The Compass Key (Book 5) (9 page)

“Fizzle no bait,” the drite announces. He flits around the barbarian as they stare at the blood in the moat. “What do?”

“I do not know,” Timoran admits. He swings his great axe to his right, gutting a giltris that is silently sneaking up on him. “A hunter always needs bait.”

The barbarian
grabs the dead giltris by the ankle and hurls the corpse into the moat. He patiently waits and watches for signs of the eusu. When he sees the humped back vanish under the water to his left, he raises his great axe over his head. The eusu jumps from the water to swallow the corpse, leaving part of its flank open. Timoran swings down with all of his strength and drives his great axe into the predator’s back. The weapon sinks into the eusu’s flesh with a satisfying thunk.

The
eusu thrashes in the water, pulling Timoran off his feet and into the water. It rolls to take the barbarian to the bottom, dislodging the axe from its flesh. Timoran catches the beast by the tail before it can swim away. For a brief instant, he breaks the surface of the moat and takes a deep breath. The eusu pulls him back under and fights to shake him off. As they reach the drawbridge, Timoran slams his great axe into the solid wood and wraps his legs around the eusu’s tail. With a small pop, the tail detaches from the massive body, leaving Timoran floating in the water.

“I forgot about that,” Timoran gasps as he bursts to the surface under the drawbridge. “Curse the god or goddess that created
this beast.”

He
is about to hoist himself onto the drawbridge when the eusu launches out of the water with him in its mouth. The drawbridge is forced back up, the four jaws pressed against the thick wood. The severed tail stuffed in the eusu’s mouth is the only thing preventing Timoran from being swallowed whole. He braces his back against the drawbridge and uses his powerful legs to push against the eusu. Refusing to give up, the beast embeds its claws into the wood as it chokes on its tail.

“Spit friend out!” Fizzle shouts as he rams the
eusu in the side. The drite bounces off the armor-like hide and splashes into the moat. With a high-pitched growl, he darts out of the water to zip around the large beast, whipping it with his tail.

“You are only making it mad,” Timoran groans, his muscles starting to strain against the powerful jaws.

“Fizzle fix,” the drite announces. He zips between the jaws and hovers within inches of the beast’s throbbing gullet. Fizzle unleashes a flood of rainbow mist that rolls into the eusu’s stomach.

The
eusu relaxes enough for its full weight to pull the drawbridge back down with a deafening crash. Timoran pushes off its belly to get to the shore and clambers out, crawling several yards away. He can see Luke and Duggan battling zombies in the distance, but the roar from the moat draws his attention away from them.

“By the honor of Kerr and the fury of Ymir,” the barbarian sighs when he sees the
eusu is out of the moat and charging.

Timoran sheathes his great axe and leaps to his feet in time to catch the two upper jaws with his bare hands. The lower jaws try to close, but he drives his feet into them. The beast throws back its head with Timoran in its mouth, thrashing to either swallow or dislodge the strong warrior. Unable to be shake him loose, the
eusu runs forward to bash Timoran against a pile of stones. Its snouts are bloodied by the impact while Timoran continues to hold on with all his strength.

A blast of hot, foul-smelling air burns Timoran’s nostrils, causing his eyes to tear and his vision to blur. The
eusu charges around the castle, repeatedly slamming Timoran into the ground as it moves. His right leg slips and the jaw swings closed. The curved teeth slice into his thigh and the fresh blood drives the eusu mad with hunger. It beats its head against the muddy ground while Timoran pushes the free jaw back open. His leg quivers with the dull pain, but he fights to keep the eusu’s mouth open.

“I think you are going fast enough,” Timoran says through clenched teeth.

Unleashing a bone-chilling roar, the savage warrior leaps backwards to get out of the eusu’s mouth. He hits the ground as the beast’s jaws slam shut, a few teeth snapping off from the impact. Timoran pounces on the eusu to grab it by the snout and his powerful hands keep its mouth closed. The predator’s momentum drives it forward at the same time Timoran pushes against its head with all of his primal strength. Another roar bursts from the barbarian’s mouth and it is quickly drowned out by the sickening snap of the eusu’s neck. Giving the beast’s head a final twist, Timoran flips the corpse onto its back.

“You win!” Fizzle exclaims, zipping around Timoran.

“Not just yet,” Timoran growls as he draws his great axe. He slices the eusu from throat to stomach and watches the body violently twitch for a few seconds. “Now, I have won. Let us help our friends.”

*****

The screams and hisses are a symphony to Delvin’s ears as he cautiously walks through the fog. He is thankful for the cover that Nyx created, but he can hear that the other warriors are having trouble. Most of the fighting sounds like people are stumbling into each other by accident. Arrows sail overhead to hit the far side of the fog where the warriors have been told to avoid. Delvin stops wandering and stands ready for anything, his shield in front of his chest and his longsword held loosely at his side.

“Come on!
I’m not going to play hide and seek like everyone else,” Delvin whispers, hoping to draw some attention to himself.

A dying
shriek erupts from his left as one of his fellow warriors is killed. Delvin is about to rush in that direction when the sound of heavy footfalls in the mud draws his attention. A black-scaled giltris comes into view a few feet ahead, its sword pointed forward in a blind charge. The giltris barely has time to notice Delvin before the warrior blocks the sword with his shield and stabs the enemy in the chest. The lizardman’s lean body topples to the side and its black tongue lolls out of its toothy mouth.

“I need
to discuss large battle tactics with Nyx once this is over. Maybe she simply doesn’t know about precision casting or prefers large area spells. I’ve met a few casters who couldn’t cast anything smaller than a massive fireball. In fact, I’ve had to kill a few in battle and it really isn’t as hard as you think. Those big spells take so long to cast that it’s easy to rush them. Is anybody listening? I’m not talking here out of boredom! Somebody pay attention to the guy who really wants to fight!”

A grin crosses his face as more giltris are attracted to his rambling. More screams come from his left, but all of the giltris are approaching from either the front or his right. He sees the tip of a spear before the owner looms into view. Jumping back, he hears the spear scrape against the breastplate. Two more
of his enemies rush out of the fog with axes held high, only to crash into their spear-wielding friend. Delvin beheads one of the axe-fighters and slams the edge of his shield into the neck of the other. Gurgling for air, the lizardman falls backwards, leaving its stomach open for an easy slash. Delvin looks down at the final giltris only to find that it’s already lying dead with a snapped neck.

“That’s disappointing,” he mutters before another scream cuts through the air. “I’m getting really sick of that.”

Sparks sputter from a nearby fire pit, briefly illuminating the silhouette of a very large giltris. Delvin charges in the silhouette’s direction and holds his shield in front of him. He adjusts the shield in the hopes of hitting the giltris in the stomach. He slams into the scaly hide of the towering lizardman as the fog is whipped away by a strong wind. Delvin lands on the remains of two warriors, but the giltris only stumbles sideways for a few steps.

“Foolish meat,” the giltris growls. A membranous fin rises from its head as it licks its lips in anticipation.

“You must be the Tribe Baron,” Delvin says with a nervous laugh. He rolls away from the giltris’s trident and awkwardly struggles to his feet. “Damn breastplate makes it hard to move like that. You wouldn’t be willing to give me some time to adjust, would you?”

“Chatty meat,” the giltris snarls, charging with the axe in it
s other hand high. It swings down and strikes the warrior’s shield, sending him to his knees.

Delvin
stabs the giltris in the thigh and pushes the axe away. Rising to his feet, the warrior slams the hilt of his longsword into the giltris’s elongated mouth. The towering creature stumbles back, flailing its weapons to keep Delvin away. He waits for the trident to swing wide before darting in to slash the giltris in the side. It leans away at the last moment, so his longsword barely cuts the outer layer of scales. Delvin notices the axe swinging for his head and can only jump to make sure it strikes his breastplate. The impact cracks the tempered metal and sends him flying into the mud.

“You general,” the giltris hisses, crouching and cautiously circling
its enemy. “Others die fast. You strong and worthy of honor.”

“You’re a great warrior too
. I really don’t want to kill you. Do you think you and your tribe could stand down?”

The Tribe Baron aims its trident for its enemy’s throat and sneers.
“No. We fight to end once battle start. Unlike humans, we love battle.”

“Obviously, you haven’t met some of my old frien
ds.”

Delvin swats the trident away and rushes in
to slash that giltris across the chest. It is a deep wound, but the large creature ignores the pain long enough to slam the hilt of its axe into Delvin’s temple. They stumble away only to immediately charge back at each other, their weapons ringing in the air. The trident continuously glances off Delvin’s shield while the axe deflects his longsword. Delvin stabs into the giltris’s upper arm as he side-steps the trident, causing the flat side of the axe to slam onto his shoulder. A throbbing pain runs through his arm, briefly loosening his grip on his weapon. The giltris raises its axe to cleave the warrior’s head in two, but it pauses when it gets stabbed in the armpit, giving the human time to jump and dance out of reach.

With a roar, the giltris charges and Delvin
is driven back by a flurry of attacks. He patiently waits for an opening and dives in when he sees one. He kicks the axe to the side and uses his shield to strike the giltris’s wrist so the trident hits the ground. Before he can bring his longsword in for a fatal blow, the giltris opens its mouth and bites into his sword arm. Delvin shouts in pain while battering the giltris’s head with his shield. A glint of victory shines in the lizardman’s yellow eyes and it pushes the warrior back. Off balance, Delvin is barely able to grab the trident as it slips under his breastplate and stabs him in the gut. The chainmail prevents the weapon from pushing too far in, but Delvin is wracked with pain and can feel blood flowing down his stomach.

“I guess you win,” Delvin says as he pushes against the trident. The giltris tries to
twist the weapon, but it is tangled in the chainmail links. “Your weapon seems to be stuck, big guy.”

The giltris snorts, sending mucus into Delvin’s hair
and face. Flexing its arm, the giltris pulls its axe arm across its chest, preparing to lop off the bowed warrior’s head. Both are surprised by a high-pitched whistle followed by a wet smack. A long crossbow bolt pins the giltris’s arm to its shoulder before it can swing. Delvin takes the opportunity to pull the trident a little further into his stomach, which yanks the giltris off balance. The blue-eyed warrior stands as he swings his longsword and beheads the towering lizardman. The headless body slumps to the ground, its weight pulling the trident out of Delvin’s stomach.

“Drink this. Now!” Nyx demands as she practically tackles Delvin. She shoves a bottle into his mouth while aiming her empty crossbow at an approaching enemy. “I only have one more, so I hope it works.”

“It’s fine,” he replies, holding his chainmail away from the healing wounds. A burst of heat licks the side of his head as Nyx’s fireball races toward the giltris. “Why were you pointing the unloaded crossbow if you were going to burn it anyway?”

“I was hoping it would back off and save me the trouble,”
the caster replies, slipping the crossbow into her belt pouch. Timoran’s roar echoes throughout the clearing and is followed by a loud snap. “I think Timoran took care of the moat monster.”

Delvin
walks toward the castle and waves when he sees the redheaded barbarian jogging around the castle. They hurry to meet up with Timoran once they realize he is limping. Nyx immediately hands him the bottle of healing potion, which Timoran graciously accepts with a smile. He snaps the top off with his thumb and swallows the potion in one gulp, wiping his mouth with the leather side of his bracer.

“Thank you,” Timoran says
, pocketing the empty bottle. “Is everything settled here?”

“This side is under control,” Delvin proudly declares. He watches as the remaining giltris
retreat into the swamp. “Without the Tribe Baron, they’re more interested in survival than victory. Have you seen Luke?”

“He is with the dwarf battling zombies,” Timoran answers, gesturing toward the far side of the castle. “I am sure he is done by now. I did not see anything that would pose a challenge to him.”

“Then let’s go after the Lich,” Nyx says, rushing toward the castle entrance.