The Ancient Ones (The Legacy Trilogy Book 3)

by Michael Foster

  ‘Watch out!’ Captain Orrell warned as a nearby ebony tower erupted from the ground. It arched itself up on the end of its snaking appendage and pounded down beside them, crushing a row of houses beneath its weight. Every moment, in every direction, more such things were rising from the earth.

  ‘Where does it end?’ Daneel shouted. ‘How big is this thing?’

  ‘He is beneath this whole city,’ the magician explained. ‘And given that he could reach our ship, perhaps even further. I will have to kill him. Keep going. Get away, as far as you can. Leopold, your sword.’ Leopold had no time to flinch before his father’s weapon came flying from its sheath into the magician’s hand, without him taking his eye from the mountainous beast that was bringing ruin to the city. ‘Daneel, guard Salu well. If I live, I will need him after this.’

  In a flash the magician was gone to battle, cutting through rows of snaking tentacles on his way as they burst from the streets.

  A roar of anger issued from Poltamir, his limbs thrashing in anger. He drew the entirety of his body from the earth, trailing thick roots below. He heaved his mass forwards, sending up clouds of dust at his base that swallowed the city at his foot. The dome had entirely collapsed now, a thin shell crushed beneath him.

  They tried to run, but more of Poltamir’s limbs lurched from the ground. They changed route a dozen times trying to find a way through the maze of destruction to the coast. Meanwhile, behind them, Samuel and Poltamir waged their cataclysmic battle.

  The ocean appeared, but the stretch of street tore itself up in front of them, as another tentacle raised itself to full height and wavered hesitantly. The street was impossible to cross, and it left them standing there, wondering which way to go.

  Rei looked crestfallen, surveying the destruction. She turned, casting her gaze upon the gigantic, repugnant body of Poltamir: a hairy, blackened egg.

  Captain Orrell held her by the shoulders and shook her. ‘Jessicah!’ he said. ‘Jessicah, can you hear me?’

  ‘She’s gone,’ Daneel told him, regarding the captain with pity.

  ‘No,’ he said determinedly. ‘I know she is still in there. She has to be!’

  Rei shook her head with dismay. ‘Poltamir? Poltamir!’ She laughed, slightly at first but growing louder and more maniacal. Her hair was across her face. ‘Good!’ she wailed. ‘I am glad it has come to this. Look at him! Look at what the fool did to himself! And now he and Samuel will destroy each other! What a beautiful finale!’

  Beams of light shone from the magician, lightning crackled, and the distant atom of his form flashed about, sending lengths of Poltamir’s flesh dropping to the ground with each pass, crushing city blocks underneath—but Poltamir was endless. What he lacked in speed he made up for in mass, and he attacked Samuel from all directions, more of his tendrils rising from the ground at his base, infinite in number.

  Samuel peeled away from the battle and coursed towards the group. He landed before them, but the man that arrived was very different to the one that had left.

  ‘Samuel!’ Leopold said with wonder. ‘What have you done to yourself?’

  His skin had changed, transformed into a perfect black stone. The magician opened his gleaming fist and dropped Leopold’s sword to the earth—the steel was glowing hot and twisted.

  ‘I have changed myself,’ he replied, his mouth unmoving, his voice alien, echoing out of his chest, ‘to better fight him. Don’t worry; I can change back if I wish. I am sorry about your sword, Leopold. It served us both well, but its usefulness is at an end.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Leopold said, shaking his head as he looked at the ruined length of steel. ‘What will you do?’

  ‘I fight on.’ As he spoke, a cracked corner of his face fell away, revealing molten fire underneath.

  ‘You’re hurt!’ Kali said.

  ‘True, but I cannot give up. I just needed a brief respite.’

  Behind him, Poltamir was hauling himself across the city. He was titanic in scale, yet he dragged his bulk across the city with surprising speed, tearing up his tentacles behind him, or snapping them off at the ground like unwanted roots. The network of limbs that rose across the city trembled as he cut his link with them, then continued their wavering, some autonomous sense in them taking over.

  ‘Now go,’ Samuel told them, and with a flick of his finger the hole in the street filled with rubble, a bridge for them to cross.

  Again the magician flew to battle, but his companions remained motionless.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Leopold asked. ‘Why aren’t we moving?’

  ‘There’s no point, Leopold,’ Daneel stated, and he plopped old Salu upon the dusty road. ‘We can’t outrun the beast. Even if we made it to the coast, what then?’

  ‘We could ... we could ...’ Leopold stammered, but even he could find no answer.

  ‘Look,’ Daneel said, thrusting his finger towards the sea, for between collapsed buildings they could see a patch of blue, and dark, sinewy things were bristling upon the water in wait. ‘We can’t hope to outrun it. It’s everywhere!’

  ‘What is that?’ Kali called and Leopold turned his attention to the city once more.

  Some shining haze had formed around Samuel, even as he continued battling the giant. A red fire surrounded him, blazing behind as he flew.

  ‘He’s changing,’ Leopold said. ‘The demons are taking him, but he fights on. He has no casket. If he continues, we won’t be able to save him.’

  ‘He mentioned Salu,’ Daneel said, looking to the old man’s body on the ground, ‘but only he knows what to do.’

  ‘Where is Toby?’ Leopold then asked, for moments before the boy had been standing beside them.

  ‘There!’ Kali called.

  The boy has climbed onto the shattered stump of a building and was peering at the calamity of Poltamir.

  ‘I’ll go,’ Leopold said, and clambered after him. When he had scaled up beside the boy he saw there were tears in his eyes.

  ‘Toby, what is it? What’s wrong?’ Leopold asked.

  Toby looked at him, eyes trembling, glistening, his mouth moving silently as he attempted to speak. Unfulfilled, he turned back to follow Samuel as the boiling shroud of fire continued to expand.

  ‘Toby, come down from there!’ Kali beckoned from below, offering up her hand. The boy ignored her pleas.

  The fiery form of Samuel vanished amongst the nest of writhing appendages around Poltamir’s body.

  ‘Where has he gone?’ Leopold asked when the magician did not immediately reappear.

  They waited. The echoes of battle faded across the city. Only the hissing sounds of Poltamir’s incessant movements carried on the wind. Then, all the countless tendrils became agitated and convulsed wildly, excited. A sound followed, like a scream from ten thousand tortured mouths, and a blinding flash of light erupted from Poltamir’s core. A wall of dust raced along the streets, and, as it passed Leopold and the others, it carried a muffled boom that sent them to their knees.

  The forest of tentacles, raised up from so many openings in the streets, fell flat, flopping to the earth, crushing everything below in clouds of billowing dust, and were still.

  More distant rumbling followed, and the central core of Poltamir split open, falling apart—a ruined husk—and something new came striding from its middle. It was a gargantuan, naked figure bathed in flames, half of Poltamir’s height, with nine faces spread across its monstrous, wolf-like head. All their mouths roared and it shook its fists with fury, stomping in the ruined corpse of its foe, snapping pieces of black flesh away and clawing them to the earth.

  Another flash of light followed. This time, the creature held out its arms, and the corpse of Poltamir contracted, falling upon itself, sucked in towards this being of fire. The giant appendages of dark, taloned flesh withdrew, snaking back under the ground, turning to vapour and absorbed into the beast. The newly formed creature roared triumphantly, stretching its neck to the sky.

  With its victory howl
complete, the creature turned its attention to those who watched it. It lifted its huge leg and strode towards them, setting the earth to shudder.

  ‘What is that?’ Kali asked. ‘The monster has changed its form!’

  ‘No,’ Leopold said, for he knew the look of the blazing beast well. ‘Poltamir is dead. It is Samuel who has changed. It is too late. He has been overwhelmed by his demons.’

  The burning giant crossed the shattered cityscape, each step spanning city blocks.

  They stared at it, stupefied.

  ‘Quickly. Take him,’ Leopold said to Kali, urgency in his voice, grabbing Toby and holding him towards the woman.

  She took the boy and set him down; then Leopold scrambled after. Kali was immediately away, loping towards the beast that was once Samuel.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he cried after her.

  She slowed only to shout her reply over her shoulder. ‘I have to stop it. Run!’

  As such, Kali sped towards the demon, impossibly outmatched, rushing to meet her destiny.

  ‘Come back!’ Leopold cried after her, but she did not listen. He wanted to run after her, but he would only be throwing away his own life as well.

  He looked to the others hopelessly. Daneel stood dumb, his mouth open as he stared at the beast, his sword lying in the dirt where he had dropped it. Captain Orrell still held Rei by the forearm, but he need not have bothered. She pointed towards the beast and laughed insanely.

  ‘Come on,’ Leopold said to them, picking up Toby and preparing to flee. The demon was now only three of its massive steps away.

  Toby did not wriggle as expected. He did something entirely unexpected, that momentarily wiped their impending death from Leopold’s mind.

  ‘Put me down,’ the boy whispered into his ear, his words clear and articulate.

  Leopold stared at the child in his arms, then did as asked, gently setting him upon the ground.

  Toby looked up at the demon, a single stride away and ‘Father!’ he called towards it. ‘Father, I am here! You have found me. Put your demons away!’

  The beast raised its monstrous hoof to crush them—and stopped short, setting its foot aside, causing an avalanche of roofs. It bent itself over, hanging its devilish head over them, and the heat was scalding upon their skin. Its many faces merged into one, and it roared at them, blasting heat and noise. Then, the ghoulish red fire around it flared up, blown by a gust of wind—and the demon was gone.

  Samuel appeared mid-air in its place, where its heart would have been, and he fell to the earth, bouncing on the busted street-stones like a dropped child’s doll.

  They ran to where he fell, lying on the earth, smouldering like a quenched fire. His skin had reverted from stone, yet he was cut, scratched, bruised and beaten, his clothes shreds of cloth burnt to his skin. Yet he was alive.

  Samuel gazed at the boy in disbelief, struggling painstakingly to his knees as Toby knelt beside him. Toby leant in and spoke closely, then Samuel threw his arms around him, hugging him tightly. Tears streamed from the magician’s eyes.

  ‘My son!’ he gasped. ‘My son! I have found you!’

  ‘What has happened?’ Orrell asked. ‘What does it mean?’ He had left Rei fallen into a heap, oblivious to the events around her.

  ‘It means we’ve found the Demon King,’ Leopold said in awe. ‘Or rather, he has been with us all along.’

  ‘Toby?’ the captain queried of his Emperor.

  ‘That’s right. Or so it seems.’ Leopold returned his attention to Samuel, and went to state the obvious. ‘Samuel, you have found—’

  The magician’s finger snapped to his blistered lips, signalling for Leopold to hush before finishing the phrase that would summon Lomar. Leopold had not thought to say it. Somehow, it nearly slipped from his mouth unbidden.

  ‘Toby is Samuel’s son?’ Daneel asked, his single eye blinking with confusion. ‘Toby is the Demon King, the monster we have been seeking all this time?’

  ‘Apparently,’ Leopold replied. ‘Toby?’

  The boy ignored him, instead helping Samuel climb to his feet. The magician’s face was smeared with soot and ash. He appeared full of shock, joy and sorrow all at once.

  ‘Samuel?’ Leopold ventured, for he was perplexed by it all.

  The sound of feet approaching caught their attention, and Kali came loping back to be with them.

  ‘Kali!’ Leopold exclaimed, as the woman stopped to get her breath. ‘You’re alive!’

  ‘I am,’ she said, panting. ‘The demon stepped right over me to get to you. Where has it gone?’ She glanced around, ignorant of the recent revelations.

  At that moment, it was Toby’s turn to fall. His body went slack, caught in Samuel’s arms. The boy’s eyes were shut, his mouth hung open.

  ‘What is happening here?’ Kali asked.

  ‘This is my son,’ the magician replied. ‘In another life, long ago, I named him Marrag Lin. He is the Demon King that would destroy us, yet he has driven back the demons within me and saved me ... and saved us all. Beyond belief, he has given us the time we need.’

  ‘Time for what?’ Leopold asked.

  ‘Time to save the world,’ Samuel told him. ‘It has begun. He readies to come amongst us. When he arrives, he will be not too dissimilar to the devil he has just defeated. If we do not stop him, it will be the end of us all.’

  ‘Then why is he helping us?’ Kali asked.

  ‘The part of him that was Toby was not the whole being. It was only a fraction of his essence, a curious fragment exploring the world it was about to consume. His essence now gathers around us, attracted by my newfound strength and the demons I contain. He has decided it is time to make the harvest. Toby is gone. The Demon King will be here very shortly.’

  ‘How could this have happened?’ Daneel asked, bewildered.

  ‘I am guessing a part of Lin wanted to rediscover himself, to see our world through human eyes, as he once did. We will ask Lomar. He is the one who will know.’

  ‘And where is Lomar?’ the eyepatched man enquired.

  ‘Until now, I could not find him, but I realise there is only one place in the world where he could be hiding.’ He looked to those gathered around him. ‘It is not quite over yet. Where we are going, I will need your help. I hope you can take this last step with me.’

  ‘Of course,’ Leopold responded for all of them.

  ‘But, Samuel, what of Jessicah?’ Captain Orrell asked, facing the troubled woman. ‘Is there still nothing you can do for her?’

  Samuel gained his feet, passing Toby to Kali, and approached Rei, still sitting upon her dress on the broken street. With each stride, his robes reknitted themselves new, his cuts healed and his bruises faded. The dirt fell from his skin and it was the strong, vital form of the magician that overlooked his cousin.

  ‘Rei ... listen to me. It is over. Lin has returned. He is here, and I need your help. Let Jessicah free, and you can pass on. You will never be born again, but that is a natural fate not to be feared. Hear me. I have opened your prison doors. It is up to you to walk out.’

  The woman looked up at him, attracted more by the sound of his voice than his words. Her confusion subsided and she closed her eyes. She looked afraid, as if in pain from a splinter being drawn out, but then it passed, and relief washed over her. She opened her eyes again, and it was Jessicah alone looking out.

  The magician offered her his hand and, taking it, she stood.

  ‘Samuel,’ she said, her voice trembling. ‘I’m so sorry. She was too strong.’

  ‘It was not your fault.’

  ‘I feel so ashamed. I know it wasn’t me ... but part of it was.’

  ‘Then tell me, Jessicah, how to do you feel now?’

  She paused a moment. ‘Free.’

  ‘Then it was not you, no matter how you felt. Those feelings were not yours. The shame was all Rei’s.’

  She hugged him tightly, and the magician embraced her in return. When she pulled herself away, she turned to
Captain Orrell hesitantly.

  ‘Samuel,’ the man asked, ‘is it really her?’

  ‘It is, David.’

  He stepped forward and grabbed her into his arms, and she squeezed him just as fiercely. It was a deep hug, a desperate hug, a release of fears and hopelessness. Captain Orrell ran his hands through her hair, and his tears flowed. ‘Oh, Jessicah,’ he said. ‘I thought I had lost you.’

  ‘Never,’ she replied.

  Leopold could not help notice Kali smiling contentedly.

  ‘Come, let us go,’ Samuel announced. ‘Our victory is not yet complete. The last of the Ancient Ones is dead. Only Lomar remains. ’

  ‘Where will we go?’ Leopold asked. ‘We have no ship. It was lost.’

  ‘We need no ship to reach our destination.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘We are going somewhere I have been before. I know the place well—where it all began. Pick him up,’ he instructed of Daneel, and the caped man retrieved his fallen sword and dutifully plucked up the body of Salu. ‘Give me the boy,’ he instructed Kali, and she handed the child to him without hesitation.

  Leopold was about to ask a question, when the world shifted and the land of Euda vanished.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The Desert of Glass

  AT FIRST, EVERYTHING was confusing. Total blackness engulfed them. It seemed they were bodiless minds floating amongst a nothingness, but as their eyes adjusted, it became apparent that stars were glittering above. Gradually, more details grew perceivable.

  The broken city of Trithi was gone, replaced by a perfectly flat, featureless expanse. A shallow lake surrounded them, the stars mirrored upon its surface, slightly dimmed replicas of those above, extending all the way to the distant, curved, glimmering sliver that marked the curvature of the earth.

  Not a ripple or wave marred the tranquillity of that lake. No fish or bird stirred. And those still, black waters ran from as far as the eye could see right up to their feet, where they stood upon its rigid surface.