Son of the Dragon (The Netherworld Gate Book 3) (21 page)

Neither of them got the chance.

Basei’s eyes flashed open and he stomped the ground with his legs. A tremendous quake rippled through the stone, nearly tripping the attackers. Talon managed to keep his footing, but he was slowed considerably. The gorlung lunged into the air, snarling and bearing its fangs.

Basei swatted the cat away with his gauntleted left hand as if it were nothing more than a fly buzzing nearby. The gorlung crashed to the ground, but the demi-god wasn’t done yet. He stood from his throne with blinding speed, picked the seat up with one hand, ripping it from the stone ground and then smashed it over the gorlung. The cat howled and snarled in pain.

I’m sorry,
it offered just before it disappeared back to its plane.

Then Basei turned on Talon. He hoisted up the massive sword and took a swing. Talon nimbly ducked underneath the strike and came up with one of his own, but his sword glanced off the thick armor plating covering Basei’s leg.

“Ha ha!” Basei laughed maniacally as he kicked at Talon.

Talon scrambled out of the way, and without missing a beat he forged the connection with his sword.

“You have done well to make it this far, but you are still a worthless worm,” Basei said in a booming voice that filled the entire expanse of the void. “Not many have been so foolish to challenge me in open combat, and none of those before you had ever been so daft as to do so in my own home!”

Basei held out his left hand and curled his fingers. In answer to his call, four spires of rock shot up from the floor, but Talon escaped them before he was captured in their grasp. He threw a dagger at Basei to distract him. The demi-god swatted the flying knife away with his left hand, letting the blade bounce harmlessly off of his armor.

“I will kill you,” Talon promised.

Basei’s chest and stomach bounced as he laughed. “Come on then, let’s see you do it!” Basei stepped forward and swiped again at Talon. His sword crashed through the four spires he had created, showering the area in sparks.

Talon rushed in and called his fog. The purple and black mist closed in around them. Talon used the cover to close in on Basei, giving the demi-god cause to prepare for an attack on one of his legs.

The ploy worked. Basei lifted his closest leg and lashed out in a savage kick. Talon stopped and ducked, pointing his blade at Basei’s glowing form and fired a lightning bolt at the demi-god. The magical assault struck true and strong thanks to the copious amount of seraph blood it had absorbed in the temple, and the massive man stumbled backward, shouting in anger as he fell.

The ground shook violently as Basei fell to his back. Talon moved to take advantage of the opportunity, but Basei reached out his hand and summoned flames from the magical bonfire to bar the way. Orange and red fire rushed in between them, forcing Talon back and nearly singing his clothes and eyebrows. The heat was intense, carrying with it the stinging promise of a swift death.

Basei leapt up to his feet, again shaking the ground as he did so. Then he roared and the flames formed into a wall and rushed out to meet Talon.

Talon looked for cover, but there was none close by. So, he sprinted for the shield lying upon the ground. His feet pounded the ground as the roaring flames raced after him. He only barely managed to heft the heavy barrier up and duck behind it as the flames collided with him. The heat reached through the metal, stinging his hands and back, so Talon rolled onto his back on the ground, holding the shield up with the soles of his boots to insulate himself against the heat. Flames licked around the shield, charring his clothes, but causing no lasting damage.

Then it passed and the flames were gone. The shield glowed red in the center, and smoke sizzled from Talon’s boots. The assassin waited silently, still as death while Basei came closer. The heavy steps easily let Talon know how close the large demi-god was.

Talon pointed his blade at the inside of the shield.

As soon as Basei wrapped his fingers around the shield to rip it away, Talon fired another bolt of lightning. The electrical assault passed through the metal and up Basei’s arm. Smaller bolts of yellow and purple energy snaked and streaked across the demi-god’s armor as the large man yelled and stepped back.

Talon jumped up and rushed for Basei. This time he slipped his blade in through the small space at the back of the knee joint, angling it ever so perfectly so that neither of the armor plates stopped the sword. Talon felt the blade pierce the back of Basei’s knee and then he drew it out quickly and leapt aside.

Basei howled and came down with a sweeping assault that cut stone, but missed Talon entirely.

Talon jumped up to his feet and then he felt a hot power surge through his arm.

Drekk’hul had now tasted a demi-god’s blood.

Energy buzzed and hummed inside Talon as the sword absorbed the blood and turned it into power.

Basei came rushing in, his anger overriding the pain in his wounded leg as he advanced.

Talon waved his sword around himself, creating a fog thicker than anything he had ever done before. Basei used his fire magic to sweep the fog away, but the fog extinguished the fire and then circled around Basei’s waist and legs, slowing the demi-god considerably.

Talon then whipped his sword toward Basei and a conical web of lightning burst out to knock into the demi-god. Basei fell into the fog, howling and convulsing as the lightning caused his body to spasm.

The assassin rushed in, darting through the fog as quickly as ever, his movements unimpeded as the master of the sword. He leapt up into the air and brought the sword down, aiming for the exposed chest.

There was a flash of movement and suddenly a great shield was between them. Talon struck the shield and then was pushed away with tremendous force. He bounced across the black stone and lost his grip on Drekk’hul.

Basei rose from the ground, laughing with each step as the fog began to dissipate.

“You are determined, I will say,” Basei complimented Talon. “But you are no match for me.”

Talon looked to his sword and saw there was no way he could reach it before Basei would be on him. He slowly pushed up to his knees, grabbing a thick, jagged length of rock that ended in a sharp point on one end.

“I would have beaten you in a fair fight,” Talon said, forcing his voice to sound hoarse and weak.

“This was a fair fight,” Basei replied evenly. “You have magic, and so do I”

Talon coughed, trying to appear as though he had broken a rib when he was thrown. “What of my mother?” Talon asked sharply. “Did she have magic?”

Basei stopped and looked down at Talon. “I have killed many mothers,” he said. “You’ll have to be a bit more precise.”

“My mother offered you a sacrifice, asking for your protection of our village. When the orcs came, she fought honorably, but then you appeared and you slaughtered everyone.” Talon felt the rage boiling up inside him, but he knew he had to keep his emotions in check. He needed to time his move perfectly. “Where was the honor in that?”

Basei dropped his shield and reached up with his left hand to remove his mask. As he did so, Talon could see that it was not only the demi-god’s eyes that burned like fire. His entire face was alight, burning with a fierce intensity that reached up into the air over him now that the mask was removed.

“Sorry,” Basei said with a devilish, burning grin. “Your mum doesn’t sound familiar, I’m afraid. Just another notch on my sword from another weakling too puny to help herself.”

Basei stepped forward and raised his sword high over his head. Talon waited until the sword was on its way down, and then he rolled forward once he knew the demi-god’s momentum would be too much to stop mid swing. The great sword nearly caught Talon as he rolled between Basei’s legs, but the assassin escaped unharmed, then leapt up on the back of Basei’s bent leg and used it as a springboard to jump up higher still. At the peak of his leap, Talon was up over Basei’s bent waist. The lower back was pushed out toward Talon as the demi-god had put all of his strength into the chop. Talon brought the sharp hunk of stone down just to the side of Basei’s spine, driving it deep into the tender muscles of the lower back and twisting the rock before he dropped back to the ground.

Basei howled and shot up rigid as a board. His left hand went for the stone, but he couldn’t reach it to remove it, impeded by the sheer size of his own musculature. The demi-god abandoned trying to recover the weapon and turned to face Talon. As he twisted, he howled in pain and fell to a knee.

This gave Talon enough time to retrieve Drekk’hul. He grabbed the weapon and turned back toward the demi-god.

Basei was breathing in shallow, pained breaths and trying to straighten himself.

“Demi-god or not,” Talon said with a sly smile. “You aren’t going to be moving with your lower back muscles cut and punctured like that.

Basei grunted and pushed up to a standing position. He held his sword out and then sent a magical, flaming spear out of his left hand at Talon.

Talon summoned Drekk’hul’s lightning and shot the magical spear out of the air. The two spells fizzled and popped as they collided and then vanished.

The demi-god took a rigid, shaky step forward and then hinged at the waist. Talon was tempted to move in for a strike, but thought better of it when he saw that as Basei fell forward, he lashed out with his sword.

The mighty blade connected with the stone and shook the ground.

Talon sent one more bolt of lightning at Basei, this time aiming for the demi-god’s sword hand.

The lightning struck its mark, but Basei only grit his teeth behind his face of fire and pushed back upright in a fit of rage. He stumbled forward, preparing for another strike.

Talon darted out to the side, easily out-maneuvering the staggering behemoth. Basei tried to twist to follow Talon, but the wound in his back had him howling and stumbling forward again. This time he didn’t fall to a knee, but tripped onto his face.

Now was the moment to strike.

Talon rushed in, sprinted over Basei’s back and drove Drekk’hul’s point in through Basei’s spine, severing the vertebrae and crippling the demi-god. Basei wailed and fire shot out from his left hand, but he couldn’t muster a coherent counter assault against Talon.

The assassin took three steps along the demi-god’s spine and then drove his point in through Basei’s upper back, just to the left of his spine. Drekk’hul drank deeply of Basei’s blood and began to surge with power. Talon yanked the weapon free and moved to Basei’s head. Removing it was the surest way to kill a demi-god. There was a legend that even a demi-god pierced through the heart could still live, so Talon walked up to stand upon the spiked armor on Basei’s shoulders.

By this time, Basei was mumbling and growling incoherently. Talon paid it no mind. He summoned forth the full power of the sword, letting purple and black lightning encase the blade, then he brought it down on the back of Basei’s neck. A great
crack
resounded through the astral plane as Basei’s neck yielded to Talon’s assault. The fire on Basei’s face dimmed and the head rolled away.

Talon heaved for breath, relieved that it was done.

He stepped down from the large body and sheathed his sword after it finished absorbing Basei’s blood. Then, a black tendril of lightning struck out from Basei’s corpse and connected with Talon. The pain was so intense that every muscle in Talon’s body convulsed and he fell to the ground, writhing like a worm on hot sand. A moment later, fire mixed with the lightning and Talon was enveloped in flame and lightning.

In those moments as he trembled and quaked in agony, he heard Basei’s voice laughing in his ears. He saw his mother’s dead body lying before him in his mind’s eye, and he screamed a terrible, feral yell that erupted from the very core of his being.

CHAPTER 18

Talon climbed through the spiraling stones one step at a time. The blue light that formed a barrier to Terramyr faded and the Sierri’Tai warriors stood to welcome their king. The victorious assassin looked to his faithful servants and smiled at them.

This had been Talon’s most challenging, and by far the most rewarding assassination of his life. Not only had he avenged his mother, but he had set the world in better balance. With Basei dead, and himself empowered as the new demi-god to rule in his place, Talon could end all of it. He didn’t have to rule over Basei’s zealous devotees. In fact, he didn’t want anything to do with them. It was time for the demi-god of battle to vanish, along with any vestige of his memory or dastardly religion. Talon had now made his choice. He could withdraw from Terramyr, satisfied that Basei was dealt with, and owing nothing to any follower of Basei. He could create a better civilization with the Sierri’Tai clans and the Tomni’Tai survivors. Now that his pain was healed, he could look to heal others, something he had never considered before.

“It is done,” Talon said. The Sierri’Tai warriors fell to their knees and bowed their heads. Talon bid them rise and then went to the statue of Basei in the center of the High Temple. He drew Drekk’hul, and with one swing of his sword he shattered the statue.

Next he moved to each of the prayer rooms and did likewise, destroying the wicked rooms of sacrifice and dark rituals once and for all.

Afterward, he opened the front doors and greeted the frantic pilgrims.

Jerax was the first to notice the change in Talon. The man dropped to his knees and placed his hands palm out in front of him on the ground in the old tradition of formal supplication, his eyes cast to the earth. The other pilgrims quickly followed suit, each looking down to the ground. All except for one, that is. The stranger from the night before in the green robes knelt only on one knee, and he kept his eyes on Talon, as if searching for something. He certainly showed none of the fear that the others did.

Talon looked at the stranger, trying to decide what might give the tall man such courage at a time when all other followers of Basei were nearly petrified. However, Jerax was quick to interrupt Talon’s concentration, speaking in a quivering voice.

“I see the presence of a demigod about you. Are you the Basei we have worshipped? Had you come to us in disguise last night? To test us? Or...” Jerax lifted his eyes timorously, “Have you slain Basei?!” Jerax said.

Talon nodded. “Basei is no more, and soon his temple will be no more than a memory upon this plane. Return to your homes.”

The pilgrims raised their eyes one by one to look on the great warrior who could best a demi-god, and then beyond him to the drow warriors who were gathered at his back. Some of them cried, while others stammered and stuttered incoherent sentences.

“Why?” Jerax asked.

Talon sheathed his sword and summoned a flame in his hand. With his new powers as a demi-god, he opened a vision for all of the pilgrims to see. He showed them the truth behind Basei’s mask, and uncovered for them the monster behind the priests. When the vision of Basei’s atrocities was ended, Talon charged them to go out to their homes, and promised that no one else need be sacrificed in any shrine of Basei.

Using his powers, Talon moved the pilgrims out into the desert, a few hundred yards beyond the outer courtyard along the road leading to the temple. Then he and his followers exited the temple. Moments later, Talon turned and destroyed the monstrosity of a monument with a great cataclysm of fire and lightning. Stones burst and columns fell as a great, burning sphere of blue fire devoured every last piece of the temple. Then came a black cloud over the space and lightning struck the sands below, turning the area into a field of black and silver glass.

Talon turned back to the pilgrims, making sure they were preparing to leave as he had commanded them. As he searched the crowd, he realized the stranger in the green robes was missing from the group. The demi-god scanned all around himself, but when he could find no trace of the man, he gave up the hunt. He had more important matters to tend to at this time.

Then Talon turned and teleported with his warriors back to the makeshift camp at the base of the mountains. He found the Tomni’Tai elves in good spirits, making the best of their time waiting and hoping for Talon’s return as they dressed wild game and prepared it for meals.

Elorien was the first to notice his return. She ran out a few steps to meet him, but then stopped when she realized the difference in his personage. Talon smiled warmly to her and whispered to one of his warriors. The drow warriors then returned to the camp while Talon stayed at a distance and watched.

Elorien approached then and asked, “Aren’t you coming too?”

Talon nodded. “I will, in time,” he said. “First, I need to visit Basei’s other shrines and temples. It is time that his wicked practices be put to an end.”

Elorien nodded and brushed a hand through her hair. “And then?”

Talon smiled at her and nodded his head ever so slightly. “And then I will come back. My servants will protect the camp until I can return. It shouldn’t take long, for I have not only Basei’s powers, but also his knowledge. I know where each of the shrines and temples are, and I know how to get there using magic. I should be back within a couple of weeks. Then we will build our city in the astral plane.”

“A couple of weeks?” Elorien repeated. “But we could be found in that time.”

Talon smiled slyly and raised his hand. A translucent orb hovered over the camp, descending slowly and expanding to catch all of the elves in its boundaries. “I had intended to transport the camp to the astral plane to await my return,” Talon said.

The orb dropped down onto the camp and a great, silver fog covered it. The light within the orb dimmed and then a great rush of wind circled about the elves that were huddled together inside. The orb swallowed the entire camp, scooping up not only the elves, but the portion of land they had been camping on, as well as water from the stream. The orb carried them off with great speed, flying through the sky and up into the clouds. Within minutes, the whole settlement was moved to the astral plane and set upon the same vast expanse of black, floating rock that Basei had used for his lair. Talon thought it more than fitting to build over Basei’s domain with his own, thereby squelching his memory and wiping it from the astral plane as well.

A moment later, another orb appeared in the sky and deposited the families from the Netherworld of each warrior that had remained true to Talon. Wives and children were reunited with their husbands and fathers. Talon smiled as he watched Leflin reunited with his entire clan, welcoming all of them to their new home. The former assassin even laughed when he saw Tomni’Tai children approach children from the Sierri’Tai clans and initiate play, shattering the barriers between the two cousin races.

Then, for a moment Talon’s breath slowed and he cringed as he noticed several families who had found themselves unable to locate the father or brother who had bought them freedom from the Netherworld. He felt lacking for the first moment since having absorbed Basei’s powers, and realized this may not be his last such moment either. In truth his first instinct was to turn to Elorien to set her to address this problem, but then noticed that several clan chiefs were making their way from their groups, Leflin among them, and were approaching the confused and lost ones who were only just now starting to realize what may have happened to their relatives. Words and tokens were exchanged, hands were taken, and the bereft family members were led in an orderly fashion to join with the other clan members who embraced them.

Just then Elorien arrived at Talon’s side. “It seems they had all made arrangements for the care of their kin before ever leaving the Netherworld. You noticed the small items the clan chiefs were exchanging with the family members who were left without their men? They are tokens that designate the fealty of a clan to their chief, carried by the matriarch of the clan, and the responsibility of a chief to the clan for protection and care. It seems each of your warriors had designated their tokens to specific others to take in case they should fall. It’s quite elegant really. It leaves no question in the minds of the families who they are meant to be with for the rest of their lives.” Talon noticed in that moment that a similar token was hanging from her belt. Something he had never noticed before. Elorien met his eyes for just a moment and then left without another word to join with the Tomni’Tai who were enjoying the opportunity to meet so many more of their long lost cousins.

Talon took only another moment to watch the happy interactions of his new subjects, and then turned away. Fyrik approached Talon just as he was preparing to leave. “You have done much to heal our old wounds,” Fyrik said.

Talon turned and took in a breath. “It isn’t the ending I saw for myself,” Talon said openly.

Fyrik nodded. “Yes, the path of vengeance can take even the best of men far from their destined courses. But still, it is good to see that you have come around, even if it was a bit late.”

Talon smiled. “Like you said, perhaps it is time to let the past remain in the past, and move on to forge new lives.” The assassin-turned-demi-god threw a glance at Elorien, and then he vanished, off to cleanse Terramyr of any reminder of Basei.