by Isaac Hooke
“Come, Slave,” Banvil said. “Let us retrieve my second vessel. You are to be my top lieutenant, my first Black Sword.”
Malem approached. “Yes, Master. We will conquer the Light Realm. Together.”
Banvil smirked. “I’m so very glad you understand.”
Xaxia raced down the narrow hallway, chasing Goldenthall. Grendel had increased the brightness of her light cone so that Xaxia could readily see the possessed man ahead. She had feasted Biter on the blood of the last orak only moments ago, and their stamina flowed through Xaxia’s veins, giving her energy. She suspected Grendel had also granted her a speed buff, because Goldenthall seemed to slow down in front of her; that buff, combined with her extra stamina, allowed her to rapidly close with the man.
Branches erupted from the remnants of doors on either side of Goldenthall, courtesy of Wendolin, and attempted to snatch up the possessed man. But Goldenthall ripped through them without breaking stride.
Arrows from Gwen and the other bow women tore past and ripped into Goldenthall’s back. But the man seemed unaffected. Not a good sign.
“Resilient fucker!” Timlir commented from just behind her.
Wendolin caused vines to erupt from the shafts embedded in Goldenthall’s back, but once more he continued to run, breaking through the cords as if they were paper.
A wall of ice appeared in front of Goldenthall and smashed into him, but that, too, did not slow him down.
A mini-Balor rose from the ground ahead of Goldenthall, but he punched the monster, and incredibly, it slammed into the wall, and went down.
The man was cackling the whole time, but then he suddenly stopped. Dark swirls appeared around him, and Xaxia decided it was probably best not to get too close, so she, too, halted.
Goldenthall thrust out his hands and feet so that he was spread-eagled, and he floated into the air a few inches. Dark ribbons flowed into his body from all sides with such potency that the light from Grendel’s globe seemed to dim, the Darkness drawing it all in.
And then he dropped to the ground. He flexed, cracking his neck and shoulders as if limbering up, and then turned around to face Xaxia. The black mist floating around his eyes had grown with such intensity that it consumed the entire upper half of his face.
“The master says playtime has ended,” Goldenthall taunted in his regular voice. He giggled, and then dark ribbons darted out from him, heading straight for Xaxia.
She ducked, turning her body to shield herself with one arm, but then tendrils of light flung past her from behind, thrown by Grendel, and intercepted them.
Light met darkness, and the pair canceled each other out, saving Xaxia.
The man threw even more, and once again Grendel intercepted them; but this time, not all of the dark threads were negated, and several darted past Xaxia to strike Grendel. She was slammed, howling, into the wall, where the darkness impaled her so that she floated a few inches off the floor.
From the spears of darkness, black threads spread across Grendel’s dress, which was glowing a brilliant white. But then her dress flared even brighter, blindingly so, and the dark veins curdled, reversing course, until they dissolved straight away.
She dropped to the floor, her eyes and face glowing a bright, almost demonic white. “That was a mistake. Now you’ve pissed me off.”
She raised her palms, and whirlwinds of bright light began to swirl around each arm, growing bigger with each moment.
But then Gwen threw herself at Grendel, forcing her to the floor, and the brightness winked out.
“What are you doing?” Grendel screamed.
“Malem doesn’t want you to kill him!” Gwen said.
Goldenthall giggled. “That wouldn’t have killed me. But this will murder you.”
More dark threads than Xaxia had ever seen before erupted from the man; they headed for her, Timlir, all of them. There was no way she was going to escape them. None of them would.
She swallowed bravely, and stared at those veins defiantly as they approached, accepting her fate in that moment.
But the darkness dissipated before reaching her.
The smile faded from Goldenthall’s face. “The master wishes you all to live.” He sighed. “A pity, considering how much fun it would be to ravage you all. I would have relished your screams for an eternity as you lay there, convulsing on the floor, dying. Sadly, that will have to wait.”
Black portals appeared all around him, and oraks began to pour out. Xaxia had never seen the man summon so many at once. There was literally a war band of them, at least twenty, crowding the hallway. Xaxia was forced back as she defended against the onslaught.
Oraks rushed past her, to strike at her companions.
She swung, parrying a blow, and striking the orak on the riposte. Biter fed, glowing a bright purple, and strength flowed into her veins. No buff from Grendel was forthcoming, however—she was probably too weak after her earlier show of magic.
Goldenthall rushed past her and the others in the confusion. “See you outside!”
Arrows darted past, striking oraks around her. Branches grew from those arrows, and the nearby doors, impaling and wrapping up the monsters. Timlir hewed through the legs of the oraks, allowing Hamstringer to live up to its name. The floor became slippery under some of the oraks, as Weyanna created areas of slick ice. Aurora held back on summoning any mini-Balors, probably because the area was already too crowded. She remained next to Grendel, but when the latter woman retreated to chase Goldenthall, Aurora followed.
“Wait for us!” Xaxia said between strikes. But they ignored her. “Impatient, disloyal a-holes.”
She downed her current foe, and blood splattered her face. The sword’s glow had diminished slightly, but only because the blade was steeped in the blood of her enemies.
She finished up the remaining oraks with the help of the other companions, and then retreated to pursue Grendel and Aurora. And of course, Goldenthall.
“Something’s changed,” Gwen said beside her.
“What do you mean?” Xaxia asked.
“With Malem,” Gwen replied. “His energy bundle. Something’s different. He… he’s not himself. He feels closer to the Defiler than anything else. I think Banvil has taken him.”
“Oh, no,” Weyanna said. “We can’t have lost him.”
“We all knew this day must one day come,” Gwen said. “We just didn’t expect it to be so soon.”
“If he’s lost, there has to be a way to reverse it,” Xaxia said. “We did it before.”
“If he has turned, only the Paragons can help him,” Wendolin declared.
“We’ll see,” Xaxia told her.
They reached the main cavern. Ahead, beyond the entrance, Xaxia spotted Grendel and Aurora with their backs toward her. They were staring up at something Xaxia couldn’t see from her current angle. From their faces, that something wasn’t very good.
Xaxia burst through and gazed upward. She couldn’t help but come to a halt. Her legs had become rubbery, and it was all she could do to remain standing.
A Balor towered above her, wreathed in red flame. On its right shoulder perched Malem, untouched by the fires. Indeed, he seemed a part of them. He held the crystal sword casually in one hand, pointed downward. It wasn’t glowing at the moment.
“We’ve lost,” Xaxia pronounced.
27
Xaxia noticed motion on the demon’s left shoulder, opposite Malem. Goldenthall appeared there, pulling himself up the demon’s shadowy flesh, and squatted in the flames. The fire also did not touch the man.
Aurora dropped suddenly, as did the three Metals, Wendolin, Gwen, and the pegasus Lantos. Only Grendel, Timlir, and Xaxia remained standing. Along with Jack nearby. The latter slowly edged toward Xaxia and the others.
“What did you do to them?” Xaxia shouted. She knelt beside Gwen, who was wheezing harshly, as if she had just run a marathon.
“We ordered them to kneel,” the Balor said. “They did not obey.”
&
nbsp; “Are you Banvil?” Xaxia said.
”Very good, Child,” Banvil said. “Kneel. You and your companions. Pledge loyalty to me.”
She felt the demon attempting to worm into her mind, but she slammed closed her mental door.
“Kneel,” Banvil repeated, with a voice so menacing that Xaxia couldn’t help but obey, as did the others, including Jack.
“Don’t give yourself to him,” Grendel muttered beside her. “Don’t let your guard down, for even a moment!”
“I don’t intend to,” Timlir said.
“Pledge loyalty,” Banvil said.
“I pledge fealty,” Xaxia said.
The others muttered similar replies.
“Let me into your minds,” Banvil said. “Let me take control. You will become my Black Swords, the founding members of my army. And together, we shall take this realm.”
“Where’s Iridaceae?” Grendel asked.
“I took her,” Banvil replied. “And fed upon her stamina.”
“She’s dead, then?” Grendel pressed.
“She fled, a shadow of herself,” Banvil said. “Enough talk. Let me in!”
Xaxia felt the pressure in her mind increase, so much so that it felt like her skull was going to implode. It was all she could do to resist the demon’s presence. It felt like she was hanging off a cliff over the abyss by her fingernails—which she kept quite trim in the first place.
Timlir stood up, struggling, and then gasped, falling to his knees once more. His eyes had turned black, and dark mist flowed from his eyes.
“Timlir, no!” Xaxia said.
The dwarf glanced at her expressionlessly.
Grendel was quivering beside her, so much so that she thought the light mage was next. Xaxia was hoping Grendel’s robes would suddenly flare a bright white, so that she’d save the day, but no such good fortune transpired.
The other companions lying prostate in front of Xaxia were already Malem’s, so there was no need for Banvil to Break them again—they were already the demon’s.
And then, just like that, the pressure in Xaxia’s head subsided. She exhaled, gasping for breath, as did Grendel beside her.
Banvil shifted, turning to the right, and gazing past the mountains there. “A disturbance…”
A whip of pure light flung at Banvil from the direction of the mountains, making a sound like a thunderclap. It struck the Balor, caused a red gash in the blackness of the demon’s torso.
Banvil wrapped his hand around that whip, and though it obviously burned the Balor—smoke rose from the area in plumes—the demon pulled, drawing in whatever wielded the weapon.
Another Paragon appeared, stepping out from behind a mountain, and entered the valley via a pass. She towered over Banvil by an entire head.
“It’s Corinne!” Grendel said excitedly.
Lantos suddenly arose, given stamina by Malem. The pegasus flew to Malem and he leaped off of Banvil and onto the animal’s back, and then guided the winged horse toward Corinne, whose light weapon was still gripped by Banvil.
“Paragon,” Banvil said. “You will die for that.”
“Where is Iridaceae?” Corinne boomed.
Banvil erupted in a terrible cackle. “Dead. Killed by my servant, the Breaker!”
“Then you are the second one who will die today, Balor,” Corinne thundered.
Malem flew high over Corinne. She watched his approach cautiously, so that when he darted in, she was ready, and attempted to swat the pegasus away with her free hand. But apparently Malem was expecting that, because the winged horse changed directions at the last second and slipped past. The crystal sword cut a gash down Corinne’s arm, and she shrieked in pain.
The weapon glowed a bright red in Malem’s hand, and threads of darkness flowed into Banvil from all sides, materializing only a few yards from the demon’s body. No doubt Malem was transferring stamina to the demon from the Paragon, similar to what Aurora had done for Denfidal, though in her case, she had taken the stamina from Malem’s army.
“I didn’t know that weapon could harm Paragons,” Xaxia said. She glanced at Aurora. “Why didn’t you use it on Corinne when you were defending Denfidal?”
“I tried,” Aurora said from where she lay on the ground. “It didn’t work.”
“It can only harm the Paragons here, in the Light Realm,” Grendel agreed. “Where they exist in their natural state. In your world, Corinne was essentially merely a projection.”
Corinne took another hit as Malem dove past her back. Finally, she released the light whip, and stepped from Banvil to concentrate on the more immediate threat to her existence.
The Balor released the whip, letting it fall to the ground. The demon’s hand had become a ruined mass of red; it had stopped smoking, at least.
Moving well away from the ruins, Xaxia dashed toward Corinne as Malem continued to harass her. He kept dive bombing and pulling up at the last minute as Corinne nearly struck him. She was retreating the whole time.
So far, Banvil merely watched, as if in amusement.
As Xaxia grew near, she shouted. “Do you have the talisman?”
Corinne gazed down at her; Xaxia couldn’t really tell what expression the Paragon wore on that bright face, but Xaxia thought it was confusion. Corinne was likely too distracted by pain, and the threat of imminent death, to truly focus on Xaxia’s words.
The interruption allowed Malem to score another hit; Corinne staggered away, swatting weakly at Lantos’ retreating form; her glow was becoming alarmingly dim.
“Don’t distract her!” Grendel called to Xaxia from behind.
“The talisman!” Xaxia tried again. “To protect Malem from the darkness! Iridaceae said you would bring it!”
Corinne wordlessly flung out a hand, and a small amulet dropped toward Xaxia.
Xaxia dashed forward and snatched the artifact out of the air before it hit the ground.
Without warning, that same hand scooped up Xaxia, and lifted her into the air.
“Get ready,” Corinne said.
Malem was coming in for another pass. Corinne extended her arm, and Lantos dodged to the side, believing that the Paragon was trying to strike them. But Corinne was merely attempting to put Xaxia into position.
The pegasus flew past just below, and Corinne released her. Xaxia plunged, and landed directly behind Malem, between the wings.
The sudden added weight jerked the Pegasus down. Malem struck out with one elbow, trying to shove Xaxia off the winged horse. But she had already latched onto his torso, with one arm wrapped around his chest, while she slid the amulet over his neck with the other. She remembered Iridaceae’s words about how the talisman had to remain in contact with his flesh at all times in order to combat the Darkness inside of him, so she forced it into the gap at the top of his chest plate, allowing the jeweled portion of the amulet to touch his skin.
But just then Malem struck her harder than ever before with his armored elbow, and the blow winded her enough that she relaxed her hold. His next strike knocked her off the winged animal entirely.
She plunged down, ever down, toward her doom…
The cloud that had settled over Malem’s thoughts lifted. Banvil retreated to the core at the center of Malem’s mind, the demon’s tendrils no longer intertwining with his entire being. Malem could see clearly for the first time since leaving the ruins.
Whoever had landed on the pegasus’ back had saved him. He glanced down, over his shoulder, and saw Xaxia.
Plunging to her death.
Corinne was too far away to save her. As was Banvil.
He dove, frantically, but knew he’d never reach her in time.
To save his life, Xaxia had given hers.
And Malem would never forgive himself.
He would slay Banvil for this, the powers the demon granted him be damned. And then he would return to the woods and live out the rest of his days as a hermit, like Grendel. That seemed ample punishment.
Those dour thoughts passed
through his mind in the blink of an eye as he continued to descend toward the woman who had saved his life.
And then he noticed a glow from the ground below. Grendel.
He realized that time had slowed around him and Lantos—the light mage had granted them a speed buff.
There was still a chance to save Xaxia.
He spurred the steed on, urging it to fly faster than ever before.
Lantos rapidly closed the distance with the falling woman, and Malem had the pegasus swoop underneath so that he caught her as she dropped into his arms.
Time snapped back to its normal speed, and he felt her full weight in his arms and lap.
“Well hello,” she said. “Glad to see you’ve come back to your senses.”
“Thanks to you,” he told her.
“I kinda want to fuck you right now,” she said.
“Me too,” he told her. “Too bad there’s no time.”
The added weight was quickly exhausting the pegasus, so Malem was forced to land. When he let Xaxia down, she gave him a kiss on the lips. He didn’t want her to let go, so he stayed there, allowing her mouth to press against his a little longer than was necessary, given the situation. At last he ripped himself away.
She gazed at Banvil behind him.
“Go teach that fucker a lesson,” Xaxia said.
Malem turned Lantos around.
Banvil was backing away from him. The demon didn’t dare send any ribbons of Darkness—it knew Malem could readily Break them. He sensed fear from the Balor.
Corinne was keeping her distance from Banvil as well. Probably because her glow had been greatly reduced, thanks to Malem. She was in no condition to tangle with the demon.
It was up to Malem, now.
He tried to touch Banvil’s mind but could not. He no longer sensed Goldenthall, he noted. That only meant the man was no longer the demon’s vessel. But Goldenthall was still Broken by the creature, no doubt: the equivalent of a Black Sword, and thus very dangerous.
