45. Serpents

The enemy clashed against the inner walls. But without their siege weapons, their attacks quickly faltered and fell back. That wouldn’t last long, as they would bring them through the outer walls soon.

Earon turned toward the city center where smoke billowed. A scaled, green tail flicked up and crashed against a building, sending debris flying through the sky.

He didn’t even think, making his way for the stairway down from the wall and toward the beast.

“Earon, what are you doing?”

He turned. “The wall will be right for a while. I’m more useful assisting them.”

Tyan nodded. “At least let me get you another potion before you leave.” He clicked his fingers and sent a soldier in search of one.

It only took a few minutes but felt like forever. Finally, the soldier returned, holding a potion above his head as he ran.

The last of their scruffy band parted ways across the wall as the man brought the potion to Earon.

“Good job,” Earon said and downed the vial in one, nodding his goodbyes. 

He went alone. Not just because he thought he would be best suited for taking on whatever those serpents were, but because Earon wanted to give his comrades a well-deserved rest; for however long that lasted.

The narrow streets were mostly bare, littered by only rubble and patches of burning debris. Earon passed the occasional fleeing civilian or wounded soldier retreating, but they were an uncommon sight.

Thunderous clashes sounded in the distance and it seemed as if they came from the Temple District, which made sense, it being beside the Duke’s Keep. 

The enemy had gone for their head.

A cloud of dust blew past Earon, forcing his arm up across his eyes as a huge beast crashed through a row of townhouses, peppering the ground around him with debris.

As the dust settled a spark of purple energy rippled through the air. 

Stretching its head over the skyline of three-story townhouses, a giant, purple serpent hissed, whipping its formidable tongue through the air.

Flying from his left, and radiating a golden hue came a figure draped in heavy armor.

A gust, followed by a burst of energy flung Earon backward, following the golden figure as it slammed into the serpent.

Earon narrowed his eyes, holding his hand above them as another cloud of dust washed over him.

Wielding a golden hammer as large as Earon, the figure pivoted and swung for the serpent's chest, evoking a gut-curdling cry as it flailed and retreated, before lurking forward with a spray of purple, acidic sputum that crackled and fumed as it splattered across the ground.

As it cleared, Earon realized that the armored figure had shielded themselves with a shimmering, golden orb, that promptly dissipated as the serpent’s attack ended.

Brushing back his gray hair, the figure leaped back into action, striking down against the purple scales. And he realized it was Prelate Caesil Numarder.

“With the holy energy of the God Mother you shall be struck down!” he roared as his hammer filled with golden energy once more.

Purple energy crackled and rushed forward, clashing with an impenetrable barrier of gold, sending out a shockwave that tore tiles from rooftops and scattered debris.

Digging his fingers into the cobblestone, Earon could do nothing but hold on as the powerful waves of energy smashed against his frame. This was the power of a real caster, he understood at that moment. And it was so far above where he had reached.

Another blast rippled by, loosening one of Earon’s hands and he skidded backward several meters before clinging to another cobbled rock in the ground.

To his right, an explosion of fire blew an entire building apart, sending flaming timbers shooting by.

It was Jiax, trailed by the green serpent, stumbling over his feet as he ran, shooting out explosive blasts between his steps. However, unlike Caesil, the fight didn’t seem as even, and the explosive blasts appeared more as irritations than damaging attacks.

He would die soon if something didn’t happen, Earon realized.

Nearby a portion of a brick wall had fallen away from a destroyed townhouse during the carnage. Grabbing hold of it with both hands, Earon engaged his rune and lowered its weight as he spun on the spot, letting go and hurling it at just the right moment as he transferred its weight and then some back into the giant wreckage as it flung through the air, toward the green serpent.

Croaking, the beast lurched to the side, nearly toppling over against the weight of Earon’s attack. Then it swung its head around, spitting fuming green sputum in Earon’s direction.

He slipped, kicked hard, and bounced along the broken cobblestone as acidic spit rained down behind him. Earon ran his hands against the ground as he pushed himself upright, collecting stones in his hands.

Pivoting as he ran, he shot off his magically powered bullets. Bouncing off the hard scales of the serpent they appeared to have near to no effect, and it slithered forward, increasingly fast, hissing as Earon’s rocks ricocheted off of it.

Sliding across the ground as he met a dead end, Earon flung around and dashed down an alley – the giant serpent smashing against the stone wall Earon had just avoided, sending a shockwave trembling through the ground and off-balancing Earon as he struggled to find his footing.

The beast was fine though, climbing atop the townhouse roofs and following Earon from above as he ran down the little alley, turning once, and then again.

He missed a turn, hit his shoulder against a wall, and looked up. The serpent recoiled and readied to cover Earon in acidic saliva as an explosion burst into its head.

Earon didn’t wait, stumbling forward and turning down another alley.

He heard another explosive burst overhead but continued to run, his breath tightening and sides burning.

Escaping the alley and appearing back in the street, Earon turned to see Jiax hurling explosive blasts at the green serpent as it shook its head.

The serpent redirected its attention again, shooting toward Jiax as explosive blasts scattered across its scales.

He’s dead!

A cloud of red mist puffed into the sky as the serpent slammed against Jiax.

Now might be a good time to run.

Earon turned and forced foot after foot, ignoring the cries of his body.

Only seconds later, he heard the serpent crashing behind him, smashing through buildings as if they meant nothing.

Turning to his right, Earon recognized where he was. He pushed himself harder and dived forward. It was the sewer entrance and he rolled through sludgy water before jumping to his feet and flinging himself into the open grate. Immediately, he forced himself back to his feet and ran.

The small entrance, not much larger than a man, and the knee-high water didn’t slow Earon. That thing spat acid, and he wasn’t sure how far he would need to get to be safe.

Slamming its head into the sewer, the serpent attempted to follow Earon, wiggling from side to side as it tried to squeeze in after him.

Wading through the water was exhausting, but Earon continued until he reached a fork in the sewer and swung around the corner, panting.

The serpent still struggled to wiggle deeper into the tunnel, but with every movement, it became increasingly stuck.

Had he beaten the thing without killing it? Nathan wondered. Would it even be able to get out now?

Earon peered around the corner. The serpent still attempted to thrash in the tunnel, but it barely moved now.

He wasn’t sure how he would kill the thing since it had been impervious to most of his attacks. But if it couldn’t get out, that wasn’t overly important, at least not for now.

Falling back against the wall, Earon slipped a rejuvenation potion free from his belt and brought it to his mouth; he had been given it as rations and drunk it.

His breathing slowly returned to normal, and his strength returned somewhat. Unfortunately, his mana was low again, and he didn’t have a quick solution for that.

He would need to travel across to another exit and hope that the city and other casters would prevail against the other two serpents.

***

Debris fell from the temple ceiling as Lexi huddled under a table within the library, clutching a book.

The old librarian lay face down, a falling brick had taken him out and Lexi was certain he was dead.

Her hands trembled. She thought of Earon. Praying that he would come and save her.

She was starting to figure that spell out, and she couldn’t die before she had a chance to show him, that would be completely unfair.

Every time something good happened, something bad seemed to follow close behind.

“So much for the protection of a god,” Lexi groaned, shaking her head as she eyed a statue of Arks.

The building shook and thundered, followed by a gust of dust flooding through the library.

Lexi rubbed her eyes and squinted, then looked up to see a giant red serpent having crashed through the building, surrounded by rubble with the High Priest skewered between its fangs.