by Jack Porter
“Do not harm yourself, Jon.”
I paused and looked over to where voice had originated from. It seemed to sort of bounce off the walls, but it had come from across the pool. Still, I could see everywhere in the chamber and no one was there. So I asked the only intelligent question I could think of. “Who’s there?”
Slowly, I began walking around the pool, wondering if there was a hidden doorway that I hadn’t seen at first. But there was nothing.
“Jon,” the voice said again, stronger. This time it came from behind me, so I turned, almost expecting no one to be there again.
Instead, I saw the figure of the most regal woman I’d ever met in my entire life. She wore a simple, elegant dark gown that fell to the floor, and around her neck was a setting of jewels unlike anything I’d seen in Hell before. Her hair was dark and pulled back and up, arranged carefully around her head to look elegant and yet not imposing. And her face was that of beauty and also pain.
“Who are you?” I asked.
The woman smiled, and there was something familiar about it, but I couldn’t quite place her.
“I’m someone who’s been watching you for some time, Jon.”
“You know,” I said, my anger getting the better of me for a moment. “I’m tired of everyone speaking in riddles. Could we just not do that for once?”
Instead of looking offended, the woman laughed softly and nodded. “You are right, Jon. There isn’t time for idle chatter.” She walked toward me, and I unconsciously took a step back, so she paused.
“Jon,” she said. “I’m here to tell you that you need to abandon your quest for the Elfstone. We don’t have time to waste looking for an old prophecy.”
“How do you know about that?” I hadn’t told anyone about the Elfstone except for my closest companions.
“Because I’ve been watching you. And the Elfstone is out of your reach. The Wraith King has the other half.”
I gaped at her. “And you know this because?”
“I have seen it.” Her lips became a thin line then, as if that was all she would say on the matter. “But you don’t need the Elfstone anyway. And the half the necromancer holds only tells him part of the story. The part that led him to you.”
“Who are you?” I asked again.
“I’m someone who has been trying to make sure you are safe since you arrived here. I stopped the necromancer, or the Wraith King as you call him, from bringing you directly into his domain and killing you as soon as you arrived.”
I was slightly stunned. I wasn’t expecting to hear information like this tonight. “So you put me in that stable?” I asked.
She shook her head. “You arrived in the stable because it was where my loyal servants resided. And it was the only place close enough to the portal that I could get you. If I could have sent you even farther away, I would have. But, I could not,” she said sadly.
“Your loyal servants… Sarina…” I paused, putting the pieces together. “Sarina was a servant of the goddess,” I said finally.
The woman nodded. “Yes, she served me faithfully for many years, as has the seer.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You are the goddess?”
I couldn’t help but look her up and down, thinking that I would have imagined someone a little bit grander. Even though this woman was regal and beautiful and looked like someone who had stepped out of an ancient Greek story, I didn’t see any halo around her or any light emanating from her or anything else to suggest that she was divine.
She smiled. “This is a form I take when I want to speak to humans. Jon, we really do not have much time, and while there is much I would like to tell you, there are a few key pieces of information that are most important. Abandon your quest for the Elfstone. I can tell you that it is your destiny to confront the Wraith King. You don’t need to seek any more confirmation of that.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
The woman—or rather, the goddess—slowly began to circle the pool and bid me follow her. “Because I know who you are,” she said. “I know your origin. I know your lineage and who your father is. And because of that, I know that you were the one destined to confront him.”
I noticed that she had said confront him and not defeat him. It was a subtle distinction, but after my time with the elves, I had learned to pick up on those small vocabulary differences.
“So,” I said, “Kali’s message was that you wanted to speak with me? Why haven’t you done so before now? Why did you let me wonder around the forest and follow orcs around for months on the plains?”
“I can tell you are angry, and I do not blame you. But know that my power has greatly weakened, and I do not have as much control over things that happen as I would like. But there isn’t time to explain right now.”
The woman turned to face me, and her expression was filled with pain. But then she masked it with grim determination. And, walking back to me, she put both hands on my shoulders. “But part of the reason is because I needed to know what kind of man you were, Jon.”
My shoulders tingled a bit at her touch, and I felt calmer than I had in some time.
“And what kind of man am I?” I asked. “Someone who is likely to kill his companions while he sleeps? Someone who can’t stop fighting once he starts? Or someone who continuously seeks out battle because of the insane bloodlust running through his veins?” I turned away and began to look into the pool. It sparkled but did not show my reflection.
“You are exactly the man you need to be,” the goddess said.
I looked back at her. “And how am I supposed to do this? I can’t even get the wood elves to join me. How am I supposed to defeat the Wraith King?”
“To defeat the Wraith King,” she said, “you must become the Wraith King. That is the only way.”
I laughed. “That seems to be easier and easier these days,” I said bitterly. “I’m having a harder time controlling myself and my magic.” Then I looked at her and narrowed my eyes. “But you must know this.”
She nodded. “I do. But you must find a way. For if you do not succeed, then you will be just like your father, evil and twisted.”
“And yet,” I said, growing irritated once again. “You just told me that I had to become like him.”
“No,” she said, “I said, you must become him. There is a difference.”
“Can’t you do anything to help me?” I asked. “Give me some sort of… I don’t know… Special ability to let me fight this terrible evil inside me? What good does it do to say it’s my destiny to confront him when I was planning on doing that anyway?”
The goddess smiled. “I already have. I sent you away from the Wraith King at birth to protect you. I watched over you as much as I could from afar, and then, as I said, I helped to protect you when you arrived in Hell. But I can’t do anything to change your destiny.”
I turned to face her fully now, examining her face once more. It really did look familiar. “Why were you there my birth?” I asked.
“Because, Jon,” she said evenly, “I am your mother.”
I stared at her blankly for several moments while I tried to process what she said. But I really didn’t understand. And yet, I didn’t have any reason to doubt her. I hadn’t known who my mother was, only that the Wraith King was my father. But then another thought occurred to me.
“If the Wraith King is my father and you’re my mother,” I said, “then are you in league with him?” I took a step back from her, as a precaution.
She smiled at the thought. “No, I am not.”
“Then did he…” I couldn’t finish the sentence, not wanting to think about how I had been conceived.
The goddess didn’t answer my question, and her silence pretty much confirmed my darkest thoughts. I shook with rage, but she shook her head as if anticipating what I was thinking.
“Jon, you need not be afraid of your dark magic. It is a part of you, and it is the only way you will survive confronting him. But I’ve given you gifts a
s well, more than just magic. You are not your father, and already the peoples of Hell have seen what a great leader you can become. There is great magic in you, more than any other human in all of the history of Hell, or any other worlds. This is your destiny, and if you want to live, you must answer it.”
I was reeling from all this information, and completely stunned that this woman standing in front of me was my mother. And yet, I recognized her features, I recognized that laugh and that smile. Not because I remembered them from being a baby, but because she sounded like me. Of course, it could have been a trick. And for a moment, I thought perhaps it all was a new sort of trap to waylay me.
“How do I know this is true?”
“I believe I’ve already proved to you that I knew your quest when no one else could,” she said. “But I believe that if you search your heart, you’ll know the answer to your question. Just remember to keep those you love close to you, especially as you grow in power. Do not give in to the temptation to send them away. And now, Jon, there’s danger approaching, tonight and in the days ahead. We need to part.”
“Wait,” I said. “How do I talk to you again?”
“I am afraid that may never be possible. But we shall see.”
She smiled then, and before I could even try to stop it, I felt myself floating off the ground again, ripped away from the vision and the image of her shining against the pool.
I woke with a start on the cold floor of Kali’s cave. The seer, having once again clothed herself in a simple dress, was sleeping beside me, and the fire was out, so hours must have passed. I stood, feeling slightly angry that Kali had known what was at stake but was ready to let me walk out of the forest without first talking to the goddess.
And yet, I was still unsure if everything I learned had been true. With a sigh, I realized that I completely believed her. And that I had just met my mother, the goddess of Hell, and hadn’t even asked her name. It made me incredibly sad, and for a moment, I thought to try to start the fire again, and perhaps renew the vision. But I saw that the potions had been cleared away, and then remembered what the goddess had said about danger.
I decided to wake Ilana, Sarina, and Wren, who I hoped had made it back to our quarters so that I could tell all of them at once what happened. But as soon as I pulled aside the curtain, I saw firelight coming from the forest. And I heard chanting drifting on the wind.
Peering into the darkness, I tried to find out what was going on, but I saw too many elves rushing around, hurrying with bows and arrows and spears toward the fires. And then, I peered farther into the trees, testing the very limits of my vision, and saw what I didn’t think was possible.
The warlord, Maelon the Deceiver, was alive. And he had an entire army behind him.
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How the hell was he still alive? I watched them for just a moment longer before turning around and running back into the seer’s chamber.
“Kali,” I said. I reached her and shook her awake, and her eyes opened quickly, no longer glowing but awake nonetheless.
Without even asking what was wrong, she jumped up and grabbed a cloak hanging from a hook.
“Maelon,” I offered anyway, glad I had my sword with me.
Kali acted like she was not surprised by this information.
“You knew he would come back?” I asked. I could barely control my anger once again, as it caught me unaware.
“It is not my place to tell you anyone else’s destiny,” Kali said. “As I have explained to you before.”
“You could’ve warned us there was going to be danger, though,” I said sharply. “Arm yourself and follow me.”
I hurried back out, thinking to rush straight to Ilana and Sarina. However, because of the strange layout of the city, I saw that the two sections had already been separated by some of Maelon’s warriors.
“Shit. Kali, get out here!”
When she came out behind me, she was carrying a pouch as well as a dagger.
“You going to fight them with that?” I asked, thinking that we might have a bit of trouble if I had to protect her, as well as try to find my companions.
Great booming drums began then, sending vibrations through the ground that I thought may even have been felt in the trees and in the rock behind me.
“You do not have to protect me,” Kali said. “I am able to fend for myself. Besides, Raven will be here soon with reinforcements.”
“And yet, I wonder why they aren’t here already,” I said. In fact, it looked like all the houses around us had been deserted, which I felt was odd. But we really didn’t have time to think about it, because the drums were growing louder, sounding a call to war. A call as old as time, it seemed. And I didn’t know exactly where they were coming from. Because of the echoes, they seemed to come from everywhere at once, and they were little bit disorienting.
I unsheathed my sword and began taking the steps down. I heard Kali follow behind me, but we didn’t even make it all the way to the bottom before we saw our first rogue warrior, trying to tear an elfling away from her mother.
With a scream, the mother launched herself at the man, who had somehow been hiding a knife behind him, which he used to stab her.
Then he pulled the elfling away, and more rogues appeared out of the shadows.
Where had all the warrior elves gone?
Then I saw what had happened.
Raven apparently had gone to gather her forces. She stood with the archers on a tall platform built into the trees between two sections of the city. In the meantime, rogues had stolen into this part of the city unawares, and she had gotten herself trapped by the horde of warriors that were now streaming in below. The archers were loosing arrows and hitting their enemies without fail, but there weren’t enough of them to stop the tide of Maelon’s raiders.
Before the rogue ran off with the elfling, I launched myself over the railing of the stair, directly onto his back, driving my sword down his neck and into his body. He didn’t even know what had hit him, and I almost regretted that. He dropped to the ground, and I rolled off him, landing on my feet. The elfling then ran to her mother, who was still alive and trying to stand. I didn’t have time to check on them, for the other rogues then decided to rush me.
“Kali!” I called. “Stay behind me and make sure no one sneaks up on us.”
Three rogues rushed me at once, and I sliced through them with ease. I let the battle rage take over right away, and I didn’t care that I was mutilating their bodies as I went. Four rogues died, then five, then seven fell beneath my blade. None of these had the skill that their warlord had, and none of them were magic users. I lopped off the head of one particularly large man, then heard the growls and screams that could only have been the attacks of a Hellhound from far away. But when I looked over, I saw there were even more enemies between myself and my friends. I was going to have to fight my way through to the other side of the city, but I couldn’t abandon Kali. It seemed that the only people left on this side were those that could not fight.
I was the only one left to defend them.
Well, that was okay, I’d had worse odds before.
I stepped through into the line that was rushing out of the trees and stabbed a woman through the heart. Her eyes went wide as blood spurted out of her mouth. Slicing my way up her body, I yanked my sword out and gutted another warrior woman who had been next to her. Her ax was paused mid-swing, as if she had been trying to cleave my head in two. Instead, she fell over onto her fallen comrade, and even though the battle lust was upon me, I was already beginning to think how it was too bad that none of these people were fighting with me instead of against me.
Many of them were armed with basic weapons, swords, shields, axes, daggers. None of them were very fine weapons, but most would do the job if they caught me in the wrong place. I wasn’t wearing any protective armor or any sort of padding, fighting in my tunic and pants. I began to use my magic, just to clear a path as more swarmed around me.
Where t
he fuck had all these warriors come from? I didn’t remember seeing this many people in Maelon’s camp. He must have had reinforcements somewhere else. Or another camp of them somewhere. Even Raven hadn’t seemed to realize how many there were.
Then, my anger renewed once more when I realized that Kali would have known exactly how many there were. Remembering that she was supposed to be somewhere behind me, I turned and saw that she was fighting off a small, thin man who was trying to grab her. Apparently, he was under orders to capture her, not kill her. And that was good, because it was a lot easier to kill someone who didn’t want to hurt her.
I spun around, bringing my sword down and nearly chopping his body in half at the waist. The blood splattered on Kali, staining her simple dress and cloak.
“You knew!” I said, taking a moment to catch my breath. “You knew how many there were. You knew that he would come back. And yet you are letting your people fight them here in their own city!”
I got right up into her face, looking down on her, daring her to refute what I had just said. “Is there anything else I need to know?”
Kali shook her head. “I told you that I cannot explain—”
“I don’t care what the fuck you told me! Your people are dying! And you endangered my people, as well!” Spittle flew from my mouth onto her face, but I didn’t care.
I didn’t have time to argue with her or to yell at her like I wanted to, so instead of doing something I would regret, I turned and ran to meet the next wave of enemies coming toward us. I heard Kali behind me, defending herself with her blade, and I made sure to stay close enough that I could held if I needed to.
I remembered what Raven had said about the caves, and wondered where the entrance was.
I wished I’d thought to ask before now.
And all the while, the drums kept beating, keeping the tempo of the people running out of the forest. There weren’t many arrows, and for that I was grateful, for we wouldn’t have much shelter on the ground. I did hear Raven’s archers shooting at the enemies, but then I heard screams, and when I glanced over, I saw that some of the warriors had gotten into the trees and were fighting the archers from the platform.
