by Томас Рейд
reared back as Kael threatened him with his sword. While he was distracted with the knight, Pharaun fired a series of magical darts that screamed into his flank. The monstrosity reared and roared in pain.
"No!" Tauran screamed at them. "Don't hurt him!"
Blessed Tyr, please save him, he prayed, forgetting that it was to Torm that he had most recently sworn allegiance. If one of us must suffer this fate, let it be me, instead.
Eirwyn took her companion by the shoulders and turned him to face her. "I know," she said. "It's horrible. But however wrong it might be, it is his fate, and you cannot let Vhok beat us because of it."
Tauran scrubbed the stinging tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. Micus deserves better, Tyr. He was always your loyal servant. I'm the one who turned from you. I'm the one who betrayed you.
Heartbroken, Tauran nodded at Eirwyn. "Make it merciful," he said. Then, the muscles in his neck and shoulder cording, the grieving angel spun to face Vhok.
The cambion was missing.
"Find him!" Tauran croaked. "He can't be far. He will not abandon his precious goal now, not when he is so close." He turned and looked at Eirwyn. "Find him, so I can deliver him back to the hellish place from whence he was spawned!"
Tauran flung himself into the air. He dropped over the side, hunting for the cambion with raw fury in his heart. It should have been me, he thought over and over. I was the one who betrayed you. Not Micus. He was loyal. It should have been me.
He spotted Vhok circling beneath the mountain, heading back toward the top and the beach. Tauran raced
after him, gripping his mace so hard his knuckles ached. The cambion landed on the sand well away from the raging battle between Kael and Pharaun and the abomination. The angel saw him watch for a moment, then take a tentative step toward the water.
Tauran hit the ground running, his mace drawn back.
Vhok heard his footsteps and spun away. He drew his blade.
Tauran's weapon hit the sand with a powerful thump where Vhok had been standing a blink of an eye before. "What you did," he growled, circling the half-fiend, looking for another chance to strike. "It was too base even for you!" he finished with a scream and a lunge. Vhok retreated and blocked the attack. "No one should have to suffer such a transformation. Until today, I wouldn't even have wished that upon you! You should have killed him!"
Vhok glared at the angel and waved his blade threateningly. "And you should never have tried to bind me to your service," he said. "I am not your lapdog, angel."
Tauran felt righteous anger overflow. "That has nothing— nothing! — to do with Micus." He launched another furious flurry of blows at his foe. With each one, he punctuated it with a word. "He… did… not… deserve… that!"
The rain of attacks drove Vhok back, then down to one knee. Letting his rage engulf him, Tauran drew back for one final pounding.
"Tauran, look out!" Eirwyn yelled, leaping in from nowhere. She collided with the other angel and knocked him out of the way as Micus swung Myshik's war axe at him from behind. Tauran went sprawling, landing in the shallow water. The blade caught Eirwyn instead, biting into her shoulder and
back. Blood spurted everywhere as Eirwyn crumpled to the ground, crying out in agony.
Tears filled Tauran's eyes as he witnessed another of his friends suffer. Rising to his feet, his mace still clutched in his hands, he snarled, "You're finished."
He lunged at the cambion and swung his mace. As he did so, he channeled all the divine power he could muster into the holy weapon.
Kael watched, sickened, as Eirwyn dropped to the sand.
He had tried to corral the raging beast, but Micus would not be denied. He had pushed past the knight, heedless of the half-drow's weapon, and tried to cut Tauran down. Kael felt helpless panic rise when he saw what was about to happen to his mentor, but before he could do a thing to stop it, Eirwyn had flashed into view.
Swearing oaths that would have gotten him punished as a youth, Kael leaped toward the aberration and brought his blade down hard.
The thing saw the movement and danced to the side. Kael's attack cut harmlessly into the damp sand. Micus used the moment to counterattack. He leaped into the air and soared past the half-drow, attempting to slice at him with the axe as he went by.
Kael barely managed to get his blade back into position to block the strike, but the force of Micus's blow spun the knight around and sent him sprawling face-first into the sand.
Kael scooped up a handful of the stuff and flung it from him. Rising to his feet, Kael saw Micus soaring out over the
open sky, away from the Lifespring, but the abomination was already banking in a sharp circle to come back around. A few feet away from Kael, Pharaun made a few strange, complex gestures and flung a fist toward the cursed thing. A large glowing ball of crackling energy appeared in the air between Pharaun and Micus and, as the wizard gestured, it zipped forward, headed for the winged beast.
Micus dipped and dodged and managed to evade the dangerous sphere, but Pharaun did a little spinning motion with his hand and had the ball racing back toward Micus from behind. Just as the cursed creature alighted upon the sand between Kael and Pharaun, swinging his axe at them both, the sphere reached its mark and struck Micus.
The energy of the sphere dissipated, sending spidery tracks of electricity all across the thing's body.
Kael expected him to have a bigger fit than he did, imagining how much punishment such a spell would deliver. But the aberration only started in surprise and turned to see what had hit him. -
"Immunities," Pharaun grumbled in disgust.
Micus, perhaps realizing where the attack had originated, turned on the drow wizard and lunged at him with the axe poised to strike.
Upon seeing his foe turn his attention away from him, Kael leaped close and sliced at the thing, cutting a deep gash in the aberration's flank and ruining one of its legs.
On the opposite side of the beast, Pharaun retreated and gestured at the ground in front of himself. A set of snaking, black tentacles wormed up out of the very rock and quickly latched onto the abomination. The tentacles curled around its legs and climbed to engulf its body. Howling in rage, Micus
thrashed and kicked and fanned his four wings, trying to break free.
Impressive, Kael thought. Don't get caught up in those.
Kael used his magic boots to go aloft and avoid the black tentacles, then closed in to cut at the creature again. Trapped as he was, Micus could not evade the impending assault, but he didn't seem to care. All his bestial concentration seemed focused on breaking free of the magical appendages holding him.
Kael swung his greatsword in huge arcs that opened the beast from shoulder to tail several times. Micus screamed and howled, doubling his frenzied efforts to break free. Finally, with its body broken and bleeding, the thing crumpled to the ground, still thrashing.
Kael settled to the ground next to Pharaun. "What a pity," he said.
The wizard shrugged. "But also fascinating. Two creatures, fused in such a fashion. I'd love the chance to study—"
"That's enough," Kael growled. "He was a high-ranking member of the Court of Tyr and one of Tauran's closest friends, not an experiment. I will not hear him spoken of in that way."
Pharaun's mouth twitched in the faintest hint of a smile, but he gave a slight bow and said, "As you wish."
Kael nodded. "Release your tentacles," he said, "and I will finish him off."
Pharaun gestured, and the black, writhing appendages vanished, leaving the Micus-Myshik thing flailing feebly, its lifeblood soaking the sand and turning it crimson.
Kael approached the creature. "I'm so sorry, Micus," he
said. He hefted his sword. "I wish that… everything had been different between us."
He drew back the blade and sliced downward. Micus's grotesque, bloated head tumbled from his shoulders. Blood sprayed as the head bounced to one side and rolled away. The rest of the creature continued to flop an
d spasm.
Kael turned back to Pharaun. "Tauran will grieve this loss for a long—"
"Beware!" Pharaun said, grabbing Kael and shoving him aside.
Crackling, blinding light erupted from behind Kael and engulfed Pharaun. Kael staggered to the ground and flung his arm up across his face. Spots swam in his vision and he shouted in pain and horror.
When the afterimages of the stroke faded enough for him to see again, Kael, on his hands and knees, peered toward his father.
Pharaun lay unmoving: Smoke rose from his scorched body.
"No," Kael pleaded, scrambling to his father's side.
Aliisza could barely keep aloft. Her muscles, weakened so much from her magic consuming her, struggled to work. She climbed slowly, gasping for breath with each pump of her wings, rising in a corkscrew fashion.
Just one more time, she'd tell herself. Just once more. An easy pace. You can do it.
But she didn't think she could.
The last of the demons were dead. She had slain them with
her blade and watched them fall away. She wondered where they would land. If they would land.
You could fall, too, she thought. Just let go. It would be easy. Get rid of this pain.
No! Just one more time around. An easy pace. See this through. Kaanyr needs to understand.
At last, Aliisza came through the tops of the clouds and spied the bottom of the great stone basin that held the Lifespring.
She almost sobbed in relief, but she couldn't give in even that little bit, or she'd lose her momentum.
Aliisza circled around three or four more times until she crested the edge. She pitched forward and went limp upon the rocks.
You did it. You got here.
Yes, she thought, gasping and panting. Now for the hard part.
She could hear the shouts of battle and urgency forced her up again. She sought her companions and spied them part of the way down the shore, still fighting. Kael and Pharaun opposed the thing that had once been Micus and Myshik. It had grown since she had seen it last.
She felt a momentary pang of guilt and regret, remembering how Micus thought she had betrayed him. Then she shook it off. I am not that person, she insisted. I did the best I could.
Farther along the narrow beach, Tauran and Kaanyr dueled one another.
Eirwyn lay crumpled on the sand.
Aliisza struggled onto her knees, then tried to stand. She wanted to rush forward, to join the fray, but her body was
betraying her. She dropped back down.
I can't, she thought. The magic has taken everything from me. Just too much. I'm sorry.
No, the defiant part of her thought. Get up. Die trying. Don't lie here regretting. She listened to that defiant part, struggling to rise again. You must help them. Find a way, Aliisza.
She staggered upright once more. She took one tentative step, and then another. Confident she wouldn't tumble over from exhaustion, she moved forward, maddeningly slowly.
She saw Kael take Micus's head from his body and a sense of sadness, but also peace, filled her. Tauran will take it hard, she thought. But Micus's suffering is over, at least.
She was getting nearer to the pair when Pharaun jumped forward, knocking Kael to the ground. A booming crack of lightning erupted from the beast's corpse. The concussive blast stunned Aliisza and she fell to one knee, watching as Pharaun, his back arched in torment, was engulfed in the blast. He toppled.
"No! Pharaun, no!"
Aliisza forced herself to her feet a third time and stumbled down the beach.
By the time she reached him, Kael had recovered and had Pharaun's head cradled in his hands. She dropped down beside the two and saw then that the wizard's form had reverted back to its natural state. Kael held Zasian, whose broken and battered body sported several injuries. "Is he—?" she asked, her voice a near-whisper.
Kael looked at her. "It caught him squarely." His voice cracked. "I guess the 'imperfect vessel' finally had taken all the punishment it could. He was… interesting."
Aliisza stroked Kael's hair. "At least you finally got to meet him," she said. Then she looked down the beach. "Kael" — she tried to get to her feet one last time—"Tauran still needs us."
"I know," Kael said. He set Zasian down gently and pushed himself up. "Come." He took her hand.
The two of them trotted down the beach as fast as Aliisza could move. She could see Kaanyr and Tauran battling furiously. Beside her, Kael was already clenching his sword, and she could see the lines of his jaw working as he clenched his teeth.
She didn't want to tell him to go on ahead. She didn't want to be left behind. I want to be there when Kaanyr goes down, she insisted. But Tauran was in trouble, and Kael wanted to rush to his side.
"Go," she said. "Help him.".
Kael looked at her gratefully and took two steps forward.
A black blur flashed in front of Aliisza's vision and plowed into Kael from behind and slightly to one side. The force of the impact took both it and the half-drow over the side.
Aliisza screamed and stumbled to the edge. She peered over and spotted Kael locked in a death grip with one of the demons. It had a hold of the knight's throat with its claws, and Kael was struggling to get his sword into position to stab at it. Both of them plummeted away from her.
"Kael!" she cried out. She wanted so desperately to tip herself over the side, to drop down there with him and aid him. She knew she could not.
You're the only one left, she thought. Go help Tauran.
Sucking in a deep breath, Aliisza struggled to her feet yet again. She trotted unsteadily toward the dueling foes, anger
at Kaanyr driving her forward. All of this is your doing, she thought, staring right at the cambion. It all comes down to here and now. And I will make you understand!
Cambion and angel pummeled one another with blade and mace, their blows ringing in the air. Tauran, sporting a number of nicks and scratches that soaked his tunic with blood, swatted Kaanyr's blade away from his head and made an elaborate gesture. A shaft of holy light stabbed downward from the heavens and struck Kaanyr directly.
The cambion grunted and stumbled back a step.
Aliisza closed the distance. She only needed a few more steps. She fumbled her sword out of its sheath.
Kaanyr spied her coming. He gave her a little grin and turned to face Tauran once more.
Before Aliisza could reach them, Kaanyr muttered something and pointed at the angel with his sword. A sickly purple gout of flame burst from the tip and enveloped Tauran.
The angel went rigid and howled in misery.
Frantic to stop him, Aliisza rushed on. Her feet felt like blocks of stone. Her legs screamed for her to stop. She ignored her body's torments and raised her sword.
As the flames from Kaanyr's sword died, he took one lunging step toward the teetering angel and drove his blade deep into Tauran's chest.
"No!" Aliisza screamed. She staggered closer.
Kaanyr grinned at her.
"You bastard, no!" She staggered forward with her blade up. "I will gut you! I will make you understand!"
Purple energy crackled over Tauran. The angel gasped and dropped his mace. He put both hands on the hilt of the blade, and Aliisza could see him feebly working to remove the
weapon. Then his arms dropped, he fell back, slid free of the sword, and flopped onto the sand of the beach.
Tauran, I'm sorry. I wasn't fast enough.
Aliisza reached Kaanyr and swung her sword down with everything she had left. He casually flicked his blade up and deflected it, knocking the weapon from her trembling hands.
All the rage, all the pent-up frustration, drained from her. She dropped to her knees. No more, she thought. I've got no more. But you will understand.
"You were a fool to try to stop me," he said, looming over her. "All of them." He gestured down the beach. "Fools. When I set out to claim the power of this Lifespring for my own, I vowed that nothing would stand in my way."
>
Aliisza snorted. It turned into a chuckle. "You're the fool," she said. "You'll never get what you want from the damned water, but even if you did, you missed the whole point."
"What are you talking about?" he growled at her, his fury plain on his face. He did not like being laughed at.
"No one cares about you, Kaanyr. No one gives a damn that you succeeded. You have no one to share your victory with."
"Ah, but knowing how my taking it from under the angels' noses infuriates you so is almost as sweet."
Aliisza shook her head. "I'll be dead, remember? When I'm gone, no one will care about that, either."
"Enough of this drivel," he said. "I should have killed you back in that stinking cave. You're as weak as a kitten, just like then, but I will not make the same mistake twice. When I was hanging from chains in a balor's palace, suffering for your betrayal, I vowed to get even."
"No one cares, Kaanyr. With your power and your glory, you will always be alone."
"Shut up!"
Kaanyr raised his sword. She knew she had no strength left to fend him off. She could not stop the blade as it came forward, thrusting into her belly. She gasped and fell back, but Kaanyr came with her, driving the blade deeper. The malevolent magic of the weapon crashed into and through her, leeching her life away.
Gods, it hurts, she thought, tears filling her eyes. She heard herself whimper once, the sound very small.
More tears screamed down Aliisza's face. She gazed up into Kaanyr's eyes, which burned with rage. With one trembling hand, she reached up and touched him on the cheek. Then she said, "Nobody cares about you, Kaanyr." She gasped for air. It was hard to breathe. I don't want to die! "But people used to care. I did. I used to love you."
Kaanyr smirked, but she could see a moment of doubt reflected in his eyes. They unfocused for a moment and he stared at nothing as he contemplated how much he had lost.
That's when she knew he understood.
Feeling a burden lift from her, Aliisza summoned the last remaining reserves of her magic. She poured them all into a final spell. She knew it would consume her utterly, but that was all right.
Nothing can keep me from dying now, she thought.
