21. Magic and Mayhem
Magic and Mayhem
Fintan
The noise around him went quiet, like the sudden stillness before a storm. He steadied himself for the monstrosity charging his way.
“Back!” He shouted.
His platoon retreated back within the border’s protection. Their weapons still raised and aimed for the monsters. His nose flared as the tang of magic erupted around them.
Skaraks pounded against the barrier. The force fields hummed under the weight. It wouldn’t hold much longer. The ground shook with the beating of feet behind him.
He glanced back and saw Kaiden’s gleaming armor advancing forward.
“Open the barrier in the front. Let them come,” Fintan ordered.
Four magi, two on each side, pulled at their borders, opening a path for skaraks to breach. They poured through, growling with a fierceness that raised the hair on his arms.
“Archers!” Cahira’s voice was a distant shout in the wind. “Loose.”
The whizz of arrows sank into the first row of monsters. They roared and crashed to the ground as steel arrows rained down, striking their targets.
He gripped his sword, and with a battle cry, swung at the first monster to reach their line.
Its head rolled and Fintan charged with his men at his back. The melodic swing of his sword sinking into scales, flesh, and fur invigorated him as he made his way deeper into the lines.
“Protect the magi!” Kaiden’s voice shouted over the clatter of swords against claws.
A shield wall was formed around each one as they battled with magic to hold the borders in place.
If they opened it too much, the men would be slaughtered.
If not enough, it wouldn’t keep the skaraks in place and focused on the front lines.
They would then attack the sides and behind, surrounding them.
Not enough soldiers lined around the castle to protect the people within from a deadly massacre of innocent civilians.
A skarak leaped over the soldiers’ shields, slashing at a magi, causing her to lose her balance. The borders rippled with the loss of focus and magic.
Fire burst through the ranks in a straight line. Kaiden was nearing.
Fintan’s arms twitched with the swing of his sword for the hundredth time. How was he already tiring? The battle had barely begun and the barriers were only holding a fourth of the monsters out.
The skaraks were already growing tired of pushing through the middle and had branched down the sides of the barrier.
No.
“More! More! More!” Fintan’s voice cracked as panic slipped through. He pointed at the skaraks, circling around instead of going through the front. “Open the barrier completely.”
The magi nodded, eyes full of fear, and dropped their hands. Two of them fell behind their security, completely emptied of magic and energy. Like an open door, skaraks began to pummel through. One last rain of archers struck the skaraks as they charged.
Fintan stood his ground.
He pulled the magic of the gods from his potent ring.
Thunder clouds darkened the sky and lightning struck the ground around him.
A bolt of lightning formed in his hands, and with a hurl, he launched it at the line of skaraks, disintegrating the monsters where they ran.
The lightning bolt moved with his power, slicing through skaraks before returning to his waiting hand.
With his sword in one hand and magic in the other he became a blur of power on the field, stopping only when the hum of like magic and the heat of Kaiden’s fire closed in around him.
Together, they fought against the forces, protecting the kingdom behind them. Seconds turned to minutes and minutes felt like hours.
Don’t stop.
It was the only voice in his head, propelling him forward and strengthening his every swing.
Another skarak went down.
Flames shot above his head and a screech of pain almost made his ears bleed underneath his helmet.
Another.
His sword caught on a skarak’s claw and he was lifted from the ground. His body tilted and he was flung a few paces away.
A groan escaped his lips.
Definitely going to feel that tomorrow.
“Look out!” a soldier shouted.
Fintan turned but his body was thrown across the ground as the same soldier pushed him out of the way.
He watched in horror as a monster ripped the soldier's head clean off.
The body dropped, his leg twitching at the shred of life force taken from it.
A spray of warm blood splattered across his helmet and dripped down to his neck.
Fintan gulped back his cry. His sight blurred red as a familiar rage he kept locked, opened and fueled his power.
Every muscle in his body seized as magic wrapped around him.
Lightning formed off the silver stars of his armor, like sunlight hitting a chandelier, charging him with power.
With a roar, he reached for the heavens and brought the lightning down from above.
“Magi!” Kaiden’s scream was hardly heard over the roaring in Fintan’s ears and the beat of his heart. “Protection!”
Forcefields swallowed soldiers, enveloping them in protection as Fintan’s lightning crashed down from the sky, striking the battlefield. Where his lightning struck, Kaiden’s fire came after, ensuring the monsters did not rise again.
Fintan’s legs gave out as his power drained from him, needing time to refuel. His knees hit the ground with a thud and the pain he had ignored flowed through his bones.
Fresh screams came from behind the castle walls.
He ripped off his helmet to widen his view, taking in the battle.
The city walls were littered with carnage of both man and beast. There was no glimpse of Cahira on the upper walls with the rest of the archers.
He didn’t expect her to stay within the safety of the city for long.
While their armies had put a dent in the skaraks’ forces, many had still slipped through their lines and made it into the city.
Strong hands gripped under his arms, hauling him to his feet.
“Come on,” Kaiden said. “This isn’t over yet.”
Fintan grunted but followed a swaying Kaiden toward the city.
He was right. They had just begun, and this battle was the first of many to come. He swallowed the overwhelming feeling and bit his lip from the pain before taking off in a sprint toward the wall.