The Elf King (58 page)

“
Thank you!” he
screamed.

“
Thank you, as well.” Dorn
backed up to Ern then, standing close, briefly watching the madness
all around them.

“
I’ve never seen anything
like this,” Ern scowled.

“
You probably never will
again, either.”

Takers
were everywhere. Their dark forms swept past like shadows in
the night. Explosions rocked the Plains from end to end, screams
bellowed in waves, the sounds of armor clanking and swords sweeping
filled the pockets of silence. Ern’s heart raced. Many of his men
were dead. Many more would be by dawn, he thought
coldly.

“
I do not plan on dying
here tonight!” he screamed. He turned to face Dornawee. “Not
me!”

Dornawee saw the madness in
his eyes. It was enough for him to believe the commander. “Stay
close to me, then.”

But Ern was already moving
past him, to fight into the midst of the
Takers
belly.

S
hadox
and Tane rode
their horses hard across the Shyl Plains. For the
past mile they could hear explosions in the distance, roaring like
thunder lost in the darkness above, they could almost feel the
ground rumbling beneath them. As they cleared a small rise, the
explosions were finally visible. Miles across the Shyl, lights
flared and died in quick bursts, glowing bright in the dark. A deep
and terrible rumbling followed.

“
The war has started,” Tane
yelled, if only to himself. “We must hurry!”

Shadox closed his eyes
then, leaning close to his horse’s neck, concentrating hard. He
began to speak, sending his thoughts to his protégé, telling Ankar
Rie what was coming. Once finished, relieved that the receiver was
found able to listen, found alive for that matter, Shadox urged the
horses to press on harder.

“
The enemy is too great for
them to withstand alone!” Shadox’s scream was desperate. “It has
come to eliminate us all!”

“
But the sword will save
us,” Tane more asked than stated, looking to Shadox for
reassurance.

“
Your
brother is the only chance for saving us,” said the sorcerer
somberly. “The sword will destroy what has been created,
but
Takers
will exist as long as the
Ku
breathes!”

Tane was anxious now,
more-so than ever. Issilix Delsoue was strapped to his side and for
the last several hours he felt it pulsating against him. Its magic
radiated warmth that he could feel beneath his skin, down into the
depths of his soul. It was hard for him to understand how he felt
it, the connection to the sword even while it was sheathed. But it
was even harder to ignore. Shadox had been right about him. He did
not bother to question him further about anything.

He looked over to the
sorcerer then, thinking of his brother, Qenn, wondering how close
he was to finishing his charge. Everything now depended on Qenn. It
occurred to him then that Shadox could use his magic to track his
brother down, to see if he was alive and well, and to see if he was
already battling the
Mrenx
Ku
.

“
Shadox! Can you find
Qenn?”

Their horses rode side by
side, speeding across the Shyl. “He heads north in search of
the
Ku
.”

“
You know this?”

Shadox faced him. “I found
him after we left Cillitran, when he gained the
talisman.”

Tane was relieved. Qenn
was alive. He would make it, Tane thought positively. The skinny
elf would destroy the
Mrenx
Ku
.

“
They will be drawn to your
sword,” Shadox warned. “They will know of its power. But only you
can unlock it, Tane.”

Tane nodded and tried to
mentally prepare himself for the battle ahead. He had no idea how
the sword was going to act. Since taking hold of it, since
departing so quickly from Cillitran with it in his possession,
Shadox had told him almost nothing about it. Its origin was
discussed, of course, how it was created and by whom. But Shadox
had admitted to him that he did not know much about the extent of
its power.

Their horses raced across
the grassy Plains side by side, galloping quickly. Shadox spoke
loud. “The magic is part of you. It will protect you. It will
destroy what you want it to destroy. It is an Elven weapon; it is
linked to you, Tane.”

Tane looked ahead then,
absolutely unsatisfied. All he understood now, what that the sword
was his alone, and very powerful. The time will come all too soon
to test that power, he thought.
But not
soon enough.

A
nkar
Rie’s glowing hands were
pressed deep into the cowl of a
Taker
when his magic shot forth,
plunging deep into its eye sockets, until its head exploded. As he
turned then, shredding a few more pressing near him, a familiar
voice whispered in his mind.
We have the
sword, Ankar. Hold fast, we are coming.
The voice was gone just as sudden as it came. But it was
enough to make Ankar Rie smile.

Hope.

Stay alive for a few more
hours.

“
No!” he yelled then as he
saw Terill Estrial flailing on the ground, lost in a tangle of
black robes and swiping hands. Blue fire burst from his fingertips
immediately, rushing to Lord Terill’s aid. But before he could
reach him, Terill exploded in a white light with smoking ash
settling into a dark cloud. When the smoke settled, Ankar Rie saw
Terill standing alone. The elf’s face was lined with sweat and
anger, shiny eyes intense.

Ankar turned his attention
to the oncoming assault, flaring his heated light bursting into the
field of demons. Terill stood next to him a few yards away,
kneeling to the ground, planting both hands in the soil. Ankar
looked over at once, making sure the Elf Lord was not seriously
injured. Then he saw Terill’s face growl viciously as a white light
seeped from the ground around his hands. The ground shook then. For
the length of a hundred yards ahead of them, the ground opened up,
swallowing
Takers
by the hundreds. Terill withdrew his hands moments later and
stared with exhaustion, watching the earth close up, burying his
enemy.

“
From the depths they were
born. To the depths they return!” Terill cursed. He slowly rose to
his feet, his face sweaty and worn. He was beginning to tire. Too
much magic, too quickly. And the war had only begun.

“
Fire!” Ern Dwull screamed
suddenly.

Terill and Ankar Rie looked
behind them to see a line of bowmen with arrows notched and ready.
The tips of their arrows were fixed with burst charges. Ern was
racing down the line, ordering a group of bowmen he found through
the chaotic mess, spilling burst charges from a pouch next to them
for their assault. In another moment, Ern disappeared in the
battle.

Terill and Ankar knelt
down quickly, hearing the arrows speed overhead. Another volley
followed just as fast. Seconds later they were exploding in
brilliant lights, showering the Shyl Plains in dirt and ash. Their
lustrous flares reflected against the low-hanging clouds like a war
in the sky. Red beams cut through the destruction in response, met
by shields thrown up from Terill and Ankar Rie. The lights
absorbed, leaving the charging
Takers
moaning with fury.

Ankar Rie looked around at
the mess unfolding. Dead Men and Elves lay scattered everywhere.
Catapults burned behind them like towers of fire with flames
threatening to lick the clouds. Men of armor and sword battled hard
to stay alive. Elves with bows were plucking the dark monsters
swarming beyond with resilience, firing their arrows to no end.
Explosions still rocked the western flank with brilliant fire,
while the east lay quiet and dark.

Ankar pressed his shield
higher around him, watching the red bolts die into it, as he walked
backwards a few feet to stand closer to Terill. “I need your help,”
he yelled to the Lord of the Lyyn. Terill inched his way closer,
listening to Ankar explain what he wanted to do.

Then Terill Estrial fell
back behind Ankar, using the other for a shield as he spun his
magic across the earth searching for idle swords. Like a forest of
shiny metal, blades began to rise from the cold, lifeless hands
clinging to them, shifting with the pommels facing down, rising
higher with Terill’s command. Terill’s right arm gave them
direction, lifting them higher, just a few feet above his head now,
turning the blade tips facing him. Then like a catapult, Terill
swung his arm overhead, turning his body towards Ankar’s shield,
throwing the hundreds of swords in response deep into the
Takers
onslaught. Ankar
Rie withdrew his shield, momentarily caught up in the awe. Together
they watched the gleaming swords penetrate
Takers
, decapitating them, striking
through with enough force to continue the action deep into the
enemy’s midst.

Terill smiled, watching
Ankar yell in excitement. But the effect was draining him. He was
going to have to limit his magic before the exhaustion leaves him
paralyzed.

“
Terill!” Ankar Rie yelled,
seeing the tired look in the other’s eyes. Terill waved him off,
motioning that he was fine. But Ankar knew the signs of
fatigue.

“
Shadox is coming, Terill!
Hold on!”

“
I am fine, sorcerer.”
Terill stood proudly, looking around, feeling his strength slowly
return. Recovery time was necessary, but unreachable. In the night,
he turned in a circle, looking at the devastation. Elves and Men
battled together against the sea of dark figures. Magic spread in
bright bursts, explosions following. He wondered then where Dorn
was.

Then he saw something
moving in the dark. It was tall and fast. Ankar Rie swung his arms
upright, aiming instantly. But Terill stopped him, grabbing his
hands, urging him to wait. The form raced through everyone,
directly to them. It was a horse and rider. An elf.

The horse slowed, and then
stopped at their feet. The rider still clung to the leather
harness, appearing now as if he was hanging onto it for his life’s
sake. Terill and Ankar Rie rushed in close.

“
Kateel?” Terill
asked.

“
My Lord, we have...failed
you.” Kateel’s voice was shaky, broken with quick gasps. His face
stricken with fear. “The east...fallen. The enemy...moves...past
us.” Kateel tried to point, but lost balance and fell off his
horse, landing in Terill’s arms. Kateel’s voice drifted softly
away, as did the life in his eyes.

“
Kateel!”

Then Ankar Rie noticed,
too. Beneath Terill’s arms, where Kateel’s back should have been,
was open flesh, tore and bleeding in shreds. He watched Lord
Estrial lay Kateel’s unmoving body down to the grass.

“
We have to fall back and
regroup, or we’ll be surrounded!” Ankar yelled. “Terill, get your
people back! Terill!”

He stood with his fingers
glowing blue, watching Terill Estrial scream to the sky.