Song of the Saurials - Kate Novak [107]
Breck was hit by two more crossbow bolts, one in his shoulder and another in his leg. Since he was the biggest member of the party, and the only human male fighter, the orcs no doubt perceived him as the greatest threat, but the Torn Ear's attempts to fell him first came to naught. He ignored the pain from his injuries and separated another orc head from its neck.
Back behind Grypht, Zhara watched all the bloodshed with horror. This was the first battle she'd ever witnessed, and she realized now that she really didn't want to see a second. Even so, it took all her willpower to turn her eyes from the gory scene and fix her sight on the dark tunnel behind her. It was fortunate she did, for she turned in time to spy four pairs of red eyes glittering in the dark-orcs creeping up on her and Grypht.
The priestess drew the light stone out of her pocket and held it up with a shout. The orcs fell back in fear just as Breck had said they would. Zhara shuddered and moved closer to Grypht. The saurial wizard scooped up a stone from the floor of the passage and heaved it at the retreating orcs. It caught one of them in the head, and he collapsed to the ground, still and silent. Noting the size of the beast that had just felled their companion, the other three orcs turned and fled.
Meanwhile, the battle farther down the tunnel was in full swing. The second orc to close on Alias swung at the swords-woman's head with his axe. Alias ducked his first blow and parried the second with her blade. A crossbow bolt grazed Alias's head, and the orc with the axe hit her shield arm. She lost her grip on the finder's stone, and the crystal bounced behind the ores. Alias retreated a step, and before the orc could follow, she lunged back at him, stabbing right through his leather armor, between his ribs and into his heart.
While Breck and Dragonbait engaged the remaining orcs, Alias crawled over the corpses after the precious finder's stone. Just as she reached for it, a heavy green vine batted her hand away. At the end of the vine was a fanged mouth, which swallowed half the stone and pulled it away. Alias looked up and gasped.
Hovering overhead was a creature out of nightmares-a huge beholder from whose three broken eyestalks and empty central eye socket grew slimy vines, as mobile as arms, with mouths growing from the ends. A second vine shot out at Alias and started to whip about her throat, but the swordswoman slashed it from the beholder's body with her sword.
The beholder turned ever so slightly, focusing one of its deadly eyes on Alias.
"Servant," the beholder whispered. "Come!"
Alias felt a sudden warmth for the beholder, as if it, not Dragonbait or Finder or Akabar, could offer her all the friendship she would ever need. The finder's stone flared brightly in the beholder's vine mouth, and the beholder was forced to close its eye of charm, breaking its spell before Alias was completely besotted.
Akabar, who had just fired a pair of magic missiles at an orc retreating into the hole in the rubble, had already noted the vine-ridden beholder as it pushed an orc from its path and emerged from the hole. The southern mage hurried back to where Grypht stood with Zhara, watching the orcs who had tried to sneak up on them retreat. Akabar tugged on the saurial wizard's sleeve and pointed at the beholder.
Grypht hissed at the sight of the monster, then grinned with satisfaction at the sight of the beholder's central eye socket, empty but for the dagger hilt sticking out of it. This is one eye tyrant who will learn to respect the power of a wizard, Grypht thought. The great saurial moved closer to the battle line, pulling a clear cone-shaped crystal from his robe pocket. When he could aim his spell safely without hitting Breck or Dragonbait, the wizard spoke the word "Deathfrost" in saurial and triggered the spell.
Blinded by the finder's stone light, the beholder failed to see Grypht's enchantment heading toward it. A blast of frigid air hit the beholder dead on, freezing the vines