by J D Dench
Kayla and Matias followed the Dwarf through one of the holes in the wall. They entered a second chamber, this one just as book as the main one they had just left. Inside was a large throne with a figure sitting in it, the individual hidden in the shadows. On the wall to the left of the throne was a map taking the entire wall to itself. It was etched in chalk and color coordinated, each label to indicate major cities burned into the stone.
Did Dwarves have scouts? What else hasn’t Olap told us?
A second wall held weapons, though Kayla saw how beautifully crafted they were and assumed they were more decorative than useful in combat. They reminded Kayla of the brilliant weapons back in BlueCrest over a year ago. A hidden room had been full of enchanted weapons that contained the souls of countless Demons and monsters of the past. That was the room Liz found Frostbite, Rizza found the Eternal Flame, and Kayla had found the Sword.
The figure stood up and into the light. It was a human man standing about six and a half feet tall. He was about twenty years old and slim with white skin. Several scars ran down his face. A tattered cloak hung from his shoulders. His dark brown eyes stared holes through Kayla’s. His lips were pressed together, and Kayla felt her heart miss a beat. A large hole was evident in the middle of his chest.
Kayla still remembered when the Sword and Hammer had torn him apart.
“Tony.” It wasn’t Kayla who said it. Matias’ voice was unrecognizable as he glared at the figure. “You’re dead.”
Tony’s eyes never left Kayla’s as a faint ghost of a smile spread to his lips. “I’m not alone,” he said simply.
Kayla’s eyes darted to movement in the corner of the room. She saw a blanket on the ground. The same blanket she had seen in Lillian and Hamerst’s room.
How did that get here?
Lillian seemed to hesitate before answering her. Her voice was quiet, which was very different for the elf.
It’s the Demon King. We created him unintentionally when we put our souls into these weapons. We never saw the shard of a shadow Demon in the room, so he was able to put himself into an object in the room. He took the blanket…
They both watched the blanket rise from the ground. It wrapped around a head wrapped in darkness, a crown sitting atop its head. The blanket was ripped and beaten, covered in dust and decay. It turned to face Matias, and though nobody could see its face, they both knew it was smiling.
“The Demon King,” Matias spat. “Or should I say the old Demon King.”
The voice was the same as Tony’s. “I’m glad you could remember me. I was worried you were too taken by my lovely daughter. You remember her, don’t you?”
The voices are all the same. The Dwarf from the escort. The five from the main chamber. Tony and the Demon King. They all share the same voice. And Olap’s companions are dead. The Demon King is dead. Tony is dead. I can’t fall for the illusion like Olap did.
“But it isn’t you.” Kayla’s voice took a tone that accused more than suggested the fact. She turned back to face Tony. “Neither of you are actually here. You’re both dead. So where’s Rezuman?”
“Ha!” Tony’s laugh caught the weapon bearers off guard. Their eyes shot to him, and he held up his hands. “So you already know my game. Then I guess I can stop playing with my meal before I eat it.”
“Game?” Matias muttered. “What game are you two playing?”
“Us two? No, there is no two.” Tony gestured to the floating Demon beside him. “You see, I am Rezuman. Or, I guess I should say, everybody is Rezuman.” Tony’s smile widened and he took a step toward them.
“How? How can you be everywhere at once?” Kayla’s voice felt even smaller as she heard her words bounce off the cavern walls.
“You wish to understand my power? I’ll tell you, since you’re both dead anyway, and I prefer my new vessels to be as informed as possible. It makes them that much more useful. You see, I don’t have a body. But I have a soul. A shattered soul. And the Demon God Azzaan taught me to place my shards in the dead to use them as my true form.”
Kayla slowly drew her Sword. She felt Matias grabbing his Hammer at her side. “So you are both Rezuman? And the Dwarves are too. Are all the Dwarves dead, then?”
“No.”
His tone was actually sad when he said that. “I had to send my army of the dead to go find the hiding survivors, but I assume that soon all Dwarves will be dead and will serve as minions for the one true God.”
Tony’s eyes wandered to Matias, the Demon King floating behind Tony and his throne. “Which means that the power you have, wielder of the Hammer, server of Hamerst and all the Dwarves in the Realm, will have no more purpose.”
Kayla reached out and put her hand gently against Matias’ chest. He pushed against her and froze, turning to look at her. She focused on the figures in front of them. “Since you’re going to kill us,” Kayla said gently, “could you tell us about the great Demon God? It’s a shame we will never meet him. The least we could know is his story.”
“Stalling your demise?” The voice of Rezuman mocked them, but Tony’s body fell into the throne. “Azzaan would want me to spread word of his glory, anyway. I will tell you where it all began. Azzaan started as a simple shadow in the Demonic lands with minimal power. He only gained power when he learned he could possess other people and force them to do his bidding. But he found much more fun in convincing other people do his bidding without force.
“When he learned the extent of his power, he sought more power. He wanted nothing more than to control everything and show how superior the Demons were to the rest of the lands. But his armies were driven back by the Elves and Dwarves, and so he wanted to get his revenge. And he did just that. He found the Dwarf Prasithane and convinced the Dwarf to do Azzaan’s evil deeds. “Prasithane was consumed by Azzaan’s shadow. You remember Prasithane, the holder of the Sword that met with the new ruler of the Elves Clidia? They met to exchange weapons and end their war. Azzaan couldn’t stand by as they established peace, so he made Prasithane kill Clidia. He took the Sword and Hammer and felt their immense power. With the two weapons, everything will fall before Azzaan!
“But Azzaan didn’t know Prasithane had been poisoned by his son. The mortal body fell apart, and the shadow couldn’t take the weapons for himself. The Sword and Hammer burned his Demon flesh. They could only be wielded by Dwarves or Elves. Azzaan retreated back to the Demon Lands and hid near the place the Elves thought he had been imprisoned.”
He was never captured? Lillian was in disbelief. How could we have been so stupid? So blind?
Tony’s eyes shifted to the Sword. It’s like he can hear Lillian’s thoughts. “Azzaan just hid there,” Tony continued. “His lieutenants were still captured, but Azzaan escaped the mask. He couldn’t free his Demon army. Only mortal hands could do that. He was forced to watch his army shrink. He had once ruled the Realm. He was forced to only watch everything he fought for shatter apart. The Demon Kingdom fell into the corner of the lands.
“And then, he watched the Demon King give up his power and the rest of his life to a mortal! A Demon giving up his power to mortality is nothing short of shameful.” Tony turned his head to look at the Demon King behind him. “And just as Azzaan and I both predicted, the mortal couldn’t handle his power. He failed and died. He allowed his emotions to control him. He allowed the Demon army to fall to the ground with no ruler to lead them. A humiliation for Azzaan.” Rezuman paused and took a deep breath. “A humiliation for Demons everywhere.”
Tony shook his head and looked at the ground between him and Matias and Kayla. “But then those leaders from Malkina showed up and gave Azzaan a form to consume. They awoke his army. And now, he will take the Sword and Hammer and he will rule the lands. I will kill you in Azzaan’s name, and Lillian and Hamerst will serve the man they once feared. Forever.”
The others don’t see it. They don’t understand. How can they not understand? It’s so obvious! All of these Dwarves…they have the same voice. The same
cold, unfeeling tone. It’s Rezuman. It’s the Demon Rezuman in each of them. The pale skin? It’s because they’re dead.
And the Sword and Hammer were led away from us. Separating us. Cornering us. And now, around us, one by one Dwarves are walking into the room. They don’t see it. But I counted and I can see and feel the rising numbers of Dwarves in this room. There had been twenty four. Then twenty six. Then twenty eight. Then thirty two. And now there are over fifty Dwarves hiding in the shadows around the room. And they just keep coming and coming.
“Leif.” The voice was Liz’s. “Are you okay?” She had been watching Leif stand absolutely still. His breath was even, his body stiff as a board as his eyes darted around the room left and right.
Now she cares about me? “I’m fine,” he answered back, unable to disguise the venom in his words. They were slowly being surrounded.
“What is it?” she pressed.
He took a deep breath. “Do you feel it?” he asked her.
She nodded her head. “The feeling before an ambush? Yeah, I feel it. I already warned Olap and Hanika. Everybody should know by now.”
Leif nodded but said no more. He kept his eyes locked on his targets, watching for the first indication of an attack. Silvia had her back to him. He looked her up and down, feeling her composure overly relaxed and unprepared for an attack.
The perfect target. They’ll attack her first.
Rule number one: If you know the target, it’s easier to spot the assailant. Rule number two: Be aware of the distraction. Rule number three: Always hold your weapon and be on your toes.
The distraction entered the room in the form of a human body. A man. He had short blonde hair and a short blond beard on his chiseled chin. He was as wounded as the other Dwarves with a large stab wound in the center of his chest. One of his eyes was white, indicating he was blind on that side. The other eye was dark and mysterious. He had a permanent scowl on his face as he gazed around the room.
And then his eyes fell on Liz and a smile lit up his face. “Liz,” he said, though with the same voice as the others. “Liz! My God. I missed you so much.”
Liz heard her name and searched for the source until her eyes settled on the man. A sharp inhale of breath and Leif could see her body shaking slightly.
She’s…crying. She only shakes like that when she cries.
“Rizza.” The word sounded more like a gasp of breath as a sob escaped her lungs. “Is it…are you real? Are you really here?”
He spread his arms and smiled at her. “Of course I’m here. Nowhere else I’d rather be.”
She doesn’t see the wounds. She doesn’t hear the voice. She doesn’t see the obvious right in front of her.
Leif put out an arm to stop her from stepping toward Rizza. She spat out strings upon strings of curses at him.
“Liz, look at him!” It was Olap who yelled at her. “Really look at him! There’s no way he could be alive. Look at that cut in his chest, Liz! Stop yelling at him and look at what Rizza is.”
“And the voice, Liz,” Hanika added. “Listen to the voice. Ignore the words. Listen to the voice.”
Liz kept fighting against Leif, but he could feel her body growing weak as reality set in. She slumped against her brother as defeat took over.
She stopped pulling and looked at Rizza again. Leif could feel her hand going limp in his own. He let her go as he knew the truth was dawning over her.
“You’re dead,” she breathed. She was still crying, but these were tears of sorrow.
Rizza shook his head. “No, Liz, I’m right here! Please, come to me!”
Liz looked away from him and buried her face into Leif’s chest. “I couldn’t get out of bed when you died, Rizza.” She said the words to Rizza, but the words were for everybody to hear. It was her confession. “I wanted to die. Even tried once. I couldn’t rule my Kingdom. I couldn’t do anything. Lotesta had to run the Elven people while I was left staring at your sword, deciding if I wanted to live or die.”
Rizza stepped toward her. “Liz,” he said, reaching out for her. “My love.”
Leif stepped in his path. “Get back,” Leif snarled.
“Move.” Rizza commanded, his voice not his own, his face not appearing the same. “Move or I move you.”
“You don’t scare me,” Leif said simply, raising his dagger. “You will not harm Liz. You will not harm anybody in this room, Rezuman. How could you disrespect the dead? How dare you?!”
They think I believe Rizza is Rezuman. But I see it. I know the truth. Rezuman is all of these bodies. He is inside of all of them somehow. And they are all dead. So he raises the dead.
Rizza let out a sharp laugh followed by a deep inhale of breath. He clapped his hands and shattered the hush that had fallen over the room. “So you figured it out. That I am everybody, and everybody is Rezuman. Very good, young elf. It’s a shame you’ll die with the others, but don’t worry. I’ll save your body for use.”
Rule two: Be aware of the distraction. Leif was facing the distraction. Rule three: Always be ready to attack. He was ready. He was always ready.
Rule one: Know the target. Leif hadn’t forgotten Liz wasn’t the main target. Leif wasn’t the main target. Silvia was, because Rezuman saw her as the weakest of them all. Take one out and you lower the team’s morale. A team’s morale was the difference between victory and defeat.
Twang. He heard it. The crossbow being shot. Leif spun and threw his dagger behind him, just to the left of Liz’s head and just above Olap’s.
The dagger hit the bolt in midair and shattered it. Two inches away from Silvia. Silvia didn’t move an inch. She had no idea what had just happened. All she had heard was the sound of the crossbow as the bolt closed in on her.
“Draw your weapons!” Leif shouted, running to Liz. “I need a weapon,” he spat, turning to face Rizza. “I need something.”
Liz gave him a sword. He drew it and felt the warmth of the handle. Saw the red of the blade. Felt the flaming dragon held within. He saw Rizza’s eyes go wide. The Eternal Flame.
“That’s my weapon!” Rizza shouted, ripping his own sword from its hilt and running at Leif.
Leif could feel the raging flame of the dragon rushing through his veins, his eyes extra focused and body filled with a heat that was a mix of anger and adrenaline. Leif blocked the lazy attack. He wasn’t fighting against the famous warrior of the Elven Kingdom Rizza, he was facing against a reanimated corpse of a Demon that had little to no combat experience. Leif, on the other hand, had years upon years of experience. He pushed back with enough force to knock Rizza off his feet. Then he twirled the blade and gave it a couple practice swings before pointing it at Rizza as he was sprawled on the ground.
“Not anymore,” he spat. “This blade belonged to Rizza, and now it serves the Elven Kingdom as Rizza once did. And it will be the blade that ruins your day.”
Chapter Fifteen
Leif charged at Matias with the Eternal Flame full force, hoping to end the battle quickly. He expected Matias’ weapon to melt from the power within his own sword. Instead, the blade stood solid as before, the black blade swinging at Leif with unpredictable strikes that kept Leif on edge. Matias fought like an individual who had seen combat, but never been in a real battle before. The dark blade danced through the shadows and met Leif’s glowing red blade time and time again, each time sending a spark into the air.
Olap had been assaulted by Crowley and Reginald, while Lemeldo and Switzel turned their attention to Liz. Elphred charged at Ti’a and her nun-chucks. Silvia turned toward the closing ranks of Dwarves emerging from the edges of the cavern. Her hand closed around the hilt of her blade as the adrenaline rushed into her veins.
Ti’a was one of the upper hands of the fight, since her weapon was made for speed and was able to quickly push back against the numbers swarming around them. She made quick work knocking down Elphred and turned her attention to the Dwarves closing around her. With precision she was able to shatter bones and leave t
he possessed bodies on the ground. They would always get back up, but with broken bones, fighting would become a much harder task and slow them down. And while the Dwarves were slowing down, Ti’a was only growing faster as she spun the nun-chucks in miraculous patterns that came only with years upon years of practice.
Liz countered Lemeldo’s attack aimed at her ribs and tripped him into Switzel. Her attacks were aggressive and cut deep into the Dwarves. They didn’t die, but the weapon wasn’t meant to kill as much as freeze. If it bit into the enemy, it could make them freeze to death. The two Dwarves fell in a heap and froze from the inside out, unable to move.
Leif could take Matias. He knew it as well as everyone else, even Rezuman. But the problem was the Dwarves closing in around them. Leif had to jump back from an attack from Rizza because he saw Reginald had an opening to injure Olap. Before his weapon, an axe, could bite into the back of Olap’s head, Leif spun around and knocked the Dwarves around him to the ground. With both feet firmly on the ground he slashed through Reginald with a backhand attack that was strong enough for the dragon imprisoned within the blade to melt the Dwarf to the bone.
When Olap turned to confront Reginald again, all he found was a pile of ash.
Leif only had a moment to glance at Olap. He could see the pain in the Dwarf’s eyes before he turned to fight two other Dwarves and Crowley. “Remember they aren’t real,” Leif said quickly to his comrade. “Remember they are just vessels. Your friends have been dead for over a year.” Then Leif turned back and fought with Matias. And that’s how he found his strategy for battle.
Everybody had expected an incredible battle with Hanika and Ti’a working together. Hanika’s dagger flashed through the cave and blocked attacks while Ti’a focused on knocking back the opponents that stepped up to meet her. A short distance from them were Liz and Olap, who cut through the Dwarves like they were made of clay. And while Silvia didn’t take down as many enemies as her comrades, she played an important support role where she would point out when a new enemy was sneaking into the battle or jump in to stop a fatal blow that was going for one of her allies. The five of them working together were unstoppable.
