Upon This World of Stone (The Paladin Trilogy Book 2) (32 page)

Darius lurched one way and then another, holding Sarinian before him to parry, but he was also watching the antics of the demon, getting a feel for its movements and its tactics. The thing moved to another position for its sixth attack, and that was when Darius struck. With both hands, he hurled Sarinian upward, the Avenger seeking its quarry, but the sword was only able to nick the torso of the surprised monster as it dodged out of the way at the last instant. Immediately, Beezelarb retrieved its black weapon and dove downwards at its unarmed opponent, intent on doing serious damage before Darius could do anything else. But this had been exactly what Darius had been anticipating. Even as the thing readied to strike, Sarinian appeared again in Darius’ hands, and black ichor flowed from the thing’s body as the sword found its mark.

Screaming, it climbed back to the safety of the air, and Darius cursed himself for a fool. He had stupidly swung at the thing’s trunk, determined to repay some of the injury he had sustained instead of directing the blow at its wings where a fortunate hit might have been decisive. As punishment, more missiles cam down at him, slashing into his body, each one taking its grim toll, death by a thousand blows.

A second beat of the Median’s invisible drum, or was it already the third? He wasn’t sure, his mind not ready to count a cadence.

I must heal you, Inglorion
, Sarinian said
. You cannot endure much more damage.

“No,” Darius whispered in reply. “The time is not yet.”

Twice more he tried the trick of flinging Sarinian upwards, but Beezelarb was not to be taken by surprise again and avoided both blows. Nor was it so foolish as to charge the seemingly unarmed man and thus give Darius another opening. A dozen times, two dozen time, three dozen the thing continued to pummel its victim with an endless series of magical arrows, each one wearing Darius down further and further, the steady drum beat from the Median marching the time when the second champion might engage. Finally, two of the missiles struck a critical mark, and Darius fell, Sarinian clustered beneath him, gasps and cries of dismay coming from the city folk, wild cheers from the Northings.

Triumphantly now, Beezelarb dove down from its invulnerable position to finish its helpless foe, but even as it dove, the great voice of the Median spoke out to all.

“The Second Champion of the woman Brillis and the city of Jalan’s Drift has come forth,” it proclaimed. “Ug-Lan-Jo is free to engage.”

Beezelarb hesitated for only a moment, its demon eyes picking out the living soul that had entered the circle even though the newcomer was cloaked with invisibility, and it decided to finish the first victim before attending to the second. But even as it charged down, it recognized its mistake. There was a sudden explosion of light around the fallen Paladin as life exploded within him, and he spun around even as the demon broke off the attack and tried to flee. The monster was just out of sword range as Darius found his feet, but it was presenting its back at last. The Paladin pointed the Avenger and unleashed the energy that Bilan-Ra had placed within the sword. A bolt of pure white lightning flew from Sarinian and struck the wings of the demon, shriveling them like a moth’s in a fire, and Beezelarb fell to earth.

It was still swift, and it swung its weapon with telling skill, its first blow scoring though it barely penetrated the Paladin’s armor. Darius was filled with a killing fury, his hatred of demons eliminating any thoughts of caution, and he brought the Avenger slashing down at the thing’s head. It dodged, Sarinian doing only minor damage, and the creature spun its weapon deftly and aimed the ax end for Darius’ arm. But the blow never fell. A silver blade suddenly burst out of the thing’s chest, causing it to convulse madly, like a broken wind-up toy whose coiled spring had burst its tension.

There was a flash of light, and the thing was gone forever, leaving Darius staring into the now visible face of Adella.

“The First Champion of the Tyrant Regnar is destroyed,” the Median pronounced in its echoing voice. “All champions are now free to engage.”

*

The time is ripe
, said the Ohric with satisfaction.
Act now while all eyes are upon the battle
.

Regnar turned to the two hulking mountain ogres who stood by his glowing green throne to guard his honor if not his body. The Tyrant stood up and beckoned to them.

“Come, pretties,” he said with a snarl of lipless teeth. “We have a task for you.”

As the two stood close, Regnar touched them and simply looked at the tall structure of the Leatherworker’s Guild standing just beyond the Wizard’s Gate. The next moment, all three of them had vanished, and an instantly later, they were standing on the top of the Guild’s building.

“Now for a pleasant meeting,” said Regnar.

*

Malcolm alone of all the people present witnessed the Tyrant’s movement. His Wizard’s Sight was still active, and it spotted the power passing overhead, a green aura around the travelers. Regnar and the Ohric, he breathed. They reveal their true purpose at last. But who or what waited within the Leatherworker’s Guild?

The Juggernaut had not yet emerged from its cocoon, but the Wizard had been watching the alarming developments of the entity within. It was no longer a question of days or even of hours. The new form of the Juggernaut would burst forth in a matter of minutes. Malcolm looked from the seething monster to the top of the Guild building, indecision crippling him.

I must at least warn people of Regnar’s presence.

But do I dare to risk losing the one critical moment when the new entity is vulnerable?

*

Sarinian and Bloodseeker were glowing in unison, the approaching enemies silencing their implacable animosity.

“A bit late, aren’t you?” Darius asked of Adella, his eyes on the two figures closing upon them.

“Didn’t like the look of that bug-man, so I thought I’d leave him to you,” she replied as they circled as one. “You don’t happen to have any other tricks like that up your sleeve, do you?”

“I’m afraid that bag is empty. I’ll take the big fellow, shall I?”

“And you’re welcome to him.”

Just then, the giant charged with a deafening roar, both club and sword raised, and they sprang apart. The monster brought the sword sweeping in a long arc aimed at Darius, but it was wide of the mark and sliced nothing but air. Darius planted his feet and rushed in after the blade had passed, striking at the exposed leg, but Ug-Lan-Jo was not only bigger than the other stone giants, he was also swifter. Sarinian inflicted no more than a flesh wound on its thigh, and the giant unexpected countered by thrusting his club down like a blunt spear and sending his attacker sprawling.

Darius rolled and sprang back to his feet immediately, giving his enemy no opening, but he now realized he was not dealing with some lumbering oaf of a giant but with a skilled warrior. He took the lesson to heart. The next time the thing charged, he did not try to counter after the sword missed and waited for the second blow to fall. The club struck with frightening power, just missing its target and leaving a deep mark in the ground, and Darius swept in again, aiming for the momentarily exposed gut of his foe. But Ug-Lan-Jo was ready for this attack as well. He stepped backward, and Sarinian cleaved nothing but thick leather armor.

Off to the right, Adella was circling towards the figure of Eltherand who was waiting patiently, his eyes on her, his expression almost contemptuous. Time to dance, she thought.

She planted her foot as she moved and abruptly launched herself across the intervening distance, her left hand sending a dagger flying before her, aimed with deadly accuracy at the man’s face. But Eltherand was clearly expecting the attack, and with a quick flick of his fingers, he set out some invisible force that knocked the dagger off course. A wizard who can cast without words, groaned Adella even as she closed. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

She was almost upon him, and even as he readied his short spear, she planted her foot again and spun completely around, swinging Bloodseeker upward in a blind and deadly blow. It was a tactic that had killed many a fine warrior, and it came close to working this time as well. Eltherand barely had time to thrust back his spear and block the blow, Adella pivoting again so that his counterthrust hit nothing.

Fast, she admitted as she studied him now at close range. But perhaps not quite fast enough.

Off to the left, Darius was changing tactics once again. After a series of exchanges that had done no damage to either side, he feinted in and invited the wide sweep of the sword, jerked back just in time to avoid it and waited for the club to come whistling down again. The club once more hit nothing but earth, but this time, Darius was ready. He swung Sarinian with all his might, aiming at the exposed arm, but even though Ug-Lan-Jo was fast enough to jerk back, Darius still gained the secondary prize. With a splintering crash, the razored edge of the Avenger crashed through the fire-hardened wood of the club and cut it in two, leaving no more than two feet of worthless stump in the giant’s hand.

Ug-Lan-Jo roared his fury and hurled the useless remains of the club at his opponent’s head, barely missing, and followed with a two-handed swing with that colossal sword, the stroke coming now with both doubled speed and force. Darius jumped aside and charged in, scoring a telling blow against the giant’s exposed right leg and hearing a heavy grunt of pain from his opponent. Rather than continuing the swing of the sword, the titan stopped abruptly and brought his fist flashing back to send Darius flying across the ring. The Paladin looked down to see a wide dent in the plate armor of his chest, though the skin beneath was only bruised.

“That’s a lesson to be learned,” he said to the sword as the giant rushed again to the attack.

So shall you profit from it
, said the sword.

Adella’s action, also, had taken a bad turn. As they circled each other, Eltherand thrust out his hand again, and the same force that had deflected her dagger hit Adella fully on her front and knocked her down, but she was on her feet an instant later, Bloodseeker defying the Northing to exploit the advantage. Next, the man slowly drew his scimitar from its scabbard, and Adella was at first encouraged, preferring to face two weapons than the magic from an opened hand. But a moment later, Eltherand threw the short spear at her, a pathetic gesture that seemed more like a toss than a deadly assault, and Adella readied to knock it aside. The next instant, however, the spear transformed into a bolt of pure black power that exploded right into her body, sending her sprawling again. Bloodseeker had managed to absorb some portion of the energy or the battle would have ended right then. Adella felt as if an angry mule had kicked her in the chest with both hind legs, and she fell back, giving ground to her advancing enemy.

He caught me that time, she admitted to herself. He caught me good.

Darius saw the lightning stroke and the charging Northing, and he knew Adella was in trouble. There was no time for further maneuverings, no time for caution. He strode right into the giant’s kill zone, the point where the sweeping sword would do the most damage, and Ug-Lan-Jo took immediate advantage, swinging the sword with all his might in a killing blow. There was no time for Darius to duck or jump or evade the stroke, and he made no attempt to do so. At the last possible moment, he swung Sarinian up to parry the blow, a ridiculous gesture for such a swing from a giant would shatter any sword and crush the bones of any human arm that dared hold it. But the Avenger was a sword in form only, and when the power of Ug-Lan-Jo fell upon it, it met it with a surge of energy that stopped the blade dead in its sweep and jarred the giant’s arm as if it had struck a stone wall. Even so, no being as small as man could absorb the shock of that exchange unharmed, and Darius was nearly driven to his knees by the blow, his entire body shuttering from it.

He had known the impact was coming, however, and he was prepared for it. For this one moment, the giant’s momentum had been stopped, and there was no chance for a counterstroke. Snarling, he forced his knees out of the buckling and drove forward, focused entirely on the exposed belly of the monster. He thrust Sarinian forward in a feeble blow, his arm half-numb from the explosion of power, but the edge of the Avenger was not driven by strength alone. It pierced the leather armor with ease, and with a cry, Darius stumbled forward and drove it all the way home to the hilts, black blood gushing forth in a hideous flood.

Ug-Lan-Jo jerked upright, momentarily blinded by the searing pain from the gleaming power of the sword, but he had a warrior’s training and a giant’s heart. His great strength was leaving him as death neared, but he backed off one leg to come crashing down on his right knee, the bone shattering from the impact of his massive weight, but it enabled him to bring the sword down in a final stroke, propelled not by his strength but the sheer weight of his size.

Darius was just able to rip Sarinian free of the monster’s belly before the blow fell, and while he was able to pull back, the stroke caught his shoulder, ripping open the armor, and opening a cruel wound just beside his neck. The entire body of the creature was falling forward, the dying giant seeking to crush him as its last act, but Darius ignored the pain and staggered free, the body crashing harmlessly to the ground.

The roar of the crowd told Adella that Darius had finished his opponent, but she had no illusions about what aid he could bring to her. The battle had lasted a long time, and no one could permit a giant like Ug-Lan-Jo those many blows without suffering grievous harm in turn. They were two wounded champions facing a single unharmed opponent, worse, one who had not yet shown all his power, and she knew they had to find a way to counter Eltherand’s advantages if they were to have any chance.

Glancing outside the ring, she suddenly understood what she had to do.

*

The Lords of the Southlands had cheered like commoners when Beezelarb had been slain, and they roared their approval again when the massive figure of the stone giant fell.