Genesis (Legends of the Kilanor Book 1)

by Jared Stone

  “How strange…,” said Lucian quietly to himself as he glanced around nervously in the filtered light floating in from outside.

  SLAM!!

  Lucian nearly jumped several feet into the air at the deafening blast of sound from behind. Whipping around in shock, he was immediately faced with the enraged countenance of the gorilla, whose massive fists were pressed up against the clear window panel and whose fangs were bared menacingly.

  Reaching back, the gorilla once again slammed his fists against the clear divide between the boy and himself. Lucian stumbled back as the paneling vibrated violently against the gorilla’s assault. The beast’s eyes were filled with maddening rage as he stared directly at Lucian and let out a roar that the boy could feel cut deep into his chest.

  Up and down the hallway, the howling cries of the other primates could be heard, and the sound of banging fists and scratching claws against durable barriers echoed through the building. Lucian didn’t trust the fortitude of the thin, clear plastic layers protecting him from being ripped apart by a horde of crazed apes, and he knew he had to get out of there. With one last look at the enraged monster before him, Lucian rushed to the exit and stumbled out the door and into the circular clearing.

  The once-busy fountain area was now barren. Aside from the muffled screaming of the primates behind him, Lucian could hear roaring and grunting and trumpeting from all over the park. But not a single human could be seen or heard. The snack carts had been left opened and unmanned, with hotdogs still steaming in their cookers, and the whole ambiance of Lucian’s surroundings was akin to that of an abandoned town following some cataclysmic event. Discarded napkins blew across the ground in the light breeze, and a faint clinking of chains from the carts could be heard.

  And, in the center of the clearing, the thick crimson blood in the fountain flowed down the heads of the animal statues and into the dark pool below.

  The time had apparently come. Lucian took a deep breath in to center himself and prepare for what lay ahead. Forcefully suppressing his fear, he shouted, “Zagan! Show yourself!” into the emptiness of his surroundings. He looked around frantically.

  “What an intolerable cacophony!” Lucian heard from behind. Turning around, Lucian saw a dark figure silhouetted against the gray, late-afternoon sky above him. Zagan stood atop the gorilla-head entrance of the primate enclosure, his long black coat blowing sideways in the light breeze and the characteristic gold coin hanging heavily on his chest. “This is precisely why I prefer to be alone.”

  Lucian swallowed hard as he felt his heart beating powerfully in his chest. Be brave, thought Lucian. You need to stall until Gus comes. He took another deep breath and tried to remember what Panhavant and Gus had taught him. He quietly whispered to himself, “This, too, shall pass.”

  “Really? With the blood again?” Lucian yelled up at the dark one mockingly as he motioned toward the fountain. “Why do you keep doing that?”

  “It is terrifying,” responded the demon defensively.

  “It’s stupid,” countered Lucian forcefully. Seeing Zagan’s scowling face after that comment, Lucian continued. “It serves no actual purpose. We all know you just do it for attention.”

  At this, the demon leapt off the roof of the entrance and landed soundlessly on the ground below, as if he had floated down on unseen wings. Standing a few yards from Lucian, Zagan smirked and said, “Well.... Look who suddenly thinks he is brave.” The pale light glinted off his silvery eyes. “There is just one problem….”

  Before Lucian could even think, the demon had his face only inches from the boy’s. The speed at which the dark one moved caught Lucian totally off guard, and he could only stand there petrified, looking into the steely eyes before him.

  “I can sense your fear,” finished the demon, smiling broadly. “You might act all tough, but your energy is trembling with fear, and I can hear your heart beating loudly through your flesh.”

  At this, the demon laid his palm on the boy’s chest. “I think I will now fix that problem for you…,” he concluded sinisterly.

  “I… I wouldn’t do that…,” Lucian warned, trying desperately to keep his voice and legs from shaking uncontrollably.

  “And why is that?” inquired the demon, smiling confidently before his terrified prey. He raised his voice as if speaking to an audience and said, “What are you going to do? You are completely powerless and utterly alone….”

  “Don’t count on it!” yelled a voice from Lucian’s right. The demon and the boy each turned his head toward Gus, who now stood wielding his flaming blue sword with both hands in front of him. Lucian felt a flood of relief wash over him at the sight of his dear friend.

  Zagan reared back in genuine surprise at this new entrant. “Argus,” said the demon, with disdain saturating his words. “You truly make a terrible habit of interrupting me. However did you manage to avoid me sensing your presence?”

  “It’s funny how well I can avoid detection when I’m suppressing my energy and we’re surrounded by so many… distractions.” Gus grinned as he glanced at the primate enclosure off to the side, which still shook from the animalistic frenzy within.

  “Well, I must say,” stated the demon dryly. He turned his body to face Gus more fully. “I am rather shocked by this turn of events. Well done. But it seems you have forgotten how this normally ends for you, Kílán. I will still triumph and grind your pathetic mortal bones into dust.”

  “No, you won’t…,” mumbled Lucian from beside the demon. Before he could even turn to look at the boy, Zagan was blasted back by a tremendous force of bright white energy that Lucian had taken the time to gather in his palm while the demon was distracted. The dark one flew up into the air and landed several feet away before rolling over twice and stopping. Gus came running over to Lucian.

  “Wow!” said the Kílán, grinning from ear to ear. “That was a good one!” He patted Lucian on the back while the boy stood there in awe of what he had just done.

  Slapping both hands down on the ground with such force that Lucian felt it through his shoes on the cobblestones beneath them, the demon shoved him-self up into the air and landed in a hunched-over position facing the two jubilant allies. Using one arm to furiously brush the dirt from the front of his jacket, the demon glared at them with hate in his silvery eyes. “Well, well…,” he mumbled. “It looks as though I have underestimated you.”

  “You’re outnumbered now,” said Gus confidently. “And, this time, you won’t escape, Zagan.”

  The demon snarled. “I do not intend to,” he said, straightening upright proudly. “We will end this here, once and for all.”

  “Gladly,” said Gus as he smiled and held his sword up, with the hilt beside his head. The demon lunged forward, arm outstretched, and Gus met it with his blade. The dark energies cloaking the demon’s arm clashed against the glowing blue weapon, producing a cracking sound like the end of a whip snapping through the air. The two combatants held their ground like this for a moment, then simultaneously pushed off from each other to regain their footing.

  Lifting the sword above his head, Gus cried out as he slashed downward in front of him. From the blade, a curved projectile of pure energy shot forth and flew at Zagan. This connected with the demon’s upraised arms with such force that it jettisoned the dark one backwards through the air. But, with a nimble push of his hand against the earth, Zagan managed to flip himself over and land, crouching low, on his feet. Standing up, he faced his opponent and prepared to execute the next strike.

  Gus brought his hands to his side and gathered within his palms a sphere of pulsating blue energy. With a shout, the Kílán shoved his arms forward and released the ball of qi directly at Zagan. The demon had also seized the chance to gather his own energy, however, and he, too, fired a blast which collided with Gus’ energy and exploded outwards in a twisting, writhing mass of light. Lucian could feel the intense heat radiating out from the center of the conflicting forces, but it soon fizzled out with a poppin
g noise and the smell of singed air.

  In the resulting lull, Lucian breathed in deeply and quieted his mind. As thoughts of the world around him faded away, he felt his consciousness empty and his desires dissipate. In this present moment, the familiar tingling sensation crept down his arm and coalesced within his hand. A small flickering of light shone out of his palm, and Lucian held it out before him, aimed at Zagan. His hand was forced back slightly as the blast of energy shot forth, colliding with the demon’s shoulder and making him drop to the side, on one knee. But he was back on his feet again before Lucian could even think to celebrate. With one direct hit to the boy’s sternum, he sent Lucian flying backwards through the air to land hard against the side of the fountain. Pain immediately shot up through Lucian’s back as he collided with the solid surface, and he cried out in agony while his body slid down to the ground.

  Thankfully, the demon wouldn’t have the chance to come after Lucian, as Gus at that moment brought his sword down on the dark figure’s shoulders and forced him to his knees under the blow. The Kílán pulled back and, in one motion, swept the sword across horizontally, as if to take off the demon’s head. But Zagan quickly dropped to the ground and kicked one of his legs out behind him. His foot hit hard against Gus’ shin, throwing the Kílán off balance and onto the ground as well.

  Lucian achingly turned to the side and reached into his back pocket to pull out the spear tip, which thankfully had not been broken by the impact. He held it out in front of him in his palm, staring deeply into it and focusing on calling upon its powers. But the weapon still lay cold and unaltered in Lucian’s grasp. He once again quieted his mind and focused his qi on coalescing into the object; but, though it glowed with a slight hue, it was entirely Lucian’s own power, not the spear’s.

  Looking up, Lucian could see Zagan standing over Gus on the ground. The demon reached down, took the Kílán by the throat, and lifted him into the air. Lucian immediately flashed back to the first time he had seen the attacker in the dark next to the library, the silvery eyes flashing from the face of Lucian’s would-be roommate.

  That’s it! Blake! Maybe he’s still in there! thought Lucian. Though Blake’s body had been possessed, Lucian hoped that some vestige of the boy had remained intact. Demonic possession wasn’t exactly Lucian’s area of expertise, but he somehow felt he was right about this. Without knowing how to use the spear, it was the only chance they had.

  Standing up again with some difficulty and placing the useless relic back into his pocket, Lucian took a few steps toward the combatants before him. “Hey, Blake!” he called out. The demon turned his head to the side to stare at the boy with a puzzled look.

  “That’s right!” cried out Lucian again. “I’m talking to you, Blake! I know you’re still in there!”

  The demon grinned. “Do not be stupid, boy,” he said dismissively. “The one known to you as Blake is gone. I control this body now.”

  “I’m Lucian!” yelled Lucian, ignoring the demon’s assertions. “I was supposed to be your roommate.”

  For some reason, Lucian experienced a stabbing sense of sadness at this last comment. He had never met Blake, but he somehow still felt sentimental over what was supposed to be their dorm room connection. “We need your help here, man,” Lucian added, as if he was talking to a friend.

  “Ha!” the demon laughed loudly. “You are wasting your breath, fool! Blake is as good as dead.” Zagan still held Gus tightly in his upraised hand as the Kílán thrashed around, trying to escape the iron grasp. Lucian could tell that his friend was having trouble breathing.

  “Your parents are really worried about you,” Lucian said, making one last attempt to appeal to the boy trapped inside the dark figure before him. “Your mom came to our room and couldn’t stop crying.”

  At this, the demon’s grin dropped from his face. He turned his head back toward Gus with a look of almost curiosity more than hatred. As Gus looked into the eyes of his assailant, he saw the silver within turn vaporous, almost like the clouds floating above them. Underneath, bright blue patches shone through.

  Dropping the Kílán abruptly, Zagan suddenly fell to his knees and grabbed at both sides of his head. Shaking it violently back and forth, he screamed out as if in pain and began thrashing his upper body around.

  Gasping for breath, Gus stumbled over to where his sword lay. Upon picking it up, the pale blue flames once again consumed it. With one quick slash, Gus sliced horizontally across the demon’s chest.

  Rearing back and screaming, their opponent looked up to the sky as the heavy gold coin flew from its broken chain on Gus’ blade and landed on the ground a few feet away. Tendrils of black energy burst forth from the possessed boy’s chest and slithered through the air directly into the coin lying on the cobblestones below. Within seconds, all of the energy had dissipated, and the thrashing of Blake’s body ceased. With that, the boy grew silent, and he fell to the side, unconscious but otherwise seemingly unharmed.

  Still panting for breath, Gus dropped to his knees in relief. Lucian ran over to his friend and knelt beside him.

  “We did it!” Lucian cheered jovially as Gus let a smile spread across his face as well. “We destroyed the demon!”

  “Ha, I guess so,” responded Gus, nodding his head happily. With some difficulty, the Kílán reached up and sheathed his sword into the scabbard on his back. Lucian slung Gus’ arm over his shoulder and helped hoist his weakened companion to his feet.

  “You okay?” asked Lucian.

  Gus just smiled. “I’m fine,” he said. “You should go check on Blake. I hope I didn’t hurt him.”

  Lucian walked over to one of the snack carts and leaned Gus up against it, making sure that the Kílán could stay standing on his own, then rushed over and knelt beside the black-clad boy on the ground near them. He turned Blake over and inspected his chest. It appeared that no damage had been done.

  “He’s alright!” said Lucian happily as he continued to examine Blake in an attempt to determine why he was still unconscious.

  Gus sighed with relief and turned to the cart upon which he leaned. It happened to be the hotdog vendor’s, and the Kílán’s eyes suddenly lit up as he realized that he was famished. Unfastening the leather strap which held his sword to his back, Gus removed the weapon and leaned it against the cart. Lifting back the cover of the steaming hotdog cooker, Gus grabbed one with the tongs and placed the meat into a bun. As he prepared to add the condiments to this delicious treat, he saw a flash of red in the corner of his eye. Looking over, he noticed that the golden coin on the ground now glowed with the intensity of burning embers. To make matters worse, a dark black smoke began to issue forth from the metal.

  “Hey, Lucian…,” said Gus hesitantly. The boy knelt with his back turned to the coin on the ground behind him.

  “Yeah?” asked Lucian absently as he continued to search Blake for any sort of bodily trauma.

  Behind him, the smoke had begun to rise and gather together, wrapping into itself like a snake coiled around a doomed rat. Forming a solid column of darkness growing into the sky, the smoke continued to rise and branch out in two directions. Gus looked on, terrified.

  “Lucian!” yelled the Kílán to the boy.

  Lucian whipped around and cried, “What!?”

  What had started out as smoke had fully assumed a new form, and the thing which rose up before him was now a towering beast of abyssal blackness. Lucian almost fell back in shock as he stared into it. The appearance was that of a gargantuan man, but atop the head sat two monstrous horns, and a vast, dark canopy of bat-like wings flowed from its back. Tremendous silver eyes shone out from where a face should have been, providing the only contrast to the pitch black form rising up from the ground.

  Lucian knelt there, frozen, as the black creature looked down upon him. The boy could feel the overwhelming negative energies flowing over him, and he realized he couldn’t move, only sit and stare into the eyes of death before him. It was as if he could hear scre
aming; not from anyone around, but rather from deep inside his own head, buried within the recesses of his brain.

  Lifting up one of its gigantic limbs, the black beast wielded a sharp blade at the end of its arm. It angled the deadly point toward the boy in preparation to strike. Lucian realized he was about to die, but he could do nothing but sit still and watch.

  As the creature’s bladed limb shot forward, Lucian saw something leap between him and his demonic executioner. As Gus came to shield the boy from the strike, the sharp blade punctured through his chest and sprayed Lucian with a shower of blood as it burst out the other side. With a quick jerk back of its arm, the beast withdrew the blade, and Gus fell to the ground before the boy.

  Looking down in shock, Lucian sat motionless. He stared at the body of his friend sprawled out before him, a big hole torn through the front of his black t-shirt and crimson rivers seeping out and onto the brown leather jacket he had always worn. As the realization of what just occurred flowed through Lucian, a wave of great pain overtook him.

  “NOOOOO!!!” he cried out, leaning over to lay his hands on his fallen friend. Shaking uncontrollably, Lucian’s blood-soaked arms grabbed at Gus, but Gus wouldn’t get up. Why won’t he get up??

  Lucian jerked his head back and stared deep into the silvery eyes of destruction above him. As the beast once again raised its bladed limb for a killing blow, Lucian let out an ear-piercing cry.

  “RRRRAAAAAAHHH!!!” he screamed, filled with unbridled despair and rage. Without thinking, Lucian grabbed the spear tip from his back pocket and held it beside him. The demon paused briefly as the boy jumped to his feet. As he did so, tendrils of bright white energy flowed down his arm, and the weapon in his hand suddenly burst forth with a blinding light, forming a long shaft of energy. Reaching back behind him, Lucian hurled the spear forcefully like a javelin straight into the blackness of the beast in front of him.