Will let out a long exhalation. “And everything I’ve done has gotten in your way—stopping Androv, liberating Darrow.”

  “I prefer this outcome,” said Theravan. “We lost the war, but you’ve driven Lognion into the open and given Terabinia into our master’s hands. Soon enough we will know the exact location of the nest, and your city was spared a genocide.”

  Something else was clear to him as well. Grim Talek had asked him not to deal with the fae, even for simple matters. Will had thought it might be to isolate him, or restrict his access to certain information, but in light of the past he realized it was because of their ties to the elves. Old promises might force them to betray him. Closing his eyes, Will rubbed at the bridge of his nose, fighting back an incipient headache. When he opened them again, he addressed the two vampires. “And we still have a more pressing troll problem to deal with.”

  Theravan smirked, then nodded at Mahak. “You have an expert to help with that. Mahak lived through the first troll outbreak. I’m sure he has a few tricks that can help.”

  Mahak snorted. “No tricks, but I know a spell that will interest you.”

  Will leaned forward. “Oh?”

  “As I’m sure you’ve realized, burning bodies is a pain in the ass, requiring far more turyn than is often practical. In my time, we developed an efficient cremation spell to make the chore easier,” explained Mahak.

  “How much easier?”

  The vampire shrugged. “It’s still work, but for rendering flesh into ash, it takes roughly half the turyn.”

  Will’s eyes widened. “That’s significant. Much better than the battle spells I’ve seen.”

  “That’s the difference. This produces a slow burn that efficiently uses fats and certain other tissues to support the incineration. The initial cast is too slow and requires too much turyn to be practical in battle, but for getting rid of bodies it is perfect and only needs to be cast once, hence the savings in time and energy,” said the ancient wizard.

  “So it isn’t usable in combat?” asked Will.

  Mahak shook his head. “It’s too slow. It’s only useful for corpses, or trolls that have been rendered insensible, otherwise they might cut or tear off the burning locus. A troll could cut itself completely in half if necessary to escape the part of its body that was burning.”

  Will nodded. “The warriors you brought, will they be of any use?”

  “You were hoping they’d be bigger, weren’t you?” snickered Theravan.

  “Well, now that you mention it…”

  “You’ve seen enough trolls in combat to know that there’s no matching them physically,” said Mahak. “Even as strong as the Drak’shar are, we would have to be the size of a troll to even approach parity, and even then, our healing…”

  Will interrupted, “I’ve studied the differences. Your bodies can heal almost any wound, but they don’t replace lost parts. Tear a troll in two and you will eventually have two trolls, but cut a vampire in half and you wind up with two crippled vampires.”

  Theravan rubbed his chin before interjecting, “It’s been a long time since I met a mortal with enough experience, much less wit, to observe and draw those conclusions.”

  Mahak rolled his eyes. “If you’re done with the compliments, can we get back to the topic?” Theravan shrugged, and his senior continued, “As I was saying, pound for pound, trolls are slightly stronger, they’re much larger, and for creatures their size they are impressively fast. The young ones are as cunning as wolves, and some of the old ones may be smarter than some humans. Our only advantage is magic and usually, intelligence. Using Drak’shar as your fighters solves a few problems, but they won’t be able to simply overpower the trolls. What we do have, given our smaller size, is better speed and mobility. That is why I didn’t bother limiting my choices to the biggest Drak’shar I could find.”

  “So how did you choose?” asked Will.

  Mahak looked at his subordinate, then answered, “I didn’t. I brought them all.”

  “All?” Will gaped at him. “You want me to believe there are only ten or twenty vampires in Darrow?”

  “Twenty-two,” corrected Theravan. “Twenty-four if you count Mahak and myself. There are others scattered across various nations, but not many.”

  Will couldn’t reconcile the new information. “I don’t understand. How does Grim Talek accomplish anything with so few?”

  Mahak snorted. “Most of his servants are human, obviously. The Drak’shar are kept few to minimize the risk of what happened in Cerria with Androv. Generally, our master uses the Drak’shar for special tasks that require great stealth, and Theravan and I are reserved for only the most critical of matters.”

  “Then let’s discuss how best to clear out this troll den,” said Will.

  Chapter 28

  Two days later, Will and his father stood on the hillside just below the entrance to the troll cave. The morning sunlight was just beginning to crest the hill to the east of them, and it illuminated the two men, the sorcerers they had brought with them, and the vampire contingent gathered around them.

  The vampires looked mildly uncomfortable, for although they were protected by Mahak and Theravan’s spells, the sun was a constant reminder that death was close by. Will’s father didn’t look any happier, however, and he nervously eyed the fanged warriors around them.

  A solitary troll stood guard outside the cave entrance, and though the wind favored them, the troll had obviously smelled something, for it kept looking from side to side as though searching for something. Mahak turned to Will and mouthed, ‘Ready?’

  Will nodded, then answered clearly, “Go ahead. They won’t hear anything unless I allow it.”

  The vampire glanced at his subordinates, and together they raced from the cover of the trees toward the wary troll. It saw them coming, and although they were faster, the distance gave the troll plenty of time to react. Lifting a heavy club that seemed slender in the troll’s hands, it batted the first vampire into the air, sending the hapless Drak’shar tumbling down the hillside. The troll released the club then, favoring the speed of its clawed hands to catch the next two warriors around their waists.

  Will was damping the sound of the fight, but in his mind, he could imagine the sickening crunch as the troll squeezed, breaking two spines and nearly bisecting the undead assailants. The vampires spasmed, their mouths open in silent screams as they clawed and bit at the thick, greyish green skin of the troll’s arms.

  The rest of the vampires fared much better, striking at the troll’s legs with short, heavy blades to cripple it. Theravan circled around and used a force-wall to block the cave entrance while Mahak darted in at an opportune moment to drive his slender smallsword directly into the troll’s weak spot, its groin.

  Few knew that trolls’ brains were located directly behind their genitals, rather than inside their skulls. Fewer still survived meeting a troll long enough to communicate that knowledge to anyone else. The troll began thrashing senselessly, smashing the two vampires it had in its fists against the rocky ground. Mark Nerrow had been waiting for this, and he moved up quickly, casting the cremation spell that Mahak had shared with them the day before.

  Meanwhile, the other vampire warriors severed the troll’s arms at the elbow and wrist to free their broken companions. They tossed the separate troll pieces back onto the smoldering torso while everyone waited—waited for the vampires to heal, and waited for the troll to finish burning away. Once those two things were complete, Mahak started to dismiss his force-wall, but Will bade him to wait.

  Turning to his father and the two human sorcerers that had come with him, he told them, “Time for the breathing spell.” They used the spell immediately, for they’d all had it prepared beforehand.

  The spell he was referring to actually was technically named ‘water breathing.’ It had been given the name simply because of its original purpose. The spell created a concentrated pocket of air within the caster’s chest that allowed them to go for thirty minutes or more without needing to breathe, which was likely to be necessary once they started burning bodies underground. Will had actually never used it in water, but it had served him well on several occasions when breathing was unwise. The main downside was that it also made it impossible to speak, but they had planned out their roles and tasks carefully with that in mind.

  The troll’s remains finished turning to ash, and it was time to move. Mahak removed the force-wall from the entrance, and the vampire squad charged into the dim interior. Screams followed, and two of the undead warriors were thrown bodily back outside, their bones crushed by the impact of massive clubs. Will started to move forward, wanting to assist, but his father put a hand on his shoulder, silently shaking his head no.

  None of the other Drak’shar were hurled out, and after a few seconds Mahak entered the cave to erect a new force-wall farther in, preventing any other trolls from emerging to help their fallen brothers. Mahak signalled for the humans to follow a second later, and when Will went in, he saw three trolls on the ground, their bodies in various states of dismemberment. Although they had won, the vampires looked even worse; of the nearly two dozen Drak’shar who had charged in, only a handful appeared uninjured. The rest were busy reattaching various body parts or simply resting while their bodies recovered from shattered bones and torn flesh.

  Will wondered how many times they could repeat that trick before they began to get dangerously thirsty, but almost as soon as he had that thought, Theravan began moving among them, passing out small clay jars of blood summoned from his limnthal.

  The sorcerers did their part, beginning the cremation of the three trolls while Will studied the force-wall blocking the tunnel that led farther into the hill. On the other side were more trolls. Two beat at the invisible wall with clubs while another dug at the ground, trying to get around the barrier. Will could see at least two or three more behind them. The timing for their next advance would be tricky. If Mahak wasn’t careful, they might wind up with all five trolls among them, and given what had happened with just three, that would be a losing fight for them.

  Of course, Will and the sorcerers could probably turn the situation around, but that would cost them extra turyn, not to mention the risk of losing one of the sorcerers. For their plan to work, they needed to move forward in economical steps, taking the trolls down in small groups while they conserved their strength. Depending on how many trolls were down there, it might take a considerable amount of energy to burn them all, even using Mahak’s more efficient cremation spell. It might be just a few more, but then again, it could be dozens, thought Will.

  The cave was filled with choking smoke that burned Will’s eyes, making him grateful that he didn’t have to inhale. The smoke made it difficult for even the vampires to see, while for the humans it was even worse. Only Will was unaffected, thanks to his ability to continually tune his vision to types of light that ignored the smoke. Currently, that meant his view was a mixture of strange colors and contrasts. He’d long since learned to ignore the odd colors as he adjusted his vision—the most important thing was contrast and visibility.

  The vampires could see heart-light, which meant for them the humans and trolls were glowing in the darkness, while their colder bodies were merely a slightly different shade of grey against the nearly black of the cave walls. The smoke did interfere with heart-light, though, so Will had adjusted his vision such that everything had become lighter and darker shades of black, purple, and grey, with a high degree of variance between the different shades. The smoke was entirely invisible to him, allowing him a perfect view of everyone and everything.

  Mahak and Theravan moved close to the force-wall, and after signaling to one another, they dropped the barrier. Theravan would raise the next a split second later, presumably in the midst of the trolls so that only one or two could contest with the vampires. A large stone flew through the smoke as soon as the force-wall was lowered, however, and it would have smashed into Theravan, who failed to see it.

  Will stopped it with a point-defense shield, giving Theravan a second to place the next force-wall properly. They wound up with two trolls among them. The humans had already retreated, but even so, the violence was so extreme that it threatened to escape the control of the Drak’shar. One of the trolls was fairly skillful and managed to evade the crippling cuts the vampires directed at its legs. That meant it remained free to act for a minute longer than the previous trolls.

  A minute was a long time in battle. Half the vampires were down, broken, crushed, and torn. Mahak, being free from shield duty, tried to aid the warriors with a well-placed force-lance but only succeeded in taking out one of his own defenders. The battle was simply too chaotic and fast moving.

  Watching it all, Will took note of several things: One, the vampires were incredibly fast, but there were still limits to how quickly a physical body could move, and the trolls were nearly as quick despite their bulk. Two, Will’s training had given him the experience needed to follow the fight. In the past, he had often been overwhelmed by the rapidity and chaos of battle, especially when vampires were involved. Apparently, his years of training, combined with his time at war, had taught him more than he realized. Enough to see that Mahak is relatively inexperienced in battle, he observed. I guess being ancient doesn’t necessarily mean one has been in a lot of fights.

  Fifteen warriors were down now, and a thrown leg nearly struck Theravan, which might have been a disaster if the wizard had lost concentration on the force-wall keeping the rest of the trolls at bay. Will couldn’t bear watching any longer. The plan was for the humans to stay out of the conflict, but he was beginning to think the conflict might come to him.

  Will stepped forward, putting a momentary shield in front of Theravan to stop the leg attack while using a light-darts spell to tip the fight in favor of the Drak’shar. The five light missiles slipped through the mass of whirling fighters, neatly finding their targets on the troll’s body—two in each knee and one in the groin-brain. The damage to the knees wasn’t enough to drop the troll, but it would slow the troll considerably. The single missile to the groin did even better, causing the monster to spasm and freeze momentarily.

  The vampire warriors cut it into pieces before it could recover.

  More of the same, the sorcerers burned the trolls’ bodies while the Drak’shar recovered. The one difference this time, however, was that the trolls on the other side of the force-wall had disappeared, retreating farther back into the hill. That made Will wonder, were there simply too few left, or were they regrouping? Perhaps there was a larger chamber deeper down, a place where it would be harder to separate them.

  A glance at Mahak’s face told him the ancient wizard was wondering the same thing, and Will could see his father was similarly worried. Not being able to speak was becoming a nuisance. Even the vampires didn’t want to inhale the smoke, though it wouldn’t kill them.

  A rumble shook the ground, and Will saw the cave beyond Theravan’s force-wall collapse. The cave-in was far enough back that none of the others could see it, although they felt it well enough. Are they so desperate they’re entombing themselves? Will wondered. Or…?

  Understanding hit him suddenly. It was a trap. There must be another exit, which meant… Will checked his tracking spell, something he’d ignored since they entered. The marker was no longer deeper in, it was above and behind them, in the direction of the entrance they had come through. Shit!

  Something heavy rolled down the sloping, rocky floor and although Will wasn’t the closest, he was probably the only one able to clearly see what it was—a barrel, leaking fluid as it came. The humans were the closest, being on the end of the tunnel closest to the original entrance. Curious and alarmed, one of the sorcerers created a light to try and see better.

  Unable to speak, Will grabbed the back of his father’s shirt and pulled him away. He was about to try and do the same with one of the sorcerers when the liquid caught fire. It happened so quickly Will wasn’t sure if it was a flame from the sorcerers that lit it, or a flame tossed in from outside—either way, the result was the same.

  Will sealed the tunnel with a second force-wall as the space behind them turned into an inferno. The sorcerers died badly, leaving Will and his father as the only remaining humans. They were now trapped between two force-walls, and their only way out was a burning cavern. As they watched, Will saw more barrels roll down into the fire, followed by large pieces of wood and dead tree limbs.

  Even safe behind the force-wall, they would eventually run out of air, assuming the heat didn’t cook them first. He had to admire the simplicity and effectiveness of the trap. Will considered their situation again. Most of the vampires were recovering, and the troll bodies were still burning, adding to their growing heat problem. Mahak and Theravan were staring up at the cave ceiling, obviously giving thought to how much stone lay between them and the surface.

  With the right spells and enough turyn, escape was definitely possible. Will’s grave-digging spell would do the trick, assuming they had enough time, but it wasn’t ideal. Moving into the ethereal plane wouldn’t work, since geologic features were usually old enough to be duplicated in both planes, so they’d simply be trapped underground in the ethereal. It wouldn’t be on fire, though, which was a significant improvement.

  Mark Nerrow had a greater earth elemental, which would easily be enough to allow them to tunnel quickly out, but they might face a troll ambush on the surface. Will could teleport himself and a few others, but he didn’t fancy surprising any of his friends and loved ones by arriving with a pack of vampires. He also didn’t know what the limits were. Could he take just one or two people with him, or more? How many trips would be required? His father would have to be last so he could return each time.