Demiourgos

by Chris Williams

  Rose cried out in pain and dropped to her knees holding her head to try and keep it from throbbing so hard. She was convinced it was going to burst apart. Blood trickled out of her nose and touched down upon the sand just as her vision began to darken.

  Before she knew it she was being held between two guards with the sword she had belted to her noble outfit being held by the guard on her left. She was unable to move her arms and her body was limp but not by her choosing. She was being led through the promenade of the palace grounds and up toward the main stage which was surrounded by the gathered noble houses and their servants. Upon large stone cathedrae were the sorcerer lord’s apprentices and in the center on a throne made of dark stone and gems was the old tyrant himself.

  The old man looked frail. His skin wrapped against his bones giving him a shriveled almost dead look. Where his mottled flesh was showing he had small blackish scales in random patches. The eyes that were sunk down into his skull burned red and angry. His head was covered in a thin sheet of sickly white hair and he wore a long white beard that looked the same. The sorcerer lord sported a long black robe embroidered with blood and bones; it clung to his body and looked more like a long tunic. On his feet he wore tarnished black boots and his fingers were decked in rings that sparkled and twinkled in the fading light of the day.

  “So the honored guest of the party finally arrives.” The old man croaked loudly enough for the preparing crowd to hear. His voice was dry and strained but it contained a power that Rose could not mistake. “This celebration is being held in your honor Alethia Rose Nalfys.”

  “You know me?” Rose replied groggily while she tried to get her bearings. When the two guards near her let her go she fell to the ground and was met with hard-packed earth and green blades of grass like in the elven forest. Her fingers ran across the odd growth and she looked around realizing that there were trees and plants beyond the normal sand hedges that were growing at the mouth of the palace grounds. “I don’t understand.”

  “I have known you from birth, since the moment your mother had you. I was there when you were first brought into the world. I had a hand in creating you; our greatest achievement and simultaneously our greatest failure.” The rickety-looking old man stood as if he had the strength and youth of a teenage human and strode down the stairs toward her. “You disappoint me Alethia.”

  “I prefer Rose.” Her voice was defiant even as her strength began returning to her body. She raised herself up shakily and faced him as he approached and stood a few feet from her. In the back of her mind she felt a presence that wasn’t him. Something deeper within the palace complex, something powerful and ancient but subdued. Cocking her head to the side she attended the familiar but foreign song that tickled her ears, half-listening to the gloating old sorcerer.

  “Your blood is born of my own Alethia! I even gave you your name.” The old man reached out with one bony digit and stroked her cheek almost lovingly like a father would.

  Rose turned her face away from him in disgust and glowered when the guards grabbed on to her arms again and forced her to look at the vile man. He was grinning broadly at her resistance. She wanted nothing more than to put her blade through his chest. He turned away from her and motioned for the guards to follow. As they ascended the stairs Rose noted that there was a single open seat right next to the sorcerer lord’s own station.

  “I saved the best seat for you my dear.” He gestured toward the open chair without turning around to look at her. “This celebration marks my ascension to godhood. Once the elves surrender the guardian and his lands to me I will have the power I need and you are going to help me little one.”

  Rose watched as the sorcerer lord clapped his hands and motioned to two guards standing off to the side. They brought Nina out quickly. The young elf had been dressed in a beautiful ceremonial dress that was the color of the desert sand trimmed with blacks and deeper reds. Nina kept her mouth shut but when she saw Rose similarly bound it was obvious that her heart sank. “I won’t let you do this.”

  “My dear child you have no choice. You are not yet powerful enough to confront me and I don’t plan on letting you reach your full potential anyway. I would even be willing to make you my apprentice seeing as you’ve recently destroyed one of them.” Rahknand did not even seem to care that one of his pupils had been killed, more than that he looked eager to replace the fallen sorcerer with Rose. “Your answer?”

  “Never.” Rose growled through clenched teeth. The buzzing in her head became louder and images started flooding her. She saw a great golden-hued dragon slumbering in a stone cavern and a younger version of Rahknand looking over it from a ledge. The image changed frequently and Rahknand looked older every time. Rose began to understand when the dragon opened its eyes and looked directly at her. The bulk of his power was stolen from the subdued dragon.

  As Rahknand began barking some speech about power and subversion Rose shifted her eyes into the spectrum of magic. The sorcerer lord glowed so brightly she almost flinched. Once her eyes had adjusted she could distinguish between what he was wearing and his own aura. His apprentices were all connected to him via a silvery blue thread of magic that pulsated and glowed brightly. Rahknand himself had one stretching from his body down into the podium and under the ground.

  Rose reached out tentatively and touched the thread with her magic. Rahknand instantly realized what she was doing but it was too late. Using most of her stored power and what Leonidus had taught her about telepathic and magical links she attempted to sever the cord. The might of the sorcerer lord was staggering as he fought back.

  For several tense minutes they fought for power over the magical bond. Rose was weakening quickly and she knew she could not win this fight via normal means. The two guards holding her died before they even let her go. She turned to the grounds around her, the wizards on their seats and the sorcerer lord himself. Power flowed into her body and all seated at the front of the stage gasped in surprise while the weaker of them fell to the ground and cried out in great pain. Even Rahknand was taken aback by her ability to drain a person without touching them.

  “Impossible! It cannot be done!” The old wizard cried loudly as he fought against her draining influence.

  “You created me to be your conduit of divinity but I have become so much more.” Rose’s voice was amplified and it rippled and throbbed with stolen power. She could feel the intoxicating pull of the magic she was leeching from all of them. Her body erupted in silvery, and then golden, and finally black flames as the Spellrage ignited around her. Struggling within her head Rose fell down to her knees and cried out. She did not want to become like them. Pouring her effort into severing the connection between the aged man and the slumbering dragon deep below the earth she felt it strain and snap.

  The subsequent explosion of magic flung everyone from the stage and pushed all of the people gathered down below to the ground. In most cases they were flung backward and everything not nailed down scattered about in a spray of debris. Rose choked and sputtered against the cloud of dust that loomed over the grounds obscuring her view.

  She closed her eyes and centered herself. The power within her was still fighting to release, her body wanted to enter the rage again but she did not want to expend it so quickly. Burning filled her chest and spread outward and down her limbs even as she stood. Reaching out with her mind she called out to her blade, the enchanted black sword the elves had given to her. With just a small jolt of power the leather-wrapped grip of the sword was clasped between her fingers.

  From the swirls of dust clearing Rose could see Rahknand approaching her. His eyes were blazing a fiery red and though his power was diminished he would still be a formidable opponent. A black haze enveloped his body. It was very much different from her rage aura. As the dust settled behind him she saw that his apprentices or what was left of them were suspended in mid-air and their bodies were fast withering. “I will flay your soul from your body and consume it!”

  Rose
was done talking for the second time in so many days. Her fiery halo erupted in a spray of heat and magical energy and she ran forward with her blade leading the way. The sorcerer lord held up his arm and stopped the sideways swipe in midair. While his skin was unmarred by the hit he flinched visibly. When he outstretched his other hand and hit Rose in the chest she was struck by a bolt of black energy that crackled across her body and weakened her muscles. The flames around her sputtered for a moment and she fought to absorb the ball of inky shadow. By the time she was successful a series of blue orbs shot forth from the wizard’s hands speeding her way.

  Using her blade to channel the magic she held it up before her and hastily created a shield of golden light that reflected the slow-traveling globes outward. Rose sucked the energy of the shield back into herself and rammed the blade of her sword into the earth and now-dead grass. A rift formed in the ground and shot out toward the old wizard but he dodged to the left. But that was what she wanted; Rose pulled the blade out of the soil and swept her hand across her chest sending a wave of crackling blue lightning right for him. The energy wave followed him as he left the ground and flew up into the air.

  When the electrical strike immersed his body and wrapped him in a cocoon of stinging white electricity Rose conjured two golden orbs that hovered at her side. The lightning shell suddenly burst in a spray of sparks and Rahknand spread his arms wide. A pillar of flame enveloped his withered frame. He worked from within it bending and twisting the flames like a blacksmith would a piece of hot metal. Rose quickly sent one of the two orbs spinning toward the magical flames but a tendril of fire swept out and collided with it sending the magic-dispelling orb sailing away from the two combatants.

  The fires molded and changed around the sorcerer lord and formed into the shape of a gigantic dragon. Sizzling flame leapt from its body as a spray of lava-like liquid exploded from its mouth. Rose moved her hand in front of her and the orb followed. She made a gesture as if she was stretching the orb and it expanded to cover her. The fiery liquid popped and hissed as it bounded off of the orb and Rose closed it back onto itself once again flinging it toward the dragon. This time she left her hand extended and when he batted it aside Rose let it fly then pulled it back in. The orb crashed into the side of the flame behemoth and splattered the fires in all directions. Tents, buildings and startled onlookers all caught aflame but Rose had not the time to help them.

  Rahknand had been shaping magic while in the belly of the magical beast he had conjured. Even as he was revealed floating in the air a sloshing ball of black slime splashed down at her feet and expanded creating a mass of writhing tentacles. The grasping feelers began grabbing her limbs. Rose knew that Rahknand expected her to retaliate by flying into the air so she instead burrowed into the ground as she had with the other sorcerer. The stinging earth and sand rushed past her and she erupted from the ground sending large chunks of dark dirt flying about. Rose grabbed several of the chunks of the stuff telekinetically and bunched it together sending it flying toward her opponent. Using another chunk of her fast-diminishing magical resources she put slapped her hands together and amplified the sound. The ball of earth missed Rahknand but the wave of sound knocked him from the air and down into his own tentacle field. Rose rushed forward and conjured two blades of magical force to envelop her arms. Her feet left the ground and she increased her speed until she felt herself make contact with the standing old wizard.

  The two of them flew toward the wall of the palace and collided with the thick stone. A spray of dark thick blood splattered the wall and Rose grinned in triumph. Her surprise was genuine when the shattered chest of the wizard continued to move and draw breath. He pushed her outward with a flick of his wrist and sent her flying backward. When she landed among the black grasping tendrils of slime they quickly closed in on her and held her aloft for all gathered to see.

  “You are mine little bitch. I gave you the chance to stand at the feet of a god, to be my right hand servant. Oh the rewards you would have gotten. But no you had to rebel against your own father.” Though she had scored holes in the old man’s chest they began closing slowly as he walked toward her. “You cannot kill me because demigods cannot die.”

  With revulsion Rose tried to pull away from his bony fingers when he pulled her and the tentacles down to face-level. She could smell the musty stink of blood and sweat coming from his body. Apparently she had at least hurt him in the process. Her magical stores were drained and she dangled like a doll hanging from a child’s grasp.

  “Now I will merge with your essence like I did with my apprentices.” Rahknand chuckled at her look of horror.

  “I only trained them so I could use them as a backup source of power should my link to the great dragon be severed or it expired. Sadly everyone present here will have to die to preserve the mystique that surrounds my existence.” The raspy, dry laugh that spilled from his lips was born of mirthless humor.

  When he placed his hand on her chest she struggled feebly and felt her life force leaving her body and entering in to his. All she could do was groan in agony with each trickle. It was obvious from his face that he was having problems draining her so she fought back. When he laughed at her fragile efforts she let it drop and wailed as hurt coursed through her veins. Rose began to black out and her life flashed before her eyes. Visions of Nina, Liostro, Avreel and everyone else she had met came to her.

  Before she finally dropped to nothing she felt a flow of energy hitting her. The dragon trapped below the earth was stirring and she could feel its presence growing within her mind. It willingly established a link with her and offered her its strength temporarily. With a surge of effort she reversed the flow of energy and began draining him again. His eyes went wide and he realized what was happening. Rose pulled herself free of his dying magical bonds and clasped her hands onto his head. “The power you have stolen shall now be returned to the rightful owner.”

  Another burst of power rocked the palace grounds and everyone witnessing the titanic struggle was flung backward again as Rahknand began dying. The immense power he commanded flowed from him and down through the link back to the dragon below the earth. When it was satisfied it dropped the connection between the two of them. Rose watched his frail body go limp and his eye sockets burn out like two candles snuffed by a strong wind when she took the last of his essence. A familiar sensation washed over her as she merged with him. The reign of the sorcerer lord Rahknand came crashing down as the walls of his palace began crumbling under the wrath of the angry dragon erupting from its prison.

  Chapter 20: Epilogue

  Nina was laughing and jesting with Avreel. Liostro sat at her side talking to an attention-rapt Maudette and Neeshka. Talisbane lay curled up next to Avreel’s hand and though she expressed a verbal dislike of the creature Rose noted that she stroked the little dragon’s scales off-handedly while she conversed with them all. Though the struggle for Rahkshas was over Rose knew that her journey was far from complete. She had things to do, the true enemy was still out there and they were a danger to everyone and everything alive. She knew she had to leave but for the moment she was making every attempt to enjoy a nice warm bed, what food she could stomach and all the water she could consume and the feel of Liostro lying beside her in the night. There was a sense of security here that she would miss when the world once again was moving beneath her feet.

  As if he sensed her thoughts Liostro put a hand on hers and brought her fingers up to his lips. It was easy enough for her to smile though she didn’t feel like it. Rose wanted nothing more than to take Maudette’s offer to stay and enjoy the finer points of nobility. She knew in her heart that she would not. Liostro would come with her; she could not force him to stay if she wanted to. Avreel was seriously considering staying on in the city to establish her own house and though Nina should return to her people Rose knew she would not.

  Rose chose to retire early and was thankful when Liostro decided to stay to give her space. Having never been able to
leave the palace proper it was her first time stepping out onto the balcony of the second floor. The view was impressive. She could see the entire city; from palace to city walls and out into the desert with just the light of the three moons and stars. A cool breeze swept across her body and rustled the silken clothes her mother had provided her after the battle. It had been several days since she had toppled the ruling body. Surprisingly the nobles had taken a few days to start squabbling over who ruled what. Avreel had been quick to step in and start negotiating between the different houses.

  The dragon that she had saved and subsequently had saved her departed without as much as a word or thank you. Rose had not cared; she was not looking for thanks or recognition. She had done exactly what she had felt was right regardless.

  She laughed when she recalled Avreel mumbling about cut-throat politics and how much she hated it. The inter-house and intra-house wars would not be as bad as in the city the infernis elf was from. It was almost a certainty that Avreel would end up being a powerful ‘matron’ in her own right with a big hand up from Maudette.

  Taking a perch on the upper wall she sat with her legs out to the side, dangling both within the inside of the wall. Her body was leaned against one of the stone supports and it was inevitable that she heard herself sigh. There was a pain in her chest, a dull throbbing ache that had started when she had killed Rahknand. Her attempts to quell it had failed and she did not know how to contact Leonidus for answers or at least guidance. Steadily the feeling had been growing with each day but only marginally. Only Liostro knew of it and Rose wanted to keep it that way.

  The familiar blonde-haired man strode out of the open doorway and stood leaning against the wall next to her looking down at her hair as it played in the breeze. She didn’t know what to say to him, it was all too much for one person to bear but her burden was her own. At least she could rely on her friends and confide in Liostro. Again with near-frightening insight he seemed to know she needed comfort and ran a hand across her head. Rose buried her face into his stomach and tried not to sob.