A formation of demons slashed up from the writhing combat. Like falcons leaping upon their prey, Mark and his command pounced and sent their opponents tumbling to their deaths, shrieking and writhing as their wings trailed fire and smoke.
"Take their portal!" Mark shouted.
Goldberg, picking up Mark's command, signalled it to other sorcerers around them, so that as the group swept downward it soon numbered more than fifty organized attackers who swept all in their path.
And then Mark saw him. Next to the portal, Allic and Kultha swirled in ever-tightening circles, trading blow after blow, both of their shields glowing white-hot. The terror of the demon returned, yet even stronger was Mark's rage.
Focusing his power through Storm's crystal, he dove straight downward. A blinding flash snapped out, catching Kultha on the chest, sending him staggering.
"He's mine!" Mark screamed. "Ikawa, lead the rest to the portal."
Allic spared a glance back and grinned with delight.
Above Allic, three demons swooped in, pouncing on the demigod. Allic turned toward them--and in that moment Mark found himself facing the source of his dread.
A slash of fire swept out from the demon's hand, staggering Mark in his flight. Raising his hand, Mark knew he was in a balancing game as he slammed a bolt toward the demon. Power between offense and defense had to be carefully matched. The decision would be realized when one or the other finally had to shift his offensive power to defense, because at that instant the other could start to increase the pressure until the defender's shield was shattered, or he attempted to flee.
Mark felt himself channel the maximum Essence, yet still his opponent slashed out, circling ever tighter in an attempt to catch Mark from behind, and thus place him at a disadvantage for the attack.
Jinking to the right, Mark soared straight up, exposing his back for a moment. Kultha fired a bolt which staggered him, yet still he continued up and over in a classical Immelmann turn. Rolling out, he was directly above Kultha, and dove, slashing a shot straight into the demon's back.
In that instant, Mark felt the balance shift. Kultha rolled over, aiming a shot up, but it went wide, giving Mark's shielding a momentary respite so that even more Essence could go into the next offensive shot. Kultha turned away, diving. Screaming with triumphant rage, Mark focused his power through Storm's crystal, and a blue-white slash slammed into the back of Kultha's head. The demon tumbled, slamming into the ground--but rolled and came up to his feet as Mark landed not a dozen feet away.
Kultha crouched low, slamming out another shot. Laughing maniacally, Mark stood motionless, absorbing the bolt. In a wild show of contempt he extended his arms wide, not bothering to fire back. For the first time he saw terror in his opponent's eyes.
Then Mark brought his right arm up and fired. Kultha's shield overloaded and snapped, and the demon went staggering to his knees.
Kultha threw his arms up to the heavens. "Spare me!"
The slightest of contemptuous smiles lit Mark's features. "Eat shit and die."
Kultha's head exploded as Mark's bolt slammed into it, and the decapitated body was flung end over end.
"Gary Cooper couldn't have done it better."
Mark looked over to see Kochanski astride the Godchair.
"Good fight," Allic shouted, flying to Mark's side.
"You saw it, then?"
"Most of it. I figured you could handle him on your own so I just killed a dozen or so demons who wanted to interfere with your revenge."
Smiling, Mark nodded his thanks and looked about them. The battle was still on, the demons swirling in a great protective arc around the portal, holding back the advance, while their luckier comrades fled through it. A concussion swept over him, and looking skyward he was stunned to realize that Jartan and Gorgon still wrestled for control. Mark suddenly knew that only a minute or two had passed since the first appearance of the god, and that the battle was still in doubt.
"Allic!"
Mark turned to see Storm, her countenance grim, coming in low with Leti and a dozen sorcerers. Between them was a great sling in which nestled a round object, covered by silken blankets.
"Against the portal!" Storm cried, and ripped back the protective cover.
Though he had never seen it, Mark knew that he was gazing upon the legendary Heart Crystal. Nearly eight feet in diameter, it flickered and glowed as it rested upon its carved stone base.
Allic grinned wickedly. "Clear the portal, break off the attack!" he roared, his command instantly picked up and relayed throughout the attacking sorcerers. Hundreds of forms dove in every direction, with Ikawa and the offworlders cutting back toward where Mark stood.
"Focus on the Heart," Allic shouted. "Everyone stand clear."
Turning, Mark snapped his energy into the Heart, augmenting it with Storm's crystal. Allic, Leti, and Storm stood together, hands extended to the great crystal, barely touching it. The inside of the great gem seemed to swirl in a mad kaleidoscope of color. Mark suddenly felt as if his own power was out of control, as if he was driving a car and the accelerator had jammed. The Crystal seemed to suck the Essence out of him in one great torrent.
The ground trembled beneath his feet. A cone of fire, as hot as the core of a sun, snapped out, slamming into the portal.
The booming explosion turned the ice a hundred yards around to steam. A massive fireball rushed heavenward, spreading in a cloud of flame.
--And suddenly it appeared as if the explosion was rushing back in upon itself.
Demons tumbled through the air, swept into the heart of the firestorm as the portal imploded. Horrified, Mark saw more than one sorcerer dragged to his doom among the hundreds of foes.
The explosion snapped inward, and then simply disappeared. A ghostly breeze smelling of charred flesh, steam, and sulphur washed across the field, and as it passed, Mark stood awestruck by the carnage. Hundreds of writhing demons cluttered the ground, shrieking and tearing at their wounds, where the portal had once been.
"Look!"
Mark glanced where Kochanski was pointing. A thin snap of light glowed on the surface of the besieged planet above them, spreading outward, and Mark was startled to hear Allic's laughter.
"The shot from the Heart passed through the portal and detonated the one up there. They must be frying, too!"
Mark knew he would have felt sickened by the carnage if these had been human foes. Against these incarnations of evil, though, he could only feel a grim sense of satisfaction.
There was another snap of light, and a hot blast rolled against the glacier-clad hills--but this time it came from above. Looking straight up, Mark saw Gorgon reeling backwards, clutching his shoulder, a torrent of fire pouring from the wound. Jartan, grim-faced, shot another bolt into the demon lord.
The image of Gorgon suddenly stretched outward, filling half the sky, and like a vapor of fog slashed by sunlight he disappeared. Jartan swung about as if searching, and in a blinding flash soared heavenward towards Yuvin. In an instant he was lost to normal sight.
Mark looked back to where the focus of the battle had been around the portal. All that was left was steaming wreckage, yet hundreds of demons had survived, cut off now from all hope of retreat back to Yuvin. In terror they fled, desperate to escape the wrath of Jartan and his followers.
Focusing a blast from the Heart against an enemy cluster, a score or more were felled; yet more streamed off in every direction, pursued now by Jartan's triumphant sorcerers.
Mark looked about to rally his command. "Stand down," Allic said, coming to Mark's side. "We've had enough for one day--let the reinforcements mop up what's left."
Still eager for vengeance, Mark started to bridle.
"We've done more than enough already," Leti said, putting her hand on Mark's shoulder.
Suddenly he realized how exhausted he really was. Though the battle had been brief, the terror of what had seemed to be inevitable defeat had worked its effect, and he realized that he was giddy wi
th relief and exhaustion.
Glancing around, he saw Ikawa and the rest of the offworlders come swinging in from the far side of the ruined portal. Slowing, the group dropped down and alighted. Fear gripped him, and he did a quick scan, counting heads. Ikawa, seeing his concern, nodded that everyone was all right, then rushed to his side.
The two held each other's gaze for a moment, and then Ikawa grabbed Mark and embraced him.
"I didn't want to leave you, but I knew you had to face him alone."
Unable to respond, Mark only nodded.
"A hell of a fight," Ikawa announced, walking over to Leti. "I thought we were finished."
"So did I," Allic said coolly, forcing a smile. But his hand trembled slightly as he pulled a flask out and drained its contents.
"Just what the hell happened?" Walker asked, coming up to join the group. "One second I'm getting set to scratch that damned tooth and finish myself, and the next thing all hell breaks loose."
"We were simply bait, it seems," Allic announced, gazing over at Storm. Mark could see a look of reproach in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, brother, neither you nor Leti could be told. Gorgon might have been able to probe your thoughts," Storm said quietly. "We've had a portal hidden inside that glacier for some time." She pointed to the shattered mountain.
"Once I came through, it was my job to open it up, shield it, and guide Jartan and his forces through. Jartan was hoping to catch Gorgon and all his demons here on this moon, and hold him inside a massive pentagram hidden beneath the ice, right beneath our feet. But the bastard wouldn't alight where we wanted him to. If he had, Jartan would have had the field up, and we could have pinned and destroyed him. We waited as long as we could, but when your shield went down, we had to save you."
"Thanks for the late rescue," Allic said, trying to sound philosophical though his annoyance was obvious.
The offworlders looked at each other, realizing that if the rescue had come mere seconds later, most would have committed suicide rather than run the risk of capture.
"Jartan's returning," Kochanski announced quietly, as he sat astride the chair looking upward.
There was a swirling rush of wind, a coalescing of light, and Mark looked up to see the god hovering above them.
"Get him?" Allic asked.
"The bastard escaped through a secondary portal and pulled it down behind him." There was a chilling note of exasperation in Jartan's voice. "Everyone all right here?"
"Shaken but alive," Allic replied coolly.
A thin smile creased the god's face. "Couldn't be helped. Anyhow, it put a little excitement into your lives."
"That type of excitement I can do without," Allic said in a low voice.
A rumble of laughter came from Jartan.
"You did well, my children--and you offworlders, too. We'll talk later; I think I need to vent some rage, and Gorgon's trapped demons are as good a target as any."
The god formed into a swirling torrent of flame, and snapped across the sky, disappearing from view.
Incredulous, the offworlders looked at each other, none daring to admit the fear they had just felt, nor their frustration at realizing they had simply been bait to pull the enemy in.
"Anyhow, we won," Saito announced philosophically. Leaving the group he went over to kick the headless corpse of Kultha, rolling the body over for a closer look.
"Better than the blow from a headsman's sword."
"Yeah, wili you look at that?" Walker said excitedly, coming up to stand by Saito's side. "Who kicked this guy's ass?"
"Mark did," Allic announced proudly.
Walker looked at Mark with open admiration. "No shit?"
Mark nodded.
A hand slipped into his. Turning, Mark looked into the admiring eyes of Storm, and the sight of her filled him with such warmth that he smiled. It almost felt as if he had just kicked the butt of the town bully, and now his girlfriend was coming forward to show her pride. He realized the notion was absurd, but nevertheless, at the moment it felt pretty damn good.
Chapter 9
It was the aftermath of battle. Jartan had brought the entire group of demigods, sorcerers, and captured demons down to the surface of the planet. Without the restraining powers surrounding the base, the main portal was operating nonstop. Groups of fresh sorcerers, ranging from healers to administrators, were arriving regularly and moving swiftly to their appointed tasks. Mark had seen it often enough before: the tail of an army catching up to the vanguard once a position had been secured.
In a pavilion on a nearby hillside all the outlanders, along with Allic, Storm, and Leti, were watching the activity with an exhausted apathy.
Allic seemed to show the most energy, quaffing cup after cup of wine and glaring at the tall column of light on the plain that was Jartan.
Transferring the glare to Storm, who was sitting next to Mark, he grated, "I still can't believe we couldn't have been told!"
Storm glanced at him wearily. "We have been over this before, brother. I was under orders to keep silent and prepare the other portal for Jartan and the rest of our forces. Your job was to do a reconnaissance, and if detected, to be very convincing bait."
Leti agreed with a nod. "Allic, it was only our obvious vulnerability and terror that drew Gorgon and all his demons into Jartan's trap. A major invasion of our forces from the moon to here would have played into their hands. You've seen the defenses they had prepared here."
She paused for a moment, and continued, "I'm not ecstatic at being kept in the dark either, but our casualties were very light, Gorgon severely wounded, his forces either killed or captured, and we kept the damage to this world to a minimum. You cannot argue with success like that."
"Thank you, daughter."
A glowing figure began to materialize in the pavilion. The Americans and Japanese all began to stand in the presence of the god, but were waved back to their seats by Jartan.
Mark glanced out onto the plain and saw that the figure in the massive column of light was still out there, directing incoming traffic and ordering the establishment of a defensive perimeter.
Now how the hell does he manage to be in more than one place at a time! he wondered.
A voice in his mind answered: "It's a very handy talent. Not only can you accomplish a lot more, but it makes assassination attempts much harder. Though for someone like you to do it might be viewed as a bit of a mental aberration."
Mark froze. He glanced back at the Jartan in the pavilion and noticed that the god was smiling at him.
"You are to be congratulated, young sorcerer. Kultha was no mean foe, and your courage in conquering your fears is worthy of note."
Jartan leaned back and favored them all with a smile.
"In fact, all of you did very well. This whole operation went far better than I had expected. It is an ancient axiom that no battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy. But this one went too well: Gorgon should have anticipated our counterstrike and yet it appears he didn't. Perhaps I am being too suspicious, but it seems as if everything went too perfectly--and when dealing with Gorgon, that makes me worry."
Kochanski was so thankful to be alive that he wasn't even resentful, and burst out, "I don't care about the whys so much as being glad that I'm still in one piece. I've never been so scared in my life--and that includes any of the bombing missions back on Earth, including Schweinfurt. Those demons freeze my very blood."
"That's why they're called demons," growled Allic. "I suppose I have to agree with the tactics, Jartan, but I don't have to like them."
"Storm said it best when she said convincing bait. The key word is 'convincing,' son. Without that, Gorgon would never have committed his forces to a place where we could ambush him. So think of it as a means to an end and move on."
"Right," responded Allic dryly. "So what's next, Jartan?"
"Well, I've been in touch with my siblings back on Haven and we have decided that since Gorgon and his realm seem to be in disarray, we shoul
d repay his aggression with a little maneuver of our own. Minar and Chosen are coming here with their own forces and we are going to use this world as a jumping-off point to take at least two more buffer dimensions. We just might have a real opportunity to get that scum."
He hesitated before continuing, "If we do have the advantage, we'll go over to a full offensive and push in as far as possible. With luck we might even strike into the heart of his realm."
Storm gave a low whistle. "That's a tall order."
"What's the matter, sister?" Allic said peevishly. "You want to live forever?"
"I'm not taking any risks that aren't worth it," Jartan replied with a slight edge of rebuke. "It's just there might be a chance here to push Gorgon's weakness to our maximum advantage. We would be remiss not to take it. He's been a threat for far too long."
"Just as long as there are no surprises from my own side," Allic retorted.
Mark cringed inwardly, waiting for an explosion. He could sense there was a silent conversation now raging between Jartan and his son.
After several tense minutes, Allic finally nodded and sat down.
"Every family has its little spats," Leti sighed, forcing a smile in an attempt to break the tension. Allic grinned back at her, and Mark could sense that his liege lord had won some face-saving point and was now satisfied.
"As I was about to say," Jartan continued as if nothing had occurred, "if the campaign is successful it means we can develop this world as a settled colony, rather than as a military outpost, since it will no longer be a buffer area."
"Therefore, in reward for your services I am awarding all members of the first assault landed estates here, to be held in perpetuity by you and your children. The area that each offworlder will hold here will be larger than entire provinces on Haven. Granted, it is a wilderness now, but in times to come this world will grow and prosper, as will your families and descendants after you. Allic, Leti, and Storm will jointly administer this world and it will be considered part of their realms."
The offworlders grinned at each other, their weariness forgotten. Mark looked over at Allic and smiled.
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