by Eric Vall
“Asher,” I spoke softly to the tormented man, “where those your memories?”
Who knows. It has been so long. That could have been my home or a village that fell victim to the whims of fate. Either way, there is no escape from the demons once they start rampaging. All you can do is die.
I didn’t know how I was able to suddenly speak to the man without having to claw my way through my spiritual sea to reach him. But it didn’t matter right now, he’d become part of my pack, even if it was in a weird way, and I was going to prove I was strong enough to take care of everyone.
The demon gate would never destroy Hatra, it wouldn’t be like the village in the memories Asher had shown me. We would fight, and we would live.
“No, we won’t lay down and die.” My claws tore up the ground underneath me as I crouched. “We know about the demon gate, we can do something about it before the demons begin to pour out of it. None of us will die.”
So you say. So you think. You can’t defeat the demons.
“Yeah, that’s what you said about your army.” I rolled my eyes as I flapped my wings and rose into the air. “And look who came out on top, we did. Not to mention, no miasma has attacked the city at all recently. We’re stronger than you think.”
And the demons are not as weak as you believe. They are stronger than everything you’ve faced. Perhaps even stronger than behemoths. Nothing in this world was meant to face them in battle. They are death and corruption, you cannot defeat death.
I shook my head at Asher’s words and knew he was wrong. Hatra and I were slowly but surely getting stronger, and besides, I had been an EMT studying to be a doctor back on Earth.
Defeating death used to be my day job, and I had no problem signing up for that again.
I flew back to Hatra and swiftly glided closer to the ground as I reached the walls. My best bet was to find Ruslan and summon the council so we could figure out what to do and how demon gates could even be closed.
Damn it, everything had deviated from the fucking plan. I doubted anyone would be getting any sleep tonight, and not in the fun way.
I landed near the infirmary, and then I shifted quickly back into my human form as I ran toward the building that housed my immediate family and Alyona. The building had been a clever idea on my part. Six of the seven floors were a separate suite of rooms, and the bottom floor served as a sort of common area. I’d constructed the building before the first council meeting, but maybe it would serve well enough for a meeting space.
I ran up the stairs to the second floor and skidded to a stop in front of the mahogany door.
“Pops!” I pounded on the heavy door and hoped to god he had a plan for dealing with demon gates. “Pops, wake up! It’s an emergency!”
“Eh? Pops?” Ruslan opened the door and stumbled out of the room with bleary eyes. “Evan? What’s wrong?”
Behind him came Julia as she tightened the belt on her loose robe. Her light brown hair was in a disheveled braid, and she pushed her messy hair over her shoulder.
“What’s all this racket about?” Julia yawned as she leaned on Ruslan’s shoulder. “Such a ruckus isn’t befitting of a lord. Especially so late at night.”
Somehow, my new mother was able to send out disapproving vibes and be a formidable sight while being sleepily disheveled.
I’d have to figure out how she did that one day.
“There’s no time for any of that.” I shook my head as the hair on the back of my neck stood up at the memory of the demon gate. “We need the council right now. There’s a rift near the canyons, and miasma is leaking out of it.”
Every sign of sleepiness vanished from Ruslan and Julia’s bodies as they stiffened, and their eyes widened. They shared one look before Julia moved past me and headed up the staircase.
“I’ll wake Milady and bring her down.” Julia’s back was ramrod straight, and she gracefully but quickly disappeared up the stone staircase.
“I’ll send a message to the others about the demon gate,” Ruslan said as he ran his hand through his hair and frowned. “Let’s get down there.”
In his free hand, an orb of crimson flames came to life and split into even tinier orbs. Then the orbs darted away in different directions and easily passed through the stone walls.
We went down the staircase and stood in the darkened common area. Ruslan snapped his fingers, and the crystal lamps on the walls lit up. Then he leaned against the wall instead of taking a seat at the table in the room.
I glanced from his hand to my own and wondered if I could eventually do something like that. It would definitely be useful in sending messages. The Blue Tree Guild had their gorgets, and Alyona her spirits, but I had no way of contacting anyone.
“Can I learn to do that?” I asked as I pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. “It’s pretty useful, and how can I be a dragon if I can’t breathe fire?”
I remembered how confused Ruslan was when he found out I couldn’t breathe fire, and it had turned into a bit of a joke between us. It only became funnier after the adoption since my father was a fox and I was a dragon.
“Of course.” Ruslan smirked at me as he stepped closer and ruffled my already messy hair. “You’re my son after all.”
Out of the corner of my senses, I felt an intense spike of power and glanced over to the entrance of the room. It was like a star had descended to earth and was coming closer to us. I blinked, and the room grew brighter just as Alyona came barrelling in. Her white nightdress fluttered behind her and almost seemed to blend in with her hair.
“A demon gate?” the divine princess demanded as she came to a stop in front of me, and her chest heaved. “Are you sure?”
“There’s no doubt about it.” I winced as I remembered the rift and its disgusting presence.
“How did you find it?” Alyona’s amethyst eyes were tinged with silver as she slammed her hands down on the table, and her power rolled off her in worried waves.
“I caught a scent of it on the wind,” I explained. “Then I flew into the desert toward it. Asher started screaming inside of my head the moment I got close.”
Julia and Moskal came into the room just then, and Moskal took a seat at the table. His sister walked over to where Ruslan stood and entwined her hand with his.
“How far from the city was the demon gate?” Julia asked, and her voice was thoughtful as she glanced over to the room’s entrance.
The advisors from the Blue Tree Guild and Laika had arrived, and they were all just as disheveled as the Elders were. Laika immediately walked over to where Alyona stood and rubbed reassuring circles on her back.
“What on earth is all this about a demon gate?” Pyotr’s eyes were sharp as he glanced between Ruslan and me. “Did I hear that message right, and we have another battle on our hands, or did this old man mishear?”
“There’s a demon gate close to the entrance of the Crimson Canyons.” I folded my arms across my chest as I leaned back in my chair. “Nearly right in it. Miasma was leaking out of it and swirling in the air. Has there ever been anything like that here?”
“No, never.” Julia’s reply was immediate. “Even back when the city was still standing a thousand years ago, there was never a demon gate in the area.”
“Then someone had to have opened it.” A sour taste settled into my mouth, and I frowned. “What kind of power would a person need to have in order to do something like that?”
“A lot of power,” Alyona answered as she sank into a chair, and her face paled. “They would have to be on the level of a sage or saint, or they did something else if they didn’t have enough power within themselves.”
The silver tinged anger didn’t leave her eyes, and it only grew as she clenched her fists tightly. Whatever she was thinking about, it wasn’t something that made her particularly pleased.
“Something else?” Pyotr echoed and looked at Alyona with curiosity. “What do you mean?”
“If there’s enough blood shed in an area,” Al
yona said bitterly as she covered her eyes with her hand, “and if the proper rites are performed, the fabric of time and space can be ripped apart to open a gate to the netherworld.”
It didn’t take any of us long to realize what Alyona meant by blood shed.
“You’re talking about sacrifices.” I hadn’t been in this world for a very long time, but I could guess enough from what I knew about magic thanks to games and Aunt Emma’s predilection toward the supernatural. “Sacrificing people in order to rip open a gate to hell.”
“Blood magic.” Alyona uncovered her eyes and sighed as she ran her hands through her hair. “They took the lives of others and used their pain and suffering to charge themselves up enough so they could open the rift. I’ve read reports about rifts having been opened up in this manner, but I never thought I’d see one. Did you smell any fresh blood?”
Everyone looked at me, and the tension in the room was so thick I could barely breathe.
“No, none at all.” I shook my head as I remembered how the area had smelled. “It just smelled like fire and rot.”
“Then we’re dealing with a sage or a saint,” Alyona sighed in relief and most of the tension left her body. “Hopefully not the latter.”
“What’s the difference between the two?” I leaned forward as I tried to remember if I’d read anything about them.
“A saint has a body blessed either by the heavens or by hell.” Alyona drew in a deep breath as she let her hands fall in her lap. “They can withstand the cruelties of time, and their strength is close to the gods. They have transcended the boundary between mortality and immortality. A sage’s body is far weaker, and although their lifespan is often long, they are only mortals. Rot and decay will eventually take them to their graves if they are not slain on the battlefield.”
A sage. Somehow, that sounded vaguely familiar to me. I needed to try and think back to when and where I’d heard the word mentioned. Maybe I should even try to talk to Asher later and see what he knew about sages. I got the feeling Asher was far older than he seemed, and there was no knowing what secrets he had inside of his head. Hopefully, they would be secrets that would help me protect Hatra.
“Your Highness,” Pyotr interrupted as he turned to face Alyona. “Can you close it? With your divine power, surely this won’t be something impossible to ask of you.”
“I can.” Alyona stood from the table and glanced at her hands for a moment before she looked up again. “But I would need time.”
“How much time?” Laika frowned as she stood behind Alyona. “I’ve never seen a demon gate being closed, but I’ve heard it takes a large amount of power to be able to do so.”
“I’m not sure.” Alyona pushed her hair from her face and pulled it back up into a high tail that remained in place with a barely visible string of power. “I’d have to see the rift first so I can know how strong it is, and then I’d be able to place a temporary seal on it.”
“Just temporary?” I stood and paced angrily. “We need to make sure the gate is closed and nothing can get out of it. What if demons attack Hatra? Or even someone else? Travellers and merchants going around the canyons?”
I couldn’t get the memory of the destroyed village out of my mind even though the memory didn’t belong to me. All I kept seeing was the faces of my people overlapping with those villagers. The fear that something like that could happen to my people fueled my anger even though I normally wouldn’t have snapped at Alyona.
“I need time.” Alyona’s gemstone eyes glowed fiercely as she walked over to me and placed her hands on my shoulders. “Time to study the rift in order to know which spell is the correct one to use for sealing it closed for all eternity. Time in order to recover my strength so the spell doesn’t collapse while I am in the midst of sealing the rift. Time is the most important thing, but we never have enough of it. Even so, you found the demon gate before any demonic horde left it. You’ve won us a great amount of time to fight back and find a solution.”
“Then let’s go.” I grabbed Alyona’s hands and led her to the entrance of the common area. “I’ll take you there now.”
“I’ll go with you.” Laika followed behind the two of us with a determined expression on her face. “It’s better to have another pair of eyes while Milady is sealing the demon gate.”
“I couldn’t imagine a better person to have by our side.” I grinned at the wolf Demi-Human and reached out a hand to her.
“Thank you, my lord.” Laika grasped my hand tightly and let out a small smile as she looked between Alyona and me.
“We’ll have a meal ready for your return,” Julia promised as she tiredly took a seat. “May the gods watch over you and carry you back to Hatra safely.”
I led the two women out of the common area and out of the building. The three moons of Inati shone beautifully above, but I couldn’t help the shudder of anger and fear that went down my spine. We’d fought so hard for Hatra to finally have some semblance of peace, but it seemed fate wouldn’t allow that. No matter what, it was just one thing after another, as if we were being tested by some otherworldly power.
We probably were being tested, by the gods of this world or by fate, I didn’t know which. Honestly, I didn’t care who it was. All I knew was I would prove them wrong and protect Hatra.
Even if it meant amassing an army and tearing destiny apart with my own two hands.
The shift back into my dragon form was seamless and smooth. Then Alyona climbed gracefully onto my back, and Laika followed after her.
“We’re ready,” Alyona said as she held onto one of the spikes that lined my back. “We won’t fall off, just get us there as quickly as you can.”
“A pity this is our first flight together,” I growled back to them as I launched into the air.
There was no time for us to enjoy the flight to the canyon’s entrance, we needed to get there as quickly as we could. In almost no time at all, we’d flown over the river and desert to reach the demon gate.
It was just as I’d left it, a mottled rock face surrounded by sand that seemed to be rotting away.
Alyona slid off my back quickly, and as she stepped closer to the rockface, the air shifted around her. Wind rushed out from the rock face as what looked like black blood seeped out of it and onto the ground. Where the black blood fell, the sand bubbled like acid, and it grew close to Alyona’s bare feet.
“Alyona, get away from that,” I hissed as my claws tore up the ground beneath me.
Asher had been silent this entire time, and I took that as a warning for things to come. Whatever the black blood was, it couldn’t be anything good. All I wanted was for Alyona to get away from the rock face.
“I’ll be fine,” Alyona said as she stepped into the acidic blood, and it sizzled angrily.
I half expected the smell of burning flesh, but there was nothing.
“Milady, your feet?” Laika gasped as she jumped off my back and placed her hand on my foreleg. “How are you not harmed?”
Suddenly, a silver glow overtook the princess’s divine body, and the acid sizzled and disappeared into the air as the glow spread to her surroundings.
The power that surrounded her was strange and not unlike the power that emanated from her when she’d summoned the Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens. It easily pushed away all the rot and malice that had seeped out of the demon gate.
“What a foolish demon gate, thinking such a thing can harm me,” Alyona muttered as she placed her hand on the rock face. “I vow to shut the door to evil destinies and open the right paths of humans, gods, and that of the Heavens.”
There was an explosion of silver light and purity, and it stifled the malice seeping through the demon gate. Even though the light blinded me, I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
“Is it done?” I blinked furiously as my vision went back to normal, and a magical array glowed silver in front of the rock face.
“If anything wishes to truly come out of this, I’m afraid it
will.” Alyona took a step back from the rock face and nearly stumbled. “That seal will have to do for now.”
“How long will the temporary seal last?” I brought my nose close to where the magical array glowed and sniffed, but I couldn’t detect any miasma or malice emanating from the rift. “Is it going to buy us enough time?”
“It will last long enough for me to prepare a way to properly seal it.” Alyona swayed on her feet, and there was a pale tinge underneath her tanned skin. “It’ll have to.”
“Milady!” Laika caught the exhausted princess in her arms right before she fell to the ground.
“I’m fine, I just need to rest,” Alyona replied weakly as she stifled a laugh. “The adoption ceremony used up more of my power than I thought it would. If the Dark Lady hadn’t insisted on being there, maybe I wouldn’t feel so tired.”
A muscle twitched in my jaw as I once again cursed the shitty timing of all of this. It really was Murphy’s Law, the worst possible thing happening at the worst possible time.
Just as I was about to shift into my dragon form, there was a startled cry behind me, and I turned to see Alyona even paler than before. An ashen color had settled under her tanned skin, and her power sparked around her nervously.
“What happened?” I demanded as my heart skipped a beat.
Usually, a light danced within Alyona’s gemstone eyes, but it was now gone. Her eyes were faint, as if someone had doused the fire inside of her and left nothing but a shell.
“A demonic horde is attempting to break through.” Alyona shuddered as sweat dripped from her forehead, and she seemed to be in physical pain. “I felt them. There are thousands of them, pushing against the seal. I can’t hold them for long. We have to go back to Hatra. War is coming, and we need more numbers.”
Suddenly, Asher’s melancholic voice echoed in my mind with a morbid warning.
I told you. You are all going to die. There is nothing you can do to stop this.
Chapter 10
I thought we would have more time to prepare for the seal breaking, but that wasn’t the case. And to have thousands of demons pouring out of it? What if they headed to Hatra and rampaged, destroying the city like it had been destroyed a thousand years ago?
