The Crimson Claymore (10 page)

The wizard fought off to the side, forming orange spheres of light. He formed them one at a time and bolted them at the enemies. It was very effective at blasting the creatures off their feet. Karceoles relished in the power that flowed through him. He felt incredibly alive as the burning energy shivered through his skin down to his bones. Without the power circling inside him, he felt so dull, so lifeless. Yet when the power flowed through him he felt like he was invincible. It almost felt as if he could jump and fly at a moment’s notice. Which he probably could if he channeled energy from his zylek to his feet to levitate. In fact, he liked the idea of flying into a battle as an entrance. He decided to add that tactic into his battle tactics.

The speed of the wizard’s magic was as swift as that of a sword strike. He may have seemed an old man, but his wits were just as fast as a young warrior. A draeyk rushed toward him and raised its axe in an attempt to block his magic. Karceoles shot a powerful glittering sphere that pushed the axe back, followed by another quick blast of sizzling orange flame that blasted the creature. Its lifeless body incinerated in mere moments before dropping to ash on the ground. Next, he shot a wave of energy that blew two draeyks off their feet and tossed them several paces back. One rose quickly to lunge at him, and he barely had enough time to hammer his zylek forward into the skull of the creature. He lit it with fire as it shattered the creature’s scaly skull into two before the body cremated. Swiftly, he shot out an orange lightning bolt at the creature that still lay on the ground, electrocuting it until nothing remained but a steaming pile of bones.

Karceoles kept a watchful eye on Searon as the human fought. He found the human foolish to continue fighting while holding onto the unconscious man. His attacks were slowed to half their normal pace, and holding onto the wounded man had kept him from being more effective in battle. It was true that he could hold his own just fine, but he hadn’t been able to slash down as many enemies had he fought without carrying an injured man. Karceoles had chosen a human to lead the effort against the draeyks because humans were weak minded, but above all because they were selfish. It seemed of all the humans he could have chosen, he happened to find the one who cared about others more than himself. Though it was to be expected when the poor man had little in his life to be proud of. There was little left for the man to live for besides revenge. It was what also made him a perfect candidate to be the leader of his army. And there
would
be an army soon, of that Karceoles was sure. He understood now that kheshlars were the true selfish race. They were the ones raised in the shadows of the world, oblivious to the dangers that encircled them. Even though the wizard despised Searon’s rash decision to protect the human, he knew that it was power. It was evidence that Searon could make it, that he could be saved. It started now, with him putting the human’s life above his own. With an army by his side…he would be unstoppable.

The wizard had lived for far too long to watch as the land turned into chaos. The draeyks seemed to come from nowhere, a dark spell long ago. There seemed to be a greater evil upon the land that created it all, but he could not place its origin. He had tried bringing it up to the council, but they had paid it no heed. They dismissed it as quickly as he had mentioned it, claiming that they would discuss it at a later time. However, the council had soon disbanded, and chaos had soon come to the land. It was up to him now to control the threat and smother it into nonexistence. He couldn’t stand by and watch as the draeyks took over. Besides, something tugged at his soul that something darker was at work, yet he had not discovered what. It was his last mission for himself. He would make the world right once again before his time expired.

Next to the wizard, Searon battled fiercely and effectively despite his only using one hand. A claymore was a tough weapon to handle with only one hand, but he wielded it with such skill. He wasn’t effective on the offensive, yet he still held his own quite well against three draeyks that enclosed on him. Two of the creatures slashed with axes while the third preferred a spiked mace. The piercing weapon held a weight advantage that set Searon off balance with each block.

Soon, the creatures realized that Searon would not fall despite their numbers and decided on a different approach. The creature with the mace bashed the weapon into the horse’s shoulder, causing the animal to dash forward in rage to knock the draeyk down. When his horse leaped forward, both Searon and the unconscious human tumbled to the ground. His claymore was gone, and he was left defenseless. Without much thought, Searon heaved the human on his back and used his steel boots to knock one draeyk out of the way. The other dashed at him, but he dove back, still protective of the man on his shoulders. He held to the human tight as he made a spinning heel kick that caught one creature in the jaw. Another was on him in moments, swinging an axe above its head. Searon only had enough time to grab the axe at the haft with his left hand to stop the blow. Without thinking, he was left with little choice but to punch the creature with his right hand, causing the human to slide imbalanced on his back. He dropped to the ground in an attempt to catch the man. The draeyks closed in on him quickly as he tried prying the human’s sword from its scabbard. There wasn’t enough time, and he could feel the pinch of an axe blade slamming into his lower back.

The pain shot through his nerves, and he shrieked loudly, causing a disturbing look to come from both Starlyn and Karceoles. However, both were too far and too busy to come to his aid. It was the first time he let the creatures catch him off guard, and he cursed himself silently. He knew he should toss the human off his shoulders and end the lives of these creatures, yet he could not bring himself to do it.

Searon dashed to the side to avoid being entrapped by the creatures. The pain shot in his back again, causing him to stumble and lose his grasp of the wounded man. In a matter of seconds, the human fell to the ground and rolled. Searon grasped the small of his back and gritted his teeth in agony. When he brought his fingers to his face, he looked in horror at his blood-stained hand. He also felt a large bruise forming on his lower back that hurt more with each step.

A draeyk dashed toward the human’s body, and Searon quickly slid in front to protect the unconscious man. He wished he could reach his claymore, but it was ten paces away. Furiously, he kicked up some dirt, blinding the draeyk for a moment. In those mere seconds he was able to elbow the creature’s jaw with his left and jab with his right. It knocked the creature down and in turn granted Searon able to snag the axe from its grasp. A smile brushed his lips at having a weapon in his sweaty gauntlets again. There was little concern that it wasn’t his claymore. He had studied a wide range of weapons throughout his time as a warrior, and some thereafter when training students.

With the creature weaponless, Searon was able to cleave its skull in two with the axe blade. He studied the axe for a moment, admiring its bronze glow. Laughing started now that he couldn’t believe was his own. Two draeyks jumped at him, and he dodged both swipes, followed by shearing the tip of his axe blade into an uppercut that shed a draeyk’s scaled jaw in half. The last one took a step back and looked at him.

He stared hard at the creature, daring for it to come forward to its death. Deep inside its black eyes, it almost seemed soulless. There were often times he wondered what went on through the creatures’ minds, what provoked the creatures to do such things. It almost seemed that they were afraid to fail because they feared something worse than death. The draeyks were simple creatures that enjoyed violence but were not intelligent enough to craft their own war.

Searon had known the draeyks had been led into a war before against the kheshlars. Starlyn hadn’t told him much, and Karceoles was worse to pry information from. Back then, it was Starlyn’s sister, Arria, that had united the reptilian creatures. It seemed that someone had learned from her efforts and took it upon themselves to unite the creatures again. There were differences now as the humans had been involved in their skirmishes. Arria was still out there, and he only hoped that she didn’t get back involved with them. If she did, then the kheshlars truly were in danger once more.

“Diiiee,” hissed the creature.

“After you!” Searon barked.

He heaved the war axe with one hand, watching as it spun in the air like a boomerang. The action almost seemed in slow motion as the creature gasped in effort to bring its axe up to block. Its effort was in vain as the axe blade penetrated into the skull of the creature. Searon dived at the chance to retrieve his claymore and felt complete once the crimson glowing blade was back in his hands.

Fifteen paces away, Starlyn busied herself against three draeyks. Surprisingly to Searon, she held her own very well. With a slide of hand and a flick of her wrist, she was able to deflect two strikes at once. When the third draeyk struck, she had to quickly move aside the blow and strike. On occasion, she blocked an attack with her foot, creating an echo through her plate mail. Her helm was tightly secured and so only fragments of her straight blonde hair shone through.

Suddenly, Starlyn rushed west and climbed up the towering rock. The creatures behind followed her to the rock and stared up in disbelief. She pushed her feet from the rough surface of the stone and somersaulted backward. When she landed behind the three creatures, she bashed in one’s head with her hammer and crushed the hand of another. The third charged at her, managing to knock her to the ground. Without a chance for a breath, she pulled out shurikens from her pouch and launched three into the skull of the reptilian creature. It skidded headfirst toward her, and she rolled out of the way before rising to her feet. Her grip loosened on her hammer as she readjusted it to face her last opponent.

Another twenty paces away, Karceoles stood no longer wielding magic. Instead, he used his zylek like a weapon. He was able to block blows from both sides of him and twirl in complex patterns that showed off his skills. It was strange seeing such an old man attack with such incredible speed. His zylek blocked the axe blows as easily as a sword would without taking a single mark. His blunt weapon didn’t cause as much damage as a sword, yet it was still efficient.

A few times, he knocked them down with a whack of his zylek. Other times, he channeled a pulse of energy through it that jolted the creatures back several paces. He could sense a draeyk trying to sneak up on him from behind. Spinning his zylek swiftly in his hands, he knocked it in the side of the face, breaking its jaw. With a loud thud, the creature hit the ground, clenching its broken bone. As his back was turned, another draeyk swung its axe toward his face that he was not able to sidestep in time. The blade grazed his cheek, creating a three-inch line of blood. A sharp pain tingled through his body, and he cursed his own foolishness.

Karceoles hadn’t been so foolish to add a scar to his collection in years. He felt the blood trickling down his face with his fingertips. It had been a long time since he had been overwhelmed in battle. Without trying, he could feel energy channeling from his body into the zylek. The weapon was charging in response to his anger. His nose winced, and his lips parted to show snarling teeth. He dashed at the two draeyks in front of him with stronger blows that took the form of a dance. An illuminating orange light radiated from the zylek that had previously been absent. He pivoted the weapon so it collided with a draeyk’s skull. The blow tossed the creature a span back, surrounded in orange flames. He fought the next as he pivoted his zylek and proceeded to break every bone in the creature’s body.

The wizard stared coldly at the last one as fire came out of his eyes. He held his zylek forward, creating a glowing orange whip from its tip. Without a second’s delay, he slashed it at the creature. The creature shrieked so loudly that it made everyone want to cover their ears. It made a dent in the side of the draeyk’s black scaly skull that smoldered. He slashed at the creature again. The draeyk brought its axe up, attempting a block, but the whip melted through the axe. Another strike caught the handle to incinerate it in mere seconds. Horror stuck the draeyk’s face, and it backed up awestruck. Karceoles stepped forward, the whip growing even longer, until with one last slash of his zylek it wrapped around the draeyk.

There was utter shock on the creature’s face with eyes wider than ever seen before. Its mouth hung open as the pressure of the whip tightened, causing flames to sprinkle out. Within seconds, the entire draeyk was engulfed in flame, burning it alive. Karceoles whispered unintelligible words that seemed to echo in power while grasping his zylek tighter. The whip sawed at the creature’s body, cutting into its flesh until it shattered the body into dozens of pieces that flew in every direction. Each piece that exploded out was aflame and burned quickly to ash. Karceoles was weak now, drained of energy. It had taken a lot from him to perform such complex magic, but his temper got the best of him.

Only five draeyks remained on the field, scarred with battle. Karceoles faced one, his zylek being used as a weapon once more. Starlyn fought against three, and Searon faced a single opponent. Starlyn battled smoothly against the three creatures without taking a break between blocks and attacks. Her skill with a hammer was uncanny. She kicked one in the jaw, knocking it back several paces as she crossed blades with the next. The third dashed at her as she snatched a shuriken from her pouch and launched it into its neck. She stood facing her last draeyk as the one she had kicked had fled. Without having several enemies to worry about, she was able to control her slashes better and quickly got the kill by severing the creature’s neck.

Searon fought with brilliant skill against his lone opponent. There seemed little concern to finish the battle and more for practiced sword play. It felt great for him to wield his claymore once again. The glow of it reflected in his green eyes behind his battered gold-and-red helm. He switched the position of his hands so his left hand rested on the top of his hilt. His attacks were able to shift in different ways, with his left hand guiding instead of his right. It also increased his muscle strength for his lesser arm. The draeyk suddenly attacked him in a frenzy of slashes and uppercuts that he was able to extinguish instantly. Even though Searon wasn’t left handed, he was still able to defend nearly as well. He dropped to his knees, spinning his claymore to shove the creature’s axe down before he impaled the draeyk through the heart.