119. Rorax
Rorax used a shield to bat away one of Jia’s oncoming blows, and then twisted to block another. The morning dew made the grass slick, and as Jia landed both swords on her shield, the impact made Rorax skid back an inch.
Rorax cursed under her breath and took a step forward, gaining back the ground she’d lost and used the shield she had borrowed from Lamonte’s training collection to take a swing, trying to move on the offensive.
It didn’t work. Jia slapped the shield to the side, twirled, and pressed the top of her blade to Rorax’s chest.
Rorax gave a flat look to the blade before looking up at Jia’s smug smile. “I hope a bird takes a shit on you this morning.”
Jia laughed, dropping the blade away from Rorax to wipe her sweat away. “You’re getting better with that thing. If you ever had to go one on one with just a shield, at least you’d have a chance.”
Ever since their talk on the tower, Jia had been normal and thankfully hadn’t brought the topic of the Guardianship up again.
Rorax laughed, too, and opened her mouth to say something smartass, when a sharp, panicked whinny made her jerk her head around.
Tressa, on a large white stallion, was galloping through one of the narrow, arched entryways to the arena, heading full speed towards them, her blue dress billowing out behind her.
“Where are Ayres and Cannon?” Tressa demanded as she slowed her horse next to Jia. The animal was sweaty and frothing from the mouth with exhaustion.
Jia and Rorax shared a nervous, uncertain look. “They’re . . . gone,” Rorax said. “And they probably won’t be back until the end of this week.”
“Fuck.” Tressa pressed her eyes shut and bit her knuckle in between her teeth.
When Rorax saw tears slip down Tressa’s face, the sense of unease in Rorax’s stomach grew into thick knots. “Tressa, what’s going on?”
“My mother—” Tressa’s voice broke off, before she tried again. “My mother has allowed the House of Alloy passage into our Realm. I saw a platoon of soldiers carrying a Book of Sumavari. There were too many of them for me to get it back alone, and it could be anywhere by now.”
Cold ice speared into Rorax’s chest. “Where?”
“Leluvar, five days ago. I don’t know where they are now.”
Almost like it had been summoned, Rorax felt the little, tiny pull of Death Magick at the back of her skull.
It was in the complete opposite direction from where Ayres was right now.
Rorax swore before she turned to Jia. “Go get your bow and get ready. We need to send a Blood Hawk to Ayres, and then we’re leaving.”
Following the pull in the back of her mind, Rorax led Jia through the woods. They had pushed their horses through the night, stopping to steal fresh ones from villages along the way. Five days later, and they were getting close.
She felt the pull getting stronger and stronger as she got closer to the summoning point, and with every step closer her stomach tied in tighter knots.
They had just passed through Karduru, the town full of healers that had saved her life on her very first hunt with Ayres. The little girl she had saved lived here with her parents.
If the Lyondreans were successful here, that little village would be one of the first to be attacked with whichever of Sumavari’s monsters were conjured.
No matter the cost, Rorax was determined they wouldn’t be successful.
Rorax pulled her horse to a halt when she felt them getting close. They were nearly on top of the summoning. “We walk from here.” They dismounted from their horses and continued silently through the underbrush until it cleared away. Rorax sucked in a sharp breath as she took in the view. She knew where they were, she had passed by here before with Ayres.
The Lyondreans were using the Volcano Towers for their summoning.
Two tall dark towers on either side of the clearing—one on each side of the now empty lava lake. They were simple and made of lava brick. Ancient, dilapidated things that looked weathered and beaten down, but still stood firm against time.
Rorax felt a sharp pull towards the one closest to Jia and her.
“That one,” Rorax said, pointing to it. “There are five soldiers in there.”
Jia pulled the bow from her back. “Do you want to sneak in or bust through the front door?”
The pull at the back of Rorax’s neck strained like she had never felt before. “Burst in. We don’t have time to wait.”
They crept over to the side.
When Rorax felt the presence by the front door move slightly away, Rorax gave the sign. Using a small battering ram made of Ice, Jia busted open the fragile door. The five soldiers inside yelled in surprise until either an arrow made of ice sunk into their hearts or Glimr cut their throats.
They killed the soldiers in less than a minute, and when they reached the top of the stairs Jia wasted no time to kick open the door.
A red circle had been painted on the ground in blood. It was glowing, and there was a man standing on the inside of the circle, directly over the body of a woman whose throat had been cut; her blood had been used to make the summoning circle.
A strong Alloy soldier erected a wall of stone between them, and Rorax used her own Alloy Magick to slice the barrier in two.
“Stop!”
The man’s eyes went wide as he paused within the circle, and before Rorax could stop him, he slammed his hands palm first down on the floor.
Rorax grabbed Jia and lunged to the side, covering her friend with her body just as magick exploded.
The whole top of the tower was ripped off and exploded into nothing but rubble and dust, smoke filling the air.
Coughing violently, her ears ringing, Rorax pushed herself to her feet, and moved herself into what was left of the doorway, staggering.
The man in the summoning circle had been thrown so violently his neck twisted at an awkward angle from his prone body. In fact, all the men who had been in the room looked unnaturally still, and all the energy signatures were gone.
“Fuck. Are you okay?” Rorax turned to Jia, who slowly moved herself up to her elbows, nodding.
Rorax stepped over the broken barrier of earth and bent to pick up the red and golden Book of Sumavari from the ground. She wiped the dust off with her arm as Jia stepped to the edge of the tower to look out at the grounds.
Whatever she saw there made her choke. “Ror.”
Unease prickled at the back of Rorax’s neck as she stepped next to her friend.
Below them, clawing their way out of the crusty ground, were undead soldiers. Hundreds of them. Mangled and gory, most of them nothing but decomposing skin dangling on armored skeletons.
K??n help her.
“Come on, let’s go.” Rorax turned and sprinted, running down the stairs, stepping over dead soldiers and not stopping until she skidded to a halt on the edge of the cliff.
Draugr. Undead soldiers.
Ancient generals from Wymeria and the House of Death had chosen the site of an old volcano to fight, and now they were being called again to war again using Death Magick.
The only advantage Rorax had was they were all at the bottom of the old lake that had only drained from one side, making it so there was a forty-foot cliff on all sides of them except one. For them to escape they had to go through that one side. If she beat them there, she could design a way to funnel them and hopefully she could hold them off until Ayres and the Guard got there.
As the draugr ripped themselves out of the earth, Rorax ripped the ribbon out of her hair, tying it around the book’s cover tightly before thrusting it into Jia’s arms.
Jia took the book, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion until she looked up and saw the expression on Rorax’s face. “Oh no. No. If you think I’m letting you fight them alone, you’re insane.”
“That book needs to get to Ayres as fast as you can get it to him. It can’t stay here, and those things can”t get out, or they will move straight towards Karduru.” Rorax pointed at the herd slowly starting to move towards their escape. She needed to get down there. “I can handle them. Ayres is close, I can feel him. Get that book to him, Jia. That is the most important thing you can do. For everyone.”
Rorax pulled her sword out of its sheath, and summoned Glimr to her palm. It warmed under her skin, like an old friend saying hello, and Rorax squeezed it a little tighter.
Rorax was ready.
She was meant to be here. In this moment. Protecting the House of Death.
All the pent-up violence and anger from the last few months simmered under her skin as she eyed the dead army. She wanted to be unleashed.
Jia swallowed thickly as she watched Rorax get herself ready for battle, tears lining her eyes as she looked down on the draugr army. She threw her arm around Rorax’s neck in a brief hug. “Sakar Sumavari was an absolute fucking bastard.” Jia muttered in her hair before she turned and sprinted towards the direction of her horse.
Rorax tightened the grip on her blades and let herself feel that bloodthirsty rage for half a beat before going to meet the army head on.