Ashar'an Rising (Nexus Wars Saga) (21 page)

It was humanoid in form, taller than he by more than a head, with hairless, pale gray skin stretched taut over muscle and bone. Its head was brutish, with dominant brow and maw, the latter of which showed canine teeth as it drew back in a sneer. It clutched two heavy swords in its clawed hands, both of which were far larger than Valdieron's longsword. He recognized them as Broadswords from his limited study of weaponry in Thorhus, though they were made of dark metal with vicious  looking barbs protruding from a third of the way up the blade.

The creature charged Valdieron on silent feet, though it screamed a cry that was primal in its fury and intent, causing him a moment of indecision. The pause almost cost him again as the monster arced a powerful sweep at his head, which he managed to duck before having to roll away from a following thrust. He had to change his roll mid  way through, also, as the creature was faster than he expected, aiming another thrust at his head, missing by just enough to tear away a few of his hairs before striking the hard stone with a resounding clank, which did not mark the ground, despite its intensity.

Fortunately for Valdieron, the creature paused in its frenzy to give another howl of rage. Taking a deep breath and willing himself to concentrate, he met the creature's next attack.

Dragonsword met Darksword in an overhead pass that threw up coruscating sparks as the blades slid along each other before parting, the creature's second weapon unmoving as the creature pressed against Valdieron, its foul  smelling breath making Valdieron shiver along with the proximity of its vampirish maw.

They parted quickly, each with a thrust, then they met again, only this time Valdieron again let the creature lead, swaying like a branch in the breeze to evade a slashing cut before arcing his sword down to sweep aside the creature's second dark blade, which snaked in at his torso. Another shower of sparks flew as the dark sword was barely turned, such was the creature's strength, but it was enough for Valdieron to aim a kick at the creature's brutish face.

As quick as it was, the beast could not evade the snap-kick that caught it flush on the jaw. There was a sharp crack followed instantly by a howl of pain, so close the sounds merged as one. Hopping back hastily with a defensive sweep of his sword, Valdieron noted blood running from the creature's mouth, its jaw hanging slack and obviously broken.

It tried to howl again, but its maw was too damaged, turning it into a muted cry of pain. Anger seemed to overcome the pain, however, as its large black eyes narrowed and it moved to attack.

Slashing across himself, Valdieron was forced into a series of flashing parries as he backpedalled quickly so as not to be overcome by the charging creature. It seemed to thrive on the pain, its fury increased tenfold on what it had been before he had struck it. Intensity was no compensation for skill or technical soundness, however, so when Valdieron spotted it open after missing on a leading thrust, he stepped in and finished it with a thrust that slid easily up to the hilt of his sword. This time, there seemed to come a pulse from his sword, once again sending the creature stumbling back, almost tearing the sword free from his grasp. The demon landed heavily on the ground, dark swords striking the stone with hollow pings.

This time he did not remove his gaze from the creature, nor did he move any closer to it. That it was dead was obvious, but he had seen too many strange things recently to suggest it no longer posed a threat to him.

He slowly began to back down the passage, deeper into the left one he had entered, torn between scanning behind and keeping his eyes on the dead creature. As it was, he tried both, and failed at both.

The body flickered at the periphery of his vision as he tried to watch both it and the darkness into which he was sidling, but when he turned his gaze back to it, there was no trace it also had existed, and he let out a muffled curse. As such, he almost did not perceive the attack coming from behind him, and as he rolled, a sharp pain exploded in his side and he screamed. The force of it threw him off balance, and he rolled awkwardly to his feet in a crouch.

He first thought his attacker was a troll, for it towered at least to the height of the walls, though instantly there were recognizable differences. Its hide, though hairy, was dark like coal and smoother than a troll's coarse hide. Its head was large, with protruding jaw, where two curved teeth arced from its mouth like small daggers beside its broad nose, while a lock of thick dark hair hung from the back of a horned but otherwise bald head.

Rippling muscles were clear beneath its hide, as huge human hands grasped a long  hafted axe with a blade shaped like a crescent moon, with an arced point projecting from its tip. It was this tip that was stained with blood, Valdieron's blood, dripping softly onto the pale stone floor, sounding like blows of a hammer to Valdieron's ears as he watched them, the pain and hurt fading as he focused upon this.

With a deep  throated growl, the creature attacked, its huge axe going overhead before chopping down with great speed and numbing force as it stepped forward, too far away and then too fast for him to take advantage of the wide opening. He knew he could not hope to block such an attack, so he rolled backwards in an attempt to evade it. He was surprised but glad when the foudroyant strike whistled past him as he went backwards, though he underestimated the damage done to his side. Rolling heavily, he gasped as fire  like pain lanced through his nerves, seeking the fastest route to his brain, coursing through his neck like red  hot needles. His muscles jerked spasmodically and he wavered, his grip lost on his sword as he struggled to gain balance and rise.

Luckily for him, his sword clattered off the hard stone to the side, and the bull  like humanoid turned towards it, its axe jerking back and lashing out. The axe cracked loudly against the wall, sending a spray of dark sparks from the sable axe, though once again, there seemed to be no effect to the impenetrable stone.

The creature gave a howl of fury and swung again, this time not striking the wall, but finding nothing in what seemed to be a wild attack, as if hoping to strike something. It seemed to sniff at the air disdainfully as it finished.

It was blind!

The revelation came to Valdieron as he began to take a step, and the beast turned sharply. He realized it could not see, relying solely on its other senses to find him. It sniffed again, and with a growl of triumph it turned and charged at him.

With a cry and a silent curse he began to scurry back, but realized the beast was not going to attack with its axe, but was instead going to charge him, using its bulk and vicious horns as a weapon. This forced him into another roll, forward and to the side of the beast, and he was thankful its bulk did not allow it to turn sharply, but even so, it managed to alter its direction slightly and aim a glancing strike at him one handed, the softer attack striking ground behind him as he passed beneath it.

With a hiss his sword rose as he grasped its hilt, and although it was like a beacon for the beast, he assumed it could not accurately locate him without at least stopping to smell or hear him. He almost regretted his assumption as it stopped several feet from him and swung an arcing blow into empty air, scant inches in front of his face, though a little high.

A thought struck him and he acted without delay, taking a heavy step forward and flicking his weapon up high so that it hissed in the still air. Baited, the creature reversed its axe and swung again mightily at where it thought Valdieron was. It was high and short again, however, and Valdieron was able to step beneath it and lunge forward with a double  handed thrust into the creature's stomach, rising to cut through lungs and other vital organs. Dark blood and gore flowed from the wound as he pulled his blade free, and there did not seem to be an impact as had affected the last two creatures he had faced, but he guessed it would have had to be a great shock to move such a huge being. Still, its pained cry turned quickly to a dying whisper as it sagged, the huge axe falling to the stone with a resounding clatter.

With a relieved sigh that turned to a groan of pain, he clutched at his side, looking down to find a gaping wound, not deep but enough that a simple press or bandage would probably be of little use. Ruing he had no bandages or means of treating it, he decided he would have to endure it, though when he looked down at it a few moments later, the blood did not seem to be flowing as freely, and it even looked as if it was pulling together at the fringes.

Another intersection, and this time he was even more cautious, eyes darting each way, trying to slice through the gloom in search of more creatures. His hearing was pricked for any perceivable sound or change in nearby pressure, but he found nothing.

Which was why his second wound came without warning, and this time when he turned towards the direction of the attack, there was no visible assailant. His keen sight caught a fleeting shadow in the darkness, but it disappeared instantly. He clutched at his left shoulder and found a line of four trails of blood, not long and deep, though they burned with an inner fire, as if the wounds were instantly infected.

Another sharp pain in his thigh had him turning with a cry, both of frustration and pain as another shadow fleetingly passed into darkness beyond his vision. His pants were sliced neatly and were already darkening with blood as he looked down.

A third attack had him clutching at his stomach as a creature passed him, but had attacked and was gone before he could even raise his weapon. He caught a glimpse of a skeletal being of pearly hue, with clawed hands and bulbous, ridged forehead. It was in the seclusion and protection of the darkness before he could move after it, like a ghost into fog.

Realizing these 'things' were too fast for him under the conditions, and wishing he had Llewellyn's rapier also, he opted for a method of fighting the Elf had hinted at several times, and he had read about in the manuals Llewellyn had left him. It was a WindDancer method requiring total concentration and perception, however it necessitated the closing of ones eyes in order to bring the senses into focus. He did this, using his senses and subconscious memory from the first three attacks, so that the fourth attack, though hitting a painful slash across his cheek, still allowed him to almost evade it, and he could almost picture the fleeting figure in his mind.

Left! Blocking out the pain and the feeling of blood running down his face, leg and side, he spun and lashed out, though in his mind he could see his sword arcing out and grazing one of the bone-like creatures. As he felt his sword bite, there came an explosion and he was assailed by small pieces of shrapnel. '
Shards of bone',
he realized, feeling several bite deep and sting, like giant hornets, but the thrill and satisfaction of striking it had him feeling more than a little euphoric.

Which was why another was able to sneak an attack that had him flailing for a parry at the last moment, trying to regain his focus. He felt and 'saw' his sword deflect a clawed slash, then all trace of the figure was gone. It returned a moment later, but this time he was more than ready.

Whether it was the slightest scraping against the stone or his sense of shifting pressure around him, or the creature's smell or nauseating presence, Valdieron was able to focus clearly on it, better than he could have with his eyes open. As it was, he stepped into the line of its charge, 'seeing' that it had difficulty turning sharply from the collision course, and a sweeping chop had it falling into a pile of bones at his feet. There was no explosion this time, nor was there any sign of bones or small shards, only dark silence once again as he looked down the corridor.

“
Father!”

The call came faintly, sounding of echoes resonating through countless corridors and intersections. He thought for a fleeting moment it was his subconscious playing a game on him, or a part of the test, but when it came again, he could distinguish the voice was female, and not so far away as he first suspected, though still he could not place a location or distance.

“
Father! Where are you, father?”

This sounded almost on him. He spun reflexively, sensing some creature was using the words as a lure, and he was not surprised to find another dark figure emerge from the darkness. This one was like the previous one, though fiery red in hue and bulkier, with bat- like wings springing from shoulders. It had narrow eyes, not unlike a cat's, and in its hands it held a huge sword of fiery black.

“
Father!”

The call came again, and he saw it did not come from the creature, but it may as well have, so close was it. Then it struck him, how many times he would dream as a child and be speaking in a dream, only to have his father or Marcus calling him, the words intermingling so they appeared to be both from the dream.

“
This is not happening to me!” It came as a scream as the huge creature raised its fiery sword, eyes blazing and unreadable except for the pure hatred that burned there. Its mouth was open in a soundless cry, and muscles bunched beneath smooth red skin. It towered over him, and the sword descended inexorably.

“
Father!”

Was it he or the other voice calling this time? He could not tell, but his gaze never left the descending blade, falling slowly like a toppling tree. He did not shy away, however, determined that if he believed enough that it was not real, he would be safe.

The dark sword passed through him like a breeze through tattered thatch, though where it struck, he felt a freezing shock, like the touch of icy water. He gasped in surprise, both at the feel and the sight of the sword passing through him, and even before it exited, his vision, or was it the surroundings, began to blur, and a new scene formed around him.