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Sample Chapter
Pariah
Part Three
Chapter 1
In the next instant screams and cries surged from the midst of the forests
and swamps beyond the edge of the desert, an incensed and vociferous
succession of howling, and then shadows were spilling out onto the
wasteland. The creatures were all shapes and sizes, a terrible array;
some familiar, some indescribable, all of which were twisted and bent by the
magic that spawned them. There came teeth and talon and razored thorns and
spikes bristling down the backs of the monstrosities. They were armored,
some with scales, others with exoskeletons, some with hair, others without;
the demons slumped, scrabbled, and burrowed; they crawled, slithered, and
flew, lycanthropes and
undead, skeleton warriors riding winged mares of darkness, creatures that
were half-man half beast, griffons, giant arachnids, and hydrae. Swift gray
specters that the eye could scarcely follow, moving on the wind, blending
with the desert sand. Imps and furies that fluttered about, dashing in a
blink from one area to the next. Nei’ghari, ogres, and ghouls, glistening
black with the slime of the swamps, misshapen monsters of an odious master
shambled forward, hungry for flesh, blood, and bone. Creatures serpentine,
others with tentacles, formless, huge, obese. Wraiths, harpies and winged
fiends that darkened the sky as they rose from the midst of the evil mass.
Gargoyles, giants, and dragons, all charged forward. Straight away the mass
of soldiers was pursued frenetically by the drove of aviisars, winged
wraiths that ripped through armor like cloth, tearing men and women to
pieces in a matter of moments.
Lioni cried out and missile weapons sang; arrows, bolts, bullets, and
particle beams, slammed into the primary horde, scattering and vaporizing
the vestiges of bent and twisted bodies, heaving dark sand into the midst of
the monsters. The rest of the demons were hardly inhibited; the beasts
clambered summarily across the fallen bodies of their dark brethren. Lioni
signaled again and another discharge followed. The demons charged forward,
some falling and tumbling arbitrarily across the blackened wasteland.
Again and yet again, Lioni gave the order, while the dragons soaring above
belched flame, lightning, and acid. The Silver Hawk fired her missiles into
the mass, wizards unleashed powerful offensive spells, and still the
monstrosities streamed forward. Less than one hundred yards separated the
soldiers from the malevolent gathering, their screams of fury and irritation
resounded against the mountains of Ibysrtro, less than a quarter of a mile
away, plaintive and full of hate, cries of demented frenzy expected to
instill desolation in the hearts of man. Spells and particle beams ripped
into the throng, and still more creatures fell into the sand. Still the
monstrosities surged forward, slowly closing the distance between good and
evil.
The stra’malos charged onward. Soldiers on horseback did their best to
surround the creatures until it became apparent that there were trolls
following
close behind the stra’malos, as well as a mass from hell taking up the
flank.
This altered the strategy of the troops considerably.
Daniel, flying the Enforcer, followed Schase’s example, firing his side
blasters, strafing the desert with similar results.
The Arachni-fighters also began firing their weapons into the battle.
A wolf in the back of the pack whirled around and attacked a nearby
horse. The rider took down the goblin with a lance to the stomach. The
venomous fangs of the wolf found the ribbed flesh of the soldier’s white
stallion. Blood and venom painted the side of the horse as it fell.
The woman who had been saved by Lioni was now standing next to Varena.
She notched her bow, and an instant later three arrows were sticking into
the
face of an approaching stra’malos. The creature fell from its mount, while
its
wolf charged forward. As the archer tried desperately to notch her bow in
time to take down the wolf, Varena brought her warth’ong up, and fired. The
wolf disintegrated.
“Vance, begin discharging the last of the soldiers and their equipment,”
N’jaomi spoke into her com. “We’ll cover you.”
“I read you, N’jaomi.”
Freedom descended. Her yellow elevation beam came on and men, women,
their steeds, and their equipment, were lowered down into the outskirts of
the battle. Archers fired their arrows even before their feet touched solid
ground. Brilliant billows of blue-white gunfire exploded from the turnstile
cannon.
Again, Daniel followed Vance Schase’s example.
Vantell Scheia was a windmill of destruction as he dived into the fray.
Stra’malos, trolls, wolves, and undead alike fell before the blue-white
yellow-green
energy coalescing sword Adrianna. The weapon’s cadence was a
combination of moaning and howling as it cut through the wall of monsters,
absorbing their life forces, even as the sword took them out, absorbing
spells
and volleying them back at their authors. Within moments the blood of wolves
and stra’malos covered Vantell’s armor.
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