Kingdom of Magicians

by Timothy L. Cerepaka

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Looks like our ghost is here,” said the Fallsman. He gestured at his Warriors and Takan. “Men, stand down. Our visitors will deal with the ghost, as per the agreement.”

  The Warriors looked relieved to follow the Fallsman's orders and quickly walked away from the corpse that had been thrown through the window, while Dlaine said, “What? No backup?”

  “I already said that my harpoon failed to harm it,” said the Fallsman as his Warriors assembled around Takan and him. “Considering that all of my men also have rather ordinary weapons, I doubt they would be of much help against them. Good luck.”

  With that, the Fallsman, Takan, and the Warriors ran up the stairs to the second floor of the mansion. Dlaine opened his mouth again, probably to yell at them for being so cowardly, but before he could utter another word, something huge and gray burst through what remained of the window and landed hard on four paws on the marble floor.

  The creature resembled a wolf in its general appearance, but it was much larger than any wolf that Keo had seen. Its legs went up to Keo's chest, while its body was three times as thick as Keo's own. It had whitish-gray fur that contrasted with the shining blood on its lips and its dead red eyes. Its tail looked as thick as a log, while its entire form was shimmery in appearance, like a ghost, yet it must have been more solid than it looked, considering how it had smashed through the window mere moments ago.

  “By the gods,” said Dlaine. “Is that the ghost?”

  Keo nodded, never taking his eyes off the massive creature. “Must be. It hasn't noticed us yet, but it will soon. You can run, if you want. I know you don't have any way to harm the ghost, so—”

  “And let you and Jola have all of the fun?” said Dlaine. He shook his head and took a fighting stance. “Nah. I'll help however I can, even though I've never fought a ghost before. Should be fun.”

  Keo frowned, because he really didn't think Dlaine would be of much help against the ghost wolf, but before he could voice that opinion, the ghost wolf suddenly looked at Dlaine and him. The ghost wolf looked almost stunned, as if it had not expected to see them here, but then its stunned look turned to rage and it howled once more, letting out such a loud howl that Keo cringed.

  But then the ghost wolf ceased howling. Keo expected it to charge at him, Dlaine, and Jola, but then, without warning, the ghost wolf growled, “Murderer! I shall avenge the one you have slain, for the honor of the Kingdom of Demons!”

  Before Keo or Dlaine could respond, the ghost wolf charged at them as quickly as lightning. It leaped through the air toward them, causing Keo and Dlaine to separate. The ghost wolf landed hard on the floor where they had stood an instant before and immediately turned to face Keo, who was walking backwards with Gildshine held before him defensively.

  “You called me a murderer,” said Keo, trying to put as much distance between the ghost wolf and himself as he could. “And you mentioned the Kingdom of Demons. What do you mean by that?”

  “Don't play dumb with me, human,” the ghost wolf said. Its voice sounded like a wolf attempting to speak the human tongue, although there was no mistaking its occasionally mispronounced words for what they were. “We demons all know how you killed Hand of Blood a week ago. We demons are connected to each other and can sense when one is killed and who they are killed by. But I did not expect to see you myself so soon, nor get a chance to avenge my fallen brother.”

  Keo recalled that first demon he had killed back in the Low Woods a week ago (though he hadn't known its real name), but he did not drop to his knees and beg for mercy or forgiveness. Instead, he said, “Sorry, but you still won't avenge your brother. I have to get to Capitika as soon as possible, so I can't let you kill me.”

  “Oh, so you think to warn your fellow humans about the coming invasion and return of the Kingdom of Demons, then?” said the demon. It chuckled. “I have heard stories about how foolish you humans can be, but never thought they had any truth to them. But I suppose that your foolishness is understandable, because you have no way of knowing just how hopeless your little quest actually is.”

  “And what do you mean by that?” said Keo.

  The demon smiled, flashing its bloodstained teeth. “Now, now, Keo of the Sword, I am not going to go and tell you that. Instead, I am going to banish your soul to the fiery pits where it belongs. Die!”

  The demon dashed toward Keo, moving as silently over the floor as if it was an actual ghost. It snapped at him with its massive jaws, but Keo blocked the attack with Gildshine. He swung Gildshine at the demon's face, but the demon leaped out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting cut by his blade.

  Turning to face the demon, Keo did not run to meet it. Instead, he took a few steps backwards. He remembered from his battle with the first demon—the one that the ghost wolf called Hand of Blood—that even Gildshine could not harm it unless he activated its special ability. But, while activating Gildshine's ability to cut through anything would probably help him defeat this demon, he had to be careful because if he used Gildshine's ability and missed, he would be too weak to defend himself.

  I'll bait him into attacking me, just like I did to his fellow demon, and then strike when he least expects it, Keo thought. It worked once, so I don't see why it couldn't work again.

  “Going on the defensive, murderer?” said the demon. It growled. “Not that it matters to me, because either way I will tear you apart and scatter your body across the face of this pathetic ruin of a city.”

  “Then come at me, demon,” said Keo, waving Gildshine at him mockingly. “Or are you afraid of the human who killed your friend?”

  The demon let out an awful howl before charging at Keo again. Keo took up a more suitable fighting stance to ensure he had proper footing and then focused on his bond with Gildshine again. He asked it to take half of his energy so that it could cut through any substance in the world. And, as always, Gildshine complied and Keo felt the blade become stronger and more powerful in his hands than it had been mere moments before.

  Yet Keo did not signal this power-up to the demon. Instead, he raised Gildshine above his head, intending to bring it down on the demon's head and cleave into its head with one stroke of Gildshine's sharp blade.

  Just a few more seconds … Keo thought, watching as the demon drew closer and closer to him with every bound of its long legs. One … two … three!

  At the very last second, Keo brought Gildshine down on the demon's head. He fully expected to see his sword cut through the demon's skull without issue and thus end the fight immediately.

  But without warning, the demon vanished into thin air and Gildshine struck the floor, where it stuck hard and fast. Surprised, Keo looked around for a moment before sudden exhaustion set in and he almost fell to the floor. But he managed to lean on Gildshine for balance, although even that was a challenge.

  Where … where did that damn demon go? Keo thought, panting and sweating as he looked around.

  Then the demon's tail came out of nowhere and struck Keo in the side. The blow was strong enough to send him flying. He soared upside down through the air, unable to scream, before he landed flat on his back on the marble floor. Normally he would have jumped right back up to his feet after a blow like that, but the side effect of Gildshine's ability had fully fallen over him by now like a heavy cloud and he could barely move a muscle due to the sheer exhaustion that had overcome his body. He could only gather enough strength to raise his head high enough to see the demon looking at him with a smirk.

  “Foolish human,” said the demon, shaking its head. “I am not Hand of Blood. I knew about the power of your sword and how it can kill us demons. I tricked you into repeating your tactics, which worked out well in my favor. Killing you will be so much easier now that it will be almost unfair … if I even cared about human concepts like 'fairness.'”

  Keo could not answer that charge, mostly because he was too tired to speak. He tried to sit up, but he could not even manage that much. So he conte
nted himself with glaring at the demon, which then charged toward him, its bloodstained lips twisted in a bloodthirsty grin.

  The demon launched itself through the air toward Keo and Keo knew that it was going to crush him underneath its weight. He tried to move his body once more, but failed, and so could only watch as the demon fell toward him like a falling boulder from the top of a mountain.

  Then Keo felt something grab him and he was suddenly whisked away from where he lay. A second later, the demon crashed into the spot of the floor where he had been lying, a stunned and surprised look on its face when it looked down and realized that Keo was no longer underneath it.

  Keo was just as surprised as the demon. He looked at his right shoulder and could not see anyone there, yet he felt two hands grabbing his shirt and pulling him along like a sack of potatoes. Then Keo saw that he was being dragged toward Dlaine, who ran over to Keo and met him about halfway.

  The hands then let go of Keo, while at the same time Dlaine bent over him and said, “You okay, kid?”

  Keo shook his head and said, in a weak voice that was little more than a whisper, “What … was …”

  “Jola,” said Dlaine. “She grabbed you at the last minute, as you no doubt noticed. But what happened to you? Did the demon cast some sort of spell on you or—?”

  “Gildshine,” said Keo. Every word was pure torture to speak, but he had to speak if Dlaine was going to understand what happened. “Give up half of my energy to … to give it the power to cut through anything.”

  Dlaine's eyes widened. “Really? Damn, kid, why didn't you tell me about that before? That could have been pretty handy to know.”

  Then Dlaine looked up at the demon, which had gotten over its surprise and was now glaring at them both. His own face looked quite pale as he said, “And that … that thing is an actual demon?”

  “Yes,” said Keo, panting hard. “Do you believe me now?”

  Dlaine stroked his chin, a look of fear in his eyes. “Well, I have never been one to deny the reality of what is in front of me. So I guess I do, kid. That's going to make it harder to sleep at night, though.”

  “Least of our problems,” Keo muttered.

  “So how do we beat it?” said Dlaine, looking at Keo.

  Keo shrugged weakly. “Gildshine could do it, but I … I already used up its power for the day and don't have any energy left to use it again.”

  Dlaine cursed. “Well, can magic hurt it, then?”

  “Not sure,” said Keo. “Not much of an expert in demon-killing, despite my experience.”

  Dlaine looked to his left. “Jola, think you can deal with the demon while I make sure that Keo here is safe?”

  Keo heard no words of affirmation from Jola, but a second later Dlaine said, “Thanks,” looked down at Keo, and said, “All right. Jola's going to distract the demon.”

  “What are we supposed to do?” Keo asked.

  “Get your sword back, for one,” said Dlaine as he stood up and looked around the lobby. “That could be—”

  A loud howl pierced the air again and the demon was loping across the floor toward them. But it didn't get very far before a burst of flame appeared before it, causing the demon to skid to a halt. It stepped backwards from the flames, only for some kind of strange black dust to appear out of nowhere and fly into its eyes. The demon let out a howl of pain and staggered backwards, rubbing its eyes with its front paws as best as it could.

  Keo watched the entire scene with amazement, while Dlaine frowned and said, “Huh. Jola's going easy on this one. Guess she's trying to figure out what hurts it and what doesn't. Smart one, she is. Anyway, let's get you back to your sword.”

  Dlaine hauled Keo to his feet and wrapped one arm around his shoulders. Even with Dlaine's support, however, Keo couldn't stand very well. He tried, of course, but his legs simply refused to stand on their own. He nearly collapsed again, but Dlaine forced him to remain upright and started walking him toward Gildshine, which still stood in the marble floor where Keo had planted it. Meanwhile, the demon was still rubbing the black dust out of its eyes, but then the floor under its feet split and it tripped and fell on flat on its stomach, so Keo figured Jola had it covered for now.

  “Okay, Keo, we just need to get your sword and we will be all right,” said Dlaine as they slowly made their way over to Gildshine step by step. “It's the only surefire way to kill demons that we know of.”

  “But its magical power …” Keo coughed. “It's powerless until tomorrow. It's useless.”

  “Maybe, but I'd still feel better with a magical sword than without one,” said Dlaine. “I don't think Jola will be able to distract it for long, much less beat it on her own.”

  Keo was about to ask how they were supposed to stop the demon if Jola couldn't and Gildshine was currently powerless, but he was too exhausted to ask such questions, so he simply let Dlaine lead him to Gildshine. Upon reaching the sword, Dlaine lay Keo on the floor and then grasped Gildshine's hilt with both hands before pulling up as hard as he could.

  Unfortunately, Gildshine did not budge from its position in the floor, causing Dlaine to say, “Damn it. Keo, how hard did you stab this thing into the floor?”

  Keo could not respond, so he simply shrugged his shoulders, although even that was a weak motion.

  “Never mind,” said Dlaine. “I'll just have to put some more effort into retrieving it, then.”

  But just as Dlaine redoubled his grip around Gildshine's hilt again, a loud howl caused Keo and him to look in the direction of the demon.

  The demon had finally succeeded in wiping the black dust from its eyes. It looked around again before spotting Keo and Dlaine, and then a vicious scowl appeared across its lupine features.

  “Do not flee from me, murderer,” said the demon. “This time, there is no escape!”

  The demon took a couple of steps forward before more black dust flew toward its eyes. But then the demon vanished, causing the black dust to miss and fall onto the floor. A second later, the demon reappeared a couple of feet from where it had stood and slashed at the air.

  Somehow, the demon's paw struck something that Keo could not see. He heard what sounded like a small body hit the floor and rolled a couple of feet, but he did not understand what it meant until Dlaine shouted, “Jola!”

  It was a useless shout, however, because the demon started running toward them again. This time, Keo knew that there was no way either he or Dlaine would survive. The demon had murder in its eyes and it wouldn't take it long to kill them. It might even kill them both in one hit, which was certainly possible, considering its massive size and incredible strength.

  Dlaine, rather than run, started pulling at Gildshine again. Keo wanted to shout at him to forget the stupid sword and run, but he completely lacked the strength to even mutter that thought. All he could do was lie there and wait for the demon to kill Dlaine and him.

  But then, Dlaine finally succeeded in pulling Gildshine out of the floor. Then Dlaine stood between Keo and the incoming demon, wielding Gildshine in his hands with surprising expertise, like he had handled swords before.

  “Pathetic human!” the demon shouted as it ran toward them. “You think you can hurt me with that blade? Your death shall be as painful as torture!”

  Dlaine, however, did not reply. He just redoubled his grip on Gildshine and ran toward the demon. Keo wanted to shout at Dlaine to drop the sword and run, because there was no way that Dlaine could hope to even touch the demon, but again he lacked the strength to speak and so could only watch as Dlaine ran toward his death.

  But at the last second, a cloud of that thick black dust that Jola had thrown into the eyes of the demon flew out of nowhere and struck the demon in the face again. The demon let out a yelp of pain and surprise, skidding to a halt and wiping at its eyes again, but Dlaine did not slow down. He pulled Gildshine back and stabbed it directly into the exposed throat of the demon.

  And much to Keo's surprise, Gildshine's blade cut through the demon'
s throat, sending black blood gushing from its wounds. The demon let out a gasp of pain, but did not fight back. Dlaine just drove Gildshine deeper and deeper into the demon's throat before pulling the blade out and stepping back.

  Black blood now flowed down the demon's chest. Nonetheless, the demon managed to look down at Dlaine with hatred in its eyes.

  “Murderer's … friend …” the demon said, its words mangled due to the damage done to its throat. “Killers … both of you …”

  The demon's eyes rolled into the back of its head and it fell forwards. As soon as it crashed to the floor, its body crumbled into that same sand-like substance that Hand of Blood's corpse had turned into, before it, too, disintegrated into nothingness, leaving not even one drop of blood to indicate that it had been lying there mere moments before.

  Then Dlaine lowered Gildshine and started panting. He looked over his shoulder at Keo and said, “What? Never seen someone kill a demon before?”

  Keo blinked. “How … did you …”

  “Luck, mostly,” said Dlaine, turning around to face Keo. “Jola told me that all magical weapons have residual magic on them after their ability has been used. I wagered that Gildshine had enough residual magic on it to make it strong enough to kill the demon … and I also wagered that the demon would not know that and therefore would not see my being armed with Gildshine as a danger to avoid.”

  “Amazing,” said Keo. “And lucky.”

  “Very lucky, but you know what they say about luck,” said Dlaine. “It's about preparation meeting opportunity, or whatever. I can't remember right now.”

  Then the sound of clapping hands filled the lobby and Keo and Dlaine looked up at the staircase leading to the second floor. The Fallsman, plus Takan and his Warriors, stood at the top of the staircase, looking down on Keo, Dlaine, and Jola, like they had been standing there for a while. Only the Fallsman, however, was clapping, while Takan and the Warriors merely stood around him in silence. The Fallsman then lowered his hands and started walking down the stairs, his boots loudly clicking against each stone step. Takan and the Warriors followed their leader, still saying nothing.

  “Excellent, excellent, simply excellent,” said the Fallsman, putting his hands in his pockets as he walked down the stairs. “You killed the demon in less than an hour. Quite incredible. You two—or should I say three, counting your invisible friend—would surely be a force to be reckoned with if you ever decided to get into the life of organized crime, that's for certain.”

  “Yeah, sure,” said Dlaine. He looked down at Keo and said, “Let me help you up so we can leave.”

  Dlaine bent over and helped Keo to his feet. Keo was starting to feel a little stronger, but he still needed Dlaine's help to stand and knew that he would not feel well until tomorrow at least. Dlaine, to his credit, seemed to be holding it together, even though the killing of that demon had clearly shaken him. Or maybe it was the revelation that Keo had not been lying about the demons' existence that had shaken him.

  Then Dlaine and Keo turned to face the Fallsman, who was now walking across the floor toward them. The Fallsman stopped several feet away from them, smiling, though Keo noticed how his eyes kept glancing at Gildshine, which Dlaine still held.

  “I thought for sure that the ghost would kill you three, since you had so little time to prepare, but apparently I was dead wrong,” said the Fallsman. He put his hands together. “Tell me, Keo of the Sword, where did you get that magical sword?”

  Keo had very little strength in which to talk, but thankfully he didn't need to say anything, because Dlaine spoke instead.

  “Sorry, but my friend isn't in the mood to talk,” said Dlaine. He gestured at the spot where the demon had stood. “Now, we killed your ghost. According to the deal we agreed to, you said you would let us go if we killed it.”

  The Fallsman looked disappointed at the change in subject, but then shrugged and said, “I cannot deny that. Yes, you three may leave. I presume you already know how to leave Castarious?”

  “I do,” said Dlaine, nodding. “I've been here several times in the past, so I know my way around. Well, unless you've done some serious redecorating since the last time I was here.”

  “Ah, Castarious is the same today as it has been ever since the Kingdom's fall two decades ago,” said the Fallsman with a chuckle. “I don't even have enough men to make any massive, sweeping changes to the city's layout, anyway.” Then the Fallsman suddenly stopped chuckling and he looked serious. “That ghost … it called itself a demon, did it not?”

  The Fallsman's tone was hesitant and even slightly fearful, as if seeking reassurance that he had not heard what he thought he had heard. It made the Fallsman look much weaker than he normally did, though Keo couldn't blame him, seeing as most people feared the demons.

  “That it did,” said Dlaine. “That it did. What of it?”

  The Fallsman rubbed his hands against each other, which seemed like a nervous habit to Keo. “But that was a lie, yes? The demons are merely legend, scary stories children tell each other around campfires at night in order to frighten each other. It wasn't actually a demon, was it?”

  “It was,” said Keo, causing the Fallsman to look at him suddenly. His voice was still weak, but he wanted to be the one to explain it to the Fallsman.

  The Fallsman's eyes widened. “And you mean to say that everything it said—about the Kingdom of Demons, about you killing one of its brethren earlier, and everything else—was true?”

  “Yes,” said Keo, nodding weakly. “The demons are returning. It's why we have to get to Capitika fast as we can, so we can tell the Magical Council so they can prepare for it.”

  The Fallsman tapped his chin in thought. Behind him, his Warriors exchanged terrified looks with one another, while Takan shifted her weight from foot to foot, like she was unsure how to react to this news.

  “I …” the Fallsman seemed at a loss for words at the moment. “What will happen if the demons rise again?”

  “Likely what happened in the old stories,” said Dlaine. “Lots of death and slaughter and war and chaos and that sort of thing. Fun stuff.”

  The Fallsman now looked like he was trying to figure out how he was going to use this new knowledge to his advantage, but Keo doubted there was anything the Fallsman could do to stop the demons.

  The the Fallsman shook his head and said, “Please, why don't you two stay the night in my mansion? You seem too tired to make the trek out of the city on your own, particularly today.”

  Dlaine eyed the Fallsman warily. “What are you trying to do?”

  “Think of it as a token of my appreciation,” said the Fallsman. He gestured at the mansion's lobby. “There are many rooms in my mansion, so we shouldn't have any trouble finding you a room to sleep in. Besides, it is getting late and by the time you leave Castarious, it will be pitch-black. And if I recall my demon stories correctly, the demons were always more prominent and dangerous at night.”

  Dlaine looked at Keo with a questioning gaze. “What do you think, Keo? Should we accept his offer or not?”

  While Keo still didn't trust the Fallsman very much, he knew that there was no way that he, Dlaine, and Jola could make it out of the city in Keo's current tired state. The thought of sleeping in a nice, soft, comfortable bed even for just one night, after spending the last several nights camping outside in the wilderness, was too tempting for Keo to resist. And besides, the Fallsman's offer seemed genuine, so he saw no reason to reject it.

  So Keo said, “Yes. We accept.”

  “Very well, then,” said the Fallsman. He gestured at Takan. “I will have Takan here show you to your room and then you may leave in the morning when you are ready.”

  ***