Chapter Nineteen - Blood and Runes

CHAPTER 19

Leo

Everything froze. My blood ran cold as his words hung in the air, thick with a disgusting malice. I saw Bronn stir from his spot near the fire, his large bear like frame shifting as he came to. He looked at us, our faces were probably covered in fear, I know mine was. His instincts were sharp, in the blink of an eye he was on his feet, with his kids beneath him, clutching his sword.

“What do you want?” Bronn growled, his axe already in battle mode.

The hooded figure tilted his head. “You have something of value. That little rune stone, worth more than your life old man.” The Mage sneered. I didn’t understand, why would they want something like that so bad?

His two cloaked companions spread in separate directions, attempting to circle us. Drew and I got to our feet. My hands were drenched in sweat, making it hard to properly grip my sword. The malicious Mage took another step towards Bronn, who instinctively took one as well in order to give space from his children.

“I’ll give you two options, merchant.” He spoke. “Hand it over, or we will take it.” He swept his robe to the side revealing a dagger about the size of my forearm. Bronn nodded like he understood and slowly bent down and began rummaging through his sack. Echo and Finn finally stirred from their sleep, obviously not understanding the situation.

“Dad?” Echo said, rubbing her eyes. Bronn turned his eyes away from the Mage and towards Echo, giving her a small smile, one that was heart wrenching in its gentleness. He opened his mouth as if to say something.

“Golem’s Fist, crush all in your path.”

Bronn barely had any time to react before a stone fist the size of a tree stump ripped through his torso. His body slumped to the ground with a sickening thud. Bronn’s hand lifted slightly in the direction of his children before dropping to the ground. The world went silent.

Echo froze, her dress splattered with blood. Her wide, brown eyes filled with terror as she stared at her dad’s unmoving body. She didn’t even scream, instead she just stood there, frozen in the horror of it all. Finn’s mouth opened and closed like he was grasping for air, his hand trembling as he clutched at his father’s pant leg.

I couldn’t breathe. This was the most horrible thing I had ever seen. How could a human do this to another person? The lead Mage cocked his head back and laughed, a twisted sound. His hood fell to his shoulders revealing his face which was twisted into a crooked grin, his eyes gleaming with cruel delight. A strange triangle mark was burned into his neck.

Grace’s intense grasp pulled me from my paralysis. “They are casting!” she yelled, pointing out the other Mages, who had begun their chants, which were noticeably longer than the leaders. He must be strong. Her hands moved towards one of the Mages, she had an incredible focus in her eyes, but I could tell by the shaking state of her hands that she was just as rattled as I was.

Everything blurred into motion. Drew yelled and surged towards the Mage on the right side of us. He swung his blade wildly disrupting the Mages chant, making him dodge. I felt the heat of a fireball coming in my direction, I rolled out of the way and came up facing the Mage to the left of us, who brandished a small short sword as well.

“Grace, protect the kids.” I growled. She nodded and headed in the direction of Finn and Echo.

I positioned myself so that any missed magical attacks would hit the trees behind me and began pressing towards the Mage. He smiled invitingly like I was the appetizer before his favorite meal. His fingers twitched, already gathering Aether for another spell. I tightened my grip on the sword, my mind racing. I didn’t have time to think, this was life or death. His smirk was a challenge.

I surged forward, cutting the distance between us before he could finish his chant. His short sword met mine with a deafening clang. The force of the impact rattled through my arm. Sparks flew as our blades locked, his face inches from mine.

“You think you can match me, kid?” he hissed through clenched teeth. His confidence really pissed me off. He pushed me off with a kick to the chest. This guy was trained. I wasn’t. That really didn’t bode well for the future Leo. He lunged, his sword slashing through the air. I barely managed to parry the blade away from my face, but it caught my shoulder slightly. Our blades continue to clash with the screech of steel. The force of it continued to send shockwaves through my body. Once again, I was too slow, and his blade grazed my thigh. I hissed in pain, but kept my footing, trying to ignore the burning pain in my leg.

“You’re out of your league, kid,” he chuckled, pressing his advantage.

I gritted my teeth, raising my sword again. “Yeah, and you’re out of one-liners. Can we speed this up?”.

He struck again, his sword flashing in the low light. I blocked, but just barely. Each time our blades met, he would twist his wrist or throw in a kick to keep me off balance. His strikes were fast, deliberate, and calculated.

“Come on,” he mocked, spinning and slashing towards my hurt leg. I hobbled back in time, but I struggled to maintain my footing. “Is that all you’ve got?”

I swung again, trying to break his momentum, but it was like trying to fight a shadow. He danced around my strikes, parrying each one effortlessly. Every time I swung; he was one step ahead. He feinted to the left; my sword followed instinctively. He darted to the right in a counter and caught the side of my ribs. I gasped, stumbling back, clutching my side, I could feel warm blood seep through my fingers.

I was losing. Badly. He took a step back, admiring my blood on his blade. I watched as he took the blade to his lips and licked it off. Gross.

Then he lunged again, I parried and whispered under my breath.

“Wind Slice!”

The blade of air shot from my palm, cutting the space between us, catching the Mage in his robes, sending him rolling back. Nice one, Leo.

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His robes were cut down the middle, revealing some sort of armor. He stood up. “Short casting, huh? Not bad, kid.” His smile faded into a more serious face as he began to close the distance again.

“Wind Arrow!”

The spell shot out as soon as our blades clashed, an arrow of wind piercing him through his left shoulder. He staggered, clearly not expecting me to mix magic in with the clashing of our swords. That shock in his eyes is just enough to give me my second wind.

He lunged again, but I was faster this time. I deflected his blade with mine and cast another wind arrow at his left arm.

“Damn it,” he spat, retreating a few steps. “You are playing dirty.”

I chuckled and moved forward, my sword crashing into his once more. Now I had the advantage. His left arm was unusable, so I was able to counter his movements. I didn’t just rely on my blade, I mixed in bursts of magic, just enough to keep him on edge. A wind slice here, a quick arrow to attack his limbs there. He was way better with a sword, but I had caught him off guard, and he didn’t have time to cast.

Finally, I caught an advantage and sent a kick at his chest, throwing him into the dirt. His sword clattered to the side, out of his reach. I stood over him, my sword raised. He groaned trying to pick himself up.

“You… you’ll regret this…” he spat; his voice filled with anger.

I raised my sword. “Maybe, but not tonight.” With that I sent the butt of the hilt into his head, knocking him out clean. I have to say, I was proud of myself. I kicked some major ass in that fight. But I didn’t have time to celebrate. The battle wasn’t over.

I turned toward where Grace and the kids had been. My heart jumped from my chest. Finn was on the ground, clutching his side, blood soaking his shirt. Echo, the once bubbly, fearless kid, was frozen in her place still staring at her dad. She was shaking uncontrollably.

“Finn!” I shouted, sprinting towards them. Grace was mid-battle, her left leg was bleeding heavily, and she was barely holding herself together as she countered a magic stone fist with a whip of fire. I had never seen that spell before.

I knelt beside Finn. His breathing was shallow, but he was alive. I glanced at Echo, who hadn’t moved. She was broken. I got up and grabbed Grace by the shoulder, pushing her back towards the kids.

“You can’t fight. Stay with Echo and heal Finn. Keep them safe.”

She nodded, wincing as she shifted weight on her leg. “Be careful,” she whispered, the intensity in her voice slicing through the chaos around us. “He’s… he’s strong, Leo.”

I gave her a weak smile and pushed down the gnawing fear that had planted its pit in my stomach. “Don’t stress,” I said, “I am the staple child of careful.” I joked.

I stood, ready to attack. The leader pushed his shoulders back and stretched his arms. “Let’s make this quick,” he smiled.

I heard Drew huffing behind me, which was a relief. He and I exchanged a glance, he looked just as rough as I did, probably a little worse, but there was no sign of the other Mage, which was a good sign.

“You really think you stand a chance?” the leader sneered, taking a confident step forward. His voice was full of mockery, and his eyes were as wide as possible.

Drew spat into the dirt, his fingers twitching as fire sparked around them. “I’ve had enough of this guy.” His voice was low, and scary.

The leader raised an eyebrow, amused. “Come on then, children. Show me what you’ve got.”

Drew didn’t need any more encouragement. He launched himself forward, his hands sparking. ‘Fireball!’

The mage didn’t even flinch, with a mumble and the flick of a wrist, there stood a wall of stone that blocked the attack, absorbing the fireball like it was nothing. Man, this guy was on another level.

Drew dodged left, trying to circle around the stone wall, but this guy was faster. He thrust forward with his dagger aimed for Drew’s chest. Drew twisted, barely avoiding it, and sent another fireball in retaliation.

I couldn’t stand there like a statue. I had to help.

Gathering the swirling Aether in my gut. ‘Wind Arrow’ I sent an arrow in unison with Drew’s fireball, hoping to catch him off guard. Another stone wall appeared, and my Aether dissipated.

“You two are pathetic,” the leader chuckled. He took a step forward, and the ground shook beneath him. The air was heavy with Aether while he started chanting.

“We need to stop him,” I muttered to Drew, who had just dodged a stone spike by a hair. Drew’s eyes met mine, and I could see the same desperation in his face that I was feeling.

Drew nodded and gritted his teeth. “I’ll distract him. You hit him with everything you got.”

Before I could protest, Drew charged again, his sword in his hand. He swung with his full strength at the Mage’s head. This time there was no stone wall; instead, the mage finished his chant.

‘Earthquake,’

The ground beneath us trembled violently, splitting open in jagged lines. Drew stumbled, his fire from a spell he was about to cast flickering out. I barely managed to keep my balance, but the leader was completely unfazed, standing steady.

“Drew!” I shouted, but he was already down, pinned between some rock.

The leader’s smirk deepened, now he turned towards me. “Your turn.”

No. No way. That was scary. I clenched my fists, my knuckles white around my sword hilt. I summoned every ounce of Aether I had left. “Wind Slice!” I shouted, swinging my sword through the air, sending a blade of wind through the air towards him. He sidestepped it with ease, but I wasn’t done. I feinted with my sword and watched as a fireball implanted itself into his side. I gave Drew a look of relief as he got out of the earth prison he had been trapped in.

“You little…” he growled, his hand raising to cast another spell.

With a roar, Drew came back into the fight, his body wreathed in Aether. He swung his fists, connecting with the jaw of the Mage, sending him stumbling back once again. This gave me just enough time to slice my sword into his side.

The Mage staggered back, clutching his side, his grin now long gone, replaced with a snarl of fury. “You’ll pay for that.”

He looked at his fallen comrades and rummaged through his cloak pocket. He pulled out the stone rune that Bronn had shown me. Its symbols began to glow a deep purple. My heart dropped as I realized what he was about to do.

“No!” Drew and I shouted in unison. I grabbed him by the collar, and Drew sent his sword through the Mage’s stomach.

The air around us warped and twisted as the rune stone activated. Grace yelled from behind us.

“Leo, no!”

The air twisted unnaturally; it felt like I was being ripped into a black-hole. The ground vanished beneath our feet as Drew, the mage, and I were sent through a portal.

The purple lightning evaporated and threw me forward, lightning still grappling at my skin. Drew and I rolled out of the landing into cold ground. The leader was sprawled out in front of us barely breathing, laughing and coughing up blood. I looked up and stared, both of us were at a loss for words. We were on a plateau halfway up a mountain, snow covered everything in sight. Cold wind bit my cheeks and ears.

“Where are we!?” I yelled at the evil sorcerer. He spat some blood towards us while cocking his head back letting out a deep guttural laugh.

“Welcome to the North Lands, kids.”