The Assassin and the Knight

by Rick Bonogofsky

  “I’ve got some friends who may be sympathetic to your cause,” she said. “However, Amun-Ra still wants those weapons back.”

  “Shit,” Adrian hissed. “I knew I was forgetting something. Fuck it, he can have them. I’ll trust those weapons in the hands of angels more than I’ll trust them in the rebels’ hands. Plus it’ll be one less thing to worry about after we make our escape.”

  Just then, a clamor arose outside the room and the two guards screamed in pain. Something heavy slammed into the door, rattling it on its hinges.

  “Everyone, get to the tunnel!” Adrian commanded. “Mother, you and Vincent get out as fast as you can. We’ll hold them off here. Zhun, Kizrack, you two are next. Ariel and I will follow last, then collapse the entrance.” Another heavy hit shook the door, but it held. Staci moved to the back of the room and pulled on the arm of the statue next to the hearth. The arm slid down and back up, and the entire wall shuddered. The hearth slid backward, revealing a long staircase that curved downward along the outer wall of the tower. Staci then moved to the bed and helped Vincent up. He had enough presence of mind to activate his ring’s magic and cause his armor and wings to disappear, leaving him lighter and less cumbersome for his mother. While not a small, wispy woman, Staci still struggled under his weight. With the body of a warrior, Vincent was a little heavier than he looked. They started down the steps slowly, and gained momentum as they worked out a proper system.

  Another blast hit the door, and tiny cracks appeared in the stone around it. The locking bolt was still in place, and the door held, but it was looking as if the enemy would make it through soon. Adrian stood with his sword drawn, and Ariel stood to his left with her spear at the ready. Zhun stepped to Adrian’s right and drew her twin short swords. She offered a hopeful smile to Adrian, who gave her a return smile. Neither of them expected to get out alive, but at least they would die together. Kizrack stepped into line at Ariel’s left, summoning magical energy to his hands. He was shimmering slightly from the protective spell he placed on himself.

  He looked to Adrian and said, “We had some really good times, boss. It’s been good.”

  Adrian nodded to his advisor and lieutenant, and readied himself for the coming assault. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s been damn good.”

  Another, final slam ripped the door from the wall and sent it flying inward. Adrian and Ariel easily dodged it, and they stood ready as the enemy soldiers poured into the room. As one, the four advanced on the dozens of soldiers and attacked in unison. Adrian slashed at two soldiers in front of him, opening their chests. Their hearts were split in half from the attack and they died instantly. Ariel skewered a demon on her spear and ignited his flesh with holy fire. The blaze spread from that soldier to the two on either side of him, and they burned to death. Zhun sent her swords into a spinning frenzy and sliced apart a rebel with ease. Her steady, rhythmic movements were never slowed as she advanced and cut down two more enemies. Kizrack used the spell power in his hands to electrocute whoever he touched, and bolts of lightning lanced out from those victims and into others nearby, spreading out to form a web of electricity. His magical armor shielded him from the thrashing limbs and weapons as the enemy soldiers spasmed out of control.

  With each wave of soldiers flooding in through the door, the four were pushed backward, but it worked out better for them that way. The incoming soldiers were tripping over the bodies of their comrades, leaving Adrian and his team with greater mobility. They used this to their advantage and killed several as they fell or pushed the unbalanced soldiers back. With each passing moment that they fought, Staci and Vincent made it further down the stairs leading to the secret tunnels. Knowing that his mother and brother would be safe, Adrian let himself focus entirely on the situation at hand. He blocked an attack and countered with an upward jab with his skeletal hand, knifing his way into the enemy demon’s brain through the lower jaw. Ripping his hand free, he managed to catch an incoming blade with it and wrenched the weapon free from its wielder. Adrian tossed it aside and stabbed the unarmed combatant through the heart.

  Ariel spun her spear in a wide arc, slashing at several soldiers at once, igniting them in holy flames. As soon as they fell, more rushed in to replace them, brandishing weapons at her. She calmly resumed her defensive stance and made a few thrusts to keep some of them at bay. With her blazing spear, none of the demons were eager to face her in combat, but they were all running out of room to move. Ariel punctured the throat of one demon who came too close, and whipped the weapon around to slice out another’s jugular. She spun and stabbed and kicked and thrust her spear with deadly efficiency, leaving charred corpses in heaps around her. For all of her motion, she was left with the occasional blind spot, and one lucky demon came in with a quick jab at her midsection. The tip of the demonic blade bit into her side, between two armored plates, and she gasped in surprise and pain. The demon metal burned and ripped at her abdomen, and the blade got caught in the plates of her armor. The wedged blade was ripped out of the soldier’s hand as the angel backpedaled to get away. Zhun took notice of this and rushed to help. She shot a look to Adrian, who nodded back to her, and she rushed over to help Ariel. She gripped the hilt of the sword and tugged it loose, tossing it away when it came free. Ariel grimaced against the pain and tried to stand. Using her spear for support, she finally regained her feet.

  “This injury is going to keep you from being effective,” Zhun assessed. “Get down the tunnel to safety.”

  “I can still fight,” Ariel growled, slapping her hand over the wound. A soft white glow appeared, and the bleeding stopped, but Ariel was still reeling from the pain.

  “You didn’t heal it completely, did you?” Zhun asked. “Get down that tunnel!”

  Ariel nodded and hesitantly made her way to the stairs and started down them. With a final look back, she escaped.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  The fight raged on, made much more difficult now that Ariel was gone. Without her spear ablaze with holy fire, the rebels renewed their assault with heightened morale. It was all Adrian could do to keep the coming tide of soldiers at bay. He stole a glance at his comrades and saw that they were in similarly dire straits. Zhun glanced at him and he nodded his head toward the door, silently telling her to get out while she could. The look in his eyes told her there was no room for debate, and she complied. She slashed her twin swords at her attacker and took out his eyes. He screamed and fell to the floor, clutching at his ruined face as Zhun escaped through the tunnel. A sharp cry caused her to falter and look back. Kizrack’s magical armor had given out suddenly, and the spells formed in his hands dissipated. A sword protruded from his chest, dripping blood, and the light in his eyes faded. Zhun shouted in anger and sadness and made to help him, but Adrian stepped into the space between them. He had his back to the wall and was fighting the horde of rebel soldiers on his own. His hands were a blur as he swung his sword and attacked with his skeletal arm. Demon corpses piled around him, but they kept coming. One demon died from decapitation, another from disembowelment, while yet another dropped dead from having his heart forcibly ripped out. Adrian was covered in blood, and it was impossible to tell how much of it was his. Finally, one demon came in, using a comrade as a shield, and stuck his sword through the body and into Adrian’s chest. The king cried out in pain, but gripped the demon by the throat. The skeletal fingers tightened, cutting off the air supply. Using the distraction, another demon approached and stabbed Adrian in the side, sending the curved sword slicing out the other side. The assassin cut down the new attacker as he used his right hand to rip out the other’s throat. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor.

  “NOOO!” Zhun shouted as she reached for Adrian. She managed to grasp the collar of his armor and dragged him through the opening onto the stairs. With him safely in the tunnel, Zhun slapped her hand onto a rune carved into the stone and activated its stored spell. The rune began to pulse with a red light and Zhun ran, carrying Adrian over her shoulder.
She tucked his sword into her belt as she ran and cleared the blast radius of the exploding rune. The tunnel walls shook from the blast and a few remnants of demons flew down the stairs from those unfortunate enough to be caught in the explosion. Zhun was pelted by fingers and other bits, but she kept running. Within moments, she caught up with Ariel, who was not far behind Vincent and Staci. Ariel looked up and the color drained from her face as she saw Adrian draped over Zhun’s shoulder.

  “Just keep moving!” Zhun shouted. They all ran on down the gently spiraling staircase until they came to an archway that led into a large room. Carved into the floor of this room was a large teleportation circle, powered by gigantic gemstones within the lines. As they entered, the circle lit up with a bright green light. As a group, they crossed over the glowing lines and were immediately transported to another tunnel with a matching circle. As the glow faded, they caught their breath. Staci looked around at the assembled group and started sobbing when her eyes landed on Adrian’s still form. Zhun’s eyes were full of tears as well, but she remained as calm as possible, knowing that it would only slow them down if she allowed her emotions to take control now. Staci cupped Adrian’s head in her hands and stared into his lifeless eyes.

  “My boy,” she sobbed. “My baby boy…” Vincent limped over to her and put his hand on her shoulder, tears welling in his eyes.

  “He’ll come back,” Zhun said through gritted teeth. “Nothing’s kept him down for long.”

  Vincent nodded in agreement, saying, “Even angel metal couldn’t keep him down for long.” Their hopeful words seemed to calm Staci somewhat, but tears still streamed down her face.

  “We’d best keep moving, then,” she whispered. “The tunnel exits over here, then we’ll be out of Laarsa’s borders.

  “Where’s Kizrack?” Ariel asked, looking around for the imp.

  “He didn’t make it,” Zhun muttered as she began walking down the tunnel after Staci. Ariel felt a tear slip down her cheek at the news, and knew that the imp was given a hero’s death. At least, that was how she saw it. He died protecting his people, no matter the fact that two of the group weren’t originally from Hell. She propped herself under Vincent’s arm and they supported each other as they limped into the middle of the group. Zhun took up the rear while Staci led the way. After nearly half an hour of walking, they came to a solid stone door. Being the least wounded and the strongest available, Zhun rested Adrian’s body against the wall and pushed on the door. It slid open with a dull rumble and the group looked out over the plains to the north of Laarsa. Devilgrass, a large-leafed, fire-like plant waved with the light breeze under the night sky of black flames. The plains were lit by the soft glow of the fires overhead. No one could be seen, so the group exited the tunnel. Zhun slid the stone door back into its place, and it disappeared among the other stones. That done, Zhun slumped against the rock and started sobbing. Staci wrapped her arms around her and cried with her. Even Vincent let out a few choked sobs. Ariel sat on the ground and put her face in her hands. Their utter defeat at the hands of the rebels was complete. They were fugitives now, on the run and with no way back into Laarsa. Everyone but Ariel just lost their home.

  “Home,” Ariel whispered dejectedly. She stood and clenched her fists a few times, testing her strength. She tried to summon a spell and it flickered into existence, healing her wound just a little more. Satisfied, she knelt on the ground and started drawing a large magic circle.

  “What are you doing?” Vincent asked.

  “Getting us out of here,” Ariel replied. “We can lay low at my place until we figure out a better plan.” She completed the circle and waved everyone over to stand in it with her. When they were assembled, she activated the spell and transported them to the roof of her apartment building. They moved down the stairwell to her floor and Ariel opened the door for them. Once they entered the apartment, Zhun rushed Adrian to Ariel’s bed and made him comfortable. When she returned from the room, she found everyone resting on the chairs and couch in the living room. Staci sat near Vincent and looked to Zhun with worry on her face.

  “He should be fine,” Zhun said. “Last time, it took a few hours for him to recover, then he just needed some rest.”

  Staci nodded, but her eyes remained filled with tears. She looked over to Vincent and Ariel who sat on the couch, leaning against each other. They both looked pale from blood loss. Vincent offered his mother a weak smile of encouragement, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

  “I’m sorry, dear,” Staci said to Ariel, “but I don’t know who you are.”

  “My name is Ariel. I’m Vincent’s sister.”

  Staci’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “I thought you looked like someone I knew. You look so much like Victor.”

  Ariel nodded.

  “You have his eyes,” Staci complimented. “He always had such kind eyes.”

  “If you don’t mind my asking,” Ariel said, “how did you know my father?”

  “We were best friends when I was younger. I even married him when I thought Dante was dead all those years ago. Because of him, I have my wonderful son, Vincent. I just want to make sure we’ll be safe. I also want to thank you for taking us in and helping us in our time of need.”

  “We should be safe here,” Ariel reassured her. “And you’re welcome. You’re the mother of my brother. You’re just as important to me as he is.”

  Jake and Sara walked out of their home and accompanied Montgomery in his car on the way to the airport. They had agreed to do what they could to help the Firstborn study the dead zones. While dragons were able to enter them, they remained unsure of how they would affect them, to say nothing of Sara and her unique biology. She jumped at the chance to learn about these anomalies and volunteered to help in whatever way she could. They were headed to the dead zone in the crater that used to be Yellowstone National Park, before the super volcano erupted. Jake remembered hearing about the eruption in the middle of the war. He remembered seeing it on the news and how horrible it was for America. He had only heard the human version of the events, blaming the eruption on increasing pressure under the caldera, then the stress caused by the falling bombs continuously shaking the ground. The prevailing story that spread throughout the world among those of non-human origin told the truth of the matter. One of the dragons in charge of Montana’s nuclear sites spotted an amassing army of demons early in the war and decided to kill them by teleporting one of the massive bombs into the magma chamber under Yellowstone Park, according to later reports. When the bomb went off, as reported by the scientists who studied the eruption, it vaporized the collected magma instantaneously, creating a pocket of highly pressurized and superheated gases. This pressure built to explosive levels. The remaining magma, rock and gases were then forced to burst through the surface of Earth’s crust.

  However, the erupting lava, even heavily irradiated, was not the true threat. The deadliness came from the plumes of ash that rose into the stratosphere. Everything within about fifty miles was coated in up to ten feet of radioactive ash within a few days. The ash cloud spread out in the sky, covering places like Denver and Boise in over a foot of ash. A few inches of dust coated places as far out as New York and Miami, before it sank into the ocean, but even that small amount was enough to render vehicles useless. All air traffic over America came to a standstill for weeks afterward. Roads and sewer systems clogged and broke down, water supplies were contaminated, and electrical grids shorted out. Millions of homes became uninhabitable. The ash’s injection into the stratosphere caused the sky to darken and cooled temperatures planet wide. Global weather patterns were altered, the paths and timings of monsoons changed, tropical cyclone formations became far more unpredictable, and the spread of waterborne-diseases took highly erratic paths. Within the first couple of years, millions of people in America died either from the ash or radiation. By the time the radiation had spread, every corner of the country was affected, and the hospitals were inundated with people with radiation poiso
ning.

  Jake remembered the stories about ash blanketing all of America, collapsing rooftops in Montana and Wyoming, and choking the sky’s light to cover most of the country in darkness. Crops died without the necessary light and the temperature cooled significantly due to the sulfur dioxide in the air that absorbed sunlight and reflected some of it back into space. The climate shift altered rainfall patterns, and caused severe frosts, which then caused widespread crop losses and famine. The relief aid from Europe alone was not enough to help the millions of people without food or potable water. America faced its largest crisis during the eight years that it was covered in ash, and the entire country was nearly taken over by the invading demons in that time. It took every one of America’s allies to pull the country out of despair and ruin, and it did not begin to recover until well after the war had ended. It was a calculated risk, but the Firstborn had seen an eruption from a super volcano before. America would survive, and the scorched earth tactic worked out in the long run. The invading demons were just as susceptible to death from smoke and ash inhalation as the other species caught up in the disaster.

  The crater created by the eruption was about thirty miles by forty-five miles across and nearly five miles deep at its lowest point. It had been mostly filled by the molten lava that flowed forth from the underground chamber, and eventually cooled to form the topmost layer of the ground. Nothing of the old park was left, but new growth had sprung up from the ashes, giving the area the new nickname of Phoenix Crater. Jake joined Sara in reading more about the area and its history on the flight, and learned much of what was going on since the war ended. After the war, Phoenix Crater was walled off from the general public due the high levels of radiation in the ground. What the humans did not know was that the Firstborn kept it as one of their many scientific research areas. Phoenix Crater was unique in that it was the only place where the radiation had soaked into the magma before it was expelled from the crust, and the inherent magical curse left by the demons’ destruction seemed to alter the properties of the radioactive material. Almost all of Earth had been affected by the curse of demonic destruction, but Phoenix Crater was utterly different. The Firstborn had set up a massive facility to study the crater’s unique properties. Montgomery led Jake and Sara from the nearby airport through several checkpoints in a lead lined vehicle to protect them from the area’s radiation. Once at the facility located directly in the center of the crater, they entered a special decontamination garage, then left the vehicle and entered the building proper.