Blessing of the Stars

The undead frost vultures were rapidly descending and the necromancer was guarded by the undead surrounding us. We had to retreat. The situation was falling apart faster than I could track. I tightened my grip on the hilt of my sword.

 

"Let's go back to the cave," I shouted over the wind. "If we stay in the open grounds and the blizzard we will be at a disadvantage."

 

Elara parried an undead knight’s blade and kicked the creature back. "No, if we go inside the cave we will be boxed and overwhelmed by the undead instead of the vultures. Use your gravity magic to bind the undead vultures to the ground. I will take care of that woman by then."

 

My heart hammered against my ribs.

 

"I can't use it right now," I said.

 

Elara paused for a fraction of a second her golden eyes wide. "What do you mean you can't use it?"

 

I had to tell her. I had intended to tell no one about it much less her but I didn't have a choice. The truth was a bitter weight in my throat.

 

"I am not able to use magic anymore."

 

She was shocked. The disbelief on her face was clear even through the swirling snow. She scanned the area and saw the vultures closing the distance. She didn't hesitate for long. She started dashing towards the cave.

 

"Let's go to the cave," she yelled. "I know you're not the type to joke in a situation like this."

 

I followed her. We pushed through the undead that were surrounding us. Steel met bone and rotted flesh. I cut a path through the undead but we were too late. One of the undead frost vultures crashed into the unstable snow above the entrance causing it to collapse. A massive shelf of ice and rock slid down. The cave entrance was blocked.

 

We both stopped. The wall of debris was impenetrable.

 

She asked "Any suggestions?"

 

I didn't have time to answer. One of the vultures flew at us with its talons aimed at my head. I dived to the side and felt the rush of freezing air as it passed. I rolled and swung my blade in a wide arc cutting off one of its wings. It thrashed on the ground and Elara finished it by slicing off its neck in one fluid motion.

 

Four more approached. They moved in coordination guided by the necromancer’s will.

 

The fight was a blur of cold steel and freezing blood. I lunged at the vulture approaching me but another one struck me from the side. Its talons tore through my winter coat and sank deep into my shoulder. I hissed in pain and drove my blade into its chest. Two more swarmed me. I felt a sharp sting in my leg and another on my ribs.

 

Elara ran towards me and blocked a strike on my back that would have opened me from neck to waist. I was in a worse state than her. I was already tired and injured from the fight with the undead high orc and the vultures’ swift attacks only made my condition worse. There were cuts all over my body and my vision was beginning to blur from the blood loss and the exhaustion.

 

Elara looked at me and gritted her teeth. The mana around her started to glow gold. It was a bright intense light that pushed back the shadows of the blizzard.

 

She also looked injured. A long gash ran down her arm and she was leaning slightly to one side but she was trying to hide her pain. I was frustrated at my powerlessness. I was the one who had returned to save everyone yet I was being protected by the woman who had ended me. If only I had my power right now. If only the gravity would obey.

 

"Julius."

 

Her voice was cold and commanding. It was nothing like the usual Elara.

 

"You go for the necromancer," she said. "I will distract and protect you from the vultures."

 

We had no time to argue. The wounded me staying here won't make any difference in a war of attrition. I turned away from her and started looking for the woman in the tattered robes but she was nowhere to be seen in the chaos.

 

Then I saw her. She was sitting on top of a giant rock some distance away, watching us as if this were a show. And she looked bored.

 

I ran towards her.

 

The necromancer noticed me and raised her staff. She commanded all the undead to target me. Dozens of undead skeletons, knights and ghouls turned their empty sockets toward my direction.

 

I didn't stop.

 

Behind me I heard the screeching of vultures and the sound of Elara’s blade. She cut down whoever tried to approach me. She was a whirlwind of gold and steel keeping the path clear.

 

I ran at the rock with everything I had. I lunged at the necromancer.

 

She reacted quickly.

 

She summoned an undead snow troll from the frozen earth to protect her. The massive creature began to rise its body made of ice and ancient bone.

 

But she was too late.

 

I didn't try to fight the troll. I reached into my pouch and threw the magic lighter I had on me. It hit the troll's chest and ignited the volatile mana within. The explosion was small but enough to stagger the beast. I used its knee as a stepping stone and kicked it down as I propelled myself toward the woman.

 

The smirk on the woman’s face was gone. It was now pure anger.

 

"Why is that woman helping you?" she hissed.

 

I wanted to question her. I wanted to ask about the Nameless Order and why they were here. But I had no time. Elara was protecting me with everything she had while I was trying to take the necromancer down. I could see Elara stumbling in the distance surrounded by a cloud of white snow.

 

I raised my sword and stabbed it deep into the woman’s chest.

 

The blade went through her heart. I expected her to collapse. I expected the nightmare to end. But her expressions were not that of a dying person. She didn't gasp or choke. Instead, she gave me a mocking smile. It was a look of triumph.

 

"Kodoku," she whispered.

 

Her eyes became lifeless instantly. It wasn't the death of a human but the breaking of a vessel. A sharp pain erupted inside me. It felt like a thousand needles were being driven into my veins from the inside out. My heart seized and my breathing stopped. I couldn't move an inch. My sword stayed buried in her chest as I fell to my knees.

 

The blizzard calmed down almost instantly. The wind died to a whisper. All the undead in the area started falling down. The vultures crumbled into dust. The undead became nothing but piles of rotting flesh and bone.

 

My senses were starting to fade away. The world was turning grey.

 

“Ahh is this how I will die this time?” I thought.

 

“Even when I was given another chance I couldn’t save anyone. I had failed my parents. I had failed the Duchy. I had even failed to survive a simple journey.”

 

The snow felt warm now. That was a bad sign.

 

Elara ran towards me. I could hear her boots crunching on the snow.

 

"Julius. Julius are you okay?"

 

She reached me and grabbed my shoulders. She checked my pulse and then she pressed her hand to my chest to check my mana. She knew something was wrong. The curse or whatever that woman had done was eating me alive.

 

"Julius stay with me."

 

Her voice was frantic. I tried to look at her but I couldn't focus.

 

She looked as if she had made up her mind to do something. She got on her knees in front of me and ignored her own wounds. She placed her hands on top of my head.

 

The whole surrounding area lit up with golden light. It wasn't the harsh light of battle. It was soft and deep. The mana in the surrounding started shimmering like the stars in the night sky. It felt like the void I had stood in before waking up in the past.

 

"Blessing of the Stars."

 

Those were the last words I heard before losing my consciousness.

 

***

 

The golden light of the blessing was fading from my fingertips. I looked at Julius. He was still. He was pale. But he was alive.

 

“Aaaaaaaaaarghhhhhhhh” I screamed. The pain in my own body began to suface. I clutched at my chest, my fingers digging so hard into the fabric of my dress that I could feel my own ribs.

 

I tried to stay upright but my strength was gone. I collapsed onto the snow beside him. My vision was starting to flicker like a dying candle.

 

Then I heard it.

 

The distant rhythmic thud of hooves against this frozen hell. I forced my heavy head to turn. Through the thinning blizzard I saw silhouettes of horses. I saw the flash of silver armour.

 

"Up there! I see some light!"

 

The shout was muffled by the wind but it was enough. They were coming. My eyes began to close and the world started to slip into a dark void.

 

“Ahh I did it again.”

 

That was my final thought before the darkness took me too.