The Changing (22 page)
"Indeed your beauty is hideous, so much so in fact that you may never know if I stare in adoration or horror," Garret said.
"Says the man who shaved himself with a pitchfork," Linaya riposted, now openly laughing.
With that Garret helped Linaya to mount her steed, careful with the placement of his hands lest they stray of their own free will. Once Linaya was comfortably upon her horse, Garret too remounted and together they turned the great beasts to take their places in the parade line.
* * * * *
Seth and Sara scanned their surroundings for any signs of the enemy whilst the miniature men, led by their chief, prepared themselves for battle. Where the grasses ended and the barren stretch of dry soil began, the small warriors had hidden a large cache of shields. The shields were formed of wood and bound in leather with a notch in one side, and in comparison to the size of the men who wielded them they were quite large, more than half as tall as the little men themselves. Seth watched as the warriors fitted the shields to their arms and worked to help each other tighten the straps that held them in place. Seth and Sara waited patiently, scanning the no-man’s land ahead for any sign of life as a sound somewhere between a hiss and a buzz lent itself to the nighttime air from somewhere beyond the darkness. Slowly but steadily the sound grew louder and closer, growing at an incremental rate until Seth could no longer hear the ramblings of the chief giving what Seth assumed to be orders to his soldiers. Though the obnoxious sound continued to increase in volume and intensity, still neither Seth nor Sara could locate its source. Thinking Sara ill prepared for any battle, even one with insects, Seth pulled his long slender sword from its scabbard at his hip and with a motion offered it to Sara who was only armed with her small crossbow and a dozen or so bolts. Taking his meaning Sara accepted the sword, tossing her crossbow back into the grass where it would not hinder her. The noise grew more and more until the buzzing and hissing seemed to be coming from within the skulls of all those who awaited the arrival of the insect army. Patiently still, Seth peered, straining his eyes, into the darkness and finding nothing he reached out with his senses to find something both odd and familiar.
Racing towards Seth at immense speed were a pair of auras of the like that Seth knew to be of his own creation. There were only two such persons upon Thurr and Seth had created them both using the life of a large plains cat and two teenage girls. Seth could not even begin to comprehend how the girls had located him here, but saw it as a good sign. What was odd was the roiling mass that trailed them like a tidal wave rolling across the vast barren stretch of land ahead. Seth knew this to be the horde of enemies but had no way to distinguish their numbers. So many there were, and so closely packed together, Seth could not differentiate one aura from the next as they appeared to climb over and around one another with no sense of discipline or order. As Seth watched with his vision of the gods, the feline sisters of his creation broke from the darkness with long graceful strides belaying their size and anatomy. Racing nearer to him the pair slowed, a sheen of moisture hugging their downy coat of fur that covered their bodies in entirety minus their very human and very bare breasts and abdomen. The girls came like cats to their master, rubbing their bodies against his, purring softly and spreading their scent upon his armor.
"How did you two come to be here?" Seth demanded, happy to see them yet constrained by time and the approaching enemy.
"We could feel where you were," the older of the sisters said.
"Yes, and we didn't come alone," added the younger sister.
"Who have you brought with you?" Seth questioned quickly hoping it was a substantial force.
"Your dogs come to join you as well, though you will have to hold off the little buggies until they arrive," replied the older sister, while the younger was curiously eyeing the miniature soldiers as if she might pounce upon them.
"Good girls," Seth said causing both girls to again purr and begin rubbing upon him anew. "Though I know neither of you is prepared for such a thing you must fight," Seth commanded as his attention was again forced upon something new.
While Seth commanded his feline sisters to stay and fight, the congregation of miniature men began to form up in small battle groups of the like Seth had never witnessed before. Each group comprised of near twenty men who formed a small circle, the outer ring facing outwards in all directions. An inner ring was within the first ring and it too faced out in all directions at the back of their comrades. In the center of each group were three more of the small men who also faced outwards. Just as Seth began to wonder at the tactic the tiny men were employing, he was amazed at their brilliance. Seth watched as the men clustered together in their small circles, those in the outermost ring crouching and lowering their shields close to the ground so creating an impenetrable wall of wood around the lower half of their bodies. The second ring of little men raised their shields and held them above their crouching comrades thus creating another row of shields above the first. The innermost three men in the circle raised their shields above their heads, completely sealing off the group of small men from their attackers. Together each of the groups of men became an armored unit protected from attack on all sides. What impressed Seth further as the little men completed their small armored formations was the way the tip of a spear lanced out from within the armored dome through the notch in each shield. These little men had found a way to not only defend their units from assault on all sides, but also in which to attack as well. Though Seth was stunned by the ingenuity of the small race, at least concerning battle, he had no time to express his feelings on the matter for as soon as all the units were completed, the opposing insect army swarmed from the darkness leaving not a bare patch of soil between them. The number of enemy was so great Seth could not believe the small race of men had survived a nightly attack such as this.
Seth stilled his mind and reached out with tendrils of his consciousness to examine the vast enemy. Much to his liking, he assured himself that these enemies were very much akin to insects. They were short-lived creatures whose lives spanned only a couple of years and as such their individual auras were small. Seth had grown much in power with the loss of his troops at the battle with the black horde. As his troops had fallen in battle, their souls sworn to him, Seth’s capacity and understanding of his power had increased exponentially. With the enemy having so little life power within each of their small bodies, Seth knew he could lay waste to them in vast numbers.
Preparing himself for a sudden influx of power, Seth tore away the life force of tens of thousands of the small skittering creatures and languished in ecstasy as the power rushed into him whilst those he drained vanished into a cloud of ash. Focusing his newly acquired power Seth unleashed a torrent of green and yellow fire racing across the no-man’s land before him, sweeping the torrent in one direction then another to great effect. He had not expected that very much like heating dried corn kernels in oil, the small shelled creatures began popping and sputtering. Their insides became superheated and expanded with explosive force, breaking through their outer shell only to cool rapidly in the night air, leaving bloated insect carapaces by the tens of thousands in all directions. Yet the wave continued to come.
Though insects in small numbers appear to be mindless, often a colony can work as if of one accord and, to Seth’s dismay, such was the case with these creatures as well. As Seth laid waste to countless of the skittering, claw-snapping vermin, all at once, as if a signal was given, the insects halted their approach though only for an instant as apparently new orders were given. Then Seth realized that the battle would not be so easily won.
Springing into the air as if propelled by unseen catapults the insect creatures, known to the small locals as Zoomba, opened the chitin shells upon their backs and extended wings which they fluttered faster than the eye could see, propelling themselves at amazing speeds in seemingly random and sporadic flight patterns. Like a moth to a flame, however, the Zoomba came, intent on destroying their foe. Millions there must have been for within seconds the air was filled with the loud buzzing of uncountable flying menaces and where once these creatures had sprung from the ground to take flight, already the desolate soil was again covered by the now charging forms of the enemy. Seth, the woman he loved more than life itself, the two feline sisters of his creation and the small race of warrior people Seth had thought it his duty to save stood their ground preparing for the battle as best they could. The enemy rushed forward in a giant swarm to bring the fight to them.
Awash in the swarm of biting and pinching insects, each the size of a house cat, Seth and those he led or protected were being attacked on all fronts. As Seth unleashed wave after wave of his power, first turning the beasts to ash and then burning the next wave with magical fire, Sara swept Seth’s black blade through the air cleaving bug after bug in two, prancing like a ballerina with her newfound agility and strength. The feline sisters pounced this way and that avoiding the horrific snapping pincers of the insects, landing bodily upon their prey to crush them, before rending each one apart with their clawed fingers. The small soldiers worked with perfected precision much to Seth and Sara’s astonishment. Like an armored turtle each of the small round formations lurched slowly in one direction and then another, spears bristling, lashing out at all foes from all sides, killing the insects by the hundreds. The death mage knew that hundreds would not be enough. Seth had no time to imagine how long such a battle could continue. He had no concept of such astronomical numbers as these, and could not comprehend how each time he destroyed tens of thousands if not more, within a second or two those fallen had been replaced. Nor did he conceive of how the small race of man had managed a barrage like this nightly for who knew how long.
Again and again Seth lashed out with tendrils of his power extinguishing the lives of countless insects, each time giving his allies a couple seconds’ reprieve before the insects were replaced, and so far no casualties had befallen Seth and his allies. For near an hour the battle raged on with wave after wave of countless insects and already Seth could see the effects of the strain upon his comrades. The feline sisters, though still fighting strongly, had slowed measurably as had the small warriors they helped to defend. It was Seth and Sara alone who had yet to show the signs of fatigue as Seth again and again lashed out with his power in an attempt to give those he fought with some respite from the onslaught of enemies. Sara also proved herself in that hour continuing to slash and stab with Seth’s sword with lightning fast reflexes and unparalleled agility and strength, learning the limitations of the body Seth had unwittingly altered for her. But Seth realized it was only a matter of time before weariness took its toll, and he hoped that somehow Borrik and his men would manage to reach them before it was too late.
* * * * *
Borrik peered down the mountainside to a land awash in darkness that even his feral eyes could not penetrate. He knew his master was out there somewhere, and felt with every fiber of his being that Seth needed him now more than ever. The feline sisters’ scent still clung to the air and Borrik assured himself he could follow it with little trouble, though for how long he was unsure. Borrik had hoped to have located Lord Seth by now, knowing with each day that passed his master's chance for survival could be dwindling. Borrik had no notion of Seth’s condition after the battle a week previous, but assumed that something must have gone terribly wrong. Sniffing the air to again catch the sisters' scent, Borrik flexed and relaxed his leg muscles as the last of his troops spilled out of the mountain pass behind him. Ready to again take up the pursuit, Borrik dug his clawed toes into the rocky soil beneath him and at that moment witnessed both his greatest hope and his greatest fear.
Far in the distance from where the giant wolf beast of a man stood, looking down upon the land below, a flash of light erupted. Had he been looking in that particular direction he might have noted its location better. But having seen the flash Borrik swung his great muzzled head and watched intently, hoping to pinpoint the source of the light if it occurred again. Moments seemed to turn to eons as he watched, his canine eyes straining in the darkness to see every detail of a distant location if the chance arose. As Borrik had hoped, only seconds after the first flash, a second blast of light exploded some twenty miles further to the east of his current location. It was no ordinary light however. Even at this distance Borrik could recognize the unnatural fire of his master's creation, blazing in wicked hues of yellow and green.
In a fraction of a single second Borrik’s mind exploded into action. At this moment he felt surer of his purpose than at any other point in his life. First Borrik noted the location of his master. It was a long run by human standards, but to his troops, twenty miles could be spanned in a matter of an hour. It was also downhill nearly the entire distance cutting that time almost in half if they were reckless. But Borrik had injured men to consider too. As he sprung from his perch, , Borrik sent an order to his troops subliminally. The injured were to be left behind along with five troops to defend them should the need arise. The rest of Borrik’s troops took up the chase on his heels, barking and howling like mad animals, their maws gaping and eyes gleaming with ill intent.
So fast was the descent of Borrik and his men they barely touched the soil beneath their feet, careening down the mountainside at death-defying speeds, leaping dozens of yards in single bounds, dodging trees and rocks alike, where one misstep could mean permanent injury or death. Their master had been found, and more, he was fighting an unknown foe, possibly injured and alone. Seth needed his troops and they heeded the call.
