by Eric Vall
I gritted my teeth and gripped the haft of the polearm tightly as I prepared to break into the ranks of the Holy Order.
The city streets were narrow close to the docks but became wider the deeper we marched on. Ahead of us, alleys broke off from the main street, and I sent smaller units of men down them to slaughter anyone in sight. The towering buildings filled with apartments were already in flames and burning embers fluttered down to my feet. Galencia was a massive sprawling urban city, but the size of my army made it look insignificant in comparison.
Windows from above reflected the flames of other fires and made it look as if the whole city was being consumed. My men and women covered all the free space of the streets and choked out all those mages hiding inside. My troops brought them out and executed them in the street as the massive stronghold of Galencia watched from above.
A large common sat outside the walled off fortress, and that is where the mages stood for their initial defense. As the streets widened right before the common, my armies broke rank and spread out all around me as we prepared to meet the first line of attack head-on. I heard the heavy footfalls of a beast coming up behind me as an arrow shot straight over my shoulder. The arrow whizzed through the air and hit its target perfectly as it sunk into the eye socket of one of the mages. Ruituri’s crazed laughter reached my ears, and I turned my head to look. Ruituri’s feral yellow eyes were wide as she stood in the saddle and rested her right foot on its horn. The ground behind the goddess of rot turned black as her powers snapped around her in a fury.
Bellum rode to the left of me on her Valgarian tiger, her massive claymore held in both hands. The blade began to shine and glow in her hands as she whispered the god’s language aloud for all to hear. Bellum’s high ponytail whipped out behind her as she kept her eyes forward on the line of mages that prepared to send more attacks our way.
Domor and Malsumis came into line on either side of the two goddesses in an arrow shape with me at the head of it. I felt it all around me, their powers pushing into mine and strengthening them to a point I’d never experienced before. I felt my power reach a peak then continue skyward right as we collided with the first line of mages. Their ranks were dwarfed by ours, and the Tamarisch soldiers washed over them effortlessly.
Marbas barreled forward, his mouth wide and open as he snapped and tore limbs from powerless mages. I breathed in deeply as a whole group of them rushed me, and the ground opened up before them in a bubbling, orange mass. They skidded to stop themselves from falling in, but their momentum carried them forward into the fiery depths. Their flesh melted off instantly, and their cries died out as the flames consumed them whole.
Marbas turned and roared as a mage stepped out directly in front of us. The Bánwolf reared back as the mage brought up his hands and bright blue electricity sprouted from his palms. Marbas turned, but it was too late as the mage shot his arms out and the lightning connected with the beast’s side. Marbas howled in pain and dropped to the ground as his flank sizzled and smoked.
I jumped from him and landed firmly on the ground in front of the mage. My enemy’s eyes widened as he realized who I was, and he took a skittering step back.
I slammed my hand out and closed it into a fist as my power overtook him. The helpless mage lifted into the air as I listened to the soft whining of my injured Bánwolf. I’d lost my friend Marbas in the Underworld, and I wasn’t going to lose him again on earth. Without hesitation, I tightened my hand as I gritted my teeth, and the mage’s head exploded like a squashed tomato. Blood and gore rained down on the fighting around us, and with a wave of my hand, the headless corpse crumpled to the ground.
I turned to Marbas, and his orange eyes met mine as he struggled to breathe. Blood poured from his bubbled-up wounds, and loud whines escaped his foaming mouth. The fighting continued on around me as I lowered myself down beside my beast and summoned up Athar’s power. If I didn’t heal Marbas’ wounds right now, he would surely die, so I placed my hands against the seeping wounds and closed my eye as Tamarisch soldiers circled around us and protected me from all attacks. I pushed Athar’s regeneration power into the Bánwolf’s side, and an even louder cry’s exploded up Marbas’ throat. The burnt fur and bubbled flesh of his side slowly began to heal as I pushed all of Athar’s power over him.
The Bánwolf’s whimpers stopped, and his breathing evened just as I finished and pulled away. Marbas slowly stood to his feet, shook his head, and aimed his sharp orange eyes at me. The massive beast turned away from me with a roar and bounded after a small group of mages. I watched for a moment as the beast tore into the mages and ripped them to bloody shreds.
Mages came at me from all directions, their hands held out in front of them as they summoned their power to them. Just as Morrigan said, they were weak with only the ability to harness the power of the elements, but I just smirked at them, and they glanced at each other nervously as I took a single step forward. I placed my arms out in front of me with my palms facing up and breathed in deeply as I sensed each of their pulsing hearts. In an instant, I snapped my hands closed into fists, and each of the mages hearts exploded in their chests.
Over my shoulder, Carmedy raced past on her lizard with her slingshot in hand. The feline sat firmly in her saddle as she placed a foaming bundle into the cradle, turned her torso almost completely around as she guided the lizard entirely with her squeezed thighs and took aim. I’d only seen this maneuver a few times in battle before and knew it took great skill to pull it off. I was greatly impressed by the alchemist, she’d taken my training and made it her own. Carmedy pulled the cradle back as she closed a single eye and found her exact mark.
The small packet flew through the air and landed directly in the middle of the five mages with a soft, moist smack. The men stared at it for a moment as the fabric of the bundle turned red and then expanded. One of them was curious enough to sneak closer right as the packet exploded with a blast of scarlet smoke. A form took shape through the billowing red, and I recognized it as the demon she’d summoned once before in the dungeon of the Tichádáma.
The fiend screamed as its taloned hands jerked out and grabbed onto one of the mages. The man fought against the demon’s hands, but it was futile as the creature opened its massive blackened maw and dropped the mage in. The hell-beast snapped its jaws shut, and blood flew from in between its pointed teeth as it grinned down at the remaining four mages. The demon growled and stretched out its fingers menacingly as it set its sights on its next victim. Carmedy was long gone as she shot more bundles into the dwindling crowd of mages.
I caught sight of Annalise as she dropped low to the ground and swung out a leg, tripping two mages at once. The two men crawled on their bellies and attempted to scurry away from the high queen, but she was hot on their heels with both swords raised over her head. The swordswoman brought both blades down, crossed them over her chest then slammed them deep into the mage’s exposed backs. Blood sprayed across her beautiful face, and she swiped it away with her forearm as she turned to find her next victim. Annalise’s eyes connected with mine, and she flashed me a wry smile as she disappeared into the crowd with a loud cry.
A flash of red caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to watch as Rana stood in the saddle of her Bánwolf and hacked away at the heads of the mages as she flew past. Decapitated corpses fell to the ground as their respective heads rolled and bounced away into the fray. The fox’s curls whipped around her head as she turned and caught sight of me. She nodded once then flipped off the back of Freia and landed hard.
It took me a moment to realize what was happening, but for a second, the redhead faded from view for a few seconds. Rana didn’t seem to notice the change within her, but my eyes widened in surprise as she finally disappeared completely. I didn’t have to guess what was happening to the fox, I already knew. The god growing within her womb gave her its powers when she needed them. By the time our child was born, the powers would be entirely her own, and she would beco
me a true goddess alongside me. I tried to keep track of her in the crowd, but the only sign she was there were the falling bodies she left in her path.
Loud booms distracted me away from the newly received powers Rana had been given, and I turned to watch as Haruhi sat squarely in her Bánwolf’s saddle and let off rapid-fire shots. Each of the bullets connected with an enemy’s body, and they fell away from her as she drove through the crowd. Morrigan rode behind her, the elven woman’s body wholly encapsulated in emerald power as she slammed both hands out at each mage that dared to come closer. The two of them had grown closer during our days together, and they worked in tandem, protecting the other’s turned back.
The battle was nearly over, the remaining mages either fought against our force desperately or crawled back toward the fortress, crying and begging to be let back in. Their cries for help fell on deaf ears as the intricately carved wooden door remained closed. I stepped over the fallen corpses of our enemies toward a mage that desperately slammed his bloodied fists against the woods as he pleaded for mercy. I stood directly behind him, and as my shadow loomed over him, the mage froze. He turned slowly, and his mint green eyes met mine as tears bloomed at their corners. I held the God Slayer tightly in my right hand and without a word, whipped it back.
The three blades of the polearm glinted in the light as I thrust it forward and it sunk into the flesh of the mage’s face. One of the blades sunk into the man’s eye, and it began to seep down his cheek all the way down to his chin. I tightened my grip on the haft of the God Slayer and ripped it backward, tearing off the mage’s head with it. Blood poured from the severed head’s torn muscle and ligaments as I hoisted the God Slayer high over my head and let out a booming cry.
The Tamarisch soldiers were the first to join, some of them still with their swords buried deep in the bodies of dying mages. Their voices rose high as they hoisted their swords in unison. One by one, each of my armies joined in the victory cry as the last of the mages on the outside of the fortress died.
In one swift movement, I swung the God Slayer downward, and the mage’s decapitated head fell and rolled away. It bumped into a discarded corpse and then stared up at the sky with a frozen expression of shock and fear. I stepped over it as I lifted the God Slayer once more, leaned back my head and roared up at the sky. Heijing looped over the fortress twice then slowly landed beside me, smoke spilling out of her nostrils in two clear streams. Her icy blue eyes cut into mine, and then she gradually transformed back into her human form.
The Qianlong slipped her tiny hand into mine and raised it over her head as she stared deeply into my eyes. I felt the hunger and need within her, the carnal and visceral desire to kill and feast on our enemies, the very same desire that I held deep within my heart away from all others. This was another way that Heijing and I were akin to each other, the Qianlong was a beast and, in a way, I was too. Both of us were more in touch with our carnal sides, and it was what attracted me to her the most.
I held her hand tightly in my own as I looked out over the crowd of rejoicing soldiers. We’d defeated the first wave of mages, and the next step was to take down the outer wall of the Holy Order’s fortress. We had the book to break the enchantments that protected the Holy Order from the siege, and once they were down, we would destroy the mages once and for all.
“I am forever impressed by your cunning and power,” Heijing whispered to me as she turned her eyes toward the soldiers before us. “There are wars and prizes worth winning, Kazama, but it seems that you win them all without even trying, don’t you? Is there a certain prize that you have your eye on after this small feat?”
Heijing’s meaning wasn’t shrouded in mystery as all the other times. It was evident to me what the Qianlong wanted. I tightened my grip on her hand and brought her to my side as I gazed down into her icy blue eyes. She was mine already, and I would claim her for my own, maybe not tonight or the next days to come but the dragon would become one of my minions, and I would tenderly take her budding virginity away from her.
Then I would fill her with my child, and she would become even more powerful.
Chapter Three
I let go of Heijing’s hand as she pulled away and glanced over her shoulder at me. I turned my eyes toward the first walls of the fortress, and the turrets and parapets were devoid of any signs of life. No mages or Elders walked upon them or gazed down at us, and I sensed no presence from above, only within the fortress. I knew they planned to attack us next when we broke through the first enchantment and wall, but that was for tomorrow. From the exhausted and dirty faces of my men, I knew they needed to rest and replenish their energy.
I wondered how we would break both the enchantment and the wall at the very same time. I placed my right hand out in front of me and summoned up a bubbling blob of magma. The swirling orange matter formed into a tight ball as smoke rose from its surface. I brought my arm back and shot the orb straight at the massive walls. Right before the magma was about to make contact, a blinding neon blue grid of mage’s power formed around the point of impact. The orb of lava hit the grid and exploded in a shower of sizzling sparks. It didn’t seem to do any damage as the grid glowed even brighter and then disappeared back into the wall.
A cackling laugh and the sound of clapping came from behind me, and I turned to see the four gods approaching. Ruituri bounded forward and leaned back as she took in all of the fortress walls towering over our heads.
“The walls are high and thick, and the enchantments are strong, are they not?” Ruituri asked as she crossed her arms and turned to Domor as if she weren’t even speaking to me. “How ever will we break them?”
Domor didn’t answer the rotted goddess, he only moved his sunken eyes over her face as if he were tired of her antics. Ruituri simply shrugged her shoulders and rolled her feral yellow eyes toward the top of the wall.
“It will take some teamwork and the right timing, but I think we may be of service to you, Master,” Bellum spoke in a high feminine voice as she ran her fingers through her scarlet hair and looked me directly in the eyes. “We brought you something that will be of use for both of the walls.”
“It’s a present!” Ruituri giggled as she jumped from foot to foot excitedly, her voice laced with insanity rising in tone as she threw her hands into the air. “We crafted it, packaged it, and brought it here just for you, Master!”
“What do you mean?” I asked skeptically as I looked into the faces of each god before me. “What have you brought me?”
Ruituri laughed loudly as she clasped her hands to her chest then turned toward a group of people I hadn’t noticed before. It didn’t take me long to realize they were dead, corpses summoned by the goddess of plague and rot. Their limbs were nearly falling off as they tramped forward, their decomposed hands clasping long ropes as they pulled four large tarp-covered masses toward us. I glanced over at Ruituri, but the goddess wasn’t looking at me as she danced around excitedly on her bare, discolored legs.
Domor and Bellum were both silent as they watched the group of lifeless bodies pull the items closer, but when I turned, I locked eyes with Malsumis. He wore the same black cloak that billowed out around him, and his skin was held taut against the bone. Malsumis was youthful and handsome like most gods but there was an otherworldly feeling that surrounded him, something not of the heavens but of the Underworld where he was born. His eyes, unlike mine, resembled our mother’s and were wholly black as he blinked at me slowly. Unlike the other three gods, Malsumis held no weapon and I could sense the unfathomable power rushing through his veins. His jawline was sharp, and his cheekbones high like my own. Without the very few differences in our appearances, we would’ve been spitting images of each other.
I knew this moment was coming, and we stared at each other. No words were exchanged between us, but there was no doubt to me now that he was the son of Eris as was I and indeed, my half-brother. I felt no hate or malice in his heart toward me, and I took a step closer toward him. I held out my g
loved hand to him, and the black-cloaked man stared at it for a few passing seconds.
Malsumis lifted his eyes and looked directly into mine as he took my hand and shook it. Unlike Otia, this brother would stand by my side and be with me until the end. I barely knew him, had never said a word to him, and yet he was more family to me than the ones I had in the heavens.
“Kazama,” Malsumis spoke in a deep, oaky voice as he dropped his hand from mine. “I never thought I’d be able to look into the face of my baby brother like this, on the mortal realm, both of us free from the chains that bound us to the heavens and the underworld. Now, look at you, more powerful that our mother ever thought you would be. I am proud to call you one of my own.”
His words hit me in a way that I had never expected. My entire life in the gods’ realm had been nothing but pain. My parents, Chirus and Qyris, overlooked and scorned me up until the day I was thrown from the heavens and yet, my brother, who had received the very same from Eris, still looked upon me with acceptance and love.
“I am sorry that I did not find you sooner,” I apologized as I placed a firm hand on his shoulder, and Malsumis bowed his head to me. “I should’ve known who you were and for that, I am very sorry.”
“There is no need to apologize, I am here now, and we will be your allies until the end of time,” My older brother stated as he gestured toward the other three gods waiting beside us.
“Hey! Don’t get distracted!” Ruituri cried as she waved a decayed hand between us. “We haven’t revealed the gift yet! You can reconnect later! Okay, now that I have your attention please!”
The goddess shouted for all to hear as she lifted her discolored and rotted arms into the air. My men turned to watch, and out of the corner of my eye, my minion’s appeared with curious looks on their faces.
“I, Ruituri, daughter of Nergal have crafted and brought Master a few presents that are a reminder of home!” the goddess cackled as she gestured toward the four massive objects under tarps.
