by Jeff Gunzel
****
Jade sat on a pile of hay as she stared at the wall with a blank expression, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. To think she might hold even a fraction of the power Nima claimed was simply impossible to accept. How can that even be? I’m nothing special. But on the other hand, it simply didn’t matter right now. She had learned that Eric was alive. Mankind still had a chance as long as the Gate Keeper drew breath. As guilty as it made her feel, she couldn’t deny her true feelings on the matter. The man she loved was still alive, and that meant more to her than anything in the world.
Nima watched Jade as a smile crossed her lips. “It’s a lot to think about, isn’t it?” Jade seemed to snap out of her trance, now looking a bit embarrassed for letting her mind wander off. Nima stood and walked up behind her, then began rubbing her shoulders. “Believe me, I understand what you’re feeling right now.”
Jade sighed. “To tell you the truth, whether or not I have the strength you claim isn’t really—”
“That’s not at all what I’m talking about, dear.” Like a giddy young girl, she flopped down beside Jade and threw her arm around her shoulder. “There is no feeling like it the world, is there?” Jade flashed a knowing smile of her own. “Now you’re going to tell me everything about this man who stole your heart.” She suddenly mocked a stern expression. “And don’t you dare leave out a single detail.” In a flash, the shrill chimes of a ringing bell instantly turned her expression to one of horror. “No,” Nima said breathlessly. “No, it can’t be. Come with me, quickly!” She grabbed Jade by the hand, nearly dislocating her shoulder as she yanked her up to her feet. The two of them ran out the door and out onto the dirt streets. Jade knew this had to be serious, because this was the first time she had even been allowed to see the village.
Dozens of men and even a few women went running past, each clad in the same black leather armor and green cape. They were all armed and sprinting toward the tree line to the east. Jade gazed hard in that general direction while resisting Nima’s tugging hand, trying to see exactly what the threat was. Her blood turned to ice as the chaotic scene began to unfold.
The horrible sounds of thick, ancient trees cracking like twigs and falling to the ground seemed to echo from all directions at once, then the source of destruction came into view as less and less trees remained. Huge black balls of death came streaking through the remaining brush, crashing through flimsy buildings and rolling over anyone brave—or foolish—enough to stand in their path of destruction. “Run,” shrieked Nima as she tugged hard on Jade’s arm. “This way!” Pulled out of her shocked trance at last, Jade’s feet began to work again as she ran side by side with Nima.
In a sudden burst of panicked mental energy, her mind screamed out for the one person she longed to see more than anyone else in the world.
“ERIC!”
****
“ERIC!” Jade’s voice boomed through his head as he dropped to his knee. There was no doubt in his mind of who it was, nor how desperate she sounded. He jumped back to his feet, his hands clenching his hair, and began pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. He was sure he had heard her voice earlier; he had even felt her presence, as if she had been there with him. He had simply dismissed it as longing for the one he loved. It was understandable that he kept imagining she was here with him, thinking he could hear her lovely voice in his head. But this time there was no doubt: she was in trouble and needed him. Yet here he was trapped like an animal, helpless and unable to do anything.
Deep panic began to set in as he rushed from edge to edge of the platform he had already searched every inch of multiple times, hoping to find something that had eluded his eyes, hoping by some miracle there would be some way down there that simply wasn’t before. But the same eternal darkness seemed to taunt him, laugh at him, as he gazed down into the never-ending blackness.
The lizard creature began to hop from talon to talon in a nervous dance while watching his companion is such clear distress. It had seen Eric practicing before, whirling the flaming blade about in a precise yet furious pattern, but his odd behavior now didn’t look anywhere near as controlled. Eric groaned and grunted, pulling away at his own hair until he was left holding clumps, then doing it again.
“I have to do something!” he screamed into the darkness. “I’ve already failed her once, I will not fail her again.” His head snapped to the side as his nearly insane stare landed on the winged lizard—a creature he had to admit had gotten significantly bigger in a short period of time. “I will get to her...or die trying,” he whispered to no one. The creature spread its wings out wide and took a few steps away from him, its animal instincts sensing Eric’s sudden...instability. “Are you going to help me?” he mumbled, his dark eyes wide with desperate madness. “We have to do this now. I have to reach her, no matter the cost.” The creature continued to back away from the insane human until it reached the edge. There was nowhere else to go.
Eric’s voice came steady as a rock, his eyes suddenly calm and determined. “We do this together. If I die...you die as well.” Time stood still as the whole world stopped and watched the Gate Keeper. In a flash, he rushed the creature, tackling it right over the edge.
The two of them tumbled into the vast darkness without so much as a whimper.
****
They ran through the streets as chaos erupted all around them. Jade’s head was on a swivel as the sounds of steel clashing on steel rang out from all directions. Battle cries and the final screams of men dying blended into one single, horrific pitch. “Watch out!” Jade shrieked as she threw Nima to the ground. The thrown dagger tumbled harmlessly between them before skidding across the street nearly thirty feet away.
Jade briefly entertained the idea of fetching it, but the assailant had other ideas, as the man in green rushed at her like a streak of light. She dropped down low, ready to roll in either direction as gleaming steel flashed in both his hands, but the blades suddenly dropped to the ground as his body began to convulse and twitch violently. Falling to his back, he shook and thrashed as if taken by a massive seizure while streams of blood bubbled from his eyes and nose. Jade stood and let out a sigh of relief, seeing Nima walking toward the fallen assailant with an open hand stretched out. With an angry snarl, her open hand clenched into a fist as his head popped like a melon. Gore and brain matter fanned out around his corpse.
Jade shook away the nightmarish sight and dropped down to the corpse. A quick pat-down led to exactly what she was looking for. Now with a dagger in each hand, she felt far more prepared for the next threat. Exchanging a silent nod, the two dashed on through the street.
****
The wind roared in his ears as the plunge into blackness went on and on. The skin on his face drew tight, rippling in the icy air as he clawed away at the creature’s neck, trying to get a firmer hold as the descent continued. It screeched and flapped its leathery wings, panic driving the creature to thrash harder and harder. Eric had no idea which way was up or down as they tumbled in circles. Finally gaining a firm grip around the creature’s neck, he was able to pull himself onto its back, first one leg, then the other thrown tightly over the top of its wildly flapping wings.
He held himself flat across the back of the creature’s neck as they twirled and spiraled in a free fall. “Fly! You have to fly or we’re both dead,” he screamed over the rushing wind as their velocity continued to increase. Its leathery wings extended straight up, quivering like thin ribbons in a windstorm. It screeched again, using a mighty effort to fight with a single flap against the wind pulling them down. Eric pulled hard on its neck, trying to level the beast as it flapped again, then again...and again.
“That’s it! I know you can do this.” His voice was barely audible over the rushing wind. Slowly but surely, each powerful stroke began to take hold, each hard flap taking a little more velocity off the free fall. They were no longer tumbling, as best as he could tell with his eyes blurred with tears, but were still falling, if not as fast
as before. He pulled up once more with all his might, leaning back hard.
After one last flap the lizard-like creature simply held its leathery wings out straight, catching the wind at just the right angle. Eric felt his weight increase substantially as the beast began to pull upward, now gliding gracefully through the brisk air. He exhaled sharply as relief washed over him like ocean water. Stroking the beast’s neck as they soared through the sky, he said, “I knew you could do it.”
But as was typical of Eric, the relief of simply being alive was short-lived. Guilt began to burn through him as he thought about his friends and all the time lost when he should have been there for them. Guilt soon turned to rage. He could feel Jade in his head, but knew she was still hundreds of miles away, hundreds of miles that needed to be crossed right now.
He was angry at the world. Their ship being caught in a freak storm, his friends being lost at sea, the beast that carried him away so couldn’t even help them; the whole world was trying to stop him. And now he needed to get to Jade as fast as possible, but was nowhere near her. Rage coursed through him in sharp pulses like a drumbeat. A familiar golden light began to shine from his eyes and mouth. An inhuman roar released from deep within him, echoing off the mountains and shaking the ground below.
He reached out and swiped his hand across his face as a golden line streaked across the sky, then opened into a floating portal. A rip in time formed from nothing. They flew straight through it before it snapped shut behind them. The same floating rip in time formed once more, only this time it was twenty miles away from the first. In a shower of golden sparks they burst through, appearing from thin air as the woodland creatures looked up to the miracle in the sky. They need me now. By the Gods, I’ll never fail them again. With a single motion of his hand another golden line streaked the sky, then opened once more into a hole to nowhere.
****
“Don’t come near me!” Athel shrieked. She seemed to have some control for the time being, but she was clearly struggling with it.
“I’m not leaving you here alone,” Jacob screamed as he kept glancing at the door behind him. There was clearly a full-scale battle going on outside, but he had no intention of leaving her here chained up and helpless. “We’ve got to get you out of these chains. There has to be a way.”
“They are the only things keeping you safe from me. Please...I’m begging you to—” she dropped back down to her knees and began convulsing just like before. In a gravelly inhuman voice, she rasped, “You...have...to...run.”
“And I told you I’m not going anywh—”
The door exploded off the hinges as wooden splinters rained down. Dust spread across the room in a sandy orange cloud. The dark outline of a man formed through the dusty cloud as he walked in. Clad in a flowing white robe and a diamond-studded belt, he looked around with a wicked grin on his face. The man had bigger muscles than Eric’s, evident as he flexed his chest and rolled his neck while it cracked and popped. He completely ignored Jacob as his gaze fell immediately on Athel. “How rare. I knew I caught the scent of another beast-master.” She suddenly went wild, thrashing and swinging as the chains rang out over and over with each animalistic surge.
“Ahh, and you are only now starting the transformation, I see. A youngling who has no control yet.” He dropped down on all fours as his sharp pointed teeth grew even longer right before them. His slitted eyes looked similar to Athel’s, but now held a reddish glow. Razor-sharp claws grew out from under his fingertips, making a bloodcurdling crackling sound as the flesh tore away. His ears began to grow long, wiry brown hair as they crept up the side of his head and began to enlarge, taking on the pointed look of a wolf.
He only managed a single step toward her before howling out in pain. Jacob barely leapt out of the way as the powerful backhand whizzed past his face. Zhou winced as he pulled the bloody dagger from his leg, throwing in to the side and watching Jacob streak out through the splintered doorway. He turned back to Athel. “I’ll be back for you, but only after I slowly gut your friend. And I promise, I plan to take my time. It doesn’t look as if you will be leaving anytime soon.” He flashed a wicked fang-filled smile at the steel pole, then bounded out the door galloping on all fours like a beast.
Athel lunged over and over again, crazed animal instincts surging through her body as the urge to attack him—the urge to kill him—became overwhelming. But somewhere deep in the back of her mind, an urgent sense much less primal was forming. It wasn’t just blind hate driven by primal urges; it was much more than that—something intimate, almost tender, yet still just as desperate. Memories deep within her came flooding through with an urgency that far outweighed the primal instincts threatening to consume her. I...I have to save Jacob.
She turned and grabbed one of the chains with both hands, then yanked with such tenacity it sounded like thunder when the chain straightened. The steel pole creaked in protest as it shook vigorously. Each link in the supposedly unbreakable chain elongated, if only by a hair. I won’t let him touch you! She yanked again and again with inhuman strength and power, each mighty pull sending out an ear-splitting thunderous sound. Suddenly, links of chain sprayed the room as the first chain shattered like glass. She growled like an animal while placing both hands on the other one. I’m coming for you!
****
“My bothers...sisters...rally to me,” shouted Nima before she grabbed Jade by the shoulder and spun her around. “You owe me nothing, you hear me? Run, get out of here!” Two women and three men ran up to them, eyes wide with panic but clearly happy to see Nima safe. They each wore long, red hooded robes, unlike the other fighters wearing black armor. Jade started to protest when one of them slapped Nima across the shoulder and pointed up the street.
Two boachards had pulled out of their circular forms and were marching toward the group. A single brave fighter rushed the first; his staff twirling in quick combinations proved he was not without skill, just physically overmatched. He struck high, trying to impale the hideous face, but the giant caught his spear with surprising speed and pulled him in close with minimal effort. The man’s scream was blood-curdling as the rows of tiny, clawed limbs lining the beast’s belly carved away his flesh strip by strip. His screaming mercifully turned to a death gurgle as life fled from his torn body.
Nima’s eyes filled with rage at the sight of yet another fallen brother. She turned to Jade once more. “Steel is of no use here. I said you owe me nothing. I release you from my service, now go!” With that, she and the others ran at the black giants, who looked quite amused at the sight of unarmed attackers rushing in blindly. But the powerful magic users were hardly unarmed. Jade watched in horror, wondering what they could possibly be thinking.
The six of them sprinted in fearlessly, driven on by rage. How dare these beings come here and spread death across their peaceful village? They each held out their hands once the boachards were in range. Orange and blue bolts of energy fired straight from their open palms. The black giants hissed and turned sideways, wrapping themselves with their huge arms. They seemed mostly annoyed as the sizzling shots peppered their armored shells. Nima’s attack, however, was far different than the others.
She spread her hands out wide as thick, glowing orange tentacles grew from her fingertips. The energy whips sizzled and popped as they dragged across the dirt road. She began to spin like a top; faster and faster she spun as the energy strands lifted her off the ground, giving her the appearance of a crackling orange tornado. The boachards collapsed back down into their armored forms when they saw the whirling tornado of energy heading straight for them, but it made little difference. She collided into them while spinning at an unbelievable speed. The ear-splitting sounds of grinding metal filled the air as she buzzed through them like a blade through water. They crumbled to the ground piece by piece as blue liquid flowed between the heavy armored pieces scattered throughout the street.
Jade watched in awe, having never seen such a display of power in her life. The show
of raw force was breathtaking. Instinct alone snapped her out the trance as she dove forward, tucking her knees into a tight somersault and leaping back to her feet with a dagger in each hand. The tumbling dagger whizzed over her head, cutting nothing but air, but the assassin in green was hardly deterred by his near miss. He rushed in as another man in green quickly joined him.
His eyes went wide as his first three lightning-quick strikes were deflected easily by this unassuming girl, and was even more surprised when she countered faster than he could block. He deflected one blade to the side but two more got through, one slicing his cheek while the other nicked his shoulder. The other man moved around to the side, trying to flank this girl whom they were both taking quite seriously now. Jade kept moving and shifting to keep them both within her vision, all the while rolling her daggers back and forth over the tops of her hands.
The two must have used some type of silent communication, because they struck out at the exact same time, both slashing furiously to try and overwhelm her. Her blades spun with the speed of vipers as the sound of steel on steel rang out over and over again. She twirled and rolled, each maneuver used to keep the highly trained killers at least mostly in front of her. Each time she got to her feet, she was greeted with streaking steel she was just able to parry at the last second.
This was hardly the first time she had been forced to take on two opponents at once, but these two were clearly blade masters and seemed to be used to working as a single unit. Their precise high and low alternating strikes were giving her tremendous trouble, and she was forced to use all her energy to defend and parry. Light blue sparks showered off in each direction as the whirling steel collided over and over again. Little gashes were appearing all over her body as she shifted her hips, rolling with the strikes that got through, doing just enough to keep them from going deep. But as she began to tire, the amount of strikes getting through started to increase as spots in her clothes darkened with her own blood. Still her daggers whirled in vicious circles, deflecting and parrying with desperate tenacity.
