by Ramy Vance
Cire drew in a deep breath, his face looking stern yet approachable. “The orcs were the first race to be conquered by the Dark One. We’ve had the most physical and mental casualties. The Dark One used us as a foundation for his army, destroying my world and culture. The few of us who remain have sworn to fight him as long as possible.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t—”
“The reason that you do not see more orcs is that the majority of us are dead, hollow husks used by a psychopath. There are most likely fewer than a thousand free orcs. I understand your misgivings, even if I think they are deeply rooted in racism. But the truth of the matter is that you have not seen many orcs because there are so few of us with the most rudimentary control of our bodies and minds.”
The two hosts seemed extremely caught off guard by that answer. “Okay, well, let’s take this another route. We’re both curious about the details of who is running everything. If Earth really is in danger, why is it that Myrddin, a private CEO of a video game company, is running the show? Shouldn’t the governments of Earth be responsible for making the kind of calls that he is? What do you have to say about that, Terra?”
Terra choked on her answer. She had no idea why Myrddin was in charge of anything. “Uh, I’d like to defer that question to Roy. He’s one of our heads of operations. He’d be more suited to answer this.”
Roy crossed his legs as he said. “Myrddin isn’t only the CEO of a video game company. He has been working tirelessly with various governments to get this threat noticed and addressed. It would be more appropriate to ask why more global leaders haven’t listened to Myrddin by now. They’ve been given the information yet few have taken action. The war efforts would be greatly strengthened if the global community was giving this the proper attention it deserves.”
Larry checked the notes in front of him. “You say it’s a threat that should be taken seriously globally. Talking about elves and other fantasy races and the dangers that they are experiencing. So far, all that we’ve seen has been human casualties and a rogue agency making claims that none of us can substantiate. How are we to know what’s true or not?”
Terra scoffed loudly. “There’s an orc sitting in your studio. Are you going to tell me that this is fake?”
“No, not that it is fake. Merely that we aren’t being given the whole truth.”
Terra decided not to mince words. “Okay, so I’ll be real with you. I don’t know all the ins and outs of what is going on. But I do know that I was taken from Earth. And there was one group of people who found me and worked their asses off to get me back—the Dark Gate Angels. A human, elf, and a host of other people and races came together to save me and everyone else. You all saw the battles. There was no way I could have kept surviving there.”
“Yes but that doesn’t necessarily mean—”
“I was given a fighting chance. And that’s all that we’re here to ask for. Until people start taking this seriously, we’re all just pissing in the dark, looking for a toilet. So, couch the condescending prick attitude when you’re asking these questions.”
“And Myrddin, this savior is the same who allowed for the lives of innocent audience members to be put in danger?”
Roy took this one. “We didn’t allow anyone to be put in danger. We are fighting a war with a conniving, vicious pyscho with resources that we can’t even understand. What happened was unfortunate, but we’re trying for transparency.”
One of the cameramen began laughing maniacally, a laugh that Terra recognized.
The cameraman leaned his head out from behind the camera and Rasputina grinned menacingly. “Please tell me you have room for one more.”
Before anyone could answer, the lich disappeared in a fog of green light, appearing right beside Larry and John. “If we’re going to discuss the state of the war and all of the realms, we should at least have a balanced conversation, am I right? And here you go, not letting each side of the argument be voiced. Well, come on, let’s get this going? We have so much to discuss.”
Chapter Nineteen
Neither Terra nor Roy moved. They had both been expecting Rasputina to make another appearance. It would have been too easy an opportunity for her to skip up. But Terra was still uncertain as to why Rasputina was making a game out of this. The lich seemed to be doing this for shits and giggles.
Like now, for instance, Rasputina hadn’t bothered restricting either Terra’s or Roy’s movements as she had before. Instead, she was sitting in between the two hosts, acting chummy as if she were a guest host or something. This was all a game for her, but Terra didn’t quite understand why or what it was that Rasputina was playing.
Roy looked equally confused but more cautious as he watched the lich, no doubt trying to figure out his next course of action. The armed soldiers in the audience continued sitting, watching the show. Naota was still chomping on popcorn.
As Terra studied the soldiers, she realized one of the reasons everyone seemed so calm was that, even if this wasn’t the plan, this is what had been expected.
Rasputina seemed to have noticed as well. She eyed the soldiers with a greedy smile before turning her attention back to the two hosts. “So, how do you want to do this? I don’t want to overshadow your journalistic integrity. Should I be over here or over there.”
Larry, who was keeping his cool much better than John, said, “Well, I have a few questions for you. We’ve been waiting to have a chance to talk with one of the Dark One’s lieutenants.”
Rasputina clapped her hands manically and leaned back in her chair. “Oh, this is my first interview. Hit me with them!”
“What exactly does the Dark One want from us? Why is he bringing humans into this mess that he has with elves and gnomes? Humans did nothing to him, so why make us a part of a problem that we aren’t?”
Rasputina flipped over the desk and landed on Terra’s lap. Terra did everything she could not to recoil from the lich and behave as though this was normal. It seemed Rasputina was less murderous when she was being indulged. “Do you know how war works, Larry?”
Larry and John exchanged glances. “Of course, we’re news analysts.”
“Then you know some people have things they want. That’s all it ever is. Someone in charge wants something bad enough and goes about getting it whatever way they want, no matter how terrible it is for anyone else. The Dark One has a desire. It doesn’t have to do with you being human or not.”
“And what is that desire?”
“To remake every living being in his image. Sounds kinda interesting, right? Unlike so many gods before him, the Dark One didn’t make anyone in his image. No one did, really. But he wants to fix that. He thinks you could all be…better.”
Terra had heard some of this before but, though she was terrified and uncomfortable, she was still interested.
Rasputina flirtatiously ran her finger over Terra’s cheek. “Do you have any questions? It seems like such a waste to only have these two asking.”
“What are you doing here?” Terra growled. “Is this all a joke to you?”
Rasputina shook her head as she picked at the hole in her face. “A joke? Not at all. I deeply value the human lives I endanger. Not unlike your boss Myrddin. Did you see what he allowed to happen last time? Obviously, he must have seen how badly it polled. Couldn’t waste any time getting you back on the tiny screen.”
“This isn’t about tv ratings.”
“Oh, it isn’t? You’re an image, Terra. One to be wielded as inefficiently as the old man can. Did you know that I knew the guy way back when? I know the kind of person he was.”
Roy sneered. “You tortured him. I’d hardly say that counts as knowing anyone.”
Rasputina pulled out a knife and held it to Terra’s face. “You’ve obviously never tortured anyone before.” She pressed the blade against the side of Terra’s eye. “There’s a lot you can find out in these little moments. What they love. What’s important to them. What they’re willing to sacrifice to ma
ke the pain go away.”
Roy moved to stand, and Rasputina clicked her tongue at him. “Don’t bother. You know I could suck the life out of this entire room. We’re having such a civil conversation. Why would you want to bring an air of violence into all of this? Just because we’re on two different sides of the coin doesn’t mean we can’t try to see eye to eye.”
John had finally snapped out of his frightened stupor. “What did you mean about Myrddin’s ineffectiveness?”
“The Campbell show was a great example of the faults in his leadership. Even if he didn’t know we were planning an attack, he could have at least prepared. He knows that I’m back and still dead as ever. Yet he didn’t bother warning the studio. Or the audience. Allowing so many souls to be put in danger.”
Roy interrupted Rasputina. “That’s bullshit. We had enough soldiers with us to make sure that no civilians were hurt.”
Rasputina waved her knife at Roy. “That’s the script. You really think I didn’t manage to steal one of those precious little souls. But even then, that’s beside the point. Waiting for me to appear shows Myrddin’s weakest point. He’s a watcher. A reactionary. People start making moves, and he starts making his plans. It’s going to be what gets all of you humans killed.”
Terra was only half-listening to the conversation. She’d been struck by something Rasputina had said. It was a sentiment that she’d felt in the arena more than once.
Larry and John looked to be back on their game. They exchanged notes quickly. “Uh, what is your name?” Larry asked.
The lich beamed as brightly as a movie star on the red carpet. “Did I not tell you? Rasputina, my dear.”
“Can we ask why you’ve decided to help the Dark One? Do you believe in his vision of remaking humans in his image? And if so, why?”
Rasputina laughed wildly. “Believe in his vision? No, no, I don’t give a shit about that. That’s the Dark One’s business. Not for me. All that making-order-out-of-chaos stuff isn’t really me, it’s not Rasputina. Never has been.”
“Wait, I’m afraid I don’t understand. If you don’t support the Dark One, why are you working with him? You are working with him, aren’t you?”
“First off, why would you even call this work? I’m doing what I love! Secondly, maybe a better term would be working tangentially.”
John shook his head, confused. “Wait, I’m sorry, but could you explain this to me?”
“Do you know what a lich is?”
John and Larry exchanged wary looks. “No, I’m afraid I don’t,” Larry replied.
“Years ago, I searched out the knowledge of immortality. I sacrificed everything I had to become this… Do you know why people choose this unholy half-life, this hell between humanity and monstrosity? For understanding. They think knowledge will help them understand the universe that they live in.”
Rasputina stretched out on Terra, cradling the human’s head in her arms like a lover’s. “But the longer the other liches lived, the more exhausted they became from their search. They faded away and died their last death. But I didn’t fade away. Because I found the answer. There is no understanding because there is nothing to understand. There’s no meaning to any of this. None. If the Dark One wipes away humanity, in the grand scheme of all reality, it doesn’t matter. He’ll die one day, and the universe will keep on going. One day it’ll be like he never existed.”
Rasputina got up and crawled onto Larry and John’s desk. She grabbed John’s face. “The elves will all die off. It doesn’t matter how. So will the orcs. All of existence will fade and be reborn as something unrecognizable. These small instances only matter to us.”
John struggled against the lich’s grasp. The skin around his face was glowing green, and his eyes were sinking into his skin. He began to scream.
Rasputina didn’t release him. Terra jumped to her feet and tried to pull the lich away from John. She stared into his eyes. “We have to make them count, John, these small, precious moments. But you can’t appreciate what you take for granted. If Larry lives through this, he’s going to appreciate it after watching you die.”
Rasputina leaned forward, her jaw stretching and clamped her fangs down on the side of John’s face. She threw her head back, bright green energy flashing from her body, tossing Terra away as a shrill laugh came from her crouched body like a demon from old.
A Dark Gate opened behind Rasputina as she continued to eat and cackle.
Chapter Twenty
Rasputina kicked the corpse of the news anchor out of the chair. She sat in the empty seat, casually grabbed the anchor’s body, and tore off one of his arms. She peeled back the coat and shirt sleeves and gnawed the skin off the forearm.
Larry, who was covered in John’s blood, stared in horror at Rasputina aghast, incapable of processing what had just happened.
Both Terra and Roy were also watching Rasputina in horror as she happily devoured John’s arm.
Terra wanted to get up, to pound Rasputina’s face to mush, but every time she tried to move, her body refused. Rasputina wanted everyone in the crowd watching her.
The lich, face smeared with blood, pointed the bloody stump at Terra. “So, what do you think we should do now? You’re the big star, right? What do you think the American people want to see?”
Terra could hardly meet Rasputina’s eyes. She wanted to kill the lich with every fiber of her being. “You’re kidding me? How about you let me get up, and I’ll show you some ideas I have.”
Rasputina laughed, which sounded like broken glass jangling against steel, the sound of emptiness and evil. “Is that how you think that would end? Are you just that tough and strong?”
Terra didn’t care what Rasputina was saying. It didn’t matter how powerful the lich thought she was. Terra would kill her and make her pay for all the harm she had done this day.
Larry was crying softly, his hands in his head as the lich took another bite of John’s arm. “Why are you doing this?” he whimpered.
Rasputina hit Larry with John’s blood stump. “Didn’t you listen to anything I said before? There’s a lesson in all of this. Look at Terra. All you humans lined up at your televisions every day like you were watching divine moments with god. Why? Why? Why! Because she’s strong. You see her strength and forget that you all are actually tiny, weak, insignificant creatures. A strong wind could kill most humans. But you forget that. And when you forget how weak you are, you start to think you might be powerful. Or that you matter. I’m just here to remind you all. Wouldn’t want you lying to yourself.”
The lich tossed the piece of John at Terra, who flinched, trying to move. “But you look at Terra now, and she doesn’t seem that strong to me. Couldn’t even save your friend. Everyone in the room just sat here and watched. Not that you didn’t want to. There was just nothing for you to do.”
Roy struggled, trying to get to his feet. “We aren’t weak! You’re just a psychotic bitch who thinks she knows how the world works.”
Rasputina jumped to her feet, motioning for the cameraman to follow her. The cameraman zoomed in as Rasputina kicked Roy out of his seat and stomped on his face. She grabbed the camera, focused it on her face, and laughed. “Hello, folks out there in TV-land. Did you see what happened to the big, strong man? And these are the people who are supposed to save you?”
The lich took Roy’s seat, smacking her lips and licking the blood from them, her eyes a bright, lively green against her pale, dead skin. “Come on, tell me what you think everyone wants to see. Obviously you! They didn’t tune in for me. But what do you want to give them?”
Rasputina ran her knife along Terra’s stomach. “Do you want to show them your guts? Maybe that way they’ll really believe in you.”
“Terra’s a hero. Nothing you say is going to make us stop believing that, you freak,” Naota shouted.
Rasputina stared out into the crowd. “Freak? You say freak? Come on, you. Come on.” She walked over to the crowd and grabbed Naota, dragging him onto the
stage. She tossed him next to Roy. “You all think you’re so…good, don’t you? That’s where you think you have meaning. You see someone like me and think, oh, look at that monster. How could she have done that to herself? But you’re all just waiting. You only need a little incentive. Get up. Come on, get up.”
Naota, now released from the lich’s control, stood. He looked around for a moment, trying to figure out if this was a trick.
Terra believed wholeheartedly it was. The lich could have freed her instead. It might have been a fairer fight, but the lich had picked someone she knew could easily be dominated, just like she had done with John. “Don’t play with her, Naota. This isn’t a fight—”
Naota didn’t listen. He ran at the lich, fists raised. He threw two jabs to her face. Both of them connecting. The lich didn’t even register she’d been hit. “You’re all violent people, cutting down waves of orcs. And I’m the monster? How many people have you killed, my dear boy?”
Naota hit the lich again. “We’re nothing alike. This is a war. We’re—”
“And what is a war? People killing people. You’re all little pawns for big things happening in the universe. But you don’t think of the lives you take. You tell yourself that they’re under mind control like they don’t still have families or friends. You make them… Actually, let me show you.”
Rasputina struck Naota across the face, bringing him to his knees. She grabbed his head between her hands and looked him in the eye. “You ever feel someone’s soul leaving their body?”
Naota tried to look away and Rasputina redirected his head, shouting, “Look at me! Have you?”
Naota shook his head.
“Then I’ll show you.”
Rasputina’s eyes glowed bright green, and the light shot into Naota’s eyes. The young man tried to flinch, but Rasputina straightened his head. He screamed, and tears rolled down his cheeks.
