by Jarod Meyer
“I am afraid that is out of the question,” William said, defiantly. The guards pulled their weapons back out, but Haraldr held up a hand.
“My new friend, I know what you have seen of the rest of this world, but I assure you that we live in peace. In order to keep that peace, we do not allow any but the guard to carry weapons,” he said, calmly.
William definitely hadn’t seen this coming. “Peace?” he asked, skeptically.
“Not everyone has the choice to live in Archonia,” sneered a woman with long, blond hair. William stood up a little straighter, appraising her quickly. She was attractive, her features balanced, accented nicely by eye makeup.
Holy Gorgeous!
Haraldr looked at the woman, his expression harsh and scolding.
“What Georgia meant to say, is that all those who never had the option to live in Archonia, but have renounced the evils of Dichonia, are allowed to live here in peace,” he finished.
William was confused. This had to have been some kind of joke. He’d expected a den full of liars and thieves, traitors to the good people of Archonia. His whole perspective was shattered.
William wasn’t sure what to trust, but these people didn’t feel like a threat. “You do know that I could kill you without my sword,” William stated, casually.
“Yes, we realize for some this is mostly a formality, but we trust that you will not bring despair to this city, otherwise, my men and I will be forced to destroy you,” Haraldr said, seemingly shrugging William’s comment off.
William slowly unstrapped Gungnir from his back. This would be funny, William thought. He held Gungnir before him I and one of the larger guards came over and grabbed it. William held it for a moment until he was sure that the man had a good grip, and then let got.
The man cried out and dropped to the ground along with William’s sword, the weapon crushing his hand under its weight. Haraldr looked at William in confusion, as three other guards rushed over and tried lifting it off their friend’s hands.
“Gungnir! The blade of Othin!” Haraldr said stunned.
William nodded, and knelt down, picking the blade up casually. The guard’s eyes were tearing up, and his face was red.
“Perhaps I can simply leave it here?” William offered, unsheathing the blade and sticking it into the stone floor. It cut into the stone easily, and stuck straight up, the bluish steel like water shimmering over the intricate etchings laid into the hilt and blade.
“Very well. Georgia, take our new friend on a tour of the city,” Haraldr commanded.
The blond haired woman didn’t look thrilled, but she didn’t argue. The group of guards put their helmets back on, and took off into the sky, while William and his escort walked towards the stair that spiraled downwards.
“We could just…uh,” William said, pointing over the edge of the tower.
“Yes we could, but I would like to change into something a little more comfortable,” she said with a sneer.
“Comfortable? You mean your armor?” William tried to ask, but was cut short.
“Yes my armor is purely for show. I cannot summon and unsummon my armor like you. I was reborn into this hellhole. I fought my way through the pits of Dichonia, and I taught myself how to fly here,” she said.
William instantly developed a whole new respect for her. She was similar to Tamara, Shou, and Leopoldo. She must have done wicked things on Earth, and now regretted it. Or perhaps she was unfairly judged like so many in the strict eyes of the Archonian Council.
The stairs went down and William found himself in a modern looking building. Drywall and carpet filled corridors adorned with very little detail compared to what one saw in Helios.
It didn’t take them long before they came to a room filled with lockers. William felt relaxed for the first time in a long time. Georgia told William to wait outside, while she changed. William smirked at her, and backed out of the locker room. Then, without even thinking, his armor disappeared. He was still wearing the outfit he’d chosen at Vanity’s fortress. Although it was now torn and tattered.
After many minutes Georgia emerged. William’s jaw dropped. She looked stunning. Her long blond hair was done up in a tight bun, and she wore a tight fitting, vibrant red dress that dropped just above the knee with matching high heels.
“Did I miss something? Are we going clubbing?” William asked, sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and walked away. William caught up with her quickly.
“I was only joking,” he said, playfully.
She glared and said, “We aren’t going clubbing. Whatever that is, but we aren’t going to the beach either.”
William glanced at his clothes and couldn’t help but smile. He did have a lot of skin showing. “Fair enough,” he responded.
“This is called fashion. It is the latest trend,” she said, not bothering to face him.
William looked her over again and said. “No complaints here.”
He watched her walk, her shapely figure swaying back and forth.
“Let’s just get this over with. I have to show you around a little and find you a place to sleep. What I would like you to do, if possible, is to keep your mouth shut and enjoy the sights,” she said.
William shook his head. She was nice to look at, but a real piece of work. He decided he would try to please her, and not talk. They exited the tower and stepped into a stone street bustling with people. Everyone was in business attire. It was like walking downtown at lunchtime on a weekday. He felt the same way he had on day one in Archonia. Lost and out of place.
“Welcome to Refuge. Though the people of Dichonia call it Jahannam. This place was originally created as a monument to Hades, who declared himself king of Dichonia. It was the master who rallied the rest of us into taking it from him, and turning it into the place you see today,” Georgia said.
William listened intently, but he couldn’t help but blurt out, “I thought the Archon Lucifer ruled this world.”
“He did, but he hasn’t been seen for thousands of years. Some believe that Hades still communicates with the Archon,” she said casually, stopping at one of the buildings along the street to look at some shoes in the window.
He followed Georgia who entered what could only be described as a shopping mall. Modern day comforts filled the windows of shops, and William looked upon treasures that couldn’t be found in Archonia. It was like he had leaped into the future. “…and Luxor rules this city now?” William asked.
“Be quiet,” she spat, looking around frantically to see if anyone heard him. This was the response he was waiting for. Haraldr was far too dismissive about William’s mention of Meredox’s brother.
“Look. I will answer any questions you might have, but this is neither the place or time,” she said eyes narrowed.
William held up his hands as if surrendering from an attack.
“We have a currency, which in turn drives our city’s economy. Like the cultures of Earth, but much less sloppy. Each person has a job or a service that they provide for our society. For their service they receive one credit a day. You can spend it on anything that you want. Then it is immediately destroyed. So there is no hoarding of money or capitalism.”
“Sounds a lot like communism,” William muttered.
“It works for us. The guard delivers any that break our laws immediately to the master’s justice, who quickly dispenses their sentence. It is almost always death or banishment from Refuge. Under this threat there is little to no crime or vagrancy.”
“Yeah, and no free will.”
“If you don’t like it, feel free to leave,” she replied without looking back.
Georgia eventually led him to a building with a sign that said vacancy, hanging over the door. He followed her into the building, where she approached a man who stood behind a desk. She produced a badge and flashed it quickly, before stowing it somewhere in her tight-fitting dress.
“I’m with the guard. This is a new citizen. He hasn’t been assigned a job yet. H
e needs a place to stay,” she said.
The man nodded, and with a wave of his hand said, “Room seven double oh four.”
William followed Georgia, who seemed to know where she was going. “They walked into a large atrium, a sweeping, gilded staircase spiraling above them. William suddenly felt small, despite all of his power, and couldn’t help but marvel at the sight.”
“I’m not walking up all those stairs,” he said, taking off into the air.
Georgia followed without argument. William soared quickly, and without difficulty reached the seventieth floor, the ground floor now far below them. He came to a stop in front of the door labeled seven thousand and four. Georgia landed beside him, and without breaking stride entered the room without any key.
“Okay then. Come on in I guess,” William said, following her. “Holy crap this is a five star suite!” William exclaimed.
Breaking his expectation, they walked into a semicircular space that easily took up one quarter of the whole floor. The floor descended on a few open steps into the room, which was furnished with beautifully crafted furniture, and adorned with fresh flowers. Everything looked smooth and soft, the colors bright and welcoming. It felt like he’d walked into one of the five star hotel rooms pictured in the popular lifestyle magazines that always sat next to his mother’s bed as a child. He reached up, taking note of warmth radiating from vents on the walls.
“Heating?” William asked.
“Thanks for inviting me in,” Georgia said, walking over to a full bar. She began pouring herself a drink, ignoring him.
“Yeah, no problem,” William replied, taking in the space.
Georgia walked back to William, holding a second glass of a green transparent liquid. His mouth began to water, memories of alcohol springing to mind. He grabbed the glass, and watched his companion walk over and sit on one of the sofas. She turned, sipping her drink and looked out the ceiling-height picture windows.
“What kind of liquor is this?” William asked, looking at it, before taking a sip. It tasted like crisp apples mixed with caramel. The sour and sweet sated his thirst as he let it fall over his tongue. There was no burn or sting like booze, but definitely a feeling of warmth and relaxation.
“We do not drink poison here, you idiot,” she said, laughing at him.
Slash that little bitch in half! No! get a hold of yourself William!
“Okay. I guess that makes sense,” he replied. He settled onto a sofa across from her and took another sip of the amazing drink.
“Why do you hate me so much?” William asked after a moment.
She snorted in response and covered her mouth to laugh.
“You are exiled from Archonia for whatever reason, and now you come here, acting like you own the place. You don’t know how good you had it there,” she said, returning her gaze to the window. “Meanwhile we all have to live in hell,” she finished sadly, draining her drink.
“I have lived through hell once,” William stated flatly, and as he did he thought back to his time on “Why did you get upset when I mentioned Luxor’s name in public?” William asked bluntly, leaning back on the sofa.
“He is to be called the Master, or the Basileus,” she responded. William wasn’t satisfied.
“Why do you have to call him those things? And why is he master of this city?” William pressed. She looked at him with narrowed eyes.
“He defeated Hades, and has created an equal world where everyone can live in peace. All he asks in return is loyalty,” she explained.
William nodded. He thought as much. These people were his slaves, and he lived like a king. Like so many dictator’s, he provided a broken people with hope, but he doubted that they knew his true agenda.
A wailing horn cut the air, interrupting their conversation. Georgia jumped from the sofa immediately.
“What is that?” William asked.
“Total hell, it is the alarm. The city is under attack.”
“Under attack? William asked, still confused.
“Three blows. It is a dragon. Shit,” she said, anxiety plain in her voice.
“Thank you for the drink. It was a displeasure meeting you. I do hope I will never see you again. My chances are good facing a dragon,” she muttered.
William set his drink down and said, “I can help you.”
She shook his head. Only the guard can defend the city. All others are to stay out of the way,” she responded, rushing out the door.
“What is it with you and doors, lady?” he said to himself, and then burst through the glass window.
CHAPTER TWENTY
DEFENDING THE DAMNED
William wanted to follow her instructions. He was tired of fighting, but he had never seen a dragon before either. He’d always dreamed of seeing one, especially as a little boy. He flew up into the dark, cold sky.
He landed on the top of a particularly tall building, coming to rest on its spire-like point. It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. He heard the roar of a beast in the distance, followed by the familiar clatter of metal. Fire surged up from a group of buildings. Tiny specks of black floated around in the air, beams of light painting the sky.
It was only moments before the creature crossed the skyline, and William set eyes on it. It was just as large as he imagined, but realized that it looked more like a wyrm than his childhood expectations of a dragon. He supposed because it could fly this made it seem like a dragon. Its long body writhed through the sky, moving like a snake in water. It had no visible wings however. Not a spawn, but a projection perhaps? Every naturally occurring creature he’d seen needed wings to fly, yet many conjurers in Archonia could make their creations defy gravity. This troubled him.
The giant wyrm roared, and unleashed enormous fireballs from its mouth. Not a stream of fire, like William imagined. He was a little disheartened, but reminded himself that people were probably dying. He gritted his teeth, helplessly watching the battle unfold. The Wyrm crashed through a building, leveling it.
“You have got to be kidding me,” William shouted to the wind as it crumbled to the ground. Without a second thought he took off into the sky.
William felt his armor close around his body, securing him in a cocoon of his own energy. Gungnir, which had been sticking into the watch tower on the other side of the city, appeared on his back. He forgot to mention to his new friends that he could call it at will, along with the new addition to his arsenal, the dagger Cain, which he accidentally forgot to relinquish on the platform. He smiled and drew Gungnir. It twanged, as if speaking to William of the coming battle.
He reached the fray in short order. The massive creature bellowed deeply, its gaping mouth descending upon a guard floating in the air, frozen and staring wide-eyed.
William aimed his hand and unleashed a beam of energy, knocking the guardsman out if its path. The projection wasn’t strong enough to kill the man, just get him out of harm’s way. Heads turned to the source of the ball of light, and landed upon William. He didn’t waste any time in his attack. The wyrm hissed as another ball of light hit it in the head. The creature didn’t appear to have eyes, only a large pair of nostrils. And yet it knew when something was attacking it, as it twisted like a corkscrew, changing its trajectory towards William. As it got closer he began to appreciate the floating death machine. It was covered with bone-colored spikes. Four horns protruded from the sides of the head like tusks.
Hmm Gungnir probably won’t cut deep enough to end this fight quickly. But those tusks will.
With another well placed shot, the creature turned its head just enough to miss him. William shot forth, cutting hard with Gungnir and cleaving one of the tusks clean off. The thing was heavy, but nothing William couldn’t handle and he twirled it above his head, gaining altitude above the creature. Once he was high enough to get a decent speed built up he shot back down with the horn in two hands yelling and with all his might sunk it halfway down into the creatures head.
The dragon shook a
nd rocked, trying to kick William off, but after a few seconds he felt it go still and they began to fall. William pushed off and floated, watching the beast fall. The front fell onto the city, while the tail end was left dangling over the edge. It looked like a worm on a hook after the dust settled. He smiled, satisfied with his accomplishment, and clapped the bone dust free from his hands.
The guards were on him moments later, spears pointed directly at him. They shouted commands to stand down. William expected as much, so he sheathed his sword and held his hands up in surrender. He spotted Georgia flying toward the group, clad once more in her dark armor. She stared wide-eyed at him with an apparent new respect.
“At ease, soldiers!” William heard someone shout. Haraldr appeared through the throng of spear-wielding guards a heartbeat later.
“Captain,” snapped a guard wearing a fearsome iron mask. “Do you know who this renegade is?”
“Yes, Commander. He is the new exile that I reported on earlier today,” Haraldr said.
“And was he made aware that civilians are not to engage in any sort of combat? Why is he armed?” the Commander asked furiously.
William struggled to suppress his annoyance. Every time he tried to do something right he ended up with the business end of a spear pointed at him. “I just saved your ass. Commander,” William cut in. “And the only rational thing that you can think of to do is to berate your men?”?”
The man peered at William through his horned helm. His dark eyes the only thing visible through the faceplate, which was sculpted to look like a skull.
“Commander, I do not think that this man was fully aware of our laws yet. Now, given that he has such experience in battle, perhaps he could be initiated into the guard,” Haraldr offered.
“Very well, Captain, initiate him,” the commander grunted.
He watched the commander return to the city barking orders at his inferiors. William was left floating alone with the same guard unit that had escorted him into the city earlier that day.
