Blood Rain

by Helix Parker

  “M’lord,” his servant said, hurrying into the room, “what happened here?”

  “I have no idea,” he said softly. “But whatever it is, I dare say it wasn’t a good thing.”

  Erebos heard a high-pitched crackle in the sky. A red orb glowed fiercely against the backdrop of black. Brighter even than the moon and stars, a trail of sparkling light behind it. The Tear of Chedes.

  The orb arced his way, and he braced himself. It slammed into him with such force that he was pushed into the soil. The pain was intense. He screamed as the gem embedded itself where it belonged: next to his heart. The stone glowed and pulsed, and he felt power returning to his limbs.

  Rising from his hole like an apparition from a grave, he looked down at the city. Soon, he would feast on the souls of its inhabitants. But he had a more pressing matter to deal with first.

  He grabbed the first two Marauders he saw, men so sloppy drunk they could hardly stand. He placed his hands on their heads and held them fast. They screamed as the alcohol was purged from their bodies like sweat. When he released them, they were weak but sober.

  “I am sending you somewhere,” Erebos said. “I need you to kill a family for me.”

  FROM THE BOOK OF IDOLS: Verse 15, Chapter 1

  And thus is the story of the God Rain that his father the Great God Helios came to him and said, “Behold, I have cast thy brother into darkness. But he has unleashed death upon my sons and daughters. Death cannot be retracted as they have tasted of its poison. And now I require a new Death to go about the sons of man and to bring despair and destruction among them, and I give you this sword to do so.”

  And so it was that the God Rain became the God of Death.

  48

  Rodrick was the first to draw his sword. He thrust the blade through the back of a legionnaire putting on chainmail. The man tried to scream, but Rodrick covered the soldier’s mouth while the other Marauders began slicing. They cut through about fifty before one managed to shout a warning. Then, the Marauders attacked in full force.

  Most of the men weren’t even dressed, much less armed. They frantically picked up any spears, swords, and shields within reach. The only place to run for them was up the road from the garrison and into the backs of their fellow soldiers fighting the main horde in the streets.

  Rodrick pushed into them, corpses falling at his feet with every step. So many men were slaughtered that he had to climb over bodies and soon couldn’t see the cobblestones underneath.

  One legionnaire, a particularly large man with a scar on his face, ran at him screaming and swung with his short sword. Rodrick stepped back and thrust out his own blade. The man parried then stepped forward, attempting to shove the short sword through Rodrick’s stomach.

  Rodrick grabbed the man’s arm and pushed it down. Their strength was almost equal, and Rodrick struggled to keep the man’s hand down and the sword away from him. Rodrick slammed his head into the man’s nose, cracking it. The man’s head snapped back, and his grip weakened. Rodrick grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the short sword and twisted it toward the man’s body. He pushed with everything he had, and the sword entered the legionnaire’s belly.

  The man headbutted him, and Rodrick twisted the sword, causing the man to scream. Rodrick pulled out the blade and lopped off the man’s head with a single swing.

  Rodrick kicked the head out of the way and began cutting through the soldiers in front. More and more of them ran to the backs of their comrades up the road.

  “Keep pushing!” Rodrick ordered.

  Rodrick calculated at least fifty thousand legionnaires were killed in the next hour. Most of them had died without even having the opportunity to raise a weapon. The remaining ran to the front, seeking protection from their brothers who were busy fighting off the main horde. What was left of the Dolanian army was pressed between the bulk of the horde and his thousand or so men coming in from behind them.

  The stink of blood was strong. The crimson ran like rainwater in the streets and his boots were soaked in it up to his ankles. Corpses choked the road, and several times the fighting had to stop so that Rodrick’s men could clear enough of a path to continue the push forward.

  And the most amazing thing of all: not a single citizen came out of their homes to help their own soldiers. His master had been right. People wished to be ruled over, and it hardly seemed to matter who was doing the ruling.

  “Fight!” he yelled, rage and bloodlust coursing through him. “Fight, my brothers. For they will fall!”

  49

  Leon could only find two horses. Edgar rode with him, and Naspen took the second stallion. They passed the Forest of Glenn and came to an open valley. Leon slowed when he saw something gleaming just ahead—a crimson pinpoint in the sky.

  “Edgar, do you see—” A sudden blinding pain burned into his body. He fell from the horse and slammed into the ground, unable to move his hands to catch himself.

  Naspen abruptly stopped, her horse letting out a shriek. Leon lay on his back, staring up at the night sky, the agony coursing through him in waves, constricting then releasing his flesh only to constrict again. It felt as if every bone in his body was broken and that his blood was boiling within his veins.

  Erebos stood over him. “And here you are.” He glanced over at Naspen. “I believe, witch, that you have outlived your usefulness.”

  “My lord, I can still be—”

  Naspen caught flame—not just a part of her but her entire body, all at once. Her horse panicked and threw her off, and she screamed and writhed on the ground as the fire consumed her. Leon tried to rise and go to her, but the pain was paralyzing. His arms, legs, and even the lids of his eyes would not respond to his orders. He was frozen in agony.

  Erebos leaned over him, the gem in his chest gleaming and the snakes wrapped around his face that had been stone were now twirling and hissing. “And for you, I have something special. To die would not scare you for it would only be a momentary pain. But the death of your family, now that would be a frightful thing. But I will give you one chance to save them. Speak now and tell me to stop, and I give you my word that I will. I await your response, Great Lord of Life and Death. Tell me to stop.”

  Leon attempted to speak, but he couldn’t so much as make his lips twitch.

  Erebos cupped a hand to his ear. “No? Then I can only assume you wish your family dead.” He straightened and took a step away. “But let it not be said that the underworld has made me cruel. I will give you one more opportunity to save them.”

  Leon felt his arm surge with strength, and the pain left him. His eyes watering, he inhaled and began to cough, strands of drool sopping from his mouth. “Please,” he rasped. “Please.”

  Erebos laughed. The sound reverberated off the trees and sent an icy chill up Leon’s back. “The Great Lord begging before me. You were not begging when you stole her, were you?”

  “Even you can’t be so great a monster,” Leon said.

  “Oh, but I can.” Erebos touched Leon’s horse, and the animal shied away, neighing, clearly agitated. “Here is your horse. Take him and go. If you get there before my men, you will be able to defend your family. But if not, they will skin your daughter alive after they ravage her body. And your unborn child will be cut out of Cassandra’s stomach and cooked on a spit.”

  “No!”

  “Time wastes, Great One.”

  Leon climbed to his feet. He brushed past Erebos and lifted Edgar onto the horse. He mounted in front and dug his heels into the beast.

  50

  The legions were smashed like glass. Rodrick stood breathless over a mountain of bodies. Many of the soldiers had hidden, and others had gone over the walls to the sea. They would be found and suffer the same as their brethren. He had loosed his brothers to ravish the city, like poison among good blood.

  Rodrick went to find his master. He opened the front gates as screaming and fires filled the city. He wished for his master to be there and witness the annihilat
ion of a million people. The world had never seen anything like it. He rode to his camp but found only drunken fools.

  “Where is the master?” he bellowed.

  No one had an answer. Rodrick was about to gather some men and scour the hills when he saw a bright red light moving through the trees.

  Erebos came into view, his feet hardly touching the ground as he drifted across it. “I am here, Lord Rodrick.”

  Rodrick vaulted off his horse and fell to his knees. “The city is yours, master.”

  “Murder them, General. All of them. Let the city be painted with the blood of their children.”

  “It shall be done.”

  51

  Edgar held tightly to Leon as the horse raced down the dirt path. Leon had driven the horse so hard that steam was coming off the animal’s back in the cold.

  “Leon!”

  “What?”

  “The horse is dying. You must slow.”

  “I can’t. I will drop you somewhere safe.”

  “Leon,” Edgar said, trying to sound comforting, “you might get there on a horse, but you will certainly not get there on foot. Please slow down.”

  After a moment, Leon eased back on the reins, allowing the horse to slow. “I... I just...”

  “I know,” Edgar said. “There is a town not far from here. I will buy two fresh horses. But this one must last until then.”

  They rode in silence, the hooves of the animal against the dirt the only sound in Edgar’s ears. Despite everything he’d seen, he couldn’t help but notice how radiant the stars looked.

  “They have no morality,” Edgar said. “No sense of vengeance or justice.”

  “Who?”

  “The stars. They live in peace because they do not have passion for anything.”

  “I had that life. Passionless, devoid of meaning or joy. That is not a life you would want.”

  “He called you the Great Lord of Life and Death. What did he mean?”

  “He mocks me, mocks my pain and laughs at my misery. He is the worst creation of the gods.”

  “It seemed as if you two had met before.”

  Leon didn’t respond. Instead, he kept his eyes forward and focused on giving the horse a good pace that he could keep until they reached the town. But the horse’s strength soon faded, and they had to carry on at a slow trot. Luckily, Edgar could see the torches lit in the town. They had traversed in hours what had taken them a day the last trip.

  They stopped just outside town to let the horse rest. As they dismounted, the animal began to moan. Before either of them could do anything, it collapsed and died. Not knowing what else to do and having no time to bury the poor creature, they walked the rest of the way and found a livery.

  Edgar pounded on the door until a man in cotton pants answered.

  “What in the hell do you want, dwarf? It’s the middle of the fucking night.”

  “We need your two best horses, now. With saddles.”

  “Come back tomorrow when we’re—”

  Edgar pulled out two gold coins, easily twenty times what the horses would be worth, and tossed them to the stable master.

  The man looked them over, rubbed them, then ran them over a candle to verify their authenticity. “My two best horses. Give me a moment.”

  When they were back on the road, Edgar could scarcely keep up. Leon was driving his horse too hard again. Edgar could hear the beast panting even from several lengths away. Edgar would shout for Leon to wait, and sometimes he would, but often he wouldn’t. They had a three-day journey to make as quickly as possible, and Leon had no intention of allowing Erebos’s men to reach his home first.

  Resting when they needed to rest and only eating and drinking at the sheer persistence of Edgar, they made their way across the realm. Daylight was the worst time. Edgar could see in the clear light of the sun how awful they looked. He was beaten and torn and covered in rags, and Leon did not appear much better.

  By nightfall of the second day, they were almost there. They had made a three-day journey in two. The price had been a lack of sleep and six separate horses, with two dead. Leon fully intended to rush in headfirst, but Edgar was not so keen to take on a group of Marauders empty handed. At Bale, he hired five mercenaries, of course without being too specific about whom they would be fighting. Leon couldn’t wait and rushed ahead against Edgar’s advice.

  Edgar bought his mercenaries the best weapons and armor, and as evening fell, they were on the road to Leon’s farm.

  FROM THE BOOK OF IDOLS: Verse 21, Chapter 9

  And so it was that the God Rain visited his brother in the darkness and saw that he had built a great empire of demons and vermin and unclean things. And he said to his brother, “Why hast thou made an empire of unclean things when our father awaits us in the heavens?”

  And Lord Chedes replied, “Behold, I am mightier than Helios in the darkness. For the light is but blinding to those that dwell in the dark and nothing more.”

  Verily, I say unto you that the Lord Rain was vexed by his response and did intend to inform his father of what he had heard. But his eyes fell upon Cassandra, the daughter of his brother. And the love they felt was instant, for it was a great love.

  Cassandra was forbidden from leaving the darkness. She had a human mother and could succumb to human things, and her father did thus forbid it. But Cassandra did not heed her father, for her love of Rain was great.

  And the love of Rain did sustain her in the wilderness as they fled the darkness. And her mortal body would last one lifetime, and the Lord Rain would spend it thusly until her death. And behold, the Lord Chedes would retrieve his daughter upon death and keep her a millennia, and the Lord Rain would wait for his love. And verily I say unto you that children would be brought, and the Lord Rain would love his children and his seed would spread on the earth.

  And the Lord Chedes did declare war on his brethren in his rage.

  52

  The door to the house had been ripped off of its hinges. A lantern burned within the home and illuminated a house that had been torn apart. The furniture was smashed, the walls were pockmarked with holes, and blood was smeared everywhere. Edgar thought he could still hear the screaming just by looking at it.

  Leon stood motionless over the broken and bloodied body of his daughter. Edgar dismounted and told the mercenaries to wait. He walked up beside Leon but had to look away. The child was nude and had been beaten so badly that Edgar, though he had seen the death of his entire village, wanted to weep.

  He almost asked where Cassandra was, but then he saw feet sticking out from the door of the pigpen. As much as Edgar wanted to check to make certain she was actually dead, he knew he couldn’t handle seeing what was back there. So instead he stood quietly, staring off in the distance.

  “Her naming day was soon,” Leon said. “Nine years she would have been with us.”

  Edgar nodded. They stood quietly a long while until one of the mercenaries shouted, “Is he gonna stand there and piss ’imself like a girl, or are we gonna get ta killin’?”

  Leon slowly raised his head and looked at the men.

  Edgar noticed the venom in his face. “I just hired them. They’re here to help us.”

  “No one can help us. And no one can help them.”

  Edgar glanced at the little body on the ground. “Leon, I—”

  “That is not my name.” He bent and lifted his daughter.

  Edgar followed him inside the house, where he gently laid her down on a collection of furs and splintered wood that used to be a bed. He kissed her forehead and whispered something in her ear. Edgar felt the warmth of tears on his cheeks.

  Leon walked out of the house. Edgar stayed beside the horses while Leon went to his wife. He carried her inside as well, then came out and shut the door behind him. He walked alongside the house and stood on a path leading to a small patch of trees. Edgar could see the reflection of tears on Leon’s face.

  Edgar went over to stand beside him. He noticed a
raised mound just before the tree line. He was about to ask Leon what he wanted to do next when the spot began to glow a dim red. He blinked a couple of times, thinking the fatigue of the past two days was affecting him. But looking back at his mercenaries, he saw they were staring at the red glow as well.

  Leon began walking to the glow.

  “Leon, we need to leave here. There’s nothing now.”

  Leon didn’t stop. “I thought you wanted your revenge?” His tone was almost mocking.

  Edgar rushed to keep up. “I don’t care about vengeance.”

  “I do. And Leon is not my name.”

  “Leon the Lion, that’s who you told me you were. I suspected you were not him when I saw you fight. Did you simply take his name?”

  “His name and his body.” Leon stopped at the mound and knelt beside it. He reached out with his right hand and pushed his arm into the earth up to the shoulder.

  Something screamed from beneath the ground.

  In a flash of flame, Leon ripped a sword from the ground. The sword was larger than any Edgar had ever seen, double bladed and bleeding black into the dirt. Leon lifted the sword, and all the flesh fell away from his arm, exposing bone underneath. The man he had known as Leon looked like a monster. His flesh slipped off his bones, and he shimmered in the night. The sword appeared to be on fire with intense red flames, and his eyes were black as the night with no moon or stars.

  The creature rose into the air and hovered.

  “Lord Rain!” the mercenaries shouted. They turned and ran.

  Lord Rain swung his sword, and flames enveloped the men, burning them and their horses to ashes in an instant.