Death Mage's Curse

by Jon Bender

  The former prince moved closer as the shade and priest who had led Jaxom into the trap joined him. “Finally,” Tandis said, “we meet again. I was delighted to hear that you were in Ostega because it meant I would have another chance to kill you. You won’t have another chance to make me look like a fool.”

  “I wouldn’t presume,” Jaxom replied. “You do it beautifully on your own.” He could feel the shadow creature’s leg beginning to weaken where it was lodged in his shoulder, holding him in place. Tandis’s face tightened. Whipping his arm out, his shadow hand morphed into a tentacle that slammed down on Jaxom’s exposed leg. The strike sent waves of pain through him.

  “Perhaps you’re right,” Tandis said, his anger seeming to cool. “I was foolish in underestimating you, but I have learned from my mistakes. And now here you are, about to die.”

  “We have beaten you and Or’Keer time and again, and still you keep coming back for more. If you surrender now, I promise you won’t be executed.” Jaxom shifted his body slightly to test the creature’s leg. The pain was excruciating, like he was trying to tear his own arm off, but he felt the leg give a little. It took all of his self-control not to the let the pain show. He only needed a minute more to break free.

  Tandis burst into laughter. The malevolent sound betrayed his youthful appearance. “As I said, I have learned from my mistakes.” He walked forward, placing a boot on the remains of the shadow creature’s body. The movement ripped a grunt of pain from between Jaxom’s clenched teeth. “As much as I want to savor this moment, I think our time is up.”

  Tandis moved closer to Jaxom’s head, drawing his sword. Jaxom’s mind raced. As Tandis brought the blade up, Jaxom did the only thing he could think of: He formed the barrier. The blade clanged off the magical shield, and Tandis stepped back, growling in frustration. Raising his other hand, a beam of pure darkness burst forth and slammed into the barrier. The power of the cast nearly crumbled Jaxom’s control. The beam battered against the barrier. He could not hold for much longer against the assault. Again, he pulled against the leg pinning him, ignoring the searing fire that erupted from his shoulder. He needed more time. His eyes caught sight of the shade he had killed, and he touched its mind. The shade’s hand reached out for the nearby sword and sprang to its feet. Jaxom let a part of his consciousness drift inside the risen and take control. While still looking at Tandis through his own eyes, he also stared at him through the eyes of the shade. Charging forward, his shade body came within a few feet of the once prince before another form shifted in front of him. Using his own skills to attack the masked killer, his opponent went on the defensive and circled to the side, keeping Jaxom away from Tandis. All the while, Tandis continued his assault on the barrier. Jaxom summoned dozens of bones from the ground and sent them hurtling at Tandis, trying to at least break his concentration. The daggers were met by walls of darkness as the priest chanted to Or’Keer.

  “Why don’t you just surrender?” Tandis mocked. His eyes hardened, and the pressure Jaxom felt against the barrier increased slightly.

  He was running out of time. Closing his eyes to block out all the other distractions, he summoned more bones from the ground, forming them into humanoid figures with arms that ended in jagged spears. Instantly, his palm began to heat from drawing so much power at once. His barrier was beginning to falter under the constant barrage, leaving him no choice. The bone warriors shuffled forward, one heading for the priest as the other attacked Tandis, forcing him to release his cast and deal with it. Without needing to maintain the barrier, the brand began to cool. Tandis parried the bone arm thrust at his chest while simultaneously unleashing the beam. The magic blasted away part of the warrior’s chest and arm. Not wasting the short reprieve, Jaxom gave a powerful wrench to his shoulder. The multi-jointed leg finally broke, allowing him to scurry out from underneath.

  Standing, he held a hand against his shoulder to stem the now freely-flowing blood. Tandis was still locked in battle with Jaxom’s warrior, but that would not last much longer. Summoning more bones, he repaired his creation as it launched another attack. Having bought more time, he turned his attention first to the remaining shade. Letting go of his shoulder and holding out the bloodied hand, he unleashed several orbs at the shade’s back, staggering him forward. Looking through the eyes of the risen, he drove the curved blade through the man’s abdomen. He watched as the light left the eyes above the shadow mask. Not even bothering to let the body fall, he took control of the second shade’s mind. His newest risen stepped back, and Jaxom felt the blade slide free of its body. Both turned to the priest who had summoned a squat, dog-like creature to face the bone warrior. Ignoring the creature, his two risen rushed for the priest. The robed man saw them coming and dropped into a chant, praying to his dark god for more power. A black tentacle shot forth from ground, slapping one of the risen shades to the side. Though there was no pain, Jaxom felt the snap of the shade’s spine as it slammed into a tree, and he released his hold. The second finished closing the distance. The priest was unable to stop the curved blade from carving halfway through his neck. As life left the robed man’s body, his shadow creature fell to the ground, already breaking apart.

  Jaxom turned his attention back to Tandis. The former prince had managed to sever one of the bone warrior’s arms and was bringing his sword down, hacking through the shoulder into the chest. The damage was too great for Jaxom to hold his creation together any longer, so he let it crumble into a pile at Tandis’s feet.

  Tandis turned to face Jaxom, presenting his back to the remaining risen and bone warrior. “I’m going to kill you,” he said, “next time.”

  Jaxom was in no mood to trade barbs. He wanted this man dead. Holding up his hand, he sent forth the blight. The swirling columns of smoke stretched out for the man but stopped as another wall of shadow coalesced before him. Watching through the eyes of the risen shade, he saw the former prince turn and flee. Jaxom almost laughed in surprise. After all this, the man was going to run. Jaxom was not going to let him get away this time. In no condition to run himself, he sent his risen and bone warrior in pursuit. He replaced the blight with the coil. Its harden tip ripped through the wall in pursuit. Using the eyes of the shade to guide the coil through the dense forest, he watched as four black, multi-jointed legs sprang from Tandis’s back. Using the new limbs like a spider, he began climbing a tree to escape. Concentrating, Jaxom drew in more power to extend the reach of his coil, the brand in his palm beginning to warm again. With a last thrust, the sharpened tip of the coil drove through Tandis’s body just above the hip and pinned him to the tree. Still watching through the risen’s eyes, he pulled the coil back, taking the former prince with it and dumping him to the ground.

  Taking full possession of the shade’s body, Jaxom walked up on the prone man. Using a boot, he shoved Tandis onto his back. “I surrender,” Tandis said, even as he lifted his shadow-made hand to cast. Jaxom lopped it off, taking another few inches of the arm with it and pulling a scream from Tandis’s lips. “Please. I can tell you Or’Keer’s plans.”

  “Yes,” Jaxom said, through the shade’s hissing voice, “and you will. But I don’t need you alive for that.” He drove the blade straight down, piercing Tandis’s heart.

  He stood there for a while, staring down at the former prince, searching for some sense of satisfaction or relief, but he felt nothing. Off in the distance, he heard someone shouting his name. Jaxom released his control of the shade and bone warrior and returned to his body. He blinked his dry eyes to see Adriana standing in front of him with both Vaniece and Laiden next to her, their durgen surrounding the group. His sister was wrapping a bandage, torn from a spare shirt, around the hole in his shoulder. The sudden weakness in his legs told him that he had lost a lot of blood. Laiden pulled Jaxom’s good arm over his shoulder when he wavered on his feet. The apprentice had a bandage of his own wrapped around his forehead. Blood had soaked through and some had dried on the young man’s face.

  “Wha
t happened?” Adriana asked.

  He grinned at her and wondered why it hurt to do even that. “Tandis is dead,” he said, nodding in the direction of the body.

  Vaniece wrenched the final knot on his bandage with a bit more force than was necessary. “You shouldn’t have faced him alone,” she said.

  “He didn’t give me much choice. Can you bring his body to us? We should find out what he knew,” Jaxom said. Vaniece gave him a look of annoyance, but her eyes glazed over as she reached for the dead prince’s mind.

  Just then, Darian came around a large tree with Buewin riding behind him. Brenin trailed after atop his own durgen. “My son tells me that all of the other shadow men are dead or gone. The hunters of my village are gathering the rest of my people to return home.”

  Jaxom met the village leader’s eyes. “I’m sorry for your losses. There is nothing I can say that will make up for that, but I’m sorry.”

  Buewin hopped down from the back of the durgen and moved closer. For a second, Jaxom thought the other man was going to strike him, and he made no move to defend himself. He deserved far worse. Instead, Buewin gently lifted Jaxom’s injured arm to help Laiden. “We cannot bring back the dead, and there is enough blame for all of us to share. What is important is that they are gone, and we are still here.”

  Jaxom nodded, feeling that sense of relief that he had missed after killing Tandis. Buewin had forgiven him, but those who had died here were just more casualties in a war that had already claimed thousands. Tandis was but one man loyal to Or’Keer, and Jaxom knew that the dark god was far from beaten. He let himself be guided to his durgen. As they moved in the direction of Buewin’s village, Jaxom began preparing himself to take the fight to the dark god.

  Epilogue

  Lightening flashed through the windows, illuminating the dimly lit passage. The walls were covered in murals depicting the greatness of the dark god. Keller took a moment to admire them. One showed Or’Keer standing over the burning remains of the old temples. Priests who had once worshipped the old gods prostrated themselves before him. Another displayed the glory that was to come when the old gods laid dead at his feet, and fifteen monarchs groveled before him. It was a future he desperately wanted to come to fruition. Keller would be a part of the destruction of the old world and creation of the new one upon the wreckage. He longed to see those who thought themselves better than everyone else brought low. Looking at the dead gods and so-called rulers kneeling, he smiled to himself. It was less than they deserved. If the choice were left to him, those responsible for all the suffering in the world would not be allowed to die until they had been repaid for the pain they had inflicted on countless people. He had personally made the one responsible for the death of his family suffer before finally allowing him to die.

  He could still remember the look of absolute defeat on his mother’s face before the end. Selling her body had barely been enough to provide for her two young sons, and many nights she came home to their dirt floor shack with new cuts or bruises from the men who paid for her services. He and his older brother, Bellin, prayed every day to all the gods whose names they knew to protect her, to lift them from the destitution of their lives. The gods never answered. When they visited the temples, all the priests would offer them were kind words and empty promises that devout worship would one day be rewarded. During the day, the boys searched for work among the rich, earning a few coppers as they could. One night, both he and his brother decided to follow their mother. When a minor noble took her into an alley, they stood near the opening to keep an eye on her. His brother made him turn away when the man had her drop to her knees. After a long time, he heard the sound of a smack. Turning back, he saw their mother on the ground, yelling at the noble, demanding payment. He hit her in the head with a closed fist. Bellin picked up a piece of wood and charged down the alley. Their mother called out for him to stop. Keller stood frozen, watching the scene. The noble turned and regarded Bellin with a look of contempt and disdain that Keller would never forget. The noble drew his sword and ran his brother through. His mother jumped to her feet, hitting and clawing the man, carving long furrows down his face with her broken and dirty fingernails. He knocked her down again and used his sword to cut her throat. Still frozen, Keller watched as the noble turned to look back at him. He laughed and turned down the alley, whistling a merry tune as he disappeared from sight.

  Keller shook the thirty-year-old memory from his mind and continued on. One of Or’Keer’s priests found him a week later, starving in their shack. Or’Keer had taken control of the man’s body and spoke to him, promising him the power to right the wrongs that had been done to him. Keller had agreed, and the promise had been more than fulfilled. The power he held now placed him above other men. That noble had not laughed when Keller showed up at his house with a dozen of Or’Keer’s worshippers to take him. He had not laughed when Keller had carved slowly into him while whistling the same merry tune. And he had not laughed when he was healed by the shadow priests so Keller could begin it all over again.

  The momentary feeling of joy and shame he felt at remembering that noble’s sticky blood sliding down his hands passed when he felt a vibration within him. Being this close to Or’Keer, he could feel his god’s anger permeating the air itself. He hurried his steps. Even he was not above being disciplined if he displeased the dark god. The servants who maintained the temple where thousands worshipped daily moved quickly through the halls without looking up as they passed him. Keller could not help but laugh to himself at the foolish notions of these commoners, as if his god would even take notice of such insignificant creatures. The hall passage opened up into a large room where hundreds of people knelt, their heads placed on the stone as they chanted in unison, swearing obedience to Or’Keer and asking that he protect them from those who wished them harm. They offered up their lives to defeat his enemies. Standing at the front were three priests in black robes ensuring that all were participating. Any found lacking, were taken deep into the temple where they were placed on a rack and punished for straying from the path. They remained there until the priests believed that their cries for forgiveness were genuine. Keller did not agree with this method. Conversion by force took too long, but the priests were devout in their worship and saw any affront to Or’Keer as a personal insult.

  Leaving the hall, he continued on, passing other smaller rooms filled with worshippers until soon the rooms became empty, and he no longer saw servants scurrying about. Every part of the temple was open to all, but few ever came this far unless summoned. Even the priests avoided this place. The closer he came, the more he could feel Or’Keer’s presence. The sheer glory of the god’s being almost overwhelmed him. The hall soon widened, bringing him before a massive doorway. A curtain of shadow shimmered and moved before him like a veil of dark water. He had been here many times before, but still, he hesitated before stepping through. Many had been brought before Or’Keer, and any who were not absolute in their devotion had felt themselves dissolve as the shadows found the unfaithful and destroyed them. He steeled himself against the fear, knowing that Or’Keer was the only true god. He stepped through.

  The shadows resisted at first, the power they held searching for falseness in his faith and finding none. He passed through into in an empty chamber that held no true light, only a silvery glow emanating from a massive throne. Sitting on the throne was his god, the being responsible for everything that he was, the one who had given him his life and his purpose. Once the false gods had been destroyed and their taint removed from the hearts of all men, peace would reign over the world for all time. Never again would another child suffer at the hands of evil men. Keller was under no delusions that he himself caused suffering. Many would see the things he had done as exactly what he proclaimed to be against. They could not see that to have purity, you must first burn away the corruption. Keller accepted that many could not be turned to a righteous path. Such people had no place in the world to come. There would have been no place
for the noble who had killed his family. He could no longer even remember the man’s name.

  “Keller, my most loyal chosen. I am pleased to see you,” Or’Keer spoke. His voice echoed throughout the empty chamber and resonated inside his skull. The words held warmth, but Keller detected a layer of anger. He only hoped the anger was not directed at him.

  Looking up, he gazed upon his deity. The massive god sat motionless in his throne. His body, made of the darkest shadow given shape only by the shimmering silver that surrounded him, would tower above buildings and make the earth shake with each step. Keller could not see the features of his face and knew this to be right. No mortal man should look upon the face of such power.

  “Thank you, My Lord. What would you have of me?” Keller struggled to keep his voice calm.

  Or’Keer remained silent for many seconds. Though he could not see his eyes, Keller could feel their gaze burrowing through his being. “Tandis has fallen at the hands of my enemy, the death mage Jaxom.”

  Keller felt mixed emotions. He knew of Jaxom. The death mage had once again interfered with his god’s plans. At one time, the death mages had been instrumental in loosening the old gods’ hold over men, but now they had reverted to blind servitude. While angry, he also felt a sense of satisfaction that Tandis was dead. The prince of Kelran had represented everything Keller hated about nobility. He had used his power only for himself. Keller had been present when Or’Keer transformed the prince into a mage, though he lacked the fortitude to become as strong as Keller. Even then, Keller had fostered a small resentment for his god’s choice of someone so inherently weak and flawed.

  “Because of his failure, our enemies have been able to advance their plots against us. Even now, their army marches toward us, intent at destroying all that we have built.”

  “That will not happen, My Lord. Your purpose is just and for the betterment of all,” Keller said, his voice full of conviction. “Please, send me to deal with them. I will not fail as Tandis did.” He wanted more than anything to continue to prove himself as he had in bringing the eastern kingdoms to the path. Their rulers were amongst the most loyal since Keller had made them see that the only way to true prosperity was through Or’Keer.