A Quick Sun Rises (46 page)

Jne’s breath came in short gasps now as her loss of blood was making her light headed and weak. The excruciating pain that throbbed from her arm and now across her chest was the only thing the seemed to be keeping her mind alert as she stared back at Sireen who maintained a look of boredom as she motioned with her hand for Jne to come and meet her doom. Raising her sword, Jne feinted right and then crossed left and down aiming for Sireen’s middle.

Tam pushed the goblin off of her blade just as a loud scream rang out drawing her attention to the Tjal woman who crumpled to the ground, a sword sticking out of her chest. Tam stifled a cry as she dropped her swords and reached for her bow, quickly fitting an arrow and letting it loose on the enemy that was in the process of retrieving its blade with a sickening thwack. The goblin turned just as Tam’s arrow reached it and embedded itself deep within its chest, knocking it to the ground.

Soyak was dead; of that she was certain. Tam scanned the courtyard but was only greeted by dead bodies. No more goblins pressed in on her. No more enemies growled with bloodlust or swung their clubs in an attempt to crush her skull. She felt slightly light headed and sick from the awful smell that accompanied death with all of its horrors. Remembering her main objective, she reached for the heart arrow and turned back to where Jne still fought the dragon woman but was suddenly frozen in dread as she watched her press her blade deep into Jne’s chest.

Jne crumpled to her knees, her sword falling from her hand with a clank as it hit the stone covered yard. Sireen bent down and sneered at her as she mercilessly drew back her sword in a slow, agonizing motion that brought tears to Jne’s eyes. A woman screamed across the courtyard and Sireen rose seeing the arrow drawn back and aimed at her. But she didn’t try to move away or duck down. With a knowing smile, Sireen pushed Jne over with her foot and released her hold on her Tjal form allowing her body to change back into its natural shape just as Tam released the arrow.

Throwing out her chest, Sireen offered herself to the puny woman’s weapon knowing that nothing could penetrate her thickly scaled hide. The shock registered in her mind for a brief moment when she was pitched back by the arrow’s impact. Death rushed in to cradle her fall as the heart arrow, true to its name, shattered through her chest and ribcage severing her heart as it exited out her back.

Tam dropped her bow, the tears already pouring down her face as she tripped over the scattered dead trying to reach Jne who had flopped over, onto the hard ground. Lifting the Tjal woman’s head onto her lap, she surveyed the damage that marred her body with the wicked results of razor steel meeting soft flesh.

Jne’s eyes fluttered and she groaned in pain as Tam hurriedly went about tying off as best she could, the gash on her arm and then moving to stem the flow of blood pumping from the gaping wound in her chest. “Oh, Jne,” she cried. “What am I to do? I am so sorry. I was too late. I couldn’t get a shot in time.”

Jne smiled up at her, pressing away as best she could the pain that clung to her face. “You honor me,” she wheezed. “Hold no shame in your heart, for these are the payments of war.”

“No,” Tam balled. “You are not going to die. I will find Thane. He can fix this. He will come and he will make you whole again. You have to hold on,” she continued to cry while she pressed on Jne’s chest trying unsuccessfully to keep the blood from coming out. “You have to stay and marry Thane.”

Looking up, Tam willed her spirit away, grasping the tiniest flow of air as it gently caressed her weeping face.

Chapter Thirty-Five 

Thane watched as the dragon’s head suddenly rose up past the railing. His bow was already pulled back, ready to fire as the dragon’s massive body ascended, pumped by its great wings and lifting it onto the large balcony. It roared out a challenge, unconcerned with the arrow that Thane aimed at it. It rested its great mass on the parapet, tucking its leathery wings up against its body and then lowered its slender neck allowing a small, thin figure to slide off. Thane eyed Zadok with distaste, his arrow tracking his movements as the wicked sorcerer casually strolled over toward him.

“Now, now, now,” Zadok said with the same warm tone he’d used on Thane the first time they’d met. “Is that any way to greet an old friend? Let’s not be rude about this.”

“This is not for you,” Thane said, a cold chill in his voice.

Zadok looked somewhat surprised and then glanced back at his dragon before turning an amused look at Thane. “Surely you don’t pretend to be able to shoot my friend here with your puny little arrow. Have you not witnessed the hardness of his hide that makes him practically invincible to any weapon?”

“If you are so confident,” Thane offered, “then why don’t you step aside and see whose weapon is of greater strength?”

The dragon hissed at him, but stood firm, all too confident about the armor that surround his body like a shield.

“Come now,” Zadok said, his arms spread in a gesture of friendship. “Let us not squabble over such petty things when there are negotiations to be had.” Zadok turned his head toward the dragon. As if on cue, it reared back and released a blast of scorching steam straight at Thane.

In an instant it engulfed him and would have left his skin cooked and peeling from the bone save for the fact that Thane had been prepared. As the dragon’s breath receded, Thane released the pocket of air he’d gathered around him like an impenetrable bubble, his arrow still aimed at the dragon’s heart.

“Well done,” Zadok clapped. “I see that you have learned a few things since last we met, though I have to say that your earthen beasts are tiresome.”

Thane didn’t answer him.

“Now honestly,” Zadok pressed, “why don’t you put down the bow? I’m sure your arm must be getting fatigued with strain by now.”

“That’s a fine idea,” Thane said evenly and released the arrow into the air right on target for the dragon’s heart.

Zadok didn’t move. His face was in the slow process of changing to a look of I-told-you-so when the arrow penetrated the dragon’s thick, scaly shell. Its cry of pain and surprise was cut short as it toppled over, its head dropping mere feet from where Zadok stood causing the wizard to jump away in surprise.

Zadok stared down at the dragon, his face becoming a mixture of anger and shock at Thane’s ability to kill one of his pets. “But how is it so?” he asked dumbfounded. “The trees no longer exist.”

“Wrong,” Thane said glaring at the man who had brought so much death and pain to his world. “Even your repulsive evil cannot completely destroy something as pure as the YeiyeiloBaneesh.”

“You lie!” Zadok suddenly raged. “I wiped them all away a millennium past. None remain.”

“If that is so,” Thane taunted, “then why does your grand pet lie dead at your feet?”

“You will pay dearly!” Zadok screamed. “I will rip the filthy TanIs from your ankle just as I did to Gelfin so long ago. You have not known pain and anguish like that that I will visit upon you!”

“You are a child,” Thane countered with a calm but lethal voice. “Your heart is darkness and your mind is clouded by your hate that will bring you nothing but ruin.”

“No,” Zadok hissed dangerously. “It will bring
you
to ruin.” His hand’s shot forward with incredible speed that contradicted his aged body as black light flashed from his fingers and shot out toward Thane.

Having thrown his senses into the native surroundings Thane could feel the pulse of the five Tane beating through his veins, drawing its energy from the natural world and lending it to him. Each of the Tane were at his fingertips to call forth and use as he willed to attack or protect. His mind and body seemed to act as one without being encumbered or slowed by thought. He didn’t have to contemplate how to defend himself. He merely reacted as if his Tane were working on reflex.

Suddenly his swords appeared in his hands as he tore them from the scabbards at his back while the powers of the earth flowed up through his legs and out along the blades hardening the steel as he cut through Zadok’s lightning as if it were water. Again and again, Zadok shot the dark light at him thinking to tire his foe or catch him in an error, but Thane continue to maneuver his weapons with confidence and ease.

“So you enjoy lightning?” Thane chided, as an onyx black cloud suddenly formed over his head rumbling in rage as bolts of lightning shot out at Zadok who was now placed on the defensive. Bolt after bolt shattered the air in an angry buzz as Zadok fought them away with his dark magic deflecting them past him or ricocheting them back at Thane where they simply disappeared.

Long moments passed as each attacked, defended and retaliated but without either of them scoring a hit on their opponent. Thane was quickly realizing that the natural power of his Tane and the unnatural nature of Zadok’s magic acted as counter measures that seemed to cancel each other out. And though he was unwilling to test his theory, he was fairly certain that while he held onto the Tane that if one of Zadok’s magical attacks should touch him that it would simply wink out of existence leaving him unharmed.

Thane felt like lightning himself, his limbs overcharged with the pulsing power of his Tane witch seemed to grow in strength each demanding his full attention with promises of victory. He was beginning to feel that at any moment they might explode from his skin scattering him to the four directions in invisible particles of dust never to be rejoined again as the entity Thane. It was excruciating while at the same moment euphoric as he continued to battle against Zadok and his vile magic.

Reaching out his hand he called forth fire and shot it from his fingertips in streams of molten death that merely collided with magic liquid that felt greasy against his hand leaving him feeling sick from its touch. Zadok retaliated by raising and then rifling missiles of rock which Thane called apart into dust fragments that exploded past him before being allowed to regroup again where they fell harmlessly at his back.

Thane then called forth razor sharp particles of ice that formed out of the moisture in the air and shot like a hundred thousand needles at Zadok only to be melted in a tornado of hot wind. Next, he quickly rejoined the stone ground at his feet as Zadok tried to separate them and cast him down from the mountain keep when something suddenly tickled at the outskirts of his hearing. He tried to give it ear, but with the massive amounts of power that seemed to rotate around him like a vortex of energy, he was unable to latch onto it or make it audible. Yet, even so, he could feel its urgency. He felt drawn to it, but he could not give it his full attention while he continued to battle with Zadok. Nothing could be so important as defeating the enemy before him. Should he fail, all would fail and fall in the crush of his massive army. Even now, he could sense that they were regrouping against his earthen warriors, picking them apart slowly as new promises of human flesh and treasure floated on the wind to their ears and hearts. Zadok. He was the one making the promises, whispering into the simple minds that made up his army at the same moment he raged against Thane.

The urgency was growing within him though he couldn’t determine why or from where it was coming. One thing was for certain, neither the Tane nor Zadok’s magic would rule the day in this fight. There had to be another way but he couldn’t concentrate on it while his Tane danced about in his mind throwing fire and lightning or calling wind to shake off one of Zadok’s onslaughts. It was all too much noise. The songs they all sang were disjointed and alone clamoring jealously above each other to be heard above the rest.

Though caught in the middle of so much power that seemed to answer to his every whim, Thane was beginning to feel his own strength being drawn away. Gelfin had warned him that without an anchor he was forced to give of his own self and energy to handle the Tane and now his reserves were beginning to fail him. He had to end this soon. He had to find a way. Again he felt an urgent rush pressing him to act but in what way he could not tell. It was like someone pounding on a distant door calling out in desperation but for what he could not tell.

Blocking another bolt of lightning he finally understood that only physical weapons would harm Zadok, and conversely, himself in this battle of wills. Zadok must have been tiring as much as he with the amount of power he was calling forth but he couldn’t wait to see who would falter first. He needed to get close enough to use his sword, but he felt like he was welded in place, unable to move.

The disharmonious sounds of the five Tane rattling their individual songs in his skull was starting to become painful as he was forced to call on each one in his battle for ultimate victory. He wondered why he could not get them to sing together in harmony as they had in the grove of YeiyeiloBaneesh. Then they had all sung together in a united melody that calmed his soul while filling every fiber of his being with light and power. It must have been the anchor. It must have been the trees. No wonder the Tane drew out his energy when it lacked an anchor. It was not able to direct itself properly without the YeiyeiloBaneesh. If he could somehow get them all to coalesce in a harmonious reverberation he felt that he would have the key that would give him the victory he needed.

Again came the urgent banging somewhere outside his consciousness. It was so persistent this time that he’d almost let go of the Tane. He wondered what it would feel like to have Zadok’s magic lancing through his chest without the protective covering the Tane currently provided. The thought of his arrow piercing the dragon came suddenly to his mind followed right behind by a glimmer of light and inspiration.

Swallowing a bog creature Zadok had suddenly raised by opening a gaping hole in the balcony, Thane sent out a strand of air searching for the heart arrow that must surely be still embedded in the dragon’s chest while retaliating against Zadok with a swirling vortex of wind meant to shred his opponent with its battling crosscurrents of air. He didn’t pay attention to how Zadok escaped the attack already knowing the outcome when he conjured it from the ArVen.

Back and forth they continued their colossal battle while Thane swept the area in search of the arrow. He could feel its presence calling out to him almost as much as the constant buzz that tried to steal his attention away with its now almost hysterical demands. He could feel the strand he’d sent to search almost like his own fingertips groping in the dark for a misplaced treasure and then he brushed up against something warm. He grasped his ArVen fingers around it and a shot of energy and exhilaration flowed through him as he felt its pulse and knew he’d located the arrow.

With barely a thought, he called the arrow to him and it became so clear in his mind what he’d have to do. He flinched, knowing the pain it would cause, but his resolve was firm as he guided the arrow with quick precision and tremendous speed as if he’d shot it with his own bow. Across the balcony it sped, its sharp tip leading the way until it penetrated its target right into the fleshy part of Thane’s thigh. He cried out as it pierced his flesh and almost faltered as the pain seared through him, his own blood coalescing around the shaft, feeding it, uniting with it, matching his own heart rate with the thumping deep within its core.

Zadok quickly dove to the side, thinking they were under attack, remembering all too well the arrows that had almost killed him in a previous life. His magic faltered for a moment giving Thane a reprieve as he felt the Tane suddenly begin to align as their voices fell, one by one, into a harmonious union of power and song.

It was pure light radiating around him and through him; gathering all life into his pores and communing with it on such an intimate level that nothing was left hidden. It was at that moment, that the door seemed to crash open on the one that had been pounding along the outskirts of his consciousness and Tam’s spirit suddenly materialized before him.

“Thane!” she screamed, “Thane, you must come! She needs you or she will die! You must come now!” And then she was gone, returned to her body, her desperate message delivered.

Through the peace that enveloped him like a cocoon, Thane felt a sudden welling of dread growing out from his heart as he understood who the she must be that Tam was calling about. Jne was in trouble and he had to go to her.

Zadok slowly stood, understanding that he must not be in any immediate danger from arrows as Thane turned his green eyes upon him, the power behind them making them spark with energy. Holding a sword in one hand, he forced his muscles to move him forward, the pain in his thigh that had, only moments before, been near excruciating was now gone. Still he felt stiff as he closed the distance.

Zadok called up his magic but this time Thane did not move to block or defend himself. Zadok smiled wickedly as black light shot from his fingers hitting Thane square in the chest but he was not even fazed in the slightest. The bolts seemed to go right through him, absorbed in the light that was the five Tane.

In desperation, Zadok continued to draw forth his magic, screaming in rage at its impotence against the Chufa boy. “I am the greatest!” he yelled, spittle flying from his mouth as he called forth more bolts of lightning. “You cannot defeat me!” he wailed, almost like a child throwing a tantrum as Thane closed the remaining gap to stand before him. Zadok reached behind him for something tucked in his belt and pulled out a knife that he tried to use but Thane merely reached out and grabbed his wrist twisting the blade out of his hand.