Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Three (6 page)

Zedd’s head felt light with the huge amount of magic he had just used against the boy-mage and paladin, but there was no way he was about to let them escape again.

“Fire at will. I want them dead!” Zedd roared at his few remaining men. Each man started to send their own missiles towards the boy-mage and the paladin, who by this time were now back on their feet and fleeing for their lives. There was still maybe a quarter of a mile between the two groups, but they were certainly much closer than they had ever been since leaving the outskirts of Stelgad.

The boy-mage seemed to be protecting the paladin with his magical shield as they both ran for their lives. ‘
Foolish
,’ thought Zedd, ‘
that would only expedite his exhaustion, and play right into his hands
.’ He couldn’t believe how many shots the boy-mage had taken, and yet he not only drew breath, he still had the energy to run. ‘
If he had been born in the Empire, he would surely have become a member of the Darkseed Elite
,’ Zedd thought to himself begrudgingly.

***

Lusam could hardly stand, but he knew he must. He had to, or Renn would die too, and he had also promised Neala that he would return to her alive.
I must make it to the safety of the cave
, he kept telling himself. Deep down he knew the cave no longer offered any of them much protection. It was now little more than an inconvenience for the Empire agents pursuing them, now they were so close behind them. Once they had passed through the cave, they would once more be able to attack Lusam again at will, except this time he would have to protect Neala and Alexia as well—something he knew he could no longer do.

Renn was now at Lusam’s side, attempting to run backwards whilst blocking as many incoming shots as he could with his shield. It proved quite ineffective, as he found himself stumbling backwards over the many unseen rocks littering the path.

“How are you holding up, lad?” Renn enquired breathlessly.

“I’ve been better,” Lusam replied, just as another two missiles struck his magical shield.

“You’re taking far too many hits, lad, we need to make them miss more. If we don’t, you’ll never make it to the cave alive,” Renn said, almost stumbling over yet another rock.

“I agree with you. Any ideas?” Lusam replied desperately.

“I think so, but you’ll need to be behind me, and shielding us both. Hopefully if my plan works you should have far fewer shots to block.”

“I’m all ears,” Lusam replied.

“Well, we need to see the incoming missiles to be able to avoid them, that’s obvious enough, but me running backwards doesn’t seem to be helping us much, because we are forced into running a straight and predictable path. What we need to be able to do is see the missiles coming and dodge them by zigzagging down this path, that way avoiding being hit by as many as possible,” Renn said. Before Lusam could reply he was struck by three more missiles, and once again Renn found himself lifting him out of the dirt and half-carrying him down the path. Lusam spat out his mouthful of dirt and gave a mirthless laugh.

“How can we run, zigzag, and see what’s coming from behind us in time to dodge it if we are facing forwards?” Lusam asked confused.

“Because of this,” Renn replied, holding out his shield. He spun it over in his hands to reveal the inside of the shield, and Lusam could clearly see an almost mirror-like finish to the metal. “If I use my shield as a mirror, I should be able to see the incoming missiles in plenty of time to guide us in the opposite direction, but you will still need to shield me too, just in case I miss an odd one.”

“Okay, let’s try it. Anything is better than this,” Lusam agreed, taking yet more impacts on his shield. Renn moved in front of Lusam and held up his shield so that he could see what was coming from behind them in its reflection. Almost immediately he saw two missiles heading their way.

“Move left!” Renn shouted, and Lusam complied. Two missiles went flying past harmlessly to their right.

“Nice,” Lusam said, relieved to have dodged at least those two missiles.

“Right!” Renn shouted, and once again Lusam moved in time to avoid being hit. Their new tactics proved so effective that Lusam only had to absorb one impact from the next ten or twelve volleys, and Renn knew the Empire agents would soon also have to change their tactics. Renn had tried to put himself in the position of the enemy leader and knew exactly what he would do in his place, so when it happened, he knew exactly what to do in response. Renn had surmised that the only option left to the Empire agent in command would be to send a whole bunch of missiles at the same time, so as not to leave any room for Lusam and Renn to avoid them. He was right, and with a huge grin of satisfaction on his face he shouted, “Down! Lie down!”

Both of them hit the ground on their stomachs, skidding to a halt as seven missiles flew harmlessly above them. Renn quickly got back up and dragged Lusam with him.

“They won’t like wasting seven shots at a time,” Lusam said, laughing at the imagined faces of their enemies.

“I wouldn’t laugh just yet,” Renn said. “If I’m right, they will send another volley just like that last one, except this time it will be at ground level. Yup, just like that…Down!” This time Renn remained standing until Lusam was on the floor, then he quickly lay across the top of him, with his shield pointing towards the incoming missiles. One missile impacted on Renn’s shield, and six others skimmed the ground, three each side of them. Again Renn was up and hoisting Lusam back to his feet long before the next volley came.

“It won’t take them long to realise that each time we hit the dirt like that, they gain ground on us, and the closer they get, the less time we will have to react,” Renn stated.

“What are you suggesting?”

“You’re not going to like it, lad, but I think you’re going to have to absorb one of those seven missiles until we get closer to the cave. I’ll keep watching them. If they start sending single shots again we can dodge them instead. Do you think you can handle a few more shots?” Renn asked.

“I don’t see I have any choice. The cave is another ten minutes away at least, and if we keep stopping, they will be on top of us before we reach it.”

“Okay, lad, let’s try and pick up the pace a little if we can. I know you’re tired, but so are they,” Renn said putting a hand on Lusam’s shoulder for encouragement. Lusam nodded and braced himself for the next impact. He didn’t have to wait long, as another missile impacted on his shield, and another six flew by harmlessly.

Five minutes later Lusam was on the brink of exhaustion, all thoughts except survival long since gone from his mind. He knew they were getting closer to the cave by the vastly increased number of rocks that littered the path all around them, and found himself absent-mindedly wondering how they had all got there. Of course, it was obvious once he thought about it: they had come from the mountainside above. Suddenly he found himself looking up at the rock face to their left, and could clearly see the huge number of unstable rocks perched on the steep sides of the hillside.

“Wait!” he called out. Renn stopped dead in his tracks and turned with concern clearly evident on his face, half-expecting Lusam to have collapsed behind him. “Shield me for a few seconds, I have an idea,” Lusam said. Renn didn’t waste time asking questions, he simply moved behind Lusam and prepared to intercept any incoming missiles. Lusam searched the hillside above them for any loose looking rocks and quickly found a large area that looked suitably unstable. He formed a fireball in his right hand, adjusting the spell in his mind so that it would explode on contact, and sent it hurtling towards the unstable hillside.

“Run!” shouted Lusam, just before the explosive fireball found its target. They were both running at full speed when they heard the huge explosion and the rumble of sliding rocks that followed. Lusam chanced a quick glance back over his shoulder, and what he saw made him smile. The Empire agents had not only stopped their pursuit, they were now in full retreat, and running away from the potentially deadly rockslide. The rocks Lusam had targeted had rolled down the hillside, picking up many more along the way as they went. They now slid and bounced down the sheer hillside towards the path below, creating a huge echoing roar as they did so.

“Well done, lad,” Renn said clapping Lusam on the shoulder, “I’d never have thought of doing that.”

Unfortunately the rockslide was over far too soon, and it had done little more than increase the number of boulders and rubble littering the path behind them, but it had allowed them to reopen the gap between themselves and the Empire agents a little. Lusam and Renn stalwartly pushed onwards, thankful for their small victory, but also acutely aware that the problem of the pursuing Empire agents wasn’t any closer to being solved, nor would it be even after they reached the cave.

“They should have been here by now. Something bad has happened, I just know it,” Neala said worriedly.

“They’ll be fine, you’ll see. Aysha wouldn’t allow one of her own paladins to fall against such evil men,” Alexia replied confidently, bristling with faith in her own words. Just then they both heard a huge explosion in the distance, quickly followed by a rumbling sound that sent vibrations they could feel through their feet.

“That’s it, I’ve had enough, I’m going to go find them,” Neala said.

“No, wait. The plan was to wait here until they arrived. You know Lusam won’t be able to shield us all in his condition, so if we go out there we’re putting his life in jeopardy too,” Alexia replied.

“That’s just it! For all I know his life is already in jeopardy, and all I’m doing is hiding in this damn cave!” Neala half-screamed. After a moment longer Neala took a steadying breath and continued, “Sorry, Alexia, I didn’t mean to get angry with you, it’s just that I couldn’t live with myself if anything bad happened to Lusam. I love him so much.”

“Yes, I know you do, Neala. I’ve known ever since the first moment you spoke of him to me. I remember being in the darkness of my cell, and hearing the love and tenderness in your voice whenever you mentioned his name. And I don’t mind admitting that I felt more than a little jealous that you’d found love in your life, not least because it seemed at the time that I would never get a chance to experience it for myself, especially after Shiva had done with me. I’m happy for you, Neala, truly I am, but I know how devastated you would be if Lusam came to harm because he was trying to protect you. Please, stay here and wait for them,” Alexia said quietly.

“Do you really think Aysha will watch over them both, Alexia?” Neala whispered through her tears.

“Yes, Neala, I really do. You know, there’s nothing stopping us asking for her help anyway, if it would make you feel better,” Alexia said winking at Neala. Neala let out a forced laugh and nodded her head. Drying her eyes, she took hold of Alexia’s hand and thanked her for her friendship and faith, then knelt in silent prayer with her friend.

***

“There, I see it,” Lusam said pointing at the rockslide in the distance that marked the cave’s location. The Empire agents hadn’t gained any ground on them since Lusam had created his own rockslide, but they hadn’t lost any either.

“I don’t see any movement up ahead; maybe the girls have gone on to scout further ahead,” Renn said.

“I hope you’re right. At least I won’t have to shield them for a while if they have,” Lusam said through gritted teeth, as he was struck by another missile. Ever since Lusam had caused his earlier rockslide, the Empire agents had periodically tried to use the same tactic against them. Luckily for Lusam and Renn the hillside here contained far fewer precarious boulders than where Lusam had chosen to cause his own rockslide earlier.

They were only several hundred paces away from the cave entrance when another explosion erupted above them on the hillside. Lusam glanced up to see several huge boulders gathering speed towards them, collecting many more smaller rocks as they came thundering towards them.

“Look out!” Lusam screamed, as a gigantic boulder literally bounced off the hillside and flew above their heads, before plunging over the edge of the path and disappearing below. Lusam’s shield was peppered with small to medium sized rocks, each one impacting on his shield, and each one sapping their own portion of his now very much depleted power reserves. Stunned momentarily, Lusam lost his concentration and allowed himself and Renn to be exposed to the falling rocks. It was only for a split second, but it was long enough for a large jagged rock to smash into Renn’s left leg with a sickening snapping sound. He was knocked clean off his feet—his left leg was now at an impossible angle, and he had a look of complete shock on his face as he hit the ground hard with a thud. It all happened so fast that it was hard to comprehend, and as time seemed to slow, it also seemed to take Renn a very long time to become aware of the pain in his now destroyed left leg. But when he did, the scream of pain was like nothing Lusam had ever heard before. He screamed in agony on the floor, clutching at his now useless left leg. Thankfully, the screaming didn’t last for long, the pain being so intense that he simply blacked out from it moments later.