Aakuta debated between veering to the right and the dense forest at the foot of the mountains, or angling to the left and the jungle along the shore of the island. As the sound of his pursuers grew more distant behind him, he knew that he had to choose soon. He was almost out of the fog, and he was rapidly losing his breath.
Aakuta chose to turn to the left and headed for the jungle. That was when he slammed right into a tree. He grunted loudly as the impact took his breath away, and he toppled to the ground.
“Off to the left,” a shouted voice drifted through the fog. “I heard him.”
Aakuta cursed under his breath and scrambled to his feet. He wondered what he would do now that he had not shaken his pursuers. Surely he could turn and attack the soldiers magically. He still did have the power to kill a great number of them, but each group also had a mage with it. And what would be the point of killing a hundred of Vand’s soldiers anyway? Vand already had more soldiers than he knew what to do with. Aakuta shook his head as he ran as fast as he could towards the jungle. The fog lessened somewhat and then suddenly disappeared completely. Aakuta instantly measured the distance to the jungle and tried to estimate how far behind him the pursuers must be. It would be a close race.
Aakuta saw a small trail leading into the jungle. He veered slightly to head for it. As he tore along the small trail into the deep foliage of the jungle, he chanced a look over his shoulder. The first of the pursuers was just emerging from the fog. The dark mage cursed as one of the soldiers shouted and pointed directly at Aakuta. He had been too slow in his dash to the jungle.
Gasping for breath, his heart pounding wildly, Aakuta halted as the trail made a sharp bend. He quickly wove an air tunnel and directed it far off towards the left. He cursed loudly into his cupped hands and the sound came out at the end of the air tunnel. He heard his pursuers shout and then heard the thrashing as dozens of soldiers left the trail and started tromping through the dense undergrowth towards the distant sound.
Aakuta slowly and quietly stepped off the trail to the right. He was careful not to disturb the foliage along the trail as he picked his way deeper into the jungle. The going was slow through the dense jungle, but it gave Aakuta the time he needed to catch his breath. His body was not up to the exertion that he was putting it through. He knew that the diversion would not fool his pursuers for long, but without the ability to breathe, he could not have run much further anyway.
Slowly Aakuta made his way through the thick jungle, the shouts of the soldiers falling away behind him. When he could no longer hear the soldiers, Aakuta dropped to the ground and rested. The dark mage reclined on his back and stared up at the sky. As he watched the clouds drift overhead, he tried to figure out what he would do next. His time was running out.
Suddenly, Aakuta heard the foliage moving off to his right. At first he thought it might be a large snake moving about, but several noises came in unison. The dark mage swallowed hard as he realized that someone was near. Slowly, he rolled over onto his stomach and rose to his knees. His eyes opened wide as he scanned the thick jungle for any signs of movement. When he finally saw one of the soldiers, Aakuta thought his heart would stop beating; his pulse was pounding in his ears.
As Aakuta slowly swiveled his head, he saw a wide swath of soldiers moving cautiously through the jungle. They were making every effort to do so silently, and they had almost succeeded. Already they were far too close for Aakuta to make a run for it.
The soldiers were spread out in a long line, ten abreast. Aakuta could not see the mage. Aakuta had stopped in a small clearing to rest. Now he looked to each side of him for a place to hide. On his left was a tree with its roots exposed; the mound of soil that used to cover the roots was long gone. Aakuta crawled silently towards the tree.
As the sounds of the soldiers came closer, Aakuta wiggled his way under the tree. The underside of the tree was hollowed out, termites swarming in and out of the porous wood. Aakuta twitched as he pulled in his legs and shoved his head upward into the rotted tree. The termites swarmed all over his body, but the dark mage remained frozen.
Moments later, Aakuta heard a soldier pass nearby. The pursuers were moving slowly and methodically, hoping to catch Aakuta in a moment of laxness. Suddenly a voice softly intruded the quiet jungle air.
“Perhaps I was wrong,” the voice said. “I thought for sure that the old fool would go in the opposite direction of the supposed noise. Let’s head back towards the trail.”
“Do you think the others have caught up to him yet?” asked one of the soldiers as they gathered together not far from the tree.
“Not a chance,” replied the voice of the mage. “That old man is a wily one. Let the others run through the jungle searching for Aakuta. We will be the ones to find him. I think I am beginning to understand how he thinks. I am willing to bet that he did come this way, but something must have turned him back. We will return to the trail and head towards the beach for a thousand paces. Then we will slip into the jungle again and try this one more time. We will find him. I want to personally present his head to Vand.”
Aakuta shivered as he recognized the voice. It was the voice of Xavo, the mage who had beat him near the temple not long ago. Aakuta burned with fury at the thought of Xavo being the one to find him. As the group moved towards the trail, Aakuta slithered out from under the tree. He brushed off the termites and decided that he knew what he would do next. If he were going to die in a matter of hours when the potion wore off, he would at least have the pleasure of ridding the world of Xavo before he died.
Aakuta rose and saw Xavo forty paces away walking towards the trail. The ten soldiers were already another twenty paces in front of the mage. Aakuta moved as swiftly as he could without making any noise. He was within several paces of Xavo when he made a noise that attracted everyone. A branch snapped when he stepped on it. The soldiers turned around immediately and shouted with recognition.
Aakuta grinned menacingly when he saw the soldiers all in a knot. He swiftly cast the Chula spell of death. Several balls of light sped towards the soldiers. The balls flattened into discs as they traveled, and the discs sprouted sharp blades of light. Aakuta was aware of shouts coming from every direction as the blades of light ripped into the clump of soldiers. Body parts flew through the air in a bloody mist.
Xavo was taken by surprise by the attack. Although he thought he figured out how Aakuta thought, he was wrong. He was also slow to react. Aakuta tried to take advantage of that slowness, but Xavo managed to get off a fireball at Aakuta, hitting the dark mage in the chest. Pain ripped through Aakuta, and he fell to the ground from the force of the projectile. Aakuta’s robe was on fire, and he ripped at it, tossing shreds of burning fabric in every direction. Some of the nearby plants immediately ignited from the magical fire, sending smoke rapidly rising into the air. Xavo grinned and drew his knife to claim Aakuta’s head.
* * *
Santiock saw a brilliant light and instantly turned towards it. He saw a group of Motangan soldiers torn to shreds by a magical spell, and his mouth fell open in horror. He quickly scanned the jungle, alert for an attack. Not more than a hundred paces away, he saw the dark mage, and not far from him was Xavo, fire leaping from his fingertips. Santiock shouted for his men to follow him as he dashed towards the confrontation.
The foliage was dense, but Santiock rushed through it as he watched the fireball strike the dark mage. He saw Aakuta fall backwards, the magical fire igniting the brambles around him. He witnessed Xavo draw a knife and go down on top of Aakuta to sever the dark mage’s head.