More IceWind howled above his head. ForceCones battered great swaths through the demon attack force, driving them high and distant. Auum would have laughed aloud but for the clogging dread in his throat and the burning of exhaustion in his lungs, his arms and legs. He pleaded once more with Tual to keep his friend alive. And with Shorth to stay his hand and wait a little longer.
He felt Duele breathe, coughing again as the smoke touched his lungs. But it was life that they could save if they could get him to a healer quickly enough.
Rounding a bend, he saw that the gates of the college were open. And this time he couldn't suppress the shout of triumph.
Chapter 36
Hirad stood in front of the two mages and swept his mace ahead of him again. Strike-strain were flung right. He brought the weapon down sharply, connecting with the claw of a reaver, sniping in from the left. Beside him, The Unknown stood, a massive presence. Mace in one hand, long sword in the other, he fought like the Protector he had once been. Hirad at once drew strength from him and feared for him. The blow to his head had slowed him. Blood ran freely over his face and slicked his arms. And his old hip wound was locking his right leg periodically, threatening his balance.
Hirad spoke over his shoulder at the mage crouched at the door's heavy lock.
'We don't have much time,' he said.
'I am aware of that,' came the testy reply.
'I am not losing any more of my friends.'
'Then leave me to work.'
The second mage swept his ForceCone back out over the elven-wrought pathway through the throng of demons, scattering the enemy from the sky. On the ground, three steps below, the situation worsened by the heartbeat. Demons were pressing in hard from both sides. Karron were at the fore, backed by reavers. The Al-Arynaar were fighting a desperate rearguard action, trying to keep the pathway open for those still in the alleyway.
The elves barely had room to fight now. They had been forced into close quarters and most had dropped swords for knives and daggers. In the midst of them, Ark battered away, oblivious to the strike-strain covering his huge body. He used his mace in both hands as a ram, relying on the elves flanking him to keep away the flailing limbs of other karron.
Back in the alley, Thraun held Erienne and was ready to run. With
him, Denser, Pheone and the two surviving Xeteskian emissaries. All three mages had ForceCones deployed. Hirad knew that without that trio of spells, they would all have been killed already. But even so, inch by gradual inch, the demons were forcing the elves back into each other. Already, the pathway was barely two men wide and it was closing visibly.
At his back he heard the plop of molten metal and felt a brief wash of heat.
'Come on, come on,' he whispered.
There was a click. 'Got it.'
'Well done,' said Hirad. He thudded his mace into a reaver's face, feeling its skull crack. The creature shrieked and flew high, straight into the path of the elven ForceCone that drove it across the street to slap into the part-rubbled wall of the building opposite. 'Both of you, get inside. WardLock the other doors. Go!'
He didn't look,round. Instead he drew in breath and roared: 'Mages! Mages to me.'
The chaos was instantaneous. Al-Arynaar warriors ran to fill spaces in the wall left and right as their mage companions withdrew. They rushed from the alley under the protection of Denser and Pheone, neither of whom made any move to leave Thraun. Suarav and Sharyr began to run, the latter with his ForceCone playing over his head, shielding those that came with him.
To either side, the demons surged. The Al-Arynaar held firm, Ark in their midst, bellowing his defiance. Hirad saw the hammer of a karron crush the skull of an elf, driving his body into the ground. Standing next to him, Ark's face darkened and he grabbed the creature by its throat and crashed his mace single-handed into the top of its skull again and again before flinging the squat body into the press behind it.
The first mages reached the stairs and the door to the playhouse. The Unknown and Hirad made space for them to pass, the barbarian issuing orders to each as they went.
'We need light inside. Globes to rid every shadow. I want Force -Cones on every window above head height. Let's start investing WardLock in the stone. These karron do not need to use doors. Prepare IceWind, hold it in reserve. Not one demon gets in before I do, understand?'
Elves were pouring through the decreasing gap. At the alley end, karron had forced the Al-Arynaar back, threatening the rest of The Raven.
'Unknown, stay here,' he said. 'I've got to get back for the others.'
'I'm not going anywhere.'
Hirad jumped off the steps and pushed back towards the alley, roaring on the elves that passed him. He found Rebraal in the line and pulled him back.
'Get to the steps. We need the defence marshalled inside.'
Rebraal, blood dripping from his nose, nodded and moved away. Hirad pushed on. Just seven yards.
'Thraun! Get ready. Denser, keep that Cone up.'
Hirad clattered back into the action at the mouth of the alley. Karron had killed two Al-Arynaar. Their broken bodies were dragged clear down the narrow passageway giving Hirad room. He swung his mace down, striking a dripping spiked limb, and immediately up into the throat of the same karron. The demon staggered and Hirad helped it back, driving into its body with his, regaining a little lost space.
'Faster. You have to move faster.'
His voice echoed into the alley. Still the Al-Arynaar poured out. At the back of their number, the battle continued as it had since they ran from The Thread. Karron poured in from all sides through shattered buildings.
Hirad pushed away, feeling revulsion at the writhing body matting. He brought his mace down on its head, keeping it back. From his left he saw the swinging spike of another karron. He blocked it aside. The limb struck him on the upper arm, spikes just grazing his back. His left arm numbed under the blow which shunted him sideways and into the alley mouth.
He heard a satisfied squawk. More karron pressed in. Hirad levered himself from the wall, striking out with his mace. He felt it connect with flesh but couldn't see where in the confusion. Al-Arynaar drove in again. Kicks swept low, unbalancing the enemy. He heard the roar of falling stone. A cloud of dust erupted from the alley. He shuddered.
'Thraun, Denser, move!' yelled Hirad.
And so it began. Denser came first, hanging onto his ForceCone and still sweeping it above their heads. Thraun was after him, Erienne still in his arms, with Pheone in his footprints.
Hirad rocked back and thudded a straight kick into an enemy midriff. In the moment's space, he glanced down the alley. Through the clogging dust, he could see Al-Arynaar fighting the karron. Just a handful against the storm, unaware of the situation at their backs.
'Disengage,' he called. 'Run.'
He didn't know if they really heard him but one looked back, saw the space and brought his brothers with him. He led bruised, bleeding and shivering warriors into the light, still moving only because the adrenalin kept their exhaustion at bay a few moments longer. The last of them exited the alley. Karron were pouring down it at surprising speed.
'Dear Gods,' breathed Hirad. There was no one left to stop them. 'Fall back in turn. Disengage by pairs.'
The order was passed back down the line. Hirad placed himself in the centre of the collapsing pathway. Elven hands on his shoulders guided him backwards. All around him he could hear the cries of demons and the thud of weapons. He gripped his mace in both hands and watched the karron stream on. He wondered if he could hold them long enough to let the elves escape into the playhouse.