The Book of Deacon: Book 02 - The Great Convergence (55 page)

"Quiet, you fool! You will be on solid ground
again in a moment. I've saved you . . . I . . . I
have
saved
you!" Ether began, suddenly realizing that for the first time since
her betrayal she felt not the slightest pain of retribution. Her
sin was absolved.

The respite from the pain was short lived.
Carrying her fellow Chosen slowed her and brought her back within
the range of the archers, and they wasted little time in taking
full advantage. The shape shifter rushed to a rooftop with her
precious cargo, but the closer she came, the closer the arrows
came. More than one arrow whisked through her, missing the creature
she carried by a hair. Below, Lain leapt from roof to roof, staying
ahead of the constant barrage of Dragoyles. His sword easily sliced
through any nearmen who had made their way to the roof, and the
cloaks that flitted about on all sides were too slow to catch him,
though only just. Ether spotted him and hurried to the same roof he
was headed to, the bell tower of a church toward the edge of the
city. It was by far the highest part of the skyline, well out of
reach of the nearmen. He climbed up the side of the tower as
quickly as if it had been a ladder, and slipped in one of the
windows. Ether swept in soon after, spilling Ivy to the floor.

"What is going on! Where were you? Why . . .
aahhh!" Ivy began before the shock wore off enough to allow her
mind to process the terrible pain in her shoulder.

"Clear a path. We need to get her to safety,"
Lain ordered.

"I've more important tasks at hand," Ether
said, turning her eyes to the black form gliding toward them.

Lain didn't linger to attempt to convince her
otherwise. Grabbing Ivy, he leapt down into the stairs of the bell
tower and pulled the hatch closed above him, securing it with the
brace that hung beside it. A heartbeat later the walls shook as
beasts battered it from all sides. Ivy stumbled and lurched as she
was hurried down the stairs. The pain was blinding, but behind it
was a vague feeling of violation, like there was an unwelcome
presence in her mind. It made things seem far away, like they
didn't matter.

Finally they reached the bottom of the tower,
spilling into the shadowy main hall of the church. The doorway was
directly ahead of them, but Lain pulled back and hugged the wall,
pulling back Ivy as he did. This was the sturdiest building in the
city, one of the few built entirely of stone and thus one of the
few that offered any protection. Below, even over the din of the
battle raging outside, Lain could hear the hushed gasps of anxious
adults and the terrified wails of sobbing children. He needed to
get Ivy to safety. Were he to be seen by the huddled mob below,
there would be chaos. He could not afford it.

Outside, Ether streaked to her target.
Epidime soared toward her. Crystal tipped arrows hissed through the
air from all angles, but Ether now had no fragile mortal to
protect. With the benefit of her full attentions devoted to this
single task, the archers failed to graze her with even a single
attack. Epidime raised his weapon, the gem in its head burning
bright. Ether watched it, carefully measuring its strength, the
speed of the movements. The timing had to be right. A moment more
and she was near enough. Epidime's weapon came down with tremendous
force. The shape shifter darted upward, the blade slicing through
the air before her, just a hair's width from her windy form. Though
the physical threat fell short, the mystic influence of the gem
reached further, tearing away at her very essence in her most
vulnerable form.

In a flash, the swirling form of her body
tightened, drawing in with gale force, solidifying into stone. She
dropped down onto the neck of the beast Epidime rode. The creature
buckled under the sudden weight, nearly falling from the sky.
Epidime attempted a second blow but Ether caught the shaft of his
weapon in her stony grip. For the first time since the fight had
begun, concern came to Epidime's eyes. With strength unnatural for
even his massive frame, he attempted to wrench the halberd from her
grip, but it held fast, her strength more than a match for his.
Without a word of command, the creature they rode dove earthward,
landing in the streets. Ether could feel the grip of her foe
slipping with each tug, the core of his power wavering with each
mighty pull. There was no doubt now. Without the halberd, Epidime
was nothing.

"Such a pathetic thing!" Ether spat as she
felt victory near. "There is nothing to you at all. You rely on an
artifact, a
tool
for your power? How could you have even
imagined defeating a product of the
GODS
with such a
weakness?"

"A great thinker once said," Epidime began to
quote in a feeble attempt to maintain the cool demeanor that had
until moments ago defined him. "Wise is the man who focuses on an
enemy's weakness, but dead is a man who ignores its strength."

A flash of the gem stunned Ether only
briefly, but it was enough for the hoard of nearmen and cloaks who
had gathered unnoticed around the battleground to capitalize.
Ether's formidable stone form was nothing against the hundreds of
grasping claws and clanking swords that rained down upon her. She
fought valiantly to finish the task at hand, but the sheer numbers
that pulled at her were too great. She was dragged into the
writhing mob, her claw-like fingers carving long gashes along the
back of the dragoyle before they too vanished among the crowd.

Lain led Ivy around the edge of the walkway
that circled the top of the main hall. The injured creature was
fighting back tears valiantly. The presence in her head had
suddenly dropped away, and the full weight of the events of the
last few minutes was once again resting entirely on her harried
mind, but she managed to keep her silence and quell the fear that
gripped her. There were small windows lining the top of the wall,
just below the ceiling around the perimeter of the hall, two large
stained glass windows at either side of the walkway, and one great
stained glass masterpiece between them. The duo edged toward the
large window at the end of the walkway. It had broken long ago, the
bottom of it replaced with planks of wood. If they could pull one
aside, they could slip out and down the front of the building. Of
course, there were more trying obstacles than a mere plank of wood
blocking their path.

The creatures that had seen them enter still
threw themselves at the tower. With each rhythmic assault the walls
shuddered. Before long, the bell tower would collapse. Worse, a
large portion of the ground troops had been drawn by the dragoyle's
attacks. They hammered on doors and shattered low windows. The
people inside screamed for mercy. They had yet to see Lain or Ivy
inside, and knew not why these beasts and men now threatened to
tear their sanctuary down. All they knew was that an army of
monsters had descended on their homes. There was a mix of
abominations and soldiers tearing through the city, bringing all of
the destruction of the war to their very doors.

Lain motioned for Ivy to stay where she was.
She obeyed while her defender crept up to the window, evading the
light it cast. Behind, Ivy huddled in the corner, cradling her
wound. She was every bit as terrified as the people below her, but
she couldn't allow it to show. She buried it deep within her. Even
a wisp of fear reaching the surface would stir up her aura and they
would be seen. Lain didn't want that, so it must not happen.

Epidime grinned, keeping a watchful eye on
the chaos as he abandoned the back of the injured creature and
summoned down a fresh one. His caution proved justified. No sooner
had he taken to the air than the whole of the mass of attackers
seemed to rise up. A black form could just barely be seen beneath
them. An instant later and it surged up, sending the attackers
hurdling helplessly through the air, raining down all around. In
the center of the eruption was a dragoyle, but it was not like the
others. A silvery tone was mixed with the black hide, and a
brilliant white light shown from the hollows that should have held
eyes.

Ether wasted little time. With the massive
strength inherent to her new form, she trounced the foes foolish
enough to venture near her, then took to the sky. Epidime would not
escape this time. A silent command pierced the minds of the army of
creations as her foe attempted to put distance between himself and
her raging new form. Every nearman, every cloak, and every dragoyle
moved as one, turning instantly to the new target. The shape
shifter drew in a deep breath of air and heaved out a great cloud
of miasma, blanketing the scattered forces below her in the caustic
mist. As dragoyles swept in she spat a second cloud of it in their
direction. The beasts were unaffected, though the riders cried out
in their unnatural language before falling to the ground below.
Whereas before the creatures would have fetched a new rider, it
seemed now that Epidime had taken a more direct role in controlling
them, as they remained focused on Ether even in the absence of the
guiding hands of their riders.

No matter. The shape shifter had spent an
eternity learning how best to use every aspect of a form, and even
in the mere moments that she had occupied this shape, she was every
bit as capable as the beasts she faced. What's more, she had the
benefit of a more than rudimentary intelligence, something that her
foes lacked. The first of the creatures clashed with her, but its
attack was smoothly evaded. Ether then countered, choosing her
attack carefully. A single blow separated the creature's head from
its body and both tumbled earthward. The entirety of the remaining
dragoyles swarmed around her. Ether's skill with this form was more
than formidable, but the volume of attacks was greater than she
could withstand. Rather than be overcome as she had before, she
darted away. The others followed. The shape shifter wove through
the air as gracefully as this form would allow.

The constant rain of blows that pummeled the
church from all sides died away suddenly and completely as the
creatures were commanded to protect their master. Lain silently
forced aside a board from the window and peered outside. The
creatures, all of them, were distracted chasing one of their own,
and it didn't take long to understand why. For once the shape
shifter had used her powers wisely. He turned to help Ivy to the
window.

Lain grabbed her good arm and guided her to
her feet. The blood loss was beginning to affect her, and she had
to fight to keep her balance. Her eyes were heavy. If something was
not done about her wounds soon, she would lose consciousness. Death
would soon follow. She stumbled, nearly falling. Lain stopped her,
but in the silence left by the departure of the attackers outside,
it did not go unheard. In a flash, the hushed and huddled townsfolk
below began to clamber anew in fear and anger. In the darkness
below, the bolder villagers took up lanterns and headed for the
stairs to the walkway.

Quickly Lain widened the opening. Time was
against them, and there was no use being quiet anymore. When it was
large enough to crawl through he tried to lead Ivy onto the narrow
ledge beyond. Her head no sooner peeked out of the ruined window
than a whiff of icy air and a glimpse of a dizzying height brought
back her senses and the memory of dangling high above the city just
minutes ago. She pulled back, refusing to face the drop again. The
bang of a door being thrown open startled her. As Ivy turned toward
the sound of approaching footsteps, Lain took matters into his own
hands. Throwing Ivy over his shoulder, he hurled himself out of the
opening, catching the ledge and dropping down as gently as he could
manage.

It was not gentle enough, unfortunately. Ivy
cried out in pain as they struck the ground. Heads peered out of
the broken window above. Lain could fairly feel their gaze. They
had been seen. Both of them. He turned and fixed his eyes on the
horizon to the west. He had to escape, find shelter, and attempt to
bind Ivy's wounds. It might already be too late. The injured
creature was muttering incoherent scoldings about being careful and
warning her when he did such things. The assassin thrust aside all
he'd taught himself to do, all that had become second nature to
him. There was no time for stealth. There was no time for caution.
The last real hope for his kind was fading away. That could not be
allowed to happen. Not while he still drew breath.

High above, Epidime watched as Ether weaved
between buildings, over roofs, through arches. The other dragoyles,
clumsy by comparison, crashed into walls and collided with one
another. A thought came to mind, causing him to turn his eyes to
the ground. Beside the now collapsed form of his former mount was
the weakly stirring form of Trigorah. When a glance upward
confirmed that the shape shifter was distracted at the other side
of the town, he guided his beast earthward. Casually dismounting,
he fairly sauntered up to his ailing ally and watched her struggle
to her feet.

"The shape shifter . . . " Trigorah
warned.

"She has her hands full at the moment. I am
surprised at you. You aren't one to be so easily fooled. And I
should know," he said.

"Save your mockery . . . what about the
others?" she asked.

"Last I left them, they were holed up in the
church," he said. "Demont's little project is wounded. They won't
be hard to follow."

"If you think Lain will be easy to follow
then you learned nothing from me. He has skill enough to overcome
any handicap. You need to find him before he leaves the city,"
Trigorah warned.

"The cogs are already moving in that regard.
I will see to it personally just as soon as the more immediate
threat can be dealt with. Ether's power concerns me and . . . do
you feel that?" he said, suddenly distracted.