by Jeff Gunzel
There was nowhere to run.
Viola watched in awe as the two of them worked their way around the battlefield. Unchallenged, nearly invincible in their own right, the results were largely the same wherever they marched. Crippling these giants with merely a stroke or two, the humans and lerwicks quickly converged on the fallen beasts and finished the job.
How the tide had turned. They were really going to win, and not the way their ancestors had done so centuries ago. There would be no prisoners this day. The ghatins would not simply be contained for a future generation to deal with.
They would die this day. The ghatins were no more.
*
She never remembered sitting down, and had no concept of how much time had passed when a tall figure stepped into Viola’s vision. Strong but gentle hands hoisted her up to her feet. “It is over,” Jarlen said softly, moving her close to his chest. Barely able to feel her own arms, they hung limply at her sides while she leaned heavily against him. Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly as she stared off at nothing.
Patiently supporting his sister’s weight, he would hold her up as long as was necessary. She had been through hell, they all had. He would stand with her in this time of triumph, this shared time of pain. “Come,” he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “The others are waiting for you.”
Moist with blood, the ground squished under their feet with each step. The dead were everywhere, some whole with their eyes still wide open, while others had been torn into unrecognizable strips of meat. Somehow, the latter were easier for her to lay eyes on. Faceless, it hid the memories of who they were and what they had meant to her.
Surrounded by death, she could faintly hear the cheers raining down from the top of the wall. It was at that moment that she remembered what this had all been for, and how close they had come to failure. These humans cheering were but a fraction of what had existed in Ayrith not so long ago. These lone survivors were all that remained, and would have to find a way to rebuild again.
“Viola.” She blinked, her eyes snapping back into focus. There they stood before her, friends who had refused to give up even when the task seemed impossible. Liam appeared pretty roughed up, but the old man was alive. Sturdy like an oak tree, he was her rock in so many ways.
Sleepy-eyed, Owen looked as if he had just woken up. It was hard to believe he was human sometimes. Completely invincible as far as she could tell, there were times when she feared he just might try to win this war all by himself.
Assirra stood tall, her eyes hard yet still full of wisdom. But those eyes had changed since they last saw one another, so much so that she seemed like a different person. But her warm smile was an instant reminder that no matter how much she had changed, this was still her old friend at heart.
She looked into Xavier’s eyes, remembering that demon within that had surfaced so many times before. But this time she did not see that beast. In full control of himself, his eyes twinkled. He smiled at her, flashing that boyish grin she knew all too well. Losing herself, Viola burst into tears as she fell into his arms.
Oh, how I missed you.
Epilogue
The following weeks were all a blur. There were no celebrations of any sort, for such things were impossible to comprehend after an entire race had nearly been wiped out. But although there were no banners or flowers to commemorate their hard-earned victory, the mood was not all doom and despair, either.
They had survived, barely... Entire regions had been wiped out, and most of the humans had perished at the hands of this sweeping evil. But their race had survived, and that alone was nothing short of a miracle. And it was all thanks to this most mysterious race that had seemed to rise up from the ashes.
The lerwicks had found a place to call home in this fresh new society. Once feared and even hated, they were now being treated like heroes. It seemed that everywhere they went, a warm bed and hot meal was always waiting for them. Like the humans, their numbers had been slashed to a fraction of what they once were. But those who remained would finally know peace in the new world.
Practically locking themselves away from society, Liam and Hamas worked day and night devising a plan to help the humans rebuild. It was a long-term plan, one that would span out for centuries to come.
But that didn’t mean the humans here and now were to be ignored. This generation deserved to live comfortably as well. Already they were engineering new ways to bring water and food into the city. Soon enough, the city would be able to sustain itself.
Hidden in a cozy little corner of the city, Viola sat under what had become her favorite tree with a few close friends.
“Can you believe it’s already been two months?” Rishima asked, sitting on the other side of the tree. “I know it’s irrational, but I keep fearing that they might come back for us.”
“I understand your fear, but I promise you it is over, my love,” Bella assured her, leaning against a stone wall with her eyes closed. “They are gone and they are never coming back.” She wished she felt as confident as she sounded.
“There is no point in looking backwards,” Viola said, head tipped back against the tree with her eyes closed. “The future is all we have, so that is the only thing we should be thinking about. Worrying about anything else is just a waste of time.”
“Agreed,” came the dual response.
“Just last night I was thinking about that,” Rishima began. “What if we were to—” Clearing her throat, she stepped over and kneeled down beside Bella. “Didn’t you tell me you wanted to go pick some flowers this morning?”
“Huh?” Bella muttered, glancing up at her wife. “What are you talking about? I never said—”
“Good morning, ladies.” Xavier came strolling up with a sack slung over his shoulder. “How is everyone doing today?”
“Very well, thank you,” Bella said after a lingering silence. “Rishima and I were just getting ready to go pick some flowers.” Rolling up to her feet, she took Rishima by the arm. Making no effort to hide their sheepish grins, the two of them hastily tiptoed away.
With a shrug, Xavier set down his bag before taking a knee. “Would you like to see something?” he asked, taking off his gloves. Looking up into those light blue eyes of his, all she could do was smile back at him.
Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a wooden doll and laid it out between them. After clicking his rings all around the puppet, he lifting his hands, making it rise to its feet. With a life-like yawn, it stretched as if it had just woken up. “This is Prenden,” Xavier said as the puppet rubbed its hands together, eyelids blinking with a light clicking sound.
“Hello, Prenden,” Viola said, but her eyes stayed on Xavier the whole time. Even through tear-filled eyes, she kept on smiling as they relived their first meaningful encounter together. The world had changed so much since that fateful day, but their feelings for each other hadn’t changed at all.
*
Acrid, toxic, the air itself was unfit for any living creature to breathe. Molten lava belched and swirled, each rising bubble releasing even more poison into the environment. Barren and lifeless, the crackling sound of smoldering rocks echoed around the hollow volcano.
Crawling on its hands and knees, the white being dragged itself across the hot stone floor. Gasping, nearly dead, it somehow found the strength to move one more inch. And then another inch... The accumulation of inches had brought the creature all the way back to this fiery hell.
Another inch, another foot, the pink-eyed being pushed along on sheer will alone.
With a final push, it tipped headfirst into the molten river. The lava erupted, rising and swirling in a rapid boil. Toxic fumes rose up in streams of light green mist as orange flames licked the stone walls. Then, as suddenly as it began, the boiling lava began to recede. Slowly pulling back like a falling tide, it seeped back down across the stone and settled.
All was still for a time. The slow-moving river of lava calmed, with only the occasional bubble risin
g up to belch more toxins into the air.
Suddenly, a slow-moving outline appeared just beneath the drifting lava. Like a creeping shadow, it moved along before stopping near the stone. Other shadows started to appear, each one moving along just below the surface of lava.
A steaming bald head rose up from the center of the river, its large pink eyes gazing around. Then came another, and another.
Soon, the empty cavern echoed with hollow laughter.
Other work by Jeff Gunzel includes:
The Legend of the Gate Keeper Series
The Shadow
Land of Shadows
Siege of Night
Lost Empire
Reborn
The Trials of Ashbarn
End of Days
Tainted Blood Series
A Rip in Time
Of Blood and Blade
Winds of Chaos
A Rising Storm
Blood of the Fallen
Legacy
Note from the author: And so ends our journey. I hope you all have enjoyed the Tainted Blood series. I plan to write several more in the coming years. Thank you for taking the time to check out my work.
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