The Sorceress's Tree

Chapter 15

Riley urged the horse forward as it sped down the hillside towards the village. Smoke and flames surrounded her as they pushed their way into the village. Worse, the smell of blood filled the air making Riley's horse uneasy. She wouldn't let the mare turn back in fear, she had to save Kenny before he met his fate!

The suffocating smell of smoke clung to her lungs as Riley struggled to breathe. She fought back nausea as they rode past all the corpses lining the streets. So many innocent people had already fallen to the Sorceress's destruction and many more would if Riley didn't do something.

She didn't understand what would cause someone to just go on a killing spree like this. It was unacceptable and Riley's pity for the Sorceress losing her mind slowly turned to rage with each corpse she passed. She just hoped Kenny hadn't fallen yet either. Riley charged head first through the explosions, dodging random misfired spells as she went deeper into the heart of the battle.

The further she rode in, the more gruesome the destruction became. Only a few Wizards were left in the fight. Riley sighed in relief at the sight of the shaggy blonde hair at the heart of the battle. The Sorcerer and two other Wizards stood next to Kenny as they combined their strength to fight.

Riley gasped as a blast of wind sent the Sorcerer flying back, colliding with a barely standing building. The building teetered, threatening to fall on the man.

"Sorcerer!" one of the wizards shouted. The two wizards left standing went to aid the Sorcerer just as the building went crashing down on top of the man.

Kenny was all alone, the only one left still fighting. Cuts lined his body, his right arm likely broken as it hung at a limp angle at his side.

He didn't need two arms to cast magic, though. Riley never had seen so much power before as she watched the man fight. His power was extraordinary, and almost compared to the Sorcerer's strength as he used a mixture of Earth and Wind magic to battle the Sorceress.

Kenny had a way with plants and used that to his advantage as he tried capturing the woman by manipulating nature. She still out powered him and easily dodged his attacks.

Sweat dripped down Kenny's face, his whole body shaking as he kept firing spell after spell. His spells were growing weaker each time while the Sorceress looked as alert as ever. She hadn't even broken out a sweat yet.

Riley needed to help him before he killed himself using all that magic. She could sense the man's life force beginning to drain as she studied Kenny. His silver aura was beginning to shrink and flicker the more he fought.

"Come on girl," Riley urged the stallion forward into a full paced sprint towards Kenny.

"Wizard, thou will not defeat me!" The Sorceress screamed as she glared at Kenny.

"Nay, I will win this battle!" Kenny responded.

Kenny stomped his foot on the ground. A group of giant rocks sprung from the ground encircling the man, acting as a shield as the Sorceress fired another hex. Riley gasped as two more hexes were fired simultaneously faster than Riley could process what the Sorceress was doing.

The third hex she fired blasted the rock shield causing it to crumble down around Kenny. Kenny grunted as he staggered to his knees, wincing up at the Sorceress.

The Sorceress left her perch floating in the sky, coming to take a stand once more as she approached Kenny. He lowered his head, closing his eyes ready for the final blow and his demise.

Riley's heart shattered as she urged the horse in between the two before the Sorceress could make another attack while he was defenseless. She struggled to keep hold as the horse whinnied, rearing up on two legs in fear.