Demi Heroes

by Andrew Lynch

  Sure enough, he was on the floor with Jess’ hands on his shoulders.

  ‘Snap out of it,’ she hissed.

  Lucian waved her away. ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘You not,’ Gar said, but lifted him to his feet anyway.

  The weight settling on to his legs as he was put down felt odd. Like a flock of birds using their wings to walk and legs to fly. He realised that made no sense, and shook his head vigorously. Gar stopped him from falling over.

  ‘Right, Gar, smash that rock, then we all hide.’ Lucian didn’t see how this plan could go wrong. The brilliance was in the simplicity.

  Gar and Jess looked at each other, and Jess shrugged. Gar braced himself, taking his sword in two hands, had a quick look to make sure that Moxar and Malum weren’t about to get to a position where they could see behind this conveniently placed large rock, and swung.

  A tiny chip of rock hit Jess in the head. She wasn’t pleased by this turn of events.

  ‘No work,’ Gar said.

  ‘Umm, try your shield,’ Lucian suggested.

  Gar set his sword down, and took the shield off his back. Again he waited for the right time. Throwing a large chunk of heavy metal at a wall wasn’t quiet work, and things echoed in caverns. But the clash of weapons was almost rhythmic by now, and Gar timed it perfectly.

  Another small chip flung off.

  ‘Huh. Well, I’m stumped,’ Lucian said.

  A shout rang out and the clashing stopped.

  They all peered round the boulder to see what had happened. Were they already too late?

  Moxar was out of sight. Malum stood facing the dais and God Mercy. His stone helmet was staring at the ground. Moxar must have been there, fallen against the dais. Malum seemed calm, happy to continue his monologue. Or was this the final gloat? No way of knowing, as his helmet didn’t let sound travel far.

  ‘We need to do something,’ Lucian whispered.

  ‘We know,’ Jess and Gar said in unison.

  ‘Right, Jess, give it everything you’ve got. If Gar’s brawn won’t work, then your magic will have to.’

  To everyone’s surprise, she didn’t argue. She turned and felt the rock. She held her staff out to the side, and kept her hand on the rock.

  For a few seconds nothing happened, and Lucian feared she might fail. After a few more seconds, still nothing.

  ‘Hit me,’ she said.

  ‘Pardon?’ Lucian asked.

  ‘You need to hit me. As hard as you can.’

  ‘Umm... I don’t know if now is the time to...’

  ‘Lucian, I cannot do this. You need to knock me unconscious. Do it. Now.’

  This was clearly painful for her to have to say, so Lucian pulled back his fist, ready to smack her in the temple. He couldn’t. He wasn’t about to start punching his group randomly. ‘I don’t really see the point.’

  ‘There is no time to explain. Very well, Gar, you do it. Knock me out. Make it quick,’ she said, refusing to let her concentration leave the rock in front of her.

  Gar shook his head. ‘No.’

  ‘Do it now, or Moxar will die, and then we will—'

  A large leather boot connected with the side of Jess’ head.

  A flash of light blinded Lucian, and a shower of rock knocked him to the ground.

  He couldn’t shake the afterimage. He hoped he wouldn’t need to make the Company arrange some sort of magical rehab for him, because there was no way exposure to this much magic could be good for anyone.

  He heard voices. More fighting. Then consciousness slipped from him.

  Chapter 20

  That will hold them off for a while, I thought to myself.

  The area I had pulled the chunk of rock from had already begun filling itself in. The sorcery was strong in this castle. No doubt Malum was draining God Mercy to enhance his own powers.

  Nothing stood between me and the throne room. I could sense a great presence beyond those doors. A great and terrible presence. I wasn’t sure if they were separate entities.

  Sharfaas called to me, telling me it was ready. Our bond had never been stronger than now, surrounded by so much magic. The magic of a God. I could almost hear the ancient Lich’s trapped soul speaking to me.

  I walked. The corridor was like all the others. An ostentatious display of the pain inflicted upon a God. Would God Mercy live up to his name, or would he crush this entire castle in a rage once he was free.

  I'd have to break another hole in this door. I didn’t possess the trace of magic held by all the guards, allowing them to open the stone doors.

  I thought back on how I ended up here. The journey that led me to stand on the threshold of aiding the Gods themselves.

  A dying messenger who should have been untouchable.

  A sleepy village with more information than was safe for it. No food, and ale so watered down nobody was drunk.

  A chance encounter with an Aviq, so wracked with magical addiction, that he had been reduced to eating a wolf he had found after being outcast from his flock.

  A glittering cave of treasures shimmering with the long forgotten magic of a God. Raw God magic in physical form. Only a small shard remained, and a corpse whose clothing was my only lead.

  A bustling town with an overly friendly magistrate.

  A long road filled with disreputable characters and a debauched caravan occupant who happened to know where the bandits that shared my corpse’s dress resided.

  Captured by ogres. I'd made my escape. I scourged the terrors from this world, killing two of them. The third made good its escape, aided by the Aviq. I still didn’t understand the betrayal. I'd lost what I thought was a friend that day. Still, I was content. Normally my friends meet much bloodier fates. I wished him well.

  A bandit camp. I'd made short work of it, and the leader, a wounded man, had told me what I needed to know. Showed me the stone tablet telling me of Malum and this castle.

  A stop in the Western capital of Saphor was cut short by avenging bandits. Those that felt they owed some loyalty to the camp I had removed. A peculiar group, those bandits. They had slowed me enough that by the time I reached the meeting house, sha’Laria was gone.

  This castle. An inverted monstrosity. The rock-bound guards, trying to protect their twisted master.

  And now Malum. The architect of all this. I was here. Here, before his terrible plans could be put into motion. I would stop this now. I would cleave him in two, and rescue God Mercy.

  Sharfaas told me how to make an entrance. I took the last few strides at a run, and followed the axe through. Stone exploded around me, scattering all over the circular throne room.

  A rock throne stood at the far end. The figure sat on it seemed bored.

  ‘I knew you were coming. I’ve known for weeks,’ Malum said, resting his chin on his fist.

  ‘And yet you didn’t run?’ I mocked.

  ‘I have the power of a God. What could you possibly do to me?’

  I hefted Sharfaas. ‘It’s not what I’m going to do to you. It’s what my axe is going to do to you that should concern you.’

  I paused, realising that the evil I sensed was present in this room, but not the greatness. I glanced at the wall to my left. It looked like every other wall. I'd soon change that.

  Malum stood. A lithe body, and a charming face. He was of average size, far shorter than I. He wore black boots, trousers, and waistcoat, with a white shirt poking through. A single shoulder pad on his left was a deep red. His cape was the same red.

  He stepped off his elevated platform, and walked towards me. Slowly. No emotions betraying his calm face.

  ‘Go ahead. Strike me down.’ Malum spread his hands wide, palms up.

  Sharfaas was ready. I stepped towards him.

  ‘First, I should tell you. Everything I do is for good. Everyone beneath me loves me. I don’t rule with fear, I rule with—'

  I swung Sharfaas and it connected with the side of Malum’s head. He was flung to the floor. Odd. He should
have been cut in two, not thrown to the floor as if I’d pushed him.

  Malum rolled over and rubbed his cheek.

  ‘That was unexpected,’ he croaked. ‘No one has broken my armour before.’

  Small shards of rock had scattered on the floor around him. In the time I had taken to swing my axe, he had summoned a shield just for his face.

  Malum stood. ‘At least this will be interesting. It does get rather dull when nothing can hurt you.’

  He grinned as his body became encased in rock. It was jagged and rough - he probably didn’t even need a weapon when his fists were like that. His body was his weapon. His left shoulder pad and his cape became shiny flint. His armour also elevated him to my height. We were equal now.

  He bowed mockingly, as if this were all a game to him. I took my opportunity and swung.

  He darted to the side, and threw a jab at my kidneys. I dodged, swinging my axe around for a backhand, but he ducked low.

  A leg flew at my knee, and I hopped awkwardly to get out of the way. Seeing me off balance, he lunged at me, letting a flurry of rock fists fly at my torso.

  I hurried backwards, dodging the blows by not enough for comfort - but I'd faced brawlers before. I ducked under his fists, and using the flat of my axe to protect myself, pushed into him. He stumbled back, giving me room to swing.

  Sharfaas connected with his chest, and he flew back, crashing through the wall I had sensed needed a door. His chest plate had become rubble. He stood as I caught my breath, and his armour repaired itself. Clearly I needed two strikes. One for the rock, one for the flesh.

  ‘You are better than I expected,’ he said.

  He held his hand out and a large maul formed from his gauntlet, the same rough rock as his armour.

  I didn’t have much time to look around, but golden light was clearly emanating from a figure in the room. It must have been God Mercy.

  I stepped into the cave.

  ‘There’s something else I can do. Just so you’re aware.’ He jabbed a hand forwards, and a large chunk of rock dislodged from the wall and flung itself past me. It went back out through the hole and crashed in the throne room behind.

  ‘But I think I'll challenge myself,’ Malum said. ‘When you grow up with the ability to control rock, you don’t find many that are on the same level. A contest of skill, then.’

  I couldn’t see anything apart from his eyes, but the voice sounded as though he was playful. Toying with me.

  ‘Agreed. Just drop your armour, and it will be fair,’ I said.

  He gave a rich chuckle, then lunged at me. Using a club as a lunging weapon surprised me, and I only just got the flat of my axe up in front of me in time to block.

  We pivoted, and both took several testing swings. Our weapons, this close to a God’s power, were supercharged. The blue from Sharfaas was vivid, and as I struck Malum’s club, I could sense it. It was a presence. A mixture of Malum and God Mercy. It was strong. Red for the sacrifice of blood the God had made.

  As the sparks of magic exploded around us, I noticed the stone in the walls. So smooth it was reflective in places. One of them in particular caught my eye. I saw myself, and part of the throne room. A blur flying towards me.

  The guards must have unblocked themselves. I needed to deal with them quickly. I twisted, grabbing the blur from the air and returning it from whence it came. An axe.

  A shriek rang out, so I knew my aim was true. I'd have to thank Xly’dia if I ever saw him again.

  I took two large steps back and slammed the flat of my axe against the cave’s wall, aiming for where I now knew the guards to be coming from. A large chunk of the cave broke off along fault lines, and I heard a loud crash. I just had to hope I'd hit my mark. Otherwise I might become overwhelmed. The power and skill of Malum was exceptional, I had to admit.

  We continued the fight. I couldn’t get a single attack past his guard now that he had summoned his maul. I stayed on the offensive. If he didn’t have any time to attack me, then he couldn’t hurt me.

  After several vicious exchanges, I realised this wouldn’t work. I needed to change something. I needed to have a God on my side. There were large spiked rocks pinning God Mercy in place, but they were thin. I could break them.

  I pressed hard on Malum. He danced backwards, crashing through a waist high rock formation. He barely noticed it, but his foot must have slipped on some rubble. He fell.

  I took my opportunity and ran for the centre of the cave. It was only a few strides. I pulled Sharfaas back and swung.

  It hit the rock. The wrong rock. A jagged shard of rock, sprouting from the dais upon which God Mercy lay.

  Magic. I never got along well with it. Turns out the magic of a God was no different. Not that I'd ever tell a member of the temples that.

  I turned to see Malum returning to his feet. Tripping him wouldn’t be enough. I needed to crack his armour again. Make him use his powers to regenerate his armour rather than attack me. Conceivably that would be enough.

  I pulled my axe from the rock-shield, which promptly crumbled to pieces.

  Malum made the attack, determined to not let me put him on the defensive again. Gods, he was good! I'd never met anyone with his skill before. I assumed it was his control over rock that was doing all the work. He wasn’t really this fast, but his mind could control his rock armour at the speed of thought.

  He wanted to put me on the defensive and it worked. He was able to move the biggest war maul I'd ever seen, faster than a skilled duelist’s rapier.

  His attacks were strong, each one requiring me to brace against it or deflect it. I backed away when able, but could never counter him before he moved into me.

  I braced against his next blow, catching the maul just before it hit my face. I tried to push him away, but he leaned into it.

  The sparks flying off Sharfaas bounced harmlessly off his armour while they seared my skin. I had to close my eyes lest I lose my vision from the bright light our weapons created in their conflict.

  His weight was gone. I stepped forwards to steady myself and opened my eyes in time to see a plate of jagged rock.

  Stars filled my vision, the world dissolving into a black so dark it was like staring into oblivion. My whole face felt as if it was on fire. I fell to my knees.

  My eyes opened, water blurring their vision. With his skill and speed, that headbutt was all Malum needed to finish me. He stood over me, the head of his maul resting on the ground.

  ‘Moxar Lightshield. Some honesty in your final moment?’ Malum offered. ‘I'd hoped you wouldn’t find me.’

  I used the precious seconds he had given me to gulp in the stuffy air of the cave. His talking would give my muscles time to stop burning from their exertion. ‘Because you knew I'd win? I brook no evil in this world.’

  ‘Heh. It seems silly to say now, but that was only part of it.’ He shrugged. An impractical motion in his rock armour, but proving that he was still - just - human. His helmet cracked and broke and fell to the ground, revealing his face. I was sure it would be back in the blink of an eye if I tried a surprise attack. ‘You’re good, Moxar. I don’t mean skilled at fighting. I mean you’re Good. And if you’re here, fighting me, then what does that make me?’

  ‘Evil.’

  ‘Exactly. I grew up hearing the tales about you, you know? You’ve always been righteous, fastidious at rooting out evil wherever it may be. But are the tales true?’ he asked earnestly.

  ‘Does any tale tell only the truth? I don’t know how these things get started. But one thing’s right. I fight evil. You are evil.’ I kept him talking despite his every word grating at my ears. Shadows moved in the corner of my eyes. A side effect from having a wall slammed into my face most likely.

  Malum sighed. ‘What if I told you, that everything I do, is for good? That my only goal is to make the world a better place.’

  ‘I'd tell you that I have heard the same story a dozen times, from people only half as crazy as you. Allowing your men to rap
e and pillage?’ I'd heard it all before, but it still angered me. ‘Control entire cities with their corrupt networks? Let me guess. Purity? Only Humans should be allowed to live? And only men to rule?’

  I leapt at him, and he sped backwards, his maul raising and a fresh helmet appearing. I pushed into him, my anger giving me new strength. I got one good hit, but that was all I could manage. He pushed me onto the back foot, and I realised that I was lost. It was only a matter of time.

  I needed to free God Mercy, but I was so weak. My face still on fire at the pain, and my vision blurry. I didn’t know what to do. When I was fresh to the fight, I had a chance. But now...

  I bumped into another of these accursed stone columns. This one was sturdy enough to not break at my touch. A thick pillar of a stalactite.

  Malum’s swing was too much, and I knew I couldn’t block it. I dived out of the way, his maul missing by a hair’s breadth and destroying the pillar that had been behind me. I rolled on the floor and came up. All semblance of technique gone, he swung and all I could do was back off. He followed up with another swirling attack, pushing me further round the room. His maul crashing through anything it touched.

  I realised these weren’t undisciplined attacks. This was a style I had never seen before. His spin continued, and again all I could do was retreat as his maul crashed through another spire.

  His maul swung low, and I saw my chance. I summoned all my remaining strength and leaped over his attack, my axe coming down on him.

  He dropped his maul, met my axe with his helmet, and grabbed me, throwing me to the ground.

  My head hit the dais, and there was nowhere for me to go. He had me pinned. He buried a fist in my gut. The wind flew out of me, and had I any food left, that would have flown from me too.

  Two fists hit my face, the rock cutting at my skin, my bones doing their best to not break.

  And then a kick to my left arm. The snap was audible and I cried out in agony. I saw the bone protruding from my forearm, blood leaking. More shadows moved at the corners of my eyes.

  Malum stood like a statue, looking down at me. Seeing only his eyes was unnerving, but the least of my problems. I needed to think of a way to get out of this. I'd keep him talking.