Emperor

by Isaac Hooke

  Those veins disappeared beneath Goldenthall’s skin, and the darkness surrounding those eyes became greater. Smears of black magic erupted from Goldenthall and swept past the fighters, striking the dark mage in the face. The stricken man screamed as he fell.

  The floorboards spread apart as an earth elemental thrust from the planks. It arose, this big, hulking humanoid made of dirt, and towered over Malem and the others.

  Timlir was there with Hamstringer, and cut deep gashes into the big thing’s feet, but the earth elemental swatted the dwarf aside. Timlir crashed into Malem, and sent him flailing into the floor.

  “Oof!” Malem said. “Get off me!”

  “Sorry,” Timlir said, rolling away. He offered a hand to help Malem up. He took it.

  Balls of fire erupted from the staircase. Abigail had returned.

  “Took you long enough!” Malem said.

  “Sorry,” Abigail said. “We had to deal with a few oraks that tried to climb through the windows! We don’t have to worry about attacks from that direction anymore, though—the rooms collapsed, thanks to the fire.”

  A green blur came from the stairs, forming a long, thick line that connected the steps to the center of the room, amid the attackers. Mauritania appeared there, in the middle of the room, her blades Tiercel and Peregrine drawn. She launched green magic as she attacked.

  Branches suddenly thrust from the wooden chairs of the nearby tables, and wrapped around the attackers. Wendolin’s handiwork.

  Gannet and Solan also waded into the fray, their swords aflame.

  Brita and Sylfi launched arrows from the stairs, using their huge longbows.

  Weyanna unleashed ice spears at her enemies, impaling oraks in eyes, nose, mouth or ears—basically whatever unarmored orifice availed itself.

  Other Eldritch scattered across the steps, having arriving from the rooftop, and unleashed their own magical attacks at the oraks. They targeted the exposed faces above the armor.

  Malem’s companions were beginning to tire, so he fed them stamina, as much as he could spare.

  Xaxia came to his side, and traded him Biter for Balethorn.

  “Thank you!” Malem said.

  He led the attack outside, Biter glowing brightly in his grasp. He achieved a big boost in stamina for each strike, which only spurred him on to fight all the harder. These oraks seemed so much easier than those he had faced at the beginning of the battle. He suspected the enemy had sent in their most elite units first, with specific orders to target him. Either that, or Biter was helping him out a whole lot more than Balethorn had.

  He shared some of the stamina he gained from the magic blade with the others to keep them going. He reached out and Broke some of the injured monsters as well, and commanded them to sow chaos.

  He ducked beneath the burning doorway, and emerged outside, where more enemy oraks crowded around.

  “We’re no longer constrained!” Solan said as he emerged with his flaming sword. He dropped the weapon and transformed into the big bronze dragon that he was. He breathed an arc of fire across the oraks; they all lifted their armored hands to protect their faces. The fire continued to burn on the armor where it touched, though the oraks seemed unaffected by the internal heat that those flames must have been generating—again, it must have been part of the anti-magic properties of that armor.

  “Target the wagons!” Malem said.

  Solan breathed flames at the wagons next, and ignited their canvases.

  The other five dragons emerged, and they too transformed; there wasn’t enough room in the street to hold them all, so they leapt onto the rooftops of the different buildings nearby, and breathed flames down as the oraks emerged from the wagons. They also repeatedly launched flame at the wagons themselves, adding to the fires that already consumed them.

  Oraks continued to emerge, mostly protected by their armor, giving Malem and the others something to target.

  But then the wagons began to collapse, and the monsters stopped coming.

  In moments, the wagons were reduced to burning rubble on the ground, and the bodies of dead oraks, their armor still aflame, littered the cobblestone.

  Malem stepped forward, into that ruin.

  And then a dark portal formed in front of him. He heard a buzzing with his ears. Or rather, his mind.

  “No,” Malem said. “It can’t be.”

  But it was.

  Darkness erupted from that portal, and its black hands reached for him.

  3

  Malem turned and fled the Darkness. He ran across the street. Ran and ran. That was all he could do.

  He stepped over the bodies at a sprint, and glanced over his shoulder when he cleared the last of them: the Darkness was right behind him. It seemed to move faster than the Darkness that had assailed him in earlier times.

  “I got you!” Abigail roared.

  She reached down with a giant claw and scooped him up. Then she launched into the air from the rooftop she stood upon, and rapidly flew away above the buildings. She headed toward the Midweald.

  The other dragons leapt into the air to trail him.

  He sensed a sudden terror from Gwen’s energy bundle. Gwen, what is it?

  A couple of ghrips snuck into the city! We could use a hand!

  Below him, in the failing evening light, he could see the Darkness pursuing, but it was fast receding, unable to keep up with Abigail’s flight. The droning in his head subsided.

  Metals, I think we’re good here, Malem sent. The Darkness won’t reach me. Help defend against the ghrips.

  The five pursuing dragons immediately turned around, and took care to give the Darkness a wide berth as they returned to the attack site, which the flames readily marked upon the vista of sprawling buildings.

  The town dropped away below, and Abigail flew across the river that separated Northern Redbridge from the island portion of the city, and then over the wide, arcing red bridge of its namesake.

  The river, and the bridge crossing it, were soon replaced by the canopy of the Midweald. The Darkness continued to follow, but it seemed to be growing thinner, less substantial.

  And then a huge form burst from the canopy below him. Jaws wrapped around Abigail’s throat, and wrenched her from the sky.

  She released him as she crashed into the trees below. Malem continued forward, carried by momentum, and plowed through several branches; they whacked his face and body, tearing his clothes and cut his skin. He was really starting to wish he was wearing dragonscale.

  Finally, he crashed into a small shrub and rolled to the mossy ground. The spongy surface sank beneath him, and cushioned his fall. He scrambled to his feet. Though it was late evening, and the canopy partially screened the area, his night vision compensated so that it may as well have been midday.

  He homed in on Abigail before him: she was facing down her larger opponent.

  A red dragon.

  Abigail had broken a few of the nearby trees with her impact, forming a clearing of sorts. Her mouth was open, and she hissed loudly as she circled the bigger dragon. Blood pulsed from a gaping wound in her neck, a sickly red marring the iridescent beauty of her silver scales.

  The distant buzzing was still in his head, very slowly growing in volume, letting him know that the Darkness hadn’t yet given up.

  The red dragon rotated in front of her, crushing the foliage as the monster kept her in view, its neck curled back as if poised to strike at any moment, like a viper.

  Sylfi, I was wrong! Malem sent urgently. Come with your sister! Quickly!

  Malem tried to Break the Red.

  He couldn’t touch its mind.

  He sensed Abigail flagging from the blood loss, and fed her stamina from the others.

  The red dragon struck out, unleashing its stored energy, and its head slammed forth; Abigail twisted to the side, avoiding the blow.

  As the Red withdrew its neck, it unleashed a stream of purple flame. The fire scored a hit on Abigail’s neck wound, and she rapidly spun
to present her uninjured scales to the blow.

  Malem reached out, searching for any nearby animals or monsters that might help, and sensed three more large creatures in the immediate vicinity.

  As in, a few steps away.

  He heard the snap of breaking branches, and then two more red dragons shoved through the trees.

  Run, Malem! Abigail sent.

  I’m not leaving you, he replied.

  He withdrew Balethorn, and the blade sung hungrily for dragon blood.

  The noise drew the attention of the closest Red, which turned toward Malem and grinned.

  The buzzing in his head rose in volume…

  Not yet, I need more time! he thought.

  Abigail summoned three fire elementals and sent them at the first Red, but the fiery creatures vanished, apparently dispelled.

  The Red grinned toothily. “You want to play with magic, Little Girl?”

  Four wind elementals appeared around Abigail. They swirled around her like mini tornados, drawing her this way and that. A ghostly pair of eyes stared out from the heart of those dust devils, and muscular arms were outlined along their perimeters, the shapes visible only because of the debris that delineated them: the broken branches and leaves lifted from the forest.

  Each wind elemental planted itself along the four points of an imaginary square around her, and directed their powerful gusts toward Abigail. The Red continued to circle her beyond them, joined by one of its companions, and they grinning while the elementals trapped Abigail with their winds. The wind entities sucked the air away from her so that she couldn’t breathe, judging from her panting, nor fly.

  Meanwhile, the third Red came at Malem. It opened its mouth to breath that purple flame.

  He dove behind a thick bole, and the flames torched the foliage around him, but the tree otherwise saved him.

  Malem kept glancing between either side, unsure where the head of the Red would emerge.

  But then a drop of slime fell upon his head from above.

  He immediately dove to the burned ground and rolled away. Behind him, the forest floor lit up as the dragon breathed purple flame from above. The stream of fire followed him; he scrambled to his feet and dove behind another bole. Then he sheathed his sword, and began climbing it. The tree had branches within easy reach, and he made good progress. When he spotted the dragon, he was about three yards from the ground. This time it slinked its head around the righthand side of the tree, just below him.

  Malem smiled.

  He let go of one handhold and drew his sword, leaping off the tree at the same time.

  He landed on the dragon’s neck and plunged the blade deep.

  The Red’s scream muted Balethorn’s cry of victory.

  Stamina flowed into Malem in a great wave that nearly bowled him over. He slid the humming Balethorn free, and leaped off the dragon as the Red collapsed. He considered attempting to Break the monster, but there was no point—the Red was clearly about to die.

  The buzzing reached a fever pitch in his head. From the trees beside him, tendrils of Darkness emerged, reaching for him. The Darkness was weak, having traveled all that distance, its strands thin and faded. It moved slower than before, but still fast enough to catch him if he wasn’t careful.

  He fed much of the stamina to Abigail, who was rapidly flagging. He raced into the burning trees toward her, through the path carved by the Red in its pursuit of him. He leaped onto fallen trunks, and squeezed between trampled shrubs.

  Behind him, the shrubs and trees that the pursuing Darkness touched withered and splintered, drained of life. Some trunks sundered entirely, breaking away to join the logs strewing the forest floor.

  One of the other Reds approached him from the makeshift clearing ahead, drawn by the death shriek of the fallen dragon. Its lips turned up in a rictus when it saw him, revealing a row of sharp teeth that glinted in the flames that yet burned.

  “You killed my brother,” the dragon said.

  It opened his mouth to breath fire, and Malem was about to dodge when a beautiful chromium came out of the skies and raked claws across its back. Sylfi.

  Malem raced forward as the two dragons wrestled, their bodies rolling into the trees, and breaking some of the smaller boles clean off.

  Brita arrived a moment later, and tore into the original Red that waited near Abigail. The silver dragon was still pinned by the wind elementals.

  Malem dashed in the general direction of Sylfi and her opponent. As the pair wrestled, the red dragon’s tail flung through the air in front of Malem, and he dove to the ground, rolling as it passed over him. The Red got the upper hand, and righted itself, mounting Sylfi. It pressed down from above, worrying its teeth into her chest.

  Malem swerved toward its rear, and struck out at one of its hind legs with Balethorn as he passed. The sword sung with pleasure, and Malem drank of its stamina.

  The dragon shrieked, withdrawing its leg, and whacking the general area repeatedly with its tail.

  But Malem was already well past; he entered the clearing ahead, the Darkness in hot pursuit. He made a beeline for Brita and the original Red, who battled just ahead.

  He shared some of the fresh stamina with the three dragons bound to him. Abigail was having trouble holding her head up, thanks to the neck wound.

  Weyanna, we’re going to need your healing!

  Figured as much, she sent. Already on the way. The situation seems mostly under control here outside the inn. Or what’s left of it.

  Malem headed toward the original Red, which had its back toward him as it grappled with Brita. She was raking her claws along its back, and the Red returned the favor to her. It kept trying to get a grip on her neck, but she kept bashing its head away with her own.

  Malem raced underneath its tale, toward the two hind-legs that remained on the ground. As he passed each of those tree-trunk sized legs, he swung his sword, scoring two quick hits.

  The creature squealed in pain, and stamped its feet backward, trying to crush him, but he was already gone, heading toward Abigail.

  Once more he shared the freshly acquired stamina with the women, giving most to Abigail.

  The Darkness followed him.

  Good.

  When he reached Abigail, he positioned himself next to one of the wind elementals so that the whirling creature stood between him and the Darkness. All of the gusts it produced were directed toward Abigail—it sucked air away from her, and funneled it up so as to press down from above. Whenever she tried to shift positions, it redirected that airflow, driving it toward her as appropriate to keep her imprisoned. The other elementals did the same.

  Abigail used their behavior to breathe: by lunging forward occasionally, she forced the elementals to throw air at her face, which she gulped voraciously.

  The Darkness arrived behind Malem. It struck the elemental, and swirled within its depths.

  The wind elemental shrieked as it turned completely black. And then it dissipated, leaving only the Darkness.

  The original Red glanced at Malem when it heard this shriek, but was forced to turn its attention back to Brita.

  The Darkness continued toward Malem.

  He proceeded to each of the remaining elementals, positioning the creatures between them and the Darkness, being careful to lead it around Abigail as he did so. And so the Darkness took the elementals in turn. With each creature it swallowed, the Darkness strengthened, and came at him all the faster.

  Finally, the last of the elementals was killed, and Abigail slumped to the ground in relief.

  You all right? he asked her as he led the Darkness away from her.

  Uh huh, she replied. Sort of. Just need a minute.

  Malem headed toward Brita and the other dragon then, intending to steal more stamina.

  But then Weyanna arrived; she landed on the original Red. While it struggled to shrug her off its back, Brita pressed the attack, and tore a huge chunk out of its chest. She released flames into that wound, cauterizing and ro
asting it at the same time. Meanwhile Weyanna repeatedly ripped chunks from its neck.

  Malem tried to Break it. He was able to wrap his mind around the creature, and he squeezed.

  But the Red couldn’t take the combined attacks, and overwhelmed, the creature collapsed.

  He was about to tell Weyanna and Brita to stop harrying the creature when it died.

  He turned toward Sylfi, but the chromium had the neck of her own foe pinned to the ground beneath her jaws.

  Wait! he told her. Let me Break it.

  Sylfi released the Red, but it had already stopped squirming. Malem wrapped his will around it, but before he could Break it, all life left the monster.

  Sylfi stood to her full height. She looked ghastly with all that blood dripping from her jaws. Malem was just glad she was under his control.

  Or was she?

  Her eyes were wild, and full of bloodlust. Before he could stop her, she lunged at him with her open mouth.

  Sylfi, wait—

  She wrapped her jaws around him, but the hold was gentle. His head and shoulders protruded from the left side of her mouth so that he could still see the forest. But not what was pursuing him…

  Sylfi, The Darkness—

  Got ya covered. She took to the air and turned west.

  He glanced behind him, and saw the Darkness pursuing, its threads arcing over the forest. They were quickly weakening; the stamina boost from taking the wind elementals already fading. The droning in his head grew softer.

  Weyanna, help Abigail!

  But Weyanna was already in the middle of the clearing, next to Abigail. Streams of white healing magic curled from her body, toward the injured Silver.

  Brita took to the air as well, and slowly caught up with him and Sylfi. She stayed well away from the Darkness.

  Sylfi kept increasing her altitude, putting distance between herself and the forest below, wanting to avoid repeating the mistake Abigail had made.

  The pursuing Darkness didn’t last for much longer. It finally dissipated, a little prematurely Malem thought, given how substantial the strands yet seemed. Perhaps it had realized the fight was lost.