Fire Keep

by J. Scott Savage

  “We can’t stand here,” Marcus said. “They need all the help they can get.”

  “You promised you wouldn’t go unless the gate had been cleared,” Riph Raph said.

  Marcus was right. Kyja clenched her fists watching the battle that even from this distance looked futile. They had to find a way to help. “We promised not to go unless we could see the gate.” She cupped her hands to her eyes. “Do you see that?”

  Marcus looked at her and grinned. “Yeah, a flat circle right in the middle of camp I see it clear as day.”

  “I don’t see the gate,” Riph Raph squawked. “And I have better eyes than either of you.”

  Kyja gripped her sword tight, adrenaline making her heart race. “I’m pretty sure I see an opening.”

  Riph Raph thrashed his tail. “There. Is. No. Opening.”

  “I see it too,” Marcus said. “It’s definitely a clear opening to the gate. And you heard what Master Therapass said.”

  Kyja grinned. “If we see a clear opening . . .”

  “We have to go.”

  “No. No. Noooooo!” Riph Raph cried.

  Side by side, Marcus and Kyja entered the battle. As soon as they reached the nearest of the Dark Circle soldiers, Kyja cut both heads off of a two-headed dog. Three skeletons came at her, armed with spears. She had to back up quickly to avoid getting turned into a pin cushion.

  With a blast of fire, Marcus turned the skeletons to ash, but dozens more closed in behind them.

  “There are too many,” Kyja said backing away. She looked for a spot to retreat, but dark creatures surrounded them. It was clear normal fighting tactics wouldn’t work.

  “Have you ever used a magic sword?” Marcus yelled.

  “You know I can’t use magical items,” Kyja shouted back.

  Something that looked like a giant sponge rolled toward them, and she punctured it with a quick lunge.

  “Swing at those,” Marcus said, pointing at a pair of undead Mimickers approaching.

  The creatures were too big for two or three skilled swordfighters to take on alone, but Kyja had no other option. The Mimickers were almost on top of them, and they had no room to retreat.

  She swung at the nearest monster, and a flash of blue lighting shot from the blade, frying both monsters with one blow. Kyja stared at her sword. “How did I do that?”

  Marcus grinned. “You handle the sword, and I’ll send magic out from it. It’s not a magic sword, exactly, but no one needs to know that.”

  Working together, they were able to hold off enough of the dark creatures to keep from being overrun. Kyja fought until her arms shook, but she kept on swinging. Marcus switched the magic he sent, changing between fire, air, ice, and electricity, depending on the creature.

  Overhead, Riph Raph did the best he could, calling out instructions, shooting tiny blue fireballs, and reminding them that they were crazy for doing this.

  Right when Kyja was beginning to think that she couldn’t hold up her sword a minute longer, Riph Raph shouted, “The Icehold soldiers are coming.”

  Kyja and Marcus spun around to see a wall of warriors and wizards attacking the Dark Circle from the north with heavy axes and a stream of magic. Unprepared for their charge, the Dark Army fell before them.

  They might actually have a chance to win.

  Kyja grabbed Marcus’s arm. “Look,” she called, pointing to a white circle in the not-too-far distance. The gate. With the sudden attack, the Dark Circle had left it completely unguarded.

  “Let’s go,” Marcus said.

  Together they ran for the gate, blasting any creatures in their way. But mostly it was a clear shot. The entire Dark Circle army seemed focused on the Icehold attackers.

  Marcus and Kyja reached the gate and came to a circle that measured somewhere between ten and twenty paces across. It was divided into four parts, clearly one for each type of magic, each marked by its symbol. In the center of the circle was the image on Marcus’s arm—a Summoner doing battle with a creature formed of water, land, air, and fire.

  “What now?” Marcus asked, kneeling to examine a keyhole in the center of the image.

  Kyja looked for the elementals, hoping they could open the drift, but none of them were in sight. “I guess we wait for the Dark Circle to run.”

  “I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon,” Riph Raph called down.

  Kyja looked north to see that the battle had turned. The Icehold army, which had been making steady progress before, had since taken heavy losses. Worse, every Icehold soldier who fell was rising again as an undead warrior for the Dark Circle.

  “There must be a Summoner nearby,” Marcus yelled.

  Kyja looked up, and sure enough, a dark shadow was silhouetted by the rising sun. On its back were a cloaked figure and a fire creature that could only be Chaos.

  “We have to go,” Kyja said. But it was already too late. The dark army was closing in from all sides, and there was no way to escape.

  “Swing your sword,” Marcus yelled.

  Forgetting the ache in her arms, Kyja slashed in every direction. The combination of her steel and Marcus’s magic was lethal. But it wasn’t enough. The wall of creatures advanced relentlessly.

  In the distance, Master Therapass spotted them. “Hold on, children,” he shouted. “I’m coming.” The wizard blasted his way toward them. But he wouldn’t arrive in time; too many undead were coming too fast.

  “I . . . can’t . . . hold . . . them off,” Kyja panted.

  Marcus slumped to the ground, his arms and legs shaking. He tried using more magic, but his best spells barely made a ripple in the ocean of undead flowing toward them. Kyja stepped in front of him. Holding her sword as best she could, she waited for the army to tear them apart.

  A blur of motion blew past her. Dark creatures flew in every direction. Twin blades flashing, a massive figure forced back the horde.

  “Tankum,” Kyja sobbed.

  The warrior took a quick moment to bow before charging back into the battle. “You looked like you had this under control, but I was feeling left out of the party.” Behind him, dozens of warriors and wizards charged forward.

  The stone army had arrived at last.

  36: Goodbye

  “What are you two doing here?” Master Therapass panted, blasting the undead around them. “I told you to stay back.”

  “We saw an . . . an opening,” Kyja said, blushing at the obvious lie.

  Getting his second wind, Marcus stood up and began fighting again. “We made it to the gate. Isn’t that what matters?”

  “Only if you survive long enough to open it,” the wizard said. He shot a beacon of light over their heads, and one by one, the other groups joined them at the gate. Of the fifty men and women who had gone to battle, less than half of them remained. And of that number, most of them had injuries of one kind or another. The thought of so many dead and hurt made Marcus feel like throwing up.

  Cascade had set up a sort of onsite hospital, using water magic to heal as many as he could, moving from one wounded to the next as the person he’d just healed charged back into battle.

  Magma was a tank, drawing the heaviest of the attacks. His mace mowed down enemies by the dozens. Lanctrus-Darnoc built up a berm of rocks and dirt, which provided some protection, and Divum changed air currents, forcing the Summoner to keep its distance. But with all that, it was only the stone army that kept the enemy at bay.

  Tankum matched Magma blow for blow. Marcus watched the two warriors compare themselves to each other and nod with appreciation of the other’s skills.

  “Maybe we should try opening the gate now,” Kyja suggested.

  “No time,” Master Therapass said, hurling fireball after fireball into the horde. The old man seemed to have limitless endurance. “As soon as we take our elementals out of the battle, the Dark Circle will close in.” He nodded toward the circling Summoner, emphasizing his point.

  The battle raged all day. Every so often, the Dar
k Circle would make progress, and then the stone army would drive them back. The problem was that no matter how many creatures the stone army slayed, the Summoner continued to raise more. And while the elementals and stone army could fight forever, the humans were running out of strength. Even with Cascade’s healing, another soldier collapsed every few minutes.

  High Lord Broomhead limped to Master Therapass’s side. “We can’t go on like this,” he panted. “Icehold has closed their gates, and our people are exhausted. The stone army is taking heavy damage as well.”

  Therapass blew up the ground under fifty dark creatures and nodded. “We have to run for the forest.”

  “I’m not sure the injured can make it that far.”

  The wizard pressed his lips tightly together. “I’m afraid they don’t have a choice.”

  Broomhead nodded. “I’ll tell them to prepare for retreat.”

  Therapass waved down Riph Raph. “Carry the word to the elementals and the stone army that on my command, they must open a path to the woods.”

  “Consider it done,” Riph Raph said, circling into the air.

  “How’s your leg?” the wizard asked Marcus.

  “Good enough to get back to the woods. But once we retreat, the Dark Circle will open the gate.”

  “Once we get the people safely to the woods, we’ll send the stone army back to hold them off until we come up with another plan.”

  “How are you doing?” Kyja asked. “You must be exhausted.”

  The wizard smiled. “I’m an old man. Exhaustion is part of life.”

  Riph Raph flew back. “I’ve passed the word.”

  Master Therapass nodded. “Get ready,” he told Marcus and Kyja. Pointing his staff in the air toward the woods, he fired off three quick blasts of green fire.

  Instantly the stone army changed course. Fighting in two columns, they forced a path through the battle. Limping and stumbling, a few soldiers carried by others, the humans started toward the woods.

  Without a central spot to defend, holding off the dark creatures became twice as difficult. Not only did the stone army have to defend their spots, but they also had to keep moving forward at the same pace as the humans. Cascade and Divum were forced to join the battle.

  They were almost halfway to the woods when Riph Raph screamed a warning. Marcus looked up as a dark shadow passed over them. Divum tried to divert the Summoner, but Calem flew right behind it, keeping it aloft with his air magic.

  Magma turned and flung a bolt of fire, which the Summoner easily dodged.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” Chaos laughed from the back of the Summoner. “Looks like you picked the wrong side this time.”

  “Faster!” Therapass shouted. But with the combination of the Summoner, the Master, elementals, and the dark creatures to deal with, progress slowed to a halt.

  “Give up now, and I might let you live, brother,” the Master shouted.

  Therapass fired off a bolt of ice, which sent the Summoner circling away. “We’ve got to get to the woods,” the wizard shouted.

  Marcus never saw where Tide came from. It was as if the elemental had been hiding in the middle of the undead army, waiting for the right moment to attack. With everyone’s attention on the Summoner, he stepped forward and cast a spell at the stone army.

  Ice encased the stone wizards and warriors. Before any of the human wizards could react, the Summoner swooped low and blasted the frozen soldiers with a stream of superheated fire, which acted like a sledgehammer on the stone warriors and wizards, cracking their bodies into a million pieces.

  Beneath the layer of ice, Tankum’s eyes moved to give Marcus one last look. Marcus thought he saw the stone warrior attempt to wave goodbye, and then the man who had saved his life at least twice crumbled to dust.

  Kyja stared in shock as Tankum and the rest of the stone warriors and wizards were destroyed in front of her eyes.

  With no one to stop them, the dark army next fell on the helpless humans. The elementals moved in to protect them, but they were too outnumbered. Even Magma seemed to realize that he didn’t stand a chance as he went from attack mode to a defensive posture. The humans and elementals backed together, surrounded on all sides by blades, teeth, and fangs.

  “Stop!” Master Therapass shouted. “We surrender.”

  “No,” Kyja whispered. They couldn’t give up. Not after the stone army had given their lives. Not after Graehl, Rhaidnan, and so many others had died so the rest of them could be here and fight.

  The undead creatures and Thrathkin S’Bae cleared space as the Summoner soared slowly overhead then landed at the head of the dark army. The Master and Chaos climbed from the creature’s back.

  The Master walked forward until he was nose-to-nose with Master Therapass. “What’s that, brother? I’m not sure I heard you.”

  The old wizard dropped his head. “We surrender. Allow these people to live, and you may do whatever you want with me.”

  “Never,” Marcus said. He began to raise a hand, but the Master clamped his cold fingers around Marcus’s wrist. “I told you that you’d come crawling back. Should I make you do that now—squirm on your belly to save your life? Grovel in the mud so I won’t hurt you?”

  Chaos laughed.

  “Kill me if you like,” Marcus said. “But I’ll never crawl for you.”

  “No?” The Master turned to Kyja. “You’re the one who’s caused me so much trouble. On the other hand, you also gave me everything I needed to take complete control of Farworld and Earth. I suppose I should thank you. Would you like to be my serving girl—clean my toilets and wash my laundry?”

  Kyja had never wanted to spit in anyone’s face so much, but she had to hold her temper or risk endangering the rest of the group, so she bit her tongue and said nothing.

  “Touch her, and I’ll make you pay,” Marcus snarled, and Kyja silently begged him to be quiet. Didn’t he understand they were at this monster’s mercy?

  The Master’s red eyes flared. “You fancy her, do you? Good to know. If you want to save her, kneel down and lick my boots.”

  Marcus’s entire body shook with shock and anger.

  “Lick my boots, or I’ll flay her here and now in front of you.”

  Marcus began to lower himself, but before he reached the ground, Master Therapass dropped instead. He pressed his face to his brother’s feet and licked first one boot and then the other. Marcus tried to pull him back by his robe, but Cascade and Divum locked their arms around him.

  “You are the greater wizard,” Master Therapass said. “I am not worthy to be your brother. Please let us live.”

  Hot tears of shame and fury filled Kyja’s eyes. She couldn’t stand to see her mentor humiliated like this.

  The Master laughed and pushed Master Therapass down in the dirt. “I always said you weren’t cut out for anything more than shining shoes.”

  Tide, Nizgar-Gharat, and Calem stepped forward. “Would you like us to kill him?”

  “Give horn-head to me,” Chaos said. “I’ve always wanted to slit his thick throat.”

  “I’d like to see you try,” Magma growled.

  The Master patted Chaos on the back. “I’ve got plans for each and every one of them. Plans that involve weeks of torture and humiliation. And I do believe that you are the right person to help me in that work. But first, I want them to see my complete and final victory.”

  He looked around and pointed to a hill about a half mile away. “Take them there. Make sure they have a good view of what is about to happen. Set the Summoner to guard them, and if anyone turns away for so much as an instant, kill them.”

  As they were being marched toward the hill, Marcus looked back. “You won’t succeed,” he said. “No matter how much you accomplish now, in the end, you will fail.”

  “On the contrary,” the Master said. “I will succeed beyond anything you imagine. I will take the lives of innocent men, women, and children in numbers beyond counting. And I will make sure you and your gi
rlfriend see each and every death so you can blame yourselves for them over, and over, and over. Now get back there with the rest of the cowards.” He shoved Marcus forward, knocking him into the dirt.

  Kyja ran to pull him up. “It’s okay,” she said. “We’ll find some way to fight back. This isn’t over.”

  “Of course,” Marcus said, scraping mud off his knees.

  But despite her own words, Kyja wondered if maybe their quest was over. If they’d been too slow. And if so, how many people would end up paying for their mistakes.

  37: Opening the Gate

  “I’m sorry,” Marcus said. “I should have been the one licking his boots.

  Master Therapass shook his head. “There are worse things than a little humiliation now and then. In fact, humiliating oneself can be good for the ego. When you start to think you that are incapable of failure, failure has a way of reminding you that it’s still around.”

  “Is this it, then?” Kyja asked. “Isn’t there any way left to stop them?”

  The wizard smiled down at her, and it warmed Kyja’s heart to see that he was still capable of smiling. She felt as if she’d never be able to smile again.

  “Good men and women do their best to stop evil when they see it,” the wizard said. “But the truth is, sometimes that isn’t possible. Sometimes, as much as we want to see justice done, bad people do bad things, and we cannot stop them.”

  Kyja felt like weeping.

  “That doesn’t mean evil will win out,” Master Therapass continued. “While we can’t always stop people from doing evil things, bad decisions tend to lead to bad consequences.”

  No matter what words he used, what he said still sounded like failure to Kyja. But she couldn’t say so. Instead, she put an arm around his waist. “I’m sorry about Tankum. That must have been hard for you.”

  The wizard smiled and patted her on the back. As they continued up the hill, Master Therapass gazed wistfully up at the sky, which was beginning to turn orange as the sun dipped behind the trees of Before Time. “When I lost him many years ago, it was hard. He was my best friend. Having him back for the last year has been a joy I never expected to have. I’m sure he was glad to leave this world defending others, the same way he did the first time.”