Rend Hope (30 page)

             
Markus bounced off the ground several times before finally managing to find purchase in the sand with his feet.  After making sure he had his balance he looked up to see Ebrim dashing forward him.  The newly deputized magi noticed that the glow on the older man's arm-glyphs were fluctuating, he was reaching his limit.

             
The aeromancer raised his right hand towards Ebrim, his fingers were positioned parallel to the ground.  Lightning the color of emerald and onyx appeared from Markus' fingertips and shot towards the tall dark-haired Ebrim.  The necromancer was able to take the bolt with his forearms instead of his face, as soon as the lightning made contact with him it exploded in a burst of magic energy, covering him in a cloud of dust and sand.

             
Ebrim emerged from that cloud roaring like a demon from Hell, he certainly looked like one with his arms smoking from taking the brunt of Markus' spell.  He quickly came into melee range with the newly deputized magi and struck out with a kick with his left foot.  The younger man leaned his head to his right as Ebrim's boot passed by his left cheek, barely missing him.  The elder man followed through, sliding to Markus’ left flank and twisting so his back was towards the aeromancer before slamming his right elbow right between his opponent’s eyebrows.

             
Markus staggered back, unbalanced.  Once again Ebrim pressed his advantage, twisting back around so he was facing the younger man properly.  The necromancer raised his right leg and tried to plant a boot into Markus' sternum, but the newly deputized magi recovered too quickly.  Markus leaned to his right and trapped Ebrim's right leg near his left hip with his left arm.

             
Not wasting another second, Markus slammed his right palm into Ebrim's injured sternum.  The elder man quickly fell onto his back and Markus, with Ebrim's right leg still trapped, raised his right hand and prepared to deliver a blow that would surely crush anything it hit.  Seeing this, Ebrim quickly used his free leg to kick Markus in his right pectoral, freeing his leg from the aeromancer's grip and sending him high into the sky.

             
Ebrim hastily got back to his feet while Markus righted himself in mid-air.  The two wielders of sorcery glared daggers at each other.  Ebrim could feel the power in his glyphs was starting to fade and realized he had to end the fight now with one last spell while he was still going strong.  Even though Markus had the upper-hand, Ebrim could see the weariness in his face, the blonde-haired man wanted to end this fight in the next attack just like he did.

             
Both magic users channeled an enormous amount of power into their respective spells.  The very air was vibrant with magic energy.  Although Markus had gotten under his skin, Ebrim was confident that things were going his way now.  It may cost him nearly all of the magic energy he had collected over the years, but it would be worth it if the prize was a city full of people.

             
Ebrim threw both of his hands forward and fired the most powerful magic blast that he could muster.  Likewise, Markus did the same thing.  When Ebrim's crimson magic blast collided with Markus black and green lightning, the resulting clash of sorcery disturbed the area around them greatly.  The sand was ripped from the ground and flowed into the air like water thanks to the powerful winds generated by the clash.  In the center of this great tempest were Markus and Ebrim, each pouring more power into their respective blasts to try and obliterate the other.

             
Beads of sweat began to pop up on Markus' from the struggle, but he ignored them.  Failure was not an option for the aeromancer, if he lost to Ebrim here, the bastard would march right back to the city and massacre everyone, including Marie and Rose.  He wasn't about to let that happen, he wouldn't let Midas City fall like Havenway did.

             
He wouldn't fail again.

             
Markus redoubled his efforts, pouring more power into the lightning.  Ebrim's blast was holding it back, for ten long seconds the two men struggled.  Neither wanting to yield, it was a battle of wills as much as strength, something had to give however.

             
Before Ebrim's shocked and horrified eyes his blast was finally ripped apart by Markus' black lightning.  Realization dawned on him as he looked at his forearms, the glyphs located there were no longer glowing, he had used up all of its power.  Ebrim closed his eyes as reality sunk in.  All his planning, all of those people murdered, all the necromancy he had learned, all for nothing.  He had been defeated by a human, an obsolete being in the chain of evolution, it was almost too hard for him to bear this truth.

             
And then the lightning struck him.

Chapter 27

              Muffled voices were the first thing Rosalind heard as she regained consciousness.  Slowly she opened her eyes to blurry vision, groaning as all the aches and pains she had obtained during her battles with Sahiron and Ebrim made themselves known again.  The voices tone changed and she could make out a blurry figure making its way towards her.

             
"Lady Rosalind? You're awake, thank goodness.  You had us worried there." A friendly voice stated.  Rosalind blinked a few times and her vision cleared enough to get a good look at the person standing in front of her, a deputy.

             
"How long have I been out?" She asked the deputy, who shook his head slightly.

             
"I'm not sure, we just extended our perimeter to this area.  We found Lady Marie in her critical state and rushed her to your clinic, thankfully she was still breathing when I saw her last." The deputy informed her, relief flooded Rosalind as she realized Marie was still alive.  Another question in her head quickly alarmed her though.

             
"Where is that necromancer!?" She demanded, trying to rise to her feet, but a flood of pain caused her to lean back down, resting her back on the wall of a building.

             
"The new guy managed to knock him out of the city, they're currently fighting right outside the southern area." He told her pointing in the direction of where the battle was currently taking place. 

             
She could already sense the powerful magic being thrown around in that direction, but it was another thing to see it with her own eyes.  The worse thing she felt though was that the magic energy was tainted with necromancy from both Ebrim… and Markus?  Wasn’t he dead?  A cold chill ran down her spine as she thought about that. 

             
Since she had first seen Markus when he arrived in Midas City she had always suspected that he was working some form of necromancy.  But she never imagined it would be to this caliber.  In the distance she watched as black and green lightning clashed with the crimson energy of Ebrim's spells, wondering what other mysteries her former friend was keeping from her.

             
Suddenly a huge clash of sorcery lit up the night.  Rosalind and the deputy beside her were forced to shield their eyes from the blinding light of the two colliding magic energies.  When she could see again, she saw a thick black lightning bolt clashing with a thick pillar of ruby-colored magic energy.  It was almost like two gods were clashing, one from the heavens and one from the earth.

             
"Holy shit! Look at that!" A second deputy said, his eyes wide in amazement.

             
"Geez they are really going at it." Another deputy added.

             
"It's a good thing the newbie managed to get him away from here, there wouldn't be much of a city left if that was happening right on top of us." A third deputy said, Rosalind silently agreed.

             
The clash of sorcery was indeed impressive, but Rosalind could sense that one of the combatants' power was failing them.  She wasn't quite sure who it was though.  She prayed it wasn't Markus as that would mean the city's last defender would be defeated.  Unless the sheriffs returned unexpectedly, which the deep blue-eyed woman doubted.  Something big must have happened for them to be away this long.

             
Her thoughts were interrupted when the black lightning suddenly ripped through the crimson energy blast like it was made from tissue paper.  The resulting explosion sent a strong shockwave through the street Rosalind and the deputies were occupying.  Everyone braced themselves against the powerful winds that swept over them.  When the shockwave passed, Rosalind and the deputies noticed the large column of smoke rising to the sky where the two clashing magic energies once were.

             
"Wow..." One deputy said, at a loss for words, another deputy dug himself out of a pile of garbage he had fallen in due to the shockwave.

             
"Is it over?" The deputy covered in garbage asked, grimacing as he tried to wipe some of the filth off his shirt.  Rosalind extended her senses, trying to feel Markus' sorcery, but all she could sense was a powerful necromantic force.  It wasn't the dark-haired man though, so it had to be Markus.

             
A mixture of relief and dread washed over Rosalind, but she kept her face impassive so the deputies wouldn't notice.  While she was glad that Markus was alive, his use of necromancy worried her.  From her experience, nothing good ever came from using the darker part of sorcery.

             
"It's over, for now." Rosalind announced, loud enough so everyone could hear.  The deputies let up a loud cheer when they heard that.  Some were slapping their buddies on the back, telling them they did well.  Others began mourning the loss of their loved ones or brothers-in-arms.  The co-founder of Midas City thought about telling them they probably still had to clear out pockets of undead that no doubt lingered, but she figured they had earned this reprieve.  With the necromancer threat gone, the ghoul threat should be far easier to manage.

**********

              Taking aim with both of his revolvers, Kendal fired multiple blasts at the golem charging at him.  While the quick blasts were not as powerful as his normal ones, he could fire these off faster.  The sheer amount of magic blasts hitting the golem stopped its advance and actually caused it to take a step backwards.

             
The stone construct answered the sheriff's barrage by extending its left arm, in a burst of magic energy, the golem ejected it's left arm up to the elbow at the pseudo-cowboy.  Kendal raised an eyebrow, that was certainly new.  When the fist was less than an arm's length from him he used his magic energy to move at high speed.  He was a blur of blue as he swiftly moved to the golem's left in less than a second.

             
Kendal fired off a blast, hitting the golem on the left side of its head and causing it to stagger a little.  The golem retaliated by diving forward and attempting to smash its right hand on top of the pseudo-cowboy.  Kendal merely blurred to his right, positioning himself so that he was just behind the golem's left leg.  The sheriff slammed both of his revolvers together, the weapons suddenly coming alive and reshaping themselves into a golden sawed-off shotgun.

             
The pseudo-cowboy gripped the shotgun with his right hand and took aim with the firearm, firing at the golem's left knee.  The blast blew apart the stone construct's leg like it was made out of cheap wood, it toppled over on its left side before landing on its back.  Its golden eyes watched as the sheriff landed on its chest and took aim point-blank with his sawed-off shotgun.

             
"It's been fun." Kendal said to the golem with a wink and a grin, and then he pulled the trigger.  The stone construct's head was literally disintegrated from the close proximity blast, the yellow lines of magic energy that went through its body suddenly dimmed and eventually disappeared and the golem went still.  Noticing this, Kendal glanced behind him to the rest of the group.  "Aim for the heads!" He shouted to them.

             
"Already doing that sir!" One of his deputies called back, he was currently trying to help Janine take down her golem with a crossbow.  The stone construct was still trying to free itself from the snake wrapped around it, but it wasn't making much progress.  Kendal looked to the trio of deputies to see how they were faring. 

             
Their golem was swinging wildly at the hatchet wielders, but they were fighting smart, jumping in to throw a few quick hacks in and then dodging out.  The golem's moves were slow and so they could predict its movements mostly.  The deputy with the bow had already put several arrows into its head, but apparently it wasn't enough to stop the stone construct.  So far though they seemed to have managed to get things under control.

             
Kendal quickly analyzed the situation and decided on the best course of action.  His face set in determination as he reached for his coat pocket with his right hand and pulled out a small rectangular box.  With his left hand he deftly opened it and pulled out a small cylindrical paper object, placing it between his lips.  He then put the box back in his pocket and pulled out a small silver square-shaped object.  Janine saw what he was doing and frowned.

             
"Kendal!  Are you smoking again?" She yelled, glaring at her boyfriend.  The sheriff lit the cigarette with his lighter and took a long pull from it, before seating himself on the golem.  He exhaled a long trail of smoke before answering.

             
"It's not smoking, it's taking a break!" He clarified, Janine growled.

             
"Taking a break!? We're in the middle of a battle! Not farming for crops!" She shouted at him, but he just made a casual wave of dismissal with his hand.

             
"You’re doing fine babe, you got that thing immobilized just blast that thing's head off." He informed her, she growled in annoyance.

             
"That stuff is going to rot your lungs!"

             
"That's what Rosalind's for!"

             
"Don't treat Rosalind like your 'Get out of sickness' card!  She's usually busy enough as it is at her clinic!"

             
"Then it's a good thing I'll only need to visit her once every few years for bad lungs right?"

             
"You're impossible!"

             
"That's why you find me irresistable!"

             
Their conversation was interrupted by one of the trio of deputies, the one with a bow.

             
"Sir? A little help finishing this thing would be nice please!" He shouted to his superior.  Kendal groaned and rolled his eyes.

             
"Damn it Damian!" He yelled to the deputy with the bow.  "How hard is it to finish this slow moving piece of shit off?"  The deputy named Damian fired another arrow at the golem's head, but the thing was still attacking his fellow teammates.

             
"Apologies sir, these are the strongest arrows I got, but it doesn't look like I'm making a dent!" Damian reported, Kendal let out a deep sigh.

             
"Fine!" He said, exasperated, tossing his sawed-off shotgun towards Damian, "Catch!"  The deputy named Damian was caught off-guard by the sudden object flying at the right side of his head.  He awkwardly dropped his bow to catch the shotgun.  Janine saw this and her eyes narrowed at her boyfriend.

             
"Kendal!" She shouted, the sheriff took another pull on his cigarette before removing it from his lips with his right hand, holding his arms out wide like he wasn't guilty of a crime.

             
"What? I'm helping!" He replied.

             
"That's not helping!" She countered.

             
"Says who?"

             
"Says me!"

             
"That's my gun, so it counts as me helping!" Kendal clarified, pointing at Damian and his gun for emphasis.  "Hey Damian! Just to warn you that thing has a hell of a kick!  Only infused it with enough power for one shot so make it count!"

             
"Noted sir!" Darrel called out, taking aim with the shotgun with both hands and firing at the golem's head, the kickback from the gun floored the poor deputy, but the golem's head shattered into a million pieces from the blast.  The other two deputies scrambled to get away from the stone construct as it tipped over and collapsed.  Kendal then turned to his girlfriend.

             
"Done playing with that one?" He asked, pointing at the golem still bound by the snake she had summoned.  Janine huffed and tossed a card to her right, the card floated in the air and started to spin rapidly, glowing blood red in color.

             
"Fire through the card deputy, it'll boost your crossbow bolt's power." She informed the deputy near her.  He complied and shot the card, true to her word, the bolt's destructive power was amplified when it went through the card and ended up making a basketball-sized hole in the golem's head.  It tipped over, falling onto its back and the snake binding it quickly vanished in a flash of red light.

             
Janine wasted no time and immediately stomped over to where Kendal was sitting.  Noticing this, Kendal quickly stood up and backpedaled.  The sheriff held his free hand out as if to ward off his girlfriend while he used the other one to take another pull on his cigarette.

             
"Wait! Wait!  This one's almost done!" He protested, but Janine was having none of it.

             
"Smoke break is over mister!" She shouted at him.  The two continued to chase each other around the room.  The four deputies gathered together, one of them turned to his peers and grinned.