Talon the Slayer

by A A Warren

  The wolfish alien fell behind the group. He made a strange, huffing nose as they marched through the dense tangle of plants and vines.

  Talon slowed his pace, and joined Zobo at the rear. “Are you alright Zobo? Breathing hard already?”

  “My breathing’s fine, boy! Why, I’ve fought in jungles like this since—”

  “He’s panting,” Avra called back over her shoulder.

  “Well what do you expect in this cursed heat!” Zobo exclaimed. “My fur doesn’t sweat like you smooth-skins, you know!”

  Talon snorted with laughter, and slapped the alien on his shoulder. “Apologies, old man. As you were.”

  He marched towards the front, and fell into step between Avra and Salena. Like the two women, his skin shimmered with a film of sweat. The sounds of the jungle surrounded them. A piercing cry wailed through the dense trees, and shadowy wings fluttered overhead.

  Glittering insects buzzed around them, like tiny jewels humming through the air. Salena held out her hand. A butterfly with neon green wings landed on her outstretched fingers. Its glowing wings flapped gently in the humid air. Then it rose up and fluttered off into the distance.

  She smiled. “Say what you like about the heat. It’s beautiful here. After months hiding with the prince, it’s wonderful see so much green… So much life.

  Talon thought about the vision she had shown him of her home world… black and barren, devoid of even a single blade of grass. He tried to imagine what had happened there, how a planet like this lush paradise could be reduced to a lifeless rock.

  As they walked, Salena took a deep breath of the air. She glanced over at Talon and Avra, and smiled.

  “You know, I had the most vivid dream the other night.” She stretched her arms above her head and yawned, then gave them a mischievous glance. “You two were both in it. It was quite… stimulating.”

  “Salena!” Avra hissed. She shot Talon a dirty look and punched his arm. “What did you tell her?”

  “It’s not my fault!” Talon protested. “We share a dark energy bond, she can sense my thoughts. How was I to know she—” He was silenced by Salena’s gasp, as they pushed through another wall of leaves and hanging moss.

  Beyond the foliage lay a clearing. The twin suns above glared off a structure several yards away. A massive ziggurat stood nestled in the clearing, surrounded by a perimeter of plants and trees. Whatever the structure was, it appeared to be built from the same strange material as the tablets Aroyas had shown them.

  “I take it this is what we’re looking for,” Zobo growled between panting breaths.

  They stepped into the clearing. As they hiked closer to the massive structure, the walls of the sloped, metallic base loomed over them. Its surfaces were pitted, and streaked with mud. Vines crawled up the sides, disappearing into the upper levels.

  Again Talon felt the strange pull… not a sound, not a vision, just a nagging sensation, buzzing in his skull. He glanced up at the twin suns, and paced left, circling around the base.

  “It’s huge,” Salena called to him as she followed in his steps.

  Avra consulted her wrist display. “Some of the trees and vegetation here are centuries old. But I can’t get any reading on the structure itself. It’s like our sensors just go right through it.”

  Zobo brushed aside some vegetation, and set his paw down on the metal surface.

  “It’s cool to the touch… No heat build-up at all.”

  He shielded his yellow eyes, and glanced up at the higher levels of the structure. “Don’t see any way in though. Maybe it’s just solid metal?”

  Talon ignored them as he circled the metal slabs. On the opposite side of the structure, he paced forward in a straight line. A stone statue stood at the perimeter, facing away from the metal walls. Talon pointed to it, and continued walking.

  “Look, there. This feeling in my head… it’s pulling me there.”

  Salena said nothing as she followed him. Together, they circled the statue… it stood five meters tall, and was smothered in a thick covering of vines and moss. Talon pulled at the vegetation, ripping it away from the figure beneath.

  Finally, he took a step back and examined his handwork. Unlike the building, the rock statue had worn and crumbled with age. But he could make out a pattern carved in the gray, pitted stone… triangular scales, overlapping like plates of armor. Long, curved claws, muscular limbs, and a pair of triangular eyes, gazing down at them from a serpentine head.

  “R’Kur…” Salena whispered. “The great dragon of earth and sky. And the enemy of Daizon.”

  Talon turned to her. “How do you know all this?”

  She shook her head, but could not tear her eyes away from the statue.

  “These legends are very old. Older than my people, even. I heard them many times as a child, but I never dreamt they could be real."

  She turned to him, and her lips parted in surprise. “Talon, your eye… it’s glowing!”

  He stepped closer to the statue, and yanked off more vines. A blood-red crystal was revealed behind the foliage, set in the figure's chest. As the sun's rays hit the gem, it began to pulse and glow, matching the light from Talon’s crimson eye.

  The gem was set in the center of a carved symbol… the shape was familiar to him. A triangle, with three lines pointing to the sparkling starburst in the center.

  Moving without thought, he reached out and touched the gem. His eye blazed even brighter, and the crystal blazed with inner fire. The air around them seemed to ripple and shimmer, like a mirage.

  “Salena, Talon…” It was Avra, calling from the other side of the ziggurat. They rushed around the structure towards the sound of her voice. Glowing mystic symbol shimmered in the air, just above the grass and foliage. They spun in a circle, as an object materialized into view… it was another statue, identical to the one they had just scene. But this one was untouched by vines or decay… its lines looked sharp, and pristine, as if it had just been carved.

  “By the Gods,” Zobo gasped. “Star-paths… Check your wrist units.”

  Salena held her display up and tapped some keys. “Look! There’re two more statues appearing at opposite ends of the structure. They form a perfect cross, with the center of the building in the middle.

  The clouds overhead parted, and a beam of sunlight struck one of the statues. A deep hum emitted from the carved rock. Crystals mounted in the heads of each dragon reflected the light towards the top of the structure in an intense beam. The four beams met at the small square, protruding from the top of the building.

  Panels slid down, revealing a fifth identical crystal housed inside the tiny square chamber. The beams of light struck it, and the humming grew into a high-pitched wail.

  With a metallic groan, the building shuddered. Dirt and foliage fell away from its vibrating walls. The metal surfaces began to shift and move. An inverted pyramid rose up from the center, dragging the beams of sunlight with it as they reflected off the crystal at its peak.

  Deep channels retracted from the centers of the building’s walls. With a loud cracking sound, stairs snapped into place, leading up into the darkened inner chamber.

  The high-pitched whine died down, replaced by a soft, pulsing hum.

  “Well, I suppose that’s our way in,” Zobo growled.

  Salena looked over at Talon and smiled. “You were the key, Talon. You were meant to find this place." She ascended the stairs.

  Talon hefted his axe, and followed. “I feel like cattle being led into a slaughter pen,” he muttered as he advanced up the steps.

  Avra and Zobo fell in behind them. “How about a little optimism?” Avra muttered under her breath. “We made it this far.”

  They advanced up the nearest flight of steps. It was a steep climb, and Zobo’s panting increased as they neared the top. The vast canopy of jungle spread out beneath them, a hazy green expanse that stretched as far as the eye could see. The stairs finished halfway up the structure. They emerged onto a short, flat l
anding. A steep, narrow corridor sloped down before them, descending into the center of the ziggurat.

  As they made their way down the incline, Salena swept a light from her wrist display across the walls. Silver tablets, like the ones Aroyas had smuggled, were set into the angled walls. Behind them, the corridor’s entrance had faded to a tiny square of light, as they descended lower and lower into the structure. Identical openings penetrated the other three walls, and the sloped corridors all met at a circular chamber in the center of the ziggurat.

  “We’re beneath ground level now,” Avra said quietly, her low voice echoing off the walls. “The chamber up ahead is even deeper.”

  “Well at least it’s cooler down here” Zobo grunted. “No sign of any threat so far. Still…” He drew his pistol, and held it by his side as another set of glow spheres flickered to life above them.

  Finally, they stepped into the circular chamber at the bottom of the corridor. The ceiling was open, and the inverted pyramid hovered above their heads, its narrow tip pointing down at them. The strange, pulsing hum echoed off the curved walls, and there was no obvious sign of what was supporting the massive floating object in the air.

  A ring of stone statues circled around the walls of the room. They were human sized and arranged in pairs, flanking the archways that led back to the surface. Each statue depicted an athletic man or woman, their arms wielding a variety of weapons. The sculptors wore helmets and battles harnesses, and a familiar mark was etched into their chests.

  Avra ran her fingers over one of the carved warriors and whistled. “Remind you of anyone we know?”

  Salena brought her light closer. A single claw-like tattoo ran across its chest. Tiny emerald crystals glittered in the design, reflecting her light back in a dazzling star-burst.

  “Talon… your mark. These must be your people!”

  Talon said nothing, but he stepped closer to the nearest statue. He blinked, and his hand rose to the necklace he wore around his neck… the carved triangle… the Eye of R’Kur.

  The same design adorned each figure. He reached out to touch the carved stone.

  “Only the faithful may enter the temple of the great sky dragon.” The voice echoed through the chamber… Talon spun around, powering up his axe and hefting the weapon before him.

  The tip of the pyramid hovering above them glowed with an inner fire. A column of white light beamed down and struck the floor of the chamber. It was nearly blinding in the shadowy chamber. Zobo shielded his eyes and growled, but Talon stared straight ahead, without even squinting. An image flickered with the burning white light.

  It was a woman. She wore a battle harness, and a white robe hung over her shoulders. Between the parted panels of silk, Talon saw a tattoo… The same green claw that marked his skin, snaked across her naked chest. The woman turned to look at them, one by one. Her face was pale and eerily beautiful, as perfect as any of the statues that circled the room. One of her eyes glowed red. As her gaze fell upon Talon, his eye pulsed to life as well.

  “You are a Claw of R’Kur,” she said. The dust on the floor of the ancient chamber vibrated at the sound of her words. “You are welcome here.”

  “Who are you?” Talon shouted back. “What is this place?”

  “I am Ikari, emissary of the dragon. This is his temple.”

  Zobo growled, then sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anyone else here. We must have triggered some kind of hologram. A digital ghost.”

  The woman called Ikari turned to face him. “I am no hologram, Akaelan. I exist in a different plane of reality than your universe. My body lies between quantum states, neither dead, nor alive. My eyes see across the gulf of space-time. Past, present and the future are but one state of being for me. I am eternal.”

  She looked back to Talon. His blazing axe cast a flickering orange glow through the room. The statues surrounding them were cast in dark shadow, giving their features a menacing glare.

  The woman blinked. “You do not need your weapon here, No’varran. You are a Claw of R’Kur. You are his weapon against the great evil. You were destined to find your way here.”

  Talon took a step forward. “I am no one’s weapon. Not anymore.”

  Salena grabbed his arm, and held him back. “The great evil? You speak of Daizon?”

  Ikari cocked her head, and regarded Salena with a strange look. “You know of the devourer?”

  Salena did not respond. The woman was silent for a moment, then continued. “Before life as you know it existed in this universe, there were the First Ones… Beings of unimaginable power and unknowable desires. Among them was R’Kur the sky dragon, the great creator. And his enemy, Daizon. The devourer who feeds on reality itself.

  Ikari narrowed her eyes. Her gleaming arm rose within the column of light, and pointed at Salena. “I sense the destroyer’s taint on you.”

  Talon did not lower his axe. “What is she talking about?” he snarled.

  Salena stepped forward, and stood before the shimmering column. “What happened to these beings? These ‘First Ones’?”

  Ikari lowered her arm. “In time, new life arose. Life such as yourself. But with that life came death. And with each death, Daizon grew in strength. In time, the destroyer grew in power, and threatened to devour the totality of the universe itself. The young races joined with R’Kur, and a great war was fought. Daizon was imprisoned… his essence was fused to another reality. But the cost was great. R’Kur collapsed into a singularity. Daizon’s final blow shattered that singularity, scattering the fragments through space. The No’varran, one of the few races that survived, gathered the pieces they could find. They built temples like this one, to protect the shards of R’Kur.”

  Salena stepped closer to the light. “There is a man… a human, named Sartarus. He seeks to free Daizon. To unleash its power on this universe once again. He has acquired artifacts from other temples, like this one.”

  The woman in the light stared back at them, her face betraying no sign of emotion. “Why would he do such a thing?”

  Salena’s voice quavered. “He is in great pain. He lost something… someone. He believes Daizon can bring him peace.”

  “The only peace Daizon can bring is the cold emptiness of death.”

  Talon stepped forward, and lowered his axe. “Enough debate. I am told I must play a part in this, that I was destined to come to this place. So here I am. Will you help us or not?”

  The woman turned her cold, probing gaze to Talon. Her gleaming eye pulsed brighter. She gave him a slight bow, then straightened. “The Claw of R’Kur shall be granted entry. You may wield the shard as you see fit. You have trained your entire life for this. You have all the knowledge you require.” She spread her arms. “Step forward, into the light.”

  Talon took a step towards the shimmering white column. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Avra, her emerald eyes wide with concern.

  “Talon, wait… are you sure?”

  “I don’t like this,” Zobo snarled. “I don’t trust people I can’t smell.”

  Before Talon could speak, Salena gently removed Avra’s hand from his shoulder. She held it in her own, and the two women locked eyes.

  “Prophecy or not, you don’t know what will happen to him in there,” Avra snapped.

  “We must let him go,” Salena whispered. “Don’t you see? Talon is No’varran.” She gestured to the statues surrounding them. “These are his people, his past. This is his destiny.”

  “No,” Talon said, his voice cold and hard as a steel blade. The two women turned to face him. He glared at them for a moment, then fixed his dark gaze on the glowing figure of Ikari. “This is my choice.”

  He slid his axe into his harness, and stepped into the column of light. He felt a tingling shock move across his skin as he brushed past the shimmering white curtain. Inside, he stood before Ikari. Her body was a ghostly blur, and it was difficult to focus on her for any length of time.

  “Come forward,” she said. “
Receive the blessing of R’Kur.”

  Talon stepped closer to the ghostly woman. She reached out, and placed her fingers on his temples. Their crimson eyes pulsed as one.

  “Your name…” she said. “Speak your name.”

  “I am Talon. In the arenas of the Outer Reaches, they call me The Slayer.”

  The woman stared at him. Her piercing eyes were like twin blades, digging deep into his skull.

  “No… tell me your true name. Your No’varran name.”

  “That is only name I have. I know of no other.”

  The woman frowned. “Empty… the training, the knowledge… I see nothing. What has happened to you?”

  “This is how I was found,” Talon replied. “I have no memories, no past. I’ve had to make my way on my own. Same as any man.”

  Ikari’s face flickered into a disrupted haze, then snapped back, more clear and bright than before. Her eye glowed brighter, and the fierce crimson light spread to the column around them.

  “An empty vessel may hold poison as easily as wine.” Her arms dropped to her sides, and she stepped away.

  The column of light blazed even brighter. Salena and the others stepped back from the blinding glow. Then, with a crackling hiss, the light shot back up into the floating pyramid. The room darkened, and the walls fell away into shadow.

  “You are tainted,” Ikari’s voice boomed around them. “All of you, tainted.”

  Talon glanced left and right. There was no sign of the ghostly woman. Then her voice echoed once more.

  “You must be purged.”

  A grinding sound filled the air. Rivulets of rock and dust streamed from the darkness beyond the archways that led out of the temple. Zobo’s whiskers twitched. He held up his pistol, and started towards one of the corridors.

  “I’d say that’s our cue to leave,” he growled.

  “Wait!” Talon shouted. He powered up his axe, and the blazing orange light lit up the outer edges of the chamber. A quick, jerky movement caught his eye. Then another…