Empress's Endgame (Book 5 and final of the Death Incanate Saga)

by Jr H. Lee Morgan

  King Tate sheathed his sword and punched his spiked gauntlets right in the crack with tremendous force. He managed enough finger space to send a rush of power to his limbs. Lifting with his legs he yelled in strain. “Yahhhh!” his body shook as he made it rise a foot, then two, then three before he could get both hands beneath the slab and flip it over. Blue fire consumed Daku harmlessly, but when it stopped and the woman thought she won, his razor sharp beak and powerful jaw muscles ripped her face clean off. “We’re in!” he heard and turned to the Vlaran king.

  Daku jumped in the air and dove into the hole first and was followed after. The fall turned into a cavern where one side was completely white and with one new breath his rage fortified him.

  Rot, putrid decay and other closely resembling smells filled his blood with the fury to kill no matter the price. The cavern was immense with three teardrop shaped tunnels leading into the white wall. But off to the right stood pens where close to a thousand Tiaxm lay seemingly asleep. In the center of the room was a house sized pyramid made completely of diamond. Next to it was a pure white sphere of similar size. Daku’s eyes watched as the Tiaxm only seemed docile only because of the power being drawn from their energies. He could not stop the roar that vibrated the huge cave as his size quadrupled and he went on the attack while they were not yet active enough to infest the world.

  King Tate landed and thought “My Friend, make sure this palace doesn’t fall! Look through my eyes and see why.”

  Rex Semek’s blue-gray eyes saw everything his partner did and pulled back to behead the last dragon with his blade and roared for Rex Nattan’s attention. The ancient gold Rex came a moment later after having no one be able to teleport within, out or in the barrier now being attacked by nearly every dragon of the Division Mountain Colony. Rex Semek began quickly speaking in Draconian. “We must not let the two-legged pillar collapse! Thousands of Tiaxm are being held asleep while the white king is tearing into them. We cannot allow the original territory’s wards to fail. What is worse is they’ve made a new nexus and are dampening its power by using the Tiaxm’s mana to keep it. One scratch and the magic is all that is keeping our world from being overrun. We must fortify the foundations. Cage didn’t know this is where all was being defended. I will help my partner and the white king by burning our lost allies.”

  “Agreed.” His gold jaw responded and called on every Rex and soldier to send all non-vital to fortify the ground before it collapsed by King Skylar’s attack on the palace. As every Rex flew for the palace they witnessed Ulon and Poli diving into its rooftop, avoiding Rex Shrral.

  Cage’s honed reflexes kept anyone in his way guessing, before he could kill them. Ghosts Bane was by far the most effectively devastating. Waves of blackness cut through barriers as well as flesh. When they saw him as an enemy, laughing as he killed mages left and right, they took their focus off fighting those outside to come at him. Cage was flattered and embodied his heritage as a warlock. Battle made him laugh, especially those who knew what they we doing. He was hammered by over fifteen hundred sorcerers in minutes, which slowed progress. It got better when the attackers could no longer teleport around. When he felt the empress’s power rising to escape and failing, he no longer rushed, but went on a battle spree against people who were irredeemable. In his head he felt Daku’s rage and knew that despite the anger, he too was enjoying the kill. But Cage’s enemies stood no chance.

  After a minute and a half of high speed aerial battle inside the confined space of the palace and over a thousand dead, Cage landed on the empress’s penthouse platform to find General Adair and every last of the empress’s royal guards with weapons drawn and magic at the ready. Colm stood pawing the ground at his master’s side like every other Familiar up there.

  “Hey folks! I see you got the party all set up for me. I’m honored… really.” Cage laughed as if this were any other day and every hardened man slightly shook as he flung blood from his hand and a half blade, each one knowing just what it could do and were unable to resist its power. “You all chose the wrong fucking side, even if the dumbass you’re trying to protect brainwashed you all. I’m not used to giving second chances that will turn around and bite me in the ass… like you did Adair. None of this would have happened and you might have won if you killed me back on the Darshay Mountains… when you nipped my heels while trying to enslave my people.” The general’s eyes widened. “Ah, so now you remember our first encounter? Yep, that was me you didn’t finish off.” Before any could react, a black bullet was created and ripped through Colm’s bovine skull before detonating. “Unlike the rest, I’m not going to give you an out, Adair. You’re going to be a gift.”

  In the next instant the glowing sorcerer general collapsed and dimmed into unconscious so fast none of the guards knew exactly what happened. A burst of power one moment was painful to those who felt it and the next, Adair was down. “Get naked if you want to live by surrendering. The rest of you who want to dance with me” He took his warlock fighting stance, sword turning black as well. “come on and let me have a little more fun.” His grin was frightening because he was having true enjoyment.

  One in front yelled and charged, startling the others, but in a single blow from a fist meeting helmet, the head vanished in a spray of blood, bone and grey matter. The normally invisible rings of energy around his limbs readied for more, but his effortless display had everyone else dropping swords, staffs and magically shedding their armor and robes in a hurry for self-preservation. Up this close, Cage could sense the empress running around her room and the vibrations were from a raging Shakka who roared in frustration. They were trapped with no escape.

  Cage pulled out his last two personal hearts and said to the group with hands behind their heads “Gather up over there.” They huddled out of the way. “Imprison in five seconds, radius ten meters.” He threw the first and a black birdcage appeared, blocking them all from escaping. “Word of warning, don’t do any magic or you’ll die instantly. Unlike an actual gem, hearts don’t crumble when offensive spells are applied.” To the second heart he said “Total block, fifteen meters.” And every magical item was blocked from what they removed. Cage lastly went up to the unconscious general and stuck him in the neck with a syringe full of sedative and Floranna extract so that he slept like a baby for the next four hours and wouldn’t be able to move so much as a grain of sand for twelve. For his staff though, Cage used an intense energy ring and as his fist connected all molecular bonds that held it together, separated and turned the diamond into dust. Lastly though Cage stripped the man’s white robe off and tossed it over the ledge as without the diamond’s power giving constant energy to the altered space, every object started flying out. Cage grinned when there came more screams as tons of debris started falling from above.

  Instead of doing the spiral and admire the affluence built into the walls, that he could sense held many traps, mostly magically enhanced poison darts, he punched a wall, regulating power in his rings to turn a ten foot wide and deep hole to dust and beat his way into her room.

  It didn’t actually take very long as he found the large double doors and the two thickly muscled guards crumbled to the ground with their heads blown off, likely from Vika’s haste and as a way to vent her frustration. A simple thought has the heavy door swinging open and him yelling “Knock Knock! Anybody Home!?”

  At first silence greeted him and then his hearing picked up sounds of gulping as fast as naturally possible. The front room was empty so he looked behind the morbid gold throne and for once the cavern behind wasn’t blackened. It was lit by glowing bodies and he magically gripped and yanked the huge onyx drapes that walled the back of the room and for once he was caught truly and completely off guard.

  It wasn’t the beauty of a beautiful meadow with its own miniature waterfall or the amazing show of fish jumping out of a clear lake. Not even the array of blooming flowers that infused the room held his attention.

  Off to the side stood Shakka with a gian
t bottle between her teeth as a blue liquid poured down her throat. Her diamond-like scales were glowing and Cage watched her swirling energies intensifying somehow. One clear eye locked murderously on Cage as he stood alone at the entrance. Standing by a foot he found the empress holding a keg, also drinking the blue liquid as her own energies grew. She was going too fast, spilling it down her chin. Whatever it was made them grimace.

  And then the floral clean scent turned putrid in Cage’s nose. His jovial time up to this point switched into the rage he had felt but once before. His black gaze swept for his true enemy, but nothing was found right away till the chugging sounds had him closer examining the barrels and the liquid being ingested.

  “Holy shit!” he gushed in revulsion and thought to himself No fucking way! They are augmenting their power to grow stronger by drinking Tiaxm blood! I have to stop them now! If I don’t… shit they are both now twice as strong as me already.

  Ghosts Bane still remained black from earlier and he gave more power till the air around it began distorting space itself. “Ya!” he yelled as he swept his weapon and a wave of black energy fired from the blade’s tip, turning it back to white. The aim was perfect and would have sliced through both Summoner and Familiar if Shakka hadn’t picked up her own charged giant Tiaxm blade and send a sparkling wave of stronger power which not only negated his attack, but also continued on its path to destroy her enemy.

  Cage dodged and missed being hit by a foot while his lips commanded “Phone call. All my mates.” He felt the black diamonds inside his hands connect. “Ladies, I need your help right now. I don’t think I can take them down. I’m right below the roof.”

  “We’re coming! Hold on!” Came Brooke’s voice.

  As he was talking he fired hundreds of different spells to hide the conversation, but Shakka countered him move for move and more as her enhanced power was superior. Cage pushed himself to the limit, dodging, sidestepping, sliding, rolling and using walls for support. His Parkour skills and martial arts background is all that kept him from a direct hit.

  Then he got hit and was thrown back as a cackle bubbled up. It was by far the most disconcerting sound Cage had ever heard and he had experienced much. Empress Vika gloated “How foolish of you to try resisting my unmatched power.” Blue blood dripping off her glowing chin as her violet eyes pulsed with energy. “I have not lost a single fight in my four thousand years and I will not start now. You ungrateful peasant. I gave you gold, the finest drinks and slaves from my own stock and this is how you repay my generosity?!” Cage dodged a massive dose of power from her outstretched fingers. “Foolish man. None is my equal. None may challenge my might and live. I’m not subject to anyone other than myself. I give you commands and you obey. I am a goddess and will be treated with reverence or you will feel my wrath!”

  Sparkling energy flew in a widespread area, making dodging impossible. From floor to ceiling, wall to wall it came and passed through Cage’s barrier.

  He grunted as intense pain attacked, but he knew how to truly control and overcome what few can. Before he could writhe on the ground he stood tall and proud, making Vika and Shakka stare in disbelief. “Impossible!” The empress said. “Next to turning spirits into ghosts, this pain is without peer. Wha… What are you?”

  Cage grinned. “Well… I’ve felt worst pain, Dumbass. But a moment ago you called yourself a goddess. But there is something even a goddess should realize.” He lifted his blade. “Even a goddess knows when to fear the one given the title of Lord Death. Also know this.” He lifted his middle finger. “Death doesn’t work alone. Here come the reapers.”

  Both heads jerked up as the ceiling was ripped clean off so show the still cloudy morning sky and two dragons coming right down with three very angry women.

  Part of his power that went into the crumbling foundation stopped once he saw invisible bands of gold and dozens more colors filling the palace and it allowed Cage to fully concentrate now that support eased his burden.

  Chapter 16

  Brooke threw herself at the glowing woman with both tomahawks out and glowing with green energy while Ulon roared and dropped on Shakka with his great long sword clutched in both hands. “Die!” She said and chopped.

  Empress Vika waved her hand and knocked Brooke aside as if swatting a fly.

  The roof distraction was perfect and Cage sent a set of rings down both legs to lunge and close the distance, his only target was the empress because as soon as she dies so too does Shakka who fought Ulon with her sword and teeth as well.

  Four thousand years of experience wasn’t a simple matter and Vika used a spell that shifted his perception of her just enough to avoid the fatal blow, but just as soon as she crafted the spell, Cage’s mind easily deduced how it was done and not only negated it, but also added another ward into his diamonds so it couldn’t be used again. She though countered his strike by shattering his barrier with a mist enhanced punch, but before she could follow up with something deadly he intentionally put up another between the same heartbeat. Force though knocked him aside.

  Brooke’s arrival and her strongest offensive spells were stopped and she was angered when Vika no longer paid attention, instead focusing on the only real threat, Cage as he got up grinning and wiping blood from his split upper lip.

  “I’m done playing with foolish mortals. It seems I must prove myself a goddess by slaying all my enemies, starting with the biggest thorn to have ever walked on my world.”

  Cage and everyone momentarily stopped and looked to Vika as her outstretched hand created a single spike so strong, so fast that the very space didn’t warp, but actually cracked like fractured glass. Her sinister sneer had her say “Now you die.”

  Brooke moved without thinking and jumped into the line of fire to save her man from certain death. She heard him, Meeka, Tohka and Poli all scream “NOOO!!!” as the magic flew right into her light armored lower stomach and blew her apart like thin paper. She fell down with closed eyes between the evil woman and her most cherished man.

  “What a pity. Love is so fun to tear apart.” The empress said and walked closer as Cage fell to his knees and put Brooke’s limp head in his lap.

  Ulon went mad as his partner was hurt and went to tear Shakka’s head off, but like her Summoner, she too was empowered by Tiaxm blood. He had to resort to magic as he was the only one alive on the planet able to simultaneously cast more magic than any other.

  But during the battle Poli landed on Shakka’s back and bit down on her neck while stabbing two enormous daggers deeply into the Rex’s sides, slicing her clear wings and causing as much damage as possible before being thrown off and having her head being crushed flat under a boulder. Ulon’s attack became even more fierce when his mate didn’t get right up.

  Empress Vika came right up and spoke in her insane singsong voice “If I had known this would defeat the mighty warlock I would have killed every last one of your weak females.”

  “You’re the weak one!” Brooke said and watched the empress step back, but not before her hands gripped both ankles and locked them together. “Loves! NOW!!!” she yelled with her last moments of strength in her upper body.

  Tohka was already in position, her whip already on its way. She pretended to be worried, but knew Brooke wouldn’t die if even one cell remained. The magic allowed for a five way Summoner/Familiar bonding. So long as one in their group lived, none truly died.

  The magic-breaker whip instantly matched the empress’s barrier and passed through it. The end wrapped five times around her neck and despite being almost five months pregnant she still had more than enough strength to yank the short glowing woman back, also using Brooke’s leg attack to topple the woman over like a falling tree.

  Meeka ran with her knives at the ready, but knew this was what she was cursed for by the Great Prophet. Deep down, her gut knew this was the reason her lips were murder before she could control it. The surprise wouldn’t last long and Vika already proved she was stronger than anyone livi
ng.

  Instead of a spell that needed to be crafted by the mind, the curse was automatic when mana was focused. Meeka jumped while sending her power there. Vika saw the attack and put up a barrier first, and was about to destroy the entire upper part of the palace to be through with this once and for all as she felt real pain from the whip’s thin woven razors biting into her soft neck, but then she watched Meeka’s face pass effortlessly through her strongest defense and felt the blue eyed woman’s lips press down on hers.

  She wondered what that was before till Meeka’s eyes rolled back into her skull and she collapsed. Before she could laugh at the odd stupidity of what just happened she felt a deep searing chill overcome her. Violet eyes widened as she felt mana that didn’t belong bonding to hers and instantly freezing. Ice crackling could be heard and a mental scream turned Shakka’s attention away from Ulon, allowing his blade to cut through her barrier and bury it’s forty foot long blade to the hilt through her chest.

  In ten seconds Vika’s body turned blue, bloated and iced over.

  Cage was on his feet grinning as Vika’s spirit detached itself from her mortal form and said “Enjoy the afterlife, Bitch. Come and get her!” he yelled to the sky, filling his voice with mana to alert all listening spirits.

  Billions of spirits filled the sky, each one be it human or dragon or a few griffins held a grudge against her. Never before had so many spirits gathered for one person and Vika’s and Shalka’s spirits were truly frightened, knowing that as a spirit they held no true power over anyone any more. Each of the billions of spirits were either killed by her, through her actions or were associated from losing a dear loved one all by her doing. They didn’t move as they demonstrated a force neither could ever overcome. Also they waited on Lord Death’s orders.

  “Make these two suffer for all eternity without making them a ghost. I want them sane so they can experience all the pain she made you all suffer. All eternity. This is my judgment as Lord Death to never allow them a moment’s peace.” A great cheer filled the air and the host of billions descended. Vika and Shakka screamed and tied fleeing, but they were no match for the force coming.