Reckoning

by David Adams

  “Exactly. The wind has stopped.”

  “The eye of the storm,” Xanar added.

  Now that the quiet had their attention, their own footfalls sounded all the louder, even as they tried their best to muffle them. The silence was almost eerie, and with each step they waited for something to happen, for some creature to fly toward them with blood on its mind, or perhaps a diabolical trap to be sprung.

  Somewhere a horn was winded, a great blast that echoed all around them so that it seemed to be coming from every direction at once. When the sound finally died away, Xanar clutched at his chest and said, “I thought my heart was going to leap straight out of my body.”

  “I think mine stopped for a few beats,” Darius concurred.

  “Sure wish we knew what that horn meant,” Adrianna said.

  Silas nodded and said, “We’ll find out soon enough, I would guess.”

  They had covered nearly half the distance from the hall to the tall tower, but the road continued to bend, so they could see neither the base of the tower nor what might be waiting in the road just ahead. They continued to make slow, steady progress, taking what little shelter they could in doorways and under overhangs. The silence mounted once more.

  The road took a sharper angle, and as they came around the latest bend they could see a small demon walking toward them. It was alone and in the middle of the road, clearly taking no pains to hide itself. When it saw them it pulled up, looking startled, and raised its hands in signal of surrender.

  “This ought to be interesting,” Adrianna muttered.

  The demon moved toward them in an uneasy shuffle, lifting its hands ever higher when it saw Xanar’s bow trained upon it. “Don’t shoot,” it squeaked.

  Uesra barely paid the little demon any attention. Rather, she scanned the rooftops and windows, suspecting the demon was bait for a trap or had at least been sent as a distraction to draw their attention from their enemy’s next move.

  The demon halted ten yards before them and bowed low, a gesture of humility. “My master, Kaelesh, bids me greet you and to act as your escort.”

  “Escort to where?” Silas asked.

  “Why, to him, of course. You have come here to face him, have you not?”

  “We have.”

  “Then in this your desires and his are the same. He has deemed you worthy of his personal attention.”

  “A dubious compliment at best,” Adrianna said.

  “He does you more honor than you know,” the demon said, “although I’m sure it is honor you do not want.”

  “Say rather ‘respect,’ ” said Silas. “Earned through our passage through many trials, many of which were of his making, most likely.”

  The demon bowed. “As you wish. Will you come with me now? My master is not known for his patience.”

  “Tell us first what that horn signified.”

  “That you were to be given safe passage to the tower. Surely you know Kaelesh could send a thousand times your number to stop you at any time. You are greatly skilled, no doubt, but have not some of your number already fallen? You are still mortal.”

  “What guarantee do we have that this is not a trap?” Darius asked.

  “None but my word, which you will not value. In a way, it is a trap. How much more could your doom be sealed than to be made to stand before my master? But I understand your meaning, and I place myself in your power. If I have lied, my life is forfeit. It may mean little to you, but it matters a great deal to me.”

  For the first time Uesra gave the demon her full attention. She stepped toward it and placed her thin but strong hand on its shoulder. “I will hold you to that. And I will be neither swift nor merciful with my scimitar.” She waved Ashtalon before the demon’s face.

  “I do not doubt it,” the demon replied, and even as it was threatened it seemed to draw itself up and find some internal well of courage that allowed it to speak more boldly. “We are not as different as you would all like to think.”

  “If your master sent you to trade insults with us,” said Silas, “let’s find a more comfortable spot to do so.”

  The demon scowled, but realized the human was right, and that further delay would only be harmful to its own hide. “Come with me.” With Uesra’s clasped hand remaining steady on its shoulder, it led them toward the tower.

  No one spoke as they slipped through the silent city, the demon’s raspy breathing loud and alien on the deserted streets. The road finally straightened somewhat, and they could see other demons lining the street ahead, armed and far more dangerous-looking than the one that led them. Uesra’s grip tightened, making the small demon squeak in pain.

  “Look, they stand at attention,” it whined. “They will let you pass.”

  And so they did, but it was not easy for the companions to walk willingly through such a gauntlet. They had faced greater numbers before, but these had a look about them that spoke of great power, and their mastery of themselves added a sharp edge to their presence beyond that provided by their cruel blades. The demons did not move as the party passed, did not emit a grunt or a growl or a laugh. Only their eyes revealed their hunger, eyes that tracked each step the party took with growing anticipation.

  The tower now rose up before them in its full might and majesty. Up close it seemed an organic thing, not of stone but of some otherworldly flesh sprung from the bowels of the earth. As the companions eyed it a subtle sense of vertigo washed over them, and as they fought it off the tower almost appeared to grow and shrink, as if breathing. With the fiery sky above and the demons below, the tower added to the illusion that they had left Corterra far behind and were now in Kaelesh’s realm.

  The door to the tower, thankfully, looked to be of wood, and was slightly ajar. The little demon hopped up the three steps to the tower’s base, opened the door fully, then stepped back. “Kaelesh awaits,” it said, making an inviting gesture with a sweep of its hand.

  Uesra did not release it. “You’ll come with us.”

  The demon tried to shrink away, but Uesra held it fast. It felt the unyielding end of Silas’s staff on the small of its back. “That was not my master’s command,” it complained.

  “For the moment, you are in our power, not his,” Uesra said. “If we are walking into a prison, you will go with us.”

  The demon let out an exaggerated sigh. “Very well. I will be most happy to see how my master deals with you.” He flashed a wicked, leering look at Uesra, which the Ice Elf chose to ignore.

  The inside of the tower was no darker than the outside world with its darkened sky, the light from several lamps a more pleasant yellow than the red they were still not fully accustomed to. The room they had entered was no more than thirty feet deep, with a low ceiling and a curving inner wall giving the place on odd, oblong shape. On the far side was a door that they assumed would lead to larger room or hall, as well as to stairs to the upper levels. In a shadowy area near the door stood a figure, dark and only vaguely man-shaped. Even as it stood still it appeared to be in constant motion, as if it struggled to hold its own body together. “Close the door, Grosk,” the figure said, “and leave us. I wish to speak freely with my guests.” The figure’s voice sounded hollow and distant.

  Uesra could feel the little demon trying to pull away to follow its master’s orders, and she grudgingly let it go. It scampered to the door and pulled it swiftly shut as it left. It did not spare a final word to or even a final look at the companions.

  As soon as the door clicked shut, Silas cleared his throat and said, “Why do I sense that we still do not stand face-to-face with you, Kaelesh?”

  “Because you do not. I am in the next room. You wouldn’t begrudge me one last chance to see my would-be slayers in action, would you?”

  “That sounds like a fancy way of saying you’re afraid.”

  The figure before them had no face to speak of, so there was no way to see its reaction to Silas’ words. The voice that emanated from it replied in a calm fashion, “So you m
ay say, if it makes you feel more up to the challenge before you. But why would I have you escorted here, if I feared you? Those demons outside that lined your path could have been just as easily positioned across it.”

  “Other things were set against us, including your brothers. Yet here we are.”

  “Yes. Here you are, and apparently believing yourself worthy of combat with me. I await you in the next chamber. If you wish to face me, come and do so.”

  For an instant the figure rose up, and then it started to sink as if melting into the stone floor. But it was there that they could see the shape had not been one amorphous thing, but many smaller things grouped together. In the room’s half-light they had been hard to see, but now as they moved into less-shadowed places the black creatures that had served as Kaelesh’s stand-in were easier to distinguish. They looked to have been the cross-bred result of mixing scorpions and large, hairy spiders, and they came on like an in-rushing wave, their claws clacking as they scuttled across the floor.

  “Not good,” Darius concluded, Gabriel suddenly feeling large and unwieldy, too much weapon for the task at hand. The scorpion-spiders were no more than six inches from head to tail.

  Silas flung one of the vials of holy water toward the first line of the advancing creatures. It burst asunder and left a dozen of them a smoking ruin, but the rest came on apace. He quickly decided his remaining three bottles would be of little use.

  “Back toward the door!” Uesra said. “Close ranks.”

  “I don’t think we should go now,” Xanar protested, even as he obeyed. He felt even less hope that his bow would by useful against these things than Darius felt about Gabriel. “And I would bet that the door’s locked.”

  “Wasn’t saying we should go. Just want to avoid letting those things get behind us.”

  It wasn’t a bad idea, but the creatures were able to walk on the walls as easily as they could the floor. And they were swift. In seconds they would be swarming over the companions.

  Some of the creatures knocked one of the lanterns to the floor, where it shattered and was quickly snuffed out. The room grew significantly darker, and now some of the scorpion-spiders advanced in near darkness, the clicking of their claws and creaking of their jointed legs a rolling timpani that sounded like the approach of doom. Darius thought how much more difficult this situation had become without adequate light, and something in that thought made a connection in his mind with what he held in his hands. “Gabriel!” he shouted.

  It was more an exclamation than a command, but the sword was not going to distinguish between the two. Its master had called, and it reacted, springing to full life. White light flooded the room, and the scorpion-spiders skidded to a stop, frozen for an instant by the shock of the sudden light. Then they started to race about, frantic, insane, wanting to either flee the painful light or else destroy its source and not having the brain-power to decide on a course of action, being creatures of instinct. Some fled to the furthest part of the room, although they found no solace there, while others bit, clawed, and stung one another in their madness. Others raced anew at the companions, flinging themselves toward the dread light in a fateful rush, to either extinguish it or die trying.

  The sword had bought them time, if only a few seconds, and their weapons now came into play as the first of the scorpion-spiders reached them. In a slow trickle they could be handled, especially given the skill with which Uesra and Silas, and Darius with his holy sword, wielded their weapons. But the trickle would be a flood in a matter of seconds, and then no mortal swordsman could hope to stand long.

  Adrianna grimaced. She had so much wanted to save her dwindling energy for the chance to strike at Kaelesh, but she knew she needed to act now. She closed her eyes and gathered herself almost instantly, the old confidence returning. She didn’t think about the impact of the spell she was casting on herself, knew distantly that she might not survive it but, really, she was beyond such hope now. The spell she was able to form with only a few words. She thrust her hands up, then down and out, and a ring of flame laced out, incinerating the nearest scorpion-spiders and setting the rest ablaze before the magic fire died out against the walls of the room. There was a great shudder, as if a minor earthquake struck just at that instant, but it passed swiftly. The scorpion-spiders that hadn’t been killed outright were now in their death throes, and only a few seconds after Adrianna acted the companions appeared to be the only living things left in the room.

  Silas shook the sleeve of his smoking robe, making sure it hadn’t been set ablaze. The ring of fire had started a little too close for comfort before it shot outward, but Silas was in no mood to be picky. Adrianna’s decisive action had spared them at the least from having to find out how painful and possibly deadly the bites and stings of the scorpion-spiders might be. A smoldering robe was a small price to pay for such deliverance. He turned to thank her, just in time to see her slump against the wall and slide to the ground.

  Darius reached her first. He put a hand on her shoulder and whispered her name.

  Adrianna’s eyes fluttered open and she smiled weakly. “Guess I’m not done yet.”

  “Guess not.”

  She felt a warm wetness on her upper lip and wiped at it with the back of her hand. She looked at her hand and saw a bright smear of blood had been deposited there. The sight of the blood combined with the energy she had expended made her dizzy and she closed her eyes to stop the room from spinning. “I need to sit out the next round, I’m afraid.”

  “We’ll be back for you,” Darius said.

  “That’s a promise,” Silas added, wanting her to hear his voice.

  “Good. I’ll hold you to it. Now get moving before Kaelesh decides to set another barrier before you.”

  They headed toward the door, Silas doing so only after one last look back at Adrianna. She waved him forward. As the companions advanced, they were careful to keep clear of the scorpion-spiders, fearful one might have enough life left for one last spiteful attack.

  Now that they stood before it, they weren’t sure what the door was made of. It looked like green-and-brown mottled flesh, and upon it was fixed no keyhole, doorknob, or handle of any sort. The door had a coarse texture and glistened as if wet. It was as uninviting a surface as one could find, and they were all loathe to touch it. Upon closer inspection they could see the walls were of similar make, but of a darker color, the green so deep it was almost black.

  “What do you think?” Darius asked.

  “Normally I’d suggest knocking,” Silas said, “but I doubt any of us want to place our hands upon it, so…” He sized it up for a moment, stepped back, and gave it a gentle push with one end of his staff. When nothing happened he tried again, this time thrusting the staff forward to give the door a sharp rap.

  A shiver went through the tower, like an aftershock to the earlier tremor. With a thick, slimy sound the door drew upward, and then the wall itself started to move, splitting above the doorway and then peeling back. The companions retreated a few steps, seeing as they did so that even the ceiling above them was retracting. Adrianna remained propped against the wall near the door, struggling to remain conscious. The movement of the walls did not seem to be affecting the area where she rested.

  From outside one would naturally assume the tower to be composed of many floors, with connecting stairways providing access to the higher levels. If asked, the companions would have expected to find Kaelesh somewhere high above, perhaps gazing out over the city and the blasted lands beyond. But now that the enclosing portions of the small room had been absorbed back into the larger tower, they could see that the whole thing was merely one large but empty structure. Above there was only darkness to hint at a ceiling somewhere far out of sight. Here on the ground, there was only a heavy stone chair set opposite to the main entrance, and upon it sat, by all appearances, a well-groomed, handsome man. Something in his comportment spoke of extreme self-confidence and self-control, of leadership, and of a powerful will to mold t
he things around him to his whims. He regarded them coolly, and made no motion to rise.

  “Welcome,” he said in a way that might have been sincere.

  “Am I addressing the real Kaelesh this time?” Silas asked. “No more surrogates? No more tests?”

  Kaelesh spread his hands. “As promised. But I would not say you will not be tested further. You came to try your skills against mine, did you not?”

  Silas nodded. “As we did against your brothers.”

  Kaelesh’s smile faltered just the slightest bit. “So you did. I have the consolation of knowing that my brothers are not lonely. They’ve gotten to know several of your acquaintances quite well since they returned to the abyss. Barlow, Luke, even Sasha.”

  He saw Darius’ failed attempt to mask a reaction to his words. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, Darius. I see you were unaware of your sister’s fate.”

  Uesra put a hand on Darius’ arm before he could respond and said, “He’s lying.”

  “I know,” Darius said, hoping he sounded without doubt on the matter. He felt his limbs trembling, and he had to fight off the urge to make a head-long charge at the demon-lord.

  “Ah, yes, ‘The Father of Lies,’ ” Kaelesh said. “An interesting title, given to my sire, and now applied to me. If it makes you feel better to fool yourselves with such delusions while you yet live, I will not try to dissuade you. Your time grows short, especially for your friend back there.” He gestured at Adrianna.

  “She has more strength and will to live than you might think,” Silas said.

  “There’s my point exactly. You know better, Silas. We both do. She is finished, used up, and now you would even lie to yourself to hide from the truth.” Kaelesh steepled his fingers and looked away, musing over some thought. “She reminds me of your world, actually. Spent. Drained of its vital essence. I’ve taken all there was to take, and now I cast Corterra aside, much as King Landri did with your sister, Darius, once he found her and used her.”

  Uesra could feel Darius' muscles tighten, and she likewise tightened her grip on his arm. Gabriel was pulsing with hot white fire. “Don’t let him bait you into rash action,” she whispered.