Belly of the Beast

by Warren Thomas

  Sssshikkk. Boom!

  “Priest!” Quinn cried.

  A dark figure moving through the thinning cloud of dust pointed at them, his hands starting to glow. Then a bolt of energy shot out.

  Sssshikkk. Boom!

  The bolt passed between Joelle and Raven, and blasted a hole in the floor about twenty feet behind them. Joelle immediately sent an energy arrow at the gray-robed priest. Her magic arrow exploded in midair about ten feet in front of him.

  “He’s protected by his God,” Joelle said.

  Someone well behind the zombies shouted, “Charge! Kill them!”

  The zombies surged forward. They closed with Quinn, Armin, and Raven in a flash, while Joelle stepped back and sent arrow after arrow into them, and over their heads at the leaders behind. Quinn noticed another warrior explode after a moment.

  Sssshikkk. Boom!

  That bolt took out six zombies, ripping their bodies to pieces. Hot blood and body parts flew in every direction, splattering the defenders. Quinn’s heart swelled with pride to see none of his friends so much as flinched. They stood their ground, fighting toe-to-toe with the zombies. The bodies began to pile up.

  Fewer living zombies, meant less protection from the priest’s bolts.

  Sssshikkk. Boom!

  “What is wrong with him?” Raven cried. “He’s only killing his own fighters.”

  “What part of evil do you not understand?” Joelle asked. “Fall back!”

  Sssshikkk. Boom!

  That hit the ceiling above them, bringing down rock and debris. Quinn ducked and cut off to the side. He veered back toward the far end of the Progressional. The others scattered as well, all racing back to the choke point at the other end.

  “Someone go tell Tane to hurry!” Raven cried. “It doesn’t look like we’ll be able to slow them by much.”

  “We’ll slow them as much as we can,” Quinn said. “Then make our final stand at the temple door.”

  “Final stand?” Joelle asked.

  “Poor choice of words.” He grabbed Raven’s shoulder, and then shoved her toward the temple. “We have a moment before the zombies reach us. Go warn Tane he needs to hurry.”

  Chapter 88

  “We have them on the run!” Jessy cried.

  A thrill rippled up her spine. This is what she’d always dreamed about. Battle and adventure! Saving the world from evil. Seeing their opponents break and run after Nizar’s last blast filled her with a need to mete the Gods’ Justice.

  She took off running after them, but zombies crowded into the doorway before she reached it. It only slowed her a moment, because there weren’t that many zombies left.

  Jessy glanced back at Nizar. He struck an ominous figure striding purposefully toward her, with all but his eyes covered by black and gray cloth. The priest even had a scary, almost manic look in his dark eyes. She saw no regret or empathy for all of those poor zombies he killed with his magic.

  Does he care that he killed innocent people? she wondered, remembering her terrible time as one of them. Or is he just so focused on stopping Tane that nothing else matters?

  “Why are you just standing there, girl?”

  “Sorry!” she cried, turning back to find the zombies well past the doorway.

  Jessy rushed down the long, impossibly high chamber. And so dark. Their opponents provided the only light with their magic belts. And that made her think.

  “Your Grace!” Jessy stopped and turned to face Nizar. “What are we going to do if their belt lights stop working when we kill them?”

  Nizar stopped walking, looked up, and then began a prayer. Both hands rose up as if beseeching the Goddess. And then the chandeliers above and running the length of the chamber slowly began glowing brighter and brighter.

  Jessy noticed the entry light up, and passages connecting to their chamber light up. Did Ashtar, through Nizar, just make every light crystal in the underground city come to life?

  “Does that answer your question?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Magic is so amazing.”

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  Her jaw dropped. She’d forgotten about the witch’s magic bow. As the zombies closed on the enemy, she began slaying them again. The witch had to be killed first.

  “Are you sure she is a witch, and not a priest of Dakar?”

  “A priest wouldn’t need a magical weapon,” Nizar said. “That’s why I gave you that magical sword.”

  She looked at the steppe sword in her hand. Nizar said her name was Tasheba. As yet, she hadn’t seen it do a thing for her, but he said it was a powerful ward against magical attack.

  “Will it protect me from the witch’s magic bow?”

  “Probably,” he said.

  “That doesn’t fill me with confidence, Your Grace.”

  Boom. Boom.

  Jessy hurried toward the far end where battle had been renewed. None of the zombies had weapons, so the bad guys were slaughtering them in impunity. The two swordfighters stood in line before the witch, who shot between them.

  One of them was missing. The black-haired female. Dead? She didn’t see a body dressed in Dakar’s gray and black.

  Boom.

  A zombie’s chest exploded into a crimson cloud, before what was left of him fell straight back. Jessy lifted the magic sword up between her and the witch.

  Boom. Another fell back. Boom. And another. Boom. That shot took off a man’s left shoulder and arm.

  Her eyes heated up. Those poor souls, entranced by the evilest of Gods, forced to labor and fight against armed men, never having a chance. And no one on either side cared.

  The greatest injustice of all.

  Of course, if anyone ever saw through Nizar’s disguise, then the zombies would turn on them. Yet, even a priest of Ashtar didn’t hesitate to send them to their death. It just didn’t feel right.

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  And that was the last of the zombies. Jessy came to a stop. She couldn’t fight three veteran mercenaries alone. All of her fighting experience was sparring as a teenager, and then fighting with her bare hands as a zombie. And the two men looked so big.

  Nizar shouted something. She heard a commotion behind her, and glanced back. A few more zombies, moving like they were injured, hurried towards her. She counted eight. Accompanying them were the five mercenaries that had been supervising them work team. The mercenaries came to the fight with swords and shields.

  “Old men, but still veterans,” she muttered. “Better than zombies, and more of them than bad guys.”

  Turning back to the bad guys, she spotted the witch drawing a glowing arrow back. Aiming at her!

  Jessy dropped straight to the ground. The arrow missed, exploding somewhere behind her. And then the witch turned her attention on the mercenaries, not waiting for them to reach them.

  Boom.

  A mercenary wailed in horror and agony. It took Jessy a moment to realize the magic arrow stuck his shield, blowing it away, and taking most of his arm with it. He would bleed out quickly, and knew it.

  “We have the superior force!” Nizar shouted. “Charge them! Overrun them!”

  Chapter 89

  Sweat streaked down his face. One bead pushed through his brow and down his eyelid to sting his left eye. Tane blinked, and swung the hammer. The chisel bit into the untempered steel. And he struck again, and again.

  The final Rune of Power, he thought. Once tempered, this will be a true Sword of Power.

  Tane stiffened, hammer raised. One or two more hammer blows, and that last rune will be finished. His belly filled with butterflies, tears welling up. Kamain chose him. HIM! His God chose to work through him to save the world from Dakar.

  He brushed at his eyes, feeling his face heating up. I’m so stupid.

  A grin spread. “I’m officially ‘Touched by the Gods.’ And everyone knows what that means!”

  “You’re dragon shit crazy,” Raven said. “Welcome to my world, and I’m not even touched by a God.”
/>
  “Raven! Where’d you come from?”

  “I’ll refrain from making a joke,” she said, grinning. “But I’m here to warn you that Dakar’s stupid minions will be here shortly. There are too many for us to fight off. So hurry.”

  “This sword is almost done,” he said, lifting it up. “All I have to do is temper, polish, and sharpen. But the Sword of Power’s magic will awaken when I do the quench and temper it.”

  That’s when he realized the chamber was lit up by four chandeliers above. When did they light up? Who caused them to come alive?

  Raven turned to head back to the growing sounds of battle. “Then get to it!”

  His breath caught. He needed her! Now!

  “Wait,” he said, grabbing her wrist. Tane pointed to a barrel of water. “I need you to add as much of your blood to that as possible. Don’t hurt yourself.”

  “Are you trying to be funny?”

  “I’m afraid not. I need your God blood to bring the sword alive.”

  He didn’t wait for her reply. Tane hurried over to the temple door. Quinn, Armin, and Joelle fought in line just outside it. Well, Joelle was doing most of the fighting with her magic ring bow.

  “Joelle! I need you,” he called. “Raven needs healing. Quickly.”

  “What happened to her?”

  Joelle rushed past him, and straight to the Tyrian warrior. Raven stood beside the barrel clutching her bleeding left wrist. Tane noticed fear in her eyes. Her blood was flowing out pretty fast.

  Joelle immediately stopped the bleeding with a touch. Both women’s breath caught.

  “Thank you,” Raven whispered. “I think I cut too deeply.”

  “You cut yourself?”

  “I need her blood for the quench,” Tane said, joining them. “And I need some of yours, too. Please.”

  “Hey, you didn’t ask me so nicely,” Raven said.

  Tane smiled, noticing the mischievous glint in her emerald eyes. If Raven was joking, then she’d be fine. By the sound of the fight outside the temple doors, they needed her sword right away.

  “Don’t kill them all before I get there!” Raven shouted, running toward the fight.

  Joelle caught Tane’s eyes, grimacing. “You really need that much blood?”

  “All you can spare,” he said. “Sorry.”

  “I know. I know. It’s why the Gods arranged us to accompany you,” she whispered, looking trapped. “I’m just almost out of hoarded life energy, and this second healing will probably drain me.”

  Tane started to tell her to forget it. But Joelle pulled her belt knife and sliced open her left wrist. Not as deeply as Raven.

  “That stupid Tyrian cut too deeply, forcing me to use too much energy,” she grumbled. “That bitch is going to be the death of me yet.”

  Tane averted his eyes. He hated asking for their blood. It brought them pain, and sucked away their vitality, too. Neither Raven nor Joelle would be able to fight as hard now.

  This damned sword better be powerful enough to save us, he thought, heading back to the forge.

  He hammered away, engraving the last Rune of Power. Joelle stepped back from the quenching barrel, looking a little unsteady. She quickly pulled herself together, gave him a nod, and rushed toward the door to help. Tane watched her pass out of the temple, and then heard the reassuring booming of her magic bow and arrows.

  Lifting the finished blade up with a pair of tongs, Tane glanced up at the heavens before turning to the forge fire to heat it up again. According to Kamain’s implanted instructions, it would effectively complete the Sword of Power. He just had to polish and sharpen to make it pretty.

  Burying the blade into the eternally hot coals, Tane began the required prayers.

  Chapter 90

  Sharp, angry shouts echoed through the ancient chambers and corridors, punctuated by the clash of blades. The witch had vanished into the temple a few minutes earlier. And praise Dakar for that! She’d decimated his ranks with her unholy bow. That bow also reminded him of his accursed father’s sword ring. Worse, her bow and arrows shown so bright they left spots in Nizar’s eyes.

  The stupid zombies continued walking fearlessly to their deaths. He didn’t have enough to overwhelm the defenders, so the three defenders very quickly butchered them all. As usual, the entrancement lifted as soon as a mortal blow was delivered. Their soulful wails of fear and despair grated on his nerves.

  Four mercenaries remained, moving up to engage the three defenders. And then the witch returned. She immediately sent an energy arrow into Trahmar’s chest. So Nizar started praying for another bolt. She had to be stopped before she completely wiped out his fighters.

  That witch is dead!

  The mercenaries shifted around quickly, doing everything possible to avoid the witch’s magic arrows. They were doing a good job of it, and it also distracted her. Nizar focused on her, praying more feverishly. The thought of blasting her into a thousand bloody chunks gave him a thrill. He could feel Dakar’s approval through their link as well.

  The energy balled up within, seen only by two balls of glowing energy around his fists. The more he stored up, the more painful it became. Pure agony, in fact. But for the glorious sight of the witch exploding into oblivion, it was worth it.

  When Nizar couldn’t bare the pain any more, the clasped his hands together and pointed his arms at Joelle. Jessy immediately pushed his arms down.

  “Wait,” the blonde teen whispered. “Our men are in the way. You’ll kill them, too.”

  Intense energy felt like it was burning him up, from the inside out. And she stopped him from releasing it?

  “Why do you care, girl?” he rasped out. “They are Dakar’s men, not ours.”

  That made her pause. He jerked away from her, turning back to the defenders. And the witch. Only, Joelle wasn’t there anymore. He stared incredulously as the last defender, Quinn, slipped through the vast silver doors.

  And they slammed the doors in his face. He heard the loud, echo sounds of mechanical locking devices being engaged.

  “She got away.”

  Nizar couldn’t believe it. Jessy’s interference cost him the opportunity to kill that vile witch. He looked at the wide-eyed teen, focusing on her. He smiled as he thought of the surprised look on her face when he blasted her instead. But then light glinted off the high reliefs on the door.

  The priest turned toward the door. “Out of the way!”

  The remaining three mercenaries scattered. Stepping forward, Nizar concentrated on the double-doors. Right where they met in the middle. Right over the spot he guessed the locks would be located for dwarves.

  And he unleashed white hot fury.

  Ka-BOOM!

  The sound took all of them to their knees, hands over their ears. The sound of those bolts was always ear-splitting. Nizar’s ears had gone numb down into his neck more than once during battles that forced him to throw a lot of bolts. They discovered it was ten times worse in enclosed spaces.

  Worst of all, the most powerful bolt he’d ever thrown only knock off some of the dark patina and left a shiny spot. The priest stared at the shiny spot slack-jawed.

  Looking to his left, he found Jessy kneeling and tapping her ears. Yeah, his ears were ringing louder than watch tower bells. Even the three mercenaries were focused on their ears.

  “Jhonny!” Nizar shouted at the closest mercenary. “Jhonny!”

  He looked at Nizar, who waved him over. They had to shout to hear each other.

  “Are there any more zombies?”

  “Yes, Your Grace. The team working the battering ram.”

  “Excellent!” he cried, giving the silver doors a sharp look. “Those doors are pure silver, and immune to magic. And there might be a magic barrier protecting it from my magic, too. So bring the battering ram in. Mundane works against such wards.”

  Nizar smiled as the three men hurried back toward the entrance. It would take a while to get the battering ram through the entry, and up to the temple, but
there was no stopping them after that.

  Chapter 91

  Sliding the glowing blade back and forth through the magically heated coals, Tane watched the color changes with a critical eye. He knew the exact color he needed to get the best temper. And it was just as important to ensure the color was even for the length of the blade.

  The sounds of battle continued unabated as he worked. He barely even noticed the constant booming of Joelle’s arrows. The clash of swords proved more worrisome, since that meant his friends stood toe-to-toe with the enemy.

  His shoulders tensed up as the color got closer and closer. He struggled to breathe. This quenching would be the most important of his life. If he failed, and the blade cracked…

  Tane didn’t want to think about. Not with the enemy right at his doorstep.

  “Now!” he shouted.

  Tane pulled the sword blade out of the coals, held it high with the tongs, and turned to the quenching barrel. The water looked dark and cold, but he knew it was probably pink with Joelle’s and Raven’s blood.

  He thrust the glowing hot blade into the water, even as he muttered the final prayer over the blade. Steam exploded out. Tane listened intently for that telltale ting. If he heard it, the blade was ruined. Cracked. Useless.

  “Nothing! I did it!”

  “Great!” Raven cried.

  BOOM!

  Tane spun to gawk at the entry. Why were the vast silver doors closed? His friends engaged the locks as he watched. They sealed them all inside.

  Trapped like a rat.

  “Is the Sword of Power finished?” Armin asked.

  Tane turned back to the barrel. He pulled the sword out and held it high. Steam rose off it as the water dried quickly on the still hot steel.

  Tane named the blade, “Kamain’s Wrath!”

  Hot and cold flowed down from the blade. Down his arm, and spread out throughout Tane’s body. He froze, eyes huge. Nothing like that had ever happened when he named a blade. Tane had never heard of anything like that happening to anyone naming a blade.

  “I felt the magic come alive,” Joelle said, cringing back. Her voice dropped. “The blade radiates power.”