by Judi Calhoun
Mom covered her mouth with her hand and tried to look away. Lorcan shoved her head forward violently. Mom staggered, whimpering in pain.
Jake stirred. He was trying to send me a message with his eyes. So intense was his gaze that I could feel the progression run through me.
“It’s time for my little Warmonger to die,” Said Ian, leaning his face close to mine, He rolled up his sleeves, and drew back his knife; a drop of my blood fell from the blade onto my shirt.
Hurry up and do it! I screamed inside. I knew he was delaying it for some sort of sick, prolonged pleasure.
I took in shallow breaths of painful air as I remembered the story from Grimm’s fairy tale, Our Lady’s Child. I knew I was the Queen with the hardened heart, lashed to the stake to be burned for her sin. Has your heart softened? The angel had asked. Like the queen, I had lied to myself, believing I was right to resent my father. In this wicked place of torment, I reached out with my mind to find Yesher. He was patiently waiting. Has your heart softened?
“Yes,” I whispered. “Forgive me.”
One by one, the knives dissolved. The hole in my heart began to heal. In spite of the excruciating pain, I felt a little lighter. Now I would be able to endure death. I was ready for it.
I stared at Jake and felt as if I might stop breathing if I looked away. I reached out, and felt a pull communicating from spirit to spirit, mine toward his. A thought was rising, breaking through the pain. I almost missed it. Almost. Revelation hit me, as lightning strikes metal; brilliant flashes of sparks illuminated my darkness.
Night became day.
Wisdom flooded my soul.
I understood.
I smiled up at Ian, who had been prolonging my suffering with great joy. He frowned, his jaw suddenly tightening. He drew back and started his final thrust.
“I know something you don’t,” I said very fast.
He froze mid-stab. “What?”
“My faith is perfected. All I have to do is think.” Emet was in my hand, the tip pressed against Ian’s chest.
Fear filled his eyes.
The effect of the venom was gone, and I rose to my feet, pushing him back with my sword. “FIRE!” I yelled. Emet flared white-hot. Ian’s eyes were wide with shock, he jerked away, starting to fade… escaping.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” I said, feeling the power rising. “DIE!” I lunged, slicing his chest wide open even as he was in the midst of evaporating. “In the name of Yesher, die!”
The high walled archways of the Labyrinth cracked slightly and a small amount of cement crumbled and fell all around our feet.
Ian’s shocked open mouth began to shriek. Haunting wails bounced off the walls; screams of defeat that pierced through the cold stale air of the Labyrinth caverns. Ian gasped his final breath and sank heavily to the floor, fire consuming him. The remains of Art Binco began to mutate. His flesh cracked like old leather. That hideous expression on his shocked face shriveled away. The flesh on his torso and legs fell off in sheets, decaying instantly into a fine dust.
Binco’s skeletal corpse lay gruesome for only a few minutes, before his bones creaked like old wood in the wind, then splintered…withering away, joining the other particles of dust in the pile. Ian’s knife rolled from the ash and tumbled onto the cement floor with a soft clank.
Belial appeared from the dark caverns, moving slowly as if in a trance. He dropped to his knees in front of Ian’s remains, clutching handfuls of dust. “What have you done?” he asked not looking at me. “It can’t be true…all these years...my deadliest servant.” He began to laugh, hysterical laughter. “Beaten by a girl. A little girl! The fool. The prideful fool! I tried to warn him. ‘She’s trouble,’ I said. But he wouldn’t listen.” Belial turned serious. “You will pay for this, Slayer.” His eyes narrowed on me and then back to the ash sifting through his fingers. “You will pay.” He moaned a deep aching groan and fell upon the pile. I didn’t wait to see what else he planned to do. I dashed over to mom.
Lorcan had vanished, the coward! Mom lay crying on the floor. “Mom, are you okay, mom,” I asked.
She tried to reach for me as Jake helped her to her feet and Peter whistled and a yellow rope dropped down into the hole. “We’ve got to get out of here,” he said. “I’ll take your mom. You go with Peter.”
I only got to hug her briefly, as Jake gently tied the rope around her waistline and she and Jake were pulled up to safety.
Belial stood up. He raised the ash above his head and screamed. “YOU WILL PAY!” His entire countenance turned sickly green. I knew he was transforming into his real persona, the giant serpent.
The rope came back down the hole. “Let’s go!” Peter reached for me, my eyes caught sight of a document half-buried in the ash...the marriage certificate. I bolted toward it.
“What are you doing? Come back here!” Peter ordered.
“Just go,” I said, heading for the ash. “Throw the rope back down.”
“This is insane,” he yelled. “Fine. I’m not leaving without you.”
I ran past Belial who was hissing while green scales popped out all over him. I reached the pile of ash…blackness fell. The cavern went totally dark.
I dropped to my knees groping and searching in Ian’s remains. I heard heavy footsteps drawing closer. Vampires! I sensed I was in real danger. I could feel someone standing very close. My fingers brushed against something hard…the knife! I didn’t think. I just stabbed and stabbed at whatever was next to me. The knife sunk in to something soft. Someone groaned. Liquid covered my hand and arm. Blood? A heavy thud and a body hit the floor.
“PETER!” I panicked. I stood up. “Peter?” Had I killed my cousin with Ian’s knife?
Frantically, my hands groped in the darkness. “Peter! Where are you Peter? God I’ve killed him!”
“I’m not dead. Not yet anyway,” said Peter.
Hope flared inside me as I saw the glowing beacon of Peter’s eyes. I lunged at him. “Peter! Did I hurt you?”
“Oh yeah! You got my arm,” he said, wincing in pain. “I’m okay. You got Lorcan, by the way. Sliced the hand that was reaching for you right off.”
The ground suddenly turned violent. I almost fell, but Peter caught my arm. “Can we go now?” he asked, sounding almost bored.
The flames suddenly ignited in the trenches that lined the walls. I could see Belial was almost finished forming, his long tongue was studded with sharp barbs, and it flicked like a whip at us. I realized I was still holding Ian’s knife. I flung it hard at Belial’s head, and missed. The knife sailed into his open mouth. Then, something extraordinary happened. Belial began choking, gagging…his head flailing around the room as if he’d been poisoned.
“Come on,” said Peter, grabbing my wrist, not willing to wait around and find out exactly why Ian’s dagger was damaging the Demon King. The earth rumbled…the hole was closing up. We held the rope tight, I clung to Peter, feeling rocks and bone hitting us, as we moved upward the hole closing around us.
A sudden rush of air filled my lungs as we broke the surface of the hole on top of Binco’s grave. Many hands reached down to pull us out. I inhaled the wonderful, fragrant, woodsy air! Until now I hadn’t realized that I’d been holding my breath.
The morning sky was gunmetal gray. I guessed it was almost daylight, much too early for the sun. I glanced around at the Slayer army. They all looked badly in need of rest, having stayed up all night. My eyes spotted mom standing with Gauge. He was holding her in his arms. I sighed, thankfully she was finally safe. Jake and his boys were laughing and talking, I started to head toward him when someone lightly touched my arm, and just like that, I was standing under a tall tree with Ariel. He dropped his hood and smiled.
“You’ve done quite well.” He spoke inside my head, not moving his lips. “I have something you want.” He drew the marriage certificate from his belt. I started to reach for it. He motioned me to stop. I complied.
He whispered something I couldn’t hear and--- Poof---the docu
ment caught fire.
“It never happened.” He smiled and dusted off his empty hands.
I ran into his arms. He wrapped his clawed hands around my shoulders.
When I stepped back, Ariel took my sword hand. He touched the strap that locked Emet to my wrist. In a flash of brilliant light, a surge of power fashioned intricate metalwork, composed of malleable silver, first to my wrist, then spreading up almost to the elbow, shaped in floral patterns. I felt joy from Emet, at the idea of never, ever being misplaced again. Now I could never be disarmed.
I smiled and somehow I knew that we were more than just Sword and master, steel and flesh, we were invincible. I slashed, testing the weight of the steel…perfect balance, of course it was.
“You need to go,” said Ariel. “Your mother is looking for you.” He vanished.
I raced back toward the great roar of shouting and celebration. The boys were all singing, we Are The Champions. I chuckled to myself.
Mom stood off on the grassy hill, her head leaning into Gauge’s chest.
“Mom?” I said, approaching her. Gauge stepped aside.
Her face was stained with dirt and tears, and her hair was wild, as if struck by a jarring current. She trembled not moving and I wondered if she was in shock.
“Mom,” I said, searching her face for recognition. “Please, mom.” I started to cry. “Please be okay.”
She reached for me. I hugged her. She melted in tears. Her voice was slightly hysterical “Is it really over? Did we win?”
“Yes, mom, we won. It really is over. I love you!”
We held each other and wept.
* * *
Chapter 27
