The Devil's Deuce (The Barrier War)

by Brian J Moses

  Instead, he saw Gerard slash with his sword, completing his final stroke as he carved the holy Tricrus into Ran’s leg. There was a stunned silence as Ran’s anguished cries cut off abruptly, then his body shrank and collapsed in on itself even faster than he had grown. In a matter of seconds, he lay on the ground, forcibly reverted to his natural humanoid form with Danner’s sword still protruding from one eye. Before they could react, Ran shrank even further, then suddenly exploded in a massive release of energy and demonic power. Gerard was flung to the side and he crashed into a pair of denarae who were coming to help. They tumbled to the ground in a heap.

  Danner was flattened by the blast, and he stood up afterward spitting dirt and snow from his mouth. Every inch of his body ached, but he quickly dekinted his wings and staggered to where Gerard was just getting to his feet. He saw his commander was coherent and moving under his own power, so he limped to Trebor and Garnet.

  “How is he?” Danner asked.

  “He’ll live, by some miracle,” Trebor said with relief in his voice. “He’s asleep, recovering.”

  “Well, we’re not finished here yet,” Danner said. “We’ve still got to get out of here. We’re in the middle of a hostile camp, remember? And I think we’re past the point of sneaking out. Sooner or later someone will get up the nerve to come investigate, and they won’t be pleased to see us.”

  “Give him to me,” Gerard said, coming up from behind, “then we run.”

  Danner groaned and quickly looked over Gerard, gauging his commander’s fitness. The Red paladin was bruised and bloody and quite obviously exhausted, but he shook his head and some of the glassiness left his eyes, then he looked at the two men. “Trebor, you call the shots.”

  “Can you handle him alone, sir?” Trebor asked.

  Gerard smiled, his scarred face making the expression somewhat grotesque. He stooped and hoisted Garnet’s massive body over his shoulders and started to trot in the direction from which they had entered the camp.

  “Better follow the man before he leaves us behind,” Trebor said with a smile.

  “Shadow Company, fall back,” Trebor kythed to the survivors of their assault. “Form up around the Shepherd and start running. We’re going to break our way out of here before they know what’s coming.”

  The battle with the demon had attracted a considerable amount of attention amidst the ensuing panic and chaos, and a large crowd of soldiers was already assembling around the area. Danner paused long enough to retrieve his sword from the ground where it had been flung after the explosion, then he hurried to catch up with Trebor and the others. His muscles and bones screamed in agony, and eventually Danner threw caution – and himself – to the wind and reactivated his wings. At least while airborne, Danner’s speed wasn’t as reliant on a body pushed to the point of breaking.

  True to Trebor’s prediction, the Merishank army was confused by the titanic battle and had no direction at all. The small group from Shadow Company slipped through the chaos easily, brushing aside any feeble resistance it encountered. They didn’t even bother to stop long enough to kill or attack the guards they passed. Instead, they bared their weapons, charged once, then simply shoved the bemused humans out of their path.

  With Danner unencumbered by the need to dodge opponents or avoid tripping, he quickly overtook most of the rest of the group, and he ended up flying directly over Trebor’s cousin, Brican, in front of the others.

  “How’s it look up ahead, Brican?” Danner asked.

  “Not good,” Brican kythed in reply. His mental voice evinced little of the strain Trebor’s did when kything to Danner. “Either word’s gotten ahead of us or these guys were already ready for something, but they’re pretty much in our way and waiting for us.”

  “Alright then,” Danner thought. “Trebor, call it.”

  “Shadow Company, plow the road!” Trebor kythed in a mental shout to the denarae around him. Coordinating their movements, the denarae formed a double column with Gerard and Garnet in the middle. Danner and Brican were still in front, and they would bear the brunt of the onslaught. They charged between two tents, then the denarae fanned out behind them into a blunt-headed wedge around their commander and his unconscious payload.

  They charged into the defensive lines of the Merishank guards who, despite their formation, were not quite prepared to meet the sudden, coordinated attack from Danner’s small group. The sight of an angel flying at the fore of the denarae obviously bewildered the men who saw him, and Danner and Brican tore through the first two ranks with ease, slowing only slightly as they pushed through the remaining lines of warriors. Then Danner and Brican were free. The wedge collapsed into a double column again, with a slight bulge around Gerard, and they slid through the hole Danner and Brican had opened. Before the Merishank forces could regroup, the denarae were past them and hurrying into the night.

  Now Danner and Brican let the rest of their force pass them, and Trebor fell in step with his cousin at the back of the formation.

  “Are we being followed?” Danner asked.

  “That’s an understatement,” Trebor replied.

  “I estimate there’s at least a thousand soldiers close enough to be following us,” Brican kythed to both of them, his mental voice affecting disinterest, “but probably only half that are actually in pursuit.”

  “Lovely,” Danner thought wryly. “Are any…”

  “Yes, there’s cavalry,” Brican replied, cutting him off, “but they’re far enough back we might have a chance of getting away.”

  “A chance?”

  “Maybe even a good chance,” Brican kythed.

  “Sometimes you’re too much like your cousin,” Danner thought.

  “I heard that.”

  Danner chuckled. Despite their danger, the success of their mission was starting to make him giddy. Exhaustion and pain melted away from his body, and had he been running Danner thought he might have started to float anyway through sheer elation. Time stretched before them as they ran, but Danner was too excited to pay any attention. Before he knew it, the forest was in sight.

  We’re going to make it! he thought, crowing in exuberance.

  “Not without help we’re not,” Trebor corrected him. “Open your ears and pay attention.”

  Then Danner heard the rumbling of a hundred horsemen thundering closer. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw the Merishank cavalry right on their heels. He paled and fought down a surge of sudden panic.

  “Don’t worry, it’s already been arranged,” Trebor reassured him.

  Three platoons from Shadow Company appeared ahead in a defensive line ready to receive Danner’s group and protect them from the pursuing cavalry. The grim-faced denarae made an impressive sight against the white snow, and their dark skin made them appear to be the same shadows from which they took their name.

  “What a beautiful sight,” Danner exulted.

  The cavalry crashed into the denarae line a heartbeat after Danner and the others crossed to safety, and horses and men screamed as chaos ensued. The Merishank soldiers were not about to see their prey escape them so easily, and they fought in earnest. Soon after the fight began, the main bulk of the Merishank footmen arrived, and they pressed hard against the denarae front. Danner saw it bow inward, then strengthen and solidify as more denarae rushed to bolster the weak spot.

  “Where is the rest of the company?” Danner asked.

  He had his answer before he’d even finished speaking. The remainder of his and Trebor’s platoons launched themselves from the tops of the trees and drifted unseen over the heads of the Merishank forces. Trebor’s leftovers were wearing the cloaks Danner’s primary group had discarded for the night. They landed and quickly assaulted the rear of the group. The soldiers turned to respond, but the denarae had carved deeply into their ranks and crippled the larger force.

  Then Flasch’s platoon arrived and finalized the outcome of the battle. They appeared from nowhere and were assaulting an unprotected flank be
fore the Merishank soldiers knew they were there. In just a few minutes, the battle was all but over. Shadow Company left more than twenty of their number lying dead on the snowy field, but they had defeated the larger force with stunning results, and only a very few of the Merishank soldiers survived to flee back to their camp.

  Shadow Company picked up their fallen and pulled back into the trees to recover and celebrate their victory.

  Chapter 23

  What lies beyond a goal?

  - Violet Paladin Timothy Weatherstone,

  “Time: Fact or Theory?” (85 AM)

  - 1 -

  The next morning, Shadow Company filtered through the woods to the north and settled down to await further orders. Trebor and the paladins made the rounds, healing a wide range of injuries suffered during the battle. They buried their dead, and for the first time in more than a century, human eyes were allowed to observe the denarae burial rites. There was nothing bizarre or occult about them, but the denarae had been wary of humans for centuries, and they viewed death and burial as a very private affair. Funerals were attended only by family and close friends. Danner and the other humans felt privileged to be included in such a solemn ceremony, which was as much a celebration of the lives of the deceased as it was a mourning of their deaths. Friends and comrades commended the fallen, and several were present who had known one or more of the deceased since childhood, and they told stories to remember the dead. There were a few tears, and everyone laughed appreciatively or nodded respectfully as the past stories required.

  Afterward, there were games and a celebration, but absolutely no alcohol. While there was little to be had at any rate, Gerard had forbidden any drinking in case the Merishank soldiers tried another sortie into the woods. Despite Gerard’s caution, however, the Merishank camp was in too much disarray from the night’s chaos to do more than look balefully at the woods from a safe distance. The denarae posted a regular security of sentries and retired for the night.

  Upon waking, they moved further north so the command group could rendezvous with Birch without leaving their company too far behind. Decisions had to be made, and they needed the input of the Gray paladin.

  As they approached, Danner recognized his uncle from a distance by the fires burning in his eyes. Perhaps it was only his apprehension of facing him again, but it seemed the flames burned more intensely than before Birch had gone on his jintaal. He hadn’t noticed it the other night, but he was almost certain something was different.

  Standing next to Birch were Hoil, Moreen, and two other paladins, a Blue and a Green. Danner strained briefly to remember their names, then finally remembered them as Nuse Rojena and Perklet Perkal. They approached Birch warily, not knowing what his reaction might be. Or at least Danner and Trebor approached him warily. Gerard stalked right up to Birch, stood belligerently in front of him, and stared defiantly as if daring him to retaliate.

  “Are we going to fight?” Gerard asked bluntly.

  In response, Birch punched him in the jaw, not hard enough to knock him down, but enough that Gerard staggered back a step and his ears rang.

  “Now we don’t have to,” Birch replied. “Unless you really want to.”

  “I’d win,” Gerard said, rubbing his jaw.

  Then they smiled, though both men’s expressions were a bit strained at first.

  “I have several burning questions for you,” Birch said, “but there’s one I want answered first. Unless my eyes were playing tricks from that cheap shot you gave me, I saw an angel flying around last night during your battle with that monstrous dakkan ─ the demon, I presume.”

  “Demon it was,” Gerard replied, “and it was my hand that delivered the killing stroke, thanks to the distraction your nephew provided. Which leads to your question.”

  And there it was. Danner gulped and stared apprehensively at his father.

  “It’s alright, lad,” Gerard said. “No one ever gained a damn thing by running from the truth.”

  “What’s this about?” Hoil asked suspiciously.

  “Everyone here can be trusted, Danner, if that’s your worry,” Birch said, seeing but not understanding the worried look on his nephew’s face.

  Danner nodded. A brief thought was all it took to enable the glowing wings to appear from his back. Those who hadn’t seen them before took a step back in shock, and Hoil looked faint. His skin was pale, and he stared at his son with wild eyes.

  “Danner?” Hoil asked.

  “It’s still me, dad,” Danner replied, somewhat sorrowfully. He dekinted his wings and for once was not assailed by the feeling that he was somehow less of a man than he’d been the moment before. He was too confused by the jumble of emotions running through him.

  “I think we need to have a little talk about mom,” Danner said.

  - 2 -

  Their explanation lasted well into the afternoon, and their discussion lasted through the sun’s slow descent and the gradual conquest of darkness. Gerard stayed for the first several hours and offered what help he could, then left with Garnet, Michael, and Trebor to go speak with the Merishank officers. They took with them an escort of two platoons from Shadow Company, and they flew a white flag beside the company standard. For those who stayed behind, there was only one topic of conversation.

  Alanna de’Valderat.

  Danner’s mother. Hoil’s wife.

  An immortal.

  “And you had no idea?” Marc asked. He was the only Orange paladin present and, despite his young age, he’d read an impressive assortment of texts, particularly those dealing with immortals. Marc read voraciously, and he’d thought the upcoming crisis was a good enough reason to know all he could about the immortals, both good and evil. Fortunately, the paladin chapterhouse in Nocka had the best selection in the world on that particular topic.

  The group was sitting around a small fire, on which Moreen was making a pot of cahve for them to drink. Danner and the others had brought their own food and supplies, and they ate a light meal as they talked.

  “Lad, believe me,” Hoil said, a bit exasperated, “if I’d known my wife was an honest-to-God angel, I wouldn’t be looking like I’d just gotten knocked in the chest with a tree!”

  Marc nodded, unembarrassed.

  “That confirms certain indications that the immortals could temporarily cast off signs of their immortality, so they appeared just like us,” Marc said. “Sort of like Danner turning on and off his wings.”

  “Ha! I knew that term would stick,” Flasch muttered just loudly enough for his friends to overhear. Danner glared at him good-naturedly, but let it pass.

  “Damned if that wasn’t the greatest shock I’ve ever seen,” Hoil muttered. “Always knew you were too good for my line of work, boy. Didn’t think you were that good, though.”

  Hoil chuckled weakly at his own joke.

  “Please, dad, this hasn’t been easy on me either,” Danner said. “I think if it hadn’t been for my friends sticking by my side, I never would have come to grips with what I am. But facing you about it has been my greatest fear.” Hoil blinked in surprised, then silently shook his head. Danner breathed deeply. “Just how did you meet mom?”

  When Hoil was silent a moment, Birch answered for him.

  “He was running from the deron’dala, and they were too close on his heels for him to stop by and shack up with me, as was his habit,” Birch said. “So instead he ran to the woods nearby and hid…”

  “I can tell my own damn story,” Hoil said irritably, shaking his head to clear whatever thoughts had been monopolizing his attention. “But thank you.”

  Birch nodded, smiling faintly.

  “So yes, I ran for the woods and hid out there in a tree house your uncle and I used to play in when we were younger,” Hoil said. “There wasn’t much left to it, but there was just enough there for me to hide away until the deron’dala passed beneath me. Seeing no point in returning to town just then, I settled down to take a nap.”

  Hoil paused briefly,
and a misty look settled in his eyes as he stared absently at the fire.

  “When I woke up, there she was,” Hoil said softly. “Walking around on the ground below me as if she was searching for something in the shrubs. From my first glimpse, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was absolutely radiant, I tell you. Sparkling blonde hair that gleamed even in the shadows. That was one thing about her. No matter where she stood, no matter how little light there was in the room, somehow it always shone on her hair and made it glow. Bet you didn’t know that, boy.”

  Danner swallowed a lump in his throat at the naked emotion in his father’s voice.

  “No, dad,” he said, his voice thick. “I didn’t know that.”

  “Well, anyway, I stayed up in my tree, at first because I didn’t want to take my eyes off her, then because I didn’t want to scare her away, and finally because I couldn’t think of a damn thing to say to someone that beautiful,” Hoil said. “I never had the ease of talking to women that Birch had. I thought maybe after a while she’d move on, then I could scramble down the tree and pretend to sort of stumble on her. That way at least I wouldn’t have to explain why I was hiding up in a tree.

  “But she didn’t leave. She just kept searching the area. Whatever she’d lost, she apparently knew it was nearby, and so finally I decided I had to go down,” Hoil said. He stopped again, thinking silently. Then he barked a laugh. “You know, you think I’d remember the first thing I said to her, but I can’t for the life of me think of it. I swung down, and I remember she was startled, but she wasn’t afraid. I don’t think she was ever afraid of anything her whole life,” Hoil said, smiling fondly. “Here I was, a hulking, imposing stranger swinging down from a tree, and she just looked at me as calm as though I were a harmless puppy. I offered to help her look for whatever it was, but she told me that wasn’t necessary and she would be going to Demar.

  “Naturally, I didn’t want to let her go that easily, so I offered to escort her and she accepted without a second thought,” Hoil said, “like she knew she could trust me. She didn’t have a place to stay, so I gave her the extra room at Birch’s place, and I slept on the floor in his common room.”