by Lee Watts
Due to the narrowness of the passage, only one beast at a time could get to Alexander. He downed one, but the heavy beast fell on Alexander's ankle, breaking it. He cried out in pain. Unrelenting in their attack, a third creature continued the assault. With vicious claws tearing toward him, Alexander deflected the animal's powerful arms with his swords. The beast yelled from the sting of the cut and intensified its ripping at the human. Landing a strike, its talons scored deep across Alexander's chest. Shouting in pain, he thrust a sword deep into the primate's side, killing it. Seeing the third member of its pack fall, the remaining animal's bellowed at Alexander then scurried away into the darkness of the tunnel. Hobbling forward, Alexander realized his journey was near complete because the walls of the passage were of the same consistency as when he first entered the underworld.
Imenand ran through the passage in pursuit of the last crown stone. Encountering a pile of rocks from a minor cave-in, he quickly made his way up and over the mound then resumed the chase.
The ground was level, letting Alexander know he was at last at the uppermost tunnel of the underworld passages. Limping, he progressed slowly toward the hole where he originally entered. Seeing light streaming from a far end of the tunnel, he limped for it at the best speed he could. The hole into the underworld was uncovered, but the chain leading down was retracted.
"Salazar! Salazar," Alexander called out as he neared the opening.
"I'm still here," came Salazar's voice.
"Thank the Elder," he panted while coming into Salazar's view.
"What happened?" Salazar asked, noticing the many gashes and bloodstains on his ragged-looking half-brother. "Did those things get you?"
"Some, but that's not what's important. Imen… Imenand is a Dridmor. We found the Guardian, and they… they're fighting for the key now."
"What about the bracer?" Salazar asked.
"I still have it," he panted. "Now lower the chain and lift me up so I can get out of this hole. Once we're off this planet… I'll live up to my end of the bargain and give you the bracer."
Salazar smirked.
"I don't think so," he said. "You said you'd give me the bracer if I showed you where the stones were, then you said you would give it if you made it back to the opening, now it's once we're off the planet. No, Alexander. You will give it to me right now, or I'll leave you down there."
"You're bluffing, Salazar," Alexander panted in labored breath. "You won't leave the bracer. It… means too much to you," he grunted through the pain.
Salazar smiled.
"All I have to do is stand here and wait for you to die then take it from your corpse. By the looks of you, I don't think I'll have long to wait."
"Salazar!"
"Come now, Brother, all you have to do is toss up the bracer, and I'll toss down the cable. I've lived up to my end of the deal repeatedly. It's time for you to live up to yours!"
Reaching to his forearm, Alexander pulled off the heirloom. With trepidation, he looked up the three meters to Salazar's waiting face. Knowing it was his only bargaining chip, Alexander was extremely reluctant to give it away but saw no other option. Deep from within the passage came the distinct howls from a hunting pack of primates.
"Better decide quickly, Alexander," Salazar jeered. "Those things will be here soon, and I don't think you've much fight left in you."
Out of options, Alexander tossed the bracer upward, and Salazar's good hand clutched it. At last, holding the object for which he'd so long sought, Salazar turned it over examining it then slowly slid the artifact onto his arm.
"A chance and hope," he whispered.
"Now, get me out of here," Alexander shouted.
Thinking it over, Salazar slowly stood and peered down on his battered half-brother. The two locked eyes, Alexander dubiously waiting for what the other man would do. With a smirk, Salazar's face left the opening, for a moment Alexander thought he was betrayed, but a moment later the chain began lowering into the hole.
"There. I've lived up to my end of this bargain," Salazar yelled to Alexander from the control station for the chain. "Your ship's waiting for you, as is mine." With the chain fully lowered, he withdrew the cell providing power and replaced it into his weapon. "Farewell, Brother. Oh, and I advise you to climb quickly, sounds like those things are almost upon you." He gave a lopsided grin of victory then went toward the exit, leaving Alexander stranded in the pit.
"SALAZAR!... SALAZAR!"
Alexander shouted without reply. He berated himself for his naivety and what it could cost not only him, but the entire Realm, and possibly the universe. Sounds of the swiftly approaching pack snapped him out of contemplation. Replacing his battlestaff in the sheath across his back, Alexander began climbing the chain. His every muscle burned, blood oozed from his many abrasions, and the chain cut deep into his hands. Straining, with sweat pouring from him, he achingly ascended the line, fighting for every fraction of progress.
At last, reaching the rim of the opening, he pulled himself to the upper surface. Exhausted, he lay flat on the ground, gasping. Bereft of strength, he labored to even roll over and attempted to stand. He tried to move the hatch to reseal the hole, but it wouldn't budge. The covering was so heavy he doubted he could move it by himself even if he wasn't so injured. The chain also proved far too heavy to pull up by himself. He decided to abandon the effort to withdraw it and try to escape back to the ship. Forcing past the immense pain at his side, from his broken ankle, and from the numerous other wounds, he limped out of the room and back toward the entrance. Reaching the doorway, Alexander heard screeching howls of pain from the primates and knew it meant only one thing, they were being slain by a flaming sword. Quickening his pace, he progressed with labored, jerky strides finally reaching the outer door.
As the panel slid open, hard pouring rain pelted him, but he pressed on into the raging storm. Through the driving rain, he saw Salazar's ship rising from the surface and lifting high into the darkened sky. Staggering toward his own craft, he cried out in pain with each step in the now muddy ground. Moving forward, he looked over his shoulder to see Imenand standing in the structure's entryway. Nearly to the ship, Alexander pushed aside the pain as he quickened his pace to try and reach the safety of his craft. Imenand bolted after him, the wind whipping his clothes and hair. With less than five meters to go, Alexander pulled out the control device for the ship, lowering the gangplank. Legs burning from the force of his run, Imenand sprinted with all his energy to catch the Realm king before the mortal could take off and escape with the last key. Knowing he wouldn't catch Alexander in time, Imenand pulled his fangblade out and used it to launch a fireball at the human.
The unholy flame slammed into Alexander, he cried out as his back arched from the solid impact of the blow. The sheer force of the hit was like a flying tackle, knocking Alexander to the ground. Noticing his battlestaff was loose from the case on his back, Alexander scrambled, crawling toward it. The instant he gripped the weapon, Imenand's boot clamped down hard on the handle, firmly pinning it to the mud. Looking down on the desperate human, Imenand savored this, the long-awaited end to the quest.
"The last keyholder," Imenand sneered sweeping a hand over his long, wet hair to pull it out of his eyes. "Soon the portal will open then you, your precious Realm, and your entire species will be destroyed." Drawing out his own battlestaff, the exposed blades flamed to life. Weakly, Alexander tugged for the weapon beneath the Dridmor's heel.
"Pitiful! What a pathetic excuse for a warrior. I've controlled you from day one. You're nothing but clay," Imenand spat and kicked away Alexander's weapon. Lightning streaked the sky, momentarily illuminating the Dridmor's face. For half an instant during that flash, Alexander thought he saw Imenand's true, demonic visage. "A battlestaff is for the children of fire; you're not even worthy of holding one! It's blasphemous that Merrick dared give it to you - another mistake in a series of his wrong choices. He chose to trust you with the key, with a battlestaff, with ushering in th
e new age," Imenand mocked. "He chose wrong in this existence just as he did in the other. He failed, and now, so have you. I've led you so far from the Elder that you can't even call on Him to save you."
Imenand's words stung Alexander to the heart. He believed the immortal was right about him. He had failed - the trust in him misplaced and his potential unrealized. No longer praying or reading the Codex, he had drifted from his once close walk with the Elder. On his own, he was blind to what had been unfolding around him. Lead astray and deceived into thinking he had within himself some great power, he discovered there was no power save what the Elder provided. The insight came too late, the price of his folly costing his life, the soon fall of the Realm, and when the dark legions were released, all humanity would pay for his errors.
With loathing, Imenand stared down on the final keyholder who was lying on the rain-soaked ground.
"And then there were none," he said as the thunder cracked and he thrust down hard, staking the Realm king to the ground.
Alexander cried out in intense agony as Imenand pressed and twisted the flaming blade through the mortal's back. Unable to do anything, Alexander cried out in pain as Imenand reached down and jerked the chain from around Alexander's neck. Holding up the string to expose the stone, the rain washed away the covering blood and mud then the Dridmor laughed in hearty victory and sheathed his blades. Alexander stretched out a weak, trembling hand in a futile attempt of resistance. Imenand looked at the bleeding, dying mortal with disgust. He puffed in spite then turned and boarded the waiting ship.
Fading in and out of consciousness, Alexander was roused by the sound of engines powering up. Face down on the rocky, soaked ground of the alien world, he lifted his head enough to see his ship rise and climb into space. The storm was lessening. With the ship departed, the only sound was the now soft-falling rain. Bereft of strength, life ebbing away, Alexander sobbed in regret.
So many mistakes, he lamented. I've been so blind, so arrogant. Forgive me. Face contorting from the pain of movement, he forced himself to reach for his communication device and activated the record feature.
"I'm… sorry," was all he could utter. Thinking of the myriad of people he needed to say it to: Merrick, Aulani, Caedmon, his mother, those who had trusted in him to liberate the Realm, he knew he'd let them all down. Remembering these were the also the dying words of his father, he considered how he had followed his father's path in many ways. He had strayed from the Narrow Way, not seen the fight through to the end, and knew he had not achieved what the Elder had intended for him.
"I'm sorry," Alexander repeated, this time speaking to the one he needed to tell the most, the Elder. Unable to continue, he slowly closed his eyes.
It was on that night, alone on a nameless world, broken in spirit and body that Alexander Lyons… died.
CHAPTER 52
"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." – Revelation 7:16-17
(1,000 years ago)
Shania looked to Merrick, baffled as to why he had stopped her from ending the existence of the defeated Dridmor overlord Koraden.
"Merrick, what are you doing?" she asked.
"Shania, don't. Please," her old friend pleaded softly.
"Why? He's a Dridmor – not only that, he's the one who devised the portal and chased these people through the desert! He just killed that little girl! He's the enemy!"
Merrick's heart and countenance sank.
"I know, but he was once like a brother to me. I know what he is now, and what his end must be, but… I hate to think of my one-time friend in the never-ending torments. Call it love for what he was or mercy despite what he's become, but please allow his fate to be delayed for a time."
Conflicting impulses tore at Shania. She wanted to, and felt she should, dispatch the abhorrent fallen one, but Merrick's plea prevented her. She too recognized many of the Dridmor faces in the room as being's she once called beloved kinsmen in another existence. She didn't relish the thought of their eternal suffering, but they had made their choice when they tried to overthrow the Elder. In that time before time she, Merrick, and the other loyal Guardians fought and defeated the dark rebellion. The Elder had cast the betrayers out of Paradise, sealing their fate. When the Elder created the physical realm, the fallen ones, bestowing on themselves the moniker Dridmor, turned their bottomless spite to destroying humanity. Since they couldn't hurt the Elder, they would hurt the creations He loved. By deception, destruction, and doubt the Dridmor assailed the mortal beings, their efforts condemning many to the Vortex. Shania and Merrick were among those who took mortal form to counter the Dridmor who had done the same. The Guardians were to protect mankind and continue the war against the evil forces in the physical realm. She had never known a single Dridmor to show mercy or repay any act of kindness with anything but malice.
"This is a mistake, Merrick," she warned as she thought on these things. "There is no hope for them. No hope for change, or repentance, or any other destiny but the one sealed for them."
Grieved by the truth of her words, Merrick couldn't meet her eyes but only nodded in silent agreement. His anguish tugged at her, and internally she kicked herself even as she sheathed her swords within each other.
"It's a mistake," she repeated.
"Guardian," came a weeping voice from across the room.
Shania turned to see one of the Elderites carrying the bludgeoned body of Pipaluk. Shania hurried to meet him. Taking the girl into her arms, she gently lowered her to the stone floor. Pipaluk's breathing was shallow; her wounds clearly fatal, Shania knew there was nothing she could do.
"Sha- Shania," the girl weakly called out, her eyes struggling to open.
"Yes, I'm here, Little One. I'm here," she said, taking the girl's hand.
"Are they… gone?"
"Yes," Shania answered, tears welling as she watched the innocent child dying. "They're gone. No one's going to hurt you anymore."
"I'm scared," Pipaluk rasped in a quivering voice, her lip trembling in fear and failing strength.
"It'll be all right, Little One. I'm here with you. I won't let you go."
"I am the last of my family," she cried. "Promise me, Shania, promise me you'll come back here so… so somebody will remember me."
"I promise, Little One. I promise."
"And will you collect the white and red flowers when you come… collect them for my mother... and me. They're so p-pretty."
"I will."
The girl's eyes began to turn gray.
"I… I see Him," Pipaluk whispered as she stared at something far off and from another realm. A smile crossed her gaunt face. "I see Him. It's… Elkanah. He's smiling at me."
Chest heaving from her heavy flowing tears, Shania caressed the girl's face and spoke the last words to the precious child.
"Go to Him, Little One. Go… and have peace."
Pipaluk mouth broke into a wide, trusting grin then she went limp, her spirit departed, and suffering at last ended. Sobbing deeply, Shania knelt beside the body and clutched the lifeless child to her. Merrick placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as Shania poured out her grief in long, deep tears. Her body heaved in anguish at the thought of the abandonment and pain the girl endured in too short a life, and she wept for the loss of one who was more like a daughter to her than any mortal she had ever known. After a long while, her sorrow spent, she slowly raised from the rocky floor, the lifeless child in her arms. Tenderly, Merrick took the body and carried it out to the courtyard adjacent the temple, dug a grave and placed the girl's body to a final rest.
As the immortals set about their matters, Gareth managed to repair his ship enough to fly it back to the now vacant Ramillie Citadel. There, many of the Guardians made use of the abandoned Ramillie vessels to return to the worlds where th
ey served. Shania freed the prisoners of the lower levels and accompanied them back to their village to spend a few days helping them as best she could. With the Ramillie locked away, there was no longer a need for the Vault Keeper and his two Guardian agents to continue their work. In a strange way, Gareth was saddened that his task as the legendary Keeper of the Vault of Ages was finished at last. Merrick asked him to stay on Dalban II until he returned from imprisoning Koraden and the other surviving Dridmor. Having learned of the appearance of the nebulous cloud surrounding the Ramillie core systems, Merrick prepared a special ship. Once the craft was ready, he remote-piloted the ship of captured Dridmor, into The Cloud. Watching the ship vanish in the nebula that no one could pass from, Merrick didn't know how long it would hold Koraden and the others. The Guardian prayed Shania's words would not come back to haunt him, but even as he prayed, he knew someday they would.
One thousand years later, Merrick found himself a prisoner of Koraden and the Ramillie; his mind recalled the memory of that day from so long ago. As the door of his darkened cell creaked opened, and light poured in, it forced the Guardian to shield his eyes as they adjusted. Koraden swaggered in with a broad, arrogant smile on his face. Sitting on the floor, Merrick didn't bother to stand at the arrival of his nemesis. Glaring up at the gloating Dridmor, Merrick wondered why his tormentor was there. Without speaking a word, Koraden informed him by simply dangling twelve stones keys in the air. Merrick knew Alexander would have protected the last key with his life, which made the flaunting all the worse. Alexander was dead. Koraden laughed in wicked delight then left, slamming the door behind him.