In the back, my golems fought off the dragons, while I and the guards raised Hell among the footsoldiers of the dragon army. When the battle was over, I was furiously looking for any survivors, anything more to fight, anything more to send to the Afterlife. It took me a while to settle down.
I barely even realized how many of them we killed. Some of the dragons flew away, but none of the footsoldiers escaped. There had to have been at least seven hundred of them, if not eight. We killed them all...
After the battle, I observed the golems. Many of them were in dire need of mending. Had I arrived just a few days later, perhaps all of them would have fallen to the invaders. That infuriated me even more, but there was no-one left to take out my anger on. So I used my magic to fix up the golems, and then retreated to the Keep, to rest.
As I returned to my room and lay in my bed, I thought back to the battle and the way I had fought. I was like a man who cared not whether he'd live or die, I thought. I knew I had no death wish, so it was strange to think that way. I contemplated long on that, and slowly I realized that something was broken inside of me. I knew, that my life would never be the same again...
As the end draws nigh
The extraplanar stronghold of Zack Sands, present day (11 and a half hours after Twilightfall)
The Portal closes behind me and I take a deep breath. That bitch is hard to deal with... but she's about the only one who could find Danny Boy, so whatever. I just hope she'll do it before we run out of time...
I still can't believe this shit... How in the fuck is it all happening? It clearly had something to do with the destruction of the Shadestone, but what? I just don't get it...
When this is over, I have to try and figure out just what the fuck happened...
Now...
Where the fuck is that cat?
`Tano!' I exclaim, calling him. I wait. A minute passes, and he doesn't show up. Alright... I guess he's still in the Replica Room. I'd better go there before he does something stupid with that girl...
*
I wave my hand and teleport directly into the Replica Room. Damn, it feels good that I can do that...
Ah, there he is. Sitting on Irea's shoulder. She's scratching his throat, and...
...and I swear I can hear him purring all the way here...
`Tano!' I address him, as I walk close to them.
`Yes, Master?' he asks, sounding like he is really enjoying himself.
`Didn't you hear me calling earlier?'
`Oh, don't blame him.' says Irea. `He's so cute. He's been so eager to tell me all about history.'
History... Yeah... Right...
`Did he also try to get under your skirt?' I ask.
`What?' she asks, sounding surprised.
`But Master...' says Tano. `Why would I do such a thing?'
`Don't start that again, Tano! Now... Are you done showing her around in here?'
`Well, yes, Master. I just showed her the new painting.'
I blink.
`What?'
`The new painting, Master.' he says, motioning towards the painting Irea's been looking at.
I slowly turn my head towards it.
`Oh fuck...'
This... This is just... This is just not fucking happening...
`What's wrong?' asks Irea. `You look pale.'
`I have had it with this fucking day!' I tell her, as I shake my head and rub my eyes.
`I know it's been unpleasant in Arghard, but what's wrong with the painting?'
I turn away and walk to the door.
`I don't even want to see it!'
`Why?'
`Because I don't! Look... You said you wanted me to accompany you home. Do you still want that?'
`Well, if you'll come...'
`Sure I will. I could use some fresh air after this...'
*
We step through the Portal and arrive in her little Pocket Plane, a short way from her castle. I look up to the blue sky, and watch it in satisfaction.
`I gotta tell you... I never thought I'd ever be so glad to see a blue sky above me...'
`Why? Don't you like the blue sky?'
`I like rain. And fog. Thick fog. The sort where you can't see ten feet ahead.'
`You're one crazy guy.' she says, shaking his head.
`I heard that before...' I tell her, smiling widely.
`Actually, I like rain and fog, too. This, however, is the season of clear blue sky here. Rain and fog will come in a few months. You should come again when the season's change.'
`I might... Anyway, you wanted to show me something?'
`Yes. Follow me.'
She heads towards her palace, but instead of entering she turns left and starts walking on a thin path among the trees. I follow her. A while later, I start hearing the sound of falling water, and shortly we arrive at a small stream. We follow the water upstream, and a few minutes later we arrive by a huge waterfall at a clearing hidden among the trees.
`Impressive!' I tell her.
`Do you like it?' she asks.
`Yeah... but I suppose you brought me here for something else, didn't you?'
She nods, and leads me to a group of standing rocks beside the waterfall, standing in shallow water. It kind of looks like an altar of sorts. There are some runes carved into the stones.
`Here we are.' she says, and she steps closer to the stones.
`What is that?'
`It's a place where magical energy accumulates. It can be used to create certain magical items.'
Yes... Now that she mentions it, I can feel some strong magical power emanating from the stones of the altar...
`Why did you want me to see it?'
`Just wait. Stay back, I must do something now.'
`Sure.'
I take some steps back and let her do her thing.
She takes her boots off and stands into the shallow water, right in front of the altar. She raises her arms to the sky and begins chanting. I can feel strong magics coursing through her body as she slowly waves her arms around and chants. A light wind rises around her, and some drops of water slightly wet her dress and her hair. She is amazingly beautiful... Now, in this uncommon state, she looks even more delightful...
A minute or two pass, and she slowly stops chanting. Her figure is encompassed by a faint white light, and she presses her palms against the center of the altar. The altar flashes brightly, and then the light around her body vanishes. She takes a deep breath, and then turns towards me.
She seems to be exhausted. She slowly steps out of the water and approaches me.
`Why are you looking at me like that?' she asks.
`Like what?' I ask, smiling. She shakes her head.
`Here, take this.' she says, and she hands me something. I didn't even notice that she had something in her hand... I guess I was watching something else...
I look at the item in her hand, and take it. It is a flat, round stone medallion, about the size of her palm, with countless runes etched into the surface on both sides. It is surprisingly light.
`What is this?' I ask her.
`It will save your life. Keep it with you at all times.'
`Huh? Why? What does it do?'
`I can't explain that, you wouldn't understand. Just... Just keep it with you. One day, it will save your life. I know it. If you don't have it with you, you'll die.'
`What makes you think so?'
`If I told you, it would be like last time. You wouldn't believe me, but I know that it will be this way.'
Right... Sure... Absolutely...
`Please, just take it.' she says. `Even if you don't believe me, just take it. What harm is there in that?'
`Well, if that means so much to you...'
`It does.'
`Alright. Thank you.' I tell her, and I sink the stone medallion into a bottom pocket on the right side of my coat.
`I knew you'd put it there,' she says. `but I'm sure you don't believe that...'
`Well, there weren't m
any places to put it.' I tell her, shrugging my shoulders.
`You're not easy to convince of anything...' she says.
`Yeah... I suppose that's true. A lot of people say that I'm a stubborn son of a bitch.'
`You're even proud of it, I can hear it in your voice.'
`Well, as I said, most people say that. But an old friend of mine called me strong willed. There's nothing wrong with that, now is there?'
`Are you going to go find your friend now?'
`Yeah, I'm gonna do that.' I tell her, rubbing my eyes. `I know I'm stupid... but I'm gonna do it anyway...'
`It's not stupid to fight for things that are important to you. I would do the same in your place. I just hope you will make it back before...'
`Before?'
`Before that world dies. I would hate to know that you... that...'
`That I went down with the sinking ship?'
`Well, yes.'
So, you worry for me, huh? That's sweet of you...
But fear not, badasses die hard!
`Don't worry, I'm not the Captain of that ship!'
`I'm serious.'
`So am I. I won't stick around. I'll go get him out of there in no-time. Assuming I find out where he is before Arghard is destroyed...'
`So, you should hurry.'
`It's out of my hands. I can't find him. I sent someone who can, and until I hear from this person, there's nothing I can do, just wait... It's pissing me off, you know...'
`I can imagine. It's a shame about Arghard.'
`That's not what I mean. I'm just worried that I won't find him in time. The guy is my best friend, after all, I'd hate to see him end up dead ahead of his time. As for Arghard itself... Ignoring the fact that I never liked the place...
Let's face it. In time, everything dies. All life must necessarily come to an end. It's the way of things.
It's part of the very nature of the Multiverse. Even the whole fucking Multiverse will perish one day. That is unquestionable. The only question is when, and how. Who knows... Maybe this is the beginning of the end...'
`Doesn't that scare you?'
`Not at all. Why should it?'
`If all the Multiverse will perish, what will become of us? When we die, we become one with the Afterlife. And then? If the Afterlife is destroyed? What then?'
`Then, we'll cease to exist. But the existence in the Afterlife is as if there was no existence there at all, anyway. I told you, it's boring. For those that exist there, it's only worse. Eons pass as if they were seconds. The Afterlife is simply a preview of the true end that will come when we cease to exist along with the Multiverse. Or it can act as a respite, where one can await a second chance. There are ways to be brought back to life, if someone decides to put effort into bringing someone back. Like the ghosts that tried to kill me. But that's rare. One in a billion, or less. For most dead souls, it's the final stop.'
`That thought of yours that one day even our souls will perish, that doesn't scare you at all? Not even a little?'
`No. Not at all. Why should the certain knowledge of that scare me? It is simply the way of things. Nothing lasts forever. Therefore I try to make the best of the time I have. Time... The time we have is short. Even for a black magician, it's short. So I do what I can to make the most of it.'
`In what way?'
`I am an explorer of sorts. I seek the secrets of the Multiverse, and try understanding what makes it tick. Try understanding how magic works. So, I roam the Planes, and learn what I can, and allow no-one and nothing to stop me. I know I'll never be able to see all the Planes. I know I'll probably never learn everything there is to learn. But I still won't quit. I wanna die knowing that I did my best, that I never gave up.'
`So, you keep moving and moving.'
`Yeah... I'm like a fucking shark, I don't stop for a second. I keep looking ahead, trying to make the best of the time I have. And enjoy my life as much as I can. I guess that's the most important thing.'
`Do you enjoy this? All the traveling? All the troubles that you face?'
`Yes. It's good fun! Especially the struggle... It's no fun if there's no challenge, after all! Although... I admit, there are times... When...'
`When?'
`Well, times like now. When I go through so much shit, and I mean, really fucked up shit, that I just wanna sit down, have a nice cup of coffee, and do absolutely nothing. For days...'
`Coffee? Doesn't it give you a headache?'
What? She knows what coffee is? What a girl...
`Well... No, not at all...' I tell her, smiling widely. `Not at all... It refreshes me...'
`It doesn't have good effects on me,' she says. `but I have other means to get refreshed. I like to take a shower in the waterfall once a day, unless it's too cold. It does wonders.'
I smile at her, and imagine her lovely features as she takes a shower in the falling water. I can't help but like what I see in my mind...
Now what's she smiling about?
`Come, I'll show you what it's like.' she says with a smile, and she takes my hand and starts pulling me towards the water.
`Hey, wait! I don't want all my clothes to get wet...'
`So, take them off!' she says, and starts pushing the coat off me. As my coat hits the ground, she begins climbing out of her dress.
She does it so quickly that by time I could truly admire her natural features, she already jumps into the water. I can see that the water is a little more than waist deep. She swiftly moves under the waterfall, and then turns back towards me.
She looks awful sexy in there, with nothing but her wet hair covering her breasts...
`Come! Or are you chicken?' she says, waving her hand towards me.
`Nobody calls me a chicken!' I tell her.
`Then what are you waiting for?'
`Alright... Let's see if this is better than coffee!'
*
The water is kind of cold for my liking, but I wouldn't let her call me a chicken. Hell, I've done crazier things in my life than taking a shower in a waterfall...
`Do you like it?' she asks. `It's so rejuvenating!'
`Well... It's great! But you know... Coffee is better than this.'
`Bah... You can't do this with a cup of coffee!' she says, and she stands directly under the falling water, holding her head up high, and letting the water pour down on her face. Her wet hair is smoothed across her marvelous body, and I can't help but admire her beauty.
A little while later, she turns her head towards me.
`Come here, try this!' she says.
`Nah, I'd rather just watch...'
She shakes her head and comes towards me. She grabs my hands and starts pulling me under the waterfall. Try as I may, there is no resisting her, and moments later we both stand under the falling water.
`So?' she asks. `Is this now better than coffee?'
`Well, I dunno about better, but it sure is colder...'
`Come here...' she says, and she pulls me closer to her and embraces me. `Better now?'
What am I doing? This is the thought that jumps through my mind for a second... She's a pyromaniac and the proud owner of a torture chamber, a genuine maiden of death, a lethal beauty... Not the sort that a sane man would trust to the level of such intimacy... Yet here I stand, in her embrace, under a waterfall... And I don't want to leave...
Instead of replying, I try to kiss her. She gives her lips to me without hesitation...
*
I don't really know how much time has passed since we came out of the water, but it certainly has been a long time... It almost seems like forever... It was around dusk when we entered the water, and now the stars are already clearly visible. Now here we lay, embraced on the grass, exhausted, watching them shine high above. We still didn't bother to get dressed...
I should get going, I know. Ghaubel could find Danny Boy any minute. Then again, I'm sure Tano would try to contact me telepathically in the event. For some reason, I just don't feel like leaving...
/> `Tell me now...' Irea says, whispering into my ear. `Is this better than coffee?'
`Yeah...' I reply silently, smiling. `As long as you're here, too...'
She smiles and kisses my cheek, then she rests her head on my chest. I gently place my hand on her head, and begin to caress her hair...
`Shouldn't you be going back? Your friend needs you.'
`I know...'
`So, you should get going.'
`Yeah...'
Many long minutes pass until I finally manage to make myself stand up. Slowly we get dressed, and I prepare to open a Portal back to my stronghold. Before I could begin, she touches my hand.
`Be careful, okay?' she asks.
`Don't worry. Badasses die hard...'
`Still...'
`Tell me something... Are you gonna be around here for a while?'
`Yes. I need to take care of many things here.'
`When I find Danny Boy, do you think you can save some time for me?'
She smiles, and reaches into her cloak. She hands me a small item. A strange scepter-like object. Indescribably odd-looking thing...
`Take this. With it, you will be able to enter this place without my assistance. You're welcome anytime!' she says, smiling.
`Thank you...' I tell her, and move my lips close to hers. We kiss, slowly, and passionately... Like it may be our last...
*
I sigh deeply as the Portal closes behind me. Tano comes running, smiling widely. As he sees me, the smile vanishes from his face.
`All alone, Master? I was hoping your charming guest would return with you...'
`Maybe some other time. Now tell me... Did Ghaubel send any message while I was away?'
`No, Master... Not a word.'
`Fucking bitch, what is taking her so long?! Eh, never mind. I'll wait. Nothing else I can do...'
Or maybe there is one thing. The new painting. The new fucking painting... I have to see it. Maybe there is some clue on it about what the fuck is going on...
Brothers Page 19
