by K J Taylor
Ambit looked back at her. ‘You’re sounding way too melodramatic, Snarl. I don’t like it.’
‘Yes, well, I’m in a melodramatic mood,’ said Snarl. ‘Go on, Ambit. Do what you have to.’
Ambit had caught the slyness in her voice. ‘All right,’ he said, ‘if you insist.’
Nineteen
After that, their plans changed abruptly. Having finally persuaded Ambit to do what they wanted, the eight companions apparently didn’t want to give him any opportunity to change his mind. They stopped for a meal, courtesy of the locals, and then moved on toward the Sixth Mountain, leaving Snarl behind with a detachment of six guards to keep an eye on her. Ambit, allowed to walk without the chains on at last and to carry his own spear, waved goodbye to her. Snarl lifted a claw to wave back.
Ambit had said he wouldn’t run away, and he didn’t try, in spite of the temptation to go back and try to rescue Snarl. It wouldn’t work. They had her firmly under guard, and he’d only get them both killed. Besides, she must have a reason for telling him to go and fight Lord Phos.
The eight companions followed Ambit, escorted by Captain Rai and the rest of the guards. Northrop stuck close to Ambit’s side like a faithful companion, albeit one who kept making threatening remarks about what would happen to himself and Snarl if he got up to any of his ‘clever little games’. Ambit didn’t have any plans to try anything, though; none of them had worked so far, and he couldn’t see much point in trying again now. For the time being, he’d just have to do the Chosen One thing.
He knew the way to the Sixth Mountain, even if it had been years since he had left Acornville. He walked up through the demon valleys, weaving between the hills and mountains until they came to a rare valley that hadn’t been claimed by the Sixth Mountain. A small river flowed through it, and lush vegetation covered the sides of the small mountains on either side of it. On one side of the valley the slope was gentler, and Ambit went down it and stopped by what looked like a heap of loose rock covered in vines with dark blue flowers.
‘Why are we here?’ asked Rigby.
‘Because our fathers couldn’t keep it in their trousers,’ said Ambit, ‘and also, because I kind of wanted to see this place again.’
Tannock kicked at a suspicious lump on the ground. ‘Why?’ he said. ‘It’s just – ’
Dead plants and blackened wood burst out of the lump, and something white rolled out onto the grass. Tannock hopped away from it in shock.
‘Yeah, that’s a skull,’ said Ambit. ‘They must have missed that one. Welcome to Vinewood.’
They looked around in surprise. Even Northrop looked guilty. Ambit took it all in without changing his expression. It had changed of course – the ruined buildings had become completely overgrown by the fruiting vines that had given the place its name. More vines hung from the trees, filling the air with a subtle perfume. Here and there, ash and charcoal showed through the greenery, and a faint smell of burned wood lingered from where Tannock had disturbed the wreckage.
‘This is where you were born,’ said Rigby.
‘Yeah,’ Ambit said again. ‘Living so close to demon country wasn’t such a great idea. That was my house just over there.’ He pointed at a half-collapsed ruin, buried in leaves and grass. ‘Anyway, let’s get going.’
He walked on down to the river, stopped for a drink, and hopped over to the other side, where there was forest. But as he climbed the slope, the plant life soon gave way to the demon country that overlooked the valley.
‘Here’s where I first met Snarl,’ he said, half to himself. ‘Somewhere around the edge here. I was exploring. So was she. Anyway, the Sixth Mountain is just on the other side of this.’
Elyne caught up with him as he walked along the mountainside, circling it to get to the Sixth Mountain itself. ‘Ambit, I’m so sorry,’ she said.
‘You kept me in chains for a month,’ said Ambit. ‘“Sorry” isn’t going to cut it.’
‘I don’t mean about that!’ the white-haired woman snapped. ‘I mean I’m sorry about what happened to you.’
‘Well, thanks,’ said Ambit. ‘It was a pretty ugly scene.’
‘I can’t believe you travelled around with a demon after what her kind did to your home,’ said Elyne.
‘I don’t see why not,’ said Ambit. ‘She was the only friend I had left, and I like her better than most humans I’ve met.’
‘You can’t seriously think that,’ said Elyne. ‘She’s a demon.’
‘Big fucking deal,’ said Ambit. ‘You never bothered to get to know her, did you? Nobody did. There – the Sixth Mountain.’ He pointed.
They had rounded the slope of the small mountain they’d been climbing, and there was the Sixth, waiting for them. It was still smoking gently and Ambit could see the moving shapes of a few demons in the valley at its base.
Elyne took the morningstar out of her belt. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘It’s time. And Ambit . . .’
‘Yeah?’
‘Please don’t let us be captured again,’ said Elyne.
‘What’s the point?’ said Ambit. ‘You always escape anyway.’
‘Then don’t let us be killed,’ said Elyne.
Ambit was surprised to see she looked worried. ‘I wouldn’t do that,’ he said.
‘As if I could believe that,’ she said bitterly.
‘Hey,’ said Ambit, ‘I’m a bastard, but I’m not that much of a bastard. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. You’re the one who was hitting me. And Snarl.’
‘We had to do that,’ said Elyne.
‘Yeah, well, I had to turn you over to the demon king,’ said Ambit. ‘Sometimes you just have to do something. Anyway, forget about it. This time I’m in it for real.’
‘I’ll believe that when I see it,’ said Elyne. The rest of the companions had come up behind them to listen, and they nodded grimly.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Ambit. ‘Maybe seeing Vinewood has made me angry and vengeful and stuff. You can always hope.’
‘All right,’ said Northrop, ‘let’s go and do this. Be brave, men.’
‘And women,’ Ambit added. He rested the spear on his shoulder, and strode down into the demon valley.
There was one demon settlement at the base of the Sixth Mountain. It was large, more of a demon town or city, clustered around the sides of the deep valley which Ambit and the others would have to cross to get to the mountain itself. Long, low, cavelike buildings lined the far slope, and at the bottom of the valley a deep pit had been dug, with rough steps leading to the bottom, where a large lava pool was visible. Luckily the demons had made arched stone bridges over their little swimming hole, and Ambit made for one of those. The local demons had already seen them and were gathering uncertainly on the far side.
‘Looks like we’ll have to go single file,’ said Ambit. ‘Spread out as soon as we’re on the other side and try not to fall into the lava. Whitear, you hold back and . . . I don’t know, do that thing where you shoot anyone who tries to knock us off the bridge.’
‘I will,’ said Whitear, looking surprised. ‘Guard archers – stay with me.’
‘That’s the ticket,’ said Ambit. ‘I’ll go first, since this is my stupid quest. Northrop, you and Tannock stick with me. Wittock and Rigby, take up the rear with Srawn and Deeble. Now let’s get going and be quick. They won’t stand around gawping forever.’
With that, Ambit scrambled down the slope, between two demon houses, and started to cross at the nearest bridge. It didn’t have proper railings, its sides instead lined with spikes of rocks, reminding him of the spines on a demon’s back. The ground between was nicely smooth, however, so he didn’t have too much trouble keeping his footing. He jogged across, hoping to reach the far side before a demon decided to attack him, but when he was about halfway there a hiss startled him, and a demon snake curled up around the side of the bridge, rearing up to bite him.
Ambit had already put his leather gauntlets on. He thrust the spear up under the demon’s chin,
impaling it through the throat. Lava sprayed out of the wound, and a fleck of it hit him in the face, burning a hole in his cheek. Another spot set his shirt on fire. Ambit yelped and twisted the spear sideways, throwing the dying demon off, then rolled on the ground to put the fire out. Smoking slightly and with his cheek throbbing, he got up and found the others under attack as well. More demon snakes had appeared, and up ahead other, legged demons – including some small ones like Snarl – had started to come toward them over the bridge. One of the demon snakes aimed a bite at Srawn. Ambit went to help her, but an arrow shot past him and got the demon in the eye. The eye shattered, and the demon shrieked and slid off the bridge into the lava pool below. Behind Ambit, Whitear calmly took another arrow out of the quiver on her back, and shot a human-sized demon in front of him.
‘We’ve got to get off the bridge!’ Northrop was shouting. ‘Come on!’
Ambit hooked another, smaller demon behind the armpit with the barbs on his spear, and sent her tumbling off the bridge. He ran through the gap he had just created with Elyne close behind him, and speared the next demon who got in his way. The demon toppled to his knees, groaning, and Ambit dodged around him and made it onto solid ground. There were plenty more demons waiting for him there. They closed in around himself, Elyne, Deeble and three guards.
‘Kill the humans,’ one growled.
‘Sorry, pal, but I’m going to kill you and keep your eyes in my moneybag,’ Ambit told him, ‘and I won’t even spend them on anything important. I’ll blow it on drink and women. How d’you like them apples?’
‘I hate apples,’ said the demon.
‘Good, that’s the idea,’ said Ambit, and killed him with a spear through the chest. Beside him, Elyne swung her morningstar with shocking speed, smashing another demon’s face. She brought it back around for another blow, and one of the demon’s horns broke clean off.
To his dismay, Ambit realised he was starting to enjoy himself. As the rest of the companions came charging over the bridge, he vaulted over the body of the demon he had just killed and attacked another demon who was twice his size. The demon slashed him down the chest, leaving a row of charred lines in his flesh, but Ambit stabbed her through the arm with his spear, wrenched it out and got her again in the hip. The demon staggered back, and Ambit took the opportunity to impale her through the chest.
Around him the eight companions and the surviving guards made a line, beating the rest of the demons back. Before long the demons realised they were outmatched and gave up the attempt to defend their territory, running away to take shelter in their homes, or to hide in the mountain itself.
‘We did it!’ Rigby yelled, raising a ragged cheer.
Panting, Ambit rested his spear on the ground and looked down at the demon he had just killed. It was a small four-legged one, its stone resting between the tips of its horns. The stone was blue and the faded, dead eyes were red. The claws, already starting to disintegrate, were long and double-pointed.
‘Snarl . . .’ Ambit mumbled to himself.
‘It’s not her,’ said Elyne, coming up beside him. ‘Are you all right? You’ve gone pale.’
Ambit snapped out of it. ‘Yeah, and there’s an extra hole in my face,’ he said, wincing. He looked up. ‘We’d better get into the mountain before they can pull themselves together.’
The party re-grouped. Wittock and Deeble were both wounded, but not badly. Three of the guards had been killed and one hurt badly enough that he wouldn’t be able to continue. Ambit was disappointed to see that Northrop and Rai were both fine. He waited while Rai detailed two guards to take their wounded friend back to Acornville, and then pushed on toward the nearest entrance to the mountain.
The Sixth Mountain had several entrances which were immediately obvious, unlike the others he’d seen. They were smallish entrances, though, being just big enough for the larger demons who would likely use them. Fortunately, there was no sign of any truly gigantic demons – maybe the Sixth Mountain didn’t have any. Ambit hoped so.
He picked an entrance at random and went in, watching out for the faint glow that meant demons.
The tunnel, like its entrance, was vaguely rounded in shape, and looked safely dark inside. This time he didn’t have Snarl to light the way, but it wasn’t as if any demon would be able to sneak up on them. Demons had never been good at doing that.
‘We’d better be ready for an ambush,’ said Tannock, with a meaningful look at Ambit. ‘We wouldn’t want to fall for that one again.’
‘Yeah, I don’t have any deals with this demon lord,’ said Ambit, ‘and I’m pretty sure this time they’ll be out to kill us, not take us prisoner.’
This tunnel, though, did not open up into a cave. Instead, it kept on going deeper into the mountain, slowly twisting upward while the air grew hotter and more stifling. After a while they started to see other tunnels leading off to the sides, and once they came to an intersection of six different ones, where they were finally attacked. Demons started coming down one of the tunnels to try and stop them, and they had to pull together in a group at the junction and drive them back. Ambit and the others made a ring around Whitear and the guards with ranged weapons, and a short but intense battle began. At one point things began to look very serious when a gang of demons appeared from a second tunnel, but there were only a few of them, and eventually the line of them from the first tunnel stopped coming. The band of humans fought back doggedly, and the surviving demons finally retreated.
‘I think we’re close now,’ said Northrop.
‘Let’s hope so. I need a drink,’ said Ambit.
They stopped for a quick rest and then continued, taking the tunnel that went upward. Three more demon attacks hit them along the way, but none were as serious as the first, though they lost a couple more guards and Tannock ended up with a bad limp thanks to a deep burn on his thigh. They were very close now.
It wasn’t too hard to find the way to the demon lord’s throne room. Ambit picked the tunnels that felt hottest, and where the faint glow of lava was brightest, and when demons attacked he headed in the direction they had come from. Finally, they turned a corner, the tunnel widened and they found themselves facing a gang of demons who had gathered at the entrance to a huge chamber.
‘This is it,’ said Ambit. ‘We’re there. Get out of the way, you lot. I’m sick of fighting you.’
The largest of the demons held up a huge hand. ‘Don’t do this,’ she said. ‘I’m warning you. Leave Lord Phos alone.’
‘I’d like to, but I’m being coerced,’ said Ambit. ‘Anyway, I think I owe him something.’
‘If you hurt him, something terrible will happen,’ said the demon. ‘I mean it. All of us will regret it, but especially you.’
‘Oh yeah?’ said Ambit. ‘Why’s that?’
‘The mountain –’ the demon started to say, but she didn’t get to finish. Northrop shoved Ambit aside and attacked the demon, roaring at the others to charge. Taken by surprise, the demon took a step back. Northrop swung his sword, taking her arm clean off. It crashed onto the ground and the demon screamed and fell. Northrop cut her head off, and launched himself at the demon beside her.
Ambit kept back, suddenly uneasy. He didn’t like the sound of what that demon had been trying to say. Snarl had been about to say something similar before, but Northrop hadn’t let her finish either. What did Snarl know that she hadn’t told Ambit?
A demon snake came slithering between his companions’ legs and tried to coil around Ambit, putting a stop to that train of thought. Ambit speared him twice in quick succession, leaving him writhing in a pool of lava. He jumped over the snake before it could set his boots on fire, and ran to join the others. These demon defenders fought harder than any of those who had previously attacked them; where before some of them had given up and run away when their numbers were low enough, these ones held their ground and fought to the death, some of them still shouting at the humans to stop, go back, not to do this. The eight companions didn’
t listen. Ambit fought beside them, more and more reluctantly, until every last demon was dead and the only sound left was the harsh breathing of the humans who had defeated them.
There was nothing left between them and the demon Lord Phos now. But nobody made a move to go into the throne room.
‘You should do this,’ Wittock said quietly, to Ambit. ‘It’s your right.’
‘Right,’ said Ambit, ‘I’ll see you in a bit, then.’
He adjusted the hang of his shirt, glanced nervously at Elyne, and went in to face the demon lord.
Lord Phos’ throne room was long and low, its roof studded with precious stones, its walls ribbed, rather than smooth. A few small demons scuttled around, nervously avoiding Ambit as he entered. At the far end, Phos himself sat on his throne. He was even more melded with the seat than Ophel or Saphron, his back and shoulders part of the backrest, and his legs joined onto the seat. The tips of his horns were attached to the ceiling, making his great snouted head look as if it were hanging like some bizarre chandelier. But there was something about him that reminded Ambit of Snarl – the shape of the head and snout, the double-pointed claws, and the slant to the eyes, each of which was about the size of his own head. Phos’ chest and stomach were half molten, glowing brightly along with the deeper channels in the walls. The stone set into his forehead was a lurid shade of yellow. He only had two arms and those were melded onto his throne as well. He looked more like a statue than a living demon.
When he saw Ambit, the floor started to shake. Small chunks of stone fell from the ceiling.
Ambit glared at him. ‘Hi, Phos. Guess who I am.’
The shaking spread to the ceiling. Phos’ mouth moved, cracks spreading over his lower jaw to reveal the glow of lava beneath. ‘Chosen One.’ His voice was dry and ancient.
‘Yeah, that’s me,’ said Ambit, ‘and I’m kind of pissed off at you, in case you couldn’t tell.’
The shaking increased. The cracks spread over the demon lord’s throne, around his arms and legs. ‘I thought you were dead,’ he said.