by James Wisher
Xander pulled up his hood and leapt into the shadows. He floated in the shadow realm trying to sense the demon. Why didn’t you run back up the stairs?
“Because I want to reach the demon before it reaches the girl. With any luck I can ambush and kill it before it knows I’m there.”
Excellent plan. I haven’t tasted demon flesh in centuries.
“Are we getting close?”
The demon blade hesitated, it always seemed uncertain in the shadow realm. A little further up. Now we’re even with it. It’s using magic to stay invisible. Let me guide your hand and we can take it.
“Do it.” A clawed, skeletal hand wrapped around Xander’s sword hand.
The devourer urged him forward. Xander stepped out of a portal and lunged the moment his feet touched the stairs. The hand on his guided the blade up and to the right. The metal slid through something and a moment later a wriggling form flicked into view on the steps. He guessed the demon was around two feet long; it was hard to judge since Xander had cut it into two pieces. The top half featured a horned head and the bottom a barbed tail.
“What, by all the watching gods, was that?” Amanda pointed a trembling hand at the remains of the creature.
After she spoke black fire flared around the demon and reduced it to ash. “That was a demon.” Xander mentally slapped the devourer’s bony grasp from his hand. Before he could say more the guards charged up the stairs. “Stay behind me.”
Xander stepped in front of Amanda and met the first guards slash with a parry. He forced the guard back and leapt a cut from the second man that would have taken his right leg off. Xander landed on the steps and slashed down, cutting the first guard in half. The devourer crackled with power after killing the demon.
The second guard hesitated when he saw his partner taken down and that gave Xander all the opening he needed. He slashed low, taking the guard’s legs at the knee and sending him tumbling down the stairs. He looked back to check on the girl and found her staring at him, hands over her mouth, eyes wide. Xander forced himself not to smile.
They walked down the steps, careful not to slip on the blood. At the bottom Xander paused long enough to lop the moaning guard’s head off. They entered the hall outside the stairwell.
“Which way?”
“Right, then the next left.” The girl shook and he assumed shock was setting in.
He grabbed her hand and they ran down the hall. When they rounded the corner they arrived in time to see Gabriel finish the last guard. Amanda spotted his brother, pulled away, and ran to him. She leapt into Gabriel’s arms and Xander smiled with more warmth than he had in a long time.
Gabriel set Amanda down. “I knew you could do it. Let’s head back to the church.”
“You two go ahead. There are more men in here. I’ll deal with them and catch up.”
“The mission is accomplished.” Gabriel eyes held a pleading look. “You don’t have to kill anyone else.”
“Rule number one; never leave an enemy alive behind you. Better to kill them now then have to fight them later. Get her out of here. I’ll take care of this.” Xander stalked back into the mansion before his brother could say another word.
* * *
Gabriel left his brother and Solan talking in the kitchen while he went to get Amanda settled. He led her by the hand to the small guest room across from Solan’s bedroom. She hadn’t said a word since they left the mansion. They sat at the edge of the bed. “Don’t worry, you’ll be safe here.”
She looked at him, tears streaming down her face. “What’s going on, Gabriel? First those men grab me then that man in black rescues me and says he knows you. I wasn’t sure who I should fear more, him or the kidnapers.”
“The man in black is my brother, Xander.”
Her eyes widened. “I thought he died in the fire.”
“Up until yesterday I did too. I was wrong. He’s come back.”
“Why?”
Gabriel couldn’t look at her. “He came back to kill your father. He believes Duke Cariden was involved in the attack that killed our parents.”
Amanda put her hands on either side of Gabriel’s face and turned him to face her. “Why does your brother think that?”
“Because your father was involved, he’s made a deal with demons to claim the throne. My father was on the verge of figuring out what was happening. The demons decided to remove him. Your father didn’t order the attack, but he knew and said nothing.”
“How could he?” The pain in Amanda’s voice brought Gabriel to the verge of tears. “Has he lost his mind?”
Gabriel shook his head. He had no answers for her. He had few enough for himself. “I’ll do my best to stop Xander from killing him.”
“Can’t you arrest him?”
“If I could he’d still be executed for treason, but it doesn’t matter since I can’t prove anything.”
“Treason.” Amanda leaned back in bed and sighed. “I hadn’t considered that.”
“Considered what?”
“Do you know what will happen if my father is found guilty of treason?”
“Beyond his execution I hadn’t thought about it.”
“It’s much worse than simple execution. The crown will strip the family of all our lands and holdings, erase our name from the histories, we’ll be reduced to nothing. Twenty generations of loyal service wiped away by one man’s ambition. Perhaps it would be best to let you brother have him.”
Gabriel blink, certain he hadn’t understood her. “You want me to let Xander murder your father?”
Amanda sighed again. “Better if he’s a victim of an assassin then a traitor to the crown. I will not see my family torn apart by my father’s stupidity.”
Gabriel nodded, he saw her point, but it pained him that such a decision needed to be made at all. “If that’s your wish I’m sure Xander will be happy to grant it. I won’t stand in his way.”
“Thank you, Gabriel. I hope you don’t think less of me. Sometimes hard decisions must be made. As a child of the nobility you learn that at an early age.”
“We’ll be leaving soon. Promise me you’ll stay in the church. I’ll arrange for Griff to come check on you.”
“I promise, just be sure you come back safe.”
“I will.” Gabriel kissed her then left her to get some rest. He went to the kitchen to check on Solan and Xander, but found the priest sitting alone. “Where’s Xander?”
“He went back to his inn to sleep. He says he’s ready when we are. How’s Amanda?”
“Better than I feared. When I told her about her father she said it would be best if I let Xander kill him.”
“That isn’t surprising. Her family stands to lose everything.”
“So she said.” Gabriel couldn’t accept Amanda’s willingness to sacrifice her father, no matter what he’d done. He was still her father.
“Don’t be too quick to judge her.” Solan must have read his mind. “Remember she has scores of relatives to protect. Would you condemn them along with the duke?”
“Of course not, and I don’t judge Amanda. It’s hard to hear such sentiments spoken out loud is all.”
“Especially after losing your own father.”
Gabriel nodded. “So when do we leave?”
“How about noon tomorrow. That will give me time to make arrangements and buy supplies.”
“I’ll be ready.”
CHAPTER 11
“How many are there?” Xander asked the druid, Kiera Oakshadow. It was three hours after moonrise and he, along with his brother and Solan, had met the woman half a mile from Duke Cariden’s hunting lodge. The lodge was a sprawling, two story mansion built of logs. To one side a barracks of the same style housed his guards, who now patrol the area.
“Thirty guards patrol the grounds in groups of five. I have no idea how many are inside.” Kiera eyed Xander, lip curled with disdain.
“What are you thinking, Xander?” Gabriel asked.
“I’m trying
to decide the best way to take them out.”
“We don’t need to kill them,” Gabriel said. “We can sneak past.”
Xander shook his head. “You’re either soft or stupid. Those soldiers’s job is to kill trespassers, like us. I doubt they’ll have any qualms about doing it.”
“Your brother is correct.” Solan laid a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder.
Gabriel and Kiera stared at the priest in dumb silence. The old priest surprised Xander as well, but he hoped he hid it better than they did. He’d taken the old man for a softie like his brother.
“I’ll take care of it.” Xander drew his sword. “I’ll call you in when the way is clear.”
“Solan?” Gabriel’s voice held a pleading tone.
“It has to be done,” Solan said. “If one of us is hurt and we need to retreat in a hurry those soldiers might be the death of us. Our mission is too important to allow sentiment to stop us from doing what must be done.”
“I won’t be long.” Xander pulled up the hood of his cloak and stepped into a shadow.
He emerged from the shadow of the barracks. Through his connection with the demon sword he sensed the life forces of the men scattered around the grounds. From the lodge he sensed a demonic aura that made the imp he killed earlier feel like a mouse.
That is a greater demon, no doubt Drago’s second in command. My power can shield us as long as we don’t get too close.
“Can you kill something that strong?”
The devourer’s disdain echoed in his thoughts. I can kill anything. The question is can you get us close enough to strike without getting yourself killed.
Now the disdain belonged to Xander. “Don’t worry about me.” He moved toward the closest guard patrol, a panther on the hunt.
* * *
Gabriel, Kiera, and Solan crouched behind a pile of boulders within sight of the lodge grounds. They had neither seen nor heard any sign of Xander. Gabriel took that as a good sign as any raised alarm would mean the guards had spotted Xander.
“Xander is quite bloodthirsty,” Kiera said.
Gabriel offered a glum nod.
“Don’t judge him too harshly.” Gabriel was surprised when the priest would come to Xander’s defense. “In his world the least hesitation might get him killed. I don’t believe he enjoys killing, it’s just his job.”
“That’s a poor excuse.” Contempt dripped from Kiera’s voice.
“I’m not offering an excuse, but an explanation. Xander does what he must to survive.”
Kiera snorted and Gabriel understood how she felt. Xander seemed more of a stranger than a brother now. Gabriel stilled loved him, but he didn’t understand the way he thought.
“Explain it any way you wish,” Kiera said. “The man’s a monster and if we didn’t need him I’d be happy to put him down.”
“Anytime you’d care to try.” Xander’s cold voice came from the darkness a moment before he stepped from the shadow of a large pine.
They started at Xander sudden appearance. Gabriel watched his brother and Kiera lock gazes. It didn’t take the druid long to look away. Xander laughed. “That’s what I thought. The way is clear. We can move when you’re ready.”
The four of them ran across the manicured lawn and came to a stop beside the main entrance to the lodge, a set of twelve foot tall double doors. “I will wait here,” Solan said. “I’m no warrior and will slow you down. Gabriel, you and your brother have to deal with the demon. Kiera you must find the key fragments.”
“They could be anywhere,” she said. “How do I find them?”
Solan reached into his pocket, pulled out a golden compass, and handed it to her. The arrow pointed straight at the mansion. “I enchanted the compass for this occasion. It will lead you to the fragments.”
Kiera nodded. “I’m ready.”
Gabriel drew his sword, which glowed with a pure white light. He looked at his brother who wore an eager smile, his black blade in hand. Xander’s sword drank in the moonlight, giving no reflection. Looking at the blade gave Gabriel a chill.
“Shall I open the doors?” Xander asked.
Gabriel was better suited to opening the heavy doors, but if Xander thought he could handle it he’d let him. “Go ahead.”
Xander stood straight and raised his sword above his head, Gabriel realized what his brother intended, but didn’t act quick enough to stop him. He winced, expecting to hear the black blade bounce off the heavy doors. Instead Xander made half a dozen lightening slashes and the door clattered to the ground in pieces. Xander offered a mocking bow. “After you.”
Gabriel stared at the inch thick oak slabs lying on the ground. Xander’s sword cut through them like they were silk. He stepped over the debris, Kiera followed right behind him, and Xander brought up the rear. They entered an entry room; halls branched to the left and right. Straight ahead they found a staircase leading to the second floor.
“Where are the guards?” Xander asked. Gabriel wondered the same thing. They must have heard the racket when the doors fell. Guards should be pouring out of the woodwork.
Gabriel shrugged. “Beats me.”
“The compass says I have to go this way.” Kiera pointed down a hall to the left.
“Be careful.” Gabriel spoke to Kiera’s back as she had already turned down the hall. Turning back to his brother Gabriel asked, “What now?”
Xander ignored him, his brow furrowed in concentration, eyes closed. “The men are upstairs, along with the demon. I assume Duke Cariden is with them.”
“They’re waiting for us,” Gabriel said.
Xander nodded a vicious grin twisting his lips. “It would be rude to keep them waiting.”
“We should warn Kiera.”
“I’m sure she can take care of herself. We can rescue her after if need be.”
Gabriel couldn’t fault his brother’s reasoning. “Let’s go then.”
They charged up the steps, taking them two at a time. At the top Xander turned right, down a door lined hall.
“Are you sure this is the way?”
Xander ignored him leaving Gabriel no choice but to follow. Xander stopped in front of a door. “Through there.”
Gabriel took a firm grip on his sword and nodded. Xander cut the door off its hinges and kicked it into the room. Ten guards stood in a semicircle in front of Duke Cariden who stood behind a large desk, serpent staff gripped in his right hand.
“You two are trespassing.” The duke pointed his staff at them. “I insist you leave at once.”
“I wonder if you recognize me.” Xander ignored the duke’s order and stepped deeper into the study. My name is Xander Kane. You ordered my family killed for some stone trinket. It’s for you to die.”
“The name doesn’t ring a bell. Remove him.”
One of the guards reached for his sword. Xander’s attack came so fast Gabriel barely registered it before the guard twitched on the floor in two pieces. “Who’s next?”
All hell broke loose. The remaining guards drew their weapons and attacked. Gabriel had time enough to see his brother cut down a second man before he had his own hands full with a pair of guards eager to carve him into chunks.
* * *
Xander cut down another guard. He found no satisfaction in it, none of the guards had the skill to challenge him, and they got in each other’s way as much as anything. It was like slaughtering sheep. All of them together weren’t worth his time. The devourer was in his glory, every time its transformed flesh sliced into another guard a jolt of pleasure surged through Xander as the demon sword consumed the unlucky man’s soul.
Drop!
Xander fell to his stomach an instant before a blast of flames shot through the space he’d vacated. The guard trying to sneak up on him screamed when the fire seared the flesh from his bones. Xander looked up to see the duke pointing his golden staff in his direction, flames dripped from the serpent’s mouth.
The staff is the demon.
“No kidding.” Xander
rolled away from another blast of fire. He sprang to his feet and leapt back to avoid a third blast. “How do I get past those flames?”
Very carefully.
Xander cursed all demons and sprang away from another stream of fire. When he landed he whipped his throwing dagger at the duke and a howl of pain rewarded him when the blade sank into Duke Cariden’s shoulder. Even better, the staff fell to the floor and rolled a few feet away from the now unarmed nobleman. Xander advanced, eager to complete his business with the duke. Two guards remained, but Gabriel had them well in hand. Perhaps he could take his time getting his revenge.
The golden serpent coiled and spat fire at him. Reflexes honed by years of fighting for his life saved Xander who yanked his head clear of the flames an instant before his face would have burned off. The stink of burned hair filled his nostrils. Xander rolled away from yet another blast.
“You didn’t tell me it could move.”
I told you it was a demon.
“So are you.” Xander dodged again. It took all his skill to avoid getting burned to a crisp. He couldn’t even think of counterattacking.
Steps thudded behind him. Xander glanced away from the serpent to see his brother racing forward, glowing sword raised. The demon swung its head toward Gabriel and spat a stream of fire. “No!”
White fire erupted from Gabriel’s blade, snuffing out the demon’s fire. Without missing a step Gabriel attacked, slashing at the serpent. The demon’s supernatural speed kept it from getting cut in half by a hair’s breadth.
Xander regained his feet, grinning like a mad man. “I see you know a trick or two.”
Gabriel chose not to comment instead advancing on the golden serpent without a hint of fear. It must be nice to have a sword the absorbed demon magic. “Why can’t you do that?”
Even I have limits. The devourer managed to sound defensive.
Xander flanked the serpent to his brother’s left. No matter which direction it turned one of them would be free to attack. A golden light surrounded the serpent. Xander flinched, ready to dodge whatever flavor of death the demon loosed at them.