Broken Mage (25 page)

With every step Thad took the mage
became more agitated and pushed his magic harder. Thad could see as
the Vathari began to sway. He had used up more than he could handle
and now was fighting out of pure fear. Thad took pity on the mage
and hastened his pace. Then with one clean stroke Thad removed the
doomed warriors head from his shoulders.

CHAPTER XXI

Thad turned to see that the Vathari who
had witnessed the battle had no urge to engage him in combat.
Shrugging his shoulders Thad turned to and scanned the room to see
how his companions were holding out.

Avalanche was running around the room
tackling and quickly killing any Vathari unlucky enough to get in
her way. Many of the warriors moved to intercept her but she easily
dodged them as if it were a great game to her. Thad could see
another robed figure trying to stop the devastating animal but was
having little success.

The robed figure looked different than
the two he had face. And the spells it was using looked different
to Thad. They still had the same characteristics of the darkness
element but they had a different feel. Thad couldn’t see that the
robed warrior was drawing any magic from its surrounds either. The
only idea that came to mind is that it must be one of the priests
Sae-Thae had told him about. For a moment he thought about taking
out the robed figure but decided to allow Avalanche her
play.

Thad found a mass of bodies strewn
about where Crusher was at. It looked as if he had taken out half
the army on his own. At the moment he only fought one lone warrior.
The Vathari warrior was much larger than any of the others he had
seen. Even with the size advantage Thad expected Crusher to make
short work of the other warrior but the longer he watched the
clearer it became that the dwarf was barely holding his
own.

Thad watched as Crusher swung his axe
trying to cut the Vathari warrior’s knees out from under him but
was thwarted as the warrior easily parried the blow following up
with a backhand strike from its free hand that connected on the
dwarf’s jaw lifting him into the air and tossing him hard into the
wall behind him.

When his friend didn’t rise
Thad feared the worst. But then he saw slight movement from Crusher
and he heaved a sigh of relief, until he noticed that it was
impossible for the dwarf to get back his bearings before the
Vathari warrior would be on top of him.

Thinking fast Thad placed a shield
around the dwarf. They were a good distance apart so there was
considerable strain each second Thad had to hold it. Not knowing
what else to do Thad calmly moved toward where the dwarf lay. The
Vathari warrior brought down a quick overhead strike aimed at
Crusher’s neck but inches above the dwarf the sword stopped short.
The warrior tried again but his attack stopped in the same place as
before.

The large warrior stopped his useless
assault on the dwarf and looked around the room until his eyes fell
on Thad. The look on the warriors face clearly showed that he cared
little for Thad’s interference in his battle. In all honestly he
wasn’t sure how his friend would take his interference either. He
still had trouble separating what was real and what was made up
when it came to the dwarves. If the stories were true then the
dwarf would be upset that he had been robbed of a glorious death in
battle.

The colossal Vathari moved toward him
with a measured stride as if he was simply taking an evening
stroll. A part of Thad wanted to test his metal against the warrior
but he didn’t know if his sword would hold up against a blow from
the warrior’s massive two-handed sword. Looking around Thad saw his
other sword laying a little over a hundred feet away and wished he
had retrieved it earlier. Positioning himself between the sword and
the warrior Thad began backing toward where the sword
lay.

It was obvious that the Vathari would
reach him long before he could get to the sword, so he did the only
thing left to him. The battle was with the two mages had only worn
at him a little but Thad still didn’t want to overuse his magic in
the event it was needed later. Looking at the hulking monstrosity
of a warrior, it didn’t look like he was being left much of a
choice in the matter.

Leveling his staff at
the
Vathari Thad let loose a stream of
magical bolts much like was used against him. Thad was sure they
would strike and was more than a little surprised when they simply
seemed to pass through the warrior as if he were made of smoke. The
second the magical bolts passed through the warrior Thad feel into
his magical sight but the warrior didn’t seem to be different than
any of the other Vathari he had faced.

His confidence slightly shaken, Thad
increased his backwards walk toward his sword. The Vathari warrior
didn’t seem to care much that he was getting closer to his sword.
In fact it looked as if he was deliberately allowing Thad to reach
it.

When the heel of his foot finally
struck against the hilt of his sword Thad let out a sigh of relief.
Watching the warrior intently Thad sheathed the sword in his hand.
Not wanting to bend down to pick it up Thad slid the toe of his
boot under the blade at the hilt then kicked up throwing the sword
into the air. Taking a step forward Thad caught the hilt of the
sword deftly and readied himself for the large warrior.

He didn’t have to wait long almost the
second the sword was in his hand the warrior began his assault.
Despite his large body the Vathari warrior’s attacks were fast and
expertly made. It was all Thad could do to move his own sword in
place parry the blows. After a few moments Thad started to get the
rhythm of the warrior’s movements making it easier to keep up. He
noticed a few small openings but let them pass waiting for one
large enough to cause a large amount of damage.

His patience paid off when the Vathari
put too much strength into his blow causing a slight delay in his
recovery. Thad didn’t wait jumping right in with a strike aimed at
the exposed ribs of the warrior. As the blade reached the warrior’s
skin Thad saw the tip begin to pierce then there was nothing. The
warrior had vanished into the surrounding darkness.

Thad looked around slightly frantic and
found the warrior standing behind him his massive sword coming down
straight for his head. Thad was motionless like a statue as the
blade rushed toward him, he was shaken out of his comatose state
when the sword was pushed back by his shield though a large amount
of the force still passed into him making his stomach
flip.

Thad recovered fast from his shock and
was able to get his sword in pace to block the warriors second
strike. While his shield had blocked the attack, the sheer force of
the attack had work greatly on the enchantments stores of magical
energy. He wasn’t sure how much of a beating the shield could take
but he doubt it could take many of the Vathari full force blows
before it weakened to the point it wouldn’t be of use.

The Vathari warrior continued to attack
vigorously. Thad met each blow but his hand was quickly beginning
to numb from the sheer force of the blows, and his wounded left
shoulder was screaming in pain from the jarring attacks. Cutting
his eyes over to where Crusher had laid he found the dwarf being
protected by Avalanche who attacked any Vathari who came near. Thad
could tell that Crusher was trying to regain his senses but for the
time being it looked like Thad was alone in his fight against the
behemoth.

When the Vathari made another overhead
strike Thad ignored the attack and instead struck out it his own
sword at the soldier’s midsection. Thad was watching closely as the
warrior disappeared in front of his eyes. Thad knew what was coming
and dived to the ground.

Thad didn’t know what to do. The second
before his sword pierced the warrior there was a massive surge of
magical energy then the Vathari simply vanished. He had no clue how
it worked and he doubted his other sword would do much good as it
wasn’t a direct effect spell not to mention that the spell
activated before his sword actually landed a blow. The only thing
he noticed that he noticed was that the light above them slightly
dimmed the second before the warrior disappeared.

Thad jumped back and brought him some
time by distancing himself from his enemy. As soon as he was sure
that he was far enough away Thad reached into his pack and brought
out three different metal orbs and tossed them around them. As soon
as the orbs hit the ground a bright light radiated from them
lighting the cavern as if the sun itself had been raised within it.
He didn’t know if it would work but looking more closely the
warrior had an aura of darkness surrounding him and when he
reappeared it was in the darkness behind him.

The warrior stopped his advancement as
the room was bathed in light. Taking a deep breath Thad rushed
toward the Vathari warrior hoping his slight hesitation was a good
sign. Thad went straight for the Vathari putting his full strength
into each blow. The warrior blocked his attacks and returned them
with even more strength.

Thad was tiring fast but he kept up
hope when one of his strikes finally made it through his enemies
defense drawing a thin line of blood. For the first time in the
battle the tables were turning and the warrior didn’t seem to enjoy
it. He came at Thad with renewed vigor and strength forcing Thad
back with every blow. Then a slash aimed at his chest slipped past
his guard and hit his shield. For a brief second his shield held
then collapsed letting the sword through.

Thad looked down to see blood spraying
from his chest. The wound wasn’t very deep but it was wide and if
the blood wasn’t stopped soon he would bleed out. Thad legs gave
out from underneath him and he fell to his knees in front of the
massive warrior. He could see the blow coming and feebly raised his
sword to fend off the blow. When the blow landed it threw his sword
from his hand and knocked down on his side.

Thad didn’t cry out, he only watched in
horror as the warrior raised his sword again. He had nothing left
to give. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open. Everything
moved in slow motion as the sword reached its peak and began its
decent. Thad did the only left to him he pushed with his right hand
and rolled away. The blade struck the ground hitting mere inches
away from where his head had just been. It was a futile attempt as
now Thad found himself laying face up looking at the warrior with
nothing left to do but watch his own doom.

Thad closed his eyes and waited for the
end. In the darkness of his own mind he began to think about
everything that had happened in his life. The people he had known
and the ones he had come to love. He hoped they were all safe if
not he hoped he would see them again in the afterlife.

Something hot and wet splashed across
Thad’s face. For a brief moment he was sure it was his own blood
but for some reason he could still feel and think. Then something
tugged at his arm pulling him across the cold ground.

Thad opened his eyes to see Crusher
lifting him up and carrying him toward the nearest tunnel. His eyes
wouldn’t focus well so he couldn’t see the rest of the cavern but
he could hear as the other Vathari warrior approached them. He was
sure they would soon be overcome but from behind he hear the
distinct noise of Avalanche jumping around and the screams of dying
men as they met with her deadly maw.

As soon as they were in the tunnel
Crusher threw something behind him and continued on. Every now and
then his friend would stop for a few seconds but Thad couldn’t tell
what he was doing in the darkness. The light from his bracelet was
soon gone and Thad felt as his staff fell from his hands. He had
forgotten he even still held it in his hands. He wanted to ask for
Crusher to gather it up for him but no sound came out. His mouth
was parched and gritty as if he had tried to drink a glass of sand.
It wasn’t like he really needed it anyway maybe Sae-Thae would end
up with it. He liked that idea, the Vathari mage had mentioned more
than once that he would like to own something of its strength, and
as the only other mage he really knew it made sense for him to
possess it.

Thad forced himself to stay awake as
his friend carried him through the darkness. A rainbow of colors
began to flash in his one good eye and he began to shiver as the
heat left his body. It was a losing battle but he tried his best to
keep up hope that he would live past the hour.

He tried to laugh as he felt Crusher
let him slide gently to the floor. Had the enemy caught up to them,
or had his friend realized that he was soon to be dead and decided
to take his chances on his own rather than carrying a corpse around
with him. He felt as the dwarf pressed hard against his chest. He
wanted to tell his friend that it was hopeless and to leave him as
the darkness encroached on him. Then everything ended, he didn’t
feel cold, pain, nothing it was all gone. “So this is death.” Thad
said laughing within the recesses of his own mind.

CHAPTER XXII

Thad found himself floating within the
darkness. The pain was back but not as pronounced as before. He
wasn’t sure if he was dead or simply sleeping. He knew he had lost
a fatal amount of blood, but as far as he could tell he was simply
in his dream state. Waving his hand the darkness receded, replaced
by the queen’s palace.