Knives in the Night

by Nathan A. Thompson

  Val stood behind me, along with the rest of my group as they fired another volley of missiles and magic into the shadowy throng of scaled humanoids.

  The Pit Knights had retreated in response to the surprise attack, but I could see that their armor had largely protected them from my retinue’s barrage.

  Which left only one course of action, I realized, as Former-Travis called out to me.

  “The prey cannot save you, traitor-prince!” the Pit Knight leader called out, standing tall as my retinue’s attacks shattered uselessly against his draconic armor. “They are no match for the power you have already cast aside!”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that,” I said casually, privately accepting the cost of this battle. “They say that the road to real, apocalyptic power isn’t the dark pacts your ancestors made with demonic assholes. It’s from the friends you make along the way.”

  And with that, I activated my dragon form.

  Immediately, my flagging battle form sprang back to life, recharged by the energies unleashed from the same power that was causing scales to climb up my own body, covering my skin and armor.

  I flexed the power further, like I had done in the final battle with the Nuckelavee, and activated the second stage I had discovered then—only this time, I completely activated it. Giant phantasmal wings sprouted out from my back, so large that they filled the hallway behind me and passed through every one of my companions.

  Scales of armor began forming over the rest of my retinue, while super-charging their Ideals and weapons at the same time.

  As Travis and the other Pit Knights gasped in outraged surprise, I raised my hand and sent a message to my team.

  Thanks for coming. Let’s try again and see if we can turn these assholes into paste.

  And with that, my entire retinue unleashed their power.

  The Pit Knights tried to counter at the exact same moment, all blasting their Blood Dragon fire at the same time, but their magic was overwhelmed by the kaleidoscopic storm of Ideals we had sent into their midsts.

  The taloned men in the front died first. They writhed, froze, and incinerated under the barrage. The ones in the middle died next, weathering the storm for a few moments, until the scales melted off their bodies and the flesh and bone shattered underneath.

  The mutated humans in the rear actually survived, even as they sank to their knees, panting heavily, with large portions of scales missing from their arms.

  But with the arcane storm cleared, I could still see them rising to their feet, at least eight of them still alive, with Travis at their lead, looking almost completely unharmed.

  “Now,” he panted, “before they can attack again—”

  His words cut off in a shout as a spurt of blood nearly landed in his face.

  The Pit Knight next to him collapsed as he struggled to close the gaping hole in his now-unarmored neck.

  A moment later, the Knight on the other side of Travis fell to his knees as well, leaking blood out of every scaleless patch of his body.

  A dark shadow flitted away from the corpse, as Val messaged me through the mindlink.

  Travis is all yours. Hated what that asshole did to you back then, anyway. Especially because he knew.

  I’m not sure this is still Travis, I said as I rushed forward, Breyn and Eadric at my back, but thank you.

  The mutated form of my former youth pastor charged to meet me with fanatical determination, green fire coating him.

  “I will not let you escape,” he said as his flaming dagger swung for my throat. “I cannot let you live to destroy or harm again.”

  Claimh Solais parried the blow easily, and the elemental power surrounding my weapon extinguished that of his own. His inferior blade shattered against the sword of the Destroyer.

  “Hypocritical bastard,” I snarled as I grabbed him by the throat with my own talons and slammed him against the nearby wall. “You spent the last two years working tirelessly to make me hate myself, gave yourself over to a power that openly did everything you accused me of, and now seek to kill me for being stronger than your false throne. And to top it all off…” My golden clawed hand tightened around his throat. “You do all of those things as I struggle to be there for my friends, family, lover, and kingdom. Fuck you, fuck your false enlightenment, fuck your everything. Now eat shit and die.”

  And with that, I dug my talons into his neck and casted Vein to Vein.

  I channeled my blood into him, but this time, I didn’t give him the poison.

  Instead, I channeled the sheer power coursing through my veins into his neck, the roaring storm of my Ideals.

  Travis’ neck and skull blew apart.

  As his headless corpse fell to the floor, smoke rose from the hole and began to coalesce into the shape of a multi-headed dragon.

  Destroyer-spawn, a deep, and familiar voice cursed at me. Usurper. I will kill you yet, brother.

  Then the dragon vanished, a moment before Teeth sucked in and ate the rest of the smoke.

  Fucking asshole, my dragon growled, crunching the remnants of his rival’s draconic power. We’ll show him what it means to be king.

  Show him what it means to be king…

  As the last of my enemies fell to the weapons and magic of my friends, those words clicked something in my mind.

  I will protect. I will prevail. I will be king.

  Crown her. And write love on her arms.

  My fear for Anahita faded ever so slightly, replaced by a growing confidence in her, in all the places where I could not help her myself.

  Wes, Breena said as she buzzed back to me, covered in pink scales and reminding me of a humanoid dragonfly. I found the room they were talking about, but it’s designed to only let in one person at a time, even without the Pit Knights’ wards. I can hide in your clothes and use our bond to let it accept me, but I don’t think anyone else will be able to follow us.

  Fine, I thought, as I heard cries of alarm from the Horde and remaining Malus Men echo from the distant hallways. New plan, everyone. For as long as your dragon forms last, hunt down and destroy every Hordebeast, Malus Man, and Horde Pit in this palace. Then, do the same in this city. Then when Anahita, Breena, and I come back, we can make long-term plans about what to do next. Maybe we’re close enough to break for one of the Malus Pathways and shut it down completely. Or we’ll hit another city, since we’ve probably already poisoned or killed half of their entire force on this planet. Including the assassins that were supposed to take me down.

  Granted, it had cost me activating a power I really needed to save for Cavus or Zereh, but now that I had done so, there was no more reason to hold back.

  But my own force of dragon-scaled warriors nodded as they turned and dashed down the corridors, heading toward the roars and cries of our incoming enemies.

  I wanted to help them as well, but I battered my old worry for things beyond my control using my newfound confidence in the strength of those who stood by me.

  They would protect. They would prevail.

  And I would continue to crown them.

  Because I will be king.

  I followed Breena’s directions as I charged down the hall toward the depths of the Vault, until we reached a giant steel door etched with various magical runes. In front of it were a dozen or so cracked, black crystals, probably the source of the wards left behind by the Pit Knights.

  I strode past them and gripped the handle of the door. Some invisible power challenged me, demanding to know whether I had sufficient clearance to enter this room. It would allow me inside, it explained, but only if I could prove my credentials.

  But a second, twisted power grappled with the first, stating that it should let no one in, unless they belonged to the ‘chosen few,’ whoever that was.

  My own power roared its anger and indignation over being questioned and delayed, and the door swung open immediately.

  I strode through, into a massive vault that reminded me of the storage rooms I found at the end of Ava
lon’s rites—especially the last one. Various artifacts and jewelry too numerous for me to describe in that moment demanded my attention, but in that moment I had neither the time nor desire to do anything other than find where Anahita had gone.

  I stepped past rows of sparkling jewelry, displays of shimmering garments, and glowing vases to a small, ugly patch of shadow covering a glass case.

  It looked for all the world like the same patches of shadow that marked the boundaries of Cavus’ realms.

  And I had no idea how it had managed to reach out to the hallway Anahita had been in, but here it was before me now.

  I just needed to figure out how to get inside.

  The light from the arcane energy surrounding me pierced the shadows as I drew closer, letting me see inside the glass case.

  A necklace with a goldsteel pendant lay on display inside over a smooth rock.

  The pendant resembled a dragon lying on what looked to be a cloud of mist. It was pretty to look at, but it didn’t sparkle or resonate with power like all the other valuables in the room.

  Until a moment later, when I stood next to it.

  WORTHY? WORTHY? a powerful voice asked in my mind, reminding me of Avalon and the other worlds when they spoke to me.

  The armband I had received from the Woadlands and the bracer from the Sun-Jeweled Seas buzzed in response.

  WORTHY. WORTHY, they answered in unison.

  WORTHY? WORTHY? the pendant queried again.

  WORTHY. WORTHY, the regalia on my body asserted again.

  WORTHY…WORTHY, the pendant decided. WIELD. PROTECT. PREVAIL. PROVE.

  The glass covering the necklace shattered. I grabbed the pendant, the regalia of the Golden Sands, and found that it could fit under my cloak. The chain even had two extra fasteners that would allow it to serve as a brooch.

  I attached it, and the haze enveloping it widened in an oval big enough for me to step through.

  I charged forward, Breena still clutching my cloak.

  A massive, winding tunnel greeted me on the other side. Glossy black stone covered the walls, floor, and ceiling, making me feel as if I was in an underground cave of onyx.

  But the only light sources were my current form and Breena, who flew out of my cloak and began buzzing down the tunnel, still looking like a humanoid insect in her pink armor.

  I can feel her! Breena shouted in my mind as I raced to catch up with her. She’s this way.

  As I ran, I heard strange, eerie cries echo down the winding tunnel.

  Children’s cries.

  And suddenly everything made sense.

  I hoped.

  I ran even faster, using the full extent of my augmented Speed and Deftness, because my power would not last for long.

  I would have to correct that eventually, or grow strong enough to no longer need it, but for now, it was time to make the most use of it while it still lasted.

  The walls of the tunnel turned sharply, but I leaped onto it and bounced off it, somersaulting to change my angle and keep running.

  The cries grew much closer, and now I could tell that there were many of them, but every few moments, one of them would let out a final shriek and go silent, only to be replaced by the anguished frustrated scream of a familiar female voice.

  If I was right, then things were not as bad as they sounded.

  But I might not be right, so I still moved as fast as possible, following Breena’s pink trail as she blazed forward a few feet ahead of me.

  We turned another corner, following the screams, and we began to hear more voices.

  Gentle ones, telling her that it was okay, that she wasn’t going to save anyone if she stayed behind.

  Angry ones, telling her to leave, and that she was just going to die if she didn’t run, or worse.

  And above all of that, a deep, hollow voice kept chuckling and daring his little Stell to stay and play.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Breena and I exited the final tunnel and entered a massive cavern, one that felt as large as the palace we had just infiltrated. The glossy black stones here all shined from a light source I couldn’t find, giving me just enough extra light to see the figures moving all about.

  Dozens and dozens of Goldfolk and desert elven children—the local ancestors of the Dunegraced—were screaming and running from something that could reach through the stone floor and snatch them, one by one.

  Anahita was in their midsts, desperately chasing after the horrified kids and trying to catch them, but every time she came close, two segmented legs of black chitin would burst from the ground and pull the terrified child down through the floor, somehow closing the hole after they left.

  The deep voice chuckled again.

  “Thank you, my Little Stell,” the most hated creature in the entire god-damned Expanse said to my Starsown’s local body as she reached the spot where the little boy had been a moment too late. “This is such a delicious game. I love to watch you try so hard to succeed in it. You’ve always looked so sweet whenever you’ve failed.”

  “Give him back!” Anahita screamed as she stabbed at the ground with her blades, before giving up and dashing for the next closest child. “Give them all back!”

  But the deep voice only chuckled again, shaking the cavern as it spoke.

  “You know what you have to do to make me stop, Little Stell,” the voice said as yet another child disappeared through the floor. “But I love that you still refuse to do so. I love that you struggle to resist. This is the perfect fate for you, after making me chase you for so long.”

  Motherfucking-god-damned-freaky-piece of shit! Teeth roared in my mind. I don’t care if they’re illusions, I’m going to find you and beat you to death with your own—

  Let’s make sure, I said, repeating my plan to Breena as I waited for the right moment. Let’s make sure that they’re illusions. Then we help her feed him his own digestive track.

  A moment later, when the dozens of tiny forms continued to spread out…

  Now! I sent to Breena as Anahita lunged for a little elven girl at the opposite corner of the room.

  As Cavus’ segmented appendages snatched one more shrieking orphan into the ground, Breena and I both lunged for two different children.

  Anahita could move very quickly, but my Speed had already been close to hers, and it had more than doubled since I activated my dragon and battle forms.

  And best of all, the Umbra, in his usual obsession with Stell, hadn’t even noticed me enter the room.

  Cavus let out a startled roar as I blasted across the room, but my hand still reached the dark-haired little boy just before the chitin-covered appendages did.

  And my hand passed right through him.

  The child-sized chitin legs lashed out at me, but I twisted to deflect them off my golden and red scales.

  Illusions! Breena shouted in my mind as she passed right through another little girl in a fiery pink trail, then dodged the black snapping pincers easily. You were right, Wes! The children are all illusions! Just like last time!

  “NOTHING!” Cavus roared as dozens of sharp black legs burst through the floor. “YOU SAW NOTHING, LITTLE STELL! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! YOU MESSED UP AND NOW YOU ARE ALL ALONE!”

  As the closest claws struck at me, the rest began pulling the illusions through the floor.

  “I CHANGED MY MIND, LITTLE STELL! GIVE YOURSELF TO ME RIGHT NOW, OR I’LL LEAVE AND DIGEST THESE LITTLE ONES FOR ALL ETERNITY! AND I’LL FIND DOZENS MORE FOR EVERY MOMENT YOU STILL RESIST!”

  My Gale Cloak flared out in all of its augmented, elemental glory. I blasted a stored omnibolt straight into the air at the same time that I launched several spinning disks of sharpened, bloody, burning storm through the lashing segmented claws all around me.

  “LIAR AND BASIC BITCH!” I roared with my dragon mouth. “These are illusions, Anahita! I just checked! They’re illusions, like the ones he tried to use on Via!”

  The light from my bolt scattered across every glossy black
surface of the room, making my attack almost as bright as one of Breena’s Dawnblasts.

  Cavus roared again, this time in both pain and anger, because my Friction Slices had severed over a dozen of his segmented claws.

  As the light from my magic dimmed, Anahita looked through the severed path of claws and saw me.