Dreaming in the Dark_Chains of the Fallen Volume 1

by James E. Wisher

  Corrupt energy slammed into the construct, drawing a wince from Imogen. The addition of divine soul force allowed it to withstand the strike.

  “Go!” Imogen said.

  Marie-Bell ran at full speed down the tunnel.

  The walls shuddered with repeated impacts but held firm.

  As she entered the barrier a scream from behind brought her up short. On either side the walls flickered and lost coherence.

  Marie-Bell clenched her jaw and ran on. She took up the sword and new power filled her.

  Not a moment too soon, as the barrier collapsed revealing Imogen lying on the ground, her eyes shut.

  Wind Walker roared and vanished into the storm.

  Marie-Bell ignored the demon and rushed over to Imogen. She was still alive, but only by a hair. Healing energy flowed through Marie-Bell’s hands and into Imogen. Color flooded back into her cheeks and her eyes fluttered open.

  “Did you get it?” Imogen asked.

  Marie-Bell grinned. “I got it, thanks to you. Are you okay?”

  “I feel like an ogre stepped on me, but other than that I’m fine. When the demon struck, I didn’t have enough soul force left to defend myself.”

  “Sorry.” Marie-Bell got to her feet and reached back to help Imogen. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Wind Walker’s mocking laugh filled the air. “Congratulations, girl. You have your sword, but there’s still no way out except through my storm. And sword or not, you will not survive.”

  Marie-Bell wasn’t sure he was wrong. How did you cut down a demon made of wind? Maybe the zombie master had tunnels that reached to the other side of the mountains. That seemed unlikely since she’d never heard of zombies turning up in the kingdom.

  Imogen gave her a tug. “Come on. Strange as it sounds, I’ll feel better when we’re back underground.”

  They retreated to the library and descended the stairs. Halfway down a bitter breeze brushed Marie-Bell’s cheek. At the bottom she sensed the corruption flowing past her and across to the black door. It swirled around and a number of runes burst to life.

  “What—” Imogen’s question was cut off by a roar as a giant of black flames separated itself from the door.

  It was some sort of guardian construct. The hilt of the holy sword grew warm in Marie-Bell’s hands and her armor glowed. She sensed an eagerness from both relics. It was like they were saying, “Here’s an enemy we can destroy.” Marie-Bell hoped they were right.

  Imogen took a step toward the giant, but Marie-Bell held out her arm. “Stay back, I’ll handle it.”

  “Are you sure? Corruption like that will sear the flesh from your bones in seconds.”

  “I know, that’s why I don’t want you to get near it. I’m better equipped to handle this sort of enemy.”

  Imogen frowned but nodded. “Good luck.”

  Marie-Bell called on the sword’s power and it blazed with white fire.

  She charged the construct.

  Its arm swept in toward her.

  The holy sword countered, slicing through its elbow like it had no substance. She spun in time to watch the severed arm grow back in an instant.

  That could have gone better.

  She charged in again, slashing through its torso. The sword burned a path through it, but the two halves reconnected as soon as it passed.

  When she hit its legs, the effect was the same. As far as Marie-Bell could tell, she wasn’t even hurting the monster. Fighting this thing was every bit as frustrating as fighting Wind Walker. Neither of them had a solid body she could hit.

  Her moment of thought cost her as the opposite arm swept in. She leapt back, but a finger grazed her thigh. Even with all her protections in place, the blow sent pain screaming through her body. An eternity of anguish passed in a moment before her divine soul force healed the damage.

  She didn’t want to do that again. Marie-Bell darted a glance at the alcove that hid the stairs down to the next level. They could make a run for it, but there was no guarantee this thing wouldn’t follow them and it would be a lot harder to fight in the tight halls below.

  No, she needed to finish it here, but how?

  It stomped closer, forcing her further back. Imogen had taken to the air and was flying near the ceiling, well out of the monster’s reach.

  Maybe if she hit it with a concentrated blast of divine soul force she could snuff out its flames.

  The only way to know for sure was to try. She touched the sword to her chest and drew on the power of both artifacts.

  The construct was only a step away when she unleashed the gathered power. A wave of white fire swept towards it, striking the black giant like the hand of a god.

  It staggered back, the flames of its body rushing away from her. Marie-Bell took a step closer, unwilling to let it retreat. More and more power rushed out.

  One of its arms guttered and vanished followed quickly by the second. It was working, but the cost in soul force was tremendous. If the thing didn’t die soon she was going to be in trouble.

  The black flames vanished at the same time as her white flames. The giant had been reduced to a ragged torso hanging in the air.

  Marie-Bell gasped as she leaned on the holy sword. She looked up just in time to see the black flames flutter to life. The body started to regain its shape. It wasn’t dead after all.

  She despaired. Even with the artifacts’ power she wasn’t strong enough to defeat this enemy. They were going to die down here, forgotten in the dark. Worst of all, she’d failed her angel.

  “Hey!” Imogen shouted. “There’s an artifact at its core. That’s got to be the source of its power. Cut through the middle, from top to bottom. Hurry, before it recovers.”

  The holy sword weighed a ton, but somehow, she dredged up enough soul force to make her body work. She dragged the tip of the sword and staggered toward the black giant.

  Step by step she picked up speed before launching herself at the construct.

  “Ahhh!” The holy sword cut through the giant like it was nothing. Then she felt the blade hit something hard, then she was through.

  The black flames flared then vanished, revealing a black amulet that had been neatly sliced in two.

  When nothing tried to kill them for half a minute Marie-Bell decided the battle was over. Imogen must have agreed as she landed beside Marie-Bell and helped her stagger toward the alcove. Another layer of earth and stone between them and Wind Walker would be a good thing.

  A nap would be an even better thing.

  They climbed down the steps together. Halfway down Marie-Bell felt something stirring in the dark.

  “Wait, send your light ahead,” Marie-Bell said.

  Imogen gestured and her glowing globe flew forward. At the foot of the steps milled a pack of zombies. What now? She just wanted to sit, have a cup of tea, and rest for a few hours, that wasn’t too much to ask, right?

  One of the more intact zombies looked up at them. “Congratulations. Now that you have the Demon Slayer sword, there’s another matter we must discuss. The death of Wind Walker.”

  Anger burned away Marie-Bell’s fatigue. “Are you going back on our deal?”

  “Let us say I am altering it. Kill the demon or fight your way through all the Haunted Land’s dead.”

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Jen was getting well and truly sick of the badlands. You never realized how varied the terrain of the kingdom was until you went to a wasteland like this. The monotony sapped her focus and set her mind to wandering. Mostly about what the Dragons were planning. She didn’t really have much of a clue, beyond the map. Maybe once they got the symbols translated things would start making sense.

  They’d barely covered five miles when Talon looked back for the third time.

  “Would you stop that?” Jen said. “You’re making me nervous.”

  “I think someone’s following us,” Talon said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure.”

  “Ju
st one?”

  “Far as I can tell.”

  Jen frowned as she tried to think why the Dragons would send a single scout after them. Maybe they didn’t realize they’d sent him after warlords. In that case, they could take whoever was out there easily.

  “Commander?” Alec asked.

  “Let’s take him, alive. Maybe we can coax whoever it is to translate the marks on the map.”

  Talon didn’t look thrilled with her orders to keep the tail alive, but he nodded. Jen didn’t blame him. The Dragons had been doing their best to kill them for the past few days. However, the mission came first.

  “Now!”

  They all vanished at warlord speed. It didn’t take more than a second to find a single young man in ragged clothes trailing along behind them. A patchy beard clung to sunken cheeks and through the holes in his tunic his ribs were visible. Whoever he was, he clearly didn’t pose a threat.

  Jen appeared in front of him, sword drawn. The stranger flung his hands up and shied away as though expecting to be cut down instantly.

  “Please don’t kill me,” he said in barely understandable Common.

  “Who are you?” Jen asked.

  “Al Elan. I come to you with a warning. A great army marches toward your kingdom from the Kingdom of the Red Dragon.”

  Alec and Talon appeared, both looking a little rueful at the pathetic young man they’d captured.

  “How do you know?” Jen asked.

  Very slowly he rolled up a ragged sleeve revealing a dragon tattoo with a single star. “I used to be a member of their army. We…parted ways a few months ago and I’ve been on the run ever since.”

  “Well, Al Elan, I think we have a great deal to discuss, but not here and not now. First we need to get somewhere safe.”

  “Safe?” The saddest, most wistful look came over him. “It seems a lifetime ago that I was last safe.”

  Talon cocked his head. Jen heard it a moment later. The rapid patter of feet running at warlord speed.

  “Company,” Talon said.

  “It seems my captors have noticed my escape,” Al Elan said. “I had hoped to be well away before they checked my cell. Perhaps it would be best if we fled.”

  Jen flicked a look at him. “Can you keep up?”

  For the first time she saw a hint of fire in his eyes. “I came very close to joining the Knights of the Red Dragon. I assure you I can keep up.”

  “Let’s go!”

  They all vanished at warlord speed. It became a race with them trying to get away and their pursuers – Jen hadn’t seen them yet – rushing to catch up.

  To her delight, Al Elan ran at their side easily. When the forest appeared, she gave a silent cheer. They’d nearly reached the border, not that their pursuers were liable to stop, but they might find a more defensible place to dig in.

  Two figures in deep-brown leather armor stepped out of the tree line. They held slender, curved swords whose keen edges gleamed in the light.

  Jen tightened her grip on her weapon. “How did they get ahead of us?”

  No one had an answer. She still heard the rustle of rapid steps behind them, but it was impossible to tell how many people pursued them. Some of the group must have raced ahead at near lightning speed.

  Jen shook her head. If she had to fight two capable of that much speed, she’d be in trouble.

  One of the warriors in their path went down, revealing Rhys and his dripping mace. “Come on!” he shouted.

  Jen went to lightning speed and took out the second man as he turned to strike Rhys. With the obstacles removed, the team raced away.

  Five minutes later Talon said, “The others broke off.”

  Jen slowed and then stopped in a little clearing. She turned to Rhys, “I thought I told you to take the information we’d gathered to the castle.”

  “Edward said he could handle it on his own and I feared you might run into trouble. Looks like I was right.” His gaze shifted to Al Elan. “New recruit?”

  “Not exactly,” Jen said. “More like a deserter from the other side.”

  “That can be useful too,” Rhys said.

  “I hope so.” Jen stretched her sore muscles. “You kept our horses?”

  “Of course, about a mile northeast of here.”

  “Good. I’m beat.”

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Marie-Bell glared at the zombie master through its puppet’s eyes. She shouldn’t be surprised. The creature was an undead monstrosity, of course it betrayed them. No doubt if they somehow managed to kill Wind Walker it would demand something else.

  Well, she’d had enough of bargaining with monsters. Divine energy flowed from her armor into the sword. When she released it, every zombie on the floor burned to ash.

  “I guess you’re not making another deal,” Imogen said.

  Marie-Bell winced and glanced at her companion. “Sorry, I should have asked your thoughts.”

  Imogen waved her hand. “I hated making a deal in the first place. Better an honest fight than an alliance with such things. Are you okay to continue?”

  Marie-Bell found she was. Channeling the divine energy had burned away her exhaustion. It was a good thing too. They needed to escape the tunnels and flee the Haunted Lands as quickly as possible.

  They reached the foot of the stairs and sent puffs of zombie ash flying as they rushed down the halls toward the tunnel entrance. Marie-Bell’s armor sent a steady flow of warmth and strength into her. It was like the artifact approved of her current path and was doing its best to help. Of course, that was probably her imagination. She had no evidence that the armor possessed any sort of intelligence.

  At the tunnel entrance they found more zombies waiting. The zombie master spoke through the nearest undead. “I will forgive you that last outburst, but you need to turn around right now and kill Wind Walker.”

  “I don’t think so,” Marie-Bell said. “I’m done bargaining. Stay out of my way or I’ll destroy every zombie you’ve got.”

  She sent soul force surging into the armor and it blazed with golden light. The instant it struck the gathered zombies they burst into flames and were consumed. As she stalked forward, a strange thing happened. The armor’s power was answered by the sword which sent a stream of divine energy into it. When she withdrew her own soul force, the glow didn’t diminish at all.

  “What’s going on?” Imogen asked.

  “I don’t know, but let’s hurry before something goes wrong. You know the way back, right?”

  “No, do you?”

  They shared a look and Marie-Bell shrugged. They’d just have to do their best. If she destroyed enough undead, maybe the zombie master would show them the exit.

  They set off down the tunnel at a brisk walk. Since she was freed from energizing her armor, Marie-Bell used her soul force to strengthen her body and perceptions. The golden light should destroy any undead that came close, but she still didn’t want to get caught unaware.

  For three hours they marched through the darkness. Half a dozen times packs of undead attacked them and every time they were instantly consumed. None of them tried speaking to her. It seemed the zombie master was done with bargaining as well.

  It was a standoff. The undead couldn’t get to them, but they couldn’t find their way out of the tunnels. If the holy sword ran out of power before they escaped, the zombie master won.

  Imogen put a hand on Marie-Bell’s shoulder and closed her eyes. “I’m going to do some scouting, see if I can’t find an exit. I’ll be blind while I look, so don’t move too fast.”

  A light zipped off into the darkness and Marie-Bell slowed her pace to a crawl. There wasn’t any rush since they had no idea where they were going. Still, moving so slowly did nothing to calm Marie-Bell’s nerves.

  How long they shuffled along like a pair of zombies Marie-Bell had no idea, but at last Imogen squeezed her shoulder. “I found an exit.”

  “Thank heaven. Which way?”

  “The next right, third left, seco
nd right. There’s a tunnel leading to the surface.”

  “That’s not the one we took down.”

  “Nope. And the best part is there’s no storm waiting above. Once we’re clear of the tunnels, we should be home free.”

  Marie-Bell sent a silent word of thanks to her angel and any other that might be watching over them. They accelerated to a brisk trot. No more undead attacked. Perhaps the zombie master decided to cut his losses. A wise move if it proved true. Marie-Bell didn’t plan to take anything for granted until they were on the opposite side of the mountains.

  They ran for nearly an hour before Marie-Bell felt a slightly fresher breeze brush her face. Around the final corner the tunnel to the surface appeared. No zombies blocked their path.

  Neither of them slowed until they burst out of the passage and into the open air. The gray skies of the Haunted Lands had never looked so good. Marie-Bell conjured a mount and they shot into the air. Moments later the armor’s golden glow vanished. Something told Marie-Bell that she wouldn’t be able to use that power again for a while. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to.

  “Congratulations on your escape, little paladin.” Wind Walker’s voice came from everywhere. “I doubted you’d manage against the dark fire golem, much less tunnels full of undead.”

  Marie-Bell waited for the next threat, but Wind Walker remained silent. “Is that it?”

  “For now,” Wind Walker said. “Perhaps in a few decades or maybe a few centuries, some new idiot will come to the Haunted Lands. They might make a better tool than you. Who knows? You paladins are constantly coming out here thinking you can cleanse this land. I’m not sure if it’s arrogance or stupidity, but it is amusing. Fare well, paladin. May we never meet again.”

  Wind Walker’s presence vanished and they were alone. Marie-Bell turned dead east and flew with all she had. The sooner they escaped the Haunted Lands, the sooner she could learn why she was sent to retrieve the artifacts. Whatever the reason, it couldn’t be good.

  Chapter Fifty-Seven