“If your skills are so special, how do you recruit other students?” Katara asked.
“Once a year, we visit the towns across the continent and search for special children possessing the abilities needed to do what we do. Our skills are so rare that we might find only two children a year and when we do, we take them to our plane and teach them our art.”
“So you kidnap them?”
“I guess we do. Anyway, after the child enters our domain, they are given special stones that allow them to harness and absorb our abilities. In time, and with many years of practice, they won’t need them anymore and will be able to manipulate time by themselves.”
“I have one more question for you. Besides me, who else can resist your powers?”
“We have encountered many races, and except for the demons, no one can.”
Torhan turned to Katara. “Do you have any other questions for him?” He asked.
“I’m done.” She answered.
“Untie me now so that I can leave.” The Chromos Lord said.
“We haven’t decided yet.” Torhan said, and they walked away.
“But we had a deal.”
“What do you think?” Katara said after they were away from him.
“If we let him go, he’ll definitely tell his people about the scabbard, and if they know they’ll hunt me down.”
“I think so too, but I don’t think we should kill him.”
Torhan rubbed his chin. “Then what should we do with him, leave it up to fate?”
She liked the idea and Torhan began gathering their items, while Katara went over to Piersum.
“Are you going to set me free like you said?” The Chromos Lord asked when he saw them gathering their stuff.
“No, but we’re not going to kill you either.” Torhan responded coldly and picked up the red gem off of the dead man.
“That wasn’t the deal.”
“Would you rather die or take your chances?”
“My arm and shoulder are broken.” He pleaded.
“Yes they are.” Torhan smirked in satisfaction.
Katara slapped Piersum until he woke up, untied him, and then helped him up.
He looked at the Chromos Lord. “You can’t leave him like that.”
“If you don’t shut your trap, you’ll join him.” She replied sternly.
“The animals will eat him.” Piersum stated.
Katara had enough of his mouth, gagged him and then tied his hands behind his back.
Torhan added several more logs to the fire to keep the animals away. “That should help.” He said.
****
In the early hours of the morning, the Chromos Lord finally got one of his limbs free, despite the unbearable pain. After the pain subsided, he took the knife from his boot and cut away the rest of his restraints. His right arm was swollen and irritated, and his left shoulder felt even worse. He felt feverish and sick to his stomach and knew that if he didn’t find a healer soon, he would lose the limb if not his life. Before leaving, he tried to use his powers and found that he couldn’t make the proper hand motion to complete the task, leaving him vulnerable and defenseless. He knew there was a town close by and started walking in that direction.
By mid-morning, Snowdrift came into view, and he quickened his pace. Thoughts of revenge, relief from the pain, and a hot meal quickly faded when he heard buzzing directly behind him.Turning around, he came face-to-face with a six-foot dragonfly hovering a few yards away, beating its multi-colored wings in a hypnotic pattern. They were beating so fast, he was unable to move. The dragonfly swooped in and wrapped its legs around his body while stabbing him with its stinger. After the paralyzing toxin took effect, the dragonfly soared away with its meal.
Chapter 27: A Spirit At Peace
Katara, Torhan, and their prisoner arrived at the crypt shortly after dusk. Priest Piersum mumbled something through the gag as soon as he recognized the area.
Torhan removed the cloth from his mouth. “Well my friend it’s time that you know the truth. Your fate along with Tole and Molech’s are linked to each other.”
“You’re not sending me down there. Are you?” Piersum panicked.
“I’m afraid so.”
“You lied to me.”
“No we didn’t.” Katara added.
“You said Tole and I would be quietly living together.”
“You will. Tole is already down in the crypt waiting for you and so will Molech when the time comes.”
“You won’t get away with this.” The priest threatened.
“Get away with what? Having you spend a little time with the people you murdered?” Torhan answered.
“What do you mean?”
“Shoel is waiting for you too.” Torhan said and gagged him again.
Katara pushed the stump over, and the crypt began rising again. Piersum pulled away, and ran. Torhan found it almost laughable, and gave chase. When he eventually caught up to him, he shoved him hard to the ground.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Torhan said and bent down to pick him up.
Piersum rolled onto his back and kicked him in the stomach, which made Torhan fall on top of him and punch him once in the face, knocking him unconscious. The attack was done so swiftly that when the dagger left the scabbard to protect him, the threat was already neutralized, and it returned to its home, leaving the priest unscathed. Torhan picked him up, slung him over his shoulder, and carried him back to the crypt.
Katara activated a glow rock and handed it to him. “Do you want me to come with you?” She asked.
“No. I’m not sure how the spirit will act.” He answered and went down into the depths below.
After reaching Shoel’s room, he entered the chamber and placed the priest into the shallow grave. He removed the gag and loosened his restraints. Piersum stirred awake.
“Any last words before we proceed?” Torhan offered.
“I will haunt you from the afterlife.”
“Good luck with that.” He said and climbed out of the grave. “Shoel, it is Torhan and you have a special visitor.”
The spirit materialized and floated over. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” The spirit gazed upon the man in the grave, sending shivers up and down his spine.
“No, it can’t be?” Piersum said as he began backing away.
“Ah Priest Piersum.” The spirit looked delighted. “We’re going to have so much fun.” The spirit turned his attention to Torhan. “Torhan of the mortal realm. How can I ever thank you for this gift?”
“Don’t thank me yet Shoel. I have one more person to bring to you.”
“You’re a man of your word. Did you save the girl?”
“We did thanks to you. I’ll be back in a day or so with the other killer.”
“Day, week, month, year. It doesn't matter to me. I have all of eternity.” The spirit smiled at the priest.
“Please don’t leave me here.” Piersum pleaded staring at Torhan.
Torhan looked long and hard at him. “You need to atone for your actions.” He said and left.
After Torhan was gone, Piersum climbed out of the grave and fled. Shoel was delighted with his attempt and waited until he was near the door, before closing it and throwing him against the wall with a mere thought. Piersum banged his head and was knocked senseless.
Shoel floated over. “Piersum you will serve me for all of eternity.” The spirit said and began chanting.
The room filled with foul smelling smoke that blinded and choked the former priest, just as he got to his knees and began reaching for the door handle.
“Breathe deep my pet.” Shoel said with delight, watching his new prisoner grasp at the locked door handle until he slumped to the floor. The rancid poison filled Piersum’s lungs and stopped his heart a few seconds later. His spirit was separated from his mortal body and floated over to its master.
“Piersum I’ve made you a private room, but feel free to visit your friend Tole whenever you want. No
w be gone.”
Priest Piersum’s spirit and body were then cast away into another room.
“One more and I will be free.” Shoel said and dissipated.
****
“Is it done?” Katara asked Torhan, as soon as he reemerged from the crypt.
He nodded.
“Are you ready to face Molech?”
“He’s not going to be easy.” Torhan said.
“I’ve been thinking. Maybe we can surprise him.”
Torhan was intrigued. “How so?”
“While you were down there, I thought about how we could. He doesn’t know me, so while you’re talking with him, I could conjure up a Tirip and ambush him.”
“He’s a crafty assassin, so I am guessing he’ll have some sort of surprise for me.”
“Can we just avoid him altogether?" Katara finally asked.
“No. He’ll track me down sooner or later.” He looked defeated. “I feel like I am at a major disadvantage.”
“What do you mean?”
“He knows all about me, from my fighting style to the scabbard. I’m so mad at myself for allowing him to manipulate me.”
Katara touched his hand. “We’ll get through this, have faith.”
Her words did nothing to ease his feelings. He was really nervous and then something dawned on him.
“I want to use the amulet again.”
“We don’t know what the other stone does and what effect it will have on you.” Katara said, trying to discourage him.
Torhan was more afraid of Molech then the effects of the amulet. “I’m willing to take the chance in order to get an advantage over him.”
Reluctantly, she gave in and handed him the red gem and amulet. Torhan placed the stone into another slot of the amulet, and it locked into place.
“Ready?” She asked.
He nodded and placed the amulet around his neck and sat down. Closing his eyes he thought about meeting Molech and within a few seconds, something in the recesses of his mind told him to either think about the past, present, or future. After choosing the future, he was lifted high into the air and hovered above Katara and himself for a few seconds, before being whisked away.
Torhan found himself standing outside of a cave and observed his surroundings, taking in as much detail as possible. He looked for the obvious places where traps could be positioned, and while doing so, Molech walked out of the cave and stopped a few feet away. He appeared to be looking for someone. Torhan loathed the man, and yet was thankful for him turning his life upside down, because without him, he would’ve never met Katara, saved Sybil, and brought Tole and Piersum to justice.
Growing impatient, Molech took out a sleeve of throwing knives and began tossing them at the wall directly behind Torhan. When he was finished, he retrieved the daggers and reentered the cave. Torhan followed him in and stopped once he was inside. Molech’s campfire gave off enough light to allow Torhan to see the cave’s dimensions. The ceiling was some twenty feet high, and the width of the cave was about the same. He couldn’t see the back and when the thief walked in that direction, he followed. Molech stopped in front of some bushes and began fidgeting with something behind them. Torhan crept closer. Behind the shrubbery was a rack full of spears that were pointed directly at the entrance. Molech adjusted the spears and something at the bottom of the device, and then connected a long string to the side of the wood. The trap was hard to detect, and he wondered if Molech intended on killing him, or if it was just a precaution in case their encounter didn’t go as he planned.
He continued following the thief around the cave and watched him position loaded crossbows towards the entrance and at different angles. His final trap was by far the deadliest of them all. Molech tied several spears across his back, scaled up the left side of the wall, and across the ceiling until he was positioned above the entrance. He began fastening the weapons to the ceiling, and after he was finished, he let go and landed lightly on the ground. Moving off to the side, he set the trip wire and tested his trap by tugging on a thinly connected string. The spears fell from above and plunged deeply into the earth. Torhan realized that if he was standing under them he would die horribly, there was no question about that.
Molech reset the trap and then sat down in the corner of the cave and waited. Eventually, he got up and walked outside. Torhan followed him and saw Katara and himself walking up the road. Molech greeted them with a wave and walked toward Torhan, indicating that he was about to clasp arms with him in greeting.
As Torhan was about to take his arm, Molech quickly removed the dagger from Torhan’s scabbard and backed away several feet while grinning. The maneuver happened so fast that neither Torhan nor Katara reacted until it was over, which they did by taking out their weapons. Molech held up his hand, mouthing something, and Katara and Torhan relaxed a bit and lowered their weapons. Molech continued speaking with them. They spoke for a long time, and it appeared that everything was going well, until Molech became animated, and Torhan’s scabbard began glowing.
Upon noticing the warning, Molech relaxed and by doing so caused the glowing to cease. The thief smiled sinisterly at them, and Katara knew that things were about to go awry, so she nudged Torhan away, but he wouldn’t go and kept talking to Molech. Katara suddenly interrupted their conversation, and Molech said something to her, causing her to grow angry and threaten him with her mace. Molech smiled and said something again and this time Katara lost her composure and when she charged him, she was hit by several crossbow bolts and toppled to the ground. The thief disappeared into the cave grinning. Torhan ran over, fell to his knees, and took her hand. They exchanged words until she passed away. Torhan stood up with tears in his eyes, sword in his hand and ran inside the cave.
Dream state Torhan followed, knowing how this was going to end. In the back of the cave, the thief sprung the trap of spears as soon as Torhan entered and hit him with three of the projectiles, causing him to stumble over the tripwire and release the spears above, skewering him where he stood. Dream state Torhan looked on in horror, as his mortal self, stood erect, with a spear jutting from out of the top of his head, through his groin, and planted firmly into the ground. Molech walked over, removed the scabbard, took whatever else he wanted from their corpses and then left the cave. Dream state Torhan looked at their lifeless bodies and was so grateful that it was not real and only a vision of things to come. A few seconds later, his eyes snapped opened and wet tears flowed down his cheeks.
“What did you see?” Katara asked.
Torhan was about to answer, when his nose began bleeding, slow at first, then like a floodgate opening, and it couldn’t be stopped. Alarmed, Katara sat him up, placed a cloth on his nose, told him to pinch the bridge, and said to breathe through his mouth. Torhan did as he was instructed. She reached into her pack and took out several items, which included strips of cloth, a small rose colored vial, and a container of black paste. After rubbing the strips in the paste, she shoved them up each of his nostrils and handed him the vial. She told him to drink it and hold his head back. A few seconds later the blood slowed.
“You gave me a scare. I didn’t think that I would be able to stop it.” She paused when she saw the somber look on his face. “What is it? What did you see?” She asked.
“I saw us die.”
“What? How?”
“After I put the amulet on and thought of Molech, I was given a choice by the amulet to see the past, present, or future of him, which was different from the last time that I used it.”
“It sounds like the amulet offers more options when there are additional stones added. Interesting, I wonder what happens when we have all five.”
“I’m not sure I want to find out.” Torhan said.
“So what happened when you thought about Molech?”
“I appeared at the entrance of a cave and found him setting traps both inside and outside. I think he was preparing in case something went wrong with our meeting and decided to kill us outright.
/>
A short while later, we arrived, and as we were talking to him, he said something to get you angry enough to attack, and then everything fell apart and we ended up dying.”
“What about the Tirip?” Katara was mad, not at Torhan, but at herself for dying.
“The Tirip wasn’t in the vision, so I don’t know.”
“And your scabbard, didn’t that warn us? How about the dagger?” She asked, growing impatient.
“He’s clever. Here’s what he did. We were about to clasp arms in greeting, and he quickly removed my dagger from the scabbard.”
“Why?”
“Because he knows what the item does. Remember, he was the one who gave it to me.”
“Tell me exactly how we died.” Her mind was racing.
“You charged him and were shot by some crossbows.”
“Where were they?”
“Hidden in the bushes and crevices, just outside of the cave’s entrance. After you died, I ran after him and triggered his other traps.”
“Which were?”
“He had some contraption that launched spears from the back of the cave, javelins above the entrance, and more hidden crossbows.”
“Let’s revise our plan and I’m using the amulet to see if it works.” Katara said firmly.
“I’m not sure if you’ll be able to use it.”
“What do you mean?” She got agitated.
“You never met him.”
“You’re right.”
“I’m going to use it again.”
“If the outcome was any different than the one you saw, I wouldn’t allow it.”
“I know.” He said smiling.
They spent the next few hours scheming exactly what they were going to do and modifying their plan in case something went wrong. When they were finished, and felt like they had every cause and effect covered, Katara plugged his nose with a few strips of cloth covered in black paste, and he placed the amulet around her neck.
A Demon's Quest the Beginning of the End the Trilogy Box Set Page 78
