The Path of Giants, B.T. Narro [the speed reading book .TXT] 📗

“Aliana?” I asked, panting for breath.

“I’m much better,” she said as she lifted her head up.

Arrows pattered all around us. “Stay down and cover your head,” I said.

She yelped as an arrow went into her arm.

“Pull it out,” I ordered.

Keeping her head down, she yanked out the arrow. I healed her wound.

“Hold!” Endell yelled. “Leave the healer for now. Slay the metal mage before the rest arrive. Everyone focus on him.”

Charlie yelled out in fear.

I pushed myself to my feet, holding onto the bars of Aliana’s cage for balance. I had nothing left for the moment. I was useless, completely drained, as I watched Eslenda and Eden stand in front of Charlie as all of our enemies rushed toward them.

“I’ll come back with Charlie,” I told Aliana between breaths.

“Don’t worry about me until then.”

Many of the sorcerers had some choice words for Eden, a few of the men issuing obscene threats about what they were going to do to her when this was over. I figured Souriff was elsewhere with Valinox, and that was the only reason he wasn’t putting an end to this himself, but I wasn’t sure she would be able to stand against him for too long with his invisibility spell.

Charlie reached Michael’s cage and melted the bars in mere moments, but the engagement between his helpers and the rest of the army had already begun.

There were too many enemy sorcerers for the four of them to face alone. I made my way over to Reuben’s cage as I kept a nervous eye on my allies. It was all I could do as I recovered my stamina.

Eslenda stood out among the others, her sorcery stronger than anyone else’s as wind was her magic school of choice. When it came to sheer force, wind had the best power per mana usage. I could see that many of the swordsmen charging my allies were sorcerers as well. They were trying to disrupt my allies with dteria, but none of them could get close enough for their spells to do much besides ripple the clothes of my allies. Not only could Eslenda make a shield of wind to stop arrows, but she threw back anyone who stepped within ten yards.

She alone could keep the threat of the entire army at bay, but for how long?

I could see and hear the enemy sorcerers becoming furious with the elf. I was envious of her stamina. I didn’t know if it was from years of casting or if she was just naturally stronger than I was, but I was still recouping lost mana and strength as I finally made it to Reuben’s cage.

It was my damn healing spell. It took so much out of me, and I was about to cast it again.

Reuben was losing a bout against a swordsman still intent on jamming his weapon into Reuben’s torso. So intent, in fact, that the swordsman didn’t see me coming up behind him.

I did not hesitate as I jammed my sword up through the side of his back, splitting his ribs open. I left him to die as I took Reuben’s reaching hand through the bars.

I let my healing spell course through his body, and all his many wounds closed before my eyes. Fortunately, he had been in better shape than Aliana.

“Can you use the callstone?” I uttered through heavy breaths. Hadley hadn’t heard anything from Reuben since his capture.

“I can’t figure out how the damn thing works! Here!” He handed it to me. “Hurry,” he said as he pointed at Charlie, Michael, Eslenda, and Eden. “They’re not going to make it to my cage, let alone Aliana’s, without the rest of our army.”

“They have to. Everyone else is far.”

“Nox’s blade. I’m doomed.”

I shut out the rest of the world as I connected my mana to the callstone. It felt like losing myself to a memory. I didn’t know if Hadley would understand any direct thoughts or just sense my feelings, but I tried to be as clear as possible.

Hurry, I’m out of stamina. Everyone’s facing west. Be careful of traps and archers.

I put the callstone in my pocket and tried to push myself to a sprint as I left Reuben in his cage. Every enemy had their attention on my allies about thirty yards ahead of me. If I could just come up behind them before they noticed me….

“Shoot the healer dead!” Endell commanded, still at the center of the encampment. His group of archers had hardly moved, all of their sights on me.

There was no time to hide behind trees. Enemies had finally gotten through to my allies as they were trying to make their way to me. It was a chaotic scene just ten yards ahead of me as sorcerers from both sides were flying through the air from the spells of wind and dteria. But I couldn’t spare another moment to watch them.

I made a wall of dvinia between me and the archers, taking it with me as I ran toward my allies. It threatened to break apart with each arrow that stuck inside of it, a heavy weight on my mind.

“Forget the elf!” Endell yelled. “The healer’s coming behind all of you.”

I would soon be in between the enemy archers and the enemy sorcerers. I could only hope the archers wouldn’t keep shooting at me in fear of hitting their own men, and I was right as I shot a look over my shoulder. They were turning their attention to the other way, a mass of people emerging between the trees. The rest of my allies had finally arrived.

But more than fifty men stood between me, on one side, and Eslenda, Charlie, and Michael on the other. I didn’t have the wherewithal to really process what I thought about Eden clearly helping us, but I sure wasn’t going to do anything to stop her.

Before I could come to a plan, dteria came at me from every which way. It picked me up and shoved