Chapter thirty-three: Striking the heart
Jack jumped after Herskagul to the edge of the island. He glared up at her as she flew above the chasm.
Then Jack let himself drop down.
A gold Aercloud sent him straight down. Blue sent him back up, like a trampoline. Gold accelerated his trajectory again, this time upwards. Right towards Herskagul.
Jack raised his lightweight poleaxe in a one-handed grip, spike aimed at the Queen, soaring up at her like a bullet. Herskagul moved to the side just in time, caught off-guard by Jack's speed. She probably hadn't expected him to be so proficient with the Aerclouds.
Jack landed on a white Cloud.
He turned. Herskagul had landed behind him and moved in, holding her sword's blade with one hand. Jack blocked. She tried to strike his head with the hilt, but Jack jumped up and over her and tried to get his poleaxe over her block, the spike getting close to her eyes.
Herskagul raised her sword, still holding it by the blade with one hand, redirecting the strike.
The beard of the axe hooked around her blade. Using his poleaxe as a grappling hook, Jack's jump turned into an arc over Herskagul, and he landed on her other side, weapons still hooked together. Her grip on her sword almost gave, but she held on and turned to face him, maintaining their weapons' bind.
Jack gripped his weapon closer to the axe head, jumped up lightly, landed with both feet on Herskagul's chest and jumped with all the strength he could muster.
He was launched back and up with tremendous force. With his axe still hooked in with Herskagul's sword, the same force was applied to both weapons. Herskagul was only just able to let go of the blade and hold onto the hilt.
Jack flew in an arc and landed near the edge of the white Cloud. He got up, then ducked under Herskagul as she flew past.
The Hunters were teleported at the Sanctuary's front entrance. Two Valkyrie guards raised their weapons as Andr's purple darklight dimmed the sun. The mob teleported over and swiftly killed both.
"We need to find this device," Raulyn said.
Andr returned, then teleported them to the end of the corridor. Nothing there save for a few more guards, which she quickly dispatched. They teleported further.
As they explored the structure, Raulyn mentally kept track of where they had gone. Throughout their search, they encountered more guards, but not as many as Raulyn had expected. Most Valkyries were probably heading outside to oversee the duel. He would have left Blazette to do the same to ensure Herskagul would not break the rules, but he suspected that would be unnecessary.
They reached a door. Andr kicked it open.
With spears and shields leveled, the Hunters strode inside a larger room with a sizeable, intricate piece of machinery in the center. Valkyries turned to look at the intruders. Weapons were drawn.
"This looks like a device," Rayallv dryly said.
"You two, hold," Raulyn told the two mobs. "We need to get Rayallv onto that device."
"There are too many of them," Blazette hissed.
"Then clear them out."
She did not question his order. Instead she clenched her hands into fists, and fire began to gather around her.
"Andr, cover her!"
Andr hesitated. Some Valkyries moved in; others raised bows.
"Take their shields!" Raulyn barked.
Then it clicked. Andr teleported to a nearby Valkyrie. Shortly after, the Valkyrie lay on the ground, and Andr wielded a shield in addition to her sword. "Blazette!" she cried. "Down!"
The Blaze lowered herself, and Andr teleported.
Then arrows were loosed.
"Shields!" Raulyn cried. He raised his own shield, as did his men, and they crouched down. A dozen arrows struck.
Galen muttered a curse when an arrow barely missed his foot. Raulyn heard a grunt from Blazette. She must have been hit, but he could not look. Once the arrow rain passed, he looked to see other Valkyries approaching, weapons raised.
Raulyn glanced to the side. Sure enough, Blazette had an arrow in her shoulder, but the fire around her had barely waned. If anything, it had only grown.
With teeth clenched, she rose again.
Raulyn did not think. "Back!" he snarled at the Valkyries. They froze as his power took effect.
Then Blazette shot streams of fire from her hands.
Some Valkyries snapped out of their momentary trance. They raised shields.
Others were hit. Some fell from the air, burning. One slammed against the ground just before Raulyn.
For all her complaining, he was thankful Blazette was on their side, now.
Finally the fire settled and Blazette returned to cover. He noticed her fumble with a potion at her belt—one of several Mystia had entrusted to her. Some Valkyries were scattered, but most had been able to maintain some form of cohesion. Raulyn looked at the big intricate device. "Rayallv! Can you do anything with that?"
"No, sir," Rayallv said, visibly disturbed by Blazette's display of power. "Not with a machine this big."
The scattered Valkyries regrouped. Some raised bows.
Raulyn sucked in a breath and focused. "BACK!" he commanded in a voice loud enough to sound through the room.
Once again, the Valkyries paused.
Andr took the opportunity to teleport forward, kill some archers, then return to Blazette. The remaining archers raised their bows again.
Then the Hunters stood on top of the device.
Raulyn had no time to be surprised. The Valkyries were looking at an empty spot in the room. Arrows flew and hit nothing.
Then Blazette unleashed another stream of fire. Valkyries were hit in the back, and some crashed to the ground.
Raulyn heard more teleporting to the side and looked to see Andr standing over a corpse. Another Valkyrie, standing near a set of ornate golden swirls with a black sphere installed.
She teleported back. "That Valkyrie just put that orb there," she said. "I don't know what it is."
Raulyn glanced to his side, and Rayallv returned his gaze.
"We need to get there," Raulyn said. It was their only hope, really. "We will all give cover to Rayallv."
They teleported again, and with the limited number of shields they had, they surrounded Rayallv as he approached the sphere. Raulyn clenched his teeth as other Valkyries landed on the device and approached with weapons raised. He hoped Rayallv would be able to do something.
They had come this far. Either the device would be destroyed now, or Jack had to win.
Herskagul spread her wings and leaped up, but Jack had expected this. He jumped up as well and right into her. The force of both of their jumps joined—right through a golden Aercloud that sent them even further.
Then Herskagul spread her wings again and spun, taking control of their flight. Jack held on for dear life as they were actually flying, carried by her wings.
Herskagul flew them up and away, keeping Jack in a bear hug. Jack awkwardly hit her helmet with the poleaxe, trying to make her land, but she remained airborne.
Towards the Sanctuary.
Jack dropped his axe. He reached for his belt and drew the blue dagger.
He stabbed it under Herskagul's arm.
Blue lightning struck. Electricity. Cold.
Then they crashed through the Sanctuary wall.
They separated into two masses of blue fire. Jack fell to the ground. He gasped despite the Gravitite. He felt every muscle in his body twitching, and ice ran through his veins.
The twitching slowly lessened. Jack stood on shaky legs, breathing heavily, the final sparks of blue fire waning. Why was it so chilly all of a sudden? He could barely feel his skin.
His axe. He'd lost his axe. Where was Herskagul? He frantically looked around. His movements felt sluggish under the blanket of cold, and parts of his body felt heavier.
He looked down at his chest—and half of his helmet fell off in pieces. The Gravitite plating had broken. His entire right arm was exposed, and half of his chest plate had been incinerated.
He cursed through half-paralyzed lips. At least it seemed to have protected him against the lightning somewhat. With a grunt, he awkwardly ripped off the remainder of his shattered helmet.
Then he turned tail and limped towards the nearest door as fast as he could. If he survived that, Herskagul did too. He had to go somewhere. He couldn't beat Herskagul. He had to go somewhere—
The device, he realized as he stumbled into a corridor. If it's got the artefact installed in it, maybe I can use that against her. He remembered the damage it did to Valkyries. Would it work on a Valkyrie Queen?
It was his only chance. He just needed to find the right way and hope Herskagul didn't catch up with him.