Capítulo 5: Chapter 5: Fearmonger, Part 4
If any of the remaining survivors said anything, it was lost in the cacophony of screams and rush of people either trying to help, or trying to get away. No one took lightly the scream of fearmonger, especially as more people came rushing in, bleeding and burning and dying.
Mahzan ignored them, turning and bolting for the royal table, even as a soldierNorth Captain Suledid the same. "Get the king to safety," Sule bellowed as more soldiers appeared to do precisely that, but he didn't bother to wait for them to act, simply grabbed King Yavuz's arm and hauled him up and away from the table, toward the archway that led deeper into the castle
Right as the high, arched ceiling exploded. Stone, plaster, and wood came crashing down, causing a full-fledged panic. Mahzan saw Sule, Yavuz, and other soldiers and nobles vanish through a doorway. Looking around at the dead already filling the Hall of Kings, he mourned that only Yavuz and those with him would get away. He jumped out of the way as more ceiling came crashing down, and heard someone scream as they did not get out of the way in time. Mahzan's eyes blurred from the pain of trying to block out so much overwhelming misery, pain, and anguish.
Someone grabbed his arm and Mahzan whipped around with a snarland drew up short as he stared into the eerie blue-black eyes of Warlock Binhadi. "Calm them," Binhadi ordered. "If people do not stop panicking, we will never save any of them. Right now, you are the only one with mind magic strong enough. I know you can calmlook out!" He shoved Mahzan hard, sending them both the ground just as a large piece of stone fell where they had been standing.
Mahzan stared wide-eyed, then rolled to his feet and dragged Binhadi up with him. He looked around, the emotions assaulting him beginning to affect him. Everything was a mess. There were too many dead people, too many dying people. Blood, stone, ruined tables, fire and brimstone.
He looked up as the smell made him gag, startled by a sudden rush of hot air, and froze in terror as a fearmonger appeared in the hole where the beautifully painted ceiling of the Hall of Kings had once been.
He had hoped, deep down, that it was a misunderstanding. That it was not really a fearmonger, but some other, lesser creature. Fearmongers had not been seen for nearly a hundred and fifty years, by the grace of the Great Dragon. But that was definitely a fearmonger, a nightmare born in the depths of a sleeping volcano and somehow brought here to a place it would normally avoid. It was massive. Mahzan had never seen a living thing so enormous. He trembled, suddenly too cold and too hot all at once. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Couldn't do anything except wait to die.
Instead of dropping down to crush them all, however, the fearmonger launched into the air and vanished from sightbut not before bathing the air with fire.
"Damn it!" a voice snarled, and Mahzan saw North Captain Sule rush up, hands held up and fingers spread as he fought fire with fire, his eyes glowing red-orange.
Binhadi shook him again. "Calm them!"
"There is no one left to calm!" Mahzan snarled, but he tried anyway, closing his eyes to get hold of his own emotions, grabbing hold of everything that made his head ache, wrapping it in his performer's calm, and then pushing it out again.
But just as he could feel the calm affecting those most susceptible to such magic again, he heard more screamsand then was overwhelmed by the rush of people dying in fear and pain. He screamed in agony, falling to his knees again and heaving up stomach fluids. "Dead," he croaked. "The fearmonger"
He looked up again, pale and shaky, when he heard it growl, smelled the brimstone, and bit back his own scream as it landed on the edge of what had once been the ceiling.
Movement from the corner of his eye made Mahzan look reflexively, reaching for the daggers he had not worn that night. Sule lay sprawled on the floor, head bleeding from where falling stone had struck him. The Isle priest Mahzan had teased earlier knelt by Sule to examine him. Mahzan could feel the man's relief a moment later, so Sule must be all right.
He could not say the same for anyone else. Beyond the four of them, he could feel nothing. Everyone in the castle, and very likely the city, was dead.
"We need to share power," Binhadi said, his eyes on the fearmonger. "We four are the only ones left. We need to link our power."
"I'm not giving anyone my power," Mahzan snapped, and he could feel the agreement of the other two.
Binhadi glared at them, dark eyes sharp and hot and more than a little frightening. Shivers ran down Mahzan's spine. "We don't have timeit's movingyour power! All three of you, now! It's our only chance if you want to live!"
Mahzan opened his mouth to protest, to name all the reasons it was stupid to simply throw your power at someone elsenever mind a stranger, never mind a shadow mage with a reputation blacker than his eyes. But they were facing a fearmonger, and everyone else was dead. Binhadi was right: if they did not act, they would join the piles of bodies.
Opening his mind, Mahzan laid his hand against Binhadi's face for a connection. If they knew each other well, touching would not be necessary, but they were strangers, and so physical contact was necessary.
The fearmonger roared as the priest and North Captain Sule joined them, and moved as they too touched Binhadi
Everything went quiet. It felt as though he were being grabbed, being choked, being smothered, couldn't breathe, couldn't feel
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