Runic Vengeance (The Runic Series Book 3)

by Clayton Wood

  And there, within its sunken sockets, two eyes stared outward at them.

  Kyle stared at the man suspended in the cylinder, goosebumps rising on his arms. Sabin sighed.

  “As you can see,” he stated, his eyes on Ampir. “...I didn't age as gracefully as you.”

  “You look like shit,” Ampir declared. Sabin chuckled.

  “You always did have a way with words.”

  Ampir stared at Sabin's true body for a long, silent moment, then shook his head.

  “Why?”

  “Necessity,” Sabin's avatar explained. “As a mortal, I was afflicted by a disease of the brain...”

  “You don’t say,” Ampir interjected. Sabin grimaced.

  “...that led to me being incapable of moving. Trapped in my own body, as it were. Even immortality could not change that. My only recourse was to use this,” he continued, gesturing at his stooped, ancient form, “...and the bodies of my Chosen to continue my work.”

  “Your work?”

  “Originally it was to create this,” he replied, gesturing at the huge chamber. “At first I only wanted to create my Chosen, and guide them to continue my research. Over time I realized the limitations of my consciousness, the limitation of any single consciousness.” He turned around in the air, facing his own emaciated body. “Then came my epiphany: I could take over the minds of my Chosen to control their bodies...why not also use their minds as my own? Why not use their minds to create the greatest single consciousness ever to exist?”

  “They're your slaves,” Ampir observed. Sabin shrugged.

  “Servants to a cause,” he corrected. “A sacrifice of a few to ensure a great future for the many.”

  “Ironic that you should say that,” Ampir grumbled.

  “Yes, I am aware that Nespo used the same justification,” Sabin replied evenly. Ampir shook his head, then gestured at the millions of Void crystals lining the chamber.

  “This is beyond Nespo,” he retorted. “Beyond Gunthar. They never trapped millions of people in stone prisons, imprisoning them for eternity while raping their minds.”

  “I guarantee you,” Sabin responded coolly, “...that I have suffered, and do suffer, more than any of them.” He gestured to his true body. “I do not ask them to do anything that I haven't done. They sacrifice themselves as I do, to see that their descendants have a life greater than their own.” He stared at Ampir disapprovingly. “What parent would not make the same sacrifice for their children?”

  “You didn't give them a choice.”

  “A few gave themselves willingly,” Sabin countered. “But yes, most were...drafted into service. And most are only half-aware, as if in a dream.”

  “That doesn't make it right.”

  “That,” Sabin retorted sharply, “...is a matter of perspective.”

  “You should worry about my perspective,” Ampir shot back.

  “Oh, I doubt that,” Sabin murmured. “My mind can think a thousand thoughts for every one you have. I've already considered every possible way for this meeting to conclude, and I've planned accordingly.” He smiled grotesquely. “I'm not afraid of you anymore, Ampir.”

  “You should be.”

  “I didn't bring you here to fight you,” Sabin countered. “I brought you here to share my work with you.” He smiled. “We're two of a kind Ampir...no one else can understand us. No one else has lived twenty centuries, seen empires rise and fall, entire civilizations be born, then die. No one else understands Man for what he is, and what he can be. With my guidance, and yours, Man will grow beyond his limitations, and achieve true transcendence.”

  “They don't need you,” Ampir retorted. “Or me.”

  “Oh but they do,” Sabin argued. “Without a god to guide them, they're nothing but savages, blindly living one generation to the next, repeating the same mistakes over and over again, never learning, never caring what came before.” He shook his head. “Ask any man about history, and you'll see how ignorant they are. They have no concept of what came before. In a few generations, no one will remember that they even existed.”

  “You haven't seen what they can do.”

  “I have eyes everywhere,” Sabin retorted. “I can see every continent in the world at the same time, every government. I created half of them.”

  “Let them go, Sabin.”

  “I can't do that,” Sabin replied.

  “Then I will.”

  Sabin stared at Ampir silently for a moment, then gave him a tight smile.

  “I should remind you that you're two hundred feet above the ground,” he stated, his voice deceptively mild. “And that I can drain you of magic instantaneously, at any time.” He shook his head. “No one can weave magic in this chamber,” he declared. “Except me.”

  “Try me,” Ampir shot back. Sabin shrugged.

  “So be it.”

  The blue light of the gravity fields surrounding them vanished. Kyle felt his heart leap into his throat, and gripped Ariana's hand tightly, expecting to plunge down to the vicious-looking spikes below.

  But nothing happened.

  “Impressive,” Sabin murmured. “Let me guess...your armor insulates against magic loss, and you've woven gravity fields inside of them?”

  Ampir smirked.

  “Your armor must have the same insulating material the Reaper vines have,” Sabin deduced. “No wonder your armor is black.”

  “It wasn't always,” Ampir stated. Sabin's eyebrows knit together.

  “Yes, now that I think of it,” he murmured. “Your original armor was gold.” He gave a twisted smile. “That's why they called you the 'golden warrior' of the Empire.” He chuckled then. “You do have a sense of irony, don't you? Disguising yourself as yourself.” The smile faded. “Why did you change your armor?”

  “I fought against Verhan during their 'liberation,' remember?” Ampir answered. Sabin nodded.

  “I do,” he agreed. “I always wondered why the Empire couldn't defeat the Barren tribes when they had you on their side.”

  “They didn't,” Ampir countered. “I refused to fight the tribes.”

  “But you discovered the Reaper bark,” Sabin deduced. “And applied it to your armor.” He nodded. “Very clever.”

  “It's over, Sabin,” Ampir stated. He gestured at the Void crystals all around them. “Free these people. Let them rest. Humanity doesn't need to be controlled. Help them find their own way.”

  “I tried that once,” Sabin retorted. “It failed.”

  “Let them fail,” Ampir shot back. “It's the only way they'll grow.”

  “No,” Sabin stated, his tone sharp. “Not the only way. I've guided humanity to heights of civilization they haven't even imagined since the fall of the Empire. I've created civilizations across the globe, on every continent.”

  “They would have done it themselves.”

  “Not like this,” Sabin retorted. “The world has been at peace for over two hundred years,” he added. “No major nations have gone to war with each other. There is no slavery. There are no despots, no demagogues.” He shook his head. “All this would be impossible if humanity were allowed to govern themselves. Men with power gain more at the expense of the powerless, taking advantage of the ignorance and rage of the very people they abuse, redirecting it for their benefit. It’s in their nature.”

  Ampir put a hand on Kyle's shoulder.

  “I've seen what humanity can accomplish without you. Without me,” he argued.

  “So have I,” Sabin countered. “And without me, they would resume the cycle of corruption and violence. I am the only one who can bring order and justice to this world...true justice.”

  “It's over,” Ampir stated. “If you don't end this, I will.”

  Sabin stared at Ampir, then started to laugh. Great, rasping bellows echoed throughout the massive chamber, his thin lips stretched wide over his rotted teeth and gums. He ended with a wheezing chuckle, shaking his head.

  “You can't,” he proclaimed. “And even if you
could, you won't.”

  “Try me,” Ampir growled.

  “You won't,” Sabin repeated, “...because if you do, everything you've fought for will be lost.” He smiled. “You can't, because only I can weave magic. You can't attack me here.”

  “I won't need to.”

  “It's pointless to argue,” Sabin stated. “If you kill me, my Chosen – millions of them – will rise at once, and they have orders to destroy every city of every country in the world. Thousands of Behemoths will descend from the skies, and they will erase Man from the face of the planet.”

  “You really do care about them,” Ampir grumbled. Sabin shrugged.

  “I do,” he replied. “Think of it as an...insurance policy. Ensuring my safety is the best way to protect them.”

  “By threatening to destroy them.”

  “It will never come to that, will it, Ampir?” Sabin mused. “I'll tell you what; I'm willing to let you have your Empire, if you want it. I'll withdraw my Chosen from it, and they will not attack again.”

  “You're right,” Ampir agreed. “They won't.” He reached into the recesses of his armor then, and pulled out a familiar black cylinder. It was the bomb Kyle had carried all the way from the Empire.

  “What is that?” Sabin asked.

  “The most powerful weapon of all,” Ampir replied. He touched one end of the cylinder, and it flashed red, extending outward to reveal silver metal beneath. Then he tapped the other end, and it too flashed red, extending outward. He tossed it up into the air, and it hovered there for a moment. Then the cylinder split in half, each end shooting in the opposite direction, connected by a brilliant line of red light. The entire thing began to spin, forming a red circle in front of Sabin, spinning faster and faster, until it was a blur.

  “Am I supposed to be afraid?” Sabin asked wryly. “What kind of weapon is this?” Ampir smirked.

  “Information.”

  The red circle began to rotate on its vertical axis, picking up speed until it formed a perfect red sphere before them, over twenty feet in diameter. Bright red dots appeared on the surface of the sphere, followed by thin red lines. They were, Kyle realized, the outlines of Doma's continents. And the tiny red dots were speckled across all of them. Millions of red dots.

  “What is this?” Sabin demanded, staring at the globe. The hologram gave the illusion of slowly rotating, like a planet in space.

  “The location of every Chosen outside of this cave complex,” Ampir replied. “Or, more precisely, their shards.”

  Sabin stared at the globe, his eyes widening.

  “How did you get this?”

  “You just gave it to me,” Ampir answered. He draped an arm over Ariana's shoulder then. “Through her.”

  “What?”

  “I made some modifications to the Dead Man's shard after I killed him,” Ampir explained. “It listens in to your network, but only from a short distance.” He stared up at the spinning globe, the red lights reflecting off of his visor. “When she was close to your Chosen, she could hear your commands to them. Now that she's close to you, I have access to your entire network through her.” He gave Sabin a tight smile. “Thanks for inviting her in, by the way.”

  “Clever,” Sabin conceded. “But useless. I've just changed the way I communicate with my Chosen.” He smiled. “My mind can think a thousand thoughts at once,” he added. “You don't stand a chance against me.”

  “Too late,” Ampir retorted.

  “Too late for what?”

  “I'm revoking your insurance policy.”

  And then, almost as one, the red dots on the globe vanished.

  Chapter 35

  Kalibar heard someone moaning.

  He ignored the sound, far too tired to pay it much mind. He was sleepy, so sleepy. It was a blissful feeling, really. It reminded him of when he'd been a boy. Of snuggling into his warm, comfortable bed after a day filled with adventure, of spending time with his father on the lake. So tired that he felt like sinking into his pillow, drunk with the ecstasy of falling into his dreams.

  It was heaven, this feeling.

  He heard the moan come again, and felt mildly irritated by it. He was, after all, trying to sleep. He wished it would just go away, but he was too tired to make the supreme effort of asking. He sighed inwardly, feeling as if he were floating on a cloud. His arms and legs felt heavy to the point of being immovable. Not that it mattered...he had no desire to move them.

  Again, the moaning.

  He felt his irritation return, stronger this time. It cut through him, jarring him from that profound sense of peace, and he had the sudden urge to lash out at whoever was disturbing him. He felt a sharp pain in his neck, followed by shooting pains in his arms and legs, and he heard the moaning come again.

  It was only then that he realized that the person who was moaning was him.

  He opened his eyes.

  Piercing blue light seared his retinas, and he groaned, squeezing his eyelids shut. He paused, then opened them again, seeing a dark shape appear above him. His eyes focused, and he realized he was staring at a person's face. A woman, with skin so dark it was almost black. Her eyes were wide, her lips moving. A halo of faint blue light surrounded her head.

  I can't understand you, he thought.

  He felt hands grip his temples, then fall away. Then he felt a sharp stinging sensation on his left cheek, his head jerking to the right. He gasped.

  “...coming!” he heard a woman's voice shout in his ear. He turned his head forward.

  “What?” he croaked. He stared at the woman above him, realizing that he was lying on the ground, and that she was laying on her belly beside him, propping herself on her elbows.

  Petra!

  “Get up!” she yelled. “They're coming!” She raised her hand to slap him again.

  “I'm up, I'm up,” he blurted out, grunting, then pushing himself up into a sitting position. He rose shakily to his feet, then extended one hand. “Come on,” he urged. Petra shook her head.

  “I can't,” she replied. “My leg,” she added with a grimace. Kalibar looked down, spotting her left ankle. It was deformed, rotated at a grotesque angle. Her uniform had torn behind her shattered ankle, the rip extending all the way up to her mid-calf. The skin below had torn as well, yellow fat exposed under the gaping wound. Blue light leaked from the flesh there. Kalibar put a hand to his mouth, then dropped down to his knees before her.

  “Petra...” he began, then his voice caught in his throat.

  “I filled you with magic,” she said between clenched teeth. She took a deep, hissing breath in, then grabbed his hand with her own. “Go,” she ordered. “Leave me!”

  “I can't...”

  “Go!” she shouted, letting go of his hand. “It's my turn to save you.”

  He heard a thump behind him, followed by another.

  Kalibar turned around slowly, knowing exactly what he would see. There, standing before them, were two tall men in black, rippling cloaks, their faces shrouded in the shadows cast by their loose hoods.

  “Run, damn it!” Petra shouted. But it was too late. He felt a vibration in his skull, then felt a terrible force shoving him downward. He fell to his knees, then onto his back, feeling his head strike the ground.

  One of the Chosen stepped forward, staring down at him. Sunlight caught the green, diamond-shaped crystal in its forehead, making it glimmer as the Chosen knelt down before him. Kalibar tried to move, but his limbs were bolted to the ground, locked there by an invisible force. The Chosen stared at him, its eyes barely visible in the shadows of its hood. It reached a hand into its cloak, then pulled it out.

  A long, tapered green crystal glittered against the dark skin of its hand.

  “No,” Kalibar blurted out. The Chosen leaned forward over him, rotating the crystal so its cruel point hovered over the center of his forehead. “No!”

  “Kalibar,” he heard Petra whimper from behind him. “I'm sorry.”

  Kalibar saw the tip of the gre
en crystal descend, felt its cool sharpness press against his forehead. He grit his teeth, trying to lift his arms in vain.

  “Kill me,” he spat, glaring at the Chosen. “I'd rather be dead than be your slave!”

  The Chosen's lips curled up into a smirk.

  “You'll be both,” it murmured.

  There was a hissing sound, and all of a sudden the Chosen's head jerked backward, and it tumbled to the ground.

  Kalibar stared up at where the Chosen had been, seeing only tree branches waving against a blue sky. He flexed his hands, feeling them move easily, and grunted, rising up into a sitting position. He saw the unmoving form of the Chosen before him, sprawled in a heap on the ground, its face covered by its black hood. A few feet away, the other Chosen was also lying on the ground, also unmoving.

  Slowly, Kalibar got to his feet.

  “Kalibar?” he heard Petra call out from behind him. He turned to her, saying nothing, then turned back to the nearest fallen Chosen. It still hadn't moved. He walked up to its head, kneeling down before it, and put a hand on its black hood, curling his fingers around the thick edge of it.

  He peeled it back from the Chosen's face...and his breath caught in his throat.

  “Kalibar, what happened?” Petra asked. He barely heard her, his eyes on the Chosen before him. The thing's eyes were open, staring right through Kalibar, its mouth agape.

  And there, in the center of its forehead, where the green, shimmering facets of its shard had been, was an empty, blackened hole.

  * * *

  Kyle stared at the red, spinning globe created by Ampir's cylindrical device, watching as the countless tiny red dots on its surface winked out. He saw Sabin’s avatar blink, saw his mouth fall open, his eyes unfocusing. His ancient face went blank for a long moment, and then suddenly re-animated, his eyes focusing on Ampir's mirrored visor.