The Rift (4 page)

James took a deep breath. As he did, a slight
gust came from him and hit Vero’s legs. He seemed more alert,
standing straighter, less focused on the cut in his gut. He gripped
his axe and charged toward Jed, his body shaking the bushes on the
way out.

Jed brought his sword around and deflected the
axe. A loud metallic screech echoed into the night. The two danced
back and forth, but James was on the offensive, Jed stepping back
with every clash.

“
They’re really fighting,” Vero
said. “Pieter… what do we do?”

“
Rush in and save the day,” he
replied holding his sword high.

“
Cut your stupid act,” she said.
“That’s real.”

“
Haven’t you tried what James
said?” Neil asked. “Don’t you feel this thing? It’s
incredible.”

Neil didn’t look any different.

Another gust hit Vero from Pieter’s
direction.

“
Whoa, no way.” Pieter sounded
genuinely shocked.

Neil nodded to Pieter. “You’re
glowing.”

Vero didn’t see the glow.

She looked out through the bushes. Jed stumbled
backward after another clash of weapons. The short guy charged at
James from across the field and swung a mace at his back.. James
dodged, barely, and aimed a wobbling axe at the short
guy.

Jed seized the opening and stabbed. His sword
sliced into James. The short guy connected his weapon with James’s
chest and launched him in an arc across the field.

“
This thing’s… mad,” Neil said. “It
wants to get involved, wants to fight. Come on, Pieter!”

“
I… I don’t know,” Pieter said. His
sword drooped, and the tip touched the ground. “I…”

Jed and the short guy cautiously walked over to
James, who lay still. Jed said something in that gibberish
language; he sounded sarcastic.

“
Idiot, the man said our world’s in
danger. And he’s about to get killed by some thugs,” Neil
said.

“
You’re quick to believe,” Pieter
said.

“
He walked out of an
interdimensional portal,” Neil replied. “What’s not to
believe?”

“
Running seems safer.”

“
You idiot, just follow
me!”

With that, he dashed out of the bushes toward
the two men, both hands gripping the mace. Pieter hesitated for a
moment, then followed.

A little insane? No, Neil was
completely
insane. Gloria was the only other one who still had any
sense.

“
You?” Vero asked her.

“
I’m… I’m strong. I can feel it in
this thing. But… I’m not a fighter.”

Neil swung the mace like a baseball bat toward
the short guy. His enemy stepped back casually, and the blow
missed. He didn’t seem worried. Rather, curious.

Pieter slashed at Jed, who swiped his sword to
the side. Jed shouted, “The Shadowlanders? You gave armors to the
Shadowlanders?”

Vero jumped to hear him speak perfect English.
Why’d he switched languages? Was it because Pieter and Neil had
come out? It couldn’t be a good sign that he had so much spare
breath for speaking while fighting Pieter.

Jed nodded to the short one. “Dek, take care of
little mace-boy, there.”

“
This looks bad,” Gloria said.
“What do we do?”

Vero glanced at James. He beckoned her with his
finger, then pointed to his axe.

Oh, no. He wanted her to take it. He wanted her
to fight.

“
Vero?” Gloria asked.

She might be able to scramble through the
bushes, cross the dry creek, and get to the strip mall. Then call
her family and get a ride out of here. Better yet, call the
police.

Except that by the time they got there, her
boyfriend—her stupid, impulsive boyfriend—would get
killed.

Vero shoved aside the bushes and dashed across
the field. She knelt next to James.

“
Take it,” he whispered. “The band
on my arm. The axe. Diotein, axe of fire. Take it; kill them.” He
turned his head to the axe. “Serve her well, old friend. She’s your
new master…”

Vero found the metal band on his upper arm,
opened a little clip to widen it, and slid it off. His body
slumped. She slid it up her own arm, then picked up the axe. She
concentrated on the feeling of the metal against her skin. It felt
warm—no, hot.

Something flared to life.

An inferno roared inside her. A burning,
passionate something exploded. She felt James’s anger, his rage.
This thing, Diotein, screamed for the blood of those two enemies.
Her body felt lighter, and the axe, it felt like part of her. She
had some kind of link with the weapon.

The sounds of the night became sharper. And
everyone except James lit up. Pieter glowed a faint silver around
his arm, Neil around his waist. Jed had gold around his thigh, and
the other one, Dek, had silver on his arm. And the tunnel, it shone
like a floodlight. Brilliant, golden lines twisted and moved inside
it.

“
Go,” James moaned. “They need
you.”

She stood and turned to the fight. Neil faced
Dek, but after his initial burst of action, the overweight gamer
seemed afraid to swing again. Pieter faced Jed, sword wobbling in
his hands.

Vero ran for Pieter and Jed. Her feet flew
beneath her, the fastest sprint of her life. She chopped for Jed.
He blocked—barely—but she swung again, again, again. The fury, the
power, she felt an echo of James in it somehow. As though some
memory of him remained in the armor. None of the blows landed, but
Jed lost his amused look.

He jumped. Like earlier, straight up. Vero
craned her neck to see; he made it twenty or thirty feet up, then
came down, sword slicing for her.

She leaped to the side and he cut into the
dirt. Pieter slashed, missed.

“
Stay off my girl,” Pieter
said.

“
Oh, you’ll end up telling
her
to stay off,” Jed replied.

Pieter grinned. “I like you. Too bad I have to
kill you.”

Vero whipped her head around to check on Neil.
His mace had stuck itself in the dirt after an overdone swing.
Gloria stood at his side, shaking, holding her stick like a
baseball bat. So she’d decided to come help after all. Her glow was
really, really faint. Their opponent still didn’t look
worried.

A light went out to Vero’s left. Where the
tunnel had been, a faint afterglow remained.

Jed’s mouth dropped open. “What happened?” he
shouted.

James’s faint voice drifted over the field.
“The portal’s closed, Jed. Enjoy the Shadowlands.”

A look of contempt washed across Jed’s face.
Vero and Pieter both rushed forward. Jed slapped Pieter’s sword to
the side, but Vero dug her axe into his flank. Warm blood sprayed
onto her.

He leaped back a few feet and put a hand
against the cut, the other still holding his sword forward.
“Shadowlanders… your deaths will entertain me,” he said. “Until my
king opens that portal, I have nothing to do but to kill each and
every one of you. Slowly.” He shouted to his companion, “Dek,
jump!”

Full of the strength and fire, Vero charged.
Jed jumped; her swing barely missed his feet.

“
Let’s get ‘em!” Vero shouted. She
crouched.

“
Vero, wait,” Pieter
said.

She pushed against the ground with all her
strength and launched skyward. She gasped as she cleared the trees,
the sparkling lights of the town spreading in every direction. The
glowing silver and gold of Jed and Dek were just ahead.

Only, they kept going up. Vero reached the top
of her jump and plummeted. She fell into a bunch of trees and
bushes and landed on her side, the wind knocked out of
her.

She stayed still, wondering what she’d just
done to her body. The pain wasn’t that bad. Maybe some light
bruises, by the feel. She pushed dark branches aside and tromped
back to the pale light of the field. She looked over her body,
expecting to find her skirt and top torn to shreds. They weren’t.
Apparently, the armor strengthened even her clothing.

Pieter thrust his arms around her and held her
tight. His lips pressed hers, and…

That was the first time he’d kissed her. He was
passionate. And not a bad kisser.

“
Hey, lovers, you got a minute for
the rest of us?” Neil asked.

Pieter pulled back. “You’re hot.”

“
Thanks,” Vero replied.

He pushed her back. “No, I mean, your skin is
like lava. I think my lips are burned…”

“
Maybe the armor?” Vero
asked.

“
But totally worth it.”

They walked back toward James. His chest rose
and fell in an uneven, labored motion. Blood oozed out of his
chest. Vero gagged.

Gloria knelt next to him. She ran both hands
across her scalp a few times. “Oh, this is… I’m calling an
ambulance.”

“
Wait,” James said, breathing
heavily. “Not yet. I need to talk to you. You need… need to
know.”

“
Can this save you?” Vero asked,
holding her axe forward.

“
Not… not now. Too late. I’m too
exhausted. And I won’t chance dying with it on. It’ll… kill the
armor. Gloria, your staff is a healer, once you learn to use it.
Better than any in this world. Now, listen, you kids
are…”

“
Kids?” Pieter asked. “What
happened to ‘Your Highness?’”

“
I needed you to play along, so I
played along.” James gave a slight grin then his face spasmed in
pain. “You’re my resistance.”

“
Resistance?” Pieter
asked.

“
I come from another realm, another
world, Ruach,” James said. “Those men are soldiers of Prince
Terian. He tried to kill his younger brother, Justin, and now he’s
rebelled against his father, the good king Rolland. Terian wants
the throne.”

“
Isn’t it his, as elder?” Neil
asked. “Though, maybe in your world…”

“
He lost it for trying to kill his
brother,” James said. “And now he’s looking to your world to
strengthen his side.”

“
How are we supposed to do that?”
Vero asked.

“
Resources,” James said. “He needs
precious metals and gems to make soul armors. They’re our ultimate
weapons. He’s uniting the wildians. Dek, that one who worked with
Jed, was wildian. They’re primitive, but numerous. More than my
people, the highlanders, at least. Terian outnumbers us, but he
needs arms to win the war.”

“
How do you even know we
have
the resources you need?” Neil asked.

“
We’ve watched you for a century,
but we’ve never been able to come here. I’m the first. This place,
the rift, is a weak place in the veil between our worlds. King
Rolland made a spell to open it and create a tunnel to your world.
But the rift is in Terian’s territory. I don’t think we’ll be able
to reach it again. And once Terian finds a way to open it, he’ll
have free access to you. He’ll come to conquer.

“
I came with four companions to
start a resistance. One stayed in Ruach. Three died on the journey.
You hold their weapons.”

Resistance. More like guerilla army. Vero
trembled a bit at the thought.

“
We can’t fight an army,” Neil
said.

“
No,” James said. “Annoy them. Slow
them down. The war’s fierce; Terian can’t spare too many men. He’ll
lose eventually, as long as he doesn’t reinforce himself from here.
Please…” He coughed then paused for a moment.

Vero didn’t speak. This seemed strange,
unbelievable, but she’d just felt the armor’s power flowing through
her; she’d just jumped fifty feet into the air. That made things a
lot more believable.

“
Your weapons… some of the
strongest soul armors ever forged. Duncan made them.”

“
Who?” Vero asked.

“
Sorry, my… mind, mind is… Duncan.
Duncan. Created the first soul armor. The royal smith. Pieter,
that’s Croga, the sword of resolve. Neil, your mace, Reitach… means
bravery. Gloria, Gloria. Kind and fair. But so hurt. You deserve
better than your life has given you. For you, the strongest, Nadur,
the staff of nature. Those weapons…”

James coughed. Then coughed again. And again.
Vero watched uncomfortably, unsure what to do. The fit lasted a
while. After, he spoke slower.

“
Jed… kill him, for my sake. He’ll
show you no mercy for humiliating him tonight.”

“
I’m calling an ambulance,” Gloria
said.

She tried to stand, but James took her hand.
“Thank you… sweet Gloria. You remind me so much of… of Julia. If
you ever meet, give her my farewell.” With a shaking hand, he took
a small piece of paper from his pants pocket and handed it to
her.

He stared into the distance as he spoke.
“There’s so much more. Sight. Yes, you’ll begin to see…” He gasped
a few times. “Empyrean, can my soul find its way to you from this
world? Can I…”

He coughed again, then fell still.