[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.He rolled onto his back as the construct knelt over him, an artificial sneer on its face as it pinned his legs.His sword lost in the debris, he stared into the thing's hellish eyes, helpless.A spark in the fiery twin pits caught Jinn's attention, dragging him back to the first battles of his physical existence, back to the days when eidolons were yet young to the world.As the construct's other arm rose to crush him, he knew some minute part of Asmodeus was aware of his monstrous servant, and Jinn morbidly wanted, more than anything, to capture the attention of the god.Shrieking voices heralded several bolts of scintillating light that arced through the eidolon's body, causing it to twist and writhe enough for Jinn to escape its grip.He crawled through the rubble, snatching up his lost sword and ducking low as Mara strode toward him, her hands spread in a fan of blue flames that charged the air with arcane energy.As swiftly as she appeared, Mara dissolved into the shadows as the eidolon thrashed toward her, its fist smashing the floor where she'd stood.Seizing the moment, Jinn's arm shot out, stabbing the ancient sword into a burning rune on the construct's side.As the steel grated against stone, the statue lurched violently to its side, pulling Jinn to his feet as he fought to hang on, his sword caught in the burning sigil.From the corner of his eye, he saw the brief blur of a dark shape rushing toward him just before the world went black.Stars danced before his eyes, and a peculiar weightlessness held him for what seemed like an eternity.Yellowed parchment fluttered around him amid clouds of swirling dust as he fought to regain his sight, shaking his head slowly and finding himself in a sitting position against the far wall.The floor shook beneath him, and flashing lights filled the tower as Mara and Quessahn hurled spell after spell at the eidolon, none of their magic injuring the thing to any lasting effect.A glimmer of shining steel protruded from the construct's ribs, just beneath its right arm.Jinn focused on the metal splinter and forced himself to stand.He winced as the right side of his body pulsed painfully as if it were made of a single bruise.He pushed the sensation to the back of his mind.He took up a length of fallen chain, a chunk of broken rafter dangling from its end as he charged at the eidolon's back.Mara slipped away into shadow as he passed, cold fragments of darkness clinging to his cheeks as he hurled the chain at the statue's head.He missed and rolled beneath the swiping fist of stone that quickly followed.Muttering a curse as splinters dug into his side, he caught a brief glimpse of Quessahn in front of the eidolon, tendrils of darkness spewing from her palms.The spell briefly dimmed the molten energy of the construct, causing it to shriek, a sound like hail striking a tin roof, but the magic could not hold.The fist that had sought to smash Jinn reversed its course and struck the eladrin solidly.Jinn gasped as Quessahn's body flew through the air and crashed against the wall like a corn-husk doll.The sickening thump of her body on the floor ripped through his gut, the sight of her senseless and bleeding awakening something within him.An image of her flashed through his mind, her smiling face looking up at him, a sea of waving green behind her.Her lips moved in the image, but he could not hear her words over his racing pulse, thrumming through his ears as he stood.Pangs of guilt and loss joined his bloodlust, though both gave way to a rage that burned from the depths of his pounding heart.Swinging the chain once around his fist, he dashed forward as the eidolon turned to present its curving horns.He hurled the chain again, wrapping it neatly around the statue's neck.It whipped its upper body backward, roaring a sound almost like laughter as Jinn was pulled into the air, swinging at the chain's end.Black claws reached for him, but he swung his legs forward, pulling tightly on the chain as the room spun around him.The burning eyes followed him, hellish energy and caustic blood seeping from them as he turned through the air, whipping tight as the chain caught on the statue's left shoulder.The bright edge of his stolen blade glowed in the eidolon's side, the sword stuck, a thrust away from the statue's immortal energy.The essence of a god, he thought.A shard of divinity.Arms burning with the strain, he pulled the chain taut again and raised his legs, whispering a prayer as the hilt of his lodged sword came into sight.With a single thrust, he kicked the blade deep, sparks flying as the steel stabbed home into the fiery heart of the eidolon, shattering the god-forged splinter that had given the statue life.Power surged from the wound, washing violently through Jinn's body as the construct shuddered, purple mist steaming through the cracks and symbols across its stony skin
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]