Death Mages Ascent: Revised Edition (Death Mage Series Book 1) by Jon Bender

out of his stupor, raising his sword again to meet the remaining prisoners. Surprisingly, they stood their ground in the face of what they had just seen. 
    Cribble was met by two prisoners, one holding a club and the other a sharpened piece of stone. Cribble’s blade shattered the makeshift club when the prisoner tried to block his swing, passing right through to cut a deep rent in the man’s chest. The other prisoner, seeing an opening, moved to stab Cribble in the ribs, but found only the flaming end of the torch Cribble still carried as it smashed into his face. Blind and screaming in pain, the filthy man fell to the ground, rolling away.
    Jaxom faced off against two men of his own, both brandishing clubs and working together to allow the other an opportunity to strike. When one of the men feinted, Jaxom kicked out instead, catching the prisoner’s leg. The heel of his boot ground into the man’s knee and sent him reeling. Swinging his sword at the other, Jaxom slashed downward, carving a deep furrow from the man’s right shoulder to his left hip. The prisoner was dead before he hit the ground.
    A deep roar echoed from behind them, and Jaxom knew their time was up. The shadow creature had finished with the risen and was now headed towards them. Casting about him, he raised the recently dead inmates who then picked up their improvised weapons, clashing with those who they had just moments before fought alongside. Grabbing Cribble by the shoulder, he shoved him past the fighting further down the corridor. Making the turns needed to get back to the guard room, they had almost made it when the roar sounded again right behind them. They wouldn’t make it.
    Jaxom pushed Cribble forward. “Get the door open, but don’t wait for me. Don’t let that thing get through into the castle.” Cribble looked into his eyes before nodding and running down the hall.
    As Jaxom turned to face the creature, he heard it issue a deep chuckle.  As the shadow advanced, Jaxom brought his sword into a ready fighting position and waited. Halfway to him, the shadow raised a clawed hand, releasing a bolt of pure darkness. Turning the blade flat, he intercepted the bolt. The blade absorbed most of the energy as the rest split around him, shattering the stone walls. The shadow roared, no longer amused by its game, and released another bolt. The sword absorbed it. Jaxom was pushed back a few feet by the sheer power of the energy released, and he could feel the strain of his enchantment as it tried to contain that energy.
    The shadow charged forward, running towards him with its claws out to the side. When the creature was no more than thirty feet away, Jaxom pointed his sword at the shadow and released all the energy the weapon had absorbed. The blast was staggering, throwing the shadow back down the hall and tossing Jaxom onto his back as well. He would have to remember to brace himself better next time.
    As the creature struggled to rise, Jaxom wasted no time retreating to the door where Cribble and his men stood staring at him slack-jawed. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the creature begin to dissolve, its shadowy body breaking apart to meld with the shadows around it. Once Jaxom made it through the door, they slammed it shut and threw the bolt back into place.
    “Now, what was that?” Cribble demanded.
    Sliding down the wall into a sitting position, Jaxom shook his head. “I don’t know.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 6
     
                  As Cribble and his men gathered a larger force to sweep the cells, Jaxom headed to one of the small dining areas near the kitchens. He had just sat down to eat a plate of roasted pork when everyone in the room stood up. Corin entered with a pair of his personal guard half a step behind him. As he approached, Corin gestured for Jaxom to remain seated. Sitting down opposite him, Corin eyed the food then plucked a particularly juicy piece of pork from Jaxom’s plate and began