“Guests.” Ander beamed, he licked his lips and gestured for Crinnan and Milinka to follow.
To the right of the hill, Crinnan saw a group of demons approaching. Their numbers were large, perhaps a couple dozen or more. Crinnan spun his sword in his hand, eager to open the portal to level five.
“Let’s make this quick,” Crinnan ordered the others, “The sooner we open the portal the better.”
“It will be no problem; I feel I am on the cusp of opening the next one. Leave it to me,” Ander seethed with delight. His stride doubled and he walked ahead of Crinnan and Milinka. The two looked at each other and Milinka pursed her lips together and shook her head.
“He is fucking crazy,” she turned to him and whispered with a hint of fear in her voice, “He has been going on and on about how great he is and how he is the savior and how his plans are about to come to fruition and so on. His power is immense, I have watched him control people’s bodies… he makes them do terrible things to themselves and each other and seems to enjoy it.” She shuttered as she recanted the things he had done to the last demon pack they came across.
“He has been here a while,” Crinnan tried to make a defense for him, “No doubt it has had a lasting effect on his mind.”
“I do not know…” Milinka looked up at Ander, “He seems very eager to return to Duraan, it worries me.”
“Let’s just focus on getting through these demons,” Crinnan was disturbed by the report on Ander’s behavior, and Milinka may have been right about him. The truth remained, however; Crinnan needed Ander to remain on his side. His power made Crinnan’s own seem insignificant; the things he was able to do were beyond anything that Crinnan had ever seen before. While the power was frightening, Crinnan thought it could only help.
“Greetings travelers!” Ander shouted at the approaching demons, “Forsooth, you all must have journeyed long and hard in search of redemption. I marvel at your perseverance and congratulate you on reaching the end of your journey! ‘Tis no doubt that your weariness has led you here, worry not my friends for your woes will soon become a thing of the past!”
“Are you the ones who killed Auroch?” One of the demons shouted as he pointed at Crinnan's party, “He’s a prisoner here now, thanks to you. He was my friend.”
“I know not the names of the ones whom I have slain,” Ander did not stop walking, he kept getting closer to the demons, “Nor do I harbor any desire to. The only name that is of any importance is the one that will soon weigh heavily on the tongues of all who dwell in the mortal world. Mark my words, you will all soon be speaking of…”
“Quiet, idiot!” The demon shouted again, “I am Atreyees, I am ranked eighth of all demons. I am here to end this. Meeren and Baar’Nun are here too. They are eleventh and nineteenth. You stand no chance!”
“Eighteenth!” Baar’Nun, a dwarven demon with a horned helmet and a glowing axe the size of his body shouted, “I rose a position.”
“Fine, Baar’Nun is ranked eighteenth now.” Atreyees shrugged as he pointed his sword at Ander.
“Silence!” Ander screamed as he swiped his arms through the air, “Silence you, fiends! Never again shall you interrupt another!” He phased forward and appeared next to a confused Atreyees, “Eighth does not impress me.” He placed his open palm on Atreyees’ temple and a blast of energy shattered his head into nothing but a mess of blood and bone splinters.
“Oh fuck!” Baar’Nun shouted as he turned to run. Ander froze him in place and as he walked by him, he fired a blast down at the top of the dwarf’s head, ripping through his helmet and splitting his body in two. The other demons quickly scattered and tried to run away.
“Such folly!” Ander growled as Mereen’s body burst behind him, sending blood and gore in all directions, “Such cowardice. Where is the confidence you harbored whilst you pursued me?” Another demon froze in place and exploded as Ander walked by. His arm flew past Crinnan’s head, missing it by inches.
“He is going to kill all of them by himself,” Milinka looked up at Crinnan, she wore a look of frustration and fear, “The son of a bitch is unstoppable.”
Crinnan silently watched Ander move from demon to demon, slaughtering them in the most bloody ways he had ever seen. Before he knew it, the portal to level five had opened but Ander had shown no sign of noticing.
“Let’s go!” Crinnan pulled on Milinka’s wrist as he darted toward the portal.
“Leave him behind?” Milinka half whispered as the two ran to the swirling blue light, “What if he catches up with us?”
“Just come on,” Crinnan replied. He in truth did not have a plan; all he cared about was getting to level five and then using the portal stone to get to level six. While he was not actively trying to lose Ander, he felt that he would not be terribly troubled if he “accidentally” did.
“Wait what if we anger him?” Milinka asked just before the two arrived at the portal. Crinnan stopped running, looked back at Ander and then at Milinka.
“If you need protecting, I will always be there to protect you,” he promised, "I found you... here... after all these years, and then I found you again… when we get out of here, I'll find you again. I will never stop, Milinka. You can trust me," He had no idea how he was going to keep that promise but he felt in his heart that it was what he truly meant, “Nobody will harm you. Not demons, not Govia… not Ander.”
He did not know what more to say or how to say it. She looked at him and smiled as she lightly shook her head. Her eyes trailed away for a moment as she seemed to have a thought she needed to consider but very quickly she looked at him once again and her smile brightened.
She leaned in and kissed him and then as he let go of her wrist, he pushed her through the portal. As he moved to enter the portal himself, he felt the weight of Ander’s eyes burning through his back. He knew he should have kept going but he could not keep himself from turning. When he did, he saw Ander’s eyes locked onto him. Ander wore a rather displeased expression and the two stared in silence at one another for half a moment. Finally, Crinnan hurried forward through the portal, hoping that he had seen the last of Ander.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sarasin IX
23rd of Ramlia – 346AG
13:00 – Canrom City, Fairgrounds
“Watch out!” Quint screamed as he fired his rifle at a charging soldier. Bullets ripped through his former comrade and he fell to the ground, “What the fuck are we doing!?” Quint shouted in a panic. His legs locked himself in place for a moment but Gerard quickly grabbed him and pulled him forward, “We are fighting our own people here!”
“Enough, Quint!” Sarasin ordered, “Just shut the Hells up for once!”
Sarasin NaNe had replenished enough for her to throw a blast at a group of soldiers ahead of them. She couldn’t believe how quickly and violently her thoughts had manifested into reality, how suddenly the weight of the Govian Empire had crashed down on her.
Gerard groaned with pain behind her and she turned her head to see him firing his weapon with one arm, the other was bleeding and hanging at his side. Sarasin grit her teeth and kept running.
“Keep moving!” Eryc yelled, somehow able to maintain his composure in the chaos. He had to, not only because it was his sworn duty but also because he had found a daughter in Sarasin and he had no intention of losing her.
Through the years of his military service, he had sacrificed any chance he had at growing a family. Though he had always wondered what it would have been like to have children of his own, the Empire had blessed him with the opportunity to protect Sarasin. She was a person who, despite her immense power both physically and politically, he could not help but see as a fearful child. She needed him and, though he would never admit to it, he needed her.
“We are nearly to the Governor’s palace!” He shouted, “Stand fast, do not forget your vows!”
“It’s going to be full of fucking guards!” Quint shouted, “How do…”
“They are shit!�
� Eryc snapped at the young soldier, “We can handle them! We must handle them!”
As they ran, a few of the stragglers of Sarasin’s personal guard joined the small group. They had been targeted just as Sarasin had. Their lives were on the line and their only hope was to stick with their unit, many had already been gunned down and the rest were in a panic. Eryc kept an eye on them as they ran, knowing full well that he only fully trusted Quint and Gerard.
“Keep your mind calm.” Sarasin heard a small voice say. She looked to her right and saw Little Sarasin running alongside her, her feet never touching the ground.
“This is not your end,” Little Sarasin reassured her larger self, “There is hope. God is waiting for you.”
Sarasin scowled at the thought of another supreme being. She felt she had wasted enough of her life and sanity in service of Dura’Ana, reaping only the situation she had found herself in. She looked away from Little Sarasin and kept running.
She could not make out any clear thoughts in the swirling chaos that was her mind. People were screaming all around her, firearms were being discharged in all directions and it seemed the weight of the Govian Empire had come down on her. All she knew to do was to follow Eryc...
“All will be well, mother,” She heard the familiar voice of her dear son Eliss say, “We will get you out of here, God will keep us safe.”
Another scowl…
The Governor’s palace was in view. It was a tall, white ornate building with marble steps that led up to seven thick pillars that supported a beautiful hand carved frieze depicting the epic of Emperor Cidro, from his birth to his final battle with the false messiahs.
As the group neared the palace, Eryc and Quint quickly raised their rifles and shot the guards who stood on each side of the gold trimmed door. As Sarasin blew the door off its hinges with her NaNe, she heard the sound of more gunfire from behind her. She heard a slight ping noise and felt a stinging in her back. Apparently, a bullet had struck her and ricocheted off her armor… things were getting too real.
The group ran inside the palace and one of her guards was gunned down instantly. Eryc and his subordinates made quick work of the soldiers and Sarasin used her NaNe to collapse the wall above the door, blocking the entrance. They stood silently for a moment and caught their breath. They were secure… for the time.
“What the Hells is going on?” Herrin, a thin-faced soldier with a receding hairline asked. His face was red with anger and he snorted as he approached Eryc, “Why are we being shot at?”
“Because Sarasin killed Father Eckhart!” Quint said, “How did you not know that?”
“I did not!” Sarasin snarled, lunging toward Quint. Eryc stepped in between them and placed his hands on Sarasin’s shoulders.
“No,” He comforted, “You did not kill Father Eckhart.” Sarasin looked at him and a tear streamed down her face.
“I…” She lost her words and Eryc pulled her in and held her with a gentle touch. He caressed the back of her head with his gloved hand and rested his chin on the top of her head.
“There, there,” Eryc whispered, “Find your composure, breathe. We are not out of this yet.”
“I killed everybody,” her voice was racing and unsteady, her eyes were wide, “All of them, the innocents, they… they are dead!” She began to panic and Eryc held her tighter, “So much… blood, they didn’t deserve it. What kind of monster am I?”
“Stop,” Eryc commanded, looking down at what could have been considered a child to him, “You lost control. Something happened that was out of your power; you are not responsible for their deaths. Get ahold of yourself.”
Sarasin had not had the joy of being raised by a father. While hers was indeed a loving man, she had been ripped from her relationship with him shortly after Korros aborted Eliss. Since he had been introduced as head of her guard, Eryc had filled the void masterfully.
“Listen to him…” She heard Korros’ voice tell her. She glanced to her right and saw the youthful looking high priest standing there. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. Seeing him after his death infuriated her, she hated him with every fiber of her being.
“Go away!” She screamed, pulling herself away from Eryc. She threw a NaNe blast in Korros’ direction but it yielded no result. Korros stood unfazed by the blast and sighed.
“What’s wrong with her?” Herrin, the thin-faced soldier asked, frantically looking at all his companions, “She’s gone mad! I can’t follow a mad woman!”
“Fall in line!” Eryc commanded, looking sternly at Herrin, “Unless you are abandoning your vows?”
“Fuck off old man!” Herrin snapped, “You’ve gone mad too. I'll have no part of this; I’m not dying for that psychotic bitch!”
Eryc without hesitation threw his fist into Herrin’s jaw. Herrin reeled back from the strike, giving Eryc time to draw his sword and cut the defiant soldier’s throat. He roared in fury and turned to everyone else.
“We must stick together!” Eryc growled to the other two guards as Herrin collapsed to the ground, writhing in his own blood, “Any further sign of insubordination will be quickly dealt with. I will be the last damn guard protecting Sarasin if I have to be!” He panted and shook his head, “You're nothing if you cannot stand by your own vows, we are all in this together! I do not want to have to do this again!”
“I…” Quint trembled. None of what was going on was what he signed up for; his eyes wandered to Herrin on the ground. He considered where his heart truly was and he realized that he did indeed love Sarasin enough to continue protecting her. He closed his eyes and nodded his head, “I am with you Eryc, Sarasin.”
“As am I,” Gerard replied, “But we have wasted enough time. Our enemies will make their own entrances soon enough.”
“He is right,” Eryc said, “We need to get to the basement, there are tunnels there that will lead out of the city. We need to get as far ahead of them as we can. Follow me.”
Eric turned toward an entryway at the other end of the room and started walking briskly with his rifle shouldered. The other soldiers followed in suit.
As Sarasin walked, she tried to wrap her mind around what was happening. Everything she had trained for had been lost in an instant. Everything she thought she knew felt like it was turned completely inside out… she was all of a sudden no longer a Bishop General of the Govian Empire. She had lost her power and her influence and she had no idea where to run but behind Eryc.
“Up ahead!” Eryc shouted, “Not far.” The group had entered a large kitchen with rows of metal preparation counters and utensils before them. On the wall opposite them was a door.
The group of four fanned out between the counters and made sure the kitchen was clear before they gathered at the door. Eryc glanced at it, then looked to Sarasin and sighed.
“They are going to be able to track us,” he groaned, “They undoubtedly have your NPin and are most likely searching for you as we speak… it is even more likely that they already have a lock on our position.”
“What do we do then?” Sarasin asked, “If they know where we are then they will be on our heels. They will eventually cut us off.”
Eryc rubbed his chin for a moment as he thought. He felt as if all the weight of everything was suddenly placed on his shoulders and for a moment, he hesitated.
“There is one option,” Gerard said, stepping forward.
“Please share it with us,” Eryc replied.
“The Agra Triangle Corporation,” Gerard continued, “They research the technology of the ancients. They understand the way the NaNe works better than we do. Perhaps they can help... and if I remember correctly, it should be difficult for our enemies to track our NPins if we are underground.”
“Right,” Eryc nodded, “That is reassuring. We can also work with slight discharges of our NaNe suppression grenades to keep our pursuers confused. Quint, can you rig one up?”
“I can,” Quint replied, still a bit shaky as to what was going on, “I can bypass the firi
ng module then I can get it open to release small bursts of the jamming machines.”
“Get it done,” Eryc ordered, “How many SUPs do we have?”
“I have two,” Gerard said.
“Me too,” Eryc replied, “Quint?”
“I... have two as well...” Quint shook his head. He was obviously going through some level of shock. Eryc noticed and hummed.
“Get your head on straight boy,” Eryc stepped over to him, “I know this is a lot for you to handle. Hells, it’s a lot for anyone to handle, but we will get through this.” Quint nodded and tried to smile.
“I’ll be okay Captain,” he said, “Don’t worry about me.”
“I won’t then,” Eryc replied. He turned to the door and pushed it open, “We’ll take the path ahead of us and when we are back on the surface, we will head for the nearest ATC stronghold. We go now.”
The group stepped through the door and into a narrow, poorly lit staircase. As they descended, the walls went from concrete to rock and the air started feeling much cooler; Sarasin realized that they were underground.
Ahead of them, at the foot of the staircase, they could see a light. Eryc hastily led them down the steps toward the light, not slowing for anything. Sarasin hurried to keep up with him and once they scaled the last step, Eryc suddenly stopped and raised his rifle.
“Time to stop running, Lady Sarasin.” A well-armored soldier said, aiming his rifle at the small group, “I have the authorization to kill every single one of you if you resist.”
Before them stood a team of soldiers all armed with heavy rifles. Their sights were all on focused on the new outlaws. Eryc cursed and lowered his gun. He knew they couldn’t win that fight, he realized they were beaten.
“Don’t do anything stupid.” Eryc turned looking back at the others, “We’ve lost.”
“Throw your weapons down,” the soldier commanded, “Submit to your arrest and you will not be killed.” Eryc tossed his weapon onto the ground and the others followed in suit. A terrible dread overcame Sarasin and she felt tears returning to her eyes. She wondered to herself how it all could have been lost so easily. How their plan could have dissolved so quickly, and how suddenly everything became hopeless.
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