Sensing approaching energy, I ducked and rolled behind the couch. Several more Aellei arrived to join their friend. Archaic spells, green fire, and the sudden slowing of time twisted Trudy Warner’s house into sections of time.
Familiar with Aellein tactics, though I hadn’t faced them in years, I cast a quick protective spell, enabling me to deal with my opponents and shatter their time enchantment.
“Shit, it’s not working,” one swore.
“My dark cloud isn’t working either,” another muttered.
“Meha! Ah ele feal rul tser.”
But I knew their language. Grab him, staffs at the ready, didn’t bother me.
I teleported into Trudy’s kitchen and found a half dozen wary Aellei. All appeared to be seasoned warriors, their marked battle staffs and calculating expressions indicative of harnessed malevolence.
“Ah, the infamous Killer of Shadow, Tanselm’s much-feared sorcerer.” The tallest of them spoke, his eyes a luminescent green. “I’ve been wanting to do this for the longest time.”
He pointed his staff at my middle. A stream of dark energy flew from the staff at my shield. Instead of being deflected away, the burst of energy melded with my defense, channeling through my rage until the shield disintegrated into a neutral layer of magic.
Once the shield fell, others began firing at will, the seething, shifting pulses of Shadow like icy burns, striving to invade and take hold of my person.
As they held me within their small circle, I remained calm, fighting the incessant clawing at my mind and magic. I defended myself with Tanselm’s Light and the spells I’d been born knowing, realizing the fight with these warriors would not be as easy as defeating wraiths.
The Aellei and those who lived in Shadow were far more dangerous than they appeared. Shadow dwellers possessed characteristics both Light and Dark, making them resistant to many spells and able to penetrate energy barriers with ease.
I mentally chanted a spell. A few of the warriors blinked in discomfort. Several dropped their staffs and squirmed, the Light within them threatening to break free.
The leader cursed me and clenched his mouth shut, fighting the effects of my magic.
I stood with my back to the refrigerator, keeping myself safe on at least one front. Or so I thought.
A shimmer of power kissed my neck, and I whirled to meet the threat from behind but wasn’t quick enough.
A giant ogre had taken the place of the appliance. It threw me out of the kitchen and across the living room like a javelin in one of Tanselm’s summer games. I landed in a heap against Trudy’s entertainment center, smashing my right arm against her large television before crumpling into a bruised heap on the floor.
I stumbled to my feet and cradled my arm that felt broken. I felt dizzy, the pain strong. I hurriedly cast a healing spell before confronting the ogre. Staring at the hideous Shadren, I wondered if I might talk my way out of this battle.
Though big and slow, ogres were quick of mind, contrary to those who thought them as dim as they were ugly. Though it had lackluster green skin full of scars, this ogre seemed surprisingly clean and dressed in fine cloth, a different type of foe from the ogres I had battled long ago.
Its eyes were enormous, black, and clear, unusually sober. Dangerous but interesting.
“If I might ask a question.” I nodded in respect to the creature that trudged closer, ducking its head to fit under the ten-foot ceiling.
“Kill him, Fian,” the leader demanded, rubbing at his burning eyes. “Do it before I bespell you.”
The ogre stopped several feet away, ignoring the Aellei. “Question?” It grunted and motioned for me to continue.
Behind it, several Aellei burst into bright light and phased away, sent back to their homeworld under my spell. Three appeared to have overcome the Light spell and remained behind me, in addition to the leader behind the ogre.
“Why do you do that one’s bidding?” I asked it.
The ogre looked over its shoulder at the leader. “Zartic not so bad. Promise ’Landra’s secret ’lixir.”
Zartic, the Trudy impersonator, huffed. “Fian, shut up and kill him. I’m not paying you for your conversation, you ill-mannered cretin.” He gathered the remaining warriors while kicking his foot, managing to slowly free himself from my magic that had turned it into rock.
Fian turned his homely visage back to me. A thick red band of coarse hair framed his face like a lion’s mane. Only this lion looked more like a rabid baboon. The ogre appeared irritated.
I could work with that.
My arm still throbbed, but it was nothing compared to the fire burning in my gut. Shadow magic didn’t mix well with Light, and I hadn’t yet been able to deal with the murkiness in my body. I needed a distraction, or at least help in dealing with the Aellei.
