The Duelist

by Eric Vall

  The dubious foot path led to a corridor that wrapped all the way around the circular temple, and in front of me was an archway that led to a small dressing room complete with a modest mirror, a cushioned bench, and a large ornately carved wardrobe against the far wall. The demon was scratching and snapping at something under the wardrobe, and I could hear muffled sobs coming from the small dark space the demon was so hell-bent on getting to.

  “Over here, ugly!” I yelled and sliced through one of the demon’s back limbs right at its double-jointed knee.

  It screeched, and spittle flew from its frothing mouth as it whirled around like an ill-tempered rottweiler. It came at me lightning fast, and I shuffled back as I blocked blows meant for my head, my left shoulder, my left flank, and then my head again.

  “Fuck!” I bellowed and jumped back several steps as I tried to avoid its next volley of rapid strikes. I blocked another blow to my head and then lunged forward with a slash of my saber. I kind of felt like Luke Skywalker swinging my weapon around like a baseball bat, but then I managed to slice off another limb and two more tentacles from its left side.

  Whatever I was doing was working.

  The demon screamed and slammed back against the wardrobe. I lunged forward again and ran my blade through its gut, and then I leapt back as it swung at me with another deadly pointed tentacle barb.

  “How many of those do you have?” I raged at the demon, and it wheezed out a plume of ash as it staggered toward me.

  The monster’s spear-like tentacle was poised in the air like a scorpion tail ready to sting, and I took two steps and sliced upward with my saber. The barbed tentacle fell to the floor and squirmed like a headless snake, so I kicked it to the side and out of my way.

  This little demon was starting to seriously piss me off. The big ones were terrifying because of their sheer strength, but the little ones seemed to be more strategic and came equipped with those toxic barbs.

  I realized the smaller ones were also stubborn as hell because the snarling little fuck lurched at me one more time. I met it head on with the point of my sword, and then rammed it back against the wardrobe until it was pinned to the solid wood.

  The demon wailed like a skinned cat and struggled weakly on my blade until it finally went still.

  “It’s okay, you can come out now,” I said to the kid under the wardrobe and then tried to yank my saber out of the dense wood. It wouldn’t budge at first so I frowned and tugged harder.

  Suddenly, the sound of a ringing blade made me duck just before a sharp looking cutlass swished through the air above my head. The blade made contact with my stuck saber instead of my skull and shattered the hilt off in one blow.

  From my defensive crouch, I dove to the side and attempted to jump up in front of my attacker, but I was kicked in the side of the leg when I stood up. The blow felt like being hit by a solid two-by-four, and I landed on one knee. A taloned hand wrenched my head back by my hair, and I was forced to look up at a hooded figure with a shadowed face. The edge of the man’s sword cut a fine scratch into the skin at my throat, and I was almost afraid to breathe seeing as how I could already feel blood trickle down from my stinging neck.

  The sound of a loud horn trumpeted through the air, and it was just enough of a distraction for me to duck under the blade and tackle the hooded man around his waist. Even though it cost me a hunk of my hair, it was worth it to hear the guttural yell as I caught him by surprise.

  My foe recovered from the shock quicker than I had hoped, and when we hit the ground, he used my momentum against me and launched me up and over. I hit the stone floor like a bag of bricks and tumbled into the wall next to the window, and I panted for breath as I tried to drag myself up to my feet with one hand on the window sill.

  “Ack!” I choked as a hand like an iron clamped around my throat, and I was slammed against the hard wall. In the struggle, my attacker’s hood fell down, and I squinted through watery eyes into the manic grin of Asher Bala Ren.

  The eagle-man’s copper eyes snapped at me with hatred, and he bared a set of straight teeth with one elongated canine that only added to his crazed expression.

  “You are a glory hound, a rabble rouser, and a bad omen, Traveler!” Ren seethed through his clenched jaw, and I wrestled with his vise-like grip around my neck. “I will kill you now to satisfy my honor!”

  “What… about… the Duel?” I croaked out.

  “As far as I’m concerned, you are unnatural: no better than the scourge itself,” Ren mocked in a patronizing voice, and then he slammed me back with an iron palm against my sternum, and I could feel my ribs creak and groan under the immense pressure. “You don’t deserve to die honorably in a Duel.”

  “Don’t,” I coughed out and pounded my fist against his elbow as dark spots crowded my vision.

  “I don’t intend on following the laws,” Ren continued as if he wasn’t even fazed by my attempts to free myself, and he simply smiled another psychotic grin. “In fact, I don’t even plan on killing you directly.”

  My eyes widened as Ren held up his other hand and gripped the amputated tentacle I’d sliced away from the smaller demon. He aimed the deadly point under my chin, and it oozed a viscous black fluid that stung like acid when it came into contact with my flesh.

  “Fitting, don’t you think--a demon dying by another demon’s sting!” Ren cackled like a psychotic hyena at his own deranged joke.

  I clenched my eyes shut as I searched for my heartbeat, and then I searched even deeper for that ticking down inside that saved me so many times in the past.

  My heart beat heavy and slow, and for the first time I could hear the distant sound of the ticking as it grew in volume.

  Tick…

  The muscles in Ren’s face contorted in slow motion as he dug the stinging point of the barb deeper just on the threshold of breaking my skin…

  The earth suddenly quaked and snapped me out of my time-trance. Everything resumed its normal speed, and Ren’s crazy laughter was cut off as a hair-raising howl pierced the air. We both looked around as the blood red light pouring in through the window faded back into the natural gold of the late afternoon sun.

  The barb in Ren’s clenched fist disintegrated into a pile of ash that fell through his fingers in useless clumps.

  Ren gasped and blinked down at his empty hand in shock, and I used the distraction by whacking the crease of his arm one more time. The force behind my last-ditch effort was enough this time, and I was able to break Ren’s hold where he was drilling painfully into my chest.

  “Fuck off!” I choked as I planted my feet and shoved Ren away from me as hard as I could.

  He stumbled back a step, and I advanced forward with a right hook and then a left upper-cut that sent him sprawling backward.

  Ren finally lost his balance and landed on his ass. He wheezed as the wind was knocked out of him, and he tried to scramble backward for the fallen cutlass in the center of the room.

  I rolled my eyes, took two steps toward him, and then aimed a perfect snap kick to his jaw.

  The bastard was out cold before he even hit the ground.

  It looked like none of these guys bothered to train in barehanded boxing or grappling.

  “Fucking asshole,” I panted through gritted teeth, and my blood boiled as my adrenaline transformed into furious anger.

  My vision went red just like the sun, and I stepped over Ren’s unconscious body and snatched up his sword.

  I was so tired of everyone trying to fucking kill me on this world, and for a second, I said fuck the laws, fuck doing the “honorable” thing, and especially fuck this waste of space at my feet.

  I raised the sword above my head with nothing but murder hammering through my veins. Yeah, I wouldn’t get to claim his sexy wife or his estate if I killed him like this, but at least I wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore.

  “Is it over?” came a small voice from behind me.

  Chapter 10

  The sweet voice that sou
nded behind me stopped me from bringing Bala Ren’s own sword down onto his unsuspecting head. My fingers trembled, and I wanted nothing more than to kill the bastard for jumping me, but one glance over my shoulder at the wide innocent eyes of a child, and the red mist that clouded my vision vanished.

  What was I doing? Zoie and I had a plan to build my power, and killing Ren now without invoking the Duelist’s rite would definitely throw a wrench into the works, so I tossed the cutlass to the ground by Ren’s unconscious form.

  The fucker didn’t know how close he almost came to never waking up again.

  “Are the monsters gone?” the little voice piped up again, and I turned my attention to the poor scared kid pressed against the far wall.

  At first, I thought the little deer child was a boy, but on second glance I could see she was a little girl dressed in more boyish clothing that reminded me of overalls. She had short fuzzy antlers poking through her curly brown hair and white freckles like a baby doe on her tawny cheeks. She stood by the window and twisted her fingers together as she looked between Ren passed out on the floor and the ash pile of what used to be the demon over by the wardrobe.

  I took a few steps closer and then crouched down so I was at the little deer-girl’s eye level.

  “Yes, the monsters are gone now,” I said and gave her my best smile. “I promise I won’t hurt you. What is your name?”

  “I’m Meera,” she murmured and twirled her foot in a little pattern on the stone floor. “What is yours?”

  “You can call me Alex,” I told her and held out my hand for her to shake.

  Instead of shaking it, Meera came toward me and tucked her face against my chest.

  “I was so scared!” she sobbed and gripped onto the front of my tunic.

  “Um, it’s okay now,” I said and wrapped one arm around her small back in a hug. “The monsters won’t get you now.”

  Just then, the brass horn that sounded earlier rang out through the air, and it caused both of us to jump.

  “Those are for me!” Meera chirped with a sunny smile as the trumpets continued to play.

  “They are?” I asked.

  “Yes, they mean I am lost, and Daddy wants me to listen really good for them so I can do this!” she said and pulled out a little silver ball on the end of a chain from under her shirt. She then blew into the ball, and it made a high-pitched whistling sound that lasted for a few seconds.

  “What was that for?” I asked the little girl, but she only smiled and pointed to the window.

  A moment later, loud flapping could be heard, and a familiar canterfly whistled and tossed his black mane as he hovered by the open window.

  “Prosper!” Meera cried out as she ran to the butterfly pegasus, and then she giggled when he uncurled his coiled muzzle and licked her cheeks.

  “Prosper is your father’s canterfly,” I deadpanned. “Meera, is your daddy Asher Mec?”

  “My daddy is the bestest and most strongest Duelist on the island!” She nodded and clapped her hands.

  “Of course, he is,” I muttered, and I shook my head as I got back to my feet. Then I joined Meera by the window so I could scratch Prosper behind one soft ear. “Good to see you, buddy.”

  “Alex, can you take me to my daddy now?” Meera asked me with her big brown eyes.

  “Of course, I can,” I said, and then I kicked the remaining shards out of the window frame so I could straddle the sill. “Come here, Meera.”

  The little deer-girl came over with raised arms, and I helped her sit next to me with her feet dangling over the edge. Then I kept a strong grip on her shoulder as I gestured for Prosper to hover closer until I could grab his reins.

  “Okay, Meera,” I said as I carefully brought my feet up and balanced on the sill in a crouch. “I’m going to get onto Prosper first, and then I will get you, okay?”

  “Alright, Alex,” she said and kicked her feet in the breeze as if we weren’t up over twelve stories high.

  “Okay.” I nodded before I jumped onto the back of the canterfly and landed neatly in the saddle. I breathed out a sigh of relief that I didn’t miss and then steered Prosper closer so I could gather Meera to sit in my lap.

  “Let’s go, Prosper!” Meera said and kicked her legs again. “Find Daddy!”

  Prosper whistled, tossed his head, and beat his wings until he caught an updraft that allowed him to glide gently back to the town square.

  The canterfly trotted to a stop amidst the ash piles and dead bodies strewn around the main hub of the village. People were crying and tending their wounds in the street, and others ran around trying to put out the fires that still billowed black pillars of smoke up into the air. I tapped Prosper’s flanks with my heels and urged him through the crowd of agitated and distressed people shouting over one another as they called out for the missing.

  I never stopped scanning the clusters of people for the sight of familiar black cat-ears, and I hoped I wouldn’t spot them among the bodies of the dead.

  “Meera!” a woman cried out, and I pulled Prosper’s reins until he stopped again with an impatient stamp of his hoof. “Meera!”

  “Mama!” the little girl sobbed. Then she reached out both hands toward a stunning doe-woman with small nubs of white antlers poking out through her curtain of long platinum hair. She wore a tasseled bikini top beaded with the finest pearls, and around her waist was a sheer loin-cloth skirt number that extended down to fine-boned ankles and exposed her tanned legs all the way up to her hip.

  “Mama!” Meera cried again, and I helped the missing girl down and into the waiting arms of her mother as they both poured out joyful tears.

  “Has my missing Meera been found?” thundered an authoritative voice, and the people gathered around parted for the Lord Asher. He marched up to the mother and daughter, checked them both over at arms-length, and then swept them up into his broad arms.

  I dismounted Prosper and just calmly held onto his reins as the family took their time reuniting with one another. A hand against my back startled me, but when I saw it was Zoie, I couldn’t help but pull her into my own relieved embrace.

  “Are you alright?” I whispered to her as I looked her over. She seemed a little bruised up and singed, but otherwise okay.

  “I am well, are you?” she asked, and I nodded and kissed her with a tired smile.

  “Where did you run off to, my bright child?” Asher Mec finally addressed the little deer-girl when he pulled back.

  “I got bored waiting for Mama at the dress shop and wanted to play outside,” Meera said as her lower lip trembled. “Then the sky got all red and icky, and I got lost, and then a mean monster started chasing me.”

  “How did you ever get away, my darling?” the doe-woman asked as she brushed the girl’s curly locks out of her eyes.

  “I ran to the Sun Temple, and then my new friend Alex fought the monsters until the sky turned back to normal,” she explained, and both the Asher Lord and his doe-wife eyed me from head to toe.

  “Asher Brightwood,” Gavlain Mec said and thumped his fist against his heart. “It seems as if I owe you a debt of gratitude for protecting my little one.”

  “No need, Asher Mec,” I said and bowed slightly in decorum. “It’s our job to protect people, right? I’m just glad Meera is okay.”

  “At least let me repay your heroic kindness in some way,” Mec said and stroked a hand over his square chin in thought. “As I understand it, the estate that was transferred to you has been in disrepair for some time.”

  “That’s mostly true, milord,” I said.

  “I have farmhands to spare who will be sent to you,” the Asher Lord decided. “I also know my messenger boy owes you a life debt as well, so please accept him and my prized canterfly, Prosper, to aid you in your future.”

  “You are too generous, milord,” I said and gave him another bow.

  “Please, we are friends now, Alex Brightwood.” The ram-lord smiled and clapped me on the shoulder with one of his baseball mitt h
ands. “Do me the honor and call me Gavlain.”

  “Only if you call me Alex,” I said as Meera clapped her little hands and danced in her mother’s arms.

  “Thank you for saving me, Alex!” the little deer-girl giggled, and I couldn’t help but smile at how adorable she was.

  “You’re welcome,” I said as I twined my fingers with Zoie’s and squeezed her hand in mine. “You are a very brave girl, Meera.”

  Meera’s tawny face flushed with color that made her white freckles stand out on her chubby cheeks. She lowered her eyes bashfully to the ground and then hid her face in her mother’s shoulder.

  “Again, my wife Dawn and I thank you for returning our treasure safe and sound,” Gavlain said, and I nodded as I mounted Prosper once more.

  The ram-lord then helped Zoie up to sit side-saddle in front of me this time, and I wrapped my arms securely around her to hold the canterfly’s reins.

  “Prosper, fly!” I shouted, and the butterfly pegasus reared back on two legs before he launched himself into the air on his strong monarch wings.

  Zoie wrapped her arms around my waist, and I pulled her closer as Prosper loped through the early evening air. There were a thousand questions buzzing through my head at once, along with the realization I’d almost blown Zoie’s plan by killing Ren early.

  For now, though, I was focused on taking my wife back home to our estate so I could really make sure she was okay. Preferably by taking her to bed and exploring every inch of her until I was satisfied she was truly unharmed. Maybe it was the newness of everything between us, but I felt a need to keep Zoie close, and losing track of her like that during the battle made me more on edge than I’d realized.

  When the estate came into view, I tugged on Prosper’s reins and steered him around for a landing.