Shaping Magic (17 page)

“Send however many you need to bring it down as soon as everyone is safely past. The rest of you come with me to the castle,” he commanded.

With no argument that Lindon was not their leader nor even of the same race, the Dwarfs jumped to his orders and three of the warriors left to bring the tunnel down.

When Lindon and the Dwarfs arrived at the edge of the clearing before the castle, Lindon was stunned at how many of the attackers were between him and the palace.

One of the Dwarfs in his party quietly said, “By Gal Nola, how are we supposed to get through that?”

“
Donovan, Aina, can you both hear me?
” Lindon mindspoke to them.

“
Yes,
” they both answered.

“
How are things going at the castle
?”

“
Not well; we are ready to leave, but the moment we turn our backs they will be through the gate. We need some kind of distraction that will give us a head start.”

“I will see if there is anything I can do from out here. Be ready when I tell you to break immediately; do not hesitate.”

“
Understood
,” they both said.

Lindon looked around for something that he could use as a distraction but didn't see anything that would be big enough. He was just about to give up and simply attack and hope for the best when an idea popped into his head. He turned to Kailid. “I need to get up onto one of these roofs.”

“This way,” the Dwarf responded.

Kailid led Lindon into a building and they made their way to the roof. Once there, Lindon asked, “Where is the closest tunnel leading to Organack?”

It is not far. It would take us about two minutes to run to it,” he answered.

“Good. Send your men to it and tell them to get everything ready to bring it down; we will be coming in fast, so tell them as soon as we are through to drop it.”

“Yes sir!” the Dwarf said as he went to tell his men Lindon's orders.

When he returned, Lindon told him. “The ones in the castle need a distraction so that they can disengage from the attackers and make their way out, leaving them an empty castle.”

“How are we going to give them a big enough distraction to let them escape? I mean, look out there, there's thousands of them.”

“Leave that to me; just get ready to run when it happens,” Lindon told the Dwarf.

The Dwarf stared at Lindon as if the Human had completely lost his mind. If it weren’t for his skill with the blade, and the fact that he had just saved himself and his men from death, he would probably have left him on this roof alone.

As Lindon prepared himself for what he was about to attempt, he sent his thoughts out: “
Be ready
.”

When he felt that they were ready, he sent his mind out toward the magical sun that was glowing brilliantly. Feeling the magical energy, he grabbed hold of it with his mind. The power of it was overwhelming at first, but slowly he could feel how it was made. With a final thought, he reached out to Donovan and Aina. “
Now!
” he yelled in his mind.

Lindon pulled with all his will. At first it resisted him, but slowly, then with more momentum, it started to move. He didn't pull it toward himself but rather at the horde of invaders standing directly below it. With a final heave, he pulled it down on top of them.

Kailid stared at Lindon in shock. “What did you do?!” he practically screamed at him.

“The only thing I could do to allow your people to escape.”

“Sorry; I didn't mean to sound rude, it was just a shock to see. I never thought I would see the day when we must bring darkness back to our home,” Kailid apologized.

“Don't worry about it; I am sorry I had to do what I did, but it was the only thing I could think of that would be big enough to get their attention. Speaking of which, I think it’s time to get out of here, don't you?”

“Yes I do, but how will you see? It is completely black in here now.”

“Don't worry about me; just lead us out of this place.”

Becoming accustomed to following the Human’s orders, Kailid turned and started down off the building and toward the cave entrance that would lead them to safety. When they were within sight of the tunnel entrance, Lindon could see the glow of magic start from between them and the entrance. He wasn’t sure what it was and stopped. “There is something ahead of us,” he told the Dwarf.

Looking around to see what Lindon had seen, Kailid said, “What is it? I can't see anything.”

“Wait for it.”

They didn't have to wait long, for in front of them a shape started to appear. It only took a few seconds, and Kailid could see the shape of a man in robes appear. “Who is that?” he asked, having no clue as to what was happening.

“So you are the shaper,” the shade said. “You are nothing but a boy,” it said with a laugh.

“And you are nothing but a shade. Why have you come to harm these innocent Dwarfs?”

“What does it matter if they be innocent, my masters decide who will live and who will die,” the shade said with an evil laugh. “This world will fall to them, and nothing will stand in their way.”

“We will see about that!” Lindon, standing defiantly, said. While he was talking to the shade, Lindon was using his mind to see more about the magic holding the shade there.

“Foolish Human, you have no idea what is to come; this is only the beginning. You may have saved the pitiful little Dwarfs today, but be assured that we will hunt you all down and kill you all. The earth shaper and you, the magic shaper, may escape today, but we will find the nature and the water shaper, and the prophecy will end.”

Lindon could hear the invaders coming closer. As much as he wanted to learn more from this magus, he knew that he was only trying to delay them.

  “Well, it has been a pleasure talking with you, but it is time to leave.” Lindon grabbed hold of the magic that was holding the shade by the legs and tore them apart. Turning to Kailid, he yelled, “Run!”

Both Lindon and Kailid started running toward the tunnel. Looking over his shoulder, Lindon could see the invaders coming fast. They ran into the tunnel. Seeing the Dwarfs that were ready to bring the tunnel down, he shouted, “Collapse the tunnel now!”

As soon as he shouted, two of the Dwarfs swung their hammers against each side of the tunnel near the top. At first, nothing seemed to happen, then Lindon could see cracks start to form along the tunnel ceiling. Running as fast as they could, Kailid and Lindon made it past the Dwarfs at the same moment as the tunnel started to collapse.

Looking back, Lindon saw the first of the attackers enter the tunnel as it fell in on itself. He wasn’t sure if they died or were able to escape. Lindon told the Dwarfs, “Let’s go, we need to find the others.”

Lindon wanted to find out if they had made it out but didn't want to distract his friends, so he didn't try to communicate with them. He would just have to trust that they were safely on their way and when they were safe, they would call to him.

Chapter 15

When Lindon's command to run came, both Donovan and Aina yelled, “Now!” The entire line of Dwarfs broke away from the fight and started to run toward the tunnel. They only went about a dozen paces when the sun fell and darkness descended.

When the Dwarfs had turned and run, the attackers thought they would break through the gate and catch the Dwarfs, but were completely caught by surprise from behind with the crashing of the magic sun and the screams of their comrades. Momentarily stunned, they turned and watched as a wall of magic descended on them, vaporizing them instantly.

The Dwarfs did not wait to see what had happened; they ran as fast as their legs could carry them. When the last of them entered the tunnel, Donovan started to collapse the tunnel, shutting out the noise of the dying invaders and the magical destruction Lindon had caused.

When the tunnel was completely collapsed and the rumbling subsided, Donovan turned to Aina. “When that boy causes a distraction, he really goes all out, doesn't he?”

“That he does, and a good thing too; we wouldn't have lasted much longer,” she answered.

“True enough; I guess it was the only way. Our home was lost before we even knew it. At least this way, the invaders won't get to keep it either.”

“Your Highness, the way is clear. What are your orders?” one of the Dwarven warriors said.

Donovan, lost in thought, didn't say anything right away. His father had died before he arrived. Seeing him lying there had crushed his heart, but his people needed him now more than ever, and mourning for him would have to wait until they were all safely away.

“We go to Organack!” he said firmly, “After that, we will see.”

Turning to Aina, he said, “Should we call Lindon to see if he made it out?”

“No I can sense he is safe for now. Let's put some distance between us and this place before we talk to him. I don't want to distract him right now with questions; I am sure he knows we made it out,” she said.

When sending her thoughts out toward Lindon, she could feel the turmoil he was in. Causing the deaths of that many had affected Lindon, and all she could do was send her support to him and hope that he was capable of accepting the fact that he had no choice.

Aina was right; Lindon was indeed wrestling with the fact that he had killed not only in combat (which he could accept) but also that they had no chance when he brought the sun down on them. The words of Arden came to Lindon: “ You will have to kill again—and probably many times. If you don't, or if you hesitate, you and your grandmother will be dead. This isn't a game; there are people out there tying to kill both of you.”
This time it was not just him or his grandmother; it was an entire race his enemies were trying to eliminate.  Lindon felt that it was his duty to prevent that sort of thing from ever happening. Arden was right, though: He didn't go to their home to kill them, they came to the home of his friends.

Lindon felt somewhat better about what he'd had to do. Following behind the Dwarfs, Lindon brought to mind what the Shade had said. “You have no idea what is to come. This is only the beginning. You may have saved the pitiful little Dwarfs today but be assured that we will hunt you all down and kill you all. The earth shaper and you, the magic shaper, may escape today, but we will find the nature and water shaper, and your prophecy will end.”

As Lindon thought about the words, a thought struck him. They don't know about Aina; that must mean they think she was somewhere else. The more he thought about it the more he remembered what she had said about the Elven home. They were forced to leave because they wanted to bring the magical barrier down and to join the other races, but that didn't make sense. Why would they turn on themselves, unless there was something or someone causing the division between the Elven people?

These masters that the shade mentioned must be the Merrow, and they think that the nature shaper must still be in the Elven homeland. If that's true, it just might give them the time they need to find the water shaper and the Dragons. Lindon was starting to believe the old Dwarven witch. There was definitely more going on in the world than just normal Human conflict. The fact that the shade also mentioned his masters, and the prophecy meant that there was the possibility that it was all true and an evil race was bent on the destruction of every living thing in the world.

The thought of it made Lindon shiver; again he asked, why him. What could he do in the face of such evil? Looking back over his shoulder toward the city and remembering what he had just done, the answer came to him. He can stop them anyway he could. He vowed to himself that he would, no matter what it would take.

Lindon and the party of Dwarven warriors arrived at Organack. “This is too close to the city; we cannot stay here,” Lindon said to Kailid.

“That will be up to the king,” he replied.

When they went into the cavern, Lindon was struck with the feeling of despair. The Dwarven people had suffered the loss of their home; how could he simply tell them they had to move on to someplace safer? The more he looked around at the Dwarfs and where they were, he realized they were just not safe here. Even with the collapsed tunnels, he had the feeling that before long, the enemy would be here to finish what they started.

“
Donovan, where are you?
” he mindspoke.

“
We are just now arriving at Organack
,” he answered.

“
We must talk; it is not safe to stay here too long.
”

“
I agree, but let them rest for a bit; I will be with you soon
.”

As Lindon waited for Donovan to arrive, there was a bit of a commotion among some of the Dwarfs. Not wanting to intrude, Lindon slowly made his was closer to see what was going on. As he got closer, he could see a Dwarf lying on the ground and some of the Dwarven healers were arguing about what to do with her. Lindon tried to get a better look at the injured Dwarf and when he caught sight of her, he rushed to her, pushing the Dwarven healers out of the way. Lying before him was the Dwarven woman who was hit with the axe that had been meant for him.

Lindon knelt beside her. “I am truly sorry,” he said to the poor woman. “It was meant for me.”

The injured Dwarf looked up at Lindon and whispered, “It is not your fault; these old bones don't move as fast as they used to.”

With a tear in his eyes from the kind words of the brave woman, he said, “I thank you for your words, but there is something I can do for you now—if you will allow me?”

The Dwarven female only nodded her head, not having any more strength to talk.

With her permission, he placed one hand above the wound and like he had done with Kailid in the caves before he brought the energy into his hands and pulled the axe out. When he pulled the axe out, she screamed in pain. The Dwarfs who were closest started protest that the Human was killing one of their own, but Kailid stepped beside Lindon. “Enough!' he bellowed. “Watch and see what happens.”

“He's going to kill her!” more shouted back.

“In the name of the king, shut it and watch!”

Lindon didn't hear what was being said, lost in the flow of the power he poured into the wound. When he had fist pulled the axe, blood spurted out; the more power he sent in, the more the wound closed. Flesh was mending; tendons and muscle were being stitched back together, but Lindon could do nothing about the blood loss.

With a gasp of exhaustion, Lindon fell back. “Her wound is healed, but she has lost a lot of blood.” He blacked out.