Rise of the Deathbringer

by Mark Boutros

  Frong’s breathing slowed and he nodded to Oaf. ‘Higher ground.’

  Karl ran towards the edge of a cliff and the rest followed.

  The fire vanished.

  ‘Prepare your weapons, stay in a bunch, and aim to knock them off the cliff.’ Frong drew his spear.

  The Gygus’ growls chilled Karl’s body. He held his shield up and peered at the path. ‘I don’t suppose you have a few more of those flaming bottles, Marlens?’

  ‘Nope.’

  The growls neared and the beasts charged up the path. A blur of arms, claws, and bodies bumped against Karl’s shield.

  ‘Hold!’ Frong said.

  Karl’s feet shuffled back and his ruined hand stung.

  The Gygus pounded at them and Karl’s right foot stroked the cliff edge.

  ‘I can’t keep this up!’ Sabrinia jabbed an arrow into the neck of a Gygus.

  ‘We have to attack!’ Karl broke out of the group and charged.

  ‘No, Karl!’ Frong cried out.

  Karl whacked his shield into a Gygus, then another, but a claw scratched his ribs and neck and he fell to the floor. Teeth sunk into his leg and he stared at the night sky, worried it would be the last thing he saw.

  Yellow-finned sharks leapt over him and their tentacles whipped the Gygus.

  Three of the blue creatures repelled the Gygus. One of them whistled and a yellow-finned shark leapt over Karl. Its tentacles grabbed him and whipped him into the air, and then he fell towards the sea.

  Letting Go

  ‘Thanks,’ Karl told the blue, muscular being, standing on her yellow-finned shark in the shallows. The rest of her people sat on their beasts. Karl worried they might still decide to eat them. His leg stung from the bite and blood dotted his shirt from the scratches.

  ‘Thank you,’ the blue creature said in a low voice. ‘For saving us from the Klongryth.’

  ‘Is that the giant horrible thing that attacked us?’

  The blue creature nodded. ‘One of Octorion’s pets. She took humans as husbands, but her insane jealousy consumed her and she would experiment on her lovers as punishment, binding them to beasts and creating hybrids. Then when she got fed up she would cast her beasts into the sea – our sea.’

  Karl rubbed his neck. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘We lost thousands of Shalas over time, but the Klongryth was the worst beast. Thirty sunsets we fought it and it still wouldn’t die, so we chained it to the depths. We’re meant to stop people entering that particular part of the sea, but we got lazy. It had been thousands of sunsets since anyone came along.’

  Karl sat on the shore. ‘Well, we’re not going anywhere now, so no danger of us waking it again.’

  ‘We will return you to your home,’ she said.

  Karl heart lightened. Was that even possible?

  Sabrinia approached. ‘Can you help us fight a different kind of beast?’

  ‘We won’t last long out of the sea. So unless the battle is near an ocean, we’re of little use to you.’

  Karl hoped the home he returned to was still there, and that Oaf’s boy was still alive.

  The Shala’s shark swam up to Karl. He backed off.

  ‘It’s fine. Trust her,’ the Shala said.

  The shark attached a tentacle to Karl’s leg wound and healed it. Karl thought he’d better stroke its head as thanks. Another tentacle met Karl’s burned hand and a chill shot through it. His fingers cramped and his wrist stung, but then his hand tingled and it was healed. Were these things magical? Karl’s hand felt stronger than it did before he had set it alight.

  Another Shala, smaller than the leader, emerged from the depths and whispered to her. The leader nodded. The Shala approached Frong and offered him a skeletal hand.

  Frong stared at it. ‘Sags?’

  The Shala handed it over. ‘I’m sorry. It’s all I could recover.’

  Frong held it and wept.

  ‘Hey,’ Karl said. ‘We can still do this. If we get the soul back we can bring him back. We’ll use that lizard hair thing and restore his body, then we resurrect him. There’s still hope, Frong!’

  Frong touched Karl’s arm and shook his head. ‘Your optimism is appreciated, Karl, but it’s over. It was over the moment he drew his last breath. He’s gone but I can make sure I never forget him.’

  ‘Like my mum.’ Karl welled up. Letting go didn’t mean letting go; it meant trying to move forwards and carrying the memories.

  Frong nodded. ‘I’m happy to have a part of him. Even if it is quite haunting.’ He stared at the hand. ‘You know, in some cultures, people keep the skeletons of their dead in a room where they place them in living positions, so they’re still there.’ He took a breath and used Sags’ hand to scratch his beard. ‘At least he can still do nice things for me.’

  Karl smiled.

  Sabrinia addressed them. ’Our mission is clear. We kill Ryza and save Oaf’s boy. We also need to recover the Soul of Illuminus so we can gain control of Death. Let’s save the world so we can enjoy the memories we have of our loved ones.’

  Frong gazed at Sags’ hand, illuminated by the night sun. ‘Thank you, Sags. Life can be a book of beautiful adventures. You taught me how to read it.’

  Sibling Prisoner

  Arazod stared at the horizon, willing land to appear.

  ‘This sea never ends.’ Ryza stopped and hovered, holding Arazod above the water.

  ‘It can’t be much further. You don’t want to keep Death waiting,’ Arazod said. He considered setting her ablaze, but he’d be stranded at sea. He could do it for the good of the world, but he wouldn’t get to see it. He wouldn’t benefit.

  ‘You’re right.’ Ryza continued flying.

  Land formed in the distance. Arazod would have his moment and enjoy the aftermath. He’d burn her in front of the others and they’d swear allegiance to him.

  Ryza released Arazod’s arms.

  ‘Ryza!’ Arazod crashed into the cold ocean. His heart raced and he thrashed his arms. ‘Ryza! Get me out! It’s freezing.’

  She smirked in that way. The way that made him feel pathetic. ‘Give me the gauntlet, Little Arazod.’

  ‘Yes! Once we get to the tower.’ Arazod kicked his legs to stay afloat.

  Ryza chuckled. ‘You have a choice. You give me the gauntlet now and we go. Or you stay here. You could die by drowning or die when a sea creature is in the mood for a snack.’

  Arazod stared at her. He couldn’t be at her mercy again. He winced at the sight of her blade, a reminder of his wings being hacked off.

  ‘You see, Little Arazod,’ she said. ‘Never forget. I’ll always be smarter than you.’

  She controlled his life again.

  A Short Reunion

  Questions hid behind the rubble of a collapsed staircase on an upper floor of the broken Lookout Tower.

  Her hands trembled. Although Peezant told her to wait, she poked her head out from behind the rubble.

  Through a window, four Man-Hawks carried an empty cage and landed in the debris-covered courtyard.

  Peezant returned and perched on Questions’ shoulder. ‘He’s up there.’ He pointed his beak up another floor she’d have to climb.

  ‘Are you sure?’ she asked, relieved her boy was alive.

  ‘No,’ Peezant said. ‘It must have been someone else’s half Oaf, half Inquiso son. There are so many of those around.’

  ‘Really?’ she asked.

  Peezant stared at her. ‘Just follow me,’ he squawked and flew up. He waved her up with his wing.

  She placed her foot on a rock, pushed herself onto a broken doorframe and climbed. The wind blew where walls used to be. She ran along the corridor. Her heart pounded, excited and terrified to see her boy.

  Peezant flapped his wings and turned back. He flew in front of her face.

  ‘What are you doing?’ She waved him away.

  ‘Shush. Hide in here.’ He flew into a room without a wall.

  ‘Why?’ Questions followed and ducked behind a
cupboard.

  Was something bad happening? Were those Quizmal’s cries?

  ‘Stupid little runt,’ a Man-Hawk shouted.

  Was that a claw slicing flesh?

  ‘You have to wait, Questions,’ Peezant said.

  Were they beating her boy?

  What would her father do? Would he wait? Did he tell her that protecting people sometimes meant waiting?

  Tears filled her eyes. Was that another slash?

  The Man-Hawk flew out of the room and back to the courtyard.

  Peezant flew to the room and waved Questions over.

  She ran to him and her heart swelled. She kneeled and held Quizmal. The emptiness disappeared and for a moment she forgot about the danger that hung over them. ‘Do I love you?’

  ‘Ma!’ Quizmal squeezed her.

  She held his face and stared at his scratched cheeks. She kissed the marks.

  ‘Who are you?’ A Man-Hawk stood in the doorway, sword drawn.

  ‘Am I his ma?’ Questions stood and clenched her dagger.

  ‘I don’t know. Are you?’ the Man-Hawk asked.

  Peezant perched on her shoulder.

  ‘Am I?’ she answered.

  The Man-Hawk huffed. ‘Why are you being confusing?’

  Peezant shook his feathers. ‘She can only speak in questions. A curse, or a disability, or something. Not really sure, to be honest. She could even just be doing it for effect or as part of a long joke.’

  Was that Quizmal’s blood on the Man-Hawk’s claws? Questions’ blood boiled.

  ‘Do you have any last words? Or last questions?’ The Man-Hawk asked.

  ‘Will you let us leave?’ she asked.

  ‘That’s a rubbish last question. Of course not.’ He drew his sword back.

  Questions held Quizmal and closed her eyes.

  Did something hit her feet?

  She opened her eyes and the Man-Hawk lay face down.

  Hargon and Bar Witch stood in the doorway and Questions’ body shook.

  Bar Witch wiped the bloody sword on her tunic.

  ‘Hello there,’ Hargon smiled.

  ‘Did you save us?’ Questions pressed her hands to her mouth.

  ‘Yep.’ Bar Witch nodded and sheathed the sword. She dragged the Man-Hawk’s body into the cupboard.

  ‘Let’s get you out of here,’ Hargon said.

  They snuck through the corridor and waited at the entrance to the Lookout Tower. They waited a while, then a while longer.

  Why weren’t the Man-Hawks moving?

  ‘I wonder how Alf is doing,’ Hargon said.

  ‘Alf? Is that what you’re calling the baby?’ Bar Witch asked.

  ‘Yeah, rhymes with Walty, the name of my old dead dog.’

  ‘Does it rhyme with Walty?’ Questions asked.

  Bar Witch shook her head. ‘Don’t waste your time, Questions.’

  Squawks and shrieks filled the sky.

  ‘They’ll be on us soon,’ Hargon said.

  ‘What do we do?’ Questions asked.

  A beaked shadow crept around the corner, and another.

  Hargon took a breath. ‘I’ll fix this.’ He edged out of hiding.

  ‘No, Hargon. Wait until it quietens,’ Bar Witch said.

  ‘I have to do something, otherwise we’re all done.’ He shrugged, drew his sword and walked towards the Man-Hawks.

  ‘Hargon!’ Bar Witch stepped out but Questions pulled her back.

  ‘Is he doing this for us?’ Questions asked.

  Bar Witch hung her head.

  Questions squeezed Quizmal’s hand.

  ‘Hey! Red head. What are you doing?’ a Man-Hawk called out.

  ‘Hi. I was walking through the forest and thought I’d come and see this place. It’s just like in the stories.’

  The shadows vanished from around Questions.

  Man-Hawks surrounded Hargon.

  ‘Visitors aren’t welcome anymore.’ A Man-Hawk drew her sword.

  Bar Witch gripped her blade.

  ‘Is the safest place the room we came from?’ Questions asked.

  Bar Witch nodded, her face sad.

  Hargon placed his sword on the pebbles and addressed his captor. ‘You know, I think I understand what being a good leader is now.’

  ‘Stop talking,’ the Man-Hawk said.

  ‘It’s about looking after others ahead of yourself. Thinking about the future.’ Hargon looked towards Bar Witch. ‘I hope someone looks after Alf.’

  ‘Who’s Alf?’ a Man-Hawk said.

  ‘A baby I met in a village not far from here. His name made me smile because it rhymes with my old dog’s name.’

  ‘What was your dog’s name?’

  ‘Walty.’

  The Man-Hawk scrunched his beak. ‘Those names don’t rhyme.’

  ‘Who are you? The god of rhymes? If I want it to be a rhyme, it is,’ Hargon said.

  ‘Shut up.’ The Man-Hawk pointed his sword towards the cage. ‘Get in.’

  Hargon stepped into the cage.

  Questions and Bar Witch watched from the broken wall of an upper floor. Hargon saw them and smiled at them.

  Questions shed a tear and Bar Witch bit her lip.

  Questions couldn’t believe he was sacrificing himself to help them. They had to succeed.

  Homeward

  If someone asked Karl what the weirdest thing he could imagine was, he could never have conjured the image of riding a shark with tentacles, navigated by a weird blue creature.

  The sun set, a purple blanket over the sea. Hastovia in its purest form. Water, sky and wind. No castles or man-made obstructions. Or death.

  Sabrinia showed Frong an arrow. ‘I found this in Seliria’s palace.’

  Frong took the arrow and ran his finger over the markings. ‘Rune markings.’ He held it out in front of him. ‘An energy weapon.’

  Karl looked at Sabrinia and shrugged. Here comes a story.

  Frong returned the arrow to Sabrinia. ‘When the gods didn’t want to do their own dirty work, they entrusted special weapons to a group of hunters. Gods and descendants of gods are immortal, so unless they kill each other, the only way to kill them is with these energy weapons.’

  ‘So we have a chance against Death?’ Sabrinia said.

  Frong shook his head. ‘Not so much. He’s not exactly going to charge the weapon himself, and I don’t know any descendant of the gods. Do you?’

  Sabrinia shook her head.

  Karl tapped the Shala controlling his shark. ‘Are your people linked to the gods in any way?’

  The Shala shook her head. ‘Only in that we have to keep clearing their mess.’

  ‘Sorry it’s not more useful,’ Frong said. ‘Anyway. I need to rest.’ The shark’s tentacles wrapped around Frong and he closed his eyes.

  Sabrinia put the arrow away and gazed at the sunset. ‘Stunning, isn’t it? It’s strange to think under such beauty there can be so much horror and nonsense.’

  Karl nodded. ‘It’s more magical than any god-made relic. But I’d be able to appreciate it more if I didn’t have wet trousers and underwear.’

  Sabrinia chuckled. ‘Yes. I don’t really feel like going into battle wearing just a breastplate.’ She shrugged. ‘Who knows, maybe it’ll provide a distraction that gives us the upper hand.’

  Karl smiled and dipped his fingers in the water, letting the sea flow through them. ‘Do you think what we’re going through is happening somewhere else in the world? Or do you think everywhere else is peaceful?’

  Sabrinia looked Karl in the eyes. ‘I hope it’s peaceful. But even in peace there are other battles. Personal ones.’ She broke eye contact. ‘I know even with everyone loving him, Father had problems of sadness.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Karl said.

  Sabrinia dipped her hands in the water, then ran her fingers through her hair. ‘He lived in fear of tragedy, and it stopped him being able to commit to loving.’

  Life was a series of battles, inner and outer. Karl couldn’t have
hoped for a better group of friends to go through the battles with. His mind drifted to thoughts of the coming conflict. How would they defeat Ryza? She was faster, stronger, more willing to kill. Add to that a flaming gauntlet and Death and Karl stood no chance. He recalled their brief battle. Every strike was blocked before it was even close.

  Sabrinia’s shark swam next to Karl’s.

  Sabrinia grabbed Karl’s hand. ‘I’m sorry you didn’t get more time with your mother, Karl.’

  He exhaled. ‘I wish I could’ve just asked her a few more questions. They’re always knocking around in my mind.’

  Sabrinia stroked the back of her shark. ‘You’ll always have more questions, Karl. And we never get enough time with those we love. You had less time than is fair, but in that brief moment, I saw more love than most experience in a lifetime.’

  Tears filled Karl’s eyes. He stared at Sabrinia’s gentle but tired face. She made his life worth living. He finally understood what Illuminus meant when she screamed, ‘Life is death.’ For the rest of the journey, all Karl could do was hope that Sabrinia would forgive him for what he planned to do…

  Planning Problems

  ‘Are you mad?’ Frong grabbed Karl’s arm.

  ‘Quiet.’ Karl didn’t want Sabrinia to hear. He approached the group’s clothes, drying over a fire.

  Sabrinia fired arrows at trees across the stream.

  ‘There’ll be a better way, Karl.’ Frong pulled his beard over his naked lower half.

  ‘Yeah, this is dumb,’ Oaf said.

  Marlens nodded and adjusted her potion belt to cover her naked body.

  ‘It’s the only way we have a chance.’ Karl sat on a tree stump and placed his shield over his genitals. ‘When I fought Ryza, she was too fast and too strong. Easily the strongest creature or person I’ve ever fought.’

  Oaf raised a finger. ‘You’ve only had about six fights. I’ll take her.’

  Karl wished he could accept Oaf’s offer. ‘Killing isn’t in you, Oaf. That’s where she has the advantage. Any hesitation and it’s death to us.’