Destiny (28 page)

“Nooooooo!” Asti shouted.

“Shut up, savage, and witness the death of the weak!” Cenem said.

The sword rose above the defeated Kendas.

The blade came down and Kendas, instead of blocking the blow as the Warrior expected, dropped to one side. The sword brushed his temple and pierced his shoulder. From the ground he thrust his sword into the Tiger’s groin. A roar of mingled rage and agony filled the air. The Tiger Warrior looked down at his deadly wound and with one hand delivered a ferocious knife-stroke at Kendas’ stomach. It was so forceful the blade came out at his back.

“Noooooooooooo!” Asti cried.

Kendas felt the steel cut through his body: cold, sharp, painful. But nothing mattered except to keep fighting. He could hear Asti’s desperate cries, but as they reached him they were muffled. When he looked at her his sight turned blurred, as in a dream. How he would have liked to be with her, kiss her, hold her, cherish her. Tell her that his heart grew glad every morning when he saw her, and sad every night when they parted. That her mere presence filled his heart with joy… But he was happy, she was no longer so fragile, she was no longer so helpless. She had managed to master the medallion and cast a spell. Asti no longer needed his protection, and he could be at ease. Kendas felt no pain now, only a great exhaustion that was taking over his whole body.

“Asti…” he managed to utter.

Cenem laughed in triumph. “Now there is only us,” he said, seeing the Tiger leader on his knees, bleeding to death.

“You’re going to die for this!” Aliana shouted.

“Shut up, woman! Don’t you dare threaten me.”

“I kill,” Asti assured him. Her eyes were red from rage and tears.

“Hah! No woman will kill Cenem!”

Aliana looked at him with scorn. “Look round this square, Sorcerer. All I see are dead men. But these two women are still standing, and you are the only one left. We’ve come for the King and we’ll leave with him. You have the option of letting him go and saving your life or facing us and ending like all your men. Your choice.”

“No woman threatens me!” Cenem yelled. He threatened Aliana with his silver axe, taking it away from Gerart’s throat.

At that moment, seeing his chance, the King threw himself forward with all his might, using his knees. Cenem was left with a tuft of Gerart’s hair in his hand. The Sorcerer’s axe sought to end the King’s life, and its savage sweep grazed the nape of his neck. Gerart lay flat on the ground.

“Kill him now!” he shouted at his companions.

The Sorcerer, now left unprotected, spoke a word. A black sphere enveloped him.

“Die, you bastard!” Aliana cried. A dozen long missiles of stone flew towards Cenem. With a dull thud they buried themselves in the Sorcerer’s protective sphere.

“Damn you!” cried Cenem, and conjured quickly. A huge black viper issued from his axe and coiled around Aliana’s barrier. The head of the snake tried to drill into it as its body pressed hard behind it. Aliana realized that the snake was trying to make its way into her chest. Using her own energy, she ordered the medallion to strengthen the protective sphere.

“I kill!” said Asti, and suddenly, under the Sorcerer, the ground turned hot, as if a river of magma were forming. A volcano burst out. The thunderous explosion was followed by flames, magma and lava, which struck the Sorcerer’s defenses and weakened them.

“Noooooo!” Cenem yelled in a paroxysm of fury, and cast a spell.

Asti saw a well of death forming under her feet, dark and abysmal. But she did not shrink. The medallion flashed and another sphere, this time one of pure energy, surrounded her to defend her from the enemy magic. She went on intensifying the volcano’s power on the Sorcerer, releasing explosions which were increasingly lethal.

Aliana managed to strengthen her barrier and helped Asti to create and project a huge stalagmite against the Sorcerer’s barrier.

Asti felt the well of death trying to drag her inside it, but her anti-magic barrier was holding up.

Under the combined attack of the two women, Cenem’s defensive barrier began to give way.

“Damn you!” he cried as he tried to maintain his sphere with the power of his Gift.

But the Sorcerer was no rival for the two Bearers. Asti’s Gift combined with Aliana’s, feeding the all-powerful medallions, turned them into Goddesses of Justice. There was no way out for Cenem. The attacks on his defenses intensified, obeying the will of the two young women, who were now managing to transfer their will to the medallions more and more easily.

Cenem’s sphere was destroyed, “Noooooo!” he shouted an instant before a lethal flame engulfed him in fire. The Sorcerer fell to the ground screaming.

Aliana and Asti, two demigoddesses of death, watched Cenem die amid convulsions and a stench of burning flesh.

A few paces away Gerart tried to stand up, but fell to one side instead. Aliana hastened to help him.

Asti ran to Kendas.

“Not die! No!” the Usik wept inconsolably. Her face was awash with tears as she cradled him in her arms.

Kendas smiled into her eyes. She was safe, she was not fragile any more, she no longer needed his protection… She would get over him, she would survive. And filled with pure joy, he released his last breath.

“Nooooooo!” Asti cried to the heavens, revealing all the despair and sorrow she felt. The Usik raised her arms to the sky. Staring upward, she uttered a shrill lament from her soul for that noble–hearted man, and for what could have been and now would never be.

And she wept an ocean of tears.

Haradin kept his gaze firmly fixed on his powerful enemy. From no more than a hundred and fifty paces away, completely surrounded by burnt soldiers, the slant-eyed foreigner stared at him defiantly in his turn. Haradin had punished that Sorcerer of dark magical arts of death with all the force of his fire magic, yet even though he had wreaked devastating havoc among the Black Army the Sorcerer remained firm and unhurt. He was a man of some age, and he radiated power. This worried Haradin.
I’m facing a man who isn’t just powerful, but also intelligent and very experienced. I don’t like this at all.

The shouts of the men at his feet beneath the great gate forced him to turn his attention briefly to the fierce fighting. They were beginning to lose the battle. The enemy pressure was incessant, the Norriel lines were beginning to break, and they were now fighting desperately.
I must do something or else we’re doomed. I have to take the risk. I must help them.
Ignoring the openly lethal danger the Sorcerer presented, Haradin began to cast a powerful spell, exposing himself momentarily to his rival.

The Sorcerer noticed what he was doing and took advantage of it.

Before Haradin could finish his spell, a strange image in black began to form under his feet. He glanced down an instant and saw an arcane black circle, with a bloody-eyed skull inside it, taking shape on the ground.

“Damnation, he’s caught me!” he cursed, knowing it was already late. With resolve, despite the upset he had received, he kept on with his enchantment. He had to finish it at once in order to confront that evil spell which was meant to end his life.

And at last Haradin’s powerful spell came to a climax.

In front of the line of Norriel, a huge wall of fire rose from the ground and spread along the whole line of defenders. The protective barrier of fire was so intense it burnt the first attacking lines to ashes. Anyone trying to reach the Norriel would be consumed by fire instantly. But borne on by the advance of their own troops, the first lines of the Black Army crashed against the barrier, unable to stop. The screams of pain as fire took hold of them reached all corners of the plain.

Haradin sighed in satisfaction. The barrier would slow the advance of the black tide, causing uncountable casualties as it did so.
This will make you think, and give the Norriel a moment’s respite at the same time.
But the spell came at a price. The skull under his feet began to shed a negative energy, of death, which Haradin felt even through the protection of his sphere. Instinctively he tried to get away from it, but as he took a step sideways he found he was trapped in the arcane circle.

He could not escape!

The eyes of the skull flashed blood-red.

Haradin knew his protective sphere would not hold.

A hundred and fifty paces away, Isuzeni felt deep satisfaction as he watched the power of his spell trapping the enemy Mage in a prison of death. He smiled, knowing he had defeated the great Battle Mage of the Rogdonians.
He who squanders his power in great spells cannot defeat one who is both powerful and focused. Today the great Haradin will wish he had never dealt death and destruction to our men, for now not enough power remains to him to allow him to fight this, my one and uniquely powerful spell.

“I’ll grant you an unworthy death, Battle Mage, since that is all you deserve,” Isuzeni said with a sneer.

The High Priest gave a final glance at Haradin, trying unsuccessfully to escape his mortal trap. Then, turning his back on him, he went on towards the nearby forest.

The Destiny of Glory is approaching.

Komir was trying to reach Haradin. He was carrying the unconscious Hartz over his shoulder, and it was like carrying a mountain. The Norriel warriors had blocked the flank which Iruki and Kayti had been taken through, and the fighting in that area was now demented. The enemy army had sent more troops and was pressing once again to take the breach in the wall and thus enter the city. The Norriel were defending it to the death.

I must get to Haradin, he’ll think of something,
he thought, not knowing what course to take.
We can’t go after Iruki and Kayti, the enemy would hack us to pieces. There’s a whole host out there.
He wanted to go after them, to rescue them, but he knew that if he did it without a plan, driven only by foolish heroism, he would die before he had taken ten steps. A pang in his chest which he recognized as anxiety for his two companions tortured him with each step. He went on carrying the giant Norriel until he reached Haradin.

Komir had a shock when he found the great Mage in serious trouble. He was caught in some sort of magical trap and was struggling to break free. Komir left Hartz on the ground and went to help the Mage. He saw the impressive barrier of fire Haradin had created in front of the Norriel line, and knew for a fact that without him they were doomed.

Sonea, her eyes wide with fear, was beside Haradin, trying to understand the prison of death he was trapped in. “We have to help him,” Komir said to her.

At this point Hartz woke up. He tried to get to his feet in confusion.

“What… what… happened…?” he asked.

Komir could see that his friend was dizzy. He had to tell him what had happened but he was deeply uneasy about his reaction. He thought about not telling him, but that would be even worse.

“Where’s Kayti?” he asked, looking around for the redhead as he spoke.

Slowly, trying to convey as much calm as possible, Komir told him what had happened. The reaction he had feared was not long in coming.

“And you didn’t go after them? You let them take them? What have you done?” he shouted as he got to his feet.

“Hartz, you know me. You know I tried to stop them, but we couldn’t manage to get to them.”

“And why didn’t you go and rescue them? Why didn’t you wake me up? Who knows what they might do to them! Who knows if they’re still alive! I can’t believe you didn’t go after them! I simply can’t!”

“Hartz, they went into the middle of the enemy army. We couldn’t follow them there!”

“I don’t care if they took them to hell itself! You should’ve gone after them! I’m going to go after them!”

“You can’t, they’ll kill you!”

“I don’t care! They have my Kayti! I’m going to bring her back!”

“Think about it, Hartz! There are thousands of soldiers surrounding us. It’s suicide.” Komir pointed at the sea of enemies trying to take the city. “Look down there!”

The giant turned round and began to walk back. “I don’t care! I’m going to rescue Kayti!”

Komir knew that Hartz, led astray by his great heart, was heading straight into a death-trap. He had to stop him.

“Don’t be a fool! Come back!” he shouted at him, and grabbed his arm.

A lightning right hook got Komir on the cheekbone. It was as though he had been struck with a hammer. He fell to the ground and shook his head in an attempt to recover.

Hartz jabbed his finger at him. “The thing is that you’ve always hated her!”

“I don’t hate her… but I don’t trust her, which is totally different.”

“You won’t be able to separate us. I love her, and nothing can change that.”

“I know you love her, but she’s not to be trusted. She’ll lead you to ruin.”

Hartz threatened him with his fists. “Shut up, Komir! Or you’ll be sorry for your words.”

“Don’t go after her, my friend, you’ll be killed.”

“If I must die, then so be it.”

“We’ll find a way, but this isn’t it.”

“If they’d taken Aliana, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“If Aliana had been taken we’d be having this same conversation, but the other way round. You’d be trying to stop me, just as I’m trying to stop you now, and you know it, my friend.”

“I won’t leave her to her fate!” Hartz said. He turned and set off once again.

Komir watched his friend leave. He understood how he felt, he knew the crossroads he had come to. But he could not let him lose his life for that woman, not for her and not like this. He got up and went after him. He came up behind him, searched on the ground and found what he was looking for. Holding the rock firmly with both hands, he hit the big Norriel hard on the back of his neck. Hartz dropped like a felled tree.

“I know you’ll hate me forever for this. I know it’s the end of our friendship and it breaks my heart. But I’m not letting you die. I just can’t. I’m sorry, my friend.”

He turned round and went to help Haradin.