by Jack Porter
“Over there!” I said as I stabbed one man through the throat. Then I used a spell to toss another man twenty feet into the air and into the trunk of a nearby tree. He hit it with a crack and tumbled down, his body limp before he even hit the ground.
“There isn’t a way,” Kali said. “Unless we go through that horde.”
“I was afraid of that,” I said. “Stay close to me.” We had to defend those archers because they could hold back more enemies than we could from the ground.
Where were the other soldiers? This city wasn’t full of just the elderly and elflings. All these elves should have been able to defend their homes. I saw a few running back and forth on the stairs above, not making a sound as they went from house to house. I thought then that perhaps they were trying to flee already, but it didn’t seem right to leave the archers to their fate, so I charged through the middle, where about two hundred raiders lay between me and my goal.
Slashing and hacking, casting people aside, I was soon covered in blood and guts and gore. The stench of piss and shit was everywhere, and I realized much of it was on me as it all seeped into the ground and caused something like a pigsty. The air was still sick and hot, and I supposed that here in the forest, it was trapping all the stench in rather than carrying it away on the wind.
And the drums kept beating, never changing tempo, and I wondered if the drummers were with Maelon the Deceiver.
I hadn’t seen him since the first charge, but I didn’t think he would be one to hold back. My vision tunneled in on my enemies, and I barely recognized that Kali was behind me, keeping her back to mine as she used her dagger to ward off anyone who might come close. However, there were few enemies left in my wake once I was through with them.
Finally, as more and more kept rushing in, I decided to risk a bit more magic. It wasn’t something I wanted to do because it could tip me over the edge, but overall, I felt it was safer for keeping Kali out of harm’s way. So I paused and cast the spell, spreading it wide throughout the glade. It hit everything in its path, not discriminating against friend or foe, and it flattened my enemies to the ground.
Men and women screamed as fire hit them in the chest, in the head, or anywhere else it could catch them. The wave knocked them on their backs, and they writhed in pain as they tried to put out the fires. Then I grabbed Kali and pulled her toward the treetop lookouts.
Already I could see we were very late in getting there. There were only a handful of elves left, still bravely shooting their arrows at anyone they could catch in their sights. Any raiders left up top seemed to be dead, because someone was launching them off the edge of the platform. Their bodies were hitting the blood-soaked ground with a dull thump.
“Where is Maelon?” I demanded.
I turned on Kali, and it almost looked like she winced.
“I do not know,” she said. “Jon, do not look at me that way! I do not know!”
Growling, I grabbed her arm and dragged her along, determined that no one was going to get to her. But I also felt the need to find Ilana and Sarina. I felt my body practically splitting apart with magic, and I knew that they were the only two who could stop me if I went overboard. And anyway, hadn’t the goddess told me only a few hours before to keep them with me? It seemed she had known what she was talking about.
As I dragged the seer behind me, fighting off any stray, burning raiders, I thought that what could have been a beautiful night had all gone to shit.
42
The drums. The drums. Those fucking drums.
They were beginning to echo throughout my body, reverberating in my bones. The tempo still hadn’t changed, not exactly, but it was like the drums were now inside my head, screwing with my ability to work. As the archers above dropped the last body onto the ground, I turned to look for a place that I could take Kali. Not to the platform. I needed something safer.
But there wasn’t anything. Maelon’s army had swarmed around us and behind us once again. Now, part of the city was beginning to burn. There would be no safety there. Kali would be safer with me.
I’d hoped that since I had come this far, I would catch a glimpse of Ilana soaring above the enemy, or hear Sarina’s snarls once again. But there was no sign of either one of them, and I began to be afraid of what had happened to my companions. I grabbed Kali and backed her toward a large tree that looked like it could have been a thousand years old. It was the one that held the main platform for the archers.
“Kali,” I said, “we need to get you to a safe place.”
“There is nowhere safe for me, Jon,” she said.
“Don’t give up!” Even though I was still angry with her, I wasn’t going to watch her die. Not while I still had breath in my body, and I was a long way from dying myself.
Those drums, those eternal, soul-shaking drums, moved from a trembling in my bones to eating away at my skin. I wanted to claw at myself and stuff something in my ears so I didn’t have to hear them anymore. It was a struggle for me to turn my attention back to Kali.
“I’m not giving up,” she was saying. “But the caves are the safest place, and we are cut off from them.”
It was exactly as I had feared.
“Okay,” I said. “Then stay close behind me. If you wander off, I can’t protect you.”
A sad look flitted through Kali’s eyes, but she nodded. I didn’t have time to ponder the look before I spotted what I had been waiting for all this time. Over the sea of heads, behind a group of men and women who were making their way toward me, I saw Maelon riding that enormous Hellpig of his. The beast already had blood around its snout and dripping from its tasks. Maelon rode bareback, carrying his battleax and wearing plain metal armor.
“How is he still alive?” I asked again.
“His elves,” Kali said. “His harem of elves has been practicing dark magic for many years. They must have learned the art of necromancy.”
“Why are they here? What do they want?”
Five warriors were charging at me at once, and I raised my sword, ready to make them pay dearly for their lives.
“I would imagine,” Kali said, “they wanted their warlord back. Since you refused them, they decided they wanted the one they already had.”
“Well, they’ve got him.”
In one mighty swipe, I parried one woman’s sword while slitting the throat of another. And then we were fighting, my sword against axes, swords, and spears. I let my blade sing in my hands and tried to ignore the drums that were shaking my bones and causing me to be aware of each hair on my scalp.
I hopped forward with the thrust, severing one man’s head from his body, and then following through to parry the spear that was being cast at me. And all the while, I watched Maelon as he sat there on his Hellpig, the animal thundering around, trying to catch anyone—elves and men alike—between its teeth and under its hooves.
Maelon was truly evil, and if he wasn’t in the employ of the Wraith King, then I certainly didn’t need another enemy like him in Hell. As I met enemy after enemy, I watched that Kali was still behind me, but increasingly made my way toward Maelon. The only thing that was saving Kali now was her natural Elven grace and her skill with that dagger. For although it had a short reach, she was swift and deadly. She could drive the dagger into anyone who came within arm’s length of her, and she could dodge any other blow that came her way. Such was her grace that her feet barely seemed to touch the earth as she danced behind me, staying out of harm’s way, but making sure that no one else got to me.
At one point when I glanced behind, she was crying, the tears flowing freely down her beautiful cheeks. And I looked back to see that an entire section of the city was now on fire. If anyone had been left there, they would be trapped, and even if they were able to move deeper into the caves, I didn’t see how they would be able to get out.
And so I fought harder to get to Maelon, slaying man and woman alike, the drums beating into my brain to the point where everything was blood and flesh and bone a
nd nothing more. My entire body seemed covered with gore now, and after a while I even forgot to look back to make sure Kali was behind me. I just kept fighting, wondering still where all these men had come from.
I knew that Maelon had been doing more than simply gathering bands of raiders to him in order to steal from ordinary people.
This army had been gathered to fight.
I knew that Maelon saw me, for he glanced my way several times, even as his giant Hellpig rampaged through a group of elves who had jumped down from a tree to try to catch him unaware. But the Hellpig seemed to have a supernatural sense of its own, and had swiftly moved out of the way, giving Maelon enough time to begin hacking at the elves, and the pig enough time to turn and begin goring them with its tasks. I was closer now, and I could see the dull gleam of the fire on Maelon’s armor, and hear the screams of the elves is the pig chomped down on their bones.
And the drums, the drums, began pounding even in my eyeballs, crawling along my skin like millions of tiny ants marching to war, and all I could think about was dragging Maelon from that Hellpig and slicing him open.
The warriors began to thin, and I saw that I had reached the back of the line. Some of them tried to circle behind me, but Kali took care of them. At least I think she did, because I didn’t even turn to look. I didn’t even hear her throaty panting anymore. She fought, but I only had eyes for the warlord.
If only I could silence those infernal drums. Then I might be able to think more clearly.
Instead, I hacked a man’s arm off and then took my own dagger and stabbed it into his throat, clearing the final way to Maelon the Deceiver. He turned his Hellpig, who was busy munching on the leg of what looked like a female elf. The pig snorted and growled at me, finished munching, and Maelon pointed his battleax toward me as the Hellpig readied itself to charge.
I saw those tusks, red with blood, the beast’s eyes, red with evil, and I saw the bristly hair on its body that was matted with mud and gore. The creature churned up the earth as it charged toward me, galloping like some sort of misshapen horse, and Maelon rode it expertly, pointing his ax downward as if it was a short jousting pole.
I took my sword firmly in my hand and ran toward the charging creature, figuring I might not get many shots at this.
I moved my sword to my left hand and unhooked my whip from my belt with my right. Then, facing the charging animal head on, I flicked the whip into the air with a loud crack. The whip lit on fire, and is the Hell beast bore down upon me, its tusks bearing low as if it intended to impale me, I stepped sideways and cracked the whip again, this time letting it wrap around Maelon’s neck. With a jerk of my wrist, I pulled him downward off the Hellpig.
The creature snorted and turned quickly, more quickly than I would have imagined, and as the drums seemed to grow louder in my mind, I dragged Maelon toward the trees while the Hellpig chased me down.
The fire of my whip seemed to be heating up his metal armor, and he was busy trying to pat it down and get out of it. However, I didn’t let go, and kept dragging him into the trees, away from the galloping Hellpig, which would struggle in the dense underbrush. But the animal was too fast and too close, and I had no choice but to drop the whip and meet it with both hands on my sword.
I moved away just in time, but the pig still caught me with the tip of its tusk, catching on the edge of my shirt and tossing me into the air. I flew upward, keeping a hand on my sword, and watched as first I saw only trees and red sky, and then felt the sensation of flying downward to land in a heap on a fallen tree.
The blow knocked the wind out of my lungs, and I was pretty sure that the beast had gored me somewhere just beneath my ribs.
But it hadn’t damaged me permanently, because I was able to jump to my feet, just as the Hellpig rammed into the fallen tree with a squeal, clearly intent on finishing me. With a yell, I swiped at it with my sword, hacking off half of its ear and causing it to back quickly away.
We stood there in the forest, man against beast, and I had no idea where Maelon was now, but my battle lust had focused on this Hellpig that was staring me down with red glowing eyes.
I could see it wasn’t going to give up until I was dead.
With that thought clearly in mind, I stepped toward it, knowing it was him or me.
43
The Hellpig charged, and so did I. It was frothing at the mouth, spit flying into the air, its bristly hair standing on end, and its hooves pounding the ground.
I registered all of this as I sprinted for the animal, casting a spell toward it that I hoped would kill it outright. But the fire spell merely glanced off its thick hide, and the animal didn’t even seem to feel it.
I didn’t bother to curse, saving my breath for the blow I needed to deliver. But as I stepped forward and thrust my sword toward the animal’s skull, the Hellpig shifted direction, and my blow merely sliced into its neck.
New blood poured out of the wound, but I could immediately see it wasn’t going to be fatal. Realizing that I was now exposed to its foot-long tusks, I leapt to the right, rolling on the ground as the Hellpig turned and came after me. I kept rolling, trying to stay out from beneath its tusks and hooves.
Then I managed to roll to my feet and get behind a tree. The beast rammed the tree with the force of a bulldozer, causing it to shake and snap. I quickly moved out of the way, avoiding the collapsing trunk, bringing my sword up to once again try to surprise the animal.
The Hellpig didn’t move away this time, but it was swaying its head back and forth so quickly all I could really do was parry its tusks with my sword. I hit it with another spell, this time right between the eyes, and I saw it blink for a moment, but that was about it.
My spells had previously killed orcs and wraiths, and stopped sorceresses. And now, they wouldn’t work against a Hellpig? Taking advantage of the moment, I hit the pig with spells again and again. This time, the animal backed away as if I was beginning to irritate it.
But I was also still struggling with the drums in my head, which seemed to be threatening to push my fingernails out of my skin. I could barely hear for the ringing in my head, and thought maybe that was why my spells were ineffective. The burning rage of my magic was trying to take over, and I was desperate not to give into its call. I was trying to master myself even as the pig charged for me once again, and once again I stepped aside, trying to thrust my sword into its side.
This time, the Hellpig pivoted and caught the hilt of my sword on one of its tusks. I managed to hang onto the weapon, but just barely, but it completely ruined my thrust.
I found myself falling as the sheer bulk of the animal hit me and sent me sideways into a tree. This time, scrambling to my feet was much harder as the drums increased their tempo. I could barely breathe.
Now, it was as if I was being buried under tons of earth, and the drums were rocks being thrown down on top of me. I shook my head to clear it, but it didn’t do any good, and then my hands were shaking so badly I could barely grip my sword.
Then, the Hellpig hit me again, sending me flying, and this time, I felt one of its tusks pierce the flesh of my side. It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it might, but the warm blood gushing out of me told me it was a severe wound.
I cast spell after spell, my anger growing even as my body weakened. I wasn’t afraid of dying as even then, I could feel the wyrm’s blood beginning to heal my wounds. However, if the Hellpig had a chance to rip me to shreds, I didn’t think there was any coming back from that.
So I kept casting spells, not caring what I hit, and even hearing some of them hit the trees and breaking them. A few crashed around me, but the monster kept coming after me, and as I dodged between trees and tried to gather enough magic for a more serious blow, I saw that the animal had stopped trying to play with me, and now was only intent on ending the small creature who was irritating it with tiny spells.
Determined that I wasn’t going to be its next meal, I finally let my battle lust take over completely.
<
br /> My heart seemed to be in time with the drums now, and my entire body felt as if it was on fire. I felt I could have lifted the whole world with the force of my magic, and felt connected to the ground more than I ever had before. And I knew I was drawing strength from Hell, from the very ground on which I stood.
The Hellpig charged again, this time smashing through a tree on its way to trample me down. But I stood my ground, and by raising my hands and pushing them outward from me, I watched as my spell hit the animal and lifted it off the ground.
The beast seemed to levitate for just a moment, its legs still running furiously. And then it realized it wasn’t gaining any ground and began shrieking. At the same moment, I sent another spell at it, and this one tore the animal apart. The Hellpig split wide open, starting with its head and moving down its body as if a giant cleaver had been thrown through the air.
Blood and guts and bone went everywhere, and still I kept the animal suspended in the air, my lust for power wanting nothing more than to drink the blood of my enemy. And so, rushing forward, that’s exactly what I did. I found the heart that had been ripped in two, and it was a giant heart indeed, and it was still twitching. Picking it up, I stood beneath the Hellpig, still raining blood, and took a bite out of the heart, letting the blood soak down over me.
I stood there until it stopped raining blood, until I’d eaten most of the heart, and still my lust for battle was not sated. In fact, it was fueled with a thirst unlike anything I’d experienced yet. My sword was gone, my whip was gone, but I was determined to end the lives of all my enemies.
I ran out from beneath the Hellpig, letting it fall to the ground with a great crash. The forest was in ruins, the result of my battle with the monster, and I didn’t find Maelon or my whip anywhere. Both seemed to have fled the scene.
