Give the Devil His Due

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Give the Devil His Due Page 40

by Blackwell, Rob


  “Why don’t you just give up already?” Carman taunted. “Beg for mercy before Lord Sanheim. I’m sure he would enjoy listening to your pleas.”

  “That will never happen,” Kate said. “We will never surrender.”

  Hold on for just a little while longer, Kate thought to Quinn, and she prayed they hadn’t already run out of time.

  Carman took advantage of Kate’s apparent distraction. In a movement as quick as lightning, she suddenly swept at the banshee’s legs. The move caught Kate off guard. She fell down and landed in the dirt.

  Carman was on top of her in an instant, kicking Kate’s sword away with her foot. Her other foot stepped down on Kate’s shield arm, pinning it to the ground. Carman aimed her spear carefully at Kate’s head. A green light surrounding the spear glowed brighter and the witch looked ready to finish off her enemy for good.

  Yet she looked unnerved to stare down and find the banshee smiling at her.

  Kate had heard the call in her mind just a few seconds earlier.

  Kate? Carol thought. I’m sorry it took so long. But we’re ready. We’re in position.

  Order the retreat, Kate thought to Elyssa, Buzz and Parker. They had already started to move, anticipating what was about to happen.

  A second later, Kate felt a rejuvenating surge of energy from the followers Carol had brought her. The power spread through her weary body even as she lay on the ground.

  As Carman loomed over her and prepared the killing blow, Kate opened her mouth and screamed.

  Carman was totally unprepared, clearly thinking her moment of triumph was at hand. Kate watched as blood started gushing from Carman’s ears and nose. Her eyes became bloodshot and she seemed to have trouble seeing. Carman tried to fire off a bolt of energy, but no longer appeared to have enough concentration to mutter the spell.

  Kate stopped screaming, but the witch stood in a daze. The banshee grabbed the spear from Carman’s hands and turned it around.

  Quinn? Kate thought at him as she watched him kneel in front of Sanheim. What their nemesis couldn’t see, of course, was that Quinn was smiling too. The cavalry has arrived.

  Carman seemed immobilized. While Kate still lay on the ground, she jammed the spear through the witch’s throat.

  *****

  Sanheim felt Carman’s death immediately, staggering backward as if he’d been hit by a hammer in the chest. The audience around them reacted in confusion and distress. Sanheim momentarily went to his knees just as Quinn was rising to his feet.

  The grin on Quinn’s face grew wider.

  “You know what? I’ve changed my mind,” Quinn said, looking around at the startled crowd.

  Sanheim looked up with rage on his face.

  “You killed her,” he said. “That’s not possible. That can’t happen.”

  “It is and it did,” Quinn said. “But that’s not even the best part.”

  Sanheim’s confusion registered on his face. There were murmurs in the crowd. Only Janus seemed to share Quinn’s glee.

  “This changes nothing,” Sanheim said. “My armies will still beat you.”

  “Take another look,” Quinn said.

  He pointed to the thick forest on the far side of the battlefield, well behind the enemy’s position. A solitary, familiar figure emerged from the line of trees.

  Sanheim looked with surprise from the figure to Quinn.

  “I don’t understand,” he said in confusion. “How can that be?”

  More figures emerged from the forest. At first there were a dozen, then twenty or thirty more. Soon hundreds began to pour out of the cover of the forest, gathering into formation.

  “So many,” Sanheim said softly. “Kyle Thompson only had a few hundred scarecrows. Where did you find these?”

  “You should study more U.S. history,” Quinn said. “It was Kate who reminded me of the battle, but I’ve always enjoyed the story. In the face of an overwhelmingly superior force in Chancellorsville, Virginia, Robert E. Lee did the one thing a general should never do. He divided his army.”

  “No,” Sanheim said. “You never said anything to Janus. I would have known.”

  Quinn and Janus smiled at each other.

  “Nicely played,” Janus said to him. Quinn took a small bow.

  “Thanks for managing a few warnings,” Quinn replied. “The Lando reference clinched it.”

  Janus laughed.

  “It was the best I could do,” Janus said.

  “I interrogated him,” Sanheim said. “No one can lie to me!”

  “Oh, he told you everything we told him,” Quinn replied. “But you wouldn’t understand his movie references even if he told you. I admit it took me a while to clue in that you were using him. Janus told me several times about a girl — he made a point of it. You don’t think I know how you work? Why send Janus to help me in the first place? Because you knew I would trust him implicitly. You even made sure he ‘saved’ me from the burning pit. I wonder if anyone even goes into that pit or if it’s all there for show. Anyway, once I figured out Janus was working for you, we kept critical information from him. By the time we planned the battle, I told him only what I wanted you to hear.”

  Sanheim stared at the two of them in shock and then turned back to watch the battlefield. The figures from the forest were now in battle lines, thousands of them arrayed together. They galloped forward at the same moment, descending into the valley below.

  “I sent nearly half my force away so they could meet up with Carol and flank your army,” Quinn said.

  “It was scarecrows,” Sanheim said in barely a whisper. “It was supposed to be a few hundred scarecrows.”

  “Yes, but scarecrows aren’t my thing,” Quinn said. “I gave Carol the power to change them into something else, something closer to my heart. I made them what has haunted and fascinated me since I was a boy.”

  Even after Carman’s death, Sanheim’s army was still pressing its attack, trying to destroy what it thought were the last remaining elements of Kate’s soldiers. They didn’t hear the pounding hooves behind them until it was too late.

  The figures were all dressed exactly alike, their cloaks flying out behind them as they charged. Even from the castle, Quinn could hear the sound of blades being drawn as one in a single moment. Some of the enemy heard it too. They turned around and began screaming.

  Quinn watched as thousands of Headless Horsemen descended on the enemy army in a fury.

  Chapter 43

  It was beyond a defeat; it was a rout.

  The enemy still outnumbered their attackers, but when thousands of Horsemen descended upon them, it no longer mattered. Buzz watched his old axiom come true right before his eyes. If Sanheim’s troops had gathered their strength, they might have been able to fight them off. But the mental game was lost. The sight of so many demons bearing down on them sent most of the enemy into a blind panic. They had seen the damage just one Horseman could do; now he was multiplied more than ten thousand fold.

  Some enemy soldiers were cut down as they tried to fight. Others were trampled as they attempted to flee. Buzz saw Parker shoot a web after one trowe trying to get away, then watched his own soldiers rallying forward in a final advance.

  In rapid succession, the enemy regiments broke down and then disintegrated entirely. Most of the creatures on the field became far more concerned with getting away than fighting.

  Finally, some realized their fate and began to raise their hands in the air. The remaining caorthannach raised their twig-like arms; the kelpies leaned on the ground. All of them looked terrified at what would happen, but once a few started, a movement quickly spread.

  Soon all who weren’t trying to run away had surrendered.

  The battle was over. Against all odds, Kate and Quinn’s army had won.

  Buzz watched Kate lean over Carman’s body, ensuring she was truly dead. He approached her.

  “We won,” he told her.

  Kate turned to him, a banshee covered in the blood of her e
nemy.

  “Yes,” she said. “But this fight isn’t quite over.”

  She looked up to the castle.

  “Quinn’s up there?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “I need to go,” she said. “I need to help him.”

  “Go,” he said. “I’ll manage things here.”

  Kate turned to leave, but Buzz put a hand on her shoulder.

  “It was an honor,” he said.

  Kate hugged him, apparently forgetting she looked hideous as the banshee. Buzz didn’t mind, though.

  “The honor was all mine,” she said.

  “There’s one more thing,” he said when they stepped apart.

  He looked around the battlefield. He saw a few points of resistance as a few die-hards tried to fight on. But mostly, he saw enemy creatures standing still with their arms up or on their knees.

  “What do you want me to do with them?” he gestured.

  “Kill them,” came a voice from behind them.

  Buzz was unsurprised to see Elyssa there.

  “You leave them alive, they’ll always be a threat,” Elyssa said. “You’ve won the battle, now win the war. Finish these creatures off. No one will dare to oppose you again.”

  “You know, I’m almost glad to hear you say that,” the banshee said. “I don’t know what the future holds, and you might be right. If we leave them to live another day, they might turn on us later. But I won’t go down that path again. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

  She turned toward Buzz.

  “Let them surrender and treat them well,” she said. “You can put guards on them, but I want everyone to know: they are not to be harmed.”

  “You’re making a mistake,” Elyssa said.

  “Maybe,” Kate said. “But I won’t begin my life here by slaughtering those who have surrendered.”

  Buzz nodded in agreement.

  “I’ll make sure they’re safe,” he said.

  Buzz watched as thousands of Headless Horseman raced by. In a flash of light, the banshee turned back into Kate again. She put her fingers to her lips and whistled. One of the Horseman turned back and rode toward her. It didn’t look any different from the others, but somehow Buzz could tell it was Carol. Buzz reached up and clasped her hand for a moment. Then Kate climbed on the back of her horse. She nodded at Buzz and Elyssa.

  “Please take me to the castle,” Kate said. “I have a god to fight.”

  *****

  Quinn stared out across the battlefield, watching the tables turn in his favor.

  “You outwitted me,” Sanheim said out loud.

  Quinn’s decision to divide his army could easily have backfired. But, as at Chancellorsville, it had worked flawlessly.

  Quinn watched as the Headless Horsemen decimated Sanheim’s forces. They cut their way through whole brigades, some even launching flaming pumpkins. Sanheim had lost.

  “You have no idea what you’ve done,” Sanheim said. “The council… you don’t understand what they’re capable of. I was the only hope.”

  “So quit now and help me deal with them,” Quinn said. “It’s not too late.”

  “I will never surrender to you,” Sanheim shouted. “You are just a man. I am a god.”

  Sanheim turned away from the battlefield and faced Quinn.

  “You hurt me,” Sanheim said, “but I will destroy you. The Lord Sanheim rules forever!”

  The man standing in front of Quinn seemed to be in pain for a moment before he grew several feet taller. The suit faded away, and became shiny reddish-green scales. Horns sprouted from Sanheim’s head and two massive wings unfurled behind him. The creature towered above Quinn, the same figure from his dream.

  The creature’s red eyes glowed with fury. Sanheim looked like a true demon, the picture of Lucifer at the moment of the former angel’s fall. What stood before Quinn wasn’t a man, but the Devil himself.

  “Oh my God,” Janus said, pushing Summer behind him.

  “No,” Quinn said, “That’s definitely the wrong word.”

  Sanheim stomped forward and a huge flaming sword appeared in his hand.

  Quinn could hear the audience chamber brimming with panic as people started running.

  But Quinn held his ground, looking small in the shadow of his opponent. He felt no trace of fear, only grim determination.

  “Behold,” Sanheim yelled and his voice echoed throughout the hall. “Behold the dark god Crom Cruach. I have many names, child of Adam. I have been called Lucifer and Beelzebub. I have been known as Satan. You may call me Sanheim. Let it be the last word on your lips.”

  Sanheim stepped forward, but Quinn didn’t move. A small smile appeared on his face.

  “You mentioned all those names, but none of them are the right one,” Quinn said. “I’d rather call you by your real name — Robert.”

  “That is not my name!” Sanheim bellowed, his voice rattling the window panes.

  “Huh?” Janus said.

  “You are Robert Crowley,” Quinn said. “Oh, you played it well, don’t get me wrong. The fake note from Lilith. ‘The Lord Sanheim rules forever.’ But it was a lie, all of it.”

  “No,” Sanheim said, but he made no move to attack, as if transfixed on the spot.

  “I’ll give you your due,” Quinn continued. “You had all of us believing you were some unstoppable god. But we should have realized that all of our information came from the same place. It’s what reporters call a one-source story. It was always Crowley or his minions — Camden or Lilith. They were the ones who insisted that the ‘god’ Sanheim ruled the underworld still. Crowley was the one who said the Princes had to fight Sanheim and claimed that all the previous attempts had failed. But they didn’t, did they? What I wonder is if there was ever a true Sanheim at all.”

  “What are you talking about?” Janus asked. “We saw Crowley die in front of us.”

  “We saw an old man die in front of us, but that wasn’t Crowley. For one, he had brown eyes, not blue. All Princes have blue eyes, including Robert,” Quinn gestured toward Sanheim. “Who was he really, Robert? Because I have a theory it was Horace Camden. Some reward you gave him. You locked him in a cell because he was the one person besides Lilith who knew the truth. I admit he had me fooled. He said he loved Lilith, but I bet that’s another reason you locked him away, isn’t it?

  “You slaughtered everyone in this world who could have remembered that it was the Spider who ruled here when you arrived. I was so confused when his last moidin told me the truth that I actually tried to explain it away. Somehow the Spider must have opposed you in secret. But that wasn’t right. He was your predecessor. You just wanted to change the history so he never ruled at all. You wanted your legend to be pure. You had Lilith write her little note and ‘disappear’ back into this world. Was she Carman, Robert? Was that who your bride became?”

  Sanheim stood stock still, staring at Quinn with hatred and malice.

  “You left some clues behind though,” he said. “Crowley never said what his cennad was, he was careful to keep it secret. But he admitted that the one thing he was scared of — all his life — was Sanheim. His nursemaid told him stories when he was just a little boy. It frightened him to know that one day he would be the Prince of Sanheim and would have to fight this god himself. Well, you are what you fear, right, Robert? When you met Lilith and triggered the trial, it was Sanheim you had to defeat. So you took his mantle when you conquered him and then left us all false bread crumbs to cover your real tracks. You thought if we believed you were invincible, you really would be.”

  Quinn looked at the flaming sword in Sanheim’s hand.

  “You should have been more careful,” Quinn said. “You left several symbols of the ‘important’ Princes: the spider, the flute, which stood for Sawyer, the horse, which is mine, and the flaming sword, which is yours. So spare me your proclamations of how you’re the Devil. Stop shouting at me that you’re a god. Because in the end, you’re just a man like me. That’s a
ll you ever were.”

  For a moment, Quinn thought Sanheim had actually become a statue. His eyes were almost looking past Quinn.

  Does he really not remember? Quinn wondered.

  “Uh, Quinn?” Janus said quietly behind him. “I think you broke him.”

  A second later, Sanheim’s eyes snapped back to Quinn. He quickly crossed the room and hit Quinn with the back of his hand. The blow hit Quinn full force, knocking him high into the air. Quinn crashed through a stained glass window and out of the castle.

  *****

  Quinn heard screaming from inside the castle. It sounded like the people in the throne room were fleeing in droves, anxious to get away from the demon Sanheim had become.

  Considering he just landed on a rocky outcropping dangerously close to the edge of a cliff, however, Quinn felt strangely intact.

  Are you okay? Kate demanded in his head.

  Quinn heard a tremendous crash as Sanheim forced his way through a window, taking part of the stone wall with him. Quinn covered his face as glass and stones rained down around him.

  Quinn slowly got to his feet, feeling a sharp pain in his left leg. Still, it could have been worse.

  “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting that,” Quinn said.

  “That should have killed you,” Sanheim said.

  “I’m tougher than I look,” he replied.

  Sanheim stalked forward, his long wings extending out behind him. He flapped them once, lifted slightly into the air, and brought his sword down over Quinn.

  Quinn didn’t yield or flee. Instead, he conjured a sword in his hand, dug in his feet and blocked the blow.

  Sanheim came down on Quinn with all his strength, but Quinn only wobbled for a moment — and then counterattacked, unleashing a furious flurry of blows. Sanheim looked surprised and alarmed, and was barely able to block them.

  He tried to take the offensive again, his flaming sword slicing at Quinn from all sides. But Quinn continued to parry the blows. Out of the corner of his eye, Quinn noticed Janus had come up behind them.

 

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