Rend Hope

by Josh Webb

  "Sahiron, and I've been here for two years I believe." He stated, The man shifted position, placing his left forearm against the bars and leaning into it. The blue barrier once again came back, glowing brightly, but the man didn't seem to mind at all.

  "Imprisoned for two years within a cell sealed by a glyph? Interesting. Tell me Mr. Sahiron, exactly what crime did you commit?" The blue-scarfed man asked, Sahiron snorted, getting to his feet.

  "Why in the world would I tell a complete stranger?" Sahiron answered the man's question with a question of his own, the man grinned.

  "Allow me to introduce myself then. My name is Ebrim Thraves, to put it simply I'm a pioneer for a new age Mr.Sahiron." The man named Ebrim stopped staring at the bars absent-mindedly and turned all of his attention on him. "Now that we're no longer strangers tell me, what was your crime?" Sahiron stared hard at Ebrim.

  "What's it matter? Obviously it's bad if I've been stuck in a glyph-ridden cell. What more do you need to know?" Sahiron said, Ebrim stopped leaning on the cell door and turned so his back was facing the jailed man. The necromancer shrugged.

  "Well, I need to know if you wish to be free again. Being stuck in this prison for two years must drive a man crazy." Ebrim stated, turning back around to face Sahiron once more.

  "Oh you have no idea." The imprisoned man stated, the longing to be free obvious in his tone. "It doesn't matter though, wishing to be free doesn't make it reality." Sahiron replied bitterly, there was a glint in Ebrim's eye when he spoke again.

  "What if I said I could free you?" The necromancer declared, Sahiron let out a harsh laugh.

  "I'd call you a liar. Don't take me for a fool Ebrim, I can tell you are definitely a step above most sorcerers I've encountered, but the magi who cast me in this cell was exceptionally powerful..." Sahiron was interrupted by a giant skull nearly the size of his cell door. It opened its jaw wide and sucked the barrier into its mouth. The blue glyph etched into the bars quickly fizzled out and the force of the inhalation also collapsed the bars of the cell door. The skull then bit down on the metal bars with a mighty crunch, swallowing them in one big gulp. Sahiron was speechless for a few scant moments. Necromancy, and some pretty potent stuff at that.

  "It's a good thing then that I'm exceptionally powerful as well isn't it?" Ebrim gloated. "Now about your crime..." He was interrupted as Sahiron strode briskly past him and immediately went towards the mangled corpse of the looter he had killed.

  "Hang on, I need my lunch first." Sahiron stated, grinning widely. It had been far too long since he had a decent meal.

  The recently freed man opened his mouth wide and the nearby corpse of the looter that was killed was lifted into the air. Sahiron could feel Ebrim watching with keen interest as the corpse's flesh literally flew off it, leaving nothing but a skeleton. The flesh proceeded to fly right into Sahiron's mouth. The azure-scarfed necromancer probably also noticed that the interior of Sahiron's oral cavity seemed, wrong. Beyond the jaws and teeth there was just...darkness. That said darkness was the physical manifestation of his hunger, brought to life thanks to his sorcery. It absorbed all the blood and flesh that was ripped from the corpse and Sahiron felt the power of his hunger dim. Eventually, the imprisoned necromancer closed his mouth and the floating corpse, now picked clean of any flesh, fell back to the ground.

  "Well I must say..." Ebrim started with a smile. "...You clean corpses better than any vulture I've ever seen." Sahiron snorted in amusement.

  "That was just me getting my first meal for days." The former inmate replied, turning to exit the hallway of the cell he was in and stepping out into the prison's central hub.

  The stones that made up the prison were dark green, as far as the eye could see. There were four wings of the prison, connected by corridors that were wide enough for three men only. Two to guide the prisoner and the prisoner themselves. The wings were located in the northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast areas of the prison. Spiral staircases at the west and east side of the prison led up to the higher levels and the exit. Sahiron's cell was of course, located at the bottom floor in the Northeast wing.

  The former prisoner raised his head and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. The air in the central hub smelled way less stale than his shitty cell. He had been out of there only briefly during his tenure. When he first arrived here and when they transferred him for killing most of the inmates in the southeast wing about a year ago. Other than that they hadn't let him out, he was too dangerous to them.

  The sound of shoe leather hitting stone brought Sahiron out of his reverie. And he looked up to see four looters frantically ascending the east spiral staircase. Pieces of ragged linen covered the bottom half of their faces and they wore goggles to keep the sand out of their eyes as they traversed the desert, the rest of their clothes were torn and ripped in several places, each had a backpack on that looked full. It would be a nice haul for them if they got away. Sahiron's stomach suddenly grumbled and he frowned slightly, now that he thought of it, that corpse he just ate was nowhere near enough to satisfy his hunger.

  "Looks like you missed a few Ebrim. Mind if I take these stragglers?" He asked the necromancer, who shrugged in response.

  "Be my guest, they're all yours." Ebrim told him, Sahiron smiled. He crouched low then leapt high into the air. Quickly, the recently-freed criminal became eye level with the four looters trying to escape, just twenty meters away from them. The four looters eyes bugged out at the display, before one of them pointed at him.

  "Shoot him! Shoot the shit out of the bastard!" One of the looters said to his companion, who was carrying a rifle. The looter with the rifle took aim and fired, but he hit only air. With a burst of magic energy, Sahiron had changed his direction in mid-air. The bullet from the rifle soaring under him. The looter fired again and Sahiron managed to dodge by performing a forward somersault. As he got into melee range of the looters, Sahiron brought his right leg up and then drove his right heel into the stone of the staircase. The strike shattered the section of the staircase the looters were on. The four looters managed to dodge the attack, two ran up the staircase to avoid it while the other two ran down. The looters were effectively split up.

  Standing on top of one of the larger pieces he had broken off, Sahiron made his move. Leaping up and above the two looters on the higher part of the staircase, landing right behind them. Sahiron then reared his head back and brought it forth, slamming it into the face of one of the looters. Bones breaking and cartilage snapping could be heard. The looter screamed in agony and fell backwards, falling through the opening in the staircase Sahiron had made.

  The second looter on the upper part of the staircase went to strike Sahiron in the head with a baseball bat. Which would have been a problem if he was an ordinary human, thankfully though, he had a talent for necromancy and he was also no longer sealed in that damned cell. Sahiron executed a spell which was as simple to him as breathing the air and the gravity around the looter with the baseball bat increased. He watched as his prey struggled to hold the bat upright, drop it and then fall to his knees as the gravity began to crush him. The imprisoned necromancer walked up to him and put his face just inches from the looter’s, he then opened his mouth to speak.

  "Boo!" was all Sahiron said, firing a burst of magic energy from his mouth. The burst was so strong it snapped the looter's head back, snapping his neck in the process. He fell lifelessly off the staircase.

  With no other option, the last two looters began to retreat back down the staircase. Sahiron inhaled deeply and then spat out a small orb of black magic energy. The orb was about the size of a baseball and it traveled lazily towards the retreating looters. When it was close enough it sent out an invisible shockwave. The shockwave engulfed everything within thirty meters of it, just barely catching the two looters. It then began to reverse direction, returning to the orb.

  The two looters began scream in agony as the invisible shockwave began compressing them. It literally crushed them, bones breaking a
nd all, into two small pieces that could fit into the black orb. Everything within thirty meters of that orb was pulled in, the looters, the bricks from the walls and staircase, even the air, all of it. Once it was finished, Sahiron maneuvered toward the orb, opened his jaw wide and swallowed it whole. He smiled in satisfaction, that should tide him over for now.

  "Well now that you've enjoyed a good breakfast, I'd like to offer you a future chance at more meals, way better than this one." Ebrim spoke up, climbing the broken east staircase. Sahiron eyed him suspiciously

  "And why should you want to help me? A criminal who has murdered hundreds of people?" He asked, the dark-haired necromancer smiled.

  "Because a murderer of your caliber is exactly what I need. There's a city I found, Midas City. And it holds hundreds of people within its walls, maybe even a thousand. Think about it, you and I work together and you could have enough good meat to last you for months. Normally I bet you're lucky to catch a meal every three or four days." Ebrim said with a gleam in his eye, pitching his case. Sahiron’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, it sounded too good to be true.

  "And I bet you are just one big charity case aren't you? Would you truly divide the spoils of that city with me?" The formerly imprisoned necromancer questioned, Ebrim stroked his chin in thought.

  "There are more than enough bodies in that city to serve both our needs. I am not greedy, and I acknowledge the fact that there could be some magi in the city that would give me trouble. An extra helping hand wouldn't hurt." Ebrim answered.

  Sahiron mulled Ebrim's offer over in his head. Fighting Midas City’s magi didn't bother him. He had a score to settle with them anyway for putting him in this blasted place to begin with. In addition to revenge, having hundreds of bodies to feast on would be nice. Still, there was something about Ebrim that put him on edge. The way he just casually destroyed the glyph that sealed his prison cell proved that he was definitely stronger than other necromancers he had seen. He could have just left him to rot in his cell however, and he did owe him one for freeing him.

  "Alright Ebrim. You got yourself a deal. I'll help you take Midas City. I owe you that much for freeing me. After that, I go my own way." Sahiron told him, Ebrim smiled.

  "I look forward to working with you then Sahiron, may fortune smile on us in the coming days ahead." The necromancer said with a very pleased expression. Sahiron found that his mood was improving greatly as well. He couldn’t wait to see the look on the mayor of Midas City’s face as he ripped his body apart with his teeth.

  Chapter 7

  Benjamin continued to have his stare-down with the young woman. The youth mentally sighed, He did not want to do this, but if he didn't he had no doubt that Ebrim would smash the bloodstone that held his sister's soul. Her life was more important than this woman’s, which was the bottom line. Growing tired of standing around he decided to make the first move.

  The crimson-haired youth dashed forward, throwing his rock-covered right fist in a vicious punch. The woman flung out a card from her left hand, which quickly grew to the size of an average person. It also absorbed the impact of Benjamin's punch. Two more man-sized cards suddenly appeared on either side of Benjamin, they glowed brightly before firing white beams of magic energy at him. The young man cursed and with some assistance from his sorcery, leapt high into the air.

  At the peak of his jump, Benjamin extended his left hand. Using his sorcery to pull a large boulder from the ground behind the woman and send it at the back of her head. She reacted quickly, pulling out another card, turning around, and flinging it at the boulder. This card grew as well, spinning rapidly and slicing the large boulder neatly in two.

  The card-wielding magi then made a gesture with her left hand and the spinning card promptly changed direction, heading right for Benjamin. He was still descending from his leap and his ability to dodge was very limited at the moment. The card was headed straight for him and he realized he was screwed.

  Shifting his weight to his right, he hoped to at least lessen the damage and possibly avoid the card hitting a vital area. The spinning card was headed straight for his neck, but changed direction at the last second, slicing through his left shoulder instead. Benjamin grunted and gripped his left shoulder with his right hand as he once again touched solid earth.

  He would find no reprieve there though. The same two cards that had flanked him earlier once again appeared in front of him. With no time to dodge, Benjamin put his rock-covered hand in front of him as a makeshift shield. The white beams of energy from the cards were strong enough to knock him off his feet and shatter the stone that covered his right arm. The youth shut his eyes tight as the force of the beams' impact slammed him into the sandy ground.

  He felt his skin burn in the exposed areas as the friction from the sand tore at it. The woman was pretty ruthless for a magi, not giving him a moment's rest. It made him feel better when it came time to murder her.

  Quickly Benjamin performed a backwards roll, getting back to his feet. The cut to his left shoulder was deep, but he could use his sorcery to stop the bleeding, for now at least. The young man realized that she was holding back, she wanted him alive, so that she could question him.

  "Want me alive for information lady?" He asked her, voicing his thoughts. She kept her distance from him.

  "That's right, you seem to know this necromancer on a personal level, I want to know everything you know about him." She stated. "Just so you know, you're dealing with the vice-sheriff of Midas City. Name's Janine Garlow, it would be in your best interests to cooperate." Benjamin shook his head in exasperation.

  "Don't tell me your name, ugh, that's going to make killing you all that much harder." Benjamin groaned, rolling his left shoulder to test how bad the cut was.

  "Then don't, why are you working for a master who you clearly don't like? I don't see the disadvantage of giving his enemies information so that we could take care of him for you." Janine reasoned.

  "It's complicated." Benjamin stated simply, raising his right hand and drawing forth his magic energy once more.

  The teenage necromancer-apprentice saw the monocle on the woman’s right eye go crazy. It was hard to tell from where he was standing, but it looked like tiny glyphs were scrolling across the lense. She quickly leapt to her right, just as a large stone spike jutted out of the ground she was just standing on. Benjamin uttered a loud curse, that monocle must somehow detect his magic energy, which meant she could predict his attacks somewhat, what a pain in the ass.

  The red-haired youth was not finished and ripped the stone spike from the ground with his sorcery. Magically he flung it at Janine, who threw three of her cards at it in response. Manipulated by her sorcery, the cards sliced the pillars into three sections, which began to fall harmlessly to the sandy ground.

  Benjamin continued his assault, manipulating the sliced pieces and directing them towards Janine at high speeds once more. Three pieces of stone, the spike followed by two pieces that were disc-shaped. The card-wielding magi somersaulted over the spike piece, landed on the first disc-shaped stone and began running across it. The second disc-stone was coming toward her midsection and Janine dove under it just before it hit her. The second disc passed so close to her she could probably feel the wind from it brush the back of her neck. After clearing all three projectiles she landed safely on her feet on the ground.

  "That's some impressive dodging." Benjamin complimented, Janine just glared at him.

  "Yes and you've still got a ways to go boy, before you can beat me." She stated, flinging a card at the red-haired youth.

  Benjamin tried to track the card's trajectory, but it kept flitting back and forth randomly in the air. Deeming it impossible to keep track of, he simply leapt back to get some distance from it. The card eventually embedded itself ten meters in front of him, the apprentice necromancer stared at the card, there was something different about it.

  He got his answer when the card started to glow and out came a huge two-ton bull. It was running
full speed and rammed Benjamin right in the sternum. The blow sent him tumbling back, knocking the wind out of him and sending sand flying everywhere. As he regained his footing he prepared to counterattack the bull when the sound of another giant card hitting the ground behind him distracted him.

  The red-haired necromancer looked back just in time to see a picture of a tiger come to life. With impressive reflexes, he dove to his left. Benjamin felt the sting of claws scrape across his back, he grunted in pain and rolled back to his feet. His back felt wet and he had no doubt that the newly animated tiger's claws had drawn blood.

  "Cute trick." Benjamin stated. The bull tried another charge at him, but Benjamin erected a two meter thick slab of stone from the ground. When the bull made contact with the slab it made a nasty crack down its middle, but it held. The bull was stuck and tried to free its embedded horns, but was having no luck.

  The tiger tried to attack him on his right side while he was distracted, its fangs seeking the flesh of his right forearm. The youth was quick though, covering his right arm in thick stone right before its jaws sank into his forearm. Luckily, he had conjured it up just in time and the fangs failed to puncture his skin.

  He spun clockwise into a full circle, and slammed the tiger into the stone slab. The beast finally released its grip on his right forearm with a pained howl, the impact breaking the slab in two. The tiger fell limply to the ground before vanishing.

  Benjamin then gestured with his left hand and the two pieces of the slab floated into the air, the bull had broken free when the slab broke apart and resumed its charge at the red-haired young man. It was only about three meters away when two stone spikes, reshaped by Benjamin from the slab pieces, impaled it on its flanks. The bull took two more powerful steps before falling in a heap less than a meter in front of him.

  "If all you got to fight me is your little zoo then I feel sorry for you." Benjamin stated. Janine smirked and flung a card straight into the air.