by Robert Day
“Valdieron. I am glad to see you. What took you so long?” Bleeding from several cuts, one in his side particularly deep and painful, Javin still managed to smile as he greeted his friend.
“Sorry Javin. I was a little busy.”
“I can see that.” Looking back, Valdieron understood what his friend meant, for literally dozens of demon corpses littered the floor where he had cut them down. He wondered how he looked then, covered in the dark blood of the demons with his twin swords in hand, one of which was glowing a dull silvery color, while on his forearms, the two burns that marked his skin were easily visible, one pale as the moon, the other a dull bronze.
“Father!” Obviously not as relieved to see Valdieron as Javin had, Talisa rushed past him, her eyes locked on the still form of her father, motionless as he battled with the Ashar'an. The glowing shield still surrounded them, pulsing like a beating heart. Valdieron reached for her to hold her, but she stopped anyhow, maybe knowing herself it was potentially fatal for her to intervene.
“He fights his own battle. There is nothing we can do.”
Her dark beauty, something he had not really noticed the first time he had met her in the Glade of Truth, suddenly struck “I know,” whispered Talisa, and Valdieron. Her long, dark hair was braided in a single tail down her back, laced with a golden thread, while her dark leather pants and black vest did little to hide her full figure. She was also tall, as tall as he was, and he had seen her in battle fleetingly, but enough to know she was more than accomplished with the use of the bloodied weapon in her hand.
“Let us free Kitara.” Saying this more for Javin to hear, Valdieron turned, but was surprised when the last remaining Kiroba stepped before him, with sword held low, but obviously in a way that meant Valdieron should not move any closer.
“Hagar!” It was no surprise the dark warrior was still alive, and it seemed as if he was uninjured, though the dark blood that coated his sword told that he had battled his fair share of the demons.
“The Princess is mine!”
Suddenly fearing he had not managed to free Hagar from the controlling influence of the Torc, Valdieron stopped to take in the Kiroba. One look into the assassin's dark grey eyes, which darted from Javin to Valdieron, the nearest dangers, told him the Torc was not in effect.
“Stand aside, Hagar. I do not want to harm you, though I will if you keep me from Kitara. You have been a puppet of Zhak Lomar from the start, nothing more than a pawn in his great, evil game. Whatever he promised you was not his to give, nor is it yours to take.”
“Nor is it yours.”
Valdieron's eyes narrowed as he glared at the assassin. Memories came to him of Llewellyn who had died at this man's hand, a dagger in the back: the ultimate in cowardice. Yet somehow he knew Hagar was not as evil as he was made out to be. He guessed Zhak Lomar must have manipulated him to a certain degree, and what he saw in his eyes as he stared at him wasn't hatred, but a sadness and emptiness, and he knew the assassin had more than just thoughts of possession for the Princess.
“Then you will take her against her will. Is that what you want to do to her? If you do love her, then you must let her live her own life. Let her decide what is best for her. I don't want to fight you, Hagar, but I will if I must, and I swear that I will not let you take her.”
“Nor I,” proclaimed Javin, still standing off to the side, though he still held his bloodied sabers and looked worse for his bad wounds. Valdieron wondered how the Darishi could even move, let alone fight, especially Hagar. His newly tuned senses told him the Kiroba also carried more items of magic upon his person, probably the same as he had worn on the night he had killed Llewellyn, used to enhance his speed and reaction.
“Nor will I, Hagar!” Talisa stepped to Valdieron's side, her sword held low, but her words were firm, if not a little strained. “Leave and return to your people, or your family, if you have one.”
Still the Assassin remained unmoving, silent. Valdieron waited tensely, hoping the assassin would just leave and not force a confrontation, for although he was confident the three could outmatch him, he did not want either Javin or Talisa to be involved in such a fight.
Luckily, it did not come to that. A deafening explosion roared through the arena, and suddenly a force propelled Valdieron forward. He felt lashes of intense agony across his back, and crashed heavily to the ground, almost losing a grip on his weapons. Rolling into a crouch, he turned in shock to try and find out what manner of attack had been launched at him.
Ka'Varal, still surrounded by the glowing nimbus, stood alone on the far side of the arena. Five paces away, where Zhak Lomar had stood only moments before, a dark crater had been gouged into the sandy floor, as if from an impact from a huge boulder, though Valdieron guessed Zhak Lomar had succumbed to the build up of power needed to match Ka'Varal. The shield, which had protected the Ashar'an from attacks from the outside, had buffered the implosion, which probably saved the lives of most in the arena.
Hagar, sporting a cut above his eye and small lacerations across his face and arms, was leaning against the pillar that held Kitara, obviously shaken by the explosion. Javin was rising slowly also, his whole right side torn as if he had been dragged along behind a horse, though he doggedly regained his feet, realizing what had happened.
Talisa was not so fast to rise. With a stifled cry, Valdieron ran to her side, fearing the worst as he saw her leather vest and pants torn from the shards of energy that had assailed them. Blood ran slowly from the small lesions, and it was not the wounds he feared but the force that had struck them from so close. Through some warriors’ instinct he had rolled with the force, cushioning himself against it, but Talisa being closest, had not been so lucky. Slowly he rolled her onto her side, careful not to roll her onto her back where the sand from the floor would infuse her wounds. She was unconscious but breathing.
Blocking out everything else, and knowing Javin would watch his back against Hagar, Valdieron concentrated on her wounds. Whatever magical power available to him could not be felt as a tangible source, he merely focused his mind on closing the wounds on her back, as the Master had instructed him. He closed his eyes again, not blocking out the sight of her bloodied back as he pictured it in his mind; slowly healing. He did not know how long it took, but a soft cough broke his concentration and he looked down to see her looking up at him weakly, and a glance at her back showed her wounds were nothing more than fading scars.
“Val, we have company!”
Javin's words came as a strange sensation ran through Valdieron’s body, like he were being submerged in icy water. He gently laid Talisa aside and rose, following Javin's gaze, and not surprised to find it directed towards the Portal. What he saw stunned him, for slowly emerging from the Portal was a huge flame covered demon. Rising easily fifteen feet in height, its humanoid body seemed to be trying to push its way through the Portal. Muscled limbs ended in clawed hands and feet, while bat like wings rose from its back, spreading as it finally stepped through the Portal. Smoke rose from the sandy ground as the intense heat it created left glassy footprints as it stepped forward. Its huge head, looking more like that of a horse, long and elongated, slowly took in the arena, dark emotionless eyes scanning as if searching for something.
Valdieron did not need to be told what it was searching for.
“Javin, take Talisa and run.” With his eyes locked on the demon, Valdieron started forward. Around him, he was aware that with the destruction of Zhak Lomar, the protective shield, which had encircled the arena, was dispelled. Up in the stands, there were only a few people present, and he assumed the others had found a way out, for which he was glad. The less people present, the less chance there was of somebody innocent being killed. Still, there were those absorbed by what was happening, maybe stunned by the turn of events, and maybe thinking this was still part of the show. He could not guess where Andrak and Janantar were, but hoped they were safe and gone from the stadium also.
Whatever hopes he had of d
efeating this fiery demon faded quickly as more dark figures pressed through the Portal. First there were dark demons, tall and lithe, with feline heads, wielding long swords of dark metal and moving with the ease of a cat, fast and sure footed. Then there came similar demons who reminded him of Elves, though their skin was a pale grey and their eyes flashed a burning orange. They carried small weapons in both hands, and they moved too fast for the eyes to follow them, as if they simply phased from step to step. Then there came large humanoid demons, whose bodies seemed out of proportion, for they were immensely muscled and carried weapons of great variety: axes, swords and pole-arms predominant. Their eyes did not glow like the others, but were instead milky globes, and for a moment Valdieron suspected they were blind, but they moved surely around the arena, following the other demons, if not as fast.
Taking a deep breath and sighing, Valdieron strode quickly forward. He could feel his blood pounding as the adrenalin coursed through him. Here before him was the ultimate test for him, for should he fail, his friends would no doubt die, especially Kitara, who was still tied to the pillar. Although the Princess could not see what was unfolding behind her, she could tell by the mayhem and the demonic figures that the situation was dire. Not once did she cease struggling against her bonds.
This was what he had trained hard for over the past months. This was what he was born for, to face these Demons and to protect this world from their evil.
Like a lantern drawing bugs, the demons surged towards him, their frenzied cries echoing through the stadium, but Valdieron hardly heard them as he moved towards them. He was aware of the towering fire Demon, which had stopped several paces in front of the Portal, as if waiting for the others to dispose of him. He also noted with surprise the huge demon now wielded a fiery sword, easily as long as Valdieron was tall.
But Valdieron had his own fiery sword. In his right hand, the Dragonsword seemed to grow brighter the closer the demons came, as if sensing them and beckoning them. He could almost feel the sword humming, thirsting for the first bite into the flesh of a new demon.
The demon unlucky enough to reach him first was a cat headed demon, fast and deadly, the dark sword in its hands weaving a deadly pattern, but Valdieron cut it down with a blinding move, the gleaming Dragonsword cleaving through its demonic hide like an oar through water. A spray of dark blood arced into the air as it fell, minus one arm at the shoulder and with its chest almost cloven through.
Suddenly swarmed by demons, Valdieron was silently thankful for the long hours spent in the Combat Ambit. Dark swords and wicked claws sought to break through and cut into his flesh from every angle, but somehow he weaved a dance of death around them, sometimes missing a wound with only a tear in his clothing to show how close it was, while adversely, his twin swords seemed to find Demon flesh at every turn. Where the Dragonsword seemed to thirst for demon blood, the slender rapier was used more for parrying, but whenever the chance arose, Valdieron sent it unerringly at a demon throat or eye with lethal accuracy.
But the sheer number of Demons that continued to come at him hardly seemed to lessen, and it was only a matter of time before he was wounded. One dark blade sliced across his hip as he spun, sending a searing pain through his body, while razor sharp claws tore long lines across his chest. He fought on desperately, almost brutally, knowing he would soon be overwhelmed, but at least determined to take down as many of the Demons as he could. He did not feel afraid he would soon die, rather anger at himself for not being able to live up to the expectations that had been made of him, for what would happen with him gone? Would somebody else recover the Disk of Akashel and disable the Portals, or would the Demon host march unhindered across the realms, wreaking death and destruction at every turn?
His anger lifted him momentarily, as he roared a defiant cry and launched himself into the demons with a frenzy, but even so, for every demon he cut down, another replaced it, and it wasn't long before he was struck again, a dark sword opening a long cut along his left thigh.
Another cry rang out then, close by, and it took him a moment to realize it had been in Elvin, but its meaning was unknown to him, at least until a figure charged into the demon ranks, spinning and cutting in a frenzy that matched Valdieron's.
Janantar! How he got onto the arena floor, Valdieron did not know, but he had discarded the mask. This seemed to send the Demons into a frenzy of their own, for many turned from Valdieron to attack the Elf. The Bladesinger did not seem to mind, his gleaming Al'katar cutting through the demons with ease.
“Fight, Valdieron. Let us send these Demons back to the voids where they belong.” Even in combat, the Elf maintained a smile, as if welcoming the fight, though he was brutally efficient and deadly. Buoyed by the Elf's presence and words, and remembering the words of Ka'Varal earlier about these others playing their own role in this, Valdieron resumed his merciless fight, lifting himself to match the Elf.
Another cry from beyond the ring of Demons, and more figures rushed into the melee, led by Andrak: Javin, to his left and sporting his bloodied wounds, while on his right the dark figure of Talisa, beautiful and deadly. They cut into the demons, who were too intent on getting through to Valdieron and Janantar, and soon the five were standing together, fighting side by side.
“Thought you could use some help,” yelled Javin, kicking a screaming demon off his saber where he had impaled it through the chest.
“What took you so long?” returned Valdieron with a smile, running another demon through with his rapier. Using the moment's respite that their added numbers gave him, he quickly looked around for the large fire demon, and wondered how long he had been fighting these demons for, because the demon still stood before the Portal, as if waiting for something, as more and more demons swept around it, heading for the fight.
“We have to make it to the Portal!” he yelled, using one sword to point towards the dark gate as the other fended off an attack from a bulking Demon. The others must have heard him, for as he slowly began to work his way towards the Portal, they followed, slowly cutting a path through the demons.
Maybe this was what the huge fire demon was waiting for, to defend the Portal at any cost, for it turned towards the advancing group. Whether through luck, or an innate sense of danger, Valdieron noticed the Demon's movements as he battled two bulking Demons, both wielding two handed swords with a quickness that matched the smaller demons, and with a skill that made it hard for Valdieron to quickly dispatch them. The fire demon leveled its sword, twenty feet away, and it began to pulse with an inner light. Brighter and brighter it became in less than a heartbeat, until suddenly it erupted in a glowing ball that hurtled straight towards them.
Instinctively, Valdieron threw up his Dragonsword to meet the incoming fireball, which exploded into the backs of the Demons that faced him, passing through them like the wind through the trees, the awesome heat incinerating them in an instant. Then it came to Valdieron, as if drawn to the glowing Dragonsword. Closing his eyes, Valdieron tried to concentrate on building some sort of shield the like of which Ka'Varal bore around him, hoping in his desperation he could at least partially block the magical assault. He felt a force, like a strong wind striking him, but there was not the intense heat he had expected, nor did the fires consume him. His eyes opened, not really knowing what to expect, but when he did, he found a faint blue aura rising before him like a large shield. It was fading, as if needing his concentration to keep it stable, but he was too shocked to try and refocus his energy onto it. Turning quickly, he saw there was nothing more than a ring of ash around the five of them from where the Demons had perished in the fireball, and the others all had fading shields around them, which had obviously saved them from the magical attack. Talisa, looking equally as shocked as Valdieron and the others, still had a strong blue shield around her, which did not fade as the others did.
A piercing scream rang through the stadium then, chilling Valdieron's heart in an instant as he recognized it had come from Kitara, even before he tur
ned to find her being carried by a towering demon that appeared to be made of stone. Fifteen foot tall it stood, and in one hand it carried a long lance that flickered with electrical energy.
“Kitara!”
Launching himself towards the stone demon, Valdieron sped to save his Princess. He could hear the shouts behind him for him to stop, but he was not about to let Kitara be taken by the Demon.
Seeing his approach, the stone demon turned, fixing his glowing eyes on Valdieron. If he had not been so enraged, Valdieron would have known fear then as he stared into their baleful depths. Slowly, the demons raised its arm holding the magical lance and launched it at Valdieron. Like a lightning bolt it sped at him, humming of energy as it sizzled through the air.
He dived to the side, but even as he did, he realized the weapon was not meant for him, though it passed barely a hand width from his shoulder. Twisting himself in the air, a cry frozen on his lips, he saw the enchanted weapon speed towards the unprotected form of Javin. Whether it was Valdieron's doing, or maybe some other, a shimmering blue field of energy encompassed Javin as the weapon closed on him. Like a sword cutting through grass, the lightning lance pierced the blue shield with a deafening roar of thunder, exploding as it made contact, sending an eruption of coruscating sparks into the air, while the others around Javin were thrown from their feet.
Hitting the floor hard, Valdieron cried out as his hearing returned, the faint echoes of the explosion still reverberating through the stadium. Through teary eyes he found Javin's crumpled body lying on the sandy ground far back against the stadium wall, his upper torso a blackened tangle of ribs and scorched flesh. Through some cruel act of fate, the Darishi's face was untouched by the magical explosion, and Valdieron looked at his closed eyes and gave the faintest of departing smiles, for he looked more asleep than dead.
With a deafening cry of his own, which seemed to shake the very stadium to its core, Valdieron was up and racing for the departing demon, tears of anguish running down his face as he chased the stone demon as it made for the Portal. The second, huge fire Demon, moved to block Valdieron, as if to protect its kin.
