• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“We’ll be ready,” he replies. He and the rest of the Hand gather together, a subtle green glow springs into being around them. James can feel the unmistakable tingling of nearby magic as the Hand makes ready.

At that time, one of the mages suddenly sits erect in his saddle as he gazes in their direction. “One senses the magic,” he tells them. “I just hope he…”

Crumph! Crumph! Crumph! Crumph!

All along the road in the vicinity of the wrecked caravan, crystals which James had secreted earlier, respond with violent explosions when they detected the mage casting a spell.

James glances over to Brother Willim and gives him a nod indicating it’s time.

The green glow surrounding the Hand intensifies tenfold as they summon the power of Asran. Cries are heard from the horses as ants, millions of ants, swarm out of the ground and up their legs. Green shoots also spring out of the ground from the seeds which the brothers had sowed earlier, causing even more confusion and panic.

Horses try to run but their legs become entangled in the rapidly growing thorn bushes. Men scream as their horses rear and throw them into the carpet of ants covering the ground. No sooner does a man hit the ground then the ants are upon him, crawling inside the armor and begin biting. Nothing lethal but these are fire ants and each bite brings pain.

The dust which had been thrown into the air by the explosions begins to dissipate. One mage lies on the ground, the one who had initiated the blasts in the first place, and it doesn’t look as if he’s getting back up. The other mage who was near him at the time of the explosion is rolling on the ground, his hands flying fast as they try to get the ants off him.

The remaining mage was bucked off his horse when the explosion happened and managed to land without injury. He now stands safely just outside the perimeter of the ant swarm. James can feel the tingling spike as he works to counter the magic wielded by the Hand.

“How long can you keep this up?” James asks Brother Willim.

“His power is not nearly as great as ours,” he replies. “As long as you require.”

Jiron comes to him as he continues watching the events unfolding by the road. “Are you thinking what I think you are?” he asks.

“One mage down, another incapacitated by the ants, and the third locked in a duel with the Hand,” he says and then turns his attention to his friend. “We may never have a better chance.” The enemy force is in total chaos. Between the ants and the thorn bushes which continue to grow, most of the force is out of action.

Jiron gives him a grin and turns to the rest of the riders. “Mount up!” he yells.

“Yeah!” shouts Potbelly as he jumps into the saddle and draws his sword.

“We get in, take out the mages and then retreat,” James says to the others when he gains his saddle. “Now ride!”

With a whoop and holler, the fighters from The Ranch break into a gallop and charge. The enemy mage is quick to take notice of their attack and halts his attempt to counter the Hand. Turning his full attention to the attackers, he raises his hands and a greenish black globular substance forms before him. Moving with incredible speed, the substance flies toward the approaching riders.

James summons the magic and forms one of his protective barriers around the airborne mass, completely encompassing it. Nudging its trajectory slightly with another burst of power, he has it hit the ground far to their left. Once the barrier encased goo comes to rest on the ground, he releases the spell and sets the goo free where it sizzles and burns upon the ground.

He feels another spike when they are halfway there and this time the ground shakes violently, their horses begin to lose their balance and footing.

“We got company!” Shorty hollers out as a force of several score enemy riders appear riding hard from the rear of the force around the edge of the ant swarm.

A memory comes to mind and rather than attempting a direct confrontation with the mage, he selects a point within the swarm of ants.

Crumph!

Letting the