“I am fulfilling my purpose: to safeguard knowledge,” said Raja. “Your questions triggered a failsafe. Specifically, your question about Master Wheel.”
“Master Wheel did this?” asked Samir.
“That is not what I said. It was your question about Master Wheel that became the catalyst for your current, soon to-be fatal, situation.”
Samir’s mind raced. Someone is powerful enough to influence the Akashic Records. They knew the protocol and set the trap along the lines of Raja’s main purpose, keeping knowledge safe. Is Master Wheel this powerful? Could he do such a thing?
“That is not an exit,” said Raja as Samir reached a door. Raja stood motionless in the center of the floor and watched impassively as Samir grabbed for the handle and turned. He opened the door and faced a dark swirling portal.
“We will stop you,” said Samir turning to Raja.
“You will stop no one. Inside of an hour, the poison will begin to break down your vital organs and you will cease to exist. The pain will be excruciating.”
Samir jumped into the portal.
TWENTY-THREE
THE FULL MOON illuminated the silent Rah Ven city as the Reapers approached. From their vantage point, Erio looked down on the city as they got closer.
“It seems very quiet, Erio,” said Iza.
The Reapers stepped into the city and onto its streets, encountering no one. Not one Rah Ven was walking around.
“Is it possible they have fled the city?” asked one of the Reapers behind Erio.
“Anything is possible,” said Erio without turning. “But that is not the case here. I sense something. Its faint but it’s here, around us.”
The Reaper turned around and looked. “I don’t sense—” The words were cut off along with the Reaper’s head. Black tendrils wrapped around the fallen Reaper, disintegrating its head and body. Around them, several Rah Ven materialized, with Luna at their center.
“You attack without provocation?” said Erio. “That was not honorable.”
“We can smell an enemy when it gets close, and we have dealt with your kind in the past, Gyrevex,” said Luna.
She held a long blade in one hand and a small dagger in the other. Both weapons gave off black trails as they moved through the air. The trails looked like viscous liquid that hung in the air a few seconds too long before following the weapons. Erio slammed the bottom of his cane into the ground, converting it into a scythe.
“You have never dealt with something like me, dog,” said Erio. “Your weapons, however, look interesting. Where did you get them?”
“Once I bury them in you, I will tell you how I got them,” answered Luna.
Erio gave a mock bow. “Fair enough,” he said. “Are there enough of you? I would hate for this to be over too quickly.”
Luna nodded and more Rah Ven materialized around them. They numbered close to one hundred. Another of the Reapers stepped back and Erio turned on him. His scythe arced around, too fast to follow. The Reaper fell to the ground, his torso not far from his legs. Moments later the body became dust. Anger flashed in Erio’s eyes for a brief moment. Too many of us summoned at once has come at a cost: doubt and weakness.
“Does anyone else wish release from his constraints?” he said.
The remaining Reapers drew their weapons as Iza laughed and began undoing the ties in her hair. Erio turned to face Luna again. Several of the Rah Ven around her wore expressions of fear and disgust. Erio smiled at them.
“A minor difference of opinion. Forgive me for keeping you waiting,” he said and leaped forward.
Luna met Erio’s slash with her sword. Black trails flowed from her sword and tried to envelop Erio. He disengaged and swept his scythe in front of his body. His blade absorbed the black trails.
“Did you think it was going to be easy?’ he said. “You are going to have to work a little harder to eliminate me.”
Luna gave an imperceptible nod. The Rah Ven around her advanced on Iza and the remaining Reapers. Luna closed the distance, measuring each step as she looked for an opening.
“Who sent you?” asked Luna. “The planes have not seen Reapers in over a hundred years; why now?”
“That doesn’t matter,” he said, smiling. “What does matter is that we are here now. You really should learn to live in the present.”
Erio threw his scythe. The blade and handle transformed as it left his hand, becoming smaller yet still lethal. A curved blade whistled through the air, headed for Luna. She rolled out of the way, realizing at the last moment that it was a distraction. She came out of the roll right into Erio’s fist as he buried it in her midsection, doubling her over.
Staggering as she coughed up blood, she took few steps back and tried to catch her breath. Can’t believe I fell for that. Too arrogant. No time to dodge or block—shit. With his free hand extended, he caught the blade as it flew toward him. In his hand, it became a scythe again. He swung it down to remove her head. Several knives buried themselves in his arm and side as Luna was pulled back and out of the blade’s trajectory, causing him to miss her head by a fraction of an inch.
“Goddammit, I told you two to stay back unless necessary,” said Luna between gasps.
“Keeping your head seems pretty necessary to me,” said Kal’s voice. “Besides,” she whispered, “I’m not the Rah Ven Guard. I can’t hold a mask as long as they can.”
Kal and Zen shimmered into view next to Luna. Erio looked at the daggers in his body and arm. He stretched out his arm to the side and held his right hand out, palm up. He made a fist and the daggers exited his body and fell to the ground. The wounds in his body began to close, leaving only the holes in his shirt as reminders of the damage he had sustained.
“Can you fight?” asked Zen, not taking his eyes off Erio. “I don’t think we can take him alone.”
Luna straightened out and wiped the blood from her lips. “No choice here,” she said. “If we don’t stop them here, they will wipe us out.”
“I have to say I am pleased, Rah Ven,” said Erio, looking at Luna. “I have not enjoyed myself this much in years.” He cocked his head to the side and pointed at Kal and Zen. “You are not Rah Ven, yet you have their blood— interesting.”
He turned his scythe and held it across his body in a horizontal stance. Kal readied more knives.
“He is the key, I only need to cut him with these blades,” said Luna. “They will do the rest.”
“If you manage to defeat me, I will reveal my true purpose to you, Rah Ven,” said Erio as he turned his scythe in his hands and closed the distance.
Zen focused his breath and centered himself, manifesting a large, golden double-bladed battle-axe. Luna looked at the weapon and then back at Zen, surprise in her eyes. “That weapon…” she started.
“I’ll explain later,” he said. “If there is a later.”
“Let’s do this, then,” said Kal, throwing knives as she ran at Erio.
**********
Iza let her hair loose. Every Reaper had a blade. For Iza, her hair was her weapon. It hung down to her waist and moved of its own volition. Three Rah Ven surrounded her with weapons drawn. They attempted to close in. Once they were close enough, Iza’s hair shot out and impaled them. The strands were as strong as steel when she willed them to be. After a minute, many Rah Ven lay dead or dying. Iza, her clothes stained with her enemy’s blood, only grew more ferocious. The Rah Ven managed to separate her from the other Reapers.
“Divide them!” yelled a Rah Ven that materialized in the midst of the group. It was Ferra. She turned to face Iza. At the sound of her voice, Luna turned and gave her a sharp look.
“My place is with the Alpha,” she said and gave a small nod before she turned her focus on Iza.
“You should have remained unseen, dog,” said Iza. “That was an impressive mask, and you just gave away your greatest advantage.”
Iza pulled her hair close to her body. It acted as a shield, protecting her from attack.
“That was n
ot my greatest advantage, Reaper,” said Ferra. “I do not attack from the shadows like a coward.”
“Those words will be your last,” said Iza as she disappeared from sight.
Ferra shifted form and the Rah Ven around her did the same. The other Rah Ven pounced on the Reapers while Ferra circled around the area where Iza had last stood. She snarled and jumped back as strands of hair impaled the ground where she had stood seconds earlier. Iza laughed. Ferra shimmered and blended into the background. Moments later a yelp of pain filled the area as Ferra materialized. Several strands impaled her side. She growled as she made a quick turn, pulling Iza to her in a one fast motion. Off balance and caught, Iza stumbled forward, realizing Ferra’s plan. Ferra snapped her head around and buried her fangs into Iza’s throat.
“Well played, dog,” gasped Iza. “You know you cannot—”
Ferra clamped down and ripped Iza’s throat from her body. Iza’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground, followed by Ferra, who transformed back to her human form, bleeding from several large wounds. The remaining Reapers were overrun by the Rah Ven and destroyed, leaving only Erio. Two Rah Ven rushed over to Ferra’s side. All around them bodies of the Rah Ven lay.
“The remaining Reapers?” asked Ferra.
“Dead, ma’am,” said the Rah Ven closest to her.
“The Alpha…protect the Alpha,” said Ferra between breaths. “Your name?”
“I’m Dena,” said the Rah Ven. “Lay still, we will get you to the infirmary.”
Ferra grabbed her hand and pulled Dena close.
“It’s too late for that,” she whispered. “Keep the Alpha safe. Promise me, on your pack.”
Dena narrowed her eyes and nodded. A promise on the pack was an oath until death.
“I promise on my pack that I will do my best to keep the Alpha safe,” said Dena.
“Thank you,” said Ferra and breathed her last.
“You two,” said Dena to some of the Rah Ven standing around her, “take her back to the infirmary. She was Rah Ven Guard and deserves to be honored. The rest of you come with me—the Alpha still needs us.”
Only twenty Rah Ven remained and they moved to join Luna.
**********
Erio deflected the knives Kal threw. He slashed at her and she leaped over him, pulling out two short blades mid-jump from thigh sheathes. She landed in a crouch and jumped up again to avoid a lethal slash from behind. Luna stepped in and parried a downward strike.
“Your Rah Ven have been dwindled to insignificance. Even now they race to their deaths,” he said as he stepped back to avoid a lunge from Luna.
“There are more Rah Ven ready to stop you,” said Luna. “Even Reapers can be stopped. Those who arrived with you are dust.”
“Child, you still don’t understand,” said Erio. “You cannot stop us. You can only delay the inevitable. We are a concept given form. We are endless, infinite.”
He transformed his scythe into smaller circular blades and threw them at the approaching Rah Ven. Before Luna could warn them, Dena and her group faced a swarm of glowing blades. Dena saw the swarm and dropped to the ground and into a roll. The rest of the group were struck by the blades and stopped in their advance. The blades pulsed with a sickly green glow as they burrowed into their bodies. One by one, the group fell to the ground, convulsing. Only Dena remained and advanced as the blades disappeared and coalesced into a scythe once again in Erio’s hands. He stood with the scythe in a defensive stance and smiled at Luna.
Behind Luna, Zen raised his axe. Around them a swirling mist formed. Inside the mist, the ephemeral faces of Rah Ven in canine form were visible. Luna looked around, her jaw clenched.
“Do you know what you are doing?” she asked. Her voice was tense with fear.
“Yes,” said Zen. He was visibly pale as he held the axe up in the air. Luna placed the short sword in his off hand. The black viscous trails seemed shorter in the mist that was forming around them.
“Make it count,” said Luna. May the Great One help us if you can’t.
Luna ran over to Kal, grabbed her and moved back away from Zen and the mist. It was much thicker now and getting thicker each second. Zen was barely visible in the swirling white cloud of images.
“What are you doing?” said Kal as she struggled to get out of Luna’s grip. “He can’t face him alone. We need to help him, not run. Let go!”
Luna’s grip was like iron. She pulled Kal close.
“How did he get that weapon?” said Luna. Her words were clipped, the fear and anger mixed as she spoke. Her eyes were dark as she looked back to where Zen stood.
“I can’t see or sense him,” said Kal. “Where is he?”
“Answer me,” said Luna. “The weapon. Where did he get it?”
Kal stopped searching for Zen as the mist grew thicker. She turned to face Luna.
“The healer gave it to him,” she answered. “What’s wrong?”
“That weapon belonged to Braca, the leader of the warwolves,” said Luna. “It’s called Braca’s Balance. Each blade has a special property. He was the only one that could wield it. Right up until he lost control and it killed him and thousands of Rah Ven.”
“Is that what’s doing this?” asked Kal. She gestured around them at the mist.
Luna cursed under her breath. You may have killed us all, Grandmother. What were you thinking?
“This mist is part of the Balance,” said Luna as she pulled on Kal. “It’s one of the few things a Rah Ven will fear. The stories of this mist are used to frighten children.”
They were moving faster now, away from Zen and the center of the mist.
“You mean like fairy tales and fables?” said Kal. She looked around, sensing danger, but saw nothing except the white of the mist.
“Just like those from your childhood, except the monsters in our stories are real,” said Luna.
The face of a Rah Ven drew close to them in the mist. Its eyes glowed red as it floated near them. Luna froze and held Kal in place. “What the—” started Kal as Luna clamped a hand over her mouth. The face hovered near them for a few seconds before floating lazily away.
“Sound and fear,” whispered Luna. “They are drawn to both. I don’t sense fear in you, so we may have a chance to escape if we remain quiet.”
“What the hell was that?” said Kal in the same whispered tones.
“That was a monster from my childhood,” said Luna. “We need to get out of here, out of this mist before it gets worse.”
“Worse, what do you mean worse?” asked Kal. “I need to get to Zen.”
Luna wheeled her around, their faces inches away. “This is called the rending mist,” said Luna. “In a few moments those floating Rah Ven will become harder to avoid and a lot more solid. When that happens anything living in this mist dies.”
Kal looked back the way they came. “Zen,” she said.
“He is bearing the Balance, a weapon that was never supposed to see use again,” said Luna. “He should be protected as long as he retains control.”
I can’t time-skip in here or even convert to my canine form. This mist, Grandmother—how could you do this?
“Should be? What do you mean, should be?”
A low growl erupted around them.
“Your fear for his life will end ours,” said Luna. “We need to run now or die here. Grab my hand and, if you want to see Zen again, don’t let go.”
Kal grabbed Luna’s hand and they ran.
*********
The Balance vibrated in Zen’s hand, threatening to escape his grip.
“You think a little fog and your axe are going to deter me, you…” Erio trailed off as he narrowed his eyes and looked at Zen. “What are you?” he asked.
“I’m what’s going to end you,” said Zen through clenched teeth. The vibration of the Balance travelled through his entire body.
Erio laughed and held his scythe in a low defensive position.
“Aside from creating bad weather, I don�
��t see how you are much of a threat,” he said. “You should leave now while you still can. I can find and kill you later when I’m bored. Besides, it seems like you can barely hang on to your weapon.”
The vibration of the Balance increased. Zen dropped the sword Luna had given him and wiped his eyes as the sweat threatened to blind him while he held on with both hands. His body rippled as he transformed. His muscles grew and hair covered most of his body. A howl erupted from his lips.
**********
In the distance, Luna increased her pace. Kal wrenched her hand free and stopped. She turned and ran back toward the howl, toward Zen.
“Kal, no!” yelled Luna as she turned and looked for her. The mist swallowed Kal and made it impossible to locate her.
“I’m not going to leave him!” shouted Kal, somewhere in the distance. “Even if it means I die here. I’m going to die next to him.”
“Don’t do this, don’t throw your life away,” said Luna. “That howl signifies the change, the Rah Ven in this mist will tear you apart!”
Silence was her only response. She stepped back and found herself looking up at the clear night sky. She transformed into her canine form and ran to the center of the city.
**********
Sound and fear. They respond to sound and fear, thought Kal.
“I swear I’ll kill you if die on me, Zen,” she whispered to herself.
Around her, figures moved in the mist. She stood still for a moment and focused. Everything in her body resisted as she camouflaged and disappeared. She held it for several minutes until it dropped suddenly, taking her by surprise. Sweat drenched her face and she could feel the muscles in her calves begin to cramp.
Must be this mist. Making it difficult to use my abilities. Have to focus, she thought.
She clenched her jaw and camouflaged again, willing her body to obey. Another scream pierced the night and she headed for it with her blades drawn. As she ran through the mist, she realized she could sense the Rah Ven around her and give them a wide berth. She also found that with some focus she could sense the energy signature at the center of the mist. It wasn’t Zen, but it wasn’t Rah Ven either. She headed in that direction.
Warriors of the Way-Pentalogy Page 64
