Seran had his whip out and copies of Xain had formed up between the Lakreay and us. I had no idea if the real Xain was among them or not. I was alarmed to see Seran’s whip flick up and between the heads of the first and second Xains. He aimed it perfectly though and the hooks bit into a Lakreay’s neck. Eyes wide with shock the creature sank to his knees. Seran gave the whip a powerful tug to recall it and it took a chunk of neck with it. The Lakreay collapsed lifelessly. The other two grunted in anger and with blades flashing, attacked the Xains. They fended off blow after blow, but were struggling to land their own. It was frustrating viewing it from where I stood. I had Sunder out and ready, but stood useless. The hallway was not wide enough for me to get through to attack.
I winced as a Lakreay drove his sword deep into Xain’s stomach. He bent over double and fell to his knees, but in that moment of distraction, two of the other Xains each sank a sword into the neck of a Lakreay. The Xain on his knees disappeared; a copy. I blew out a breath of air in relief.
“We need to move.” Markai was already following her own advice and Roscien quickly recovered to lead the way again. We hurried through corridor after corridor. They all looked the same to me and I could not see how much use the map in my pocket would be, if I were to get lost in there.
Markai’s ears were twitching as if they were on fire and she was trying to put it out. “We are being pursued. We need to find a place to turn and wait. If we must fight them, let us do it on our terms. Roscien, find a large empty room.”
He made no response, but started poking his head into every room we passed. Abruptly he ushered us into one.
The room was fairly bare, but had two large sofas facing each other in the centre. We formed up, waiting for the attack. I had once again focused Navitas and unsheathed Sunder. I could hear the sound of many feet in the stone hallway coming towards us. They were getting closer and I readied myself.
Four Dyrrendrel burst through the door and did not pause for a moment, but leapt, each at its own target. I despatched the one coming towards me with ease; I stepped aside as it attacked and managed to slide Sunder into its neck. By the time I had done that, Xain and his copies had finished off two of the others and Markai was fighting with the last one. It gave one final yelp as Markai tore its throat out viciously.
We set off at once, with Roscien just scanning the hall before we left the room. We started descending. We went down two flights of stairs before we stopped at a closed door. Roscien was the only one not out of breath. “This is the throne room. Wait here.”
He disappeared down the hall and around a corner. It was not long before he appeared again. “He’s in there!” he whispered urgently. His voice was quivering, whether with excitement or fear I could not tell. “The room is full of his followers, though. I was barely able to have a peek and avoid being spotted by them. Malion, we will need you in there. As soon as we rush in, use a scenario to throw them off balance. Trissa, try your best to use your Talent. That could make all the difference for us.” They nodded in turn.
Terror filmed Trissa’s eyes and I wondered if she would be able to cope.
I pulled Thaya closer to me and whispered low enough so only she could hear. “Be careful. Stay back and out of harm’s way as much as possible.”
She looked at me and I could see she was dismissing my words.
Louder, I said, “Ready?”
I looked at each of them in turn to get a nod. It felt as though I had swallowed a rock.
At Roscien’s all clear sign, we hurried over to the door to the throne room and taking a deep breath, I threw it open and rushed in. I was shouting and Malion came in right on my heels. I had a moment to see the room as it really was. Bare, as Roscien had said, with Rakadamon sitting regally on the impressive golden throne in the centre, but there was something that he had not mentioned. Long rows of torches were mounted on the walls, washing the room in a flickering light. That was the only light in the room, for there were no windows. As soon as his foot hit the floor inside the room, though, it all changed. We were in hailstorm in a mostly open field. Rakadamon now sat on a large rock boulder.
My aim was simply to get to the Master of the Dark. Ultimately, the rest of these creatures were only obstacles in my way. The apparent change in environment had made the dark creatures hesitate a moment, but that moment was enough to allow us to enter the room without being slaughtered like sheep. There were many more of the enemy present than I had anticipated, or perhaps naively hoped. Skell, Lakreay, Dyrrendrel and even a couple of hazes that I saw were hanging back for the time being.
I flew into the forms of the Shea-Rin. Slowly kill by kill I was getting closer to him. He sat on his throne looking down at the melee in front of him. He did not lift a finger. He did not even look concerned. If anything he looked… amused.
I was only peripherally aware of what everyone else was doing. A few times, I saw Seran’s whips flying through the air and tearing chunks out of their targets. Seran himself was only a blur, slowing occasionally to take on a more substantial shape before picking up speed again. Some of the enemy simply started slowing in their movements and dropped to the floor, apparently dead. That puzzled me for a moment until I realised they were all in Seran’s proximity. He had been drawing out their life source. Abstractedly, I wondered if drawing such an evil life force would have an adverse effect on him. A few of Xain’s copies took wounds and disappeared. Each time that happened, I could only hope that it was not the real Xain. Trissa stood close to the door, holding a sword uncertainly.
I kept expecting Rakadamon to descend from his throne and attack me, but he only watched and waited. The surroundings had changed yet again; we were now in a field of snow with wind whipping flakes into my eyes. He sat on an icy mound.
Suddenly everything seemed to slow. Finally! I turned to find a Dyrrendrel leaping toward me, its massive jaw open and vicious teeth exposed and about to clamp down on my shoulder. I spun around and severed its head cleanly. My eyes met with Trissa’s. Her face was deathly pale, her mouth a silent ‘o’ of horror. I forced a smile at her and gave a small bow. She had once again saved my life.
I was right next to Roscien. He could do nothing now. I was about to tell him to go, but before I could he screamed and disappeared.
Only two more creatures stood between Rakadamon and me, both hazes. I looked at the mounted torches in the room. I knew what I had to do and I knew what the consequence would be, but I had no other choice… but then I remembered Laskia and Wulik’s gifts. I pulled out the first flamer. The hazes looked at it, but their features were too indistinct to make out what they thought of it.
With as much force as I could muster, I threw it at the haze to my left. As I had hoped, it swung at it with its sword. There was a crash of shattering glass a moment before the liquid ignited with a woof, and the haze with it. It let out a shrill scream before evaporating.
I realised then that the slowing effect of Trissa’s Talent had gone again. I dared not take my eyes off the second haze for a moment though. I took out another flamer. The haze started coming towards me and I hurled it, but knowing what was coming, the haze loosened its form for a split second; just enough that the flamer went straight through. I cursed myself for foolishness; I should have expected this. It was still coming towards me and I barely managed to block its sweeping blow, the blades making a sharp ringing noise when they connected. Using Navitas this time, I pulled the heat of the torches into Sunder. I stopped when half of them had gone out, not wishing to plunge us into complete darkness.
Hoping it would be enough, I projected the heat through my sword and into the haze. It kept coming and for a heart stopping moment I thought it was not going to die, but finally it dispersed into mist.
Then there was none. No creature stood between us and yet he still sat, studying me. He appeared as just a man. Curly black hair framed what I guessed most women would describe as a very handsome face. He had a strong angular jaw and a mouth that seemed to be smili
ng all the time. To me it seemed a mocking smile. The most startling aspect of his appearance though, was his eyes. They were a mirror image of mine; ice blue. “Well, well, Kadin, haven’t you come far.” His voice was velvet.
“For good reason. To kill you.” I made my voice as hard and cold as I could in an effort to conceal my fear.
He only laughed easily. “I am sure that is what you intend, but I think you and I should first have a talk.”
I could not believe what I was hearing. I had imagined this encounter going a thousand different ways, but never with him asking to talk.
"The only thing I could possibly want to know from you is why you are doing this? What do you want?" I said, and was pleased to hear the bit of steel in my voice.
The fighting still carried on around us, but he seemed completely unaware of it.
He looked at me a long while before speaking. "You humans have always thought yourselves above your stations. You are puny and pathetic; weak. But you Kadin, are more than what you believe yourself to be."
I had no idea what he was talking about.
"We gave them everything. Everything! And we only asked what was our due; respect and servitude," he continued, but whom was he talking about?
"Do you mean your Twisted Ones?" I asked.
He laughed and shook his head. "Them? No. They made the decisions that led them to me, but once I have them, they have no choice. We should have done the same with your kind. You and the Fae." He spat the last name out. "They were even worse than the humans. I was so shocked to learn that our war, all the unrest, had been caused by you midges. Running around spreading lies and rumours to stir up trouble between us."
It dawned on me then. He was talking of the time before the Severance. He was speaking as though he had been one of the gods! I had to fight to keep my jaw from dropping to the floor.
"The others simply left at that point. The fools thought that just removing their presence from you was punishment enough. Arrogant fools! I left with them initially, but I came back. At first just watching them all squirm while trying to cling onto life was enough. Famine and war was rife. I even started a few wars of my own. I was particularly proud of the War of Three Generations. Named so because for most regions involved, it wiped out three whole generations.” He laughed a harsh barking laugh. “I enjoyed watching you suffer. I enjoyed hearing people plead for us to return." His eyes were far away. “But then, it all started to settle down. Under the guidance of the Fae and with humanity’s survival instinct kicking in, wars were stopped. Nations rose and started to prosper.”
His eyes snapped back to mine, hard as flint. “I could not let that happen. I could not allow it. So, I started to build my army, my followers, moulded especially to suit my purpose, and my children,” he said tenderly, a father speaking of his beloved children. It made my skin crawl.
“We were ready. We had victory before us, until it was snatched away,” he continued. “You see, then I did not know that some of my fellows did not want the downfall of humanity. Even though you spurned them, they wanted to help you. They left a select few with some special gifts. I believe you call them Talents. Even fewer were Touched by the gods.” He smiled sardonically. “Have you noticed a similarity between us, Kadin?” He tapped a finger to his cheek, pointing to his eyes.
“Our eyes. What of it?” I asked coldly. The thought of having anything in common with this creature, was abhorrent to me.
“It marks you, boy. It marks you as Touched, me as a god. It is what allows you to harbour more than one Talent.”
Now I knew he was simply talking to distract me. I suddenly noticed that we were back in the actual throne room. I glanced over my shoulder and my blood turned to ice when I saw Malion lying sprawled on the floor. My use of the torches had thrown the room into a sort of twilight and I could not see much detail in the dimness.
It seemed to me that Xain and Seran were the only ones left fighting. I bit back the panic that rose when I could not see Alathaya. A part of me was screaming to drop everything else and find her, but I knew there was more than her life at stake here. I felt a monster for making that decision. As far as I could tell, only a Skell and one Dyrrendrel remained. Markai was nowhere to be seen. I turned my focus back to him.
He was studying me. “Your kind was the reason I failed last time. This time I know all about you and I won’t let that happen again.” He smiled darkly. “I know your blade as well. I have met it once before. It defeated me then, it will not today.” He paused, surveying the room with cold, calm eyes. “Your kind should never have existed. I will make all mankind and Fae pay for rebelling against us!” He rose from his throne as he spoke, his voice turned to thunder. It rumbled through the room and made my bones feel rattled.
When he finished speaking, I realised the entire room had gone quiet. When I glanced around, there was no one left. No one left standing that was, and from where I stood, I could not make out who all the bodies were.
I turned back. He was stepping down from the throne and slowly drawing out a vicious looking sword. The blade had a smooth curve to it and one side of the tip was serrated. The blade was pitch black, identical to the blades the Skell used. He took a few steps towards me and I involuntarily took a step back making that mocking smile spread further across his face.
I focused my Navitas into my senses and my blade. I fell into Water Rising of the Shea-Rin. I shut out all thought of anything but Rakadamon in front of me. I was only vaguely aware of the blue mist swirling around me and down to the tip of Sunder. If I were to survive this, I was going to need all the skill I had ever learnt, and then perhaps some luck thrown in as well.
He advanced on me confidently. Then disappeared in front of my eyes. My sensitive Navitas enhanced hearing gave me a moment’s warning that he was coming at me from behind. I turned just as he struck a powerful sweeping blow at me. I managed to block it easily, but the shock of his blade hitting mine reverberated up my arm. Had I not had my Navitas focused into my blade, strengthening my hold on it, it would have surely been knocked clean out of my hands. He came at me with several more such blows and I realised he was testing me. Seeing how hard he would have to push, how much I was going to be able to withstand.
I realised that I had retreated a few steps with each blow. He was smiling sardonically. I launched an attack, but he blocked and countered each blow perfectly. I took several more steps back, at the same time drawing in the energy from the remaining torches, and hurled that at him. I aimed for his sword hand and was rewarded with a gasp.
He switched his sword to his other hand and held the burnt one up. Unbelievably, he laughed. “That’s new.” Unperturbed though, he carried on fighting with his sword now in his left hand. Of course he was ambidextrous!
I could not help giving a mirthless snort. I had plunged us into darkness and it had not gained me anything. If not for Navitas, I would not have been able to see anything; as it was, it was difficult to make much out beyond ten feet away.
I became aware of the increasing temperature in the room. Sweat was dripping down my nose and running down my back. I could no longer make out his facial expressions, but somehow I was sure this sudden heat was his doing.
Abruptly, he disappeared again. This time I swung around immediately to see where he had gone. He appeared right in front of me and launched a massive attack. Blow after blow, driving me backward a few steps at a time. I managed to block his strikes, but not much else. My foot caught on something, I thought a body most likely, and I started falling backwards. Shock filled me, my stomach turned to stone, and I was sure that he would move in now to finish me off.
Before I hit the ground though, there was a rough tug on my coat and suddenly, I was thrown into the air. As I tumbled, I turned and looked down to see Markai running below me. I came down right on top of her back and clutched at her fur to keep my seat. All my senses were magnified the moment I touched her. I could see as well as when we first came in with all the torches lit, I
could smell the individual Dark Children and Twisted Ones, and to my dismay, I could pick out Malion’s scent as well as Xain’s. I knew where they all lay. I had to put my friends from my mind though. If I did not focus on what I was doing, I would not survive this.
Markai and I were so tightly connected that I was not sure where her mind ended and mine began. Even the motion of her running; it may as well have been me running. It was as though we were one being.
We turned and faced him. I grinned; his smile had vanished. We stalked in a circle, moving ever closer to him. I could see him hesitate, trying to decide what his best approach was. I fingered my last remaining flamer. We decided that it was not yet time for it.
We ran at him, to his right, but at the last moment, she anticipated his move. He teleported himself again, further to his left. She had already changed direction, though, and I struck towards his neck. He managed to deflect me, but not completely and Sunder split his cheek open. An inch higher and it would have been his eye. He roared in fury.
Tall as he was, he had to reach up when he tried to strike me. He danced around us, quick as lightning teleporting randomly. He kept striking at me. Markai matched him step for step lithely moving out of his reach.
Abruptly, he changed direction and tact. He sliced at Markai’s neck. She jerked back, but his sword cut into her right front leg. I felt the searing pain scorch up as though it had been my leg. I winced and clenched my teeth against the pain. I knew it was not very deep, but the pain was as if he had cleaved to the bone.
I looked at his sword again and saw her blood being absorbed into the blade, making it shine black as night again. I knew then that it could not be any ordinary blade. If such a small cut could cause such pain, what would a more serious injury mean? I glanced about the room and located the only Skell body. Its pitch-black blade was lying a foot from its hand.
Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One Page 38
