by Robert Ross
For his part, Kellan remained in his chair, bemused at the speed with which the conversation had turned, and wondering again about Seramai’s enigmatic answers. When the Cardinal also took to his feet, Kellan simply shook his head in resignation, knocked back what little remained of his coffee, and joined them by the door.
Cardinal Karras placed a friendly hand on Kellan’s shoulder and looked into the young Sentinel’s eyes. “I will take you as far as the reliquary threshold. The spear, like a few other items of similar power, is stored alone. You will, of course, need to contend with it’s immortal guardians, but I’m sure that was something for which you’ve already planned.” With that he opened the door and gestured the small party through. “Make haste please, I’d rather the spear be gone before any of the Cabal come calling.”
Kellan paused at the threshold grabbing hold of Seramai who turned back quizzically. “Wait, what immortal guardians? You guys never mentioned anything about—“
The large warrior laughed and clapped Kellan on the shoulder, “If you knew everything that was to transpire, from whence would excitement come, eh!”
Meghan pushed past the two men and jabbed Kellan in the ribs, “Yeah, Sentinel, don’t wet yourself. How bad can a few immortal guardians be?” She looked up at Seramai and walked past him asking, “Am I right or what?”
“Indeed you are, my valkyrie. Indeed you are.”
Kellan just looked at the Cardinal one last time before following and said, “I think I’m starting to hate both of them.”
The winding passages led generally downward with the air becoming ever more cool and damp. Moisture now clung to the rough walls as the four of them emerged into a large domed cavern. Doors were imbedded along its circular walls at regular intervals and in its center a massive inlayed cross broke up the otherwise plain polished stone floor.
Cardinal Karras angled to the right as they entered the cavern, walking deliberately to one of the twelve doors. He stopped and gestured. The door seemed to be made entirely of gold with numerous carvings that depicted aspects of Christ’s passion. The upper third of the door was consumed by the carving of an intricate and stylized spear.
Kellan reached for the door’s handle but Karras placed a hand gently on the Sentinel’s outstretched arm, restraining him. The Cardinal looked at Kellan, his face grave, and said, “You may not leave without the spear.”
Kellan cocked his head quizzically, “I don’t intend to.”
The Cardinal’s lips turned upward slightly, “No, you misunderstand. The doors in this cavern,” he began, gesturing, “are not simply physical doors, but rather threshold portals in their own right. They are constrained by wards even as your portals were when you tried to travel here. Once you pass over the threshold, its portal will vanish and only reappear for those who possess the relic within. If you fail to obtain the spear, you will be trapped like many before you were trapped. You will not be able to generate your own portal within the reliquary either. Be sure, young Sentinel, because time does not flow within these chambers. Close proximity to such power warps both body and spirit. The immortal guardians within were once simply human. They are now much more.” The Cardinal paused, voice dropping to a sad whisper, “and much less.”
“Wait,” asked Meghan, “If the doors only allow someone to leave if they posses the relic, then how does the relic get returned.” She paled in recognition. “Does anyone returning them have to stay?”
Cardinal Karras chuckled softly and turned to her, “Very perceptive, but no. Only a rare few ever notice that seeming contradiction. The door to these reliquaries are simply doors when no relic resides within. It is the relic’s power that causes each threshold portal to manifest. When either returning a relic, or placing it initially, one has a short period of time before the companion portal activates.”
She raised an arched eyebrow at the Cardinal. “How short a period of time?”
“Hmm, oh, I don’t know exactly. Perhaps five minutes or so. Plenty of time if one does not dawdle.”
Meghan looked dissatisfied with the answer, but Kellan turned the latch and pushed, causing the door to open inward without a sound. Beyond the doorway all appeared black as pitch as if nothing existed past the opening. “We’ll be fine,” Kellan said. He stepped through and vanished from sight.
Seramai rocked backward laughing as Meghan stared at the darkened doorway mouthing a silent curse, “Come, my beautiful valkyrie, let’s do our best to keep your headstrong Sentinel alive.”
She met his eyes and felt like she was being drawn into their strange amber glow. Her lips curled up with feral grin, anxiety suddenly replaced with a battle lust she hadn’t felt since returning from her tours in the Middle East. “Hoo Rah,” she yelled jumping through the doorway, “Who wants to live forever!”
Meghan felt her feet slide out from beneath her. She fell backwards, air escaping in a whoosh, while stars blossomed when her head hit the stone floor. Above her stood a giant of a man wearing animal furs and brandishing a massive double-bladed axe which was already arcing down. Meghan began to roll out of the way when the axe suddenly stopped with an ear wrenching clang. She looked up to see Seramai straining with his sword arm extended. The barbarian looked up and recognition seemed to dawn but before he could act further, Seramai reached out with his other hand and gripped the man’s neck squeezing tightly. Meghan slid out from under the two and regained her feet as Seramai cast her a sideways glance. “I may want you to live forever, so do try to be more careful.”
She smirked at him and slid the twin katana’s from her back. “My lord,” croaked the barbarian, “It is you my—“ His words were cut off as Seramai twisted his grip violently causing a loud crack, then threw the man in a heap.
Megan gave him a quizzical look and said, “My lord?”
“Delusional. Come, let us find your Sentinel before he gets himself killed and strands us here.”
As if on cue the whole chamber suddenly glowed with a brilliant white light as pillars of white hot plasmatic fire engulfed three shapes they could not quite make out. As the glow faded, Kellan came into their field of view. He was bleeding from several small wounds on his neck and face, but otherwise seemed in reasonably good shape.
“Why didn’t you stay by the door, idiot,” asked Meghan.
“What the hell are you talking about, I did stay by the door,” he answered angrily then added, “What took you so long. I’ve been waiting at least an hour.”
“Stop,” said Seramai, “I suspect we were each brought to a slightly different place within this chamber and the priest did mention time flowing oddly within the chamber. “ The general turned to Megan and continued, “Meghan, I was quite a distance from you when I entered, but closer than I think Kellan was, because we entered right behind one another. Even so, I was almost too late to reach you in time. Regardless, we are together now and that is what matters. So, Sentinel of Order, where is this spear that pierced the Creator’s incarnate self.”
Kellan concentrated and several balls of white light began to rotate between his hands. He hurled them upward and each rose about twenty feet into the air to hover, casting a warm glow all around them. Beyond the spheres could be seen the cavern roof maybe another ten feet further. In front of them the floor began to curve upward where it became a spiraling ramp. It seemed to curve around until reaching an apex where the three could barely see a glint of metal. Between where they stood and that apex, the ramp’s spiral was interrupted several times by large platforms on which Kellan thought, but couldn’t be sure, he saw movement.
“There,” said Kellan pointing, “I can feel it. The power of this place emanates from above.”
“Then up we will go, Kellan Thorne,” said Seramai.
“I’ll take point,” Meghan said and started toward where the ramp met floor.
Seramai laughed, “Stand aside little valkyrie. I will lead.”
Meghan took a deep breath and calmed herself. She had spent three tours of duty d
ealing with men who all thought they were more capable then she. Years of training had taught her both how to fight and how to manage those who thought she couldn’t. But as she started to explain why she would be better positioned on narrow elevated terrain, Meghan, again, felt herself drawn into Seramai’s softly glowing eyes. Her anger flared. She walked up to him, jaw set, and stopped, with only a hair’s breadth left between them. Her head only came midway up his chest but as she glared up, there was no hesitation in her, “What did you say?”
“Uh oh,” said Kellan and tried to separate them. “Guys, this is not the time to start measuring dic, uh, well I guess that doesn’t work in this case anyway.”
Seramai grabbed Meghan by the shoulders with both hands and lifted her off the floor to where they were eye level with each other. He smiled at her. “I said. Stand aside. I will lead, little valk—“
Meghan arched forward smashing her forehead into Seramai’s nose causing it to crack and for blood to gush forth. He dropped her and she swept out her leg tripping him just as the barbarian had done to her minutes before. He caught himself on the way down, breaking his fall with an outstretched hand, then launched himself back to his feet.
Meghan was in a battle crouch hands up and bouncing on her feet, eyes narrowed with a fury Kellan had never seen before. She was always so controlled. So measured. Not so now. She leaped toward Seramai and he blocked her initial mixed martial attacks with some difficulty and smiled again. “You are quite accomplished at—“ He broke off again as the hilt of a throwing dagger hit him in the face. Seramai reached up placing two fingers in his mouth and slowly pulled out a bloody tooth.
Kellan couldn’t believe what he was seeing and yelled at his friend, “What the hell, Meghan, you could have killed him.”
She grinned at Kellan. “If I wanted to kill him, I’d have stuck him with the pointy end. I just want him to tell me that I should go up first because I’m faster then he is. I’m more nimble than he is and I’m certainly a whole lot smarter than he is.
As Meghan turned back to face the warrior general, she rocked back as the full blow from his closed fist met her jaw. The former Marine spun sideways, pain blossoming, and went down on one knee, her head bowed. Seramai dragged the back of his wrist and hand along his face, wiping off blood that continued to flow from his nose. His smile was gone and he stared down at Meghan grimly, “I have killed entire generations for what you just dared to do, little mortal. If someone chooses to war with me, they best be prepared to win. And when it comes to war, I play to—“
Kellan knew Meghan well and could see what was about to happen as clear as words on a page. He called out, knowing it was already too late. “Meghan, No!”
The Sentinel knew he had not bent time, yet it seemed he saw his friend as if she were moving in slow motion. All the pieces were perfectly in place and Kellan knew Seramai was in for some serious pain. Meghan hadn’t fallen to one knee, she had put herself there with her right foot positioned behind for leverage. Her whole body formed a tightly coiled weapon and Kellan saw it begin to unwind as she lifted her head, eyes glowing, with the same amber light as did Seramai’s. She buried her fist into the warrior’s groin and Kellan gasped in sympathetic pain as Seramai doubled over. Kellan thought the larger man was about to retch, but Meghan had leaned back gaining new leverage. She lashed out with a booted foot, kicking him so hard in the face that his forward momentum reversed and he flipped backward, head striking stone.
While Seramai lay momentarily dazed, Meghan arched her back and forced herself to a crouch then uncoiled her legs while smoothly reaching for her twin katanas. Kellan yelled again as he watched her launch into the air poised to bring both swords down onto the warrior’s supine form. The Sentinel reached inward and channeled an angled shield around Seramai but each time he willed it into being, the shield seemed to unravel leaving only a vague green haze in its place. Kellan frantically tried a third time and saw Seramai lift both arms to block the blows on his vambraces when the Sentinel was struck hard from behind.
Kellan lay sprawled forward, sliding slightly on the polished stone, as he felt the links of his armor begin to knit back together having been damaged by the unseen blow. He rolled over in time to see what appeared like a medieval knight in heavy armor approaching. Kellan watched as a series of green runes ran down his arm and he focused a burst of air towards the attacking knight who flew backward to land halfway up the first leg of the ramp. He risked a momentary glance rightward and was rewarded with a very much alive Seramai trading blows with Meghan which were so quickly landed that each seemed nothing but a blur. Kellan turned his attention back to the knight who had regained his feet, then did a quick double take.
Why are those two idiots smiling like that, Kellan thought. Indeed, despite continued cuts and bruises they were inflicting, both Meghan and Seramai seemed transcendent with joy as they were fully consumed by their macabre dance.
Kellan ducked as the knight’s sword sliced through air inches above his head. He pivoted and gave the swordsman a powered kick from behind that served to launch him directly toward Seramai and Meghan. Without losing one step from their attacks on each other, Seramai crouched low and buried his short sword in the knight’s chest while Meghan crossed her katana’s just above the mans gorget and smoothly decapitated him.
Kellan winced as the headless corpse slumped to the side while Seramai deftly retrieved his sword and used it to parry another attack by Meghan. Kellan ground his teeth in frustration and closed the distance between them only to snap a shield about himself as both moved effortlessly to strike him. Meghan’s open palm glanced off Kellan’s shield even as Seramai’s closed fist continued through, but slowed, as if moving through water. Even slowed, the warrior general’s blow sent Kellan tumbling to the ground, his vision blurred and head reeling. All other noise stopped and he turned hurriedly around to find Meghan with the tip of a dagger pressed so hard against Seramai’s neck that blood seeped around the point.
She laughed wildly as her shining eyes found Kellan’s but spoke directly into Seramai’s ear, “Never take your eyes off the more dangerous adversary. That’s me, handsome. Some warrior you are. Serious rookie mistake.”
For his part, the general stood frozen, an odd look on his face. Kellan saw the grip Meghan used to hold him and any movement he made would have forced the dagger into his neck. That explained his lack of movement but not the ridiculous smile that Kellan saw spread across his face.”
“You have bested me, Meghan Daugherty. I yield.”
Instantly the glow left her eyes and Kellan saw her slowly remove the dagger from Seramai’s neck. He turned to her and continued smiling at her dazed expression, then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her already purpling cheek. “You have bested me!” he yelled almost laughing and Meghan took a half step back eyes still locked on his. “Name what gift I can offer you, my valkyrie, and it will be yours.”
For her part, Meghan seemed to warm to the new direction things had taken. She tried to look impassive as both she and Kellan watched Seramai’s wounds heal and vanish, then said, “Look what you did to my face, you hulking mountainous bastard. Get over here and fix it, then I’ll tell you what I want my gift to be.”
Kellan had regained his feet and headed toward them, but stopped when he caught a well understood glance by Meghan. She was up to something. Seramai had closed the distance and looked down on her. She smiled up wolfishly, “Well, I said fix it. You can’t leave me all bruised while you are looking so pretty.”
“As you wish, my valkyrie,” said Seramai. He pulled Meghan into a tight embrace and kissed her deeply.
Kellan began to fidget and said, “I totally did not see this coming. Uh, guys, I don’t know how many more of these guardian dudes are going to try and kill us on our way up to the spear so can you finish up whatever the hell it is you are doing and get back to helping keep me alive. Guys? Aw, C’mon. At least take a bloody breath.”
They did and as Megan leane
d back, Kellan could see all her wounds had healed. She also looked pretty darn happy to Kellan, which just fueled his already simmering aggravation.
“Can you two please explain what the hell that—“
“For my gift,” Meghan interrupted, “I would like,” then paused staring up at Seramai, “a romantic night out with the man whose ass I so completely just kicked.”
Kellan groaned and thought, I wonder if this is how people get trapped in these vaults. They’ve completely lost their minds.
“As your vanquished adversary, I can do nothing but accede to your request,” said Seramai stepping back and bowing with a flourish so perfectly executed that even Kellan had to nod in appreciation.
“Excellent,” said Meghan, then she stepped forward, stood on toes, and wrapped her arms behind Seramai’s neck, pulling his face close to hers.
“No no no,” complained Kellan shaking them both, “Stop it you two. Get a room.” He paused staring first at one and then the other. “After we get the bloody spear of destiny. You guys are the worst back-up ever.” Kellan turned toward the ramp, took a couple steps and then rounded again on Seramai, “And you,” he growled causing the warrior to raise his hands in a mockingly placating gesture.
“Me?” he said innocently.
Kellan stalked back and glared up at Seramai, “Yeah, you. I know you put the whammy on my pal Meghan here, and we’re gonna have words about this later. Trust me.”
Meghan snorted, “Bullshit, Kel. First, if anyone whammy’d anyone, I did it to him. Second, I don’t need you defending me.” With that she wedged herself between the two men while dragging her open palm lazily along Seramai’s chest as she headed toward the ramp without a backwards glance.
Kellan heard the low rumble of Seramai’s subdued laughter, “She speaks truthfully, Sentinel of Order. I did nothing to her and what she did to me, well, that will require more explanation than we have time for at present.” With that, he gestured with one arm and said, “After you, I believe the lady has point.”
