by K R Leikvoll
Mortos let out an aggravated yell and actually drew his sword. He swung it viciously in the direction of his ship, cursing at the four council members that sat on a massive tree root growing from the ground. "You damn cowards! They could be in trouble!"
All four members sat silently as if they were telepathically discussing their options. Most likely they were.
I was numb between the loss of Alexandra and Ronen, plus the conversation with Kirin. I was going to do all I could in every fight from then on. I wouldn't change my fate, but maybe I could change theirs. "Mortos," I whispered, approaching him like a swaying corpse. My insides felt dead, and we hadn't even been to the battle yet.
He looked at me startled and sheathed his sword. His hand brushed my shoulder for a second. The glare on his face faded. "My apologies, Luxza, I worry only for my crew," Mortos said in his heavily accented voice. I was so distracted on the plan forming in my head that I hardly understood him through it.
"We will divert our course and hope we can avoid the Infernal Army. We cannot risk Femora for your crew," Vya said firmly for the four.
Before Mortos could explode, I held my hands up and stepped between them. "What if the group continued north and we caught up? Some of us can go to search for the crew, and if we can't find them, we can meet you guys up the river," I said, detached as I tried to mediate. "Otherwise, I can go alone again. We only lost one person that day... even if it was Ronen." Alex was gone long before we arrived there.
Kirin looked opposed to this idea, but he kept his mouth shut for once while the council telepathically decided. Mortos was uneasy at the idea of going in a small crew, but he'd have to get over it. I was just trying to help. If I could stop being so hesitant in fights, I could fight better, I knew it. How could I defeat a Void Lord if I couldn't defeat lesser demons?
"We cannot risk you, either," Sylvia protested.
"Come on, Mortos," I said, rolling my eyes and starting toward the river.
Nobody followed me as I stepped onto the water. My first foot went beneath the surface, but my other stood on the surface as though it were solid. My submerged foot followed afterward. A true miracle maybe on Earth; not to those on Praetis. I walked toward the Valkyrie alone, only capable of it because my mind demanded that I was—much like when I had fallen on the hill at the beginning of our march. Willing it, as Alvir would've put it.
Everyone gathered to watch. Kirin was in front, arms crossed, with Mortos directly on his side. The rest of the mass stopped what they were doing to see what I could possibly be up to.
Small waves crashed over my feet but didn't sweep me away. Focusing as hard as I could, I tried to move the ship toward the shoreline.
Shocked and horrified gasps roused my attention. The ship guided itself toward the shore, seemingly forced by shadows pushing the water and shoving the boat to the land. As much as I hoped I'd use the ring for the task, it was the darkness that answered the call. I made my way back to the shoreline as well to meet the smaller group of people climbing up its sides.
Kirin wrapped a secure arm around my shoulder. "You don't know what lurks in those woods. Something dark. Something I don't think we can defeat," he said in a hushed tone in my ear.
I just glared at him. "If I can kill Void Lords, then I can kill anything, can't I?" I asked with spite in my tone.
Unable to reply, he nodded stiffly. I doubted either of us could handle more arguing and disagreements with how we were feeling. Besides, I couldn't find it within me to be frightened of a monster versus the actual battle we would be entering in the coming days. It'd be a good warm up.
The entirety of the Valkyrie had been searched and there were no signs of distress. It was as if they left the boat peacefully of their own choosing. The council agreed to allow a party of six—besides Kirin, Mortos and I—to travel via canoe to the other side to scout for the missing crew members. The six men accompanying us spoke quietly among themselves about what lay on the other side.
Monsters.
And one so particularly horrible and so feared that not even Kirin uttered its name, yet he had no issues with saying "Lazarus" or "Vince." Maybe it was the proximity to the source, much like asking for Zozo at an Ouija board.
The ocean's black-blue water rocked our boat back and forth; it turned out the old way of traveling was awful (just kidding, I already knew that). It didn't matter. I kept my head facing the other shoreline. The forest was far denser on the other side. We were definitely going to need something to clear the brush which grew nearly as tall as Kirin. It had probably been deserted for a long time.
As our tiny, wooden canoe approached the other side, I closed my eyes to focus. The ring was heavy on my finger, hopefully ready to obey my orders. Vince and his demonic presence was eerily silent; he was a black cancer in my brain formulating his own plans around mine. I wished I could read his thoughts as he could mine, but with the ability to choose what I would hear. The last thing I wanted to hear was everything going on in that twisted freak's mind.
When we reached the shoreline on the opposite side, I could feel the density of the air change. It felt as though we might be struck by lightning at any moment; the static in the air grew intense. I was convinced I was the only one that could see the tiny stray bolts of red that zapped through the air inside the woods. A clear reminder that I had to use Kirin if it was some fabled monster waiting for us.
I nudged his shoulder as everyone else approached heavy thorn bushes that separated us from the forest. While the men started to try and hack through the brush, I pulled Kirin to the side, far enough away for slight privacy. The prying eyes of Sylvia were curiously watching me from back on the bow of the Valkyrie during the docking. I was so beyond caring what they thought. On the same wavelength, Kirin grabbed me close and blocked their view of us from the ship. I took the dagger from his side with a slight tug and inched closer to him.
With the air getting increasingly harder to breathe, I was scared. My mind was torn entirely: Val still wanted to go home and waste away. Nephilim me, the being imbued with the wrath of powers undocumented, wanted to face it all. I felt not only the thickness of wicked lurking internally, but a strong presence of light as well. Eve, James, Alvir… any of them could have stood next to me to influence that kind of feeling. Instead, it radiated from me. It was within me, balancing me, asking me to be led to its destiny. In that moment, I couldn't fear death, as if it didn't exist at all. I didn't even fear the flames of sacrifice. I feared nothing as that being I didn't entirely understand... Val did, though.
Kirin gently took the knife from my hands and lifted his sleeve. Before he did any cutting or opened his mouth to speak, he kissed my forehead and hugged me. I doubted it was because he could sense my emotions—more that he needed the reassurance himself and that was enough to make me start regretting my plan.
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths before his wrist was pressed lightly against my lips. Without peeking, I took my fill. Slowly the beating drums of life started in my ears. Around us appeared the overpowering glow of various auras and vein marks just as beautiful as every time before. I drank deeper, feeling him squirm uncomfortably, but I needed to be able to see as far ahead as possible. Kind of like what he did whatever he did before without going overboard.
I could sense further and further into the forest until I reached one, lone figure with their veins anatomically upside down. Curious, but it was the same shade as Mortos'. Clearly a crew member and not an Evyan (who all seemed to be more pale pink rather than the harsher reds of those that lived in Naadea).
I healed his wound with a hiss as I removed his wrist. The euphoria struck me, but I was prepared as much as possible to handle it that time. Alvir was right about Vince's ability for accumulating power. I could sense the demonic power sparking to life. I tried as hard as I could to force it to the left side of my body and not let it engulf me entirely. It was difficult not to become the gothic Human Torch at any moment.
I was ins
tantly upset when my body forcefully sent Kirin flying a few feet to the side. The men trying to hack at the thorn wall were yanked back sharply as though they were being pulled by a hundred invisible hands, nearly tossing them into the canoe and river. I was trying so hard to contain the shadows internally that I couldn't keep myself from shuffling toward the thorns under some kind of possession.
What enchanted me to reach out to them could have been multiple things that I couldn't discern. It could have been that the Nephilim side of me knew what to do. It could have been the demonic power overcoming me, or someone reaching out and calling me to their side. With my dazed state, I curiously held my hand out in front of me and swiped the air. As if I threw open curtains, the thorns turned to cinders and blew away to either side. All that laid before us was a black forest.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd stop throwing me around," Kirin said sharply as I recognized his form next to me again.
He was about to continue, but he stopped abruptly and looked into the empty vastness before us. "Do you hear that?" he asked more quietly.
I could see the man hanging upside down struggling in the darkness far away, but I could only hear the men picking themselves up off the ground and coming toward us.
Kirin's face was spooked.
I strained; still nothing. "There's a man in that direction," I said, pointing into the heart of the forest. "He's still alive."
"Aye, Luxza, it has to be a member of my crew. Let's make haste before the council travels too far away," Mortos said, unabashed by being tossed around. He walked first and entirely fearless of what might pop out and attack us.
I didn't wait for Kirin's hesitation to change my drive. Plus, the buzz was too intense not to be moving in some form or another.
Kirin ran behind to catch up with the other six men we were allotted. The air quickly became too heavy to breathe at a fast pace. Mortos and the six Evyans kept stopping to catch their breath while I chased the small, struggling form. The further we went, the harder they choked until someone finally collapsed. Mortos put a heavy hand on his arm and pulled him back to his feet. "What is it?" he asked me, gesturing to the barely visible surroundings.
For a split moment, it was almost as if I could hear Vince whispering a response to me that I wasn't meant to hear. I wanted to cover my ears and question him, but I already knew how that would turn out, which only meant it could be something sinister.
"It's a deterrent," Kirin responded immediately before I could say anything. "We walk into her territory now."
"Who?" I asked curiously.
Mortos and the men didn't seem to know who he was talking about exactly. It could have even been Lazarus, but he wouldn't say her name. He just kept giving me a stare that worried me.
"I think we should turn back," Kirin said uncharacteristically. "Let us avoid this obvious ambush and return."
I put a hand on his arm and shook my head no. I was going to do what I said I was going to. The demonic essence was screaming at me to continue as much as the light was. Something I was learning not to ignore.
Forcing myself away from the demonic essence trying to suck me in, I lightly shielded a half sphere around us as if I knew what I was doing. Gradually, everyone was able to catch their breath and agreed to continue as long as I kept us shielded. It was tugging on my energy, but worst-case scenario I could rely on sacrificing later. People would need to avoid getting hit or needing heals otherwise I would be limited on bullets.
The trees that grew so tall we couldn't see the canopy began to space out. The small bits of orange and white that peeked through the branches revealed that we were no longer walking in a normal forest. The ground was covered in a gray, sticky substance that reminded me eerily of webbing. A boot of some crew member was found a few yards away as we trudged, having difficulty with the squishy ground. Whoever it was didn't want visitors.
After far too long and deep into the woods, we found the man I had seen from the shoreline. A sharp chill went down my spine as we saw his state: spun up in a web, squirming viciously to fight for the little air he could get. Past his swinging form suspended from the trees was webbing so thick I doubted any blades could cut it.
Now I may be the Divinus, and the Nephilim, and have some sort of cosmic purpose, but I am an arachnophobe. I had to fight every urge not to scream and run the opposite direction. My fear made my body feel itchy as if I was covered in invisible bugs. I nervously scratched at my spine and legs while they cut the poor man down.
Poor man indeed. Mortos used a small dagger to cut the center of the webs to free him. The man that plopped out was in tattered and bloodstained clothing, revealing two large puncture wounds in his gut. I felt faint at the sight. Come on Val, get your shit together. I have to kill a Void Lord; what's a few really big spider demons?
Mortos was speaking quickly to him for a moment before the man interrupted him with pleading.
"So... so cold," he mumbled. His skin was almost blue as if he was a suffocated corpse, though his chest rose normally.
I forced myself to push between Mortos and Kirin to examine the wound on his lower abdomen as much as I didn't want to. Two giant puncture wounds from a possible overgrown spider was scary; giant puncture wounds that were actually sizzling and burning into his flesh like acid was something completely different. With my blood enhanced sight, I could tell it was a demonic wound immediately. Each second that passed in that short moment I inspected it, the burning seemed to work deeper into his body. It was operating like a fiery venom... and I wasn't sure there was anything I could do.
I brought my hand as close as I could to the wound without actually touching it. The heat scalded my skin regardless, but I held it in and tried to focus on healing him. The ring buzzed, responding and trying to work with the injury as much as possible. Whatever it was reacted horribly to the light.
A few members of our party had to hold his arms while Kirin and Mortos held his legs still as he began to thrash violently. I tugged at the cosmos harder for aid, trying to extract the fiery venom from his veins. As much as I wanted to give it my all, I couldn't. I needed to save my strength for fighting, but could I just watch him die?
He pulled his arm away and grabbed Mortos' collar, ripping him close to his lips. "Patrota," he whispered before uncontrollably vomiting bright red blood all over the front of himself and Mortos' clothes.
I made myself look away and tried to force more healing. Instead of siphoning the venom out as I hoped, the flesh healed over it, sealing not only the venom inside him, but his fate as well.
Mortos fell backward in horror and stood up like he was shocked by lightning. Kirin pulled me up from the man while the other members did the same. He seized frantically as he painted the ground and our feet in blood while we stepped away, horrified.
Kirin put a hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming as we watched his body contort upward, clearly breaking his spine. The man didn't die from that; his blue rib cage exploded blood and various guts outward as red spiders the size of quarters climbed from his corpse. I let out terrified wails while Kirin summoned Famine.
With a single slash, they were killed before they could escape into the woods. Cinders flew in all directions, burning holes in the ground and igniting the webs before dying out.
Without Kirin’s grasp, I fell to my knees in shock. I stared at his blood all over my hands. Was his death my fault? And to die that way... I was ready to turn back.
"Patrota," Mortos mumbled, breaking the silence over the dry sobs of despair I couldn't contain.
Kirin's scythe faded back into his form like the black cancer it was. "We need to leave," he said firmly. Those were the last words he was able to utter before crackling to our side had everyone ready to fight. Everyone except me. For once, I watched Kirin take his massive great sword from his back.
Four men the same sickly shade of blue stumbled around the trees from different directions, blocking us and leaving us with no escape. Their eyes were demented a
nd red like those of lesser demons, but they were clearly not under the spell of a necromancer like Raven. Each one was wearing what they were when they docked, still brandishing their Naadean weapons.
Nine of us against four men really didn't seem like a big deal, as horrifying as they were. One ran at Mortos—rapidly for their physical state—nearly beheading him with a hatchet. I was glad he was paying more attention than I was because I wouldn't have been able to shield him in time. Mortos barely parried the hand axe and slid further into the ground webbing from the force. A quick move from Kirin knocked the first assailant down, swiping its head off with his sword.
All three came at us at once after the first fell. They were attempting to block us, driving us in closer to the webbing. For how feeble and sickly they looked, they moved unrealistically fast and swung with raw, unbridled power. I was barely able to shield one of our companions in time before he was taken out, which resulted in another man being cut straight across the gut. His armor took the force, but it sent him sailing into a tree.
The tainted man that had been attacking him ran for me instead. My eyes instantly traveled to Kirin for protection who was busy killing his own attacker. The ring had to force up a shield to protect me as the creature's sword came crashing down over my head. My fingertip wrapped around the trigger of my chrome pistol as it solidified in my hand. I braced myself, not wanting to be sprayed by spiders as I shot the man through his sternum.
As fast as I could, I ducked and rolled to the side as his corpse nearly fell on me. Just as I thought, spiders came crawling out of the man and right in my direction. Acting on reflex rather than thinking it through, I burned them with a wall of black fire as they neared me. I ripped myself back to my feet and turned toward the webbing that blocked our path. At the cost of sacrificing my gun for the time being, I ushered the flames upward from the ground. They melted the webbing away instantly to clear the path as more corrupted men crawled from behind the trees.
"This way!" I yelled, nearly tripping through the tree lining.
