by SJB Gilmour
‘How will we know when you’ve reached Conundrum Gate?’ Captain Jenny panted.
Sarah shrugged. ‘It’ll probably be something loud. Get in touch with Siouxanne. As soon as she sees us up there, get out.’
Jenny saluted and began issuing commands that weren’t really necessary. As they’d been speaking, Guild sorcerers and guardslins were scrambling out of the ruins.
Sarah adjusted her arm within the straps of her shield and hefted her sword a few times to loosen up a bit. Mel drew her blades and then grew her wings out of her back.
Sarah looked at them curiously. ‘You gonna fly us up there?’
Mel shook her head. ‘We’ll be sitting ducks. You’ve got your shield. These are mine.’ With that, she began running up the stairs, two at a time.
Together, Sarah and Mel tore up the staircase. The last time Sarah has ascended those stairs, she had only encountered surprised goblin soldiers and the occasional sorcerer. Now there seemed to be a demon around every bend, sorcerers in every doorway and more guardslins than she had ever thought possible. The barrage of curses and spells was immense. Individually, such assaults would have been most ineffectual against the girls now they were so strong. But, these were not individual attacks, and they slowed their progress considerably. Making it worse, arrows and spears rained and jabbed at them, while demons of every kind hurled themselves at the girls.
For Sarah, the demons and spells were not so bad, but the weapons battered at her and made concentration nearly impossible. Mel had the opposite problem. The arrows, blades and spears simply bounced off her, or if they were silver, dissolved themselves into her, adding to her strength. The demons and spells on the other hand, knocked her about constantly. The two were forced to fight in a kind of rotation as they climbed the tower. Sarah would take on the demon and or the sorcerers, while Mel attacked the sorcerers as well as the guardslins.
After a few flights of stairs, and many slain demons, sorcerers and goblins, both girls were grinning broadly. Neither had to say what they were thinking. They both just knew how much they missed each other and how well they worked together. Together they were going to climb that tower no matter what they had to fight to do it. Together they were going to rescue Mel’s parents and brother, and together, they were going to kill Mautallius and destroy Conundrum Gate.
Chapter Twenty-three
Down at the base of the tower, Guntex and Mandy Kelly huddled in the ruins of an ante-chamber. ‘You’re cut off from the tower,’ Guntex told Mandy. ‘Use this portal. When the Golden Mane arrives, let her kill Mautallius. She’ll be exhausted. Then you’ll be able to kill her.’
‘What about The Nightsmith?’
Guntex grinned wickedly. ‘Mautallius has Cromwell up there and Stepheno’s not far away either. I’ve told Stepheno about The Nightsmith’s weaknesses. He’ll attack her and keep her busy.’
‘What weaknesses?’
Guntex glanced out of the chamber to where he could see Jax hacking his way towards them, completely unaware of their presence. The goblin was fighting alongside several werewolves, including a fearsome Grey Mane. Not far off was a soldier he recognised as Jenny Ashe, who now appeared to be the leader of the cursed Golden Mane’s tame Amazons. He sighed, wishing he could meet them in battle.
He turned back to his young apprentice with a frown. ‘Just go. She’s not your concern.’
Mandy nodded and stepped through Guntex’s portal to just outside the hall at the top of the tower. She could hear Mautallius screaming the last of his necromantic rites. Cromwell, and the sorcerer she assumed was Stepheno, were summoning more demons to send, howling down the tower. She flowed into her monstrous lycanthrope form and slunk into a shadow behind an archway to wait for her maker, the Golden Mane.
Back down below, Guntex watched his nemesis cut through an onslaught from three of his less-skilled guardslins. Jax was battle-sore and weary, and bleeding from a number of small wounds. In that moment, despite his centuries of dedication to a plan certain to restore him to glory and be the end of Jax, Guntex acted on impulse. His opponent being so weakened was too good an opportunity to miss. He stepped out of the chamber, scimitar in claw.
‘Lieutenant Jax,’ Guntex sneered through clenched pointed teeth, pointing out that he did not believe Jax’s rise through the ranks deserved any merit.
Jax grinned back just as tightly. ‘Guntex. I thought you’d chickened out.’
The two old enemies didn’t waste any more time insulting each other. With a shriek of rage, Guntex rushed at Jax with his scimitar.
‘Spread out!’ Jasper barked at Jax’s goblins and his own pack. ‘Give ‘em some room!’
Captain Jenny also held up a warning hand to keep her soldiers from leaping in and slaying the exiled nunjuxu.
Jax parried Guntex’s swipe with deft agility. The two circled each other with the practised skill only truly seasoned, highly-trained swordsgoblins such as they could possess. Every step and swipe was perfectly timed, every parry and thrust like the moves of an intricate dance. Their blades met with clear rings and clangs, sending sparks showering about them. While all about them was chaos, Jax and Guntex knew nothing else but their own fight which both knew would only end when one of them was dead. They had begun fighting as Sarah and Melanie reached the twentieth storey of the tower.
Guntex realised his mistake as soon as he met with Jax. He had over-estimated his own skill, while underestimating Jax’s. Guntex had spent too long training the lycanthrope and doing Mautallius’ bidding instead of keeping his own skills as honed as they should be. Jax had obviously kept a more rigorous regime. Doing what, he had no idea, but whoever he had been training with had kept Jax in prime fighting condition.
Jax too noticed the difference. Though Guntex fought with more savage ferocity, thus making him very dangerous indeed, he was grateful he had spent so much time training with The Nightsmith. That young monster had tested and trained him every bit as much as he had her. He didn’t have time to reflect long however. He knew instantly that the only way to meet Guntex’s berserker-like attack was with cold, disciplined precision.
The mistake was almost imperceivable. Guntex shrieked in fury as he thrust his blade at Jax’s head. Had he only breathed normally, he’d have been able to pull back to defend himself more quickly. Instead, he was just a blink of an eye too slow. When Jax’s counter thrust should have been met by a parry, instead his blade caught Guntex under the arm. Though not fatal in itself, the wound was enough. Guntex was off balance and now out of time. Jax followed through with two more lightning-fast strikes and Guntex’s scimitar was sent clattering to the ground.
Panting, Guntex stepped back. He glared at Jax. ‘Well?’ he demanded. ‘What are you waiting for? Finish it!’
Jax, also panting, lowered his scimitar and shook his head. ‘We were friends once, Guntex… Like brothers! I cannot—’
‘Coward!’ Guntex screamed at him.
Jax smiled sadly. ‘Look around you, Guntex. Your forces are beaten. There’s no need for so much death. You can still come back home! Our moon has returned!’
Perhaps because he knew Jax would not strike unless forced, Guntex shrieked again and launched himself at his old comrade with his bare claws. Jax reacted as he knew he had to. He danced aside and half-turned, swiping at Guntex’s exposed mid-section. The blade edge cut through Guntex’s armour, and then on through his ribs into his lung. Foamy blood spurted out in a gurgling hiss. Guntex fell to the ground, clasping his claw to the wound. He lay there for a moment, barely able to breathe as his lungs filled with blood.
Finally, he smiled and croaked, ‘It ends. I die and I’ll feel nothing. You’ll live on and so will your grief!’ He coughed and foamy blood gushed from his mouth. Then he gasped out one last bloody breath and died.
Jax sighed bitterly. He did not get time to grieve for long.
‘C’mon, goblin!’ Jasper barked at him. ‘What’d you expect, a reconciliation? He paved his own path, and we’ve
still got bad guys to kill.’
Jax nodded and lifted his scimitar in silent salute to his former friend and then leaped back into the battle. As he did that, Sarah and Melanie had reached the thirtieth floor.
‘We’re nearly halfway!’ Sarah panted as she hacked at a demon’s neck with her sword.
‘This is taking too long!’ Mel yelled back. ‘The convergence is so close now!’
‘I thought it was going to take him days to finish those rites!’ Sarah yelled back.
Mel leaped at a horrid felis demon and, ignoring the poisonous spines it threw at her, thrust her blades up through the cat demon’s jaw into its head. ‘So did I!’ she yelled back as the demon’s body collapsed and fell off the stairs. ‘He’s faster than I thought. We better get up there soon!’ She kicked another demon down the into great empty space in the middle of the spiral staircase. ‘Goal!’ she crowed.
‘Lemme try something,’ Sarah yelled back. ‘Cover me!’
Mel nodded and braced herself as two more demons lashed at her with horrid tentacles.
Sarah concentrated and surrounded herself and Mel in a containment orb. Without pausing for breath, she chanted the spell Benjamin had taught her to climb up a staircase or pathway.
‘Assendo!’ she commanded. The orb and the two girls inside began moving up the staircase, knocking every demon and sorcerer out of its path. Even though it was constantly being slowed by the impact with demons and curses fired at it from Guild sorcerers, the orb moved around and around up the staircase much faster than Sarah and Mel had been able to climb so far.
The effort to keep the orb intact was exhausting. By the time they reached the fiftieth floor, Sarah was panting and sweating heavily.
‘Let me help!’ Mel yelled.
Sarah nodded and held out her right hand and Mel held out her left. Then for the first time since either of them had absorbed the pieces of The Star of Planes into their palms, they held hands. Sarah had intended to just let Mel’s will join her own. But, the living pieces of The Star had other ideas. The moment the girls’ hands touched, their combined power multiplied a thousandfold. The result was the force Sarah put behind her spell was far beyond anything she’d yet been able to muster.
A huge blast of pure force exploded outwards from them. Saved only by the orb she was holding together, Sarah watched the tower above them suddenly rain screaming demons and sorcerers. The orb was immediately covered in the worst kinds of gore so thick, neither girl could see through it. The wet, plopping thuds of bodies and body pieces landing on the orb became the sharp crashes of rock.
‘What the hell?’ Mel yelled.
‘The tower!’ Sarah yelled back. ‘It’s breaking up!’
Mel swore and looked at Sarah, squeezing her hand even tighter. ‘We better do something!’
Sarah nodded. A strange kind of calm came over her. ‘You must become The One, now Golden Mane,’ Wolfenvald told her silently within her mind.
She turned to face Mel. ‘You ready?’
Mel grinned. ‘One day, you’re gonna forget to say that. Let’s do it.’
Sarah smiled. ‘Okay. On three?’
Mel nodded and together they counted, ‘One, two, three… Amalgammus!’
Another even stronger blast erupted, shattering what was left of the tower into dust. As amazing and terrifying as that was, it was nothing compared to what was happening inside the containment orb which was now floating nearly four hundred metres up in the air. Mel herself was already glowing white hot, just as Sarah was glowing like lava. They began to glow even brighter until they were brighter than the sun. Then there was only one figure inside the orb. It had the body of a human, a tail like a wolf and wings like a dragon. It was also glowing with pure, raw power.
That alone was surprising, but neither girl had time to wonder at it. Being smelted together as two living elements was a bizarre contrast of sensations. The ecstasy of their combined power was offset by the incredible resistance both metals — silver and gold — put up at being forced together in such a manner. Both Sarah and Mel now combined as The One had to concentrate very hard just to keep from flying apart.
Whoa! Sarah thought, barely able to utter anything else.
Melanie, of course was less restrained. Holy crap! she shouted within her mind. This feels amazing!
Sarah laughed. She had never felt such power. All the strength she’d felt at times when fuelled by Wolfenvald was suddenly very tiny compared to the seemingly inexhaustible power she felt now. I guess we’re The One now, she thought, but she was also very worried. How are we going to stay together like this?
Wolfenvald knew the answer. ‘Use your discipline, Golden Mane,’ the voices whispered within her mind. ‘If you can maintain your defences to keep your mind from being read, you can control this melding of metals within you.’
Then, for the first time in her life, Mel understood just how Sarah felt when she heard Wolfenvald speak to her, for right then, she was every bit as much of Sarah as Sarah was.
We can do it, Mel grated.
We can, Sarah agreed.
The One looked up the staircase to the top. We better get up there quick, their combined minds thought.
Together, they realised that they no longer needed the containment orb. Since they were yet to test their strength, they weren’t quite prepared for the result when they commanded it to ‘Annullarikus!’
The orb exploded, sending a fine spray of muddy gore out into the air. The One could feel that the stars, including Jilde’s new moon, were now in exactly the right position.
The One spread her wings out and shot upwards towards The Gate and the only part of the surrounding building that had survived the blast. As she flew up, the process of Sarah and Mel’s consciousnesses combining became complete. Now there was no more Sarah and Mel. They were both truly one being. She landed just as Mautallius was finishing the last words of the rite.
Mautallius looked at her and gloated. ‘You’re too late!’ he yelled and clapped his hands together. What was left of the walls and structure around Conundrum Gate exploded outwards. The illusion Cromwell had erected vanished. All that was left was a rough disk of stone that had been the floor of the hall, suspended hundreds of metres up in the air.
The remaining monsters, sorcerers and demons outside the hall were hurled out into the air to fall down to the rubble below. Mandy Kelly was one of them. The lycanthrope fell, howling in fury and frustration at being robbed her chance to destroy her enemy.
She had one chance. She had erected portals before many times, but never while free-falling from a great height. She had to get it right. It didn’t matter where she went, she just had to avoid the impact with the ground. Even if she were to survive the fall, she would be immediately set upon by the forces below. She snapped out a quick command. A very shaky portal appeared before her and she fell right through it. She came out the other side into a clearing in a cool shady forest, where she hit the ground hard, and all about her went black.
Back at Conundrum Gate, the nine-pointed diagram on the floor burst into life with green fire as Susan, David and Alexander fell to the floor. They were paralysed and vulnerable, just as Mautallius wanted Herpethia to find them.
‘No!’ The One yelled. She produced a sword that seemed every bit as burning hot as she was.
‘Yes!’ sang Herpethia as she appeared through the now fully activated portal. She raced to the prone bodies of Melanie’s parents and brother. Faster than any succubus, she sank her fangs into them and began feeding.
Another evil sorcerer The One vaguely recognised from the memories of Jasper and Penethelia, strode forward.
‘Lumos!’ Stepheno hurled the spell for blinding light at her. If it had just been Mel that he faced, the spell might have had some effect. Combined as she was with Sarah, it did nothing. Panicking, he then uttered another spell — one far darker and with far more fatal consequences, just not for The One. He was torn apart from within as Hnag burst free. The evil twin
of the pythos demon Hnug, roared with blood-lust and lunged at The One before she could reach Herpethia to stop her sucking all the blood and life from Mel’s parents and brother.
Mautallius too seemed to explode as Hnug burst out from within him. Indeed Mautallius and Stepheno were no more. They were Herpethia’s lieutenants, Hung and Hnag, and they rushed at The One from either side with poison-laden claws. From behind her, Cromwell threw curse after curse at The One, none of which did much more than bounce off her and cause a lot of sparks and light.
Outside, dragons circled The Gate, hurling curses and flames at the barrier Mautallius had erected. None had any effect until Jimbeaux, seeing what was happening to his beloved former Mistress’ family, lost all rational thought. He shot towards the barrier, using every iota of his speed and strength. The impact was thunderous. The young diamondback dragon plummeted, barely conscious, but successful. The barrier broke, while down below Jimbeaux fell to land with a sickening crash onto the rubble at the base of the tower.
Then it was the succubi’s turn. Dozens of the bloodthirsty creatures dove in to attack Herpethia with fangs and claws, but none made any impact on her whatsoever. None, that is, until Marzdane himself flew in. Now fully rejuvenated, and even more powerful than he’d been before as a human sorcerer, he landed near Herpethia just as she was draining the last drops of blood from the child Alexander.
Marzdane changed instantly into his male succubus form and fired the largest bolt of lighting he could summon at the devil. He was too late. When Herpethia fell backwards, startled by his blast, he saw all three Hazelwoods were either dead or very near so. Herpethia rose and ignoring Marzdane completely, turned to face The One as she battled her lieutenants, Hnug and Hnag. As she moved away, Marzdane rushed in to see if any of the three sacrifices had survived.
A shimmering portal appeared where the doorway would have been. Through it, burst a furious and howling Angelina Troy, weeping tears of rage and grief. Cromwell took one look at her and immediately gave up his attack. He turned himself into a bat and fluttered out into the evening sky to disappear among the thousands of succubi and vampires circling The Gate.