Echoes of a Shattered Age (11 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Kenyatta moved among the trees with a different strategy in mind. As the two shadows followed, he deliberately led them in a straight line. Trusting his instincts, he darted to the right. He turned to see his pursuers dissipating into a black mist in front of a third creature who had formed out of a shadow in the tree and accidentally struck them instead of Kenyatta. After seeing that first one form out of a tree, he figured the creatures might plan such a trap.

The mood of the forest seemed to darken, as if the whole environment was coming alive around them. Deciding on speed in place of security, they dropped from the branches and sprinted on. To his right, Kita noted many dark figures flanking them. Kenyatta saw a similar sight to his left. They looked at each other and realized at that moment that they could not afford to stop. No matter how far and how fast they had to run, they knew they must keep their pace or die in this wicked place.

A shadow dropped in front of them and Kita jumped forward and cut it to pieces with his sharp-ended staff before it had fully stood upright. Kenyatta looked back with a surprised smile. They would be long gone before that one would be able to put itself back together. The woods continued to darken despite the fact that it was barely midday. Something or someone didn’t want them to leave these woods.

Kenyatta darted to his left just enough to avoid a swipe aimed at his shoulder. In one fluid motion he jumped forward, turned and delivered a horizontal slash followed by a diagonal upward cut with his opposite sword, leaving the shadow behind him in three pieces. He was gone as soon as his feet touched the ground, never falling out of step with his friend.

“We need to get out of here,” Kita panted. “These things are everywhere.”

“Dis whole place is evil, man,” Kenyatta replied. “It feels like we been running forever,” The words had barely left Kenyatta’s mouth when they saw two shadows descending from overhead. They couldn’t dodge far to the left or right without falling to the countless shadows that paced them, nor could they stop, or the fiends at their backs would overtake them. With less than a second to react, they leaped forward into a roll, passing under the sweeping sword-arms. They came out of the roll and sprang even farther ahead and then leapt into the trees once more.

Below, the ground was no longer visible and all they could see was a virtual sea of shadow creatures. Just one mistake would bring their adventure to a deadly halt. Kita pointed in front of them at yet another problem. The demons had now risen to the branches in front of them, and in rather discouraging numbers. On top of that, the patches of fading sunlight penetrating the dark forest canopy indicated that they were nearing the end of the woods, and daylight.

Kita and Kenyatta shared a look, the latter smiling deviously. “Almost just like when we were kids, ya?”

“What do you mean
when
we were kids?” Kita panted while managing a grin. “We still are kids, my friend.” And with one last burst of determination, the two fighters dove into the mob of shadows.

They cut down every fiend that came within striking distance, darting left and right, severing a shadow head, deflecting a blow and severing a sword-arm. It was a blur of swords ringing against swords, and shadows being split apart and regenerating. The two warriors blazed a vicious trail through the army of shadow demons blocking their path out of the forest.

Finally, the end of the trees was near, and they redoubled their efforts. Kita looked ahead and his spirits dropped as he saw the end of the forest seemingly moving farther away as they drew nearer. “I don’t think we’ll reach the end of this damn place on foot this way!” He pointed overhead and Kenyatta nodded.

To their own surprise, they made an unbelievable leap out of the treetops and glided branch to branch toward the end of the forest. While in flight, Kita glanced over his shoulder to see his best friend slashing at a score of long, shadowy appendages wrapping themselves around his legs. In mid-flight there was nothing Kita could do except watch in helplessness, as his friend was pulled back into the forest.

“KENYATTA!” Kita screamed as he glided away. As soon as his feet touched the warm soft sand where the forest and the beach met, the enraged warrior dashed back into the trees, kicking up sand as he ran.

Kita used the sounds of clashing steel to guide him through the trees as he cut down every shadow demon in his path. Sparks and flashes lit the unnaturally dark forest enough for him to see his friend in the midst of at least ten shadow monsters. Kenyatta’s swords were a blur, but he succeeded only in cutting them apart to reform again.

Kita crashed into the group from behind slashing and stabbing, even hurling some over his head to land into others. The sight of his friend brought a new surge of energy in Kenyatta and his swords danced even faster. Although the demons could regenerate not long after being struck down, the fierce warriors were still able to put them down long enough to gradually work their way toward the edge of the forest. One particularly brave monster leapt toward Kita and was instantly cut in half. Kenyatta parried a blow aimed at his side so hard that it actually shattered the creature’s sword arm. The powerful block was not without a price, however, for it sent waves of pain and then numbness into his already tiring arm.

They fought toward the light against worsening odds, and both were receiving nicks and cuts, not as grievous as the wounds they dealt, but still enough to slow them down. Kenyatta took a cut to the arm, but since it was the same arm that was still numb, he was able to ignore the pain. Kita saw the blow out of the corner of his eye and a wave of panic and rage rose within him. With a roar, he pressed the shadow demons back, whirling his blade-ended staff. Fiends went sprawling in every direction.

Three last shadow demons blocked their path to the end of the forest. The evil creatures could not know that the adversaries charging them were completely taken by a battle rage that was brought on by the sheer determination to survive. All three creatures were cut down in an instant, and the two warriors leaped out of the dense forest and rolled onto the sandy beach. They heard the loud hissing of their angry pursuers but none ventured outside the woods.

So they cyan’t move in the light after all,
Kenyatta thought with more than a little relief
. Not unless there are shadows for them to hide in
.

After they were sure there was no more threat, they crawled several yards farther away and lay on their backs, still never taking their eyes from the most difficult journey they had ever experienced.

“Man,” Kenyatta panted, “dem tings fight like nothing I ever seen before.” He looked at his friend. “Thanks, man.”

Kita gave him a tired smirked. “Of course. What else would I have done? I’d get bored on this little road trip without you buzzing in my ear about nothing in particular, most of the time.”

Kenyatta glared at him. “If I would have made it out, I would surely have left.…”

“Right, right,” Kita interrupted nonchalantly, and they shared a much needed laugh.

After Kenyatta explained his hypothesis regarding the demons only being able to move about in darkness and shadows, and that night was near, the two friends took a quick snack, mended some of their more serious wounds, and set a brisk pace down the western coastline for a few more hours. Once dusk had fallen, they decided they had put enough distance between them and the forest and it was safe enough to rest for the day. After setting camp—well away from any objects that could cast any type of shadow in the moonlight—they were soon asleep.

As Kenyatta drifted into slumber, he reflected on the battle not many hours ago. The more he thought about it, those demons—if they
were
demons—were not very skilled at fighting, but their numbers and the fact that they could regenerate and travel from shadow to shadow left him uneasy as they camped in the middle of the night. Could those things step out of darkness itself? There was no way to know until it was too late. Fortune was with them this night, as no demons materialized out of the surrounding darkness. The cool salty breeze pushed the clouds across the dark sky, leaving them and the surrounding sands awash in the pale moonlight.

***

Chapter Sixteen

Zreal was paralyzed at the sight of the demon. The Quentranzi must have stood over twenty feet tall and radiated evil. Its hard, leathery blue skin covered boulder-like muscles. Tiny orange flames danced in its malicious eyes that seemed as if they could lash out at Zreal at any moment. Pointed ears like razors stood out on either side of its head. Surprisingly, it did not possess the huge jagged teeth contained in a large gaping maw that one would expect, but a regular-sized mouth containing four fangs almost as long as Zreal’s forearm.

From six long fingers grew claws that looked more like daggers. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the fiend were wings that hung to its ankles like a flowing cape. Zreal knew this thing could utterly destroy him at a whim.

The enormous Quentranzi sat upon his awful throne and enjoyed the fear as only a demon could. It then leaned forward, as if waiting for the diminutive little creature to speak.

“I … my name is Zreal of the House of Brit.…”

“Do not come here and declare your house to me!” the demon thundered. “If you wish to even exist, you will never declare a house of power that is of no concern to me.”

Zreal could feel every ounce of energy coursing through his body and collecting at his legs and wings. He was fast, very fast. But was he fast enough to make it out of here alive? Surely those giant wings would take time to get that towering body in the air.

Grala leaned back and eyed him. “Thinking of making a fast escape, little one?” it taunted. Zreal once again felt frozen with fear. The demon narrowed its eyes and chuckled. It was a bone chilling sound.

“You look to be fast, little insect, but in this world you could not escape me if you moved at the speed of your own thoughts.”

In that instant, Zreal spun to the sound of another booming chuckle behind him. Indeed, at the speed of its own thoughts, the demon had disappeared and reappeared behind him. Zreal wanted nothing more than to leave this place and face his master in failure. Zreal would rather die at his master’s hands than in this place of indescribable horror.

He forced himself to remain calm, and faced the demons squarely. “I am here at to speak of terms my master would extend to you in exchange for …”

Grala’s ominous chuckling interrupted him again. “Speak just one more declaration, little insect. Speak one more, and I will devour your soul.”

Zreal tried to reorganize his thoughts before the demon became bored with their meeting.

Grala looked down on him with a derisive smirk. “It is not wise to keep one such as I waiting. I might interpret your silence as a personal offering and devour you right now.”

“My humble apologies, great one,” Zreal said in his usual raspy voice. “My master has spoken with your general in regards to an alliance against Takashaniel.”

“I am aware of this,” Grala responded, bored. “I am aware of everything. You forget that Kabriza answers to me.”

“Of course,” Zreal responded quickly.

“Takashaniel is an ambitious undertaking. It would require quite a bit of power to bring that cursed tower down.”

Zreal chanced a smile. “Yes. An ambitious undertaking indeed, but if we succeed, the balance could be shifted to our favor. Your favor. We would stand unchallenged.”

“And once this is accomplished, what would stop us from destroying you and your master, who number only two?” Grala’s face twisted into something of a sardonic grin.

At that expected question, Zreal reached into a pouch at his side and withdrew a flawless crystal. Zreal held the crystal before him so that the demon could see the brilliant orange glow radiating from the gem. The Quentranzi king looked into the crystal with moderate interest as it began to shift in color. After a few seconds that seemed like hours to Zreal, his master’s image appeared.

“My greetings, mighty Grala,” Brit declared. “I trust my assistant has begun discussing our plans with you.” Grala crossed his thick arms and continued to stare into the crystal. “I hold no words from you,” Brit continued, “and I speak with no deception. It is true that I would like to enlist the aid of your brethren to bring my plans to fruition, and in exchange, offer the Quentranzi the ability to walk this plane of existence with more ease and frequency.”

“This grows entirely too boring for my interest,” Grala interrupted. “I am already aware of your plans and how we supposedly fit into them. I do not care much for your schemes or your alliance. If the time comes when I wish to inhabit your plane, we will come.”

“And how would you accomplish this, mighty Grala?” Brit pressed. At that last statement, Zreal felt as if his life were being determined by a human game of dice. He wished his master would handle this unpredictable fiend with a bit more care.

“As things stand,” Brit continued, “it is impossible for any who inhabit your plane to come to this one at will, so long as Takashaniel stands. Even if summoned, your time here is limited, as well as your power. If I were to destroy the tower by my own means, which is possible, I assure you, nothing could stop me from creating a similar forbidding to keep you where you are.”

Brit spread his hands. “I propose to make both of our interests more easily achievable by working together in common interest. Your kind and mine have more similarities than you know.”

Grala smirked. “Such confidence.”

Now it was Brit’s turn to look bored. “As long as the tower stands, no one, not even I, have the power to summon an infinite number of your kind to this plane. And you, Grala, would not be able to walk upon this world so long as any number of your brethren are here. I may be able to sidestep Takashaniel’s balancing influence, but your presence would push the balance too far. You or your minions would be promptly expelled.”

The lord of the Quentranzi withdrew within his thoughts. “And what would make you keep your end of the deal?” came the skeptical reply. “Your bargaining chips hold little value. Even one of my chiteras could open a gate to your world without being summoned.”

“That much is true, I admit.” Brit smiled. “But with my help, it could be done much simpler.”

The demon’s growl rumbled in its throat. It knew what “simpler” meant. Chiteras could only open a weak gateway to the earth realm with Takashaniel gone, which meant that this Brit creature could destroy it and any of his brethren unlucky enough to be caught between worlds. The consequences were … undesirable.

After a few moments of consideration, the Quentranzi king regarded the crystal once more. “Grala agrees to your proposal.”

Zreal noted the glowing flames dancing in the demon’s eyes, more fierce than before. “But if you betray me, I will come for you.” As it spoke, the entire throne room and the surrounding area rumbled as if trembling with fear.

“You have my word,” Brit replied. Zreal reached into his pouch once again, and as he did, Brit spoke. “My assistant has brought a
Gezar
crystal. It has energy-siphoning properties, but in your world, it could be used to devour souls. I thought you might find it … useful.”

The crystal levitated from Zreal’s hand and floated across the throne room to stop before the fiend, who took it with lustful delight. At that, Brit’s image in Zreal’s crystal faded and he replaced it in his pouch. He then turned and quickly and quietly departed from the throne room. Once he was at a safe distance, Zreal pulled out yet another small orb from his pouch. It would draw from his own energy, but deliver him away from this forsaken world.

He held the black orb in front of him and channeled his energy into it. A green mist surrounded him, and within a few short moments, he found himself back in his master’s fortress. Zreal opened his eyes to see the Drek standing over him.

“Well done,” Brit said.

***