Sean glanced back and forth between his two friends. “Are you, like, doing it now? Do you need candles or something? A quiet place for meditation?”
Jessica sighed heavily. “Let’s go back to the barn.”
The tunnels beneath the California desert were a labyrinth of interconnected passages, a myriad of dead ends, and an impenetrable darkness that disoriented even the best spelunkers. With the recent geological upheavals, hundreds of miles of previously unexplored passages had been revealed, connecting from lava-infused depths all the way to the dusty, sun-drenched surface.
Through one of the multitude of tunnels walked a dark-cloaked figure. He didn’t carry a source of light, but it didn’t seem to hinder him in the least. In the otherwise absolute darkness, the two red dots of his eyes glowed, illuminating his path ahead.
He took turns confidently, as though he had traversed the way many times before. He was as driven by a mystical force within him, drawing him home, as he was moved by his memory of the confusing series of twists and turns.
As he stepped into a wider passage filled with spear-like crystal and obsidian protrusions, he noticed the faint, red glow emanating from a tunnel across the wide room. The cloaked man allowed himself a smile, despite the seething rage boiling within his chest. In the faint glow within the room, his smile was illuminated, accentuating his pointed teeth.
General Abraxas ran a hand over his bald head, tracing the slightly raised tattoos marring his scalp. His skin was dry, despite the blistering heat radiating from the far side of the tunnel. To a normal human, the heat would have been overbearing. A normal man would have been drenched in sweat and breathing shallowly as the oppressive heat felt as though it was scalding his or her lungs. Yet Abraxas was the furthest thing from a normal human. He wasn’t even a normal Fire Warrior. He was the general of the Fire Elemental’s personal clan of Fire Warriors and, until very recently, the usurper to the previous master of this underground fortress, Lord Balor.
As he rounded the corner at the end of the tall room, the underground passage opened to a massive cavern. The naturally vaulted ceiling rose hundreds of feet over his head, ending in a series of black stalactites that pointed toward the keep below like the teeth of a dragon. Beneath the rocky formations overhead and across the dilapidated stone bridge, the castle rose daunting on a suspended island. Its black obsidian walls seemed to absorb the glow from the lava far below, reflecting none of its warm glow.
The general stepped onto the stone bridge, avoiding the series of holes in its span, some no larger than the Fire Warrior’s fist but some, where previous stalactites had fallen, reaching dozens of feet across. Through the multitude of holes, he could see the river of magma boiling a hundred feet below.
The heat from the lava rolled over him in waves, but he hardly felt the searing temperature. He pulled back his cloak as he walked, no longer needing the concealing garment. Beneath it, he was garbed in painted black, leather armor covering his muscular torso and chest. Leather pants onto which were stitched treated leather strips covered his legs, though the entire ensemble was for show. In a battle of the supernatural, the leather armor would offer no protection.
As though realizing his mortality, despite being imbued with a fragment of the Fire Elemental’s power, he touched the gaping hole in the torso of his armor. He hissed at the memory of his most recent failure, in which Xander Sirocco had impaled him upon a building’s rebar. Had it not been for his Master’s power, he would have died. Instead, he was relegated to guarding a prisoner who, in the grand scheme of things, no longer mattered.
He crossed the last of the bridge in a hurried pace. The massive stone doors were closed but one swung open as he reached the island’s closest edge. From within the keep, a small contingent of Fire Warriors emerged.
“General Abraxas,” the captain of the guards said, offering him a salute.
Abraxas offered only a grunt of recognition.
The Fire Warrior cleared his throat at the rebuff. “We were told to expect you. The castle has been secured, and there have been no signs of a counterattack. The prisoner is likewise detained.”
The general let his gaze drift upward, toward the arch that stretched above the tall, stone doors. There, affixed to the battlements, a weary man hung, nearly crucified upon the obsidian stones.
The captain of the guard motioned toward the other Fire Warriors. “We’ll take our leave of you now, sir. We have been called—”
“I don’t care,” Abraxas said, his guttural voice immediately silencing the captain. “Get out of my sight.”
The captain looked tempted to speak, but the glare in Abraxas’ gaze stole the words from his throat. Rather than reply, the captain of the guard hefted his pack of supplies and walked cautiously past the aggravated general. The other Fire Warriors followed suit, none of them offering Abraxas a second glance out of both fear and respect for the veteran warrior.
The sharp-toothed general waited until the warriors cleared the cavernous room before he continued toward the castle. A few new boulders lay upon the surface of the island, both beyond and within the castle gates, a result of more seismic activity in the area. Abraxas ignored the large stones as he walked into the keep.
The city was laid out before him, markets and residential districts built nearly atop one another as the buildings built toward the towering castle and its jutting spires. There were members of the Fire Caste milling about inside the keep, blond men, women, and children who were either too young or too infirmed to join the conquest of the surface world.
Abraxas sneered at the inquisitive stares he received. Those who couldn’t fight weren’t worth his time. They were simpletons, fodder that should have been used to weaken the human defenses so that real soldiers didn’t have to sacrifice their lives during the invasion. Hiding within the keep under the auspice of caring for the young was nothing more than an excuse of cowardice in Abraxas’ eyes.
He quickly turned away from the curious onlookers and stepped through an archway leading into the interior of the keep’s outer walls. The inner passages were dark but surprisingly cool, the obsidian reflecting much of the radiating heat from below. The tunnels were narrow, many of which were used only for resupplying castle defenders. Nearby, a spiral staircase went upward, disappearing into the darkness overhead. Abraxas climbed the stairs two at a time, ascending higher and higher within the thick walls.
A few floors opened off the spiral staircase, long passages stretching away with narrow arrow slits along their length, but the general ignored all these floors. After some time, the stairwell ended in a small antechamber. A single arched doorway led from the confined room, through which the full glow of the chamber was visible.
General Abraxas stepped out onto the parapets, a wide walkway atop the castle walls. Crenellations protruded from both sides of the wall walk, tooth-like stonework that rose nearly as tall as the general did.
Halfway down the wall, ropes were tied to the battlements. It was toward these that Abraxas approached. He stopped before them and examined their stability, calmly checking the knots holding the thick strands in place. Finally, he leaned out from between the crenellations and peered toward the massive stone doors far below. Hanging a few feet below the top of the castle walls, an elderly blond man dangled, naked and worn. Soot coated his body and was matted within his unwashed hair. Small streams of sweat had carved tributaries across his dirty body. The man’s head hung low, though Abraxas could see the man’s shoulders rise and fall with unsteady breath.
“It’s been far too long since last we saw one another, My Lord,” the general said, the last words dipped in venom.
The weary man raised his head, tilting it to the side so that he could better see Abraxas. Lord Balor laughed weakly, his humor quickly turning to painful coughs. As he recovered, he stared up at the general.
“I’d heard rumors that you’d be returning to the castle,” Lord Balor said, his voice raspy from lack of water. “You must have been
a complete failure for the Elemental to send you back to guard me.”
General Abraxas fumed at Balor’s far too accurate estimation. “Our Master was right not to drain you of the Fire Caste’s power. Knowing you can survive for weeks in this heat, without any water, makes your punishment all the more gratifying.”
“I may be here, but need I remind you that you’re right here with me. Do you honestly believe the Fire Elemental will allow you to live after your utter failures? Yes, I know you lost to the Wind Warrior. It’s all anyone’s been able to talk about for the past few days.”
Abraxas snarled and pulled on the nearest rope, tightening it painfully around Balor’s wrist. As the rope twisted, blood seeped from between his bindings. Lord Balor cringed but refused to scream out in pain.
The general wanted to cause Balor more pain, but realized there was a much more subtle way to do it. “You’re right, Lord Balor. You and I are trapped here in the castle, no longer a part of the great conquest. Yet the Elemental isn’t alone in its invasion. Your daughter is there to keep it company.”
Balor’s head sank at the reminder that his only daughter had been taken as the Elemental’s host. He only knew that hosts didn’t survive the process, which meant the brash woman, sometimes to the point of disobedience, was no more.
Smugly satisfied, General Abraxas released his grip on the ropes and let Balor slump further in his bonds. “Get comfortable. The only people who will hear your screams are the cowards within the city, and not a one of them will come to your aid. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll beg me for death.”
Balor’s shoulders shook, not from fear but from defeat at the memory of his captive daughter. He would have cried for her if he had any tears left to shed.
Sean leaned against the barn door, only half-watching as Xander took a seat in the middle of the hay. The rest of his attention was elsewhere, examining the forest outside the open barn doors for signs of the ever-present Fire Warriors. Lightly fingering the pistol stuffed in his waistband, he wondered if he had it in him to shoot someone. He threatened the Frenchmen when they attacked Jessica, but he hadn’t actually had to fire the gun. Clearly, he didn’t have an issue with killing someone, he realized painfully. Sean glanced over his shoulder to where Jessica was talking with Xander and was glad she knew nothing about what happened the night she was injured. She never asked about the large amount of blood in the grass, and he had never offered.
His gaze drifted to Xander again as his best friend crossed his legs. He looked like someone trying yoga for the first time, attempting to twist his body into positions it was never meant to be in. Everything about it looked awkward. Jessica had given him the idea of searching for the Earth Elemental through meditation, taking away all the outside distractions so he could focus on the task at hand. That might work for someone flexible like his girlfriend, but not for someone too macho to practice Pilates.
Sean laughed at the thought of their positions being reversed and trying to get his big butt into a downward facing dog. All the blood would have rushed to his head, and he would have passed out in seconds.
“What’s so funny?” Jessica asked, overhearing his laughter.
Sean shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just hoping this works.”
“It will,” she chided. “Now guard the door.”
Sean turned back toward the woods and eyed the setting sun. It would be dark again soon, which meant they’d be able to tell how much closer the fires had come during the day. Every day, the Fire Caste seemed to march miles across the French countryside, growing closer and closer to the barn. It didn’t matter that it looked abandoned and slightly decrepit; it still wasn’t a good place to hide. The Fire Warriors didn’t really care whether someone inhabited a specific building. They only cared about destroying everything mankind had built.
Running his hand through his hair left his hand feeling oily. It had been far too long since a proper bath; the nearby river didn’t really count, since they didn’t have shampoo or soap. It just washed off the dirt and kept the stink at bay for a few hours, but it always came back.
The sudden whiff of smoke caught his attention, making him stand abruptly upright. He reached for the pistol, but the smell disappeared as soon as the wind shifted. Sean relaxed again, leaning back against the doorway.
He wondered, not for the first time, what exactly the Fire Caste had planned. They existed solely to burn the world of man down to the earth and, from what he’d seen, they were doing a damn good job of it. But after mankind was gone, what then? The Earth Caste was supposed to rise up and take over, kind of a reset for the planet. Would the Fire Caste then become the new start of humanity? Would they all die out when the Fire Elemental gave way to the Earth Elemental? Would something else take their place?
Sean shook his head. His brain already hurt. Trying to figure out the universe’s plan was like trying to solve a math word problem in college, where four oranges plus seven plums equaled a lemon because canoes didn’t have wheels.
Whatever was going to happen, the only way to stop it was to put a lot of faith in Xander. He stole a quick glance over his shoulder once more, just to make sure his friend and Jessica were still preparing.
“I feel ridiculous,” Xander said as Jessica pushed on his knees, trying to get them flat on the ground as he sat cross-legged.
“That’s probably because you look ridiculous right now,” she grunted as she pushed again. “How are you not flexible? You’re some superhero, but you can’t touch your knees to the ground?”
“I also can’t touch my toes when I bend forward. Guess how much impact that has on my ability to fly? Ow! Stop pushing.”
Jessica sighed and leaned back, more than aware she had already done all she could. From this point on, it was going to be up to Xander to find the Earth Elemental and, hopefully, save them all.
She turned toward the door and squinted at the bright light streaming through. The setting sun was blinding as it hung just over the tree line. She glanced at Xander and saw him blocking the glare with the back of his hand.
“Sean,” Jessica said. “Can you close the doors?”
“Do you think it’ll help?” he asked from his place beside the open doorway.
“It won’t hurt,” she replied.
With a shrug of his shoulders, Sean walked outside and grasped the large, wooden doors. Despite the wear on the barn itself, the doors closed with relative ease. The first closed with a crash as it banged against the wooden frame. Sean cringed at the loud noise, even as hay drifted onto him from the upstairs loft.
“My bad.”
He hurried outside and pulled the second door closed, ensuring it shut with as little noise as possible. With the second door closed, it was significantly darker within the barn. The shadows were deeper and the piles of hay more ominous. It was still fairly well lit, however. Light streamed through the open loft doors upstairs, where a pulley, long since lost, had once hung to raise bales of hay. The walls themselves were imperfect, allowing slats of light to seep between the boards. The doors were also misaligned from where the worn hinges had allowed slack. There was a broad triangle of light that drifted between the drooping doors, but the light fell on the hay well short of where Xander was sitting.
“Better?” Sean asked.
“Better,” Xander replied, though he knew his friend had been talking to Jessica. It was difficult knowing Sean harbored such animosity. Part of Xander wanted to understand, but he was having more and more trouble even caring. It seemed petty, compared to everything else going on.
“You’re not concentrating,” Jessica said.
“I am concentrating,” Xander retorted.
She shook her head. “I dated you for God only knows how long. I know the difference between when you’re concentrating on something important and when you’re just daydreaming. You were just daydreaming.”
Xander glared at her but was met with an equally disapproving stare. With a sigh, he settled back into p
lace, allowing his shoulders to relax as he closed his eyes.
“You know this might not even work, right?” he asked.
Jessica walked away, leaving him alone in the middle of the room. She found a seat atop a partially collapsed bale of hay and turned to watch her ex-boyfriend.
“If it doesn’t, it means we’ll all die. No pressure.”
Xander frowned as he grumbled to himself. “Yeah, that’s not pressure at all.”
Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on the gentle tug he felt within. He knew, inherently, that it would guide him to the Earth Elemental. It was his destiny, after all. Exhaling slowly, he tried to clear his mind. The combined elemental powers within him surged as though eager to be released. For a brief moment, Xander panicked and tried to contain the wayward powers. It was like trying to hold the cage shut on an angry rhinoceros. The harder he tried to rein in his elemental gifts, the harder they pulled against his control.
“Xander!” Jessica yelled, though her voice sounded incredibly distant.
He opened his eyes to a maelstrom within the barn. The wind whipped unmitigated, lifting loose hay and carrying it like projectiles. Sean and Jessica had arms raised, protecting themselves from the chaos. Intermixed with the violent winds and slivers of hay were orbs of water, floating in the wind as though they were in zero gravity. He glanced up and saw a trail of water seeping into the barn through the loft door, water he knew was being pulled unprovoked from the newly formed well outside.
Xander sat in the eye of the storm, unmolested by the winds and pelting waters. He had no idea his internal battle with the elemental powers had so quickly bled over to the real world. With great effort, he pulled the power back into himself. The wind immediately died and the water fell to the ground in a great crash, soaking everything around the perimeter of the barn’s interior.
Soaked, scratched, and frustrated, Sean and Jessica glowered at their friend.
Earth God Page 5
