The Orb of Truth (The Horn King Series) (30 page)

“Stop your charades. One way or another, we will kill you,” El’Korr declared.

His face was nestled on her shoulder and neck area, “My dear, it appears that I need to have some time alone with these gentlemen. This is a boy’s only conversation, and clearly you are not a boy,” he began to take a step backward toward the stone railing of the balcony. “Give my love to your army!”

Manasseh spun Raina off the ledge and she plummeted out of view. The heroes rushed the area, but Manasseh turned to face them with his bloody dagger in hand, and they were forced to stop.

“We have some business to take care of, and I hope you won’t disappoint me.” Suddenly, a black armor phased in to surround him and a wicked, two-handed sword made of dark metal materialized in his hand, replacing the dagger. Both sides of the blade were laced with etchings. The hilt was carved with black dragon heads flaring outward with glowing, ruby gemmed eyes. His impenetrable plate mail armor covered him from head to toe. Manasseh’s powerful voice boomed through his helmet, “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

A dark bolt of lightning suddenly sailed in and struck Abawken and Dulgin. One of the undead mystics floated into view. The pain wracked their entire body and they fell to their knees. An arrow of light soared from Bridazak’s bow through the open balcony, and struck the lich. The daks watched as it shattered into pieces and its crimson, tattered robe fluttered away.

El’Korr and Rondee entered into melee against the wicked king. Xan ran to the balcony in desperation, but he knew he did not have a spell that could save her. He watched her plummet but at the last moment, a huge bronze dragon swooped in and grabbed the fallen Elf before she hit the ground.

“Zeffeera,” Xan breathed a sigh of relief.

Bridazak held another magical arrow ready, “Spilf, keep your eyes open for any mystics.”

Abawken and Dulgin were back up, and moving in to help the others with Manasseh. Four fighters against one. The king parried the multiple attacks coming in at him, and they moved about the room engaged in the ultimate battle dance.

“Very good. The skill that you all have is incredible. Better than I had imagined,” Manasseh taunted while parrying another blow.

Xan stepped back into the room and cast a spell. “Kelloos viamont baruve!” A ghostly figure of a bear appeared over each of the hero’s heads and then melded into them. Each of them could feel the power of the spell. They clutched their hilts tighter as their strength increased.

El’Korr’s hammer connected squarely into King Manasseh’s chest. It was the first strike to hit, and it was a mighty one; the forged mallet and armor collided in an ear-splitting crash. Manasseh stumbled backward a few steps, but recovered just as the others came in hard. The evil human sidestepped Dulgin’s executioner style attack and then quickly backhanded the Dwarf to send him flying across the room, grunting in pain.

Manasseh looked at the new dent left behind, then addressed the Dwarf king, “It is nice to see a Dwarf who knows how to use a weapon. I will save you for last, El’Korr.”

Abawken stepped back and then issued a command from his sword, “Erez!” The stone elemental instantly manifested behind Manasseh. The titan brought its earthen clubs down upon him. Both connected, and Manasseh’s armor clanked hard as he slammed into the ground. Rondee followed up with his devastating golden titan maul, smashing into his back. There was no more movement from King Manasseh.

Just then they all heard the sound of a lightning bolt from outside. Xan stepped out to see an undead mystic launching his dark crackling energy spell at Zeffeera in the distance. It clipped her wing, but she continued to fly away.

“Bridazak!” He yelled back into the room.

“Oh, there you are,” the Ordakian said as he spotted the remaining lich.

His last Crimson Hand arrow, as the glowing writing on the shaft indicated, flew true. Cheers erupted from below as the hundreds of dwarves witnessed the death of the mystic. This was the first time Bridazak had seen the outside battle. The thousands of undead pushed in. There was no escape for El’Korr’s men. One by one the heroes came out to see, and their hearts dropped.

“This is not good,” Dulgin whispered.

Battered, bruised, and bleeding, they watched helplessly. They had just defeated Manasseh, but his wicked power raged on without him.

“It’s that damn, cursed tree!” El’Korr spat.

“What can we do? The Orb is lost,” Xan stated.

Bridazak wheeled around at the Elf’s statement, “What did you say?” Xan, with a dire face, didn’t answer him. Bridazak’s eyes narrowed, “What do you mean, lost?”

“I’m sorry, Bridazak,” El’Korr confirmed what he never thought could be.

His knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground. Spilf intercepted him halfway down, grabbing hold of his long time friend to comfort him. “I failed, Spilf. I truly failed God. He told me that I would have to sacrifice everything, but I never thought it meant this.”

Spilf consoled him, “You didn’t fail, Bridazak. You rescued me, and that means something. We have not lost everything yet.”

“This is not how it was supposed to be,” Bridazak whispered through burning tears.

.

20

Sacrifice

“W
here do you think you are going?”
Zeffeera’s powerful claws snatched the Elf, barely clinging to life and still clutching her wooden staff, as she sailed through the air above the battle. Zeffeera rose back up in elevation.

“I need to get you to Xandahar. You need his healing power,”
the dragon communicated within her mind.

“There is no time, my friend. Fly to the heart of the undead army.”

“Raina, you are too weak to take them on.”

“Just clear an opening and set me down carefully.”

“I won’t be able to hold them off, Raina.”

“I know, and that is why you will need to leave the area.”

“Raina—”

She cut the bronze beauty off,
“Trust me.”

A blast clipped her left wing from behind her. She wavered in flight and then recovered.

“Hurry, Zeffeera. My time approaches.”

“I don’t like the sound of that, but I will do as you wish.”

Reanimated warriors flew back as the gigantic female dragon breathed an electrical discharge and she came in for a soft landing. She laid Raina ever so gently on the charred ground.

“Now go quickly!”
Raina commanded.

Zeffeera’s wings came to life and her powerful hind legs launched her up into the air. She hovered fifty feet up.

“I will miss you, Raina.”

“The Sheldeen Mystic is not one to be rid of easily, my dear Zeffeera. I will rest in the annals of legends forever.”

She soared away. Raina’s eyes were focused and resilient like her spirit, gazing at the heavens above. She had no strength to look around at her surroundings, but her elven ears could hear the muffled, haunting moans of the evil creatures sensing her life force; they soon would be upon her. The elven mage raised her wooden stick into the air. She was holding her final breath of life. There was no more pain. Her senses were now dull. Her lips instinctively moved as she spoke her magic word to release the power of her staff.

“Korban,” the word and her spirit rushed forth from her body.

The heroes watched the immense explosion. It raced through the heart of the corpse army and incinerated all in its path. A bright flash of light rivalled the waning sun in the distance. The shockwave finally hit the castle and shook the very foundation. Thousands of King Manasseh’s army fell.

“What has Raina done?” Xan fought back tears.

“She has given us hope,” El’Korr responded solemnly.

“Well, I
hope
you weren’t planning on leaving,” King Manasseh announced from behind them.

His black, two-handed sword sliced through the rock elemental. The earth creature crumbled before the human king as he began to supernaturally grow. His armor expanded with his bulk, and a massive, towering version of himself stood before the heroes.

“That was a good first round,” the deep voice behind the helmet spoke.

“We are getting out of here, boys!” Geetock yelled, cutting down another walking corpse.

The dwarven army rallied and began to push through. Raina had given them a miracle and punched a hole large enough to give them a chance. Now that their wizard was gone, they lost the protection they’d had from Manasseh’s army, who continued to unleash volleys of arrows from within the castle; Geetock was losing dwarves by the second. The loss of many of his brethren was inevitable, but their escape from the guaranteed kill zone was forthcoming. Eruptions of intense light summoned through the divine clerics of old, blasted the undead as they surged through the weakened ranks. Jets of fire streamed from outstretched hands and burned the decaying flesh of the walking dead. Dwarven priests yelled out the same spell command El’Korr and Xan had used. Celestial power penetrated flesh and bone and shattered the vile, lifeless puppets. They moved in unison further away. The back ranks held up shields to protect themselves from the relentless arrows, and every man pushed on until finally they emerged, outside the range of the distant shafts of death.

Geetock stood on top of a larger mound as his men pushed past on both sides, like a raging river. The soulless beings continued to pour into the vacant wake of the army’s march. The automatons sensed and pursued the life inside each of them, like insects attracted to light. He breathed a Dwarven prayer for his dear King El’Korr and the others, that they would find a way to join them. The battle was far from over as the undead knew nothing of pain or tiring, and would continue to attack relentlessly.

Manasseh had been more powerful than they had imagined was possible. Abawken summoned another rock monster but it was quickly destroyed. All of the fighters were hard pressed to protect themselves from the evil king’s devastating sword. The slim openings that came along didn’t do much to damage the malevolent king.

Menacing laughs erupted from within the armored fiend. “You cannot defeat me!” He bellowed proudly.

Abawken used the power of his blade and soared above him. Manasseh’s eyes followed the sheik fighter. Dulgin went in while he was distracted, as did the others. Hammers and axe plowed into him. He stumbled back from the impact of all three weapons and grunted in pain. Then he roared back with a counter attack of his own. His black sword came down upon Dulgin. The Dwarf brought up his axe to block it. His axe shattered and he fell back to the ground.