The Jade Mage: The Becoming: Volume 1 (46 page)

The birdman fell hard on its back and it uttered a mewling chirping sound. Tartum found the sound awful and wished it would stop. Bringing his staff down, he smashed the Bird man’s head crushing the life out of it and ending its suffering. Tartum realized after he killed it that he hadn’t done it so much out of spite as he did out of not wanting it to suffer. He found it odd that he felt any kind of sympathy for something that had tried so hard to kill him. It was as if during their fight the bird man had earned some kind of respect from him and, in some small way, Tartum was almost sorry he had to kill it. The emotions he was feeling at killing this bird man were quickly dispelled as a rock slammed into his skull.

The shot should have cracked his head open and spilled his brains all over the floor. Once again, his dome spell had saved his life, and Tartum took the second chance it afforded him to dive behind another barrier. Two more rocks slammed into the barrier and Tartum reached into his bags for a handful of ash. Quickly infusing it with magic he threw it behind him and said the words,
“Krekat-sijuwith!”
taking a quick look around the wall he was behind Tartum was relieved to see that there was a large void of darkness in front of him. The relief was short lived as another rock went zipping through the darkness and slammed into a barrier about ten feet from him. Although the bird man was still firing rocks at him, the darkness was doing its job and providing the cover he needed to move. Sprinting from behind the wall, Tartum ran thirty feet away from where he thought his attacker was, throwing himself on the ground behind a particularly tall wall. Catching his breath, Tartum cautiously looked around the side.

He saw nothing. The void he had created was still there, but he doubted it would be up much longer. He couldn’t see any movement, but he did notice that where his fireball had exploded there was a large amount of gore, feathers, and remnant green flames to indicate he had gotten one of the little bastards. The flames were beginning to get out of hand, so Tartum took a moment and uttered the word
“Uush!”
to extinguish them. The fires dealt with, Tartum looked and saw the darkness was still up so he ducked back behind the barrier and waited. Reaching into his sleeve, he selected a copper rod and held it in his hands, preparing himself to cast a lightning bolt. He had just one enemy left, but it might as well have been a hundred the way he felt. The sounds of movement close by brought Tartum out of his reprieve and he pressed himself against the wall. He listened hard, trying to slow his heartbeat to get the sound of beating drums out of his ears. Infusing the copper rod with magic, Tartum brought the words of the spell to his lips ready to cast it once the opportunity presented itself. A rock slammed into the wall to his left. Tartum wasted no time; he dove to his right as he cast his spell, hoping to be able to see his target before the final word was spoken.
“Yuik-rena toem-urthma!”
he bellowed. As he dove out of cover, he was pained to see that his opponent was nowhere to be found, and he was forced to fire his lightning bolt into a barrier about fifteen feet in front of him. The wall exploded as the bolt hit it, sending shards of rock in all directions. Tartum more sensed movement than heard it and spun around just in time to dodge an incoming rock and bring his staff forward to defend himself.

The bird-thing that assailed him was much larger and far more heavily feathered than the last one. Its spear was of a better quality as well. It was still a wooden shaft, but the wood was denser and less fragile than the spear his first opponent had used. The tip was made from what Tartum guessed was obsidian, and the edge looked razor sharp. The way this bird man attacked wasn’t as wild and rage fueled as his late friend’s were. This opponent’s thrusts were calculated, the combinations clever. Tartum had little trouble keeping up, but couldn’t find an opening to get an edge over his target. The look in this creature’s eyes wasn’t one of uncontrolled hate or rage either; those emotions were there to be certain, but Tartum saw something else in there that left a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. This creature was assessing him, calculating the best way to force an advantage so it could kill him. All things being equal, Tartum would have preferred the rage and hate filled bird man to this calculating one.

Tartum cursed himself for a fool for not putting any candle wax in his teeth and desperately tried to think of some way to outsmart this creature. Its attacks were brutal and yet made with a martial skill that made Tartum regret underestimating him. The bird man wasn’t without his own injuries; Tartum noticed that it looked like it had taken a bit of the blast from his earlier fireball, if its scorched right leg was any indication. Tartum had also scored a few minor blows against him in their exchange but just couldn’t press the advantage once he had it. Something had to change soon, or this was going to become an endurance match that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to win.

The fighting between the two of them was intense, and Tartum was the superior fighter to be sure, yet the bird man was cunning enough to avoid Tartum’s killing blows. He had thought about reaching for a spell component, but he knew that without using both hands his opponent would be able to knock his staff away, and that would be disastrous. He thought about trying to run, but judging on how fast this thing had been getting to him and how accurate it was with that sling, he didn’t want to take the chance. Desperate, Tartum fought down his growing panic, he was getting more and more fatigued the longer they fought. He couldn’t tell if the bird man was getting tired, but judging by the strength of the blows he was delivering, he thought it was safe to assume he wasn’t. Going over all his spells in his head once again, the answer suddenly hit him. Locking into his opponent, Tartum took in as much magic as he could, shut his eyes tight, and screamed into the bird man’s face,
“LIGHT!”
Even through his shut eyes, the light that came from his staff was startling. The pull on his magic made Tartum think that it might yank him inside out if it got any more intense. The mewling scream that came from his opponent was all Tartum needed to hear, and he gave the command.
“Dark!”
The suction on his magic ceased immediately and Tartum gasped.

Opening his eyes as fast as he dared, he saw the bird man had been blinded and was now on the ground rubbing at its eyes with one hand while pawing at the ground with the other, desperately trying to find its spear. Lunging at him, Tartum brought his staff across its legs just as its feathered hand found the spear. The crunch and following scream let Tartum know that he had pulverized the beast’s legs, and that it was no longer a threat. Standing over his defeated foe, Tartum leaned heavily on his staff to regain his strength. The enchantment on his staff and the longevity of their fight had sapped much of his reserves, and he needed a moment to recover.

The bird man flopped over to its back and scooted itself up against a nearby wall. It still held its spear and was holding it towards Tartum in a defensive manner. As he recovered, Tartum looked at the creature, it seemed to be in considerable pain and yet still it tried to fight. He began to feel bad for it until he remembered the fear he had felt when he thought
he
was going to be the one on the ground broken and dying. Stepping forward, Tartum knocked the creature’s spear down with his staff and began rummaging through his pouches, looking for his rose petals so he could finish this quickly.

The bird man moved like lightning, and a sudden burning sensation burst forth and ran from his nose to under his right eye. The bird man had recovered its spear and, in Tartum’s moment of complacency, sliced it across his face. It was only by sheer luck that he hadn’t lost an eye or been skewered like a pig. As it was blood was pouring down his face and accumulating into a good sized pool at his feet. The bird man sneered at him, as though it was very proud of its final attack.

Tartum’s fury was instant and all consuming. The fact that this creature had almost killed him, and had struck at him with such an underhanded blow enraged him. He couldn’t believe that he had allowed himself to drop his guard and made such a foolish mistake that almost cost him his life. Digging into his pouch of copper rods, Tartum grabbed a handful and began to cast his lightning bolt spell. His vision was red like it always got when he was this angry. It was also beginning to blur. Tartum had never experienced fury like this and needed to let it out. Locking eyes with the now smug looking bird man, Tartum screeched the words of his spell at it.

“
Yuik-rena toem-urthma!!”
he bellowed. All of the copper rods he held burst into a ball of crackling energy that Tartum contained between his hands. Focusing all of his rage at the creature, Tartum released it into the last word of power,
“Za-tan!!!”

A massive bolt of lightning instantly drove itself into the bird man. If it made a sound or screamed in pain Tartum couldn’t tell; the sound made by the lightning bolt drowned out everything else. His rage powered his will and allowed him to keep the lightning bolts firing into the bird man. Each blast released more and more of his anger. After what felt like an eternity, Tartum’s rage was spent, and he released his hold over the magic. Trying to get control of his shaking body, Tartum looked around to survey what he had done.

There was nothing left of his opponent. Not one feather, not one drop of blood, not even a splinter left from its spear. The floor’s perfectly flat surface now had a five foot deep pock mark in it that was scorched in its entirety. Tartum was completely spent, felt incredibly weak, and strangely cold. His head was pounding and his nose hurt. Reaching up to touch his face he felt something odd. Looking down Tartum saw his nose had been mostly severed from his face by the bird man’s final attack and was hanging to his face by just a few inches of skin. He was pouring blood from the wound and the pain was becoming unbearable. The world began to spin, and Tartum sank to his knees. He didn’t know what to do, what to think or say; he was tired, cold and exhausted. He lay down next to the crater and closed his eyes. It felt good to lie down and the cold wasn’t as bad here.

As his grip on consciousness left him, Tartum vaguely felt someone putting their hands on his chest.

...

Tartum awoke in his bed. He was naked, and for a moment he wasn’t sure what had happened. The memories flooded back, and Tartum groaned. Reaching up, he touched his face and winced in expectation of the pain he was sure would be coming. To his surprise his face felt fine. His nose was right where it should be, and judging by his sight, his eyes were fine too. His confusion was put on hold as a very excited and enthusiastic Buddy jumped up from under the bed and, attempted to drown him in dog kisses. Tartum indulged Buddy and sat up so he could both play with him and dodge his tongue. The moment of levity felt good, and Tartum enjoyed letting his guard down while playing with his friend. Roughhousing with Buddy was terrific because he knew there would be no test or pain. Buddy would never set him up for failure and would rather die than pit him against monsters that tried to tear his nose off. Tartum knew Buddy’s love for him was total, and he was all to happy to return it. Tartum began to wonder how he had gone so long without having a dog in his life.

Their play was interrupted by a feminine voice clearing her throat. At the sound, both Tartum and Buddy looked up to see Elizabeth standing in the doorway with that flirtatious grin on her face that made his blood burn with desire. She was wearing her usual leather outfit that made her look so enticing, and Tartum allowed himself the pleasure of soaking in her image. Elizabeth seemed to notice, and as she sauntered her way over to them she made a show of bending over to inspect some imaginary object on the floor. While the act did wonders for Tartum, it was completely lost on Buddy who jumped down and layed a big, wet, sloppy, dog kiss directly on her face. Elizabeth burst into laughter and gave buddy a good scratching. Buddy enjoyed the attention immensly and jumped up on Elizabeth’s leg in what looked like his version of a hug. It was very cute, and Tartum made a special note to remember this moment for the rest of his life.

Seeing Tartum smiling at them, Elizabeth took a hunk of chicken someone had left for him on the table and gave it to Buddy. Buddy eagerly took it from her and disappeared back under the bed to enjoy his meal. Completing her short journey to his bed, Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply. After a few lingering kisses she broke away to look him in the eyes. Tartum saw the usual playful look in them, but he also saw concern. The look she was giving him let him know, that although she was happy to see him, he was gonna hear about making her worry. He brought his mental defenses up to prepair for the tirade he feared was coming.

“So I hear you tried to get yourself killed during your second test with Rashlarr yesterday. Why would you go and do that, Sweetheart? There are easier ways to break up with me, you know.” She said teasingly. She was in fine form and the pouty look she now wore drove Tartum mad with desire. Knowing this type of foreplay well, Tartum refused to give in. There was a certain something about the way Elizabeth teased him before they had sex that made the actual act better the longer he bantered with her.

“No, dear, no. I couldn’t imagine life without you. It’s just that I grew bored with waiting for you lavish me with your attentions, so I figured if I could get myself hurt real bad you’d take pity on me and maybe give me some attention again. It seems my plan might just work!” he said. He had picked up her hand while giving his retort and now began to gently kiss it. He knew she loved it when he did that.