Never, even in the realm of dreams, had she healed herself so quickly. Truly, she felt the master of herself in this terrible, dread place so pulsating with sweet, awful power. Ripped forth from the gurgling screams of each foe kissed by her terrible blade, pulsing into her from the very fabric of this dark and twisted land, caught between the mortal realms above and the endless Hells below.
“Die!” Jess shrieked as she charged into the last of the insectoid mob seeking to swarm her beloved Malek, barely able to hold them at bay, so exhausted he was, terrible spear still jutting out of his side, his great serpentine blade shattering through spears, but not before several blades, enchanted by the darkest of magics, plunged into his breastplate, and Jess’s fury was spiked with terror.
Jess roared her challenge and her enemies, chittering and hissing like the hideous insectoid monstrosities they were, spun around only in time to be met with hot death, so savage and ruthless her fury had become that their bodies all but exploded as her shimmering mithril blade tore through them, sending shattered thoraxes flying, heads torn free of carapaces, broken spears and limbs lifted up in a futile attempt to ward the wrath of a girl who had left her humanity far behind, all to no avail.
And then silence. The corridor, so filled with the din and clang of battle moments before was utterly still, covered with endless corpses of the fallen, even at that moment slowly shriveling as Jess felt their terrible dark energies flow into her soul.
Jess gazed firmly into her moaning friend, desperately holding the tremble of her own voice in check. Never had she felt so frightened in all her life. Not for herself, but for the boy she loved. I truth she could only admit in the madness of Shadow, his life ebbing before her very eyes. “Malek, listen to me. Channel your power. You have to heal yourself, and now!”
“Yeah, I know,” he grimaced. “Those other things couldn't penetrate my breastplate for all that they cracked it, thank Justice. But please, Jess, help get this one damned spear out of me.”
Carefully, Jess pulled, gut lurching sickeningly as blood spurted out of the wound, Malek groaning. No wonder that beast had been able to pierce her shieldbrother's blood armor, Jess realized grimly. The blade itself was a dark work of enchantment, forged of multiple souls, honed with the bitter tears of betrayal and despair. A perfect assassin's weapon. Jess’s eyes blazed, and in that moment, she could see the secret of its construction. With cold deliberation, Jess touched the blade, speaking a dark word of power that caused the hallway to shudder, and the spear blade vibrated so wildly that it seemed almost to scream as it ground against the shaft.
"You serve me, now," Jess whispered, and the souls entwined in agony and betrayal within the bubbling steel writhed as they were forced to serve a new master. The blade cracked, and Jess shed a single drop of her blood into the twisting, red-hot spear blade. Eyes glazed with the power of all their downed foes washing through her, she crooned softly as the wicked weapon was forced, twisting and screaming, to obey her will. And suddenly the tormented souls quieted as Jess whispered her promise. With a final screech of tortured metal, the dread spear was silent as death once more.
Jess turned to Malek, even then breathing deep and growling, and Jess suddenly understood that her companion was fighting his own desire to become that which terrified him.
“Malek,” she began softly.
“No!” His eyes blazed. “I am not, I am not becoming that… creature. Don’t even mention it. Don’t say a word. I have this.” His voice guttural, he began uttering words of crimson power and Jess felt the surge of bloodmagic. At once, streams of blood and gore from the legion of fallen monstrosities took on a shimmering hue and began to trickle toward Malek. First in a trickle, then a flood.
His eyes dancing with savage glee, Malek began to laugh as the deadly kiss of cursed steel was burned from his flesh, replaced with the sweet, sweet power of that torrent of inhuman blood. “You see, Jess? There are more paths to salvation than taking the form of a Hound!”
Jess gazed at her companion in awe, the beautiful crimson drops of blood weaving around him in a torrent of glistening power. His agonized grimace turned to a smile of pure bliss, blood pouring into his wound, his flesh stitching instantly with but a single red scar where the terrible cursed weapon had once sought his death. He gave Jess a reassuring grin as she gasped with relief, the torrent of blood thinning, even as his blood armor began to glow with a fierce amber light, thickening and forming an elegant filigree, his family crest forming on his blood-forged breastplate. Never had Jess seen armor so well crafted and fine as the perfectly formed blood plate Malek now wore. She laughed in triumph at her brother's blossoming power and gave her Malek a fierce hug. "Thank the gods, brother. Thank the gods." She kissed him fiercely and he sputtered and looked shocked, falling back on his palms. Jess sensed how hard he fought not to kiss her back, their furious dance of death replaced with another just as savage in its own way.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot." Jess flushed.
Malek chuckled softly and shook himself, standing up once more, spreading his arms in triumph, his enchanted blade flying to his hand. Jess could sense his tremble, and knew that for all his protestations, were it not for Jacob, Malek would be in her arms, even now. "Thank you for helping to save my life, shieldsister." He looked around, grinning with darkest satisfaction. "We did it, Jess! We took out every one of these bastards! Ha!"
"Yes," Jess nodded. "We did." She found she couldn't stop grinning, her momentary pang of terror fading as if it had never been, with her shieldbrother's quick recovery. Her limbs tingled and throbbed, itching with fierce and terrible power. As if she were a wild beast that had been endlessly caged, she yearned to move, to act, to once again engage in that sweetest battle of blood and steel. "by the gods, Malek! Do you feel it?"
“Yes, Jess.” His chuckle was low and throaty. “Like the sweetest, darkest wine. The rush of our kills washes over us, their monstrous power now our own.”
“By Justice, Malek, I feel like I could dance among the gods! Come, let us go forth and find that bastard.” Her voice dipped, taking on the dark cadence of prophecy. “By blood and blade I swear, my brother, I will not rest until I feed upon his very soul, and send the final ashes of his broken essence screaming into the Abyss!”
“You hate so fiercely, Jess.” Malek’s eyes twinkled teasingly. “Careful, sister. I’m beginning to think there might be a bit of demon in you after all.”
“Irrelevant,” Twilight cut in. “The way is clear. Everything has either died or fled. I did not expect our foe to have a Weapon of Sorrow in his possession. The fact that Lessel was able to get ahold of even one of those things speaks of dark bargains indeed.” Twilight blinked. “You bent it to your will, Jess? Just like that?” He nodded slowly. “I’m impressed.”
Jess grinned smugly at the complement even as her brother gave her a playful smack to her head. "He's only saying that because you so rarely impress him. Sure, you can make dark weapons forged in Hell serve your will, because in the land of dreams, where thoughts can twist reality, no one is more powerful than the self-deluded! But you know darn well I always trounced you in history. And mathematics. And economics. So there!"
Jess stuck her tongue out at her detractor and Malek grinned. “And just so you know you’re not the only one who can pull off a cool trick…” Her brother closed his eyes even as the last remaining scraps of blood on the floor swirled together to form a perfectly constructed javelin case of the softest, supplest crimson leather. Somehow, Jess knew it would hold her throwing spear perfectly, for all that it looked far too small. She grinned and nodded her approval as she strapped it on her back. The spear fit it perfectly, and a few practiced draws assured she could draw it with ease.
Malek chuckled. “I swear, Jess. If I didn’t know you were carrying it, I don’t think I’d even notice that it's there!”
Twilight sniffed. "Such is the power of a Weapon of Sorrow. Forged in betrayal and despair, it is, like the dagger in the back, never
seen by your foe until it's too late. Were it anyone save our queen who tried to wield it, I'd fear only folly could follow, for the dark tales are ripe with instances where the wielder perishes, even as his weapon strikes true. Much as you yourself assured was the case for the former wielder, my dear Jess. But I felt it. I felt the power of what you did, reforging the very souls of that spear to serve your will." Her cat sighed. "Be careful, my mistress. If you are this close to tasting your true gifts, the temptations of the Void will not be far behind. And if you give in to that seduction, we are all lost, I fear."
“It's okay,” Jess smiled. “The spear and I have an understanding.” Her voice turned suddenly grave. “And don’t worry, Twilight. I won’t give in to the hunger. I’d rather die in battle than risk bringing death to all I hold dear.” She shivered, suddenly cold, relieved to feel the warmth of Malek’s free arm holding her close.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Jess, but I know you. No matter what that bastard promises, you’re not going to give in. There is no way you’d sell out your loved ones for power.” Malek laughed then. “Hell, right now we have more power than kings could dream of coursing through our veins! Adventure, dear sister. This is what makes life so sweet and worth living. Come, we have a mission of virtue to embrace, a damsel to save, yes? Our foe has given us his challenge, so to the top of the tower we go.”
Jess nodded. “I sensed no lie in his words, despite all the malice he held to his heart. He will indeed be waiting for us at the top of this massive fortress.”
“Yes indeed,” Twilight concurred, hopping to his mistress’s shoulder. “The very focal point of his power. Goody. Well then, my dear mistress, what are we waiting for? We have a diabolist to kill, as well as any lord of Hell who dares to cross our path. And those stairs won’t climb themselves.
With a bemused chuckle, Jess caressed her cat's fur for a moment before she and her closest companions took to the massive spiraling staircase before them in tandem, racing up the endless floors, doing their best to both keep a careful eye out for traps and ambushes, of which they found absolutely none, as well as avoid looking too closely at the endless murals of decadence and depravity carved into each of the vast marble slabs which lined the endless staircase.
By the time they finally reached the top of the tower, Jess had the sick sense that this monster had been around for a very long time, and had been responsible for the draining of a great many souls. Another epiphany had struck her and it sickened her at the same time. “These victims he drains. All of them. Look at how very much they look like him. I think, I think he must be feeding off his own children exclusively. And by the number of murals, he must have been committing these atrocities for centuries.” She shuddered. “And that means that poor Onnika is his daughter, not the daughter of the man she thought of as her father all her life.”
Malek glowered. “The darkest of dark magic. Truly, this monster’s soul should burn in Hell.”
Jess nodded, and together they stepped off the stairs, proceeding down the long corridor to the sealed door shining like burnished gold at its end. Jess shivered with horror and fury both as she beheld the final frescoes. "By all the gods, that's Onnika!" Her lush golden curls, rosebud lips, and elfin cheeks were all caught perfectly in precious metals. The terror in her eyes as she gazed up at her father, bloody tubes jutting from her body, was also captured in exquisite detail, and it chilled Jess to the bone. A frantic look ahead showed only misty white on the adjoining marble slab, where the next fresco would no doubt form, once the ritual was complete.
“Come! To the door!” Jess rushed ahead, Malek by her side.
“Ware of traps, Jess!” Her familiar curtly demanded, leaping to Jess’s shoulder once more.
Promising herself she would not be caught unawares again, Jess felt a slight tingle as she forced what she liked to think of as her inner eye fully open, seeing at once in glorious detail the interlaced collage of spellwebs warding the door ahead. A door seemingly made out of solid gold. Jess stopped cold. It was a masterwork of traps and wardings. If the proper key was not on hand, the sequence unlatched just right, the door would serve as a golden trap, instantly immolating everything within twenty feet, its final enchantments forged to send any immortals still left standing straight into the Abyss below.
When Jess explained the complexity of the trap she sensed before them, Malek whistled. "I'll be honest, Jess, I'm not sure even my blood magic can pick that lock successfully. It sounds like it's practically a sentient construct!"
Jess nodded. “You do know the arcane arts better than I, brother, for all that I can see the strands, and in the realm of dreams, at least, I can follow a hunch to good effect.”
Malek shook his head in amusement. "Reforging a dark blade of power to serve your will is more than just a hunch, shieldsister."
Jess gazed at him with a sad smile. “Yes, Malek. I can do that, in the realm of dreams. Because I believe I can. Because I know I can bend reality to obey my will here. To be what I wish it to be. I'm not a fool, though. In the real world, one has to understand just how all the laws of nature and magic work together. You can't bend the laws of reality just to suit your whim. They are set already by the gods themselves, and must stay intact, or one risks the very underpinnings of the universe in question collapsing in a great cacophony of destruction." She shivered. "Don't ask me how I know this, I just do. In the end, I'm just a dreamer, dear brother. And the power of will and desire are always strongest in dreams. You are the one who actually understands the intricacies of mathematics and the laws of magic and physics in the mortal realm we call home, Malek. You are the one who will be a true wizard, one day."
“Yeah, that’s true,” Malek teased. “But when it comes to fantasies, no one can top you, dear sis. Which is why you are so potent here! Jess?”
“Oh by Justice! It’s so obvious!” Jess laughed. “I’m a fool. Why didn’t I realize it before?”
Malek tilted his head in concern even as Jess drew the Spear of Sorrows. “Sister… what’s wrong?”
Jess flashed her brother-in-arms a wry grin, even as she gazed intently at her spear, now pulsating with a terrible bloodred glow. "Fly true, my blade, and be free," she whispered, and with a powerful snapping throw that would have done Eloquin proud, she launched her spear down the hall, the terrible artifact seeming to cut through the very air as it screamed towards the intricately warded door at the end of the hall. "Ward thyselves!" Jess cried, drawing her blade forward, imagining her mithril sword cutting through any loose cords of magic that might flash toward them, even as Twilight hissed and cursed, Malek covering them all with a spinning shield of blood.
And the corridor shook with the force of an avalanche, as an inconceivably powerful explosion was unleashed, disintegrating all within twenty feet of the door, shards of shattered stone raining against Malek’s powerful bloodward, tendrils of shattered magic lashing out with potent energies, splashing against Jess’s mithril blade before being severed entirely and fading to nothingness, Jess instinctively absorbing the loose strands of power.
The roar was deafening, and the shock wave threw them back with such force they crashed against the back wall at speeds that a dazed Jess was sickly certain would have instantly killed any Delver who had not already consumed such power as to have left their humanity far behind.
"Malek?" a dazed Jess called out, but her voice sounded tinny and far away. She felt someone squeeze her shoulder and help her to her feet, a moment's desperate searching found her beloved Twilight looking mightily peeved and covered in powdered rock, but otherwise none the worse for wear. Malek smirked and pointed to the stone wall behind them. Though her shoulders and hips felt sore, it was nothing compared to seeing the shattered wall from where her body had smashed against the stone. Malek curled his bicep and Jess grinned. There was no denying that they had both drunk deep of the dread power of Shadow in their multiple sojourns through the Dreamrealms, infusing their frames with unheard of vitality.
Jess tried not to think of what the essence of countless hellspawn had done to their humanity, besides blessing them with hideous strength.
“Stop it, Twilight, that tickles!” Jess laughed as her familiar nonetheless slipped through her protesting fingers to lick clean first one, then the other ear, before doing the same to Malek.
"By the Star of David, Jess. That was insane! Give us warning next time." Twilight hissed his displeasure, Jess now able to make out every word with her suddenly perfect hearing. The painful ringing plaguing her but a moment ago was now completely gone.
Malek just gazed down the corridor in awe. Where there had once been a magnificently warded door of gold at the end of the hideously frescoed hallway, there was now nothing, the hallways shattered to oblivion, the top of the tower ruptured, exposing them all to the sulfurous elements of the shrieking winds now blustering through the top of the fortress.
Only the door itself warding the awful chamber beyond remained, the weapon Jess had propelled with such force lodged deep within the hideously complex structure, the intricate magics saturating the barrier that could abjure even greater beings seeming to shred apart and discorporate before Jess's very eyes, as if the door were dying in truth. As a still dazed Jess stared numbly at her own handiwork, the golden door slowly toppled over, like a sentinel mortally wounded, falling through the massive hole in the center of the hallway before them.
Malek turned to Jess, his face a mask of awe. “That was no normal warding, Jess. I sure as heck don't think our diabolist made it. That artifact could have blocked a prince of Hell from entering! So how, by all that is holy, did you manage to defeat that?”
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