The Chosen (34 page)

Seth focused the energy inside him, twisting it and bending it to his will. A power unlike anything else he had ever unleashed struggled inside him and Seth lent it to his purpose. Taking a deep breath to collect himself, Seth unleashed a magic like none the world had ever seen, his own version of a goblin sapper.

A ball of churning smoke and lightning erupted from Seth encompassing both himself and Sara at its core where it held for a moment crackling and hissing, and then Seth let loose the torrent building within him. An explosion of green and yellow electric fire lanced out from the sphere in all directions led by a concussive wall of air so strong that even the biggest trolls fell before its force, rolling and somersaulting across the ground as the electric fire chased the blast. It was like nothing anyone had ever witnessed as the unnatural fire appeared to jump like lightning from one burning creature’s armor to the next in an ever spreading wave, instantly combusting each body it touched. As the power raced freely away from Seth, it spread in all directions, flashing and flickering in a widening circle of destruction leaving no surface untouched. As the power extended it became less potent, leaving burning bodies where before nothing but charred bits and pieces would have been, and spreading further still it barely boiled the flesh of those it touched. Before the power had spread far enough to reach his own kingdom's lines it had faded away to nothing, though even at that distance men covered their ears from the initial blast.

Seth had succeeded in his attack, effectively leveling over half of the remaining hoard, over fifteen thousand dead with one blow. But the sudden release of power had two devastating effects on his body. The first was renewed pleasure that again left him stricken in an almost seizure-like state. The second was a sudden dizziness that caused him to falter and lose his feet. Landing heavily upon his knees in his armor sent a wave of pain through him, somehow increasing the lightheadedness to a nauseating level.

*****

Garret, ears ringing unbelievably, silently congratulated his brother, knowing well only Seth could turn a living, breathing being to ash with a thought. The chaos that ensued among the enemy ranks as dozens of the goblins’ payloads exploded killing hundreds upon hundreds, and as Seth torched countless more, was a sight to behold. Garret swung his sword haphazardly, casually slaughtering whatever got in his way as he watched the rearmost lines of the enemy army attempt to push forward to fill in the holes created by Seth’s mass destruction. However, it appeared that the troops in the front lines of the black horde felt no need to get any closer to Seth. Still the battle raged down the line to either side, and Garret watched as Zorbin the dwarf sent enemies flying with his great hammer as he raced along the ranks of enemies atop his immense wolf Xanth. King Valdadore was just returning from the healer's tent. Looking around at the mutilated bodies and gore strewn about the battlefield, Garret watched as his brother strode into the black army with Sara at his back, flinging any enemy who stood in his way through the air with naught but a gesture. At this point Garret no longer bothered swinging his massive sword as, filled with both curiosity and fear, he stood transfixed, watching his brother and Sara as they neared the center of the black horde. Garret was not prepared for what his brother unleashed next.

One moment Seth and Sara stood, an island in a black sea of enemy troops, and the next there was a great ball of flickering light that danced in the center of the clearing where they had been. Then without warning the flickering light exploded outward in all directions, seeming to bounce from one set of armor to another like fingers of fire, grasping and charring everything in its path as an ever widening path of destruction spread like wildfire amongst the enemy ranks. Seeing the speed of the flaming light tendrils, Garret began to step back several paces when the shockwave from the blast hit him, causing him to stumble back further. Creatures raced to get out from underfoot. Fortunately for Garret, his ears were already ringing so badly that this latest blast caused no lasting ill effects on him. The black army was another story.

An enormous blackened circle lay at the middle of the enemy horde encompassing more than half its total size. For hundreds of yards in all directions around Seth nothing moved except for lazy tendrils of smoke upon a slight breeze. Piles of charred flesh and armor lay strewn about like so many pebbles upon a beach. The scent was unbelievable and putrid, and though he was able to control himself, thousands upon the battlefield retched, overwhelmed by the noxious fumes. Pinching his nose, Garret watched the thousands of troops surrounding where his brother stood, none daring to move against the magician.

*****

Seth felt Sara coming to help him, but was forced to keep his eyes closed for the moment, the sunlight lending potency to his current nausea. Knowing he had cleared out all of his enemies for hundreds of yards in all directions, Seth felt assured he had time to recover. He settled himself to a more comfortable position, taking slow deep breaths and waited for the nausea to recede. Sara knelt down beside him at this point, and unaware of what ailed him, she stripped his helm off, all the while watching in all directions, assuring herself of their relative safety. Carcasses smoldered everywhere, and the stench and smoke made their helms stifling. After removing Seth’s, Sara too removed her own helm to better appraise his ailment. Seth did indeed recover faster without his helm, and a light breeze through the valley cooled his face and lessened his queasiness. After a few tense moments Sara helped Seth stand, and though he still felt a bit unsteady on his feet, he looked around to gather his bearings just as the deep rumble of a massive war horn split the air, and answering it with wicked war cries, black armored beasts from three directions charged across the still smoldering bodies of their peers to strike him down. Seth also dimly noted two massive, gleaming bodies surging towards him from his own lines as well as hundreds of leaping and bounding fur-covered bodies, but he knew instantly that they would not arrive in time to save him.

Taking another deep breath to steady himself as the masses of black-armored bodies closed the distance between them, Seth reached out to those closest, hoping he might turn the rest away if they believed him recovered. He stripped the life of near thirty beasts of varying races, but something peculiar happened at the last moment. All within a fraction of a second, as Seth stripped the life from those he had singled out, one of them vanished, and still linked to its life force Seth felt it reappear an incredible distance away, out of range of even his recently increased power. As the power of those he expelled to ash rushed into his body invigorating his senses anew, Seth turned his gaze to where the aura had been before vanishing, and dodged to the side, no time to prepare any other defense. The would-be assassin's arrow, just missing his throat and glancing off one of the spikes protruding from the shoulder upon his armor, sailed past Seth leaving him unharmed but the attack had not been fruitless.

Sara gasped as the unseen missile from seemingly nowhere sliced effortlessly through her flesh just above the neckline of her armor. Reaching up her hand instinctively, Sara clutched at the wound that seemed but a scratch, and managed a smile as Seth turned with panic written clearly upon his face. He managed a smile in return that quickly faded as Sara felt her fingers become wet with warm blood pulsing out from her neck in sickening quantities. Feeling suddenly faint, Sara began to collapse. Seth grabbed her and lowered her to the ground, placing his own hand above hers, trying to staunch the flow.

Seth was lost to the world in that moment as Sara smiled at him, her amber eyes swallowing him whole, her life’s blood gushing from the wound at her neck. Lowering Sara to the ground Seth attempted to put pressure on the wound, but the blood found purchase between and around both his and Sara’s hands, running down her neck and into her hair before beginning to puddle on the ground. Seth’s soul seemed to tear as he watched the color fade from Sara’s cheeks and heard her whisper her undying love for him. Seth could not bear to let Sara go like this. If only she had stayed behind with Borrik as he had intended, or perhaps if he himself had stayed upon the hill fighting from behind the defensive lines of Valdadore’s troops this would not have happened. Though consciously Seth was lost to the world around him, his subconscious felt those charging in from all directions and he also felt the power within him seeking release. Seth could think of nothing else but Sara, and before the recognition faded from her eyes, Seth made her one last promise.

"I'll save you, just hang on," Seth cried. With no regard to himself or those he targeted, not even knowing if it was among his abilities, Seth reached out. Pulling energy into himself from all those coming at him from all directions, he focused it and released it simultaneously with an ear-shattering, earth-rending, tearing sound. A great flash of blinding light erupted, and those around him, both friend and foe, disintegrated into ash as a great blast of air rushed inward towards where Seth had been kneeling over the devoted woman he had married only the day before.

*****

Garret swelled with pride for his brother, knowing his twin had single-handedly turned the tide of the battle and, for the first time, many of Valdadore’s defenders thought victory was possible. Garret, wanting to play his part as well as Seth had, turned to resume his butchering when he saw Seth stumble. Freezing again in his tracks, Garret watched the ensuing seconds as Sara peeled off Seth’s helm and then her own, and even from this great distance Garret could see his brother shaking uncontrollably as the deep rumble of a massive war horn split the air. As if they were all of a single mind the black army heaved inward, screaming their guttural war cries, racing to slay the powerful magician at their core. But the black army was not the only ones to respond. Garret realized he was too far away to help his brother but even so began racing full tilt across the battlefield, trampling all who stood in his way, watching the scene unfold before him.

Seth’s troops began barking and howling with rage as they lunged and bounded towards their master, and though unbelievably fast for their size, the beasts could not keep pace with the giant forms of the King and Sirus who raced ahead of the howling throng to protect Garret's twin. None had expected the mage to recover, and Garret watched as his brother regained his feet. Those attackers closest to him vanished, crumbling to piles of ash as their brethren trampled over their discarded armor and weapons. Garret swelled with hope, knowing Seth had bought himself valuable time, and redoubled his speed hoping to arrive in time. But even as Garret began to hope, his hope was dashed within an instant. Garret bounded over and through wave after wave of enemy troops, all the while watching his brother and those wishing to slay him. As the nearest turned to ash, Seth spun to face towards Garret's direction, and even from this distance Garret could see the panic on his brother's face. He watched in horror as Sara clutched her neck and collapsed and as Seth rushed to slow her fall. Then Garret lost sight of his brother, his view was obscured by the many enemies that were nearly atop Seth and Sara. Garret pumped his giant metal legs as fast as he could, now seeing as King Valdadore beginning to swing his massive sword to clear his way to Seth. Getting closer, Garret thought he might have a chance to save his twin, when the unthinkable happened.

*****

Borrik stared in horror as the black horde closed in on his master, and all of his wolven brethren and several Knights of Valdadore raced to intercept them. Borrik was racing among his troops too. Though he had started at the rear he now ran at their center, slowly gaining towards the front as they closed the distance. It was going to be a close race, and Borrik prayed to Ishanya to spare Seth this end as he was a courageous and honorable leader who held to his word. Whether or not Ishanya heard him, Borrik would never know, but in those last seconds, seemingly impossibly, Borrik gained a clear line of sight of his master. It was as if all who rushed the fallen mage stepped aside to give Seth’s second-in-command a clear view. Borrik caught sight of his master and found himself relieved that the young mage yet lived, but skidded to a halt as with a bright flash of light and a concussive boom that sent distant men sprawling and near men vanishing to ash, his master, holding his dying wife, vanished into thin air. The blast left thousands dead and thousands more clutching their ears and eyes. Despite the pain Borrik could not look away, feeling it was his duty to bear witness as the king, his knights Philip and Sirus, the mage Seth and his wife, together with nearly a hundred of Seth’s wolf troops all vanished in an instant and were lost. For a moment no one near the explosion moved, but feeling obliged Borrik raced off again, needing to see ground zero for himself. Arriving at the site he was met by a familiar Knight of Valdadore, his master's brother.

*****

Garret stood where his brother had vanished, Seth’s priest the only other who dared to venture among the ashes. Garret was broken. In an instant he had lost his brother, his king, his commander and all sense of feeling. Garret tilted his head back and gave a thunderous, booming battle cry as his vision turned red. His cry was taken up by all those who fought for Valdadore, especially among the wolf troops loyal to Seth. Knowing nothing but pain and rage, Garret rushed into the remnants of the enemy horde leaving a trail of destruction, hundreds of wolf men following suit. The black horde had been decimated. Having arrived on the battlefield with near forty thousand troops, their number now was near equal to that of the defenders. A single mage had destroyed their army, and none who had seen the mage would ever forget his frightening visage. Dismayed and defeated, the remaining trolls, goblins, ogres and orcs attempted to retreat from the battlefield, harried all the way by a giant bloodthirsty knight and an immense pack of monsters that tracked them down and slaughtered them well into the night, miles and miles into the mountain passes of their own lands.