by Dante King
I glanced toward the entrance of Kalazar’s lair. I could sense his scheming dark magic just beyond the open passageway; it smelled of putrefied flesh and open wounds.
Behind me, Yarina was quietly praying. “Dear Lord, protect us in this battle. Help us be victorious.”
I was not a godly man. I had always believed in myself far more than I had ever believed in the unseen beings that presided over the heavens. But I took strength from Yarina’s words as I walked into the main chamber and poised myself for a fight.
Yarina and Winnie flanked me a couple of feet behind, Lillian stood behind me a couple more feet back.
I looked around cautiously in the deadly quiet room. I could feel the intermittent thrum of what sounded like an uneven heartbeat. It was Kalazar’s magic, bolstered by new spells, new powers, and new strength.
“Are you hiding?” I asked, raising my voice. “I don’t blame you, considering how things ended for you the last time you came out and faced us.”
There was an insidious rattle that seemed to reverberate through the walls. The rattle turned into a hiss, as Kalazar’s magic pulsed to life furiously. He was stronger than the last time we met, I could tell as much from the pungent scent of his magic, and yet I couldn’t find it in me to sheathe my tongue.
There was a strange clinking noise before the necromancer finally stepped out of the shadows. He had shed the long cloak and fixed hood that shielded his face from view. His new body seemed bellicose, terrifying.
He was a lich lord, the stuff of nightmares.
His body was massive, fashioned from the bones of at least a hundred different dead men. It emanated raw power, the kind of power that grew far from the reach of sunlight. His hands ended in jagged claws and his torso was hidden from view by a thick breastplate and sturdy armor. His face was a jarring skull, with green mist creeping out of the mouth and eye sockets. He wore a crown fashioned out of more bone and teeth. His mouth formed a strange grimace that was almost a smile.
“Hello, dead man,” Kalazar hissed. “We meet again.”
“I’m the dead man?” I said. “A little ironic, don’t you think?”
“Kurt,” Winnie said, through gritted teeth. “Why are you goading him?”
“Ah, the little traitor,” Kalazar spat. “You dare return to my domain after your betrayal?”
“You take prisoners and expect them not to betray you?” Winnie said, trying to mask the fear in her tone. “You are a fool.”
“You dare—”
“Oh, you would be surprised just how much we dare,” I said.
Kalazar glared at me with naked loathing. “I will kill your women first. I will make you watch as they scream. And once their bodies lay in broken tatters around your feet, I will kill you—slowly and painfully.”
I narrowed my eyes and balled my hands into fists. “I’d like to see you try. You won’t touch any of them. Not while I live.”
“Then, I suppose—you will have to die.”
His magic was strong, strong enough that I didn’t even sense the coming spar of his spell until he had already launched it at me. It hit all four of us without having to split off into four parts, it engulfed us in a demonic green light similar to the mist emanating from the lich’s face. He had hit us with a potent weakening ray. I glanced behind me and saw that Yarina, Winnie, and Lillian were on their knees, gasping for control of their lungs and limbs under Kalazar’s fierce magic. They would not be able to wrestle free of its grasp—but maybe I still could.
I had my Negation Aura, and I had the combined effects of my armor and my gauntlet. I hadn’t raised it in time, but if I concentrated hard now, I was sure I still could. Kalazar’s spell felt like it was hitting my knees and arms continuously, pushing me down, and infiltrating my mind, too, making me feel puny and powerless. It was a mental game as well—and I was not one to lose mental games.
I forced my hand up through sheer force of will, and my gauntlet shone. Kalazar watched my movements with increasing amusement, and, despite my weakened state, I could sense another spell flowing to his skeletal fingertips. He was summoning a Death’s Circle, and I felt a sense of urgency shoot through my body. It already promised to be stronger and more merciless than last time. If I didn’t nip the Death’s Circle in the bud, our bodies would turn on us and our hearts would explode.
Given my arsenal of defensive gear, I probably had a little more time than the rest, but I wasn’t thinking about myself in this. I had to save the girls. The death spell whizzed through the air and created a ring of wild green fire around us. I looked around and saw the olive flames’ dance reflected in Lillian’s eyes. She looked terrified, as did Winnie, but Yarina looked more determined than ever. Her gaze met mine, and despite the pain she was in, she mouthed something to me.
“You can do this,” I saw her say.
I could do this. I muscled my way out of the weakening ray and felt its steely talons release my skin. Instantly, I felt my body get lighter, but the Death’s Circle was still sending ripples of heat up and down my body. One minute, that was how long the girls had before their hearts exploded, I could sense it in their magic. I had close to three, but that meant nothing to me if I couldn’t save Winnie, Yarina, and Lillian.
Kalazar’s eyes fell on me, and a ripple of admiration glistened across his features. He was still unfazed though, confident he could defeat us.
“The fight you put up is admirable,” Kalazar hissed. “But, in the end, useless. Give in, human. Succumb to the pain. There is peace at the other side.”
“There is no peace in surrender,” I said through gritted teeth, as I moved closer to the ring of fire.
My Negation Aura couldn’t nullify the magic on its own, but perhaps my gauntlet could make up what it lacked to finish the job. I just had to stay focused.
“It’s over, you’ve already lost.”
“I wouldn’t count your victories yet.” I could sense the heat of the magic dissipate slightly. Small embers of green fire danced in the air in front of my face, but they didn’t hurt as much as I’d imagined they would.
I glanced up at him. “Everyone who has underestimated me—is dead.”
On the last word, I brought my gauntlet down around the circle of fire and the green inferno seemed to scream before it went out with some dying spasms of flame. I heard Winnie and Lillian gasp. I didn’t allow myself to look back though, because Kalazar’s eyes had ignited in a brighter emerald mist that throbbed with fury. Don’t turn your back on a cornered animal.
“It cannot be!” he howled.
I didn’t bother with a retort. I sent my axe spinning toward his head, but he was ready for it. He grabbed the blade as it came close to his face and dashed it against the floor. If it had been a lesser weapon, it would have been smashed to pieces. But my axe survived—it had survived worse.
The lich lord advanced on me with surprising speed. His giant skeletal hands punched with deadly precision, and I found myself on my back without even knowing how I got there.
I saw the closed fist of his hand zooming down toward me, but this time I managed to roll out of the way. I twisted to the side and flung both my legs up, kicking him with the heels of both my feet. There was a low grunt as he stumbled to the side, but he kept his bearings. I flipped myself up and landed on my toes, calling for my axe as I stabilized. I didn’t bother throwing it at him right away, it would have been too predictable.
I could sense Yarina and Winnie marshaling their magical energy as they silently circled out from behind me. They had nearly recovered from the lich lord’s attack. As he came forward with eyes for me only his body poised for attack, I saw Winnie jump behind him. I sensed the unraveling of a bone-shaper spell she was about to cast on the bones that littered the floor.
The lich noticed my eyes dart past him, and he turned around just as Winnie’s spell took effect. The bones she flung at him exploded in little bursts of angry spikes, and the monster shielded his face with his arm. I took the opportunity
to jump onto one of the recessed ledges of the chamber’s walls. My hands gripped the ridged walls and my boots found secure footing.
I could sense another Death’s Circle spell rise to the lich’s fingers.
“Quickly!” I yelled with all the force my lungs could muster. “Before he strikes!”
Yarina moved forward, and I sensed the light climbing out of her body like a fountain. Winnie rushed to Lillian and pushed her down. The two of them covered their eyes. I did the same just as Yarina unleashed her most powerful Holy Flash yet. Kalazar’s scream echoed across the chamber, a sound that brought a wide smile to my face.
When I opened my eyes, I found that Kalazar was only a few feet away from me. He was trying to wrestle his way out of sightlessness, bending his body every which way in agony.
This was my moment.
I launched myself off the coffin crevice, raised my axe high over my head, and brought it screaming down on the necromancer’s head. Assisted by the force of gravity, my hit managed to split open his skull. A phantasmal scream ripped through the air as though filtering into the chamber from a great distance.
The lich body crumbled to the ground, and the magnificent bones that had possessed so much power only moments ago turned to fine dust right before my eyes. The armor clattered to the ground, reverting back to useless pieces of charred metal. Kalazar’s magic receded slowly, leaving the charged air suddenly chilly, and making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
I took a step closer and pushed my boot through the lich lord’s dust trails. Among the dust was a ring with intricate runes carved into the center stone. It looked like a demon seal ring similar to the kind that the three warlocks had been wearing. I picked it up gingerly and turned it over in my hand. The runes were unfamiliar to me, but I could sense the effervescent patter of magic that clung to it.
“Kurt?” Yarina’s voice was cautious. “Is he truly gone?”
I turned around, staring at the walls as though they might have the answers. “I didn’t feel his magic die. I only felt it…leave.”
“What does that mean?” Lillian asked. Her face was ashen, her hands trembled, and her eyes were wide with agitation.
“The lich was not Kalazar…it was just another skin he was using. I think he has more skins at his disposal.”
Lillian shuddered visibly, and Winnie and Yarina closed in around me, forming a tight circle.
“What do we do?” Yarina asked. “It’s not safe for us to stay here.”
“I don’t sense Kalazar at all anymore,” I said.
“But he is still out there somewhere?” Winnie asked.
“Yes. I think so.”
“We need to find the golem,” Yarina said. “We can use magic to force him to tell us what he knows about the necromancer.”
“But first, I want to visit Qilzid.” I held up the ring. “This fell from the lich’s body. I want to see if Qilzid has any idea what it is.”
“I wonder,” Yarina said, before taking it from my hand and examining it closely.
“What?” Winnie asked impatiently.
“These runes on the face of the ring—I wonder if it’s a mark of some secret guild. I’ve never seen them before, but they seem so—intricate, so ancient and filled with meaning.”
“I guess we’ll find out sooner or later,” I said.
“You should visit Qilzid,” Yarina said, placing the ring back into my outstretched hand. “I’ll head back to the Spire to see if the golem has returned there.”
“You think that’s likely?”
“I don’t know what’s likely or normal anymore. But I have to try. We don’t have time to waste. It seems right, it’s the only thing I can think of that makes some sense.”
“I’ll come with you,” Lillian piped up. “The Spire is my home. I can help you find your way.”
“If the golem’s there—”
“If Orli’s there I can handle him.”
Yarina glanced at me before continuing. “Lillian, golems are not thinking, feeling creatures. You won’t be able to talk to it, reason with it. He only seems to do it, to make use of you, as it makes use of words that sound like thoughtful reasoning. I understand the golem was your childhood companion, but do not mistake it for your friend.”
Lillian’s face fell slightly, but she maintained her determined stance. “I’m coming with you.”
“Very well. Winnie,” she turned to her, “you stay with Kurt.”
“With pleasure.”
Lillian stepped forward and presented me with the crossbow she had picked up outside the Mausoleum.“Here. You’ll make better use out of this than I will.”
“Are you sure? You seem to be a good shot.”
“I don’t know how it happened. It must have been a lucky shot, a happy accident. I don’t feel comfortable keeping it.”
I nodded and took it from her hands. “Thank you.”
Lillian’s beautiful blue eyes shone brightly as they lingered on my face for a little longer than they needed to. “Be careful,” she said.
“Stay safe,” I answered.
Yarina and Lillian turned around and headed for the exit to the main chamber. I watched them go with some trepidation.
“Yarina?” I called, just as she was about to turn the corner.
She looked at me over her shoulder.
“Protect Lillian.”
“On my honor. I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”
With that, they were gone.
Winnie turned to me with a twinkle in her eyes. “Alone again, at last.”
I laughed. You could count on Winnie to give even the darkest of moments some levity—or perhaps it were precisely those times that brought out her playfulness.She smiled once more before her expression ironed out, and she pushed away the dusty remains of Kalazar’s destroyed skin with the tip of her boot.
“Is it…” I stopped short and looked around. I thought I’d heard something, but I wasn’t sure if it were just my paranoid instincts picking up on inconsequential sounds.
“What’s wrong?” Winnie said, twisting around in the direction I was looking toward and raising her fists.
“I—sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “Nothing. I think it was just my imagination. I was wondering if it was possible for the lich body to regenerate somehow.”
Winnie narrowed her eyes and hummed. “No, I don’t think so. Not when it’s been so fully annihilated.”
I nodded, but the strange unease continued to spread through my body. “Come on,” I said. “Let’s visit Qilzid.”
Winnie and I headed to the main chamber’s exit, where I decided to create a portal to Qilzid’s workshop. I felt the artificer’s ring thrum lightly as Winnie and I stepped through. In that very moment, a gust of wind puncture me with foreboding.
I saw the ethereal gleam of the workshop in all its understated grandeur, and Winnie was beside me, but the two of us were thrown forward as if an explosion had gone off behind us.
I heard Winnie’s startled scream as we fell to the ground, and I felt the sudden burst of magical energy surround us. Corrupt energy. And it felt, tasted, and smelled like Kalazar.
Still on the floor, I twisted around and saw a creature that looked like a man framed against Qilzid’s bookshelves and glass cabinets. He wore a dark navy-blue skirt over black trousers. It was fastened in place by a thick leather belt that matched the black brace he wore on his right arm.
His arms and torso were exposed, displaying the inhuman characteristics that defined his physical appearance. He stood at almost seven feet tall, his body was crafted from what seemed like grey-blue granite, and magical veins visibly spread across his body just under the surface of his skin, departing from the flowing patch that showed where his heart sat. His hair was a stark white that flowed over his shoulders and down to the middle of his back. His eyes stared at me with the glowing furor of possession.
“Yarina is looking in the wrong place,” I said. “I think Lillian’s
golem just found us.”
17
It all happened at once. I reached for my axe lying a few feet away from me on the floor, and as I reached out, the possessed golem lunged forward to attack, but Qilzid’s magic activated instantly as the whole workshop came to life.
Desks, chairs, and books rose into the air, and the arsenal of weapons floated out of their glass cages. Knives, swords, axes, arrows, all turned toward the golem with their sharp steel edges.
The creature came to an abrupt halt. This wasn’t the fight he had prepared for. His eyes darkened and, without any change in the lighting, a shadow seemed to pass over his face, changing its features to someone I seemed to recognize.
“Kalazar?” I said, slowly getting to my feet.
But the golem’s eyes were trained on the objects that were slowly circling him, edging closer.
“I recognize a presence here,” the golem said in a deep, humming voice.
No golem could possess that kind of individuality. This had Kalazar written all over it, I didn’t need my hunter instincts to realize that. Kalazar had somehow managed to cloak his magic from me while it was within the golem. I couldn’t think of another way he might have followed Winnie and me into Qilzid’s workshop. He had been biding his time, waiting in some shadowed nook for me to let my guard down.
“Qilzid, the Artificer?” The golem spoke with a voice I now clearly recognized as Kalazar’s. “Is this what you have been reduced to?”
The workshop thrummed with a furious, frustrated silence. I could sense Qilzid all around us, his anger and his muted shame. He had no body, while Kalazar had stolen countless skins. They were old foes in a world that had moved past and all but forgotten the days of the Apocalypse Wars.
“I paid the price for my hubris,” Qilzid said softly. “I devote my existence to service to make up for it.”
“Service,” Kalazar spat, as the golem’s eyes gleamed with his hunger for power. “Service again…the priestess said the same thing. That is why your side will never win. You cloak yourselves in meekness and call it strength. You hide behind duty and call yourselves heroes. You will all die nameless, and before long your deeds will be forgotten.”