Chapter 32
Levi lifted Flix and cradled her against his chest, keeping her close to his body as he turned to look toward the new sound. The trees rocked as a huge figure shoved between them. The beast was following after the kirin and shared some of their traits, only this animal had golden horns spreading like a massive deer and four eyes. It was also twice the size of a grizzly bear and had blades of bone sprouting from its tail. He realized the knights were retreating from the monster, though Tawny stepped up to send runes flying toward the creature. Her attack almost resembled that fish guy’s spell, only slower and a dozen times more powerful. The runes changed into spears of power as they blasted through the air and hit the creature’s scales like cannonballs. Each impact knocked it back a step, yet its long strides carried it continuously forward. A stream of golden sparks came flying in a cloud as Vardis leaped forward to attack. His hammer spun overhead when he swung it toward the monster, and the cloud followed in a strike at the animal’s muzzle.
Levi winced as the monster’s tail swung and swatted Vardis out of the sky. He didn’t see where the Bear house master went, but the crunch of his landing echoed so loudly through the woods—even the kirin paused at the noise. Flix squirmed, and a glance showed that she was regaining consciousness. He stroked her head with a finger and she let out a confused chiming sound. “It’s okay, Flix, just give the tonic time to work,” he said gently.
Sudden explosions of red rose among the knights and a number of them cried out in shock. The men spread their formation, moving away from a figure in their midst. Levi caught sight of Nox refusing to retreat with the knights. Her body was encased in silver armor which had engravings over every inch of its plating. The intricate mail encased her from head to toe, all but her hair. Red energy flowed through the engraved lines, and when she motioned with a hand, a dart flashed from her fingers and exploded under a charging beast. One lowered its horn and suddenly glowed orange, its hooves causing power to burst along the ground as it rocketed toward her. Nox spread her feet, dropped her shoulder, and formed a glowing kite shield over her arm. When the kirin rammed the shield, its head burst like a dropped egg. The gore splashed around Nox as she side stepped past the body and swung her arm in a throwing motion. Levi saw a scarlet spear form in her hand, and when she whipped her arm forward the weapon slammed into the larger monster’s eye with a hiss.
“No wonder they call her a juggernaut,” he muttered. Then he spun his cane and helped Flix climb onto his shoulder. The dragonet dug her claws into the straps of his satchel. Levi watched Nox fight for a moment, anger simmering in his veins. He turned his head to look at the dragonet on his shoulder, her eye staring into his. The fear he’d felt as she fell from the sky transformed—he pushed it into his rage. This anger was more than enough to ignite his power. As his eyes glowed, he focused on the incantation he needed. The crimson-and-black sphere balanced on his cane split into a dozen smaller globes, and as he began to whisper the chant—repeating the phrase over and over—the energy spun faster. He drew back his arm and focused on the power, then he whipped his arm forward. He felt a sharp sensation in his forearm and a crack sounded, but the spell went off. Each tiny globe split and fired a beam of incandescent power, and the forest lit up as those beams slammed into the sides of the kirin. The smaller beasts were torn in half and the larger one staggered, yet Levi’s attack hadn’t even cracked the thing’s scales.
He felt drained, but watching the monster snap at Tawny with its huge teeth caused his emotions to flare. I’m going to burn you out of existence, he thought as he gathered his energy into an even stronger attack. His power began to coalesce on the end of his cane and his glowing eyes narrowed. Zuzan chittered several times and Flix chimed in increasing emotion. Levi felt a sharp pain in his ear, and when his blast erupted the beam hissed through the air over the giant kirin and shattered three trees as he turned to look for the source of his sudden pain.
Flix had dug her claws into the side of his ear and was tugging, trying to get him to look—his eyes widened when he saw the reason. A second one of the massive kirin was barreling through the trees toward him. “Shit!” he yelled as he tried to call his power up once more. The bolt that he misfired had used a great deal of his power and that energy was slow to return. He cursed the fact he hadn’t learned a single defensive incantation from Nox.
The monster spread its jaws and dropped its head as it charged, so Levi prepared to jump out of the way. He was spared the need by Darren of all people. The canid glowed silver and the armor covering his arm cracked in a dozen places as he drove his fist into the beast’s muzzle. The force of the punch staggered the monster. Flix spat a ball of plasma at the creature, but Levi could tell she was still weakened. He had to drop onto his back as the animal spun in a circle and its long tail swung over him. He lifted his cane and sent a quick burst of power lancing at the kirin’s exposed underbelly. The squeal that echoed through the woods hinted he had hit something important.
Sir Chambers barreled in at that moment, his sword glowing with white light. The leonine figure swung his blade inhumanly fast and each strike carved a bloody furrow in the monster’s flesh. Darren popped back up and Levi saw he was missing three-quarters of his summoned armor. The canid roared with feral rage as he jumped onto the kirin’s skull, then began ripping at its eyes with a clawed hand. Levi rolled back to his feet and the dragonet chimed. Zuzan ducked her head up out of his pocket and tossed a nut while squeaking. Levi had to grin at his companion’s courage. “You tell it, girls!” he encouraged. He swung his cane up and sent another lance of power at the beast, staggering it to the left as his attack struck its ribs. This time he saw blood as the scales burst.
Two more knights charged in, their blades flashing with weaker light as they attacked the tear Levi had created. He backed up, not wanting to blast them by accident and he turned his head, checking the battlefield. He saw Tawny’s violet ring expire just as the last three runes triggered and blasted their kirin in the face. He didn’t see Vardis or Elizabeth and he hoped the latter was okay—he barely cared about Vardis. Nox had joined Tawny in combat, her energy taking the form of a huge red axe. She swung it like it was weightless, and each blow broke scales on the monster’s face. It was staggering, almost ready to fall. He gathered his power and prepared to attack, but a scream yanked his attention back to the animal he had already wounded.
A knight was trapped between the jaws of the monstrous kirin, which had blood foaming at the edges of its lips. The man screamed and grasped the fangs holding his thighs trapped and Levi winced in pain. Sir Chambers swept his blade around and took one foreleg out from under the animal. Levi saw the way it swayed, realizing if it fell the jaws would bite the knight in half. He took the power he was channeling and ran to the side. His glowing eyes narrowed to slits as he focused on envisioning exactly what he wanted, knowing he had to be precise. He began to chant the incantation and threw his hand forward. His power narrowed to a vertical line that shot out like a ribbon. When it struck the kirin behind the jaw the weapon slashed into the beast’s neck, then Levi focused on pushing it deeper.
The energy tore into the beast and ripped through the muscles that controlled its jaw. Once the fangs opened and the knight slipped free, Levi released his power. His hand was turning a dark black-and-blue, and he became aware of a sharp pain throbbing through his arm. His forearm had bent along its length—he realized his arm was broken. The pain shocked him, more because he hadn’t realized it happened rather than the sensation itself. He transferred his cane to his other hand, almost dropping it as the beast he’d attacked collapsed. He was dimly aware of the bitten knight crawling away with blood-soaked armor.
He was glad the guy was still alive, but he had more important things on his mind. He turned just in time to see Tawny send a lavender bolt of energy straight through the other kirin. The spell vanished into the creature’s mouth and blasted out its back just above its tail. The animal swayed and collapsed with another ground-trembling boom. Levi let his gaze roam, not seeing another kirin left alive. His heart thundered in his ears and his broken arm throbbed like it was being hammered. He felt a bone-deep weariness creeping through him. Flix chimed in concern and rubbed her scaly head against his cheek.
“Sound off!” Sir Chambers roared.
Levi heard others call their names, so he announced his own as he made his way over to Tawny. Nox remained in armor, which made her a fairly imposing figure standing next to the dark elf. The red energies swirled along the plate’s engravings and she casually lifted the visor to look at him. “Levi, what happened to you?” she asked in concern.
Nox came to his side in a rush and he grimaced as she took his wrist in hand. “Cast a bigger incantation and my forearm broke—I think,” he mumbled. Tawny approached and ran her wand over his arm. Levi watched a violet energy swell from the tip and ooze along his arm, each drop wrapping around the forearm and dulling the pain. Once his entire arm from the elbow down had turned purple, she flicked her wrist. His forearm jerked forward and a crunch echoed through him as the bones were reset. Then the light faded into his flesh and numbed his entire arm.
“Overload from feedback. You pushed too much energy through an improper incantation and the resistance snapped the bones. Now that it’s set, the spell will keep it numb. We’ll have to splint it the old-fashioned way. A healing potion might cure the surrounding tissue, but not the bone itself,” she explained calmly. She smiled at him while she looked him over, her wide eyes worried as she removed a luminous potion from her belt and gave it to Levi to drink.
“I’d say warn me next time, but this school doesn’t seem big on giving students notice when something is going to hurt like hell,” Levi muttered, but he’d seen more than a few shows on television where the doctors had done the same shit. He was on the fence whether it was because of sadism or if it really was better to catch the patient off guard. He pushed those thoughts aside as he chugged the potion. “Where did Vardis end up?” he asked.
Tawny’s face took on a more solemn look. “The… blow from the greater kirin killed him. He was already heavily wounded from fighting the Horrors. As much as Vardis liked to show himself as a warrior, he was far better suited to building. We’ve placed his corpse in a spatial bag for transport back to the Academy. There he’ll be buried properly.”
Nox drew an opalescent bandage as wide as his forearm from her armor somehow, then began to wrap it around Levi’s forearm. The material hardened as the layers were added, forming a cast that would likely keep his bones from shifting as they healed. The material was surprisingly comfortable compared to casts he had worn on Earth.
“I lost four of my men—if you magi give a damn,” Chambers stated as he brought his knights back into formation around them. Levi felt a fresh wave of rage swell through him and his eyes glowed brightly, the light reflecting off Chambers’ armor when he turned to face the lion-headed man. Chambers’ tone made it sound like he had lost shoes or his phone—not people.
The knight stepped back and swung his sword up, bracing his shield as though to ward off an attack. Tawny stepped forward and raised her chin to look down her nose at the tall figure. “We all might have died if Levi Walker hadn’t provided us warning that the kirin were coming. Perhaps you should consider that before you act as though we contributed nothing. On top of that, these students killed the majority of the kirin, and the greater beasts,” she said, voice cold.
Levi watched the lion’s muzzle peel back to reveal his teeth as a rumble of rage vibrated within the depths of the man’s armor. His own cane felt awkward in his offhand, but he held it ready. Levi heard a crunch off to his side. It didn’t sound anything like a weapon—in fact it sounded like chewing. Levi turned his head, seeing Nox was eating a handful of chocolate-covered nuts, one eyebrow raised. She looked completely relaxed. Zuzan let out a sharp squeak and the elf casually extended a hand to give one of the treats to the squirrel. The absurdity of an armored figure feeding a small squirrel seemed to break the tension and thankfully people began to relax.
Darren’s side was bloody as he drank his own healing potion, and Levi saw Elizabeth wrapping his ribs in a silk bandage. Three men were helping get the armor off the knight that had almost been bitten in half. Levi saw more glowing bandages being wrapped around the man’s thighs as a healing potion was poured down his throat. He looked back at Chambers. “Your guy going to be okay?” he asked.
The lion flicked his ear several times and his wide nostrils flared. “Rourke will have to return to the Academy. I’ll detail a man to escort him back, then we’ll continue on. The princess’s safety is my first concern,” the knight said. His tone was dismissive, as though Rourke was meaningless.
Levi turned away with a shake of his head. I do not understand how callous this guy is toward his own people. I get it, the princess is in danger, but she won’t get saved if he sacrifices everyone along the way, he thought. He looked at Tawny and she nodded to him. The dark elf took a breath, and then moved over to the wounded knight. He watched as his house mistress began using her wand to help tend the man’s wounds. Then he looked at Nox.
She gave him another hug, and he grunted as the cold mail she was wearing chilled his skin. “Levi that was amazing! You blasted so many of those kirin! I’m glad you’re a good student!” she cheered proudly.
Flix crawled around the back of Levi’s neck to avoid getting flattened and Zuzan protested with a sharp squeak. The squirrel ran up Levi’s chest and climbed into his hair, curling up to nibble a chocolate nut and stared around warily.
“Let’s get moving,” the knight roared.
Levi shook his head and looked over at Nox. “This is going to be a long hike,” he muttered. His lover flashed him a smile and dropped her visor back down as she started walking at his side once more. Nox’s good mood was infectious. Her optimistic attitude after the kirin fight was the balm Levi needed to keep going.
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