Shadow Cursed Page 20

  “Then we have survived the Titans even if we’ve had to change to do it,” said Gabriel.

  “What are Titans?” asked Hanbar confused.

  “Your people don’t remember why they left Earth?” asked Gabriel.

  “We have no records or tales before descending from the mountains. Why do I hear fear in your voice when you speak of these Titans?” asked Hanbar.

  “Titans, where do I begin. Earth was a densely populated planet of more than seven billion souls covering most of the land surface before the Titans arrived. They started appearing through a rift in Australia, one after another. Some stood as tall as mountains, they had small mouths and black eyes. Their bodies vaguely resembled ours in appearance but under the skin you could see the trapped souls of their victims trying to break through. They unleashed fire from the sky and demolished buildings with ease. Our weapons were primitive and useless against them, we resorted to our most dangerous weapons but even as the bombs killed everything around them they suffered no harm. We fled before them but they moved across the oceans as easily as they moved across land. We were but a food source to be harvested. Only a small group managed to flee through the gateways to reach Aurora. My father stayed behind to make sure the Titans could not use the gateways to reach us.”

  “A noble sacrifice, Gabriel. These Titans sound similar to the wraithlords in cruelty, you say the Titans capture the souls of those they slay?”

  “Yes, we believe they use their captives as an energy source of some kind. What are wraithlords?

  “Wraithlords are souls of the damned. They survive by moving from host to host torturing their victims until they lose their minds, then feeding on the host’s body until it turns to dust. They led the first goblins into the world but returned to the darkness to enjoy themselves. When we led our forces to cut off the source of the goblins we inadvertently trapped the wraithlords below the earth. We believe the dwellers now rising against us from below are the descendants of the goblins that were trapped with the wraithlords.”

  “Are the wraithlords native to this planet?” asked Gabriel.

  “We don’t know where they came from, I doubt even the goblins know. But we’ve spent enough time talking, the sun rises and the gates are still closed.” Hanbar stood up and shouted, “Are we ready to fight.”

  Gabriel was deafened by the combined cheers in the packed room. So much information his people needed to know and there was no way to get it to them.

  CHAPTER 64

  Bittermouth

  Smoke hung thick in the air, a burnt meat smell that all goblins came to recognise as sunfire death. The snow hid the ashes but the heat had lingered in the ground and melted the snow that fell on it creating depressions where the bodies had lain.

  Bittermouth smelled the air, catching a lingering odour of elves and something else. Grabbing a blood soaked rock on the ground he licked the dry stain. The taste of this other creature was strong and pleasant and now its scent was easy to pick up.

  Bittermouth had a natural talent as a tracker and had earned many a kill because of it. His sense of taste helped focus his other senses and enhanced the trail. He smelt the air again and knew exactly where the elves had gone. The other goblins were studying the ground in dismay, smelling blood but unable to pick up the trespasser’s trail beneath the snow.

  Bittermouth bowed to the shaman and indicated the path the intruders had taken up the mountain. The old shaman looked up the steep animal trail that led high into the mountains and considered what to do. This was goblin territory now and any intruder had to be hunted down and killed. But the shaman was nearing the end of his life and while his powers were great he could not make such an arduous journey himself. Then an idea came to him.

  Bittermouth grinned when the shaman chose him to lead a raiding party to track the intruders and gave him command of ten warriors. As the leader he would have right to any meat he chose regardless of who killed it.

  This new creature would be his and he would bring its heart back to the shaman as a gift to gain him favour.

  CHAPTER 65

  Gabriel

  The audience hall emptied quickly leaving only Gabriel, his men and Lockjaw with Hanbar.

  Hanbar motioned for them to follow and he led them towards the wall overlooking the Citadel.

  Gabriel was surprised that the dwarves would move out at daybreak when sunlight would have given them an edge. By the time they finally made it down to the Citadel below it would be dark and the goblins would have superior numbers on their side without having to hide from the sun. At least that was what he thought until he arrived at the dwarves’ staging area.

  Dwarves worked to turn a huge wheel hooked up to a sluice gate near the river. Slowly water began to divert from the river into a machine as the sluice gate opened. The Master of Arms motioned him over and Gabriel moved to the edge of a parapet overlooking the city below. The sun had fully cleared the horizon and the city was flooded in light. No goblins were in sight below, except by the gate where the shadow of the wall still protected them.

  Gabriel used his binoculars to scan the defences at the gate and was surprised to see them adding to the inner defences. He said to Hanbar, “It looks as if they expect us to attack them, they must have seen me and my men enter the city yesterday.”

  “It doesn’t matter Gabriel, we’ve had hundreds of years to prepare to retake our city and we are ready. Look below and see for yourself,” said Hanbar pointing down the cliff.

  Gabriel leaned as far over as he could and watched as water began to spray out of a pipe below them. He was about to ask what the dwarf meant when a cable began to rise higher and higher out of the lake as unseen hydraulic machinery drew it taut. Gabriel followed the cable to its source and saw it running across the floor nearby where an entire section was missing from the battlements.

  The cable was now visibly moving into the machine behind them at a speed that could have cut somebody in two as it was doing to the stone it passed over. Gabriel watched the cable below as it drew taut and tore its way out of the ground where it had been buried and anchored to a building below.

  Dwarves carefully avoided the cable as they opened a pair of doors, revealing the room beyond.

  “Behold our chariots of war,” announced Hanbar, chuckling as simple cable cars were hauled out of the darkness and lifted onto the cable. The master of arms led him into the entrance and placed his hand on a rune inscribed wall. The runes began to glow and fill the walls with light. Row upon row of cable cars stretched into the distance. “We were preparing for a larger attack than this one so we won’t need all of them, but it doesn’t hurt to be over prepared.”

  CHAPTER 66

  Backstabber

  Backstabber the head shaman watched in surprise as a metal rope tore its way out of the lake. “The foolish dwarves think they can fight us. Let’s cut their little rope and see if they can fly.”

  As the first cable car came screaming down the cable the shamans raced to intercept it protected against the sun by shadow shields. By the time the shamans arrived the third car was being lifted clear so the fourth could arrive safely. A wall of nine shields moved to intercept the shamans.

  Backstabber lashed out with his first spell and lightning hit the centre shield. It jumped from shield to shield knocking the dwarves back a step and the runes on the shields began to glow. Other shamans launched acid attacks but the shields repelled the attack and the acid wounded only the outermost dwarf.

  The dwarf dropped his shield for a moment and several lightning bolts combined with fire balls overwhelmed him in seconds.

  Backstabber commanded more lightning strikes and the wall began to lean backwards as it was pummelled by the attacks. The shield runes grew brighter and two more dwarves dropped their guards and fell beneath fire and lightning. The shields drew together to close the gaps in their defence.

  Another volley of lightning strikes hit the shields and the runes began to throb. Each one began to match the r
hythm of the other shields as the shamans hit the dwarves with more power. After another dwarf fell and was overwhelmed by acid the strobing light of the remaining shields synchronized. As one, each shield let out a blinding light at the shamans dissolving the shadows around them.

  Backstabber immediately shielded himself by holding another shaman in front of him and strengthened his shadow shield. The light held for a few seconds but Backstabber concentrated only on shielding himself as the other shamans burst into flame in front of him. His hands began to burn where they held the struggling shaman but he only let go when the light from the dwarves’ shields faded. Seeing none of the others alive around him he turned to flee but was struck by the sight of a human in the dwarves midst. Backstabber stopped to take a better look and realized to his horror who it was.

  In a moment of unselfishness the shaman almost managed to warn his gods before a crossbow bolt tore through his head.

  The dwarves swarmed forward to dispatch the twitching goblins and make sure the others were truly dead.

  Gabriel walked to the goblin’s body and tried to work the bolt out but it wouldn’t budge. He gave up, wiping his hands clean on the goblin’s rags. When he stood up Hanbar looking at him strangely.

  Hanbar asked, “He recognized you human, how is that possible?”

  “I have a reputation where I come from, they call me the white shaman,” explained Gabriel.

  “You know how to use magic?” asked Hanbar.

  “No, but I convinced them that I could. What’s the plan?”

  “We wait until we have enough forces to protect ourselves from further attacks, then we’ll bring down the keys to the gates.”

  “Keys?” asked Gabriel.

  “We are miners at heart, human, we use pickaxes, sledgehammers and chisels to work underground but sometimes we need to get through a tough patch of rock so we use something a bit more explosive.”

  CHAPTER 67

  Gabriel

  The dwarven shield wall held position just beyond the shadow of the wall as the remaining shaman defenders at the gate threw lightning bolts at them. Beneath the interlocking shields the bombers were lighting their fuses and preparing to hurl the explosives at the barricade.

  Shields parted in the middle and the explosive balls were thrown through the hole to land randomly in the barricade. The dwarves locked their shields tighter and one after another the blasts shattered the barricade and scattered goblin bodies about.

  The shield wall disintegrated as Hanbar gave a war cry and the dwarves charged the goblins. The first dwarven line of attackers used their momentum to bowl over the hasty goblin defence while the next line ran straight over them and the goblins making for the gates.

  Goblins poured out of side passages to meet the dwarves and small knots of fighting broke out at the entrances. The dwarves fought ferociously but the numbers of goblins kept increasing forcing them away from the narrow passages and allowing more goblins to join the battle.

  Gabriel stuck with Hanbar carrying extra explosives, followed closely by Lockjaw whose muzzle was already blood red.

  Hanbar joined a wall of shields forcing its way to the gates when a lone goblin came charging from nowhere. Gabriel dropped the sack and drew his sword in time to protect Hanbar. The goblin’s hammer seemed odd out of a dwarf’s hands but the goblin used it just as well, driving Gabriel back with each blow. The wolf slid into sight locking its jaws around the goblins leg for a second before darting away as the goblin tried to hit it. Gabriel used the distraction to stab the goblin between its ribs trying to reach its heart.

  The goblin turned slightly locking the sword and preventing Gabriel from withdrawing it. Before he could release the sword the goblin grabbed his throat and began to squeeze.

  As Gabriel struggled to breathe a sudden rush of wind and fire hit him and the goblin knocking them off their feet. Smoke filled the air as Gabriel tried to draw breath, making him cough and choke on the ground. When he wiped the tears out of his eyes from the smoke he saw the goblin had landed awkwardly driving the sword deeper into its body before its weight snapped the blade above the hilt.

  Gabriel’s blood ran cold as a howling sound erupted and was taken up by hundreds if not thousands of wolven outside the gates. When it died down Gabriel heard the sound of the pack racing for the open gate pounding the earth beneath their feet. Goblins continued to pour out to defend the gates but the dwarves, having done their work, retreated to the safety of the sunlight. Gabriel grabbed the remaining piece of his sword believing that any sort of weapon was better than none and ran to join the dwarves.

  The sight of the wolven pouring through the gate was something Gabriel would never forget. Like a wave they broke against the goblins and overwhelmed them. Gabriel sat down exhausted, as the wolves began to swarm into the corridors of the wall searching for their prey. A minute later a wolf broke from the fighting to plop itself down beside Gabriel licking the blood from its lips. Gabriel noticed a gleam of intelligence in its eyes he had not seen before. “Thank you for saving me,” he said.

  Hanbar saw Gabriel after doing a head count of his men and checking their injuries. As he approached he said, “What are you sitting around for, the goblins still hide inside my people’s houses and the wolven can’t open the doors for themselves.” He held out his hand and drew Gabriel to his feet with ease.

  Hanbar saw the broken sword and bruises around Gabriel’s neck. “I, see you had a close call there. When we return to the Keep I’ll find a sword worthy of you. Something even you can’t break.”

  “Real funny Hanbar,” replied Gabriel. Hanbar clapped him on the back sending him several feet forward and making the dwarf burst into laughter.

  “You remind me a lot of somebody back at Central,” said Gabriel massaging his back.

  CHAPTER 68

  Tagier

  A full moon illuminated the white landscape and not a breath of air disturbed the mountain. Even the creatures of the night were silent and hidden from sight.

  An explosion rocked the earth jolting Laisarus awake and he drew his knife as he rose to a crouch and scanned the area to locate the sound. Tagier on watch duty was looking back down the trail towards a cloud of dust a hundred yards away. Carthus grabbed his staff and closed his eyes trying to sense if any shamans were nearby. Amelia struggled to wake up after only a few hours sleep and only Cane lay undisturbed.

  Tagier motioned for everyone to take cover and whispered, “Goblins.”

  Laisarus moved quickly and silently to his side. Below them just beyond the landslide were a group of goblins scrambling out of the dust. Laisarus counted eight.

  Tagier said, “I think the landslide caught at least two maybe three of them.”

  “I don’t detect any shamans,” said Carthus opening his eyes. “They activated the trap I set to catch anything that might be following our trail.”

  Laisarus began to gather their supplies. “Then we had best get moving, we can’t allow them to try to cut in front of us or return for reinforcements. Break camp. Carthus, leave a surprise behind, something to slow them down. We are days away from reaching the dwarves, we may find safety there.”

  Tagier continued to watch the goblins as the dust settled.

  When everything was packed Laisarus led the way followed by Amelia and Cane. Carthus finished his spell, planting a branch in the ground near the edge of the cliff face. Tagier watched as the cliff face seemed to wobble and stretch out two more yards.

  Carthus hastily gathered his things leaning heavily on his staff as he hurried to catch up to Amelia and Cane. Tagier watched the new cliff face a moment longer, seeing a movement behind a rock. The urge to investigate the area began to grow in him overriding his common sense. Carthus called to him breaking the trance the magic was laying on his mind. He shook his head to clear it and grabbed his pack from the ground. He caught up with the Carthus not daring to look back.

  The full moon lit the path ahead, a hunter’s moon, and the elves were th
e prey.

  CHAPTER 69

  Tasha

  The outer wall now completely encircled Central allowing the construction of houses within its protection. The machines that had accelerated its construction were all broken or their power supplies depleted. Snow fell constantly, piling high in the streets and on the newly constructed roofs. Soldiers were kept working around the clock in shifts so that when winter ended the defences would be complete and the civilians could be settled above ground.

  Tasha was making her way to the officer’s block, so called because the houses along the street were built for the officers and their families. Isabella had asked her to join them in celebrating Jack’s promotion to Gabriel’s post. The promotion had been held off as long as possible but Gabriel’s continued absence had finally forced the issue.