Esh, Barish, and Shten were all seated around the King which, upon seeing the shock on the faces of the rest of the dining guests, must have been a marvelous honor. Drohdroh had not shown up but the King assured the three of them that he had his best guards out searching.
“Surely he has heard about our innocence,” said Barish. He picked up his golden goblet and took a big slurp of some alcoholic beverage.
Esh stuck to his liquid, he wanted to keep his mind fresh. “I agree. It seems word travels fast with these gossiping humanoids. If Drohdroh is smart he will be listening to his surroundings. But still…”
“But what?” asked Barish, “Why don’t you indulge yourself in this amazing food and relax! You and I have been running for sun-cycles on end! We deserve a break.”
“Well, I was thinking. Let’s say Drohdroh has heard about our innocence, which I’m sure he has, why hasn’t he returned?”
“Because… our new friend is wise,” Shten said. He also took a sip from his goblet and watched with amusement as the liquid poured out of his chest and into his lap.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Like Esh and I aren’t wise? I was a teacher at one point!” Barish slammed his goblet on the table. The alcohol must have been getting to his head.
“Not now, Barish,” said Esh. “What do you mean, Shten? Why is he wise for staying away?”
The King interrupted Esh’s question with a heavy slap on the back that nearly took his breath away.
“Ohhh you!” he said, alcohol heavy on his breath. “You’re the one who saved… my daughter!” He stumbled a bit and caught himself by placing one large hand on the top of one of the guest’s head. He straightened and said, “You… and your friends… shall always be welcome here!” He did the customary Ballahranian bow and the merhumanoids who saw this gasped loudly.
“I—ugh… Thank you, your highness,” said Esh. He tried to repeat the bow but failed miserably. This made the King laugh joyfully.
“I beckon you… walk with me a while,” said the King.
Esh looked at Shten and Barish; they both shrugged their shoulders. Esh stood up and was grabbed by a strong half embrace with one of the King’s hairy arms, turning him and wheeling him away.
“Say…” the King said. “I see the way you look at Dashine… Beautiful, isn’t she?” He burped.
“She is,” Esh agreed nervously. It was hard to breathe under the King’s tight, sweaty grip.
“Speaking of which… Look here,” he said, pointing towards the entrance to the palace.
Two female Ballahranian servants pulled the wooden doors open. Standing in the middle of the entrance was Princess Dashine, dressed and ready for the celebration. Esh’s heart did a flip for the sight of her was intoxicating.
She wore a long dress that trailed behind her and was split at the waist revealing her thighs. The dress itself shone bright with the same beautiful blue that adorned the palace walls and throne. The females in the room all turned to give fake faces of astonishment, but they were obviously very jealous of this female’s magnificence and the way she captivated the room.
As she strode forward in her elegant stride, Esh’s gaze walked up her body and rested on her hair that was neatly put up and tied with golden ribbons. Her eyes were on him.
“Remember to breathe, son!” the King roared, slapping him hard again on the shoulder.
He was right, he wasn’t breathing. Did he even remember how?
“Hello Father,” Dashine said with a bow. Her eyes flashed to Esh and she said, “How are you enjoying yourself, Lord Esh?”
Lord? He’d never been called a Lord before. Come to think of it, he didn’t think he’d ever been called sir before. He didn’t deserve the title of Lord… but it sounded so good coming from her lips.
His tongue was tied but he was lucky enough to spurt out, “Good… Ahem… Good! Thank you, your highness.”
He bowed poorly and she and her father both laughed.
“I’m glad you are enjoying yourself.” She looked around the banquet, “Well, I better make the rounds, as is customary for a Princess. I leave you two handsome males to your business. Lord Esh, may I please be honored as to acquire some of your time later?”
There it was again! Lord Esh! Oh how great it sounded.
“Why, of course!” Esh said a little too loudly. He was reminded of his first horrible experience with the opposite sex.
“Great!” she repeated in the same tone as if to save him from more embarrassment. She turned, patted someone Esh did not know on the shoulder and struck up a proper conversation.
The King forced Esh’s face away from the goddess and they continued their casual stroll.
“She reminds me of her mother,” he said in a soft voice. “We lost her many sun-cycles ago, when Dashine was young… But that’s another story.” The King exhaled through his nose. “I looked at her the same way you look at my daughter.”
He stopped walking and Esh looked up at him. He’d fought so many enemies up to this point but had never felt this level of fear. What he was afraid of he wasn’t quite sure. Perhaps he was afraid of the King’s disapproval or worse… his forbidding of Esh seeing Dashine ever again.
“I’m looking to unify these four territories. What an honor it would be if the Blue territory turned out to be the peace bringers. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? No more wars, no more racism, and an abolishment of the slave trade. Maybe, just maybe, you are the one for my Dashine.”
Esh choked and coughed on his own saliva at these words. The King laughed heartily once again and tried and failed to help him breathe again by pounding on his back.
“Easy son! I shouldn’t have dropped such a burden on your chest like that! You’re no good to this Kingdom if you’re dead! Ha!” The King grabbed another goblet of drink from the top of a tray a waiter was carrying on his shoulder. He drank the contents in one slurp and slammed the goblet into the ground with a roar.
A just and primitive King he was.
“What say you, Lord Esh?” asked the King in a sudden seriousness that heightened Esh’s nervousness.
“Well, ugh… your highness. I…”
The King’s eyes bulged from his head as something bright and covered in blood slid out of his chest.
“Noooo!” Esh cried out, making the entire banquet of humanoids turn their eyes to him.
The King eyed the sword that stuck out from his torso with confusion. He fell forward and Esh caught him. Standing behind the King stood Zygod, hunched over and rubbing his hands together.
“Hello again.”
49 - The Lurid Link
There was chaos everywhere. The Ballahranians screamed and ran for their lives in random directions. It was the guards that kept their heads and did as they were trained to do.
“Protect the heir!” they screamed. “Protect the heir!”
“Father!” wailed Dashine. Esh watched as she was forcing her way through the turmoil towards her father who lay in his arms. The guards grabbed her by both arms and wrenched her to the side. “Let go of me! I command you!”
They did let go of her.
“No!” yelled Esh. “Stay away!”
But it was too late. Zygod pulled his hands apart and a green orb appeared between them. He chucked it at the Princess and it struck her in the ribs, sending her flying and smacking against the far wall. She fell unconscious to the floor.
A roar escaped Esh’s mouth as a familiar dark anger exploded deep inside of him. He laid the King down and drew his blade as he charged.
There were more screams coming from the party guests as the room was being invaded by agents who were cutting and slicing at anything that moved and was not one of their own. They were led inside by Xep who, when he spotted Esh running towards his master, began walking in his direction. How did they manage to get inside the palace without being seen?
Zygod paid no attention to Esh, but was busy picking his nose and flicking a booger off his finger. Esh dashed a few more step
s and slung his blade at the warlock’s head but it was no use. The elf ducked and rammed both of his palms into his stomach, and held them there. Esh couldn’t move; he was paralyzed.
“So very predictable. If only you’d had the right training.” The decrepit elf closed his eyes as he concentrated on keeping the paralysis spell alive. Slowly, the elf pulled back one of his hands away from Esh’s body and rummaged through his garments. Esh watched as he pulled out two small daggers connected by some sort of string.
Esh gritted his teeth and tried to move but his limbs would not respond. He could imagine himself bringing his sword backwards and cutting the monster’s head off. He could even feel his arm move, but they were only phantom senses.
Xep was closing the gap and was almost upon them when Barish and Shten stepped out in front of him.
“I don’t believe you two were invited,” said Barish, his greatsword hoisted over his shoulder.
“We must disrupt the elf’s spell!” yelled Shten, opening his chest and pulling out his scythe.
Barish and Shten went back to back, Barish facing Xep and Shten towards Zygod and Esh.
“Take care of these fools,” spat Zygod. He let one dagger fall and dangle by the string. With one quick motion, he shoved the other dagger straight into Esh’s gut, twisting it as he did so.
Esh screamed through a mouth that would not open, blood pouring from his nostrils.
Shten leapt forward, spinning his scythe in both hands; he used the momentum to bring the tip of the blade down on the top of the elf’s head but it was blocked by Xep, who had used his agility to get past Barish. He caught the scythe with two crossed daggers held above his head. He pushed the scythe up and made a cut at Shten’s neck. Shten jumped back and stood by Barish’s side.
Esh was bleeding out quickly and could feel himself losing the world around him. He concentrated on the pain until it was only a vibration, one that did not cloud his mind. Xep’s back was now to him. Such an easy target taunted him. If only he could break the spell. If only he could move. He could deliver a blow and bring justice and peace to his Master’s death. If only.
Barish and Shten attacked as one but Xep was able to send Barish’s strike directly into Shten’s scythe. Shten pushed forward on his weapon and Barish used this momentum to slash again at Xep who only had to take a step back and let the sword fly.
The battle between the guards and agents was still carrying on around the palace. The guards outnumbered the agents four to one, but the agents outnumbered the guards in skill ten to one. It wouldn’t be long before the agents finished off the last guard and turned their attention to the real fight.
Zygod smiled; his eyes were still closed. He reached for the other dagger and, without any sign of hesitation, plunged it deep into his own gut and twisted. Esh felt an instant drain of energy as if his soul were being dragged from his body. And it was just so.
A black energy replaced the blood that poured from his stomach and it began to topple over itself as it crawled across the vile bridge Zygod had created.
“Yes… Yes!” Zygod cried. “I can… FEEL IT! Unlimited power! I have been waiting so long. Welcome back, unholiest of energy! Welcome home…”
The fight between Barish, Shten, and Xep paused for a moment as they turned to watch the dark sorcery take place. It was Shten who interrupted Xep’s astonished gaze with a surprise attack. Xep was able to block without turning his head towards the strike. The fight continued.
The black goo was pouring out faster and faster. Zygod’s stomach started to round as it filled with the black substance. Finally, there was no more room in the elf’s body. With nowhere else to go, the Wisp power chose to devour Zygod’s exterior. It wasn’t long before the elf was completely coated in the stuff.
“Yes! MORE! MORE!”
The elf rubbed himself with his free hand, his mind in a state of ecstasy as the goo poured into his ears and into his mouth.
Esh was feeling weaker and weaker as his life source drained from him. His eyes drooped but they shot back open after Barish made a horrific cry.
Xep had caught the greatsword again in a crossed dagger block, pulled one dagger away and stabbed Barish’s fist. Barish, with a surprising amount of force, punched Xep right in the face with the dagger sticking out of his hand. Xep wiped a bit of blood from his nose and eyed his bloody palm with an impressed expression. How long had it been since he’d taken a hit?
Xep moved forward with intense speed. He withdrew the blade savagely from Barish’s fist. He then spun and sliced at Barish’s stomach with both daggers. Organ’s spilled from Barish’s gut and onto the palace floor.
Barish fell to his side and died.
At that moment, Esh’s mind nearly shut itself down. He could not cry out, he could not audibly mourn. His first friend, disemboweled right in front of him. The paralysis kept his body from expressing his sorrow which made the emotions inside him so much worse.
Shten, feeling the pause in everyone’s disbelief, took this moment to shove Xep out of the way with one strong kick while simultaneously slashing his scythe’s point directly into the elf’s black goo covered head. It stuck.
Shten let go of the scythe and it hung in the air sticking straight out.
Xep picked himself back up and stared at his defeated Master. There was no more reason, no more incentive for his being there. His Master was dead and there was no longer a profit to this failed mission. Esh watched him silently back away into the fray, using the disorder to his advantage.
“Where do you think you’re going, traitor!” groaned Zygod in a deep demonic voice. The black mass shot out a large hand and caught Xep by the torso. It closed its grip tight and reeled itself back in.
Esh caught Shten’s gaze and made a gesture with his eye movement towards Dashine. Shten understood. He made his way through the battle, grabbed the Princess and made for the exit.
Xep’s arms, still holding both daggers, were crushed by his sides. A patch of goo melted away revealing Zygod’s face smiling ferociously from his new dark energy armor. The black arm picked Xep up easily and brought him face to face with the Wisp surrogate.
“I never did trust you. Once a traitor, always a traitor.”
Xep was biting at the goo with his teeth when the Wisp monster gave a fatal squeeze. The top of Xep’s head popped and bodily matter shot from the top and the bottom. When the black hand released what was left, a slush of humanoid fell to the ground in a sloppy pile. Zygod turned his attention to Esh.
“Now…” it said, “We can finish up our business.” It gestured to its black runny body. “Thank you so very much for holding onto this for me. You’ve taken such good care of it.” The face laughed maniacally.
The black goo stream coming from Esh’s body slowed as the last of the supply ran short. A bloody puddle formed at his feet and he could see his reflection in it.
His face was sunken in and his arms looked like sticks. He looked to have aged fifty years… but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything anymore. He felt strangely good and it reminded him of an old lecture Xep had given him when he was young. He had told him that humanoids who died of suffocation or blood loss could often have a final feeling of euphoria before passing on. This was probably what he was feeling.
The face was still laughing when a swoosh sound of an arrow passed over Esh’s right ear. The arrow hit Zygod right in the forehead. The monster gave out a gruesome shriek as arrow after arrow flew past Esh and straight into the screeching elf’s face. The onslaught of arrows made Zygod stumble backwards a few steps, just enough that the dark bridge of the daggers pulled themselves apart, snapping the life line. Esh fell sideways onto the floor, the paralysis spell lifted.
“Whuh? No… No!” cried the demon.
The black goo froze its movements on Zygod’s body. It trembled a bit before melting completely off the elven warlock and creeping back towards Esh. It crawled up his legs and onto his stomach. It lathered itself over the protruding dag
ger and yanked it out before shooting itself straight through the open wound and into his body.
Esh had lost all sense of reality in this moment. He was awake but dreaming. He was with his Master, the father he never had. They were training, then they were picking up trash, and then… they were laughing.
Rift put an arm on Esh’s shoulder, “Time to wake up, lad,” he said.
Esh came back. He felt… amazing! Empowered even! He jumped up to his feet and scooped up his sword. Before him was a hunched over warlock working on his own face to heal his wounds.
“You don’t belong here in this world,” Esh said simply, his face more disapproving than angry.
The elf straightened himself and turned to Esh. His face held four new terrible looking wounds where he had ripped out the arrows. He smiled and Esh saw that the Wisp goo had dissolved the teeth out of his mouth, leaving his gums purple and rotten. He looked more comical than menacing. Zygod moved his hands in a circle and created a barrier which caught a few more arrows that flew towards him.
“I won’t fall for the same trick twice,” he cried out to the archer before turning his attention to Esh. “Now my filth, attack me! Avenge your friends!”
“I, also, won’t fall for the same trick twice.”
“Not a complete fool after all,” Zygod said with a sneer. “But that face! Look at that filthy hybrid face! You look like you have some confidence to you! Look around you! You’re surrounded!”
The guards had been defeated and the palace doors had been sealed shut to prevent any Ballahranian reinforcements from entering. Agents surrounded Esh and looked to be ready to pounce at any given moment. It made no difference; Esh had one final plan. He would die from it, surely, but he would finish this once and for all.
He gave it no more thought. He stuck his hand out in front of him, the same hand that had triggered the bane, and chopped it off with one swing of his granite sword.
The Four Territories: The Dark Assassin Book One Page 34