Daughter of the Drow - Elaine Cunningham [27]
"No," Fyodor whispered. "Not again, not now."i
He struggled against the rising tide of heat and fury, but it was too late and he knew it. His last conscious thought was regret for Sasha. The fierce pony would certainly rush into battle beside him. He had little hope for her life against such foes.
Then the battle rage took him.
Nisstyre stirred and struggled beneath his snowy blanket. Every bone and sinew ached from the fall. He had not expected this attack-his spell should have disarmed any traps on the hut's door-but then, he had never encountered the humans known as Red Wizards. He would be better prepared next time, provided he survived this attempt.
Finally he clawed his way out of the snowbank and drew in air with a deep, ragged breath. Then he saw the apparition storming down the hill, and he almost forgot to exhale.
A human man-or so Nisstyre assumed-rushed toward the clearing. Dark hair stood up about his head like the bristles of an enraged hedgehog, and his face was suffused with intense heat. The warrior's countenance glowed an angry red in both the light- and heat-spectrums, yet a faint, unnerving smile curved his lips. As he thundered toward the battle he thrashed the air with a long, broad-bladed sword. At first glance, the warrior appeared to be about seven feet tall, but Nisstyre was accustomed to magical illusions and he saw beyond this one. The man was in reality less than six feet tall, and although he was powerfully mus-eled he should not have been able to swing that enormous black sword as he did. The weapon was broad, and its edge appeared to be thick and dull, yet each wild pass cut the air with a strongly audible swish. By some magic that Nisstyre did not understand, this warrior was much more than he should have been.
The drow wizard struggled painfully to his feet. Although he felt and resented the strange power of this human, his first thought-and his first spell-had to address the most immediate threats. A strange, ugly dragon-thing was plummeting, with gaping jaws and outstretched talons, toward his band of thieves.
Nisstyre flung a hand skyward. An enormous fireball hurtled toward the flying monster, and the two deadly forces collided in an explosion that shook snow from the trees and knocked the ice golem to its knees. The dragon-thing spiraled to the ground and crashed with a burst of oily flame. With a final, almost grateful cry, the creature gave up its unnatural life.
Meanwhile three drow fighters leaped upon the golem, chipping and hacking at its icy flesh. The golem flung them off as easily as a dog might shake water from its coat. It rose to its feet, and its ice-colored eyes settled on Nisstyre. The golem began its advance.
Before the wizard could summon a defensive spell, the human leaped the last few feet of his descent and sprinted through the clearing. Ignoring the drow around him, he barrelled straight toward the ice golem. He ducked a swing of the golem's clublike fist and, grasping the hilt of his sword with both hands, he hauled it back for a mighty blow.
The thick black blade whistled in and struck the golem's hip with a tremendous, booming crack. For a moment it seemed as if the hit had been no more effective than those of the drow. Then wavering lines rippled through the golem's body and down its leg. The massive limb crumbled into shards of ice, and the golem toppled.
The human leaped onto the fallen creature, and his black sword rose and fell again and again until the golem was reduced to a sparkling pile. That accomplished, the battle-mad human threw himself at the nearest gnoll. With one mighty swing, he struck the head from the powerful creature.
"But the sword has no edge," Nisstyre muttered, and his coppery brows knit with consternation as he scrutinized his unexpected ally.
The human had already flung himself upon a pair of sword-wielding gnolls. One of the dog-men got through the human's guard and slashed a dark red line across his thigh. The fighter did not falter, did not so much as flinch. Sweat poured from the man's red face and hung in tiny icicles