Page 62 of The Lost Guard's Healer

Huddled dark figures in an alley are whimpering and cowering. They look to be a large family, hiding from the devastation. As we fight back skeletal soldiers, we help the family into a nearby house, where an elderly couple hurriedly welcome them in. Everything is moving in a blur, but it feels good to help people. To do some good.

Someone’s pained yells catch my attention. Freddick has become overwhelmed and fallen to the ground. His opponent is a new enemy. This one is a hulking man-beast with fur covering its forearms and shins, and a pig-like snout on its dark-skinned face. A long black mane runs down its head, wavering as it stomps toward Freddick. It raises a hooked sickle-like blade. I try to rush to him, but several people are in my way.

Zayne rolls beside Freddick and comes up to slice his axe across the furred beast’s leg. The beast drops to its knees but looks more angered than pained. Freddick gets up and joins Zayne in planting his axe into the beast before it can attack them, helped by two more villagers coming from behind.

We keep moving forward and reach marble steps that lead us up to the street above. A blast of fire shoots through the street, telling me that Yelena is still with us and using her fire magic. The ball of fire misses a goblin and hits a building, blowing out its windows and doors. I know there’s going to be a lot of collateral damage, and that none of us have yet to master our powers, but I just hope we don’t end up hurting each other or innocent people.

A shrieking creature with fluttering butterfly wings heads for us from the street above. It has sharp blades for arms and legs and is like something out of a nightmare. The ground shakes a moment before a chunk of the ground bursts upward and strikes the fairy creature, knocking it out of the air. I look around to see who has manipulated the earth, but don’t see who has that power. Whoever they are, they have yet to reveal themselves.

We ascend to the street above and see a hulking troll that has to be over fifteen feet tall. It’s tearing through the buildings with its meaty fists, and pauses when it sees our large group approaching. The sight of it holds me back and sends fresh fear through me. I can’t believe we are all here in the middle of this war. And it pains me greatly that it feels like there are fewer of us. I don’t want to think about who we’ve lost already, and who has fallen back with grave injuries. We’re moving too fast to look back or pause.

Rourk leads at the front. He pushes off a wall and leaps into the air to avoid a swinging fist of the troll, and flips to the ground with a spin to slice it across the torso. He moves with impressive athleticism and prowess, making me realize how unskilled the rest of us are.

The giant troll swings its club and knocks down several villagers, throwing some through the air like dolls. A dark shiver crashes through me. This foe could easily kill us all.

I rush forward and summon a square of light in the air, which I use as a step to climb into the air. I push off a second light square and then a third, climbing higher as I reach the raging troll. There’s no time to think of my actions. I just need to do what I can to save others. I push off the highest square of light and fall onto the troll, wrapping my arms around its neck. It bucks and twists violently, trying to shake me off, but I manage to hold on. My head swims with nausea and fatigue. I summon a thick slab of hard light into my hands and, in a flash, the light cuts through the troll's neck. I drop to the ground and roll away as the troll crumples in a bloody heap, its head almost torn from its shoulders.

I can hardly believe what I’ve just done, but I’m thrilled with myself. I get up and pump a triumphant fist into the air. Freddick comes by with wide, impressed eyes. Rourk is ahead, watching me. He gives me a sharp nod and there’s a hidden smile that’s meant only for me.

Rourk raises his sword and leads us farther down the street, toward where Kingdom Guards are battling skeletal soldiers in battered, torn armor. They are like warriors fresh out of the grave, re-animated with some kind of dark, ancient magic.

A charged ball of lightning strikes one of the skeletal soldiers and causes it to explode in a shower of sparks and bones. That fills me with hope. We are all using our abilities, combined with the tactics and skills learned from Rourk. Maybe some of us have a chance of surviving this.

A light in the sky causes me to stop. My face drops and horror grips me. A streak of fire is falling toward us, as if thrown by an unknown force. We cry out and dive away as it crashes into the ground near us. My vision blurs as I’m thrown through the air. I hit the ground hard, my breath leaving me as I roll into a wall. A piercing whine rings through my ears while I push myself to my knees. I cough through the smoke in the air, my eyes stinging. It feels like I’ve just been struck by a boar. My bones are jarred and rattled, seeping the strength from me.

Bohan is groaning loudly. His shoulder is reddened and burned, his face and torso blackened with soot. Others are helping him up.

“Keep going,” Rourk calls out to us. “Head for the center.”

I look up to see him ducking into a side alley, away from us. Where is he going? Why is he leaving us?

I follow him into the alley.

Chapter twenty-six

Rourk

My mind races with thoughts of what I think I’ve just seen. A familiar face. Someone from the Oathlands, here in The Kingdom. I saw a young girl on the other side of the alley, being ushered by two adults. Could it really have been little Tabetha? She had gone missing a few weeks ago and her father, Captain Tryphon, had been worried about her. Could she have somehow found her way to The Kingdom?

I burst out of the alley and check the next street to see no one is there. Broken rubble is strewn about, but there are no civilians or enemies here. The building next to me has a staircase winding its way up to the roof, so I head up for a better view of the surrounding streets. Maybe I can see where Tabetha has gone.

The rooftop feels particularly high up as the ground lowers on one side to the inclining levels of the city below. I check every side but don’t see Tabetha anywhere. Perhaps it had been my imagination, but I was sure I had seen her.

Then I catch a glimpse of the young girl and the two adults crossing a street. It’s a quick glimpse but I see Tabetha clearly. It really is her. Same curly brown hair and button nose. Same dark eyes that match her father’s. I lose sight of them when they turn around the corner of the building.

I want to go to her, but a flash of magic takes all my attention.

A figure is on the roof of a far-off building, its dark form is shrouded in pulses of black magic. Several Kingdom Guards are battling the armored figure, who must be at least seven feet tall. The armor is thick and robust, full of sharp edges and spikes, and gives the figure a powerfully imposing, monstrous frame. It’s hard to see everything through the darkness, but nearby flames and flashes of magic highlight him clearly. I know instantly that this person must be Thanek, the Dark King of Old.

He was once a man, but now he is beyond the realm of my understanding. I wonder if he has been re-animated by some ancient magic, or if he has gained mastery of the magic he wields. Bursts of black light explode over the rooftop, knocking back the guards and throwing them through the air like dolls. Thanek’s arms are glowing with the same inky black light. Strangely, it reminds me of the golden light that covers Galene’s arms when she wields her magic.

As I consider my route to reach Thanek, the roof jolts suddenly as something large lands on it. One of the hulking man-like beasts is across from me, its forearms and shins covered in thick black fur. This one is over nine feet tall, with a long, heavy vest that wavers about it like a cape. It raises a double-edged spear as it approaches me, its pig snout snarling. Half of its face is scarred and rotten, and the long vest is heavily worn and falling apart. The faint blue light emanating from its eyes tells me of the sorcery controlling it.

I ready the longsword and prepare to face this beast. A splash of golden light hits the furred beast’s back and causes it to stumble.

My brows rise at the sight of Galene on the roof, behind the enemy. She must have followed me to the roof.

“Get away,” I yell to her.

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