COF 2: The Soul Spells

20 | Temple (II)

Xanthy bounced against her paulsare's back as the animal raced up towards the steep incline of the road leading back to the Temple. It's a good thing some house owners in Joperos Lin forgot to get their animals when they evacuated the city. It had been so easy to swipe the reins and borrow the animals.

The red cloak belonging to the thief was still a long way off but Xanthy kept it on her periphery. How would they trap the thief? Xanthy eyed the roads at the side of the mountains. Got it.

Xanthy glanced at Ravalee who rode with Cyrdel beside her and tapped her temples. Immediately, her mind swelled with Ravalee's presence on it. I'll take the higher road. Xanthy thought. You two keep the thief busy.

Ravalee nodded and Xanthy yanked the reins of her paulsare the moment the fork came up. Xanthy rode up the uneven path that would have taken her to Gilro Aris. No matter. Xanthy didn't need to reach town for what she's about to do.

She kept the paulsare that Ravalee and Cyrdel rode in her periphery. Trees, fog, and squeaking critters blurred past her as her own riding animal tore through the inclining road. The thief was still a few distances away. Faster.

Xanthy kicked the paulsare's flank. The animal neighed but it did the trick. Just a few more. Up ahead, the silhouette of the Temple in Adris Xena got closer. Just a little more...

Xanthy gained a few more distance relative to the thief's point below ground. A little more...

Now!

Xanthy leaped up from her paulsare and shouted, "Dart!"

Immediately, magic wrapped around her body and she shot forward. Angle her body. The key was in the balance. There. Xanthy slammed straight into the thief's riding animal and together, they toppled to the ground. Xanthy flailed as she reached out and tried to grab the thief's hood. It won't come off. What—?

Stars exploded into her vision as the thief's elbow slammed into her cheek. Xanthy stumbled away just as the thief spread their hands. Xanthy sprung forward with her hands outstretched. Her fingers closed around wisps of shadow as the thief tumbled straight into a pool of it.

Xanthy's gut churned. Shadow bending.

A neigh erupted behind Xanthy and she turned just in time for Ravalee to yank at the paulsare's reins. Xanthy sighed and approached the paulsare that the thief left. She cast a healing and energizing spell around it and helped it stand up. She swung her legs around its flank and glanced at her friends. "To Adris Xena," she jerked her chin up at the sky where the Temple was currently getting attacked.

This thief was smart and good. Xanthy would give the thief that compliment. She just needed to be a bit smarter and better. Their ride lasted half the time they spent getting out of Adris Xena despite the road sloping up. Xanthy might have pushed her paulsare more than it was capable of but what choice did she have? The thief beat them to the Temple.

They must get the shadows or it's game over for the brownies.

As soon as they stepped foot into Emero Zorelis, Adris Xena laid out in full view. Xanthy's gut swirled as she saw what was wrong. The Temple stood smoking on one side. There was an obvious hole punched into the fourth level. Xanthy urged her paulsare to the right fork of the road—one that would lead her straight down into the town. Ravalee and Cyrdel followed.

From somewhere above the clamor of weapons and wailing, a single, shrill voice echoed to the sky—Kymalin's. "Push their souls to the limit! Don't hold back your magic! Fire those flintlocks! Trample them under your feet! The Necrom lives!"

A deafening cheer ensued from the soldiers. Xanthy pushed her paulsare to go faster. They came to the edge of the town and rode past the empty houses and merchant squares, straight into where the thickest swarm of banshees dressed in light armor were.

She craned her neck up and saw both sezhakis and pracaris standing side by side, driving the Necrom back down the stairs. Some Necrom soldiers that must have belonged to the loyal faction were doing the same to people that should have been their comrades.

It wasn't clear who was attacking who.

Lightning flashed by the west side of the Temple, searing a smoking char on the stairs. A white-haired figure dressed in a dark cloak sped into Xanthy's view. June.

Xanthy turned to Cyrdel and Ravalee to find them staring at the fight with pale faces and partly open mouths. The thief was nowhere in sight. Where were they?

Xanthy clenched her fists. They needed a clear way into the Temple. With the battle thickest at the stairs with soldiers fighting for entrance and Temple people blocking it, they needed a different way inside. If she could find a soul door, perhaps she could manipulate her soul port enough to slip through.

She shook her head. First things first—she needed to herd the brownies out of here.

Ravalee laid a hand on Xanthy's shoulder, sensing what Xanthy was about to do. She signed something in an obvious attempt to not connect their minds. Xanthy blinked.

"She says she wants to help," Cyrdel translated, although he didn't sound so sure. His lower lip quivered. A shadow passed across his face and he straightened up as he met Xanthy's eyes. "We can handle it."

Xanthy nodded. Gods, she hoped they were telling the truth. "Once I make my presence known, some of these soldiers will fixate on us. Be ready to run. Stay under my shield. Don't think too much about what's going to happen."

The brownies nodded, eyeing the motions of the battle, hearing the noises of dying men and metal clashing. Xanthy sighed and called on the Virtakios. One thing that complicated battles like this was the presence of spirits. Green, troublesome spirits.

As soon as the heat of the Virtakios hummed in her fingertips, she slammed her hand into the ground. "Julkisa!" she cried as she sent her magic forward and into the ground.

A ripple of magic swept across the mountain. Spirits vanished with a poof, spells stopped working in the middle of them being cast, most of the enemy soldiers froze. The Temple workers saw this as an opportunity to gain ground and proceeded to attack the stunned enemy.

The fighting renewed although muted and less colorful.

Xanthy turned to her friends and gave them a grim nod. "Now, we run," she eyed the clamoring soldiers and Temple workers. "Straight through."