Some of the soldiers were feeling it too. Some of them so much so that they stopped in their tracks trying to identify the odd sensation.
The air was becoming static and electric, like it does right before a lightning storm. Hairs rose on the backs of necks, and cold shivers ran down spines. A low, vibrant humming sound began to fill the air. For the briefest of moments, it seemed that, save for the humming vibration, the whole world stood still. Even the fighting had stopped. Then the hum became a droning buzz, and the sound of battle slowly resumed as if it had never ceased.
On the far side of the gates, Keedle was raging from atop the wall. He was so lost in his anger, that he didn’t even notice the strange sensation, or the way it was affecting the soldiers below him.
From either side of him, Wildermont archers rained deadly steel-tipped arrows down into the crowd as quickly and as accurately as they could. From the smoldering remains of Glendar’s pavilion, a few Westland archers loosed back up at them, but not many. One of them struck their mark. The man next to Keedle fell into him, with a Westland arrow sprouting out of his chest. Keedle, seeing how close he had come to being hit, stopped his assault on the Westlanders for a moment. He cast a spell that would shield him from the arrows flying up at him. The spell would protect him as long as he didn’t leave that particular section of the wall. As soon as the magical barrier was in place, he was back at it, sending hot sizzling bolts down at any man or horse that ventured too close to King Jarrek and his crimson armored guards.
The bone-tingling buzz had turned into a deep vibration, a tangible feeling in the guts of all of the men. It frightened a lot of them. Wildermont soldiers, and Westlanders alike, were staring at each other, wide-eyed, making ward signs with their hands, and mumbling prayers. Roark, who looked like the Dark One’s own champion, in his gleaming plate armor and devil helm, was terrified.
But not Glendar, who thought the sensation had a familiar quality to it, a quality he recognized all too well. He wasn’t about to leave just yet. King Glendar shrugged Roark’s heavy arm from his shoulder.
“Just a few minutes more,” he growled at his big horn-helmed guardsmen.
Targon came out of his visional trance with a start. What he had just learned, defied almost every law of magic and demon lore he knew, and he knew almost all of it.
He had to think. Soon, every ounce of available magical energy would be gone from the area, sucked out of this little part of the world into a thing that was part man and part demon. Pael, Shokin, whatever it was, was right here. It was about to unleash all that power it was drawing in, and Targon wanted no part of that horror.
His mind raced through his cataloged memory of spells and protocol. He couldn’t just flee. Queen Willa despised cowardly actions. Targon was no coward, but he was wise enough to know when to retreat. Every base instinct he had was screaming for him to flee. In his mind, he repeated the orders she had given him when she sent him here. A plan formed, and an appropriate spell revealed itself. Without concern for stray arrows, crossbow bolts, or even the straggling Westland soldiers, he hurried out into the middle of the lane. He faced towards the cluster of still battling men by the gates, and began his casting.
It wasn’t an easy choice to make for him. The very act of getting into position went against everything he had ever learned about self-preservation – a subject of great importance to a wizard of his abilities and skill. He couldn’t fail to warn Queen Willa of the thing Pael had somehow become, for whoever or whatever it was now, it would sooner or later set its sights on the Wardstone foundation of Xwarda.
He couldn’t abandon King Jarrek either. He had no choice but to leave his body open and vulnerable to the physical. As risky as it was, it was his only choice. He was in a race to harness enough of the depleting magical force to cast a spell, before the demon-wizard took it all. Just like the attempt to break the siege, from here it was all or nothing.