by Jamie Davis
Kurt twisted to the side. He avoided the main thrust, but the backstroke from the barbed sword cut deep into Kurt’s ribs despite his body armor.
“Marci, put the damned crystal in one of the holes already,” Kurt yelled. “I don’t think we can hold him back too much longer.”
He couldn’t even spare a glance over his shoulder to see if she’d heard him or not. He had already taken too many steps backward. Harshad advanced on him, bringing his blade back around for another attack.
Kurt had to regain the initiative somehow.
At that instant, Jonesey swept in from the side driving forward with her long sword. She stabbed Harshad in the thigh.
The injury drew more of the fallen angel’s thick, black blood. Some of it spilled on the floor.
Harshad howled in pain and swept his sword around at Jonesey. The elf had trouble when she tried to turn and block the incoming blow. She slipped on some blood on the floor.
Jonesey got her blade up in time to keep the edge of the black sword from cleaving her in two.
The heavier demon sword still crashed into her body armor, knocking her to the side. She hit the cave wall hard, falling to lie unmoving on the floor.
Kurt couldn’t tell if she was dead or wounded. Either way, it looked like Jonesey was out of the fight.
Harshad was wounded now. He limped forward on his injured leg and one arm seemed weaker than before. Kurt’s hits had caused more damage than he’d thought.
With his arms injured, along with the leg wound, Harshad turned and favored that area of his body trying to avoid any further hits that might cripple him.
Kurt decided it was time to get desperate. He fainted a step forward with the spike at the end of the glaive then swept it around in a broad arc aiming instead at the fallen angel’s feet.
Harshad fell for the ploy raising his sword to block the attack at his middle. Too late, he realized his mistake. He could not bring the great black sword down fast enough to keep Kurt from slashing at his legs. The axe head bit into the leading leg at the ankle.
The blow knocked Harshad to his knees. He growled in anger at Kurt.
Kurt pressed his attack now that he’d disabled Harshad. He ran in to deliver a killing blow.
Harshad had more fight in him and batted Kurt aside with a sweep of his left wing. The fallen angel had not given up the fight and still had plenty of tricks in him.
Kurt bowled over to slam against the wall. A crack in his arm and a flash of jolting pain told him his left shoulder was broken.
The glaive flew from his grasp to clatter to the ground. He jumped back to his feet despite being unable to move his left arm.
He dove for the holy weapon laying on the floor just a few meters away.
Harshad regained his feet somehow and limped towards Marci who stood in front of the glittering wall.
She didn’t move at all, just watched the demon approach.
Kurt knew he’d never get his weapon in time. He did the only thing he could think of, calling out and imploring Marci to do something.
“Marci trust in what we’ve done together. Trust me. Place the crystal in its place. Just pick one. It’s the only way to stop this bastard.”
As if being shaken from a stupor, Marci twisted her head around and looked directly at Kurt. A grim smile played across her lips.
Harshad took another limping step in her direction, raising his black sword over his head.
Marci turned back to the wall and reached out with both hands, placing the crystal in the middle of the three depressions.
There was an instant rumbling. It seemed to shake the entire mountain.
The ripple passed through the room they were in knocking everyone, including Harshad, from their feet.
The fallen angel yelled, “No!” He held out his hand towards the crystal as it melded into the ledge, sinking into the stone. It left a circular flat crystal plate flush with the surface of the ledge.
Marci turned around and faced Harshad. “Yes. You’ve lost the contest, Harshad. I will not be under your control or anyone else’s. By the terms of our bargain you must let me go free.” Marci pointed at the door. “Be gone from here. You have no power in this place anymore.”
As if being drawn away by some invisible tether, Harshad fell backward and slid along the floor towards the outer cavern.
As the black cursed sword clattered to the stone floor, Marci cheered and pumped her fist in the air.
Just before the winged demon disappeared through the blackened doorway, he yelled in defiance, “You’ll not be rid of me so easily, Marci Trenton. Mark my words.”
Then he was gone.
Chapter 22
Once Harshad disappeared, Marci raced over to where Smalls lay on the floor. She worked to stop the bleeding from the woman’s leg.
Kurt heard other fighting outside the cave entrance and gestured to Jonesey to follow him outside. He worried Harshad was out there fighting the rest of the Sarge’s squad.
As soon as he passed through the barrier, Kurt brought the glaive around with one hand to block an incoming attack. The demon standing next to the opening had several wounds on its body but still stood ready to fight.
Kurt was able to block the strike, batting the black scimitar blade aside. He swung his weapon around, using the glaives butt to punch the horned demon in the gut.
The demon doubled over. Kurt swung the glaive’s axe head around to finish it with a strike to the side of the horned one’s neck.
With a groan, the tall creature fell to the floor, lifeless.
The brief respite offered Kurt the opportunity to gather in what was taking place in the outer chamber.
Sarge, along with Fish and Doc, fought a cluster of four of demons by the cavern entrance.
They were not alone, however. There were other members of the human rebel army fighting beside them.
Kurt wondered where they came from. They’d left the rest of the army behind with Colonel Evans in their camp two days before.
There was no time to worry about that, however, the fighting raged both in the cavern and outside on the ledge. Based on what he heard, Kurt realized there must be fighting all along the mountainside.
There was no sign of Harshad. Somehow, he had disappeared after Marci’s replacement of the Chaos Crystal in the ledge.
Jonesey ran forward to help Sarge and the others finish the demons still fighting inside the cavern.
Kurt cut down a sixer hound near the jagged exit from the cavern and went outside to the ledge. All along the surrounding slopes, demons and humans fought. The desperate melee looked like it could go either way.
Kurt felt a strange tugging on the haft of the holy glaive. He realized it was pulling him towards a cluster of humans standing at the lip of the rocky ledge, surveying the course of the battle.
Kurt stepped up next to Colonel Evans to overlook the fighting below.
The Colonel glanced at Kurt as he stood beside him. “You said they sent you to deliver that holy weapon, Mr. Carter. Perhaps it’s time to hand it over now?”
Kurt knew he was right. This was the time. The glaive seemed to know it. It helped Kurt rescue Marci and return the Chaos Crystal. Now it was ready to assume the task it was meant for.
Kurt knew this was not his flight, not anymore.
“Here you go, Colonel. I wish you and your troops the best of luck in the coming fight. It looks like there will be hell to pay for the demons now that you’ve counterattacked.”
The Colonel flexed his muscles, reaching out to take the glaive from Kurt. He held it up over his head and muttered a few words of power.
Kurt recognized them as the beginning of a magic incantation in Latin.
The Colonel brought the butt of the glaive down on the ledge with both hands. As soon as the butt end of the weapon struck the stone, a ripple of power rolled out from it.
The head of the glaive, both the silver axe and spike, pulsed with white-hot light. It hurt Kurt’s eyes to loo
k upon it, and he turned away to avoid the blinding glare.
The ripple of power rolled down the mountainside like a wave through the stone. As it passed beneath the fighting forces below, it rocked the demons from their feet as it passed. The magic had no effect upon the humans locked in combat with them.
No, Kurt saw that wasn’t true.
The humans fighting below seemed energized by the display of power. They fell upon the demons collapsing before them with renewed power and vengeance.
While some demons drew together to attempt a defense in place on the mountainside, most of them turned and tried to run. Of those, many were cut down from behind as they scrambled back to their feet and turned to run away from the newly emboldened human soldiers.
Kurt realized this was something meant to happen all along. Colonel Evans was the man meant to free this world from the demonic incursion.
Stepping back from the command group, Kurt turned and went back into the cavern to search for his companions.
He found Marci helping Sarge and Doc carry the injured Smalls out of the inner cave. Curley and Fish carried Stretch’s body out behind them.
“Will she live, Marci?” Kurt asked about the scout as the troopers carried her outside.
“I think so. Doc said I did a good job slapping a field dressing and a tourniquet on her leg. He seemed to believe she’d be all right.”
“How are things outside?” Jonesey asked.
“The fighting is almost finished. Colonel Evans used the glaive and an incantation I’ve never heard before to sap the strength of the demon forces.”
“That is good,” the elf said. “It looks like our work here is finished then.”
“I wish I’d been able to kill Harshad,” Kurt said as the trio followed Sarge and the others out onto the ledge. The troopers on the mountainside below finished off the stragglers from the demon army.
Kurt searched among the demon bodies for the bright white skin of the fallen angel. There was no sign of Harshad anywhere. He’d disappeared, or maybe just flown away after the magic pulled him from the inner cave.
“I get the feeling he’ll be a bit of a pain in the ass in the future,” Jonesey said. “You two will have to keep your eyes open for him. You defeated him here but he’ll be back to attempt revenge on both of you.”
Kurt shook his head. “We’ll be ready. I wonder what pulled him away from us in that way?”
“I think it was the bargain he made with me,” Marci remarked. “Somehow, it became magically binding. Perhaps the magic of the Chaos Crystal knew he’d no intention of honoring his pledge to let me go free if I escaped his hunt.”
It made as much sense as anything else that happened that day. Kurt had never seen magic have that type of conditional effect before. Magic was energy that had to be directed by something in his experience. This kind of wild magic was something new to him. Kurt would have to ask Marci what else she knew about it later.
Colonel Evans turned to the trio talking next to the cavern entrance. “The demons are on the run. I’ve already set our reserves to chasing them down while we still have the initiative.”
“You didn’t see a white, winged demon come out of the cavern earlier?” Kurt asked.
“I did. He slid out onto the ledge from the cavern so fast it caught us by surprise. He killed two of my command group and then leaped from the ledge while spreading his wings. He flew away to the south. We will keep our eyes open for him, I promise. It was he who first tipped the balance against us months ago. I would like to see him dead.”
“If you do kill him,” Kurt said. “Come find me. I’ll buy you a drink. Jonesey is right. He will come back and try to get revenge on us for screwing up his plans. I’d like to avoid that if possible.”
“Believe me,” Colonel Evans said, raising the glaive up in the air so it caught the afternoon light. “If we catch him, it will be the end of him.”
Jonesey shook her head as she cleaned the blade of her long sword with a cloth from her pack. “You won’t catch him. That last bit of magic that drew him away had the scent of the divine to it. Perhaps our fallen angel has been called to account for his actions by a higher power.”
Kurt nodded. It was as good an answer as any. He turned to Colonel Evans. “How did you and your force come to be here?”
“When you disappeared with the holy weapon, I knew we had to find you and recover it before the demons found and killed you and the others.”
“I am sorry about that,” Kurt said. “As I told you, we had to recover our friend.”
“It appears whatever business she had to accomplish here contributed to the defeat of the demons so it worked out. The removal of their leader will go a long way to helping restore our ability to take the fight to them.”
“Look,” Marci said, pointing over the side of the ledge at the mountainside below them. “That’s green grass. Things are growing here again.”
She was right. Everywhere for a hundred meters in every direction, they could see clusters of green plant growth popping up from the cracks of the blasted lands on the mountainside.
“The replacement of the Chaos Crystal has taken hold,” Jonesey said. “Some of the curse upon this land is lifted. Should the other missing crystals be returned, I suspect this world will be made whole again in time.”
“It has been a long ten years since the plants started dying and the demons first came,” Colonel Evans explained. “We’ve been fighting against them ever since. We just assumed our world was dying.”
“Remember, Kurt,” Marci said. “Harshad first showed up as the Cardinal about that time. He must have taken the crystal from here and fled with it.”
“But where are the other crystals, then?” Kurt asked. “And who took them? If he had the others, he would have used their power to help recover the first from Marci.”
“If you find these other Chaos Crystals,” Colonel Evans asked. “Will you be able to return them to us? We could use them to restore this world to its former state and save the remaining people here from certain destruction.”
Kurt smiled. “I think you misunderstand our purpose here. They sent us to deliver a holy weapon to help you in your war against the demons. The return of the crystal to this place was a coincidence. We did not understand that was even an option when we first came through the portal. All we knew was someone here had tried to cast a mind control spell on Marci from this side. We didn’t even know of the other Chaos Crystals until now.”
The answer seemed to deflate the Colonel. “I had hoped—.” He shook his head. “No, I will not dwell on might have beens. You have done a great service to us. We can only hope that others will find the crystals and return them in due time. We will just have to hold out. No one believed we would even last these last ten years. Our time will come. You have given us hope that things might be restored once again. For that I thank you.”
Colonel Evans reached out and clasped Kurt’s hand in a firm grip, shaking it once in gratitude. He turned and shook hands with Marci and Jonesey’s, as well.
“I must see to my troops below. Please let me know if you need anything before you have to return to your world.”
He turned and called out orders, gathering the bulk of his troopers together from the ledge and headed down to the soldiers on the slopes below.
The victorious army cheered him as he held the glaive over his head in a salute to them during his descent.
Sergeant Trudeau limped over to stand with Kurt and the others. Fish, Doc, and Curley joined them at the rim.
Kurt gave a sad smile at the troopers beside them. “I’m sorry about Stretch, Sarge. He died trying to hold the demon back and keep us safe. We’ll never forget his sacrifice.”
“He was a good trooper,” Sarge said. He gave a chuckle. “I think I will miss Stretch’s constant complaining, though.”
Marci pointed to a small bush that had magically sprung up beside the cave entrance. “Let’s bring his body out here. We can build a cairn
for him so his soul will always be able to see the sun rise and set over this restored portion of the world.”
“I think he would like that,” Sarge said. “Let’s do that. Then we can see about returning you three safely to the portal and your home.”
The seven of them set to honoring their fallen comrade while the rest of the army rejoiced their victory on the slopes below them.
Chapter 23
Two days later, Kurt, Marci, and Jonesey emerged from the portal back onto Earth Prime. The returned much more subdued than when they departed. It had been a grueling trip and all three of them dealt with the aftermath in different ways.
“I think this trip reinforces my belief that I belong locked up in my warehouse where nothing can touch me,” Jonesey announced as they emerged from the portal in the restaurant supply building. “I can’t believe you two convinced me to come along on this trip.”
“Convinced you?” Kurt said, giving an incredulous laugh. “You came along willingly once you realized Marci had the Chaos Crystal.”
“I’m just saying I have projects I need to get back to. This has been enough gallivanting around and having adventures for a while.”
“What about you, Marci?” Kurt asked. “A lot happened to you on the other side. Do you—”
“Do I what? Do I wish I’d never been captured or sent out as hunted prey for the amusement of demons? Of course I do. It changes nothing for me.”
“I only thought you might want to take a break from working with me for a while.”
“Not on your life, K.C., you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” She smiled at him and he found himself returning it as she continued. “I’ll be fine. Besides, you need me around to keep your life from getting too boring.”
Kurt laughed. She was right on that point. Marci had made his life more interesting in many different ways. He still worried about the residual effects of this mission on her. He’d have to keep an eye on her and make sure she wasn’t showing signs of stress injury over the coming weeks and months.
It wouldn’t be that bad. It gave him an excuse to stay close to her. That was something he wanted to continue. He understood his feelings for her much better now.