Confessor: Chainfire Trilogy Part 3

Not far away the First File charged into the Imperial Order soldiers from both sides at once. Richard saw General Trimack leading his men into the teeth of the battle. The First File were the elite of the elite, more than a match for the Order soldiers not only in size but in ability. The D'Haran troops were all battle-hardened men who were well versed in deadly tactics that gave them a feared and well-deserved reputation.

Several men in dark leather armor, their faces twisted in hate and rage, rushed toward Richard. Before he could bring his sword to bear, yet other big men stepped right in front of them, blocking their ability to get to Richard. With lightning strikes from the elbows of the two men, the necks of the Order soldiers were ripped open, severing carotid arteries.

Richard blinked when he saw that it was Ulic and Egan, two great blond-headed bodyguards to the Lord Rahl. The dark leather straps, plates, and belts of their uniforms were molded to fit like a second skin over the prominent contours of their muscles. Incised in the leather at the center of their chests was an ornate letter "R," and beneath that were two crossed swords. They wore metal bands just above the elbows specially designed for close-quarters fighting. Those bands had razor-sharp projections. It soon became apparent to the invading soldiers that anyone close enough to encounter Ulic and Egan was not just going to die, but going to die in a most gruesome manner.

Yet other troops pouring out of the breach in the wall were cut down by gifted means cast at them by Nathan. Flashes of explosive light sliced through men in chain mail, sending shards of hot steel ricocheting off the walls, floors, and ceilings. It was a grim, one-sided contest, with the soldiers never having a chance to even raise their swords against the tall prophet before they were torn apart by a focused use of his gift.

General Meiffert ducked under swinging axes as he charged through the smoke, Jillian cowering behind the cover of his sword with Adie being held up by his other arm.

Richard saw that Adie was covered in blood.

Cara froze in her tracks. "Benjamin?"

"Here! Take Adie!"

"I have to protect Lord Rahl."

"Do as you're told!" he yelled at her over the roar of the battle. "Help her!"

Richard was surprised to see Cara immediately abandon her argument to help lift Adie from General Meiffert's care. He seized Jillian with his newly freed hand and pulled her around to the other side of him, away from two men who were charging in from his right. He ducked as he thrust his sword, running one man through. Bruce was right there, but down low so as not to get in the way of the general's blade. From that low position Bruce cut the second attacker down at the knees. When a third man reached for the general, Egan wrapped a muscled arm around the soldier's neck and wrenched it around. The man went limp. Egan tossed him aside like a rag doll and immediately went after another Order soldier.

"Get back!" General Meiffert yelled at Cara when she returned to rush back into the thick of the battle.

"I have to-"

"Move!" he yelled at her at the same time he rammed her back with a hand. "I said move!"

"Nathan!" Richard cried out over the roar of noise when he saw the opportunity that General Meiffert had just opened up by forcing Cara back out of the way with him. When the prophet turned to his name, Richard pointed to the dark corridor the general had just cleared. "That's all of us! Do it!"

Nathan understood and didn't waste an instant. He immediately brought his hands up. Light ignited between his palms. Wizard's fire erupted into life from the gathering light, sending glimmering colors and light flickering over the scene of the pitched battle.

Without pause Nathan cast the wizard's fire into the enemy.

The deadly sphere of bubbling, boiling, liquid light tumbled away. The white-hot inferno expanded as it hurtled through the air. Even over the noise of the battle echoing through the stone halls Richard could hear the wail of it flying toward the dark corridor full of Imperial Order troops all pushing forward to get into the palace and join the battle.

The wizard's fire shot down the corridor, casting an orange-red light across the white marble. The sound alone was enough to stiffen men in panic.

It was a horrific sight as burning death splattered across living flesh. The growing sphere of liquid fire stayed aloft as it skipped across the heads of the men, all the while spilling death down on them until the tumbling inferno burst into a cascade of molten light and flame splashing down into the terrified mass of men.

The shrieks of agony drowned out the clash of steel in the battle.

Nathan conjured yet more wizard's fire. In an instant it, too, was away.