by Wesley Brown
The knights inside ran to the door, bracing for battle, certain an army with a battering ram was on the other side. But when a guard reported in from the roof that it was only one man, even the bravest knight shook in his armor. King Arthur sent word to the guards above to fire arrows down on Reaper. Once this arrow barrage started, Reaper became angry.
“Set. Asterion. Yeti,” Reaper thought hard about each of them in an attempt to summon their strength. Blink had told Reaper that all he had to do was think about them, so that’s what he did.
His body grew slightly with the combined strength of these ancient behemoths. The arrows were no longer sinking into his muscle. With this new strength, the arrows hit him and fell to the ground—some even snapped on impact. Reaper put his fists together and lifted them high above his head. The blow fell upon the doors, and they cracked and splintered. The doors were compromised, but the beam was still strong. Reaper placed his hands on the wood. He brought his body in close to his hands and braced his feet. With one incredible push, the beam snapped, and large pieces of wood flew out. The knights inside ducked down. They looked up and saw the dark figure of the Reaper standing in the light of the crescent moon and the torches, with his arms extended out.
“Arthur!” Reaper shouted. “Fight me, now.” Lancelot stood to his feet, his chest pushed out, his chin held high, and his pride immeasurable.
“You want my king, villain?” Lancelot said. “Then you will face me first.” He unsheathed his sword. “Have at thee!” He charged.] He took his sword back and swung, his goal to lob off Reaper’s head. But Reaper held up his arm to block the sword, then pushed it aside and backhanded Lancelot. The brave knight flew back.
“Arthur, Excalibur can defeat me, can it not?” Reaper asked mockingly. Arthur stood and started toward Reaper.
“My king, no,” Bedivere pleaded.
“He came to face Excalibur. The villain will die by my blade,” Arthur said as he approached Reaper and unsheathed Excalibur. “Take out your sword; you will need it.”
Reaper unsheathed his own sword and held it with both hands in front of him. Arthur and Reaper watched each other as they walked in circles. Each waited for the other to make the first move. Finally, Reaper did not want to wait any longer.
He swung, and Arthur blocked with Excalibur and swung low at Reaper’s left ankle with the sword from the stone. Due to Reaper’s focus on the fight, he had lost his focus on his great strength. Though the strike had not gone through bone, it still hurt, and Reaper let that out. He did not know that showing weakness in this instance would be a good thing. This gave Arthur a false sense of security. Reaper pushed Arthur back. Thinking that he could win, Arthur spun, swinging both swords at Reaper. Not only did Reaper block this attack, but in blocking it, the sword from the stone broke. The knights were all surprised, Arthur especially. Arthur brushed this to the side quickly, though, keeping his head in the fight. He threw the broken blade aside and took Excalibur in both hands. He held Excalibur in front of him, and Reaper did the same with his sword. Arthur went for a strike, but Reaper dodged, sending Arthur stumbling a few feet. Arthur turned back to Reaper and charged. Reaper blocked and pushed up. Arthur went for a quick strike at Reaper’s back, but Reaper blocked this too. He held his sword over his head, holding off the attack. Reaper spun, holding his blade out. Arthur would have blocked if he had not tripped and dodged the fatal blow. He rushed to his feet, afraid that he would die to a unseen strike while down. Reaper went on the offensive and swung at Arthur again. Arthur dodged and struck Reaper’s sword down, then struck Reaper’s left cheek with the pommel of Excalibur. Reaper staggered a moment as his eyes watered.
“Asterion. Asterion,” Reaper repeated to himself.
Arthur swung at Reaper’s back and cut upward in a diagonal from left to right. Reaper grunted in pain, but did not scream. Arthur thought he had the upper hand now. He rushed to, like Lancelot, lob off Reaper’s head. Also like Lancelot, he failed at this. As Reaper was focusing on Asterion, he gained the beast’s amazing hearing. He heard Arthur’s breath quicken as he charged. Reaper ducked and Arthur’s blow missed. Reaper looked up, the sword that had been the scythe was pierced through Arthur’s small intestine and extending out his back. Arthur’s body was going into shock—he did not even seem capable of falling over. Reaper stood and looked into Arthur’s eyes. He pulled his sword out of Arthur’s gut, and the blood stained his white cloth. Reaper sheathed his sword, then put one hand on Excalibur’s grip. Arthur groaned, and his hands loosened on Excalibur. The sword almost fell, but Reaper took it.
“This really is for the best,” Reaper said. “I truly am sorry. I’m sure you were a good man.” Arthur fell over, and Reaper walked toward the exit. The knights began to go at Reaper. One by one, they fell. Reaper bested each man too blinded by loss and rage to formulate a decent plan of attack. Galahad cried out for aid from a higher power. A blinding light filled the hall. As the light faded, a knight robed in white and gold appeared. He raised his left hand and waved it over the room.
“You will not take their light from this world, villain,” the knight said. He reached for his empty sheath as a hilt composed of light appeared. He gripped the hilt and revealed his light blade.
“I mean no trouble; I just came for the sword,” Reaper said.
“I am Sanctus, the Holy Knight of the Vanguard. This land and these people are under my protection. You want their light, you go through me!” Holy Knight charged at Reaper.
Reaper dodged the light blade, but just barely. The tip sliced through his cloth and chain-mail. The metal links melted into Reaper’s flesh. He dropped Excalibur and his scythe as he tried to pull the metal from his abdomen. Holy Knight came to a hard stop, then turned, thrusting his blade down toward Reaper’s back.
Suddenly, the light blade bounced off a transparent blue sphere. Blink stood between Reaper and Holy Knight. His eyes burned with an odd level of conviction.
“Holy Knight, isn’t it?” Blink said he turned a dial on his belt and the field faded. “We’re not after their light—just that sword. Please do not pursue this. Going after the Reaper will only end in tragedy for the whole world.”
“Liar!” Holy Knight shouted, and rushed Blink, who quickly teleported behind Holy Knight. Blink grabbed tight, and the pair disappeared. Reaper screamed as he cut the molten scrap from his gut. It was a special kind of pain. He nearly threw up, and his vision was hazy for a moment. His strength returned to him, and he stood. He looked around at the wounded men, then reached down and took their swords, one in each hand.
Blink and Holy Knight reappeared, with Holy Knight slightly disoriented. Reaper braced himself for a fight, but Blink held out his hand.
“We’re done here?” Blink asked.
“Indeed,” Holy Knight said. “I will return to the Vanguard and warn them. Thank you, Blink.”
“Let’s go, Reaper,” Blink said, and the two left Holy Knight alone.
Holy Knight held up his sword, and his light, which had been placed in the Knights of the Round Table, flew from them back to him. His brilliant wings of light shot out from his back. He knelt down, and the wings graced the floor as he pushed of into a beam of light. The walls and foundation cracked. It didn’t take long for the castle to crumble.
“Blink, what happened up there?” Reaper asked, looking back as the castle began to shrink into the distance.
“He didn’t know it, but he and the rest of his kind have the ability to kill you,” Blink said. “I saw it. Plane Walkers can kill you easily.”
“What is a Plane Walker?”
“Exactly what it sounds like, man. A person that can walk across Planes.”
“And Planes are?”
“A whole mess of problems for another day.” Blink paused. “In the future time line we just narrowly avoided, he failed to kill you. You badly injured him and he retreated. Bile, a literal fallen angel, staged a coup of his order. Then marched on Earth. He conquered the whole world and killed anyo
ne that crossed him. Even you fell to them.”
“How did I die?”
“You are a rare gem, in more ways than one. The worst aspect of your amazing power is that you cannot pass through portals of any kind, from what I’ve gathered. You can’t teleport; you can’t plane walk; you can’t do anything like that. If you do, you will die. I imagine it would hurt, too.”
“But that blueish woman…”
“Edeline.”
“She lives in a Plane. I did not die going to or from it.”
“You weren’t acting as a Plane Walker. You passed through a physical doorway.” Blink gestured to Excalibur. “You got this the rest of the way?” Reaper nodded. “Good, I’ve got to check something at home.” As a gentle breeze passed, Blink was gone.
Reaper walked back to the cave where Edeline was waiting for him. It was nearing ten in the morning when he entered the cave that appeared to be in perpetual night. He walked in carrying a heavy burden. What had nearly happened. What did happen. Knowing the future and living with the past, perhaps dying wasn’t the worst thing Reaper could do for the world.
Excalibur was wrapped in cloth and tucked under Reaper’s right arm. Once Reaper had returned, Edeline walked out of the water completely dry. She smiled with pleasure at the sight of Reaper. He took down his hood, and Edeline saw him better. His face sagged, a look of shame covered him.
“What did you do?” Edeline asked.
“I am sorry,” Reaper said, and held out Excalibur. Edeline removed the cloth wrapping. She stepped back, her face worried and surprised. “It had to be done. He’s not the right one for it.”
Edeline gulped. “I will hold onto it for now, then.”
Reaper turned and headed toward the mouth of the cave.
Her voice trailed after him. “Does doing a bad thing for a good reason make it good?”
“I do not know,” Reaper said, and kept walking.
Chapter Nine:
In The Dark
Four long centuries passed before Reaper saw Blink again. His friend was gone, and without assigned missions to give him purpose, Reaper began to take matters into his own hands. He traveled the globe, hunting down criminals and bringing them to justice.
When Blink returned, Reaper was in Bulgaria, chasing a band of thieves and murderers headed to the Black Sea. Though his body would not age, his clothing certainly had—his chain mail was damaged, his clothing was in rags, and his shoes were practically tearing from his feet as he ran after his prey across the dock. He was almost to their ship, his sword raised, when Blink appeared before Reaper. The dock splintered as the wild immortal skidded to a halt.
“What are you doing?” Reaper shouted at Blink in English.
“Huh, still using the accent and everything. Good for you, man, I knew you’d like English,” Blink said.
“I almost had them—now they’ll escape.” Reaper sheathed his blade. “What do you want?”
“What makes you think I want anything?” Blink asked.
“You stopped me from stopping those criminals, so you’d better want something important.”
“Let’s walk.” Blink gestured away from the ship. He and Reaper began walking in the opposite direction. Reaper looked over his shoulder in disappointment at the ship floating away, his face tense, then stopped.
“Hey.” Blink paused too. “Relax, they didn’t get away. I just couldn’t have you wasting time with them when the future needs you elsewhere.”
“It appears as though they have gotten away,” Reaper said.
“Nah.” Blink pressed his chin down against his neck. It made the sound especially strange to Reaper. “I put a bomb or two on the lower deck of the boat. One in the front, another in the back.” Blink reached into his satchel and pulled out a small remote detonator. It had a blinking red button on the top. “Now, even with as much power as you have, you aren’t as powerful as you will get. Wanna press the button?” Blink held the detonator out toward Reaper.
“What does it do?” Reaper took it cautiously.
“It’s a surprise,” Blink said. “Push the light down and watch the magic.” Blink pointed out at the ship. Reaper pressed down on the detonator. Two massive explosions went off simultaneously. The ship was destroyed in an instant. The boom shook Reaper. He stepped back and threw his hands up, then slowly lowered his hands and looked out at the devastation.
“You say I will be able to do that?” Reaper asked.
“Oh, and so much more, man.” Blink patted Reaper’s back.
“What is the mission?” Reaper asked.
“It’s complicated.”
“How?”
“It will take place in a hidden underground city.”
“Which way?” Reaper asked.
Blink bit his index finger. “Uh… that way-ish,” he said, pointing south west. “I guess that’s the best way there.”
“Tell me on the way,” Reaper said, and began walking toward modern-day Istanbul.
“Sure.” Blink was impressed with Reaper’s easy nonchalance.
“Now, as I recall, the first mission was in a hidden underground tomb. What makes this more difficult?” Reaper asked.
“It’s a whole city, capable of housing, like, a hundred thousand people,” Blink said.
“Will there be a hundred thousand people when I get there?” Reaper asked.
“No, they will all be dead. Very dead.”
“How can you be very dead? How much more dead can a person be?” Reaper asked.
“I sure hope one day you’ll appreciate the irony in that question,” Blink said. “The thing that killed them is what you’re going to fight. You need to kill it.”
“That is no surprise,” Reaper said sardonically.
“You don’t understand. It is undead, and if it wanted to, it could create an army of undead. Each one of its soldiers would be capable of making more of them. None would be as bad as this one, but let’s just nip this in the bud now,” Blink said.
“Nip its bud?” Reaper asked.
“Really, that’s not a thing yet?” Blink muttered. “It’s just a phrase that means to stop it now so that it doesn’t get worse.”
There was an awkward pause.
“What else do I need to know about this creature before I get there?” Reaper asked to end the silence.
“It can toss you around like a rag doll without even touching you,” Blink said.
“Me, as a rag doll?”
“Oh good job man, you got one.” Blink added a slow clap.
“Continue.”
“Alright, so it can fly and shapeshift, and has super speed, super strength, spontaneous regeneration, enhanced durability, and mind control. It can’t read your mind, but it can control it, so be careful. I don’t want to have to come back in time to fight a mind-controlled you.”
“I see. And with all that, what are my advantages?” Reaper asked.
“Hmm.” Blink’s voice was high. “It should be weak to U.V. Rays.” Reaper gave Blink a blank stare. “Right—sunlight. If you hold it in sunlight long enough, it should die. Putting something in its chest should do, but leave whatever you put in. I don’t know about decapitation, but you could try it.” Blink looked at Reaper, who was making that face again. Blink rolled his eyes. “Cutting its head off might work. Best bet is to get it in sunlight.”
“How do I do that if the city is underground?” Reaper asked.
“Go in and try to find it before the sun comes up. Then trick it into taking the fight to the surface. If that doesn’t work, there are air shafts. Depending on the time, sunlight should shine right down,” Blink said. “Maybe do that seeing-in-the-dark thing. The light from the shafts and entrances won’t be enough to see, and this thing will probably know every secret this city has.”
“I appreciate your concern. I thought we had decided I cannot die,” Reaper said.
“There are ways you can still die,” Blink said. “I don’t know if this creature can do it.”
“Then join me. Watch my back,” Reaper said. “You have not joined me in a single fight since Set. It has been at least a thousand years since then.”
“I can’t go down there with you,” Blink said.
“Why?”
“I’m afraid of the creature you’re going to fight. I don’t want to die like that—I really don’t want to be turned into one of those things,” Blink said. He sounded embarrassed.
“That is, as you say, okay,” Reaper said. Blink smiled.
“Good job, man, you’re learning,” he said. “The way there is kinda weird, so I’ll show up and guide you from time to time. For the most part, keep going this way.”
“Are you leaving?” Reaper asked.
“Yes, but I’ll be right back. Just keep walking.” Blink disappeared. A few feet later, Blink reappeared, holding the costume he had made for Reaper so long ago. Reaper stood still with Blink standing in front of him holding the folded clothes out. Reaper smiled slightly and almost said thank you, but Blink cut him off. “Just thank me by taking these back. Even got you new sandals,” Reaper took the folded clothes from Blink. “Now I gotta go home. Schoolwork to do. Also, I’m pretty sure I’m on to something in the future.”
“Goodbye, Blink,” Reaper said with a smile.
“Goodbye, Reaper.” Blink returned the smile and followed it with a handshake. Blink was gone, and Reaper was left with a very thoughtful gift.
Once more, Reaper donned his bronze and crimson costume. It felt even better to Reaper now than ever before (Blink had dry-cleaned it, though Reaper had no way of knowing that). Reaper felt that just by putting these clothes back on, he was home.
Reaper went on his way on a long journey south. Blink appeared once in a while and redirected Reaper on his path. The long walk became much easier when Reaper got to a well-traveled road that took him to modern-day Istanbul. He eventually arrived and passed the city. Blink followed Reaper, trying to get his attention. When Blink felt that it was pointless, he stopped following Reaper. He looked around for a big rock. He found a good-sized rock, about as big as a softball. He lined up his shot and tossed the stone. It hit Reaper’s right shoulder blade. Almost the second that it hit, Reaper reached for his sword. He pivoted, ready to strike, but stopped just in time to not kill Blink.
