Blue Diamonds (Book One of The Blue Diamonds Saga) (26 page)

Baylor felt the familiar sensation of his magic returning to him, and he sighed in relief. It felt like tiny needles pricked the bottom of his feet and fingertips. It began as a sharp pain, and then dulled as it trickled to the center of his mass. He instinctively looked at Frostbern, and smiled when he saw that the blue glow had returned to the ring. It was weak, but noticeably picking up in intensity. It was in great timing too, because while he was pleased with the current situation, he really just wanted to put an end to the battle. He needed time to meditate on all he had learned.

His pet had just torched a huge section of forest, along with at least half of the soldiers, but now the dragon was nowhere to be seen. He was worried that it was taking the advantage for granted. Instead of going for the fast kill, it chose to play games with its prey.

Baylor didn’t like this game of cat and mouse one bit, and even though he still lacked the strength to regain control over his pet he felt that he regained enough strength to effectively access Frostbern’s deadly magic. He would go in and pick off the soldiers himself, if he had to. He knew that the beast wasn’t invincible, contrary to how it was behaving.

Baylor shut his eyes and sat cross-legged. It never took long for him to focus on his inner being, the state required for spell casting. He began the same as always, listening to the flow of his breathing, and feeling for his very heartbeat. Once he was lost in the rhythm he was able to drift into a meditative state, and from there he searched his subconscious for the proper words.

Before leaving the safety of his fog wall he wanted to cast a few spells over himself. He had two enchantments in mind. One would grant him the speed and agility of a cat, and the second would give him the strength of ten men. Spells are a wizard’s armor, and Baylor was confident that once he prepped himself for battle the soldiers wouldn’t be an issue. Visions of ice spears, lancing through the soldiers hearts and stabbing out their eyes brought a smile to his lips as he chanted.

He was nearly finished with the complicated charms when the presence of someone nearby broke him from his trance. Baylor cursed the interruption and sprang to his feet. He gingerly arose from between the giant roots that he had been sitting between and circled the great oak, only to receive the surprise of his life waiting on the other side.

“Alchemist! Ye survived the attack?”

Pall Hammerheart was standing less than twenty feet from Baylor, holding a large axe with both hands. Over Pall’s shoulder Baylor saw the largest human that he’d ever seen closing in. He noticed that both of their postures loosened at the sight of him, and the wizard-dwarf couldn't hold back a grin.

Baylor was upset that he was only able to complete one of his spells, but that couldn't be helped now. He would have to make due with the speed enchantment alone. He could tell that it was already taking effect, by the way everything around him started to wobble and move slower. He noticed the leaves floating down from the trees begin to resist gravity's calling, and then he heard Pall's voice drag into long, stretched out syllables.

“Aye, I survived,” said Baylor, his face terror stricken. “It was horrible! It killed them all!” Baylor held his act as Pall lowered his axe slightly, and then continued to walk towards him. He knew right then and there that he hooked him. Now he simply needed to reel Pall in. Baylor kept Frostbern low to his side and it began to glimmer in anticipation. He knew that freezing Pall solid would be too difficult, now that the fires had heated the air in the forest, but there were other options.

Pall was assaulted by a tumult of emotions from being face to face with an actual survivor from his family’s massacre. Although this particular dwarf wasn’t directly akin to him, the alchemist was someone his father evidently trusted with a major role. Everyone who came to build Fort Hammerheart was considered to be a Hammerheart, but on top of that, if it weren’t for this dwarf’s errand he wouldn’t be alive today. Pall even felt guilty for how disrespectful he had been when his father introduced him to Baylor, a day that seemed years past.

Pall continued walking towards Baylor, his posture becoming less defensive, and his axe lowering with every step. There was so much he wanted to ask that he wasn’t sure where to begin. Did Baylor see who was responsible? Were there any other survivors? Did Scuttle make it back to the fort? And most curious of all, what was he doing out here, within throwing distance of a battle? The last question struck him the hardest, as Pall’s eyes now drifted over Baylor’s shoulder to see a smoky, flame engulfed forest. This suddenly shifted his perspective, setting off internal alarms in his mind.

Pall lowered his eyes to Baylor’s chest to find the source of light that was tugging at the corner of his eye, from just beyond his peripheral vision. It was staring right at him. The largest, bluest diamond that he ever laid eyes on, hanging from Baylor’s neck.

“Stop!” Pall thought he heard someone call, but he never found who yelled the warning, instead he was staring down at his body with wide eyes. All that Pall knew was that he was in trouble. The air was pushed out from his lungs in a loud exhale, and he could only gawk at the four, transparent icicles that extended from Baylor’s raised right hand.

The pain was peculiar. Not a sharp pain, or even very excruciating, as some past wounds had been. It was like the gods snapped their finger, and in the blink of an eye there was no air left for him to breathe. Each icicle stretched from a fingertip, and they blushed pink as blood started to trickle down them.

Pall lifted his axe high, and then chopped down hard over the ice spears and shattering them, only to find that they were they only thing holding him up at this point. He dropped his axe, and then fell limp to the ground.

“No!” Rolo screamed.

One moment the dwarf that Pall was speaking to held his hand down to his side, and then the next moment it was raised, and blood was spouting from Pall’s back. The giant sprinted to his fallen friend, high with adrenaline before Pall’s lax body hit the ground. In only a few bounding steps Rolo was there, gliding over Pall’s body and focused on the smiling dwarf, but when the mysterious dwarf made no move to dodge or defend, he paused to get a good look at him.

“Well, come on then,” smiled Baylor, and Rolo was more than happy to oblige.

Rolo gripped one end of his staff with both hands to maximize his range, and then he swung it over his head and chopped downward hard. It was a power move, aimed directly at the top of Baylor’s skull.

The only result of the heavy swing was a splash of leaves and a loud thud, that sent shuddering vibrations up the giant man's arms. It was unbelievable. Rolo saw a confirmed strike right before his eyes, and then the dwarf vanished. Although he was surprised, Rolo was a veteran. He was a champion fighter, and immediately understood that as impossible as it seemed, his opponent had simply slipped his thrust.

Rolo didn't possess intelligence on any worldly scale, but he was the best at what he did know, which was mortal combat. He knew that his opponent's weapon rested in his right hand after seeing him strike down Pall. This meant that the chances of the dwarf sliding right were greater, because this would position the dwarf to take a good swing at him with that weapon.

Like a programmed machine, the moment his staff pounded into the earth Rolo swung his left foot back, using his right foot as an anchor foot to pivot counterclockwise, so he would end up facing to his left. He pulled off the footwork perfectly, all while pulling his staff back to his body in order to block any counter strike. Rolo guessed correctly, and he received a counter right hook from Baylor, who was now wearing a menacing gauntlet.

Rolo anticipated Baylor’s move to perfection, but couldn't have anticipated the speed in which the dwarf moved, or the weapon the dwarf now wielded. It was a large gauntlet of ice that had sharp, hooking talons protruding from the knuckles. Rolo learned just how sharp they really were, and how fast his enemy was, when Baylor reversed the strike that Rolo blocked and slashed open his right thigh with a sweeping backhand. It was so fast that he nearly didn’t see the move.

Rolo grimaced, but stood his ground and paused to size up this dangerous foe. He couldn't believe that he'd missed the big gauntlet on the dwarf earlier. The gauntlet that was now coated blood.

Although the dwarf maneuvered it effortlessly, the gauntlet had to be as large as one of his legs, and at least as heavy. Yet the dwarf stood hunched over defensively, easily keeping it floating out in front of him, the way a crab holds out its pincer. He didn’t dare to look away from the dwarf, but Rolo was relieved to hear short, sputtering breathes coming from where Pall was laying.

“Who are you?” Rolo asked, knowing he would have two more friends at his side if he stalled long enough. He was right, for Kala and Shomnath were already trying to stealth their way towards them.

The dwarf just laughed smugly, and straightened his posture. This dropping of his defensive stance told Rolo that he was not intimidated, or in any way afraid of the giant, although he still he kept his gauntlet raised.

“I'm Baylor, the new king of Somerlund,” said Baylor.

“Just you, little fella?” Rolo grinned when the dwarf winced.

“Oh no, I’m not alone." Baylor gave a knowing smile and nodded his head in the direction of the burning forest in the background. "I have a friend.”

“Well, have you told the real king yet?” Rolo mocked, seeing if he could work the dwarf’s pride. Or even better, maybe he could get him angry.

Instead, Baylor shifted into a dark blur, only to suddenly reappear standing on Rolo’s left forearm! He was gripping a fistful of Rolo’s shirt with his free hand, and pressing his nose against Rolo's temple so he could whisper directly into the big man’s ear.

“Could ye tell him for me?” Baylor said, and then he cut off the bottom half of Rolo’s ear.

Rolo screamed out and tried to deliver a backhand, but Baylor zipped away as fast as he’d materialized, only to return standing in the exact same spot as before, wearing the same smug grin on his face. Only this time he held much more contempt in his smile.

"Rolo!" Kala gasped, and immediately took flight. As she ran to the fray she launched several of her silver darts in a direct line for the dwarfs face.

Baylor’s face twisted, and he got his gauntlet up just in time to deflect her projectiles. He zipped back several yards to assess the situation, and was surprised to see the elf girl, who was quickly gaining ground. In a flash she was beside Rolo, and three more of her darts were flying at him.

“Aha! Now we’re serious!” Baylor yelled, zipping to his left, effortlessly dodging her throws.

“He’s too fast. We have to keep him on the defensive,” she said, but Rolo was already ahead of her. He bounded to the right, rushing ahead to gain a flanking advantage.

Kala locked Baylor in her sights, firing off darts every time the blur stopped. Although even with her heightened elfin reflexes, the dwarf always seemed one step ahead of her.

From the right side, Rolo continuously split the air with wide swings of his staff. It was a guessing game which direction the dwarf would wink off to next, so he just tried to cover as much area with his swings to limit the places the shifty dwarf could move to. He came close to hitting once, missing the top of Baylor’s head by mere inches, although frustration was beginning to sap his accuracy as not being able to connect with his target was a new thing for the giant. With each swing, his staff slowed.

After another whipping miss, Rolo looked down and saw that his boot had already begun to soak through with blood. That’s when he knew they were in trouble. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to help Kala pressure Baylor, and the dwarf was gaining position on her.

“You need to fall back,” said Rolo.

Kala understood, but it was too late. The moment of thought was enough to cause a slight hesitation in her aim, and Baylor caught on to it. He changed his course then, and shot straight to her with his head tucked low. As the blur approached, she knew she’d made a terrible mistake. He was right in front of her in a blink, thrusting his claw forward into her midsection.

Miraculously, she managed to extend her arms to block the blow with her palms, using the two decks of blades she held as a shield. The desperation move saved her, but the ferocious speed of his attack combined with her lack of footing sent her flailing back as dozens of silver darts flickered into the air.

Rolo sprinted forward to get between her, and curiously, a smiling Baylor. He knew that the dwarf had her defenseless, and could have discarded her effortlessly, but instead chose to skip away again, laughing all the while. It was then that Rolo realized that the dwarf was so confident of himself, so sure of victory, that he didn’t even respect them as enemies. This boiled the giant's blood, and boosted his energy. He stared at Baylor and returned his grin, and adjusted his grip on his staff, now choosing to hold it near the center with both hands.

“Let’s get it on then,” Rolo growled.

Baylor lunged at him, but Rolo was ready for the dwarf this time, and steeled himself for a defense. What followed was a rapid series of hard wood colliding with ice, as Rolo performed the best counter and parry work of his life. His trusty staff then whirred and whizzed through the air in what seemed a rehearsed battle.

When Baylor raised his gauntlet up high to block Rolo’s first strike, which was a downward slash from his left side, Rolo knew he could dictate the fight from then on by anticipating how the dwarf would attempt to strike next by simply knowing his own defensive holes, and to cover them up before Baylor's attacks.