Morpheus Road 03 - The Blood

by D. J. MacHale

  Riagan sprung at Marsh, grabbing for the poleax.

  Marsh dodged away, tripped over a bench, and knocked over a small table.

  Coop continued to maneuver Sanger farther away from the hut.

  Sanger was happy to oblige, enjoying the fact that Cooper feared him . . .

  . . . until they heard the sound of crashing furniture. Sanger spun toward the hut with surprise, and Coop attacked. He grabbed the wiry man in a bear hug, pinning his arms to keep him from swinging the sword.

  "I shoulda known," Sanger said.

  He was far stronger than Coop expected. He took a deep breath and forced his arms forward, breaking Coop's hold. Then he drove an elbow back, nailing Cooper square in the jaw.

  Coop saw stars and reeled backward. He fought to stay upright and clear his head but the force of the blow knocked him off balance and he fell flat on his back.

  Sanger pounced quickly, jamming his foot down onto Cooper's chest while holding the sword to his throat.

  "I shoulda finished you in the Blood," Sanger said, taunting. He drew the sword back and was about to drive it into Cooper to end his existence when . . .

  "Stop!" came a girl's voice.

  Sanger looked up to see that Maggie had arrived. He blinked, as if not entirely sure of what he was seeing. "Wha—?" he muttered, confused.

  Maggie was just as shaken as Sanger. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

  Coop took the opportunity and knocked Sanger's foot off his chest. He quickly rolled away and sprang to his feet, expecting to feel the bite of the spirit sword. The attack didn't come and Coop spun back toward Sanger, ready to defend himself.

  Sanger stood with the sword up, ready to swing. His eyes were wild and confused as he looked between the two of them.

  "Put it down," Maggie commanded.

  Sanger nodded knowingly as he struggled to get his wits back.

  "I get it now," he said. "S'pose I shouldn't be surprised. That's how it works. We all just keep coming back around to each other."

  Coop moved away from Maggie, not wanting her to be near him when Sanger attacked.

  "What are you babbling about?" he said to Sanger.

  Sanger chuckled and coughed. "This is just perfect. What goes around, comes around. Are you sweet on her, boy? You must be or I wouldn't have run into you in the Blood. Guess this is just my lucky day."

  Coop looked to Maggie, confused.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks.

  "What are you talking about?" Cooper demanded.

  Sanger smiled and cackled a laugh. "This just couldn't be better. I get sprung from the Blood, I'm about to ride into Solara . . . and best of all, I get payback for what she done to me."

  Coop's blood ran cold. He looked to Maggie for confirmation.

  Maggie nodded and through her sobs said, "He's my father."

  Riagan ran through the fire to get to Marsh, knocking aside an iron pot and kicking out flaming logs. Taking on Brennus's cursed soul had changed him, both physically and mentally. He was like an enraged animal as he grabbed at furniture and utensils and anything else he could grab to fling at Marsh.

  Marsh backed off, desperately swinging the poleax to defend himself.

  "Drop it now!" Riagan bellowed. "Or I promise you will suffer."

  Marsh lashed at him with long swings, not the tight controlled jabs of an experienced warrior.

  Riagan easily avoided the pathetic attacks.

  Marsh took a few steps back . . . and a hand grabbed him from behind. He spun to see that he had hit the table where Brennus was lying, and the weakened spirit had grabbed hold of his hoodie.

  "Sanger?" Coop said, stunned. "Or Salinger?"

  "I answer to both," Sanger said. "And now you'll both answer to me."

  "Stop!" Coop shouted, his mind spinning, desperately trying to stay focused and process what he was seeing. "It wasn't her fault that you died."

  "No?" Sanger snarled. "She locked me in the barn and lit the place on fire. That girl's the devil, I tell ya!"

  Coop slowly stalked toward Sanger, his anger rising as it finally sank in that he was facing the monster who had made Maggie's life miserable for so long.

  "She unlocked the door," Coop said. "It was the neighbor kids who relocked it and then accidentally knocked over a lamp."

  "And she cheated me! She was going to run off with my money!"

  Maggie fell to her knees, sobbing. The sight of her father had overwhelmed her.

  "She was your daughter!" Coop yelled. "And you beat her. She was trying to escape from you."

  "Escape? If only that were true. The witch killed me . . . and her mother."

  "It was an accident! It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been beating her. That's why those kids were there. They heard you yelling. They were there because of you. It was your fault it happened."

  Sanger looked to Maggie with no sympathy.

  "She's your daughter, man," Coop said.

  The look in Sanger's eyes turned hard.

  "She stole from me," he said with a snarl. "And then she killed me."

  The old man raised his sword as if to swing at Cooper, but abruptly turned and went for Maggie.

  Maggie screamed and cowered.

  Cooper lunged at Sanger, leaving his feet as he tackled the old man.

  Sanger fell hard, dropping the sword. Cooper was so enraged he didn't notice and wouldn't have cared. He flipped the old man over and began swinging.

  Marsh didn't know if Brennus was trying to pull him down or was using him to get up. Either way, he didn't want anything to do with him so he twisted away. But Brennus's grip was strong. He held on and Marsh ended up pulling him off the table. The skeletal spirit fell to the dirt floor, finally releasing his grip so that Marsh was able to stumble away from the table.

  Riagan stayed after Marsh, carelessly kicking his frail brother out of the way with one sweep of his boot.

  Marsh did all he could to protect himself. He pulled over tables and chairs to slow Riagan down, or trip him up so that he could come back at Riagan with the poleax.

  But Riagan was too fast and powerful. He continued to attack, ducking Marsh's feeble attempts to defend himself, looking for the opening he would need to grab the poleax and turn it back on Marsh.

  Sanger responded like a trapped animal. He howled and threw Cooper off him. But rather than attack, he looked around quickly, saw the black sword in the dirt, and jumped for it.

  Cooper had no chance to get it first . . .

  . . . but Maggie did. She scooped up the sword and backed away quickly, holding the weapon out to protect herself from the vengeful spirit of her father.

  "Go away!" she screamed, her tears clouding her vision. "Go back to whatever hell you came from!"

  Cooper ran for Sanger, but Sanger sensed that he was coming. He spun quickly and threw a vicious roundhouse punch that knocked Cooper to the ground, senseless. He then turned back to Maggie, his emotions in check. Slowly he moved toward her.

  "You want to finish what you started, don't you?" he taunted. "You want to kill me again."

  Maggie shook her head violently. "I didn't kill you," she sobbed. "It wasn't my fault."

  "But you did. You killed me and your mother. If I belong in hell, then you should be right there with me."

  "No!" Maggie screamed.

  "Then, do it!" Sanger snarled. "Cut me down. This is your chance."

  He moved closer.

  Maggie kept backing off, sobbing uncontrollably.

  "This is the end, girl," Sanger said. "I'm about to live the glory of Solara while you get what you deserve . . . an eternity of suffering."

  Maggie couldn't move.

  Sanger stood with his hands on his hips and laughed. "It's a lot tougher killing somebody when you have to look 'em in the eye," he said.

  Maggie tried to raise the sword against her father, but instead she shook her head and let her hands fall. The tip of the sword hit the dirt.

  "Can't do it
, can ya?" Sanger said with disdain as he started forward to finish her.

  He lunged at his daughter . . .

  . . . as Cooper swept in, grabbed Maggie's hands, and lifted the sword.

  "But I can," Coop said.

  Sanger tried to stop . . . too late. He had already committed. With Coop and Maggie both holding the sword, Sanger impaled himself on the end.

  The look of shock lasted only a second, and then he was gone.

  Coop didn't stop to see if Maggie was okay. He wrenched the sword from her hands and ran for the hut.

  Marsh's luck had run out. He was exhausted.

  Riagan wasn't. He was fueled by the newly acquired dark energy he had stolen from Brennus. He grabbed one of the wooden legs from the table that Damon had destroyed and used it as a weapon to ward off the increasingly feeble attacks that Marsh was offering.

  With one final desperate maneuver, Marsh swept the poleax at him, hoping to catch him with the chopping blade.

  Riagan didn't even bother to try and dodge the blow. He blocked it with the table leg, then quickly swept the wooden club backward, cuffing Marsh on the side of the head. The powerful blow sent Marsh reeling. He fell backward onto the table that held the feast of the sin eater, knocking it over and sending the food flying. The poleax was wrenched out of Marsh's hands and clattered to the floor.

  "Why did ya even try?" Riagan snarled. "That weapon be useless in the hands of the likes of you."

  Marsh struggled to clear his head.

  Riagan went for the poleax.

  Marsh had no chance of getting to it first.

  "Riagan!" Coop called.

  Riagan spun in surprise to see Coop standing inside the door with the black spirit sword up and ready.

  "You," Riagan growled. "You who sought Damon of Epirus."

  "And now I'm coming after you," Coop threatened.

  "You don't stand any better a chance than your weak friend," Riagan said with arrogance.

  He turned back to retrieve the poleax . . .

  . . . opening himself up to Marsh, who stood holding Damon's sword with the point aimed square at Riagan's chest. Riagan froze in surprise.

  "As last words go," Marsh said with confidence, "not so great."

  Riagan made a move to escape . . .

  . . . and Marsh drove the poleax into his chest.

  Riagan opened his mouth to scream but didn't get the chance. Before the sound could cross his lips, Riagan's existence ended in a shadowy cloud.

  Coop was too stunned to move.

  Marsh held the poleax tight and turned around. He wasn't finished. On the floor before him was the broken body of the monster named Brennus.

  Brennus looked up at him, square in the eye. His body may have been weak, but Marsh could see the evil that still lurked behind his gaze.

  "This doesn't end until you do," Marsh said.

  "You do not have the courage," Brennus whispered.

  "Well . . . yeah, I do," Marsh replied, and drove the poleax into the sin eater.

  Brennus's eyes flared with anger as his body disintegrated into a dark cloud . . . and disappeared.

  "Now it's over," Marsh said with finality, and dropped the poleax to the floor.

  Cooper ran to him and stared down at the empty space where Brennus had just been.

  "Jeez," Coop said in dismay. "You did it. I knew you could."

  "No, you didn't."

  "You're right, I didn't."

  "Now what?" Marsh asked.

  "Now we see what it all means," Coop replied, and ran for the door.

  Marsh picked up the poleax and followed him outside to where Maggie was waiting.

  She stood tall. Her tears were gone.

  "Thank you," she said in a strong, confident voice.

  "Believe me, it was my pleasure," Coop said.

  He took her by the hand as the swirling fog of color appeared before them. All three stepped into the mist . . .

  . . . and stepped out onto the platform of the Threshold.

  In the valley below, the battle continued. The Blood spirits were dangerously close to breaking down the Guardians' first line of defense. They would soon hit the trees and then the stairs that led to the Threshold.

  Damon remained on his horse, alone, on the far side of the platform.

  Ree stood on the opposite end, also surveying the carnage. When she saw the three appear, she let out a sigh of relief and ran to Marsh.

  "It's done," Marsh said in a soft voice.

  Coop and Maggie joined them.

  "Doesn't look so done to me," Coop said, pointing down to the battle that raged below.

  Zoe came up the stairs, half running, half staggering. She was exhausted. Her armor was in tatters, her face covered with welts.

  "I am going to order the Guardians to pull back and regroup at the base of the stairs," she declared. "That is where we will make our final stand."

  "Wait," Marsh declared. "Look."

  He pointed out to the valley. The battle was continuing as before, with one significant difference.

  "It's gone," Ree said with surprise.

  "What is?" Coop asked, confused.

  "The gateway between visions," Ree exclaimed. "It's closed."

  All eyes went to the far end of the valley and to the colorful fog that had been disgorging thousands of spirits from Brennus's vision. It was no longer there.

  "Ending Brennus must have ended his vision," Coop said with growing hope. "The Blood spirits can't get through anymore."

  Cooper looked to Marsh and gave him the double okay sign. "Jeez, you really did do it, Ralph."

  "Now it's up to the Guardians," Marsh said. "And Damon's army."

  "And the Watchers," Maggie said.

  "Forget that," Coop replied with bitterness. "We can't count on them."

  "I'm not so sure," Maggie said as she pointed back to the Threshold.

  Everyone turned to see that the warm light from the Threshold was growing brighter, as if the archway was slowly coming to life. A stiff wind blasted from within, followed by a chorus of sharp whistles. From the depths of the Threshold, thousands of small black streaks flew out, each making a shrill sound as they flashed past those standing on the platform.

  "What is this?" Marsh asked in awe.

  They all watched in wonder as the black streaks shot high over the valley like a flock of birds headed toward the far end, traveling high above the battlefield.

  On the valley floor, the fighting ended abruptly as the spirits stood frozen, staring up at the spectacle in the sky.

  "I've seen this show before," Coop said as he put his arm around Maggie. "You're gonna love it."

  The dark shadows reached the far end of the valley, then made a wide turn until they were headed back in the direction they had come from. Once all the shadows had made the turn, they quickly swooped downward like a fleet of attack planes. When they reached the spot where the colorful fog had been, there was a ground-rattling explosion as if the spirits had hit an invisible barrier. The eruption resulted in a massive black cloud that drifted down toward the ground, creating an enormous, dark wall.

  The flying shadows continued on, flying low to the ground headed directly for the multitude of soldiers that stood frozen, watching in wonder. The shadows passed harmlessly through the Guardians and Damon's soldiers. The Blood spirits weren't as fortunate. When the black shadows hit the spirits of the damned, they acted like a demonic force that pulled each of them toward the giant black wall . . . that was no longer a wall.

  The black fog had opened like a curtain to reveal another reality beyond. It was a gaping portal into the desolate, dark world that existed on the wrong end of the Morpheus Road.

  The Blood spirits fought. They screamed. They begged the Guardians to help them.

  They were done.

  Each spirit was lifted off the ground and instantly transformed into a dark shadow. But rather than dissipating and blowing away, the small clouds were pulled into the opening and back into t
he Blood.

  "Listen," Marsh said.

  The familiar sound of forlorn moaning had returned. It drifted from the open curtain and filled the valley with its plaintive wail. The Blood was once again occupied.

  "I don't know who's worse off," Coop said. "The ones being pulled back or the ones who were destroyed."

  "What about the spirits still in Brennus's vision?" Marsh asked.

  Coop said, "I'll bet you a nickel they're getting the same treatment."

  It took only a few moments for every last spirit who had escaped from the Blood and survived the battle to be returned. When the last shadow was swallowed up, the curtain of smoke drew together and swallowed itself, disappearing as if it had never been there.

  The swarm of black shadows continued back toward the Threshold, joined together, and flew inside like a swarm of bats returning to their cave. Within seconds the bright light dissipated and the Threshold had returned to normal.

  The valley was quiet for a long moment . . . until a single soldier began to cheer.

  He was followed by another, and another. Soon, all of the remaining Guardians and soldiers erupted into a joyous celebration, hugging and congratulating one another. It didn't matter which leader they had followed into battle. They had faced a common enemy and survived.

  And the Threshold was safe.

  "The battle is over," Zoe announced. "But will the war continue?"

  All eyes went to Damon, who sat tall on his black horse, quietly observing the celebration below.

  33

  Damon dismounted, stood tall, and strode boldly toward the others.

  Zoe went for her sword, but Marsh grabbed her arm and held her back. Marsh stepped forward to face Damon. The others stood behind him, all on alert for anything Damon might try. Coop kept his hand close to his spirit sword. Marsh held the poleax by the handle with the point down.

  Damon walked directly up to him, stopped a few feet away, and said, "I assume that Brennus's spirit is no more."

  "That's right," Marsh answered.

  Damon gave him a slight, respectful nod. "Then, I salute you."

  "How did it feel?" Marsh asked Damon.

  "How did what feel?" Coop said, confused.

  Damon gazed out onto the valley. Onto the battlefield. The celebration had died down and the thousands of spirits stood together, looking up toward the Threshold, toward them, waiting for a sign as to what they should do next. Damon surveyed the scene with satisfaction.