Frantically, she waded through the sea of slow-moving people back to where Georgi and Barden had been sitting, but their seats were unoccupied, their plates clean. Khaos cast around the swiftly emptying tables wildly but could not see them anywhere. She knew where they would be headed though.
You can’t stop these people, Khaos. They charge blindly to their deaths, like cattle to a slaughterhouse. You must stop this at its source, only then will this spell be broken. The demon has them in his grip; only a direct attack will save them now.
Khaos attempted to reach the tunnel, but it was completely choked with people. Even if she could’ve reached it, she would only have been able to get through at a snail’s pace and would’ve been unable to save the people on the other side.
Instead, she ran back through the mecca, which was already half-empty, and back along the path they had come, Melody in tow. With Nyx, the journey would have taken seconds, but running on her own two feet, Khaos felt sluggish and slow, aware of every footstep and the seconds flying by. On top of that, she gasped for breath, the hunger pangs intensifying as she got a fresh whiff of the delicious air.
They reached the white hotel just in time to see another herd of people come stomping up the path, hypnotised by the smell of the food, another round of eaters to attend the feast.
‘Where to now?’ asked Melody.
‘We need to find a way to the other side of that tunnel!’ said Khaos, staring back at the path. She noticed that the hill the tunnel passed through came to its end just behind the hotel. Could it be that there was another path through there that would take them to wherever all these people were being led? ‘Perhaps there is a way through the hotel? I know there is another water outlet there, so there must be!’
‘Are those people possessed?’
‘Yes, I suppose you could put it like that.’
‘And the demon leads them to… ’
‘Not dessert, anyway. Except perhaps for the demon.’
The hotel was silent inside and completely pitch black, not like any hotel Khaos had been in before. Where were the staff? Why were the lights out? Did no one stay here?
‘I bet no one stays on the island long enough to need to sleep,’ Khaos muttered grimly to herself. They crept through quietly, finding their way by the light of Khaos’ sword, which was drawn. They fumbled their way through a door and found themselves, by the gleam of bottles on the far side of the room, in some sort of bar. They had perhaps taken a few steps into the room when a deep voice rumbled out:
‘Hey there!’ Suddenly, lights on one side of the room snapped on, to reveal a long gleaming glass counter with a mirrored back, stocked with alcohol of all kinds. Standing behind, industriously polishing a glass, was a white-haired, red-faced man of middle age, smartly dressed in coat-tails and dicky bow. ‘What can I get you ladies?’
Khaos was not fooled. Not this time.
‘The white hair is a dead giveaway you know.’
‘I don’t know what you… ’ But the barman did not get a chance to finish. Khaos raised her free arm, blinked once, and with a flick of her hand, willed two large bottles from behind the bar to topple down on his head; long ago that alcohol had once been water, which Khaos was finding easier and easier to manipulate.
‘What the hell!’ the barman roared, shaking the liquid and broken glass from his clothes. Before he had a chance to continue speaking, Khaos willed two more bottles down on top of him.
‘I’m not fooled, Loka. This disguise thing is getting really old.’ As the barman was about to speak, Khaos pulled down the rest of the bottles in quick succession, until eventually he was knocked down again and disappeared from sight behind the counter. Loka, in her true form, rose up from the mess of broken glass, her face a picture of rage.
‘Loka?’ Melody took a sudden deep intake of breath. ‘You mean the whore of Babylon!’
‘Who are you calling a whore?’
‘Speak not, foul fiend! Poison us not with your evil tongue!’
Loka stared at Melody.
‘Where did you find this nutjob?’ she asked Khaos, jerking her finger toward the girl, who was currently plugging her ears with her fingers.
‘Enough games, Loka, we don’t have time for this.’
‘And where are you off to in such a hurry?’
‘You are quite aware that at this very moment, your beloved demon is about to feast on the souls of hundreds of helpless people. It is time I brought him down, before he gains any more strength.’
‘Still chewing on that old bone, are we? I told you to leave it. You will never defeat him.’
‘You still underestimate me. I have taken you down enough times now to know what I am capable of.’
‘Quite, but as I told you before, this guy is unstoppable. But you already knew that, didn’t you?’ Loka smirked. ‘You tried to fight him already. Tell me, how did that work out for you?’
‘He took me by surprise. I was just warming up that time.’
‘And where is your horse?’
‘Uh, Nyx is… I’ll get him back.’
‘Really? And what do you plan to do differently, this time? Have you even thought of a strategy, or are you just going to charge in, waving your sword again?’
‘The demon may be unstoppable, but so am I. I do not fear his wrath.’
‘What about your little friend, though?’ Loka pointed at Melody. ‘She looks pretty pathetic and helpless to me.’
‘I won’t let anything happen to her.’
‘Are you sure about that? How are you going to ensure it, exactly? If it comes down to it, who would you save? Melody, or the thousands of other people on this island? Save one life at the expense of all others, or the other way around? That’s one decision you just hate to make, isn’t it, Khaos?’
‘I won’t have to make that decision. It’s not going to come to that.’
‘You hope. But how can you guarantee the safety of this young girl?’
‘I can defend myself!’ Defiantly, Melody grabbed a broken bottle from the floor and brandished it in Loka’s direction. Loka watched for a moment before bursting out laughing. Then she pulled a gun out of her pocket and shot the rest of the bottle to pieces.
‘Stop! Now!’ Khaos began towards Loka, hands raised; what could she use now to stop her?
‘One more step, and the next shot will be at the girl’s head. You know me by now, Khaos, I never miss.’
‘You won’t touch her.’ Khaos stopped, all the same.
Loka stood with the gun trained on Melody’s forehead.
‘Well, Khaos, looks like you will have to make that decision after all. Are you going to waste time over one human now? Or let her die while you try and save the others?’
Khaos did not answer but heard the pounding voice of the spirit in her head.
Khaos! You must not stop now! The demon, it feeds!
‘Whatever you choose, the end result will be the same,’ Loka continued. ‘You will lose. The demon may not be able to kill you, but he can make you suffer. He will strip you of your strength, hold you captive, and make you watch while he consumes every soul on this miserable planet. There are fates worse than death, Khaos. You should save yourself the bother, you know where the door is.’
‘Words. That’s all you really have. Just words. That’s the only true power you have, isn’t it, Loka? You try and twist and turn, like a sly snake, worming through my mind with your sweet soft voice. But it is poison that drips from your mouth. Well I’ve had enough. I’m tired of you dogging my steps with your slippery words and your stupid disguises. I see through you now.’
‘Really? I think not. I think you do not know me at all, Khaos.’ Loka raised her free hand and clicked her fingers. At once, two men appeared in the doorway, also dressed in coat-tails and dicky bows, but their faces anything but refined: scarred, shaved heads and leering mouths, staring intently at Khaos like carnivores in sight of an easy kill. At a second click of Loka’s fingers, they both reached for t
he nearest thing they could find for weapons: one picked up two heavy, undamaged bottles from the mess of glass at the bar. The other reached for the footrest screwed below the counter; a long, solid brass pole, and pulled it bodily from its fixture. They then lunged toward Khaos, weapons raised.
The flaming sword was ready long before Khaos was. It swung forward with a will of its own, blocking the first blow from the pole. Khaos turned in time to see the bottle-wielding man raise his weapons – she kicked with all her might. Her foot made contact with his groin, and he buckled.
The man with the pole was still in action though. Another heavy swing was made for Khaos’ head, and the sword, blazing red, blocked once more, the dull brass inches from Khaos’ face. The man stepped back and spun the pole from one hand to the other, in an almost graceful movement, as though it weighed nothing to him. Then suddenly the pole was under his arm, and he lunged for her, with a speed even the sword was not prepared for. He rammed into her stomach with the end of it, forcing her up against the wall. She grasped at the brass with one hand, kicking her feet until she found a purchase on the wall and pushed back.
She knocked the man off-balance, and while he was temporarily vulnerable, she did not hesitate. She raised her sword and brought it down; a clean, swift slice across his neck, rending his head from his body.
Sickened to the core of her being, she tried not to look at the scorched, decapitated flesh of her victim.
A heavy thump across the back of her head brought her swiftly back into survival mode. The man with the two bottles was in action again and not too happy about the death of his friend either. Two more thumps; one to her head, which jarred with the force of the impact, the other in the small of her back. She fell to her hands and knees, spitting blood.
Khaos stayed down, steeling herself for another blow, but instead the man walked around her and reached for her sword, which she had dropped at some point in the attack.
‘I wouldn’t touch that, if I were you,’ she managed, through her bruised face.
The man just laughed as his hand closed round the hilt. Then his laughter ended abruptly and was replaced by blood-curdling screams.
Khaos got slowly to her feet, her health gradually returning.
‘I tried to warn you.’
The man was in a world of pain. With his good hand, he grasped the other; a white and pink mess of melted flesh and bone where there had once been a hand. The sword had dropped back down to the floor. Khaos reached for it, feeling the familiar cool metal in her hand.
‘It only has one master, you see,’ she explained. Then, with eyes and heart as cold and grey as steel, she plunged the sword up and under his rib cage, putting an end to the agony he was in.
Khaos then turned her steel gaze toward Loka, who was still pointing the gun at Melody, but had momentarily become distracted by all the action. Khaos did not hesitate for a moment. In a sudden flurry of movement, she spun toward Loka, the blazing sword rippling gracefully through the air. Time stopped momentarily, and in the split second Loka pulled the trigger, Khaos brought the blade down on the gun barrel, rendering it a useless lump of metal before the bullet had even left the chamber.
‘You need to rethink your weapons, Loka,’ she muttered.
Loka barely had time to blink in astonishment at her destroyed weapon before Khaos plunged the sword deep into her chest, where her heart might’ve been, if she’d had one. After her initial surprise, an expression of sadness passed across Loka’s face for a moment before she sunk down to the floor.
For reasons inexplicable to Khaos, a sudden pang of guilt seared across her heart as she gazed at Loka’s still form, somehow much smaller and more vulnerable-looking in death.
Must I keep doing this? Killing you over and over? she thought to herself. But out loud she muttered: ‘Stay dead this time.’
She secured her sword and turned back to Melody, who was staring at her with renewed awe and admiration.
‘My Messiah, you slayed her most righteously–’
‘–Save it,’ Khaos interrupted. ‘We need to go, now.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
After trial and error of many doors and passageways, they eventually found a double door leading out into what looked like a poolside area, judging by the patio and loungers visible. The door was locked, but Khaos no longer cared to wait around. Sword sheathed, she stretched out both arms, palms toward the door, closed her eyes, concentrated, and willed the power through her once more. Then she threw her arms outwards. The doors swung open; the lock buckled. Khaos strode through with Melody running to keep up.
‘Are we going to find the demon now?’
‘I am. You’re not.’
‘But, Messiah… ’
‘You have to hide. You can’t come with me. I can’t protect you.’
‘But you are omnipotent.’
‘I’m not. Or at least, I don’t fully remember how to be. I can’t guarantee that I can protect you. So you must hide.’
‘But I want to be by your side.’
‘I know, and I appreciate it, but I don’t want your death on my hands as well.’ She glanced around. There was actually no swimming pool, despite the loungers, but she could see a watery shoreline down some sandstone steps at the end of the patio, partially obscured by the hotel walls. At the top of the steps was a small bar constructed of bamboo that had been abandoned recently. Khaos led Melody over to it.
‘Hide behind there, for now. I will come and find you if I succeed. If I lose… ’
‘You cannot lose.’
‘If I lose,’ Khaos continued, ignoring her, ‘you must find your sister and get as far away from here as possible.’
‘Khaos,’ Melody said. ‘That is your true name, isn’t it? Godspeed, Khaos, saviour of the world!’ She clasped her hands reverently.
‘Uh, thanks, I guess. Now stay out of sight. No matter what you hear or see, keep hidden, ok?’ Khaos left her and made her way over to the stairs, checking back over her shoulder to make sure Melody was hidden. Sure enough, she could not be seen hiding behind the bar counter, and she made no noise or movement.
Khaos took the stairs two at a time, steeling herself for what she was about to see. She had seen the demon vaguely in the sea earlier that day. She should be prepared for this by now.
But no, as she reached the beach, the sight she was met with still made her heart shudder, the adrenalin rushing through her. A few yards from the shoreline, the demon Gluttony was floating, even larger and more vile now that he was visible, partially out of the water. He was a giant, island-sized creature, a yellowy whitish colour, the size of a cruise liner, vast and featureless, just a huge, blubbery, vaguely dome-shaped thing, floating in the water. It was hard to believe this creature had once been human: an ordinary, mortal man named Adam Zaphira who had led a normal life and probably had family and friends who would miss him.
He turned, in slow motion, and Khaos saw that he was not completely featureless; he had a tiny dorsal fin, flopped over lazily to one side, and flippers oscillating slowly, dwarfed and seemingly useless to this huge body.
His red-tinged gaze fell on Khaos momentarily but carried on searching; he seemed unconcerned with her presence.
Khaos heard the sound of human voices and turned back inland to see where it was coming from. Because the initial sight of the demon had been so disturbing, she had failed to notice the other side of the tunnel, where now the hapless, soon to be victims of the demon were shuffling along a path, a path which Khaos saw led to the edge of a cliff. The demon began swimming slowly but surely toward the edge of the cliff to meet them.
‘Hey! Hey you!’ Khaos shouted at the top of her voice. The demon ignored her and carried on. She grabbed a stone from the shore and threw it at the demon, but missed by miles. She tried another one and again missed. ‘Hey, you there! Stop! Eat me instead, come on!’
He continued to ignore her, and as he reached the cliff, flipped over, exposing his claw-lined belly and horrible mout
h. The strong, vicious claws snaked out and reached up to grab the unsuspecting people at the top of the cliff.
‘Stop!’ Using her powers, she reached out a hand toward the cliff, palm outwards. She concentrated, raising up a much larger rock from the base of the cliffs. With a flick of her hand, this one finally hit the mark, smashing right into the demon’s vile pink mouth.
He flipped over angrily, red eyes on Khaos, but did not lunge for her. Instead, he hefted his body around until his back was to her, raised his vast flabby tail, and brought it down, smack, into the water. A vast wave rolled out from the demon, gathering speed and power, until by the time it reached the shore, it was a towering wave that swept up the beach, engulfing Khaos and knocking her off her feet.
She gasped and choked, coughing up seawater, and struggled to get back up. By the time she had righted herself, the demon had flipped over again and his claws were reaching over to the people standing on the cliff edge. Khaos heard a cry and saw that the demon had one of them in his claws. He lifted the human; a young man, to his mouth, but did not consume him. Instead, he pursed his horrible lips and held him there.
Something seemed to be passing from the man to the demon’s mouth, but Khaos could not see from this distance what it was. The man’s screams died down and then stopped altogether. He lay limp in the demon’s claws; then the demon discarded him, throwing him carelessly into the water.
‘No! Stop!’ Khaos cried. She must try something else: her power over the water perhaps? She stretched out both arms, palms outwards, willing the sea itself to her aid, calling on the vast endless energy of the water to move for her.
She closed her eyes, pain searing across her forehead from concentration, as she willed the water to move. She turned her palms back toward her and opened her eyes, revealing completely grey pupils. The spirit worked through her, channelling the power of the sea. She clenched her fists and pulled them back to her chest, and the water around the demon shifted, slowly, waves lapping against his vast body, then got stronger and stronger, swirling round and round, creating a rough ripple of waves that spread out across the entire inlet.
Resort Page 13
