Rise of the Deathbringer

by Mark Boutros

  Frong smiled. ‘Like Sags taught you.’

  Karl nodded. ‘Well, he did say it with a grunt so it really could have been anything.’ Sags’ face was dry and cracked.

  ‘Good point.’ Frong turned to Oaf. ‘Weapons only became destructive when the first tribe invaded a castle. It was all shields before, used in battles to knock each other out. There was an unspoken agreement that battles wouldn’t be to the death, but rather the loser would be the first knocked unconscious. But when the biggest people kept winning, underhanded tactics and weapons came to be. Then it was a race to see who could invent the most powerful weapons, and battle became more and more attack-based.’

  Karl felt a pang of relief. Frong telling a story nobody needed to hear was a sign of progress.

  The night sun filled the sky and the walls of Jermal grew on the horizon.

  When the group arrived they stood ten or so paces from the arch. That still wasn’t far enough for Karl.

  The Spirit Queen’s shrieking quickened and she stared at the cart of dead bodies. Frong ordered everyone to take only what they needed. They would need to travel light and be prepared to run.

  ‘Why? Why at night?’ Karl complained.

  Frong stroked Sags’ face. ‘She’s not interested in us,’ he told Karl and approached the Spirit Queen. He crouched and met her eyes.

  Even though Karl knew she couldn’t harm anyone, he feared some power would see her grab Frong and devour him.

  ‘I’m sorry you’re in this condition,’ Frong said. ‘But we need to pass.’

  She flashed her crooked teeth at him. He stepped through her and walked onto a narrow bridge that stretched over a man-made drop to a spiky death.

  Stone columns and spotless tiles lined the bridge all the way to the perfectly preserved, abandoned, stunning city. Trees boasted vibrant green leaves.

  Frong faced Karl. ‘The Jermalians didn’t always live here. They had an island to themselves, full of trees, fruit, animals and joy.’ Frong stepped out of the arch and in front of the Spirit Queen. ‘But like with all good things, others got jealous, others wanted, others took.’ Frong pulled at his beard. ‘You see, the Jermalians were an innovative bunch. They invented the catapult, but used it to fire food across distances before it became a war tool. They also mastered ship structure and taught new farming techniques to those who were stupid. But, rather than see them as forward thinkers and good for Hastovia, some saw their development skills as a threat to their leadership, so as usual, they attacked. They destroyed.’

  Karl was fed up of all good things being ruined.

  Frong leaned on the wall. ‘The queen of Jermal, Tazal, helped her people to escape their island on boats and they washed up far in the north of the Dead Lands.’

  Karl’s ankles still wore the burn marks from his trip to the Dead Lands.

  Frong walked towards Sags and sat on the edge of the cart. He ran his hand over his dead lover’s leg. ‘But having escaped one kind of death, they suffered from a lack of food and water. It took its toll and Tazal decided she had no choice. Having heard rumours of the Spirit Queen who could grant wishes, she sought her and found her.’ He gestured to the wall. ‘Tazal wished for a safe home for her people, and the Spirit Queen welcomed her here. As you can see, with only one entrance and these abnormally high walls of magic stone, attacks wouldn’t come to Jermal. Plus, who cares about the desert?’ He shrugged. ‘Jermalians thrived for a while, but what Tazal never knew was that the Spirit Queen fed off the energy of the dead, and as Jermalians naturally passed, she gained more strength, and with that came the power to attack the living. The Spirit Queen wiped them out in a feeding frenzy. But now she is starved again, in a state where she cannot hurt us.’

  Sabrinia took a sip of water. ‘Isn’t she a bit foolish? If she’d let them live she could eat the dead at a normal pace, but by attacking everyone it was basically like burning your own farm down.’

  Marlens hopped off the cart and stood by Frong. ‘She ate them all for a reason. Wiv enough power, she can break the spell that keeps her on this land. Think of the pain she’s feelin’. The god she loved cursed her, and the only way to lift the curse is to kill people. Can’t imagine what that does to the old mind.’

  ‘Anyway,’ Frong said. ‘She will be wanting to eat the dead, so we need to keep her away from Sags. The good thing is we have plenty of distractions.’ He tapped the cart full of dead bodies.

  ‘But look how exhausted she is. Can’t we carry Sags over her and run?’ Karl asked.

  Frong shook his head. ‘We can’t risk it. If there’s no ship or she has a burst of energy, Sags will be done.’

  Karl understood, but that brought with it a wave of fear.

  Frong took a breath. ‘The bad thing is we’re distracting her by giving her power.’ He bit into his beard. ‘We’ll need to split up. Stay safe.’

  Feeding Time

  Karl held Lord Lofad’s mutilated corpse above his head and sprinted across the bridge. He took slow breaths and had no idea where he was supposed to go. He refused to look back until Sabrinia called out to him.

  He turned. The Spirit Queen could barely drag herself across the bridge.

  Sabrinia pointed for Karl to go to his far left. He nodded and glanced at the Spirit Queen. There was something so sad about her. Why would someone curse someone else? There was always some grim trade-off in these old stories.

  Karl continued through the impressive city with its white stone buildings – everything perfectly spaced with dwellings all the same size. Trees lined the far wall and all the paths stretched from one end of Jermal to the other.

  The castle rose against the back wall and a tower climbed above everything, providing a view of the outside world.

  Karl arrived at the far corner. The Spirit Queen had disappeared, which was both reassuring and terrifying. He waited and spotted his friends carrying Sags up the castle steps.

  The Spirit Queen crawled through the wall of a house and shrieked. Karl ran back towards Jermal’s entrance, luring her away from the others. He took a tiled path that stretched from one wall to the opposite so he could see how far away she was. He waited, staying close enough that she wouldn’t shift her focus to Sags.

  Karl dumped Lord Lofad’s corpse on the tiles and rested his arms. He peered through the window of a house. A sketching of a woman who resembled the Spirit Queen hung on the wall, only she looked happier and beads lined the parchment.

  Karl’s body chilled. He lifted Lord Lofad and continued along the path until it ended.

  Marlens jumped off her cart and threw a body into the far corner. She turned the cart left towards the next corner.

  Karl waited for the Spirit Queen and drew her back towards the bridge. Another house displayed a sketching of the Spirit Queen, only there were words under this sketch. ‘The Queen of our hearts, Tazal.’

  ‘Tazal?’

  Karl’s body numbed. The ghostly woman following him wasn’t the Spirit Queen, because the Spirit Queen was in front of him and standing. Her swirling red rags covered her grey skin from neck to toe. A mess of scars lived on her bald head and pain stretched her eyes.

  She clawed at Karl’s face but her bony hands went through him. She shrieked.

  Karl dropped Lord Lofad’s corpse and ran through Tazal. He turned at the end of the path. The Spirit Queen leaned over Lord Lofad’s body and held her hands over his eyes. Black smoke rose from Lofad’s eyes and into her fingertips. Lofad’s body jerked and crumbled into black smoke.

  The Spirit Queen lifted Tazal, flung her away, then floated towards the corpse Marlens had dropped off. Within moments she’d absorbed another soul and body. It wouldn’t take long for her to find all the bodies and then, if the stories were true, have the strength to kill Karl and the others.

  ‘Marlens!’ Karl called out and ran towards the castle steps.

  An Unwelcoming Host

  Sabrinia rushed through a tunnel, following Frong who lit the way. She’d left Oaf in the t
hrone room to wait for the others.

  Frong placed the jar of light on the ground and lowered Sags down a ledge. Frong took the jar and jumped down.

  Sabrinia followed and ran along yet another path. It was the same over and over — run along a path, drop down.

  Sabrinia wondered what this place was like in its prosperous days. She passed some Jermalian advancements, like pipework and carts with a wheel mechanism that wouldn’t require horses.

  The descent continued. Jermalians had perfected defence, as any invaders coming this way would be exhausted by the time they got anywhere near the throne.

  Sabrinia hoped she was approaching a ship and not some beast dwelling in the underground.

  She caught up with Frong, who placed Sags down in front of a short climb.

  ‘I can hear water,’ Frong said.

  Arazod caught up.

  ‘Go up and we’ll pass him to you,’ Sabrinia told Frong.

  Frong climbed and Sabrinia and Arazod passed Sags’ body up to him.

  ‘Can you help me up, please?’ Arazod asked Sabrinia.

  He was a helpless wreck, but she couldn’t forgive him for forcing her to marry him, for invading her home twice, or for killing Karl’s mother. There was only so far her acceptance would stretch. ‘Climb up yourself.’ She left him and found Frong by the entrance to a cavern.

  ‘Oh Sags… If only you could see this,’ Frong said.

  Sabrinia stroked Frong’s arm.

  ‘Looks like me and Sags might not have been the greatest adventurers.’ He chuckled.

  The wide cavern opened up in front of Sabrinia and a ship the size of Flowforn castle was tied to steel posts. The setting night sun shone through a distant exit to a river.

  Sabrinia thought about jumping into the water and swimming to the ship, but she’d never clear the rocks, so they’d have to take the route of narrow ledges to a path that led to the vessel.

  ‘Run!’ Karl shouted from the tunnels.

  The accompanying shriek told Sabrinia why.

  She ran and jumped down onto the first narrow ledge, worried her aching legs would give in. ‘Pass me Sags, then go around me and I’ll pass him back,’ she told Frong.

  Frong passed Sags to Sabrinia. She tensed, worried she’d drop the body.

  Frong shuffled past Sabrinia and jumped to the next ledge.

  Sabrinia dropped Sags to him and they repeated the move.

  Frong jumped down to the last ledge and Sabrinia took Sags in her weakening arms to lower him.

  She slipped and grabbed a rock. Sags fell off the side of the ledge and she grabbed his right leg with her other hand.

  ‘Sags!’ Frong yelled.

  Sabrinia’s heart caught in her mouth. Sags was too heavy. Her grip on the rock weakened. Sags was going to become a stain on the rocks. ‘I can’t!’

  The shrieks echoed around them.

  Frong reached for Sags but was too far. ‘I can’t reach! Please hold on, Sabrinia!’

  Her fingers slipped along the rock. It was Sags or both of them. ‘I’m sorry, Frong.’ She let Sags go and closed her eyes. She had failed her friend. ‘I’m so sorry.’

  ‘Grab him,’ Arazod said.

  Sabrinia opened her eyes. Arazod’s talons were curved around the platform he hung off. He swung Sags by the ankle until Frong reached out and grabbed his lover’s arms. Frong took Sags, leapt onto the path and held him.

  Sabrinia pulled Arazod up, his face strained. She felt a moment of sympathy, but it vanished as swiftly as it came. ‘Thanks,’ she managed.

  Arazod nodded and they joined Frong, who continued to the ship and placed Sags on the steps leading below deck. Frong wound in the anchor.

  ‘I’m sorry, Frong,’ Sabrinia said.

  ‘You tried.’ He looked at Arazod and nodded at him. ‘Thank you. Now grab those timber beams.’ Frong pointed at the ones on the deck near two of the four ballistas. ‘We’ll need them to push out of here.’ He untied the ropes from the steel posts.

  Sabrinia grabbed a beam and pushed off the cave wall.

  Frong joined her. ‘Arazod, can you steer?’

  Arazod nodded and grabbed the wheel.

  Another shriek surrounded them.

  The ship edged closer to the entrance their friends would emerge from.

  ‘We need to get this ladder up there.’ Frong and Sabrinia moved a ladder and placed one end where they came in.

  ‘Come on!’ Sabrinia yelled at the tunnel.

  Frong held the ladder while she placed a wooden beam on some rocks, ready for the big push. The Jermalians placed strategically flat points among the cavern rocks for this purpose.

  Another shriek rippled around the cavern followed by Karl’s screams.

  Into the Unknown

  The cold air closed in and nipped at Karl’s legs. He spotted the ship and pushed himself.

  ‘There’s a ladder!’ Sabrinia yelled.

  Marlens grabbed it and climbed down, followed by Oaf.

  ‘Hurry!’ Frong said.

  Karl grabbed the ladder and looked into the tunnels. The Spirit Queen gained on him.

  ‘Go!’

  Marlens reached the deck and held the ladder with Frong. The ship moved and the ladder swayed.

  ‘I can’t hold it!’ Marlens strained.

  Oaf fell onto the ship and the ladder headed towards the cavern wall.

  Karl dropped a few rungs and held on, but it smashed against the rocks and he splashed into the water.

  ‘Grab the rope!’ Frong tossed him some rope and Karl grabbed it. Frong pulled him along as the ship edged towards the mouth of the cavern.

  Karl pulled himself to the ship, climbed up and rolled onto the deck. He pulled the rope out of the water and thanked Frong.

  Oaf picked up a timber beam while Marlens joined Arazod.

  ‘Push harder!’ Frong yelled. He grabbed a timber beam.

  The Spirit Queen flew out of the tunnel and turned towards them. They were close to the exit, but the ship scraped against the wall and stopped.

  ‘Push!’ Frong said.

  Karl sprinted for a ballista. ‘If she’s had enough souls to attack us, maybe it means we can attack her.’ He lifted a heavy, steel arrow. ‘Does anyone know how to use this?’

  ‘I do.’ Marlens ran over and helped him. ‘You turn the winch to stretch the drawstring back.’ They loaded the arrow into the trough, cinched it and fired. The arrow flew towards the Spirit Queen.

  A flick of her wrist knocked it away.

  Frong’s mouth fell open.

  Karl turned to Marlens. ‘On the hopelessness scale?’

  ‘I’m going to say astonishingly hopeless,’ Marlens said.

  Oaf pressed his hands against the wall and pushed the ship off.

  Karl had to buy them time to gather speed. ‘All of you get to the front of the ship.’ He grabbed the rope, secured it to his waist and tied one end to the mast. He stood at the stern trembling. He drew his curved sword.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Sabrinia yelled.

  Maybe he was being stupid, but there was no way the ghoul was getting to Sags.

  The sunrise caught the front of the ship as they exited the tunnel. ‘Drop the sails, quick!’ Frong commanded.

  The demon slowed.

  Karl turned to his friends. ‘We’re going to make it,’ he smiled

  ‘Karl!’ Marlens shouted.

  The Spirit Queen’s legs wrapped around Karl’s waist. She pushed him face first onto the deck.

  He thrashed his arms around, but she pulled his head back and placed her grey hands over his eyes. The smell of her rotten skin filled his nostrils and he retched.

  Karl’s body jerked and something behind his eyeballs ripped. His vision blurred into black and his body temperature dropped. His friends’ screams faded until his head filled with the pained cries of hundreds of voices. They grew louder and louder and then the Spirit Queen shrieked.

  The voices died and Karl’s brain burned into nothingness.
<
br />   Blue Blues

  Everything was dark. Karl couldn’t open his eyes but an image formed in them, the faint outline of mountains.

  ‘Life is death,’ a strained voice said. The words weren’t coming from Illuminus.

  ‘Life is death.’ It sounded like his mother, Larnela.

  ‘Life is death.’ Was that Sags?

  The words repeated.

  It took him a moment to remember what had happened. Something was missing; the Spirit Queen had taken it. Cold air filled his heart.

  Illuminus’ face appeared from the dark and tried to consume him, shocking him alert.

  He woke up on a swaying bed in a wooden room.

  Potion bottles covered the floor. Marlens sat at the foot of his bed.

  Her tired eyes shone. ‘You made it back!’

  ‘Marlens…’ He smiled and tried to sit up but his bare chest tightened. He touched his face. ‘What happened? I felt my life slip away.’

  Marlens nodded. ‘It did a bit, it seems. But we got to the end of Jermal just before the ghost lunatic could finish whatever the weird eye smoke sucking thing she was doin’ was.’

  Karl’s muscles ached.

  Marlens handed him a cup of green liquid. ‘It tastes of feet but’ll help your muscles recover.’

  He drank it and the description was fair. ‘What is this?’ He let it sit in his mouth before experiencing the rancid taste again.

  ‘It’s bacteria from Flowforn stream.’

  That didn’t seem like the worst thing.

  ‘Mixed with powdered horned wolf dung.’

  Karl’s face dropped.

  ‘I’m messing.’ Marlens chuckled. ‘Or am I?’

  Karl swallowed and smiled. ‘How long have I been like this?’

  ‘Two sunsets.’

  ‘What?’ It seemed like a moment. A scary, confusing moment. ‘Is everyone else okay?’

  Marlens nodded and lifted an empty jar. ‘I tried about twenty different mixtures to get you to wake up, and you know what worked in the end? The old-fashioned technique of shoving garlic up your nose.’ She placed her hand on his forearm. ‘We were really worried about you.’