Dead Time Series

by Jason Wilcox

  “Can you hop on my computer and check out the logs to see when Robert’s files were accessed last?”

  “Sure thing. Just give me a second.” The phone went silent for a couple of minutes while Caden watched busy people hurrying past him to make their flights. “Okay, so the last time it was accessed was the night you slept here. In fact, there’s even a couple of other times two weeks before that; they happened in the late hours as well.”

  “The night I slept there?” He never accessed Robert’s files that night. “Any chance you got on there that day before you left?”

  “Nope. I stay clear of those files. I know that’s a big no no.”

  Caden scratched his head in confusion until something clicked. He stopped scratching. Matt. “Sally, what time was it that someone logged into the files?”

  “Umm, about eight that evening. In fact, they were on for a couple of hours.”

  “Thanks, Sally, I need to let you go,” Caden said and was just about to hang up until he remembered the wedding. “Oh, and Sally, I’m setting up a wedding for tonight, I’ll give you a call later with the details.”

  “Really?” Sally said with excitement in her voice. “Don’t leave me hanging too long. I want to hear the details about this one. Let me know if I can help with anything.”

  “Okay, I’ll call you as soon as we have the details.” Caden needed to talk to Matt, but he was going to have to wait until he got back to the office to question him. There was a lot more that Matt knew. I’m going to kill… His thoughts were cut off. He had completely forgotten about the T-13. How stupid can I be? Here I am incriminating Matt and myself by talking with Sally on the phone. The only hope he could have is that they hadn’t been listening, but he doubted it. There’s nothing that can be done now. I have to stick with the plan and stop making stupid mistakes!

  “What’s wrong?” James interrupted Caden’s thoughts.

  “Just a little nervous about the wedding.” Caden showed a fake smile hoping James would buy it and let the topic go.

  “Well, I got a hold of the minister and he’s in.”

  CHAPTER 18

  Azgiel stood at the edge of a deep pit, too deep to see the bottom. Demons and creatures stood around him waiting in anticipation. Ropes hung around the large eight feet diameter hole. Clanking could be heard echoing from down below along with squeaking as one of the ropes moved upwards over a pulley system. The wind blew against Azgiel, moving the ropes back and forth.

  “It’s down there, huh?” Azgiel asked, looking down into the darkness.

  “Yes, sir. It will just take a little bit to get it out, especially with this wind.” A small human-like creature stood next to him, encased in an odd assortment of armor. It was a bark gnome.

  “Keep me updated on when you get it up here.” Azgiel backed up as he spoke and tripped over a rock, landing on a fallen tree. Pain shot through his back and chest. Creatures quickly surrounded him.

  Looking down, Azgiel saw the broken limb that was stabbed through him just below his rib cage. Warm red blood flowed down his torso; saturating his new gray weaved shirt that had been made for him, since his old armor and clothing didn’t fit his new smaller body. The feeling was strange. It had been so long since he experienced physical pain, he almost didn’t know what to do about it for a second.

  Movement increased the pain. Azgiel reached down and clasped his hand on the log. With a flash, the broken branch puffed into smoke and the fallen tree launched away from him. His body slouched forward, stopped by a demon that held a hand out and helped him stand up. Twisting his head and popping his neck, Azgiel took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

  He focused his attention on the wound. Flesh began mending and his body made short work of healing itself. After his wound was taken care of, he reopened his eyes. Creatures stood around him, looking at him with curious eyes. Azgiel knew they were trying to understand.

  Their master was showing weakness and making stupid mistakes, ones he would’ve never made in the past. If they found out how weak he had become in his cell of time, they wouldn’t trust him to win the war against Triaad.

  Giving a smile, Azgiel turned to the fallen tree. Let them question this. With a raised hand, the tree melted into a pile of black sand and parts of it blew away in the wind.

  “Azgiel,” Kaz’s voice rang out over the crowd’s whispering. His broad red body pushed through the creatures. “You sent for me?”

  “Yes.” He looked at the dispersing crowd. “Walk with me.” They headed into the woods, getting out of earshot. Kaz was someone he knew he could completely trust.

  Stopping under a large tree, Azgiel did one last check to make sure no one was watching. “Do you remember me telling you Mauldrin was back at that facility?”

  Kaz nodded as his horns rustled a branch.

  “He’s the key to unlocking the curse when we get the sword out of the ground. Without full use of the sword, we’re in trouble.” Azgiel shifted his weight, and a twig snapped under his feet. “I need you to go back and get him. We have to find a way to get him to take a hold of the sword to break the curse.”

  “I’ll go quickly and be back before you know it.” His long wings spread outwards. A couple of tears marked his years of fighting.

  “Wait,” Azgiel quickly added, “there’s more. He needs to take the thing willingly, or I’m afraid it won’t undo his curse.”

  Pulling his wings back in, Kaz lowered slightly to look in Azgiel’s eyes. “How will we do that?”

  Azgiel could tell by the way he spoke that he didn’t have confidence that it could be done. “He doesn’t remember who he is, remember? What I need you to do is figure out a way to get on his good side. To make him think we’re his allies, his friends.” Azgiel’s eyes wandered, looking around the woods that surrounded them. His mind raced with ideas. “I have it. Without Domblin finding out, get on Mauldrin’s good side. When he trusts you, let me know. We’ll set up a situation where he will have to draw the sword to protect himself.”

  “Will you tell him what the sword is then?”

  “We’ll inform him of who he was, a king of this world, and we’ll tell him that we were his faithful followers. We’ll tell him the sword was his and holds the power for him to rule once again.” Chuckling, Azgiel continued, “Play your cards right, Kaz, and the plan will work.”

  “What situation are we going to put him in to get him to draw the sword?”

  “Leave that up to me. I’ll have it figured out before long.” A small jackal-headed creature walked toward them. Azgiel looked at him and then back to Kaz. “For now, go. Don’t waste time.”

  Kaz’s large red wings extended, stretching his muscles. With a large step, he left the coverage of the tree and dove into the air. A gust of wind blew pine needles and twigs at Azgiel.

  “Sir,” the jackal-headed creature whimpered. “The item is on its way up.”

  “Excellent.” Azgiel turned to look at the creature that stood as tall as his chest. Blood raced through his veins, excited by the idea that they finally had his sword.

  As they approached the site, the ropes turned slowly and a light shone from the pit. Over the strong wind, he could hear the pulleys squeaking loudly. There was a chill in the gust that gave Azgiel goose bumps. After a moment, he could see the Witch’s head emerge and then the rest of her body. Two small troll-like creatures, both the color of dark mud, accompanied her. They stood on a wooden platform surrounding a crystal clear boulder containing the sword.

  Pushing past a couple large demons, Azgiel got to the platform and held a hand out to help his wife down. “I’m impressed,” he spoke as she stepped off the wood, making it creak as her weight shifted.

  “It was nothing. Like I said, we’ve had it locked up down there for some time.” She turned to watch the two troll creatures lift a cloth under the clear boulder to get it off the platform. The wind blew them back and forth as they quickly made their way to stable ground.

  “Is there
a specific way to get it out of the diamond shell, or can I just blast it off?” Azgiel asked while putting a hand on her shoulder.

  “Leave it to me.” She walked over to the diamond rock and slid a fingernail down its solid clear surface. The wind blew her white dress, which flapped in the opposite direction of her workings. A bright line appeared where she had touched it. Light poured out and the surface began to crack. Finally, the shell shattered, breaking into small pieces of clear rock all over the ground. One piece hit Azgiel in the leg, which made him jump.

  After the explosion, the sword dropped to the ground. With a strong rumble, something like a heartbeat shook the ground. The sword called to him; he could feel a pull from inside. One of the trolls that helped uncover the sword ran for it to take it to Azgiel.

  “No!” the Witch called out, but it was too late. Moving quickly, the creature tried to grab the sword by its handle. A blast that looked like a lightning bolt cracked about him and threw him backward. His skin began to dissolve as he screamed in pain, but nothing could be done. The curse from the sword made short work of him.

  “Don’t anyone else touch it!” the Witch yelled. Azgiel moved closer to the sword. He missed it. The power that would surge through him, if he could only have it in his hands again, was something he desired. Patience, I will have you in my hands soon enough.

  From a strap in her dress, the Witch pulled out a strange brown mat. It wasn’t made of fabric, but appeared to be made out of a reptile skin. She bent down and placed it over the sword, then picked it up while wrapping the sword in the scaly skin.

  “Your sword, Lord Azgiel.” She held the sword out with both hands while lowering her head. He looked her over. The two greatest things that he had ever had in his life stood before him.

  A scream broke his concentration. He looked out in time to see one of the jackal-headed creatures get knocked down by a dark soul. Three demons quickly drew swords and the closest one of the demons split the dark soul in half. More screams rang out and in the distance, a thick blackness moved, covering the floor of the woods. Dark souls. Hundreds of them.

  “Hide it!” Azgiel ordered. She nodded and made her exit into their ancient forest. Grunts and yelps could be heard all around as his demons and other creatures fought. A large sword with strange green writing on it was shoved in Azgiel’s face. He turned to see one of his demons, a dark orange one, handing him the weapon.

  Screams kept echoing across the open meadow that stood between them and the woods where the dark souls were coming. Azgiel made his way to the front where his troops were prepared. Now was the time to show his power.

  Stabbing the sword into the ground, Azgiel lifted both of his hands in the air. The wind blew against him. Feeling within, Azgiel tapped into his power that was slowly growing stronger by the day. A large ball of fire tore through the clouds, quickly making its way to the planet, leaving a large smoke trail behind it.

  Leaving little time for the dark souls to react, the enormous ball of fire struck the ground, landing on top of their enemies. The explosion threw his troops backwards. Azgiel felt sore from the power that had surged through him. A smile stretched across his face, and he folded his arms as he looked over the destruction.

  I’m back!

  His troops slowly got up and looked over the destruction as well. Fires burned on many of the trees, and the wind spread it further. Smoke filled the air and made it hard to see anything. Walking back towards the sword he had driven into the ground, Azgiel picked up a handful of dirt. He closed his eyes and the wind began to pick up with even more force. Slowly he let the dirt sift out through his fingers, watching it blow away in the strong gust.

  The small amount of dirt grew as it approached the fires, looking like a thick sand storm. It blasted through the woods, extinguishing the fires. Most of the smoke cleared out from the meadow. A small crater was left from the ball of fire.

  “No way!” Azgiel said under his breath. A dark soul sat upon a large rat-like creature in the middle of the meadow. How could anyone live through that? Shadows moved along the land heading toward the dark soul. At first, he wasn’t sure what they were, and then he realized they were the dark souls. His attack had no effect on the creatures.

  “My Lord, you need to use the sword,” a gruff voice spoke from beside him. He turned to see a large black demon standing next to him. “They don’t easily die, but the Witch did discover some magic that she put into our swords that kills them. The green stuff, my Lord.”

  Looking down at the strange sword with green lettering on it, Azgiel took it by the handle. The cool well-worn leather felt soft in his hand. I can’t look weak! He lifted the sword high in the air and turned to the gathering creatures. “Let nothing live.”

  His words produced a cheer from those around him, and all of them pulled their weapons. Screams began to echo toward them from the dark souls and Azgiel turned to face them. Black spots moved across the charred ground and quickly moved to the green landscape in front of them.

  Gripping the sword tightly, Azgiel charged his enemies. He could hear the loud running behind him of his small army. Two demons ran beside him, one black and the other a burnt red. Their massive bodies towered over Azgiel.

  The dark soul on the rat creature pointed and more dark souls charged, screaming as they moved. Azgiel found his target, the commander. None of the dark souls would stop him.

  A dark soul came out of nowhere and jumped in the air to attack Azgiel. A flash of green went by his face as the black demon slammed the creature into the ground with his sword. The blade sliced through the chest, splitting the creature in half. Azgiel didn’t take time to see if it was dead. He had to get to the commander of the dark souls.

  Something powerful hit him from the side and another from the front, knocking him down. He could feel the invisible dark souls cutting into his skin. One of them bit his neck. Trying to unpin his arm to swing his sword, he realized he was getting nowhere fast. The demons that had been by his side were gone fighting their own battles. More weight bore on him as unseen dark souls kept piling on.

  “Enough!” Azgiel yelled and a black explosion blasted outward from his body, launching the dark souls into the air. Gaping wounds lined his body. A thick, black tar substance filled each cut. As he flexed his muscles, the wounds healed, letting off a strange smoke from each cut, which made Azgiel feel a little queasy.

  Another dark soul ran at him, but this time, he could see him. Azgiel sliced his head off and put himself into action, running for the commander. Seeing more dark souls make their way to him, Azgiel knew he needed a different plan, especially after he watched the dark souls disappear. He only had seconds before the invisible attack would occur.

  Azgiel held out his left hand and a bright light shot out, engulfing the dark soul that rode on the rat-like creature, knocking him to the ground. In the light’s path, a glass-like hallway was left. See if you can get through this. He ran into the chamber. Loud bangs hit the walls as dark souls tried to run through it, but were unable. At the end, he could see the dark soul he had trapped in the wall clawing to get out.

  Realizing the inevitability of his situation, the dark soul turned to face Azgiel. He let out a scream and then disappeared. The dark soul’s disappearance was followed by a showing of his power. The ground turned black and a liquid tar-like substance wrapped around Azgiel’s legs, gluing him to the spot. Screams echoed from behind him; dark souls were making their way to him. Knowing they moved extremely fast, Azgiel had to think of something and quickly.

  Turning at his waist, Azgiel lifted his hand and another glass wall broke out from the ground, closing off the backside of him. No dark souls would be able to get to him now. A pain shot into his stomach; he could feel the flesh tearing apart. Knowing it had to be the commander, he turned to see a larger dark soul. His eyes blazed red as he screamed in Azgiel’s face. As the scream reverberated in the small chamber, the sharp black teeth made ready to bite into him. His claws kept tearing upw
ard, moving towards Azgiel’s chest.

  Azgiel smiled.

  The dark soul stopped and closed his mouth, looking confused. Gray smoke wafted up between them. Azgiel could feel the itching of his stomach healing. Power flowed through his body, followed by a blast that threw the commander backwards. Metal ground against bone as Azgiel drove his sword through the creature’s chest, pinning him to the ground.

  “You try to move through that and it will slice you in half.” Azgiel took a moment to look around. Demons and other creatures stood about. There were no more dark souls in sight.

  Victory.

  “Who are you?” the commander hissed. He held perfectly still, staring at Azgiel with his red eyes.

  “I’m here to protect them.” He pointed towards all the creatures that stood just outside the glass barrier. “But the real question is, who are you?” The commander said nothing. A bone snapped as Azgiel pushed the sword a couple of inches upward.

  “Snyp,” the dark soul squawked, “I’m in charge of this planet.”

  “Excellent, then you might live.” Azgiel smiled. It was time to cause some controversy with Triaad, to send fear down his spine with a beautiful lie. “Tell Triaad, Mauldrin is back and has joined with the Witch, and we’re going to overthrow him. It’s only a matter of time before we tear out Triaad’s beating heart.” With a wave, the glass enclosure evaporated and Azgiel pulled the sword out of him. Weeds bent over and moved sideways as Snyp ran off in shadow form.

  Cheers broke out around Azgiel from his loyal army. Unfortunately, as he looked around, he could see that many had died. Some of the jackal-like creatures and a handful of bark gnomes were being pulled off the field, killed in the fight.

  The green veins in the sword glowed strong as Azgiel lifted it into the air to show his excitement. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, proud of himself. Triaad will now be off on the wrong road, looking for Mauldrin while we prepare to kill Triaad and his dark souls. It'll give Kaz a chance to show Mauldrin we are the good guys by protecting him.