Bastial Frenzy (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 4) (53 page)

He stopped fighting her. His face squished as he grunted. So much BE came through at once, it nearly burned her hand, causing her to let go. But her body had absorbed it, and she’d already gathered some herself while screaming at him. Now the fireball was going to be enormous, yet there were no Krepps far enough from allied Humans that could be targeted.

Nearly doubled over from the pain of keeping the energy in, she thought to turn toward the enemy Dajrik. His sword had been dropped, though he still wielded his shield. He was wrestling with the other Dajrik, each trying to throw the other off his feet. Krepps were all around them, fighting warriors and psychics while a few archers tried to keep their distance.

No, it’s a bad idea,
Effie heard a voice say. But it was too late. She’d already cast the fireball in that direction, hoping it wouldn’t strike any of her allies.

Chapter 38:

CLEVE

Unable to get the right angle to shoot the attacking Dajrik, Cleve strapped his bow to his back and drew his Bastial steel sword. There were three times more Krepps than allies, but it gave him some solace that somewhere else in the battle, the disadvantage couldn’t be as bad.

Then again, somewhere else was an enemy Dajrik without an ally Dajrik wrestling him.

Everyone, enemies and allies alike, had begun fighting around the giants, trying to find a way to take the other’s Dajrik down while protecting themselves. Cleve couldn’t find a spare moment to focus on the enemy Dajrik. There were too many Krepps.

He drove his blade through the chest of one, taking off the next one’s head in a fluid motion. Reela and another psychic were somewhere in the chaos.

No, don’t think about that. Concentrate on the allies and enemies before you. Find a way to take down that Dajrik.

Then he noticed his Dajrik was being attacked by Krepps. They were slashing at his ankles, and everyone was too busy to help.

He rushed through three Krepps to get there, dodging their strikes. One even kicked dirt at him, but he’d seen the creature grab the soil with the claws on his feet, and he blocked the dirt with his arm.

The Dajriks were turning and stumbling as they fought one another, and now Cleve had to run through the legs of the enemy Dajrik to stop the Krepps chiseling away at the flesh of his own. His Dajrik was screaming as he tried to kick the Krepps away, successfully crushing one with a stomp of his foot.

While the giants were sluggish, their feet were so massive that Cleve had to be careful where he treaded so as not to be squashed beneath them. He slowed as he passed beneath the enemy Dajrik, studying his movements carefully. One of the Dajrik’s feet came from the side and bumped into him, picking him up from the ground and sending him tumbling.

He heard the grunts of a Krepp coming behind him as he jumped back to his feet. But the massive shadow that came over him was of far worse concern. He knew the enemy Dajrik had seen or felt him, and now he was about to crushed.

He dove forward and felt the ground shake as the giant’s foot came down just behind him. There was a brief yelp from the Krepp chasing Cleve just before he was flattened by his own Dajrik. Cleve had to run to avoid another stomp.

The shaking as the giant’s foot came down nearly made him lose his footing. But he steadied himself and soon reached the Krepps attacking his Dajrik. Two he killed from the side, for they hadn’t seen him coming. But then five noticed what Cleve had done and immediately rushed toward him, some bumping into each other in their eagerness to kill.

Cleve suddenly noticed a giant foot coming toward him from the side. It was too late to dodge, smacking into his shoulder when he tried to run. He was sent stumbling at the speed of a sprint.

Can’t fall!
The moment he left his feet, he was dead. So he refrained from stopping too abruptly, letting the momentum of the push continue him in the direction fate had chosen. But while five Krepps chased after him between the fighting Dajriks, another Krepp was coming straight for him from the opposite side. As the Krepp lowered his sword, Cleve pulled Bastial Energy into his legs to give them extra strength and leapt as high as he could.

He saw the Krepp’s yellow eyes fill with surprise just before Cleve kicked his sword out of the way and fell on top of him. Cleve quickly finished him by driving his Bastial steel weapon into the Krepp’s chest, then jumped off and turned to face the others.

The disorganized cluster of five was tripping over each other while trying to dodge the Dajriks. Another shadow came over Cleve before the Krepps could reach him. He couldn’t run fast enough, so he dove just as the enemy Dajrik’s foot shook the ground behind him. The Krepps were there before he could get up, already swiping at him. With one hand, he threw dirt. With the other, he fended them off with his sword. He used his feet when he could, but he would be dead as soon as they encircled him, which they were just about to do.

Suddenly, all five screamed and fell. It had to be psyche. Cleve jumped and readied his sword to end them. But then there was an explosion of light, and one of the Dajriks was shrieking. Fragmented pieces of a fireball fell around him; next was the enormous shield, slamming into the dirt a few feet away and causing a cloud of dust to rise.

“Get out of there!” he heard Reela shout. “Toward me, hurry!”

He turned and sprinted. But another shadow came over him, this one so large it had to be more than a foot. He looked over his shoulder to see the enemy Dajrik looming over him, the ally giant about to throw him to the ground.

“Run!” Reela yelled.

Cleve fled as fast as his legs would allow. He could hear the Krepps behind him and knew Reela’s spell had only debilitated them for a blink. He felt claws scratching at his tunic until the crash of the Dajrik’s body launched Cleve like a spring. Feeling his Bastial steel sword twisting awkwardly, he let it go before he hit the ground so it wouldn’t impale him.

He somersaulted and then felt someone’s hands on him, pulling him up. It was Reela, and she let go immediately to push her hand forward at the fallen Dajrik. She ran toward the giant, getting close to give him even worse pain with her psyche. He howled and started to get to his feet as Cleve sprinted there, grabbing his sword along the way.

“I can’t hold him down!” Reela screamed. The Dajrik was already back on his knees, pushing himself up with his forearms.

“Move back!” Cleve yelled. She was too close, and Krepps were everywhere. She started to step away as she kept her palm forward, but the Dajrik managed to swat her like a fly before she could get too far. His one hand was bigger than she was, causing her to tumble violently toward a group of Krepps and warriors fighting.

She rolled into Zoke from behind, and he fell backward on top of her. But Cleve was nearly there by then. He fought away the Krepps rushing toward Zoke and Reela. They spat at Cleve as they defended themselves.

Soon Zoke was fighting beside him and spitting back at their enemies. More Krepps came, but they fell as quickly as they arrived, taken by psyche, sword, or both.

In the brief reprieve that followed, Cleve saw Reela limping.

“I’m fine,” she said before he could ask.

He knew it was a lie, but whatever her injuries, they didn’t seem completely debilitating.

“Where are our archers?” Zoke asked them.

“There, around the Dajriks.” Reela pointed. The enemy Dajrik had gotten back up, his shoulder and neck blackened from the massive fireball that must’ve struck him. With his shield and sword on the ground, he would’ve looked just like the ally Dajrik if not for his wound. They were still wrestling, Krepps still trying to cut the ankles of the ally Dajrik.

All around them were Human archers too busy shooting the constantly charging Krepps to focus on the Dajrik. Zeti was there, easy to find. Zoke rushed over to her.

“Cover me, Reela, just for a moment,” Cleve said.

He took the bow off his back as he watched Reela stop two Krepps from reaching them with psyche. She called for warriors. When Cleve confirmed they were coming to help, he turned and aimed an arrow at the enemy Dajrik. Behind him, he could hear Reela and the two warriors fighting hard. He refrained from turning to help as he watched the Dajrik and waited for his opportunity.

There—the Dajriks had hold of each other’s arms, their weight shifting back and forth.

Cleve’s hands were steady as he drew the string of his longbow. His eyes didn’t see the rest of the battle, only his target—the soft flesh of the giant’s neck. Ready to let the arrow soar, he held his breath. No noise could interrupt his focus. He needed to put everything into this one shot, pulling back as hard as he could manage.

He let go and started fastening the bow to his back, already knowing it was going to hit. The arrow drove deep into the Dajrik’s neck before Cleve had his Bastial steel sword in his hand again. The giant gasped violently, both massive hands coming to his throat as he stumbled sideways and started to fall.

He slammed against the ground, crushing many of the Krepps nearby that had been slowly cutting away at the ankles of the ally Dajrik. Now without distraction, the Dajrik easily kicked the Krepps away, bent to grab the other Dajrik’s sword, and then slammed it down into the enemy giant’s chest.

“Cleve!” Reela yelled.

“The Dajrik’s dead,” he said as he stepped between Reela and the Krepps, joining the other warriors.

“Which Dajrik?” she asked, now in a panic.

“Their Dajrik,” he said. “One of them, at least.”

Chapter 39:

STEFFEN

Tenred finally had joined the battle. Their mages and archers were casting fireballs and shooting arrows into clusters of Steffen’s allies behind him. It was the only place Krepps hadn’t reached yet, where Kyrro’s mages and archers—including some of their chemists—had gathered.

Off to the north, Steffen had seen one enemy Dajrik being killed. But the other was near him…and so was Doe, who continued to surprise Steffen with massive fireballs. The Krepp leader had been casting from a distance, too far for anyone to reach with their own spells. Even the archers couldn’t hit him.

“Incoming!” someone yelled. Those who had a breath to spare looked up. Steffen saw that Doe’s fireball was going to land behind him like the others. He moved forward and then turned, unable to look away at the mages about to be struck.

Two women with green robes snapped their wands upward. A thick Sartious shell was created, bending around them and reaching all the way to the ground. Some nearby had jumped out of the way, but others didn’t move quickly enough. They would’ve been struck if the shell created by the two mages hadn’t absorbed the fireball. Its red color exploded into the shell, darkening the green energy while prickles of yellow flooded over it. Much of the heat escaped off the edges, and Steffen felt his hair being blown back from the force.

They needed to kill Doe quickly. There was too much to worry about, even without his constant fireballs. But what Steffen saw next made Doe slip out of his mind.

The Dajrik was coming, crushing its own Krepps and Humans to move toward the heart of battle. Steffen watched, horrified, as enemies shouted at each other to clear space for the huge creature. He came quickly, even with his legs moving so slowly. The massive black shield protected him from arrows and fireballs that those behind Steffen were casting.

Everywhere near the giant, battle seemed to halt so that allies and enemies alike could move out of his way. Eventually a path was cleared completely, and the Dajrik was barreling straight toward Steffen.

The archers and mages behind him were shouting at each other to kill the Dajrik. But they couldn’t get past his shield.

Steffen knew Rek and Vithos had to be somewhere nearby. They must’ve seen the Dajrik coming. But where were they?

Yet, Steffen couldn’t take his eyes off the giant, who was ignoring the thousand warriors standing between him and Steffen. And why not ignore them? They had to move as the Dajrik neared them. There was nothing they could do but swipe at his ankles with their swords.

The Dajrik veered his path, kicking a dozen warriors too slow to get out of his way. Then Steffen noticed the giant's true target—Terren, clad in bright steel, was killing a Krepp for every breath Steffen took.

Terren looked up, then started sprinting toward the Dajrik with his sword ready! What he hoped to accomplish, Steffen had no idea. Though, Steffen was running there himself, still unsure what potion he could use.

An Elf came out of the cluster of Krepps and Humans. He had a scar on his cheek—Rek, now running a few steps behind Terren. He held his palm up, and the Dajrik howled and fell to one knee. Terren already had his sword cocked and struck it deep into the giant’s leg.

But then Rek was swarmed by too many Krepps to count. Steffen ran to him with his sword drawn. He could hear the Dajrik getting up but couldn’t look just yet. There was a Krepp in front of him that had fallen from Rek’s psyche. Steffen cut off his head and then glanced over his shoulder.

Terren was unsuccessfully trying to yank his sword out of the Dajrik’s leg as the giant twisted and bent down, reaching beneath himself in an attempt to grab Terren.

“Rek!” Steffen yelled. “We need to help him.”