Wind whistled furiously across the tree tops in sharp gusts that shook the trees to their very core. We were lined up between the trees. Waiting. I looked around at my men. shaven heads a myriad of scars from years of constant battles. Their eyebrows were thick and bushy making them look like little islands on their otherwise smooth shaven faces. Their eyes were cold and hard. Deadly. sturdy men. The order was to strike quickly and destroy everything and everyone in sight. Despite the cold weather my small band of ten men wore only skin skirts. These were not ordinary skin skirts they were spelled with ancient magic to make them fire proof, these covered our loins and ended their coverage at the knees. Our deep muscular chests glimmered with sweat in the yellow evening sun that sifted its rays through the trees. Sweat not from exhaustion but from the raw power that pulsed in our bodies. A bird cracked a branch overhead and flew screaming to safety to avoid the massacre soon to happen
I drew my attention back to the situation at hand. My Commander had ordered us to come to the small hide out to exterminate the last remaining Icers who had defected from the Kings rule. The task was fairly simple they just were a normal bunch of Icers nothing we couldn't handle. But the commander seemed intent on finding a certain stone in possession of these folk. I thought lightly of the matter since it was not my place to question authority.
"Auuuuuuuuuuuuu au au auuuuuuuuu. "A wolf's howling. The signal. Me and my men charged from the forest. With each step we morphed: first our skin cracking then steam coming from the cracks and finally hot boiling lava filled the cracks making us look like walking volcanoes.
The vegetation around us soldered and burnt away as we charged. Smoky breath escaped our nostrils as we ran the one hundred meter distance to the first stone house. I braced my big muscles and barrelled shoulder first into the stone structure smashing the wall in its entirety to the ground. Normal house utensils were strewn across the house in no unordinary fasion. A plate of roast duck was on the table half eaten and left there. But there was no sing of people anywhere
My men sped past me and did the same with the other houses. Something wasn't right. We saw the icer vermin enter these houses. I looked around at the smoking ruin that was the settlement. Then I saw something white whizz past me and i had the characteristic thud of flesh being pierced. My comrade stood rooted to the spot a giant hole in his chest. Thick blobs of lava dropped from where his lungs should have been and as if in slow motion he fell on his knees and then lay face down. Dead.
Facing the direction of where I saw the object fly from, there stood twenty or more Icers. Mist emanating from their bodies and dissapearing into the atmosphere around them. They were bigger than any I had ever seen before. Towering at seven feet they were a massive bulk of hard cold muscle and even colder bone. They wore nothing since their morphed bodies concealed the necessary. Sharp frosty barbs protruded from their shoulders. Their chests were also covered in the same fashion but the barbs were shorter and thicker. Each carried a sword that seemed to be gleaming a dull blueish hue. Arctic steel. The only steel that could kill our kind. One of the creatures seemed to have a sort of frosty crown on his head. Their leader. His trained eyes on me.
My men stood behind me readying themselves for what was to come. "Petra" I called to my Luitenant "Sire" he answered "Go back to the village tell them to leave immediately". Without a word he left running going the opposite direction the sound of his thudding footsteps growing fainter by the minute. Icers have a habiy of traveling in bands. I wouldnt want this lot anywhare near Valerie and my unborn. They must seek shelter elsewhere.
My attention reverted to the man- beasts before me. The only way to kill an Icer was to crush its head or gorge out its heart. In the present circumstances none of those seemed possible. We would have to do this the hard way. "We will wait for them to attack then we will use the smoke screen, we need to work quickly tides can easily change since we are only eight of us."
"Ant,Beetle,Bee,Mantis since you are the strongest use your strength to break their legs I and the others will finish them off."Grunting sounds of approval met my command.In a few moments the Icy army charged towards us leaving their leader behind. Drawing a deep breath my men held it in . Just a few meters before they made contact my men released their breath high into the air. This was no ordinary breath huge clouds of smoke spewed forth from their lungs enveloping us and our foes in its dark embrace. We could see in this screen of blackness but our foes stumbled and fell on top of each other. Blinded. Our chance.
"Destroy" I roared. Wasting no minute my fist connected with an icers face making it explode into a million shards of ice. Burn on my left was having a Jolly time as his knee crushed another skull and his hand tore open another's chest cavity leaving the body to drop on its own. After about killing 15 Icers the smoke screen began to lift. The bodies of the icers were melting under our feet leaving behind the mortal bodies they once were.
The remaining Icers seemed unfazed. Burn seemed exhilarated. "Let me finish them off sire" He said and charged towards the enemy "Wait you fool" I screamed after him but he didn't listen. I watched as the scene unfolded before my eyes just as Burn was ready to attack the first beast he lost his footing and tripped. He fell down at the foot of an icer. In a swift movement of the sword , Burn stopped moving and his head rolled away from his body.
In mindless fury my remaining band charged and tried to revenge their lost comrade but also got killed but not without going down with their respective opponents. Fools.
Now only two remained, one hotter than hell the other colder than ice. Regarding each other with caution. Each deadly in its own way. The tension in the air was electric. Eyes unmoving. Breaths shallow, controlled. Muscles stretching. Readying themselves for the clash to come. I reached for the small pouch that was strapped to my waist and took out a small vial. It contained dragon blood. The last hope of the getting an edge over an opponent of equal strength or even greater strength . Opening the vial i drank its bitter contents. A warm feeling snaked its way inside my body getting hotter and hotter. Its effects were almost immediate. I could see clearer and farther. The lava that flowed through my veins turned white hot and the ground underneath my feet smoked. Deep breaths i took made a whistling sound in the still atmosphere.
My opponent viewed my increase in power calmly. It calmly reached behind his icy back and drew two massive Arctic steel swords. Brandishing them at his sides it started walking towards me at first then jogging then finally full speed sprinting towards me. I changed my arms into swords and waited. The pain from the Arctic steel as it collided with my now hardened armswas dulled by the dragon blood as each time the ice giant hit with his sword fragments of my stone skin would break. I knew I should end this fast if I was to survive. Waiting for the moment when both its swords were high up in the air ready to strike again I kicked him in the gut knocking him down and the swords tumbled out of his reach. Seizing the moment i reverted my hands back to fists and sat across his massive body landing strong punches across his face.
Delivering punch after punch Its face developed small fissures making me increase my ferocity and attack speed until I felt a sharp pain in my torso and side. I couldn't move. The beast pushed me over and I fell to the ground. Two Arctic swords were buried in my upper torso. The pain was un imaginable. A flaming foot stopped over near my face.
My eyes couldn't blink. Petra had a wicked smile on his face. His eyes mischievous. "Well magnus it seems this is the end of the road for you the only fire man now will be me and I will take all that you in your stupid quest for honor could not. We should be gods Magnus but you made us dogs now its time for me to...........The words couldn't leave his mouth since his throat had received an unwelcome steel vistor by the name Arctic steel. He collapsed to the ground near me where lava was flowing freely snaking its way towards the trees which soon caught fire.
The Icer chief stood above us all and laughed. Without saying a word he withdrew his swords from my flesh and left. The life was slowly seeping away from me as I turned human again one word escaped my lips before I died "Valerie!" Then darkness.
YOU ARE READING
Razing Infernos :Dragon Spawn
FantasyAn ancient race of supernatural creatures the dragon spawn are on the brink of extermination it's up to Magnus and his son to save them from complete annihilation