Son of Thunder - Murray J. D. Leeder [72]
Leng drew out hidden wands from inside his robes and blasted the rocky beast with bolts of magic. It withstood each strike. The rocks beneath the Antiquarians' feet changed to soft clay, swelling up around their boots. At once, the waters of the river rose until the group was standing ankle deep in the cold water, sending shocks to their brains.
Bessick cursed, turning to Ardeth. "Just what should we do?" he thundered. "If you have all the answers, tell us!"
Ardeth answered with a single word. "Wait."
An unholy purple radiance surrounded Leng's hands, and he cast the energy forward against the stone unicorn. It struck its horn, which trembled under the impact, the tip cracking through and hitting the ground hard. It melted away, sucked back into the earth.
But the creature was undeterred and still walked forward, its shadow creeping ever closer. Ardeth stepped back, water swirling about her ankles, and stood close to Gan, who hadn't even raised the axe that now seemed like a part of him.
"I will protect you, mistress," the hobgoblin said.
"I'm afraid the opposite is true," Ardeth replied.
Leng did not notice-or did not care-that no one aided him in his battle as he spent his magical might on this monumental foe. He was someplace else, feeling his god's full power coursing through him as never before. A lightning bolt crackled out, this time originating from one of the stone eyes of the unicorn, bound directly for Leng's face. It never reached him, however, instead bouncing off an unseen barrier and into the sky. Whatever resistance Leng used against the creature's magic, though, would no longer be effective once the unicorn reached him, and its magical attacks would no longer be needed.
Nithinial sprang into action. Something inside his tortured mind snapped, and he leaped into the air, his dagger clutched in his hand. He sank it into Leng's left shoulder, driving it through bone and flesh.
The priest let out a wail of agony louder than the roaring waterfall. The spell he had been preparing was demolished and his concentration was ruined. Instinctively Leng plucked the dagger out of his shoulder, causing a plume of blood to squirt into the air, flow down his purple robes and spray onto his face.
Racked with pain, Leng spun to face his attacker. "You, elfspawn," he cursed Nithinial, bloody spittle flying from his mouth, "have just killed us all." With one hand he grabbed Nithinial's arm and pulled him forward, and with the other he drove the dagger, slick with his own blood, into the half-elf's neck. The blade slid into place, hilt deep. Nithinial gurgled blood and collapsed.
A fist struck Leng on the side of his head. The priest lost his balance. He kept his footing for a moment, but stumbled backward into the rushing river. The fist was Bessick's, and the blow was meant to push him to a proper distance for the move that would finish him. But when Bessick's chain lashed out, Leng, standing waist-deep in the fast running water, reached out and gripped the chain, its spikes driving through his hands. He pulled with all of his magically-enhanced strength, ripping Bessick from his place to join Leng in the Run.
The great stone unicorn kept coming toward them, undeterred.
Bessick took a lungful of cold water and scrambled to regain his footing, but he could not get back on his feet. Leng stepped forward, plucking his hands from the spikes on Bessick's chain, the blood tingeing the water crimson. He pushed Bessick's head down to the river's muddy bottom with his foot, then let the heavy chain go, pinning him in place. Bessick's struggling soon ceased.
Two bolts hit Leng, one bouncing off the bracer on his left arm, the other burying itself in his chest. He looked up at the remaining four-Gan, Gunton with his spear, and Ardeth and Royce with their crossbows