by J. B. Jenn
As she barreled her way out in the courtyard, she arrived in time to see the gates close shut. The soldiers were marching to their deaths. Rosha scanned the courtyard, looking for anyone who could give her information. Just as she thought everyone who was important was outside defending Heltarn and the palace, she spotted Janessa on the rampart. A bow and quiver were slung across her back. When the woman turned, it was the first time Rosha had ever seen her with her hair drawn back. It gave her a fierce look. A look that reminded her of the Servant.
She raced up the stairs toward her and grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around. Janessa met her eyes with surprise and then concern.
“What is it? What have you seen?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
Rosha stepped in close, pulling Janessa into a dagger. “For this,” she whispered as Janessa stumbled back. “No one from the Stone family can live. It’s too risky.”
With a fling of her wrist, Janessa was thrown down in the courtyard. Her petite body crashed against the cobblestones. Rosha looked down at the woman’s broken body before disappearing.
Barend
The orders were sent. All he had to do now was wait. With Cascade and the Desert gone there was little to oppose him. He would be unstoppable. He would rule Hartland. Having multiple kings governing the land was ludicrous. It was why no one kingdom was the same. With just one person to rule Hartland, it would simplify things. There would be no wars among kingdoms. Everyone would see peace.
As he sat down at his desk, he smiled. Soon, Hartland would belong to him. Part of him wished his father could see how far he had come. His father had always told him he’d amount to nothing. He had proven him wrong once again. Barend leaned back against his chair and tapped his fingers on the desk. It was almost a pity he had killed him. Almost.
Barend shook his head. None of it mattered now. His father didn’t matter. All that mattered was he focused on the task at hand.
“Your Majesty?” a man called through the door.
Barend sighed. “What is it?”
“There’s a small army outside the castle. There’s a woman demanding to speak with you. If you don’t arrive within minutes, she’ll attack the palace. She says they might not succeed, but she swears she’ll see you dead.”
Barend laughed. “She claims she can kill me? Ha! Let her try.” He narrowed his eyes. “No. I can’t allow such a threat to go unpunished. I’ll deal with this myself. Send for the soldiers.”
Once Barend arrived at the ten-foot, dark wood doors, the demon guards opened them. He looked at the large group of people who had gathered. They were the people who didn’t want to understand what he was trying to do and why he was doing it. They were the people who would try to prevent him from uniting Hartland. He couldn’t have that.
“This is your one and only chance. Disperse.”
The woman leading the group took a daring step toward him. “King Barend someone has to make you answer for your crimes. We are those people. We cannot stand by and allow you to continue to turn people into demons. It isn’t right. Somewhere, deep down, you know this. You know you’ve become a monster.”
Barend folded his arms across his chest, staring down his nose at her. With one fluid moment, he unsheathed his sword and swung. The woman ducked. Demons poured out from the courtyard, tearing into the people who had gathered. It was quick and gruesome, leaving the steps up to the palace bloody. The demons had restrained the woman who now struggled against their grasp.
Barend ran her through. As her blood passed over his hand, he met her eyes. “Anyone who fights against us will share this fate. You will die knowing you killed these people.”
He left her to bleed out on the steps.
Mercea
She crested the sand dune with a hand on the hilt of her sword. A large shadow fell over her. She met Urian’s black eyes. There were horns on top of the monster’s head, pointing straight up. The horns on his chin, spiraling down toward his shoulders, dripped with acidic saliva. The plated armor hadn’t been there the last time she had fought him, though.
“Get back!” she yelled at the few soldiers, including King Maik, who were right behind her.
Unsheathing her sword, she looked the beast up and down. She met his featureless face again. Taking in a deep, calming breath, she focused her attention behind him. So far, there was no army.
“It’s been a long time,” Mercea said, as if she spoke to an old friend.
“Not long enough,” Urian rumbled. The sound came from his thick throat.
He took a lazy swing at her. Mercea tumbled out of the way, sliding on the shifting sand. He didn’t attack further. She watched him, knowing the moment she let her guard down would be the moment he struck. He let off a guttural cry. Her sword vibrated angrily.
She charged him, planning to run up his side, using the scales as footing and handholds. Urian swept his arm aside. It caught her, batting her down into the ground. Sand flew up around her. She had forgotten just how fast he was.
As she picked herself up, Urian was charging her. She tumbled out of the way and watched him run past her. His low rumble told her he had expected to kill her. He had always been arrogant.
“I’m not such easy prey. You should remember.”
Mercea looked at him aware of the soldiers engaging the demons behind her. There were screams on both sides echoing around her. She scanned the area. There were so many of the vile creatures. They were outnumbered. The only way out of this was to end Urian.
On her way to the black monstrosity, she cut down four demons with little effort. Her purple blade passed through them like a hot knife through butter. Urian yelled in outrage and charged.
Galtrand
Something felt wrong. He looked back toward the palace with growing fear. His gaze was forced back to the sand dune in front of him as Mercea yelled. There were so many monsters pouring over the hill at them. He watched several of the demons slide down the sand, while others flew toward them. Some of the soldiers started to flee. Galtrand felt the fear, too. He’d have to be a fool not to, but he knew running would do nothing.
“Form up!” he yelled. “Shield carriers form a defensive line. Archers, fire!”
He heard the twang of arrows release behind him. Several of the smaller demons fell, giving several of the men enough courage to hold the line.
A dark red monster charged Galtrand, thinking it had caught him off guard. Spinning away, he swept his sword wide. The tip of it sliced open the monster’s center, spewing blue blood everywhere. A few drops landed across his hand. It ate at the leather glove he wore until it reached his skin. He barely felt the pain.
“Hold this line. We must protect the palace and the archers!” He shouted as demons closed in on them. “This is where it must end.”
Galtrand bolted down the line of archers who had joined them on the battlefield. He ran toward the demons who were swarming the left side. As he did so, demons swiped their claws, swords, hammers, and numerous other things they held at him. He cut down a few as he passed, more focused on holding the line. It was their only chance to protect the city and the palace. They couldn’t allow the demons to overrun them. Next to him, Trester and Maik helped clear a path.
He skittered to a stop. There was a large demon in his path. It rumbled a laugh at him as if he thought he were pathetic. His eyes flickered from orange to green. Drool poured down the sides of its open mouth which was home to razor, sharp teeth. The demon had scaled armor like Urian.
“I’ll deal with him,” Trester said. “You worry about keeping everyone together.”
Galtrand looked to King Maik. “Go back to the other side. I’ll take care of this side. You know what to do.”
Galtrand swung at the nearest demon who ducked from the blow. One of the other soldiers caught the demon in the side. Acidic blood spewed out, scorching the sand black. Galtrand jumped back from the backsplash, and the soldier spun to the side. He barely had enough
time to bring up his sword to block the hasty swipe of a balled fist.
The sound of beating wings saved his life. Spinning, and thrusting his sword forward, the blade drove through the demon’s neck. Beside him, the other soldier took a hit to the side and fell. Galtrand kept moving.
He surveyed the battlefield as he cut down another of the half-winged beasts. So far, everyone was holding their position. They just had to keep it that way while Mercea fought Urian.
Arem
As Mercea fought Urian, Arem used his magic to keep the smaller ones off her. There were several times his fiery blasts shot past her, narrowly missing her. She didn’t seem to notice. Arem sent another blast toward one of the demon’s backs. Instead of killing it, the demon turned on him angrily. Arem met those glowing, yellow eyes with a rising fear.
Ice wasn’t his specialty. Fire was. He had learned back in Carthoda some demons were immune to fire. Using ice made him weaken faster, but there was no choice here. As an ice crystal began to form in his palm, enormous claws raked his back. He cried out, falling to his knees.
Arem attempted to rise, knowing if he didn’t, he was a dead man. As he started to gain his footing, thorn covered vines crept out of the sand and held him in place. The thorns cut into his flesh. As hard as he struggled, he couldn’t free himself.
Other demons were closing in on him. He turned his head and saw them starting to surround Mercea. He felt helpless as he watched them begin to lose. Fire built up inside of him with his desperation. Before he released the fire that could kill some of the soldiers as well as the demons, the vines came free. There were demons lying dead all around him. An outstretched hand offered to help him to his feet. Arem met the eyes of the man he’d met briefly before arriving at the palace. He was the man he assumed had impersonated him to get inside the palace. Arem took his hand.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Arem watched the man spin into action and take out another demon. This one was tall and wiry and held a grayish tone to his skin. The demon fell, disappearing within moments. He found it odd how some demons disappeared, while others vanished in wisps of smoke, and others simply decayed like humans.
He watched the man fight for a little longer. It looked as if he’d been born to fight demons.
Arem turned his attention back to Mercea. Fire flew from his fingertips. Only two of the five demons were immune to the fire. The other three howled and vanished before the flames died. Taking a few steps forward, he was reminded his back was shredded. He hoped it wasn’t as bad as it felt. He looked toward the man who had saved his life.
“We have to keep Mercea free, so she can deal with Urian. The rest of the soldiers have their hands full. Help me.”
Ogden nodded.
Trester
As Galtrand left him, he turned his attention to the larger demon. Once their eyes connected, the demon laughed as if it were amusing a thin, small human had chosen to step in his path. Trester stared at the demon, calmly.
Drawing from his inner strength, a hard layer of ice began to cover his entire body. The demon growled at him and swung. It was the first time he had ever used his magic in this way, so he let the demon hit him. The ice barely cracked, but the demon’s horned, knuckled fist was injured. He watched as the tall, broad-shouldered, scale plated demon shook his hand. A few of the horns from his knuckles hit the ground.
“Stupid wytch,” the demon snarled.
Trester flung a sharp, wide ice crystal at the demon in response. It bounced off his scaled armor. Trester groaned. He hoped he could find a way to penetrate the demon’s armor.
As he stepped to the side from the gooey substance thrown at him, he shot another ice crystal at the monster. This time, it hit the demon’s forearm where there wasn’t armor. He gave an angry howl. Trester’s confidence grew.
“Do you know how wytches came about?” the demon asked. His voice rumbled with hate.
“I don’t care.”
Trester flung another ice crystal at him. It bounced off. The only thing he could think of doing to hurt the demon was freeze its scales and then shatter them. It was a risky maneuver.
“You have demon blood running through your veins,” it continued. “That’s what gives you your power. Somewhere along the line, your ancestors mated with demons.”
Trester snarled. He couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to mate with a demon. It didn’t matter. It probably wasn’t true.
Trester charged him, leaping into the air. The moment his hands landed on the demon, ice spread along the creature’s entire body. He barely had time to finish encasing the demon with ice before he was knocked aside by another demon. From where he lay in the sand, he saw he had succeeded.
“Someone shoot him! NOW!”
Arrows soared through the air. Trester watched as a single arrow in front of the others hit first. Nothing seemed to happen. Just as he thought his idea had failed, the demon shattered into several hundred pieces.
Trester placed his hand on the ground and coated it in ice. The demon who had attacked him froze in place, struggling to pull his feet up. He watched as another arrow hit the demon through the neck. If the archer was watching him, together they could cut a path through the demons.
Mercea
Urian was spewing blood from two places. Lesser wounds were already closing. This was taking longer than she had hoped. She wanted to end him now. She knew once he was defeated most of the other demons would disappear. Over the years of dealing with them, she had learned demons were cowards. They only attacked in large numbers and if the battle was in their favor.
The air was knocked from her lungs as she landed square on her back. Her head crashed down against the sand, finding a rock beneath it. Mercea groaned. Blood oozed down the back of her head.
Urian’s large shadow fell over her. She stared up into his black eyes, knowing that unless a miracle happened, she was going to die. A large sword appeared in the monster’s hand. The energy bringing it to life glowed an angry green.
She rolled to the side, knowing she was too slow. The sword should have impaled her, but something had stopped it. She continued her roll. As she rolled, sand flew in every direction. When she rose, she saw what had saved her life. Ogden had climbed up the back of Urian and was dancing a dangerous dance to avoid the swings to grab him.
She reached for her sword, but it was gone. Her eyes darted to Ogden again. Her sword sat in his hand. For a moment, Mercea stood there, staring in horror. She watched Ogden attempt to get into position for the killing blow. Her heart raced. If Urian succeeded in grabbing Ogden, he’d crush him.
Pulling the dagger from her back, made from the same metal her sword was, she stooped and grabbed a handful of sand. She raced towards them. Leaping, she flew through the air. Her dagger sunk into Urian’s chest, giving her a place to hold onto. She thrust the sand at his neck. There was a small opening there. As soon as the sand hit it, he reared back, roaring.
“Ogden! Now!”
She dropped to the ground and rolled away from the thrashing demon, surprised it had worked. As she stood upright, Urian caught her side and sent her flying once more. She landed in the sand dune and was buried by the shifting sand caused by her impact. As she fought her way out, she had no idea Urian’s smaller demons were closing in on her and she no longer had a weapon.
Ogden
As he avoided Urian’s massive hands, he didn’t have a plan. He had seen Mercea fall and had rushed to her unmoving body. Before it registered what he had done, he had taken her sword and had rushed up Urian’s back.
Ogden swallowed. His heart pounded within his throat. From his position on Urian’s massive shoulder, he could see the entirety of the battle. They were losing. The demons were pushing them back, closer and closer to the city and palace.
Urian reared back, grabbing at his throat. Ogden saw Mercea hanging off the demon’s chest, hanging onto a dagger.
“Ogden! NOW!” She dropped and rolled.
The demon thrashed, making Ogden lose his footing. He caught himself on the demon’s massive shoulder. The scales dug into his fingertips. He nearly lost his grip. The thought of seeing his wife and child again kept him hanging there. He started to pull himself up, knowing he had to end this. He had the opportunity. Mercea did not.
He found secure footing again, but the demon moved abruptly. He started to fall. Lunging out, he hoped to find something to hold onto. From where he was, hanging on from a horn at the demon’s elbow, he saw Urian throw Mercea into a sand dune. When Urian started racing across the desert toward her, Ogden knew the demon didn’t consider him a threat.
He managed to climb his way back up and secure his footing in between ridges on the demon’s shoulders. From there, he swung the sword. The purple blade pierced through Urian’s wide neck. Deep green blood gushed everywhere. It sprayed him, eating through skin and bone.
Ogden cried out. Mercea’s sword dropped to the sand. Urian thrashed more than ever now, flinging him off. Ogden landed in the sand, face first.
Rosha
Rosha stood just outside of the battle, watching it play out. It was nothing like she had envisioned. As she watched the men fight the demons, a small smile parted her lips. Although this wasn’t as they had planned, this was still the battle leading to everything else.
Before she could leave, she had one more thing to do. For a moment, she remained on top of the distant sand dune. She stared down at the scene, scanning everything, watching men and demons struck down, and then, she located him.