An Enchanting Tale

Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five

Durro shield bashed Farkas across the face, sending him to the ground hard. A trickle of blood fell from his mouth. Vilkas shouted as he brought his blade across the knight's flank. Aela helped Farkas back to his feet when Durro butted his pommel over Vilkas's head. The pain and impact sent the Harbinger reeling.

Farkas swung with all his might from side-to-side, but Durro held his shield firmly, blocking the strikes. He rammed his plated shoulder into the nord, shoved past him, and swung his ebony sword at Aela. Deftly, she stepped back, nocked an arrow, and let it fly. It was the eleventh arrow to pierce armor.

"Where is that dark elf?" Vilkas yelled, from a knee.

****

J'zargo shoved the wizard into Delyla's chamber of bones. "Heh heh heh, J'zargo has brought one for feasting."

The khajiit's fuzzy snout twitched in pride. Delyla stood in black, hooded robes, revealing her emaciated form. A pale, green glow emanated from her eyes. Stringy, white hair cascaded from inside her hood. Her voice sounded far away as though coming from a metal tube.

"Yesss. I hunger for soulsss."

She locked eyes with S'maash and floated from her throne. Her bare feet touched the ground when she came closer. Without hesitation, he smashed the reaper gem across her face. She hissed and screamed wildly as her body contorted in rage and pain. The soul entered her undead form.

"Heh heh heh. Khajiit is no one's puppet," J'zargo claimed.

He summoned two storm atronachs. The mammoth demons of stone and lightning immediately rained wall of storm all throughout the elder vampire's chamber. The arcs of purple lightning did not fare well against the omnipotent Delyla, who in turn summoned her undead atronachs.

Two hulking beasts of writhing and rotted flesh appeared from the pits of Oblivion. The sight was enough to churn S'maash's stomach. The golems were forged of misshaped flesh, bulging and decrepit. Both demons possessed gaping mouths with rotten teeth, four arms with large fists, and exposed genitalia of both sexes. They were grotesque, hairless creatures standing eight feet tall.

"That is gruesome," J'zargo said.

S'maash had hopped back just as the abominations were conjured. He, too, summoned a flame atronach and casted ebony flesh. With sword in hand and wall of ice ready, he and J'zargo commenced their attack. The undead atronach wielded an absorb life spell, however, a red energy that sucked the health of its prey.

Delyla, undaunted by magickal attacks, latched on to S'maash with claws like steel vices. She bit into his neck immediately. While she held onto him, J'zargo gripped her head in both claws, casting flames. His magickal attack also damaged S'maash, who stumbled around with the evil vampire still clinging tightly.

"Waaah! Get her off!" he howled, twirling like a mad skeever.

J'zargo managed to remove Delyla from S'maash's throat. His muscles tensed beneath his fur as the she-devil whirled around and crashed her head into his. Horrific screams escaped her lips, growls resounded within the cat's throat.

From gnarled fingers, Delyla poured red lightning over the khajiit. It both drained his magicka and health. Holding his bleeding neck with a healing hands spell, S'maash lunged into Delyla's back with his blade. Devoid of magicka, the impact beyond physical damage was unimpressive. The sword sank into what little flesh she had, but she remained resolved.

While the atronachs clashed, the elf gave his all, slashing one way and the other. J'zargo finally collapsed from crippling pain, so Delyla spun around and clawed at S'maash's face. A terrible pain accosted his eye. Her sharp nails tore flesh from his face, blood poured from his wound. Partially blinded, he spun to his right with a step back. He brought his sword with him and struck his enemy square in the jaw.