by S. Y. Lee
An invisible circle formed around them as they retreated with their backs against each other. No matter how skilled with a blade, or battle-worn, or powerful, the trio were getting tired. Karine and Cohl’s arms felt heavier with every swing of the sword, and the balls of flames shooting out of Elin’s palms were getting smaller.
Nonetheless, the attackers gave them space, slowly whittling away at their strength. They were isolated, far away from the city’s forces that had retreated to the castle, and they knew no help was coming.
“Well, it’s been an honor, ladies,” Cohl remarked as he taunted a man holding a dagger, daring him to step forward.
“Cohl, hope is not lost,” Elin said unconvincingly, as she leaned most of her weight against his broad shoulders. She could barely stand and her reactions were getting slower, so slow that Karine found herself having to cover for the wizard.
“Ha!” Cohl laughed as the man with the dagger tried to stab him. The experienced guard easily swatted away the attack with his left hand and plunged his sword deep into the man’s chest, before following up with a firm foot to extricate his weapon. “What do you think, mistress?”
“More for me if either of you decide to give up,” the elf responded, lobbing off the head of a hostile elf. She looked over her shoulder at her companions and while they chuckled and indulged in the gallows humor, their eyes betrayed a sad recognition of their inevitable fate.
*
The sword broke. Instead of both going for the killing strike, Kyle changed the trajectory of his axe swing at the last moment and redirected its path from Leo’s head to his sword. It was a prudent move as Leo could feel the tip of the sword pressing against the skin of his opponent’s chest. Had he been able to thrust it any more forward, it would have pierced flesh and drawn blood.
But Kyle’s axe struck the blade from the side at the same time, where it had already been weakened, and it broke. The upper half of the blade shattered into several pieces and flew in all directions, as Leo was left holding the lower half of the sword with a jagged edge.
Kyle charged forward and threw his shoulder into Leo, who fell backwards onto the steps that led up to the Blood Throne. As the axe was raised again, Leo knew his time was near. Kyle’s towering figure cast a long, dark shadow on him and he could see the menacing silhouette of the giant axe on a nearby wall.
As the axe swung down, Leo could see events happening in slow motion. He could see the ground beneath Kyle’s feet ripple, as it gave way to roots bursting up from deep down and wrapping themselves around Kyle’s feet. He would have smiled, knowing that Eva had managed to trap Kyle, but he knew the price it came at. It was about to be paid.
He could hear footsteps running towards them coming from the hallway, and the slight figure of Themba reappeared. The scrawny man must have come back to see what was going on after he noticed that nobody had fled with him when he finally stopped running. Leo wondered if he had encountered the red-headed woman on his way back.
He could see Jessica getting up from the ground and jumping up onto Kyle’s back, grabbing his dominant right arm that wielded the axe. She screamed and jerked at his thick arm, trying to pull it back to save Leo.
He was too tired to move. He just laid there on the ground, awaiting his fate. He felt the cold metal of the hilt of the sword in his hand and the sensation stirred memories of his time in this world. He thought about the strong and silent Sam who was his father here. He recalled his nervousness during the sword fighting tournament, where he had first seen Karine in action. He remembered the reunion with Eva, the attack on Silverbrick, the giant tree where people drank and partied in the forest with no worries, being locked up in the cells of the Marble Keep, the strange mountain Servane, and the grand city of Thelmont. When he was younger, he had daydreamed about adventures like this one he was on. While it hadn’t been a smooth ride, he was now acknowledging to himself that he savored every moment of it. Plucked from normalcy, he had gotten to live out the adventure of a lifetime, and he only wished he could live to tell the story one day.
Then time sped up.
He heard Eva scream out his name as the vines crept up Kyle’s legs, but it was too late to stop the latter from cleaving his axe. He was too strong for the limber Jessica, but she put up a good struggle and affected the path of Kyle’s swing that had been directed at Leo’s head. Instead, the axe veered to the side and came crashing down onto the stone step to Leo’s side.
He wasn’t sure if it was the fatigue and dizziness, or the fact that the edge of the axe had been so sharp that it could split stone, but it took Leo a couple of seconds to register the immense pain. His mouth opened wide and he gasped, though no words or sound escaped. He knew what had happened and didn’t want to look, but he had to. Out of the side of his eye, he could see the axe, stuck into the stone step and where his right wrist ended. He couldn’t see or feel his hand, which had been cleanly severed from his body. As the pain and shock set in, it was so intense that Leo nearly passed out.
Standing over him, Kyle shook Jessica off, flinging her to the ground, as he used both hands to try to pry the axe out of the ground to finish the job. The weapon was embedded deep into the stone and he pulled at it to no end. The vines were now up to his waist and Eva had stopped what she was doing to rush over to Leo’s side.
At the same time, Leo’s now detached right hand loosened its grip on the broken Sparrow, as the sword rolled out of his fingers and down the steps onto the ground where it came to a stop at Kyle’s feet. Kyle could have picked it up then and that would have ended the fight, but he persisted on grappling with his axe. He hadn’t accounted for, or might not have noticed, the latest entrant to the throne room moments ago.
As he continued to tug at the axe while wrestling against Eva and Jessica who clung to each of his forearms, Kyle suddenly felt a chill in his chest. He looked down and saw a shiny, jagged edge barely protruding out of the right side of his chest. It stuck out just enough for him to know what it was, as he glanced further down to his feet where Leo’s broken sword had been. It wasn’t there.
Kyle looked over his shoulder at the dark and bone-thin stranger he hadn’t seen before. There was a stunned look on Themba’s face as he let go of the hilt in Kyle’s back, and stared at his own hands in disbelief. He wasn’t sure what he had meant to do. He had acted instinctively in the spur of the moment to save his friends without thinking of the consequences.
“I… I…” Themba stuttered when he saw Kyle looking at him. Kyle was taking deep, labored breaths as he struggled to speak. His lung had been punctured, and the only reason he was still alive was likely due to the sharpness of the blade that had pierced his body and made the wounds open slower than they should have.
He turned his head back to Leo, who now had Eva and Jessica kneeling by his side. Jessica cradled Leo’s head with both hands as Eva tearfully examined his bloody stump. She had to choke back her vomit as she saw the bright whiteness in the middle of the flesh, where the bone had been cut off.
“You all…” Kyle said, “don’t deserve… this world… I just wanted… to…”
He never finished the sentence, as he started coughing blood and gasping for air as the last ounces of his rapidly-depleting life sapped away.
Eva paid no attention to Kyle as she got up and ran over to one of their bags. She retrieved a waterskin and returned to Leo’s side.
“Leo, hold on, this is—”
“We did it, Eva,” Leo whispered.
She had just opened the waterskin and she paused at Leo’s words. “Leo, it’s going to be okay. We’re going home,” she said through her tears. She poured out some water onto his open wound and he winced in agony, but she quickly waved her hand over it and the combination of water and blood froze. The bleeding had stopped for now.
Eva helped Leo to sit up, who managed a wry smile at her. “Thanks again,” he said with a forced grin and she laughed.
“Of course.” She hugged him and held him close for
a while until she opened her eyes to see a worried look on Jessica’s face.
“What is it?” Eva asked.
“I don’t know. What now? Do we get to go back now?”
Themba had joined the trio and he stood behind Jessica, staring down at the ground. He was ashamed of himself for running away while his friends had stood and fought. However, his worries were for naught as Leo said, “Thanks, Themba. You saved our lives.” The girls echoed the sentiment and Themba found himself blushing as he nodded back to them.
“She said, that woman who gave us the box, she said she’ll see us again soon,” Leo said.
“You think that means she thought we were going to pass the trial by defeating Kyle, and we’d be back home soon? But she didn’t give us any more details,” Eva sighed.
“She’s a god,” Jessica suddenly said and they all looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate.
“Pandora’s box. It’s a test of humanity and she was in our world, but also here, except in a different capacity as us. She must be a god, here to observe how we do. And she mentioned “strife” as she left. That’s one of the evils that escaped from Pandora’s box.”
“Were there others?” Eva asked.
“Sure. Sickness, death, famine, passion, jealousy. The lore isn’t clear on what evils specifically were in the original Pandora’s box, but there were quite a few.”
Leo nodded in agreement. “It makes sense. Strife. All we’ve encountered here has been conflict and war. Stopping Kyle should end the strife, right?”
They heard Kyle make an unintelligible sound, and they all looked at him. He took his last breath and his expression froze. All that was left was a lifeless man rooted to the ground, with blood trickling down the edge of his mouth and an empty stare. His right hand was outstretched and reaching for the throne upon which he once sat.
It was then, that Leo felt something familiar. He felt Eva squeeze his shoulder, and when he looked at her, he knew she felt it too. A warm sensation swept over him as he turned to Jessica and Themba, who seemed to understand what was happening too. He grabbed Eva’s hand with his remaining appendage and held it tight. The next thing he knew, a blinding green light filled the room, and that was his last conscious thought.
*
Sarah and Caitlin were on their tiptoes trying to look for David, when Alister tapped them on the shoulder and pointed in the direction of the fighting.
“What is it? Is it David?” Sarah asked. She was concerned that he had gotten embroiled in the battle despite the dangers and his lack of skill with a weapon, but Alister shook his head.
“Something’s happening,” he said. He looked puzzled and both girls looked in the direction he was pointing in, trying to figure out what he was talking about. Indeed, something was strange. The fighting had stopped. Rather, most of the invaders, the ones who had fought like they were possessed and being driven by pure rage, had stopped attacking and they stood in place, dazed and confused. It was like a spell had suddenly been lifted.
The city’s guards waited with bated breath for the attackers to strike. Meanwhile, the other enemy forces, those had been in control of their actions all this time, urged the attackers onward but few, if any, obeyed.
“What’s happening?” Caitlin asked Sarah.
“They must have done it! Leo and Eva and the rest, must have found a way to defeat the Blood King and break the influence of Gormore!” the Englishwoman exclaimed in joy and she started to jump up and down in glee, holding onto Caitlin’s hands as she did. The Australian wasn’t quite sure what to believe at first, but the longer the fighting didn’t resume, the more she allowed herself to feel relief and share in Sarah’s elation.
However, that feeling didn’t last long, when she started to feel giddy as she bounced up and down with Sarah. A green glow that she couldn’t tell where it originated from appeared before her eyes and overwhelmed her senses. After a while, she couldn’t feel Sarah’s cold fingers pressed against her palms anymore. She couldn’t feel anything as she drifted off into the emerald oblivion.
*
It had been a long struggle, but he had gotten close enough to Alister that he could see the top of the blonde and brown heads of his sister and Caitlin. He was separated from them by a sea of people, and there was still too much commotion for them to be able to hear his shouts, but at least he could see them now as he inched forward.
He was puzzled to see them jumping up and down in joy, and he tried jumping too, hoping that that they would notice him. That drew some angry looks from the people around him, as he kept stepping on someone else’s foot, but he persisted until he saw his sister turn around. Their eyes met across the heads between them and he gestured wildly at her, telling her to stay where she was until he got to her.
However, just as he bounced up and down again, he felt a strange sensation that he hadn’t felt in a few weeks. The last time he had felt this way, he was in Greece. The look on his sister’s face confirmed his suspicions as he panicked and tried to push his way forcefully towards her, shoving aside people so roughly that they shoved back. But he wouldn’t get to her in time, as the warm, green light enveloped everything before his eyes.
Chapter 100
It smelled bad and of dirty animals, like a zoo.
Leo woke up with a start. The first thing he did was bring his right hand to his face. It was there. It hadn’t been reattached nor were there any scars. It was just there, like it had never been separated from his body.
He rubbed his eyes. They were still throbbing from the residual effects of the blinding light that was now gone. He was on his back, and the surface beneath him felt soft and familiar. He was laying on top a heap of hay. He had been here before.
He sat up and looked around him.
“Eva?” Leo said, as he began to take in his surroundings. He was in a stable, and to his right were two horses. The one closer to him was as white as snow, without a single blemish on its skin. The horse next to it was light brown and slightly smaller. There were a few empty stalls next to them.
It was all too familiar. He had been here before, but there was something different. However, he couldn’t put his finger on it just yet.
He looked down at his pants. He was wearing jeans of some kind, though they looked old and the stitching wasn’t something he was used to. He had on a white linen shirt, and a brown leather vest. He was also wearing a pair of muddied and worn leather boots.
“Eva!” he called out again, but she wasn’t there.
“Leo! Are you in there? They’re looking for you!” someone shouted. It was coming from the direction of the closed stable door in front of him. The voice was female, but it didn’t belong to Eva. It didn’t sound like the young woman who was supposed to be his stepsister on the farm either. Who could it be? He didn’t know how to respond, so he just sat there.
The stable door opened and Leo raised a hand to shield his eyes, momentarily blinded by the brilliant sunlight. When he was able to see again, he saw the silhouette of a petite figure standing in the doorway.
“Leo, were you napping in here again? You know you shouldn’t do that, right?” the figure asked as she came closer. She had long, brown hair that was braided and she wore a pair of overalls and a brown shirt. She was around his age and he was about to ask her who she was, when he realized he knew her name.
“Marybeth.”
“Yes?”
“Marybeth.”
“Yes, that’s my name, Leo. Now, will you please get up? They’re looking for you.” She pulled him to his feet.
“Where’s Eva?” Leo asked.
“Eva? Who’s that? Have you been sneaking off with some farm girl?” the girl responded.
He paused, hit with a sense of déjà vu.
“Um, never mind.”
As she dragged him out of the stable by his hand, Leo asked why people were looking for him.
Marybeth turned around and stared at him as though he was crazy. She dusted the hay off his shou
lders, then pulled his vest together and buttoned it for him, before jabbing a finger at a hard object pinned on it that rested right over his heart. He hadn’t noticed it before and he looked down to examine it, tilting it up to his face. It was a metal badge with six pointed ends, in the shape of a star. Engraved on the surface was just one word: Sheriff.
Epilogue
Karine strolled down the streets, watching people rummage through the rubble for their belongings or loved ones. A fresh dawn was upon them and there was a sense of hope in the air. People were happy to be alive, to have survived. While many mourned, even more helped their neighbors pick up the pieces of their lives. About half of the city was still intact and unscathed by the battle, but it would take a long time to rebuild. It would certainly take years to erect the wall around Thelmont again.
They had been fighting for days, and then it just ended abruptly. With Gormore’s influence broken, most of the enemies had laid down their arms and surrendered, while those that continued to fight didn’t stand a chance against a reinvigorated Thelmont. It didn’t take long for the city to claim victory.
She kept walking. It felt like a weight that had been on her shoulders for many years had been lifted, and she couldn’t remember the last she walked around with no purpose or worry. Occasionally, she would stop to help someone or say hello to a young child and give them a few coins. Already, there were humans setting up stores to sell their wares and food in the aftermath of the attack. Dwarves were going around and offering their services to rebuild homes, for a price of course. Elves and goblins did what they usually did and kept to themselves, though random, simple acts of kindness were everywhere to be seen. Life went on.
Eventually, she made it to where the gates to the city had stood. What remained of them were lying flat on the ground. A familiar figure in a red cloak was sitting at the end of one of the thick metal gates, staring off into the distance as the rising sun slowly illuminated the land.
Elin said nothing when Karine sat down beside her.
