The Darkslayer: Book 02 - Blades in the Night (47 page)

Szzwham! Szzwham! Szzwham!

White bolts of blinding energy bore down on Venir. Fogle squinted in the brilliant light. The streaks curved away from Venir, then toward Fogle himself. He heard Ox yell as the lightning came their way. He hung on as he closed his eyes.

Ka-poom! Ka-poom! Ka-poom!

In front of them, Ox’s horse was blown into chunks of charred flesh. Fogle lost his grip and fell hard to the ground. He could hear the sound of simmering flesh raining down around him. He’d lived.
It worked.
The display of power Fogle Boon witnessed was more than anything he’d ever beheld or heard. He didn’t have any plans left. He was down to nothing.
Certainly those underlings don’t have more.

In the distance, he swore he could hear the underlings scream as they dug their nails into their skulls.

Venir didn’t notice as the lightning seared passed his head. He was somewhere else. He was someone else. He was the Darkslayer.

Ahead of him were several figures stepping forward from the smoking ground. He could feel their evil presence. He despised them. He reined in Chongo and hopped off.

He slapped Brool’s blade against the palm of his hand. “Come on, you black-metal Juegen dogs! Let me skin that scale from you and rip out the worm inside! Who is going down first then?”

He was confident. Strong. Ready. The ringing in his head was replaced with a rush of adrenaline.

The two black-plated Juegen underlings flanked him as the white muscled urchlings pursued Chongo. Venir waited, flexing his muscles and feeling them bulge beneath his thick scale mail. He could see their colorful eyes underneath their black-helmeted heads. Their curved swords glinted in the red moons’ light. He looked down at them. His grip was white knuckled. The Juegen paced around him.

The first Juegen came in swinging. Venir caught the blows on this axe blade. Then he jabbed Brool’s spike toward the Juegen’s maw. It ducked under and slashed him across the belly, then rolled away just as Brool bit into the ground where it had once stood. Mood’s scale mail saved Venir’s belly from being cut wide open, but it was cut. He groaned. The underling was faster than he figured.

He felt something at his back, and whirled in time to swat at the other underling warrior. It rolled away with ease, but not before clipping his calf. One at a time, they came, darting like dragon flies, as fluid as gazelles. Brool pulsed in his hands, wanting blood. He wanted it too.

His own blood dripped to the ground. The tiny lacerations burned like poison. He could hear Chongo yelping and barking nearby. He couldn’t let that distract him. He felt an underling lunge for him from behind. He turned just as something painful stabbed his back. He felt the underling spring away when he struck.

Clang!

Venir clipped it upside its helmet, knocking it to the ground. The axe was alive in his hand as the other Juegen came in a headlong rush. He anticipated its move, swinging Brool full force into its side. He felt its bones crushing inside it. Its black-plated armor saved it from being cut in two. The blow knocked the fiend off its feet and breathless to the ground. He figured it had to be dead, but it chittered as it regained its feet. The other came along its side. Neither underling seemed to be harmed. Now they mocked him.

Venir wiped the sweat from his brow with his bloody forearm. He missed his shield. They came at him again. It took all he had to block their blades. The sound rang back and forth as he battled their blades away. Sparks flew as the magic metals clashed. He felt a deep gash open in his thigh. He lunged at his attacker.

He missed, overswinging the mark, as the underling blades cut across his armor. He backpedaled as the next blows rained in like a swarm. Using his axe’s shaft to parry and its bottom shod to counter was all he could do so save himself from getting cut to ribbons. The Juegen stayed in close to the bigger warrior, pressing their advantage, and getting a slice of the Darkslayer here and there, drawing blood down to the soil.

Blocking out the pain, Venir focused on what he needed to do: destroy the little underlings. Parrying and side-stepping blow after blow, the Juegen finally seemed to slow from his efforts. One stepped back, too far from inside.

Bang!

The sound resounded as metal clashed on metal. The massive axe’s edge put a deep dent in the underling warrior’s helmet, almost knocking it down.

Bang!

He swung into it again, this time turning the Juegen’s helmet sideways. It backed away, trying to remove its helmet. Venir could feel it now. He turned as he felt the remaining Juegen jabbing his way. Venir raised his arms up high. It raised its swords in defense. Brool crashed downward, shattering the blades and glancing off the Juegen’s armored skull. Weaponless, it tried to pull out a dagger, only to have its hand sliced off for the effort. Venir then chopped into the foul thing over and over. Its armor held, but its body did not. It was a mutilated mess of black flesh and metal.

He heard the other one howl. The remaining Juegen had managed to remove its helmet, ripping its face half open in the process. Its black visage was torn, teeth filed, eyes black as coal, and it chattered in final fury. It charged with its dripping blades. It sprang high into the air, arms wide, cutting at his head. Venir’s powerful arms jabbed Brool’s spike straight through to the back of its head.

Crunch! Rip!

“
Now that’s more like it,” Venir said as he twisted it out in satisfaction.

It wasn’t over, though. Chongo barked and yelped still. The massive dog had guarded his backside all along, fighting off the albino urchlings along with Ox. Venir saw one crumpled white corpse in Chongo’s maw. Two other mangled corpses lay on the ground not far from the big dog. One urchling, though, was trying to rend Chongo’s second head to pieces. Ox, meanwhile, was in the midst of fighting off the remaining albino.

Then Venir saw the white fiend bite deep into Chongo’s jugular.

“
No!” Venir yelled.

Blood flowed from the dog’s neck. The urchling fighting Ox heard Venir roar. It jumped over Ox’s swinging axe and charged at Venir, its bloody claws ready to rend his flesh. He was furious as it came at him. He sliced the foul urchling clean through the torso. Two halves fell to the ground. Red blood thickened on the dirt beneath his feet.

Venir stuck Brool in the ground as he watched Ox chop at the urchling sucking on his dog’s neck. But the mintaur’s axes had no effect on the creature. Venir limped over and grabbed the smaller urchling creature by the nape of his neck. Its jaws opened wide, freeing Chongo.

He felt the creature’s claws tear deep into his skin. It had hurt his dog. He would kill it. He wrapped both of his bloodied hands around its muscled neck. He squeezed. His arms bulged in strain. The screaming urchling’s pink eyes seemed to burst from its head.

“
Rrrrrrrr!” Venir gave it more effort. Its neck felt like tree roots. He squeezed harder. He felt his strength grow. It had hurt Chongo. Then in one final squeeze …
Snap!
Its neck broke.

Venir tossed the urchling away and collapsed to the ground. He crawled over to where Chongo lay.

The big dog was bleeding heavily now, the gash in his neck severe. Chongo had sacrificed himself to protect his owner but there was little Venir could do now.

Venir grabbed his beloved pet by the neck. “Chongo …”

Then he thought he heard one of the underlings cackling above.

The night seemed to come to a stop as Catten studied the carnage below. Verbard’s chest heaved. All of their bodyguards were dead. He thought they’d had him, but the Darkslayer got faster as the battle went on. Catten felt helpless as he watched his Juegen get pounded into the dirt and sand. The man seemed stronger and more elusive than ever.

The Juegen and albino urchlings were more than a match for twenty men, but one warrior had destroyed them all. Catten rubbed his hands together. His busted shoulder felt more painful than before. He watched as the wounded Darkslayer beckoned toward him and his brother over and over from below. He wanted to throw everything he had left at him, but not just yet. Verbard hovered by his side, running his hands through his thick black hair.

Then there was the formidable wizard below, hanging back and waiting for his chance. It wasn’t something Catten had expected. He had no reason to. He could feel the wizard’s power. How much power the mage had, he could not know.

Catten rubbed his ailing chest. Should they focus their attacks on one or both? He shared his thoughts with Verbard. It was worth a shot to go after both, Catten thought. His silver-eyed brother only shook his head and sighed.

Venir’s temples throbbed as he stared at the two underlings high above. He didn’t know if the pain was because of helmet or all the yelling that he did. He watched as their heavy black robes billowed in the wind. Then something shimmered before the underlings, he noticed, as one floated before the other. The underling magi were black in the night, but he could make out their faces now. The weight of their gold and silver eyes was on him.

He didn’t know how, but he felt hesitation from them above. He checked on Chongo and Ox. Ox’s body looked like he had fallen in a den of wolverines. The mintaur had suffered deep wounds from the urchlings, but his had efforts saved Chongo. The mintaur finished stitching the gash in the large dog’s neck. Somehow Ox got the bleeding to stop. One dog head licked the other that hung down, almost lifeless on the ground.

Venir stroked the wounded panting head. “Your gonna make it, boy.”

He looked over at Fogle Boon. The mage still sat on horseback, eyes trying to make out the underlings above. He saw the staff in Fogle’s grip as the man mumbled something. He noticed the smell of burnt flesh in the air when he realized Ox’s horse was gone. He had no idea how that happened. He went over to ask.

The illusionist had a whimsical look on his round face when he turned to look at him.

“
I’m out of ideas,” Fogle said.

Venir was too.

“
At least you live,” Venir said.

The mage didn’t have a scratch, but he slumped in his saddle.

“
Now what?” Fogle asked.

Venir shrugged.

Long quiet moments passed. It was possible that more underlings were coming. He did not know. But he wouldn’t let the two above out of his sight. Frustration was setting in. Venir’s head throbbed and his body ached. He started gathering stones. He emptied all their packs on the ground. He looked for anything he might find to hurl at the underlings.

He pulled out a sling from his backpack. It was one of Georgio’s. He hadn’t put it there. There were smooth sling bullets as well. He loaded one and drew back his arm. The sling whirled away, whistling in his ears. He let it loose. The sling bullet flew straight and true then bounced away before colliding with the underling’s face. It didn’t even flinch.

Fogle saw a scroll fall from his pack. He said with excitement, “Venir, bring me that scroll.”

Venir picked it up and came his way. “Now’s not a good time to read,” he said, handing over the scroll.

Fogle Boon got off his horse and piled up the stones and bullets. Venir watched the wizard sit down and unravel the scroll. The wizard began to read aloud, then he saw the man’s eyes roll up in his head. Something was wrong. Fogle Boon pitched face forward into the pile of stones. The scroll withered away.

“
What is it, Ox?” Venir asked.

But the mintaur had no words.

Fogle Boon’s mind was under assault. Everything turned dark. Someone ancient, evil, powerful, and mysterious began crushing the light of his conscience. He was locked in a mind grumble with an underling. It was killing him. He fought back. Light deep inside his mind still burned. He had to keep going. He protected the tiny bit of light and fueled it with his thoughts.

He was standing in a black room, a lone candle flame wavering before him. He felt nails being driven into his head. A dark shadow prompted him to blow out the flame. It would ease his pain. It would be easy. His will waned, the candle dimmed. The pain started to ease.