Part 35 (1/2)
”Gerin, come to me,” said Marandra.
”Yes, Archmage.”
She looked hard into his eyes, a lingering stare that made him feel naked and vulnerable but which he did not break. She was testing him in some way, trying to determine his worth. He had no desire to come up wanting.
”I don't know how this day will end,” she said. Tears glistened in her eyes, and that more than anything filled him with a profound sense of dread. ”But I must prepare for the worst. If I use this”-she gestured to the device-”I will forfeit my life. A sacrifice I'll gladly make to ensure the survival of Hethnost.”
”Archmage, what are you saying?” He was keenly aware of Balandrick and the other wizards cl.u.s.tered around them, all of them hanging on the Archmage's every word.
”I will not be Archmage much longer. I have no power of Foretelling, I've had no premonitions or seen omens of death, but there is a darkness in my heart.”
With great dignity and grace, she removed the Ammon Ekril and held it gently in both hands.
”This is no longer the symbol of my office. Upon my death, it is my decree that Kirin succeed me until a new Archmage can be appointed. But this, Gerin, I give to you.”
She held out the Ammon Ekril.
He looked at it, stunned by her actions, but made no move to take it.
”This grants you no office, t.i.tle, or authority here,” she said. ”But if there truly is an Adversary, and if this contains the power to defeat him, then that great burden falls to you.”
”Archmage, I-”
”Take it. We have little time. The cloud is almost upon us.”
He took the circlet from her hands. ”I will protect this with my life.”
”See that you do.” She removed the Alkaneiros and held it toward Kirin. ”This is now the symbol of the office of Archmage, which you will a.s.sume in the event of my death.”
Kirin took the ruby ring of Demos Thelar with a trembling hand. ”I accept this great honor, Marandra. But I also fervently hope you do not need to use that awful power. My greatest wish is that I'll return this to you when this battle is done.”
Sevaisan dashed up the stairs to the wall-walk. ”Archmage, what is this? I just saw you hand the Ammon Ekril to Gerin and the Alkaneiros to Warden Zaeset!”
”There's no time to explain now, Sevaisan. The battle is upon us.”
As she spoke, the shadow from the cloud slid across the Hammdras. It was as if twilight had fallen across them.
They heard the shrieks of the demons as they began to appear in the sky above the Havalqa army.
”Looks like they're throwing everything they have at us,” said Balandrick.
Gerin was unsure what to do with the Ammon Ekril. He had no place to put it; the leather pouch tied to his belt was far too small for it.
”Put it on,” said Hollin. His voice was tight.
”What?”
”Put it on. I can see you wrestling with what to do with it. She gave it to you. It's not sacrilege if you wear it.”
Gingerly, Gerin placed the circlet on his head, sliding the braided gold band beneath his hair. The metal was cold, the diamond a dull weight on his forehead. He felt no power from it, no sense of the magic he had earlier awakened.
And then he had no time to consider it further.
A pillar of dark red light the width of an oak trunk shot down from the outer edge of the cloud. The column did not hit the Hammdras dead on or the entire section would have collapsed. The slight rotation of the cloud caused the column to hammer the rear section of the wall-walk instead of the outward-facing battlements.
The pillar of light completely pulverized the section of the wall it struck. Stone and mortar turned instantly to dust where the light touched it. The roar was deafening. The walk beneath Gerin's feet shook with the impact; two of the wizards near him lost their balance and fell to their knees.
Before anyone could react, two more pillars of light shot down from the cloud. One originated near its center, the other from the far rim. From what Gerin could see, the light could emerge from any point on the underbelly of the cloud.
The light itself made a bone-deep thrumming that was almost below the threshold of his hearing, a rumble so deep he felt it in his chest and teeth. Wizards and soldiers were shouting all around him; chaos erupted along the wall-walk. Balandrick swore about having no way to fight ”all this b.l.o.o.d.y magic.”
The cloud demolished one of the inner corners of the gate tower. The other struck within Hethnost itself, blasting down through the center of one of the courtyards. Thick black smoke belched out of the hole. Part of Gerin wondered how far down into the earth the power had reached, and what exactly was burning.
He realized they had to do something quickly or they would all die. He raised the staff toward the cloud and shouted wordlessly to the Presence, Attack it! I don't care how, but disrupt the d.a.m.n thing any way you can!
He opened himself to magic just as the Presence reached into him to draw his power so it could carry out his command. Gerin staggered as a river of energy poured through his paru'enthred. Amber fire exploded from his body and engulfed the staff. Balandrick and Hollin stepped away from him. He felt the Presence shaping the magic into something he'd never before experienced. It compressed raw and deadly magic down to a small, dense point, then sheathed it within a sphere of power designed to prevent the magic from expanding as it naturally wanted to do.
The Presence released five of the tiny spheres at the cloud, spreading them out so they struck at different points. Just after vanis.h.i.+ng inside the cloud, Gerin felt the spherical sheaths collapse. The compressed points of power exploded outward violently, tearing out sections of the cloud, leaving gaping holes in its surface.
The Presence was able to release four more of the explosive spheres of magic when Balandrick waved his sword so close to Gerin's face he thought his captain might cut off his nose.
”Demons!” screamed Balan, pointing behind Gerin. ”Demons!”
Gerin spun around to see the other wizards in a protective formation around the Archmage, each of them invoking Khazuzili's spell. The Warden had not had time to modify his original spell with the ability to ”slam the door” on the power connecting the demons to their masters in the Havalqa army, so the spheres that caged the demons did not cause them to vanish immediately. The creatures dropped from the sky one by one as the wizards captured them, writhing in torment as their connection was slowly choked off.
Three more demons were swooping toward them at a fantastic speed. Before Gerin could properly formulate a thought, the Presence created the altered version of Khazuzili's spell it had fas.h.i.+oned before. The careening creatures smashed into the power they could not see and were trapped within it helplessly. A second later the concave curvature of the spell closed around them, contracted down to a point, and forced the demons from this world.
Another pillar from the cloud destroyed the gate tower. The light smashed directly down through the roof and obliterated the portcullis and gate so thoroughly it was as if they'd never existed. Gerin could hear soldiers screaming as the tower began to collapse inward, no longer able to support its own weight.
Other demons were attacking along the wall and deeper into Hethnost. Gerin ignored them for the moment and turned his attention back to the cloud. Do what you did before! We need to tear it apart!
The Presence obeyed.
It drew staggering amounts of magic from him to create the condensed points of magic and the protective spheres enveloping them. A dozen more points shot from the end of the staff and ripped apart pieces of the deadly cloud, but despite the wounds in its underside, the damage appeared to have little effect on the cloud's ability to attack them.
Stop! he called out to the Presence. You're drawing too much! This isn't working. We need to think of something else.
He heard Balandrick curse and turned to see thousands of Havalqa charging across the field.
39.
Gerin's aura vanished as soon as the Presence ceased drawing his power. A mingled sensation of relief and sudden fatigue filled him.
”What happened to the fear spells out in the valley?” asked Balandrick. ”The Havalqa didn't miss a step.”
”They must have collapsed,” said Gerin between deep breaths. ”The wizards who were holding them in place are probably fighting the cloud or the demons. They can't keep everything going at once.”