He turned and ran to where Boreas and Sasha stood on the far side of the bridge. Looking back he could see the wolves racing forward encouraged by their riders.
He glanced at Sasha and then at her stonethrower. She shook her head.
“I told you it was empty,” she said.
“Then I guess we are going to have to do this the hard way,” said Kormak.
“Get behind me,” said Boreas. “Give me room to swing. Kill anything that gets by me.”
There was not time to argue. The wolves bounded across the bridge and easily made the jump. Kormak stepped away. The women did likewise. Boreas swung his hammer.
It smashed into the first wolf, shattering head and neck with a single blow. A second wolf sprang towards the grim-faced warrior. He managed to get the shaft of the weapon in the way.
The wolf’s jaws snapped shut on the wood. He thrust forward, pushing the creature off balance, sending it tumbling back into the wolves behind. One was caught, the others leapt to one side and prepared to spring.
Boreas whirled his hammer, breaking limbs, and heads and ribs. Howling, the wolves scurried back and tumbled into the gap. One wolf, limping on three legs, tried to spring for Boreas. Kormak leapt forward and put his point through its throat. Another bounded over him, trying to rip out Karnea’s throat. Sasha put her pick into its belly. She pulled it backwards and down, ripping flesh and spilling entrails. Kormak beheaded the creature. His blade narrowly missed Sasha’s face.
“Watch what you’re doing,” she said.
“I always do,” Kormak said and turned to see that the rest of the wolves had been driven back by Boreas fury.
A couple of them managed to jump back. They rest tumbled into the gap across which they had leapt. Kormak could hear delighted goblin squeals rise from below. They ended abruptly. He thought he heard a splash but dismissed that as his imagination. On the far side, the pack of wolves began to gather itself again, making ready for another assault.
Karnea stepped forward and raised her hands. The torc blazed brilliantly on her arm. Lines of fire emerged from her fingers and wove themselves into the shape of the rune, Mankh. It blazed so brightly it hurt his eyes to look at it. Karnea gestured and the blazing shape hurtled across the gap and landed in the midst of the wolf-pack. Tendrils of flame flickered outwards, each seeking a wolf. Their fur ignited and turned a scorched black. A dozen flame strikes killed as many wolves before the rune vanished, leaving a flickering after-image on Kormak’s vision. The rest turned and fled. The smell of burning meat assaulted his nostrils along with hot metal.
“Why didn’t you do that at the start?” Kormak asked.
“Didn’t know if it would work,” Karnea said. Her face was pale and drawn. She shook a little.
“Well, at least you should be able to keep us safe now,” said Sasha.
Karnea shook her head. “The torc has discharged all its stored heat. I will need to feed it full before it can be used again.” It was always that way with magic, Kormak thought. There was always a price to be paid and it never turned out quite as useful as you hoped. Still, there was no point in worrying about it.
“We’ve bought ourselves some time,” he said, “but they’ll be back.”
“There are other ways around,” said Sasha. Her expression was grim. “Even if we could hold them here forever they could just circle around.”
“We’d best get moving then,” said Kormak. “Before the effects of the quickleaf wear off and we can’t even move.”
Chapter Fourteen
THE QUICKLEAF STILL burned within Kormak’s veins but now his skin felt tight and his eyes as if they were full of grit. From previous experience, he knew it would not be long now before he felt the after effects of the drug kick in.
Their surroundings grew darker and grimmer with every step. Everywhere the stonework was pitted and crumbled, as if the buildings had suffered some variant of what had happened to the Bridge of Nets. Small landings rose off the street. Open doorways yawned on every side. Over each was inscribed dwarven runic script. He understood some of the words. They announced the nature of the business. He suspected that some of the other runes represented the names of the owners or builders.
He walked up the steps and looked in through one open doorway. Pipes ran along the walls, and from them came a strange gurgling noise. He reached out and touched one. It was not hot enough to burn but it was still warm. Perhaps it had been intended as a heating system. He looked around at carved stone tables and chairs. They did not look particularly comfortable but dwarves were supposed to be a hardy people. Some small knick-knacks, statuettes of what might have been deities, combs and mugs still lay on a shelf carved into the walls. It was eerie. The city might just have been deserted days ago. It was easy enough to imagine that the owners might return at any time.