“I don’t see how. Someone would have to be deaf to not hear that thing, and it doesn’t take into account the way the ground shakes when it walks, either.”
“You worry too much, George.” The demon sighed, shaking his head.
“And another thing … how am I supposed to control it? Does it follow me around as if it’s my faithful dog? Or does it have a leash?”
The Black Knight howled with laughter again. “Come closer. I will show you how to operate your new steed.”
“Steed?” Now his curiosity was piqued. The mechanical creature before him didn’t even remotely resemble anything that could be ridden, at least, not comfortably. There was no saddle, which meant no stirrups. He scratched his head trying to figure out how he would mount and dismount such a beast.
As George stood beside the machine, the Black Knight grabbed his wrist with a bony hand. Pulling it toward the creature, the demon navigated George’s fingertips to the back side of one of the beast’s forelegs. His fingers brushed against a raised bump in the metal’s surface. When the Black Knight forced him to push against it as if the anomaly were a button of sorts, the multiple-jointed foreleg folded backwards, creating a series of steps.
Doing his best to not make it obvious that he had half a clue how to operate the mechanical creature, George made it appear that he was hesitant to climb on to the beast’s back. As he swung his leg over and sat down, he noticed the familiar, joystick-like control protruding from the area where the three necks joined with the massive shoulders of the machine, but he made no move to reach out for it. Instead, George waited for the Black Knight to instruct him on what to do next.
“Do you see the lever jutting up in front of you?”
“Yes,” he replied with a nod.
“It is a means to control your direction of travel. When you are on the ground, push or pull the lever in the direction you wish to go. When you are …”
“Whoa! Wait a second!” George interrupted. “Did you say, when I’m on the ground? Are you implying what I think you are?”
“Let me finish,” the Black Knight snapped. The frightened grimace blooming on George’s face told him he had the man’s undivided attention now. Satisfied, the demon continued its instruction, “As I was saying, when you are in the air, the controls will operate differently. Pushing forward will tell the creature to go down, pulling back will cause it to go higher, and pushing the control to one side or the other will tilt its wings in that direction, causing it to execute a turning maneuver. Be careful when you do this. The harder you push the lever to one side, the tighter the turn will be. If you turn too abruptly, you will likely fly from its back and plummet to your death.”
Waiting for a few seconds to make sure the Black Knight was done speaking, he nodded his understanding. “One last question, if I may?”
“What now?” Growling, his flaming yellow eyes bored into the mortal as his patience wore thin.
“You stated that the creature has wings, right? Where are they, and how do I activate them?” He tried his best to keep his voice submissive, not wishing to anger the Black Knight any further. At least, not until he had a solid plan for his revenge.
His foul breath hissed through his elongated fangs as he considered the questions, the glow of his eyes narrowing to slits as he thought. After a moment, the Black Knight realized he had not instructed George on this detail. “Look just beyond the lever. There is a rounded, black spot at the base of the center neck. Simply push it down to activate the wings, and depress it again to collapse them.” He thought about warning George to move his legs forward when he brought the wings out and put them away, but since he was still irritated with the mortal he decided not to, even though it was possible the man could lose part of his limbs if he wasn’t careful.
Chapter 19
Over the last couple of days, their progress had seemed exceedingly slow. In part, this was due to Julie. She was still terrified of the mechanical creatures they rode upon, but gradually her apprehension was beginning to melt away as a small semblance of her sanity started to return. Two major factors contributed to this slow change in her demeanor, the most obvious being her reunion with Katie. No matter what she felt about the others, or their current situation, Julie trusted her best friend implicitly. She knew that whatever happened, Katie would give her life to protect her. Getting real food in her belly helped her outlook as well. For too long, she had dealt with the jab of needles and being fed through tubes.
Though her stomach had difficulties with the various meats, cheeses, and breads at first, sometimes causing violent bouts of nausea, her body quickly adapted. By the second day, she was no longer getting sick when she ingested the food. Instead, she began to crave the sustenance with the enthusiasm of a pregnant woman. When the third day rolled around, her body started to acclimate. For the first time in what seemed to be forever, she was able to evacuate her bladder and bowels normally. Even though the food she took in was far from being seven course meals, more often than not it was just barely enough to stop the rumbling of her stomach, Julie was beginning to gain some of the weight she lost during her captivity. The lackluster, dullness of her grayish skin began to disappear, and the vibrant appearance of health started to blossom on her features.
When the sun reached its highest point in the sky, Edward tapped Brian on the shoulder, indicating for him to stop. “Let’s take a short break and get some food in our bellies,” he suggested.
Letting the pommel of the saddle go, it snapped upright, causing the machine to skid to a halt. “Sounds like a plan to me.” He grinned over his shoulder at Edward, his stomach rumbling its agreement.
Once all four of them had dismounted, Katie began rummaging through the saddle bag. Frowning as she retrieved the remaining food items inside, she passed small portions to everyone. “Well, we need to figure something out if we want to continue eating.” She sighed.
“What do you mean?” Brian asked in a muffled voice, around a mouthful of bread.
“We’ve exhausted our supply of food, that’s what I mean,” she replied sadly.
“Hmmm,” Brian remarked thoughtfully.
“I guess that means we will have to rely on your hunting skills, then,” Edward interjected with a grin.
Katie sighed in exasperation. “That’s a good plan, in theory, but I don’t have any more arrows. I used every one I had in the battle against those tiny demon things, and none of us thought to scour the town before we left to retrieve any of them that might have been left behind.”
“They probably wouldn’t have been usable anyway,” Brian stated. “They would have been tainted with their disgusting, demonic blood. I’m not sure about anyone else, but I wouldn’t want to risk that nasty stuff getting into the meat we stick in our mouths.”
“You have a point.” Edward grimaced, his stomach turning at the mere thought of putting something so vile inside of his body.
“Then, we’re screwed. I can’t hunt without arrows. Shooting imaginary projectiles from my crossbow isn’t going to kill anything,” she remarked sarcastically.
Edward tapped his chin thoughtfully with one finger. After a few seconds, he sauntered over to the saddle bag and reached inside. “It may not be the best solution in the world, but perhaps I can create some new arrows for you,” he told her, removing a knife from the bag.
***
After scavenging the surrounding forest for nearly two hours, Brian returned with a small bundle of branches he had hacked from nearby oaks and other hardwood trees with the sword that had once belonged to Jack. Setting the severed limbs at Edward’s feet, he joined the others around the small campfire while the wizard began the tedious task of stripping the bark from each stick and whittling them into shape.
Katie watched him intently as he worked, sincerely hoping that Edward could create usable projectiles for her crossbow. When he finished whittling the first arrow, he offered it to her in his outstretched hand. Plucking the bow from the ground beside her,
she stood and walked over to collect the potential arrow. Taking it from him, she turned it this way and that, attempting to determine if it was straight enough to work. Satisfied that it was, she slid the shaft into the guide of her weapon. “Shit!”
“What’s wrong?” Edward frowned, glancing up at her with dismay.
“It’s too long,” she replied, turning the arrow backwards and fitting it into the weapon again. With her finger clamped to the shaft, she handed the projectile back to him as she knelt on the ground beside him. “Cut it here, if you can.” She scratched the wood with a fingernail to give him a reference point.
Taking it from her, Edward sighed and went back to work. After a couple of minutes, he handed the shortened projectile back to Katie. “Try it now.”
When her face lit up, Edward let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and smiled. With the biggest grin on her countenance that he had seen in quite some time, she passed the arrow back to him. “It seems perfect. Make another one exactly like this, then I’ll test one to see if it fires properly from the crossbow.”
***
The sun was beginning to set on the horizon as they gathered around the campfire, savoring the fresh rabbit meat with juices running down their chins. Katie’s initial test of her new arrows had gone much better than expected. The projectiles Edward had made couldn’t have flown with more accuracy if they had been created in a factory on Earth. There had been a couple that weren’t entirely straight, but even so, each had been fantastically more usable than Katie could have ever hoped for. She still couldn’t load the weapon by herself because of her broken hand, but at least she could now hunt again, making her feel tremendously more useful. Maybe she could teach Julie how to use the crossbow. It would certainly alleviate Katie’s shortcomings in battle, should the need arise.
“Holy crap! I feel like a stuffed, Thanksgiving turkey.” Julie sighed, patting her bulging tummy and smiling. The comment brought chuckles of laughter from everyone. “I never realized how good you were at hunting,” she remarked, glancing toward Katie.
“Yep, I’m a regular jack of all trades.” Katie laughed. “The only problem is, I’m not a master of any of them.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit. I can say, without a doubt in my mind, that if it weren’t for you and your skill set, we would be starving right now. Possibly resorting to gnawing on tree bark.” The grin on Edward’s face literally beamed with pride and admiration.
“I’m sure you would have no trouble getting by without me.” Katie blushed. “You could always zap the little, woodland creatures with one of your spells. It would probably work just as well as what I do.”
“Absolutely! Heck, in Edward’s case, he could flash fry the little buggers and we could skip cooking them altogether.” Brian laughed heartily.
Edward shook his head, his cheeks growing red as he lowered his face to hide the smile spreading across it. Though he wasn’t normally one to take being made fun of well, he knew they were only trying to lighten the mood. Even when the humor was created at his expense, he couldn’t help but be happy. It had been quite some time since those around him had been so light-hearted, and he was thankful for the reprieve from bickering. They all deserved a moment or two of happiness, especially when he considered what might lay ahead. He’d already buried more of his friends and family than he had ever thought he would in this lifetime, and only the Gods knew how many more he would have to do the same for by the time his journey came to an end.
After Katie’s impromptu crossbow lesson for Julie’s benefit, the men and women split into separate groups. Each took a two hour shift, keeping the small campfire burning while the others slept. Although Edward had been skeptical about dividing the watches by gender, his paranoia of an attack during the women’s shift had been unwarranted, thankfully.
When Brian and Edward’s watch was over, and one of Desolace’s moons had risen, they quietly roused the sleeping women and prepared to head southward once more.
Chapter 20
After receiving the Black Knight’s instructions, a short sword, and a small sack of supplies, George watched the demon disappear into the blood red ambiance of Cemetery Hill and vanish from sight. Eager to test the capabilities of his new steed, he located the black button on the center neck of the machine and depressed it. Within a fraction of a second, two enormous metal wings burst forth from their inconspicuous places, which at first glance had looked like metallic fur on the creature’s sides, thrusting his legs forward as they extended fully. Silently, George cursed the Black Knight for not warning him of the sharpened appendages. Lifting his feet, he placed them on top of each wing to steady his balance, then bent to check his calves where the metal edges had struck. A trickle of blood flowed from the back of each leg, but it could have been much worse. Remembering something he’d heard at several times during his life, something about cold slowing the flow of blood from a wound, George pulled back on the lever in front of him. Lightly at first, but when it seemed his steed was sure to collide with tree tops in a matter of seconds, he exerted more backward pressure on the lever.
The creature complied, soaring higher and higher into the night sky. After a few minutes, he noticed how thin the air had become and he allowed the joystick-like control to snap back to its original, upright position, immediately leveling off his ascent. Though the altitude was enough to make catching his breath a difficult task, George couldn’t help feeling like some sort of medieval warrior upon a mythical beast, riding into battle. His long, brown locks whipped behind him as the wind rushed over his face, adding to the effect. Doubting that anyone on the ground could hear him, he threw back his head, howling like a werewolf at the moon, basking in his new-found freedom. First, the uncanny luck of being rejoined with a body he could call his own, then knowing he had fooled the Black Knight by hiding in the flesh of his younger self, and finally this magnificent prize the demon had bestowed upon him. What more could he ask for?
***
Returning to his throne room, the Black Knight’s rage boiled over when he saw Verin. “How dare you! I leave to take care of business, only to come back and find you sitting in my chair like you own the place,” he growled, his glowing yellow eyes suddenly turning to obsidian.
The formless demon spun around at the sound of his master’s voice, retreating from the throne until the bank of monitors prevented him from putting further distance between them. “I … I was just trying to make sure things ran smoothly until you returned, my Lord,” Verin stammered.
“Well, you failed miserably, you worm,” the Black Knight spat. “While I was away, and you were supposedly taking care of things, someone entered Cemetery Hill and stole something from me!”
“Wh—what? I—I didn’t see anything on the monitors,” he stuttered, trying to shrink away from his master as the demon stalked toward him.
“Then, where did this come from?” The Black Knight held the bag out before him with a long, bony finger. The silence was deafening as he searched Verin’s shapeless form, waiting for an answer that didn’t seem forthcoming. Frustrated with the lack of response from his minion, he expelled a long, hissing breath through his teeth.
Watching the golden shimmer as it started to return to his master’s eyes, Verin prayed it was a good sign. Knowing he’d let the Black Knight down in a big way, he hoped the demon would give him an opportunity to atone for his mistakes.
“I can smell your fear. Rightly so, I should rip your pathetic soul apart for your incompetence. However, you have shown in the past that you don’t hesitate to follow orders, and most of those times you performed your tasks perfectly.” As the Black Knight spoke, he could sense the minion’s terror beginning to evaporate and his confidence growing. “I’m not one to normally allow indiscretions, like the one you committed in my absence, to go unpunished, but time is of the essence so I will deal with that matter at a later juncture. In the meantime, I am going to offer you a chance to redeem yourself. If you should
succeed in the mission I’m about to give you, your incompetence will be dismissed. But, if you fail … I don’t think I need to finish that sentence,” the Black Knight stated venomously.
“What would you have me do to prove myself to you, my Lord?” Verin inquired.
“Go to the Factory. The supervisor there will be expecting your arrival. Once you are there, assemble my army and go forth into the outside world to crush the mortals that dared to violate my domain. When you accomplish this task, return to my lair so we can prepare my assault on the Throne of the Gods.”
“As you wish, my Lord.” Verin bowed, wasting no time and drifting into the tunnels beyond his master’s lair.
***
The main entrance of the Factory was standing open upon his arrival a few hours later. Traversing the short hallway between the underground river and the workroom, Verin was greeted by a stout, older gentleman whose closely cropped black hair was streaked with gray. The formless demon knew from prior visits to the facility that the man before him was the one in charge of operations.
“I’ve been expecting you,” the man stated with a tight-lipped smile. “Your name is Verin, correct?”
“Yes,” he replied in a gruff voice, wanting to skip the pleasantries and get on with what he came here to do. “What do you have for me?”
“Follow me, please.” The supervisor turned and strode to the opposite side of the large work area, stopping before a massive, sliding door. Grasping the handle, he ushered the enormous panel from left to right until the entirety of it, except the metal ring he had hold of, disappeared inside the wall. Reaching inside, he flicked a switch. Instantly, the massive room was bathed in brilliant, white light. “Here is the first part of your new army,” he remarked, sweeping out a beefy hand in dramatic fashion. “I still have minor modifications to make to them, though, but it shouldn’t take long at all.”
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