The Shattered Path

Chapter 43 - The Fall of Reorc

Through the runes, the Raujornian's face was visibly contorted in anger, but it seemed his mouth was twisted in a fiendish grin. He held the unmoving woman over his shoulder with one hand. His other hand was upraised towards his attackers. He likely could have unleashed his magic already, but he seemed to be holding it until they came closer.

Aerham knew there was too much distance between them. The better part of his strength had already been spent. He had no choice now but to try to reach the wizard and he knew he wouldn't. But there was no reason they should all die.

Aryl sprinted next to him, almost passing him. They wouldn't all die. Aerham grasped Aryl's shoulder with his free hand and gave him a hard shove, sending him flailing off to the side.

"No!" cried Aryl, tumbling across the ground.

Aerham would take the brunt of the blast. It was his duty. Maeshana might return at any moment. She might not. She and Aryl might have a chance. He clenched his jaw, certain that the searing lightning or flames would be a painful death. The Lady of Light in her mercy might make it quick. He had earned that much, at least. If suffering earned you anything at all.

Bluish light crackled around the wizard's fingertips.

Aerham recovered his balance and momentum quickly after shoving Aryl and he leaped, swinging his sword in a wide arc. He hoped the force of the swing to cleave the mage in half even as his body burned.

The lightning did not strike from the wizard's hand. Instead, it raced along the black sleeve and spread over the Raujornian's body, crackling and popping. The wizard's body jerked and his legs buckled. His mouth opened in a scream, but Aerham did not hear it. The wizard's body was driven to the ground by an unseen force. The woman's body still hung in the air. She hovered there above him. It all happened in an instant; less than the blink of an eye.

Aerham barely had time to comprehend what he had seen. He was in the air and his blade was already halfway through his swing. He did not have the leverage to stop his attack. He would strike the woman now.

Something hard struck him. An unseen force hurled him backwards. He felt as if he had been struck by a boulder. His breath was squeezed from his lungs. His sword was torn from his grasp, tumbling away into the night. Landing on his back, he watched a wall of erupting rubble move away, spewing dirt and small rocks high into the night. The wave of erupting ground passed through a nearby cottage, blowing it into stones and timber. His vision darkened and he thought he might fall unconscious; or worse. A deafening boom rolled over him. It was the loudest sound he had ever heard, leaving his ears filled with ringing and washing away any sound of battle that might have remained.

Aerham lay on his back, staring at the dark sky. He knew he struggled to breathe but his body was numb. He felt a faint tingle in his fingers and toes. The ringing in his ears filled his head. No other sounds. The flames illuminated the smoke above with a grayish-orange glow. Burning timbers seemed to fill the sky now, all around.

He struggled to hold a thought. How long had he been on his back? His arms and legs began to tingle and he regained some sensation in his mouth. He could taste the smoke of burning wood. He realized he had been struck by magic but had no idea why or how. He remembered the wizard and the woman in the blue dress; one of them had done it. Surely, the Raujornian had blasted him to stop his deadly charge. Yet, the wizard had been magically pummeled to the ground just before the blast. The Raujornian had crumpled like a doll.

Aerham climbed to his hands and knees. He saw drool stretch from his lips to the ground, but he could not feel it. Dust and cinders still settled around him. There had been some kind of magical shockwave. It had begun where the wizard and woman had been and had radiated outward. His vision was blurred, but he could not see any cottages nearby. It was as if they had been swept away. There was fire and smoke, though. It was difficult to see because dust now filled the night along with the smoke.