The Unsuspecting Mage - Brian S. Pratt [45]
Pierce the shield, through the heart
The power of good, succeed.
Again a multitude of power tendrils flow into him, meet in the center, and surging outward as he hurls the stone at the girl. This time when the stone connects with her protective shield, there’s an intense flash of light and the stone passes through to strike her in the chest. It then explodes out her back and she slumps lifelessly forward to the floor, settling at an awkward angle due to her legs still being encased within the stone floor.
Tired, exhausted and drained, James turns toward the pentagram and the evil coalescing above it. The swirling vortex has now almost completely formed into something inhuman in aspect and malignant in nature. The glowing red eyes of the creature are fixed upon him and he can feel hatred roll over him like a filthy tide. Somehow, he knows that he must find a way to close this portal between worlds before the creature is able to manifest completely. He modifies another of his druid’s spells:
Forces of Good, forces of nature,
Hearken to me one last time.
Seal the rift, the passage to close,
And let victory at last be mine!
One last time he feels the influx of multiple tendrils as they suffuse him with more power than ever before. So intense is the power as it passes through, that it feels as his nerve endings are being seared raw as it flows outward. In his mind’s eye he visualizes the portal and the power of the evil fighting to keep it open. Such malignant hate and evil; even in his worst nightmares he never could have imagined such to exist. His mind’s eye concentrates on the portal, directing the magic in drawing it close. The power continues flowing to, and then out through him, toward the portal.
Wave after wave of malignant hate strike him like physical blows, each nearly causing him to falter. Somehow though, he manages to remain focused and continues directing the magic in closing the portal.
Just before the portal is no more, a final surge of unbelievable malignancy blasts into him and knocks him back several steps. With the closing of the portal, he ends the spell and the magic tendrils cease flowing into him. He has little time to enjoy his victory. Completely drained and exhausted, his eyes roll up into the back of his head, and he collapses to the floor passing out.
When consciousness returns, he comes awake disoriented and with a headache threatening to split his skull wide open. Others are in the room, but he’s having a hard time getting his eyes to focus properly so couldn’t make them out.
“James, are you all right?” a familiar voice asks.
He knows it’s familiar, but his mind can’t quite put a name to it. Unable to utter more than an incoherent grunt, he shakes his head. Water is poured into his mouth and after a couple swallows, his vision clears. He manages a weak smile as his eyes finally focus on the one addressing him; Ceryn.
“Thought…you…home,” he manages to get out.
“Thought I went home?” When James nods, Ceryn shakes his head. “No. I was visiting a friend and happened to be at the Squawking Goose when Corbin came running through the front doors screaming of demons.”
“When he finally told us what was going on, we hurried out here.” He then gestures to a man by the pentagram and continues, “I dragged our priest along just in case. When we saw the devastation, we thought for sure to find you dead. Imagine our surprise that you weren’t.”
His mind couldn’t make sense of what the Warden was saying. “Devastation?”
“Devastation like I never would have believed. Trees shriveled in a massive swath with this house at the center; plenty of the animals, too.”
“How?”
“We thought you might be able to tell us.”
James just shakes his head.
Another man kneels by the pentagram, the little girl in his arms. Sobs come from the man. James thought at first she was dead, but then the man notices him looking their way, wipes tears from his eyes, smiles and says, “Thank you. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for saving my little girl.” His sobs were those of gladness, not sorrow.