Born Of Fire

Born Of Fire Chapter 18

Sixty-five men thundered through the village, chasing, cutting and killing anyone in their path. The ten heavily armored men on horseback posed the biggest threat, so Phoenix went after them first. Flinging an orb of fire at the nearest horse, he watched the fire splash against its chest. A scream of pain erupted from the animal and it fell forward, throwing its rider to the ground. The man rolled, and came up on his feet, brandishing a large sword. He turned back to his horse and Phoenix threw a second orb at his back, smirking as the man’s armor melted.

The other nine riders pulled their reigns, turning their horses toward Phoenix. For a moment they sat, staring at the man covered in ice, before the leader raised his sword, yelled a battle cry and dug into the horse's side with his heels. The other eight surged forward, all holding their blades. A line of beast and man was heading straight for Phoenix, aiming to strike him down, or trample him beneath their hooves.

He stood calmly on front of the line, waiting for his moment. The men neared, and Phoenix reached off to his right with both hands, then brought them swiftly over to his left side. A wall of water followed, soaking the men and beasts. Phoenix flicked his wrist, freezing the water as it flowed. The horses stopped, the men’s eyes widened as the crackling ice froze them in their saddles, rendering them immobile.

“Phoenix, duck!” came Lindani’s panicked voice, and Phoenix let his left leg go limp, rolling to the side. A sword passed through where his neck had been; it would have decapitated him had Lindani’s warning not come. Phoenix came back onto his feet, facing his would-be killer. A man with a small battle axe stood there, still posing from his swing. A fire orb sent his way threw him to the ground, screaming, and Phoenix moved on. A man was holding a sword high, ready to strike down an elderly woman when Phoenix sent a blast of Hell Fire at his blade, melting it. Bewildered, the man turned and spied Phoenix, then pulled a dagger from his boot and rushed toward him. The man swiped for Phoenix’s neck, but he leaned back, coated his fist with fire, then punched the man in the gut. The man fell to his knees, clutching at his entrails as they spilled out of his scorched belly.

Phoenix noticed Ember off to his right, battling two men at once. One held an axe, while the other held a sword. Again and again they advanced, only to be blown back by her wind. Lazily she spun on her toe, sending gusts of air toward the men, sending them stumbling backward. Finally, one raised his sword high, then ran forward, yelling loudly. Ember sighed, then brought both of her hands forward, blasting air towards the man face. The man turned red, then his hands flew to his chest, then he fell, not breathing.

The other man waited, looking at his partner in disbelief. “Do not make me kill you as well,” said Ember, shouting to be heard above the din of battle. The man shook his head, then rushed forward anyway, axe pulled back to slice the woman in half. Ember frowned, then brought both palms up from waist level, pushing the man high into the air. He rose fifty feet into the air before Ember dropped her hands and turned away. Screaming, the man fell to the earth behind Ember, and Phoenix saw her flinch as his body hit the dirt.

Another man with a sword rushed toward Phoenix, and he was dispatched quickly with a blast of fire from Phoenix’s fist. Phoenix saw Spedro in front of him, holding a fist full of small pebbles. A group of men stood before him, none of the seven wanting to be the first to attack. Spedro calmly bent down to pull another rock from the dirt of the square before straightening and extending his closed fist toward the men. Quickly opening his fist, Spedro stepped forward, all seven rocks in his hand shooting out at an amazing speed, one aimed for each man. Seven rocks burrowed into seven foreheads, and all seven men fell to the ground. Another man, slightly smaller than Spedro, but still a hulk in his own right, lumbered toward the large man, wielding a huge battle axe. Spedro nodded toward him, then crouched and placed his palm on the ground. Rising slowly, Spedro raised his hand from the earth, and Phoenix gasped as a thick, brown, stone battle axe flowed from the rock beneath the square, into Spedro’s palm.

A shard of ice flew past Phoenix’s face and his attention was diverted to Lindani on his left. Lindani was fashioning javelins from ice, and flinging them at any armored man she saw. Phoenix saw at least ten men on the ground already, impaled by the long, sharp pieces of ice. Ten more were trying to flee from the young woman, but to no avail. Spear after spear the woman threw, and scream after tortured scream rose from the invaders.

Phoenix noticed that all the invaders attention was now on the four of them, and feared for the women’s safety.

“Lindani! Spedro! Ember!” yelled Phoenix. “Into the middle!”

Each of them nodded. Ember rose into the air on a gust of wind, Lindani started flipping and cartwheeling through the maze of enemies, while Spedro simply set his shoulder and sprinted through the mass of men, bowling them over. Ember set down, and Lindani landed next to her, excitement in her eyes. Phoenix ran in, while Spedro simply strode into the circle, looking as though this was nothing but a walk in the forest.

Shaking his head with a small laugh, Phoenix spoke quickly. “Fight back to back, and none of us will suffer injury. We have shown our power, and now they will want us alive. Kill them all.”

Ember opened her mouth to protest, but a look from Phoenix made her close it again. Lindani simply nodded, and Spedro said nothing. Turning back to the battle, Phoenix was surprised to see that every single invader within the village was now in a circle around them, anger in their eyes. No longer would it be one on one, but now every man left would be trying to kill them, and only them.