No matter what, Amelia thought. I will not close my eyes.
Whistling as it moved, the saber came down and crunched into the wood next to her head.
The creature was wavering as though it was dizzy and the black eyes were dull.
Of course! Lina said they were on some kind of drug and it must be wearing off!
Taking advantage of the situation, Amelia rolled onto her right hip, swinging her leg in a vicious arc, a move which was rewarded by the sound of his bones breaking. With a howl of pain, he let go of his sword and leapt on her, his hands wrapping around her throat and forcing her to discard her own sword as she fought to break his hold.
Though Zelgadis had his own problems, he could watch Conrad out of the corner of his eye.
The boy was wielding a cane topped with a crystal orb as though it was a rapier, a gleeful grin on his face as he dipped, dodged, parried and thrust. His opponent was one of the larger creatures who seemed to be enjoying this as much as he was and had the upper hand.
Bit by bit, he backed Conrad towards a small group of trees who's branches were grown together and increased the fury of his attack.
Apparently, as a last ditch maneuver, Conrad reversed his grip and began swinging the orb at the creature's head.
But the creature only sidestepped and brought his saber down on the cane's shaft, driving the orb down against the tree.
Zelgadis caught a glimpse of the bloodthirsty smile on the boy's face before he was seemingly consumed by lightning.
Most women dread labor, Amelia used the pain to her advantage as her fist smacked into the creature's jaw and felt something give. The creature howled again in fresh pain as she followed it up by driving her knee into a sensitive region of his anatomy. The creature howled anew, throwing his head back and exposing his throat.
Amelia, like the warrior she was and had been trained to be, drove her fist into his windpipe. The creature gagged, a faint burbling sound coming out of it's mouth at is tried to breathe through it's partially crushed windpipe. A second punch to the creature's forehead knocked it back away from her ... just in time to take an overhanging branch in the back of the neck. She barely heard the wet snap of the creature's neck breaking before it was swept off the wagon by the branch.
Ignoring the sharp stab of pain that was labor, the young Queen turned and crawled for the driver's seat, and the reins she saw wrapped around the rail.
For the past two months, Zelgadis had wondered what precisely what role that Conrad had held within the band of individuals. At times, he seemed to be the leader, at other times, he had deferred to one of the others.
Now it seemed, he was a warrior, the cane, or rather the orb that topped it, was a magical armor of some kind.
Now, wielding a double-ended bladed staff with deadly precision, clad in red and black armor, the boy was cutting a wide swath of blood through the ranks of the strange beings that they fought.
At the side of the road, Lina Inverse and the biggest of their foes were locked in a strange battle that was half swordplay, and half magic. Over the clamor of metal against metal, groans, and war cries, he could hear them chanting in a strange, chittering language. Lightning flashed between them, and he could hear muted voices and the glimpsed half formed bodies of undreamed of horrors.
Risking a glimpse, he looked for the biggest concentration of the Newcomer Zefilans, as Lina had called them, then gathered his will and focused it at the ground beneath his feet.
"Earth below me," He intoned, laying his hand on the ground "submit to my will! STONE SPIKER!" The earth seemed to shriek as sharp rock pushed out the earth impaling whoever was standing there. The knights, familiar with the effects, scattered at the first sign of the spell. The Newcomers were not so lucky.
The surviving Newcomers froze for half a second. It was all they needed.
"To me!" Edmund roared, raising his sword high over his head. "Split them up the middle!" The Knights surged forward, their swords swinging wildly. The Newcomers more or less folded up as the knights bashed their way through their ranks as Conrad and his friends darted around the edges.
From there, it was over fairly quickly.
While the Knights rounded up the survivors, Zelgadis went over to Lina. The sorceress was on one knee, her face pale.
"You okay?" He asked. She nodded.
"Yeah. Just give me a moment." Grunting, she stood up. "Give me a hand with this." She said, grabbing the arm of her fallen foe. Zelgadis nodded, then, seeing her face, picked up the Newcomer and slung him over one shoulder.
"Where?" He asked brusquely. Lina pointed at a pair of trees by the side of the road. Grunting, Zelgadis did as instructed.
"Cage." Lina said. The trees came alive, their branches twisting as they plunged into the ground, creating a very effective cage. "Wake." Lina snapped and the Newcomer stirred.
"Your Highness." He said as he laid eyes on Lina. "How nice to see you."
"Stow it." Lina said sharply.
"You're really very ugly in that form you know. Have - " He broke off as a fireball passed within inches of his head. "You mean you haven't told them?" He laughed, a sound that came out as a high pitched cackle. "Oh how rich. How positively perfect."
"You're boring me Kranso." Lina said. "I didn't like you when we were kids, and I still don't. Now, why are you engaging in Highway Robbery?"
"I could tell you, but I'd rather not." He said and beamed at her. "Be seeing you." He paused. "Praise be to Ceiphed."
"GET DOWN!" Lina yelled, just before the trees vanished in a bright yellow explosion of flame and noise.
When they could see again, the trees were gone, and only a crater remained to mark their place.
"Strange." Zelgadis said.
"You don't know the half of it." Lina said, staring at the crater.
At that point, a Carriage came down the road. In the drivers seat was Amelia, white as a sheet.
"L-Labor." She gasped as she slumped over.
Part 24 | Story Index | Fanfiction