The Outskirts: The Rogue Knight (Jace x OC) BOOK 2

The Rogue Knight: 26

Fluid strides propelled me forward at a thrilling speed. The physical rapture of running as a tiger helped me suppress my fears about the upcoming battle. Though worries tickled the back of my mind, they failed to rival the exhilaration of sprinting with this pack of knights and animals.
The knights' mounts must have been changed as much as their masters, because despite the hundreds of pounds on their backs, they had no trouble keeping pace with the other tireless beasts. Hooves thundering around me, a bear charging on one side, a bull on the other, I felt close to invincible. What could possibly stand against them?
I smelled the horde before I saw them. Something about the scent was . . . unnatural. My instincts recoiled. The horde smelled . . . What? Infected? Rancid? Those words came close. They smelled like nothing I wanted to touch or bite. They smelled like something a healthy animal should avoid.
A little village came into view at the base of a hill. People fled small buildings with stone walls and thatched roofs as the vanguard of the horde fell upon them, hurling frightened villagers to the ground and holding them down as figments
claimed them.
"Morgassa is beyond the hill," Callista called. "Her horde has spread out to swarm several hamlets at once. This will be as good a chance as any to strike."
"Onward," the Rogue Knight urged, drawing Verity. "Don't slow to fight. Success depends on keeping our speed."
I ran harder than ever, paws pulling at the ground, muscles bunching and releasing to heave me forward. No people ran from the village anymore. They had all been overtaken.
I braced myself as the first members of the horde drew closer. I compared the revulsion to how I might feel if forced to plunge through deep sewage. But this was worse. At least sewage was natural. My senses warned that this horde was a crime against nature.
The Rogue Knight took the lead. His knights fanned out diagonally behind him, forming an arrowhead that protected Honor and the animals.
Figments glided their way to intercept them, their languid movements deceptively speedy. Human in form, the figments lacked detail. Their faces were blank, and each of their average-size bodies could have been male or female.
Ahead of the figments charged dozens of changed
People, their clothes soiled and tattered. Old and young, tall and short, fat and thin, they scrambled forward with deranged intensity, blundering into one another, gibbering and growling with mindless fervor. They moved quickly, gracelessly, as if driven by panic.
The knights did not slow as they reached the horde. Their horses trampled the changed individuals coming their way. Some of the most nimble changelings jumped at the knights, as if hoping to tackle them from their sadiles, bur the knights beat them back with shields and weapons.
As figments closed in, the Rogue Knight swung Verity in broad sweeps. In whatever direction he waved his sword, the figments disintegrated.
I found myself running over fallen changelings. I tried not to harm them. They might be foul and deranged, but they were also innocent people under Morgassa's control. The knights were of a similar mind, focusing on knocking people aside instead of inflicting fatal wounds. I noticed them using the flat sides of their swords and axes to bash rather than slash.
The knights didn't slow as they made it past the outliers and reached the solid ranks of changelings. They mowed through the crowd, sending bodies flying and trampling them into the dirt. I could not avoid the fallen changelings carpeting the ground. I focused on keeping my speed up as bodies groaned beneath my paws.
The Rogue Knight kept swinging Verity vigorously, and figments continued to evaporate. After some time, the figments seemed to realize they had no chance against a sword that could erase seemings, and they held back.
But the changelings kept coming.
I felt bad for the people underfoot. They didn't mean to attack. They had lost control of themselves. But I also knew that given a chance, the changelings would tear us apart. No matter how many fell, the rest pressed toward them, undaunted. Wild eyes rolled back, and saliva drooled from twisted lips. At least they didn't seem to feel any pain.
I raged onward, reminding myself that if me and the others failed to stop Morgassa, the changelings would be stuck as her servants forever, and the rest of Elloweer would soon join them. If some changelings got hurt along the way, that was part of the price.
After passing the little village, the Rogue Knight galloped up the shoulder of the hill. The horde had mostly gone around the hill rather than over it, so I suddenly was running over a grassy slope instead of injured bodies.
"Morgassa senses us," Callista called. "She's coming our way."
Avoiding the summit of the hill, the Rogue Knight led them up and over the side of it. As they came around to the far side, Morgassa glided into view.
She wore conservative clothes that I recognized from his world a white blouse, a long gray skirt, dark stockings, and flat black shoes. Her hair was up in a messy bun. She looked like a schoolteacher on a parent conference day. I've had teachers who dressed like her. Except that Morgassa was at least eight feet tall. And she hovered a few inches above the ground.
As they ran down the far slope of the hill toward Morgassa, she drifted in their direction. Raising a hand, she called out to them. Eerily, all the changelings and figments in all directions cried the same words in unison.
"Strangers!" Morgassa and her horde called, come voices shouting as one. "Halt and explain why you destroy my children!"
"These are not your children," the Rogue Knight accused hastening his charge. "You have hijacked innocents."
"Stop and speak or face my full wrath" Morgassa and her horde demanded.
"Honor?" the Rogue Knight asked, still galloping
"What is there to say?" Honor asked from the back of her horse.
"You are misbehaving!" Morgassa shrieked, the horde screaming her words. "Explain yourselves or perish!"
"It might benefit us to better understand her," Callista suggested.
The Rogue Knight raised an arm and slowed to a canter, then a trot, then a walk. He came to a stop twenty yards up the slope from Morgassa.
I didn't like slowing down. I could sense her foul power and wanted to hit her at full speed. Coming to a standstill made me antsy. I shifted, so I could see her between two of the horsemen. Despite her impressive height, she appeared relatively defenseless. Her face was stern and still. I could easily picture her in a classroom back home.
"What have you to say?" Honor called.
"Does the master make explanations to the servant?" Morgassa and her horde chanted. "We are the agents of order. Why must you bring chaos among us?"
"You are taking control of people," Honor called. "Free them!"
"The mother and her children are one!" Morgassa and her horde shrieked. "Why must you defy us? Surrender to the peace of my will."
"Her puppets move to surround us," the Rogue Knight warned.
"If you want to talk, stop moving your minions," Honor called. "Free them or face the consequences."
Fingers hooking like talons, Morgassa grimaced. Then she and her horde shouted, "You do not give ultimatums to me!"
"Enough!" Honor shouted back, her voice small compared to the fanatical choir. "Prepare to defend yourself."
"I like you," the Rogue Knight muttered over his shoulder to Honor as he spurred his horse forward. His knights followed his lead, and I charged behind them, flanked by the other animals.
"Unacceptable!" Morgassa and her minions shrieked.
Extending both hands, Morgassa sent at least a hundred newly formed blank figments flowing their way. The Rogue Knight swung Verity and erased them. Morgassa made more, and he unmade them again.
The Rogue Knight closed on Morgassa, riding straight at her. He raised Verity and leaned sideways to issue a killing stroke.
In a blink, Morgassa disappeared inside a full suit of white armor, embellished with gold accents on the breastplate, greaves, arm guards, and helm. She held a sword nearly as tall as a man, and a shield the size of a tabletop. Standing on the ground, she now stood taller than the Rogue Knight on his horse.
Verity clanged against the shield, then Morgasa leaner into the charge, shoving the Rogue Knight's horse over with her shield. The horse flopped and rolled, tearing up huge chunks of earth. The Rogue Knight went flying, landing in
an awkward somersault.
Swerving expertly, the other knights converged on Morgassa. She blocked a chain mace with her sword, twisted to avoid a lance, and cleaved a knight from shoulder to hip with a vicious slash that unhorsed him and left him writhing.
Not all the knights had room to bring their horses to bear on her. Some leaped to the ground. Others wheeled around for another pass.
A couple of lengths behind the other knights, Minimus charged right at Morgassa. He sprang from the back of his horse and met her sword with his when she swung. The impact changed his trajectory, and he sailed past her, tumbling down the hillside.
Suddenly, I found nothing between myself and Morgassa. I raced toward her, claws tearing at the grassy earth. Morgassa faced me, sword raised, shield ready, towering in her splendid armor. I knew the sword was dangerous. I knew her armor would be difficult to penetrate. But I could also sense her fear.
Because her sword was held high, I went at her low, lunging at her legs. My claws raked across the surface of her armor, grinding shallow gouges into the smooth metal. I tried to catch her ankle in my teeth, but she danced away, and the sword swished down, opening a wound along my shoulder and down my side.
Morgassa prepared another blow, but Callista, in the form of an African buffalo, plowed into her, horns lowered.
The white knight spun and fell to one knee as the buffalo rumbled by. Then Dalton, in the shape of a bull, smashed into her with his wide horns. Stunned, Morgassa fell to her hands and knees.
Mira, in the form of a ram, rose up high and then bashed Morgassa with a mighty blow from her curled horns.
Dropping her sword, the white knight jounced away from the impact. Skye, in the form of a bear, and Jace, in the form of a huge wolf, charged in.
I heard tooth and claw grate against steel. Then Morgassa heaved the wolf aside and lunged for her sword.
Turning, she lopped off one of the bear's paws and stabbed her sword at the animal's chest.
Leaping between bear and knight, Honor knocked the thrust aside and pressed toward Morgassa. As the white knight defended herself from Honor's attack, the bull approached from behind and lost a horn when Morgassa dodged the charge and chopped downward.
My shoulder and side were on fire. I could feel a large flap of skin hanging loose. The white knight was facing away from me. Enraged, I ran for Morgassa, even though my injured foreleg had lost some of its strength. I sprang at her while she fought off Honor, but I got smashed out of the air by her shield.
I felt dazed after I landed. Did Morgassa have eyes in the back of her helmet? She had defended herself perfectly even though I should have blindsided her. The bone-jarring blow had worsened the injury. The transformation might have come from a mask, but I hadn't damaged a costume. That was my blood spilling to the ground.
From all directions, figments and changelings pressed toward them. Minimus and the other knights turned to ward off the horde. The Rogue Knight frantically swung Verity to disperse the onrushing figments. The battleground where Morgassa fought the animals became an island in an ocean of enemies.
Next to Morgassa, Honor looked almost as small as Minimus. Honor fought with grace and precision, blocking all attacks and keeping Morgassa on defense much of the time.
In the form of an eagle, Twitch swooped down at Morgassa, barely dodging her blade when she whipped it at him. He lost some feathers but appeared to have taken no serious damage.
"Surrender," Honor urged as she fought. "Stop sending your people against the knights. You're killing them!"
"Submit," Morgassa and her horde replied. "You slay your own, for you will soon join us, as all must join us.
I watched as the wolf and the ram attacked Morgassa together from behind.
"Watch out," I yelled, worried for Jace and Mira.
As I feared, Morgassa whirled right before they arrived. she slashed the wolf across the chest, and it fell with a whine. Deflecting the ram's horns with her shield, she turned the attack toward Honor and danced away.
Morgassa had a few dents and scratches in her white armor, but as I watched, the blemishes disappeared, and the knight grew a little taller. "Join me or perish!" Morgassa and her horde cried, their voices frenzied. "No more warnings!" The chanting hurt my ears. After testing my claws against Morgassa's armor, I knew how tough it was. How were they supposed to defeat her if she could repair it at will?
The knights slowly gave ground, collapsing inward. They had all dismounted, and their horses fought at their sides, wildly stamping and kicking. Despite their tireless effort and great skill, the enemy force was too great. Weapons bashing, stabbing, and chopping, the knights fell back, shrinking the clearing and leaving behind drifts of bodies. Dalton charged around the inner edge of the clear area, using his remaining horn to punish the changelings who slipped past the knights.
The knights no longer fought to wound. They were battling for their lives. I noticed that the fallen changelings stopped smelling infected. At least death had freed them from Morgassa's control.
Morgassa closed on Honor, who was now using all her abilities to resist the enormous white knight. The Rogue Knight turned from the attacking horde and raced to Morgassa. Callista and Mira moved to take his place, brutalizing the changelings with horns and hooves.
I tried to rise, but pain seared down my leg and across my side, forcing me to fall flat. Not only had my wound torn open wider, but I could feel broken bones grinding inside.
For a moment, the Rogue Knight and Honor attacked Morgassa together. The white knight held off one of them with her shield and the other with her sword. Then she kicked Honor to the ground with one long leg, and turned her full attention to the Rogue Knight. Each swing he deflected looked capable of knocking him off his feet, but it was a sharp blow from her large shield that finally succeeded.
Jace was down. How badly was he hurt? My heart raced. The wolf was still breathing, which was a good sign.
Skye scrambled to her feet, hiding her damaged paw, and lumbered toward the white knight, looking more like a cub by comparison.
Morgassa struck her down with a fierce slash, then turned to finish Honor.
I had to do something! Honor was going to die! My other friends and the knights were distracted by the mass of attacking changelings.
Growling softly, I wrenched myself to my feet and charged, fireworks of pain exploding in my injured side. I lacked the power to jump, but I went for Morgassa's legs.
The sword hissed down, biting into my back, then I felt her metal boot crush my side. My vision edged in darkness, I stared in horror as Morgassa stepped away from me and raised her sword to finish Honor.
"Stop, fiend!" Callista shouted, her voice amplified. The buffalo was gone. The Grand Shaper now stood in her true form, arms raised.
Extending a hand, Morgassa conjured fifty blank figments and sent them to attack Callista. The Grand Shaper waved her arms in reply, and a pair of grim giants appeared, head and shoulders taller than the white knight, each gripping a long iron bar. Charging the figments, the trolls bashed the group into nothing with confident swipes. At first this surprised me, because figments were intangible, but then I decided that the giants must be figments as well.
I raised my head a little, and a surge of pain and nausea hit me so hard that I nearly blacked out. My insides felt full of broken glass that jabbed and sliced as I breathed.
Not only was I out of the fight, I doubted whether I would live much longer. Helpless, hurting, I continued to watch with desperate interest.
Morgassa waved an arm, and two dozen shimmering spears sizzled through the air to impale the giant figments Callista had conjured. An invisible wave of power accompanied the spears. I felt it wash over me, never physically touching me, but present nonetheless.
Skye tore off her mask. No longer a bear, she stood, apparently uninjured. Though as a bear she had lost a paw, she now had both hands and both feet. Skye held out her hands toward Morgassa.
A wooden crate appeared around the white knight's helmet, resting on her armored shoulders. Morgassa tried to grab it with her free hand, but her metal glove passed right through it. Skye had blindfolded her with an illusion!
The Rogue Knight charged in. His sword clanged against the side of Morgassa's waist, making her stumble and leaving a dent. His return stroke smote the side of her knee, and Morgassa went down.
I sensed a surge of power from Morgassa as blank figments appeared all around her. Two of them ripped the illusionary crate from her helmet. The Rogue Knight dispelled the figments with Verity while the white knight rolled nimbly to her feet.
Another wave of power proceeded from Morgassa, and a crowd of figments materialized near Skye. One of them lunged into her, merging with her even as the Rogue Knight swung Verity to erase the others.
Her expression feral, Skye hunched and scowled, then dashed toward Callista. The Grand Shaper had created two new giant figments to protect her, but Skye ran through them as if they were made of smoke. Mira came to the rescue, shoving Skye to the ground with her curled horns, then sitting on her to pin her down. Though Skye thrashed and growled, she couldn't squirm out from beneath the large ram.
Back on her feet, Honor joined the Rogue Knight in another attack against Morgassa. As the white knight fought them off, I could feel power radiating from her as the gashes in her armor smoothed away. She inched a bit taller, and the blade of her sword extended an extra foot.
Morgassa landed a kick that sent the Rogue Knight soaring. He bounced and rolled down the slope, toward the edge of the clearing where his knights labored to hold back the changelings. Spurred on by his proximity, a few changelings lunged through to attack him.
Once again, Honor was entirely on the defensive. After a particularly harsh series of blows, Morgassa struck with hield. Honor hacked at the bulky metal rectangle, and her blade shattered. Morgassa followed up with her sword. The powerful swipe sent Honor to the ground with a ragged tear across her breastplate.
I sensed shaping energy gathering off to one side.
Turning my head slightly, I saw Callista transform into a huge knight in a full suit of black armor, armed with sword and shield. She grew to almost Morgassa's size and then charged.
I yearned to help. The clearing continued to shrink as the knights and their mounts grudgingly retreated. Another knight was down, as were a few of the horses. Armor battered and scarred, the Rogue Knight was tangled up helping the knights hold the horde at bay, aided by the animals who could still function.
Mira continued to pin down Skye. Honor remained on the ground.
The Rogue Knight and Honor were outmatched against Morgassa. If the white knight defeated Callista, they were going to lose. I tried to rise, and pain howled through me, crippling the attempt. Dizziness and darkness almost overtook me.
As I held still, my vision cleared, and I beheld the white knight and the black knight locked in combat. Sparks flew as blades chopped against shields and armor. They lunged and shoved and kicked, armor scraping and clanging.
Callista slashed Morgassa's sword from her grasp, then followed up with an overhand swipe. Morgassa caught the blade in her gauntleted hand, then jerked it from grasp, reversed it, and stabbed it through Callista's armor and into her belly. For a moment, they stood together. Morgassa's hand squeezed Callista's shoulder, fingers denting the armor.
Then Callista stumbled back and dropped to her knees an instant before a blow from Morgassa's shield leveled her.
Her own sword protruding from her breastplate, Callista lay on her side and did not stir.
Morgassa retrieved her sword and strode toward Honor, who staggered back to her feet, sidestepping unsteadily. With another burst of power, the dents and scrapes Morgassa had received from Callista disappeared.
I thought about how Skye had been healed from her injuries when she removed her mask. I wondered if it could be the same for me. My injuries felt too deep to be healed. I was the tiger. Its body was mine. But what if that wasn't true? What if my body was somehow separate? What if removing the mask would let me rejoin the fight?
Raising my paw was agony. My shattered insides sawed against my nerves. My vision swam.
If I removed the mask, I would become vulnerable to the blank figments. How long before I became a deranged hangeling like Skye? I had no desire to experience that.
But all my instincts agreed that I was about to die from my infuries. And Morgassa was about to strike down Honor, who swayed as if the ground were heaving beneath her.
Electric pain sizzled through my body as I dipped my head to my paw. Gripping tightly, I ripped off the mask.
The pain was gone. My mind was clear. I could still sense the power emanating from Morgassa.
"Take your mask off!" I yelled at Jace, whose wolfish form lay still.
Cole came running up the hill towards me, holding his sword that was blazing with brilliant flames.
When he reached me, he said. "Give me your sword."
I did as he said, and he touched it with his finger tips. It suddenly was blazing with silver flames.
I turned my attention back to the fight.
Morgassa swung at Honor, who blocked the blow with her sword but fell to the ground and lost hold of her weapon.
As Morgassa prepared her finishing strike, I pointed my sword at her and shouted, "Away!"
I soared through the air, up toward the white helmet. It drew near before I had time to think, and my sword gonged against it. Kicking off her armored shoulder, I called the command again and landed some distance away.
Morgassa wheeled to face me, extending her sword in my direction. "How dare you!" she and her horde snarled together.
Blank figments streamed toward me. Before I could try to jump out of the way, they disappeared. The Rogue Knight was charging Morgassa, and he had just swung Verity.
I watched as Jace ran over to Cole, his rope in hand. He looked tired, but unhurt.
Cole touched his rope, and it blazed with brilliant flames. The fight would go a lot quicker now that we had our renderings.
I watched as the Rogue Knight met Morgassa fiercely, but she was faster and fresher. After their blades had connected several times, Morgassa dropped to one knee and slashed off both of his legs at the shins. The Rogue Knight fell heavily.
Honor had recovered her sword. Hobbling like a punch drunk prizefighter, she stumbled into a brutal blow from Morgassa and collapsed beside the Rogue Knight.
Jace's golden rope snaked forward, caught Morgassa by the boot, jerked her high into the air, then slammed her down with a sound like a tank falling off a skyscraper. Again Morgassa went into the air, and again she crashed down. By the third impact, her armor looked crushed.
Golden rope flexing, Jace heaved Morgassa upward again, but her armor suddenly disappeared. Once more she looked like a floating schoolteacher, though her face was scraped and bleeding. The rope no longer held her.
"What devilry is this?" Morgassa shrieked along with her horde. "Such shaping has no place here!"
As the golden rope reached for Morgassa, a sword appeared in her hand, and she batted the rope away. With her free hand, Morgassa summoned a large group of blank figments and sent them at Jace.
Jace retracted his golden rope to coil it and spring. To my horror, I saw that Jace wouldn't get away in time.
And then Honor was on her feet, her armor gone, the knight mask discarded. With both hands, she clutched Verity. The sword seemed too large for her, but that didn't stop her from swinging it.
The blank figments evaporated.
Using his rope, Jace jumped, ending up on the far side of Morgassa. Morgassa whirled to confront Honor.
I pointed my Jumping Sword at Morgassa's head and shouted, "Away!"
As I rocketed into the air, Morgassa pivoted to face me, her sword ready. I knew there was no way to change direction, so I tried to get ready to block her swing.
Two duplicates of me appeared, flying through the air toward Morgassa. I noticed that Dalton had set aside his bull mask. The power behind the seemings came from him.
Beyond Morgassa, I saw Jace's rope stretch over to Honor, heaving her into the air and whipping her toward the hovering schoolteacher. As I rushed near, Morgassa swung.
I met her blade with mine , feeling the shock of impact throughout the bones and joints in my arms. I was flung to the side.
Cole jumped at Morgassa at the same time
Honor jammed Verity through the center of her back. Sword protruding, arms raised, Morgassa dropped from the sky.
Cole fell too. Morgassa had been well above the hillside.
With no chance of Cole making another jump, it would be a rough landing for him.
We watched in horror as Cole rushed toward the ground. Twitch, still in his Eagle form, dug his talons into Cole's shoulders, slowing his descent. But Morgassa slapped the eagle away.
Coughing and gurgling, Morgassa's face was locked in a desperate and fearsome grimace. The sword remained in her back. Her blouse was ruined. Her eyes bulged.
Lunging at Cole, Morgassa fell on top of him. Her long fingernails stabbed into his sides. Cole struggled against her, but even without her armor and gigantic size, Morgassa was very strong, and there's no way Cole could push her off.
Someone screamed. It might have been me. I tried to help Cole, but Jace held me back. He grabbed his rope, and then Morgassa was torn away from Cole. The golden rope yanked her into the air and thrust her down one last time.
Morgassa lay limp.