Dire Prophecy

by Zack Finley

  “Ready when you are,” I replied.

  “Why don’t you practice teleporting both of us,” Argon suggested, moving closer to me. She held up her hand, and I clasped it in mine.

  She had returned to her copilot role. I felt more confident as I expanded my teleport spell to include her. “Touching helps a lot,” Argon said. I shifted until I wrapped my arms around her. When I triggered the teleport, we both arrived at her home.

  The first thing I noticed was my sense of smell had returned. I was coated in Eau de splattered demon. It was not going to catch on as an after-shave. Actually, after-shave would never catch on in Jaloa, no facial hair to shave off.

  Argon sent me to the shower first with the request to finish quickly. Allo followed me into the bathroom while I showered. She and I were becoming quite chummy. She stuck with me like a shadow whenever I was at Argon's home. This included sleeping on my bed, even though I tried to discourage this. Allo enjoyed petting and really liked it when I slipped her food under the table at mealtime. I couldn't tell how smart she was, but she and Argon communicated effectively.

  I wrapped a towel around my waist and dumped the smelly armor and clothing beside my door as I scurried into my room. The skin on my left shoulder and arm was still tender from the burn, but the magic purple liquid had taken care of the majority of the heat. My knee was still throbbing and swollen, and my hip ached. A few nicks and cuts and a sore head rounded out the damage assessment. I felt pretty lucky as it could have been a lot worse.

  A clean under armor shirt, fresh briefs and leggings and I was ready for lunch. Unfortunately, the reeking pile beside my bedroom door took precedence. I practiced using my force magic to separate the armor from the laundry from the armor without touching it. I sent the laundry into the utility room next to the facilities. I hadn’t been checked out on laundry so I’d wait to see if Argon wanted to wash the clothes or incinerate them. At this point, I was leaning toward incineration.

  My armor needed a good scrubbing in the shower. It would have to wait until after lunch. I was still lost in the kitchen. I could turn the lights on and off, pour water into a glass, and make chee. But that was pretty much my limit. I started the chee and scarfed down the fruit left on the counter while waiting for Argon.

  “Great, you started the chee,” Argon said as she breezed into the kitchen with Allo in her wake. She pulled a covered dish out of the cupboard and put it on the counter. Argon then reached into the chill chest and removed several dishes and items. She lifted some bread from the covered dish and began slicing it with a large knife. She placed the bread slices on a large trencher and placed an array of fruit around it. She hacked off chunks from a hard round and put them on the trencher next to the bread. After placing several small covered bowls with small spoons in them, she pulled out two plates from the cupboard and set them beside the trencher.

  “Help yourself,” Argon said as she poured us cups of chee.

  I didn’t need encouragement, grabbing a plate and piling on the fruit, bread, and cheese-like substance. Argon handed me my cup of chee, and I sat down to eat. I left her all the pink grape-like brussels sprouts. I tried several of the condiments from the small bowls, and I liked them. The green stuff was a tart jelly. The red stuff had a savory bite. It was a nice contrast with the nutty flavor of the cheese. The cheese had the texture of a hard block of chocolate. The bread was dense and quite filling. The chee went well with everything although I also polished off several glasses of water. Killing demons built up a mighty thirst.

  I wasn’t the only one hungry, Argon cleared her plate and went back for more of the cheese and bread. As she was cutting off another chunk of cheese, she asked if I wanted more and I declined. I was working on bread and the green jelly.

  Now I wasn’t starving, I wanted answers.

  “Tell me about the world gates?” I asked.

  “I don’t know how many we have entering Jaloa,” Argon began. “I just know about the two Shala is responsible for defending. I suspect there are dozens scattered along the spine of Jaloa. This incursion was very unusual. Those demons were of a much higher quality than any I’ve faced before. I am also worried because Shala didn’t come to assist when both Jamal and I asked her to come.”

  “I don’t understand why someone hasn’t destroyed the gates,” I wondered aloud.

  “That was the same thing I asked Shala years ago,” Argon said. “When the world was young the gods tried everything to rid Jaloa of the gates. But they stubbornly came back, usually to some random spot along the spine. This allowed several invasions to get strong footholds killing thousands of Jaloans before they ended. Shala said the gods intervened to prevent our planet from being lost. This led to an agreement to leave the gates alone. Each god has guardians trusted to defend their gates against any invaders. Had the demons brought reinforcements today, Jamal would have sounded the alarm. That would have brought guardians from other gates to push the demons back.”

  Argon paused to pop more of the Brussels sprouts tasting fruit in her mouth.

  “Does a gate get overrun very often?” I asked, hacking off another bit of cheese.

  “It’s never happened in all the time I’ve been involved,” Argon said. “I’m very glad we had you to help. Especially since Shala was a no-show. I couldn’t have defeated these higher-level demons without help.” She seemed troubled by the implications of this.

  “When a gate first opens the demons send scouts through the gate,” Argon continued her explanation. “I’m told on each of the demon worlds, old established and very powerful demons control everything. As new demons spawn, they choose a life of either servitude or conquest. Demons seeking conquest become scouts, attacking through the gates. Most die, but if they ever get a solid foothold in a non-demon world, they have a chance for glory. The old demons are fat and comfortable and fortunately for the non-demon worlds are only interested in easy conquests. We don’t know what entices them to join the attack, but it hasn’t happened since I’ve been aware of the gates. Normally we kill the scouts quickly and the threat of invasion goes away.”

  I waited patiently for more information as Argon puttered around the kitchen putting away dishes and condiments. “They are usually tough but nothing like the group we fought today,” Argon said. “I was very concerned they would send for reinforcements. Most past incursions ended quickly. Until now the guardian’s enchanted bolts were enough to kill most demon scouts. This group was different.”

  Argon looked at me directly. “I don’t know if this was a random event or if it is linked to your arrival,” she said. “I’m really concerned that Shala ignored our request for help. For a while, I thought we’d have to call out mutual aid.”

  “Are demons the only tough enemy that comes through the gates?” I asked.

  “They are bad, with their natural magic resistance and tough magic arsenal. But until today’s battle, we lost more guardians against mechanical men. We lost 10 guardians the first time we faced them," she said. "Shala's gate wards didn't detect them. They launched a sneak attack on the guardhouse. Luckily, they were easy to kill once you knew where they were. Shala changed the wards after that battle, but it reinforces the need for constant vigilance.”

  After lunch, we went through our after-action review. We discussed the spells we had used and reviewed what others we could have used instead. I also wanted to talk about who was going to be in the lead in future operations.

  Argon was encouraged by the close coordination our link provided but worried our preconfigured weapons were too limited. I had a lava-powered machine gun, but Argon insisted earth and fire magic had other combat applications. Encasing the demons in stone had proven to be a useful spell as was the building of shield walls. Using conjured stone to fill tunnels to prevent someone from sneaking up on us from behind was a good use of earth magic.

  Argon reminded me that it could also be used to create a new tunnel to provide access from an unexpected direction.

  I a
greed and told her I thought of several new applications for my magic during our fights but was wary of having it literally blow up in our faces at the time.

  She suggested dropping a conjured slab on the enemy or liquefying the ground under their feet. She had seen experts use earth magic to grab and restrain an enemy against a wall. Conjuring pressurized lava from deep in the planet core, offered a tempting possibility for creating better explosions than mixing lava and water. That was definitely one to try on the test range.

  Argon refused to consider letting me take point. Her reasons for continuing to lead were more logical than my reasons to take over. It is hard to have much of an argument when both sides understand each other's reasons.

  My macho protectiveness clashed with her worries for my survival. Being on point was more dangerous, and we wanted to protect each other. We hadn't settled this forever, but I reluctantly agreed to follow her lead, for now.

  My relationship with Argon was getting more complicated. Since the first day, we spent every waking hour together. I grew to appreciate her quiet competence. While I might overwhelm her with magical energy, her training made her a tough opponent and a valuable ally in battle. Her extensive encyclopedic memory made her a precious resource on all things magical.

  We were drawing closer to one another each day. Sharing a large mind space was far more intimate than any physical relationship I ever had. I could no longer imagine ever walking away from that. I felt her warm affection and teasing touch even in the most serious round of instruction. My hunger to share more with her was growing.

  She made it clear I needed to make the next move.

  Having her go down during the battle and not knowing if she was dead or alive shook me to my core. It made me re-examine how important she was to me. It also served notice that I was not trained well enough to survive in this hostile environment. There was too much luck involved in our recent survival.

  Our afternoon trip to the desert training area was lively as I practiced conjuring huge blocks of stone and dropping them on a spot on the ground. I dug a deep hole and conjured a marble-sized bit of magma into it. It was loud and spewed a lot of tiny bits of stone, but I thought it was too small to cause any real damage. Even a baseball-sized chunk vaporized rather than exploded. I then chilled a thin layer of rock to cover the exterior of the next baseball-sized rock, and the resulting explosion and flaming debris were suitably satisfying. It made for a more complicated spell but might be worth it. Now I had grenades.

  I practiced and practiced light spells. They were still more yellow than white, but they were no longer dull red-orange. I could now launch five of them and then basically ignore them.

  Stun magic was still beyond me, but it needed a live target to test it.

  Coordinated spell casting was the other main training goal of the afternoon. We had seen the benefit but needed to practice to improve speed and efficiency. Having our minds and magics entwined in this way was a huge turn on. For both of us. Why I needed to deny our bond was eluding me.

  Over dinner, I asked more about why mind melds were important.

  "There are magical benefits and personal ones," Argon began. "On a personal basis, you gain a life partner, one who knows all of your foibles but loves you anyway. It doesn't erase the individual but creates a level of togetherness that can't be achieved any other way. Just from the taste I've gotten from being with you, especially when we were fighting the demons, I find I’m longing for that closeness all the time."

  "I'm also told it leads to mind-blowing sex," she said with a straight face, but she couldn't hide the twinkle in her eye as she saw me react.

  "The other reason is more practical. The magic of the meld changes your body so it can store more magic. As a bonus, it then gives you a significant helping of your partner's magic. Should we bond, I will get a mild boost to my air and water magics, a significant boost in force and mind magics and new access to fire and earth magics. After our meld, I'll need to practice all six magics to make the containers expand from where they are now to my new caps."

  "With such tangible benefits, why don't people meld with the first person who has the magic they want to acquire?" I asked.

  "Not all melds are equal. It is not an exact science but the more attuned the partners, the stronger the results of the meld. Trainers warn younglings to be very selective about choosing a partner because it cannot be reversed or redone. It is a lifetime commitment, even if you discover you don't like your partner and choose to spend your lives apart. I have heard of partners who misjudged their compatibility and ended up very disappointed in their melds, gaining minimal benefit. My strong magic made me the target of many suitors. Some were very nice, others not so much. None ever caused me to feel the way you do."

  I still didn't know why I was hesitating.

  We were studying magic books after dinner when Shala appeared before us.

  "You need to leave this haven," Shala began without preamble. "Steve Finley, you are already trained sufficiently to defeat all but the most powerful mages in this world. You now must begin preparing for the end-of-the-world."

  Argon had referred before to the end-of-the-world, but it seemed a gross exaggeration. What could a single mage or even two powerful mages do to stop the end-of-the-world? Clearly, Shala had an exit strategy she thought I could help pull off, otherwise, why bother bringing me to Jaloa now.

  "While I have been candid with Argon about the prophecy," Shala continued, "I have shared few details. Prophecies are tricky. While an end-of-the-world event appears to be very likely, there is significant variance on how badly it will damage the world. All agree whatever is coming will disrupt this world for generations. I am not the only one acting to mitigate its effects. I sense others in the magical currents, pushing and pulling at events. This gives me some hope we may find allies or that some efforts to reduce the impacts will bear fruit."

  Shala did not look hopeful.

  "I do not know who or what entity is going to precipitate this event, nor do I know what the specific event entails. Prophecy indicates there will be massive earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and then it will get bitterly cold. Unprotected settlements will perish. I cannot sense whether this will occur this year or 20 years from now. I do believe it will fall on this generation to weather it."

  For some reason, I thought of a meteor strike and the nuclear-style winter that had caused the extinction of the dinosaurs on earth.

  Shala looked at me sharply. "That could be it," she whispered, nodding to herself. "This is a scenario I hadn't considered. The entity may not be causing it; they may just be planning to take advantage of the aftermath. I have been concentrating on those with the power to cause such a catastrophe, not those seeking to benefit from the chaos that ensues."

  Shala shook her head before continuing, "That does not change your mission, at least not at this point. We need to create a refuge for a host of powerful mages. Mages cannot live by magic alone; they must eat, be clothed, and raise babies, even through this dire prophecy. This will likely require a mixed community of mages and mundanes, large enough to be self-sustaining even in the face of disasters and never-ending chill."

  I was a warrior, what did I know about building a city? She didn't need a warrior; she needed a civic planner.

  "Those expecting to take advantage of this tragedy will challenge you," Shala paused to ensure we understood. "Their attacks will push your warrior natures to the breaking point. You can only preserve what you can hold against a host of enemies. Recruiting an army to assist you will be critical, but the logistics of supply could easily defeat you."

  "To help with that, I've concluded the wealth I have accumulated over centuries will be worthless once the apocalypse arrives. Who will be interested in precious metal or jewels when there is no food or warmth?" she asked. "I hope you have time to create an invincible refuge. But even that will not be enough as I fear the gates between the worlds will weaken and monsters will overrun our world."
>
  Shala provided a mental picture of mechanical monsters, giant beasts, and demons obscured by smoke swarming through a series of gates. Yesterday's battle against demons took on whole new importance.

  "I fear only a host of the highest caliber mages can turn them back."

  "Where do you suggest we locate this refuge," I asked.

  "It should be at or near a city, the ocean, and a supply of mages," the goddess answered. She shared teleport links to a list of cities. "I cannot tell which of these will be the most suitable, that will be for you to decide."

  The goddess studied us before adding, "It is possible most of my worshippers will die in this cataclysm. I have very few in the cities I'm suggesting for your refuge. Most of my worshippers are simple folk who work the land. Few are mages. I will try to save as many as I can, but uncounted numbers will die. Each believer's death weakens me. Today I am strong enough to do great magics; by the end of this disaster, it may be difficult for me to summon even a sacred flame. Once my last believer changes allegiance or dies, I will become a ghost. Enough time as a ghost, and I will fade away forever."

  Argon was quite distressed at that possibility.

  "I have met faded gods, but I never thought it could happen to me. As my acolyte and my champion, I am hoping you can save me, but I have also seen that all will fail if you are distracted from your main mission. All will be lost anyway if you fail in that mission."

  We sat in stunned silence, feeling the fate of the world settle around us.

  "I hope there will be an opportunity to save more of the common folk. So far, cooperation between gods has been spotty. Some have been ignoring the prophecy, and others are working their own angle. As this threat approaches, perhaps there will be a new sense of collaboration. But we cannot count on it."

  Shala then provided Argon with teleport links to her treasure vaults.

  "I have one more request," Shala said. "You are compatible spirits. Both of you know this. Do not waste time; perform the mind meld now, so it has time to mature before you are tested."