The Conquering Dark

by Clay Griffith

  Penny gritted her teeth, losing sensation in her arms and hands. She didn’t feel as if she was being struck by the lightning although her teeth chattered from the feedback of so much power only inches from her. Her hands tried to shake, but she forced them to stay steady.

  When the heart of the altar could hold no more of Jane’s power, it bucked in Penny’s hands. A weird disruption spread from the crystal. It seemed to tear open the air as it stretched across the ruined square. The disturbance slithered around Gaios, coating him in an unseen sheath, as his face twisted in alarm. He was torn free from the earth and suspended in space, buffeted as if caught in a brutal gale. Green swirls of aether streamed out of him from his eyes and mouth. The demigod collapsed to the ground in a rain of rocks. He fell limply to his hands and knees. The magma lake ceased roiling. London stopped shaking.

  Simon led the charge off the mound of stones and across the lava-drenched battlefield toward the black basalt remnant of the temple.

  The elemental struggled to his feet, wide-eyed, waving a hand. A rock rose up from the ground, wobbling and slow, to block a volley of Imogen’s quills. An ice lance impaled Gaios in the shoulder, spinning him back. Malcolm rolled to his belly and rested Penny’s blunderbuss on a rock. He fired off a shell. The stunned elemental lifted his hands, calling forth a stone shield. Its flimsy surface shattered from the impact, sending shrapnel flying back into the demigod. Kate lobbed three vials of treacle at Gaios, pinning him in place. Imogen fired more quills at him while a bolt of lightning struck the elemental square in the chest. Gaios screamed and hunched over the pain, his limbs going limp in the wake of Imogen’s toxins.

  Under the cover of the barrage, Simon appeared before Gaios now, the runes on his body flaring through the smoke of the lightning. He reached out for the trapped elemental. “Your time is up.”

  Then the world around them went mad as Gaios lost control of his power. The earth rumbled and bucked. Everyone was thrown to the ground. Geysers of flame spewed from cracks ripped in the crust. Choking ash and dust filled the air.

  Even Gaios was no longer immune to the upheaval. He was thrown into the air and fell back limp. Like an old man who suddenly found his body betraying him, he labored to rise. He looked frightened as he tried to bring his earth under control, but nothing happened. He raised his fists with soil sifting out from between his fingers.

  “Gaios!” Simon shouted. “Stop!”

  Gaios turned to the scribe, who was reaching out toward him. The elemental began to shake. Magma splashed high, like whitecaps in a storm. Streams of black and red lava swirled through the air and converged on Gaios. He stood with arms upraised as the searing river of boiling rock poured over him.

  There was no chance for Simon to touch the elemental now. Fire rained down everywhere. Even Simon’s stone form would not save him from this. Kate rushed toward him, shouting for him to run. Globs of lava fell all around him.

  The air seemed suddenly frigid. Magma spouts froze black. The open square transformed into a weird gallery of stalagmites of solid basalt, glittering in the half-light. It was a forest of large black spikes sticking out of the earth. The strange formations were thicker and more numerous closer to the center of the square where a great single pillar of stone stood with Gaios buried inside. From within that rock, a primal scream ripped out with a voice that came from deep inside the earth.

  The surrounding obsidian pillars shattered in an instant. The air filled with a terrifying mix of huge stones rocketing amidst a black razor dust. It was like being trapped inside a storm, with thunder clouds roaring and lightning cracking overhead. The air was thick and difficult to breathe.

  Kate shouted, still too far from Simon. She watched with relief as he turned his body to nearly impervious rock, his only hope of surviving so close to the center of the maelstrom. Kate saw the rest of the team spread out to her right, scrambling to protect themselves. She agonized that she was too far away to help.

  Kate saw that Jane had come down from the hill of wreckage. Penny crouched near her, pulling Hogarth close. At the same time, Hogarth had his broad arms wrapped about Charlotte’s furry form. Spears of light arced from Jane’s fingers, filling the air around her, smashing the large projectiles to bits, then dancing through the deadly shards, ripping them from the air. Her protective lightning spread to cover those at her feet.

  Nearest Kate by several yards, Malcolm reached out and pulled Imogen close to him. Nick swore in pain, fighting through the sharp haze to reach the Scotsman and the woman. He hunkered low and raised a rudimentary ice shield that covered their front and flanks. Heavy stones smashed into it and razor shards quickly started tearing it away. Nick continued to reinforce the ice with more and more frost in a struggle to keep them safe.

  All this occurred in seconds, leaving Kate to stand alone amidst the gale that would flay her alive. Her hands flew to her bandolier. She threw vials out onto the ground all around her, creating walls of amber.

  She watched in dismay as great chunks of obsidian collided with the amber, smashing it, while smaller shards gouged out pieces. Her safety would be short-lived and her protective fortress would soon be rendered to dust. Kate threw more amber vials in hopes of reinforcing it. Glistening ocher bloomed hard around her in the hellish air, only to be cracked and shattered yet again.

  Kate’s hands fumbled at her bandolier, but she touched only empty loops. Her actions stilled. Across the way she saw Imogen struggling against Malcolm’s grip, trying to get to her. Agony ripped through Kate’s heart. She had no way to comfort her sister.

  Her green eyes sought out Simon. Despite his stone form, she sensed the panic and desperation in him. She straightened calmly, a sad smile on her lips. She feared that Simon was prepared to drop his spell and run to her, even though he had to know he wouldn’t reach her before he was struck down too. His mind wouldn’t win that argument. She shook her head as the last remnant of her amber shelter shattered in the storm. She stumbled, her clothes and hair flying. Smaller rocks cut her face and arms like razors. A chunk of obsidian clipped her side, knocking her down to her knees.

  A pale shape appeared next to Kate. The strange vision of white and black was Imogen, her mourning dress shredded by the razor dust, exposing her pale flesh. She threw herself on Kate, shoving her to the ground and burying her sister beneath her. Kate yelled, angry at Imogen’s foolhardiness. But Imogen was stronger; so much stronger. Kate cried out as bright red blood poured down Imogen’s face above her. Heavier stones struck the young woman, knocking her head aside. Still, she shoved Kate down and settled atop her. Kate struggled to drag Imogen closer, fighting to protect her young sister. Detritus tumbled over Imogen. She was slammed down again, her pale body jerking like a doll. Her white skin was visible briefly until more shards crashed down.

  Kate’s world went dark, everything lost in a tempest of obsidian. She tasted iron as she tried to swallow against the grit. The full weight of her sister pressed against her. She took some calming solace in the touch of Imogen’s cool cheek against hers. Kate tried to move but she was pinned; rough stones and rocks pressed into her legs and arms. There was no sound beyond the roaring in her ears and Kate fought panic in the pitch-black and the suffocating air.

  Knowing the terror of the dark must be tenfold for Imogen, Kate twisted her hands in the tight space, clawing at the sharp rocks around her, trying to gain some wiggle room. She shoved with her very limited leverage, but they were wedged in tight. With shallow pants, Kate struggled to whisper soothing words in her sister’s ear. “It’s all right, Imogen. They’ll find us. No need to fear. We’re together.”

  Finally above her, she sensed movement and heard the scrabbling of claws and furious digging. A huge chunk of masonry was lifted and tossed aside. A stream of thin daylight shone in. The hazy sky greeted Kate’s blurred vision, but then it was blocked as the great werewolf crouched, peering down.

  “Hello?” Charlotte growled.

  Relieved, Kate couldn’t draw e
nough breath to answer her. She tried weakly to rouse her sister to no avail. Kate now heard Simon’s desperate voice. More rubble was shoved away and she drew in a deeper breath. Craggy stones and basalt soil sloughed off Imogen as Charlotte pulled the limp form up into her powerful arms.

  “Kate!” Simon shouted, his hands bloody from digging through the razor-sharp dirt.

  Her eyes were wide with shock and her limbs trembled as she reached for him. Simon lifted her carefully out of the debris, holding her tight, checking her for serious injury. Kate shoved his hands away, her head turned to her sister. Dark dust coated Imogen’s fair skin. Charlotte settled Imogen’s form into the dirt and crouched over her as Kate reached out. Imogen’s white skin was slathered with blood. She had numerous gashes on her face and chest. One pale arm was crooked and her head was turned farther past her shoulder than it should have been.

  “Oh God, please. Oh God!” Kate shouted, her voice hoarse against the drifting ash and raw emotion. She put a hand on her sister’s arm. She felt a terrible lack of response although she tried to ignore it. Imogen’s muscles were slack. There was no resistance. Kate touched Imogen’s dust-caked cheek and the girl’s head jostled lifelessly. Kate gasped and her trembling worsened.

  Charlotte’s massive head turned and her yellow eyes grew round and frightened. “Miss Kate?”

  Kate sensed the fear and aching need coming from Charlotte so she reached out and took the beast’s clawed hand. There was nothing she could say to the monstrous face before her that looked for all the world like a scared little girl.

  Malcolm fell to his knees next to Imogen and put his gentle hands on her face. He inspected her carefully, checking her eyes and sliding a finger along her neck, seeking a pulse. After a second, his head dropped and he let his hand caress the poor girl’s arm. His great frame shook silently.

  Kate watched Simon desperately for the barest hint of hope that he might tell her something other than what she knew.

  He couldn’t manage to raise his voice above a despairing whisper. “I’m sorry, Kate. I’m so sorry.”

  “Nick!” Kate cried, her chest tight with rising dread. “Help her! Do something!”

  Nick appeared stunned by the sight. He shook his head in horror, looking at Simon as if in apology. “I can’t help her. I don’t have that power anymore.”

  Kate slid away from Charlotte. Frantic, she wiped away the blood on Imogen’s face, but it was everywhere. There was no response to her ministrations, not a moan or even eye movement beneath her blood-crusted lids. She pushed her face against her sister’s cool skin. All she could do was whisper in Imogen’s ear, “No no no no no.”

  She barely felt Simon’s steadying hand upon her back. A strange peacefulness descended on London, but Kate noticed none of it. Her world had shattered.

  Sounds of grief pierced the night. Smoke billowed from fires that burned in the city all around them. Kate’s sobs filled the still air, cutting deep into Simon’s heart as he stared down at the pale figure in the black dirt. Charlotte hunched near him with her mouth frozen open. Malcolm drew the werewolf against him silently. Her long arms wrapped around his waist and she buried her head inside his coat. Penny had her hands on her head, disbelieving. Jane seemed disturbed to be witnessing such grief, but unable to offer comfort. Even the stoic Hogarth’s granite face cracked, his guilt over the loss of his charge all too evident.

  Behind them a great column of basalt still stood in the center of the raised platform, presumably with Gaios encased inside. Simon stared hard at it. All this anguish because of one man’s vendetta over an old crime. The waste. The ruin of it all. So pointless.

  Above them, the world darkened suddenly and the ground offered a distant rumble. From the center of the demolished temple, the thick black pillar began to move. Liquid bubbled on its surface and the black turned red and transformed into a large blob of slithering lava. It rolled and glistened for a moment before it collapsed as if popped with a needle. It revealed a figure standing on the jagged ruins of the marble temple floor amidst receding magma. He was black and shining bright. He appeared to be made of flat slabs of obsidian. Then the black glass folded away from the figure’s head.

  Gaios took a deep breath like a diver emerging from the sea. His eyes focused on his surroundings and he scowled. The obsidian instantly reshaped itself from simple protective planks into a beautiful armor reminiscent of a Roman praetor. He wore a carved black cuirass and a skirt of stone strips protecting his thighs. His arms were sheathed in bracers and his lower legs were covered by greaves, all likewise made of obsidian.

  “Everyone, back on your feet,” Simon ordered.

  Charlotte pulled away from Malcolm and dropped onto all fours, charging like an attack dog. She loped over the wreckage and launched herself across the moat of lava surrounding the marble platform where Gaios stood. Her speed took the elemental by surprise and he actually flinched as the huge savage thing hurtled at him. Charlotte slammed into the black-armored figure, knocking him back only a step. He managed to bring up his sheathed hand and jam it against her hairy throat, holding the snapping jaws away from his head.

  Suddenly a jagged shaft of obsidian shot out the back of Charlotte’s neck. She stiffened. Her eyes rolled up and her claws scrabbled off Gaios’s impervious chest. The elemental lowered his arm and the werewolf slid off the long stone spike that extended from his fist. She collapsed in a heap at his feet and began to shrink back into the shape of a helpless, quivering little girl. Blood dripped from the sharp stone as it flowed back up to become the gauntlet over Gaios’s hand.

  Malcolm screamed his throat raw and pulled his pistols. He ran toward the crumbled temple. The Lancasters boomed.

  “Malcolm, no!” Simon shouted. He grabbed Kate as she started toward Gaios with the blood of her sister painted on her hands. “Don’t go near him!”

  Kate turned on Simon, fury welling in her face like an oncoming storm. But with tremendous effort she held on to the last vestiges of her sanity. She took a step back to his side, her hand reaching for her pistol.

  “We have to work together!” he said. “Or we have no chance.”

  Malcolm’s heavy shells smashed cracks in the black obsidian cuirass. Gaios was slammed onto his back. Malcolm threw both empty pistols aside as he ran and drew his dagger. He jumped over the magma, his long black coat fluttering behind him, and landed hard at the feet of the elemental. Without pause, Malcolm raised the knife over his head and let out a Gaelic war cry.

  Two columns of stone rose on either side of him. When they smashed together, Malcolm was not between them. He had flipped backward, his feet landing just inches short of the bubbling lava.

  Gaios rose on obsidian tendrils that pushed him up to his feet, then retracted into his armor. He glared down at Malcolm, but suddenly a slim javelin flew toward him. It was a shaft glowing blue, Simon’s sword. The blade sank into Gaios’s shoulder as if he wore no armor. Before he could react, his head was covered in ice. A large shape moved alongside Malcolm and Hogarth drew back his war maul. The mace collided with Gaios and sent black stone flying in glittering shards. The elemental went to one knee.

  “Take Charlotte!” Simon shouted at Malcolm as Hogarth swung another colossal blow against Gaios, sending him spinning.

  Malcolm gathered the limp form of Charlotte in his arms. Blood seeped from a horrid gash in her neck, but she was breathing. He carried her back to where Simon and Kate waited.

  Jane ran up to them. She leaned over Charlotte when he set her down and began to wrap a bandage torn from her own dress around the girl’s throat. Simon pulled Malcolm away from her. Kate loaded her crossbow, her face harsh like Medusa, her gaze never leaving the armored demigod.

  The ground where Hogarth stood was upended and he tumbled away from Gaios. Carried by the weight of his mace, he slid down the marble slab and crashed to the ground some twenty yards from the elemental. A sudden blast of lava boiled up through the paving stones and enveloped his legs. Hogarth scr
eamed.

  Penny struggled toward Hogarth even though her steps were weak and labored. She grabbed his arm and started to pull. Hogarth’s weight nearly dragged her into the lava. She dug her boot heels against some wreckage and hooked her elbow under his arm. The exhausted engineer pulled the large man out of the burning pool. He collapsed onto the ground in a gasping catatonic lump, his legs black, withered, and steaming. The engineer started to stand.

  “Penny!” Simon shouted, climbing back to his feet. “Get back!”

  Gaios turned toward her even as he ripped Simon’s sword from his body. Stones flew off the ground and shot at Penny with high-pitched whistles. She raised her arms over her head, but the rocks pounded her with sick thudding sounds. Penny collapsed to the ground, unable to protect herself from being crushed to a pulp. Fortunately the barrage ceased when Nick hit Gaios with a shaft of ice, distracting the furious elemental.

  Through a shower of blackened rocks and bits of pumice, Malcolm ran to Penny’s side. He inspected her unconscious figure and seemed relieved. He rummaged through her rucksack and pulled out her small sound pistol. With a quick hand on her bruised bloody face, he turned back to Gaios. Ashes were falling everywhere now, dark and dense.

  Gaios threw the sword aside and it sank into a pool of magma. He was breathing hard and his brow furrowed. Gaios looked at the remaining five, his eyes wild. “Tell me where the coward Ash is now!”

  They were failing, their plans gone to ruin. Even though Gaios apparently could no longer extend his wrath across London, he still had a fearful power here in the wreckage of his temple. Simon needed to get close to Gaios in order to do any good. The group spread out to surround the elemental. Nick and the surprisingly focused Jane went off for the far side of the platform where Gaios stood. Malcolm moved in the opposite direction. Kate pulled her last two cartridges. She loaded her single-shot pistol and clamped the last metallic cartridge between her teeth.