The Trinity of Heroes (I Will Protect You Book 1) (40 page)

Benni brought his shield up to block an oncoming swing from Razzius.

Clank!

The sound of sword smashing into the metal Knight shield sounded through the throne room as Razzius and Benni battled back and forth, each swinging and parrying in a dance that had the battle in a stalemate.

Benni could see that Razzius’ skills with a blade hadn’t faded one bit. The blade that Razzius used looked foreign and mystical to Benni. “What blade is that you wield, Razzius? It is clearly not of our blacksmiths.”

“You are perceptive as ever, Benni. You are indeed correct. My master has granted me this blade to exact my revenge against those who have wronged me!”

Benni looked confused, his face contorting. “Your master?” he asked. “What are you talking about, Razzius? Who are you working with?”

“My master is one with power beyond your imagining. His very presence corrupts the will of men, and I act as his right hand!”

“Razzius, if that is true then he has corrupted you! Don’t you see how ridiculous you sound!?” Benni asked desperately as he flew off-balance from fending off another of Razzius’ slashes.

“No, you fool. He has freed me! He freed me that night from the clutches of my father, and he protected me from your blades in the cave. You couldn’t see me, am I right? That’s because my master used his powers to protect me, to give me another chance…not like you and Lawrence! You cast me out, threw me to the wolves, and now I will have my revenge!”

“Razzius, please listen to me…”

Kill hiiiiiimmmmmmm!
the demonic voice sounded in Razzius’ head.

“Enough of your lies, Benni, it’s time to die!” Razzius swung his sword powerfully and this time connected with Benni’s blade and knocked it from his hand. Benni was backed against a wall, an easy target for an enraged and focused Razzius.

“Finally! Finally I will destroy one of the people responsible for all of this!” He brushed the sword against Benni’s shield; it scratched the surface as he taunted Benni by thrusting and slashing wildly and missing on purpose. “Benni Wakewood, I want you to remember these words as you die…” Razzius’ voice lowered, it was as though he was possessed. “Your people, your lands, your lives, they all belong to me now!” Razzius raised his sword to swing a killing blow.

“Gyahhhhhh!” Sabre called out through the throne room as he burst in through the main doors, rushing Razzius. Razzius quickly put his boot into Benni’s chest, knocking the wind out of him, stunning him. Sabre grabbed Benni’s sword from the ground and swung at Razzius.

“I thought I told you to stay with Elsie!” Benni gasped through shallow breaths. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

“Oh, I just figured that ye could use a little help is all. Don’t worry; Elsie is safe in her room, locked away from these monsters.”

Sabre turned to Razzius. “Ye are nothing but a stain on the name of the Knights of Haile. Claiming to be ridden with misfortune ye turned to evil, to Deminion, to solve yer problems, instead of facing them like a real man! In all me life I have never been so embarrassed in a member of our Knight Guard as I am in ye!” He swung powerfully at Razzius, their blades connecting in a shower of sparks.

“You are nothing more than a washed up drunkard, just like my father!” Razzius sneered. “Sabre Grey, you claim to be a real Knight while others around you struggle just to survive! Although I have to be honest, if you hadn’t shown up at the ceremony that day you would have solved a lot of my problems!”

“We will see who’s washed up, get yer ass over here, boy!” Sabre growled as he rushed Razzius, swinging and connecting again and again. But Sabre was losing steam in his attacks. He had been locked up without food and water and it had taken its toll on him. “I may not be able to go like I used to, but mark my words…”

He stopped suddenly, realizing that Razzius had stabbed him in the gut.

Razzius placed a boot into Sabre’s chest and pushed him off of his blade.

Sabre hit the ground with a thud. He coughed and sputtered as he pulled himself to a nearby wall and leaned up against it. He looked down to see a hole in his stomach where blood flowed freely. Sabre hacked up some blood and coughed. He held Benni’s sword in his right hand and reached into his vest with his left. He pulled out his flask and uncapped it.

“Now ye’ve done it…now ye’ve done gone n’ pissed me off, boy!” He took a swig of the liquid inside the flask and a strong flavor exploded against his taste buds, causing his body to tense up as he swallowed. He watched as the fresh swallow oozed out of the hole in his stomach. “Stagnant Bitch!” he yelled, smacking his lips together.

Razzius looked on, face red with ire. “What did you call me?”

“I didn’t call ye anything! This is me own homebrew; I call it Stagnant Bitch,” Sabre replied. He took another swig. This one went down a bit smoother as his mouth was now used to the harsh flavors. Again he watched as his stomach bubbled out blood and booze. “Ah, ye ain’t so tough, just wait…just…wait…Lawrence…mark me words…Lawrence…that boy…ye don’t stand a chance in hell against...against Lawrence Sanctus.” His words were staggered as he struggled to breathe. Bloodletter had cut him deep, ripped his intestines, and the nasty wound was getting the better of him. He watched the blood pool up around him. “Hah!” he exclaimed. “This looks to me to be nothing but a flesh wound!”

Razzius thrust his sword at Sabre who parried the attack and kicked Razzius in the upper thigh. “What?! Ye didn’t think I would make this easy did ye?” Sabre asked sarcastically.

Kill the Knight
, the spirit’s voice called in Razzius’ head.

He readily obliged, this time plunging his blade deep into Sabre’s chest and ripping it upward through his sternum. Bloodletter cut through bone just as easily as through flesh. Sabre let out a loud “Ugh!” as Lawrence entered the throne room just in time to see his mentor’s life come to a bloody end.

“Sabre!” Lawrence yelled as Razzius pulled a blood-soaked Bloodletter out of the ex-Knight. “Razzius, what have you done?!”

“It’s pretty obvious isn’t it, Lawrence? I am getting revenge on everyone who wronged me! Everyone who betrayed me! Killing Sabre, though, that was just for fun!”

Razzius’ low voice croaked with evil now as he gripped Bloodletter tightly and stalked Lawrence. “I am a servant of Deminion. I am deceptive. I am a force for injustice. When good pervades my lands I slit its exposed throat. I serve the evils of these lands and seek to spread them throughout. Where happiness flourishes I seek it out with my accursed longsword Bloodletter. I spill the blood of the innocent covering the lands in hatred. I am darkness. I am deceptive. I am Razzius The Grim.” Razzius smiled at Lawrence after he had recited his corrupted version of the Hailian Knight’s Oath.

He continued to approach with his sword held high, cocked over his head, ready to strike. Benni and Lawrence carefully inched toward him from each side. They could see a hint of hesitation in Razzius’ step, almost as if he wasn’t sure who to attack.

Benni didn’t give him much time to think about it, however. “Aaaaaaaahhhh!” he screamed. He rushed Razzius’ position and swung his sword in a powerful two-handed slash.

It took all of Razzius’ power to block the blow, but the force from it staggered him. He recovered quickly, though, and sliced and stabbed three consecutive times at Benni, forcing the young Knight to backpedal. Razzius stared down Benni and rushed him.

But Lawrence caught Bloodletter from behind with a glancing blow from Einhander. It was just enough to throw off the trajectory of Razzius’ swing. Razzius stumbled, and Lawrence kicked him in the back, sending the dark Knight sprawling to the opposite end of the room.

“Damn you fools! You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” Razzius growled, leaping back to a fighting stance.

Suddenly his master’s voice sounded in his head again,
Razziusssssssss, run away!! Thisss battle isss lossst! Our army isss no match for that massster sssorcerer and hisss dragon ally. If you fight now, you risssk defeat. Run and flee, Wessssssst to Melde, a great evil isss waiting there for you in the catacombsss underneath Forssstwood! We will win thisss war another day!

Razzius stopped in his tracks and lowered his weapon. “So sorry to ruin the party, boys…” He looked at Benni and then to Lawrence with a sick smile. “But I must take my leave now! But fear not, I will return for you! After them!” Razzius commanded the Sangre guards that were with him. They rushed Lawrence and Benni who took a defensive back to back positioning.

The two Knights knew that Razzius was getting away, but with the multitude of Sangres surrounding them, there was nothing they could do. They had to focus on defeating the ferocious beasts, while Razzius made his way out of the throne room.

“Benni, I have your back, let’s do this!” Lawrence shouted.

“Right, Lawrence, I’ll cut them down and you finish them off!” Benni responded.

Lawrence was immediately reminded of the battle he and Jerreth had fought previously. His father’s death and Razzius’ pending escape enraged him even more. Each swing he took was calculated, each slash and stab was purposeful. Lawrence was furious. He knew Razzius was getting away, but he couldn’t leave Benni to fight alone against such overwhelming odds. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Sangres stopped coming. Lawrence and Benni rushed downstairs and out of the castle just in time to watch Razzius ride off on one of their steeds.

“Destroy them all!” Razzius ordered as he rode out of Haile,

The remaining Sangres collapsed into piles of muck. Everything fell silent for a moment until all of a sudden each pool rushed toward another and then another, getting larger and larger as they congealed together. In the center of the city sat one viscous, huge pile of bubbling black ooze that began to transform.

First, a round body began to form with four monstrous legs. Then, a huge tail elongated with a giant, pointed stinger at its end. Four mighty arms of viscous goo stretched from the gelatinous body. Then three separate necks stretched out simultaneously. Atop those necks sat three enormous Sangre heads, composed from the heads of its component Sangres. Their vile, atrocious red eyes looked in every direction. They each let out an ear piercing screech as the Sangre Tridra stomped and rampaged through the city, further destroying the already toppled homes and buildings. The city was on the brink of total destruction as the beast began to lumber toward Knights Runn.

Lawrence and Benni stood at the gate to the castle looking on in horror as the gargantuan beast trudged and sloshed its way toward them, each step trampling more and more of the ruined city. They looked at each other in desperate search of a solution, but had no idea how to stop the behemoth that stood before them. It gripped a home with its arms and crushed it to splinters.

“Benni, we have to get everyone out of the castle! We need to start the evacuation now!”

As they turned to go back into the castle, a voice called to them. “That won’t be necessary, boys.” It was the bartender from the Silver Shield.

“Bartender, what are you saying?” Lawrence stammered. “There is no way we can hope to defeat that beast!”

“What I am saying is we already have the perfect weapon to combat this demon with, look there!”

He pointed to the sky where Valpherinox was flying right toward the Sangre demon. The Tridra howled at its airborne foe, its myriad eyes glowing bright red as the demon readied itself for impact. Valpherinox barreled and corkscrewed through the dark clouds and crashed into the beast.

Lawrence wasn’t exactly sure when the point of contact was, all he could sense was the deafening shockwave that the impact sent through the city. Every Knight and every citizen in Haile felt the ground shudder as the mighty dragon Valpherinox and the Sangre Tridra collided.

The two beasts became entwined with each other, each taking bites and screeching in anger at the other. The Tridra used two of its arms to restrict Valpherinox’s movement and swiped at the dragon with its other arms and three giant multi-Sangre heads. Valpherinox absorbed the blows and responded in kind by clawing and biting at the Sangre beast’s chest and faces.

The battle raged for a long time, each beast taking insurmountable damage as they rolled through the city, destroying homes and gates. Valpherinox went to breathe fire on the beast, but was caught in the chest by its stinger. Valpherinox recoiled in pain, but couldn’t break free from the beast’s sticky grip. The stinger struck the dragon again and again, coring huge, bleeding holes in the dragon’s underbelly. Valpherinox was injured and knew that he needed to act fast. Valpherinox blocked a stab attempt and lunged headfirst into the beast, goring it with his two ivory horns. Now the dragon was in close, but the Tridra wasn’t done. The Tridra tried to stab the dragon through his hard, scaly back, but Valpherinox’s defenses were up to the challenge. Again and again the beast hammered its stinger into Valpherinox’s spine. The dragon’s scales chipped and cracked and broke away until they were gone and his flesh was exposed. The next hit could permanently injure the mighty dragon.

Valpherinox sensed the danger that he was in, and struggled and pulled with all his might and finally lifted his horns out of the monster’s sticky body. Valpherinox summoned his remaining strength and breathed a huge blast of fire into the underbelly of the Sangre beast. The monster squealed in pain, its stinger stopping just short of the dragon’s exposed flesh. Valpherinox broke free of its gooey grip and swiped through one of its necks. The head soared through the air, and crashed near the Silver Shield Pub. The monster was vulnerable now. Another swipe took out the second head. It fell to the ground as Valpherinox continued his volley of attacks. He clamped his jaws around its third neck. He bit down and twisted, breaking the neck easily with his powerful jaws. Valpherinox positioned himself over the decapitated Sangre Tridra and breathed a wave of fire onto the beast. It erupted in flames and screeched in pain. Valpherinox took flight, and soared into the heavens. He belted out a ferocious roar for all to hear. The dragon shot one last fireball down to the city, which smashed into the Tridra, exploding it into little flame-covered pieces.

The battle was over. But Haile had been destroyed. And evil had escaped.

The dragon descended down to the city once again and perched on top of a pile of rubble. He folded his wings.

Galvan approached the mighty beast. “Valpherinox, thank you for helping us,” the sorcerer said.

“That was fun, uman! I no wait to see evil they send next time!” Valpherinox grumbled.

Galvan slapped his hand across the dragon’s huge leg. “I’m just thankful that you didn’t destroy the pub. At least we will have a place to celebrate our victory today,” Galvan said half-heartedly. He knew that nearly every civilian in Haile had lost their homes and it would take a long time to rebuild the city. Even though they had destroyed the Sangres and chased Razzius away, the severe cost to Haile could be considered a victory for the evil ex-Knight.

The dragon soared high into the air once more and flew off. He circled the city and roared to celebrate his victory. Galvan had a few more tasks to attend to. As for the rest of the city, they all cheered with elation after driving the evil out. Many of them were just thankful to be alive.

Benni turned to Lawrence who still stood in awe of the mammoth creatures and the battle he had just witnessed. “Lawrence, Elsie is in her room, you should go to her now.”

Lawrence acknowledged Benni’s advice, and returned to the castle where he made his way to Elsie’s room. The corridors were familiar and it didn’t take him long to find her quarters. He opened the door slowly. “Elsie, Elsie it’s me, Lawrence.”

“Lawrence!” Elsie cried out, overjoyed to hear his voice after the gruesome battle. She struggled to the doorway where he stood and the two embraced, grateful to Sora for their reunion.

Lawrence couldn’t believe the beating that Elsie had endured. He visualized punching Phillip in his bloody face once again. “In Sora’s name, what did Phillip do to you?”

“Oh, Lawrence, I was so scared,” Elsie exclaimed. “That evil Phillip beat me and abused me and almost killed me, but I didn’t give in. I didn’t listen to his tormenting; I kept on believing that you would come to save me. I knew that you and Benni would come back to Haile, I just knew it. Oh, Lawrence, I love you so much!” She cried on his shoulder, holding him tighter with every passing moment.

“I am happy you are safe, Elsie,” Lawrence said in a shaky voice. Thoughts of what he had done to Phillip and what had happened to his father and Sabre Grey flooded into his mind.

“What’s the matter, Lawrence? You look so unhappy,” Elsie said. She tried to force a smile. She knew something was wrong.

“I watched my father die in my arms, Elsie. Phillip killed him, and there was nothing I could do. We had just made our amends, and then I had to watch him die. After all this time, my family was finally back together and then they were taken away from me again. My mother and my father are both gone, Elsie, and I can’t help but feel responsible. If I had just covered up for Razzius that night, none of this would have happened and my family would-”

Elsie cut him off. “No, Lawrence! Do not ever say that! You know that isn’t true! If you had done that, your mother would have been hurt forever by your actions, and you know that your father always wanted you to hold true to your values! I won’t stand by and let you do this to yourself! Lawrence Sanctus is a Knight of Haile, a force for justice, not some corrupt bastard!” Elsie’s face was wet with tears. “The man I love would never do something so evil, so depraved as to cover up for someone who took their hatred out on others. It just isn’t true! I know you better than that!”

Elsie gripped Lawrence tightly. Her embrace shook him from his depression, reminding him of his true purpose. “Since I have known you, Lawrence, you have never given up on your dream of becoming a Knight and you certainly have never done wrong. As far as I am concerned, Razzius is the reason for your parents’ deaths, not you.”

The two stood there for a long time, just holding each other. Lawrence knew that Elsie was right; he just struggled to accept it.

“What happened to Phillip and Sabre Grey?” Elsie asked. “Where are they now?”

Tears began to fall from Lawrence’s face. He could barely choke out his answer. “I watched Sabre die right in front of me by Razzius’ hands as he was trying to protect Benni. He died as he lived, a Knight of Haile. No matter how many times he told me he didn’t want to do it, and no matter how much he sounded like he didn’t care, I know deep down that Sabre Grey really loved this city. I will be lucky to ever be half the man that he or my father were.” A morbid look flashed across Lawrence’s face. “Phillip is dead.”

“How do you know this, Lawrence?” Elsie inquired.

“I…I…I killed him, Elsie, I beat him to death. I couldn’t stop myself once I started, I couldn’t control my rage. When I saw my father dying and thought of the harm he caused you, I just lost control. I’m sorry.” Lawrence lowered his head, feeling ashamed of his actions.

Elsie’s tone became dark. “He deserved it,” she said.

Lawrence smiled slightly and hugged Elsie close again. Her bruised face and messy hair and dirty skin were all so beautiful to him. She had survived and they were together. It was all that mattered now.