Soul Under the Mountain (Legend of Reason Series) (40 page)

The beast with the sword licked the hot blood from the blade before bringing the sword back to swing again. This time he aimed for Alana, and she was running right into the path of the sword. Tanni
s's mind raced for what to do. Finally a
n idea flowered in his mind but he hated the cowardly
thought.

"Stop!" he yelled as he brought his own blade to his neck. "I will end my life with this sword before you can end it with that one. Let the
girl go."

The beasts halted their attack but roared in frustration. Alana cringed at the deafening sound, and nearly dropped her sword to the marble floor
as she covered her ears
. She fell to her knees at Vohl's side and threw herself over his still body. Her frame heaved as she sobbed, unable to control her emotions even in a time of such
great
danger.

The creatures stepped over Vohl and Alana and
marched
angrily towards the trembling soldiers protecting Tannis. The
soldiers
did their best to appear fearless, but fear for one's soul was more powerful than merely fearing for one's life. If they fell to Archenarius, it was a far worse fate than falling to any other blade
. Deep
down, Tannis feared that fate as well.

As the creatures approached, Tannis saw a dark f
igure emerge from behind them. He quickly realized that i
t was the immortal Vohl, unharmed by the magical sword of the god of war. In his hands, above his head he held his sword Tursari. His knuckles were white as they gripped the hilt, but his face was as calm and solemn as a face of the dead. He stepped quietly and swiftly up behind the monsters, and brought his blade down at the shoulder of the nearest one to him.

The beast's entire arm fell to the floor. Dark blood sprayed from the w
ound and screams of agony rose
from its vile jaws.
The hammer fell with the severed
arm, smashing
some of the marble tiles. Alana rushed over to grab it, sliding through the thick blood on the slippery marble floor.

When she grabbed the hammer's handle and rolled to her feet, the situation suddenly changed. Even though the creatures still held Archenarius, th
ey were visibly
shaken and backed away from Alana. The beast with the missing arm had reason to back away since he was injured and rendered defenseless, but the one holding the sword did so as well.

The monsters backed toward the doorway. The one with the sword covered the one with the missing arm as he tried in vain to comfort his bloody stump. Empty threats of growls still escaped their mouths, but they cowered in fear of Alana as she held their weapon. Something about the golden hammer obviously frightened them.

Then a
fully armored
Rommus appeared in the doorway behind them with his arms crossed. "I'm going to be wanting my sword back."

The uninjured beast
struck Rommus, but not with the sword. He held it close to his body to protect it, and
instead
used his other fist to pommel Rommus to the
floor
. Rommus stood up to fight as soon as he was able, but the creatures leapt up the stairs at lightning speed, easily ma
king
their escape.

Tannis jumped down from the table. "Rommus, you have to go after them. They have the sword and they will hunt me until they can kill me. If they kill me with that sword, you too will die."

Rommus dusted himself off and folded his arms again. "There's no need to chase them. I have a plan."

Chapter
43

"What has changed?" the Zidaoz asked.

Desmond scratched his head. "I was told that some creatures made their way to the phalanx and there was some sort of commotion. Once they reached the front line, your soldiers pulled together and orchestrated an effective assault on the Medorans. It appears as if they have reformed the phalanx, but their losses are pretty staggering."

"I am not surprised, Vindyri. I fight with the power of t
he one true god behind me. The f
all of the Medorans is inevitable."

"I think what happened today had less to do with your god and a lot more to do with those creatures that went down to the front line."

The Zidaoz tossed aside the
sacrilegious
comment with a flick of the wrist. "You Vindyri will soon come to realize that your ways and your gods are
meaningless. It was I who allowed those beasts to approach the line. This has all been the one true god's will, and I have been sent here to see his will done."

"Then why did you ask what has changed?"

"What?"

"You asked what has changed. If this is what you expected from your god's plan, then why are you asking
me
why something has changed? Wouldn't you know that already?"

The Zidaoz thought of a way to explain so that this simple infidel could grasp the truth.  It sickened him that all of the Vindyri remained so willfully ignorant of the truth of the one true god when his truth and power sang so loudly to the souls of the faithful Bhoors. The Vindyri were just a backward, uniformed people with no conception of reality or truth. They danced dangerously close to the e
dge of blasphemy, and if they crossed the line again he would have to start punishing them for their transgressions.
He had tried to be understanding, since the infidels had not been exposed to the truth of Rohni, but their disregard for his word was becoming a problem.

"Perhaps if your Vindyri soldiers had been down at the battle and not hiding up
here behind the walls of Zuhr'Awhi they would have witnessed the truth and glory of Rohni. There would be no need for either of us to question the other about what he has witnessed or what he has not."

Desmond rolled his eyes slightly. "Well, whatever the reason for the change, it appears that we have turned the tide. For some reason the Bhoors have slowed their attack, but I believe that the Medorans have suffered enough damage that we can finally overpower them and march into Brinn."

"When can I expect to see those results?"

"It depends on how the rest of the day goes. I don't see it happening today, but in the next two or three days, it could easily happen. But if the Medorans retreat, and do not hold their ground here, it could happen at any
hour
. We may be at the edge of victory this very moment."

The Zidaoz nodded as he thought. "So if the Medorans retreat, the war will be won?"

"I think so. It's always possible that they may feign a retreat to draw us in to attack us. But If they truly back away and flee from our forces, there will be nowhere for them to make a last stand. If the Medorans do not defeat us here, then they will most surely fall."

"I wish I could say I was as sure as you are on that matter, Desmond. The Medorans are a resilient and determined enemy. If they retreat, I could see them rallying again and striking us as we enter Medora."

Desmond sighed. "You speak of faith in almost every breath. Have some faith in my knowledge of warfare. I have been to Medora many times. There is nowhere to launch an assault from but this place. Anywhere else with enough room to fight is too far from their cities and supplies. Besides, all of their soldiers are here. Every last man is here to stop us from entering Medora."

"I value your military knowledge, Vindyri, but I am not so quick to underestimate the Medorans. I would have assumed you thought the same way."

Desmond flattened his silver mustache with his finger and thumb. "I do not underestimate them. I am just confident in our ability to defeat them. We have kept pressure on them for the entire length of the war, and it is finally beginning to pay off. The sun is finally setting on the Medoran ways. My fathers before me would be very proud."

The Zidaoz paused a moment to wonder if the fathers who came before him would be proud of what he was doing. He had always thought they would only be jealous of anything he accomplished since it would be
things that none of them could
accomplish themselves. He had only disdain for any Zidaoz who had
come before him, and he assumed
that they felt the same for any Zidaoz who would come after them. The Medorans and Vindyri seemed to have a different theory on matters between fathers and sons. The young respected and honored the old, and the old had pride in the young. It was an idea as foreign to the Zidaoz as the truth of the one true god was to the Vindyri.

Of course, the Zidaoz could never admit that there were any fathers that preceded him at all. The legend of immortality was one that had to be strictly maintained if his people were to continue following him. If they ever discovered the truth, that he was a mortal man, they would lose faith and rebellion would ensue. That was something that th
e Zidaoz simply could not risk happening; especially at a time where the Bhoors could finally drive the Medorans into the ground
and
rewrite history. The new history of the world would exclude Medorans and Vindyri, and instead spread the glorious truth about the Bhoors. Any other cultures would be mentioned only in passing
as evil cultures that were vanquished by the victorious Bhoors.

Chapter
44

"How did you know where to find us, R
o
mmus
?" Alana asked.

"Well, I didn't know where you would be, but there's a trail of carnage through the streets leading all the way to the Forum. I didn't know what was happening but I thought
this was a good place to start looking
."

"What about Song, Master Rommus?"
Vohl asked. "Is he safe?"

"I can't answer that for sure, Vohl. He saved my life when we were down at the gateway to the void. He was able to trick the guardian of the void and transport him back in time with him using the star of Tachion. I don't know if he's okay or not but he was able to successfully remove Demeos from the fight and I was able to escape unharmed.
If he wasn't there to save me, I would be dead right now."

"So the guardian of the void is gone?" Vohl asked. "Who then is guarding the gateway?"

Rommus shrugged his shoulders. "I guess no one is. But there is a huge stone door sealing off the passage down to the gateway. It's sealed by magic and without a god and a human both opening the door
together
, it cannot open.
Song and I were able to open it,
but without the help of a god,
no one else can."

Tannis sheathed his sword. "
You said Song had to save your life.
Does that mean that you failed in restoring your powers? Are you not protected as the god of war?"

"Well, yes and no. We did enter the void and I found Arius. He was able to restore my powers, but he said that I would not have the full power of a god while another Tirinius lives. Under certain circumstances, I can still be killed like
any other man, but being hu
man
grants me powers that the other gods cannot possess themselves. As it turns out, the gods fear me since I am not bound by their laws. It is why they have sent those creatures after you and I, father. They wish to assassinate me, and as far as they know, there is only one way for them to do it.
"

"You mean by killing me with that sword," Tannis said.

"Right. Killing you wipes us both out in one strike. At that point the gods of darkness will be more powerful than the gods of light, and they can overpower the other gods. This has been Inshae's plan all along; it has just taken a long time for him to implement
it
.
"

Alana rested both hands on the hammer after she placed its head on the floor. "How do we stop them then, Rommus? They are far stronger than any of us and if they have the gods behind them, then what can we do?"

"There are gods behind us too, Alana. At least one—if you count me. I don't think the gods of light conspire against us. I think we need only concern ourselves with the gods of darkness and maybe Oderion.
As for what we can do, I have a plan—but it's far too dangerous for you all to come with me. I have to go alone."

Vohl stood straight and tall. "Master Rommus, have you learned nothing in our time together in this world? Whatever your mission, we will be going with you. This fight is our destiny."

"This isn't a fight any of you can win. I don't even know if I stand a chance myself, but I can't risk your lives in this. You mean too much to the fight here at Taburdum.
The Bhoors and Vindyri are still here trying to defeat us at Taburdum and we can't let them spill over into the rest of Medora. The war is just as important as what I have to go do."

Tannis shook his head. "Rommus, it's a bad idea for you and me to go in separate directions. You have some protections against these assassins, and I have none at all. If you're not there to help me when they come for me, there's a good chance they will kill
us both
. If that happens,
this war is over, and so is any
chance for freedom. In addition to that, if you're right about the gods
of darkness conspiring against the gods of light, then the situation becomes far worse. Like it or not, I am going with you wherever you go—at least until we can find a way to kill those creatures."