Catalyst (Book 1) (32 page)

“What—”

A stone the size of an ogre’s head crashed down on the elf standing next to me. I heard his skull crunch, and green blood splattered my face. Part of the stone chipped off and hit my forehead, causing a deep scratch. Stunned, I reached up to wipe the blood out of my eye.

“No time!” the princess said. “Run!” She pulled at my arm, forcing me out of my shock. She sprinted down the tunnels, and we followed.

The ceiling kept dropping stones. It sounded like the growling of a thousand monsters. The princess was barely ahead of the tide. Rocks landed near me, forcing me to dodge and leap them. The soldiers behind us had the worst of it. Their heavy armor provided them little protection from the rocks, and it slowed them down. As much as they darted and weaved, not all of them were able to avoid the rocks. Behind us, we heard deep dwarven grunts, and the higher-pitched yelps of elves. I wished I could use my magic, but it was impossible while on the run. The rocks fell too fast and too erratically, and my control of earth mana wasn’t strong enough to manipulate this many without stillness and concentration.

After a few minutes that seemed like hours, the princess reached a smaller passageway and turned off. The others funneled in behind us, and we waited, panting, as the deadly rain poured down in the main tunnel. We heard faint cries from those left behind. I winced with every one, until they went silent. The soldiers stared straight ahead, stony-faced, as did the princess.

Finally, it was over. Krystal held her left side and panted. All of us breathed hard in the stale air. The sweat ran down my face, mingling with the blood from my forehead. I ignored it, creating a fire so everyone could see.

“What happened?” Demay asked, leaning over with his hands on his knees.

Krystal's eyes narrowed. “Someone tripped one of the traps.”

“How many did we lose?” Jastillian asked.

“Three to the poison darts,” the princess said. “I don’t know how many to the rocks.”

We did a quick count. Out of the fifty we had started with, fifteen were missing. Jastillian and Prastian went back down the tunnel to check for survivors.

Blood and sweat ran into my left eye, and I wiped it aside.

“Hellsfire, you're hurt,” the princess said. She ripped off a piece of her tunic and wiped the blood from my face. She tied the cloth around my forehead.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Prastian and Jastillian returned, looking grim. Prastian caught the princess’s eye and shook his head once. No survivors. All fifteen missing were dead.

“Can the rest of your elves and dwarves continue?” Krystal asked.

“We can, Your Highness.”

“I’m glad,” she said. “This is going to put us behind.” She peered down the tunnels. “We must press on, but we can no longer take the shortest route.” She looked back at the rubble. “Please watch yourselves, and do not touch the walls. I don’t want to run into any more traps.”

We continued our journey through the tunnels, hurrying to make up for the lost time. Everyone hugged their weapons close to their bodies so they wouldn’t scrape against the walls. We made sure we didn’t touch anything but each other. I even wrapped my loose wizards robes closer to my body. The princess insisted on leading the way, so that everyone could follow in her exact footsteps. I didn’t like letting her go on alone, but she was in charge of this expedition, so I obeyed her.

We traveled like this until we reached a door.

“Past this door, we’re in the castle,” Krystal whispered. “There are no more traps and people shouldn’t hear or see us unless they know of the hiding places. Be quiet, though. I don’t know what or who is in the castle. Hellsfire, I’m going to need you to shrink your fireball so the light doesn’t give us away. ”

“As you wish.” The fire in my hand compressed, leaving those farther away in total darkness.

The princess opened the door. We once more faced a narrow stone passageway, in which only two of us could stand side by side. I stood by her, being her human torch. The way inclined, at times turning into flights of steps. Passageways branched off. At one intersection, Krystal paused for a second before choosing one.

The floor leveled out, and we began to occasionally pass holes in the stone walls, where people could spy on what was happening in the rooms or corridors on the other side. Light seeped through them, and the hallways began to lighten. Dawn had broken. The rest of the army was going to commence the attack, whether or not we freed the imprisoned Guardsmen and raised the city. I looked at those around me. They clenched their teeth and kept glancing at the spyholes, as if looking through them would allow them to see the battle. It was impossible, but they did it anyway. So did I.

We continued our silent trek. I wanted to ask Krystal how much longer until we were freed from these suffocating tunnels, but I refrained.

“We’re here,” Krystal said.

“Thank the gods,” I said under my breath.

The princess bent down and pushed three stones in an order known only to her. The wall moved, and another opening appeared.

She was about to go through when Jastillian said, “Princess, allow us.”

She nodded, and Jastillian and half of the others went through the opening. I stayed behind to guard the princess, my magic at the ready. After a few tense seconds, we were given the all-clear to come through.

The rest of us exited the tomblike passageway and poured into the room. My entire body relaxed as soon as I stepped out, glad to breathe fresh air and escape the oppression of the tunnels. Krystal leaned down and pushed a stone, sealing up the entrance once more.

We were in a library. It was three times as big as Master Stradus's library, and much fancier, with carved shelves and expensive rugs, but I doubted it contained anything like the information he possessed. The strike force began to fan out to check the exits. I started to follow, when my back straightened and my shoulders tensed. Something was wrong. I felt something…magical. Not Premier—at least, not a spell he was actively casting. It was far too weak to be a direct threat. Still, I didn’t like it.

“Wait,” I said.

“Hellsfire, what is it?” Krystal asked.

“I'm not sure. Give me a second.”

I closed my eyes and focused my magical senses. I let the faint magic guide me, slowly and carefully, lest it was a trap and pulled me into it. I opened my eyes and saw the door. A web. I turned to the other doors and saw webs on them too. I walked closer to the first one, getting a better look. What bothered me wasn’t that the webs were there. I was bothered by the type of webs they were. They weren’t meant for detection, entrapping, or killing. They were meant for concealment.

That was when we found out what was behind them.

CHAPTER 23

Creatures from the Wastelands poured into the dim-lit library from behind the concealment webs. Everyone drew their weapons, backing away from them and forming a ring, protecting each others’ backs. We stood as one, but the creatures had us surrounded and outnumbered.

A large ogre came forth and snarled. He pointed a long, jagged sword at Krystal. “By the Wizard's orders, surrender or die.”

The princess held her head high. There was only one option.

The creatures sensed this. The goblins, smaller than elves, slobbered and bounced in their packs. If not for the huge ogres in front of them, holding them back, the goblins would have attacked. Square-headed trolls wore twisted smiles. Their bulky muscles tensed and twitched in anticipation.

I didn’t see Premier. He could still be behind the webs, watching and directing everything, not wanting to get his hands dirty. On the other hand, it was possible that he had simply left guards at every exit from the tunnels, just in case. If he was here, I would reach that crossroads when he appeared. Like Master Stradus said, I had to focus on the now.

While the ogre waited for Krystal’s answer, I acted. I lit all the torches in the library and every candle on the tables. They exploded into great balls of fire. It stunned and blinded everyone but me. My hope was that it would cause the creatures more difficulty. They had excellent eyesight at night, but like other animals, I gambled on their eyesight being sensitive to light.

It was.

Our forces understood. They attacked before the creatures could recover. I hoped it would be enough to make up for the losses we suffered earlier.

Fire swirled into my hands until it became great and deadly balls. I slung them, guiding them to the creatures’ scarred, twisted, ugly bodies. One struck an ogre, igniting his side. Another ogre dodged in time. The ball smashed into a hanging tapestry and incinerated it.

I guarded Krystal's weakened left side. The crowded room forced me to be careful with my spells; otherwise, I could harm our own side. When the small fireballs hit the creatures, they roared in pain. Two trolls advanced towards me. The fire exploded in my hand, tripling in size. They froze. Three dwarves led by Jastillian cut down the monsters, hacking them with their axes.

Three ogres charged at me, crashing through tables and crushing the books beneath them. They knew I was their biggest threat. They even killed some of the smaller goblins on their way, but they didn’t seem to care. I couldn’t stop them with the weak and easy spells I was using. I had to risk a bigger one.

I pushed my hands out in front of me. The trio of ogres trampled two elves. The lead one then rammed his sword through a dwarf, lifting him high into the air before he flung him off.

I built up the fire inside of me, waiting until they were close enough and all my allies were free from their rampaging destruction. There was one dwarf in the way, but he fell to a troll’s massive club. He toppled over with half of his face smashed in. The three ogres were still coming.

I put my hands up and released the thermal blast. The flames smothered the ogres. The carpets and tables around them caught fire. One ogre slammed to the stone floor, shrieking as his skin crisped and blacked. Another followed.

The last ogre burst out of my inferno. In his burning rage, he moved too fast for me to stop my spell and get out the way. The beast roared, lifting his rusted sword towards me. Before he could bring it down, Krystal ran him through, pushing him out of the way. She pulled her black-soaked sword free, and the flaming carcass collapsed to the ground.

I panted, “Thank you.”

Before she could respond, a group of tightly bunched goblins charged her. I grabbed the princess’s arm and pushed her behind me before hurling wind mana at the frenzied goblins. The rushing wind knocked them off their feet and sent them smashing against the bookshelves. Krystal sent me a quick smile before lifting her sword and resuming the fight.

I glanced around at the chaos in the once pristine room. We were holding our own, but the sheer numbers and recklessness of the creatures had begun to take their toll.

Despite my well-armed allies, the mindless creatures didn’t hesitate. All the goblins lacked any sort of armor—their fighting strategy was to stay in groups and mob people, killing them with their filthy teeth and claws. Two dozen goblins buried a trio of elves. A troll used his tremendous strength to club a dwarf until the red blood bathed his hands. Only the ogres had some restraint. Their dented, ill-fitting armor and unsharpened swords helped. However, that made them more deadly killers. We were losing too many people.

A fallen bookshelf was the tombstone of two elves. A dwarf lay as broken as the table he sprawled across. An ogre and a dwarf were locked in a lover’s embrace, a fallen tapestry blanketing them.

I had to do something.

The lit torches and candles that hadn’t fallen over or burned out gave me an idea.

“Princess, I need you to guard me. This ends now.”

Krystal nodded, and with one fluid movement slashed one green goblin and finished another with her backswing. She corralled a couple of dwarves and elves. They surrounded me, taking the brunt of the attacks while I slid into a trance.

I focused on all the fires that still burned, feeding my power into them. They blazed and burned as bright as the sun. I opened my eyes, and the flames danced straight up, moving to an unseen force.

The creatures didn’t flinch. They pushed their advantage. My friends and allies took defensive measures. They slashed and cut the creatures’ arms—any opening that was exposed. Dark blood sprayed everywhere. The disciplined soldiers made no move to lunge for the finishing kill.

They didn’t have any shields, but the dwarves took the brunt of the creatures’ assault. A young dwarf blocked an ogre’s sword. She swiped the sword away then rammed the pointed end of her axe up and through the ogre’s chin.

The elves in the center of the circle sheathed their swords and pulled their bows, showering death over our heads at the taller creatures. Prastian and Demay shared a smile, each trying to outdo the other. They loosed their arrows and struck a troll’s eyes.

The noose around our collective neck got tighter. A dwarf cried out as his arm was cut through. The goblin frenzy was like a never-ending tidal wave. An elf screamed while being dragged away. Another fell over from a fatal bite to the neck.

It was now or never.

I stopped drawing in magic. I lifted my hand. Streams of fire twisted and turned in the dim room. They hovered over our heads, mesmerizing everyone. Everyone gazed up and stopped fighting. That’s when I brought them down.

The waves of fire plummeted, splashing over and through the creatures. I guided the blazes to engulf only the monsters. Their bodies burned and cooked. Their disfigured skin blistered, then blackened. The horrific smell of rancid roast pork filled the room. I forced myself to block out their chorus of agony, remembering that I was doing this for the princess and the people of Alexandria.

Groups of goblins collapsed. Their small bodies twitched. The heat drove the ogres and trolls insane. They struck and crushed their own people, trying in vain to put out the flames. Bodies of trolls and ogres toppled over like an avalanche. They crashed into the floor, igniting up the remaining carpets.

I could no longer contain or control all that magic. I sent a tiny bit of the fire back to the torches; the rest dissipated into nothingness. The flames on the corpses popped and crackled.

I bent over, putting my hands on my knees, and panted. The sweat rolled down my face. I sucked in as much air as I could. Dwarves and elves moved around the room, finishing off those creatures still living with expert cuts of their swords and axes.
          

“Hellsfire, are you all right?” the princess asked, placing a hand on my hunched back.

I wiped a drop of sweat from the corner of my eye and shook my head.

“Is there anything we can do for you?”

I waved my hand, trying to speak. My mouth moved, but no sound came out. I took one gigantic gulp of air. Then I rose, reached into my purse, and downed a rejuvenation potion. My strength came back to me bit by bit.

“I’m all right, Your Highness. Thank you.”

I stood on guard. Premier could have sensed my magic and be on his way, or he could have been behind those webs all along. I doubted the latter. Even with the lack of regard he showed his creatures, not even he would have wanted so many to be killed when he was so close to victory.

“Nice job, lad,” Jastillian said. He flicked some dark entrails from his bushy beard. “And my foolish brother didn’t believe you had it in you.” He laughed, and I couldn’t help but grin.

“How could we have missed them?” someone asked in frustration. “The doors are wide open, and we saw nothing!”

“Concealment webs,” I said, staring at the illusion of empty hallways created by the webs. “Premier must have known about the tunnels and set a trap in case Princess Krystal returned. I need some of you to cover me while I take down the webs.”

I undid the webs. It was sloppy and messy, but fast. I would have walked through them, but didn’t want to take the chance that Premier had more surprises in store, or was just standing right there. I breathed easier when I saw Premier wasn't there and that there wasn’t another trap.

“We can't keep taking losses like this,” Jastillian said.

“What's the count?” I asked.

“Fourteen dead and four seriously wounded. More than half our people are gone.”

“We've got to hurry,” Prastian said.

“The dungeons aren't far from here,” Krystal said.

“Let's hope we don't run into any more surprises,” Behast said.

We left the wounded concealed in the secret passage, with a dwarf and an elf to guard them. The library was on the castle’s first floor—as close as the princess could get us to the dungeons. We jogged through the hallways, heading for the lower levels and keeping an eye out for any more traps or surprises.

We neared our destination and stopped. Krystal and I scouted the entrance to the dungeons. Two trolls and four goblins guarded them. I peeked from our hiding place and scanned the area for any magic. There were no webs or enchantments I could feel. It wasn’t the strong magic that worried me. It was the subtle magic I might not be able to detect.

We returned to the others and told them what we’d found. They decided to attack directly, since there was no other way to get to the dungeons. I would stay behind, watching for magic and guarding the princess.

Our forces rushed out. From a distance, the elves were able to get a few of their remaining arrows off. One troll had five arrows sticking out of his chest. Black blood ran down his chest, and he fell to the ground. Two more arrows pinned a goblin against the wall. As he slid to the floor, his dark blood left a slimy trail. The other goblins moved quickly, running towards us before more arrows could be released. The second troll had an arrow piercing his shoulder, but it barely slowed him down.

The dwarves and Behast followed the arrows. The dwarves’ axes found their marks and hacked away. Even if a creature blocked one, someone else's axe took its place, until the creature lost a limb and eventually its head.

This battle was far different from the previous one. There were no casualties on our side, and the only injuries were minor scratches and bruises.

Everyone went through the arch and filed down to the dungeons. The dwarves went first, in case there were more creatures below. I hurried to catch up to them, but stopped when something caught the corner of my eye. I turned my head, but saw nothing. The hair on my neck rose, but I didn’t sense any magic. Krystal pulled at my arm, and I followed her to the dungeons. I made sure she went down the steps before I followed, still looking over my shoulder.

The humidity and stale air in the stairwell made me feel trapped once more. My stomach twisted into a knot. I couldn’t be sure if it was my nerves, or if it was something else.