by Hooke, Isaac
He wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he glanced at Abigail, who merely raised her eyebrows in reply.
He listened to the thudding of Xaxia’s sword against the bedrock.
“You think they can hear that?” Abigail asked.
“The oraks above?” he replied. “Maybe. But if they can, it’s not attracting them, not yet.” He could vaguely sense the oraks in the tunnel with them, still lingering near the blockade. The collapse must have been more extensive than the party had thought, because those oraks were sure taking a long time digging it out.
We definitely got lucky back there.
But then again, all that luck had done was prolong the inevitable. Like Gwen, he didn’t think they were going to get out of this one alive. Not with three dragons lurking out there. Even if he could Break one of those orak mages, it was doubtful that would be enough to swing the tide of battle in their favor.
Abigail drew him out of his dark reverie: “You seem to be growing in power as the journey progresses. Why?”
He merely looked at her, pretending he didn’t understand what she meant.
“You still haven’t told me how you were able to conquer those oraks after Redbridge,” she continued. “And you took control of a mage. That’s impossible.” She glanced at Gwen. “It has something to do with her, doesn’t it? The first time I asked the question, you looked at her. What have you done?”
Gwen watched him carefully, and he could sense the caution in her bundle of energy.
“You deserve to know the truth about me,” he said. Raising his voice for Xaxia’s benefit, he added: “All of you.” He sighed. “I slept with her.”
The thudding paused as Xaxia stopped, but she quickly resumed her work, the bangs sounding louder than ever. Almost angry.
“When I did, something happened,” he said. “Gwen was at her weakest, her mind completely exposed to me. I couldn’t help intertwining my will with hers, joining our minds, and our pleasure. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.”
“Mine, too,” Gwen added softly.
“So what you’re saying is you broke her, in essence...” Abigail translated.
He shook his head. “It was more than that. I broke her, yes. Dominated her will. But I did something else, too. Because when I tried to release her, I couldn’t. We are permanently linked. Sharing our life energies. She boosted my physical strength and endurance, but also my beast abilities as well. Originally I could only hold two animals at once, but with her joined to my mind, I can retain another four at the same time, for a total of six. Or seven, if you include my permanent link to her. I can also Break monsters.”
He paused on that note, to let his words sink in. “Not creatures of too high a level mind you, and each monster takes more than one beast slot to retain, but that is still greater than anything I have ever managed before. All of this because I reached out to her mind in a moment of sheer bliss.”
Abigail studied him uncertainly. “You have the power of a Balor in you,” she said at length. “I have felt Lord Vorgon, when near the front lines. His malevolent presence reaches out, searching for the minds of the weak to turn to his side. I felt the same with you when I first met you at the inn, and you tried to squeeze my mind to your will. It frightened me, but when I blocked you out easily, I assumed you were some Breaker of a high level I had never seen before, and otherwise not worthy of any more of my attention. But when you joined me and I saw the things you could do, I began to realize it was much more than that. Especially when you momentarily froze that first dire wolf. It has something to do with this Darkness that follows you, doesn’t it?”
He stared at her, wondering how much he should reveal. He figured he had imparted this much, he might as well tell them everything. Especially considering the four of them probably weren’t going to survive this day.
“Perhaps you’ve heard of Banvil?” he asked.
Abigail’s inhale came as a hiss.
“Banvil?” Gwen asked in confusion.
“A blight upon this land like no other,” Abigail said. “A Balor, he opened the first gateway to this world, paving the way for Vorgon.” She returned her attention to Malem. “So, what about Banvil?”
“It was he who gave me the ability to commune with beasts,” he said.
She frowned. “So you weren’t born with it?”
“No.”
“Since when does one of the most powerful demons of the underworld hand out gifts?”
“The ability came with a price,” he said. “As you have seen. And I don’t actually believe the Balor intended to grant me anything. It was part and parcel of the curse.”
“Okay, now you’ve lost me,” Abigail said. “What curse?”
“First, tell me if you’ve ever heard the name Nailcrom…”
Abigail pursed her lips ever so slightly. It reminded him, distractingly, of a kiss. “The legendary ice mage who saved the city of Magenta. He defeated Banvil outside the city walls.”
“I was there when Nailcrom banished him,” Malem said.
“You couldn’t have been more than a child…”
He smiled sadly. “Indeed I was. I was only one year old when Banvil marked me. You see, Nailcrom was my father.”
Abigail stared at him in shock.
“My father banished Banvil back to the Black Realm, dying in the process,” Malem continued. “Before Banvil fell, he promised to one day reach out from the underworld and take me, Nailcrom’s only child. And that is my curse. A Darkness that has hunted me for as long as I remember. Though it didn’t manifest until six years after that initial encounter. My uncle had taken me in during that time, and raised me in a cabin deep in the woods.
“When I was seven, Banvil finally made good on his promise. Perhaps it had taken him all those years to recover his strength after my father’s attack. Or maybe he merely wanted to wait until I was older so that my mind was more developed, and I would suffer more. I don’t know. Whatever the case, the curse finally manifested.
“The Darkness visited every three to six days at first. So often that I developed the ability to foretell its coming. My uncle portrayed it as some big game: like hide-and-seek, but played with the very night itself.
“For years after his death I wondered why he didn’t tell me the truth, but I know now he did it to protect me from the terrifying reality of my situation. Still, I wish I had known, because it was no game.”
Malem closed his eyes, shaking his head very slightly. When he opened them, he had to blink back tears before continuing. “There came a time when I told my uncle that I was weary of this game, that it simply wasn’t fun anymore. He told me it didn’t work that way. That we had to keep playing the game for the foreseeable future. I can still recall how tense his voice had been that morning. Frightened, even, with an undercurrent of desperation. But I thought it was an act. Part of the game. So when he said, ‘Young Malem, you’ll tell me when you next sense the Darkness coming, won’t you?’ I nodded and told him yes. But I had already decided, you see, that I wasn’t going to play anymore.
“So that night when I sensed the coming Dark, I didn’t tell my uncle. We had taken up a nomadic existence by then, never staying in one place, our cabin in the woods abandoned months ago. So when the tendrils of the night came for me, we were boarding at the inn of a small village.
“That inn had a tavern, which unfortunately was packed to the brim that night. My uncle took me down to eat, and had only just ordered our meal when the Darkness manifested right there in the crowded common room. My uncle snatched me up and threw me on his back. The black tendrils pursued. I giggled as it swallowed up screaming patrons, thinking it was part of the game, not truly understanding that they were dying.
“But the inn was too crowded, and my uncle couldn’t squeeze past the stampeding patrons in time. Those ghostly tendrils wrapped around my arms, so cold they burned my flesh. My howls of laughter turned to screams of pain.
It began taking me, th
e coldness seeping straight through into the very core of my being. I was ripped from my uncle’s back and dragged backward, toward the portal to the Black Realm. But my uncle was quick. He squeezed his fingers around my wrist and grabbed onto the bar counter with his other hand, halting my advance while I was still only partially through the portal. Those tendrils surrounded him as well, and he screamed, but he didn’t let go. He refused.”
Malem couldn’t help the tears then. He let them flow as he continued.
“And so for a brief moment I existed in two realms at once, partly in the underworld, where the Balors live, and partly in this one. But my uncle was strong, very strong, and Banvil was forced to lessen his devouring hold on me to concentrate on my uncle. Black tendrils loosened across my body, wrapping around my uncle instead. With the hold on me loosened, I broke free. ‘Run!’ my uncle shouted. By then his body was covered in blackness, the skin ripped from his body in several places, revealing raw muscle and bone. But still he did not let go.
“I ran to the door and glanced back. My uncle finally released the counter then, but only because the Darkness had devoured the very sinews of his arm and he had no muscles left with which to resist. He was sucked into the portal, and it winked out a moment later. I dropped to the floor in shock and exhaustion, my skin covered in second-degree burns where the Darkness had touched.”
He paused, collecting himself. “I always regretted that moment. The sorrow that followed was unbearable, as was the brutal life on the streets that came next, living as a street urchin stealing and begging my way through life, and always hiding from the Dark.
“But it was also the moment that changed me, because something had happened to me while I existed partly in this world and the Black Realm. Something had changed deep inside me. Ever since my return I had the uncanny ability to commune with, and control, beasts. I had become a Breaker, where the ability was entirely lacking before. Something that should be impossible. When I discovered I could control animals, I abandoned the cities and villages and made my home in the forests.
“My uncle had left a note for me, to be opened upon his death. In it, he explained what had happened to my father, and the curse Banvil had placed upon me. He had seen it all firsthand. I burned that note, blaming him and my father for everything that had happened to me. For the longest time I believed my father should have left Banvil well enough alone, and instead let the world suffer what fate it would beneath the Balor’s hands. And when I heard that a new, even more powerful Balor had come to take his place, I laughed, and hoped Vorgon would destroy the world.
“Eventually I forgave my uncle, and even my father. But not the world. Sometimes, I couldn’t care less if it’s destroyed. Though meeting you three has changed my opinion somewhat, because if there are people like you still left in the world, then perhaps there’s something here worth saving after all.”
He hadn’t noticed until then, but Biter’s thudding had stopped: Xaxia was no longer stabbing her sword into the gaping hole in the ceiling, and instead listened wholeheartedly, hanging on his every word. When he looked at her, she promptly set back to work.
Abigail and Gwen were giving him strange looks. Pity, he thought. That made him uncomfortable: he hated it when people pitied him.
He cleared his throat and asked Xaxia. “How’s it look?”
She shook her head. “Not through yet. Getting there.”
Yes. Getting there. In another week.
“Take me,” Abigail said suddenly.
He glanced at her, confused. “What do you mean?”
“We need every advantage we can get,” Abigail explained. “If that means Breaking me so you can control more oraks, then you have to do it.”
25
Malem looked at Abigail uncertainly. He could feel her presence then. She had lowered her mental guard.
“Are you sure?” he said.
“More so than anything in this world,” she told him.
He wondered if it had been a mistake to reveal his story to her. Doing so would have evoked emotions that perhaps she could not control. Drunk on sympathy, she was offering herself up to him on a platter.
“I’m not sure—” he began.
“Do it,” she intoned coldly.
That hardened him.
She wants to be Broken? I’ll Break her.
He reached out angrily and violently wrapped his will around hers. He pressed tightly, but she eluded him, squeezing from his grip. It was like trying to Break an uninjured orak.
He drew upon all the mental strength Gwen provided him with, along with Bounder and Felipe, but still it was no use. He was only succeeding in exhausting them. And himself.
He released her, and slumped slightly. “You have to surrender yourself to me completely.”
“I’m trying,” she claimed.
“No, you’re not,” he said.
He reached out again, and their wills clashed. She would allow him to enclose her completely with his will, but when the time came to Break her, she always fled beneath his powerful grip. He sensed that she sincerely wanted him to Break her, and was trying to give herself to him, but at the last moment a part of her always changed its mind, fearful of the consequences.
He sighed. “I guess some people instinctively can’t surrender. It seems the only way I can Break you is to beat you senseless or have sex with you.”
Her cheeks reddened slightly. “Too bad for you, neither option is on the table.”
“All right then.”
Abigail glanced at Gwen, and lowered her voice so that Xaxia wouldn’t hear. “Unless… unless it’s okay with Gwen.”
“Is what okay with me?” Gwen asked loudly, drawing a glance from Xaxia. The bandit promptly returned to work.
Abigail shifted uncomfortably, and said, barely above a whisper: “Having sex with him...”
Gwen shook her head vociferously. “Uh, uh. No. No way.”
Malem opened his mouth, but decided it was best not to intervene. Let the women work it out.
“Besides, it’s not going to work for you,” Gwen continued. “I’m half monster. That’s the only reason why his powers doubled when he linked with me. That has to be the explanation. You, on the other hand... you’re completely human. So like I said, won’t work.”
Abigail glanced at him. Before she could open her mouth, Gwen was already speaking again.
“Don’t ask him!” Gwen said. “He’ll say anything to get in your pants at this point.”
He gave the half gobling a patient smile. “Gwen, you know that’s not true. Whatever the two of you decide, whatever you’re comfortable with, I’ll accept. And I won’t judge you either way. We’ll find a way out of this, no matter what you decide.”
Gwen sighed, and rubbed her eyes. Finally she looked up: “Can you really sense her?”
He nodded. “The two of us weren’t merely acting just now. I was inside her mind. But she won’t let me take hold. She needs to be... distracted.”
“Distracted.” Gwen chuckled sadly. “Yes.” She rested her elbow on her knee, and plopped her chin in her open palm. “Sounds much like I was, wanting to forget. More than anything.” She closed her eyes, squeezed them tight. “I have no claim to him.” Her words came softly, as if she had to drag them out one by one. “What we had was just for fun. To distract me.” It sounded more like she was saying that more for herself than anyone else. Finally she opened her eyes and glanced at Abigail. “Maybe it doesn’t matter if you’re part monster or not. Maybe it will work with magic, too.”
Abigail rested a hand on Gwen’s knee. “If you don’t want me to…”
Gwen exhaled in defeat. “No. If there’s a chance you can increase his power, we have to try. He’s not mine, as I said. We exchanged no promises, no vows.” She glanced at Malem, and her expression became thoughtful. Or perhaps worried was a better description of what he saw there in her eyes. “One question we haven’t asked ourselves is: just because we can increase his power, should we? What
kind of monster could we be creating? Trading one evil merely for another, and in the process tying ourselves intricately to him.”
“I’m not evil—” Malem began.
“And then there’s the Darkness that follows him,” Gwen interrupted. “A Darkness he just explained in vivid detail. Is this the kind of man you truly want to tie yourself to? Permanently?”
“I’d love to debate the pros and cons of it all,” Abigail said. “I really would. But unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of time, or even choice. We’re victims of circumstance. We either do this, and increase our chances of getting out of here, or we fight with what we have. It might be enough.”
“But probably not,” Gwen murmured. She stared into space for several moments. Finally: “If I have to share him with anyone, I’d prefer it was you. Someone I know and trust. Someone who started out as my enemy and became one of my closest friends. Of course I don’t like it, but if it improves our chances of getting out of here alive even by a smidgen, then obviously we have to try. I won’t stop you.” She stood up suddenly. “But I’m not going to watch. Do what you have to do.”
The half gobling went to Xaxia and pulled herself onto Bounder to join the bandit. The iguanid lowed softly in complaint at having to carry two people.
Xaxia didn’t say anything as Gwen joined her in slamming her sword into the exposed bedrock above. The bandit had probably heard every word of the latest discussion, despite their lowered voices.
“I’m worried this is going to strain our relationship,” Abigail said quietly.
“Of course it’s going to fucking strain our relationship,” Malem said. “The stress we’re under here is enough to snap the spirit of an ordinary person. We’re half-starved. Stranded in a subterranean tunnel system. Surrounded by oraks and dragons. It’s a wonder we still have our wits about us. What you and I are about to do will only add to that stress.”
