Midrealm

by Garrett Robinson

“Great plan,” I said sarcastically.

  BOOM.

  The gate shuddered, bending inward further. The gap didn’t reach the ground, so the Shadows couldn’t come through yet, but I could see the face of the hellion through it. It snarled at us, seeing its prey clearly for the first time.

  “Um, holy…” said Blade, his bravado dissipating.

  “Yeah. It’s called a hellion,” I said.

  Blade took a hesitant step back. “Um…maybe it would be best to let the guys with swords deal with this,” he said nervously.

  “If we do that, they’ll die,” I said. “I don’t know what it is exactly, but it’s nasty.”

  BOOM.

  The roar of the Shadows grew louder.

  “One more,” Darren said quietly.

  “Blade, one thing,” I said quickly. “When it comes through, watch out for — ”

  BOOM.

  The gates flew open, and the air was filled with the roar of battle as the army of Shadows came pouring through.

  “Loose!” cried a voice behind us, and the air was filled with a storm of arrows. They fell upon the army of Chaos. Dozens of Shadows fell to the ground, but the hellion simply roared at the pinpricks dotting its skin. The Morrowdust soldiers surged forward, rushing around us and charging the Shadows.

  “We’ve got to draw the hellion’s attention away from the soldiers!” I shouted. “Come on!”

  I broke right, running around the nearest flank of the army. Blade and the others followed close on my heels. Thankfully the Shadows ignored us. We got clear of the bulk of the fighting, and I summoned a burst of wind. I was barely able to focus enough to give it a direction, but I aimed it as best I could at the hellion’s face. I saw the wind knock over a couple of Shadows on the way, but it passed over the hellion with no effect other than the rustling of a few of the feathers on the arrows embedded in its flesh. The hellion shrugged as though shivering from a cold breeze and lumbered toward the humans in front of it.

  “Crud!” cried Blade. He summoned another fireball, twice as large as the first, and flung it straight at the hellion like the devil’s baseball. It slammed into the creature’s chest, dousing it in flames. Its scaly skin sizzled for a moment, but then guttered and went out.

  “Double crud!”

  But at least he’d gotten the thing’s attention. It stopped its relentless advance toward the fighting and turned to face us. The hellion reared back, tucking in its chin as I heard an all-too-familiar gurgling.

  “Blade, watch out!” I shouted. Without thinking about it, I summoned a plate of air beneath all five of us — the Runegard and Greystone included — and flipped it to send us all flying out of the way. A gushing mass of Chaos soaked the ground where we’d just been.

  We tumbled into the grass, bruised but alive. We scrambled to our feet, Darren and Samuel stepping forward to place their bodies and their shields in front of us. Blade starred in shock at the ground where the Chaos was even now burning into the soil.

  “What was that?” he stammered.

  “That was what I was going to say to watch out for,” I said. “It’s pure Chaos. Bad news. No touchy-touchy.”

  Blade looked at me in awe, for some reason looking like he couldn’t believe his eyes — or what he was about to say. “Um…thanks,” he finally got out. “I guess I owe you one.”

  I shrugged and turned away awkwardly. “Time for that later. We’ve got a demon to destroy.”

  The hellion was stomping toward us now, the earth shaking beneath its feet. Its snarling maw curled in hatred as it approached. Samuel and Darren tightened their grips on their shields, looking back at us nervously.

  “Sir Calvin,” Darren said nervously. “I’ll gladly give my life in defense of yours, but I’m sincerely hoping you can do something to make that unnecessary.”

  “Blade, try hitting its face with fire!” I called out. “Maybe if we can at least blind it or hamper its vision — ”

  “All right,” Blade said. “Suck flames, ugly!” He shot another bolt of fire, this one slamming straight into the monster’s snout. It screamed in pain and rage, rearing back and clawing at the flames. They died out on its face in seconds, but it was distracted.

  “Let’s try another approach,” I whispered to myself. I could make a plate of air — why couldn’t I make something else? I envisioned a big, long cylinder, like a club. Nothing visible happened, but in my mind’s eye I could feel the air pressing together, forming a solid construct in mid-air.

  I don’t know if it was necessary, but I mimed grabbing it in the air and swung as hard as I could.

  Thwack!

  The demon reeled slightly, an invisible something slamming into its head and turning it slightly toward the barrier gate. It roared pure rage once more, shaking its head.

  “Good thinking!” said Greystone. I looked at him with a smile. “Well, for a novice,” he backpedaled.

  “Hey!” Blade said. “Wait till he pukes Chaos again, then try bouncing it back on him.”

  “Doesn’t work,” I said. “I tried it.”

  “You thought of that?” Blade said. “Great, I’m turning into a nerd.”

  The hellion had recovered. I took another swing with the club. This time my swing went wild, and I saw it smack harmlessly into the hellion’s shoulder. It shrugged the blow off and prepared to belch Chaos once more. I dropped my concentration on the club, feeling it vanish, and put up a plate right in front of its mouth. Chaos spattered through the air, all of it bouncing away and showering the grass for dozens of feet on every side.

  “Nice!” said Blade.

  “Yeah, but we’re not hurting it enough,” I said, desperately trying to think of another idea. “Try burning its face again!”

  A gout of flame shot forward in response. This time, though, the hellion raised a clawed hand and batted away the gout of flame. It spattered away, falling instead on the rear of the Shadow army.

  That was good, but it didn’t stop the hellion from breaking into a charge and flying right toward us.

  “Hold still!” cried Greystone.

  Like we’d been snatched by flying wires in a movie, we were jerked up and out of the way. No wind, no gale; we simply moved. The hellion thundered past, the ground shaking beneath its feet as it roared in frustration, trampling the grass. We floated there in midair for a moment before we gently lowered back to the ground.

  I looked at Greystone in shock. “What was that?”

  “I moved you with Mind,” he grunted, a pained look on his face. Suddenly he faltered, dropping to a knee and clutching his staff tighter.

  “Greystone!” I said, jumping forward to help him up.

  “I have scarcely anything left,” he said with great effort. “You must hold the creature off as long as you can. If the legion of Morrowdust can defeat the Shadows first, they may be able to help you dispatch it.”

  “It may not be as simple as that, Watcher,” said Samuel grimly beside us.

  I looked up to see what he meant, and what I saw made my stomach flip-flop in my gut. The hellion’s failed charge had carried it closer to the battle between the legion and the Shadows. Now, as if it had just remembered there were softer, easier humans to kill, it was stalking toward the battle lines like a lumbering elephant. It roared, and the legion wavered.

  I cursed out loud, prompting a surprised and impressed look from Blade. “We’ve got to stop it!” I shouted. “Blade, hit it with everything you’ve got!”

  Blade’s hands blazed in the air while I ran forward, getting closer to the hellion so I could hit it with a concentrated burst. Fire gushed over my head, slamming into its back. It shrugged the flames off, only turning for a moment to roar its displeasure at Blade. Then it turned and once again headed for the men in the field.

  “Hey, ugly!” I shouted. “Over here!”

  Once again I summoned a cloud of air. I sent it slamming into the creature’s jaw, making it veer left and away from the battle lines. I swept the club up and dow
n again as hard as I could. I was expecting to knock it from its feet and send it sprawling. Instead its head simply bobbed as though it had been tapped on the head.

  But I’d gotten its attention once again. It wheeled fully around, its eyes a blazing furnace of malevolence.

  I could see it in its eyes. I’d harmed it one too many times, escaped death just once too often. It wouldn’t stop until I was dead.

  A gurgle preceded a stream of Chaos flying through the air. I put up a field before me, curving it inward slightly to curve the splatter back toward the creature. It fell hissing to the ground, bothering the hellion not at all as it lumbered toward me slowly. No more headlong charges. It was stalking me now, giving me no opportunity to dodge again.

  I leapt out of the way as a swiping claw embedded itself in the earth. I fell to my knees, scrambling desperately to my feet and running as fast as I could. Another claw swung from in front of me — I dropped to my belly and it passed by harmlessly. Rolling to my back, I saw Darren leap between me and the hellion. It struck again from above, and Darren raised his shield in a futile attempt to ward off the blow. Frantically I threw up a field to protect us. It held, though I could almost feel it crack. The sudden shock of pain from the impact made me cry out.

  “Hey scumbag!” screamed Blade suddenly. A stream of flames slammed into the creature’s side, so hot that it glowed white. The hellion roared in true pain this time, its attention momentarily distracted. I took the opportunity, letting my field dissipate as I leapt to my feet and ran for my life. Thankfully, Darren followed.

  “We’ve got to fall back!” I screamed to Blade and Samuel. Blade was keeping up the flames, even though they had less and less effect on the hellion with every second. “We’ve got to hold it off at the walls, where archers can help us bring it down!”

  “Got it!” said Blade. Still spouting red like a flamethrower on crack, he began edging around the hellion. It turned with him, trying to bat away the swarm of flames like a bull warding off flies. Blade reached us, Samuel right beside him helping to support Greystone, who looked to be on the verge of collapse.

  “Back up slowly to the walls!” I said.

  “What about the men on the field?” asked Samuel.

  I risked a glance at them. They were holding off the Shadows, and in fact had begun to flank them.

  “They’ll be fine,” I said. “Or they have to be. We can barely hold off the hellion — we sure can’t do that and help the soldiers at the same time.”

  Slowly, step by step we retreated. The hellion roared its rage, unleashing another gout of Chaos. I warded it away.

  Then the hellion collected itself, sinking back on its haunches like a cat about to spring.

  “Oh, no,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

  It lunged right for me, claws outstretched and maw roaring. The sound and fury of it made Blade’s flames falter, his concentration broken.

  On instinct, I threw up a shield. The hellion crashed into it like a Mac truck. The field shattered, flinging me away through the air. I hit the ground hard, a rock slamming into my back and knocking the air from my lungs. I lay there, gasping and unable to look at anything but the blue sky above me. I heard the hellion roar in triumph. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.

  This is it. This is how I’m going to die.

  I hated the tears in my eyes, but it was so unfair. I’d been a Realm Keeper for just three days, and I was about to be eaten by a demon of Chaos before I’d really gotten a chance. All my life spent wishing for a story just like this, and the final page was about to turn. My parents would find me dead in my bed tomorrow morning, I assumed. My mom would never get to ask me the questions that had been hovering on the tip of her tongue, and she’d probably always wonder if it was somehow her fault.

  Then I heard boot steps. They stopped six inches away from my head, and a voice spoke that I thought I’d never hear again.

  “What have you done this time, Calvin?”

  Though it sent shockwaves of agony through every muscle, I rolled over to my belly, barely propping myself up on one elbow. There was Sarah, Miles, Raven and Tess. And all of their Runegard, Cara in the lead with her helmet lowered and her eyes grim.

  “Why,” I wheezed, “does everyone always think it’s my fault?”

  “Let’s face it, cuz,” she said. “It usually is.”

  Miles stepped forward, grabbing my arm and hauling me up so fast my feet left the ground. I yelped.

  “You okay?” Sarah asked, more serious.

  I nodded, then darted my head to look at the hellion. Blade was barely holding it off by sending bolt after bolt of flame right into its eyes. Greystone was still kneeling off to the side, while Darren and Samuel were trying to maneuver in close to the thing, swiping at its legs with their blades.

  “We need to kill that thing,” I said, pointing.

  “Really?” Raven said sarcastically. “I never would have guessed.”

  “Okay, here’s the plan,” Sarah said, the four most beautiful words I’d heard all day. “Cara, have one of your Runegard tell the humans to fall back toward the city wall. We’re going to need space to work. I’m going to try to slow that thing down as much as I can with rock. Miles, can you…I don’t know, turn the ground to mud or something?”

  “I don’t know,” he said uncertainly. “I don’t really have the hang of this yet.”

  “Get the hang of it. Right now,” she said firmly. “Muck up the ground at its feet. Raven, you’ve got the best offense besides Blade. Hit it with whatever you can. Tess, I know you’re still learning, but do whatever it is you do, okay?”

  “What of the Runegard, Lady Sarah?” asked Cara.

  “Stay out of our way,” Sarah told her. “There’s going to be a lot of magic flying around that thing, and to be honest none of us really know what we’re doing. But if it comes after us, please do your job and try not to let us die.”

  She gave a smile. Cara didn’t return it, but gave a nod instead. “As you wish, my Lady.” She turned to Melaine, sending her to give the fallback order to the soldiers.

  “All right, guys. Hit it.”

  A shouted command from Cara sent Samuel and Darren scurrying for cover away from the hellion. With a hard stomp on the ground, Sarah brought a six-foot wall of stone up around the hellion’s legs. Lightning shot from Raven’s hands. It was a weak bolt, but it made the hellion pause, twitching under the assault.

  “Come on, come on,” I heard Miles muttering right beside me. He had his eyes closed, his arms at his sides and his fingers twitching, looking like he was trying to feel for something. “Okay…I think I got it.”

  The hellion struck at the stone wall, knocking out a chunk and stepping through it. Suddenly its footing faltered, one meaty claw sinking a foot into the sudden mud that had formed below it.

  “Good job, Miles!” called Sarah. “Keep it up!” She knelt and planted her hands on the earth, rebuilding the wall around the hellion.

  “About time you guys showed up!” shouted Blade. He was down on his knees, panting heavily, but he managed to send another petulant bolt spinning into its head.

  “What? You think that means you can slack off?” Sarah shouted back. “Barbecue that thing!”

  “It’s a ‘hellion, not a thing,” Blade said in a huff. “And give me a minute. I’ve been saving the day over here.”

  And then suddenly, I knew what to do.

  “Sarah!” I said suddenly. “I’ve got an idea! As soon as I give you the signal, I need you to bring down your wall, okay?”

  “What?” she replied in surprise. She was now pelting the hellion with rocks. It was screaming in annoyance as it batted them away like ping pong balls.

  “Trust me,” I said.

  She gave me a hard look, then nodded. “Note that I will never say yes to that request back home.”

  “Understood,” I said with a smile. Then I closed my eyes to concentrate and reached out, forming a plate. The hellion
could shatter my plates with its claws, but that’s because it was bringing extra force to bear behind the swing. Its body weight, on the other hand…

  The plate was as ready as it was ever going to be.

  “Now!” I cried.

  Sarah struck the earth again, and the rocky wall fell away from the hellion. Its voice blasted at us in triumph as it prepared to charge once again.

  I raised my hands, pushing them forward as hard as I could. The plate I’d created beneath the hellion rose up, lifting it from the ground as it struggled in midair, suddenly helpless. Then the plate twisted backward and tossed the hellion like a rag doll through the air.

  It flew straight into the barrier.

  The field of blue magic buckled under the weight of the creature, then amorphously slid around its body to engulf it in blazing energy. The hellion roared, no longer in rage, purely in pain and terror. It clawed desperately at the ground beside the barrier, but I already saw its body beginning to disintegrate, flying away into the swirling energy that guarded Athorn. With a final, keening cry it dissolved, leaving a dismembered arm lying on the green grass. That, too, began to smoke until it dissipated into the sky.

  “Okay,” Miles said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I’ve got to admit, that was sweet.”

  “Thank you,” I said proudly.

  Sarah turned to the battle. Seeing or sensing the death of the hellion, the Shadows were faltering, howling as they began to edge backward toward the barrier gate. They were trying to get away, to escape through it and flee the righteous wrath of the human army crushing them.

  Of course, I couldn’t see any reason to let them get away that easily.

  “Anyone else feel like whooping some Shadow keisters?” I asked.

  After what seemed like an eternity but was actually just another hour, we found ourselves back in the great hall of the Runehold. Blade, to my surprise, sat next to me. Everyone looked tired and worn, but he and I were in a whole other class. Our robes were covered in dirt and mud. I couldn’t see my own face, but his was filthy, his hair a mess. Scratches covered his bare forearms. Some of the city’s healers had tried to help him, but he’d shrugged them off.