Gemini Warrior

by J D Cowan

  Kydil and the priest attempted to calm the crowd down.

  Jason interrupted their back and forth. “We’re leaving, Matthew. Get the armor on.”

  Matthew looked at him with a flat stare, but he nodded nonetheless. “I wasn’t planning on staying.” He pointed to Zelana. “But we’re not taking her. She’s staying.”

  Kydil broke their silence. “You men are leaving alone?”

  Matthew answered in the affirmative, and a weight lifted from the crowd. Jason couldn’t blame them; these people had no reason to be loyal to the two wanderers. Still, Jason wanted to be very clear on the subject of Zelana.

  “I understand,” Kydil replied. “We would never willingly give a child over to those monsters. We will keep her safe here.”

  Matthew shook his hand. “I don’t doubt it.”

  These people had done nothing but help. This was not much like the city Jason knew on Earth. He liked Fortuna, and yet they would already have to leave it behind for the wilds. Perhaps this was the way they would have to live their lives from now on. He didn’t want to imagine that.

  “Thanks for everything,” Jason told them. He put his hand out, and Kydil shook it. The boy smiled. “We’ll be moving on now.”

  “Do you not need a guide?”

  “No, I’ve got a dog for that.” He pointed his thumb at Matthew.

  “What’s that mean?” the Castor-user asked.

  “You know the way, don’t you?”

  “I can figure it out, but I’m not a dog. I’m also still not at one hundred percent yet.”

  “We’ll just have to hope for the best. Do you all have any of those masks to spare?”

  Jason and Matthew said their goodbyes to the crowd and the few warriors that had helped them to Fortuna in the first place. They went back into the tavern and recollected their armor and weapons. Matthew asked why it all felt so much lighter, but Jason said nothing. He would explain it later.

  They were given masks and placed them across their helmets. It was an awkward fit, but it would do for now. It wasn’t as if they would keep out the fog forever.

  The pair traveled to the fissure in the large stone hole at the edge of Fortuna. Behind them, Zelana waved from the back of the crowd. Pangs of guilt attacked Jason, and his stomach sank. If there was anything he regretted about coming to this world, it was how he found that girl and then stranded her among strangers. She trusted him, and he left her there alone.

  Then again, this was all the more reason for him to return here.

  The pair disappeared into the crevice. Jason choked his fear down into his gut. They walked the winding path through the rock and into the Deep Woods, back into enemy territory.

  But this would be the last time. When he told himself that, the pit in his gut died. This was because he knew that it was true. Whether it killed him or not, he would face Shaula down and end this now.

  Chapter 19

  Into the Trap

  “You feel that?” Matthew asked the boy. Jason had transferred into his head for easier travel, but it didn’t take too long for them to come across trouble. After several hours traveling the forest, their silence had been interrupted. “Listen carefully.”

  Bodies moved miles away in the brush and only crept closer. He couldn’t actually tell if they were Shaula’s men or just some other abomination hiding in the night’s green mist. At least his sixth sense seemed to be recovering. Steps softly pattered against the grass.

  “I don’t hear anything. It might be because I’m in here, you know.”

  “Stay put,” Matthew whispered. “We don’t want our time limit to run out in a fight, and it is harder for them to sneak up on one of us. Especially me. No offense, but you’re the clumsiest person I have ever met.”

  “Ha ha, you’re a real comedian,” the boy mocked. He paused as if mulling over his next words. “Tell me something.”

  “If I want to tell you, I will.”

  “Back at the abbey, why did you just jump over that wall? You could have found me yourself. Did you really think Ord was in that much trouble?”

  Matthew had not put one ounce of energy thinking about it. “Just instinct. Why you asking?”

  “Because you usually think before you do things.”

  “We can’t all be mopey impulsive teenagers, Jason. Sometimes you have to move whether it makes sense or not.”

  “I’m not mopey!” the boy argued. Once more he fell silent as Matthew brushed aside a low hanging branch from a sycamore-like tree. “Am I?”

  “The fact that you have to ask tells me everything.”

  “We have been through hell, you know. Sure I might have whined . . . once or twice. But I stopped. You could cut me a little slack.”

  “What did I say before about you not really knowing me? When we get back to Serenity City, I’ll teach you something fun, like counting cards.”

  “Should we really be going back? I know we need to get the bomb out, but after that . . .”

  Matthew’s spine let out a small tremor. Those footsteps were getting closer.

  “We have to go back, Jason. This isn’t our world, and as long as we’re here those like the people of Fortuna at risk. It’s pretty clear Shaula won’t stop until she gets these bracelets, and we aren’t going to let her take the stupid things. The only way to do that is to go back to Earth and seal the way between worlds. We can’t help these people any other way.”

  “We could come back and fight.”

  “At risk to people who have done right by us. You’ve heard the legends about Nieto. Think about it. Ever since that being came from the sky and did battle with him, his magic waned tremendously. His power no longer extends beyond the mountains, and it shrinks over time. Leaving is the best way to make sure he can never gain power again. What’s the deal, anyway? I thought you wanted to go back.”

  Jason didn’t answer right away. Matthew had thought of the boy as a bit of a whiner, but he wasn’t stupid. He had been tricked by Shaula into the experiment and struggled to make up for his failings since. Staying here in a world of warriors when he was still such an amateur was not good for him. There had to be some family left back home. The boy couldn’t stay here.

  “I don’t want to stick around. But I think we should.”

  “We can’t. I already told you why.”

  “Why do you even want to go back, Matthew? Forget Castor and Pollux and Ord and Alain for a second, and tell me. Is there even anything left for you?”

  He had nothing. That was why he had taken that job at what he thought was Williams’ Tech Corp. He needed a fresh start and a reason to get back into the working game shed that loser image and become something better. Never did he think that would lead to this.

  Then there was Serenity City itself. He was only a tiny rug rat when Achilles went ballistic and leveled whole blocks, but he had somehow remembered that feeling ever since—that feeling of emptiness adults had when looking at heroes. They were waiting for them to fall. Those fake celebrities didn’t help. It was a horrible place, and he only stayed because of the opportunities.

  But was that all? He hadn’t given it much thought before. There might have been another reason he had stuck around that place despite nothing tying him there. It could have been the hope that things would change, that they would get better, and that someone like Achilles, or Pendragon, or the Banshee, might rise again from the darkness. What would the world be like if there really were heroes worth looking up to? He had never known that world.

  And he probably wouldn’t.

  “I’m going back because I have to. No other reason.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  He cocked his head. “Did you hear that?”

  The branches above the mist shook as an owl flew by. He couldn’t tell if the rest of the trees around them swayed because of the slight wind, passing birds, or something else. The footsteps rumbled closer and closer.

  He crouched under a branch, and Jason spoke into his head. “There�
�s something in the trees.”

  Leaves rustled above. A thin shaft whizzed for his eye. Matthew ducked, and the projectile slammed against the trunk. Salamander lizard men dropped from the trees. The same red species from the attack on the monastery.

  “Impressive, Man of Earth. Our Lady will be so delighted to have you with her.”

  “I thought she wanted us alive,” Matthew said. Jason exited his head, ready for a fight.

  Now the approaching footsteps rumbled harder and heavier. They would be here in seconds, and there were a lot of them. Matthew kept his sword ready.

  “Where are Ordopha and Alain?”

  One smirked. “Where is the prize?”

  “She isn’t coming.”

  “Our Lady will not like to hear that. Put away your blade. It will do you no good here.”

  The other lizard man hissed. “We should take them!”

  “You are aware they are Castor and Pollux, correct? Whether they have a sword or not makes no difference. They know their struggles are meaningless. Kneel and surrender, dogs.”

  Matthew really wanted to do otherwise, but even if they killed these enemies, they would have nowhere to go. They would still be stranded. Ordopha and Alain would still be in trouble.

  “Put it away, Jason. We don’t need to fight here.”

  Matthew slid his sword back in his scabbard and kneeled on the ground. Jason slowly followed after him as the lizard men cackled. The pounding of steps was closer than ever.

  The large group of salamanders jumped out of the brush and seized them, binding their arms and legs. The lizards threw their masks aside and sang a horrendous victory chant that scraped against eardrums. Shaula had finally gotten her prisoners back. As they were carried away, Matthew winked to Jason.

  The boy nodded back. He had to know what Matthew had already figured out. These fools would bring them right to Shaula. When they did, this mess would finally be over.

  The lizards led them through the green mist and into the rising sun of the morning. Matthew hoped this wouldn’t be the last sunrise he ever saw.

  Chapter 20

  Stone Mountain Castle

  Their enemies took the Gemini Men deeper into the forest. They eventually poured out into a wide open field before what looked like a mountain. The giant fortress had been carved into the large stone base of a crater. Rocks led up through the wall of green fog making Jason think they were near the mountain range they had first escaped from. The bad vibes he received from this place made him doubly sure of his belief.

  The carved in fortress wasn’t as big as the castle in Mageuopolis, but retained all the menace. The place stretched as tall as a twenty story building with spiraling pillars and a large barbican before the gate to keep out any intruders. Bartizan turrets spied down, ready for any incoming threat. Circling crows cawed over the fogged fortress.

  The group guided them inside the front gate where the cavernous hall crumpled down into thin stone paths. The clearly carved tunnels descended into the dark. Small grooves on the sides led out into nests where lizards slept and patrolled. Most here were red—the Salamanders.

  But the lizards dragged them deeper. Heat built up the further they went. The very air rippled as they exited into an open cavern with a hard drop below into a good hundred feet into magma. The harsh orange light nearly blinded Jason. Only the large platforms bridged with thin walkways held up by columns prevented them from falling to a scalding death. Sweat poured down Jason’s neck as he passed through yet more tunnels.

  Then the path opened up into the largest cavernous area yet which went on two hundred feet in every direction. Even more death drops and suspended platforms awaited them. In the center was an oversized circus cage suspended over the open lava via a pulley system. The ropes led down to a crank on the rock edge. Shaula, queen of Mageuopolis, and yet more salamanders crowded the ropes. Inside the floating prison, Jason and Matthew finally found Ordopha and Alain.

  The queen nodded, and the Salamanders shoved Jason and Matthew forward. Shaula wore a long red dress that hugged her hips and breasts, showing off her busty and well-toned figure. Her piled up platinum hair gleamed harshly against the orange light. The only thing that burned brighter was the snarl on her lips. Her long nails pressed into her thin arms.

  “Where is my prize?” she asked the salamanders.

  They cringed and slunk at her tone. Instantly, she turned on Jason.

  “You will tell me where she is.”

  He growled back. “You aren’t getting anything out of me, Marguerite.”

  “This is how you reward saving you from poverty and giving you power? I give you purpose, and you do this to me. It already took much too long for my injuries to heal after our last encounter. Magic takes time and energy, you know, and my time is valuable. Horrible boy.”

  “You lied to me. All you’ve done since we met is lie. I didn’t ask for any of this, and I’m going to be damned if I let you do it to anyone else. Let them down.”

  Jason eyeballed the cage shifting in the heavy heat. Fifty or so feet spread the distance between the steel trap and him. He wouldn’t be able to make it before the pulley turned.

  Shaula laughed without merriment. “I did not touch them. I made a promise, Jason. I understand Mr. White being a pain in my side, but not you.”

  “Stop calling me Mr. White. I’m not going to say it again. We’re not giving you an innocent girl to prey on, witch. We’ve seen what you do to those you want.”

  “She is above even you, Matthew.” She sneered at him, her white teeth bared. “You had no right to remove her, just as you had no right to take my Kharis Seed. Do you know how long I searched for it?”

  “Me, me, me,” Jason interrupted. “Everything is about you, isn’t it? Aside from the seed, don’t you care about your men?”

  Shaula furrowed a brow and glanced to the crowd of salamanders. “The lizards?”

  Now it was Jason who was losing his patience. “No, not them. The Cutter and Rantan. Your children. Don’t you remember them?”

  Slowly her eyes widened and her mouth opened in realization. Then a laugh broke her confusion. “Of course I don’t worry about them. You should worry more about Camille.”

  Shaula whistled, and the mountain trembled. Giant shapes formed from the earth. Large stone gargoyles tore their way up from the rock bed, letting loose stone fall from them like a rain shower. The gargoyles grew at least thirty feet tall and morphed to the vague shape of Rantan and the Cutter. The salamanders joined the monstrosities, trapping Jason and Matthew between them and Shaula.

  “Thank you, my dear,” she called out to the invisible Camille. “Such a good girl.”

  “You really are scum,” Matthew said.

  Jason concurred. “I can’t believe I ever trusted you. What are you even doing all this for? Fun?”

  “Fun? I would never do anything for such a base reason. And before you ask, no it is not because of the King. My husband asks this, yes, but I do it because it needs to be done. This is required for both Earthwalkers and humans. You have seen this world, divided by a false god that gave us a taste of freedom. They rejected the Great Sorcerer King after he gave them life, and for what? They are fragmented and frightened, hiding in their little kingdoms and villages from the overwhelming world. They are just like those on Earth.”

  Matthew groaned. “And now you’re babbling.”

  “No, Matthew, you are simply stupid. You live where heroes roam and yet you hide in fear. That is why you both came to me, remember? You realized what Our King already know. The false heroes of your world failed time and time again to change anything, and now you see the world for what it is. You know there are no heroes left. They are only mortal. They cannot save you from the sword above your head. But I can.”

  “Wrong again,” Matthew answered. “These bracelets saved us. If it weren’t for them, I would have been another failed experiment like every other one of your castoffs. And thank God for that! I only made it this
far because of Castor, this idiot, and the two people behind you. All you have done, Shaula, is destroy.”

  “And all you have done is disappoint me. Fine. You can have it your way.” She snapped her fingers. “Kill them.”

  Matthew pointed his blade to her. “Why don’t you do it?”

  “Because I do not wish to damage my precious bracelets.” She paused and cocked her head to the side as if hearing a distant call. “But perhaps we will meet again sooner than I first thought. I’ll set your room up just how you like it, should you make it back.”

  Shaula strode along the stalactite bridge towards the rear tunnel. Jason contemplated making a run for her but thought better of it. She expected it. She had to. Behind him, her lackeys advanced on them. Now he had to choose one of three paths: go for the siblings, go for Shaula, or go for her men. One had to have priority. As if sensing his thoughts, Shaula lifted a hand of purple mist and snapped her fingers once more. A floating line of magic zipped toward the pulley and poured inside. The device strained and squeaked.

  “That bitch,” Matthew muttered.

  “Forget her and come here.”

  Matthew took one look at Jason and told him his choice. They were going for the cage.

  Jason lifted Matthew with one arm, Pollux holding steady, and threw him toward the squeaking cage. He had learned from his last try. The boy parceled Pollux out just enough: not too much strength, but enough to adjust to Matthew’s weight. At least, he hoped.

  Rocks broke behind Jason. He went for his scabbard and shield.

  The lizards dove upon him. Swords, spears, and axes flashed, and he slashed his weapon in defense, clanking against blades. The cavalcade of lizard men quickly encircled him. The two gargoyle golems stomped toward him, shaking the entire world with each step.

  The floor shifted and slanted. Several of the lizard men tripped as the ground slid to the right and sank like a sand pit. The funnel pulled hard at the men on the battlefield.