The Fallen

by R. L. Drummond

  Belial pulled his champion from the canyon’s dangerous edge and as he pushed him away almost dismissively, he instructed, “Head for the ruin that lies to the north of here and lead a direct assault against the Asgardians. Kill Jenko and the human woman with them, but keep Tellan alive if you can…” Belial’s sharp toothed grin oozed with murderous darkness as he murmured longingly, “I want him to watch me bring Midgard to its knees. I want him to see how complete his failures have become.”

  “And Reya?” Timran’s rough voice scratched.

  Belial’s eyes glimmered poisonously at the sound of her name upon the former Asgardian’s lips and again he brought himself dangerously close into Timran’s face. “Baldur’s spawn is no longer your objective.” Belial hissed. He then stepped back and observed his prize soldier carefully, “You have your orders, now follow them out. There will be no retreat, old friend; you will stand until the last man falls. Even if that man is you.”

  “Yes, Sire.” Timran replied lifelessly and as he gestured for the human drone to follow him, Belial watched his champion approach the mass of Dark tainted humans that filled the hill behind him.

  Belial grinned darkly; the human cattle were no match for the Asgardians, he knew…but the more lives he threw at Tellan, the more distracted he – and the whelp – became, and this was the prime advantage Belial needed. He laughed at the sea of faces that stared adoringly at him, his orders voiced by the human vessel that stood beside the might of Belial’s champion. They were so eager to sacrifice themselves at their master’s command, so involved with their own petty desires for power that they were entirely blind to the slaughter he marched them into. These insects really thought that he, Belial, would share the dark wonders of the Abyss with them…it made him sick.

  His grin widened when Timran led the men towards their death, little lambs in a chain for the culling that was nothing more than a distraction for their master’s coup. The pawns are placed upon the board, Belial thought with dark delight, And then…

  Belial walked towards the road until his downcast eyes spied the almost imperceptible trail that branched off from the cobbled path, a snaking track that wound deep into the guts of the woodland beyond. He smiled in feral recognition of the trail he knew from so long ago that would lead him into the bowels of the ruin, hidden from sight and entrenched in the heart of his quarry’s nest.

  The nightmares of the Abyss will swallow this wretched plane in darkness.

  Reya’s eyes opened at the sound of conversation from somewhere nearby and as she glanced around her, she blinked heavily to remove the bleariness that still affected her from her dream. It felt as though she moved through a thick cloud of fog: her every step was strange and displaced, her vision sticky and cloudy, no matter how hard she blinked. It was light here, a little too bright for comfort and as she walked on, she lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun. Why is it so bright here? She wondered.

  She shook her head with confusion as she walked on and soon, the voices on the edge of her hearing began to form some kind of sense; but it was still confusing and garbled without the proper context to give it meaning. The closer she approached the voices, the louder they became and as her boots crunched through the lush grass of a steep hill, she looked around in curiosity of how strangely hollow the air seemed.

  When she came to the top of the hill she gaped at the field that stretched in muted colour before her, for it was full of so many armoured men that she could scarcely count them all. Her eyes then widened in shock when she realised that not far from her at all, was the deep canyon and its bridge she had leapt over with Timran in tow. But a harsh tone within the muted conversation seized her attention abruptly and as she looked around in search of the source, she saw that two men stood at the edge of the canyon, one with their back to her. She walked towards them thinking that Tellan and Jenko were sharing a quiet moment and her smile widened as she approached them. But the timbre of the voices weren’t right and, when she realised that one of the men was being held threateningly over the yawning edge of the canyon’s lip, Reya’s smile froze on her face in terror stricken recognition.

  Belial. He was here.

  Reya’s hand flew up to her mouth in terrified shock and as she watched Belial turn at the sound of her fearful gasp, his silver eyes flashed brightly in the darkness of his skin. She felt the beginnings of a faint as Belial’s sharp teeth were exposed in a hiss and even as her knees crumpled beneath her, Reya’s blurred vision leapt upon the white hair of the other man. Reya plunged headlong into unconsciousness then, and with it came the swallowing knowledge that she had somehow told Belial exactly where she was.

  Reya bolted upright with a terrified shriek that ripped through the fragile silence of the night, and with her utterance came the shouts and yells of her guardians as they leapt into action. The wagon swayed creakingly as Tellan jumped onto its bed beside his niece and grasped her shoulders so tightly, that Reya shrieked once more.

  “Reya, it’s okay!” Tellan cried into her confused face, “You’re awake now, it’s okay!”

  “What is it?”

  “Is Reya okay?”

  “Yes, she’s fine.” Tellan called to the concerned faces of Jenko and Vella, “She’s just had a nightmare.”

  “No, I didn’t! I mean – yes, yes I did but…not like the others. I…I could have sworn I was awake, everything felt so real.” Reya rushed breathlessly through the pounding of her heart.

  Tellan looked upon his niece with a thrill of trepidation at the nature of her dream. “What do you mean?” He asked carefully.

  Reya’s eyes fluttered dully at the graveness of Tellan’s voice, for the apprehension within him was unnerving and it was through a suddenly dry mouth that she replied hoarsely, “Belial was there. And so was Timran.”

  Tellan and Jenko stared at one another with palpable alarm and as Jenko hopped hastily onto the wagon’s side with a protesting screech of an axel, he looked down at her. “Tell us what happened, Reya.” He said.

  Reya rubbed her eyes and she licked her lips, “Is there any water left?” She asked hopefully.

  Vella nodded in reply and as she sped silently for the driving bench, Reya looked sleepily at her two guardians who stared at her with undivided attention. “I was on a hill, and when I walked up it, I saw a field full of soldiers. I heard voices,” She began tentatively, smiling gratefully as she accepted the water skin Vella silently handed her. She then took a sip to moisten her suddenly dry mouth and continued, “I looked around and saw the bridge we passed. The one I jumped off with Timran.”

  “And?” Jenko asked almost impatiently as he took the water skin from her.

  “Belial stood there with him. I got so frightened at just seeing them both that I woke up.” She said with a bleary rub of her eyes. She wanted to tell them more, but already the details of her dream were slipping away with the call of new sleep and her eyes fluttered groggily.

  “But it was just a dream…wasn’t it?” She asked sleepily, concerned at the significant glances her guardians shared and the gravity that accompanied them, but she was so tired that she just couldn’t keep her eyes open.

  Tellan looked upon his niece then, so small and fragile in his arms that he became overwhelmed with the familiar sensation of wanting to keep her safe. It was unquestionable to his mind now that Reya had formed a planar connection with Belial, and it was one that left him chilled to the soul; for it explained all too well how the demon could chase them so closely. It was a connection that they could never hope to outrun, and now horror ate into Tellan’s heart with the realisation that Reya was truly condemned to the fate Jenko had predicted…”you can’t save her.”

  But rather than voice this terrible portent to his beloved niece, he shook his head with a soft smile and soothed sombrely, “Of course it was, my love.”

  “Really?” Reya asked sleepily, unaware of the sudden glance Jenko fired at his commander.

  “Yes, sweetheart.” Tellan
persevered with a sorrowful smile and as he stroked her hair, he murmured, “You should get back to sleep.”

  “Alright. I am still so tired.” She said with another yawn and as soon as she laid back in what was left of her bed of velvets, she was fast asleep again.

  Tellan and Jenko both remained in heavy silence, watching her sleep peacefully in the aftermath of what the angels recognised ominously as a walking vision. Jenko knew without explanation that Tellan had willingly lied to her about the nature of her dream, but as he looked upon his commander’s suddenly drawn face, he desperately wanted to believe the lie himself.

  “Maybe it really was just a dream.” Jenko murmured with dubious optimism as Tellan passed a trembling hand across his mouth.

  “Of course it wasn’t. Don’t be a fool, Jenko!” Tellan whispered harshly from between his fingers.

  Jenko stared at Tellan for a moment in silence, absorbing the horrifying truth behind his commander’s words before he finally responded with a drawn face, “Do you think he knows where we are?”

  Tellan shook his head in impotent, yet frightened frustration and when he finally dropped his hand, he answered ominously, “I’ve no idea. But we should leave as soon as possible to be safe.”

  “And then what?” Vella asked from the tail of the wagon. Both men turned towards her as though they had only just realised she was there and with a shrug, she continued, “We can’t very well tell the girl to keep awake, can we? I understand your fears, Tellan, but would you have us stare at Reya all night long?”

  Jenko bristled at Vella’s tone and pushed himself off the wagon’s side with a dark glower. “That guard duty isn’t going to watch itself, Vella.” He said pointedly.

  Vella met Jenko’s glare with a slight huff of contention, but she heard the message within that sharp tone loud and clear and so she backed off with an ironic salute. “Yes, sir, excuse me, sir.” She retorted coolly.

  Jenko’s sharp eyes followed Vella’s path until his attention was tugged back by the deep murmur of Tellan’s soft voice, “Vella is right.” Jenko watched him in silent trepidation, for his commander’s expression was shrouded with a heavy cloak of apprehension that called to his intuition.

  “Don’t tell her that, whatever you do.” Jenko quipped dryly, an admittedly poor attempt at adding levity to how frightened Tellan’s face had become.

  Tellan smiled briefly before he dropped his eyes heavily and passed his burdened gaze over Reya once more, now peacefully wrapped in slumber. “Every time Reya closes her eyes now, she relives another memory…” He said so seriously that Jenko blinked in grim apprehension, “And the exhaustion of keeping watch over her throughout the night is beginning to take its toll.”

  “We’re doing fine.” Jenko muttered in return through a tight jaw.

  “No, we’re not.” Tellan responded with a meaningful glance at Jenko, “And you know it.”

  Jenko sighed in exasperation as he looked away momentarily. “Look, all we need to do is double back for Dahlia and wait for this captain – what’s–his–name, Gaelan – to make an appearance.” He said with a flip of his hand and as he stepped toward his commander, he persuaded insistently, “We can see this clear, Tellan.”

  “Orchid said Gaelan won’t make port for a week. A week, Jenko.” Tellan retorted gravely with his hands held out in emphasis. He then shook his head and continued, “We don’t have that kind of time. Timran was waiting for us in Dahlia; you know as well as I do that Belial isn’t far behind.”

  Jenko remained silent, for he knew that his affirmation was scarcely needed in the face of such overwhelming truth, a harsh fact that was in direct contention to his aching heart.

  “First Baldur…and now Timran…” Tellan whispered under his breath with such pain that Jenko swallowed in empathetic sorrow.

  Tellan looked upon his niece then and within the peace of her sleeping face that masked the horrors of Belial’s pursuit, his heart became seized with a chilling bell toll of clarity. They really didn’t have a week left to spare…they barely had hours, now that he knew Belial was so unbelievably close. He blinked with a sudden calm that seemed almost eerie to Jenko’s eyes and as he watched his beloved niece sleep, Jenko felt it was as though Tellan drank in every detail of Reya’s face.

  As though he would never see her again.

  Jenko’s breath seized forebodingly when Tellan snapped his eyes back to his then, for the tone that resounded through his next words was bluntly decisive, “Belial is literally one step behind us, Jenko; he has been since the very start of Reya’s nightmares. But she still needs time, and that’s something we don’t have, especially not with Timran around.”

  Jenko’s heart constricted tightly as his commander strode purposefully towards his bastard sword laid beside the campfire, for Tellan’s unspoken intention emblazoned so powerfully across his mind. “Tellan–” Jenko began with alarmed trepidation.

  Tellan swept his harness onto his back with swift familiarity and as he secured the buckles in place, he seized Jenko’s gaze with a firm glint in his eyes. “You have to go.” Tellan commanded firmly, “Take Reya with you and get as far away from here as you possibly can.”

  Jenko found a little clarity within Tellan’s voice then and as his commander swept his weapon into its harness with a hush of steel, he blurted in shock, “What? Are you crazy? We can’t scatter the party!”

  “Hollowing Timran has made Belial far more powerful than we had ever counted on; what other choice do we have?” Tellan countered firmly as he secured his dagger in position at his lower back. He then pointed down the road they had brought the wagon and finished with calm reason, “If Reya’s dream was true then they aren’t far beyond that hill. If – and when – Timran and Belial reunite on the offensive, we will lose!”

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you! It’s folly for us to split up!” Jenko countered in panicked exasperation.

  “Reya must be kept safe!” Tellan cried.

  “Tellan, this is absurd!”

  “What’s all the racket about?” Vella asked from just beyond the wagon and hastily flashed her eyes towards Reya, still in blissful slumber amid her torn velvets.

  But Vella’s question was left ignored by the two men, for their eyes still fixed blazingly upon one another. “We’re running out of options, Jenko.” Tellan replied grimly and as he shook his head he finished sombrely, “I can’t see any other way.”

  “You can’t…she needs you here!” Jenko protested in a stunned voice.

  “Are you leaving, Tellan?” Vella breathed incredulously as she approached the two men.

  Tellan looked at her then and shook his head gravely. “I’m not, Vella. You are, all of you.”

  “No, we’re not!” Jenko snapped with a brief glance at Vella before he rounded on Tellan once more, “Don’t talk daft, man!”

  But Vella had seen the power of Tellan’s adoration for his niece, the love that burned like the brightest star in the night sky and she knew already that in spite of any protestation Jenko would offer, Tellan’s ultimate decision had already been made.

  “Are you sure?” Vella asked quietly as she stood before him, her eyes searching his in grave concern.

  Tellan glanced across the ragged expanse of the ruin before him and thought for a moment before he replied with a decisive nod, “This ruin is a maze of rubble and walls. I’ll make my stand here and slow his forces down, long enough for you to take Reya somewhere safe.”

  Jenko blinked in shock at his commander’s plan. “That’s…that’s madness! If you’re right and Belial is close behind us, his army will–” His plaintive protestation became halted by the visions of Belial’s roving army and he shook his head in refusal of Tellan’s choice, “What if Timran is with them, what then?”

  The muscle in Tellan’s jaw jumped grimly as he replied with wounded redemption, “Then I grant our brother the peace he should have been given fifteen years ago.”

  “It’s suicide!” Jenko suddenl
y shouted, overwhelmed with soul wrenching panic at the lunacy of his commander’s suggestion.

  And when Tellan looked at him significantly, Jenko’s heart sank with the knowledge that his commander didn’t intend in coming back at all. It felt then that the world had dropped from beneath Jenko’s feet, like the stones beneath Timran fifteen years ago, and Jenko became lost in the sea of despair that crashed against his soul.

  “Belial won’t stop. You know this, you said it yourself.” Tellan said as Jenko gaped at him numbly. He then nodded in resolution and Jenko’s mind screamed rebelliously as he continued, “But he’s expecting us to run again; he won’t see an attack coming. I’ll stall him for as long as I can, thin down his numbers–”

  “No, Tellan!” Jenko blurted, claimed by the fearful apprehension that had filled his entire being, “We should face Belial together!”

  Tellan suddenly grasped Jenko’s shoulders insistently and as Jenko met his gaze with great reluctance, Tellan ordered gravely, “Reya’s safety is all that matters, beyond all else…just as it always has done. You must stay with her, Jenko; she needs your protection.”

  Jenko stood in shocked silence, stunned that Tellan had made his decision in spite of his refusal and it was one that brought an executioners axe upon his neck. He shook his head with the awful realisation that the last of his brothers walked willingly into the arms of death and all he could do was murmur in numb realisation, “I…I can’t dissuade you, can I?”

  Tellan’s mouth was a grim line of resolve as he released Jenko and said, “Go now, while she’s sleeping. She won’t understand when she wakes up, but…in time…perhaps she’ll forgive me.”

  When no sound of reply came from Jenko’s open mouth, his mind so mired in the convoluted despair of his commander’s decision, Vella stepped forward in his stead and murmured gravely, “We will.”

  She then glanced up at Tellan’s steadfast expression, aware that in spite of how solidly he stood, he already mourned the loss of his beloved niece. So moved was she by his stalwart woe that she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek tenderly, a sombre goodbye she had never offered anyone else before now. Tellan nodded his appreciation of the uncharacteristic act and as Vella turned for the driver’s bench, still Jenko stared in unbelieving silence at his brother’s decision.