Priestess of War (The Bowl of Souls Book 10), page 14
Rufus hefted the boulder experimentally, his tongue poking out of the side of his wide mouth. He nodded thoughtfully and increased the size of his body a bit more, until he felt he had a good grip. Then he lifted the boulder and rested it on his shoulder as he began to spin.
“He thinks he can do it, but there’s no way he can aim from that distance,” Fist said. To Maryanne’s consternation, the ogre stopped walking and closed both eyes again.
Rufus launched the boulder through the air. His back twinged.
Fist winced. “He hurt himself a little, but . . . whoa.”
The rogue horse ignored the pain in his back and watched excitedly as the rock hurtled through the air towards his target.
The lupero reached the edge of the last pit trap and looked up just in time for the rounded rock to strike him square in the muzzle. Its skull instantly shattered, its neck and spine compacted. The rock splattered the beast against the ground before rebounding and crashing into the pit behind it.
“He squished it!” Fist said, pumping his arm into the air.
“Good for him,” Maryanne said and tugged on his arm. “Now come on! I want to be there before the fighting starts!”
Good aim, Rufus! Fist sent.
Ooh! Ooh! See! Rufus replied excitedly. I can do it!
There was a stirring in the ranks of the infested army. Another lupero pushed its way to the front, this one slightly bigger than the first and with a black stripe across the top of its head. It leapt over the first three pits to sniff at the smashed remains of the dead lupero. A growl rumbled in its throat and it looked up at Rufus on the distant clifftop.
It reared back and howled, then began to climb up the sheer walls of the pass.
A series of angry barks echoed from further in the army’s ranks. Four more luperos climbed up out of the pass to join it. A dozen of the smaller gray lupolds came with them. Together, they streaked towards the base of the cliff where Rufus stood.
The rogue horse looked down on them in surprise. He shifted to spirit sight. Each of these creatures were connected to the far distance by a dark red thread of spirit magic.
Chapter Nine
Fist opened his eyes. “We gotta run!”
He grabbed the handle of his mace. Its magic immediately took hold of his body. His reflexes sped up and he ran through the outskirts of the camp towards the paths leading to the cliffs where Rufus stood. Ogres heading to man the territory’s defenses grunted in surprise as he rushed past them, pushing some aside as he went.
Maryanne had to sprint to keep up with him. She sounded quite cross with him as she yelled, “Where are you going? What happened?”
“A bunch more of those lupold things climbed out of the pass and they are going after Rufus!” Fist said.
“How many?” she asked, leaping over a smoldering campfire in her way.
“Over a dozen,” he replied between breaths. “And five more of the bigger ones!”
Maryanne swore. “Does he have anyone else with him?”
“Lyramoor is up there somewhere, but I did not see him!”
“Tell Rufus to grab Lyramoor and head our way!” the gnome said. “We’ll need more help to fight that many off.” She stopped to grab a few more ogres to help, but Fist ran on.
Rufus! Get Lyramoor and come to me! We’ll fight them together.
The rogue horse watched the lupolds streaking across the mountainside towards his position for a moment longer, then nodded. Okay.
Fist reached the territory’s edge and bolted past the line of ogres bunching up in readiness for the coming attack. He saw Qenzic at the front lines giving instructions, but did not bother him. It was good to have the Academy graduate in charge down there. The ogres had resisted the idea of listening to people of the smaller races, but they had soon learned to trust in the intelligence and skill of the experienced human and elf.
Fist sent a feeler through the bond to check on Squirrel and tell him what was happening, only to find that Squirrel was already watching him through the bond.
I am staying back like a good squirrel, the animal said petulantly. He was somewhere inside a dark cave. I will watch from here.
There was something suspicious about his little thoughts, but Fist didn’t have the luxury of figuring out what Squirrel was up to. He headed up one of the steep pathways that lead to Rufus’ location. The magic of his mace took a heavy toll on him, but today it seemed to be affecting him more quickly than usual. He was already breathing heavy.
Rufus, I need some energy, he sent.
Okay, said the rogue horse, shrinking to a more manageable size as he followed Lyramoor’s scent.
Fist tapped into the rogue horse’s deep stores. The energy filled his body and, though he did not go any faster, his breathing became less ragged. Linked to Rufus’ energy he could run with his mace all day, though his body would likely pay for it.
I got the elf, Rufus reported, but no sooner had Lyramoor mounted Rufus’ back, than the lupero leader climbed to the top of the cliff face. His companions soon joined him, along with their snarling smaller cousins. They’re coming!
Rufus bolted towards Fist’s position, chased by the ravenous barking beasts. If this had been a race on flat terrain, there would have been no contest. Rogue horses were the fastest beasts afoot, especially over long distance. But the mountain clifftops were ragged and uneven and lupolds are natural sprinters and climbers. They fanned out behind him, each one taking a slightly different path. Rufus was unable to gain any ground.
Lyramoor held tightly to the mane that ran down the center of Rufus’ wide back with one hand, while reaching into his weapon sash with the other. He pulled out throwing knives and, using his uncommon agility, was able to turn and hurl them behind him with precision.
One struck a snarling lupold in the open mouth, causing it to stumble and tumble down a steep rocky incline. Another pierced the shoulder of a lupero. The large beast slowed, but did not stop, driven by whatever was behind that red magic.
Fist arrived at the top of the path and saw Rufus in the distance, heading towards him, the lead lupero at his heels. He ran to an open flat area of rock and stood at the ready, sending strands of earth and water magic into the ground at his feet.
Though the rock looked solid, it actually wasn’t. Deep cracks and striations ran through it, with multiple layers of different types of strata. He went to work, widening some cracks, strengthening some layers, liquefying dirt and filling in spaces between the layers with water magic. It was complicated work, but the days of constant battle had given Fist a lot of practical experience. Many of the things Darlan had struggled to teach him before now made perfect sense.
Get behind me! he sent, showing the rogue horse what path to take.
As Rufus ran, columns of rock erupted from the mountainside around him. Fist’s aim wasn’t perfect, many of the beasts just ran around the obstacles, but several ran face first into them, while others found themselves launched into the air as the columns rose under their feet. The lead lupero took a glancing blow that sent him tumbling across the ground.
Good one! Squirrel said from within Fist’s mind. It was as if little beast was sitting inside his skull, chewing a nut and watching from behind his eyes.
Fist doubted that he had killed any of the creatures. His main goal had been to slow them. Though it was likely that bones had been broken. He took pride in that. His next attack would be more deadly.
He reached into his magical stores, only to find that they were more depleted than he expected. Fist cursed his power level, knowing that he would never be as strong as most wizards. He was forced to pull more energy from Rufus.
Fist forced the water and dirt up to the surface, causing pits to open up in the earth and flooding the area in front of him creating a wide pool of water and mud. Then he pulled up strands of air and earth magic and waited for the right moment. He could feel Squirrel behind his eyes, watching his every movement eagerly.
Rufus hit the watery stretch of ground and followed the shallow pathway Fist had sent him through the bond. The lupolds weren’t as lucky. Some of them were slowed by water two feet deep. Others became stuck in muddy quagmire, while others were forced to swim through deep pools. Rufus made good ground on his pursuers and soon joined Fist on dry ground. Fist waited for the right moment, wanting as many of the beasts in range as possible before he released his spell.
The lead lupero, having recovered from his tumble, stopped at the edge of the water. He let out a growl and his companions stopped next to him. The lupolds in the water turned around and headed back towards him.
Fist couldn’t wait any longer. He sent vibrating strands of gold and black magic into the center of the water-soaked earth. At the same time he sent a similar set of strands into the sky above.
A bolt of lightning blasted down out of the clear sky, accompanied by a peal of thunder.
Good! Squirrel enthused.
Every beast still in the water slumped, steam rising from their bodies. The beasts outside the area of effect cringed, but did not flee. The lead lupero with the black stripe growled and the two other luperos that had been outside the water came to his side, one of them limping slightly with a throwing knife still protruding from its shoulder.
“We gonna stay and fight or run some more?” Lyramoor asked.
“We fight,” Fist said. “I got most of them.”
The scarred elf hopped down from Rufus’ back and unsheathed his dual falchions. “No you didn’t. That was an impressive strike, but those are wizard hunters.”
The lead lupero let out a sharp bark. Some of the beasts in the water began to stir. Those at the center of the strike remained still, but the others began dragging themselves back to their leader. All in all, it seemed four of the luperos still survived, along with half of the lupolds. Yet another of the smaller beasts tried to join the others, but struggled, unable to move its rear legs.
“Wizard hunters?” Fist asked.
The elf nodded. “Lupolds are resistant to magic, one reason why the orcs in Khalpany like to keep ’em as pets. Luperos, though.” He shook his head. “Those nasty things are even better at shaking off magic. Dark wizards train ’em and keep ’em as watchdogs in case the Mage School sends someone after them. Never heard of a group this large, though.”
“Wish I knew that before,” Fist said. Darlan was training him to be a war wizard like she was. She had hunted dark wizards for decades. Surely she had run into such things before.
Lyramoor laughed. “Yeah. Sometimes I forget you’re still just an apprentice.” He elbowed Fist on the arm. “You do pretty good, though. You get the job done.”
“Thanks. I think,” Fist said. It was uncharacteristic for the elf to try to be nice. Maybe Qenzic had been talking to him.
The surviving pack of wolf-like beasts parted down the middle and prowled along the outside of the wet ground, taking the long way around, still intending to fight. Fist noticed something else strange about them.
“What’s that around their necks?” the ogre asked.
The elf rotated his swords in his hands, readying himself for the fight that was about to come. “Yeah, I noticed that too. I don’t know. Collars of some kind, I guess.”
Fist switched to spirit sight. “That red magic is linked to those collars. They are probably being controlled. Maybe we should try and cut them off?”
The creatures reached the far edges of the wet stretch of rock and sprinted towards them, the lupolds barking, the luperos slavering.
“Let’s just kill ’em,” Lyramoor suggested, facing the beasts approaching from Fist’s right. “Magic may be weak against those things, but they still die on the end of a sword just like anything else.”
Nodding, Fist pulled his shield off his back and pulled more energy through the bond. “Ready, Rufus?”
“Ooh-ooh! Yes!” the rogue horse huffed, rearing up on his back legs and pounding his chest with one enormous fist. He turned to face the beasts coming from the left side.
Fist now had to decide which group to face. He sent a question to Rufus through the bond, Can you stop the ones coming at you so that I can help Lyramoor?
They will bite, the rogue horse suggested. He didn’t look forward to that inevitability, but he wasn’t afraid of it either. You will heal me.
Fist nodded and stood next to the elf as the creatures grew near.
Make your mace shock! Squirrel suggested eagerly from behind Fist’s eyes.
I was going to, Fist said. The beasts were resistant to magic, but what could it hurt? Considering how outnumbered he was, he even went a step further. Blue arcs of electricity crackled across his whole body.
Rufus waited until the beasts were almost on him before running towards them, increasing in size with each step. The beasts worked in concert, the two large luperos lunging for his neck while the three smaller lupolds ran around him to attack from his rear.
The rogue horse, now twice as tall as their height on all fours, reached out with both hands and grasped the luperos by their torsos. Their jaws snapped at empty air. Their clawed hands tore at his thickly furred arms.
He twisted his body and threw one of them into the muddy expanse at his right. It rolled and stood, ready to come back at him. Rufus’ back twinged again, but he ignored it.
The rogue horse swung the other lupero around, using its long body to knock aside the smaller lupolds that were lunging for the tendons at the backs of his legs. He then lifted the large beast into the air with both hands and threw it at its muddy companion. The two creatures yelped as they collided, but were quick to come back to their feet.
Lyramoor rolled to the side to dodge the snapping jaws of one lupero, then spun to his feet, whipping both swords out in a vicious circle. One lupold was slashed across the muzzle. Another received a long gash along its ribs.
The elf didn’t pause. Continuing his spin, he stabbed into the side of another beast and swung his other sword around, gashing the muzzle of the first lupold again. The creatures backed slowly away and circled Lyramoor, wary of the dual sword wielder.
The lead lupero ran straight for Fist. The ogre swung his shield out and connected with a glancing blow to its striped head, knocking it to the side and sending volts of electricity through its body. He followed up with a backhand swing of his mace that narrowly missed the head of a lupold who was lunging for his legs.
The lupero shuddered and snarled. Fist snarled back at it, building the electric charge around his body back up again. He could feel Squirrel’s approval within his mind.
Rufus grabbed the rear leg of a lupold that was running by and swung it through the air, bashing it savagely against the rocky ground. While he was distracted, a muddy lupero reared up and bit into his shoulder. The beast whipped its head back and forth, tearing at his flesh.
Roaring, Rufus opened his wide mouth and bit the head of the beast that was biting him. He tore it free of his shoulder and thrashed his own head back and forth, clamping down with his teeth until he felt a satisfying crunch. He spat out the convulsing creature and grimaced at the taste it had left behind in his mouth.
Fist’s mace bashed in the side of a snarling lupold, one of its spikes bursting all the way through the side of the creature. He swung back around, lifting his shield to block the incoming attack of the lead lupero, but the beast didn’t come at him. It took a few steps backwards, growling as it saw the other members of its pack being destroyed.
“Come on!” Fist shouted and when he lifted his mace back up it was surprisingly heavy. The body of the now dead lupold was stuck to the spikes. Straining, Fist pointed the mace at the striped headed lupero. “You’re next.”
It bared its teeth at him and made as if to lunge, but an arrow streaked in, piercing its right eye with a zap of electricity. The lupero dropped to the ground, then rose shakily back to its feet. It stumbled to the side and let out a bark, then ran away on unsteady legs.
It was followed by one lupold and another lupero, both wounded, but still able to run. Another arrow streaked in, hitting the leader in the hindquarters, but it merely stumbled before continuing.
“You jerk!” shouted Maryanne from the top of the trail. She stormed towards him with a scowl, her hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. “Running on like that!”
Fist turned away from her approach, watching as Lyramoor pierced the heart of a dying lupero with a thrust of a falchion. The rocky shelf was littered with the bodies of the wolf-like beasts. Rufus was pounding a few of them just to make sure they stayed dead.
Fist could sense that the rogue horse had several wounds that needed to be tended to. He walked towards Rufus, dragging his lupold-laden mace on the ground beside him.
“Rufus, are you al-.” Fist stumbled to the side, nearly falling as Maryanne kicked the back of his knee. “Ow! Why did yo-?”
She punched him in the arm. “I lost sight of you! Didn’t know which trail you’d taken! I’ve been running all over the mountainside dragging ogres with me to find you!”
“Hey, Big Fist! Did I miss the fight?” asked a disappointed sounding ogre who was breathing heavy as he reached the top of the trail. There were two more behind him, each looking equally winded.
“I couldn’t stop! Rufus and Lyramoor needed my help!” Fist said. He lifted his mace and shook the lupold’s body at her. “I got here just in time.”
“It’s true,” said Lyramoor, pointing at the landscape that Fist had rearranged with his magic. “With those numbers, they might’ve taken the rogue horse down before I could kill ’em all.”
“Yeah? Well . . .” She bared her teeth at the elf, then turned her glare on Fist. “Just don’t do it again.”
Fist sighed and turned back to the rogue horse.
Rufus was bent over the body of the lupero he had bitten to death. He spat blood and dirt out of his mouth, then sniffed at it as he switched to spirit sight. The dark red magic was gone.
