Blood Rain

by Helix Parker

  Edgar dropped to his knees. He was speechless. Everything he had ever known was wrong.

  Rain lifted his sword, the blade screaming at a pitch so awful it made Edgar’s bones vibrate. Rain thrust the blade into the wall of the house. The building caught fire and burned so brightly Edgar had to cover his eyes.

  Rain turned toward him. Their eyes locked for an instant, then Rain disappeared into the night.

  53

  Rodrick engaged in an orgy of blood and gore. The more he killed, the more he wanted to kill. Women, children, the elderly, and the infirm… it didn’t matter. He slaughtered them in the streets or in their homes or on horseback as they tried to flee. He burned entire churches full of worshippers and razed orphanages to the ground. Dolane was his city. The citizens’ flesh was his to do with as he pleased.

  He came upon a mother hovering over a small weeping child. He swept down with his broadsword and cut them both in two. He looked up to see Saria standing before him with a grin. They kissed, both of their faces and lips soaked in blood. As he pulled away, he saw something in the sky.

  A red flame fell toward them. It looked like a star that had become unhinged from the sky and was tumbling to earth. As he watched, the object grew wider and larger. Soon, the chaos quieted, and he realized everyone was watching.

  The flame landed in the middle of the street, and the earth shook. Underground waves flew in all directions, tearing apart buildings. Hundreds of his men were thrown off their feet, a few of them breaking their skulls open against the stone street.

  At the place of impact, a man was crouched—or what appeared to be a man. He seemed to be on fire, and the red flames around him grew as he stood. He held a sword larger than a man, and looked to be half skeleton with bits of flesh falling off of him.

  “Lord Rain!” Several of Rodrick’s men fell to their knees like groveling dogs. “He’s come because he is pleased with us! We have honored him with the deaths of these vermin. He has come to give us his blessing!”

  The men cheered and shouted. Lord Rain swung his sword through about a dozen of them. Upon impact, their skin fell from their bodies, and their faces melted. They did not scream as their very tongues were burnt out of their mouths.

  Lord Rain was not there because he was pleased, Rodrick realized.

  Rodrick looked into Rain’s eyes, which were blacker than anything he had ever seen, and they drew him in. The pull was so powerful he found himself walking toward him.

  “What are you doing?” Saria shouted. “We need to run. Now!”

  She tugged him away, but Rain appeared before them. They turned another way, and Rain was there. Saria pulled out her sword. Rain reach out, pulled her near, and pressed his lips to hers.

  She screamed as her face liquefied. Her skin fell like loose clothing around her, her bones disintegrated, and she was nothing more than a pile of wet flesh.

  “No,” Rodrick gasped. “No, you’re not real. This isn’t real.”

  The Lord Rain lifted his sword and swung it down toward Rodrick’s head. Rodrick closed his eyes and screamed. After a moment, he opened them. Nothing had happened to him.

  And then he felt it.

  Something inside of him was ripping its way out. His heart stopped, and his guts were shredded. An intense blue flame burst out of his body, ripping him apart. The flame entered the sword Blood, and Rodrick was no more. He was bound in the sword, a soul that ever weeps inside a nightmare.

  54

  Rain hovered above the city, scanning for life.

  They were all dead. Not a single Marauder had survived. He did not care if he killed Marauder or Dolanian; all life before him would fall. And he would save the two who had taken his family for last. He glided down to the camp.

  Stepping out of a tent, Erebos stood, observing the carnage passively. “You killed all of them? I had hoped you would leave Hess alive. He was quite useful to me.”

  “And now, brother,” Rain said, “you will join with me.”

  “We were brothers once, but no longer.” A trident appeared by Erebos’s side, and the snakes in his mask writhed as Erebos shed his skin, revealing the dark gray flesh of Chedes. “You came into my home and stole the only thing I have ever cared about.”

  “You cared about our father once, and then you betrayed him.”

  “Betrayed him for what? For what! Humanity? They are apes. He elevated apes above us, and I was to sit idly by and accept them as my betters?”

  “They were not your betters until you rebelled against father. Your pride turned you against your own family. That was when they became your betters.”

  “They are apes that need to be brought low. Do not tell me you take no pleasure in their demise.”

  Rain was silent a moment. “You took her from me, and you stole my children.”

  “Your children were apes as well. You should thank me for ridding the world of them.”

  Rain raised his sword. “I will send you back to your pit.”

  “You are welcome to try.”

  In a flurry too fast for human eyes to see, Rain leapt forward. Chedes swung with his trident. The two slammed into each other, and the blades shrieked as a shower storm of sparks flew in all directions, catching the trees, grass, and tents on fire.

  Chedes lifted a piece of earth like a rug and flung it aside, knocking Rain off his feet. Rain caught himself in the air and shot forward like an arrow, striking Chedes in the chest. Chedes stumbled backward, knocking over several massive moss trees. Rain sprinted and leapt into the air. The trident flew from Chedes’s hand and struck him across the belly.

  Rain fell to the ground with such a thunderous crash that the walls of Dolane nearly crumbled. Chedes held out his hand, and the trident flew back into his grip. He flung it at Rain’s head.

  Rain barely managed to dodge the strike. The trident turned and went back to its master.

  Their eyes locked—black, lifeless eyes of entities older than time.

  In a flash of movement, Rain was in the sky, so far up that he appeared to simply vanish. Chedes flew after him, the night cold as he ascended past the clouds. And there he waited, the gray-black masses drifting softly past him. It was deafeningly quiet. And Chedes suddenly remembered how quiet it had been by his father’s side.

  As he contemplated that, Rain rushed at him from behind with a scream and tore into his shoulder with Blood. He growled in fury and swung back just as Rain was following up with another blow. The second strike sent Chedes tumbling back down to the earth, Rain after him.

  The two immortals raced to the ground, pounding each other with fists as the wind screamed past them. They hit the ground hard, causing an earthquake. Trees fell, and the walls of Dolane crumbled further.

  Rain leaped to his feet and swung. His sword struck the trident, and with his free hand, Rain grabbed Chedes’s arm. Some flesh fell from the bone before Chedes pulled away and struck Rain with a monstrous kick, sending him flying. Chedes leapt into the air and came down with his trident pointed at Rain’s neck.

  Rain pushed himself into the ground, covering his body with dirt and rocks. The trident’s impact shook the earth. Rain thrust Blood upward, and the blade cut Chedes’s legs. His gray flesh bled green. He roared and struck his trident into the ground over and over. The earth shook more, causing bits of wall to collapse and trees to topple.

  Chedes pulled out the trident and listened.

  Rain exploded out of the earth behind him and slashed upward with his sword, catching the Lord of the Underworld between his legs and moving up his body until hitting the gem in his chest. The impact was like the sun as both entities flew off in different directions, and the darkness was lit aflame.

  Rain rose and hovered above the trees. Chedes, in the body of Erebos, Khan of the Marauders, was split up the middle.

  Rain drifted over and stood by his side as the mortal body died.

  “She is my daughter.”

  “And she will be for all eternity.”

&nbs
p; “Your love cannot last as long as the stars. She is immortal, but young. Love will blossom in her heart for others, even men perhaps, and I will be there. I will be there to laugh at your pain, brother.”

  “Do not crawl out of your pit again anytime soon.”

  The body died, and the gem in his chest burst. Shards flew at Rain, but he did not flinch. He rose in the air, peering down at the frozen dead in the streets, and in an instant, he was gone.

  55

  Only two Marauders remained of thousands. They had done as their master commanded and murdered the pirate’s wife and children. Then, they went to the closest alehouse in the city of Bale and proceeded to get thoroughly drunk.

  A fight ensued between the pair and some young local boys who were defending their women. One of the Marauders took out a blade and slit a boy’s throat. A young serving girl was sent to fetch the law.

  “We should leave,” one of the Marauders said.

  “Why? You think I fear their law?”

  “No, but you fear our master. And he will wish us back for news that our task is completed.”

  The other relented, and they left the alehouse. They mounted their horses and began the journey back to Dolane. Their stallions were bred for two things: fighting and running. And they ran unlike other horses. A good Marauder stallion could go twice as fast as any other breed and only required half the rest, food, and water. They were tough, hardened animals who enjoyed the thrill of being near death, much as their masters did.

  The horses rushed forward, a blur to those on the side of the roads that may have seen them. But they seemed uneasy, faltering and not obeying commands as quickly as usual. Finally, the horses fell to their sides, shrieking.

  Lord Rain slammed to the earth in infernal glory. “For you,” he said, his voice so painful the Marauders’ ears began to bleed, “I have something special.” He touched them both.

  Instantly, the Marauders were in Dolane, within the city walls. They were surrounded by the dead. Marauder dead. Men with half their heads missing, and arms and legs chopped off.

  A hand went to one of the men’s ankles, and they heard a groan. The corpse on the ground was alive but had been cut in half, his skin peeled away. No man could have survived that.

  Another groan and another corpse rose to its feet and walked toward them.

  The two Marauders backed away as an ocean of bodies rose from the ground. The dead were coming to life.

  One Marauder screamed as he was taken from behind, and the corpses pinned him to the ground. They ripped off his chainmail and trousers. In horror, he realized they didn’t want to kill him. They were preparing to rape him.

  The other Marauder, seeing what was happening, took out his sword and placed the tip against his belly. He pressed the blade in as far as it would go. As he fell to the ground, the horde closed in around him. The dead men turned him over and held him down as they twisted the sword in his belly in a way that sent fiery pain coursing through him. He screamed once more before the first corpse entered him.

  EPILOGUE

  Edgar Stall sat on a grassy hill and sipped his berry juice. The construction of the building before him was going smoothly. The building would be large, far larger than any orphanage Bale had ever had. But it would not serve just Bale, as the surrounding villages had a greater need for an orphanage than even the big cities.

  The land had not been difficult to secure. The deed had been issued to Cassandra and Leon, no surnames and no heirs. Edgar had purchased it at an auction for a pittance. He found a kindly old woman who took in orphans and raised them. She was overwhelmed and always struggling to find money to feed her forty orphans who lived with her. He promised her a new building and plenty of funding if she would organize the orphanage and handle the running of it. He then set up a trust with a barrister that would ensure funding for the next century. The project had taken nearly all his gold, but it didn’t matter. That was coin he didn’t really want.

  Edgar rose and took a small figurine from his pocket. The image was of Lord Rain, black and with the hanging skulls about his belt. The sword Blood was by his side, flame coming off of it and enveloping the God of Death. He placed the figurine on the grass. “See you soon, my friend. But hopefully not too soon.”

  Edgar glanced at the building one more time then walked down the hill to Bale and the ship that awaited him.