A Darker Shade of Sorcery (Sample of now published novel.)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"Aaaaaah!" Jed cried as they both leapt to either side.

Evan threw out his hands as he landed on the floor, his breath coming sharp as he pushed himself back to his feet.

He whirled to see the gargoyle make a beeline for Jed, whilst the golem staggered towards him, its mechanical mouth gaping.

Fire burst from Evan's hands, consuming the monster. A few seconds later the fire flickered out and the golem still stood, scorched, but otherwise unhurt. His fire spell wasn't strong enough to melt metal, Evan realised with a pang of horror.

The golem slugged at his head but Evan ducked at the last second, feeling the displaced air where the golem almost smashed his brain to goo.

The monster's arm slogged downwards next, forcing Evan to roll frantically. The robotic hand smashed into the courtyard floor, denting the paving slab and sending shards of rock flying.

Evan seized one of the clumps of stone and threw it at the golem's square head. The rock bounced off harmlessly. Filled with panic, he raced to the nearby wall and grabbed a sword off the weapon rack.

"C'mon then, steel face," he said stupidly.

The golem appeared to laugh at him, raising its arms again. This time the robot made a loud clicking noise and its hands whirred electronically. Evan knew at once the golem had activated its guns.

The rifle fired off a green laser-bolt that snaked across the ground and would've vaporised Evan's feet if he hadn't flung himself to the side.

The Spellzooka then exploded and what looked like a blue cannonball of magic shot forwards, smashing into the ground a metre from Evan's head. The bang deafened him as he stumbled to his feet, only to face a second cannonball.

Evan swung wildly, shocked when his sword cut the ball clean in half. He surged forwards again; narrowly avoiding another laser blast he swore singed his hair. Luckily the laser bolt hit the gargoyle just before it stomped on Jed's hand, giving Jed time to get to his feet and battle on.

Evan was forced to look away as the golem charged again, trying to make a dent in his skull. Evan evaded however, before slashing the robot's nose clean off with his sword. He tried to behead the golem next, but his sword snagged in the monster's metallic neck.

Evan wrenched his weapon free, but the golem took aim and let loose. The cannonball hit his stomach with incredible impact, driving all the oxygen out of him and sending him skidding across the ground.

Evan gasped for air, simultaneously recoiling from the electric shock the cannonball emitted.

The golem came on, firing yet again. Rage, fear and desperation filled Evan and he found himself rapidly weaving air magic. He stopped the newest cannonball mid-flight and then sent it zooming back to the source.

The golem reeled back with a groan. Evan used this chance to lurch forwards and slash at the other side of the golem's neck, this time cutting the head loose. As the head toppled and bounced across the ground, the golem's body stood still, returned to just a statue.

Gasping for breath, Evan had no time to rest as Jed was still fighting the gargoyle. Jed crawled backwards as the stone giant bore down on him, preparing to crush him to paste.

Evan lumbered towards the gargoyle, swinging his sword like it was a baseball bat.
The steel scraped across the gargoyle's back, gouging a line through the stone.

The gargoyle turned faster than Evan expected, its fist clunking against his temple. Black spots consumed his vision and he found himself back on the ground without realising he'd fallen.