The 9th Fortress

by John Paul Jackson

  "Harmony?!" I screamed. "Come back here!"

  No longer side me, Harmony was ferociously stabbing a bog on all fours with my dagger. Blood drunk, she commandeered that beast's own blade then went in a frenzy for more.

  "Look out!" I howled, as Seppuku soared behind her, mouth primed to explode over anything moving. Taking to my feet, I sprinted toward Harmony and dived, knocking my friend sideways as the dragon's flame succeeding over our heads.

  "Where?" I chocked, clutching a protective arm over the angel's head. "Where's the wizard?"

  Once the bog army was thoroughly dispatched, Seppuku returned skyward, giving Scarfell plenty of time to nurture his own flame. Livid, he came for me, mustering a growing fireball between his palms.

  "Up, Harmony!" I cried, but the wizard would not prolong this moment. The second his sun was cooked, he hurtled it at both of us.

  Half standing, Harmony faced down that ball of advancing heat, and I watched, horrified, as she willingly received every fiery volt. Consumed, she was blown in flames to the sky, her little body spinning dead through the clouds.

  "Harmony!"

  Laughing, Scarfell dusted the matter off his hands, and with no time to grow another, he turned his attention to the now descending dragon. The wizard bent to collect a forgotten bog blade — then — to my complete astonishment, he began to provoke the oncoming serpent. "Come to me…Centaur pet! Rain down your fire! Come to me!"

  Scarfell's face smouldered, as did the back of Seppuku's throat. I ducked for cover when the dragon made her mouth as large as possible, when she sent her inferno crashing down over Scarfell.

  The dragon lifted its nose and aimed for the sky again, leaving a black crater behind, but no body or ashes of the wizard, for Scarfell was also bound for the sky, gripping the dragon's rugged back and cheering with insane delight.

  Seppuku roared with frustration, flipping upside down like a bull to offload her uninvited passenger. The wind generated by her wings whipped up great walls of muddy waters, and her wild trajectory soon sent the dragon careening my way. I saw her coming; I bent my knees; I timed my move; then leapt for her passing tail.

  ***

  With only slate rock to halt their fall, a broken Kat lay in pools of mixed blood at the foot of the hill — the black samurai slumped beside with a red fountain spurting from his stomach. Awake and aware, open eyed and groaning, Kat had lost fatal amounts of blood from his arm; he was too weak to fight, to stand, to defend himself. His katana lay inches from his grasp but hopelessly out of reach, and catching its gleam in his eye, the black samurai had enough energy in him to sit up, enough to pull his bulk toward the weapon.

  "You will not defeat me." gurgled Kat. "I will not — "

  The black samurai smeared a bloody trail over slate and Kat, his fingertips begging out for the sword hilt. However, before he could claim the blade and Kat's soul, the sword was snatched from his reach.

  Quaking over the pair of them, Yuki Katamuro held the steel in her tiny hands. The black samurai slunk in resignation now as Yuki, who once took her own life, now and without mercy, took another. She brought the chipped katana down to the slate with a grizzly thunk, removing the black samurai's head from his shoulders. The corpse dispersed almost immediately; numerous flickers away with the breeze, leaving no clue of his ever existing.

  Sobbing, Yuki threw the old sword off distant rocks; then dropped to her husband's side. Attending to his wounds appeared futile, but still she pressed her hands over the cuts and slapped at his scarred face. Kat would have to remain conscious — he could not close his eyes.

  As fast as she could, Yuki took hold of her husband's armor and dragged him toward the boiling seashore. Her anguished moans focused Kat's wits enough for him to scrape his heels over the sand. And once at the water, Yuki immersed Kat's decapitated limb fully inside the roasting wet vat, and he howled and screamed as the heat-sealed his wound shut.

  Finally, Yuki pulled her unconscious spouse to the relative safety of the beach, and there she lay — to live or to die with her husband. "Kendo!" she wept. "Kendo!"

  ***

  I fought the wizard in a spirited mixture of all the techniques Bludgeon had taught me — every lesson came into play on the rugged back of Seppuku.

  I attempted to outpace Scarfell at first, but his recovery in the well gave his body a virile speed and a gymnast's flexibility. Balance was never lost on this unstable surface — the pair of us, countering position and weight against the constant movement and turbulence of the dragon. Our swords connected over the serpent's shoulders as her wings banked right. I snatched a desperate hold of Seppuku's leathered skin when she made a turn upside down; the wizard meanwhile disappeared in a haze of red magic, reappearing the moment Seppuku returned horizontal, his blade swinging for my face. I cried out after taking a cut across my chest, then another down my back. Scarfell exclaimed, victoriously, as I tried to ignore the pain, the warning — shut it out and concentrate. I also ignored the dizzying miles Seppuku sped us — that sickening smear of land.

  At the top of the world, Scarfell and I continued testing defences, searching for weakness, any morsel of an edge. It was only when the wizard momentarily glanced at my heels when Scarfell unwittingly revealed his secret, his weakness and my morsel.

  "The eyes of a wizard will reveal his secret." Bludgeon once said — and they did. For when Scarfell examined those heels of mine, his beady eyes burned in bright red thought. He had used this trick many times — in his fort, above the labyrinth, and here on the spine of Seppuku. He would teleport before me, and where his gaze was last cast is where he would first reappear…

  As expected, Scarfell was gone in a red flicker and I reacted immediately, thrusting the short-sword behind me. Immediately and as planned, the wizard appeared at my heels, accompanied by the crunching of his bones, and warm breath deflating against my neck.

  I turned to meet his grotesque face — my blade enveloping his chest. I observed his expression, as old age returned under his eyes and around the mouth; but any thoughts of triumph were quashed when I noticed that, despite the blood at his mouth, Scarfell did not appear weak, or display the slightest sign of fatigue from this fatal wound.

  "Your cold blade cannot scorch this heart!" he squawked and cackled.

  Suddenly, and with a will of its own, the sword of the centaur sparked into life. I could not see the penetrating fire growing over the blade, but I felt it rage through Scarfell's body. He screamed as any dying animal would — cursing me, cursing and burning from the inside out. I hoped to take some satisfaction from this moment, but I got none; there was only emptiness, as I watched his skin fry and his hair snap like blowing fuses.

  I held onto his electric skeleton for longer than I should have; and with one final ex-pulse of energy, the wizard’s bones exploded, sending me backward over the dragon's spine and rolling off her tail. Seppuku continued for the stratosphere, while I fell to the Distinct Earth.

  Accelerating to terminal velocity, I experienced an overwhelming sense of freedom. It was over — the quest and the responsibility — all of it was behind me. I would crash, I would embrace the simpler existence of a frog or spider, a leaf or leech.

  Before my second death, I took a moment to picture each of my brave friends: Harmony, Eddinray, Kat; and finally, I lingered on my daughter. I wanted Kathy to know how far her spirit had carried me, how desperately I fought and how much I loved her. I prayed that my life-support would pass on those final thoughts of mine; but as I closed my eyes to die, one beautiful angel did hear my prayers, and arrived in spectacular fashion to answer them. A French phoenix called Harmony Valour burst through cloud to catch me in her arms.

  "Hold on Daniel!" she cried. "I got you!"

  No longer burdened with any clasp, Harmony's radiant wings flapped wide, white and sacred. She flew — she flew.

  44. The End of The Beginning

  I lay between friends as Seppuku flew us gracefully through the bluest sky. I rememb
er a most vivid and lurid dream, not of a failed mission in the past, but of a gloriously bright future. I dreamt of the Distinct Earth sweeping below, and of a peace growing stronger with every new year. I dreamt of my life-support, Missy, somersaulting as she waited for my arrival. I dreamt of a muddy village of women reclaiming their names and freedom, celebrating with a party of carefree laughter lasting seven whole days and nights. Outside his Mountain traps, I dreamt of a groomed centaur King, toasting a passing speck overhead with a glass of his own moonshine. I dreamt of an ancient spell broken, and a lonely witch crawling free from her prison of ice. Her face was young and noble, and smiling as she walked down the road toward a long lost friend. Also in this dream was a petrified wood sighing away its fears, and the creatures of all colors running free from wizard cages. Finally, I dreamt of ribbons coming loose from Kathy's hair, as she hurried to a very important meeting.

  I now woke at the beginning of my story — that boring drone in my ears, the startling limbo white, and my life-support wrapping her restless self around my legs. "Knew you'd make it!" she declared. "I just knew! It's been so long! So, so long!"

  I bent to embrace her, feeling a lump grow in my throat upon seeing Missy's tears and grin, and the appearance of Harmony, Yuki, and Kat beside her.

  "How are you feeling?" asked Kat, his decapitated arm shocking me.

  "Confused." I said. "And tired."

  All of us were — congealed blood dangled from Kat's lost limb, Yuki had no tears left to spill and Harmony looked grey faced and worn out, the return of her wings hardly replacing the loss of her knight.

  "You were brilliant!" said Missy. "You were all brilliant!"

  "Were we?" I asked, unconvinced. The child recoiled suddenly. It was the unannounced presence of Sir Isaac Newton that startled her, the scientist looking proud as he removed his hat and then admirably tipped his head at each of us.

  Awestruck, Harmony and Missy bowed before his polished shoes; and although I felt I should do the same, a cramp in my thighs forbid it. Kat on the other hand, would not be bowing to anybody.

  "Stand up angels." said Newton. Harmony and Missy cordially rose and then waited for the old man. Our weariness obvious, he didn't make us wait for explanations.

  "You are the talk of all the Realms." he said. "A remarkable achievement."

  "We didn't achieve anything." I replied. "Your prisoner is gone. Killed by Scarfell. The mission in ruins and —"

  "The object of your mission was never important." he interrupted. "John Curtis is no more wanted here than he is anywhere, and if you had brought that worthless piece of flesh and bone before me I would have immediately cast him back to the 9th Fortress."

  "What?" I stuttered. "I don't.."

  He came closer, his lanky arms taking me firmly by the shoulders.

  "The journey, Daniel," he stressed; "the experience and the test! That was the vital component here. You and Kat left the Waiting Plain, not for prisoner 2020, but to redeem your souls and to deliver others — a marooned knight from his raft, an exiled angel from a wizard's cage and a tortured wife from perpetual suffering. You ended the rein of Scarfell and restored peace to the Distinct Earth. You achieved all that and more, yet you still search for a reason why…"

  "Bludgeon," I whispered, weak on my feet; "he said there was more to this."

  "There is more," he added, "and you are now ready to hear it. Your time with the Centaur King had to be especially gruelling — you had to be guided by heroes like Bludgeon and Kat to become one. You had to be tested Daniel, we had to know more than ledgers could tell."

  "Tell you what?" asked Missy; and intrigued, the rest of us gathered to hear the elderly man's reply.

  "That given the opportunity and the means, Daniel Fox would not kill John Curtis. Would he save a soul who caused him so much pain? Would he do the right thing when every impulse told him otherwise? What would he do?"

  My hands trembled as I examined the dried bog blood over my fingers. "I wanted to kill him." I said, honestly. "You have no idea how badly."

  Newton nodded understandingly. "Thoughts do not condemn a person Daniel, his actions do; and yours proved that you are the individual we are looking for." He took a weighty breath before carrying on. "These last few years you have been inadvertently training for a task, one which leaves that of the 9th Fortress in shade."

  "Another?" I asked, with a light-headed chuckle as an appalled Missy clutched at my elbow.

  His brow lowering, Sir Isaac Newton scrutinized us. "What I say now, none of you can share. This knowledge can never be made public, and you five, along with a trustworthy group of twelve individuals will be the only souls made aware of it."

  Scared and excited at the same time, we searched the bewildered expressions of each other. "I must have your word." he earnestly added. "Do I have it?"

  He came to us individually, and one by one we gave him our solemn word of honor — we would keep his secret. Content, Sir Isaac Newton seated himself on an appearing block of marble, then shared his great burden. "God is dying. Our God…is dying."

  His words seemed to take a lot out of the old man — he was visibly weakened.

  "What does it mean?" asked Missy, shocked.

  "His light is going out." Newton replied, his voice breaking. "The twelve greatest minds in the universe are working day and night on the problem, but there is, as yet, no solution. We cannot explain it, and we cannot prevent it. The death of our Lord is now but a matter of time, and when that day arrives everything we know will change — the walls separating realms are already collapsing, soon darkness will infiltrate light, and the greatest of all battles will begin."

  Sir Isaac Newton then stood from his marble block with a growing hardness in his eye. "We will fight for ourselves,” he concluded, “and we will die for the good we believe in."

  "When is this battle?" asked Kat, his keenness to kill still apparent.

  "The prophecy." added Missy, in disbelief. "No-one really knows when."

  "The time will come," said Newton, "one year or one hundred years, it is coming Kat; the decisive conflict between good and evil, the absolute annihilation of one side for all time…and that side cannot be ours. One will lead the army of God at this finale. We have searched a very long time for our general, and he has been found in you Daniel. He has been found."

  Too overwhelmed to react, so typically, Missy did it for me. "My Daniel!" she gasped. "I knew he was special! Didn't I tell you that?"

  "I heard rumours of a prophecy." I eventually said, trembling harder. "In a saloon. They talked about it, those weird people."

  "Godwin claimed he was the chosen one." added Harmony, with a smile. "That silly man."

  "That prophecy only tells of the soul's moral attributes," continued Sir Isaac Newton, seriously, "a guideline of character not appearance. There have been many missions before yours Daniel, candidates from all across the universe, and all of them ending in abject failure. You have been a difficult soul to find, but you are the one."

  Stunned, I seated myself on Newton's block of marble. How could I lead this finale, I could barely stand.

  Missy came to rub a hand down my back. Her tiny touch was comforting, and Newton's confidence gave me some strength. "Have faith in yourself," he said. "You will pass every new test Daniel, and vanquish every foe. But that is for the future — the present sees me with unfinished business. Harmony Valour?"

  The angel obediently raised her head, but her blue eyes appeared disinterested. "You have suffered more than most." he told her. "For that I am truly sorry."

  Harmony attempted to conceal her painful expression. "Over there." said Newton, pointing now to a twinkling star of gold a little ways off. "You have served your penance angel. Go reclaim what is yours."

  This yellow star floated over the horizon like a beckoning old friend, it was a doorway only one invited could enter. I stood for a better look, feeling Missy wrap her arm around my neck like a scarf. Harmony knew exactly what lay beyond t
his phenomenon, but still her heart longed elsewhere.

  "There is nothing in the Heavens for me." she said. "Nothing at all."

  At first the scientist appeared sympathetic, but his following question was meant to shock. "Angel if you are not in Heaven," he said, "then who will keep poor Eddinray company?"

  "Godwin?" she said, instantly alive again. "You can't…"

  Our eyes again followed Sir Isaac Newton's hand to his sparkling star, and a knight, striding out on horseback to greet us. "There is something in Heaven for everybody!" he said, with a beaming smile. "Even a wedding."

  Harmony's chin dropped; Yuki had to prop her upright as the knight and horse gallantly approached.

  "It is him!" she said, heaving. "Look everyone! It's Godwin!"

  The black stallion snorted and Harmony rejoiced. "Benoit! It's my horse! My beautiful horse! The two of them coming!" Cheeks burning, her face was covered in tears. We were all laughing when Harmony spirited off the ground and swooned in mid-air. "Hurry!" she yelled at them.

  The proud black horse and knight trotted into clear view, Eddinray wearing a newly polished coat of silver mail. "Ahoy!" he announced, pulling on the reins. "Your leader has returned!"

  Before he could utter another word, Harmony swamped him with unfussy hugs and kisses; and overzealous in her affections, she yanked the man from his saddle and their bodies fumbled to the floor.

  "Compose yourself my dear!" said Eddinray, blushing. "You'll cause yourself a mischief!"

  Also embarrassed by this show, Sir Isaac Newton cleared his throat for their attention; and Harmony, hair everywhere, promptly rose with her hand in Godwin's.

  "If you are both ready?" he asked them. "It is time to go home."

  The angel gleefully bobbled her head whilst an alarmed looking Eddinray could not help but scrutinize Kat's bloody form. "You are missing an arm, samurai." he said, as if Kat had perhaps failed to notice. "I say, that's quite revolting!"