Gustav caught one of Alek's wild blows, snarling as it burned, and gave Alek a blow to the chest of his own, poison barbs raking across his chest. As Alek was rocked backwards, Titus arrived from one of the walkways that led around the Keep. Titus let forth another orb of force, sending Alek flying sideways. He crashed into one of the pillars that held up the outer balconies of the Keep, cracks racing upwards from the force of the impact. But Alek was hardly slowed in his fury, rising to his feet with another bestial roar. Instead of rushing to engage Gustav or Titus, he turned and hugged the pillar he was next to. With a violent jerk of his upper body, a large section of the pillar broke free. Alek turned, swinging his now tree-sized weapon at Gustav.
Barely able to leap backwards out of the way of Alek's makeshift club, Gustav's many appendages now scrambled on the cobblestones as he tried to flee. Alek swung again, his face contorted in wild rage, and with a loud, wet impact, the pillar knocked Gustav across the courtyard, sending another shower of sickly black blood across the Commerce District. Yet Gustav never touched the ground. A dull orange glow diffused around him and he vanished before landing. Above the small park between the Keep and the rest of the city, there was a shimmer of light and Gustav reappeared on the roof of a neighboring building, Titus standing next to him. Alek snarled and spun around once before launching the pillar fragment as a man might throw a large piece of firewood. Gustav and Titus again vanished in orange light just as the pillar slammed into the wall beneath where they had been standing. The top of the building all but exploded backwards, showering nearby city blocks with debris. The two appeared on another rooftop, a look of fear etching across Titus's face.
Bounding forwards, Alek leaped once along the ground, then a second time as he built up momentum, landing with a crash on the same rooftop as Gustav and Titus. Gustav staggered slowly backwards, his shattered, ruined body no match for Alek’s. Titus stepped forwards, brandishing his gnarled staff as he bought time for Gustav's body to knit itself back together. The wizard pointed his staff and unleashed a bolt of pure darkness that hit Alek in the stomach just as he landed. The darkness spread around his body upon impact like a thick fog and began to crystallize into lattices that sliced and tore through Alek's armor and flesh. Into every wound darkness flowed, seeping into his body as it tried to dim the man's light. The crystal spread with horrifying speed, and had almost reached Alek's throat when he bellowed, his inhuman cry now tinged with pain. There was a growing hum of energy, and the black crystal exploded outwards in a blinding burst of white-gold light.
Alek only had an instant to regain himself before Titus again raised his staff, unleashing a bright blue beam of freezing cold. The temperature dropped dramatically on the rooftop, and the blue beam left hoarfrost across the roof. Yet Alek flew forwards, his feet barely touching the ground. He took the spell full on, the searing white heat radiating out of his body counteracting the wizard's frigid spell as it washed over him in a dazzling display of blue, gold, and white light. Ice melted into water, then vaporized into steam in Alek's wake.
Raising his right hand as if to strike, Alek suddenly let loose a wild, barely controlled torrent of white flame from his left that engulfed the Titus, Gustav, the rooftop, and the neighboring buildings. Titus only managed a shrill scream before he teleported away as Gustav lurched backwards within the flame before vanishing out of sight. Alek's glowing eyes narrowed, then he turned back towards the Keep of the Bells, watching as the creature scaled the peak of the fortress, reaching the very pinnacle of the Keep, standing on the large private garden above its gigantic bells, the singed, smoking frame of Titus there waiting.
Unwilling, or now simply unable, to let his opponents get away, the Outrider jumped off of the now burning building, running back across the park towards the Keep. As he ran, Titus, his flesh seared and cracked, raised his staff again and large crimson spheres formed in a crackle of magical Power above his head. He pointed downwards at Alek, and the spheres hurled themselves towards him. Though Alek had to move to dodge the spheres, it barely slowed his assault. The first sphere almost tagged him, exploding on the ground in a destructive burst of flame a few feet from his legs. But the others never came close as his speed increased.
Leaping again, Alek began scaling the side of the Keep much as Gustav had, his incredible strength allowing him grip into the very stone and metal of the Keep to throw himself upwards, using just his hands instead of having to climb. More of the crimson spheres flew at him, but Alek was able to dart sideways on the walls while still maintaining his grip. Before Titus could hurl any more of his spheres, Alek surged upwards, launching himself up the final ten feet of the Keep of the Bells' wall, smashing both of his white-hot fists downward upon Titus' head and shoulders, shattering the Custodian of the Purse's body in a small inferno of broken bones, released magical Power, and flame.
Before Gustav could respond, Alek rose upwards from Titus' broken body, bringing a burning fist in a devastating uppercut to the mass of tendrils at Gustav's chest, knocking him through the air. But as he landed, Gustav's body disappeared in a splash of liquid darkness. There was an instant of quiet, and Alek dove out of the way as Gustav dropped downwards from above Alek, his tendrils slicing through where the Outrider had stood.
Alek rolled and brought both of his fists downwards onto the stone roof of the Keep as if swinging an axe. The stone broke and crumbled from the force of the blow and Alek dropped below the roof into the Keep itself.
Gustav paused, momentarily confused. Before the monster could react, Alek burst up through the roof from underneath him, revitalized. The Outrider grabbed one of the monster's appendages and hurled him through the ornate water fountain that was the centerpiece of the rooftop garden. Running after Gustav's flying body, Alek leaped into the air, both of his fists trailing white hot flame as if to send Gustav into the center of the Plane. Gustav rolled onto his feet and drew back his tendrils, gathering his own shadowy Power. Alek's white-gold fists smashed into Gustav's dark orbs and there was a terrific explosion of gold tinged with spiderwebs of darkness.
Both Gustav and Alek were knocked through the air from the blast, and all went quiet as if time itself slowed as they fell. Everyone, human, mutant, or otherwise, stood and watched as the golden-white corona around Alek, so bright an instant before, slowly faded as the man sailed through the air, his light completely disappearing before he hit the ground, several city blocks away. The silence lasted a heartbeat longer.
And the city again descended into the Four Hells.
Chapter Thirty-One
No one could have survived that fall.
Despite herself, it was all Edda could think of, repeating it over and over again in her head as she bolted towards where Alek had landed, heedless of the dangers in venturing away from the Bellkeep soldiers. The man could be a dim ox at times, but pike it, he was kind of the best thing she had at the moment. She couldn't just stand there.
Edda darted into the city away from the walls, and she was the first to Alek's body. As she struggled to turn the man over, the two Forn were at her side, the green-skinned woman's face a stern mask. His countless injuries were grisly, but there was little blood. Aside from large gash on his forehead, Alek seemed to be covered in burns and punctures, not sword wounds Edda was almost consumed by panic, her movements sudden and jerky as she checked for a pulse. Her eyes seemed to see only Alek as he lay there motionless. She clutched one of his large wrists and was still, then she put her head to his chest, feeling the heat still rising from his body. Alek groaned, and his eyes slowly moved underneath closed lids.
“Gods above,” she whispered, her eyes going wide. “He's still alive. Barely.” Automatically, the Forn both began producing small vials and boxes of salve from pockets hidden within their exotic clothes. The Forn woman handed Edda one of the salves, but she was trembling so violently she almost dropped it, her face frozen in fear. The Forn woman grabbed her trembling hands with one of her own, then smacked her in the face with the
other.
“Stay. Here. He needs you here! Gather yourself!”
Edda didn't reply, but she managed to jerk her head sideways in disagreement, her eyes widening as she looked over Forn's shoulder. The two foreigners looked behind them, and saw Gustav, his body a shredded mass of flesh, sinew, and tendrils, haltingly crawling towards them from across the marketplace. The very air blowing around him seeped with rot. Though he was still perhaps two hundred yards away, his sudden presence became a heavy weight on their minds.
With the last remnants of her willpower, Edda snapped out of it and tried to drape one of Alek's arms over her shoulder. She sagged under the weight. Just his arm alone was heavy beyond belief. But her sudden resolve wouldn’t be broken.
“What the pike just happened,” Alek mumbled weakly, his eyes still closed.
“We have to move!” she cried out.
With a start the Forn looked back at Edda, their grim faces now replaced by bloodless white fear. They nodded and reached for Alek's other arm, but they too struggled to carry Alek's body. Nerthus was next to her in a flash, and together the four of them slowly began dragging Alek towards the gate. They were incredibly slow, and Edda knew that they would probably die there and then, but she refused to give Alek up.
“Faster, gods damn it!” she yelled. “We aren't leaving him behind!”
Kinnese had no words for what he had just witnessed. He had said nothing, had done nothing, when Else and the woman Nerthus left him, darting into the city looking for that...whatever he was. For their comrade, Aleksander. Even the arrival of Naria and the others couldn't force his mind to fully grasp what he had seen.
“Well Jurgund, I would say it's time for us to leave,” Naria said, her usually rich voice faint with fear and exertion. Her eyes flashed with panic as she tucked one of her bangs behind her ear.
Naria and her apprentices, with Undis in tow, had found him still standing on the inner wall where Else had left him. With the arrival of Titus and Gustav, the civilian population finally broke, running full speed towards the now-open Copper Gate. The gate that could now get Kinnese and the others out of the city. Yet like everyone else, they had all stopped to gape when the Aleksander, Gustav, and Titus battled it out across the Keep of the Bells. In the chaos, Garrey's men had taken a terrible toll on the monsters and City Watch in the area, who seemed to falter with one of their masters killed and the other severely injured. Now the Bellkeep soldiers took the initiative, seizing the Copper Gate for the fleeing populace to stream out of, and mauling any monster or Watchman who dared approach.
Thankfully, Kinnese wasn't the only one still stunned by what was happening. Undis and the apprentices were similarly awestruck.
“Thrones above,” Undis whispered, “that was the same Outrider from the forest? How could he possibly harness such power?”
“Doesn't matter now,” Kinnese said, finally finding his words, “Mistress Naria is right. It's time to leave. If those...things don't rip us to pieces, I'm sure they will find something just as pleasant to do to us. If I'm not mistaken, Pela is still at the gatehouse on ahead. We meet up with her, we find the Underking, then we...” Kinnese's voice trailed off as his eyes focused on movement in the streets below them. It was Else and his Outriders, with the piking Underking himself, rushing through the streets towards their fallen comrade some distance away.
“Planes, they are totally piked,” Naria muttered, and Kinnese saw instantly what she meant. The sinewy creature Gustav had turned into had just...moved from across the city to a few blocks away from the the small knot of people struggling to prop up Alek. And Gustav was closing in on them. All the while, swarms of those ungodly abominations swarmed the streets. Something in him began to stir, something distant, like an dream half-remembered. But he could still feel it.
“Jurgund?” Naria said, her tired voice barely getting through his own thoughts. “It's time for us to go.”
Kinnese was about to turn and agree with the witch when he heard Edda's voice rise up above the chaos enveloping the city.
“Faster gods damn it! We aren't leaving him behind!”
Kinnese rocked backwards as if he was struck.
Just turn around and leave them behind...
Edda’s voice echoed through the clinging fog in Kinnese's mind, dueling with the ghostly voice of his dream. The repeating voices warred in his head like two armies colliding on a battlefield. His eyes went distant, and for a second he almost felt his knees give. Naria reached out a hand to grab his shoulder, but he waved her hand away and looked at her, a sad expression on his face.
Just turn around and leave them behind...
“Go…go with Pela and the others.” His eyes were turned toward her, but they were seeing something far away. His voice was a rambling whisper. “Get out of the city. If I don't...my people will find you and bring you to where I promised. But I can't...I can't just leave them behind. I can't make that decision for you. They're my brothers.” He looked at the Legion sword in his hands, given to him by Aleksander. Only as he looked at it, he saw that it wasn't Alek's blade at all. It was his old Commander's sword, that he had thrown away long ago. Even the small scarlet ribbon, his one keepsake, was there attached to the pommel. He tightened his grip and felt tears welling up in his eyes.
Naria grabbed him by both of his shoulders, her eyes suddenly hard. “Jurgund Kinnese. I have no piking idea what you're ranting about. But you cannot leave us behind. Do you hear me? If you go back into that city, you'll die.”
“But...” Kinnese began, but Naria would hear none of it.
“Deal with your insane survivor's guilt on your own damned time. I didn't let you drag me all over the gods' creation just so you could lose your piking mind now.” She squeezed his shoulders, and a sudden spike of ice jolted into his body. The strange haze in his head receded, and Kinnese found himself blinking a few times into the witch's face.
What the hells? What was he just talking about? Why was he remembering...No, no better not to even think of it, he realized. Push through it, ignore it, and live.
“Uh, apologies,” he stammered. “Let's get out of here.”
Naria nodded once, but her eyes seemed to pierce into his mind before letting him go. Kinnese looked at Undis and the others before jogging as fast as he could manage towards Pela and their escape.
Edda knew that it was far too late. They’d never make it now, even if they just dropped Alek and ran. Dozens of the abominations and City Watch were swarming towards them, and Gustav himself was quickly gaining. Their balls were in the proverbial vice now.
The din surrounding their escape was incredible. The heavy metal clangs of the golem solid metal swords, the loud crackle of Egveny's magical spells, and the grunts and cries of men were added to the chaos of the city self-destructing around them. The screams of Bellkeep's civilians, the roar of fires and the crash of toppling buildings. It was too much. Edda couldn't take her eyes away from Gustav, dragging himself towards her, towards Alek. Edda looked forwards, and a grain of hope suddenly flashed through her mind. They were closer to the gate than she had anticipated. Just past the masses of monsters and shrieking civilians, he could almost make out the gate. Less than half a mile.
Garrey and his men still held the gate, Edda saw, giving the civilians their only avenue to flee the city. The Knight Captain beckoned for them to hurry. He sent no men, however. He couldn’t, there wasn't any to spare. They were all engaged in defending the stream of civilians running through the gate. The monsters were fighting fiercely but wildly, without direction. The men of Bellkeep held. Barely. Almost as quickly as it appeared, however, the flash of hope vanished. They may have been able to fight their way to the gate, but Gustav would be on them before they got within shouting distance of Garrey or his soldiers. But even if he didn't, further beyond Gustav, still slowly making their way through the city were the rest of the giants. They were out of time.
“Ah, pike it. Maybe it's time to cross the river after all,” a voi
ce said.
Looking up, Edda gasped as the five Outriders and their sifar walked past them. Her eyes met Johan's, who stopped briefly and simply nodded to her.
“We'll buy you and Garrey some more time to evacuate. If it comes to it, defend him with your lives,” Johan told them as he turned to the sifar. “We are going to be a little busy, and we can't keep our eyes on you anymore. Help get my friend to safety. Do that and I consider our agreement completed. Do not let that monster take Alek, do you understand?”
The sifar nodded gravely. He shared a strange, unknowable look with Garm before joining Edda and Nerthus in pulling Alek to safety. Johan gave them all a smile and a quick salute with his sword, but she or Nerthus could say anything, he turned back to the Outriders, cramming some sort of medicine into his mouth.
“What do you say?” he said, his voice suddenly stronger. “You guys want to go die like heroes?”
Johan led his men towards an uncertain fate, closing the distance between Gustav's ruined body and Alek's much quicker than they would have liked. But they were as ready as the vigilate would allow them to be. They had all taken yet another dose, which at this point was pushing things into extremely dangerous territory. The burning sensation within his body was stronger this time, bringing a new kind of pain with it now behind his eyes and in all of his extremities. If Johan wasn't about to throw his life away in some foolhardy plan, he would probably be afraid that he just did some serious damage to his body.
“We're going to look a little foolish if this thing kills us quick,” Vegard said. “So let’s try and die with some dignity, alright?”
“Looks like Alek did most of the work for us,” Toma said, trying to keep his voice calm.
Johan smiled. If it had to happen, these were definitely the men he wanted to die in battle with. And it looked like they had the luxury of choosing their final battlefield. Not too many could claim that.
Chasing Down Glory: The Outrider Legion: Book Two Page 48
