Slammed against walls

Chaeska swung his arm one way, and Jodah bounced against the far wall of the passage, knocking the wind from his lungs. Then the keeper swung back, slamming Jodah against the opposite side of the hall. Then forward again, and back, turning the hall into a painful metronome.

Jodah screamed as he struck the wall, but his mind was working. Why didn’t the keeper just kill him? Was he so hard to replace? Again he struck the stone, his back radiating painfully in response. Lim-Dûl said it was a difficult spell, but how did the keeper think Jodah would work with them after this?

Unless. (There was another bone-shaking thump as Jodah’s flesh met the wall).

Unless he couldn’t be replaced.

Unless he was truly real.

Unless Lim-Dûl lied.

Jodah’s eyes snapped open, and he blinked back blood. The keeper was slowing slightly. The Keeper of Tresserhorn was smiling as he beat Jodah to a pulp.

Anger surged within the mage, but within the heart of that anger a calm spot coalesced, a center for his spells. Again he reached into his memories and brought forward a shred of his past, the magic of the volcanic mountains and fire.

There was another bone-jarring thump, but the calm center remained, unaffected by the pain. Jodah fed the center and let it grow within him. When it had grown large enough, he let the mana contained within it loose.

Jodah raised his free hand and unleashed the spell, a blast of flame, directly in Chaeska’s face. Suddenly Jodah was spinning away, striking the wall one final time. There was screaming, and Jodah was surprised to realize that it wasn’t him.

Jodah rose but did so slowly, his fingers splayed against reddish stone. Chaeska was fleeing now, smoke billowing from his face and robes. The huge keeper stumbled once, slumped against the wall, then rose and kept going.

***

The Eternal Ice, Chapter 4