Echoes of a Shattered Age

by R. J. Terrell

  The Rizanti were the first to reach the demon, and struck with all their remaining power at the monster’s heels and ankles. Despite the sharpness of their blades, they did little damage. Hardly noticing the tiny flies at its feet, the beast continued to make its way to the tower.

  Grimhammer and his clan thundered across the field to meet the new enemy. The centaur leader was formulating a plan in his mind when Warsong practically sat back on his rear legs and moved to the side, just in time to avoid a red oval-shaped light that appeared in front of him.

  Grimhammer and one of the nearby warriors to his side almost ran right through two larger ones when they realized the rest of the clan had stopped. Grimhammer looked all about, grinding his teeth again. Those red oval lights were appearing everywhere. “What new evil is this?” he growled.

  “Portals!” Warsong yelled, just as a dark blue figure stepped out.

  Windglider, a thin, muscular centaur and the fastest of the clan, faced another of the dark figures that stepped through the glowing red hole in the air. The thing stood taller than the centaur, closer to seven feet than six. Its blue skin was so tight that it looked as though it was sown over muscle. It flexed its long skinny fingers, revealing thin claws that looked like needles. Its bat-like wings curled up behind its back like a vulture, the tips nearly touching the ground. One each side of its smooth round head were pointed ears that extended nearly a foot above its head. It narrowed its yellow eyes hatefully at the centaur. Four fangs protruded from its closed mouth, two curving upward and two downward.

  Windglider stood frozen from the sheer overbearing force that the creature exhibited. Its lips curled and drew back behind a set of smaller teeth, and it let out a threatening hiss.

  “Windglider!” Grimhammer exclaimed. “Get away from it!”

  The warning came too late. The beast opened its mouth and spat a foul black mist that wrapped around the paralyzed centaur. In seconds, the mist had engulfed him and eliminated the magic that sustained him.

  More portals appeared all around the field, and out of them stepped various twisted and horrific creatures from the lowest level of the abyss.

  Warsong roared and charged the Quentranzi that had defeated Windglider. He leaped at the unmoving demon, his body twisted back to drive his spear through the monster’s chest. The Quentranzi threw out its hand and a blast of black energy shot forth, stopping the centaur midair. Warsong had just enough time to feel the magic sustaining him being ripped away, and then he was gone.

  “The centaurs are in trouble!” Mira said with alarm.

  “We cannot worry about them,” Iel said. “Our own battle begins.” Another portal appeared next to Mira, and she stumbled away at the sight of it. Iel stepped in front of her, and when the creature stepped out of the portal, the guardian launched a wave of cold at it, and engulfed the demon in ice. Once it was frozen, he said a few words in a language Mira had never heard, just as the ice began to crack. An instant later, the trapped fiend broke an arm free, then shattered the ice just as Iel finished the incantation. A shockwave knocked the demon to the ground, but it recovered quickly and was up again and charging toward the Ilanyan.

  Iel had to think fast, for the demon would be on him before he could formulate a new attack. The fiend suddenly stopped and was slammed hard into the ground by an unseen force. It rose into the air, slammed into the wall of the tower, then again into the ground and jerked violently left, then right, before finally becoming engulfed in green flames by Iel, who had taken advantage of the help and finished the words of power.

  After the beast was fully banished back to the dark realm, the guardian cast a glance at his student. “Improvement,” he said with a grin. Mira smiled back, but the smile left her face as another Quentranzi approached.

  * * *

  “How are we gonna stop that thing?” Kita said as they narrowed the distance between them and the monstrous demon.

  “This doesn’t look good,” Shinobu said. “All of those short guys were blown away in one blast by one of those demons that materialized ahead of us. They didn’t even get to the big one.”

  “Hey look!” Kita said, pointing ahead. At great cost, Siti and her group had cleared a path for them to get through.

  “They need our help!” Kenyatta said.

  “We cannot,” Kenjiro replied. “They fight to give us a chance. We can’t let their efforts be in vain.”

  The four warriors sprinted through the groups of embattled fiends and magical warriors and came upon the stalking titan. Kenyatta glanced over his shoulder. “They aren’t winning.”

  “Then run faster,” the samurai said.

  Kenyatta started to reply, but then the reality of having to fight a host of smaller Quentranzi while attempting to take that big one down killed any response he might offer.

  Not far ahead, now, the Rizanti were still cutting at the beast, but their efforts were in vain, and now they were being eliminated one by one by the other smaller fiends. The magical warriors fought tirelessly, but they had expended too much energy in the blast, and now moved slower and their strikes carried less force.

  “We must use their last stand to our advantage!” the samurai said, and they charged the towering demon, four ants converging on an elephant. Kenyatta was the first to strike. He cut an X slash across the side of the monster’s ankle, and for the first time, the beast seemed to acknowledge the tiny fleas at its feet.

  “Our weapons affect it!” Kenyatta yelled. “Don’t give it a chance to react!” The others struck hard and fast, slicing and cutting and stabbing at its legs and feet.

  The huge monster stopped and looked down at the insects stinging it. Kenyatta stabbed it in the ankle, and saw a line of foul black liquid streak down from the wound. “These things bleed?” he asked incredulously. Then, his warrior instincts told him to be anywhere but where he was at that moment. On pure reflex he leapt far to the side as the enormous hand slapped at him, missing and slamming its own leg. The monster then raised its foot and stomped it to the ground, creating a massive quake.

  * * *

  “The centaurs have all fallen,” Mira lamented.

  “Concentrate on your enemies,” Iel replied. “These demons are far more dangerous than the previous horde.”

  Mira used her mental powers against fiends coming from every direction. She reached into her robe and produced several throwing knives that she hurled at a tall blue fiend that glowed with an inner red flame. The knives missed the mark as the demon disappeared and then reappeared a few feet to the side. It took another step toward her, then started convulsing as the knives had circled around to hit it from behind. The blades tore through its body repeatedly, sending tainted black blood spewing from the wounds.

  Just as Iel had defeated two cunning Quentranzi, the earth burst open and out leaped a heavily muscled dark green monster with a waving tongue. Its body was nearly three times the size of the Ilanyan, its thick long tail waving tauntingly in the air. It stood crouched on two legs with one hand on the ground. Its mouth, housing several rows of long, sharp teeth, stretched into what looked like a gaping grin.

  Having managed to paralyze her adversary with her mind, Mira picked up a thin branch from a tree and threw it at the monster. The branch transformed midair into a spear that struck the demon through the chest. Such a vital blow would have sent any normal fiend spiraling back to the abyss, but these were Quentranzi. Its black lifeblood poured out, but it resisted the pull of the abyss. Mira blasted the fiend with a telepathic shockwave that weakened it enough for it to succumb to its wounds, phasing from the earth plane back to the abyss.

  The sound of hissing and growling drew her attention to where her teacher struggled against a Zzrt, one of the most dangerous Quentranzi to walk the abyss. “Master!” she exclaimed.

  “Don’t come near!” Iel yelled.

  “What?” Even as she spoke, the green monster drove its arms deep into the ground and ripped out a large piece of earth and hurled it at the Ilan
yan. Iel rolled to the side and launched a wave of light energy to slam into hulking fiend to no effect. Still crouched in front of him, tongue waving outside that hungry grin as if tasting the air.

  Mira focused on the demon and sent a shockwave to slam into it. If the attack had any effect, the demon ignored it and rounded on her. It stood upright, towering high above the apprentice. Its large white eyes widened and it responded with an openmouthed hiss just as it whipped its tail around and slapped her into the air.

  Iel glanced with concern at Mira squirming on the ground, and the brief lapse of attention cost him. The Zzrt leaped the dozen feet between them and slapped him with a backhand, sending him hurtling into a nearby tree.

  Despite being dazed from the impact, Iel used the base of the tree to spring forward. He raised his right hand and loosed a powerful blast of light into the demon.

  When it staggered, he followed up with another blast of light energy, this one aimed at the creature’s face. The monster hit the ground grabbing its eyes and screeching in a mixture of pain and fury. Iel slid to a stop at the sight of the Zzrt slamming the ground with its fist. In a fit of rage, it rolled back to its feet and charged, shredding the ground with its thick black claws.

  * * *

  Kita tried to catch his breath as he backed away. He and the others had done little damage against the titanic demon, and now its attention was fully on them. “We’re doing just enough to annoy it!” he said.

  “What makes you think that?” Shinobu asked sarcastically, as he dodged a huge fist that crashed into the ground and sent him tumbling under a wave of dirt and rock. The strider recovered quickly and countered with a zigzagging slash across its hand.

  The demon yanked its hand back, and with a roar that made the air vibrate, raised its massive foot and stomped the ground once more, sending more dirt raining down. Shinobu dove aside, narrowly avoiding being swallowed by one of the many wide fault lines that trailed from the site of impact.

  Kenjiro charged in and stabbed the side of the massive foot, driving his sword in to the hilt. It screeched and lifted its foot high into the air to grab at the wound. Kenjiro held onto his sword until the right moment, then pulled it free and leapt onto the creature’s hand, driving the blade into its wrist. The beast reached for the samurai, but then stumbled from the pain of yet another stab from Kita’s staff. With his free hand, Kenjiro drew his tanto, reversed the grip, and drove it in next to his sword. He pulled the short sword free and stabbed again. When the monster recoiled and leveled its arm, Kenjiro pulled the blades free and ran up the massive arm.

  “I like his strategy!” Kenyatta said as he hopped onto the beast’s foot and stabbed repeatedly.

  Once he reached the shoulder, Kenjiro stabbed once again, bringing yet another bellow of pain from the creature. Tainted blood oozed from the wound, and the samurai had to fight back his revulsion. The giant fiend twisted and turned, but Kenjiro held on to his embedded sword. He saw a massive hand from the corner of his eye coming directly at him, and withdrew the blade and hopped up the shoulder. The hand missed, but a finger larger than Kenjiro’s body slammed into him, blasting the air from his lungs.

  While this was happening, Kenyatta backed away, then sprinted at the fiend from the rear. He leaped high into the air, embedding his blades to the hilt into the back of its leg. The monstrous demon shrieked and reached back for the dangling warrior.

  Seeing his friend’s vulnerability, Kita stabbed the monster in the foot with all his strength, which succeeded in drawing the beast’s attention while Shinobu moved to the opposite side of the beast as Kita, and struck rapidly at its feet and ankles.

  The demon stomped and swatted at the tiny humans, but they were quick and cunning. In dealing with the annoying specks at its feet, it had forgotten the samurai who lay at the edge of consciousness underneath its long black hair beside its neck.

  The two warriors worked together to keep the enormous fiend distracted while Kenyatta worked his way toward the still-dazed samurai. Kenyatta made another leap and once again drove his swords into demonic flesh, this time into the monster’s lower back. It was a wound that burned from the inside, and the demon ignored the two on the ground and tried to grab at the tiny insect stinging its back.

  “What is he trying to do?” Shinobu yelled from the other side of the monster’s foot.

  “We’ll find out soon,” Kita answered, dodging another stomp.

  Suddenly, the demon went still, and its back began to glow. Dangling from the monstrous demon’s lower back, Kenyatta saw the blue skin beginning to glow just before heat started radiating from it. It didn’t take long for the islander to realize his danger, and he quickly curled his body and positioned his feet between his embedded swords and pushed. They seemed unnaturally held in place, and now he could feel the heat and mounting energy in front of him. He did not dare release his grip and lose his weapons, however, so he held his position, trying to figure out another way to free himself.

  The glow brightened, and explosion of built up energy sent the warrior flying away. Dazed, Kenyatta lifted himself to his elbows and rubbed his head. “Wasn’t expectin’ dat,” he groaned.

  * * *

  Kenjiro was finally able to clear his head and reorient himself. It was not very comforting to awaken and find that he was lying next to the massive creature’s head, underneath a forest of slithering hair. He slowly climbed to his feet and gripped his sword in a white-knuckled grip. He lined the tip of the sword with the demon’s neck, squared his stance, and drove it forward. Or tried to.

  A mass of slithering hair wrapped around his right arm while more of the sentient locks flowed toward him. In one turning motion, Kenjiro let the sword drop from his right hand, caught it with his left, and cut his arm free. No sooner had he freed himself, than more of the black tendrils wrapped around his limbs. Though he cut and slashed every stalk of octopus-like hair that entangled him, he couldn’t work fast enough, and the bottom half of his body was wrapped tight.

  In an act of desperation, he drove his sword into the neck of the beast, behind the jaw. The sword, although tiny in proportion to the massive fiend, struck true, for a thick line of black blood ran down its neck. Still it was not enough, and the hair continued to wrap about him. In seconds, he was cocooned in a mass of writhing black hair.

  * * *

  Kita pulled himself back to his feet after nearly being sideswiped by the demon’s enormous foot. The blow had sent him spinning through the air to crash to the ground over a dozen yards away. Once he had reoriented himself, he saw that Shinobu was in a bad situation.

  Although the strider worked tirelessly, attacking and dodging, slashing and slicing while avoiding a stomp or a grab, he was unable to keep the thing at bay for long before it turned toward the tower once more. He started behind the fiend, but then on instinct, spun and ducked a slashing claw from behind.

  Shinobu straightened to face his newest foe. He could feel the sense of wrongness that surrounded the demon. It was not very large, only about five and a half feet tall and of an average size, but the intangible force within it seemed ten times its size. Its dim yellow skin was leathery and hard, and it was difficult to see if the creature was fast but not physically strong, or slow and powerful. It had no defining features that gave any indication of its capabilities. Even its face was negligible, sporting only two red slits for eyes, and no nose or mouth that the strider could see. Its tail was as thick as Shinobu’s arm, and whipped from side to side as the fiend studied him.

  The strider narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Well at least you can’t talk.”

  The fiend didn’t respond, only continued to stare at him. With a shrug, the strider fingered the hilt of his sword while he sized up the foul creature. With a derisive sniff, the strider charged.

  * * *

  Mira lifted her head to see Iel waiting calmly in the path of the charging fiend. As it drew nearer, the Ilanyan’s body began to glow with a soft white aura. He was in the midst of
gathering power within himself.

  The Zzrt leaped high into the air and descended on the waiting Ilanyan. At the last possible second, Iel released a shockwave from his body that shook the ground and everything nearby.

  The Zzrt caught the full force of the shockwave and was knocked from the air to crash back to the ground. Without as much as a flinch, it got up and charged again, and in less than a few heartbeats it was right in front the guardian. It slashed at him with terrifying speed and ferocity, but Iel avoided the assault and rolled to the side.

  He was quick to his feet, but the hulking demon was on him. Iel was prepared this time, and slammed it in the chest with the palm of his hand, releasing the remaining built up energy. They flew away and landed a few feet from Mira, who scampered backwards.

  The beast shook its head and rose, seeming little affected. Mira picked up a rock as she positioned herself so that the Zzrt was between her and Iel. The demon let out a hiss-like growl, spun and charged back toward the guardian.

  Iel threw his left hand out and a lance of yellow light went streaking through the air at the raging fiend. The lance struck the demon’s chest, and its body pulsated with yellow light.

  The Ilanyan’s eyes pulsated in tune with the light-filled demon, yellow, then blue. As the blue in Iel’s eyes darkened, so too, did the light in the body of the disabled Zzrt. The crackling sound of ice creeping over its skin made Mira’s skin crawl. In seconds, the demon was frozen.

  Mira shook off her revulsion and threw the rock, focusing as it flew at the immobilized demon. The rock elongated into spear, and with a loud crack, the rock-spear punched into the frozen Zzrt. The apprentice clenched her hand into a fist, then opened it.