Taker Of Skulls(66)

Out of the corner of his eyes Kormak saw goblins pouring down the walls from the caves above. The great wolf bounded passed him to seek out Sasha. Mankri and the others were surrounded by a horde of foes. As the wolf breathed fire, Karnea stepped into the flames. She did not burn. The flame formed a halo around her and then vanished as if breathed in by a dragon. The runic armlet burned brightly on her arm, glowing more intensely as it absorbed more energy.

Karnea spoke the name of the rune. A symbol of flame, exactly the same as the one on her arm, appeared between her outstretched hands. The sorceress spoke the name again and its glow intensified. More and more fire was being drawn from the wolf. It shrivelled and shrank until it was utterly gone, all of its blazing life force absorbed. Then Karnea spoke the name of the rune for a third time. The luminous symbol hovering before her flickered through the air towards Graghur.

Kormak had barely enough time to look away and doing so almost got him killed. He only managed to get his axe clumsily in the way of one of Graghur’s scimitars. The force of the stroke cut through the haft and sent the blade thunking down into Kormak’s chest. The impact knocked him off his feet and below the strike of Graghur’s other attacks. The pain was shocking and Kormak wondered what was broken.

He rolled away just as the flame-rune exploded. Tentacles of fire lashed out at Graghur and his followers. The flash was visible even through his closed eyelids. Goblins screamed. Dwarves cursed. Graghur wailed as if burned. Kormak rolled, side still aching, to where his sword had fallen. He reached out and his fingers closed on its familiar hilt. A savage snarl twisted his lips. New strength flooded into him as he rose to his feet.

He raced forward towards Graghur once again. The Old One’s skin was blackened. Smoke rose from his hide. His eyes emitted huge green tears. He cast one of his scimitars. It turned end over end and buried itself in Karnea’s chest. She fell to the ground, eyes wide open, blood dribbling from her lips. Graghur turned to face Kormak now. His eyes widened in horror when he saw what Kormak held in his hands. He took a step backward even as Kormak ran at him.

Kormak’s attacks had far greater speed and fluidity than they had when he was wielding an axe, and the Old One flinched away from them, knowing what would happen if the blade bit into his flesh. He wielded both his scimitars with great speed and skill but now he fought defensively, calling out for help in the chittering language of the goblins.

A wave of the small creatures threw themselves forward, interposing themselves between the Guardian and their king. Kormak chopped them down and kept going, determined to put an end to Graghur if it was the last thing he did. He forced thoughts of Karnea from his mind. There was no time no to try and treat her wounds. She might already be dead. He could not afford for his concentration to slip while he battled the Old One.

Kormak and Graghur fought their way to the edge of the cavern, to where one of the elevators stood. It was operated manually by turning a wheel connected to a system of cogs and cables. Graghur leapt onto the platform and began to turn the wheel. The lift rose rapidly as he exerted his great strength. Kormak sprang forward onto the platform, but Graghur timed his counterstroke to perfection. The force of the blow sent Kormak spinning to the ground. The goblins swarmed forward, scratching, biting, stabbing.

Kormak rose to his feet, shrugging off his smaller attackers, ignoring his wounds. Graghur was still rising. The elevator platform was higher than Kormak’s head now. He leapt once again, while Graghur’s attention was on the wheel. The outstretched fingers of his left hand reached the bottom of the platform, gained purchase. He could not pull himself up one handed though and he did not want to let go of his blade. Having lost it once, he was not about to do so again.

Graghur brought one heavy, hob-nailed boot down on his fingers, Kormak dropped once more, falling atop a pile of goblins, lashing out and slicing them. Graghur’s booming laughter rang out once more as he rose above the battle and out of Kormak’s reach. Kormak cursed.

Something blazing passed overhead. An explosion sounded. Sasha had unleashed a runestone at the lift platform. The impact left it splintered and aflame but Graghur continued to rise, seemingly impervious to the flames. His mocking laughter echoed through the caves, then he looked up and noticed that the rope too was on fire.

A moment later it snapped, sending the whole blazing platform crashing back down towards the bottom of the cavern directly on top of Kormak. It descended like a meteor. Graghur howled with pain as the flames licked at his steadily blackening flesh. Kormak threw himself to one side as the platform impacted on the hard stone, sending sparks and splinters of burning wood flying everywhere.