5. Five vs 1,000--The Battle for Toreau
Aden snapped out of his trance at about the same time Ivan returned. Drenched, Ivan was dripping water all over Aden's floor. His clothing hung about him, soaked, and his light brown hair hung over his eyes. He reminded Mia absurdly of a cat that had been stuck in the rain.
"Ivan," Garet began, hearing the boy enter. "We have to talk. Aden's been acting--What happened to you?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Aden snickered. "He went for a swim."
As Ivan heard the voice, his face flooded with real fear. "Yes," he said shakily. "W-we have to t-talk . . . alone."
"We'd better make it quick," warned Isaac, who hadn't even looked up at Ivan's entrance.
"What happened?" Mia repeated, dumbstruck by Ivan's appearance.
At last, Isaac looked up, and smiled at the sodden boy. "How was the water?" he asked cheerfully. "Good?"
Ivan looked on the verge of breaking into tears--not that they would have stood out amid the rivulets of water already running down his cheeks. "No," he said. "He . . . t-they . . ." Every time he seemed about to begin an explanation, he glanced fearfully at Aden before falling silent.
"Let's go to the inn," Isaac suggested, sorry now for his little stab at humor. "There, you can get yourself cleaned up. We'll talk later. But we'll have to make it quick, because it's almost sunset, and we have . . ." he glanced thoughtfully at Aden, ". . . an appointment to keep."
Chuckling sardonically, Aden said, "Good luck with your appointment. Maybe we'll meet again."
"I hope not!" Ivan whispered.
When the four Adepts were finally ready for battle, the sun was sinking redly into the last short distance on the horizon. When they emerged from the inn, the first thing they noticed was how deserted the plaza had become. It was nearing dusk; people should have been hurrying about to finish their final errands before all the businesses closed. Instead, every one of Toreau's square, stone buildings had been closed and locked, and all the lights had been put out.
But the plaza wasn't entirely empty, after all. Seated on the stone rim surrounding the fountain, gazing watchfully around him and skillfully twirling a tiny shortsword like a baton, was Devon. He was dressed from head to foot in black--pants and shirt constructed from the same material, a black cape hanging down behind him almost into the waters of the fountain; even his shoes were black. All that remained for contrast was the white circle of his charismatic face.
He's dressed for death tonight, Isaac thought grimly.
Nonetheless, when Devon looked up and spotted them, he smiled radiantly. The smile was one so perfect it could not be faked, and all four of the travelers felt their mouths twitching in return, even Ivan, who was preoccupied with trying not to look at the fountain.
"I thought I'd see you here!" Devon exclaimed, rising to his feet. With a quick twitch of his wrist, he spun his shortsword into the strip of cloth that served as a belt without damaging the fabric at all. "You'd be a lot safer at the inn, but since you're not citizens I can't order you to stay away."
"We're here to help you," Garet announced, already reminded of how much he admired the boy.
"Yes. I know."
He's only fifteen! Mia thought, helpless to stop the blush that was flowing through her face. She kept looking into Devon's eyes, imagining they were the color of the oceans viewed from space--the clarity and intensity of color was amazing. Why was Devon-- someone so young, so small--so attractive to her? The only explanation she could offer was that his confidence was what made him so charming.
"I don't know what help you can be, but tonight I'll welcome any assistance I can get. Besides, anyone who can make it across the plains from the coast must have some sort of strength."
He's a Jupiter Adept, thought Ivan with certainty.
Devon became suddenly serious, and his smile vanished. "Here's the plan. There's only one direct entrance to the town." He indicated the long stone tunnel the group had originally come through. "My men have got that covered. Any monsters that try come in there will be cut apart by Tyrus and his archers. The real threat will come from there . . ." he pointed to the huge stone wall that surrounded the town. "These beasts are skilled at climbing. I'll be at the top of the wall, attacking them before they have a chance to ascend. I'll hold them off for as long as I can, but eventually, I'll be forced to retreat to here, the central plaza. When I get here, the four of you will protect me from physical attacks and slay as many of the monsters as you can. If all goes well. . . ."
But Isaac was shaking his head violently.
"What?" Devon asked.
"The four of us will fight with you at the top of the wall," Isaac decided.
Devon smiled. "No one doubts your bravery, Isaac, but you won't be of any use up there. You see, I have ways of attacking the beasts from a distance, cutting them down as they climb. But your weapons wouldn't be of use until they reached the top, and that's just when we'd have to retreat."
"We have . . . other weapons," Isaac said slyly. "Just wait and see."
Blinking, Devon decided, "Fine. I'll trust you. If you get yourself killed, I'm free of blame. The five of us will fight from the top of the wall, and we'll fall back here if we have to."
Isaac agreed.
With this settled, the five climbed the outer wall of Toreau via the ladder that had been set up, and spaced themselves evenly around the top.
By now, the sun had set, leaving the five in complete darkness. Still, it seemed they could see forever from atop the tall walls of Toreau. Around the town lay an almost preternaturally flat expanse of sand-colored grass. If Devon had attempted to set up traps and pitfalls in this perfect plain, it would have been nearly impossible to hide them properly, darkness or no.
"It won't be long," Devon said, gazing calmly off toward the vanished horizon, and for the first time Ivan saw him as the leader he was. Ivan had thought Devon's charisma, combined with his fighting skill, had earned him a spot as the commander of Toreau. But now, gazing carefully into the darkness, Devon looked tragic, noble, heroic, every bit the leader he really was. For an instant, Ivan wondered if Devon were prepared to sacrifice himself for the town.
A light wind was blowing, driving the chill of the evening through their clothing and into their skin. All five of them shivered, as if in expectation of the battle to come.
"There," Devon called, his voice level and unafraid. "Here they come."
At first, the other four wondered what he was talking about, but minutes later they, too, were able to see their enemies, advancing at an incredible speed toward the town of Toreau.
The creatures reminded Ivan most closely of bears, though even that came nowhere close to describing them. They resembled bears in only the vaguest ways--it was how they carried themselves, some lumbering on all fours, others running in a wobbly fashion on two legs, carrying blunt weapons such as clubs in their razor-clawed hands. Hairless, the creatures were covered in a thin, transparent hyde that revealed red muscles and veins of blood beneath. Their eyes--yellow eyes, reflective like cats'--were locked with inhuman hate on their one real objective--Devon. Again, they resembled bears only rudimentarily--they were, after all, twice the size of the largest bears.
There were hundreds of the beasts, coming from all directions, surrounding the town as if it were an island in the middle of a red sea of monsters, all charging ferociously and mindlessly, closing the distance to five hundred yards, four hundred, three, two. . .
"Here goes!" Garet shouted almost cheerfully as he called his Psynergy to life. A red power hovered about his body as he stood up straight, flinging his arms into the air. The force of his red, smoky power rippled his clothing and hair as if he were standing in the full force of a powerful burst of wind. And, on the ground below them, seeming to burst from the earth underneath their enemies' feet, erupted a massive explosion of fire. At first it appeared as a wall of living flame, blocking the beasts' path to the town on Garet's side, but then it broke into pieces, sending spirals of flame in all directions, cutting the beasts viciously, mercilessly, catching their bodies on fire. It was one of Garet's favorites, the Flare Storm Psynergy.
Ignoring Garet's attack, the wave of beasts surged over the charred bodies of their companions and continued toward the town.
Letting out a shout of power, Isaac attacked. Like Garet, he threw his arms into the air. Like Garet, he allowed the power of his Psynergy to flow over his body--but his power was green, not red.
Ivan, Garet and Mia knew the Psynergy instantly. It was called Mother Gaia, one of the most powerful earth-based attacks. Beneath the monsters' feet, the ground separated into a huge chasm. Unable to stop their momentum in time, about twenty of the monsters plunged headlong inside, and were torn apart long before they hit bottom by a cyclone of flying debris--rocks and chunks of earth varying in size from small pebbles to huge, jagged boulders. The debris swirled around forcefully, leaving the confines of the chasm and mowing down the beasts closest to it. Then, the boulders abruptly fell to the ground and the chasm closed, as if it were a mouth closing forever on its victims.
But the beasts kept coming.
Then came Ivan. His clothing and cape already whipped around under the ferocious gale of his purple Psynergy.
Thunder rumbled, and suddenly the sky was lit with the blue light of electricity. Jumping downward from the sky, a surge of lightning lit the ranks of the monsters with such brilliance it was almost impossible to see the shadowy forms of flying bodies through the white wall of electricity. When the light finally cleared, there was a huge space that was completely free of the beasts. The attack was called Shine Plasma, a ferocious wind attack if Ivan had ever seen one.
The empty space was quickly filled as the monsters pressed continuously onward.
Blue power hung about Mia's body and upraised arms. Her long, bluish hair fluttered . . .
And unbelievably huge boulders of ice fell like hail from the sky, crashing with terrible shattering sounds into the enemy ranks. Those who were not crushed immediately were soon frozen to death by the cold that radiated from the boulders as if they were hearts of ice. Freeze Prism, the attack was called.
Devon had been watching all of this with a faint species of surprise. Now, the other four looked at him, as if for a judgment on their power.
An exhilarated grin spread across the boy's face. "Impressive," he called over the sounds of the enemy's rage. "But watch this! It's a little something I've been calling 'Dark Plane.'"
With a shout, he threw his arms up into the air, calling up his own power. His cape blew out behind him, and his voice swelled with the force of his power in a chordant crescendo. As if excited by the prospect of battle, his Psynergy swirled hectically around him
Black Psynergy.
Below Devon, the plain erupted with his power. It looked as if huge black pillars grew up from the sparse plain, incinerating any of the beasts they touched. New pillars emerged everywhere at random, huge, dark pistons of destruction. The random appearance of Devon's attack reminded Ivan of the bubbles in a cauldron of boiling water. The beasts were simply plowed down by the force of Devon's Psynergy.
At last, Ivan knew for certain that Devon wasn't a Jupiter Adept.
However, he saw as the gristly mutants began to regroup for another vicious charge, there was no time to think about that now.
So the cycle of Psynergy began anew, all colors of power flashing along the top of the narrow wall before being released in a storm of light and sounds.
Mia; Deluge--A fierce rain began to fall as the blue Psynergy flashed, huge drops the size of baseballs slamming into the foes directly in front of the Mercury Adept. The drops quickly grew larger, larger, until the word "drop" was totally absurd. The masses of water--easily as big as boulders, colliding and combining as they fell--created a beautiful but deadly crystalline pattern in the air. When they landed, they carved huge, muddy bites out of the earth, and larger, bloodier bites out of the mutants. Mia squeezed her eyes shut, horrified at the destruction caused by a power she believed best used for healing.
Garet; Fiery Blast--Among the groups of beasts in front of the Mars Adept, a series of bright, white-hot explosions sent the monsters flying in all directions. Others caught fire and began running frantically among their companions, and still others let out shrieks of rage and pain impossible to hear above the explosions, and covered their scorched eyes with their clawed hands.
Isaac; Wild Growth--Shafts of thorns as wide as the trunks of ancient redwoods split the ground as they grew with ferocious, impossible speed. The thorns on these monstrosities, hundreds in number, were at least a foot long and razor-sharp. The plants writhed against each other like snakes, wrapping around the enemies, squeezing, constricting--stabbing.
Ivan; Sonic Slash--As Ivan's wind-based Psynergy cycled into his clothing and hair, the air directly in front of the beasts went eerily still, oddly silent in spite of the hideous screams rising from the army. Then, invisible in the darkness, the air itself began to concentrate, to focus into something solid, something sharp. And then the invisible projectiles were loosed. About twenty blades, sharper than any razor but made of nothing but air and sound, sliced through the monsters, cutting some in half, amputating limbs, and sending blood spraying everywhere. Rapidly, the blades curved destructively through the enemies of Toreau, and finally dissolved back into the air before the droplets of blood could even hit the ground.
Devon; Tar--Again, the alien black Psynergy encased the Great Devon like a black cloak. And, below where the five Adepts stood, targets for any archer but safe from the beasts' powerful melee attacks, a huge patch of earth abruptly melted into a thick, boiling black fluid. Sucking the creatures down like quicksand, and burning others with the blackish steam it emitted, Devon's attack destroyed many of the monsters before solidifying back into the ground, leaving some of the dead beasts half-buried in what had been liquid seconds before.
The endless barrage of Psynergy was having a profound effect on the monsters. Over 2/3 of the creatures lay dead, and the third that remained were mostly wounded and handicapped, crawling over the bodies of their comrades in their determined rush toward Toreau. Still, about three hundred remained, and showed no sign of surrender, no sign of defeat. Three hundred--still enough to crush the small military town with little resistance. Worst of all, using such massive attacks was quickly draining the Psynergy of the town's defenders.
It was Garet who gave out first. Physically, Garet had always been a step ahead of the others, but when it came to Psynergy, he was the weakest. Especially compared to Ivan and Mia, Garet's Psynergy had always been easily exhausted. In the small, brief battles the company was used to fighting, this was rarely a problem, but when faced with a long battle against hundreds of foes, relying exclusively on Psynergy, Garet wore down quickly. At first, he tried to hide his weakness, but when he could no longer cast the simple Fireball Psynergy, he knew there was no point in pretending any longer. "I can't go on," he said, panting heavily as if breathing his guilt.
Devon's order was instantaneous. "Withdraw back into the town!" he shouted clearly above their enemies' screams. "We'll risk damaging the buildings, but from there we can form a tighter defense. When they begin climbing over the walls, hit them with your weaker spells before they can climb down. Now--Go!
With a touch of guilty relief, Garet realized that he wasn't the only one who was nearly exhausted. Isaac was sweating profusely, and panting loudly. Mia looked unusually pale. Of the five, only Ivan and Devon seemed relatively unfazed from the battle so far.
When they reached the central plaza, Devon arranged them all around the fountain in the center, forming a small circle that faced out toward the wall. From there, they blasted anything that came over the wall. After a few simple fire attacks, Garet was totally exhausted. Isaac soon followed.
Mia took a little longer to submit. For awhile, she hit the creatures with her Drench Psynergy, but it had little effect, so she switched to ice attacks. Still, her element was not well-suited to attacking with simple spells. Finally, her Psynergy was depleted, and she gave up.
Ivan and Devon lasted the longest. While Ivan rapidly fired at the mutants with Slash, a weaker version of his Sonic Slash ability, Devon shot them down with beams of black energy from his fingers. Both attacks were quick and deadly, but there were simply too many of the monsters. It was impossible for Ivan and Devon each to protect half the town alone. Still, they tried, both panting heavily, dripping sweat as they fought for the lives of all in Toreau. Ivan looked like he was about to collapse, and Garet eventually rushed to help him in the only way he could--by holding him up. Isaac rushed similarly to keep Devon on his feet. The two youngest Adepts lasted an admirably long time, but soon, practically in-synch, as if they had planned the signal ahead of time, the power from the two boys fell abruptly silent.
"Now what?" asked Garet, grimly watching as the beasts poured, unhindered, over the wall of Toreau.
Devon was panting so heavily he could barely talk, but he shoved Isaac away from him so he could stand on his own. "We still have weapons, don't we? We fight!" With that, he drew his short sword and held it shakily in front of him. The others followed his example.
Isaac drew his sword. Garet bravely bore his axe. Mia prepared to use the last of her strength to swing her staff dangerously into the enemies. Ivan brought his staff to the ready, then leaned on it for support.
It was a last stand. They were doomed, and they knew it. The goal was to bring as many beasts down with them as possible.
Even in this crisis, what could have been the final seconds of his life, Garet felt a poignant admiration for Devon, the younger boy who had proven every bit as brave and determined as himself.
In total, about sixty of the creatures remained of the rough thousand that had begun the attack. The combined Psynergy of five Adepts had been devastating. It was morbidly ironic that the sixty monsters who remained--who had pressed on in the hopeless attack, oblivious to the deaths and injuries of their own soldiers--would be just enough to finish the job.
But the beasts never reached the Adepts. As the creatures finally breached the walls for good and began charging across the plaza, the men of Toreau ran to meet them, rushing from their stations at the tunnel with deep, fierce battle cries that entirely drowned out the sounds of the beasts. The huge men rushed at the monsters, cutting them apart with their swords as if they were nothing but grass, their huge muscles flexing machine-like under their skin. At last, the beasts tried to flee when they saw their defeat at hand, but found themselves stuck between the inner wall and the Toreau men, unable to climb fast enough to reach safety. The same wall that had blocked their entrance now blocked their escape.
Devon shouted gleefully, as if the sight of victory had restored his strength. He rushed to join his men, cutting down beasts left and right as if participating in an invigorating dance. Blood sprayed, monsters perished, and Devon loved every second of it.
When all the monsters were destroyed, the men of Toreau let out a powerful shout of victory. Ivan, Mia, Garet and Isaac joined in, but none were apparently as loud as the Great Devon, screaming and shouting with glee alongside his men. Soon, civilians began emerging from the houses to join what was rapidly becoming a victory party. Crowds formed in the bloody streets and headed for the tavern. Tonight, Ivan thought, would be a merry night for the tavern's owners and customers alike.
The four travelers didn't go to the tavern. Instead, they lingered in the town square, talking and resting. After congratulating his men, Devon joined them. He was panting jaggedly, and his cheeks were flushed, but this time it was not from exhaustion and despair, but the thrill of victory. A permanent grin was stamped across his bright face.
"They're gone!" Devon shouted, and the travelers grinned. "I mean, there's still a big mess to clean up, but that can wait. I can't believe they're actually gone!" He laughed out loud. And, to everyone's surprise, Devon was so high on excitement that he whirled and blindly embraced the closest person to him--who happened to be Ivan.
Suddenly caught by Devon's embrace, Ivan was at first too surprised to do anything. But as his embarrassment subsided, he realized that the chance he had been looking for had finally arrived. The opportunity was simply too much for Ivan to resist. He knew what he was about to do was wrong, knew that Devon would recognize it instantly. He knew it was a type of stealing, that he had no business taking something so forcefully. He thought of Aden's harsh lesson, how angry the boy had become . . . and none of it mattered. With the Great Devon hugging him, providing him with perfect, unguarded physical contact, Ivan simply couldn't resist. Wrapping his arms tightly, possessively around the other boy, Ivan once again initiated his Mind Read.
Submerged in Devon's thoughts, the first thing Ivan became aware of was the commander's glee--total, uncensored delight at having defeated the opponents that had tormented his town for years. But this pleasant feeling--so powerful and pure that Ivan could not only read it, but feel it himself--quickly passed into a surprised, horrified feeling of panic.
Ivan?! How could you do this to me? HOW THE HELL COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?! I THOUGHT YOU LEARNED YOUR LESSON!
Then, something clicked. If Ivan were indeed a thief, digging for treasure in the caverns of Devon's mind, what he found was truly golden.
You BASTARD! came the mental sob. Get out of MY MIND!
Ivan knew what was going to happen long before he felt Devon's dark power rushing through his body, chilling him and expelling him. His grip on Devon was torn apart as the black Psynergy exploded into his body, sending him flying backwards, fighting for balance . . . and finally striking his head on the cobblestones of Toreau's central plaza. For a second, his vision was entirely black, and his fingers and toes tingled numbly. When his vision cleared, he wished he could fade into the place he had glimpsed, the peace of unconsciousness, rather than having to look at the expression on Devon's face.
The fifteen-year-old commander had tears in his blue eyes as they darted frantically among the four travelers. When they settled on Ivan, they showed a mixture of rage and another emotion--vulnerable hurt, as if his fragile feelings had been crushed by one mighty blow.
"I told you never to do that again!" Devon hissed.
Staring accusingly at Ivan for another second, Devon spun quickly away and fled into the darkness of Toreau.
When he had gone, Garet gave a low whistle. "You really are addicted, aren't you?" he said to Ivan.
But Ivan's violet eyes remained locked on the place Devon had been moments before. He felt horrible, overwhelmed with guilt. The sight of tears--tears!--in Devon's usually-confident eyes was too much to bear. He felt tears in his own as he thought over what he had done. When he first met Isaac and Garet, he had used his Mind Read on them. Both, as Adepts, instantly understood what was happening, and had become frightened. In return, as an apology, Ivan had shared his ability with them, allowing them to see each other's thoughts. Finally, he had promised never to use it on Isaac and Garet again. Where had his consideration gone? He had shown no courtesies to Devon, had given nothing, only taken the deepest secret in the other boy's heart.
And what a secret it had been.
"I get it!" Ivan said, awed as he stared into the air where Devon had been. "They're the same! Devon and Aden are the same person!"