries of agony struck
as the light faded again.

—A roar of
rage bellowed nearby and Gaze called down a bolt to see who it was, this time
arcing it
into
the pack of dogs. Glancing at the result, he saw the bolt
blast into them, tossing them into the air, broken and lifeless. Another call
from the right and he looked to see the king rising in his saddle. His white
hair billowing behind him, he raised the banner of the fifty-second cavalry.

“Ride through
the forest—and burn it behind you!” he yelled, and the cavalry surged forward.

Gaze kicked
his horse and reached upward again, this time causing a sheet of lightning to
cascade across the morning sky. Looking back he felt his stomach plummet as he
saw thousands of Sipers pouring over the hill in an unending stream—and the
other fiends were right behind them. Screaming in rage, the man-sized creatures
bounded into view, and for the first time Gaze was able to see their blood-red
manes.

Quare
.

Slapping his
horse again, he urged it even faster as all around him riders did the same.
Streaking forward, the faster horses took the lead, while the slower ones began
to fall behind. More screams lanced through his heart as the trailing horsemen
were dragged to their deaths, vainly trying to bring their weapons to bear. A
heartbeat later they were in the trees and dark trunks flashed behind them as
they raced west.

“Gaze!” the king
roared, “light the trees!”

Gaze gathered
himself and reached skyward once again. Bolt after bolt, lightning exploded
into the forest. Trees and fiends alike snapped and tore asunder as the powerful
energy struck, spending splinters lancing into black flesh. The ensuing
thunderclap almost knocked Gaze from his saddle.

But the forest
had begun to burn.

Now spurred by
the fire, the horses panicked and galloped even faster. Gaze fought to maintain
his seat as he cast a look backward. Thirty foot flames engulfed the forest and
blanketed the road in heat—but many of the dogs, and a few of the Quare—had
made it past before the blaze consumed the road.

Surging
forward, the cavalry burst from the trees into open country. Behind them the
sun had crested the horizon, but its rays barely penetrated the vast plumes of
smoke rising from the raging inferno. The light of the fire shimmered, casting
shifting shadows on the ground.

“That should
slow them down,” the king shouted. “Captain, send a hundred north and a hundred
south to flank the few that got through.”

In moments the
group split as a lieutenant peeled off on either side. Gaze, still in the
center group, wheeled his horse when the order was given and followed Prince
Anders. Fighting his mounting fear, Gaze drew his sword and raised it high with
the soldiers, joining in their battle cry and calling down three more streaks
of lightning into the center of the pack. As dark corpses littered the air, all
three cavalry groups attacked as one, dodging the rain of shattered bodies to
plunge into battle.

Gaze charged
into the fray, fighting his terror with a battle cry. Swinging his sword low he
sliced the back of a dog as it sprang for another rider and it dropped to the
dirt, but another flew over its body and smashed into the horsemen. They
tumbled out of sight and Gaze winced at the shriek of agony—but he was already
defending against a quare, its mane shimmering in rage. Snarling, it leapt
towards him with its fingers outstretched. On instinct, Gaze swung his weapon
with all his might, cutting into the attackers’ chest, wounding him and
knocking him howling away.

Without
warning, a massive dog crashed into his horse, sending Gaze tumbling to the
ground hard enough for him to see stars. Whinnying in terror, his horse
disappeared from view as the demon’s lunge carried it to the ground. A moment
later the horse went still and the dog whipped its snout in his direction. Its
silver eyes pulsed as it caught sight of Gaze and it whirled, lunging for his
throat with a snarl.

Gaze scrambled
to reach for his fallen sword, knowing it was too late—but then he heard the
dog howl in pain. Mortally wounded, the huge form brushed past him to crash
into the ground, a long spear in its side. Looking in the direction of the
thrower, he caught a fierce smile from Prince Anders before he was forced to
look away and deal with another threat.

Relief washed
over him as he snatched his weapon and rose to his feet, trying to get a
bearing on his surroundings. On every side dark forms leapt in the fire light,
clawing and tearing at the human riders trying to slay them. Unholy dogs howled
and lunged, dragging men to their screaming deaths. Men threw spears or swung
swords, piercing dark skin and leaving bloodied corpses in their wake.

Gaze fought
just as hard as his companions, fire coursing through his veins as he raced to
help a spearman fighting two Sipers. Coming from behind, he plunged his weapon
into the back of one of the hounds. The other dog flashed across the ground and
leaped. In a heartbeat the soldier fell backwards, throwing his spear up to
catch the animal in its belly and using the momentum to toss it behind him.

Before Gaze
could react, another tall fiend appeared, tearing into the now weaponless man.
Sprinting to his side, Gaze tried to strike the fiend down, but it angled its
body and tore his sword from his grasp, gouging deep cuts in his arm as he
clawed the handle free. Bellowing in rage, the fiend lunged towards him but
halted midair as the mortally wounded man grabbed its heel.

Gaze drew his
dagger and plunged it into the fiends chest. Screaming, the creature clutched
at the weapon and fell to the ground. Gaze dodged forward and snatched up his
weapon, grabbing a dented shield as well. Sparing a quick look at the soldier,
he received a reassuring nod before rejoining the battle.

Bodies of
fiends, horses, and humans were strewn everywhere, with some wounded, but most
dead. In the thinning crowd he spotted the king immediately. Still astride his
stallion, he swung his longsword valiantly at the dwindling fiends, the guards
at his side doing the same. Satisfied that he would survive, he looked for the
prince—but didn’t see him.

Panic gripped
him, and he raced through the thinning battle. He found Anders just as a demon
hound knocked him sprawling. Gaze sprinted across the battlefield and with a
roar drove his shoulder into the animal, leading with the point of his weapon.

At the last
second the dog shifted and the weapon, intended for his side, imbedded into his
hind leg. Yelping, it turned towards Gaze, yanking his weapon out of his hand
with its teeth. As it lunged, the wounded leg gave out, causing it to stumble
and knock Gaze down. Before he could recover, the Siper limped forward to stand
above him—its maw bared a foot above his throat.

Gaze yanked
his shield up and caught the open mouth before it could rip into his throat,
but the weight alone threatened to crush him. Wood cracked and shattered as the
animal chewed through the shield, sending sharp splinters lancing into Gaze's
cheek. With nowhere to go and only moments before the shield crumbled, Gaze
almost considered striking them both with lightning, but the suicidal thought
proved to be unnecessary.

A rope appeared,
and wrapped around the animals neck. Just as the shield gave way, the rope went
taught as it jerked the animal away. Gaze gasped for breath and watched as the
horseman dragged the still snarling dog for several paces before Anders walked
forward and plunged his broadsword into the animal's side, ending its life in a
quivering whimper.

Gaze looked
around him and saw that there were no more black creatures left alive, so he
dropped his head back to the ground and tried to catch his breath. For the
first time, the pain from his cheek and bleeding arm registered and he winced.
Looking down, he saw his arm had four long cuts that ran from his elbow to his
hand.

Anders appeared
and kneeled down to examine his wounds. “Your cheek looks fine,” he said, “but
we’d better get your arm bandaged. Lucky for you it didn’t hit something worse.”

Gaze shook his
head. “There are men with worse injuries, and you should check on your father.”

The prince
glanced around him and said, “My father is fine, and there are already quite a
few helping the wounded.”

Gaze cringed
as he felt the cloth tighten on his arm. “Thanks for the spear earlier. I knew
I’d be grateful for your spear skills someday.”