Black wizards - Douglas Niles [132]
"I'm afraid I do need to rest before we go," said the druid, sitting back on the bed. "But you – I -"
Robyn gasped as a black shadow soared through the window into her room. A white face grimaced at her, and she had a horrible vision of an undead skeleton, flying here to haunt her.
But the eyes of this apparition were alive, and its red lips were parted in cruel delight. This figure, robed all in black, was a woman. And now she was diving at Robyn's face. Robyn caught a glimpse of thin, bony hands and wild black hair as the woman flew toward her.
But most of all Robyn saw the woman's steel dagger, extended like a claw for her heart. Desperately, she pulled a pillow from the bed and crouched beneath it as the woman fell upon her. Feathers flew as the dagger sliced the cushion.
The young druid used the force of her attacker's momentum to pull her past the bed, kicking her in the stomach as she sailed by. The attacker slammed into the wall as Robyn threw off the covers and sprang to her feet.
Still bearing that ghastly grin, showing her long teeth, the woman brandished her dagger. Suddenly, Newt flashed across the room, scoring a path of bloody claw marks across her cheek. Yazilliclick pulled out his silver dagger and darted into the fray. With a bestial scream of rage, the woman turned toward the faerie dragon.
"Sheeriath, drake!" she hissed, pointing. A stream of stringlike material shot from her finger, wrapping itself around the little dragon, sticking to him and burying the wood sprite as well. They were both stuck fast in the gluey net of a giant spiderweb.
A sorcerer! Hissing like an angry black cat, the woman crept toward her. She waved the dagger menacingly.
"Centius, heerith!" said Robyn softly. Instantly, the blade of the dagger glowed cherry red. With an explosive hiss of pain, the woman dropped her weapon.
"Magius, stryke!" she shrieked. An arrow of light burst from her pointing finger to strike Robyn in the breast, cutting her skin and burning into her flesh. Pain raced through the druid's body as another, and still a third, magic missile crackled into her bleeding chest. The force of the blows smashed her against the outer wall of the room. Robyn leaned heavily against the window, while the magic-user stood with her back to the door.
Newt and Yazilliclick struggled within the bonds of the web, but they were powerless to move. Robyn felt her strength ebb as blood ran across the front of her gown. She shook her head weakly as the woman pulled a little ball of something from her robe. The smell of sulphur filled the air.
"Pyrax, surrass histar," gloated the mage, her eyes gleaming. The tiny ball suddenly burst into flame, drifting lazily toward Robyn.
Sulphur? Fire magic! Desperately, Robyn raised her hands to her face and then dropped them the length of her body.
"Protection, Mother -" she beseeched. Before she could finish the ritual chant, orange flame exploded around her, blanketing her body in fire. The fireball billowed from the window, illuminating the night and incinerating half the room. Doric stood in the other half, cackling as the fire – far hotter than any natural blaze – consumed the bed, the walls, and the floor. The druid could not be seen in the bright heart of the explosion.
But then the magic-user's eyes widened as her enemy stepped from the heat. Robyn's goddess had heard her plea for protection. She had surrounded her druid with a cool barrier, holding the forces of dark magic at bay.
Doric's jaw fell slack as she stared in awe. The druid came closer, and the blazing rage in her eyes made even the supernatural heat of the fireball grow pale in comparison.
Robyn seized the neck of the mage with hands that were strong and calloused from work in the grove. Her grip tightened, and she felt the windpipe of her enemy close beneath her powerful grasp. Robyn's strength was much greater than this frail woman's – for Doric's power to terrorize and destroy came solely from her magic.
Suddenly, Robyn knew that she wanted this mage to die by magic – and carry a final lesson about