by Kate Gallwey
When spells fall apart there is a slight sting and backwash of energy and the overwhelming of my shield provided me with enough energy to fire off a wave of deadly power into the attacking hoards, it turned six of them into bloody fountains and killed another two, the rest just shielded against it, this was not going to be easy.
I summoned a storm and let it boil down into the trolls, the lightening blow huge chunks out of the hoards and they roared back in defiance. One of them, more skilled than the others created a strong wind that tried to blow my storm onto the walls but I expected this and let my storm scatter across the night sky.
I cast another spell and found the one that was the strongest magician of the lot and found her near the back of the hoard on a slight rise, so I teleported over to the back with my reforged sword in my hand and began to cut my way through to her, they didn’t see me coming as they were all pressing forward to attack the wall.
She was massive, at least ten feet tall and had arms the size of Tuvak. She started weaving magic and throwing it at the wall. I threw a fire ball at her head and she ducked, she was fast, she came at me with a glowing club which I caught on my sword. I released the magic in my sword and the green/blue fire flared all around me, matching the colour of my eyes. She attacked me over and over with that club that was spelled to crush and maim, holding off her natural strength was one thing but combined with the magic in the club I was hard pressed.
There is a wildness in me that loves the challenge of mid battle, where you are fighting for your life and every thought you think becomes sharp with the knowledge that this may be the last one. It must be my Creators in me but my blood sings and I feel so totally alive.
Lucian was suddenly at my side which made my magic fall apart and I frowned at him.
“Can’t let you have all the fun.” He said matter of factly. He caught three blows from nearby trolls that had started to attack my back. We fell, instinctively into the old rhythm of knowing exactly where the other one was and moved as one in total harmony. Each cut and parry was made with the deep knowledge of where the other was. It was like making love with a master of love play, or making music with a maestro.
The huge she-troll fell before us and I cut her head off with a shower of blood. Our oversized playmates fell in messy bloody heaps all around us, as we ploughed our way through to the wall.
We met Tuvak as he and his Hellion Commanders opened the gate and surged through and until there was a free-for-all fight going on across the valley. We fought side-by-side until the sun came up and we finally ran out of trolls.
At dawn I helped with the clean up and healed the wounded Hellions and other Demons again it felt strange to be on their side.
No, I don’t enjoy this sort of thing but if you are going to do something, do it properly and with a sense of style and grace. Our lives are so small and insignificant in comparison with the enormity of the universe; going down in a ‘blaze of glory’ on the battlefield with your friends and lovers by your side is a wonderful way out of this plane of existence. Dying of old age, gradually getting weaker day by day until your body crumbles away, they way the humans go is definitely not my idea of fun, but there is no real dignity either way.
But I digress I don’t really like remembering the next part.
Everything was peaceful and going so well. Lucien was building his citadel at the Castle of the Moon and we were quite content with our relationship together. I liked being a step mother to little Marius, who was growing up fast. At five years old I forged a sword for him, with skills I had learnt in Asia long ago, he promptly cut himself with it which is also traditional.
It was traditional that a boy receives his sword from his mother on his tenth birthday in a huge ceremony to mark the boy becoming a warrior and he goes to live at the barracks with the rest of the animals, sorry warriors. But this was just my gift to him; he was a bright boy and had an amazing agility that I started showing him how to fall properly and the basics of self defence, he was an able and eager pupil. Especially when another little boy tried to bully him and Marius introduced him to a throw and elbow punch to the nose, even Tuvak was impressed with that one.
I stayed out of the Demon politics that Lucian had to deal with on a daily basis; with Tuvak as his right hand they governed the underworld of Earth. Three hundred odd races swore allegiance to Lucian. Nearly all had their own leaders, kings or commanders who had sworn a blood oath to Lucian so whenever there was a problem or trouble they turned to him to sort it out. It was, in my opinion, an administrative nightmare. But it did keep him busy and he left the humans alone so I watched from afar and did not interfere.
CHA
PTER FOURTEEN
DeMOn Orgy
So time went by, and, with hindsight I should have paid more attention to Tuvak. As far as I was concerned he was just part of the furniture. Lucian and I had a workable marriage, we spent evenings and nights together and I got used to him being called away at various hours to handle one emergency or another. It was also nice to be held throughout the night when we needed sleep. We kept our own counsel about the work we did and talked about books and plays, inconsequential things that kept the mood light. If it hadn’t have been for Tuvak we might have still be doing that today.
The first indication that anything was wrong was the Hellion Priest Azeel stopping me in the corridor of the Castle of La Linea and shouting at me incoherently. Something thing about me being a bad wife and I ought to be ashamed of myself. Since I had unmanned him during my walking the tables he had survived but naturally he was a wee bit miffed at me. I passed him by without a word.
A little while later Lucian came into my study while I was learning about how the extinct race of the Mithras practiced magic and most especially how the opened rifts between worlds. They did it with a totally different twist that I had never come across before. Lucian coming into my study didn’t happen very often but after he sat and fidgeted for a bit, I left him to say something and get to the point.
“What are you thoughts of Tuvak?” he asked.
“Marius’ father, Hellion commander not bad with his sword.” I said offhand.
“He is also my brother and he has…..feelings for you.” He was awkward and I grew irritated not understanding where this was going.
“So have most of the males under this roof, it really has nothing to do with me. I don’t pay attention to him or any of the rest.” I wandered if Lucian was jealous but he just seemed uncomfortable with the subject and resigned in some way.
“There has been no one else in my bed but you since we got married if Tuvak is still worried about your honour.”
He looked at me for a minute and replied, “I know, don’t worry. I’ll sort it.” And he left.
Looking back I really was being both blind and stupid.
Tuvak grabbed my shoulder when he was dropping off Marius for a few days and there was intense struggle going on in his eyes, a faint sheen of sweat coated his forehead and his jaw muscles flexed and he was gritting his teeth hard.
“Don’t worry so, I said I will have him safely back by sunset in two days. I will let no harm come to him.” I patted his arm trying to reassure and turned away to deal with Marius and then take him to see the snow in Scotland and then on to the beach at my Island. Already I had forgotten him as I planned our day.
I had been married nearly nine years when one summer evening Lucian asked me to come down to the rocky beach below the crumbling Castle of La Linea. It was nearly empty now and the population of the keep had been moved to the Castle of the Moon in the Atlas Mountains.
His manner was formal as he took my hand over the worn steps and down to the waters edge.
There was a crowd of Hellions gathered on the beach, both males and females and a large bonfire. The Priest Azeel was stirring a large cauldron and Tuvak was there to greet us.
Tuvak had that dark hungry look in his eyes but his manner was courteous as he said, “Welcome, thank you for joining our l
ittle celebration of unity.” He bowed his head in my direction. We approached the cauldron and there was a dark red liquid bubbling slightly.
Lucian suddenly tightened his grip on my hand and I couldn’t let go. “Trust me.” He said looking deep into my eyes, I relaxed and he turned my hand over and Tuvak slashed my arm with a sharp knife and Lucian held my arm to drip over the pot. Lucian was stronger as always and I couldn’t move until he let go.
As Tuvak had made the cut I could heal it instantly but I need an explanation here, very soon. I moved away as soon as I could and watched has Tuvak and Lucian sliced their own arms and dripped their blood into the pot to mingle with mine and the rest of the demon group.
The Priest Azeel started serving up his bloody brew. He handed out a silver chalice to Tuvak and then others came forward with cups and bowls. All present took a sip and then passed it on.
Lucian came to me and took my hand again, “I know, I’m sorry I will explain later. Please trust me a little while longer.” Tuvak came forward with the chalice and offered it to Lucian. He drank and his blue eyes turned totally black, it was like black ink just spread across his eyes. He offered the chalice to me.
“I don’t think so…”
“Please, you can always will away any effects that are uncomfortable for you.” He gave me a sip.
The world became full of voices shouting, pleading, and begging to be joined. I could feel their emotions rich with anger and aggression and much deeper levels of passion and need.
Need above all filled my mind until I went blind from it, need that make every cell of your body itch and claw, the rawness of it made me whimper and look for an escape. I was staring straight into the eyes of Tuvak. I was in his mind.
At this stage I was somewhat rational the thoughts and emotions where not overwhelming at this stage. I could still feel myself separate to those around me. I took a step back.
Tuvak moved fast and grabbed my wrist and sliced it again and then did the same to the other wrist pressing his wrists to mine, he had already sliced his own and his blood joined with mine.
It was like a firework going off in my veins. Damn, those Hellions have potent blood! Try a hit of the human drink Tequila and a smack in the head with a wooden bat at the same time; I was so far out of my head I was in orbit. I could feel Tuvak’s need like a pounding wave overwhelming me until I merged into the tides of passion. Instinct and more importantly training kicked in and I linked everyone into the tide and carried all those voices into the unity that they called for.
The world became a blur of arms and legs. Clothing tearing and mouths joining in a feverish search, fingers grasping seeking another until hips were joined and unity found. Then it started all over again with another. I was in one hundred and twenty two heads and felt them all as the wave of passion overtook them and made them all as one. They knew me and I was stripped bare before them, they not only violated my body but plundered my mind, linking me to the very soul of these alien people. On and on it went pulsing like an excited heartbeat, hot and vital. All needs were one and I drowned in the onslaught.
Hours later when I found myself alone in my head again and very weak, like someone had dropped a mountain on me. I crawled out from under a pile of still moving bodies feeling sick to my soul. I was naked, bruised and battered inside and out. I looked down and saw the still form of Tuvak, he opened his silver eyes and smiled at peace, he was smugly content and said, “Mine!” firmly.
I pushed away and staggered to the edge of the water, retching and throwing up the dreadful bile that was in my stomach. When there was nothing else to come up I still carried on retching as if my body was trying to remove the very of the memory of the event itself. I was crying as I threw myself into the sea, letting the salt water carry me far away from there.
CHA
PTER FIFTEEN
aDrift at sea
I drifted for what seemed weeks. Letting the currents carry far south into the warmer waters around Africa. I floated on my back looking up at the sky feeling lost betrayed and very alone. I shed all the poisons from my body and still felt soiled.
I heard people I knew call my name but I shut them all out.
I beached on a rocks and shell covered cove on the East African coast. I built myself a lopsided lean to in a sheltered area and spent a few seasons watching the tides.
When Lisele was looking for me a while later I answered and she found me and ‘ported to my location and we looked at each other. I burst into tears and she held me without questions or comment then she ‘ported us both to Shambala and I was placed by a roaring fire and had a thick quilt wrapped around me, apparently I was freezing.
I thawed out over the next year or so and removed all my belongings from the Castle at La Linea, no one saw me.
Marius called me a few times to tuck him in and read him bedtime stories of dark bloody deeds and shining heroes saving the day, little boys stay the same whatever the race. I also taught him self-defence and weapons training he was an excellent student. I knew that Tuvak often listened to our lessons and my stories outside Marius bedroom door but never interrupted us; he was a smart Hellion for I was still very very angry.
When Marius called me to attend his coming of age ceremony I went in a dark sweeping cloak with the hood down and my hair flowing free, I also let my magic and aura loose and looked very different to the other mothers weeping as they said goodbye to their sons. I presented Marius to his new commander and gave him a bundle of new larger clothes and a set of throwing knives and a bow and arrows and of course a man size sword that I had enchanted to be unbreakable and can cut through virtually anything. It was nicely balanced to, I had forged that myself I was very pleased with the outcome. I may not be able to build things and am fairly useless at sewing but I am a skilled blacksmith.
I told Marius to call me if he had need, told his Commander to look after him with an unspoken ‘or else’ in there and hugged Marius and kissed his forehead in blessing and then grinned and vanished, not quite in a puff of smoke that would have been overdoing it a bit. Both Lucian and Tuvak were present but I ignored them. I was still not ready to face what had been done.
I started doing my work with the Sisterhood full time again and more especially with the inner group, the Watchers. This was the group that could do magic and kept records of the comings and goings of the alien races and their interactions with humans. They were a secret society that had places of refuge all over the world for both humans and demons and kept their eyes on the new gates and rifts linking Earth to many different worlds in the universe.
I taught gate magic to the Watchers and learnt many things from races that came through these new gates. There was a cultural revolution going on in the human world and these new race blended well into the colour and swirl of the 16 Century Europe. Many demons settled in that Italian water filled city of Venice, and caused the disgust of the Roman Catholic Church who came to call Venice a city of sin. In their eyes it might have been but for those of us that lived and worked there it was a time of great experiment and learning and most of fun.
It didn’t take too long before I learnt to forget the shadows of that night and laugh with my lovers and students, for I considered my marriage to be over and I was free and single again and determined to enjoy it. But I missed him.
I moved for a long while to London and found that in spite of the climate it was an evolving fun city. The port had ships coming in and going out to every country in the world.
The Watchers had a stronghold in the City of London very close to a major universal rift opening up into the courtyard which made for interesting working hours but with a different race coming through every few days made for a fascinating job.
Traffic increased ten fold about a year after I arrived. They were fleeing refugees for the most. No, not from my Creators this time but something similar, it seemed that someone had opened a doorway into a realm of total chaos, where the inhabitants fed off each other with a ferocity
that tore whole worlds apart leaving the same sort of lifeless worlds that my Creators left behind.
A doorway had been opened to another dimension by a novice rift wielder and through it flooded a race of Eaters, and these Eaters consumed whole worlds and were spreading through a heavily populated section of this Universe. Like a plague of locus’ they had spread from world to world consuming cities and life wherever they found it, with a maliciousness and ferocity that all fell before them.
Billions of sentient life forms were wiped out.
Survivers came through our London Gate in groups of three or four each with a magic user that had opened the door to us. All had lost members of their family or tribe, millions had been lost and the survivors were traumatised and in shock. Many had come from desert worlds and once they had been given care and healing, we sent them to the desert regions of Australia to make their home.
They are still there today but they are very shy. About four thousand were saved and I consulted with Gaia about the dangerous rifts to the chaos dimensions and she thought it was unlikely that it could happen here. It was more likely that a wild rift could open up to one of those worlds that had been consumed and enter that way but we found that the Eaters took to the stars in massive groups leaving only larva, that, when I went very carefully through a rift to one of these worlds, to examine would only stir when Life Essence was near. I could turn my Essence down to nearly nothing so I walked through devastated alien landscapes feeling the echoing cries of their spirits and hearing the sighs of loss of the World Spirit. There was nothing left; every ocean and blade of vegetation was gone, even the air was dead.
