“No!” yelled Ben, running up behind Callderwallder and smashing his fist directly into the man’s armored back. Callderwallder fell forward in his suit and Ben jumped on top of him, struggling as Evercloud had to try and break the suit off of Callderwallder.
Evercloud and Riverpaw recovered quickly, only to see the Tyrant land a blow across Densa’s face and send him sprawling, once again, across the tower floor.
“You are made of weakness,” laughed the Tyrant as he gloated over his small victory. But before he could resume his attack, Riverpaw delivered a kick to the Tyrant’s chest while Evercloud helped Densa up from the floor. The Tyrant recovered and slammed Riverpaw onto the floor, laughing as the bear rolled around in pain. But Evercloud was not done.
He leapt at the Great Tyrant, slashing with his golden claw and making full contact with the electric nightmare’s arm. Sparks flew all around and the Tyrant gasped as he saw his own arm fall to the floor, lifeless and dark. Evercloud spun and readied himself for another attack.
“You think you’ve won?” bellowed the Tyrant as his body glowed and omitted a high-pitched squeal.
Densa, Riverpaw and Evercloud looked on in horror as the Tyrant raised his stump of an arm into the air and tiny tendrils of electric light began to crawl up and wind around each other, creating a new arm where the other had been.
“No,” breathed Evercloud.
“Yes!” returned the Tyrant, his eyes alit with malice.
Yet, no matter how much fear was in Evercloud after learning that the Tyrant could regenerate a limb, as he heard Ben yell for help behind him, his fear doubled. The man spun to see Ben fighting with Callderwallder upon the ground. The evil, little man’s suit was charging itself for another blast and Ben was struggling with all of the Evermight to prevent it from happening.
“I can’t stop it!” yelled Ben. “Get down!!”
With a blast that shook the room, Callderwallder’s weapon discharged into the ceiling and it began to crumble all around them. The Tyrant sent out a wave of energy that threw the crumbling structure outward and sent the entire tower roof falling to the streets of Nefas. The Great Tyrant was shaking with rage and roared into the orange and purple sky.
Densa, Riverpaw and Evercloud all charged the Tyrant together, preparing to deal as much damage as they could. Yet the three were all caught unaware as the Tyrant released another wave of energy that hit them, full force, throwing them back. Densa caught himself on a half-destroyed window and fell to the tower floor, but both Evercloud and Riverpaw were tossed over the side of the broken, tower wall. Densa recovered and found his own rage, unleashing a wave of energy back at the Tyrant. The two adversaries flew toward one another, colliding in the middle of the tower room.
Ben continued to struggle, rolling on the ground with Callderwallder in his suit. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben could see something red and glowing, flash across his vision. Then suddenly, Callderwallder was torn from his grasp. Ben scrambled to his feet to see a great beast standing before Callderwallder, glowing a vibrant red. The beast hit Callderwallder’s suit with a continuous beam of red energy. Ben watched as the suit slowly disintegrated underneath the power of the beam and Ben knew this was his opportunity. With all of his might, the man ran, full speed, toward Callderwallder and swung at the chest of the metal suit. Ben connected right where the red beam was hitting the suit, and Callderwallder’s creation shattered upon impact. The little man fell to the floor and tried to crawl away, but the red, glowing beast tracked him down with ease.
“I’ll make you feel my pain,” the sad, little man grumbled with rage. “I’ll make all of you suffer for what you’ve done to me! You’ll all suffer! Forever!”
“No, we will not,” said the glowing, red beast, “and neither will you.”
The giant animal raised his paw and stomped down upon the little man with great strength, ending his life swiftly.
As victory over Callderwallder was won, Densa landed a kick to the Tyrant’s leg that staggered him and forced a retreat to gain his balance. As he looked around the room at Densa, he saw Evercloud and Riverpaw returning from their fall, unharmed. Then, he looked left and saw Ben and the large, red animal preparing to attack him as well.
“You really believe you can do this, don’t you?” laughed the Tyrant. “You really think you’re all strong enough.”
“We are,” said the red animal. “Every one of us.”
“Tenturo,” exclaimed the Tyrant with derision. “So happy to see you alive. You’ll forgive me if I don’t apologize for disfiguring you.”
“Tenturo?” exclaimed Evercloud as he turned to the red animal in shock. Densa, Riverpaw and Ben reacted with the same surprise.
“I may be changed,” said Tenturo, “but I am more powerful than I have ever been.”
“Somehow,” mocked the Great Tyrant, “I doubt that very much.”
The Tyrant bolted toward Tenturo with a speed that was blinding, and like lightning, rolling up from the earth to the sky, the Tyrant tore through the ancient being and disappeared from sight.
“NOOO!!” yelled Densa and rushed to his friend’s side. He knelt next to his ancient brother and tears fell from his eyes. “No, Tenturo, stay with me. You’ll be fine.”
The great Ancient that was once a griffin lied limply upon the floor of the tower room and grimaced in pain.
“Not this time, my friend. Not this time.”
“Don’t speak that way,” pled Densa. “We will heal you.”
“No, Densa. Listen to me, my time is short.” The Ancient coughed and now Ben, Evercloud and Riverpaw knelt around him as well. “I awoke upon the surface of the red planet, after our battle with the Tyrant, and I was changed in the way that you see me now. It took me a very long time to heal, but once I did, I found my way to the core of the planet and I met the Red One, the one who calls himself Desher. It was there that I learned the fate of the red planet. The Tyrant stripped it of life. He destroyed Desher almost completely. He left him with so little life that Desher was unable to support any of the creatures that lived upon his surface. It became a wasteland and they all perished. You must listen to me, Densa. This is what the Tyrant has planned for our Earth. He will find his way to her and take all of her energy. She will be left for dead and every creature on this planet will die, without exception.”
“This can’t be true,” whispered Densa.
“It is. You must believe me. You are the last of us, Densa.”
“You are still here, Tenturo.”
“I fade quickly, my brother. The Tyrant has absorbed Desher and he means to absorb Earth. You must stop him at all costs. Promise me.”
“Yes, Tenturo. I will. I promise.”
“Thank you,” said the Ancient, his life slipping away like tiny grains of sand. Helpless to stop it, the four warriors watched with heavy hearts as the great Tenturo departed from the world, forever.
“I know where he is heading,” said Densa, rising from his knees. “I know where he means to attack Earth.
“The crater of Gray Mountain,” said Evercloud. “Where the metal men are.”
“Where the metal men were,” corrected Densa.
“You destroyed them?” asked Riverpaw.
“Yes,” answered Densa simply.
“Densa, we have to meet with Earth to see if she has contacted the Skyfather. We have to–”
“NO, Evercloud,” said Densa raising his voice. “I am sorry, but Earth cannot help us. We have to take matters into our own hands. I have a plan.”
“No, Densa, we can’t do that. What about the prophecy?”
“The prophecy is a joke, Evercloud. We just battled the Tyrant. Where was the Skyfather? Where was the prophecy?” Densa looked at Evercloud with a solemn expression that Evercloud found surprising. “Evercloud, I’m not asking for your permission.” All of the wrath and fury was gone from Densa’s eyes and for the first time, in Evercloud’s mind, he thought the man looked sad. “I have a plan, but I do not have th
e time to explain it to you. I need your help, all of you. But I need you to trust me. Please, Evercloud. This isn’t a discussion. I’m going to do what I have to do, with or without your help… but it would be much better if I did have your help.”
“How can you expect us to trust you, Densa? Honestly… how?”
“Iolana did…”
Evercloud huffed and folded his arms. He looked at Riverpaw and Ben and their gazes betrayed his emotion exactly. Whether we like it or not, this is the path we must take.
“What do you need of me?” asked Evercloud.
“I need you and Riverpaw to gather Nefas, Cerano, Chreos and anyone you can find in between, and bring them to the crater. This needs to be done as quickly as possible. Use the spirit daughters to help. We can’t wait for these people to arrive on their own, we won’t have enough time.”
“Why?”
“I can’t tell you. As I’ve said… you have to trust me.”
Evercloud shook his head. Doing this went against every instinct he had. The truth was that he didn’t know if he could trust Densa. But the fact remained, what hope did they have without him? The Tyrant was too strong.
“Okay… fine. We’ll go. Ben, you ride Riverpaw.”
“No, Ben stays with me,” said Densa.
“For what reason?”
“Evercloud, I need you and Riverpaw to leave now. It may take some time for you to gather everyone at the crater. What Ben and I have to do may not take as long, and we need to complete this plan before the Tyrant reaches Earth’s core. Please… leave now.”
“Fine,” said Evercloud. He looked at his cousin, Riverpaw, and nodded his head. “Let’s go.”
Evercloud and Riverpaw left the tower at Nefas and Densa turned to a doubtful Ben Floyd.
“You truly loved her?” Ben asked the Ancient.
“I’ve never stopped loving her.”
“What do you want of me?”
“Do you think, with the Evermight, that you are strong enough to punch through the earth’s crust?”
Ben was stunned and confused. “Well… umm… I haven’t had it that long… so.”
“Do you think you could?” repeated Densa.
“No,” admitted Ben.
“Then we need to find someone who can.”
Ben rubbed his hands together nervously, and then, realization struck him.
“I think I know someone who could, with the Evermight, possibly…”
“Then let’s go.”
Chapter 32: A Deal is Struck
“You can’t fly there,” said Ben to Densa as the Ancient traced the clouds toward the Mystic Mountain, home of the spirit, Lithlillian.
“It won’t be a problem,” muttered Densa.
“No, really. I’m serious,” said Ben, grasping Densa’s arm more tightly as they rose higher and higher in the air. “When we first came to this mountain, Riverpaw, my brother and I, we had to climb the mountain to prove we were worthy of audience with Lithlillian.”
Densa began to chuckle and suddenly, Ben felt very small.
“We won’t have to climb the mountain, Ben. We won’t have to prove anything.”
“I suppose I forgot who you really were for a moment,” said Ben, trailing off and feeling completely foolish. Densa did not reply.
Who I really am, thought Densa. If what I am about to do is not really who I am, then I’ve never really been anything.
Ben found it unsettling to fly with Densa. He spoke little and it wasn’t at all like flying with Riverpaw. Riverpaw was rarely silent, and in addition, he also provided a much more comfortable ride. Densa dragged Ben through the air by his arm as if he were a spoiled child being carried away for punishment. The thought that, any moment, Densa’s grip might fail and send Ben plummeting to the earth terrified him. The night offered no assurance either, the air was cold and visibility was poor to say the least. As they rose up through the cloud cover, Ben felt chilled, alone and racked by his nerves.
Time passed slowly and Ben decided to close his eyes in the hope of calming himself. After all, it wasn’t just the flight that troubled him. He was about to reenter the home of a very powerful spirit whom he had insulted with a ruse. He, Tomas and Riverpaw had only narrowly escaped her wrath during their first encounter, and he knew she had not forgiven him. Her absence during the battle with the Felaquan fleet spoke louder than any biting words could ever hope to. Yet, Ben had a plan, and he had Densa on his side. He had assumed Densa would protect him should Lithlillian direct her rage his way, however, as the cold night continued to chill him, he wondered how much protection Densa would offer him.
“You know, you can trust me, Ben. You know I wouldn’t deceive you for evil purposes, don’t you?”
Ben was shocked. “You can read minds?”
“Yes and no,” said Densa. “People aren’t so hard to read, and… I’m used to certain things.”
Ben opened his eyes and saw that he and Densa had risen to where they could see the night sky, filled with brilliant stars. Suddenly, Ben’s nerves and chill disappeared and he found himself entranced with the cosmos.
“Why won’t you tell me your plan?” he found himself asking, though he bit his tongue after the words escaped his mouth.
“You see my methods as condescending?”
Ben considered this for a moment. He hadn’t thought about it that specifically, but as the word ruminated in his mind, he supposed that was the way it felt.
“You ask for our trust,” replied Ben. “Yet, you do not trust us.”
“I have my reasons for keeping you and the others in the dark. But know that you and your family are the closest thing I have ever had to true friends, outside of the Ancients. What your family did for Iolana… what you did for me… I owe you and your brother a debt that I mean to repay. I am sorry for killing your father… I deeply regret that.”
The words stung Ben and he found himself grinding his teeth. He did not reply to Densa. Through all that had happened, he had forgotten it was Densa that murdered his father, Nicolas Floyd. He hated that he had not kept that fresh in his mind. He wanted to curse at Densa. He wanted to let go of his hand and foil whatever blasted plan the Ancient was concocting. But before Ben’s rage could turn his allegiance, Densa stopped and called out into the night sky.
“LITHLILLIAN!! LITHLILLIAN!!”
As a mirage appears to the parched man sloughing through the desert dunes, the grandiose peak of the Mystic Mountain appeared before Ben and Densa. Without pause, Densa raced toward the pinnacle, Ben still tightly in his grasp.
Be confident, Ben coached himself. You can repair this rift. You have to.
Before he knew it, he was standing upon the peak next to Densa, the very same peak he had once lied upon, wondering if he might die. Back then, the arrival of Lithlillian had spelled salvation and had warmed him with hope. Now, as he gazed upon the giant woman, his knees shuddered and his heart was filled with dread. Ben reached deep within himself and mustered the strength and courage to stand tall.
“Thank you, Densa. I appreciate you apprehending this imp for me so that I might crush him.” Lithlillian flexed her massive muscles and glared at Ben with fire.
“That’s not why he’s here,” said Densa so plainly one might think he was bored. “I need your help.”
“I don’t understand,” said Lithlillian, beginning to grind her teeth. “Why is he here, if not to receive punishment?”
“I’m going to kill the Tyrant,” said Densa, his words now coming with more purpose. “I need someone who can break a hole through the earth’s crust. Can you do this?”
Lithlillian shook her head in frustration and confusion.
“Have you gone mad?!” she roared. “What bottle of lunacy have you been sipping from?”
“I don’t have the time, Lithlillian,” said Densa sternly. “I have a plan to rid this world of the Tyrant; to rid our mother of the Tyrant–”
“I’ve never heard you refer to her as our mother.”
“LISTEN TO ME!!” Both Ben and Lithlillian fell back as Densa’s eyes began to glow red like the loathsome creatures of his creation, the Farsiders. “I have no time for petty differences and I have no time to explain my motives. Can you crack a hole in the earth’s crust? Our mother’s life depends on it.”
“No,” shouted a stung Lithlillian. “I cannot. I would if I could, to help Mother, but I cannot.”
Densa turned his red eyes upon Ben Floyd and the frightened man did not hesitate to step forward. The only thing in the world he feared more than Lithlillian was Densa.
“I wish to offer you a gift,” said Ben to the great daughter of the Earth and Sun. “The Evermight. It was a gift from your father–”
“I know what the Evermight is,” interrupted the spirit.
“I will give it to you… if you help us.”
Loud laughter leapt forth from Lithlillian’s lungs. “You? The Evermight?” Suddenly, the woman’s mirth turned cold and her words bitter. “We’ll see about that.”
Without warning, the woman lunged forward and swung down with both fists clenched together, intent on pounding Ben down into the mountain. Her motions were swift and powerful and she released a roar as her arms came down like a hammer upon an anvil. But the test washed away her doubt.
Standing beneath her blow, blocking the force of a great spirit, the mortal man stood, arms raised with strength and defiance. Lithlillian stumbled backward in shock, and Ben stood tall and unharmed. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and pride welled in his belly.
“He tells the truth this time,” observed Lithlillian.
Ben didn’t wait further to speak.
“The Evermight is mine, and I do not need to relinquish it to you. We come here asking for your help to save this word. I will give you the Evermight, as an apology for my previous actions, but you must agree to our terms.”
“State them,” said the spirit woman, still shocked at her failure to crush the man.
“When I am engaged in battle with the Great Tyrant,” began Densa, “I need you to use the Evermight to break the earth’s crust. We will be at the crater where Gray Mountain once stood. I need you prepared and waiting to do this soon.”
Everflame: The Complete Series Page 96
