by Dan McGirt
“You should,” I said. Sweat drenched my palms. I prayed the sword would not slip from my grasp yet again.
“Come and taste steel,” said Dylan.
By the crack in his voice, I could tell he was bluffing my bluff. I decided to bluff his bluffing of my bluff—and hope it wasn’t one bluff too far.
I spat. “Coward! Are you waiting for the Huntsman to save you? I promise you, his aid will come too late!”
Dylan gulped hard. The point of his blade dipped. He turned, collected his horse, and set off after his men.
I rushed to Mercury’s aid, charging the Red Huntsman’s flank, only to find myself disarmed with an intricate flash of his blade. He barely glanced at me, returning his full attention to Mercury before my sword even hit the ground.
The momentary distraction gave Mercury an opening. He lunged deep to the inside. The Red Huntsman parried, beat Merc’s blade out of line, and disarmed him too. Merc’s sword spun away from his hand. The tip of the Huntsman’s blade found his breast.
“Yield, wizard. I only want Cosmo.”
“He is under my protection,” said Mercury.
“Then you must die.”
“I think not,” said Merc. “Spiritual Lightning!” Ten bolts of azure energy flashed from his fingertips and struck the Red Huntsman, blasting him backward.
“Now we fight on my terms,” said Merc.
“Your spells won’t stop me,” the Huntsman gasped. Smoke curled from the holes in his mask. Mercury redoubled the attack, knocking his foe to the dust. Sparks crackled from every bit of metal on the Huntsman’s person.
“My will...is stronger...than your magic,” he gasped, rising despite the barrage of arcane energy that wreathed his body.
“Maybe,” said Merc, through gritted teeth. “But my magics are many. Soil Boil!”
Mercury extended his arms, speaking rapidly and forcefully in the arcane tongue of wizardry while gesturing with both hands. The coils of lightning vanished. But, before the Red Huntsman could recover his wits, the ground beneath him boiled up like soup in a kettle, black and brown soil churning, revealing hidden stones and disoriented earthworms. Fighting for footing as the earth dissolved beneath him, the Huntsman sank knee-deep into the seething soil.
“Boltblaster! No! Curse you, wizard!”
The Huntsman sank to his waist, then to his chest—then he disappeared from view. The disturbance subsided until the spot was nothing more than a freshly plowed plot of ground. Or, I thought grimly, a newly filled grave. The Red Huntsman was gone.
Mercury pitched forward. I caught him.
“Shouldn’t have done that,” he gasped.
“Well, no,” I said, horrified. “You buried him alive!”
“Not that. He had it coming.”
“Your wounds? They look severe.”
“No, no, wizards heal quickly.”
“Was casting the spell too draining?”
He shook his head and pushed my hands away. “I just need to catch my breath.”
“What then?”
He waved his hand. In response, the sunshades flew up from the ground and settled into place over his eyes. “Do you recall, Cosmo, why I refrain from employing my more powerful magic?”
“The Society.”
He nodded. “Spells produce residual energies that can be used as a beacon to find me. The Huntsman thought I would surrender you rather than risk that.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He shrugged. "We had best depart with all haste.”
Sapphrina splashed out of the pond and threw her arms around me. “Oh, Jason! I thought they would kill you!”
“I thought you were gone!"
"I can hold my breath a long time."
"Good to know, O Goddess of the Lake. That was a convincing performance.”
“I did a little community theater in Caratha.” She leaned closer. Her lips almost met mine. Then she stiffened. “Where is Rubis?”
I recalled two unaccounted for wolves pursuing her into the trees. My thoughts must have shown on my face. Sapphrina recoiled in horror.
“No!” she cried. “Oh, no!”
We ran for the trees, our own injuries forgotten. I reached the oak grove first. Rubis’s horse was dead, its neck and belly ripped open. Beside it lay the lifeless bodies of the two wolves. There were no visible wounds upon them.
Of Rubis there was no sign.
Sapphrina paled at the sight of the dead beasts. “Where is she?” she cried, a note of hysteria in her voice. “Rubis!”
“Up here, sister!”
We looked up. Rubis was perched in the lower branches of an oak, clinging tightly to the trunk of the tree, her body quaking, her face stained with tears of fright. I noticed deep claw marks gouged into the bark below her. The back of her tunic was missing, torn away. Rubis clambered to the ground and embraced her sister.
“What happened?” I asked.
“The beasts took my horse,” she said. “Thanks to my gymnastic lessons as a girl, I was able to grab a branch and swing into the tree. The wolves leapt at me, snarling and yipping, then fell dead. Even so, I chose to stay put until help came.”
Mercury examined the dead animals. He plucked a tiny silver dart from one wolf’s neck and held it up for me to see. It bore the emblem of a black crescent moon.
“BlackMoon,” he said. He sniffed the dart. “Wolfaway. A poison highly toxic to wolves.”
“BlackMoon?” I felt a sudden chill. “He’s here?”
Mercury nodded gravely. “Most likely concealed among these trees, listening to every word we say.”
I drew my sword.
“Forget that,” said Merc, laying a restraining hand on my arm. “BlackMoon kills from a distance. But only when it suits him. He is an artist of pursuit. He won’t strike until he finds the circumstances aesthetically perfect. I think he killed these wolves both to taunt the Huntsman and to give fair warning that he hunts us. Or, more accurately, hunts you.”
I wrapped a protective arm around Rubis. “Whatever his motives, I thank him for saving Rubis.”
At that moment, a shadow seemed to pass over the sun. The air grew thick and oppressive around us. I felt as if a million eyes were watching me, their foul gaze probing beneath my skin, violating the innermost core of my being. It was a squirmy sensation not unlike bathing in a pool of maggots. Then it passed.
“What was that?” I asked.
Before Mercury could answer, the foul sensation returned, stronger than before. The twins looked nauseated.
“The Black Mirror of Ouga-Oyg,” said Merc. “He has us in his sights.”
Dark clouds boiled into existence directly overhead, though the rest of the sky was as blue as a robin’s egg. A cold wind knifed through the trees like a misplaced blast of winter. A sound like a swarm of buzzing flies filled my head.
“Come on!” said Merc. “We don’t want to be here when that hellcloud breaks.” He whistled. Two horses previously owned by fallen Black Bolts trotted over.
"We'll have to ride double," said Merc.
We mounted up—Sapphrina with me, Rubis behind Merc—and rode out.
The cloud followed.
***
The first hour passed without incident. Looking back from time to time, I saw the hellcloud pursuing us across the sky as relentlessly as the Red Huntsman’s wolves.
“What if it catches us?” I asked.
“That would be bad,” said Merc.
“How bad?”
“A hellcloud is a mobile gateway to the Assorted Hells. It could rain anything upon us—burning acid, hot coals, molten lead, swarms of devil bees, rabid cats and dogs, dirty socks—any vile thing at all, even a Demon Lord.”
“Forget I asked.”
***
We rode for the remainder of the day, feeling the foul gaze of Ouga Oyg upon us every instant. Our overburdened mounts grew weary, having been pushed hard by the Black Bolts even before we claimed them. Though the dark cloud moved slowly
against the prevailing wind, it gained steadily. We pushed on as the day dwindled.
By dusk our horses were at the verge of death. We dared not push them—or ourselves—any harder. Yet we dared not stop. The cloud grew as it gained on us, standing out in the gathering gloom as a blot of blackness darker than dark itself. Occasional flashes of disturbing red lightning lit it from within.
“If the cloud overtakes us during the night, we are doomed,” said Merc. “That is when demonic power is strongest.”
“Merc, these horses can’t take much more. Nor can we.”
“We must reach Raelna,” he said. “It is a land favored by The Gods. Ouga-Oyg’s Mirror has limited power there and it is through the Mirror that the cloud is guided.”
“But how far to Raelna?”
“A few more leagues. We must press on.”
“I can barely stay in the saddle! It is as if the cloud is leeching the strength right out of me.”
“It is. A well-known property of hellclouds.”
“Great.”
“If it comes to a fight, you’ll need a few pointers,” said Merc. “Remember, the key to battling demons is—”
“Look, wizard!” shouted Sapphrina, pointing out a hut with a yellow roof atop the next hill. A painted sign beside it depicted a male deer standing on its hind legs in human fashion. The buck wore a wide belt hitched with a buckle in the shape of the crescent moon.
“Moonbuckles!” cried Rubis. “We’re saved!”
“Maybe,” said Merc.
“What is that place? I asked.
“You’ll see,” said Merc, urging his horse ahead.
As we came closer, I saw that the hut was a tavern of some kind, furnished with a long bar and several plush chairs. Inside, a handful of patrons sipped steaming beverages from large mugs.
We entered. The barkeeps wore yellow aprons bearing the sign of the belted deer. Their noses, ears, and lips were pierced with metal rings, signifying I knew not what.
“Two ultramasgrande espressos with rolled oats to go!” commanded Mercury. “Preferably in buckets!”
“I’ll have an ubi caramel Zastrian roast latte with two shots of cinnaberry,” said Rubis.
“Make mine an extra shot ubi half skim quarter soy no whip orange mocha,” added Sapphrina. “What about you, Jason?”
“I don’t understand any of this.”
“He’ll have the same,” said Sapphrina.
“The same what?”
“Coffee!” said Rubis.
“A stimulating beverage brewed from the roasted beans of a certain plant native to Meru and Pharistan in the distant south,” said Merc. “In recent years, the custom reached Cyrilla and Zastria, then Caratha. Moonbuckles is the leading purveyor, but I didn’t know they had an outpost in Brythalia."
"They're everywhere,” said Sapphrina.
"Or so it seems," said Rubis.
“How will consuming heated beverages help us escape the hellcloud?” I asked.
“Just drink your orange mocha,” said Sapphrina, handing me a mug full of dark brown liquid.
I sipped tentatively at the concoction. It was sweet, yet bitter. I drank more. I felt warmth suffuse my innards.
“Not bad,” I said.
“Wait until it kicks in,” said Sapphrina.
“What do you mean, kicks—whoa!”
“That’s it.”
“I feel strangely revived! Energized! All fatigue banished!”
“Good,” said Merc. “Now help me carry these buckets to the horses.”
***
Revived by the coffee, we were ready to ride through the night. The full moon lit our way. Yet though the miles swept by, the hellcloud continued its pursuit. And still the malevolent gaze of Ouga-Oyg clung to us like filth. But though it closed steadily, we stayed always just ahead of the hellcloud. At last rosy-fingered dawn peeled back the night along the eastern rim of the sky. Heavy of lid and limb, we reached a narrow band of scrubby forest just a few miles from the Raelnan border. We were almost there. Almost safe.
But the cloud was upon us now, radiating violence and malice that beat at our senses like hard iron mallets. The sky darkened in a matter of seconds, blotting out the morning sun.
“This is it!” said Merc.
Our horses reared back as a curtain of emerald flame erupted from the road and encircled us.
“We can ride through!” I said.
“No!” screamed Merc. “Demonfire will destroy you instantly!”
The horses screamed with terror and huddled together in the center of the fiery circle.
“Demonfire? Then where is the demon?”
The answer boomed down from above. “Here am I, little man!”
The demon was thirty feet tall, pitch black and muscular, hovering above us with the aid of huge red bat wings. Smoke and fire belched from its nostrils. The fiend was armed with a huge flaming sickle.
“You certainly look the part,” I said.
“I am Babbadabbas of the Deepest Pit! I am the Harvester of Horror! I will bring you as broken prizes to my masters below! I will flay your living flesh from your bones and make your women dance exotic and humiliating go-go routines! I am your doom!”
“Again with the go-go,” I said. “What is that?”
"I'll show you later," said Sapphrina.
I drew my sword.
Babbadabbas laughed. “Your puny weapons are useless!”
“Does he speak in nothing but exclamations?” I asked.
“Annoying, isn’t it?” said Merc. “But he has a point. A sword is useless.”
“You have a better idea?”
“Observe.”
A ray of pure white light lanced from Merc’s sunshades. Babbadabbas roared with rage as smoking flesh dripped from his form like molten wax from a candle.
“He cannot withstand the pure light of the sun,” said Merc. “That is why he clouded over the sky before appearing.”
“Great! Blast him again!”
“Unfortunately, I just used up the full remaining charge on my sunshades.”
The demon’s howls of fury shook the trees.
“Was that such a good idea, Merc? You only made him angry.”
“Indeed I am! You shall suffer for that affront, Mercury Boltblaster!” The demon raised his flaming weapon higher. “Your trick has availed you naught! It is your turn to burn!”
Babbadabbas swung his sickle, tracing a blazing arc through the air.
*****
Chapter 10
We dove from our saddles. The sickle caught me in mid-air, cutting the back of my chainmail and what was left of my tunic from waist to collar. I hit the ground with an ugly, burning welt across my back.
Angry that he missed, Babbadabbas beheaded my horse. That was enough to send the other steed running straight into the wall of demonfire. The hellish flames incinerated it instantly.
Babbadabbas alighted in our midst. He scooped up Rubis with his huge free hand, holding her aloft like a squirming doll.
“Unhand me, filthy demon!” shouted Rubis, beating at his hand. “And stop pawing my—”
“Rubis!” cried Sapphrina. She lunged for the demon. I intercepted her, pushed her behind me, and raised my sword.
“Run, pathetic insects!” boomed Babbadabbas, stamping at me with his massive foot. I leapt away, pulling Sapphrina with me. We almost fell into the wall of deadly demonfire. “You cannot escape me! Oh, this is grand sport!”
“Glad you enjoyed it,” said Merc, defiantly standing his ground. “Because the game is over.”
“Indeed it is!” agreed Babbadabbas. “You are mine!”
“You don't understand,” said Merc. He raised his hands. A sudden updraft punched through the supernatural cloud cover, letting the bright morning sun shine full upon us.
“Nooooooo!” screamed Babbadabbas. His flesh sizzled, blistered, and burst. Sulphurous smoke filled the air. His huge form shrank. Babbadabbas lost fully half of his stature before the hellclo
ud reformed.
As the dwindling demon’s hand shrank, Rubis squirmed free and fell to the ground. Babbadabbas snatched her up again, holding her in the crook of his still-massive arm. “You’re not getting away, my pretty! As for you, wizard—that hurt!”
“It was supposed to. Pure sunlight is deadly to your kind.”
“I know that!” said Babbadabbas.
“Let me go!” said Rubis, kicking and struggling.
“Never!” said the demon. “You are my shield!”
With that, he sprang at Merc, swinging his sickle. A blaze of demonfire split the air. The wizard nimbly dodged the blow. Babbadabbas pursued, slashing again and again.
“Cosmo, your sword would be useful about now!” Merc shouted.
“You said it was useless!”
“Now it isn’t!”
I hacked at the demon’s massive leg. Babbadabbas thrust Rubis into the path of my blade. I checked my swing just short of cutting her in half. Babbadabbas counterattacked. Sickle met sword with a clang. His hell forged weapon snapped my mortal blade like a dry twig.
“Now it’s useless!” I cried. I hit the dirt as the sickle sought my neck.
“Good enough!” said Merc. With the demon distracted, he sent another burst of mental force upward, again punching through the hellcloud. Sunlight transfixed the demon. Babbadabbas screamed as his body smoked and sizzled and shrank to human size.
Keeping Rubis in his hold, Babbadabbas brought the flaming blade of his sickle near her neck. “Stop, wizard, or I’ll sever her pretty head!”
“That won’t stop me,” snarled Merc.
“No!” cried Sapphrina. Dodging his bat-like wings, she pounced onto the demon’s back and wrapped both arms around his throat. I lunged for his weapon, holding his arm with both hands to keep the infernal blade away from Rubis.
The hole in the cloud expanded. Howling, Babbadabbas wilted. As he shrank and weakened, Rubis broke free. The demonfire limning the sickle winked out. The ring of green flame surrounding us sputtered and vanished in a shower of emerald sparks.
“Nooooooo!” wailed Babbadabbas. His voice became tinny and high-pitched as he was reduced to knee height. Soon he was barely an inch tall. “I hate when this happens!” he said.
“Hate this!” said Rubis, stomping hard on the demon. She lifted her boot. Nothing remained of Babbadabbas but a puff of smoke. Above us, the last remnants of the hellcloud dispersed.