by Kyle J Cisco
Xavier’s harsh voice floated from the edge of the pit where the remains of the ancient army lay waiting their reanimation. “It was foolish of you to come here, but now you will witness the end of your pathetic Order before your death.”
He waved his hand across the crevasse in front of him, then spoke in a tongue that Virgil did not know. The cavern began to shake and a bridge lifted from the abyss, spanning to the far side of the cavern, which was beginning to be illuminated by purple-flamed torches.
When Xavier spoke again, it was in the common tongue. “From your eternal sleep shall you rise to bring forth all of mankind’s demise.”
The cavern erupted with the noise of bones rubbing together, echoing up from the abyss. Virgil watched nervously as the clicking and clacking began to grow louder and louder. A hand of bone emerged with only three fingers, gripping the side of the fissure. Then came a thumb with another hand followed it close behind, carrying an ax. Then came the skull and the whole skeletal warrior popped over the side, pulling itself up onto the ledge. Before Virgil could react, more and more warriors began to pour over the ledge from the cavern.
From the bridge came an echoing shout of elation. “I have done it! I have raised an army powerful enough to strike such a blow against your Order, it will never recover.” Holding both hands in the air, Xavier reveled in his triumph. “The world shall be covered in Darkness. Those who stand against my master will fall.”
Virgil’s head hung low, and he moved over to Natasha. “We have failed, Natasha. We failed all of mankind this day.” Tears sprang to his eyes but she wiped them away, her lovely dark brown eyes staring straight into his.
“Bring down the room.”
Virgil shot her a horrified look.
“We are going to die anyway. Bring them with us.”
As hordes of skeletons tramped up from the chasm, Virgil laid his hand on her wounded stomach and cleared his mind. He had one more shot to get them out of here. Her plan had given him a thought, to try a healing hands spell on her, like the one he did for Jack. Concentration covered his face as sweat started to form on his face from the intense amount of power it would take to close such a wound. Closing his eyes, he thought of her smile—so quick and so rare. He thought of the elegance of her form as she spun and twirled, slicing down her foes. He thought of her tears as Popavich fell, and he thought of the warmth of her form now beneath his hands, and his hands began to glow . . . with a blinding white light. When he stepped back, the bleeding had stopped.
“Kill them!” Xavier shrieked from the bridge.
Virgil could hear the footfalls of the Ripper getting closer. The white energy from his hands moved fast up his arms and before he knew it, he was totally engulfed in blinding light. Feeling the intense strain of concentrating so much energy within him was not only affecting his mental strength, but by wielding so much power at once, wrinkles formed into stress lines across his brow, turning the outline of his black beard a pure white color. Then with both hands outstretched, he released everything he had built up. With one clap of his hands, the energy roared throughout his entire body, exploding into all directions, incinerating the Ripper first and hitting waves of skeletons.
Natasha did not move, but every skeletal warrior that had climbed onto the ledge collapsed in piles of ash on the floor. The reverberating energy wave rocked through the cave like a tidal wave, crushing everything in its way.
Dust and stones clattered from the ceiling as cracks grew across its surface. The bridge groaned as beams collapsed, stone supports cracking and tumbling into the abyss below. Xavier dangling on the opposite side of the cavern, supported only by one hand on the ledge. Rocks fell all around them, and Virgil knew he could watch no longer. Torn between wanting to save Natasha and avenge his mentor, Virgil hesitated.
20
Crashing rocks fell all around them, smashing into the ground with such force, they burst into shards. Virgil grabbed Natasha’s forearm and helped her up. The use of the energy made him feel weak on his feet, but he struggled on, knowing they would both be dead if they lingered here too long. He staggered, forcing his weakened body to move. Survival was the only thing on their minds. They set out on a furious pace, dodging through the large rock formations now falling from the ceiling.
The sounds of crashing rocks thundered in the tumult of the collapsing cavern. Running flat out, both Natasha and Virgil threw themselves toward the large brass doors. The collapse began to overtake their fast pace to the exit. Vaulting over the bigger rocks hitting the ground right before them, they panted, breath coming in short, painful gasps.
Virgil wished he was recovered enough to bring up a protective barrier, but the drain of his strength collapsing the cavern took too much from him. Natasha leaped over a boulder that had just fallen in their path with the grace of an exotic dancer performing a routine. Virgil was far enough behind to maneuver around it and was glad to not have to expend the energy to make it over that one. They neared the mouth of the cavern, seeing the light peering through the door as if to taunt them while the rocks began to pile up in front of the door, threatening to trap them forever.
Natasha was first to reach the pile of fallen rocks which by now was about a meter high. Climbing on the bigger ones and receiving a boost from Virgil, Natasha made it out of the cavern safely. Reaching for a handhold to make his way up the rise to the door, Virgil groaned as rocks smashed into his back. But he willed himself to climb, throwing his right leg up over the ledge to pull himself up. A rock struck his forehead, and blood flowed into his eyes.
Making it to the top and rolling onto his back on top of the pile, he looked up as a large cylindrical stalactite snapped from it position from the ceiling, crashing down toward his chest at terminal velocity. Rolling out of the way just in time, the force from the falling rock formation pushed him into the hall on the other side. Dust covered, Virgil lay motionless on the floor. Natasha raced to where he lay prostrate on the ground. She turned him over, but Virgil was fading out of consciousness.
“You stay with me, you son of a bitch! Don’t you give up now.”
Smiling up at her, his teeth stained from the blood, he said, “I’ll never leave you.” The ragged voice came with effort.
“Then let’s get the hell out of this place!” Natasha stood, reaching a hand down for Virgil, and to her utter surprise, he took it. He had always been too scared to take her hand when in training as initiates, but now, after all they’d been through, he accepted her help. And she found she liked the way it felt.
“Wipe that grin off your face,” he said. “I know what you’re going to say, but I have had a long day.”
“No comment from me.”
Virgil stood on shaking legs, wavering as a flag does in a terrible wind.
Putting her arm around his shoulder, and Virgil doing the same, they began to help each other out of the underground complex.
They reached the surface after nightfall. Both had been surprised at the minimal resistance left in their path on their exit from the underground structure. They fell to the ground in exhaustion under the umbrage of the trees. Sleep gnawed at Virgil’s body. Propping his head against a tree trunk, he looked up into the night sky. The stars shone like they never had before.
“It’s amazing that the things you take for granted can be so beautiful.”
“What are you ta—”
Virgil put a finger to her lips and pointed at the magnificent view of the night sky above them.
The moment was short-lived, though, due to the crunch of approaching footsteps. Virgil mustered all of his remaining strength and drew his mace. “Perhaps I spoke too soon. I will protect you till my dying breath, Natasha.”
At the edge of the forest, figures shrouded in dark cloaks emerged and made their way straight for them.
“If you desire a fight, then I welcome you to your resting place,” Virgil said as he moved to intercept the group.
“High Chaplain Virgil? Is that you, my lord? We
were sent by Steward Krich to come and retrieve you, and Executor Rex, and your team.” The ranger looked around as if he was waiting for the other members of Virgil’s team to emerge.
“You can stop looking around. It’s only us two. The rest have fallen during this mission—even Executor Rex.” Virgil could not help but look at the ground at the mention of Rex’s passing.
“Ah, I am sorry to hear that. The Order will mourn his loss dearly. But we must head out now. The fortress prepares for war.”
“For war?” Natasha spoke up. “What else has happened?”
“I believe the steward will fill you in when we arrive back at the fortress, and after you have had some proper rest, my lord.”
“And lady,” Virgil said in a correcting tone. “This is the Order’s new Head Ranger.”
“Yes, Lord Virgil—and my lady. My apologies.”
Collecting what things they had, they were supplied with horses and escorted through the Forest of the Dead. Virgil’s thoughts dwelled on his lost friends. He thanked the rangers for coming and cleared the way of the rest of the foes. Virgil ordered the men to find the bodies of those from his group who had fallen and to give them their proper rights.
Epilogue
The sun shone through the window when Virgil awoke. Bleary-eyed, he wiped the sleep away as a voice spoke from the corner of the room.
“I am glad to see you awake finally; it’s been three days since your return.”
The raspy voice could belong to only one man. Turning himself with a groan, Virgil met the eyes of Evon wearing a magnificent suit of armor.
“High Chaplain Virgil, welcome back,” Evon said on bent knee.
Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Virgil laid a hand on Evon’s shoulder plate. “Stand, my friend, there is no need for such ceremony here. At least let me put my damn pants on.” Chuckling, Virgil used Evon’s shoulder to help lift his incredibly sore body from the bed.
“Where is Natasha? Is she okay?”
“Yes, Virgil, she has recovered. She awoke yesterday. She wanted to sit in here till you woke, but I sent her away to rest, assuring her I’d sit with you instead.”
As Virgil finished getting dressed, Evon took his seat and leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Virgil, what happened out there? You left here with youth on your side, but you come back looking as if you’re my elder. What happened?”
Virgil, remembering the strain of the power he wielded in the cavern before releasing that final blast, wondered where to start. It took an hour for him to retell the whole story and for Evon to share what had happened in the fortress. When the two men were done conversing, Virgil gave the order to gather together all the vassal lords and brothers and sisters of the Order.
In an hour’s time, Virgil was standing by the Order’s grand hall. The noise coming from the other side of the gilded doors was thunderous. Virgil shifted nervously in the new leather armor that had been made for him upon his return. Glancing at his beautiful companion next to him put his mind at ease. “I am glad you’re here with me for this.”
Natasha nodded in agreement. “We have stood together through worse things,” she winked.
Something about that smile put a confidence in him, and he swept her into his arms and planted a kiss on her lips. Her lips were softer than he’d imagined, but that thought was quickly lost when she slipped her hands behind his neck and kissed him fiercely back. And that’s how they were when the double doors opened, and the room erupted in cheers at the kiss.
“I love you, Natasha,” Virgil whispered in her ear.
A smile spread across her face, and her cheeks began to redden. “I love you too, Virgil,” she said.
Stepping up to the altar atop the dais gave Virgil chills. Never had he thought in his wildest of dreams he would address the entire Order as its leader. Looking out at the crowd gathered, he saw a sea of white and gold from those of the Order. Farther back in the crowd was a rainbow of different colors representing the vassal lords, their most important generals and captains.
“Trying times have come upon us, brothers and sisters. A great evil grows to our south, and we stand at a crossroads now! We can wait for the Darkness to strike against us. Or we can take the fight to them with mankind’s full strength at our backs. I say we take the offensive. We shall cleanse the south, once and for all! Let us rid this world of evil at the source!”
Cheers rang out through the hall.
Virgil stood at the altar, hands raised in a triumph, basking in the resounding decision to take war to the Shadowlands. Waves of excitement passed through the crowd, particularly among those who either longed to go to war the first time or absolutely loved the art of battle. But a few clapped hesitantly, their expressions marked by fear. Fear of facing the unknown enemy, fear of the monsters the enemy had at its command, fear for their loved ones, fear of death.
When Virgil’s speech was over, Evon pulled him aside. “What are we to do about the leadership in the Order? We need a new Executor.”
“The Order already has its leader,” Virgil replied.
“Are you ready for that type of command, Virgil?”
“I was referring to you, Evon. You have lead them this far, and you have gathered the forces here. You should be the one to lead us into this battle. I have personal business that needs to be done.”
“Virgil, you can’t think that you are going to hunt down this Xavier character alone? Rex wouldn’t—”
“Don’t talk to me of Rex, Evon. I was there. He died in my arms. I can’t let his killer go free.”
“Well, take some time and recover first. I will put our resources to use behind this matter. We’ll find the traitor,” said Evon.
Virgil headed down the hall toward Rex’s old office. Opening the door, he was hit by that familiar smell of the man that had been his mentor, friend, and father-figure. Rage gripped his chest. He struggled to suppress the energy that swirled within him. His hands balled into fists, pulsing with red energy. It reached the threshold, and the pent-up power exploded. Objects in the room crashed into the walls around the room. Shelves toppled from the walls, dropping their contents on the floor. Chaotic thuds sounded in distant corners of the room. Virgil dropped to the floor in exhaustion, his bruised body throbbing with pain.
A final thud drew Virgil’s attention. A black book sat open on the floor of the office, its pages showing its age. He crept over toward the fallen book, examining the writing on the open page. The language on the page read like incantations, but these were not the spells of those who follow the ways of Light.
The sky was dark as the man in the black cloak approached the Spire. The wind blew the cloak to and fro as he mounted the spiral steps leading to the door. The barren wasteland stretched out for miles, a desert of decayed land as far as the eye could see. Then far off in the distance were the razor-sharp peaks of mountains. The door swung open, helped by the wind at the man’s back, and slammed shut behind him.
Goblins lined the hall leading to the gigantic door. Its onyx surface was engraved in the images of foul creatures battling around the sigil of a three-headed eagle with a hand wrapped around its middle neck. The door swung open as the man approached.
“You’re late.” The voice coming from the other side of the room was harsh as a winter wind.
“Sorry, Master, there were—”
“Shut your mouth. Where is the army you promised me?” The voice boomed through the hall like a raging thunderstorm.
“We were taken by surprise by a group of rangers and the new High Executor of the Order, Rex. I did slay him but there was another there—one with the blood of Dvorak. He bested the Shadow Ripper, along with all of the specters accompanying him—”
“Enough.”
The figure at the end of the room stood from his immense throne, descending the onyx stars, his bronze beaked mask glinting. He approached the man kneeling before him and laid one hand on his shoulder while the other raised the blue flames in the torches a
round the chamber with a gesture.
“You disappoint me, Xavier.”
Then a swirl of black energy consumed the kneeling man. He fell to all fours, writhing in pain.
“Due to your arrogance, you may have cost us the element of surprise.”
The man now lay on the floor, twitching but alive.
“Assemble the other generals. Tell them we march in three days.”
A figure standing off the side of throne, inked in shadow, bowed. “Yes, Lord.”
“The time has come to strike a blow the world of men will not soon forget.”
He snapped his fingers as he turned from the twitching body on the floor. Two goblins dragged Xavier back to his quarters. The Lord of Darkness sat on his onyx throne, rubbing the palms of his hands together.
“Death is coming, blood of Dvorak!”
The End
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank everyone who supported me in my pursuit of this dream, especially Donna Cisco, my mom, and my dad, Joe Cisco. Even though he passed away, he always pushed me to believe in myself, no matter what. To my beautiful wife, Kelsey, and our two children, Riley, and Kaylie, without you, I would never have found my drive to write. You stood by me, put up with my staying up late every night to write, answered calls to talk through problems, and put up with my questions. Through the whole process, you were with me the entire way. Even you kids were so wonderful. You knew that sometimes Dad had to write his words for the day, and you were very good while this went on.
I have never been good about sharing personal things, but there is a quick story I want to tell.
Since I was very young, Dad and I always went hiking. The only times we talked about life happened during these trips. He worked three jobs and I was still in high school. On our camping trips, I’d lay awake at night listening to the sounds of the forest around us, and I’d imagine up stories about the things going on outside the tent.
