Dream Drive Ch. 10

Chaki's eyes bulged as she weighed the crystal in her hands. "How did you – where did you – you didn't tell me about this!"

"Chunky, would you please stay focused?" Rachel said.

Chaki whirled on her. "What did you just call me?!"

"Chaki!" Jackson shouted. "Is that enough essence for both of us?"

Chaki ripped her eyes away from a smug Rachel to look at him again. "Both of you?"

"I went out by myself last time as a distraction. This is a full assault." Jackson waited. Chaki glanced between the crystal and the gemstones. She looked at him, then back down. "Is it enough or not?"

"It's enough for all three of us," Chaki said.

"What about me?" Vuntha asked.

"Dude," Rachel said, "you're cool and all, but you'd probably die."

Jackson eyed the black halberd Vuntha was still holding. "Vuntha, you feeling okay?"

"A little damn left out at the moment," Vuntha said. "Otherwise I'm fine."

"Sorry," Jackson said.

Vuntha grunted, then made a helpless shrug. "I saw you get gutted by a spear and shrug it off. I can't do that."

"Put your backs to me," Chaki said. I'll draw the enchantment."

Rachel stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Jackson. Jackson felt Chaki seize her magic. The energy pulsed behind him in waves.

"Don't use that halberd," Jackson said. "It's dangerous."

"This?" Vuntha said. "It's an amazing weapon. How could I not use it?"

"They sacrificed a living person and shoved their soul into it to get it that sharp," Jackson said. "I heard it screaming at me. Put it down and tell everyone not to touch them."

Vuntha dropped the halberd as if it was red hot out of a fire. "Yeah. I'll do that."

"They're getting closer to the cave," Rachel said. "Make with the magic."

"Shut up and let me focus," Chaki said.

Jackson swallowed at Chaki's tone. Something must have happened for them to be snapping at each other so much. He didn't want to get involved, but now was really not a good time to butt heads.

Before he could compose a speech about the power of love and friendship, Chaki announced that she was finished. Jackson felt power surge into his arms and legs. Runes flashed over his clothes. Gold and white light pulsed in sequence over his body.

"Let's go!" Rachel shouted. She charged down the hill.

Jackson ran after her – and he ran like he'd never run before.

They reached the tents at the bottom of the hill and sprinted straight through them. Jackson's eyes took in everything. He could see smoke emerging from the embers of old campfires, swirling through the air like black drops of food coloring drifting through water. He saw the grain of the wood on buckets. He could pick out individual pebbles of preserved wasna sitting in food sacks left open and untied. He heard cloth brush on cloth; he turned his head. A flag snapped in the wind, unfurling inch-by-inch as if was a video recording played at half-speed.

His feet were alive. They told him about the texture of the bottom of his moccasins – soaked through with cold mud – and about his balance. He had all the time in the world to correct all the minutiae of his gait. He took a slightly longer step to avoid a rope stretching out from a tent stake, his heel swinging over it with an exacting grace he knew he didn't have. He wondered if this was how a runner in the Olympics felt.

The world crept along. On another level, he knew it was flashing by.

He heard a long thump, then another, then another. Some of the cavalry had broken off the main force. They were keeping pace at their right side, galloping through the tents. One of the horsemen came in, trying to cut them off.

Rachel leaped, planted a foot on a stack of firewood, then pushed herself into the air. She spun her body, sword outstretched, and decapitated the rider as she flew past him. His body fell out of the saddle, and the horse continued in a straight line, making it easy for Jackson and Chaki to duck around it.

Another horseman was bearing down on Jackson. He ducked under the swipe of a cavalry saber. The horseman flipped the blade in his hand and brought it back the other way. Jackson couldn't twist himself to stab with his spear and keep running at the same time. He had the choice of being trampled by the horse or getting his neck hacked.

An arrow plunged into the rider's chest. He grasped at his reins on reflex, and the horse pulled up sharply. Jackson saw Chaki sling her bow back over her shoulder.

Damn. Maybe I really do need to get my Agility higher.

They were outpacing the horses; cutting down the first attack put them in the clear. They broke free of the tents. A minute later, they passed through the foothills and reached the final slope.

Below them, having just halted at the cavern entrance, was a crowd of black armored halberdiers. They were led by a group of heavily armored horsemen. One of the riders wore a thick cloak instead of armor, the hood drawn down over his head. Another wore his cloak tied around his shoulders, leaving his black hair exposed to the snow.

The two men turned as Jackson, Rachel, and Chaki crested the hill. Jackson met the eyes of the man with his hood off – sharp, beady, and black. He recognized him from the picture his quest displayed: Lord Reigart Hale, one of the guys he was supposed to kill.

Two figures were dragged behind the mage – a brown-skinned prisoner that looked like he belonged to the People-Under-The-Mountain, and an older, grey-haired man. Both were dressed in rags and had wooden collars snug around their necks. They turned away and entered the open tunnel.

Jackson could feel Chaki's enchantment starting to fade. They rushed down the hill on the dregs of the magic, trying to keep their momentum. Jackson heard shouts and barked orders. The elites formed up into a half-circle, walling off the entrance with their bodies. Jackson gripped his spear hard and braced for impact.

It was only then that he realized he'd moved Shaka inside the cavern. The guy that put a collar on other human beings just walked inside that very same cavern.

Jackson's legs propelled him past Rachel. Her head turned at him as he flew past, eyes widened.

Jackson screamed a War Cry out over the elites, and then another, and then a third. He threw all his panic into that ability, every fragment of himself that dreaded Shaka would be hurt because of his thoughtlessness.

Magic pulsed around Jackson's head. The cone of essence that usually formed in front of him shrunk into a tiny cylinder. The force of the War Cry was compressed and pushed out the end of the light, transforming a diffuse roar into the blaring shriek of an amplified air horn.

Men nearby rolled over as if blown away by a storm. Dozens of men covered their ears and winced away.

Piercing Howl:
Concentrated essence transforms a shout into a narrow stream of sound that blows away enemies close by and temporarily damages the hearing of targets in-range.
- Essence Cost: 75
- Level: 1
- Progress: 55.4%

Jackson shoved his way into the opening his ability created. He used his spear more like a club than a thrusting weapon, slamming enemies aside to clear a path. When he encountered men that had bunched up to try and stop him, he greeted them with Cyclonic Shockwave.

Jackson blasted his way to the cave entrance in short order, but it came at the cost of his essence overflow. His total was now 1134 and holding steady. His knockback abilities were effective, but they weren't lethal enough to keep his bar filled.

Rachel and Chaki skidded to a halt behind him. "Damn, Jackson," Rachel said. "That was intense."

"Shaka's in here," Jackson said. "Rachel, you hold them off, Chaki can back you up."

Chaki shouted something about Shaka. Jackson ignored her and ran deeper into the tunnel. Rachel's swearing echoed past him.

Jackson half-expected to be hunting through the darkness, but the ceiling lights that had turned on earlier were still there. His run turned into a jog as he scanned the darkness, looking for the alcove. He hadn't gone too far inside when he'd found it.

He noticed his essence starting to tick upward at regular intervals. Faint echoes of shouts and pulsing essence bounced down the tunnel. Rachel and Chaki were hard at work.

"Jackson Vedalt."

Jackson stopped. A man stepped out from behind one of the tunnel's rocky ribs. He was a stocky, tanned man, his hair cut close to his scalp and his nose long and flat across his face. The light of the tunnel cast him in sharp black and white.

"Boonta," Jackson said. "Nice collar you've got there."

Boonta swung a spear forward, pointing it at Jackson. "Hale told me the secret to your strength. You're not really invincible. You can just take more of a beating than normal people. You're no more blessed by Shakhan than that yellow-haired bitch."

"So you're with the iron men now?" Jackson said. He slowly raised his spear. "You betrayed your father and your tribe in exchange for enslavement. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Kunaya was more of a father to me than my father ever was. He understood me. He helped me. This is just another -"

"Yukatan is dead, Boonta."

Boonta's spear wavered. He checked his grip and set his feet on the stone. Jackson used the opportunity to glance around the tunnel. Shaka had to be close. He felt like Boonta would have gloated about finding her, so maybe they'd passed her over in their hurry.

"I don't care," Boonta said.

"You don't sound so sure about that."

"You're lying," Boonta said. "You're trying to make me lose focus. You know you can't beat me in a fair fight."

"You threw everything away for nothing," Jackson said.

"It wasn't for nothing!" Boonta drew his spear close and took a breath. "You took everything from me. Everything that's happened is your fault, and you dare lecture me."

"I should have killed you after you tried to rape Chaki," Jackson said.

"I'm going to kill you right here," Boonta said, "slowly, if I can manage it."

"You might be the biggest dumbass I've ever met, and that's saying something," Jackson said. "Don't you see it? Hale's got you running around like his pet dog."

Something in Boonta's eyes snapped. Anger clenched his face. He rushed forward.

Jacksons stepped into a Cyclone Thrust.

White light circled Jackson's arm and shot to the end of his spear, twisting as his hips turned into the attack. His weapon shattered Boonta's spear in the middle, then continued forward, driving a hole through Boonta's gut. Boonta hung on Jackson's spear for a moment. His lips churned with blood and spittle. His hands wavered and slapped at the shaft sticking out of him, and then he went slack.

Jackson kicked him away. A self-centered idiot to the end.

Lightning exploded in Jackson's face. He reeled back, his skin burning and stinging, acrid smoke in his eyes. His health plummeted to 188.

Jackson stepped clear of the blast and saw the hooded mage peering out around a corner of the tunnel. Boonta was only serving as a distraction while that spell was prepared. Jackson ran at him; the man ducked away.

Jackson reached the corner. As his foot hit the stone, a rune flashed under him, expanding from where he'd touched down. It crackled with purple energy.

Shit.

Lightning thundered around his heels. Jackson was flung onto the ground. His health dipped another 30 points.

Jackson picked himself up. He was surrounded by a cage of lightning. The purple light flickered off the walls around him. He glanced up; it stretched all the way to the ceiling, hooking into two of the lights to seal itself over his head.

Jackson reached out a hand to test the cage. The lightning snapped at him, burning his fingers like a hot flame. He drew back quickly, wringing his fingers as his health took another 3 points of damage. The smell of burning flesh wafted over him.

The mage emerged behind the corner. Jackson could see him smiling under his hood. "It was entertaining watching you bait the slave. You should reflect on lessons like that."

Dammit. I thought Rachel said there were only five of them. "What's the cage for?" Jackson asked. "Keeping me busy while Hale does his thing?"

"Actually," the mage said, "it's to hold you still while I kill you." Runes began blossoming in front of him.

Jackson looked at his feet. The rune rotated there, powered by magic that linked itself to the mage's robes, then up to the power source that was keeping the lights in the tunnel going. It was effective, but it was improvised.

He could dismantle it.

Jackson began to draw his own runes, countering the statements written on the floor. It was sort of like driving a wedge between cracks in a wall, except all the wedges had to fit the cracks just right. Rather than physical force, Jackson had to create verbal contradictions and cancel out the spell.

Of course, if he pushed too hard on the cracks, the wall would collapse around his head. He had to structure it so the energy dispersed away from him. Jackson mentally thanked Shaka for her endless lessons.

The mage's hands flew faster when he saw Jackson working. Jackson shut out the spark and crackle of his lightning cage and focus. They raced each other with their fingers, cutting glowing lines and figures in the air.

The mage stopped. His runes vanished. Jackson didn't bother paying attention; he had his own problems. If I put this symbol between these, it should -

Lighting reached out and caught Jackson in the face. It felt like someone rammed a pack of needles into his nose and lips. He doubled over and lost his grip on his magic. His runes vanished.

The pain faded quickly; he dragged himself upright. His health was only down ten points, but it had cost him a lot of time. The mage's smile was widened. "Sometimes you have to think outside the box."

Jackson tried to start constructing his runes again, but the spell the mage had created was simple, using the power that was already there in the cage. He picked away at Jackson with the lightning, jolting him in the neck, back, groin. Jackson was forced to the floor at that one. He let his spear drop and shielded his head with his hands, trying to reduce the damage.

He glanced at his health. He was down to 90. The cage surrounded him on all sides, and he didn't know how bad it would be if he tried to break through it. Another bolt slapped his shoulder, taking him to 83.

Suddenly, the cave was silent. Jackson blinked. The cage was gone. He sat up.

Someone stood in the shadows behind the mage. It cocked a fist, then punched at the back of the surprised mage's head. A white rune flashed out from the man's robe. The shield-like symbol hovered in the air, made of the same ethereal light as any other rune, but it stopped the attack cold. As the person drew back, they passed under one of the ceiling lights.

Shaka.

Jackson threw his feet under him and snatched his spear off the ground. He spun it into his hands and swiped the tip at the mage.

The white shield-run flashed again. Jackson's spear clanked off of it, rebounding into the cave wall. Jackson drew his weapon back, then attacked again, this time with a Power Thrust.

The shield blocked him. Sparks of energy sizzled at the contact point between the rune and Jackson's spear. Jackson held his weapon in place, trying to force the runes to run through their energy. Protected by his cloak, the mage began to draw runes for a different spell.

Shaka charged at his opposite side. The mage turned to face her, but not before her fist caught him across the face. He reeled backward, stumbling.

Jackson was forced back as his shield moved with him, but he kept his weapon in place. "Shaka, I've got the shield locked down!"

Shaka nodded at him and stepped into another punch. The mage ducked it, giving ground and pushing Jackson back along the cavern floor. He drew runes as Shaka tried to catch him, bobbing his head and slipping her punches.

The runes were building. Jackson was stuck in place, holding the rune-shield so that Shaka could attack. At this rate, she was going to be hit with lightning. She didn't have a health bar; she wouldn't stand back up.

The stalemate continued. The shield at his back was stronger than Jackson. Jackson as surprised Shaka hadn't caught him yet – but a flash of her face in the light told him why. She was puffing, red-faced and sweaty. She was already exhausted after healing him, and dismantling the lightning cage had to have taken everything she had left.

Jackson tried to think of a way to break the stalemate. He was using both hands to hold his spear, and making runes just with his head was still hard for him. Magic was out. His feet couldn't reach to kick the bastard. There wasn't anything useful in the tunnel. He was trapped in place, as good as if he'd been caged.

Wait a second. No I'm not!

Jackson drew his spear away. The shield vanished.

A moment later, an exhausted punch from Shaka came in. It would easily miss. The mage leaned away calmly, his runes almost spinning up in a completed spell. When Shaka's fist got close, the white shield automatically activated, protecting its master.

Jackson attacked. His Power Thrust rammed the mage through his lower back, opening a hole out the other side though his stomach. The lightning spell clicked into place; purple light flashed over Shaka, blasting her into the tunnel wall.

The mage fell, dead. Jackson sprinted over to Shaka. The scent of burning hair wafted around him. Half her face was patchy red blood and charred black skin. The wound stretched down her neck and burned across her dress to her waist. White bone was exposed where it had struck her ribs. She wasn't breathing.

Jackson drew healing runes. He doubled the strength of the spell he used before by rewriting all the same lines twice. Shaka told him that it would waste essence, but it would boost the power of his spells in a pinch. He didn't give a damn about efficiency right then.

His runes glowed steely grey as he pumped essence into them. Light swirled around her.

Nothing happened.

Jackson grabbed her arm. He pushed his magic harder, battering her with it. His reserves dipped to 1000, then to 900, dropping faster and faster. "Shaka, please. Come on. Please. Please!"

The deepest part of her wound wavered. Muscle stitched back over bone, melding together. Skin followed after that, slowly growing back over her face and side.

Shaka's mouth opened and she gasped in a breath. Her chest heaved. "I've got you. You're okay. You're okay. Just breathe for a sec."

The wounds closed up. The skin was pale and fresh, stark against her sun-tanned skin. She opened her eyes and looked at him, then smiled. "Good work, Jackson."

Jackson wiped his fingers across each eye. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Get me up."

Jackson stood, then offered her his arm. She used it to push herself off the ground. She wavered for a moment. Jackson grabbed at her sides, steadying her feet.

She wacked the back of his wrist with her fingers. "Enough. I'm not going to break that easily."

"Sorry," Jackson said, letting her go. "Sorry."

Shaka sighed, then chuckled. "I suppose I can overlook it. You did well, just now."

"I almost got you killed."

"Masters always end up learning from their students," Shaka said. "Your own runes guided me in destroying his cage. If not for that, we'd both be dead." She bent over and stripped the cloak off the mage. "Ah. Look here."

Jackson peered into the hood. Woven on the inside of the cloak's fabric were dozens of runes, many of which he'd never seen before. Jewels and crystals, most drained of essence, had been stitched into little pockets alongside them. Shaka ripped some of the gemstones free, then began to drain their energy into herself. She offered the cloak to Jackson.