Fifthwind (54 page)

Then
the Murg stopped. The wall of mottled gray beasts ground to a halt
and stood as an impenetrable barrier around the last surviving men.
The sounds of battle subsided to only the low growls of their
captors. The men kept their weapons ready, prepared to face the final
push of the enemy. The Murg's numbers had taken a brutal flogging,
and only about two hundred of the original five remained. Still, too
many for the fifty exhausted men left standing.

Ben
and the others waited, as the Murg flashed their teeth and flexed
their claws in preparation and anticipation of the coming slaughter.
The sickening tumult of their combined growls sent fear through the
minds of the men. Yet, the Murg did not advance and seemed to enjoy
the terror they were inflicting on their prey.

There
was movement in the back ranks of the gathered beasts, and above the
heads and shoulders of the foremost Murg, three massive specimens
moved forward, rippling with muscle and flashing sharp teeth. These
three Murg were giants of nearly twice a man's height. They pulled at
heavy chains attached to collars around their necks and shoved their
way through the crowd of lesser creatures.

As
the three monstrous beasts came into the circle, Ben followed the
chains back to the hand that restrained them. There, Ben saw what he
had feared most. Fahd Phaetalis stopped his pets short of the huddled
group of men and looked upon them through the eyes of a familiar holy
man they once trusted.

Gordo
gripped his blade tight and took a step forward. He sneered,
"Babbitt..."

Ben
put his arm out across the soldiers chest, blocking his way. "That's
not William Babbitt. He's much too strong for you."

Fahd
Phaetalis stepped up in front of his chained escorts and addressed
Ben, "Did you really think you could face me as an equal? I didn't
survive nine-hundred years in the Witherscape only to come here and
fall to a boy!"

Ben
saw Phaetalis toying with a small rose pendant hanging around his
neck. The pendant had been removed from Arlemon, something Fahd
Cobalius would never have allowed while he still lived. Though Ben
had sadly known it all along, this confirmed his mentor's fate. Anger
welled up inside of him, his eyes fierce and his temples throbbing
with fury.

"I
see that you recognize this," Phaetalis grinned, pulling at the
pendant and breaking the chain from his neck. "It's quite pretty,
and it was thoughtful of him to leave it for me. But do me a favor,
when it's your turn to die, leave me something nice. Something I can
use." He threw the pendant down and crushed it into the snow with
his boot.

Ben
balled his fists in rage and took another step forward.

"He
was quite unable to stop me from taking it. He was far too busy
begging for his life. It's so unbecoming to see a Fahd on his knees,
such a disgrace."

"Murderer!"

Phaetalis
rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "At least the lurkers
are feeding well this morning."

"You've
dishonored the Covenant!" Ben admonished. "You'll never hold the
title of Fahd again. Our laws are clear... you will die for your
crimes."

"
Our
laws..." Phaetalis threw back his head and laughed, "You are too
pathetic to ever hope to be one of us. The Fahd were once great, but
now have become an embarrassment. There are none left who can face
me. Maybe you should have listened more closely to the teachings of
your dear Cobalius, and you would die today as one of them. Instead,
you choose love and friendship, which doomed both yourself and those
you care for. Maybe now, in the end, you understand the reasons—"

A
low rumble of thunder interrupted Phaetalis and he turned to the
north and smiled. "It seems we've both underestimated her."

Ben's
heart caught in his throat. Kyla was alive, and miles away. She was
escaping to the north. His emotions grew, as he realized that she
would live to remember what happened here. She would make it to the
west and warn King Erlich, there was still hope for the kingdom. The
Core would not prevail.

"She
would be wise to keep moving and free herself from this valley, but
unfortunately Vincent seems to think he can end this swiftly. The
fool knows nothing of what he's doing."

Ben
wrapped his thoughts around Phaetalis' words. If she wasn't
fleeing, then...

"He
thinks he understands the ways of the old magics. He thinks that
daughter of his can accomplish what I could not." Phaetalis turned
a scornful eye at Ben. "We both know the fate of the last one to
try. I think Kyla will make a nice addition to my little garden of
statues."

Ben
rushed forward, but was caught by Mason's grip. "What is he talking
about? What's she going to do?"

"She's
going to cripple the Fifthwind," Ben said, "I've got to help her.
She can't do it alone."

Phaetalis
waved his arm and the Murg parted, offering a path for Ben. "That
arrogant wench can't do it with your help either. Go ahead, go to her
and try your best. She will fail, and you both will die. Did Cobalius
teach you nothing? It's no wonder he didn't see you worthy to carry
the name Morbis. The Fahd Morbis I knew would never allow his
decisions to be skewed by love. Go. Leave your friends here to die,
and rush to the arms of your beloved."

Ben
hesitated.

Gordo
stepped forward defiantly and spat at Phaetalis. "If I understood
the stories that Vincent told us, you betrayed the Fahd over love for
a girl. Are you still bitter you couldn't save her?"

Mason
said, "Go to her, Ben."

Phaetalis
sneered, "Yes, go to her, so I can finish off these nuisances
unchecked. My pets are hungry and your men are starting to annoy me."

Ben
turned to Mason, "I can't leave you here."

"There's
nothing to be gained by staying. Besides, there's still plenty of
fight left in us. Soldiers fall in battle, that's what we do, but the
kingdom must always stand. It ends here."

"That's
right," Gordo said, "We'll hold them as long as we can while Kyla
does her magic."

Ben
offered his hand to Gordo, and turned to Mason, "Captain Haddaway
would be proud of you today. Don't give Phaetalis the pleasure of a
swift victory. Make him pay for the blood spilled here today."

"It's
just Babbitt and a pack of dogs," Mason said, squaring up his
shoulders and staring out over the enemy with resolved determination.
"He'll feel my sting before I fall."

"How
admirable," Phaetalis said indifferently, "Your friends intend to
die bravely."

There
was no time; Ben needed to act quickly and without emotion. Cobalius
had been right, his attachments were clouding his judgment. Ben
looked down the path Phaetalis had offered to the north and then back
at Mason and his men. It was time.

Ben
took a step forward, but the three massive Murg on Phaetalis' chain
closed the gap and sneered at him. It seemed that Phaetalis intended
to have some sport before Ben departed. With a flick of his wrist,
the sinister Fahd released the clasps and the chains fell to the
ground, allowing the three beasts to move forward.

Ben
had expected no less from the traitorous Fahd and turned back to
Mason and shrugged, simultaneously feeling the nearest Murg leap
toward his exposed back. In only the time it took him to close his
eyes, he Shifted three feet to his right and watched the Murg slam
into the ground where he had just been standing. Before it could roll
over, Ben ended its life with a quick plunge into the back of its
neck.

Phaetalis
shot an angry finger at Ben and ordered the others to attack. Ben
closed his eyes and instantly covered the distance and reappeared
with his sword already between the ribs of the nearest beast. He
pulled the blade free and vanished again, reappearing safely on a
nearby rooftop leaving the last remaining giant spinning in a
confused circle, looking frantically for an opponent that was no
longer there. The confusion did not last long. He Shifted again into
battle and fell the beast with a powerful blow across its chest. He
then turned a defiant glare to the arrogant Fahd before him.

"They
can't kill what they can't see," Ben said.

Phaetalis
drew his own weapon. "Impressive, but you're no match for me. As
long as the Fifthwind flows, you'll never be my equal."

Ben
walked to within a few feet of Phaetalis and got down on his knees.
He bowed his head and let the gray of the Witherscape pass over his
eyes. With swift clarity, he made his way north in his mind to the
reclusive canyon where a circle of statues awaited his arrival. He
heard the far away and muffled cackle of Phaetalis' laugh, and
watched as he lifted his blade to attack his now unoccupied body;
a
fate worse than death
.

He
witnessed Mason and Gordo rush forward in a surge of courage. Then,
he watched as Phaetalis' sword buried into the snow where he had once
been. In the blink of an eye, he pulled himself through the
Witherscape and Shifted to the far away canyon. A feat that Phaetalis
did not think him capable of.

Though
he was now miles away, and disconnected from the streets of Kishell
Springs, he could almost hear the battle cry of Mason. The distant
echo of a brave soldier.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Ben
opened his eyes and immediately got to his feet. The wind was
funneling through the ravine, and the snow was falling hard. The
remote clearing was covered with a thick blanket of white. Several
yards before him stood a semicircle of Murg statues around the
kneeling stone figure of a young woman. Though now, he knew that she
was not a statue carved from ancient stone, that she was not the work
of an artisan's chisel. This brave girl had beaten The Core hundreds
of years ago, and whether her act was intentional or a tragic
accident, no longer mattered. She deserved the gratitude of a
kingdom.

A
sharp blast erupted, heralding the arrival of Vincent and Kyla. He
turned quickly to see the old scholar running with his daughter into
the clearing with more than a few Murg in pursuit. As they broke
through the perimeter of oddly shaped stones, the Murg stopped,
unable or unwilling to follow. They growled and paced just beyond the
stones, but would not enter the area. Soon, Vincent was standing
before Ben. He carried a heavy, leather-bound tome and wore his usual
tattered moss-green cloak.

"Thank
the gods, you're here!" Vincent wheezed through tired lungs. He was
hunched over and clutching at his chest. "There's not much time, we
have to do this before Fahd Phaetalis arrives."

Ben
nodded, but showed no sign of urgency. "He's convinced Kyla will
fail. I doubt he'll come."

Vincent
grinned. "Good, let him think that. I've trained Kyla for the
eventuality of this day. She will succeed."

Ben
pointed a rigid finger at the stone girl kneeling in perpetual
torment and sarcastically barked, "That is what happened to the
last person to succeed. I'd hate to see what happens when someone
fails."

Vincent
gathered himself up straighter and shrugged off Ben's doubts as if
they were completely unfounded. "You don't understand, Ben. That
poor girl was blinded by her love for Phaetalis. She did not know he
was greedy, disillusioned and seeking power for himself. She was very
powerful, and well prepared, perhaps the only person ever capable of
completing such a task. She easily succeeded in opening that rift and
letting the full power of the Fifthwind flow through her. It should
have been a simple matter at that point to seal the source."

Kyla
finished, "But Phaetalis had other plans and never intended to let
her seal the rift. He wanted that power for himself."

Vincent
pointed at the young woman of stone. "She needed him. Only he could
be her eyes, and he wasn't there for her. That is why she failed."

"But,
you will not desert me," Kyla said, reaching for Ben's hand. "It
will be different for us."

Ben
objected, "You think you can succeed where she didn't? You think
that you and I can do what Phaetalis and that girl could not? Even
Phaetalis himself has no doubt of our incompetence. He is not
worried."

Vincent
chuckled lightly and said, "He should be. She failed because the
other Fahd killed Phaetalis at a crucial moment in the weaving. That
will not happen this time. You see, she was trying to open the rift
to feed upon the Fifthwind's power. We are not interested in that."

Kyla
said, "Once I harness enough energy, I will do the opposite and
turn that power inward and close the gate, ridding this world of the
power they seek. Even the Murg cannot survive without the Fifthwind,
they will weaken and die."

Ben
understood the benefits as well as the consequences of such an
action. Once accomplished, there would be no undoing the deed. The
loss of the Fifthwind would not discriminate in whom and what it
affected. The wonders he had seen in the last few months would be
lost forever. Including Arlemon, a sacred place that was now dear to
his heart. Softly, he muttered, "The Fahd will also lose their
power."

Vincent
nodded earnestly. "Which will free you from your obligations to
them. They will have no reason to rip you away from the ones you
love. You will be able to pursue your own destiny... with Kyla at
your side."

Kyla
got up on her toes and kissed Ben on the cheek. "Don't worry, with
your help, I know I can do this. My whole life has led up to this
point; Father has prepared me well. I've gone over the weaving a
thousand times and understand it perfectly."

Ben
looked in her eyes and there he saw a much more determined young
woman than he had seen before. "You've intended to do this from the
beginning, haven't you? There was never any hope of preserving the
Fifthwind."