The Devil's Deuce (The Barrier War)

by Brian J Moses

  Alicia lay on the cold, stone floor in a pool of blood. Marc let out a sob and put a finger to her throat even as he leaned his ear close to her mouth, hoping to hear or feel some indication his sister still lived.

  There!

  Her neck pulsed once under his fingers, then again. Then Marc felt warm breath stir weakly against his ear and he heard a rasp of air. He sighed in fierce relief, then began inspecting her for serious wounds that would need healing. Marc quickly discovered that she only sported minor injuries, of which there were quite a few, but it was soon clear that nearly all of the blood on the floor belonged to Jorgins, who had apparently given his life to protect her. Marc turned and looked at the silent body behind him with fresh tears in his eyes.

  “Thank you,” he said brokenly. “Thank you for her life, brother.”

  Chapter 38

  Belief creates its own reality.

  - Orange Paladin Jason Anterix,

  “Defining Reality” (856 AM)

  - 1 -

  Marc waited until the paladins of the Prismatic Council had assembled in the trainees barracks before he made his decision. The Council members had discovered two other groups of demons hunting the compound of the chapterhouse and had annihilated them quickly. There was no way to know how many demons had fallen during the assault, but of the fifty or so paladins still housed in the Prismatic headquarters, only four others had been discovered alive. The survivors returned with the Council members and met up with Marc and the others.

  Maki had recovered from his wounds, thanks to the aid of Jatin, the only surviving Council member from the Green Facet. Including the new Blue paladin and the four survivors, Marc now had a dozen paladins, including himself, plus Alicia, who had proven herself at least competent with a blade. She would be unable to put the finishing stroke on any demons they encountered, but she should be able to slay the twisted creatures made from the souls of the damned.

  “We can’t stay here,” Marc announced when they were all together. The Council members still looked at him expectantly, which disturbed him even more than it elated him. Marc already had a command, and it was to them he intended to return, and soon.

  “The demons got past the Barrier somehow, either by tunneling beneath the city, which I didn’t think they’d be able to get this far this quickly, or else they’ve breached our defenses and are now running rampant in the streets,” Marc said grimly. “Neither option is encouraging, but we need to know for sure. We’re going to move out from here immediately and rendezvous with Shadow Company near the Barrier. That’s where the war is going on, and that is where we need to be.”

  He left his words hanging in the air as an unuttered rebuke toward the Council members. While men had been fighting and dying on the walls of the Barrier, they had been here with at least fifty paladins, nearly all of whom were now dead from the surprise attack. The paladins looked downcast and refused to meet his eyes.

  “I offer no excuse for our conduct, save that we were not strong enough to face our own faults,” Daevis said finally. When Marc looked at him questioningly, he continued, despite the worried glances from two of the surviving Council members.

  “Bart and Jackson,” he said, “they were blackmailing most or all of us into doing their will. What they had over my fellows, I can’t say, but they cornered me with certain indiscretions from my younger days, and I didn’t have the courage to face up and confront their actions.” He looked down at his red cloak with a bitter twist of his mouth. He clenched his fist around a spread of the material, and his eyes shut against an inner torment.

  “It was they who pressured us into letting your company of denarae stand alone against the demons,” Daevis said quietly. “We knew it was wrong, and some of us threatened to put a stop to it, but none of us actually did a thing. None of us said a word, and so Gerard and countless others died. We are no longer fit to lead this holy body.”

  And at last Marc understood. They looked to him because he was a pinpoint of light in a dark sea of guilt and despair, because he had come to them and turned certain death into survival; defeat into triumph, however bitter. They followed his orders because they no longer felt themselves capable - no, they no longer felt themselves morally qualified to lead.

  Marc stared at Daevis and the others for a long, hard moment. Faced with the men who had denied Trebor his rightful place among their ranks simply because of his race, who had cast his friends and loyal troops to the wolves and ignored their plight, who had stood by passively while the world itself had begun to crumble around their ears… Faced with these men, Marc did the most difficult thing he’d ever done in his life.

  He forgave them.

  “Every man finds himself led astray at some point,” Marc said quietly. “We all have a darker spirit inside that whispers to us, and sometimes we listen to it. You’re not unworthy, and you’re not horrible leaders. You’re human. And right now, you’re faced with a choice.

  “There are thousands of men out there placing their lives, perhaps their immortal souls, on the line for the safety of our entire world,” Marc said in a tone he hoped would bring them courage and hope, “and what they don’t need now is the tattered remnants of a body of leaders flailing about in self-pity and remorse. What they need now is the surviving core of a great institution to step forward and show them what it means to be soldiers of God. They need leaders, not laggards.”

  Marc paused and looked seriously at Daevis in particular.

  “Show them the true meaning of courage.”

  Perhaps Marc would have said more, and maybe Daevis or one of the others might have made some reply. But just then Maki called Marc over to the window and pointed urgently toward the courtyard below. Marc peered out the window and saw a lithe form running through the open gates of the Prismatic headquarters. The figure – Marc was finally able to identify it as a woman – stopped at the bloody carnage where the Red paladin had been slain. Whoever she was, she carried an axe, and even from a distance, Marc could see she gripped it desperately as if it was the only thing keeping her alive.

  Then she turned her face upwards, looking about in desperation, and Marc recognized Janice. It was one of the few times he’d ever seen her outside the confines of Aunt Delia’s gentleman’s club, but he recognized her immediately.

  “Follow me down,” Marc said quickly. “Maki, help Alicia, and bring that bundle,” he added, pointing at a small roll of cloth he’d retrieved from a storage room while waiting for the Council members to return.

  With those instructions, Marc leapt through the window and glided down to the courtyard.

  “Janice!” he called from the air. She looked up, and by the time Marc had reached the ground she had run over to him. Janice immediately flung her arms around him. She inadvertently clouted him across the back of his head with the blunt side of her axe, but neither one of them really noticed.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Oh, Marc, they’re all dead!” she said at the same time.

  “What? Who’s dead?” Marc asked as fresh fears for the fate of his friends welled up inside him.

  “Hal and the others!” she cried. “They were taking shelter in my home, and some creatures attacked us in the basement and killed them all!”

  Janice started sobbing into Marc’s shoulder as she tried to describe what had happened, and Marc was finally able to put enough of her story together to get a full picture of the horrific ordeal. As she trailed off, the Orange paladin was dimly aware of the other paladins landing softly on the ground nearby. Maki held Alicia carefully and released her as soon as his footing was steady. The newly made Blue paladin looked reluctant to let her go, and Marc withheld a grimace at the expression on Maki’s face.

  “Shh, you’re safe now,” Marc said soothingly to Janice. He spent a minute or so reassuring her and calming her tears, then finally she wiped her eyes and looked up. Only then did she become aware of the others around them. Janice started slightly and brushed her
disheveled hair back quickly. No matter how many times Marc had seen Janice in all states of dress and undress, he thought at that moment she’d never looked more beautiful, and his heart ached.

  “Gentlemen, may I present Janice O’Dela, a very special woman,” Marc said. “Janice, these are some of my brother paladins. And this,” he said gesturing, “is my sister, Alicia.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Janice said nervously. “You’re the one who likes his friend Danner, right? I know Deeta likes Flasch, and Sophie likes Garnet, and Ruby’s totally smitten with Michael, and even Anna has a crush on that pale one. They’re all staying somewhere together, except Deeta, who’s staying with a cousin, I think. Oh, God, Marc, listen to me, I’m babbling on and on, and I’ve just met your sister. What you must think of me,” she said, her voice trembling slightly.

  “Marc’s told me so much about you,” Alicia lied. Marc’s small smile became a bit fixed at the look Alicia gave him as soon as Janice looked away.

  “Janice,” Marc said, turning her to look at him, “we have to go out into the city. We’re going to my company where we should be safe.”

  Janice’s trembling turned into a full-body shudder, and her eyes widened in terror.

  “Marc,” Alicia said thoughtfully, gauging the other woman’s reaction, “you’re not thinking this through.”

  He turned to look at her.

  Alicia looked pointedly at Janice, then back at her brother. “If we go to the Barrier, we’ll be in the heat of the fight, and Shadow Company will undoubtedly be fighting, probably where the battle is at its worst. We won’t be any safer there than anywhere else, and probably less so. Let me take Janice back to Faldergash’s place. The gnome can look after us with more surety than you could, given the circumstances. That’s probably the safest place in the city right now.”

  Marc considered for only a moment before realizing she was right. Privately, he was also thinking that the presence of women on the battlefield would only distract his men, who would fight to protect them instead of holding to their duties. Marc certainly knew he would be distracted.

  Wrapped in his arms, Janice calmed down and nodded enthusiastically at Alicia’s suggestion. Clearly she had no desire to be anywhere near the Barrier.

  “Can the two of you make it safely on your own?” he asked.

  “I’ll go with them to see she’s safe,” Maki offered.

  “No,” Marc said flatly, intending to head off that particular problem as quickly as possible. “If anyone, I want one of the veterans to accompany them.” He turned to Alicia. “Danner’s father and Moreen were planning on going to Faldergash’s place and should already be there by now, so you should be well-protected in case of emergency.”

  One of the paladins rescued by the Prismatic Council, a Blue paladin, volunteered to escort them, which Alicia and Janice willingly accepted. Hoil and Moreen had been staying there when not busy helping near the Barrier, so Marc wasn’t worried too much about their safety, once they made it there. He knew Hoil was a competent swordsman, and Faldergash had a number of tricks up his sleeve, should the need arise. He would much rather surround the gnome’s house with a platoon of paladins, but given the need for holy warriors on the Barrier, sparing one to protect them would have to suffice.

  Marc stopped long enough to kiss Janice gently, something he’d done all too rarely, and never outside Aunt Delia’s. He’d never felt comfortable enough to do so, but he cast all doubts aside now.

  “I’ll find you when this is all over,” Marc promised.

  Janice nodded, and then she was gone. The three of them left with all the stealth and speed they could manage.

  “Let’s go,” Marc said.

  - 2 -

  Danner woke again to the din of battle. The clash of steel against flesh and stone reached him even in the dark confines of the store room, and he knew he could no longer afford to lie in convalescence while the war went on around him. He fought a wave of dizziness and sat up.

  “Danner?” Jon said worriedly.

  “I’m fine,” Danner lied, holding up a hand to keep the Green paladin away. “I’ve got to get out of here. Something big is happening, I can sense it.”

  “I don’t think you’re recovered yet,” Jon began.

  “I’m recovered enough,” Danner replied grimly.

  Danner stood and leaned heavily against a nearby stack of boxes. Once more, Jon started toward him, but Danner kept him at bay. Danner closed his eyes as the room shifted and his legs threatened to betray him. In a moment, Danner had allowed his wings to sprout into being, and they filled the dark room with a blue luminescence that soothed Danner’s spinning mind. Or maybe it was just having the wings asolved that acted like a balm. With the azure light came a renewed vitality and strength that flooded Danner’s being with a surging power. His body pulsed in time with his beating heart.

  “Are you planning on going out there dressed like that?”

  Danner glanced at his attire and saw he was still wearing his leather armor. He looked up in confusion, then realized Jon was referring to his wings. Until then, he hadn’t considered it, but Danner shrugged. His eyes danced with blue flames.

  “Why not?” he said. “Enough people must have witnessed my little fiasco and my fall, so it’s not like it’s a huge secret anymore. I might need it.”

  “And it might kill you,” Jon said in warning. “If you hadn’t had your immortal heritage in dominance, the crossbow bolt wouldn’t have had such a severe effect on you. Yes, it will protect you from mundane blows, but if anyone takes a bead on you or attacks you with a cursed weapon, your asset suddenly becomes a liability to your survival. You’re a target like that.”

  Danner paused in thought, letting the Green paladin’s warning sift through his mind. Finally he decided he would take his chances.

  “It’s a risk I’ll have to take,” Danner said. “So far that’s the only cursed weapon we’ve seen, and the damned souls are all using claws, not swords. If I see anything that looks more dangerous, I’ll change back. But until then, maybe I can make a difference as I am.”

  Jon nodded in understanding and walked to open the door for Danner. He didn’t say anything, but he was also worried about the toll being taken upon Danner by his immortal heritage. Jon had heard from Danner’s friends about the euphoric sense of power Danner experienced whenever he was transformed, and the recent change to Danner’s eyes when his wings were in evidence hinted at a disturbing evolution going on within the young paladin. Almost, Jon spoke his thoughts aloud, but he decided to trust in the fate and will of God that had first empowered Danner with his heritage. Surely there was some design in his presence, and God would not allow that design to be thwarted by an addiction such as this. Jon prayed this was so and told himself he had faith.

  - 3 -

  Danner walked past Jon, his incandescent blue wings wafting behind him as his eyes shone on the path before. His wings brushed against the stone around the doorway and set a tingling sensation dancing between his shoulder blades as Danner looked into the courtyard. Night cloaked the Barrier in a suffocating blackness held at bay only by a profusion of torches and Sin’s light overhead, which illuminated a scene of chaos. Dawn was not long off, but the sky had yet to see the first hues of rosy morning light that would precede the sun.

  A monstrous creature was flailing about the walls and knocking men to their deaths. One massive fist crashed down through the stone of the Barrier and destroyed the gate. Men were thrown in all directions to land in bloody heaps on the stone ground. Danner was an instant away from leaping into the air to assault the demon when he saw two dakkans, an orange and a yellow, sweep down from the sky. The yellow swept past the enormous demon, and Danner saw it barrel-roll upside-down just before it disappeared on the far side of the Barrier. The orange dakkan circled the demon as a swarm of other dakkans arrived to guard him, then a Blue paladin jumped onto the demon’s head and almost immediately jumped back onto his dakkan.

  A
moment later, the demon started to fall apart, shedding what looked to be human bodies like a parsher[30] shed skin. Soon nothing could be seen of the demon over the Barrier, and Danner assumed the monster was dead.

  But the damage had already been done, and now a wave of demons and damned souls poured through the breach the larger demon had created in the wall of the Barrier. Danner rushed forward with his sword raised and threw himself into the wave of Hellish bodies with a terrible frenzy. The damned souls drew back from him in fear, but were forced to attack by the press of their fellows surging forward from behind them. Their claws tore into his armor but where they found flesh they were as effective as a kitten attacking stone. His flesh was like steel for all the damage their tormented claws could do.

  Impervious to their blows, Danner abandoned style and finesse and settled for sweeping his sword in broad strokes that hewed through the army of the damned with little to no resistance. Five creatures were cut down in one sweep of his sword, and four more died on the return stroke. He was invincible, and as power rushed through him, Danner roared a challenge that shook the stone walls around him.

  Formidable as he was, however, even Danner could not hold back the implacable tide of creatures that was attacking the Barrier. All too soon they had swarmed over the battlements and overwhelmed the few men who had survived the earlier onslaught, and Danner was quickly surrounded by demons and damned souls. The demons fought him with a noticeable mixture of fear and hatred as they saw evidence of their eternal foe suddenly present in the battle before them. Danner was more careful in his attacks when the demons were involved, lest they succeed in doing him harm, but their fear added to his supreme sense of confidence and power.

  When more than a dozen demons had fallen to Danner’s sword, they held back and ordered the damned souls to attack him all the more fervently. Danner’s sword was ripped from his grasp, and he resorted to swinging his fists and lashing out with his feet. Gerard had made sure Danner and the other trainees had a significant knowledge of unarmed combat for just such an occasion. Even now, he was unstoppable.