The Bone Lord stood for a moment, then toppled over with a scream, blood shooting out of him, soaking poor Brindar. He trashed and writhed on the ground, his screams becoming quieter, and then lay still.
The witches kept doing what they had been, ignoring the action, the Pit now definitely smaller. They were doing it, and I hoped with all my heart that Father Magnus was with Lilly. I glanced back, and the wall of fire was still there but it hadn't grown any longer.
I neared the fallen Bone Lord, gun at the ready and back in my right hand despite the soreness in my arm. I didn't wait this time. I shot him, point blank range, right between his eyes.
He popped. There was no dramatic noise or gross spectacle. He popped like a soap bubble, and in his place bounced up a round faced, deep red, pudgy child, with tiny horns and pointed ears. He smiled at us. Then did nothing.
I shot him, too. It felt weird, wrong somehow, to shoot him in this form, but I knew what he really was. The ball got him in the chest, knocking him back a couple of paces, but that was all. He simply continued to smile at me.
Then, he pointed one chubby finger at me.
If felt like a spear went through my chest. I screamed, dropped the gun and fell to my knees. The Bone Lord twisted his hand and whatever was in me turned. Blood gushed from my mouth.
Brindar moved, but the Bone Lord did the same to him. He was consistent, I had to give him that. What he did to one of us, he did to the other. Brindar dropped his weapon, too, as the force ripped into him.
The Bone Lord tilted his head and regarded us as if he were curious about what we were exactly. Then, he curled his hands into fists, and I felt like my insides were being crushed. My vision started to blur.
I reached for my gun. The only way to make the pain stop was to shoot him again, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't get my arms to move, and the agony grew until I couldn't even remember why I wanted them to.
The Bone Lord laughed, the delighted sound of a child playing with a favorite toy. He was in the midst of the witches, his back to the Pit, which made it hard for the other magic users to hit him with any spells.
Through a haze, I could see that the Pit was almost closed. Several of the witches were swaying on their feet, near the end of their power.
The Bone Lord turned his back on us, and the immediate, intense pain went away, but it didn't matter. The damage was done. I coughed up more blood, keeling over, but catching myself on my hands. I had barely enough strength to keep my head up. My gun was a few feet away, but it might as well have been a mile.
Dwarves are made of sterner stuff than humans. Brindar managed to get his hand on Biter, but only to lay it on the blade. He lacked the strength to actually use it.
The Bone Lord clapped his hands in delight, then spread them out. I watched as a couple of witches fainted, and the rest stiffened. The Pit stopped closing. The small demon motioned again, the Pit grew larger and more witches fell. With every gesture, he was not only reopening the thing, but was eliminating those he was fighting against. It would only be moments before we were back where we started the night before.
I tried to reach my gun, but my body wouldn't obey me. I told my arm to move, to stretch out, but it ignored me.
After all this, with everyone here, the Bone Lord was going to win. Once the Pit reopened fully, there would be no stopping him. The witches would be done for, and the rest had already been shown to be outclassed. He took out Brindar and I both, hardly having to breathe hard to do it. And he still had Lilly, not to mention whatever else he would bring out of there.
There was a blur as someone rushed past me. A figure in black who threw himself at the Bone Lord. He ran silently, and the demon never heard him coming.
Raven physically tackled him, and it took the demon completely by surprise. He pitched forward, over the edge of the Pit and was gone.
But Raven went as well.
Minerva's eyes snapped open. She shouted a word and the Pit slammed closed.
I managed to turn my head in time to see the wall of flame snuff out like the worlds largest candle. All at once, the exact thing that Magnus said couldn't be allowed to happen.
"Lilly," I croaked.
Then, the ground came up and hit me in the face, and everything went away for a while.
#
The first thing I heard was the birds singing. It sounded wrong. What did they have to be so happy about?
I opened my eyes to bright sunshine, glowing through the fabric of one of the shelters the Watch put up. I turned my head to see Brindar laid out next to me, still asleep. But his color was good, and his breathing was steady.
I took stock. My insides were sore, kind of all over, if that was possible. But I could breathe, and I could move. I could sit up, and I needed to. I had to find Lilly, one way or the other.
I pulled myself up, and a hand on my back helped me. I knew that touch, and the tears were already starting when I turned to her. She looked worn out, exhausted, dirty and more beautiful than I ever thought anything could.
"Easy," a deep voice said as I pulled her to me.
I ignored it and held my wife tight.
"I was pretty tired,” the voice continued, “and you and Brindar were hurt badly. I did what I could, but you're still in rough shape. So be careful."
I pulled back enough to see Lilly again, then hugged her to me, not believing she was really there.
"You did it," I said to Magnus, when I finally let her go a couple of minutes later.
"Well, really, we did it. The Bone Lord didn't choose wisely when he took her. She fought him every second, which made my job a lot easier."
"I had a lot to get back to," Lilly said.
Brindar started to stir and Father Magnus moved to his side.
"The Pit?" I asked.
"Closed,” Lilly told me. “Minerva and the rest are finishing up, making sure that there are no little cracks that another demon can come through."
I looked that way, seeing no sign of the fiery hole in the ground that was there a short time before. I searched the scene for an arrogant figure in black, but there was nothing.
"Raven?" I asked.
Lilly shook her head. "He was gone before they closed it. They said he held on to the Bone Lord all the way. Until he was out of sight."
I sighed. I didn’t like the guy a lot of the time. But sometimes...well, there was something there, and I was going to miss him and our games.
"Who knew he had that in him?" I said, not for the first time over the past day.
"I don't think even he did," Lilly answered. "Sarge said they'll put something up at the watchhouse for him. He left a few minutes ago, with the rest of the Watch. Most of the wizards and the other necromancers went as well." She looked around and sighed. "We have a lot of cleaning up to do." Her voice grew quieter. "And a lot of funerals to attend."
We sat in silence for a few minutes. I was content to sit on the ground for the moment, as long as I was near Lilly.
Finally, she climbed to her feet and helped me to mine. Brindar was standing with the aid of Father Magnus.
"What now?" I asked.
"Now, we go on," Magnus answered. "We remember lost friends, we count our blessings, and we live."
It was hard to think of that at the moment. The ground was a muddy, blood-soaked mess. The cemetery itself was torn up, burnt and blasted. I turned to the city and there was a long line of burned buildings. The bodies had been removed, but the memory of them laid out on the ground still remained. And somewhere, whatever flew out of the Pit before the Bone Lord arrived was still out there.
And Raven was gone. A Nuisance Man and sometimes friend, sometimes adversary, and always pain-in-the-ass had given his all to end the menace that I wasn't able to.
I took Lilly's hand and we left Jacobville cemetery behind, without looking back.
The city had a lot healing to do, and so did we. When we were done, we would gather in a tavern. Lilly and I. Brindar. Sarge. Minerva. Magnus. And the
other Nuisance Men. Together, we'd lift a mug in remembrance of Raven and share stories of what a ridiculous ass he was.
We'd honor him as a fallen hero, and we would move forward.
Life, especially in Capital City, goes on.
AFTERWORD
Well, there you have it. Another nuisance in the books. Although, this one wasn’t really a nuisance as much as a threat to the whole city. For stories about actual nuisances, check out the Duke Grandfather saga, available in both print and eBook formats from Amazon.
Thanks for spending the time in Capital City. Sorry we hung out in the cemetery most of the time, but that’s where the demon was. Come visit again, and you’ll find a lot of great taverns, shops, and other areas of the city that will excite the most cosmopolitan among you.
As for Duke, he’s had a lot of adventures now. But the nuisances keep on coming. What’s a guy to do? He’s way too young to retire quite yet.
James Maxstadt lives in Burlington, NC with his beautiful wife Barbara and their old dog, Manny. When not writing, he’s usually found reading, watching mindless TV, or performing a home renovation project. (Thanks, Dad!) But rather than read about James, he would much rather have you read the adventures of Duke Grandfather and his friends, or visit his website at www.jamesmaxstadt.com!
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