by Nick Freo
Chapter 20
With the Lustblade still gripped in one hand, I knelt and hoisted the bullet priest’s corpse over my shoulder. I grunted as I straightened up and took a long look at my disheveled domain. The battle had torn through it like a tornado. There was broken glass and shattered wood everywhere, not to mention the scattered shelves and stone dust thick in the air from the shotgun blasts.
“This will require repair,” I said to no one in particular.
I wonder who will end up doing that, Pride quipped in my mind.
“Hush now,” I said, and then I exited the Pridehold.
I reappeared in the demon’s chamber, finding the remaining bullet priest still there, searching for me. He tore off his spectacles to stare when I dumped his partner’s body at his feet. He crumpled the glasses into a ball in his fist.
“What have you done?” he demanded.
“I did little,” I replied with a nod. “It was the bullets that did their work.”
The priest looked from me to the body in confusion, which provided ample time for me to send Pride and Lust back to their true forms. My helmet and sword vanished, and the two deadly women appeared on either side of the priest. His eyes clouded with confusion and fear. He turned to flee in the only direction left to him, but my Viceguard and I moved swiftly as a single unit, cornering him against the wall by the door. He raised his hands in surrender.
“You don’t know what you have done,” he said. “Killing a bullet priest is sacrilege. There will be hell to pay for this, mark my words. Doubly so if you kill me as well. Your only chance is to send me back alive. I could make a case for you. I could tell them that you did not understand, because you are so... new to this world.”
I stepped forward, snarling. “Nothing you offer will deter your fate, priest.” The women closed in. Pride had her assault rifle trained on his head, and Lust licked her lips hungrily.
“But I can promise you everything you want!” the priest cried in desperation, his back pressed against the hard stone wall. “All the power, the influence—it can all be yours! Be smart about this.”
“Is that so?” I paused, then drew my dagger and stepped forward. “I think not.”
“Get away!” the bullet priest roared and raised his hands toward Pride.
“Pride, down!” I called and tackled her in desperation.
Crunch!
The sound of the shotgun blast filled the air behind us as I bore the first of my Viceguard to the ground. I looked up in time to see him slip past Lust. She landed a glancing right cross to his ear, but he shook it off and kept running, grabbing onto the doorframe to launch himself out of the room.
“After him!” I roared as I scrambled to my feet. Lust was first out the door, with me directly behind her and Pride not far to the rear. We raced out into the long, wide hall and searched for the priest, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Which way did he go?” Lust gasped, brushing her hair away from her eyes as though it might have obscured her vision of him.
“Does he possess some other magic? Or is he that fleet of foot?” Pride wondered aloud.
“Both are possible, based on what I witnessed from his partner,” I replied. “I do not think we should split up. Come, let us follow the direction we know, back to the entrance from where we came.” The women nodded their agreement, and we jogged in a rough line down the corridor, past the statues and tapestries that adorned the lavish interior. As we rounded a bend I caught sight of a familiar dark suit going around the next corner.
“There!” I hissed. “Hurry!” We sprinted down the hall in time to see him crossing a wide, open sitting room. As we arrived at the room’s entrance the demon poked his head up from behind a padded chesterfield.
“Did you kill the—oh fuck, they’re right behind you!” he screamed. As he panicked, a fiery aura rose up around him. He raised both hands and shot a massive jet of flame straight at us.
Lust, Pride, and I all dove in separate directions. I felt the heat of the flames, but my armor protected me from any chance of a true burn. I rolled away as an end table collapsed beneath the gout of flame that had struck it, crimson embers scattering dangerously close to my eyes. I hastened to my feet and helped Pride and Lust to theirs. The lingering wound in my leg slowed me down, but only slightly. I was still faster than anyone else in the room, except possibly the demon.
The priest.
I spun around, searching, but the bullet priest had vanished once more. Only the demon stood leering at us, his yellow eyes burning hatred as hot as the flames he commanded.
“You force me to ruin my own home!” he cried. “But so be it! I will bring this entire city down if it means killing you, Shining One!” He laughed and shot another jet of flame, this one more concentrated and directed only at me. Lust pulled me aside to safety. Pride squeezed off a burst of bullets from her assault rifle, but the barrage went high and wide. Even so, it was enough to force the demon to take cover. He turned and raced out of the room, taking a path foreign to us.
“After him!” I yelled, following my own command. We pursued the mob boss down a long hallway and to an external door, which he slammed behind him.
“He’s locked it!” Lust cried as she arrived at the door first, trying the handle.
“Move!” I growled and kicked the door so hard that it came clean off its hinges, falling flat with a solid whump.
We poured out into the open air but retreated inside as gunfire sprayed just above our heads.
“Who the fuck is that?” Lust gasped.
“His army of followers,” Pride said. “We must have seen at least a dozen armed guards out there, and we only took down two or three.” Lust leaned over and flattened herself against the floor, crawling forwards until she could peek out the doorway. She had a moment to scan our surroundings, then pulled back as gunfire issued from the next block. Bullets tore up the floor tiles.
“A dozen is no army,” I growled. “We can handle these guards. We need to coordinate—“
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Lust interrupted, her red eyes baleful, “but there’s not just twelve of them. Twelve with guns, maybe. Then there’s what looks like an entire neighborhood full of people coming after us with pitchforks and torches.”
“Why would they have pitchforks and torches?” I asked, leaning toward the door for a look.
“They don’t actually!” Lust shouted, pulling me back. “It’s just an expression. They’ve got knives and bats and other improvised weapons. But there’s a fucking lot of them. Too many for us, maybe even with you.”
Pride and I exchanged a long glance.
“What?” Lust asked, “what did I say?”
“There’s never been too many for our lord,” Pride said with awe in her tone. “He feeds off death as you feed off blood. Each life he takes makes him stronger. You will see, young one. We will triumph today.”
Lust wrinkled her nose at Pride and turned away, crossing her arms. I could tell she did not enjoy being called young, but in truth, she was much younger than myself or even Pride. Her world was a young one, as far as I could tell. It barely remembered its own history.
“Let us all work together then,” I said. “Ladies, I require my helm and blade.”
They smiled at each other for once, and both vanished.
The weight of the Pridehelm settled on my head, bringing the comfort of its protection and clarity of thought. The Lustblade settled into my grasp, its impervious edge thirsty for the blood of the masses outside.
“Are we all prepared?” I asked as I flexed my feet and tightened my grip around my bastard sword’s hilt.
I have never felt so ready in my entire life, Lust responded, take me where and as you will, my lord.
Let us destroy those who stand in our way and lay our hands on that demon, Pride’s voice added. If his minions gather to attack us, he must still be close.
“You’re right,” I muttered, bracing my back against the wall. I took a d
eep breath and made my move.
I pivoted and dove through the nearest window, hearing more than feeling the glass shatter as the Pridehelm burst through the fragile layering. The men outside adjusted their aim and fired at me, but by that time I was on my feet and moving. I bashed the last few bullets aside with the Lustblade and sprinted around the corner of the house to temporary safety.
People carrying knives, shovels, clubs, and rakes pressed in from all sides. I released Pride and Lust to their true forms, watching them prepare in their own ways for the coming battle. Pride took a deep breath and straightened her back, ever the honorable warrior. Lust licked her lips and rubbed her palms together; even though she would no longer require blood for sustenance, I would not be surprised if the taste for it lingered in her. She was about to have her fill.
“Take them,” I said, and we stepped forward into the pressing horde.
There were so many arms and legs lashing at me, it felt like wading through a thick stand of bushes. I lost sight of the women on either side of me as I laid into the horde, my dragon scale armor turning back their meager blades and blunted weapons. I killed a young woman with a blow to her throat, then seized the elderly man next to her and broke his spine over my knee. I lifted my arms and roared to the sky, torquing violently at the waist and mashing my elbows through the thin skulls of the humans surrounding me. There were so many of them, and yet they could do absolutely nothing to stop me.
They fared little better against Pride. She did not have my strength, but she used her speed and skill with great cunning, darting in and out of the horde, never still for an instant, daggers piercing here and puncturing there. Every so often she would grasp the assault rifle still slung across her shoulders and spray the crowd to create space, then begin her deadly patterns again.
Lust was much less controlled, more vicious and primal. She laid into the crowd with her hands and her teeth, drawing blood everywhere she bit, licking her lips between assaults. Even more than they cowered away from Pride or myself, the crowd began to turn away from Lust, for no one wanted to face the madwoman in her killing frenzy. She bit her most recent victim, a young man, right in the throat and tackled him to the ground, suckling at his neck to have her fill.
“Lust!” I shouted at her, but she did not look up. “Alia! You are no longer tied to the instincts of the creature you once were. Rejoin the battle!”
“Even in victory, you still manage to lose,” cackled the demon as he came around the corner with his gun-toting guards in tow. “Aim carefully, boys. We don’t want to miss this time.”
“Get down!” I shouted, following my own advice and pulling a pair of bodies on top of me.
The sound of automatic gunfire mowed through the square, and I heard Lust scream.
“Lust!” I called, struggling out of my hiding spot as the gunmen reloaded. As I gained my feet I saw she had not screamed in pain, but rather protest. Pride had tackled her to safety just before the bullets flew through the area.
“She’s out of control!” Pride called, holding tightly to the struggling former vampire, who in her rage turned to bite her fellow Viceguard.
“Enough, Lust!” I shouted. “To me, now!” The woman vanished and reappeared in her sword form as the mighty Lustblade, clasped between my hands. Pride rose to her feet, shooting me a thankful glance, then pivoting to cave in a man’s skull with a powerful kick as she grabbed ahold of her assault rifle again. She was getting a feel for the weapon; her next spray killed a trio of running enemies as quickly as they could draw their last breaths.
“How did you ever manage to rule over a world?” the demon laughed as I killed more of his minions. “You can’t even control your bitches.”
“Is that so?” Pride growled and sprayed a burst of bullets in his direction. Most missed badly, but one of the projectiles tore through the flesh of his shoulder.
The demon screamed. He clapped a hand to the wound as green ichor spilled out. I could feel the Lustblade hungering for it. She wanted to be the one to take his life, to taste that disgusting smelling blood. She was still in a frenzy, but as long as she remained in my hands she was fully under my control. But I could still give her what she wanted. I could quench her thirst.
I closed in on the demon’s right side, drawing my Lustblade back for a devastating slash.
Pride came in from the demon’s left, pulling her daggers from their sheaths and preparing to spill more of the creature’s blood.
In desperation, the demon raised his clawed hands and sent a gout of flame at each of us, but they had waned in size and strength. Our unnaturally strong armor protected us from the meager flames, and we continued pressing forward, weapons ready to tear through that scaly demonic flesh.
“Alright, alright you win!” the demon cried, falling to his knees and raising his hands placatingly. “No more magic, no more spells. No more minions! I swear. I was testing you, really. What I really wanted is for us to be friends. And we still can be! Don’t you see...” He trailed off as we stopped in front of him, forming a unified line of weapons and armor.
“Good,” I smirked. “He surrenders. That makes this a cold-blooded execution rather than a hot-blooded killing. A soothing change of tone, do you not agree, Pride?”
“I would have to agree, my lord,” she purred.
I felt the Lustblade tingle in my grasp. She was ready to be christened with demon blood. She could already taste it on the air, and she wanted more.
“No, wait!” the demon sobbed, wringing his hands.
“For what?” I laughed, lifting my sword high. “You are a traitor. I would never trust you. Now prepare to leave this precious world of yours behind.”
“No, please! I’m worth more to you alive than dead!” the demon screeched as he clutched at his knees. “I know things! Useful things! Things you’d never learn any other way!”
I did not care, but I felt Pride’s hand on my shoulder.
“What is it?” I asked.
“He may be lying,” she replied. “But I believe he may be privy to valuable knowledge. Things we might not uncover for years without his help.”
“This mewling creature? I am not so sure.” I frowned, running a thumbnail along my Lustblade’s keen edge. “My new Viceguard is thirsty, and how could we trust the information of a traitor?”
“Hear me out, at least!” the demon cried, now fully prostrated on the ground. “Listen to what I have to say and then determine yourself whether my information is worthy of my life. Consider sparing me, oh great dark lord, oh King of Sin!”
The flattery of a traitor gave me no pleasure, but Pride was right. Perhaps he might have useful information after all.
“So, you would advise that I let him live?” I asked Pride over my shoulder, setting a heavy boot atop the demon’s skull.
“I do,” she replied. “At least long enough for him to stop sobbing and speak a little more.”
“I will.” The demon was careful not to move or dislodge my boot from his head. “I will tell you everything you want to hear, my lord.”
“Good,” I replied, applying a little more pressure with my boot. “Because I want to know everything.”
I looked around and realized that the masses had stopped attacking us. They were meandering about haphazardly, some returning to their homes or tasks while others seemed stuck in a limbo. So the demon had used a mental coercion.
“Well, you are as good as your word so far,” I growled, hauling the demon to his feet. “Let us see how far this newfound honesty can take you.” I placed the edge of the Lustblade at the demon’s throat and marched him back into his mansion, all the way to a sitting room where I tossed him into an easy chair. Pride and I sat facing him, and I placed my sword across my knees, a constant threat. “Now,” I said, “start with the piece of information you think I would most like to hear.”
The demon gulped, staring at my Lustblade, and then nodded. He cleared his throat.
“You were not sent to another w
orld. This is your homeworld,” he said. “You have only been sent forward in time.”
Chapter 21
“You lie,” I spat, denying the thought before it could truly form in my mind. This was not my world! Where were the rolling hills and woodland springs? Where were the dwarves, the elves, the dragons? What then of the Enemy who had defeated me? No, this could not be the same world that I had once ruled over. Even time could not change the face of stone so entirely. Could it?
“No!” the demon said nervously, cowering in his chair. “I swear it. I would not lie to you. At least, not under these circumstances. The portal your Enemy banished you through brought you forward in time many millennia. The records are unclear from those days. However, one thing is certain. You never left this world. You merely stepped through the window of its existence to a future no one could ever have imagined. Your Enemy must have assumed that the world would have ended by now. If not, surely He would have seen the error in His ways.”
“The error?” I asked, raising my eyebrows and leaning forward. “What error?”
“Don’t you see?” the demon said and then sighed. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t, not yet. He may have won a great battle when He sent you through the portal... but He also assured that you would eventually win the war. For now, who remains to oppose you? The world has forgotten your tyranny and will be slow to rise up to defend itself. The countries will fall to infighting as you invade and take over. Before long, you will rule with an even firmer grasp than ever before.”
He’s just telling you what you want to hear, Lust’s voice said in my mind. Kill him! Let me taste that loathsome demon goo he calls blood.
“Not yet,” I said aloud, drawing a panicked look from my captive. “I would hear more about this... about my world first.” I nodded at the demon. “Start at the beginning.”
He cleared his throat nervously and licked dry lips with a forked tongue. “According to our oral history, which is more accurate than the few surviving documents, soon after the Shining One was defeated, his kingdom and infrastructure fell to shambles. Those that remained of the ancient races scattered or hid, living in small concealed colonies or diluting their bloodlines in the human race that emerged as dominant shortly thereafter. They were not as strong and stalwart as the dwarves, nor as swift and cunning as the elves, but they possessed one innate ability that proved more valuable than all others in the long run.”
