by A. C. Cobble
Ben sat down, the sting of his injuries nearly overwhelming him. He could feel blood leaking from his body. His head, shoulder, back, and arms all had open, freely bleeding wounds. Without medical care, he knew he wouldn’t make it very long.
Sitting on the ground, he looked up. The cobblestones were still shuddering with the stomp of heavy feet. In the square, nothing seemed to have changed. Men and demons fought, but the biggest of the creatures were lying dead, felled by Rhys.
Soon, the remaining soldiers around him noticed the thumps as well and turned. Swords and spears were raised in preparation. For what, Ben couldn’t see.
Then he did.
Above the heads of the nearby soldiers, he saw a massive monster of a demon enter the square. It towered above the buildings around it, standing at least five or six stories tall. When it entered the square, it spread its wings. In the darkness of the night, Ben couldn’t tell where they ended.
He sat calmly, watching it. His head may reach the top of its foot, he thought. The soldiers had two reactions. Half of them stood staring, too frightened to move. The other half turned and fled. Ben didn’t blame them. There was nothing they could do to face this opponent. Swords and spears would be useless against a monster like that.
Towaal, though, she was ready.
An arc of brilliant white lightning shot across the square and impacted the demon’s chest, four stories above Ben’s head.
The creature roared with fury. Ben felt his hair stir with the force of the sound. He winced, covering his ears with blood-sticky hands.
Flexing, the creature seemed to pull into itself. Then it burst outward, the lightning blasting back and leaping uncontrolled across the square. Men and demon alike burst into flame as it danced among them. Almost as soon as it started, the lightning flickered out. It left a colorful afterimage burned into Ben’s eyes.
The demon strode forward and casually scooped up a squad of men in two powerful hands. It tore off their heads and sucked in their life-blood as easily as Ben would bite an apple.
From the firelight in the square, Ben could see a smoking wound the size of a large man’s shield burned into its chest. If the injury bothered the demon, it didn’t show a sign of it.
Next, one of the huge braziers placed in the square blazed higher and higher. The flames whipped up into the sky. The burning brands within the brazier flared with an unnatural intensity. From over one hundred paces away, the heat of the fire was uncomfortably close to singeing Ben’s skin. He raised an arm, trying to block the heat radiating toward him.
The towering inferno soared higher and higher until it collapsed, a wave of fire crashing down onto the arch-demon. The creature howled and drew its wings around itself, crouching under the blistering heat. The red and orange flames obscured it for several heartbeats until they vanished in a puff of hot air.
The stench of burning flesh filled the square, but Ben was dismayed to see the demon rise from its crouch, stretching to its full height and flapping its wings.
Undeterred by the fire, it started forward.
Silver smoke, just like what Ben saw coming off of Rhys’ sword, swirled across the ground. It raced at knee-height, like a flood coming down a mountainside. Narrow slices split off and cracked upward at the demon, lashing at it like whips. From all directions, over and over again, the silvery tails struck upward. The demon stumbled back, unsure of where the sudden pain was coming from.
Men and demons fled away from the smoke. It drifted around where Ben sat, but he felt nothing from it. The whips were causing damage to the huge demon, though. Thin lines of purple blood bloomed along its arms, legs, and sides.
The big demon’s wings folded around it again, but the constant whipping from the silver smoke continued. The demon roared and Ben felt like his eardrums may burst. The sound was like metal tearing, amplified one hundred fold.
Ben looked back toward the library. He couldn’t see Towaal. A curtain of the silver smoke and more mundane black smoke from fires throughout the city blocked his view. He knew she was back there somewhere, directing the smoke whips to strike.
The demon stomped its foot and the ground shuddered. The silver smoke fell back then rushed forward again, lashing the creature faster and faster, but as Ben watched, he saw the strikes were getting weaker and falling lower on the demon’s body.
One whip stiffened, thickening until it was a good two paces across. It thrust upward, racing toward the demon’s heart, but the huge creature waved a massive hand and scattered the lance of smoke. It dissipated in the night air, falling down into the smoke swirling around below.
In heartbeats, the attack stopped, and the demon cautiously shook its tattered wings. It was visibly injured, but as it started to stride forward again, Ben saw none of the slashes had cut deep enough to be fatal. Superficial wounds wouldn’t be enough to stop the monster. He hoped Towaal had more up her sleeve than that.
The demon scanned the square, looking for the source of the attacks. It stopped halfway across. It was staring toward the library, where Ben knew Towaal would be standing.
He struggled to his feet to get a better look. He saw the diminutive woman standing proudly, facing the demon while the rest of the square looked on or fled.
She held a broken wooden rod in her hand. She wasn’t doing anything.
The arch-demon snarled, drawing Ben’s attention.
It strode forward, the ground shaking with each powerful step. In heartbeats, it would be on Towaal.
Ben rushed to his sword, unsure what he could do to help. Raising the weapon, he knew the huge demon was moving far faster on its long legs than he could. The blasts of wind he’d used earlier wouldn’t reach that far.
Then, behind Towaal, a frenzy of sparkling lights exploded out of the library and rushed toward the demon. They looked like fireflies, or sparks from fireworks, but they moved faster than a crossbow bolt.
Wave after wave of the things flew out from the library door and slammed into the demon. It paused, darting to the side, trying to avoid the stream of lights. They followed right after it. The creature waved a massive hand and sent the cloud flying away. The lights turned and came back. Each light sunk into the demon like a tiny pinprick. There were thousands of them, and they kept coming. Prick after prick.
The demon staggered backward, snarling in rage. Smaller demons rushed forward, swarming around its feet, but the lights ignored them. They kept lancing into the arch-demon. It fell another staggering step backward. A cheer went up from the men in the square.
A flight of arrows flashed into the sky. Ben turned to see a company of archers on a rooftop at the edge of the square. They were firing down on the arch-demon demon and the swarm around it. Arrow after arrow. The cascade of tiny, stabbing lights from the library continued unabated.
Emboldened, the men who had been fighting a losing battle against the rest of the demons felt the tide turn. They fell on the creatures near them. The spell of the battle between the huge arch-demon and the mage was broken. Fighting intensified everywhere.
The big arch-demon didn’t participate. It couldn’t. The lights hit it again and again, still blasting out of the library door like sparks out of a blacksmith’s forge. The creature was covering its eyes and staggering backward. It was now almost to the edge of the square. The lights showed no sign of stopping.
Then an explosion hit it in the back. It lurched forward like it had been punched.
It was one of Amelie’s iron balls, realized Ben. A smaller explosion than they’d seen at the walls, but enough to do damage to the demon. A cluster of brave men stood nearby on a rooftop, hurtling the ammunition from a makeshift sling. They launched another one.
Another explosion followed and the demon crashed into one of the buildings lining the square. Its huge arm punched through the wall. The structure teetered and leaned alarmingly against the building next to it. The swarming lights picked up in intensity, prick after prick.
A third explosion lit the square,
this time hitting the arch-demon in the front. Ben could see an ugly chunk of meat had been blown out of its shoulder. He knew from before, sharp pieces of iron would be embedded into its flesh.
A ball of white lightning danced across the space and crashed into the huge creature. It wasn’t as big a blast as the first one, but it sizzled and hissed when it struck the demon, burning and shocking.
It was too much. An anguished cry spilt the night, stabbing into Ben’s head like a spear. He fell to one knee, gripping his head, but the impact on the smaller demons was bigger. As one, they turned and fled, rushing down the city streets and toward the exterior walls. The huge arch-demon careened after them, arrows, lightning, and the firefly sparks chasing it, unrelenting.
From the library, Ben heard a whoosh, like a fire flaring to light. A thick cloud of the sparks blasted out the door. The dense cloud bathed the square in a bright glow. Flying across the square, the sparks smashed into the back of the huge arch-demon, penetrating through its wings and sinking into its flesh.
Standing at the entrance to the square, blocking the main thoroughfare, the massive creature turned. It leaned back as if to howl, but instead of sound, a stream of the sparks billowed out of its mouth and eyes. The sparks poured out as the arch-demon twisted in silent agony. Its life was draining out with each tiny spark. It seemed to deflate in front of Ben’s eyes. Omnipotent power leaked into the air, heartbeat by heartbeat.
Two more staggering steps then the huge creature crashed into a nearby building, smashing through the mortar walls like they were parchment.
With a boom that shook the entire city, the demon fell flat. It lay motionless as the rest of the building collapsed down on top of it. Only its feet were visible, the rest it obscured by rubble.
The sparks swirled higher into the sky, high above Northport, and then blinked out one by one, until none remained.
Dust and smoke drifted across the suddenly quiet square.
Slowly, Ben could hear cheers growing throughout the city as more people realized the demons were on the run. The terrified cries of the creatures grew faint and the wild celebrations of men rolled across Northport like a wave.
Frantic captains and sergeants rushed out of the square and toward where the demons had fled. Ben was sure they were extolling their men to remain on guard. The demons were running now, but they were still a threat. They were still demons. The officers had to ensure the celebrations didn’t get out of hand.
Ben smiled. They had done it. They had driven off the demons. His smile faded though as he surveyed the area around him. Armored bodies lay like a thick carpet.
Northport still lived, but many of its defenders did not.
In the Rubble
Ben sat. Blood dribbled down his sides and dripped steadily to the cold cobblestones below. All around him lay the dead—men and demons. A sour charnel scent filled his nostrils. He was too tired to be sick.
Several paces away, Rhys knelt with his chin lying on his chest. Ben could see he was breathing, but he didn’t seem to have moved since before the huge demon entered the square. Whatever he did with his sword drained him.
Ben felt weak and cold. He knew it was the loss of blood. He couldn’t bring himself to move and find help.
He watched as soldiers and eventually women and children entered the square. The men stared about dumbfounded, looking at the carnage and death. The women searched frantically, trying to find husbands, lovers, or sons. The children stared uncomprehending and blank faced. It was surreal. They couldn’t process what had happened. Like Ben.
“You alive?” asked a sweet voice behind him.
Ben shifted to see Corinne, flanked by a pair of serious-looking archers.
“Yeah, for now,” he rasped.
“You look like shit,” she mentioned.
“So I’ve been told,” Ben groaned.
“Take him to the triage tent,” she instructed the men beside her. “We’ll get you patched back up,” she said to Ben.
“Him to?” asked Ben, tilting his chin toward Rhys.
“What happened to him?” asked Corinne, rushing toward the rogue. She knelt and wrapped her arms around the man, but he didn’t react.
“He killed a dozen of those big demons,” answered Ben. “It drained him.”
“By himself?” exclaimed Corinne.
Ben nodded.
She tersely demanded to one of the archers, “Take him to the keep. Send for Oliver, Rhymer’s physic. He’s the most likely to be able to deal with something like this. Do it now!”
The archer and Corinne lifted Rhys, looping his arm over the man’s shoulder. The man staggered under the weight of Ben’s friend. A determined look on his face gave Ben confidence he would make it to the keep. The other archer bowed to Rhys in respect. Rhys didn’t see it, which maybe was for the best. He didn’t need anything more to inflate his ego.
“We have more wounded than physics,” murmured Corinne, watching the archer limp away with Rhys.
“I don’t need…” started Ben.
Corinne interrupted him and barked an order at the second archer beside her, “Take him to the tent. Don’t listen if he says anything different. I’ll be checking.”
The man dragged Ben to his feet. Ben’s injuries stretched painfully. He gritted his teeth as he felt a fresh stream of blood leak from the open wounds.
With the man’s assistance, they left to find help. Every couple of paces, they stepped over the body of a man or a beast.
***
Ben woke up to see Amelie staring down at him.
“You look like shit,” she remarked.
“Still?” he asked jokingly. He shifted to sit up and winced at the pain. He’d forgotten how cut up he was.
She shrugged. “I don’t know what you looked like earlier. I’m just saying you look like shit right now.”
“What time is it?” he asked with a groan.
“Almost evening,” she responded.
His body ached. He could still feel the sharp sting where the demons had torn his flesh. He finally sat up with a grunt and his head swam.
“Here,” said Amelie, passing him a cup of water. “If you can, you need to eat to get your strength up. They told me you lost a lot of blood.”
He swung his legs off the bed onto the floor and cringed as the motion pulled the hasty stitches the field physic had sewn into him. He slowed down. Ben didn’t want the stitches to tear loose and have to go back to the triage tent. The harried physic put about as much attention into his stitching as Ben did into lacing his boots.
They were in Ben’s room in the keep. He was shirtless, too tired the night before to change his attire. He still wore the same pants he’d fought in. They smelled awful.
“A bath also. As soon as you’ve finished eating,” added Amelie, pulling a face.
She placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at the rough stitches there. “I think I could have done a better job than this.”
A warm tingle crept into his arm where she touched him. She was trying to heal him. He didn’t comment, but gently moved her hand and tried to stand. Ben’s stomach rumbled when he rose unsteadily to his feet.
“I think the physic was in a bit of a hurry,” muttered Ben. “There was a long line.”
“Can you change your pants on your own?” asked Amelie. “They smell horrific, and I think you have demon blood in your hair.” She shook her head, frowning at him. “I changed my mind. You need to wash up now. I can’t sit next to you and eat food until you smell a little bit more like soap and a lot less like dead animal.”
Ben smiled ruefully. “I’ll manage.”
“Good. I’ll wait for you outside,” she said. “We have a lot to discuss.”
Ben changed as quickly as he could, grimacing at every movement. Amelie waited patiently for him in the hallway. They went to the mess hall. The dining room was closed, there was no one to staff it, explained Amelie.
“Rhys and Towaal?” asked Ben as they sat down.
/>
Two-day-old bread, cold meat, and hard cheese. Not a feast, but his stomach rumbled as he realized it had been a full day since he’d eaten.
“Towaal is in the library. She went in after the battle and hasn’t come out since. I saw some things during the fight, things I can’t really explain…” She shrugged. “Something happened in that library, but it has been so hectic I haven’t had time to talk to her. I ducked my head in to see if she was okay and she ignored me. Back to normal for her.”
Ben swallowed a bite of the stale bread. “And Rhys?”
“His wounds will heal,” she said with a frown. “I checked on him earlier and he’s…different. You need to see him. He was asleep when I looked in, but maybe he’s awake now.”
Ben looked at her curiously. What did she mean?
Amelie continued without giving more details, “The city is a shambles. I don’t think anyone has any real idea yet how many people were killed. Entire neighborhoods were flattened in the fighting and companies of soldiers have gone missing. Bodies of demons and people are everywhere. I heard Rhymer is giving instructions to have it cleaned up, but last I was outside, there was hardly anyone moving about.”
“They were up all night fighting,” mumbled Ben around a tough piece of sliced mutton.
“That’s true.” Amelie sighed. “Someone will have to do something about the bodies soon though, or else there will be pestilence. After war, that many corpses have been known to kill more than the battle itself.”
“I saw Corinne at the end,” said Ben. “She made it.”
Amelie looked down. “I heard Seneschal Franklin didn’t.”
Ben grimaced and took another bite of mutton.
Amelie sat silently then asked, “After we finish eating, do you need to rest?”
Ben shook his head. “I don’t think I could. I’m tired but not sleepy, if that makes any sense. How about you?”
“I slept enough earlier.”
“Let’s check on Rhys then find Lady Towaal,” suggested Ben.
“Just what I was thinking,” agreed Amelie.
Outside of Rhys’ room, they could hear heavy snoring and moved on without looking in. He’d done enough and they didn’t want to disturb him.