Chapter 37: Battle, Phase Two
As rain, the blood falls
Gently at first, then pouring;
The last summer storm.
~ Miyara Miwa
Hearing screams from Ravena and Caramela, I looked towards the tower. A small tornado, carrying a large black orc, loomed over the tower. I had never seen anything like it. Hosei, who had apparently dug himself out of the rubble, started mumbling something, a spell I assumed and hoped. The two girls just stood there, in shock I supposed. If we get out of this battle alive, I thought, I would have to find more warriors to add to this odd little band I led. There were just too many helpless people to look after.
Something whooshed by my head: Ash threw an axe at the apparition. It looked like it was going to hit dead-on, but it got caught by the tornado's winds and swept to the side harmlessly. I hoped it hit an orc on the ground far below.
The tornado flew towards the large middle building and set the orc down on the roof, then disappeared over the wall again. Ash and I looked at each other, then rushed to the stairway to take care of the orc. We met Jeisan, who had come back up from the gate. Surely more orcs would follow. All I could do was hope that Ravena could use the crystal of air to control the tornado, and that Hosei would be able to protect the two sisters. As I ran up the stairs, I sincerely hoped things were going better downstairs for my cousin and the White Dwarf.
Jeisan was ahead of me, and I could hear him fighting the orc as I pulled myself onto the roof. Behind me, I heard a loud thump: Blood loss, I guessed, as Ash lay on the ground below. I could not stop to care for him. On the roof, a second orc had appeared: more than one tornado I supposed.
For several minutes, I saw nothing else, as Jeisan and I fought the two orcs. Jeisan's fell first, and he turned to help me. Then two more tornados appeared, each with another orc. The strong wind threw all three of us onto the ground, hard, as the two new orcs were placed carefully on the roof with us. Thankfully, that last slam had been too much for the second orc, and Jeisan and I stood and started fighting the third and fourth ones.
Then another tornado appeared above us. I was certain one more orc would be enough to take out Jeisan and me, as we were both bleeding profusely from many wounds. This time, though, it did not drop off a new orc, but instead picked up the one I was fighting and flew off with it. I thanked the gods: Ravena must have used the rock and gained control of at least one of the air spirits. I attacked the orc Jeisan was fighting, and together we killed it.
Before we could catch our breaths, another tornado appeared and dropped yet another orc. We were ready for the winds and knelt to the ground, bracing ourselves this time. So we both attacked the new orc at once. Perhaps together we could kill this one before another appeared. How many air spirits were there? Could Ravena gain control of them all?