by Greg Dragon
“Jokes on you, Chaos, I am not yours,” Alysia said. “I am an Ert; it doesn’t matter what you’ve given me. My new and chosen oath is to stop you. It was an easy decision, considering the fact that you destroyed my world and set your V’Kosha to get you new recruits.”
“Is that what you think, girl? That I am with the V’Kosha? They are disgusting creatures. A plague of demons. They merely use my portals to infest new worlds, breed demon lords to hold down the territory, and whatever else those low beasts do whenever they pillage. My recruits are hand selected, skilled fighters of their worlds. Like you, they’re chosen, not turned like a disgusting V’Kosha. Honestly, if I was going to kill you, it would be for that insult.”
“So, if they aren’t with you, where are the V’Kosha on Yalem?” Alysia asked.
“There’s my sharp girl.” Chaos smiled. “They live beneath Yalem, in the molten catacombs of the damned. It is there that their lords live, awaiting hosts in each of the worlds. When a V’Kosha chooses a vessel, the lord crosses over—”
“I saw it happen when I was running through the park back in Jersey,” Alysia mused. “They oiled me up and tied me to the bed, and then I saw a large shadow appear inside the fire.”
“That monster would have violated you and forced you to give up your body. With your likeness, they would go to your family, turn them into V’Kosha beasts, and lead more rituals to do the same. But that was not your destiny to become one of them, Alysia. Your destiny is to lead an army on the field of battle.”
“Not your army, the army of Erts,” she said, and Chaos stopped and stared at her for an extremely long time.
“Do the people of Wildemont realize that you see them as monsters?” he asked suddenly, changing the subject and throwing her off. “All of us here in Yalem are monsters to you. This is why you find it so easy to kill them whenever the time arises.”
“The only monster I see is the one in front of me,” Alysia said. “A monster that ruins people and gets others to do his dirty work while he sits back plotting even more destruction. Do you realize that nobody likes you?”
Chaos started laughing when she said this. “By nobody, do you mean the peasants and their witch queen in that backwater?” he asked. “They are ‘nobody,’ and it delights me because I have no love for them. Even now, your witch rides to your rescue. I wonder how she expects to win you back.”
Alysia was still wondering why she wasn’t bound. Was Chaos so confident in himself that he would have the slayer of his men walking around freely? She looked at him and he winked at her, and she began to think back on their first meeting.
“Do you know what I like about you, Alysia?” he asked. “You’re genuine. It is a rare trait in the seven worlds, trumped by the vain and the critical. We brought you here and you have been nothing but gracious, even choosing to make our fight your own. You, who have been forced into a war that you know little about, and made to live with one of the ‘demons’ you should loathe.”
“Nobody is making me live with Lenny. She offered me her home, and I am grateful for it, especially since I am not yet trusted in the village.”
“See, and that’s exactly it. You recognize kindness. There is a greatness in you. You’re one of the builders, the rare leaders that come along. Normal people cry and complain, but not you Alysia of the Erts.”
Alysia didn’t know what to think. Why was he giving her compliments after sending demon after demon to take her out? “I have a question for you, Lord Chaos. You won’t answer honestly, but I am going to ask it anyway. Are you disallowed from killing me? Some sort of warrior code that says you can’t lay a finger on me. Even here, we are alone and you are armed and I am not. I’ve killed your servants, fed them to my sword, yet here you are giving me compliments.”
“You are very observant, but it is not for me to say. Much will be revealed to you in time. For now, I’ve come to ask you once more to reconsider. It was I that armed you with the necessary tools to rid your world of the V’Kosha. Your once-parents are alive, and doing well in your reformed world, and here you are, in the world that you belong. What have the Erts done for you besides feed you riddles?”
“They gave me Euphoria, and they told me what you intend to do with this world,” she replied.
Chaos seemed tired when she said this, and he replaced his hood and made to leave. “Tell you what, Alysia. The next time you see your so-called father, the Ert, ask him to tell you who you really are, and when you decipher his lies, come and find me. There will always be a place for you by my side.”
Chapter Five
“Where am I?” Alysia asked as she walked with Chaos, looking up at the giant trees and trying in vain to see past the mist.
“You’re in the eternal mists, the passage between the worlds. Think of it as a room of mirrors where you walk through one side and simply appear at the other. There have been worse prisons, right? Though I’m sure you haven’t experienced any. Think of this place as a crossroads for our relationship,” Chaos said. “Accept my terms and you can leave. Reject me and figure out an escape on your own.”
“What is it you want from me?”
“Now, there is a question that I like. See, you’re learning, Alysia. Pretty soon we’ll be the best of friends, completing each other’s sentences and doing each other’s hair.” He smiled at his own joke and revealed his teeth … a straight line of large, flawless pearls broken up by two long canines. He was quite handsome, she decided, but too shady for her to admit it. She wondered if he was about to proposition her in a more carnal way … it would only make sense, considering his obsession.
“Just ask your question and stop trying to be funny. You’re not the type whose jokes will make people laugh. What does the mighty Chaos want after lying to me continuously? If it’s trust, then you may as well leave me here to rot, but if it’s something else”—she looked at him coyly through the side of her eye—“you may be very disappointed, either way.”
Chaos seemed to catch on to her inference and blushed slightly. “You are very beautiful, Alysia, but I am both married and in control of my urges—”
“Are you now?”
“Oh, yes, yes I am. Despite what your witch has told you, I am dedicated to the path. Now, what I wanted to propose to you is another deal involving your sword arm. Those V’Kosha that wrecked your world, I have grown tired of them and their animalistic ways. I could send my Garot into their tunnels but I fear that I would lose more than I am willing … not to mention accountability. If the V’Kosha knew that I moved on them, we would start a war that could last years, and I have my hands full with the Erts.”
“What does any of this have to do with me?” Alysia asked, and Chaos stopped and moved to face her with his cloak pulled close.
“I want to hire you to kill their leader and as many of his lieutenants as you can. On Earth you did this easily, cutting into the six invaders and removing them from your world. Now you have a chance to do it where it counts. You can put a stop to the invading, the possessions, and the loss of life.”
Alysia eyed him carefully and he seemed to be genuine. “Chaos,” she said. “The last time we struck a deal, you promised me that I could save my family if I joined your Bloody Garot.”
“I did, but then you betrayed me and destroyed the sword I gave you with an Ert blade. Not once did you come to me to confirm what that Ert told you, but you took his word instead and used the weapon that he gave you. Did you know that the Twilight Sword absorbed the souls of the V’Kosha and trapped them inside? When you shattered the blade, they were released here in Yalem. They ransacked villages, killed, and raped. I committed my Garot to stop them, but now they have fled deep into their lairs.”
“Are you saying it is my fault that those things hurt people?” Alysia said, stunned at what she was hearing.
“The Erts’ only focus in this world is to stop me, Alysia. The V’Kosha mean nothing to them, and your world isn’t even on their l
ist of concerns. I, Chaos, came to your world to recover you and a few other chosen warriors for my ranks. You, unfortunately were an Ert plant, but I saw your greatness the first day I met you, and it didn’t matter what your origins were. This same Ert that you call father came to you and admitted to what he was. Did it occur to you even once that a man who would impregnate your human mother and abandon her should not be trusted to give you a sword?”
Alysia reached up and crossed her fingers behind her head and walked away from him, thinking. He was right and she knew it; she had allowed herself to be led. Lancert had not given her the time that Chaos did, and had not explained the goals of the Erts, but the Lord Chaos was doing it right now. Lenorela hated him, but she had her reasons, and the only issue Alysia had with him was blaming him for bringing the giants and kreples into her world and causing havoc.
“Rejoin me Alysia, at least for this. Wield a weapon that will vanquish them, violently and permanently, and when you have their heads, I promise you that your world will go back to the way you remember it.”
“Lancert told me that I can no longer exist in my world. I was born from a demon, made to wait for your arrival— I guess to destroy you? So, my world will go back, my friends will be alive, but Alysia Knight will have never existed in their minds.”
“That is to be your reality no matter what you choose, Alysia. This isn’t a thing that you can be upset with me for doing. It is your Ert father who had you born to the mother that you miss and love.”
“Ert father? I don’t care about that. My father is James Knight, and this whole mess affects him too. He loved me, and now I’m gone. All the time and effort placed into my training … all the schoolwork. It just seems like such a waste. I need to talk to Lenorela before I make any decisions. She has been here a lot longer than me, and I trust her more than I trust you and Lancert.”
“I’m afraid I cannot allow that, Alysia. Lenorela is an agent of the Erts. She will never agree to you doing me this favor, and will insist that you come after me with that Ert sword.”
“Do you fear Lenorela, Chaos? No? It seems like fear to me, your not wanting us to talk so that I can make up my mind. Why are you so—?”
“Fear? Don’t be ridiculous. I cannot bring the witch into these lands. That would be the only way that you could see her unless I release you from the mists. You can’t have either, Alysia, so make up your mind and give me an answer.”
“What will I be fighting with, if you won’t allow me to retrieve my blade and armor?”
Chaos pulled his right hand from beneath his cloak and in his hand was a sword. It was a beautiful Talwar with an ornate hilt and a black blade. It shimmered like glass and gave off a hint of green, which led Alysia to believe that it was made from obsidian. The guard was square and lined with glyphs, like every other item with magical properties. He tossed it to her, and she shifted out of the way to snatch it by its hilt.
Instantly she regretted doing this as the blade began putting thoughts into her head. Dark thoughts of anger, hate, and the need to vanquish the V’Kosha. Alysia was livid. “Another trick, Chaos? When will this end? There was never a choice for me, was there?”
“There was, sweet Alysia, until you brought her up. I don’t care for the witch, and I would rather deal with you.”
“Pity, you couldn’t hide your true nature for long,” a familiar voice said, and both Alysia and Chaos turned quickly to find Lenorela standing at the end of the path. “You forget that you are not the only one who knows the mystic pathways, Chaos. It took some effort but I was able to follow Alysia’s path. It took me to her home world, and there I found her suspended, with a knife buried in the chest of one of your portals.”
Alysia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “One of his portals? You mean to tell me that I was able to find one just that easy?”
“He wanted you to find it so that he could trap you here, my dear. This is the no-world, an area wedged between the columns of reality. I was unable to interfere for a time, but I gained access, though it seems a second too late. That blade is cursed. It’s the sword, Jin’rakshas. Try to drop it or throw it and you will find that you can’t. In the meantime it will corrupt you and you will have no choice but to do what he asks.”
Alysia faced Chaos, expecting him to talk, but the look on his face was nothing but anger. Lenorela’s presence seemed to do something to him, and it made her wonder if they had a past. When he finally looked at her she held up the sword. “Release me and promise my freedom from here on out, and I will slay the V’Kosha … all of them.”
Lenorela shouted, “CeeCee, you cannot make deals with animals like Chaos. He never tells you the full truth, and you can never be free of him.”
Alysia thought about her words and then looked at the blade. Her hand was tight on its grip and no matter how hard she tried, it would not allow her to release it. “One more thing, Chaos,” she said. “You have to leave Lenny alone. I will look into everything you’ve told me, but I want no harm done to my friend.”
Chaos seemed to consider it, then glanced up at Lenorela. “Why must you continue to be a thorn in my side?” he asked.
The dark woman had come up to them, and she was tall and beautiful. The dress she wore seemed like an expensive nightgown, and beneath it she could see the red and black scales of the ring’s armor.
“She’s ours, Chaos, just give it up already. She’s not attracted to you, and she doesn’t want the seat that your tool, Dibolosa once held. Even if CeeCee decides that the Erts are her enemy, she will still not side with you. She told me what you did, opening that portal near her school and flooding her world with the V’Kosha denizens. Now they’ve overrun your corps, and you need an outsider to help. It’s funny, really. You used this girl, and now you offer threats and cursed blades when you should be on your knees begging.”
She reached forward and touched the obsidian blade, then lifted it easily from Alysia’s grasp. She made to drop it on the ground in front of them, but Chaos reacted, snatching it up quickly and replacing it inside his cape.
“I am willing to bet that this one hasn’t told you what she is either, Alysia,” he said without taking his eyes off Lenorela. “Do as I ask, and I will leave you alone. The witch will live—for now. Wipe out the V’Kosha, collapse their world, and I will be in your debt.”
“What about my world, your original promise?” Alysia asked. “Will you set things back to the way they were?”
Chaos ignored her and walked back into the mists. He was gone within seconds, leaving the two women alone in the clearing. Lenorela took her hand and they left the trail, walking past more giant trees and into the mist itself. Cold wind began to tear into her, causing her to shiver, and it seemed as if the mist was meant to freeze them to death.
For a long time the two women walked, unable to talk due to the mist, which tasted bitter and vile whenever it would get into their mouths. They walked for an hour, Lenorela leading, and when they finally emerged, it was to another bright light which brought them back to Lenorela’s library.
“What the hell was that?” Alysia asked. She was wet from the icy mist, and still had the dagger clutched inside her palm.
“That was a stroke of luck, my dear,” Lenorela said. “He had you in his grasps and I barely made it there. I swear that you have something guiding you along. That blade would have consumed you, and you would have happily become one of his darling Bloody Garot.”
“So, what do we do now, Lenny?”
“Well, now you have to train. I can’t have you going into the badlands like this. You are about to face the most terrible creatures that Yalem has to offer, but lucky for you, there’s a powerful sorceress at your disposal.”
Knights and Demons
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About The Author
GREG DRAGON has been a creative writer for several years, and has authored on topics of relationship, finance, physical fitness and more through different sources of media. In particular, his online magazine has been a source of much pragmatic information, which has been helpful to many. As a result, his work continues to grow with a large and loyal fan base.
This Florida author brings exciting action and drama to his written work. His storylines keep readers engaged with characters that come to life from the beautiful celestial scenes of science fiction, to the gritty world of urban drama.
See Greg’s author page at gregdragon.com or keep up with his latest books and appearances through email.