TRC - Searching for the Sky Ch. 06

The wolf girl came to the same conclusion and ordered the others to run, Alina refusing to obey and standing there with her alpha, snarling at the man rushing toward them.

"Run!" Kal screamed at them. He needed to get something in between them before Kogen got there. His eyes flicked back and forth over the stretch of road but there was nothing there he could make a barrier out of and the nearest stone was the bedrock far below.

Kal skidded to a halt, yelling for the girls to flee once again as his magic reached out beneath the dirt and rocks and found a section of bedrock right in front of the two women. With a yell he lifted, the strength rune shining white and the leather vambrace starting to sizzle and pop. As the wall of rock rose to the surface it began to feel strange, like it was trying to slip through his hands.

"Dax! Run!" he screamed. Panic seeped into his voice as images of the glowing rings on the mountainside as Gerda taught him geomancy and the fused quartz windows Bas had made for Ikuno's bath sprung into his mind.

The wolf girl's eyes flicked to Kal. The mage was doing something, and he looked terrified. "Run," she commanded Alina with all of her power as an alpha. This time the girl shifted and ran full-bore down the road, Daxas right behind her.

Kal screamed in pain as he pulled more power from one of his crystals and poured that into the rune as well, the strength rune burning completely through the leather and charring his skin. Gritting his teeth, he kept lifting; the slaver was about to make it past the wall he was trying to raise.

Kogen heard the anguish and pain in the mage's voice as he called out to the bitches and smiled, this little fucker might beat him in the end, but he was going to watch all of his precious women die first. He started laughing when he got closer and noticed the way the wolf and black-haired dog girl's bellies stuck out slightly.

The ground in front of the slaver erupted and a wall of searing orange fluid rose up in front of him. Unable to change direction, he went barreling through the molten rock, screaming as he lost his footing and bounced down the road.

Kogen's armor worked on a simple premise. Damage was spread out over anywhere the armor covered. This usually served him well as a blow from a mace would feel like a light punch over a larger area or a fatal sword slash may result in dozens of tiny cuts that barely break the skin. Now, almost half of his armor was covered in melted bedrock that was only starting to darken and form a crust. The slaver screamed out the word to remove the armor then lay on the ground in agony once it had released him. A hand that was already red and starting to blister reached into a pouch and pulled out a small glowing bottle. Whimpering with pain, Kogen popped the cork out and downed its contents, the healing draught soothing him as it went to work.

"Spear," heard the slaver a moment before feeling a sharp point under his chin. Opening his eyes, he saw the mage standing down by his knees holding a spear with one hand, the butt having the same gold endcap as the man's staff. He was cradling the other arm and his vambrace sported a charred hole where the red rune used to be. Flickers of white light occasionally reflected off the inside of his cloak as the wind moved it.

Kogen chuckled, "Had to summon the fires of hell just to stop me. Even though I lost, that's something to be proud of."

"You're pretty calm for someone with a spear to their neck," said Kal using the tip to push his head back.

"You didn't kill any of my boys, seems you aren't the killin' type. That's half of why I'm here, must be running a shoddy business if someone can walk out with my stock and not have to take out a single one of my men. You fuckers could have slit everyone's throats and thrown us into the river then taken your time leaving. Instead, you made me look like a fool. No, I'm not worried you are going to kill me."

Daxas walked up and stood on the other side of the slaver from Kal. Alina and a couple of the others were out in the woods calling for two that had run at Dax's order and kept on running.

"You're done hunting us Kogen, I suggest you find a different profession as well," said Kal.

"Can't, won't let me back into town without your head," replied the slaver.

"Then set up shop in a different town." Kal let the man tilt his head back down.

Kogen grinned, "Might do that, I hear Lantaris is pretty in the fall."

"Kelthor and I figured it was you and your pet wizard that broke his wards."

"Aye, and look where it got me. I can't stop, but I'll give you a head start of a couple of weeks."

"You're an idiot, if I see you again you won't walk away. I won't say I'll kill you, but you may wish I had." Seeing the determination in the man's eyes, the mage sighed, "One month, and you come after me, not the girls."

"You're the one with the spear. I'll agree to..."

"Why were you laughing?" interrupted Daxas.

"What?" asked Kal, looking at her.

"As he was running at us he started laughing. I want to know why," she said without taking her eyes off the slaver. Kal had never seen this particular expression on her face before and was very glad it wasn't directed at him.

Instead of answering Kogen gave her a grin full of malice and looked down at Daxas's belly.

Dax put her hand on the golden endcap and pushed.

As Kal stared in shock at the place where his spear entered the man's skull, the wolf girl stepped up and spit on the corpse's face.

"You don't get to laugh about killing our daughter and live," she said before walking off to collect the rest of her pack.