The Tower of Endless Worlds

by Jonathan Moeller

Bit by bit, Simon’s eyes swam back into focus.

  Someone tugged at his hand. “What?”

  “You have to get up!” said Ally.

  Something hot and wet dripped into Simon’s eyes. He wiped it aside and gazed at blood on his fingers. “The van…”

  The front section of the van had been smashed against the warehouse wall. Both front seats were crushed. The back section of the van had survived mostly intact, which explained how Simon had survived the crash.

  “The crash,” said Simon. His eyes widened. “Katrina? Where’s Lithon and Conmager?”

  “Conmager fell out the window,” said Ally. “I took Lithon out of the van after we crashed.”

  A woman’s scream cut the night air.

  Simon’s heart skipped several beats. “Katrina! My God, Katrina!” He pushed his way out the wrecked van, staggering with pain and dizziness.

  A winged demon stood twenty feet from the van, holding Katrina by the hair. She had numerous cuts on her face and arms. She kicked and punched, but her blows bounced off the creature’s armor.

  “Vigorous,” said the winged demon, its voice a deep bass rumble. “I have watched you long, pretty one. I shall father a son on you. You shall give birth to one of the kin.”

  Katrina snarled and swung her fist. The winged demon caught the blow and broke her arm in one smooth motion. Katrina screamed and the winged demon pushed her against the wall, wrapping its massive wings around her.

  Simon roared, fury overriding his fear. He seized a brick from the damaged warehouse wall, sprinted toward the winged demon, and flung the brick with all his strength. It struck the winged demon on the temple. The monster snarled and dropped Katrina, who crumpled to the sidewalk in a limp heap.

  The winged demon spun to face Simon, and his rage melted away in the creature’s burning gaze. The winged demon stalked forward, drawing a curved black sword from its belt. Its edge glittered, and Simon stared at it, transfixed.

  His mind screamed for him to run, to pick up Katrina, to do something, but he could not look away as the scimitar rose for a killing blow…

  A man’s voice yelled in challenge and white light flared. The winged demon roared in pain as Conmager charged it, white fire burning up the length of his staff. The blazing end of the staff slammed into the winged demon’s face. The creature howled in agony and took to the air, its wings beating.

  “The other one,” said Simon. “There were two. Where’s the other…”

  Conmager gasped and almost fell. Simon caught his arm. “I can’t…Master, I can’t…so tired…so very tired…”

  Conmager’s jacket and shirt had been torn to shreds. A deep gash marked his jaw, a sheet of blood dripping down his neck. His arm trembled like gelatin in Simon’s grip.

  Conmager straightened and leaned on his staff. “The other one is dead.” He pointed at a heap of black ashes and obsidian bones in the center of the street.

  “Katrina’s hurt. Bad,” said Simon, starting toward her. Ally hurried to his side, a wailing Lithon in her arms.

  Conmager clutched his side. “As am…As am I…” His eyes widened. “Pick her up. Now! Run, run!”

  Simon followed Conmager’s gaze, and saw a whirling column of shadows crawling up the street. The pavement beneath it crumbled into white powder. Just looking at the writhing shadows filled Simon with an icy chill.

  “Run!” said Conmager.

  Simon hurried to Katrina’s side and helped her up. She looked half-delirious with pain. He hooked his arm around her waist and staggered after Conmager and Ally. The chill radiating from the writhing column of shadows grew sharper.

  He turned just as the whirlwind of shadows struck the wrecked van. The red paint peeled off in a shower of flakes. The metal twisted, rusted, and collapsed in a spray of orange powder. The plastic shriveled into ash. The bricks of the warehouse wall dissolved into dust.

  He caught up with Conmager. “What was that?” Katrina moaned, her forehead brushing against his shoulder.

  “A spell of entropy,” said Conmager. He left a trail of blood droplets on the pavement. “We are almost there.” He pointed at a warehouse of red brick. “If we can just make it inside.” He looked at Ally. “You must carry the King.”

  Ally shrugged. “I’ve carried him before.”

  Simon risked another glance over his shoulder. The van and the warehouse wall had been reduced to black ash. Behind the wreckage he saw a huge man in a leather jacket and a smaller one in black robes.

  For a moment he glimpsed bottomless black eyes beneath the robed man’s hood.

  Dread such as Simon had never known tore at him. Neither the winged demons nor the shadow-things in the Tower had ever filled him with such terror.

  He did not want to know what manner of nightmare wore that robe.

  “Conmager,” he croaked. “Conmager!”

  Conmager half-turned. “What?” His face twisted in a mixture of agony and terror. “It is Marugon. Run! Run! It is our last chance.”

  Simon slung Katrina over his shoulder, his muscles screaming with effort, and followed Conmager and Ally in a staggering run for the red brick warehouse.

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