The Darksteel Eye Read Online Free

from Memnarch.
    The metal man leaned forward and watched his quarry grow nearer.
    *  *  *  *  *
    Glissa turned. The levelers were much closer than she had imagined them. She had seen these creations before, even fought them, but never had she been witness to so many collected together into one space. The sight was terrifying, and a shiver flushed down her spine, making all the skin along her back tingle.
    The metal beasts were close enough now that Glissa could clearly see the humanlike figure at their head. He was tall and thin, not clearly elf or human, and he wore a long blue robe that billowed out behind him as he rode his leveler forward. His shiny silver skin made the expression on his face hard to read, but Glissa thought he might be handsome were it not for the fact that he was charging toward her atop a killing device—the same sort of device that had taken her parents, her sister, and her best friend from her.
    The tingling sensation faded, giving way to a palpable anger that heated her blood and steeled her spine. She could feel herlip curl up and her eyes narrow. She didn’t even know who this silvery man was, but already she hated him. He had much to answer for, and if this were the fabled Memnarch, he had an enormous debt to repay.
    “Time to settle,” she said, lifting her hands high over her head and drawing green mana from the far-away Tangle. She was surprised how easily it flowed to her. The arcane energies flooded her body, and she felt strong.
    Bosh stepped in front of Glissa and Slobad, his hammering footfalls shaking both elf and goblin to the bone. Their big friend came to a stop, and the rumbling of the levelers replaced the pounding of the metal golem’s feet.
    For a moment, all four companions were silent, watching the approaching throng. Glissa took a deep breath, channeling the mana she held. Looking out at the charging artifacts, she singled out the closest. As she released her spell, the mana gushed down her arms, ripping across the open air in a green zigzag.
    The magic smashed headfirst into the oncoming leveler. The creature exploded. Interlocking metal plates shot out at all angles. The animated device’s wheels spun off wildly, smashing into other levelers who simply ran over the dismembered parts of their one-time comrade without slowing down. The creature’s scythe blades flopped uselessly to the metal ground, tumbling end over end, then coming to rest.
    The levelers continued on, the silvery man unflinching.
    Over her head, Glissa watched a glowing blue orb race toward the horde. Bruenna, she thought. The spell struck a charging artifact, and its spiked wheels suddenly stopped spinning. The metallic beast shuttered, skidding sideways before coming to a halt. Another leveler plowed into the back of the stalled beast, knocking it over and getting tangled in its bladed arms and steering sail. The two creatures lay on the mossyground in a heap, forcing the constructs behind to smash into them or drive around.
    Bruenna’s spell had caused a break in the advancing enemy line, and the once orderly artifact creatures now looked like a rioting mob.
    The first leveler closed in on Bosh, and the golem smashed it to smithereens. With one swing of his heavy fist, he bashed it flat. He swung his other fist. The shriek of metal bending and glass shattering followed a loud crash, and another of the artifacts went down.
    As the front line of levelers reached the companions, Slobad jumped atop the first one he encountered. Raising its scythelike blades, the leveler turned toward Glissa. Its spiked wheels tore up the ground, greedily eating up the space between itself and the elf.
    Holding onto its steering sail, the goblin pulled a narrow crowbar from his pouch. Jamming it between interlocking plates, he pried the device’s outer shell free, opening a hole large enough for him to stick his fist inside. Reaching in, the goblin tinkered with the leveler’s innards.
    Glissa watched it come,