Blood Oath (Book 2 of Alfireán age)

Fight for Life

"Watch out!" the redheaded maid screamed.

Alf turned back around just in time to see an overturned wagon blocking his path. Bounding one step forward, he pushed off the ground with all his might. In a giant leap, he flew right over top of it and landed clumsily on the other side. His left foot slipped, and he grabbed at the loose pavement. Pulling hard, he regained his balance and launched himself forward.

The sound of shattering wood reached his ears a few seconds later, and he glanced back to see the blood oaths smashing straight through the wagon. Swallowing hard, he focused all of his energy on running.

"Alf," the head maid warned.

Ahead of them, the alley ended in a sharp, ninety degree angle.

"I see it," he said as he banked sharply back onto the main highway and ran headlong into a thronging mass of panicked city dwellers. Jumping to the left, he hugged the side of the buildings as he pushed his way forward.

"It looks like only two of the blood oaths followed us," Drake informed them.

"Oh no, that means one of them stayed behind," the redheaded maid said.

"What about the people at the arena?" her younger sister asked, her large brown eyes wide in worry.

Alf blinked hard as he focused on dodging and weaving through an oncoming group of soldiers headed towards the fighting. "I hate to say it, but they are going to have to fend for themselves." A moment later, he cringed as he heard one of the soldiers they'd just passed scream, followed by the meaty thud of flesh hitting stone. He didn't need to look back to know what had had happened. Dashing down another alley, he tried to draw the blood oaths off the main streets. "Drake, we have a problem. I think I can keep them at bay, but there's no way I can outrun them."

Olivia reached up and grabbed his hand. "That's fine," she said attempting to reassure him. "Just keep them out of range of Zaphaniea. We'll try to finish them off with this spell."

"That may be problematic. Their shield is holding up quite well," Drake answered.

Alf stole another quick glance back. Through the bright light of Olivia's and the grand champion's spell, he could see their pursuer's shield looked almost opaque from the sheer thickness of it.

"Then we'll have to give it our all!" Olivia snarled as she yanked on his arm to help herself stand up. Then, clenching her fists and straightening her back, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut. The light radiating off of her tripled in brilliance, and Zaphaniea screamed in pain.

"Hang in there!" Olivia called out to her.

***

Dy'Ixion stood still as his army surged around him, charging for the decimated flanks of the city's defenders. Like frenzied rats, the opposing forces rushed to cobble together some type of defense against the oncoming hordes.

"Humph," Dy'Ixion sneered. "As if I'll let you."

Kneeling down with one knee against the pavement, Dy'Ixion placed his long, black, swollen fingers against the ground. His twisted energy flowed into the sun-baked earth, and like a geyser erupting from the deep, the pavement burst into the air, pushing him dozens of feet above the swelling masses.

Rising to his feet, his black cape billowed behind him and the evening stars glittered through the falling soot. It was time to get down to business. Breathing deeply, Dy'Ixion raised his hands, and as if he were a maestro orchestrating a grand symphony of death, he waved his hands up and down and to the left and to the right.

Invisible, destructive force after force slammed home, crushing the defenders and leaving deep gouges in the walls and ground as he systematically crushed all pockets of resistance.