But then things close by changed.
The entire front row of Voids closest to Tick opened their glowing mouths even wider, and pure flame poured out, gushing with lava and brilliant yellow light. There were at least a dozen perfectly cylindrical geysers of fiery material coming at Tick and Jane like a mass of thick snakes.
Tick threw all his focus into the Chi’karda that burned within him and sent it out in waves to crash against the oncoming heat. There were spectacular explosions and sparks and hisses of flame raining to the ground, bouncing like yellow raindrops. He had to keep his eyes open against the blinding light in order to see what was coming and where to aim his powers. Spots swam in his vision, purple blotches and streaks of black.
He wiped his hands across his face and blinked hard several times. Still the streams of pure fire came at him, and he blocked them, destroyed them. Jane was doing the same, but it was taking every bit of their effort. The point at which Chi’karda and Void-fire met and exploded was getting closer and closer to where Tick stood. He needed to change tactics, shift the advantage.
With a scream and an almost violent push of Chi’karda from his body, he ran forward, blasting away at anything dangerous that came in sight. His sudden movement seemed to take the Voids by surprise; several of them quit shooting their deadly venom. Tick narrowed his eyes, focused all his energy on the bodies of the Voids, and threw his power at them. An almost solid wall of orange sparks erupted from him like a wave, flying forward until it crashed into several gray men. The orange power swarmed around the Voids, picking them up and tossing their strange forms into the air, sweeping them away like a giant with a broom. Those strange, furnacelike screams tore through the building; the ghostly sound gave Tick the creeps.
He turned to see Jane copying his method, running forward and bringing the attack to the Voids. A wave of Chi’karda shot out from her and sent even more of the gray humanlike creatures toward the ceiling like tossed bags.
Several spouts of Void-fire suddenly came shooting at Tick from the untouched creatures next to the far wall. Without time to react, he dove for the ground and rolled, feeling the impact of the fire hitting the ground near his back. Sparks and chunks of rock sprayed into his skin, needles of pain that made him roll harder and faster. As he spun, there was suddenly a drop below him—the hard floor vanished, and he was in open air. It was like time had frozen just long enough for him to realize that strange fact.
He plunged into the ice-cold waters of the castle river. The freezing liquid bit at every one of his nerves. He gasped for air as he began to right himself and swim back to the stone edge.
Something grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him under.
They were making progress.
Sato called on his soldiers to enter the castle proper, firing away with their weapons as they advanced. The enemy’s numbers had been cut in half at least, the gray bodies collapsing into a mist of smoke before swirling up to the high ceiling to form yet another lightning-laced cloud. It was like a storm had gathered in a false sky and rain would fall at any second.
Gray creatures still catapulted up from the ground left and right on the other side of the fray, and Sato began to feel confident they had turned the tide. He kept firing, slamming the sound power of his Shurric into one creature after another. Beams of molten fire continued to shoot all around him; one came straight at Sato, and he dove and rolled to avoid it. He jumped back to his feet and kept fighting, as did the rest of the Fifth.
He heard the sound of splashing to his left. He risked a quick look and saw that Tick was flailing in the water of the river, trying to make his way to the edge. He seemed disoriented, or like he’d forgotten how to swim.
“Cover me!” Sato shouted to his closest soldier.
Sweeping his weapon left and right as he ran, Sato booked it to the river’s edge, wary of any arrows of fire that might come his way from the gray men. But the battle seemed almost over—he could see that witch, Mistress Jane, using her powers to destroy the same enemy he fought. That made a million questions tear through his mind—almost made him stop running. Mistress Jane. He couldn’t possibly accept that she was on his side.
“Sato!”
He looked down to see Tick’s face in the water, his hand reaching out for him. He was still thrashing as if he might drown.
“Tick!” Sato shouted as he got to his knees, leaning over to see if he could grab his friend’s hand. Tick was about five feet from the river’s edge. “Swim over here!” He looked behind him every couple of seconds to make sure nothing came at him that might dissolve his head in lava.
“Something’s got my foot!” Tick yelled. “A tentacle, maybe! It’s wrapped around my ankle!”