The fae knights tensed. âAttack!â
Armour clinked, halberds were raised, all eyes were fixed on the young archwizard.
The line of knights standing in front of the divine ward swung their weapons, blades and hafts passing through the curtain of divine energy as though it wasnât there.
Other fae knights came through the divine ward on either side of Alex, Merzhin, and the elementals at the same time. The two groups flanked them in between the wards.
âYe should not have come here,â a knight snarled.
She and her allies thrust their halberds into the earth elementals. The faeâs enchanted weapons split stone, banishing both spirits to their home plane.
Their attention immediately turned to the two mortals.
Alex cursed.
The world slowed, giving him time to think.
His mind raced; most of his combat spells would kill both him and Merzhin if he cast them in this limited space. An explosion, a wave of lightning or a tidal wave would annihilate everything between the divine wards, including the two of them.
Spells like mass disintegrate would get rid of the fae knights between the wards, but wouldnât touch the ones outside.
There wasnât much room to teleport, and if he used Hannahâs power to dodge the oncoming assault, the fae knights would simply stab Merzhin.
âAnd if I teleport with Merzhin, that could break his concentration,â Alex thought quickly. âSo what does that leave?â
He looked at his staff. âBack to basics, I suppose. I can keep summoning small monsters, and use forceballs to throw our attackers off. Wizardâs Hands can keep them off balance too, meanwhile, I can be fighting them with the sword-staff. But, thereâs a lot of enemiesâŠand without a lot of room to manoeuvre, theyâll get me eventually.â
Alex glared at Aenflynnâs smirking face.
âIâd give almost anything to punch that smug expression right off his stupid face, but his effigyâs made of stone. Even if I could get to him through the ward, Iâd probably just break my own handâŠagainstâŠwait! Thatâs it!â
His mind focused on a single spell as the halberds stabbed at him from the front.
The world sped up.
He swept some of the blows away with a wide swing of his sword-staff, but a blade got by, striking his forearm.
The fae smiled.
A heavy clang startled him, sounding like a cell door slamming.
His smile dropped.
He was staring at the hulking young wizardâŠ
âŠlooking at Alexâs broad shoulders, powerful arms, and towering heightâŠall now formed of magical steel.
Steel Body had transformed the young archwizardâs body into a metal titan of retribution.
The other knights paused, shocked.
Alex grabbed the haft of his attackerâs weapon.
The warrior flinched. âLet go!â
He pulled hard, trying to take the weapon back, which wasâŠwell, it was like trying to get something out of a grip of steel. Neither Alexâs arm nor the weapon moved, both unwavering.
The fae paled.
âCome here,â the young archwizard said, his voice grinding.
His arm tensed, as he yanked on the halberdâs haft.
With a yelp, the fae stumbled through the wall of divine light.
âWelcome,â Alex said, dropping the weapon and grabbing the fae by his helmeted skull, then lifting him off his feet.
The knight struggled like a mouse trying to escape a catâs clamped jaws.
âWait!â the fae shouted. âWait, waitââ
âYou should not have come here,â Alex replied, choke-slamming the knight into the stone.
A crunching sound followed, and with a gurgle, the fae knight stiffened, convulsed then stopped moving.
The archwizard rose to his full height again, glowering at the knights flanking him and Merzhin. He took a deep breath, filling his metal lungs with air.
âMaim us?â The wizard of steel asked. âI think Iâll be the one doing the maiming.â
Then he sprang.
Calling on the Mark of the General, his mind filled with images of himself using all the dances heâd ever learned, blending them into his own deadly fighting style. Images of reading his enemiesâ body language in the past appeared.
All of that experience, now in a literal body of steel, made for a lethal combination.
Despite the weight of his metallic form, Alex attacked, blurring, spinning, casting spells, his form barely distinct.
âGet him!â Aenflynn commanded his guards.
They came at Alex from all sides, just as he came at them.
His sword-staff, his metal form, his magic. All were weapons.
Steel Body slowed the flow of mana within him, hindering the speed of his spellcastingâŠbutâŠit didnât stop him from activating the aeld staff.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
He summoned more earth elementals around him and Merzhin, then cast forceballs, and Wizardâs Hands. His forceballs shot out, blocking the fae knightsâ strikes, tangling up their limbs and striking their arms mid-swing.
Wizardâs Hands swarmed the fae, pulling hair, scratching skin, shoving fingers into nostrils, ears, eyes and mouths.
They fought dirty.
Alex channelled Hannahâs power through his sword-staff, blocking incoming halberds with its blade. The teleportation energy surged, splitting the hafts and heads of the fae knightsâ weapons, teleporting them away, or dropping them among the fae guards, disrupting any attacks.
The guards fought against the magics, using defensive skills gained from the experience of centuriesâŠbut an impervious opponent of magic and steel was one theyâd had no experience with before, and he had a steady stream of glowing forceballs and Wizardâs hands to harry them with.
Fae knights began to fall.
Some were killed by the earth elementals.
Others died by the young archwizardâs blade or heavy, steel fists.
But more kept coming.
âAim for the priest!â a leader shouted. âAnd fire another volley!â
Another wave of twanging bowstrings announced a volley of arrows soaring toward the divine ward.
And as they passed through itâ
The world slowed.
Alex concentrated on a spell.
The world sped up again.
The young archwizard twitched.
Mass Shatter destroyed not only the volley, but the weapons of every fae that had entered the ward.
âWhat?â they cried in unison.
Then Alex and his elementals were on them, cutting, smashing, ending them.
Attackers came and died, but more took their place.
Alex took a quick glance around the throne room as the elementals kept fighting. âMore are coming. The castleâs probably full of them, and this wonât end until Merzhinâs through that ward. And to help him weâll needââ
He checked Hannahâs power within himself.
He could feel it pulsingâŠhis plan might be working, but he couldnât be certain.
Not yet.
âNeed to keep fighting,â he thought.
âEnough of that,â Aenflynn said, then whistled.
Divine light emanated from the Fae lord in a wave.
The light washed over his fae knights; their weapons and armour began to glow with divine energy.
âThat should stop that little shattering trick of yours, and I willâWhat?â Aenflynnâs effigy fell silent.
Alex felt a huge surge of mana from outside the castle.
The Fae lord whistled, bending his concentration on the imprisoned archwizard.
The ancient being was moving faster, breaking the stasis within the cage, and though the Fae lord was pouring all the power he could into reinforcing itâŠ
There came a sound like glass breaking.
The cage exploded, instantly freeing the ancient goatman.
Clouds quaked as raw power burst from Baelin.
The archwizard fixed Aenflynn with a stony gaze. âAn interesting plan of yours, but that was not the first time one such as you, attempted to stop me by sealing me out of timeâs flow,â the chancellor said. âI have had the opportunity of travelling to realms where the temporal riverâs flow is so different to that of any other plane thatâŠwell, I am not sure you would quite understand what I was telling you if I were to go further. So, suffice it to say simply this, I have studied temporal tricks, myself, young faeling.â
âYou are full of resources,â the Fae lord watched the archwizard peevishly. âIâll give you that.â
âThank you. And your tricks continue to amuse me.â
âAh, but I think you overplayed your hand. You used a lot of mana to escape that, didnât you? Iâm sure your response drew down a lot,even from your seemingly endless mana pool.â
âPerhaps it did. Perhaps it did not.â
âIt does not matter, because I have a brilliant idea.â Aenflynn whistled, pouring his concentration into his next divinity.
His power flexed, enveloping the battlefield.
The archwizard cocked his head. âOh? What is this?â
âFind out.â Aenflynn smirked.
âOoooohâŠoh I see. A classic interdiction. You stopped me from using my magic to harm you,â the archwizard noted. âNot a bad ploy.â ÆreeÏebnovel.Æom
The Fae lord resisted the urge to flinch. âOh, you got it too quickly. Your senses and spells for reading divinity are truly superb. I canât claim credit for the idea though: the young Saint used a similar interdiction in my castle a short time ago. By focusing the command, the interdiction grows stronger, and by focusing one on just your manaâŠI believe it might put a stop to even your powerful tricks.â
âSo you mean to reduce me to a mere mortal beastman in this battle?â the ancient beastfolk asked.
âWhile I get to destroy you with Uldarâs power,â Aenflynn finished for him. âA nasty little trick, but you are all trying to divide my attention. So I thought I might fight a little unfairly as well. What now, archwizard?â
The Fae lord gripped the air, a sword of pure divinity was created in his hand.
âI am a very skilled swordsman, one of the deadliest in all of Och Fir Nog, if I do say so myself,â Aenflynn smiled. âAnd with Uldarâs throne, I am afraid you are quite outmatched. Without your magic, what can you do?â
The ancient wizard paused for a moment, looking almost shocked.
Then he threw his head back and laughed.
âWhat is it, old one?â the fae lord asked.
âOh, nothing, really!â the beastman was nearly doubled over with amusement. âItâs just that I have not had such a perfect setup in a long time! Oh my. Tell me, have you heard the term âProper Wizardâ?â
Aenflynnâs jaw clenched.
He didnât like the sound of that. âNo, why?â
âAh, well, then I shall show you an example of one. A Proper Wizard does not ignore any form of power or advantage.â The ancient wizard reached down, retrieving a hammer from his belt. âI, my sly friend, am no exception. You have taken away my offensive magic in many ways. An excellent move, again. Except for one small problem.â
The archwizard disappeared.
Then reappeared directly in front of Aenflynn, the hammer raised.
The weapon blazed with a dizzying amount of glyphs.
It slammed into Aenflynnâs jaw, the magics around its starmetal head biting through the faeâs defensive magics and divinity like an auger.
Teeth flew, and with a pained scream, so did the Fae lord.
âUnfortunately, for you, I have maintained my body,â the archwizard said.
He teleported after his reeling opponent.
The effigy winced, but was silent.
Somethingâprobably Baelinâmust have been drawing the real Aenflynnâs attention.
âGood,â Alex thought. âGives him less time and energy to interfere with us. Now, I just have to buy time and crush these guards.â
The young archwizard turned his attention to the knights.
His Wizardâs Hands opened his satchel, taking out a number of potion bottles. Merzhinâs head was already encased in Orb of Air, and under his Steel Body spell, so was his. Breathing the air wouldnât be a problem for them nor hisearth elementals.
But for the fae knights, between the wards, it certainly would be.
Wizardâs Hands whipped the potion bottles on the stone floor to shatter them.
And shatter they did, sleeping potion-mist filled the space between the two divine wards. The fae in front of Alex gasped, surprised as the knights suddenly disappeared in a fog of potion-mist.
Those fae knights between the divine wards, looked panicked, sneezing, trying to shield their faces, as the magical gas crept into their nostrils.
They soon began fading, drifting off, dropping where they stood, fast asleep.
The earth elementals were quick to finish them off.
Soon, the fae knights outside were shouting in confusion.
Hesitating, some gingerly pushed their halberd blades through the divine ward, but soon gave up on the idea when, for the second time, Alex grabbed a haft, pulled its owner through the ward, and cracked his skull.
âWhat are you doing?â Aenflynnâs effigy demanded. âGetâArgh!â
His words were cut off by a yelp of pain.
Something must have been happeningoutside.
âAlright, thank the Traveller,â Alex said. âWe need to keep holding out, keep buying time. Claygon, howâs the battle going?â
âWeâre holdingâŠon fatherâŠâ the golem thought. ââŠbut the Ravenerâs growing stronger!â
âShit!â Alex thought. âIâll try and get there soon!â
He glanced at the symbol of the Traveller hanging from his neck, as he listened to Merzhinâs prayers. âJust have to buy a little more timeâŠâ
Alex eyed the potion-mist, watching the light changing through it, looking for any signs of attack. The guards were holding back for now.
âJust have to buyâŠwait. Wait!â
He watched the mist closely.
The light was changing, getting brighter.
âIs it daybreak? How long have we been in Och Fir Nog? By the Traveller, no!â
âWhat is thisâŠ?â King Athelstan muttered.
The glow around his divine sword faded.
Fatigue crawled through him.
And his heartâonce beating so courageouslyâbegan to falter.
Fear, once again, began rising in his soul.
âOh noâŠâ he whispered.
Alexâs spell, Army of Heroes, had ended in Thameland.