There were suddenly ten people attacking the warlock at once. They first made sure to surround her. Her back was to the tree. She was facing a semicircle of ten paladins, Utar and Sam, who had just recovered. Raiya couldn't help but be apprehensive of the young man. Her last attack, although it missed, should have at least knocked him out for a day.

Utar stood behind the semicircle, probably to provide support. He could use offensive miracles. That earned him the t.i.tle of Priest. She kept a constant eye on him while she extended her senses toward the others. She didn't need to see their attacks, she could sense where they'd hit before they could do so. Only trouble was, if surrounded, she wouldn't be able to track all their movements.

Utar couldn't be underestimated. One false move, one moment of inattention, and he'd punish her for it. She didn't know what to expect from the opposition but she had faced worse odds. Their s.h.i.+ny armors wouldn't protect them against her powerful magic. She suspected they'd been sent here first to weaken her though. She wasn't willing to go all out from the get go.

'My staff will do for now,' she thought as the others slowly advanced toward her, apprehensive. 'I'll only resort to spells if there's no other way around it.'

The standoff between warlock and paladins lasted only a few seconds; few seconds during which each one studied the environment and decided on a plan of attack. The first to move was a paladin holding a mace. He ran at the warlock and swung his blunt weapon at her head. Raiya easily parried the attack but was forced to jump sideways to avoid a s.h.i.+ny beam Utar had cast.

The Priest was providing support, in the form of offensive miracles, while the others attacked. Sam, on the other hand, didn't move; Utar's orders probably. Despite his abnormal strength, he was no match for Raiya. She knew it and Utar knew it.

Another paladin attacked immediately after the warlock stepped to the side. She avoided his long sword by a hair's width then drove her staff through his stomach. A m.u.f.fled sound was heard, akin to a large boulder falling above a dune, then the paladin was propelled backward. He flew higher and higher then disappeared in the woods.

After Raiya's counterattack, all h.e.l.l broke loose. Paladins attacked at once, followed by Sam despite Utar's protests. The only one thrilled about this situation was the warlock. She remained in place then pounded her staff against the ground.

Utar wouldn't be able to provide them with support fire. He might miss and hit one of his comrades. The staff shone a bright light then, to her a.s.sailants' surprise, a shockwave blew past them. It didn't feel like an offensive spell at first.

But Raiya's genius could be summed up like this. She'd use spells that didn't require much Essence to be cast. Those spells, although harmless in nature, could be powered up by injecting just a little more energy into them. The spell she'd cast was usually cast by house maids; a gust of wind to blow the dust away. Increase that tenfold and you have a warlock's version. Not demanding for a magic user of her level, but deadly if used under the correct circ.u.mstances.

The paladins and Sam felt their feet depart the ground. They felt an immeasurable force push them back and into the air. A loud exploding sound ensued and they were all gone, in an instant. Raiya turned to look at the Priest. "I can create strong winds," she explained as the Priest stared at her in both admiration and apprehension. "This one simulates the booming thunder and the gale that comes with it. Powerful, don't you think?"

Utar shrugged. "Simple," he retorted, "yet made powerful by drawing energy from the Dark Aether."

"Stop it with that dark energy, white energy nonsense," Raiya snapped. "You people love making distinctions to create disparity. Does it help you feel better about slaughtering others for your cause?"

"It is the only cause!" Utar was now yelling. "But there's no arguing with the mistress of darkness."

The Priest didn't seem in talking mood anymore. He put his arms forward and another beam of light shot toward the warlock. One flick of her staff however, was enough to repel the spell, dissipate it even. Mircales weren't very strong if cast without reciting the entire incantation. Utar could imitate the effect, by simply using his intention. That earned him Raiya's respect at least.

"Give me your best shot, Priest!" Raiya barked then dashed at Utar.

The Priest, taken aback, jumped backward then shot another beam which was reflected once more with Raiya's spinning staff. She was upon him in no time, swinging her staff at all his weak spots, knee caps, collar bones, ribs, throat. Utar could barely keep up. He had to conjure an ethereal sword to repel the warlock's attacks. He didn't expect her to be efficient at close quarters combat.

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The surprise hadn't hit the Priest yet, however. As Raiya swung her staff at his knee cap for the third time, Utar felt the ground shake beneath him. He deflected the staff as his conjured sword ran out of energy. The ground shook once more and vines appeared once more. Utar quickly muttered a spell and directed both hands at the ground.

The ground exploded and vines scattered all around the clearing. The Priest released a sigh of relief upon realizing there was no Mandragora. But the warlock had only used the vines as a distraction. Utar looked up to see her hair floating in the air while a dark purple aura manifested around her. Soon enough a hail of dark, gla.s.s shards rained upon the Priest.

Utar conjured up a s.h.i.+eld at the last minute. The hail rained down on him, relentless, dangerous. Raiya flung her arms forward and let her staff float in the air while the dark shards rained down on the Priest. She muttered another spell and the staff started rotating, rapidly, in the air. Utar's eyes widened in horror, he could barely keep his s.h.i.+eld up. Now the warlock was attempting to finish him off for good.

Mustering all his strength and willpower, Utar chanted another miracle. 'Lord Dhobor, light our way and defend us against the forces of the dark.' It was a simple miracle actually. But it depended on the caster's faith. And Utar's faith was among the strongest, unfaltering. He stood and looked the warlock in the eyes. Her staff was now rotating so fast one couldn't see it clearly, just a blurry circle in the air.

The gla.s.s shards hadn't stopped raining down on the Priest. His magic s.h.i.+eld, although strengthened, wouldn't hold much longer. He cursed his bad luck. How strong could that woman be? Utar's hatred for the dark arts only intensified.

Raiya drove her arms upwards and the circle began crackling. In addition to the dark aura that surrounded the staff, it was coated now with lightning. The warlock then pushed her hands, her hair flying behind her without wind. The rotating staff hurled itself at the Priest, who was still observing the warlock with unyielding resolution.

Staff clashed with the s.h.i.+eld and another loud explosion filled the entire forest. Utar was propelled backwards into the woods. Raiya held her right hand to the side and her staff came back floating to its rightful owner.

'Trouble…' a message from Sisha instantly reached her.

Raiya immediately opened a portal and teleported to where Sisha was. The cat had communicated his location psionically.

's.h.i.+t, Sisha,' she swore as soon as she reached him. 'What did I tell you about not getting into trouble?'

'There's more trouble like that coming,' the cat told her as she inspected his wounds. 'It's not good. I didn't see any sign of reinforcement from our side either.'

Raiya swore under her breath. There was no more time to hesitate now. The power-up Sisha had received could only take him that far. The offering wasn't strong enough. She took a dagger and cut her hair.

It pained her to see so much of it go away but hair held power when it came to

witchcraft

1

, a craft she had been introduced to ever since she became a warlock. She muttered a few words of sacrifice and offering in the demon language and her hair lit up. The crimson fire that devoured her hair was powering up Sisha.

'Get up,' Sisha told her. 'I'll need your support since these puny lizards have riders.'

That surprised the warlock. Demons, especially the feline kind, never accepted to be mounted. But these were perilous times. They needed a desperate solution. Raiya climbed up and, together with her demon companion, defeated the flying monster. They managed to get Zedd inside just in time. When they'd both reached the clearing, half a dozen wyverns were flying above them.

'Now what?' she asked the demon.

'Now you take care of those riders while I have dinner!' Sisha replied.

Raiya jumped back down and aimed her staff at the wyverns in the sky. She couldn't risk being attacked. These creatures could hurl fireb.a.l.l.s. She suspected the only reason they didn't do so was because of the tree behind her.

She exchanged one last look with her demon before she started firing hail down on the others. Sharp, dark gla.s.s shards targeted wyvern and rider alike. Some managed to cover themselves with s.h.i.+elds on time. Others took the spell head on and shrieked as each shard penetrated their bodies.

It wasn't the best approach, but it was enough to break their formation. The shards that didn't hit the riders and the creatures evaporated before they reached the ground. One wyvern, however, got the worst of it. Its deafening screech was m.u.f.fled by something that seemed to be stuck at its throat.

'Sisha get out of the way!' Raiya ordered. Then, with a circular motion from her staff, created a s.h.i.+eld to protect herself.

The fireball came hurtling down the ground. The ensuing explosion almost melted the warlock down. Her s.h.i.+eld was immediately broken and she had to struggle to conjured up another one in an instant, then keep it stable while molten fire ate away at it.

Completely different from generic magic, in case you haven't figured it out. More about witchcraft will be explained later in the book.