by Jon David
Morgalla fought Widow along the catwalks.
“Give me the prism, and I’ll let you live.”
“That’s the biggest lie you’ve told so far.”
There was a sudden thump on the ledge behind Morgalla. She didn’t need to look to see who it was. Krug drew his sword and was ready for battle. Widow grinned.
Dillon took a bounding leap. Grasping one of the chain pulleys, he swung down. He braced himself, and with all of his might brought both feet into Krug. The strike was just enough for the demon to lose his footing and fall off the catwalk, tumbling down to one of the stone ledges. Dillon felt the chain give way and became the victim of gravity. He fell down on a catwalk, many levels beneath Morgalla. Body aching from the impact, he rose only to be met by Krug’s sneering face, eyes burning.
“Oh, shit.”
Dillon’s hand was on the grip of his sword, but just as he was about to draw it, Krug’s foot slammed hard to the center of his chest. He grunted, and the wind was knocked out of him as he tumbled back.
Morgalla got knocked on her back, and Widow struck in an instant. Morgalla blocked, and they were in a battle of strength. She looked down and saw Dillon was in trouble, but she had her own problems to deal with at the moment. She was able to kick Widow off her, and the women were back fighting, their skills sharp. The widow was clearly going for the kill, but like before, Morgalla hesitated in her strikes. She disarmed her opponent, but just as it seemed victory was hers, she felt a strike from behind.
Morgalla screamed and collapsed to her knees, fire being driving into her upper back. Widow grinned wickedly as she took her time getting to her feet. She looked up to one of the upper levels and spotted Deadra. The witch had something in her hand and was stabbing it.
Morgalla was desperately trying to reach behind her to find the blade in her back, but to her shock, there was none. It was then she saw Deadra too and realized what the witch was doing.
Widow kicked her opponent, and she fell back. She proceeded to strike her with her fists and feet.
Dillon was not much better off. He was up, and his weapon was out. Krug appeared amuzed. The human blocked the first strike and was thrust back against the wall. Krug laughed. Dillon knew he was no match for the beast’s strength, so he had to change his strategy in a hurry. He dodged the attacks although his body screamed in pain.
Morgalla was also fighting through her own pain as Widow laughed, tormenting her foe. Deadra removed the needle from the doll in her hand, and Morgalla’s pain subsided. She connected with Widow again, knocking her opponent off balance. Both women struggled to their feet, taking weapons in hand again and continuing their duel.
Wulf finally arrived with Mylo next to him. He had to put all of his weight on the wooden staff, but it still wasn’t enough. Mylo had to help him. He looked below and saw the battle raging. He saw Deadra and knew what she was doing. Just as Morgalla got the upper hand again, ready to bring Hero down for the kill, she felt a sharp stab in her hand. She screamed and dropped Hero, staggering back. She looked up to Deadra who was hysterical, laughing.
“Go,” Wulf commanded Mylo. “I’ll distract her. You get the doll.”
The boy ran off as the wizard grabbed a handful of dust. He held out his hand, said an incantation and blew the powder from his palm. Deadra felt the dust and debris around her swirl like a whirlwind. She dropped the doll and shielded her eyes, roaring in rage. She spoke an incantation and Wulf’s spell dissipated. She saw Mylo, who had reached the doll, taking the needle out of its hand. Deadra hissed and shot a jinx at the young man who barely dodged it. He dropped the figurine and fell onto one of the catwalks.
Mylo jumped to his feet and ran for cover as the witch and wizard both exchanged spells. Explosions erupted throughout the mine. Wulf deflected away and barely missed Morgalla and Widow by a hair, instead striking a group of demon soldiers who exploded in a shower of dust.
Elsewhere, Makrus was enraged. He shouted profanities and orders at all his subordinates who cowered before him.
“Intruders? Intruders in my kingdom? I want them all found. Killed!” He slapped one of his subjects with the back of his hand, knocking the man down to the ground. “I want all of them dealt with.”
As Makrus glanced around the area, he noticed not many demon soldiers were available to assist. He ordered the human reserves to deal with the problem. They did as he commanded.
All soldiers were on alert as they ran throughout the castle. They found the chamber where the portal was. It appeared as a normal stone wall until ripples appeared. A hooded figure emerged, and they took a step back. The image of a woman removed her hood to reveal crimson skin, long white hair, and white horns. Piercing golden eyes glared around the chamber at them.
“I’m looking for a girl,” Delilah stated and held up her hand about the same height as Morgalla. “She’s about yay high, has orange hair, horns, and hates short jokes.”
The guards shrugged.
“What do we do?”
“You heard the master. She threatens us.”
They attacked but stood little chance against Delilah’s skill. With a blade in either hand, she hacked and slashed at them. She left one alive on the floor, nursing a wound.
“Care to answer my question?”
“I…I do not know where she is.”
“Then what good are you?”
Delilah’s blade spoke, and the soldier went silent. She continued on her way, up the steps. More of Makraka’s soldiers were coming with her as they charged through the castle. Any demons were given a chance to join them or die. Humans didn’t get the choice. Delilah was merciless with her search, striking down whomever rose a blade to her.
Some put up a fight, and she used every combat skill she had including breathing fire. Makrus’s minions went running, some of them engulfed in flames. She was all business, searching through the castle for her student.
The battle wasn’t going well for anyone within the mines. Deputies of Freedom Ridge were overpowered by Makrus’s demon soldiers. Deadra had the advantage of youth over the elderly Wulfric who was nursing a cut on his head. Morgalla was tiring against Widow, and Dillon was no match for Krug’s raw power.
Morgalla’s constant distractions gave her opponent an opening time and again, giving her a cut and hard strike constantly. The widow was able to disarm her, and she thrust her blade to Morgalla’s neck. They fell back, and both women were in a contest of strength for the weapon.
Mylo made it to the lower catwalk where the doll had landed. Deadra, unfortunately, had also seen him, and she levitated down to the boy. He was frozen in terror. A simple spell raised the young man off his feet and sucked the air from his lungs. He gasped for breath, unable to even call for help. Morgalla noticed him.
“Your compassion makes you weak, Morgalla,” the widow said with a grin.
She kicked Widow off her and noticed her medallion, picked it up, and leapt down to the catwalk near Deadra. The witch dropped the boy and picked up the doll. Morgalla charged as fast as she could, but Deadra already had a knife in hand, stabbing the doll again.
Morgalla fell to her knees, dropping Hero from the lacerating pain in her abdomen. Deadra laughed as she twisted the blade, causing the demon girl to writhe in agony. Widow took her time coming down to the catwalk to her opponent. She stood above Morgalla, ready to bring her sword down.
“This is for Harek.”
Mylo, with his breath restored, drew his own knife. The next thing Deadra felt was his blade being driven between two ribs. The witch’s hands flew open, and she gasped. The doll had fallen from her grasp. In an instant, Mylo snatched the doll and removed the knife from it. By the time Widow had noticed what was going on, Morgalla was on her feet and had already struck the widow, Xia.
Morgalla winked at Mylo. “Thanks.”
Delilah would be proud of the lack of mercy that Morgalla showed her adversary. Though she didn’t have a blade in her hand, she was still a weapon. She used every mo
ve she knew: punches, kicks, head butt, and even a thumb to Widow’s eye.
Morgalla again spotted her medallion on the floor. With one foot, she flipped it up to her hand and Hero was back. It was time to end this. She looked back to Deadra, making sure Mylo was safe. The witch hissed at them both, and with a wave of her hands, the dust in the cavern swirled around her, and she disappeared. Morgalla realized Widow was up on her feet.
“Mylo, get your people out of here.”
With a new furor in her heart, Morgalla used every skill she knew against her opponent. She looked around and saw on the upper levels that the Izari had arrived to assist the fight against Makrus’s horde.
Dillon had a injured breastplate and bruised ribs, trying to dodge the attacks of the slave master. Both warriors were out for blood. Rage and hate fueled them in their battle. Krug had the upper hand in strength and skill, but his human opponent wasn’t giving up. Just when he thought his sword might connect with his demon opponent, Dillon found nothing but air or the clash of metal.
Krug laughed with every swing against another sword. With a hard strike of his weapon, he disarmed Dillon. The human felt the hard punch to his face. He was on the stone, Krug standing over him, his sword ready to finish the sheriff off. Instead, the demon reached down and took him by the neck, his fangs on display through a wicked smile.
Dillon saw a chance. His enemy had made a mistake by getting in close. He wasn’t near enough to his neck, though. He’d have to settle for any target. The demon didn’t notice until it was too late. Dillon had drawn a knife from his boot and stabbed the monster on the side of his abdomen. The beast roared and dropped him. Dillon fought across the stone ground with his sword. He was up on his feet again and sought out an escape. There was none. The only way was through Krug who was fighting to remove the blade from his side.
The human roared as he charged at him. He did a spin and brought the blade up to the demon’s face, only to have Krug step away. The edge cut the demon across his face and nose, his black blood spraying on the cave wall. With the back of his hand, Krug struck his opponent. Dillon tasted his own blood and fell to one knee. The demon tried again to remove the knife from his side, only to have Dillon reach up and drive it deeper. The beast roared, striking the human again.
The sheriff spat a mouthful of blood and one tooth. He saw double. His eye was swelling shut, and he looked up to see Krug bringing his sword down…again. Dillon, with all the strength he could muster, brought his weapon up and took the beast’s hand. The monster roared as his severed hand turned to dust. He dropped his own blade with a clang. Dillon wasn’t done, drawing back and impaling the demon. Even with metal through his body, Krug punched his opponent again, and Dillon went down, coughing up blood. Krug staggered back, nursing the wound.
Dillon knew Krug’s wounds would soon be completely healed. When that happened, he’d be doomed. Krug pulled the steel from his body and tossed it aside. Dillon, his vision still blurry, caught a glimpse of his adversary’s sword on the stone. He fought to get up, taking the blade in his hand and roared and charged at Krug. The two connected and fell over the side into the abyss. With his own weapon embedded into his body, Krug’s now lifeless form plummeted, nothing but a shower of dust into the pit far below.
Due to their momentum, Dillon was also cast into the pit. He noticed dozens of chains hanging above and reached out to grasp one. When he swung, it came down hard on one of the catwalks.
Mylo went to the sheriff’s aid as Morgalla continued to battle Widow. Part of the catwalk was giving way and crumbling beneath them. Behind Widow, the catwalk fell away inch by inch as she stepped near the edge. Widow looked at her and started to panic.
Dillon fought to his feet with Mylo’s assistance.
“Get moving,” he shouted.
Morgalla fought to keep her balance. The structure she was standing on was wobbling and breaking apart. She ran. Widow was close behind her. Morgalla jumped just in time as the catwalk crumbled completely. She grabbed the stone ledge. Widow was able to take hold of Morgalla’s ankle.
Morgalla’s fingers dug into the stone, clawing away and searching for anything to grip onto. She felt the weight of her adversary hanging on her leg. Finally, dangling from the rock, stable for the moment, Morgalla looked down to Widow.
Their eyes met, both unsure. After a moment of contemplation, Morgalla extended a hand to her. Widow didn’t reach for it.
“Don’t be a fool.”
Widow fired hate at Morgalla with her eyes. Her fangs were exposed, and her face contorted in rage. The young woman let go.
“No!”
24
Boom
Silence filled the cavern as Widow plummeted into the darkness.
Morgalla felt herself slipping. She tried to claw her way up and felt the strength leaving her fingertips. Mylo’s hand seemed to come out of nowhere, and he grabbed her wrist. Their bodies weary, both had to summon what strength they had left to pull her to safety. They embraced, glad to be alive.
The friends gawked at the ledge, staring out into the void.
“Why did she do that?” Mylo asked.
It took Morgalla a moment to find an answer. “I don’t know.”
Morgalla turned and realized that Dillon was barely conscious. What was left of his deputies had arrived and assisted him. The Izari were with them, along with Wulfric who had hobbled, all of his weight on his cane. Mylo went to him, concerned about a cut his the wizard’s head.
“Don’t worry about me,” the old man said.
Just the sight of him with Mylo made Morgalla angry because she knew the truth.
Jel helped Dillon up. “It’s all set, boss. They got the charges set and are ready to blow this place to kingdom come.”
Sheriff Dillon groaned. “Where are they?”
“Three levels up.”
“They should have been done by now. I’ll go check on them.”
Morgalla spoke up. “No, I’ll do it.”
Without any time for debate, the demon girl sprinted down the tunnels. She heard Dillon protest, shouting something, but she ignored it. She ran up three levels, past the dead bodies of Izari and deputies from Freedom Ridge. She stopped and concentrated, searching out any souls who might be in the area. Were any deputies still alive?
Finally, she sensed the heat of battle down one tunnel and sprinted in that direction. The closer she got to them, the louder the shouting became. There were a couple of dead humans. Two others were fighting off a group of demons. With surprise as a weapon, Morgalla charged into the fray, cutting down two with ease. The other two put up a fight, but they were confused as to why a demon was coming to the aide of humans. Soon the two were down, but the humans were in just as bad shape. She checked on one who had clutched a wound, falling over, his body now just a husk with no soul.
Morgalla helped the other human who was coughing up blood. He clutched his wound and fought to get the words out.
“L…lever…”
He pointed to something, and Morgalla saw a strange device. It was a small box with thin pieces of metal that stretched out down the cavern where she had just come from. There was a handle on it. She picked up the device, examining it.
“What is it?”
“Twist…the lever.”
The human coughed out his final words. She sensed the intensity of the human’s soul, how important the device was and that his mission, whatever it might have been, had to be accomplished.
Having no idea what its function was, Morgalla followed his instructions.
The stone shook with dust and debris falling from the ceiling. She grew concerned when she heard a booming below throughout the mine. With no way to help any of the humans who had fallen, she ran back up the tunnel, retracing her steps.
Throughout the fight, the deputies of Freedom Ridge had set up various human inventions; they had devices whose purpose was to bring great destruction through fiery explosions. She felt the ground shake as one by one the o
bjects exploded. She turned a corner only to be face to face with one of them. Morgalla was greeted by what appeared to be a bundle of red sticks with the word dynamite written on one of them.
Her eyes grew wide, and the air was drawn from her lungs in terror. She ran and leapt off the stone ledge, a wall of fire trailing behind her. She cried out of terror as the thundering boom came from above just as she fell into the mine.
Catwalks and bridges started to collapse, crashing down into the mine. The pulley system also was coming undone. Morgalla grabbed for anything within reach but everything was falling down around her, all of them victims of gravity.
Finally, one chain remained stable enough to keep her from plummeting to her doom. She was still helpless due to the momentum as rock and debris thundered down above her. She swung into one of the openings that led to a tunnel and slid across the rock and rolled out of control until she struck the wall.
The entire mine seemed to shake from the tremendous booming from the levels above. Morgalla fought through the pain and clawed her way up the wall to her feet. She knew that had she stayed, she’d be dead.
Morgalla couldn’t see where she was going, coughing through the smoke but saw a light up ahead and found herself inside the chamber with the portal…and six demon soldiers.
There was no time to be shocked or scared as she felt a slap on her face and she was pulled by her hair into the center of the chamber. The soldiers all drew weapons. Morgalla looked around for an ally. Her adversaries all chuckled at her fear.
“Excuse me.”
All eyes turned to the sound of a woman’s voice. Morgalla’s face lit up, and her heart was overjoyed to see the crimson-skin and golden eyes of her friend Delilah.
“That would be a very big mistake,” Delilah announced.
The six attacked. One was dealt with Delilah’s speed and efficiency. She leapt into the center. Now back to back, the women fought their foes. Morgalla sensed the overwhelming joy of the battle emanating from Delilah’s soul, or maybe it was because she was glad to see her. Surely not, the sentiment had never been one of Delilah’s virtues.