Frostborn: The False King (36 page)

Behind Kurdulkar, the entire red wall of the garden seemed to ripple and fold, columns of shadow rising from the earth.

The columns vanished, and Ridmark suddenly knew why Kurdulkar had been so certain that the dark elves had left urvaalgs behind in the Labyrinth. 

Kurdulkar had bound those urvaalgs to his will.

There were over a hundred of the creatures, maybe even as many as a hundred and fifty. They looked like a grotesque hybrid of ape and wolf, their hunched, gray forms heavy with muscle, ropy black fur hanging from their limbs. Their eyes burned like coals, and their claws were like the blades of serrated daggers. The stench of the urvaalgs filled Ridmark’s nostrils like poison, and he raised his staff in guard, alarm flooding through him. Urvaalgs were fast, vicious, strong, clever, and deadly in combat.

And even worse, they were immune to normal steel. Magic could would then. A soulblade could destroy them. Ridmark’s black staff or dwarven axe could kill them. But most of the manetaurs and the tygrai had no weapons that could hurt the urvaalgs. 

It would be a slaughter.

Kurdulkar threw back his head and roared, and the urvaalgs loosed their screeching, metallic war cries, so loud that the palace of the Red King trembled with it. 

The urvaalgs charged forward, Kurdulkar and the shadow-wielding manetaurs right behind them.

Chapter 21: A Contest Of Princes

“Now!” shouted Calliande. 

Gavin raised Truthseeker, moving to Antenora’s left. As soon as they had entered the Red King’s garden, Antenora began calling upon her power, cupping her hand around a tiny ball of flame that spun faster and faster as she poured more magical force into it. The ball glowed white-hot, and Gavin felt the heat of it beating upon his face. If not for Antenora’s controlling skill, standing near the tiny ball of flame would have felt like standing at the mouth of a raging furnace. 

Ridmark was shouting commands. 

“The urvaalgs, focus on the urvaalgs!” he said. “Caius, Kharlacht, Gavin, Antenora, and Third! We have weapons that can hurt the urvaalgs, and the manetaurs do not. Sir Ector, keep the Red King and the Keeper safe.”

Antenora stepped forward, thrusting her staff, and the ball of fire leaped from her hand and soared towards the charging urvaalgs. The sphere grew as it did, expanding from a few inches across to a few yards.

It slammed into the charging urvaalgs and exploded with a roar and a bloom of flame. A dozen urvaalgs fell, charred to blackened husks, and a dozen more howled in furious pain as the flames danced up and down their limbs. The charge of the urvaalgs faltered, and Gavin seized the opening.

He sprinted forward, his shield of dwarven steel upon his left arm, Truthseeker shining in his right fist. A burning urvaalg thrashed before him, and he brought Truthseeker hammering down. The soulblade ripped through the urvaalg’s corrupted flesh, and the creature fell dead at Gavin’s feet. Another urvaalg charged at him, and he twisted, bringing his shield around. The urvaalg raked at him with its claws, but Gavin caught the attack on his shield. He sidestepped again, the urvaalg’s momentum driving it forward, and he drove Truthseeker into the urvaalg’s neck. The creature let out a furious howl and collapsed, the black slime of its blood soaking into the earth.

By then the others caught up to him. They didn’t have the advantage of Truthseeker to enhance their strength, but that made them no less deadly. Kharlacht’s greatsword swept out in a blur of blue dark elven steel, ripping along an urvaalg’s flank. The creature stumbled, and Caius finished it off with a skull-crushing blow from the dark elven hammer he had taken from Urd Morlemoch. Third appeared in a flare of blue fire, landing atop the back of a charging urvaalg. Before the creature could react, she drove both of her short swords into the back of the urvaalg’s skull. The urvaalg reared up with a shriek, and Third vanished as the creature collapsed. 

Ridmark charged into the fray, the staff of Ardrhythain shining with white symbols. He went on the attack, launching a blurring series of thrusts and swings and jabs. The staff did little against the urvaalgs, but Ridmark’s blows distracted and confused the creatures, which gave Gavin and Caius and Kharlacht the time they needed to land killing blows, or for Third to appear and strike. 

Together they carved a path through the urvaalgs, driving towards Kurdulkar and his warriors. 

Yet it was not enough. Gavin and the others cut down any urvaalgs in their path, yet the creatures swarmed through the garden, killing at will.

###

Calliande unleashed more power, flinging a bolt of white fire. The magic of the Well could not harm living mortals, but the urvaalgs were creatures of dark magic. The white flame ripped into the urvaalg, consuming it in a blaze of light, and the creature collapsed to the ground. Next to her Camorak followed suit, throwing more blasts of white fire. His attacks were not as effective as hers, but they still hindered the urvaalgs. 

The Red King’s court dissolved into chaos, with bands of manetaur warriors struggling against each other, Kurdulkar’s followers calling upon the shadow to make themselves faster and stronger. Packs of urvaalgs dashed at will through melee, maiming and killing. The manetaurs fought against the urvaalgs, but to no avail. Their weapons did nothing against the creatures of dark magic.

Kurdulkar and his khalaths carved their way through the battle, fighting their way to the Red King, while Turcontar roared commands, gathering a knot of warriors around him. If Kurdulkar reached the Red King, the battle was over. 

“Sir Ector!” said Calliande. “We have to defend the Red King.”

“Aye, my lady,” said the grizzled knight. “But…”

She saw the problem. A dozen urvaalgs prowled towards them, preparing to surround the men-at-arms. Calliande called her power and blasted one of the urvaalgs to ashes, but the creatures continued their approach. Just one of the urvaalgs would have been enough to kill every single one of the men-at-arms.

“Antenora,” said Calliande. “Lend me your power, quickly.”

The ancient sorceress put her hand on Calliande’s shoulder, and Calliande felt the fierce surge of Antenora’s elemental magic. Calliande started casting a spell at once, drawing upon Antenora’s power and feeding it through the mantle of the Keeper, weaving it together with a warding spell of the Well.

The urvaalgs moved closer, preparing to spring.

“Keeper!” said Ector.

Calliande slammed the end of her staff against the earth and released the spell. White fire blazed up and down the length of the staff, and ribbons of power burst from her hand, coiling around the swords and maces of the men-at-arms. Their weapons burst into orange-yellow flame, the magic of Antenora’s elemental fire fueling the spell.

“Now!” said Calliande. “Strike!” 

The men-at-arms attacked, and their blades bit into the corrupted flesh of the urvaalgs with harsh sizzling noises. Two of the men-at-arms fell dead, their throats torn out by urvaalg claws, but the rest of the urvaalgs went down.

“To the Red King!” said Ector. “Quickly!”

Calliande hurried after the men-at-arms, Antenora and Camorak flanking her. Part of her mind focused on holding the spell of fire in place. Part of her mind tried to survey the battle and formulate a plan, but the fighting was too chaotic. Kurdulkar may have planned to unleash the urvaalgs at the Red King, but once the creatures had tasted blood, they rampaged free of his control, killing at random. Calliande saw manetaur females among the dead. That would cost Kurdulkar much of his support – the manetaurs considering it an appalling crime if a female was slain during a dispute between males.

Of course, if Kurdulkar won, he could simply lay the blame for the dead upon Curzonar and Ridmark and Calliande. 

They hurried towards the Red King’s dais. Turcontar himself stood at the base of the dais, laying about himself with sword and spear as he fought Kurdulkar’s tygrai soldiers. Turcontar might have been old, but he had lost none of his skill, and he fought with the controlled savagery of a veteran manetaur warrior. Two of Kurdulkar’s tygrai came at him, shadows streaming from their claws and spears, and Turcontar met them with a roar of challenge, his spear and sword flashing. In a heartbeat, he left both tygrai dead upon the ground. 

Then the urvaalgs charged at the Red King and his retinue.

A dozen manetaurs died in the first press, urvaalg jaws closing around their throats. Three urvaalgs went at the Red King himself, and Turcontar retreated, sword and spear flashing as he tried to keep them at bay. Calliande unleashed her power as she ran, and sent a shaft of white fire at the urvaalgs. It caught the urvaalg on Turcontar’s right and destroyed it, the magic of the Well scouring the corrupted flesh from the urvaalg’s bones. Camorak followed Calliande’s lead, casting an attack of his own. His spell was not as powerful as hers, but the urvaalg on Turcontar’s left danced away, snarling in rage as white fire danced along its body. 

Before Calliande could gather her power for another strike, the third urvaalg bounded past Turcontar and landed upon First Queen Raszema’s back. The urvaalg’s jaws snapped shut across her neck, accompanied by a crunching, tearing sound of hideous finality.

Raszema jerked once and collapsed in a motionless heap, and Turcontar’s roar of rage rang over the courtyard like a thunderclap.

Ector’s men-at-arms crashed into the urvaalgs, their burning swords rising and falling, and Calliande drew on as much of the power as she could hold, sending blast after blast of white fire at the urvaalgs. A moment later the surviving urvaalgs retreated, rushing to join the other battles raging through the garden. 

Turcontar stood motionless, gazing at the corpse of the First Queen.

“I am sorry,” said Calliande.

“You did all you could,” said Turcontar. It was strange to hear that deep voice speak softly, so softly Calliande could barely hear it over the chaos around them. “You…”

“Red King!” Calliande turned her head as Curzonar and Martellar raced to their side, accompanying Tazemazar and a dozen arbiters. “The magic of the arbiters is proof against the urvaalgs. If we can drive them, we can reach Kurdulkar and…”

He fell silent as he saw his mother’s corpse, his eyes going wide. 

“You were right,” said Turcontar in a dull voice. “You were always right. You told me the truth, and I was too blind to see it. This infection, this cancer has spread through our kindred, and I was too blind to see it!” He shook his head. “Cut me down if you will, my son. I will not oppose you.”

“No,” said Curzonar, baring his fangs. “This is Kurdulkar’s work. Let us make him suffer for it.”

“You are right,” said Turcontar, whirling to face the battle. “Kurdulkar! Come and face me, dog! I curse the day I laid eyes upon your mother, and I will slay you with my own hand. Come and face me!”

There was no answer to his challenge, save the howl of the battle around them.

And then a dome of shadows exploded from the other side of the pond, so dark that it blotted out the sun. Calliande saw the manetaurs and tygrai stiffen and fall when it touched them, the shadow’s power draining away their strength.

It was a vortex of Incariel’s power. Both Tymandain Shadowbearer and Imaria Licinius had displayed similar abilities. The vortex of shadow would paralyze anyone it touched, leaching away their strength and leaving them helpless.

The walls of shadow rushed towards them.

“Keeper!” said Camorak.

Calliande thrust her staff and cast a spell. A dome of white light leapt from her staff, covering the men-at-arms and Turcontar’s surviving companions, and the shadow crashed into her warding spell. Calliande gritted her teeth, trying to hold back the shadow. Her strength was equal to the task, and step by step she forced the dome of shadow back, the light shining brighter from her staff.

But until the dome collapsed, she dared not use her power for any other spells. A second’s hesitation and the shadows would wash over them.

Which meant, for the moment, they were trapped. 

###

A manetaur wrapped in streaming shadows came at Gavin, howling curses in his native tongue. Shadows rippled and danced around the manetaur’s sword, and Gavin ran to the attack, Truthseeker blazing in his fist. He felt the sword’s furious eagerness flow up his arm and fill him with wrath and strength. The soulblade had been forged to fight creatures of dark magic, to oppose the shadow of Incariel, and the blade took a furious pleasure in fulfilling its purpose.

After bearing the soulblade for over a year, Gavin supposed that he did, too.

He caught the manetaur’s first swing upon his shield, the dwarven steel clanging, his shoulder screaming with the strain of holding back the manetaur’s fury. Yet Truthseeker gave him the strength to withstand the blow, and Gavin struck back. The manetaur’s sword snapped up in a parry, and Truthseeker clanged against the blade, the white fire blazing hotter. The shadows sheathing the manetaur’s sword recoiled, and the manetaur stumbled as the shadows mantling him rippled like a banner caught in a gale.

Gavin seized the opening, slamming his shield across the manetaur’s face. The manetaur’s head snapped to the side, and Gavin drove Truthseeker into the opening, plunging the sword into the manetaur’s chest. He wrenched the soulblade free as the manetaur collapsed to the ground, blood pumping from the wound. His shield came back up in guard, his soulblade ready as he braced himself for another foe.

But for a moment, he had carved himself a clear space in the storm of the battle.

An instant of hesitation gripped him. He spotted Calliande and Antenora and Camorak and Sir Ector’s men-at-arms battling near the Red King and his warriors, their burning swords driving back the urvaalgs. Gavin started to go towards them, but they were holding their own. The combination of Antenora’s and Calliande’s magic let the men-at-arms wound and kill the urvaalgs. 

Gavin spotted Ridmark, Kharlacht, Caius, and Third fighting on the other side of the pond, driving through the urvaalgs and towards the knot of manetaurs and tygrai around Kurdulkar himself. He decided to help them. If they could cut down the leader of the shadow-infused manetaurs, perhaps that would turn the tide of the battle.