He thrust his hand towards her, fingertips not quite within range of hers.
‘Can’t reach! Too far!’ he gasped, thrusting his hand her way again.
‘Come on Rogan, a little more!’ she encouraged, lying on her stomach, lowering her arm further.
He thrust at her again, stretching. His hands were trembling; his breathing ragged and laboured. He couldn’t reach her. ‘Can’t make it! Still too far!’ he said with a great weariness weighing him down like a rock. His strong face trembled. He sighed heavily again.
She jolted forward towards the edge of darkness and her grip on the ice began to fail. ‘No!’ she screamed reaching down further. ‘Please Rogan, you have to try harder! Otherwise we’re both going to die!’
He cursed, reaching up.
She slid further forward, jolting his hand away again. ‘No!’ she screamed again. Her eyes were filled with terror. ‘Please Rogan, try harder.’
He sucked in a deep sobering breath of air and raised his arm again. She slid even further forward. Rogan smiled at her with all the sadness in the world.
‘It’s no use. Let go of me,’ he whispered glancing back into the darkness. ‘There’s no point in both of us dying.’ He began to loosen his grip, accepting his fate.
‘No! I love you! Don’t do that! Don’t let go!’ she screamed trying to get a better grip.
‘Listen to me. I love you too,’ he whispered softly, fear and fury bubbling inside of him. 'But I want you to let me go.’
Her cheeks were awash with tears. 'I can’t. I won’t!’ she sobbed, jolting nearer to the edge. ‘If you die. I die.’
He closed his eyes and prayed. Then, one by one, her fingers lost their grip on his, unable to hold his weight any longer. He began to fall. And with terror in his eyes he mouthed the words, ‘goodbye my love... ‘
‘No!’ she screamed, clasping the amulet about her neck.
Instantly, a flare of red light raced through her eyelids and she felt a surge of unbelievable strength course through her whole body. Reaching down with incredible speed she gripped his hand again and hauled him back from death. She threw him up onto the ledge without any effort at all. And he slammed into the throne. ‘Wow!’ he gasped, unable to believe what she’d done. ‘How did you do that?’
She looked stunned. ‘The amulet,’ she said. ‘It made me do it. It screamed at me!’
‘Then, I thank the man-gods for the amulet,’ he said climbing to his feet. He held out his hand and hauled her upright. He hugged her and kissed her chilled red lips softly.
‘I’ve been following you for some time. And someone or something has been following me,’ she said pulling him away from the edge.
Rogan nodded. ‘A hunter-killer. Our paths crossed earlier. He wants the Firestars and he's been letting us do all the work.’ He paused for thought. ‘Wait,’ he said. ‘Morbious admitted to me that his kind have been following each and every one of us from the very beginning of our journey, and that only Koki knew of their existence. That's got to be why no warrior has ever won the challenge in over ten thousand years. The hunter-killers guarantee our failure.’
‘The man-gods are fickle and Koki's made fools of us all then,’ she snapped.
‘I told you once before that I hate being made a fool of. And neither Koki, nor his lackey Morbious is going to do that. He no longer has the advantage, or the element of surprise,’ Rogan flared angrily.
He walked over to the ice throne, flexing his frozen fingers, trying to get the feeling back into them as the bleak, darkly lit cavern shook and echoed. He glanced across at Kira with anxiety in his eyes. The rancid stench of death pervaded the caverns air.
‘Now it all makes sense,’ he said with a hollow tone and a dark look. His face was shadowed. Taking the dagger from his boot he pried the sixth and final Firestar free of the throne with the tip of his blade. ‘Koki's been making fun of us. But if he thinks he can cheat me, he’s wrong.’
The Firestar fell into his ice-cold hand and he spun around, fixing Kira’s stern gaze solidly. ‘Nobody’s going to make a fool out of me, not even a man-god, after all we’ve been through,’ he said with a hard edge to his voice. His handsome features now looked beyond his years.
‘Hush Rogan. Don’t speak ill of a man-god. Not even an evil one like Koki,’ she whispered. She kissed him softly on the cheek. Her skin was pale and her lips chilled. She trembled. ‘We’ve been through enough pain and suffering already and they can make things even worse.’
‘How much worse could it get?’ he asked, staring steely eyed.
No sooner had the words left his lips when she screamed. A sword scythed through her back, opening up her chest and then withdrew. Blood gouted from the wound, spraying out, flecking Rogan's face, chest and arms. His eyes widened, a look of terror on his face. Shock and disbelief tore through him. Kira's horrified gaze met his and her knees gave way. Then, she felt an agony she had never felt before as a searing, endless pain exploded throughout her whole body. He caught and held her as she stumbled and fell. He stared into her dark eyes. For a single moment they contained an eternity of terror. It was as if she wanted to scream but couldn’t. She trembled and closed her eyes, blood gushing like a river from the mortal wound.
‘The man-gods help me,’ he whispered. His prayer went unanswered.
His whole body trembled and a sob caught in his throat. To his horror, she slumped to the floor dead, while still in his arms. He cradled her and the cavern shook, echoed, and seemed much darker than before. His eyes filled, watching her for several heartbeats and he noticed her skin becoming very pale, taking on an almost translucent quality. With trembling fingers, he closed her eyes and kissed them softly. He kissed them again, and then kissed her cold lifeless lips. His face was grim with torment and unimaginable anger.
‘You were wrong bowman. I never lose the advantage or the element of surprise,’ snarled Morbious finally, wiping her blood from his blade. He flickered hazily in and out of view, his invisibility faltering. He licked his fingers, fixing the others gaze defiantly. ‘And her blood tastes good.’
‘No,’ gasped Rogan, shaking his head, unable to believe what was happening. He screamed. ‘No! No! Nooooooooo!’
The ghostly cavern echoed eerily and shook.
‘I can smell your fear,’ said Morbious contemptuously, spitefully smiling a pitiless smile. His wild cruel eyes were remorseless, ‘and taste death.’
‘You murdered Kira, you coward,’ barked Rogan, staring up into the giant warrior’s sneering face.
Morbious’ huge frame loomed over him suddenly. He grasped Rogan by the throat in a vice-like grip and punched him hard in the face, slamming him against the throne, leaving his feet hanging in space above the dark abyss. ‘The sacred Firestars... I’ll take them now… all of them,’ he snarled, viciously twisting his long, black bony fingers around Rogan’s windpipe, strangling him. Bats screeched, fluttering on their perches.
Rogan spat blood in Morbious' face. ‘Never will you have the Firestars,’ he snapped, his tired dark eyelids stark against pallid cheeks. Snatching the quiver from over his shoulder he held it out over the endless drop to a backwash of sound. ‘Put me down, or I swear you’ll have to fetch them!’ he warned, glaring into Morbious’ hooded eyes.
Fleetingly the hunter-killer faded from view, then reappeared, his ugly scarred face twisted in panic. ‘No, don’t drop them!’ he barked pulling Rogan back from the edge. He threw him down onto the hard ledge.
Rogan rolled to his feet. ‘You killed Kira in a cowardly way, from the back and without mercy. So, if you want the Firestars, you can have them, all of them, but you’ll have to kill me first.'
Morbious’ eyes narrowed. He grinned. ‘A slight miscalculation on my part,’ he snarled stepping back, raising his sword high into the air. ‘I should have killed you first and then pleasured myself on the warrior-woman afterwards. But, your offer's acceptable. I’ll take great pleasure in cutting out your heart and eating you, after I’ve cut
off your head.’
Rogan strode over to where Kira’s broken body lay and knelt down beside her. He ached inside as a blue-blood with a pain far worse than any physical pain he had ever experienced as a warrior. He felt her pulse. There was none. He gripped her cold lifeless hand, kissing her lips, and smelt her heady rosewater scent. Drawing her fine edged sword from its scabbard he pointed it at Morbious. ‘It’s only fitting that I kill you with her blade,’ he announced darkly. ‘And I will kill you, no matter what it takes.’
Morbious' giant shadow loomed over him. ‘I admire your courage, misguided and foolhardy though it may be,’ he mocked, ‘but have you not noticed that I’m three times your size, with a sword to match? What chance do you really think you have? I can see fear in your face, smell terror in the air... and soon I’ll taste your blood.’
Rogan put his quiver down by the side of Kira’s broken body. ‘I’m a bowman and a good one, and I've never paid much attention to the sword even though I've carried one for most of my life. But I know they have their uses,’ he said gripping the leather bound hilt securely.
Morbious stared at him fiercely, fixing his gaze again. ‘Then, I'll be delighted to give you free tuition in how to use the weapon to kill. Lesson one,’ he snarled lunging forward, aiming his blade at Rogan’s exposed stomach.
Rogan parried the blade clumsily. But only just. And there was no repost from him.
Morbious spun on his heel, stopping short of removing Rogan's head by a hair’s breadth. Their eyes ablaze locked instantly. He circled Rogan as more bats fluttered into the cave screeching, landing uneasily and perching uncomfortably to the clattering sounds of swordplay. ‘Lesson two,’ he snarled, lunging forward with the speed of thought, aiming his blade at Rogan’s face.
Again, he blocked the blow clumsily and again Morbious spun on his heel in the opposite direction. His sword came to rest a hair’s width away from Rogan’s nose. Their eyes locked again. Rogan’s seemed larger and darker than ever before.
‘You’re not doing too well... are you?’ sneered Morbious, circling him again.
Rogan looked down at the pitiful sight of Kira’s lifeless body slumped on the ice. His eyes were dark, haunted and filled with tears. And with all the sadness in their world he drew a long, lingering breath.
‘Ah, true blue-blood emotions,’ mocked Morbious smiling cruelly with murder in his heart. His vague shape flickered hazily like the night heat, ‘the undoing of all your kind. Lesson three... and your final lesson. Are you prepared to die today?’
Rogan shook his head stiffly. His eyes widened with his breath caught in his throat. And his strong hands trembled. He knew he was no match for the hunter-killer with a sword. Am I really going to die today, he thought?
Then suddenly, he fell back into himself and his mind raced forward to the present day, after reliving the past seven. He gripped the hilt of Kira’s sword securely with his right hand, clutching the amulet about his throat with his left. A flare of red light flashed through his eyelids and a surge of unbelievable strength coursed through his whole body. ‘My turn to instruct!’ he barked, spinning from beneath Morbious' blade, coming to rest directly behind him. ‘Education complete and lessons learned!’ he countered, stabbing him in the back several times.
Morbious slumped to the ice dead in a pool of his own blood; his lifeless body spread-eagled. And in a haze of swirling colour he dissolved and disappeared. Rogan strode over to where Kira’s body lay and he sat down beside her. His mouth was bone dry and his heart beating fast. ‘I’ve a feeling the man-gods might actually thank me for what I’ve just done. Morbious was far too ugly to live forever,’ he whispered to her. His voice trembled with emotion and his heart came up and darkened his eyes. He seemed frozen, mesmerised by Kira’s lifeless face. Even in death she's beautiful, he thought. He lifted her gently, cradling her in his arms. The reality hit home. She is dead. He shivered, his mind a whirling maelstrom of fury as haunting memories flared, tightening his throat. The man-gods have done me no favours this day, he thought.
Death has many faces, none of them kind, but it's usually gloriously celebrated if a warrior dies in battle with honour, he thought. Kira hadn’t. And Rogan was filled with hatred for those responsible. Sorrow now filled his once sparkling eyes and they sank deeper into his skull, despair washing the colour from his weary face. He sat thinking that it couldn’t be true. He began to sob. Something he had only ever done as a small child. It was a strange feeling. More memories flooded his mind, tormenting him. ‘Go away! Go away! She’ll wake up in a minute,’ he screamed shaking his head, trying to rid his mind of all thought. He held her close and deep rasping sobs tore from his throat. Our days are numbered from the day we’re born, and a warriors days are numbered less than most, but she shouldn’t have died today. Not today, he thought.
In his mind it went around, on and on, over and over, until finally it sank in like water into stone. She is dead. I'm never going to see her beautiful, vibrant, smile again, he thought. He cuddled and caressed her, kissing her tiny perfect nose. Then he kissed her beautiful rose coloured lips, smelling her scent once more, wishing and praying for her to open her eyes and smile.
Then, for a whole day and night he sat in silence holding her to his chest, trying to keep her body warm, hoping that by some miracle she would return to him. Against his better judgement he even prayed to the man-gods. But they didn’t listen. And eventually he realised that there was nothing he could do for her.
A second day passed. He grieved. He sat talking to her lifeless body, sharing his most intimate thoughts and confiding his darkest secrets. This he would have done had she lived. Now it comforted him. He pulled her closer, holding her as tight as he possibly could, kissing her forehead, and he ran his fingers through her hair. Once again he prayed for her to open her eyes, while his just wanted to close. He was desperately tired and wanted to sleep, but wouldn’t let go of her. He felt responsible for her death and blamed himself for allowing it to happen, even though deep within him he knew there was nothing he could have done to prevent it.
Feeling guilty and remorseful he finally fell asleep. And a strange apparition woke him several hours later as unseen fingers brushed his face gently. Sleepily he opened his tired eyes and focused them on a bright light. And within the light was a pale, weather-worn female’s face, the kindest and wisest he had ever seen in his entire life.
‘You cannot blame yourself for Kira’s death,’ she said kindly. ‘You could have done nothing to stop it. Destiny has its own mysterious way of working.’
He watched and listened, but the words were somehow lost in his weary mind. A hollow look of grief shadowed his eyes, making them darker.
‘Kira’s life and death was mapped out well before her birth, as was yours and every other blue-blood. What will be, will be. You cannot change the present or the future any more than you can re-write the past. The man-gods sealed her fate long before she was even born, and only they knew her destiny. Not even an angel such as I may question their divine workings upon this world. Grieve for your lost love. Then let the present move on into the past, for Kira now roams a better world and awaits your coming at the time of your death.’
He choked back his tears, hardly able to speak and his hands came together, steepled in the attitude of prayer. ‘I want her back,’ he whispered.
‘It's impossible,’ said the angel fading from view.
He shook his head. ‘Nothing is impossible. Nothing…’ he said. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
Hours later, the apparition came as before with unseen fingers brushing his face gently, and with his sleep-starved eyes still closed, a silent voice invaded the halls of his mind tormenting him. His eyes flickered open again. ‘Please, no more… no more,’ he begged.
Then, along shafts of bright light another apparition appeared. It was a young female with golden hair and the bluest eyes, so ravishingly beautiful that she didn’t seem real. ‘We cannot bring the dead back to life,
we simply cannot, it's impossible,’ the angel told him, smiling kindly, ‘but we can do the next best thing. We can take you back to the exact moment prior to Kira’s death. It will then be up to you to prevent it from happening again. If you can, this will be your prize for almost succeeding where all others have failed in the quest known as The Challenge. If you cannot, nothing will change and you must bury Kira amongst her own kind. This is the best we can offer,’ said the angel fading from view. ‘Do you accept?’
He nodded wearily, rubbing his tired swollen eyes. Then suddenly he felt a jolt from somewhere behind his consciousness and his mind raced into a vortex of swirling lights and beautiful colours, until blackness engulfed him.
Instantly, he found himself walking over to the ice throne flexing his frozen fingers, trying to get the feeling back into them as he had before. ‘Now it all makes sense,’ he found himself saying, eerily reliving the past as he eased the jewel free of the throne with his dagger. ‘Koki's behind all of this. But if he thinks he can cheat me, he’s wrong, because this time… you’re going to die Morbious.’ He pushed Kira to one side, drawing her sword from its scabbard and she fell onto the ice hitting her head hard, knocking her unconscious.
Rogan touched the amulet about his neck and a flare of red light flashed through his eyelids. Unbelievable speed and strength coursed through his whole body and he lunged forward with the speed of a god, viciously slicing off Morbious’ sword arm and then his head with two lightning fast strikes. ‘Rest in pieces – not in peace,' he hissed.
Morbious' body fell onto the ice with a dull thud and Rogan walked over to Kira, sheathing her sword. He knelt down beside her and picked her up gently in his arms, kissing her lips. Her eyes opened slowly.
‘I lost you once. I won't let it happen again,’ he announced.
She smiled gently. ‘I love you,’ she whispered back against his lips. And she kissed him as he’d never been kissed before.
He spun her around, dropping his quiver down onto the ice. Six plum-sized Firestars rolled out and they both stared at them.
The Blackhawks Impossible Quest Page 20
