Portals of Infinity: Book Five: Demigods and Deities

by John Van Stry

  Portals of Infinity

  Book Five

  Demigods and Deities

  Published by John Van Stry

  Copyright 2015 John Van Stry

  Copyright John Van Stry 2015

  Cover Credits: eBook Launch (http://ebooklaunch.com/)

  No part of this eBook may be reproduced in any form without expressed, written consent from the author.

  Any resemblance between characters in this story and people living or dead is purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction created by the author and the author retains all rights to the material in this story.

  License Notes

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  P91161DE

  Dedication

  For my father,

  Robert L. Van Stry April 29, 1921 - March 19, 2015

  I miss you, Dad.

  One

  Dezba's Sphere - Roton CITY

  I looked over the hill, out onto the fields of the valley below. I was on Dezba's left, Nikki was on her right, and a group of warriors from Dezba's nation were waiting quietly behind us, out of sight.

  "Okay," Dezba whispered softly, "let's go back, mount up, and do this."

  I nodded and slid back down a ways, making sure I was well below the ridgeline before standing up and walking down towards my mount. I was still rather surprised that my mount didn't shy away from me; I was in my hero form after all. But the horses really didn't seem to care, and even the other members of Dezba's nation didn't seem to care.

  Then again they were totally ignoring the fact that there was a twelve-hundred-pound talking tiger in our midst as well.

  "Finally," Joseph growled as we all mounted up, "I was getting tired of all this waiting."

  Dezba led us off at a canter, Nikki taking half of the soldiers and heading around to the right side of the hill, while the rest of us followed Dezba around to the left. As we came into sight of the defenders on the plains, all broke into a gallop and charged, the only sounds were the thud of the horses hooves and the growling of the warrior's fighting dogs.

  The alarm went up from the walled city before us. Shouts and cries from atop the wall, then the sounds of alarm bells being rung.

  I watched as the guards hurried to close the large heavy gates before we could reach them. Opening those gates was going to be my job, and I was not looking forward to it. These were not my people; I wasn't really fighting for my wife, our country, or my god. I was here because Dezba needed help, and I owed her.

  And because my god had sent me.

  We rode down in relative silence. Dezba's people, and her own tactics, were impeccable. They were known as 'The Silent Warriors,' they did not yell, scream, or call out taunts during their battles. In fact they rarely even called out orders. Dezba had trained them long and hard over many years in the tactics of her style of war, and everyone knew what was expected.

  It was this silence and apparent lack of emotion that struck terror into the hearts of their foes. The Silent Warriors never lost, and they never stopped.

  They left forces outside the wall; they were dug in behind a hastily built set of defenses, mostly it was just a wooden palisades. I don't know why they bothered, they didn't leave enough of a force to stop Dezba's army, all they were doing was further dividing their forces and making it easier for us to win.

  We rode through the weak points, after a very brief amount of fighting, and then the rest of her army rolled them up and defeated them rather quickly. I think it took them thirty minutes, such a waste of lives and men. I honestly don't know what they hoped to gain, other than postpone the inevitable a little longer.

  When we got to the wall, the archers on horseback started shooting at those on the wall to provide us cover. Several groups of us got off our mounts and started to throw grappling hooks up over the top, and place ladders that had been carefully carried in on horseback against the wall.

  While the defenders were distracted by all of that, I started to climb up the wall using my claws, digging them into the wood of the gates until I got to the top of the gates, then digging into the mortar between the heavy stones as I made my way further up, to the top of the wall.

  It was at that point that I was noticed and they started to shoot arrows at me, as well as the rest of the attackers. I got hit three times before I grabbed the top and pulled myself over the wall and onto the walkway. I then was stabbed several more times as I pulled my own swords out and attacked while healing myself.

  An extra heavy grappling hook came over the wall by where I was fighting then, and with no one there to cut the heavy line, a moment later Joseph pulled himself over the top. Up until that instant I would have sworn that a tiger couldn't climb a rope, even one with a six-inch diameter.

  Joseph's fighting style was equally amazing. He didn't lunge in and attack, or stand on his hind legs and swat at them. No, he started to spin around, almost like he was chasing his tail as he moved in among them, lashing out with each of his four legs on every revolution. He was moving too fast for any of them to get a good hit on him, and he was hitting them so hard that he was knocking them off the wall. I'd never seen an animal fight like that, but then again, Joseph really wasn't an animal.

  I looked down into the street behind the heavy wooden and steel doors of the gate, there were guards there, some were guarding the heavy doors of the gate, and others were starting to rush up the stairs to the wall. I saw an empty spot and I jumped down to the ground.

  The cries of warning to the men down there were too late, and I started to slaughter the men around me with a will as I made my way towards the gate. I was almost out of healing spells at this point; I'd been stabbed and shot with arrows so many times. Others were supposed to follow Joseph up the rope, and help us, but I couldn't wait for them. The heavy doors were the key to this city, once I got them open that would guarantee Dezba's win.

  There were three heavy wooden crossbars on the door, the first one I pushed up using all of my strength and let fall to the ground, then I was heavily beset by the defenders once more. So I had to turn and fight again, or be killed from behind.

  I fought another quick and vicious battle, and in the brief respite that followed it, I turned and with a strong heave I pushed the second heavy wooden bar out of the way, letting it drop to the ground as well.

  The attackers outside had started to pound on the door with the small battering ram that they had brought, but I was sure it wouldn't be enough to break that last crossbeam barring the door, Dezba had told me that the wood of those bars was often as strong as steel. I just knew that it had been almost as heavy.

  I had to turn back to fighting them then, and what I saw next was what I had been afraid of the most: their champion had arrived.

  I moved forward to attack him, the others pulling back as I did so, as those that tried to stay behind me I quickly slew.

  "And what kind of foul beast be you?" He snarled and attacked.

  I didn't answer him; I was too busy trying to win the fight. He was good, he was very good. Beating him, if I could, would take way too long. Plus he was fresh, and I was well out of healing spells and starting to pick up injuries.

  We fought for several minutes, and while I wounded him, he easily healed every cut, and every stab. I looked aroun
d quickly when he back peddled to heal. I needed to get the gate open, and I needed to get it done now. I could hear Joseph's growls above me, so I knew that the battle up on the wall was still going on. Which meant I wasn't likely to be getting any help from that direction.

  "You have no where to run to beast!" The man yelled at me as he attacked again, mistaking my looking around as me looking for an escape.

  Suddenly I saw on the ground a large heavy war axe and I knew what I had to do.

  I lunged forward stabbing with both of my swords, and then let go of them as he backpedaled again, one of the swords actually stabbing him.

  "I've got you now, demon spawn!" He yelled as he saw my weapons drop. But I was already turning and starting to move. I scooped up the axe with a hand and then grabbed it with the other as I ran straight for the gate, with their champion, and a good deal of their guards, hot on my heels.

  I took one last step as I wound up, raised it over my head, and jumped at the door, bringing the axe down on the center of last bar, burying it deep into the wood.

  But not splitting it in two.

  I swore and tried to pull the axe out, but it was stuck.

  Letting go I turned and charged my attackers, using only my claws. I needed another weapon, and I managed to dodge around their champion as I relieved a guard of his as I ripped his throat out.

  "You failed, beast!" He cheered and I found myself in the middle of a large number of the enemy, all of whom were trying to cut and stab me, and more than a few were succeeding, I was getting fairly well covered with my own blood.

  I could see the gates were shaking each time they were hit with the battering ram. I could barely hear the sound of it over that of the fighting, but when the axe suddenly fell to the ground I screamed and charged their champion, one more chop, and I was sure I could sever that last beam.

  I think the noise shocked him a moment, or maybe he heard the splintering of the wood behind him, I don't know, but on the next hit of the battering ram, the beam splintered, starting to break. As he turned to look at it, I turned and dodged to the wall on my right. I was pretty badly hurt at this point, and if the door was going to break on its own now, I certainly wasn't going to kill myself fighting him.

  Sure enough, the next hit with the battering ram snapped the beam and the heavy wooden doors opened just a bit.

  And then they blasted wide open as Dezba kicked them in, and led her army into the city. She engaged the champion, as her attackers, both human and canine surged by the two of them, quickly overwhelming the rest of the guard and moving deeper into the city.

  I sighed and stumbled forward, two on one wasn't really fair, but then this was war, and war was never fair.

  He turned to attack me, realizing that I was the less dangerous one now, so if he killed me quickly, he'd be back to even odds.

  Which was when a very large tiger suddenly landed on his head and ripped it off.

  I stumbled backwards from the shock of it, I had totally forgotten about Joseph up on the wall above us, and from the way Dezba reacted, she had obviously forgotten about him as well.

  "If you don't mind, I'm just going to sit here and bleed," I said and finding a spot in the shade, did just that.

  Dezba nodded, "Come with me, Joseph. Let's finish this."

  I sat and watched them stride off deeper into the city. Nikki rode in a few moments later, stopping only to heal the worst of my wounds.

  "Coming, brother?" she asked.

  I looked at the piles of dead bodies around, a lot of which I was responsible for.

  "You go, I'll catch up," I said and getting to my feet, I started to look around for my swords.

  Nikki nodded and rode off.

  I found both of my swords, wiped them clean, and then started in after everyone. I wasn't looking forward to anymore fighting; I'd been here almost four months now, since the start of this campaign. The queen, who lived in this castle, had decided a few years ago to start encroaching on the lands of Dezba's god Diannion and his people. Last year, Dezba's people, the Juiat Nation had enough, and as soon as spring had come, the war had started.

  Most of the towns and settlements had been quickly and easily taken, though there had been one fort that had been rather difficult. This would be the last battle of the war; while there were other settlements and towns to the south that were a part of this kingdom, the Juiat people didn't care as those were not part of their lands. With their capital destroyed and the royal family gone, Dezba figured that the other kingdoms in the area would snap those up.

  The Juiats mainly stayed to the plains, in many ways they weren't all that different than the Mowoks back home, just that there were a lot more of them, on a lot bigger area, and they were a theocracy. The head priest, of the God Diannion, ruled the nation by divine right, Dezba carried out the wishes of the Priest or her God, as required.

  The only other thing that was different was the wolves. They came in multiple colors, were all very big, and were telepathic.

  Normally they were used to herd the several different types of sheep, cattle, and a buffalo type creature that the people of the Juiat Nation raised. But the Silent Warriors used them for fighting, and they had a lot of them. Oddly enough, few of the other kingdoms or city-states in the area did.

  I made my way to the center of the castle, where the royal family lived. By the time I got there, it was burning rather merrily, as well as the temple across the street.

  "You look like crap, Will," Dezba said walking up to me.

  "Yeah, I feel like it too." I sighed and sat on the edge of a fountain.

  "Good job on the gates. I really didn't want to have to pull a siege."

  I nodded, "So now what?"

  "The usual. If they convert, they can stay, but the walls have to come down. If they don't convert, they have to leave."

  "That's not really a bad deal. I take it the queen and her family are dead?"

  "We took her daughters, they're going to be sent back to the first tribe and be awarded to any of the heroes of this campaign who wants a wife."

  I shook my head at that.

  "It's our way, Will. They get to live, and they get powerful husbands."

  "I know, I know," I said nodding, "And after all the things I've done, I shouldn't be one to find fault with it. I take it her sons are dead?"

  "She didn't have any sons."

  "Really?" I was surprised at that.

  "Queen Arealla didn't like men much. After she killed her husband, she killed her son as well."

  "Rough."

  Dezba shrugged, "The Rotons are a strange family. Or were rather," Dezba said with a smirk. "It's not uncommon for the queens to kill their husbands; men haven't ruled the kingdom for several generations now. Apparently a male heir hasn't made it to adulthood in over a hundred years."

  I nodded. "Think that champion will be back?"

  Dezba shrugged, "If he makes it back, he'd be smart to quit and find another god. As far as I know there are no temples left, just a few churches. Depending on what the other kingdoms do when the other villages get taken over, this might be the end of old Soneous."

  "Isn't Diannion worried about that?"

  Dezba shook her head. " Diannion has made it clear to the other gods that what is his is his, and what is theirs, is theirs. He has no interest in expanding the size of our kingdom."

  "Huh, that's different."

  Dezba nodded, "It's a different game here, that's all."

  I thought about that a moment, "You mean the rules that the gods follow here are different?"

  "A few of the most minor ones are. As far as I can tell, the major rules never change, but those little changes, even if small, have a major impact on what the gods want, and what they will do."

  "Huh, I didn't know that."

  Dezba shrugged, "I really don't understand it myself."

  Nikki rode up then with Joseph in tow.

  "Hi, Nikki, Joseph," Dezba said, and I echoed it with a wave.

&
nbsp; "So how long do you need us for?" Joseph asked.

  "We're done here. You can go whenever you want."

  Joseph nodded, "Okay, bye!" And he formed a portal back to Circe and left almost immediately.

  "Nice to see he still has the hot's for her," Dezba laughed.

  "I'm surprised he had enough power to gate home," I said with a yawn.

  "Well, I'm going to go too," Nikki said getting off of her horse and taking the reins. "Come on back with me Bro, Aryanna wouldn't mind a visit I'm sure."

  I looked at Dezba who made shooing motions with her hands, "Go, go. I'll be cleaning this mess up for weeks. No reason to stay and be bored."

  I nodded and stood up, and gave Dezba a hug. "Until next time, Dez."

  "Be good, the both of you," she said hugging me back, then going over and giving Nikki a hug.

  "Bye," Nikki said and opened a portal then back to Aryanna's temple in Kingstown and the two of us walked through, into Aryanna's temple, with Nikki's horse following.

  She handed the leads off to an acolyte, and then healed the rest of my wounds; I had already changed out of my champion form to my local form before we'd gone through the portal, so as not to scare anyone.

  "So what's the real reason you wanted me to come here?" I asked as I followed her out of the chambers.

  "Mom's birthday is next week, and I thought it would be nice if the both of us showed up."

  I thought about that a moment, I hadn't been to my parents' house in several years, and not for my mother's birthday in a lot longer than that. I nodded. "Sure, why not? I'll check with Fel tonight to be sure he doesn't need me."

  "Good, we can leave the day after tomorrow."

  Two

  Earth - New York

  It was weird being 'home'. Maybe because it wasn't really home anymore? But it's kind of strange how we always refer to the place we grew up as home, even when you no longer lived there, and hadn't even been back in several years.