“Yeah,” Crinnan replied. “I look forward to it too.” His words were honest.
“The portal is opening. The final level may be difficult, the demons have amassed there and are waiting for you… but I should say that once you arrive, you will have an army at your back. I do not know how long it will last but Lucaas has managed to integrate a script that grants the prisoners combat capabilities. We have called out to them all, told them they can fight… told them that you will lead them in a battle for vengeance. Those that are able to are waiting for you.”
“Perfect.” Crinnan stood and reached his hand out toward Milinka. She grabbed it and he pulled her up. As she got to her feet, the portal to the final level opened. The two looked at each other and as they stepped toward the portal, a second portal appeared and Ander stepped out of it.
“Hello, my friends,” Ander growled as he approached the two. “‘Tis a great shame that you felt compelled to abandon me the way you did. Why I have never done more than help the both of you.”
“Sage are you still there?” Crinnan asked as he stepped away from Ander. “Sage?”
“Yes,” Sage replied, “What is going on?”
“Disable Ander’s combat capabilities,” he said, “He has gone crazy.”
“Crazy?” Ander repeated, looking up at the stars. “Sajinious, old friend, is that you?”
“How does he know…” Crinnan asked.
“Damn it all,” Sage announced, “Crinnan he has locked me out, I cannot disable anything… there is something… something about him…” Sage was silent for a moment and Ander stepped up to Crinnan.
“Worry not my friend,” Ander said, stroking Crinnan’s cheek. “I will bring you and your muse no harm. Neither on this plane nor the next. For you see, you have liberated me from this prison! Without you, I would never be able to establish my kingdom on Duraan. For all this, I thank you.”
“He is Eon the Calamity,” a horrified Sage proclaimed, “Crinnan he must not come to this planet.”
“Oh, Sajinious.” Eon smiled, holding his arms wide toward the planet of Duraan above him. “Not only will I come to the planet, but I will rebuild it in my image. I will restore order to the world; all will hail me as their King and savior!”
“Dryak… Eon, that is enough!” Sage shouted, “If you come here, I promise you I will find you and purge you. You know my power exceeds yours, stand down and leave Crinnan alone.”
“This conversation bores me.” Eon waved a hand and Sage could be heard no more. He looked to Crinnan and smiled a warm smile. “I will always consider you a brother for what you have done for me, Crinnan Jamiso. Fear not, for although I may seem wicked, know that I am just.” Eon’s portal closed and he beckoned Crinnan and Milinka toward the other.
“Shall we?” Eon asked with a smile, “The end is nigh, let us march forth and claim our destinies.”
Crinnan looked at Milinka. She wore a look of apprehension and her hands trembled. “I am with you,” He whispered as he leaned into her. At that, he slipped his hand into hers and the two of them followed Eon through the portal.
The seventh and final level of the Hells was a return to the darkness. The sky could not be seen through the black that loomed overhead; the ground was once again burnt and broken, what looked like magma seethed through the cracks. There were people everywhere. An army of hundreds of prisoners and their scavenged weapons stood together on one side and on the other, the largest horde of demons that Crinnan had seen thus far. There were at least four hundred heavily armored high leveled demons present with five who stood talking at the head of the army.
Crinnan looked to Eon and then to Milinka and then he took a deep breath.
“There he is!” He heard one of the prisoners shout, “The bringer of vengeance, our chance to once again feel the taste of glory!” Eon stepped forward, smiling and holding his arms out.
“For Crinnan!” One of them shouted, “For Crinnan!” The rest returned.
“Oh fuck.” Crinnan groaned and shook his head. Milinka pushed him forward and Eon snarled at the idea of being ignored.
“March forward, head up,” Milinka ordered, “I am next in line to command Base 11, follow my lead. Speak to them, treat them as equals and they will give you their all.”
“Do I need that?” Crinnan asked.
“You do if we are to survive this. You need them to fight harder than they would otherwise. Tell them you care, tell them you are here for them.”
“I care!” Crinnan shouted.
“No, stop you dumbass,” Milinka nearly shouted, “Not like that. Speak from the heart.”
“I have been told I do not have one of those,” Crinnan replied.
“You do.” Milinka spun him around and placed her hand on his chest. “I can feel it.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek and Crinnan smiled and turned around “I have seen it.”
“I cannot give you your freedom!” Crinnan shouted as he stepped toward his army, “I cannot guarantee your survival! I have no idea what will happen after all this; I have no idea what is happening right now… but you answered the call. You are here to claim your vengeance, whatever that may mean to you. This may be the only chance in the history of the Hells where the prisoners can rise against the demons and so I say, do your worst everyone! We may lose and die and respawn somewhere and be tortured all over again… so honestly, I guess we have absolutely nothing to lose!”
“Get back on track.” Milinka grabbed his arm and squeezed tight.
“Uh, so, let’s get out there and kill some demons!” Crinnan shouted.
“Horrible.” Milinka sighed. The army, however, erupted in cheers and battle cries. A thousand years’ worth of people stood before Crinnan, all had once lived their lives but many spent more time in the hells than they did living.
“Ancient NaNe users on me!” Eon shouted, smiling as he walked past Crinnan, “Let us be your vanguard, Crinnan. Let us, the oldest here charge into battle wielding the power we created that we may lay waste to our enemies in your name.”
“Very well.” Crinnan nodded, he turned and looked to Milinka. “Will you stay by my side?”
“Always.” Milinka smiled. Crinnan lifted her hand and kissed it and she took a deep breath. As she exhaled, she pulled her sword from its scabbard. “Let’s do this.”
Crinnan walked forward and raised his sword. The army before him followed suit and as Crinnan got closer, he spoke again.
“Do it for the ones you still love,” He shouted, “For their memory… do it for the hope that this one day may end, that you may somehow find peace. Fight for yourselves, for every thought your mind has ever created. Make it matter, make it worth something… show these fuckers what you can do, it’s time to shove our fucking blades down their throats!” Crinnan looked over at Eon and nodded. Eon’s body floated off the ground and many of his ancient warriors did as well.
“Brothers and sisters, advance!” He shouted. At that, hundreds of Ancients charged following the floating Eon. The demon army followed suit, their largest and heaviest armored running forward to intercept the first wave. Crinnan looked to Milinka and Milinka turned toward the enemy.
“Mages, archers… form up!” She shouted, twirling her finger in the air. “Create a line, wait for my mark!” Nearly a hundred soldiers lined up in rows in front of Milinka. She stood in front of all of them and held her open hand in the air.
“Twenty more steps!” She shouted, “Then open fire!” Crinnan turned and looked at the rest of his army.
“I guess that leaves us.” Crinnan shouted toward them “The infantry.”
“Five steps!” He heard Milinka, “Ready yourselves… fire!” A volley of arrows and magic bolts shot over Eons division and struck the charging demons. Some fell, and the rest continued their assault.
“I have been in the infantry my whole life,” Crinnan said to his soldiers, “We are the ones who will determine the outcome of this battle. I don’t know how to be inspirational or anything
so I will tell you what I have been told. Stay on your feet and don’t drop your sword!” He heard laughter from within his ranks and he smiled a bit himself.
“Let’s go fuckers!” he shouted. He and Milinka ran side by side as they hurried to reinforce the first wave. For a moment it was quiet. All the sounds, the chaos around him, it all died out and Crinnan only heard his breath and his pulse. The battle was getting closer… closer… Finally, he spun the sword in his hand and charged past the Ancients and into the fray, immediately driving his sword through the chest of the first demon he saw.
As the sounds around him returned, he heard the war cries of his infantry as they burst into the battle. The sound of steel on steel, of the cries of the dying and the steady hum of magic, filled his ears and as he pulled the sword from the demon, he turned to make sure Milinka was still with him. He watched her cut a demon’s throat and nodded as he charged forward, engaging another.
The demon swung an axe at Crinnan. He jumped backward, bumping into someone as he did and raised his sword to block another attack. “Fuck off me!” He shouted as he spun, slicing through the demon’s arm and relieving him of his sword hand. The demon reeled back and Crinnan watched the point of Milinka’s sword emerge from between his eyes.
A demon charged Milinka but she ducked down and swiped her leg at him, knocking his feet out from under him. He tumbled forward and before he could hit the ground, Milinka had shot a blast of lightning at him and thrust her sword through his back. Crinnan ran past her and threw a lightning bolt into the demons ahead, knocking a few over and allowing him to decapitate the ones who still stood.
“You okay?” Crinnan shouted at Milinka.
“Awesome!” She returned as she pulled her sword from the demon’s back. “You?”
“Ready for this to be over,” Crinnan growled. He watched as his army fell quickly; most of his soldiers simply did not have the strength or experience to put up much of a fight. He hoped his army could last long enough for… whatever needed to happen.
At that, the darkness above groaned and trembled and Crinnan watched as the sky seemed to split open. A brilliant blue light emerged from behind the crack and Crinnan realized that he was looking at his way home.
“That is it!” Crinnan shouted, “That is the way home!” He looked back at Milinka and saw that she was struggling to fend off four demons.
“Get off her!” He shouted as he leaped forward, cutting through one of the demon’s skull. He crashed down on top of another demon, dropping his sword in the process. He slammed his fist into the demon’s face over, and over until he saw Milinka’s sword pierce his head.
“Thank you.” She pulled him up off the ground. Crinnan grabbed his sword and brushed his hair out of his face. “That is where we need to go!” He shouted at her. He saw that a great number of his army had turned and run toward the blue rift in the sky. He also saw that many of them were being cut down as they ran. He cursed and grabbed Milinka’s hand.
“Let’s go.” He said, nodding forward toward the rift, “Time to end this.”
Milinka nodded and Eon suddenly appeared before them.
“On me, children.” He commanded as he held his arms out, “I will lead you to salvation.” At that, he floated forward, blasting his way through the demons above. Crinnan and Milinka followed behind, combating the stragglers, cutting through those who would pursue.
As the trio created a path of carnage through the battlefield, the remnants of their army began to fall in line surrounding them. Everyone ran and worked together cutting through and blasting away at demons. Eventually, Crinnan could feel a powerful force pulling at them all and grabbed hold of Milinka’s hand.
“You must go now!” Eon shouted as he braced himself to keep from flying into the rift above. Crinnan’s hair blew all around him and he had to hold it back with his hand. “Salvation awaits above, your home… you will find it through there.”
“Eon…” Crinnan shook his head, “Good luck… on the other side.”
“Verily I say unto you,” Eon replied, “That whence we arrive in the real world my power will increase tenfold. I can give you the world Crinnan; I will give you the world. All you need to do is follow me.”
“...Goodbye Eon,” Crinnan said. At that, Eon was sucked into the rift and vanished out of view. Crinnan watched as a few of the other prisoners followed, and saw that though they were dwindling his army was still able to fend off the demons.
“Go Crinnan!” he heard one of them shout, “Go home!” Crinnan grit his teeth and turned toward Milinka.
The deep, rolling sound of roaring and crackling fire filled their pointed ears. The wind created by the release of the immense power surging around them blew their hair in all directions. Everything was covered in a blue hue from the rift that pulsed above, yet they somehow found themselves standing calmly in the middle of it all, safe only because they had each other.
Above them in the pure and absolute blackness of the sky, the rift had surged; a swirling blue gash hung in the never-ending nothingness. They felt the unknown force tugging at them, beckoning them to enter.
"I will find you," he shouted while looking down at Milinka. He clenched his teeth together. “I will find you, wherever you are!”
“I will be waiting!” She shouted as the force of the rift lifted her feet off the ground. Crinnan held onto her hand tight and would not take his eyes off her. The rift pulled at her harder, but his love gave him the strength to pull her down and kiss her one more time.
“I love you.” He said as he let go of her hand. She caressed his cheek with her fingers and smiled.
“I will find you Milinka, I promise!” A moment later, she was gone and Crinnan turned to survey the Hells one last time.
“Go Crinnan!” His army shouted as they fought to protect him. “We will follow!”
Crinnan dropped his sword and the rift plucked his body from the ground. The blue light grew brighter and brighter and eventually, it was all he saw. The world of the Hells quickly faded from his mind and as the blue light that surrounded him turned to white, he opened his eyes…
RESURGENCE
Book Three of THE BLACK KNIGHT Series
Written by Christian J. Gilliland
Acknowledgments
For my girls. Brielle, Penelope, and Everly
Everything I do, I do for you.
For Michael, Chris, Shannon, Pete, Scott, Justin, Isaac, Rico, Neal, Kenny, Jason, Jeff, Ashley, and Reggie. Thank you for your support, encouragement, and overall belief in the simple idea that I can be something much more. It has been a huge driving force in my completion of this trilogy. Someone may need to read this for Shannon…
For Dakota and Danielle. Thanks, is all I can say.
For Nick, Jay, and Ezben. Thank you for all your work.
For Mom.
Chapter One
Crinnan XVIII
23rd of Ramlia - 346AG
00:30 - Pado Village
He opened his eyes and gasped. The air surrounding him was filled with smoke, and the flickering light from the fires around him cast dancing shadows on the faces hovering above his own. As his vision became clear, he snarled at what he saw. Crinnan thrust his hand outward and snatched the collar of President Cade, the one whose actions had put him in that position in the first place.
"Crinnan," Cade did not struggle or try to free himself from Crinnan's grasp, "Crinnan, do not worry, you are okay. Everything is fine."
"What is going on?" Crinnan demanded weakly. He tried to lift his head but found that he was much too disoriented. His head fell back again, and he groaned, "Why are you here?"
His body felt weak, very much like it had when he had woken up that morning. His thoughts took him back to when he had found himself in Sage's home. He thought of the white room, of the catheter… he remembered the smell of bacon and the explosions as the Govian soldiers tried to capture him. His head spun at all the sudden thought, and it took all his energy to force himself to
sit up and look around.
Crinnan noted that the sensation he was experiencing was different than the one he had that morning. Unlike earlier, he did not feel like his body had just rolled out of a fire. His temperature felt normal, and although he was experiencing some disorientation, he did not feel like his senses were going haywire. Everything felt normal.
"Crinnan you need to relax," Cade reached behind him and pressed his hand against his back for support, "You are probably feeling..."
"Stop," Crinnan held out a hand and shook his head. His words were weak, and his body was still unstable, "I am sick of these stupid explanations. Just tell me why you are here!"
He pushed his body up off the ground in an attempt to stand, but he quickly lost his balance and fell to his side. Dust flew up into his face, and he coughed and let out a low grumble. Cade reached out and took hold of him. He gently helped Crinnan sit back up, and shook his head in pity as he did so.
"You are fine now," Cade reassured him as he returned his gloved hand to Crinnan's back, "Do not try to rush things, you need to let your body catch up with you."
It took all of what little strength he had for Crinnan to restrain himself from throwing Cade to the ground and bashing his face in. He glared up at the president from behind the mess of hair that hung in his eyes and let out a low snarl. He didn't like how Cade was babying him; it felt weird. He greatly wished that he could throw a punch...
As he realized that he wasn't going to get anywhere anytime soon, Crinnan looked down at his thighs and continued to breathe. He thought about where he was and remembered the bullets that tore through his body. For a moment, he relived the entire incident. He thought of the Govian that shot him, of the faces of everyone around him, as he thought about it all; however, something extraordinary happened.
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