by Clayton Wood
“They are my children,” the Dead Man retorted, pulling his arms away. He grabbed the front of Kalibar's shirt, pulling the former Grand Weaver to his feet with one hand. “Don't grovel,” he reprimanded. “It doesn't suit you.”
Kalibar's stood there before the Dead Man, his jawline rippling. He squared his shoulders, then faced forward...as if he were staring right into the Dead Man's eyes.
“Your name suits you,” the former Grand Weaver stated, his voice icy calm. “Time to earn it.”
White-hot light burst forward from Kalibar, shooting right at the Dead Man. Layer upon layer of gravity shields appeared around the dark Weaver instantaneously, the white light slamming into them, then wrapping around them in a mad orbit. Then the light shot outward from the Dead Man's side, slicing through a copse of trees in the distance. The trees split in two, the ends bursting into flames and falling to the forest floor.
The Dead Man shook his head, having not even flinched.
“Not today,” he shot back.
“Oh, I’m just getting started,” Kalibar growled.
Suddenly a half-dozen layers of gravity shields appeared around the former Grand Weaver. The earth rose up around the Dead Man, huge fingers of stone reaching up and closing on his legs. The Dead Man's shields stopped them.
Then the shields vanished.
The earthen fingers clutching the Dead Man's legs pinched inward, crushing the dark Weaver's legs. The bones at his mid-calves snapped, then crunched as they were ground into bits. The Dead Man howled, his dark eyes wide with agony. Layers of shields appeared around him, then just as quickly winked out.
Kalibar smirked.
A huge explosion burst from between Kalibar and the Dead Man, ripping the Dead Man from his rocky prison and hurtling him backward through the air like a rag doll. His body tumbled madly across the ground, slamming into a large tree trunk a dozen yards away with a sickening crack. Pieces of the Dead Man's limbs flew apart from his body, scattering across the ground. What remained of his body fell lifelessly to the ground, unmoving in the short, green grass. Flames licked at the edges of his black cloak.
Kalibar stood tall before his fallen enemy, his acid-worn black clothes rippling in the wind. He pulled his hand out of his pocket, holding a small hunk of quartz. It was covered in tiny runes, barely visible to the naked eye.
“Amateur.”
Kyle stared at the limp body in the distance, then at the fingers of stone a few feet in front of Kyle. The Dead Man's severed legs were still clutched between them, bones jutting out of each bloodless stump. Then he stared at Kalibar, his mouth agape.
“Kalibar!” he shouted, scrambling to his feet. He ran up to the man, nearly knocking the former Grand Weaver off of his feet. “You did it!”
“I did?” Kalibar asked.
“You did!” Kyle exclaimed. He let go of Kalibar, shaking his head in amazement. “How did you do that?”
“With this,” Kalibar answered, holding out one hand and showing the quartz crystal. “Prison gave me time to work on my Runic skills...and build a device to neutralize his shields.”
“Impressive,” a deep voice called out from behind.
Kyle whirled around, seeing a dark figure coming toward them. Where its legs should have been, only ragged pieces of pale flesh remained at the thighs, hanging down to levitate a few inches from the grass. Its left arm was missing entirely below the elbow, as was much of the flesh on the left side of its chest. White ribs glinted in the sunlight beneath charred black flesh. And its face...
Kyle took a step back.
Its face was blackened on the left, deep gashes carved into its temple, exposing the bleached skull that lay below. Two black eyes stared at Kalibar from their sunken sockets, a green crystal shimmering in the sunlight from its pale forehead.
“My turn,” the Dead Man declared, his pale lips twisting into a grim smile. The green crystal on his forehead flared to life suddenly, glowing bright green even in the full sunlight, casting its verdant rays across the Dead Man's gaunt features. His arms spasmed once, his eyes going wide.
“Kyle, get back!” Kalibar commanded. Kyle backpedaled, seeing gravity shields appear around the former Grand Weaver. The Dead Man stared blankly off into space for a moment. Then his eyes focused on Kalibar.
Every one of Kalibar's shields vanished.
“So this,” the Dead Man's voice boomed, so deep and powerful that Kyle felt it in his bones, “...is the man who would murder My Chosen.”
Kalibar took a step back, a shield appearing around him...and almost instantly vanishing. The Dead Man levitated forward, grabbing Kalibar by the neck with one hand. He lifted Kalibar off the ground, and Kalibar grabbed the Dead Man's hand with his own, struggling against that powerful grip. Another shield appeared around Kalibar, then vanished. A dozen bright lights shot outward from Kalibar at the Dead Man, but fizzled out before ever reaching his shields.
The Dead Man stared at Kalibar impassively.
“You're weak,” he observed. “And slow.” He let go of Kalibar's neck, dropping the former Grand Weaver. Kalibar landed hard, falling onto his back on the ground. He clutched at his neck, gasping for air.
“Kalibar!” Kyle cried, rushing to Kalibar's side.
“You're not the one who killed My Chosen,” the Dead Man stated in that strange voice, staring down at Kalibar. Kyle felt Kalibar grip his shoulder, heard the man croak something.
“What?” Kyle asked.
“Run,” Kalibar gasped, squeezing Kyle's shoulder hard. Kyle hesitated, glancing up at the Dead Man, then back at Kalibar.
“But...”
“Run!”
Kyle felt arms reach around him from behind, turned to see Ariana there. She pulled him from Kalibar and grabbed his hand, bolting past the Dead Man toward the dense forest beyond. Kyle pumped his legs as fast as he could, and Ariana matched him stride for stride. He heard a blood-curdling scream from behind, and turned his head to look back.
“Don't look!” Ariana shouted. “Go!”
Kyle obeyed, keeping his eyes forward. The forest was only a few hundred yards ahead. He pushed himself harder, his legs starting to burn. Tears streamed down his face, blurring his vision.
Kalibar!
Still he ran, his breath coming in gasps now, his lungs on fire.
Then he felt a force pull at him, lifting him upward. His feet left the ground, dangling in midair...and then he flew backward, the ground whizzing by underneath him at dizzying speed. Upward and backward he went, careening helplessly through the air.
Kyle screamed.
He felt himself drop through the air suddenly, and he landed on his back...hard. He gasped for air, stars exploding before his eyes. He rolled onto his side, seeing Kalibar lying beside him, blood dripping from the man's right ear. He heard a thump, and turned to see Ariana lying on the ground a few feet away.
The Dead Man's mutilated body levitated over them, the gem on the dark Weaver's pale forehead shining like a miniature green sun.
“I must say I'm impressed, Kalibar,” that impossibly deep voice boomed. “It takes a lot to impress Me.”
Kalibar's mouth opened soundlessly, then closed. He clutched at his right ear, his hand trembling. The Dead Man turned his black eyes on Kyle, his pale lips twisted into a frown.
“You,” he stated, pointing one skeletal finger at Kyle, “...have been disloyal to your master.” He lowered his hand. “And to Me.” His eyes flicked to the side; Kyle followed his gaze, and saw Ariana lying there in the dirt, her eyes wide with terror. “Now you will see what disloyalty earns you.”
“No!” Kyle screamed, scrambling backward. An invisible force slammed into his chest, pinning him to the ground. “No!”
Ariana's feet burst into flames.
“No!”
Ariana screamed, kicking her legs wildly, her eyes wide with terror. She tried to lift herself off of the ground, but to no avail. She lay there on her back, her legs flailing, her eyes wide with terror.
The flames devoured Ariana's boots, crawling up her ankles. They licked at her pants, smoke billowing upward from them. She shrieked in agony, beating at the ground with her hands. Upward the fire went, eating at her shins, then her knees. It engulfed her thighs, growing taller and hotter as it went.
“Ariana!”
The heat was so tremendous now that Kyle could feel it scalding his own skin, even from a few feet away. Suddenly the force pinning him to the ground vanished. He rolled onto his hands and knees, sprinting to Ariana's head and kneeling down. The heat stung his eyes, scalding his exposed skin.
“Ariana!” he cried. He ignored the heat, closing his eyes and yanking magic into his mind's eye, weaving it into the water pattern. He thrust it out above Ariana's legs, and opened his eyes.
A waterfall appeared over the burning girl, landing directly on her legs. The fire engulfing her hissed and sputtered angrily, a cloud of white steam rising from her burning limbs.
Then the waterfall vanished.
The fire roared to life again, crawling up Ariana's thighs, all the way up to her hips. Still it rose, engulfing her lower belly. Ariana howled, thrashing wildly on the grass.
Kyle closed his eyes again, weaving frantically. Ariana's hand slammed into his arm, her fingernails raking down it. His concentration faltered, and he opened his eyes, seeing the flames crawling up Ariana's shirt. Tears streamed down his cheeks, evaporating almost instantly in the tremendous heat. He looked up at the Dead Man, grabbing Ariana's hand in his own and gripping it tightly.
“Stop it!” he pleaded. “Please!”
The Dead Man stared down at him impassively, the glowing crystal on his forehead casting horrible shadows across his face. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, every second feeling like an eternity.
A shadow rose behind the Dead Man.
Kyle stared over the Dead Man's shoulder, spotting a corner of red cloth billowing majestically in the wind. The cloth was riddled with holes, rays of sunlight piercing through each one as it flew ever upward above the Dead Man. A long, silver blade rose to the right of the red cloak, shimmering like a diamond in the sun.
A shockwave rippled through the air, slamming into Kyle's brain. He fell onto his butt, his hand slipping from Ariana's. The Dead Man’s shields vanished.
The blade arced through the air, striking the Dead Man's pale neck. Kyle watched as the pale flesh rippled with the blow, caving inward. Then the blade continued leftward, biting into the flesh. It sliced deep into the Dead Man's neck, severing the muscles, then passing clean through his windpipe. It continued leftward, cutting through to the other side, and exiting in a spray of black fluid.
The Dead Man levitated there for a moment, his eyes wide, his mouth open. Then his head slipped sideways off of his neck, falling to the ground. It struck with a dull thud, rolling in a half-circle until it lay still.
The Dead Man's eyes, wide open with shock, stared lifelessly upward at the sky. The crystal on his forehead flickered, its light fading.
Kyle watched as the Dead Man's headless body fell forward, landing with a dull thump on the ground. His black cloak, once ceaselessly rippling, lay still at last.
There, behind the body of the Dead Man, a tall, muscular man in golden armor stood. His eyes, as blue as the sky above, stared down coldly at the corpse lying on the ground before him.
Chapter 19
“Darius!” Kyle cried, scrambling to his feet. His legs wobbled, then gave out, sending him back onto his butt in the grass.
Darius stood tall before them, staring downward at the headless corpse at his feet, his machete-sword dripping with thick black liquid. He grabbed his tattered red cloak, ripping it from his back and tossing it on the ground beside the Dead Man's corpse.
Kyle stared at the gilded warrior, his mouth agape, hardly believing his eyes. Darius ignored him, striding up to Kalibar and kneeling before the former Grand Weaver, who was still lying in the fetal position on the grass, his head in his hands. Darius put one gauntleted hand on Kalibar's temple, frowning slightly. Then he grabbed the older man's arms, lifting him to his feet. Kalibar leaned heavily on Darius's shoulder, raising his head slightly and groaning. His hand went to his temple.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Darius killed the Dead Man!” Kyle exclaimed. Kalibar frowned, lowering his hand.
“He what?”
“He killed him,” Kyle repeated.
“He did?” Kalibar pressed. “Are you sure?”
Darius said nothing, but moved away from Kalibar, reaching down to grab the Dead Man's head by his black hair. He lifted the decapitated head from the ground, black liquid still oozing from the severed stump of his neck, and handed it to Kalibar.
“What...” Kalibar began. He slid his fingers over the Dead Man's face, stopping at the green crystal embedded in the pale forehead.
“You really did it,” Kalibar breathed. The head rolled out of his hands, falling back onto the ground. “You really killed him!” This time it was Kalibar's legs that wobbled, and Darius grabbed him under the armpits, lowering him to the ground, where he sat in stunned silence.
Kyle felt a small, warm hand grab his, squeezing tightly. He turned to see Ariana staring back at him, her face pale, her lower lip trembling.
“Guys!” Kyle yelled, his heart leaping into his throat. Darius turned to Ariana, walking up to her side, leaving Kalibar sitting in stunned silence in the grass. The bodyguard knelt down over her, his blue eyes scanning her body. Her shoes and pants were charred beyond recognition, as was the bottom half of her shirt. She was shivering violently despite the warm air, mute tears streaming down her cheeks. Kyle squeezed her hand, staring at her charred limbs.
Oh god, he thought. Oh god no...
Darius stared at Ariana's legs, then rested a gauntleted hand on her knee. She whimpered, clutching Kyle's hand so hard that her knuckles turned white. Darius ignored her, brushing at her scorched pants with one hand. The material disintegrated under his touch, flaking away in brittle black pieces. He removed these until he reached the blackened skin below. Ariana refused to look down, staring into Kyle's eyes instead. Her lower lip trembled, and she whimpered again, wincing as Darius continued.
“Darius, stop,” Kyle pleaded.
The bodyguard ignored him, wiping away thick dust until a patch of pale, bone-white flesh appeared. He kept going, moving up until most of her leg had been exposed. Kyle stared at that wide expanse of exposed flesh, hardly believing his eyes.
There, underneath her clothes, her pale skin shone in the sun, completely intact!
“What?” Kyle breathed. Ariana clutched his hand even tighter, cutting off the circulation to his fingers. “No, look!” he urged. Ariana hesitated, then looked down at her leg. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion.
“You're okay!” Kyle cried. And it was true; sure, there were a few blisters here and there, and the skin was awful red in some places, but for the most part, her leg was intact! “How...?”
Ariana gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. She let go of Kyle's hand, propping herself up a bit, and watched as Darius brushed off her other leg. It too was – impossibly, inexplicably – intact. Ariana began to cry again, but this time they were tears of joy.
Kyle whooped, grabbing Ariana and hugging her tightly. She wrapped her arm around him, burying her head into his shoulder, tears wetting his shirt. Then he pulled back, realizing he'd been brazen enough to hug her without asking first. But Ariana didn't seem to mind at all; she was smiling radiantly at him, the tears on her cheeks glittering like jewels in the light of the sun.
“Don't move,” Darius told Ariana gruffly, walking up to the headless body of the Dead Man.
“Why not?” she asked. Darius gave her a look, removing the tattered black cloak from the Dead Man's body.
“You want your boyfriend to see you naked?”
Ariana blinked, then stared down at herself. Her condition was
scandalous, a thick layer of soot the only thing standing between her and obscenity. She blushed fiercely, curling into a ball. Kyle looked away chivalrously, and Kalibar turned away as well, for what it was worth. Darius walked over to the Dead Man, lifting the tattered black cloak from his corpse, then laying it over Ariana. Despite its condition, the cloak was intact enough to cover the parts that needed covering.
Ariana rose to her bare feet carefully, wrapping the cloak around her waist. Soot poured down around her feet, a cloud of dust rising all around her. She sneezed, backing out of the growing cloud, then shook herself from head to toe, dislodging the remaining soot and debris.
“Is your, um...” Kyle began, then stopped, his cheeks burning. “Um, are you okay...everywhere?” he asked. Darius smirked, and Ariana blushed.
“I'm okay,” she answered. Kalibar frowned.
“What happened to her?” he asked. Of course he wouldn't know, being blind. Kyle explained what had happened, and Kalibar shook his head.
“None of this makes sense,” he muttered.
Darius walked back up to the Dead Man's head and picking it up. The bodyguard grabbed the green crystal on the corpse's forehead, pulling at it. Kyle looked on in disgust as the crystal pulled out slowly from the Dead Man's skull. Inch after inch of shimmering green was revealed, until finally it was completely freed, leaving a deep hole in the center of the Dead Man's forehead. The crystal was in actuality a spike nearly five inches long. Kyle swallowed, fighting down a sudden wave of nausea. The thing had been buried deep within the ghoulish man's brain.
Darius tossed the Dead Man's head onto the ground, inspecting the crystal for a long moment, turning it over in the sun. Kyle glanced at the decapitated head staring sightlessly upward from where it lay on the ground. He still couldn't believe that Darius had somehow managed to kill the Dead Man.
“Hey Darius?” Kyle asked. Darius glanced up at Kyle. “Um, so, I was just wondering...” Kyle began.
“The suspense is killing me,” Darius grumbled.
