by Jacob Spadt
"Are you dead yet, little man? Do me the honor of crawling out so that I can enjoy your flesh!" He droned on an on in different variations of the same concept.
While he spoke, I felt restored and refreshed. I had not a clue where the reserves came from when the voice came from my blades. "We used our energy to restore you properly. We will be weak for a little while and silent. Use it wisely.” As the sentence ended a disconnected feeling came and the sensation of being in tune lessened.
“I told you not to,” I said.
“There was no choice; you would never be able to gather energy with him near. You need to default to our wisdom from time to time. We may be here to serve you, but we also must provide you with council when needed.” There was a long pause while I adjusted to their presence lessening. They felt far away.
They were not kidding...I am on my own and it was time to move as soon as my healing finished.
In the center was a well with a wall around it to keep someone from falling in just as any water supply would have. The roof was about thirty feet up and had an octagonal opening; showing evidence that water entered from there. I glanced around and realized that the room acted like a cistern as well; water on the roof flowed down into collection points as well as down into the well. Catching the rain was important, and it rained a fair amount.
My ribs solidified, making breathing less painful. The muscle around them began to repair. The gash in my leg muscle closed completely. I felt the flesh reknit itself. I had the feeling of worms crawling through the tissue as the fibers found their attachment points and reconnected, even stronger than before. As my strength returned, the energy in the room felt tainted. My blades were not kidding. Amduscias was death incarnate. Only about a handful of moments had passed, maybe only ten seconds, when I felt the threat level outside increase and my senses tingle with danger. I opened my eyes to see that wicked sword coming into the building through the doorway.
Exploding into action, I leapt up to the hole in the roof and grabbed hold of the side with my left hand while gripping both swords in my right. The daemon’s sword hit the wall where my body was moments before. Vibrations shook the building, one of them hard enough to break free of my grip. A blade plummeted into the well. Not stressing, I reached my leg up and put it through the hole to take some of the weight off my left hand, and let go. Hanging upside down, my hand was free to call my sword. As it appeared, a whisper made me chuckle.
"You are not the only one that can lose a weapon."
Timing had always been my specialty.
I waited until his weapon passed above the well, stabbing where my body had been. While jars shattered everywhere and sprayed the room with debris and fluids across the floor, my hand and leg released, dropping me on my target. Both swords struck square in the middle of the muscle on the outside of its forearm and sunk to the hilt. I twisted hard on both. It roared, shaking the building and the heavens. This started the sequence of events. My hands twisted again and I jerked hard.
Its gargantuan hand opened...releasing his weapon. It dropped with a clatter on the top the well opening, the giant hilt resting precariously on the outside edge. The stone chipped with some minor sparks jumping around the blade. He screamed as I pulled my blades free ungentle like, slicing tendon and muscle. Ichor sprayed from the grievous wound. If I had not pissed him off to this point, this latest blow had done it.
I deftly jumped over his hand and fished the weapon clear from its reach with my blades. Energy of unfathomable evil, an unimaginable source of pain to this realm, danced like electricity on the daemonic metal. I dare not touch flesh and grab it. Whatever that energy was, it was not kind to humans. Part of me wondered if it healed the daemon Prince. He barely took any damage from my swords, weapons made to hurt his kind. It may very well have life draining properties.
The list went on and on mentally while I scrambled to deliver this weapon where it would take many minions to retrieve. It was quite a balancing act, but I managed to feed the tip into the well and lift. A satisfying clatter rewarded my ears as the instrument of torture plummeted deep into the well to a watery cell.
His hand fished for me. Howls of rage accented the clawing of metallic like bone comprising his claws. Sparks showered the area, as the creatures other hand tore furiously at the stone. Small chunks occasionally broke free...falling to the ground with a resounding thud. The voice was in not even understandable as it spoke its vile curses at me. The language was something never heard before. I heard daemon speech several times and even knew a few phrases, but this was foreign. Part of me figured it was maybe a higher language, perhaps the daemonic equivalent of nobility. I laughed at the idea, but stranger things have happened.
The creature’s roars made my skin crawl. He really was beyond angry. If he held his attention here, I might have a chance. With a fury, I began to carve his flesh. Continuous futile attempts to grab me added to his rage. My blades kept cutting and lacerating his gigantic hand until he withdrew. The building shook with such force, it was a debate if it could keep back the tide of his fury. Carved out of the solid stone and it still shook like an earthquake. Suddenly he fell silent. Moments flew by.
There is power in his voice. Why did he stop speaking?
The silence broke when he walked around the building, occasionally slamming something into it with some last act of defiance to get at his sword and me. The walls continued to shake but did not crack. I gave silent thanks to the building’s architect. Then he laughed. He must have found there was no way out for me from his vantage.
I waited. He kept his rage on overload. After a few more moments, it was time to leave. A leap took me through the opening in the roof. My cloak activated before exiting. The stone accent on the roof gave me a place to pause and watch. He was not in sight. My ruse had failed. Spying the next rooftop, I leapt with ease and landed gracefully. Freezing in place, I waited.
"He is close. Do not be too quick to think you are clear," spoke my blades. "He is hiding now."
"I am waiting," I responded silently.
It was time to resume retrieval of my teacher as soon as a clear path presented itself to Malnuras. I had to find a way to lessen the breach on Heaven’s walls. Mathias was right, I could not fail, or a daemonic host that outnumbered them beyond my ability to count would consume the souls of Heaven.
The ground gently vibrated with each step he took, but I could not pin point his location. I stole glances from around my small protective wall, knowing the word “protective” was like referring to a plastic bag keeping a rabid dog from a bloody steak. My position may be above his walking height, but he did have wings...lest he gained the drop on me when I was looking the other way; whether or not he could see me was unknown.
My teacher’s body guess was about three building away. This meant risking a leap, even while cloaked. Standing still, I could remain unseen. Moving slow would be a gamble. A leap...I had no clue.
I could not engage him toe to toe, even unarmed, no matter how good of a swordsman I was. His strength was more than a challenge, but add in his abilities as a prince of darkness, he out matched me. It was not a matter of trying to kill him, but a matter of getting away with Malnuras.
I crept to the edge, looking carefully in case my nemesis could cloak as well. I looked for slow depressions in the ground. From this height, however, it was not easy to spot them. The sheer size of his feet you would think would give him away, but that same size also displaced mass, which meant he was lighter on his feet. Nothing moved saved a few birds returning to the area. Silence prevailed.
Another leap took me to another crenulated structure to hide behind on top. The game of cat and mouse continued. My breathing paused, I and knelt perfectly still listening. The occasional tremor and a throaty gurgle rolled through the streets. His location was still a mystery. Another jump was required to reach a rooftop two buildings away. I looked around for him while in the air, and could not see anything. That worried me.
My
landing had been flawless. The target was the remnant of the building closest to the rock pile. Sadly, there were many piles of rubble. The prince destroyed so many of them in pursuit of me that he leveled the area right around where I needed to be. Dropping my stance, I could see the road below in full view. The pile of rubble used as an evil altar was below. Malnuras’s body lay to the side from the explosion when the amulet detonated. Burns on the body were severe, and added an element of non-recognition to the body. I would still recognize him, though, even in this state.
Convinced it was clear, I jumped down and paused. Any motion or vibrations in the ground would be easy to spot this close. This was open ground now...zero cover. His body was so close that the smell of burned flesh filled the air. Burned blood covered the remnants of the makeshift altar. It made me want to gag. I felt sick seeing him that way, but there would be time for tears later. Focus was my game now.
The last few steps happened faster than I wanted. I bent over his body looking at his broken frame, lifeless and bled out. The burn marks were severe in places and not so much in many others. One whole half of his face remained unburned but still bruised from beatings. I glanced around to make sure it was clear and moved close. Something caught my eye as I knelt down slowly and carefully rolled him to his back. One of his fingers was missing. The realization hit me hard as I turned to look around on the ground. Several minutes passed before I found what I was looking for.
They had used Malnuras's finger to create that magic item and power it.
The amulet lay a dozen or so feet away, right in the middle of the road. To walk over there would cause the rubble to shift in plain sight. Just then, slight movement from my right made me freeze. The prince moved slowly. His presence on the road was apparent, but I could not see him until it was too late. To my surprise, the ability to cloak was not what he was using. I watched the area for several seconds and realized that a pattern that looked like the building was indeed taking slow steps. What I saw move was the tiny drops of ichor falling from its hands. I could barely see his outline. His approach slowed so the ground slightly vibrated. He was maybe twenty feet away now.
He could chameleon himself!
DAMN!
I sprang to action landing next to the amulet and scooped it up. He moved so fast and was on me before I could move away. No sword was in his hands but he punched me in the face so hard something cracked, and I flew backwards, flipped once, and then landed on my feet. Blood gushed from my nose and pooled on the ground underneath a cracked beam. His tainted stench amazingly still got in my nose, even with my face busted. My healing engaged as I rolled to the side to dodge his flawed hand trying to rake me. The landing was not perfect, but it kept me from taking more damage. My head tried to swim, but there was no time to be dizzy. I regained my balance and dove again to create more distance. The bones in my face started to knit back together right about the time the swelling hit, forcing my right eye closed and taking my depth perception out. A quick duck and spin under one of his huge hands brought me to sure footing, and I pulled the remnants of the finger from the amulet and tucked it into my belt.
He did not even make any sounds. No grunt or groans. His rage was pure.
Then he was on me. I drew my swords to parry his hands and cause some damage anytime he tried to swing. In came his left hand in an over-handed hammer fist. I deflected it to the side, but it cost me my balance and knocked me the other direction, opposite from where I needed to be. The body was about ten feet away and to the left. I realized that I would not be able to defend myself and get Malnuras out. It left only one option.
In came both hands in an attempt to grab me. He was faster somehow and I was slowing down. His hands missed again as I dove headlong through his legs, extending my swords right at the last second to take him in both thighs. My efforts rewarded a howl of pain but slowed my speed enough so that when I landed and grabbed Malnuras, I did not have time to get the shield full on before his hand penetrated my defenses and clocked me in the head from behind. I collapsed over my teacher’s body. The fists began to rain down upon my defensive barrier. I knew that a daemon prince could bash his way through because my shield strength weakened right away.
My eyes crossed from the devastating blows. At this rate, I would not have enough energy to maintain any defenses and teleport us to Heaven. The blackness filled my thoughts. My sight had a red hue to it suddenly. Blood vessels had burst behind my eyes and blood flowed from my sockets. While unconscious, my defenses would not stay on. I needed to buy some time. I positioned my legs so I was on one knee and lifted Malnuras to my chest with both arms, making sure to have a good grip on his body. I lessened the energy going to my shield so it was only inches from my body and bolstered my strength to leap. Right as his last strike lifted for the next incoming one, I leapt, propelling me skyward. A glancing blow from his hand altered my trajectory.
Gravity let go of me…for a moment. I let my shield collapse, focusing all my thoughts on Heaven. We started to phase us out when Amduscias slammed into me. His mighty wings had carried him after his prey faster than I could leap. Arms closed in around us. Ribs crushed and lungs punctured. Muscles tore throughout my body as the vice-like grip of this monster smashed the body of my teacher and me together. Life essence fled my body like air escaping a balloon.
My eyes saw blackness. Weightlessness greeted me. I looked down at this image of our bodies in this monster’s embrace. He had me crushed like a vice in his mighty arms. The strength alone from a creature this size would be huge, but add in dark power and it is no wonder it had me looking down upon myself. He had won.
I heard Mathias’s voice in my head.
“Look.”
“At what? I already did.”
“Look closer. Your energy has not abandoned your body. It holds onto a shred of life.”
I looked back at my body. Amduscias had just landed, dropping my (soon to be) corpse. He was cackling. I could see the wispy aspect of my spirit...a few tendrils trailed back my body.
“Your point, Master?”
“You are not dead yet; you can return and finish the teleportation. The power your ability uses has not dissipated yet, so you can finish, but be warned you may still yet die and it is going to be the worst pain of your life.”
“I think you were the worst pain of my life, Master. Anything else is child’s play.” An image of him smacking me in the back of the head came to view. He was right; the connection between my spirit and my body remained. I focused on my broken form and began to feel the agonizing pain, but something beckoned me to return. The sounds my ears could hear, trickled in, making the draw stronger, the daemon’s breath and laughter were close as he leaned in to gloat. My spirit drew a little closer again and my view from here blurred. The hatred felt for this creature and how ending its existence would validate my purpose was all it took. I found myself pulled forward.
Opening my eyes to this pain was not something one could prepare for. I could feel ribs through my lungs, muscles tore, and my spine felt crushed. Breath would not come. Paralyzed and unable to cry out...I was helpless. My eyes could only open half-mast. The creature held me in the palm of his hand now and looked at me. His mouth opened while raising his hand. He intended eat me.
Sudden thoughts of Heaven rallied my focus. I really wanted to be there. Energy inside of me flared to life. The last piece of the process fell into place. He started to push us into his mouth, Malnuras, and myself, smashed together. Recognition came a moment too late, as he must have felt the energy coalesce. He pulled his hand back to look at what was happening. Last thing I saw was his face go blurry with a surprised look, and he roared at the top of his lungs as he hurriedly tried stuffing me into his mouth.
We were gone before he finished his action.
Floating again. The pain this time was so intense...I felt numbness set in. Darkness swirled about me. It felt like falling this time. The stars in the cosmos came on like a light switch. My eyelids crept open as
they struggled to focus. I looked up at moving clouds. The rainbow pattern of the shield protecting the city far beyond the clouds came into view. We made it.
Everything hurt. Hands, many hands carried me and healing energy flowed slowly into me. Vertebrae popped back in to place as the spine began to move back to normal. Cool air filled my lungs. I could breathe. My chest rose as my lungs filled deeply and exhaled hard. Muscle fibers rewove themselves.
“Father, he lives!” I heard an angelic voice say.
"It is a miracle of the highest favor. Father has blessed him."
"He has lived up to his name. He has honored his father."
“Of course he lives,” I thought. “He’s right here…Wait what did they just say? My father left when I was but a child. What does he have to do with any of this?” I tried to pick the voice out and track the sound of it with my eyes, but the motion around me was a flurry. Many hands continued to touch me and heal me further. However, the damage had taken its toll on my mental state. A swift tiredness wash over me that bathed me in peace and closed my eyes. Light descended all around me. The need for sleep beckoned.
“The Defender chose him for many reasons,” I heard a voice say that sounded like Malnuras. “One of which is the resilience to bounce back from death.”
“My student has surpassed the teacher it appears,” Mathias chimed in. “Let him rest. He has earned it. He will need more than healing magic to regain his strength and recover from such grievous wounds.”
“He saved Heaven.”
“Indeed. He made his father proud.”
Focus was impossible. I gave in.
XVI
Portals
Moonlight fell on the surface on the land, illuminating everything in an eerie glow while casting many more shadows in return. The world was silent at this late hour, far too silent than it should be. No critters dared stir where thousands of sounds usually filled the night with their orchestra of nature, all playing the same song in different sections like a real concert it seemed. Tonight the forest knew something was about to happen, and all those critters hid and stayed quiet – all the way down to the strange crickets that crawled here.