Page 93 of Storms & Sacrifice
[Exasperated Male Voice: “Neither of them is going to be doing anything if we don’t speed this the fuck up and send him backalready!”]
[Confused Male Voice: “Why am I here,exactly?”]
[Defensive Male Voice: “Because this only works with all of us. Now everyone be quiet and concentrate. We haven’t done this in millennia.”]
[Amused Male Voice: “It’s just like ridinga bike.”]
As the voices continue to speak, warmth starts to flow through my not-body. What are they doing?
[Haughty Female Voice: “You’ve never ridden a bike. Now shut up and focus. We need to...wait, who’s doing that?”]
[Proud Male Voice: “Just giving the kid a little jump-start for when he gets back. He’s gonnaneed it.”]
[Soft Female Voice: “Will it beenough?”]
The darkness gets brighter, first to a grey, and then to solid white, but I still cannot seeanything.
[Defensive Male Voice: “It’s going to have to be because we are out of time. We must send him back now.”]
I can feel the energy coursing through me, enveloping me, charging me. Then it’s as if everything begins to fade again.
Wait! I still don’t understand! What was all this? Who are you? What am I supposed to do?
My eyes focus on the stone walls of the temple as I come to. My body feels tight, like it’s overflowing with energy. And strength. Andrage. I push myself up from the altar and scan the room. Maybe two dozen threats, if that. The room is silent, all eyes on me as I bend to reach my weapon on the floor. The same one used to kill me.The Harpe.
They don’t see me coming. I don’t give them the chance. I leap across the room, pinning the first person in robes I see to the wall and driving my sword directly into their stomach. The screaming starts immediately, everyone around me panicking. All except the bastard currently bleeding out at my feet. I turn and look for my next target.
I rush toward the next nearest set of robes, not even stopping to give the owner a chance to defend herself. As I continue my attack, all around me the people start to scatter. Some draw their own weapons, but many more flee out of the cave entrance. I’m not worried. It will be simple enough to track them once I am finished here.
I cut my way through the remaining cult members quickly. The coppery smell of blood is thick in the air as I turn to face the three left standing. They’re certainly the strongest, two warriors and a mage, but they’ll fall to my blade the same as everyone else.
“What the hell is he?!” one of the warriors asks aloud.
“Is it not obvious? The spell worked,” the wizard replies. “He has been blessed bythe gods.”
“Why is he attacking?” The other warrior asks as she points her sword in my direction.A threat.“Why did the gods bless him andnot us?!”
“I do not—”
I leap at the warrior with her sword aimed at me. She does her best to block my blows, but I can tell it’s a struggle. She may be larger than I am, but I’m stronger, a fact I can tell shocks her. I knock the blade from her hand and ready my killing blow when I feel the air behind me ripple and turn just in time to catch the sword of the other warrior.
This one is stronger than the first, and she strikes repeatedly with her sword, quickly putting me on the defensive. I meet her blade with mine each time, shrugging the force of her blows off like they’re nothing. I watch her anger build with each attack until I finally see an opening and strike, my sword sinking into her midsection before her body crumples to the ground.
“Enough!” I turn and see the wizard holding a knife to the throat of mysýzygos, mykýrios, my master. “You will drop your blade andthen you—”
Seeing red, I rush across the room, I knock away the knife and slamng the wizard into the wall behind him hard enough to crack the stone. Then I fling him across the room, watching him stumble to his feet after tumbling across the ground. He looks terrified, his hands shaking as he begins casting a spell, lightning crackling in the air aroundhim.Good.
I come toward him slowly, and he flings his hands in my direction, sending two crackling arcs flying straight at me. I hold the Harpe out in front of me, absorbing the magical energy into its metal. A look of shock on the wizard’s face is all he has time for before I leap at him and knock him to the floor once more. He looks up at me in anger as Iapproach.
“You cannot—!” he starts to spit.
I sink my sword down into his chest, the blade piercing through flesh and bone until it hits the floor beneath him. I release the sword’s stored lightning, the wizard’s body convulsing as I return his spell to him by force. When I finally remove the weapon, he is still, other than the smoke rising from his overcooked corpse.
Satisfied, I turn to look for the remaining warrior, but it appears she has fled, along with any remaining survivors. No matter, I will have plenty of time to hunt them down later. I see a few of my allies still standing, watching me with a mixture of fear and worry. But they are not who I am concerned with.
Rushing back to my master’s side, I check his neck for any damage from the knife, finding only a thin red line. My hands clench into fists.The one who did this already escaped.My master is breathing, staring at me half-conscious and confused. I need to get him out of here. I look up to see my allies now standing between us and the exit, eyeingme warily.
“David?” the male says to me. “Can youhear me?”
