Ascension of Death

by Andy Peloquin

  Long enough for Evren to rip his dagger free and drive it into the demon’s other knee. In the same instant, he threw himself to the side and brought his boot crashing into the leg he’d already stabbed. The severed joints gave way and Tethum toppled backward, striking the ground hard. His skull cracked off the stone and the sword flew from his hands to clatter against the black glass window.

  Before Evren could find his feet, Hailen was there, leaping atop the demon and driving his dagger into Tethum’s eyeball. Crimson and clear fluid spurted from the wound and his body twitched, the connections in his brain severed. He’d heal, but Hailen’s attack had bought them precious seconds.

  Evren whirled. “Issa, the blade!”

  Issa vaulted the stone table and buried the Blade of Hallar into the demon’s chest. Tethum’s ribs gave an audible snap, and flesh parted beneath the razor sharpness of the Im’tasi weapon.

  The gemstone in the Blade of Hallar’s hilt flared to life, flooding the room with a crimson brilliance that held Evren rapt. A terrible cry ripped from the demon's mouth, the sound of nightmares that echoed around the stone chamber, increasing in volume as the Im’tasi blade consumed his life force.

  Evren recoiled in horror as the twisted, scarred flesh of Tethum’s face blackened, scorched by the power of the magical weapon. Muscle burned away to reveal the demon's horned, scaled face. Screams poured from a mouth filled with far too many jagged teeth, and a serpentine tongue panted for breath. Horns sprouted around the thing's face, and his inky black eyes twisted by chaos. The Iron Warlord screamed up at Issa, clawing at the sword embedded in his chest.

  Yet as the blade consumed him, the demon’s struggles weakened. His hellish, ear-piercing shrieks of agony faded and his movements slowed, stilled. Tethum lay jerking, the final death spasms of a creature drained by a magical blade created to feed the life force of its victims to Kharna.

  Feed Kharna!

  Evren leapt to his feet. “Wait!” He shouted to Issa. “Pull the Blade out, now!”

  Issa glanced at him, her expression a mix of horror, disgust, and confusion.

  “Please!” Evren begged. The crimson light of the Blade’s gemstone hadn’t yet faded. “We need him alive!”

  Despite her confusion, Issa tore the Blade of Hallar free.

  Evren threw himself onto the still, silent body. Tethum lay unmoving, his chest no longer rose and fell. Desperate, Evren pressed two fingers to the man’s neck. Yes! A pulse, faint and barely present, but there. The flesh of Tethum’s chest began to slow re-knit before Evren’s eyes.

  You won’t get off that easy, you bastard!

  Whirling, Evren sought out Kodyn. “The iron dagger.”

  Without hesitation, Kodyn thrust out the blade. Evren seized it, raised it high overhead, and drove it into Tethum’s chest, just above his heart. The Hunter had told him of his torments by the First of the Bloody Hand—the iron daggers would slow Tethum’s healing and sever the muscles of his arms enough to render him immobile.

  He snatched the other from where it had fallen after Tethum kicked it from Issa’s hand. Tethum’s body jerked and twitched as Evren drove the iron dagger into his left shoulder, the only sign he still lived.

  Evren looked up from the demon’s body. “We need to get him into the Chamber of Sustenance,” he said. “Through the Chamber, his life force will sustain Kharna.”

  Hailen gasped. “Of course! The Hunter’s mission.”

  Evren couldn’t be certain if the chamber in the room below was the same as those in Enarium—designed to suck the life force from those within and send the energy through those slim, flexible tubes to feed Kharna—though it matched the Hunter’s description. At the very least, it could hold Tethum unconscious long enough for them to figure out what to do with the demon. Maybe even give them time to send to the Cambionari or the Hunter for help.

  “Come on!” He leapt off Tethum’s body and seized one unmoving arm. “We need to hurry, before he wakes up!”

  Kodyn and Aisha exchanged glances. Issa looked to Lady Callista.

  “That is Hallar’s final resting place,” Lady Callista said, her jaw set in a stubborn cast. “You have already desecrate—”

  “Hallar is dead, Lady Callista.” Aisha spoke in a somber voice. The blue-white sparks had gone from her eyes, yet her words still rang with the authority that had drowned out the loud humming of the Serenii mechanism. “All that remains is his body. He gave his spirit to unleash the power to save your city. He fulfilled his mission.”

  Lady Callista’s face tightened.

  “Lady Callista.” Hailen stepped toward the Lady of Blades. “The chambers are designed to hold creatures of immense power, including demons. Locking him in there won’t just stop him from breaking free again. It will sustain Kharna, protect the world from the Great Devourer.”

  After a long moment, the Lady of Blades finally nodded. “Go.” Her brow furrowed.

  “Thank you!” The words burst from Evren’s lips.

  Kodyn, Aisha, and Issa seized Tethum’s arms and legs and, together, the four of them dragged him down the spiral staircase. They passed Etai, who looked dazed, a bad wound on her head, her shattered arm cradled to her chest. Evren couldn’t help admiring the Blade. Injured or no, Etai had clawed her way up the stairs, determined to join the fight.

  At the sight of Tethum’s unconscious form, Etai slumped to the ground, gasping.

  The four of them hurried past, down the stairs and into the room with the blue-glowing Chamber of Sustenance. With reverence, Aisha lifted Hallar’s body from the stone cradle and set it carefully on the ground beside the chamber.

  With a grunt, Issa, Kodyn, and Evren lifted Tethum’s bulk and dropped him into the chamber. The demon awoke at that moment.

  “What are you doing?” he growled, his voice a bestial, guttural snarl. His black eyes flew wide in recognition of the chamber, and he began to struggle.

  In vain. The moment they dropped his body into the stone cradle, the coils of flexible tubing seemed to come alive. Like writhing serpents, they slithered toward Tethum and wrapped around his head, his neck, his arms, chest, and legs. Tethum’s struggles only seemed to make the tubes move more quickly, until they bound him, rendered him immobile.

  “Don’t do this!” For the first time, fear echoed in Tethum’s voice. “You cannot—”

  “Enjoy your nap, you bastard!” Evren drove a clenched fist into the demon’s face.

  The blow snapped Tethum’s head back, hard enough to crack off the stone. The demon lay stunned, his protests silent as the final tubes closed around him. Faint pulses of blue light ran through the conduits, disappearing into the stone floor. With a loud hiss, the gemstone lid closed atop Tethum, sealing the Iron Warlord in a Serenii prison from which he could not escape.

  Suddenly, Evren was seized by an overwhelming wave of exhaustion and relief. His legs sagged and he sat hard, his back against the stone coffin. The vibrations from the Chamber of Sustenance thrummed within his bones. He sat for long seconds, drained by hunger, fatigue, pain, and the silence after an intense battle.

  Aisha knelt beside Hallar’s corpse, her head bowed and eyes closed. “May you find peace in Pharadesi,” she said in a quiet voice. “Rest, knowing your mission will be fulfilled.”

  Evren drew in a ragged breath, then another. Despite himself, he couldn’t stifle the laughter that bubbled up from his chest. “Bloody hell!” he breathed. “Did you see that? We just defeated a bloody demon!”

  Aisha looked up from Hallar’s body. She appeared drained, exhausted from the use of her powers—powers that just saved our asses again, Evren thought—but the smile she shot at Kodyn held pure joy.

  “I guess we did,” Kodyn said. “Almost makes me wish I’d chosen ‘kill a demon’ for my Undertaking rather than ‘steal the Crown of the Pharus’.”

  Aisha’s grin turned wry. “It’s not too late, you know.” She jerked a thumb toward the stairs. “The crown’s still up there.”

  “
So it is.” Kodyn inclined his head, a bemused smile on his lips. “Come on.” He stood and held out a hand to Evren. With a nod, Evren accepted the offer and pulled himself to his feet.

  The four of them ascended the stairs far more slowly than they’d descended. Issa, in the lead, stooped to help Etai stand and climb the rest of the way to the towertop room. There, they found Lady Callista crouching beside a now-conscious Hykos.

  “Hykos!” Elation echoed in Issa’s voice. Evren quickly took Etai’s weight, and Issa dashed over to the dazed Archateros. Hykos managed a weak smile, a hand to his bloodied head.

  Lady Callista turned to the Pharus. “I owe you an explanation, Amhoset.” She swallowed, wincing at the pain of her bruised throat. “Let me just say—”

  “Oh, shut up, Callista!” The Pharus crossed the distance to her in two long steps, wrapped his arms around her broad shoulders, and pressed a passionate kiss to her lips.

  Evren’s eyebrows shot up. Yeah, didn’t see that one coming, either! His surprise didn’t stop him from smiling.

  From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Kodyn slipping around the stone table toward the crown, which lay in its slot. With a wry grin, Kodyn plucked up the silver-and-platinum circlet. “You witnessing this?” he asked Aisha.

  Aisha nodded. “I am. Consider your Undertaking complete.”

  Kodyn’s smile widened. Coming around the table, he strode toward the Pharus, who had broken off his kiss with a very flushed, very breathless Lady Callista. He bowed and held out the circlet. “I believe this belongs to you, Pharus.”

  “Thank you.” Despite grinning from ear to ear, the Pharus managed to retain at least some of his monarchical solemnity as he took the crown from Kodyn and rested it atop his head.

  Evren had just helped Etai to a seat against the wall when Hailen’s voice rang out behind him.

  “Evren!” Delight tinged the boy’s words, sending them a pitch higher. “Come see this!”

  Evren dashed the few steps to where Hailen stood before one of the two black windows overlooking Shalandra. His eyes flew wide at the breathtaking sight below.

  Mere minutes ago, hundreds of thousands of Stumblers had flooded the streets, mindless creatures twisted by Groebus’ black alchemical potion. Now, the strangely magnifying crystal in the window revealed the Stumblers lying motionless on the stone streets of the five tiers.

  No, Evren realized, not motionless. Already, a handful had begun to rise. Their movements were no longer jerky, stiff. It was as if the power of the Serenii had burned the poison from their bodies and repaired their minds. With every passing second, more and more of the once-creatures stirred and rose.

  Yet that wasn’t the only change wrought by the Serenii magic. Beyond the southern wall bordering the Slave’s Tier, the farmlands had begun to transform from a dusty yellow, deepening to the lush, verdant green of fertile soil. Even the dusty wastelands and shimmering deserts to the east and west of the arable land showed signs of life; patches of green dotted the sparse landscape.

  “Whoa!” Evren breathed. “So it wasn’t just a legend. The Serenii really could bend the forces of Einan to their will.” Somehow, their magic had infused the fallow, barren, and rocky ground with new life.

  “Whoa is right!” Kodyn said. He and Aisha came to stand beside the window, staring out across the city. “That’s one of those things people are going to have to see to believe.”

  “Even then, it will be as hard to believe as most of what we learned here.” Briana slipped up on Evren’s left side, her arm a finger’s breadth from his. “We’re lucky so many of us were here to bear witness to everything that happened.”

  “Yeah!” A thought flashed through Evren’s mind. He turned to Hailen. “What was it that prophecy said about witnessing the destruction?”

  “Beneath the black sky,” the boy intonated, “the Final Destruction will be witnessed by the foretold, the catalysts to the end.”

  “Not the end,” Briana said in a quiet voice. Evren’s heart hammered as he felt her warm, soft fingers intertwine with his. “A rebirth. The new beginning for Shalandra.”

  Epilogue

  Issa tensed, suddenly nervous, as a knock sounded at the door to her simple chamber in the Citadel of Stone. She’d been preparing for this moment for days, yet now that it had come, she found herself apprehensive. Not at the ceremony of Anointing itself, but at what came after.

  Daughter of the Pharus and Lady of Blades. It still felt so utterly unreal, even with more than a week to try and wrap her head around it. Then again, she had a lifetime to come to grips with her new reality. That lifetime started once she walked through the door and received her Anointing as a Keeper’s Blade.

  Drawing in a deep breath, she opened the door, only to stop short at sight of the person standing in the hall.

  “H-Hykos? What are you doing here?”

  Hykos appeared resplendent in his black Shalandran steel armor. The heavy breastplate had been buffed, shined, and polished to a lustrous sheen, the dents and scuffs sustained in recent battles hammered out by the Citadel’s smiths. The hilt of his two-handed flammard protruded above his shoulder, its hilt freshly wrapped, its crossguard and pommel as gleaming and bright as his armor.

  But it was his smile—bright, cheerful as ever, and filled with mingled excitement and delight at what lay ahead—that held her gaze. That smile had a tendency to light up any room he was in, and it made his strong face seem even more handsome. The sight sent a surge of warmth flooding through Issa.

  “I asked them not to spoil the surprise,” Hykos said. “It’s custom for the Archateros to accompany their prototopoi to the Anointing of the Blades.” His grin suddenly froze, a flush of color rising to his cheeks. “But given who you are, perhaps you might prefer for the Lady of—”

  “Thank you, Archateros.” Issa stepped toward him with a smile. “I can think of no one I’d rather have by my side for this.”

  Hykos’ face deepened to a rosy red, but a brilliant sparkle lit up his eyes. “Well, then, Prototopoi Issa of the Keeper’s Blades, your Anointing awaits.”

  Issa fell in step beside him, and a solemn air settled over both of them as they marched through the spartan stone corridors of the Citadel of Stone. What came next, after she received her Anointing, no one had told her. Would Hykos continue as her trainer, or would she be passed on to someone else, higher-ranked than the Archateros? Someone like Ormroth, or Tannard?

  Thoughts of the stone-faced Invictus still brought a clench to her jaw. She still didn’t know how to feel about his treatment of her, no matter what Lady Callista said.

  But Issa put those thoughts aside. Those were concerns for the future. For now, she basked in the solid presence of Hykos at her side, the warm glow of hope filling her.

  Today, she would be Anointed as a Keeper’s Blade.

  Hykos led her south, toward the staircase that ascended the tallest tower in the Citadel of Stone. With every step, the twisting in Issa’s stomach grew, her excitement mounting as her heart hammered a steady beat against her ribs. Up, up, four floors, until they reached the towertop Chamber of Absolution.

  Once again, Issa was struck by the dazzling beauty of the chamber. The brilliant glow of sunrise shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, splashing the golden sandstone chamber with a display of light as magical as the power of the Serenii. The view of Shalandra—her city, now in more ways than one—stole her breath.

  Her gaze rose to the stern, scarred face carved into the peak of Alshuruq. Hallar, Shalandra’s founder, offspring of demon, servant of the Serenii, guardian of Einan, and Issa’s ancient forefather watched through midnight eyes, yet Issa somehow imagined his unyielding lips had turned up in a hint of an approving smile.

  She had no doubt about how those in the chamber with her felt. Lady Callista stood at the head of the small sandstone altar in the heart of the room, and even through her stern, solemn mien, Issa could see pride sparkling in the Lady of Blades’ eyes. Behind Lady Ca
llista, Pharus Amhoset Nephelcheres, beamed, as if the gravity of the ceremony paled before his joy.

  The sight of those two, the mother and father she’d dreamed of having but never dared hope to meet, flooded Issa with a brilliant bloom of warmth. A lump rose to her throat, and it took all her willpower not to let the joy filling her to the core burst out in a grin as wide and delighted as the Pharus’.

  Issa’s eyes went to the white-haired Blade standing beside the Pharus. The deep wrinkles around Aleema’s eyes and mouth etched with pride to mirror Lady Callista’s, accompanied by a faint hint of sorrow. Issa found herself wishing her Saba could be here to witness this, but the fact that her Savta had survived the battle with the Stumblers and stood here on this momentous day was gift enough.

  The black-bearded face of Killian the blacksmith—Elmessam, Ypertatos of the Keeper’s Blades—broke into a broad grin as she entered. A smaller figure in the shadow of the barrel-chested man dug an elbow into his ribs and muttered something that made Killian’s face go rigid.

  Issa’s eyes widened a fraction as she recognized the figure. Evren?

  And not just Evren. Hailen stood beside his brother, with Kodyn and Aisha accompanying them. To her disappointment, Lady Briana was nowhere in sight. Her duties with the Secret Keepers must have kept her away from the ceremony.

  Their presence came as a surprise. Few outside the Citadel of Stone were permitted entry to the Chamber of Absolution.

  On the other hand, she reasoned, the Anointing of the Blades is typically held for the public in the Hall of the Beyond. Lady Callista had insisted on holding it here—a choice that made sense, given the fraught relationship with the Necroseti that had survived the Stumbler assault. I wonder which of my friends talked my mother into letting them be here.

  Either way, it didn’t matter how it had happened; she was just glad they were here. She’d come to respect and admire the tenacity, resolve, ingenuity, intelligence, and skill of her new friends. After all they’d endured together, the battles they had fought side by side, it felt right to have them there.