Darkwell - Douglas Niles [148]
Finally Grunnarch's mighty strength failed, for just a moment. His axe became wedged in the skull of a great ogre zombie, and before he could pull it free, clawed hands scratched at his legs. Moist, rotten flesh fell from arms that seized his waist.
Undead hands ripped the axe from his hands and pulled his feet out from under him. A half-dozen zombies dragged the Red King from the circle of his men, and though the warriors of the north made a valiant rush to reclaim their king, the ranks of the enemy closed behind him, and Grunnarch the Red disappeared among the festering bodies of the dead of the sea.
* * * * *
Once again the powerful sword bit into the god's flesh, only to have the wound close behind it scarcely after the weapon was withdrawn. The thunderous explosion of sound had become almost routine as Tristan desperately strove to somehow defeat this thing.
"There's got to be a way!" gasped the king, whirling away and narrowly avoiding a crushing fist.
"There is! Bite him!" Newt popped into view beside the king and darted forward to sink his tiny sharp teeth into the god's calf. "Yuck!" The faerie dragon spat disgustedly, ignoring Bhaal's sudden swat, then popped out of sight once again.
"Tristan! We've found the secret! The glasses showed us the key!" Robyn once again appeared beside Tristan before the awesome giant. Breathlessly she described the vision that she and Tavish had seen through the glasses.
"We'll never harm the body out here, because its true soul is in the well! That's the key!"
Bhaal pulled a huge tree trunk from the earth, ripping it free as a man might pluck a stalk of wheat. He swung the timber at the humans who stood before him. Once again Tristan raised his sword. The blade met the trunk solidly, and thunder smote their ears. The tree shattered to splinters, yet Tristan and the sword still stood.
"What can we do about it?" asked the king quickly.
"See if you can get to the shore. The god seems to try to keep us away from the well. Can you get past it?" Robyn once again slashed with her scimitar, ineffective as an attack but serving to attract the god's attention.
"I'll give it a try. Any plan is better than nothing!" Tristan darted to one side and tried to race past the towering form of the god, but Bhaal quickly stepped into his path, forcing the king back with a series of heavy blows, striving desperately to drive the man back from the Darkwell.
Robyn hacked at the god's heel with the scimitar, narrowly missing being kicked as Bhaal twisted toward her while still holding Tristan at bay. As she stumbled backward, her hand fell upon the ivory horn she had tucked into her belt – the horn of the unicorn, Kamerynn.
An idea born of desperation formed in her mind, and she dropped the scimitar and pulled out the horn. "I'm going to try something! Run to the well – now!"
Tristan didn't stop to question Robyn, though he wondered at her boldness as she dropped the silver weapon. He sprinted past the god's foot in a desperate race toward the Darkwell.
Bhaal spun on his other foot and lurched after the king, ignoring Robyn for a moment. She hefted the horn of Kamerynn high above her head like a javelin. Then she leaped to the side of Bhaal's foot as the god crouched to spring after Tristan. Putting all the force she could summon behind it and calling on the might of her newfound goddess to aid her blow, she drove the horn down toward the huge foot.
The unicorn's horn plunged through the skin and the flesh of the god's foot, through the bottom, and into the earth below. Like a huge nail, it anchored the foot to the ground.
Bhaal's bellow of rage shook the very depths of the earth, felling nearby trees and sending ripples across the water of the well. As the force of sound struck Tristan, he stumbled forward, struggling to regain his balance.
The physical body of Bhaal swayed precariously and crashed to the ground, its foot still firmly pinned by the horn. The earth itself trembled beneath the impact, and several more trees toppled to the ground.