Part 63 (2/2)

Marcus recognized the warrior. It was Boyafed. He was dressed in th Order's black and gold plate. The Dark Chancellor whispered to himself, ”George must be behind this.”

Marcus walked toward Boyafed while he scanned the crowd for the warlock. With each step, the chancellor's irritation magnified, and as if Boyafed's presence was not bad enough, a second pedestal was beginning to emerge from beneath the arena floor next to the Order leader.

Marcus' heart sank as Lord Dowd stood dressed in his black and silver armor that bore the symbol of the white army on his chest.

Each man had his blessed blade drawn, and they lifted them in Marcus' direction to formalize their challenge.

Marcus tried to teleport out of the arena, but he failed again. George had to be somewhere. The warlock was the only one powerful enough to stop him from escaping. Marcus wondered, If I'm to fight, can I teleport within the arena? The chancellor tested his theory. He vanished. When he reappeared, he was standing only a pace or two away from where he had teleported.

Marcus lifted his head and shouted, ”You will regret betraying me, George!”

From his seat inside Sam's royal box, the warlock snickered as he nudged Brayson with his elbow. ”It looks like someone's p.i.s.sed.”

Sam was sitting on the left side of Brayson. The king leaned forward to look past the Head Master. ”George, are you sure this is a good idea? Allowing the people to watch this battle is dangerous. They have no way to protect themselves from wayward magic.”

Gregory Id was sitting behind George. The White Chancellor leaned forward and placed a hand on the warlock's shoulder while he addressed Sam. ”The Prophet has the power to protect them. You shouldn't concern yourself with their safety.”

Athena was sitting to the right of George. She tugged on the sleeve of his tunic. A moment later, she bent down to retrieve three bottles from a satchel that were filled with corgan milk. ”Do you mind, honey?”

George placed his hands on each bottle and used his magic to warm the milk. ”There you go, babe. That should keep the kids happy.”

Athena turned to Mary who was holding Garrin and handed her mother one of the bottles before she turned to offer another one to Shalee.

The queen smiled. ”Well, aren't you a peach? Thank you.”

Meanwhile, back on the snow-covered arena floor, Marcus stared down his challengers as he stopped a fair distance from their pedestals. He shouted across the sand. ”I won't fight you! There's no honor in unfair odds!”

Boyafed shouted a response. ”Where was your sense of honor when you ended Dayden? Where was it when you murdered Heltgone and Dowd's spirit-bull? There was no honor in the senseless slaying of my men when you left them lying in the streets! You shall fight us both, and you'll fight us now!” Boyafed leapt from his pedestal with Dowd right behind him.

The people sitting in the arena cheered as both men charged with their blades lifted.

Marcus reached beneath his robe and drew a blessed sword of his own with his right hand. A moment later, he lifted his left and sent a bolt of lightning into Dowd. The charge slammed into the white army leader's chest and threw him across the arena where he rolled to his feet unscathed and ready for battle.

Boyafed's blade met Marcus'. A frenzied exchange of steel followed before the dark warrior was struck by a well-placed burst of magic that lifted Boyafed off the arena floor and threw the dark warrior into the wall beneath the crowd. The snow that was captured by the blast showered not only Boyafed but the crowd above him as the dark paladin fell onto the fighting surface and landed on his right side.

Dowd's war cry filled the air as he closed the gap between Marcus and himself. The white army leader lifted his free hand and sent a brutal wave of force barreling toward Marcus.

It took a substantial amount of the Dark Chancellor's focus to capture Dowd's magic and channel it for his own purpose. When the power was released, it had been redirected toward the white paladin. The force of the magic was now three-fold what it was when it left the white paladin's fingertips.

Once again, the magic lifted Dowd off the ground and sent him flying across the fighting surface. But during this series of moments, the white paladin was not as fortunate as the last. Dowd crashed into the wall opposite of Boyafed and fell to the ground with his breath knocked out of him while the snow that was captured by the magic once again showered the crowd.

Meanwhile, Boyafed was back on his feet and attacking.

Marcus was barely able to redirect his attention to save himself. At the last possible moment, the chancellor's hand was extended to deflect a ball of fire that Boyafed had sent his direction. The power of the spell was enough to disintegrate the chancellor, but not on this Peak. The fireball ricocheted off Marcus' arm and continued on toward the people who were sitting in the stands at the far side of the arena opposite the king's box. The magic would have consumed more than a dozen souls, two of which were newly appointed barbarian senators, but the prophet was prepared. George extended his hands and produced a field of magic that stopped the fireball from ending the spectators.

With the threat dispelled, George leaned forward and looked at Sam. ”d.a.m.n, dude! That was close! I need to put up a permanent barrier.”

Without waiting for the king's response, the warlock pushed himself out of his chair. ”Shalee, put the baby down and come with me.” The prophet moved to the far side of the king's box and stopped next to Kepler. The demon-jaguar was casually licking himself and seemed to be unconcerned with the battle that was taking place. ”I need you to get out of the way, Kep. Shalee and I need a little room to work.”

The demon-jaguar sighed. ”Out of this entire box, you just had to choose my spot, didn't you?”

George grinned as he extended his left hand and protected another section of the crowd from wayward magic. ”I'm sorry, Kep, but I need this spot.”

Kepler rolled his eyes. ”Fine. I can see a spot where I'd much rather lie.” The demon teleported to the center of the fighting surface and plopped down into a comfortable position while he ignored the combatants. As the battle continued, the jaguar casually lowered his head between his legs and began licking himself while Marcus, Boyafed and Dowd's magic whirled all around him.

The prophet shook his head. ”That d.a.m.n cat's insane.”

With Shalee at his side, George commanded, ”Take my hand. I need to feed off your power.” George extended his arms and closed his eyes to also draw from Kepler's power. With a simple nod, the warlock created an invisible field that surrounded the circ.u.mference of the fighting surface, and a small bubble of protection was also placed around his goswig, Kepler.

Boyafed and Marcus once again met with their blades slamming into one another. Lunge after lunge, stab after stab, slice after slice, were delivered as they surrounded the demon-jaguar at the center of the arena. The Dark Chancellor was able to fend off Boyafed's a.s.sault until Boyafed finally found a small opening.

The dark paladin sent a barrage of magic arrows slamming into Marcus. Just as the case with both Boyafed and Dowd, the Dark Chancellor was thrown across the arena. However, unlike Lord Dowd, Marcus was able to return to his feet, ready for battle.

With Lord Dowd still recovering as he pushed himself up to his feet, Marcus teleported behind Boyafed in an effort to surprise the dark warrior. But the Order leader was too quick. Boyafed spun and blocked Marcus' blade from slicing his torso in half.

Again, Marcus teleported, but during this series of moments, he appeared on the far side of the arena. The chancellor sent his strongest bolts of lightning hurling in two directions.

Both Dowd and Boyafed were forced to dive out of the way, but the dark paladin was too slow. Boyafed was. .h.i.t in the stomach and wounded while Dowd somehow avoided the strike. The white paladin rolled to his feet and teleported next to Marcus.

Dowd began a masterful series of metal on metal clashes with the Dark Chancellor that bought Boyafed the moments to recover. Eventually, Lord Dowd found a small opening in Marcus' defenses. He delivered a wicked explosion of magic that sent Marcus flying toward the arena wall that was more than 15 paces behind the chancellor. But before Marcus slammed into the wall, his body vanished. An instant later, he reappeared behind Lord Dowd.

With his blade ready, Marcus lunged. The chancellor savored the penetration as his sword skewered the small of Dowd's back. The white army leader's spine severed, and as Marcus pulled his blade free, he watched Dowd collapse.

To keep Marcus from ending the white paladin, Boyafed reacted. The dark warrior teleported across the arena and began another series of metal clashes and magical strikes that were all defended. The attack continued for a long series of moments while the crowd cheered before Marcus found the opening the Dark Chancellor was looking for-an opening that would drop the Order leader to the arena floor.

Boyafed was coming out of a spin that was intended for Marcus' head when a slash across his abdomen cut him open. Immediately after, Marcus' sword came down across the top of Boyafed's left shoulder. The Dark Chancellor's blade penetrated the dark warrior's body deeply enough to cut his collar bone in half and end the fight.

Blood from both paladins saturated the earth as Marcus moved to stand above Boyafed. The Dark Chancellor's blade began its descent to end his enemy. The strike was arcing toward Boyafed's head when both wounded warriors vanished only a split moment before the chancellor's sword made contact. Marcus screamed immediately after his weapon found nothing but the arena floor. ”Aaaahhhhhhhhh!”

While the Dark Chancellor's curses filled the air, George motioned for the King of Brandor to come to him. ”Sam, do your healers have the vial Brayson gave you? They're going to need it if they're going to survive.”

Sam nodded. ”I have something better than Brayson's potion. I've been given the essence of the griffin lord, Soresym. Jaress has it.”

Not quite sure of what the griffin's essence was, George nodded. ”As long as it works, I don't care.” The warlock turned to face the Head Master. ”You're going to have to be the one to end him. I'd do it myself, but Lasidious' prophet cannot be perceived as a killer.”

Mary grabbed Brayson's arm. ”You're not going out there.” She looked up at George. ”Do you hear me? He's not going out there.”

Athena cradled Joshua in her arms. ”I don't want the grandfather of my baby peris.h.i.+ng. Don't you dare go out there!”

George smiled as he found Brayson's eyes. ”This is one of those moments when we're going to have to beg for forgiveness. Settle this once and for all.”

Brayson stood, reached beneath his robe and unsheathed the blade of the Head Master. He was about to teleport onto the surface of the arena when Sam reached out to stop him.

”Wait a moment! What about the ring you gave me when I visited Luvelles? Is it strong enough to protect me against his magic?”

Brayson thought a moment. ”I can't be sure of that.”

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