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Chapter VI
The night was thick;
Nuin-Covl covered the earth with her deep blackness, and Luna and her children
ruled the heavens. A warm summer breeze blew gently, moving small
patches of clouds across the sky at hardly a snail's pace. My sobs
finally ended, and my eyes hurt from too much crying. I looked up
to Kes, but she was staring at some point far beyond infinity, her eyes
glazed and her thoughts far, far away. I knew what she was thinking:
'Gods, what I have gotten myself into?' I felt a sudden stab of guilt,
as if it had been my fault that she was here with me, haunted by the same
ghosts, frightened by the same terrors. It made a pitiful kind of
sense: we were practically one, the elf and I; our souls and our fates
intertwined and perhaps interchangeable.
What a bitter and
terrifying thought that is to me in the present. But, there, sitting
in that horrid valley, my cheeks stinging from the tears and my entire
body still trembling in horror, it seemed to be some fantastic thing, some
kind of salvation, some proof that the universe was perhaps, occasionally,
kind; and that unjust chance did not rule.
Such judgments as
'kind' and 'unjust' I have learned to be irrelevant. It is true that
chaos swings each an every life to and fro like a bug on the end of thread.
But it is also true that each life creates its own order, and that the
greatest of beings create order outside of their lives. It is true
that the chaos that is the universe provides things fortunate, but it provides
things unfortunate as well. To make judgements of any of this is
quite futile.
However, to that child
of nine there in Kes' arms, the thought that our souls and destinies were
intertwined and perhaps one, was a great lift to my spirits. I was
no longer alone.
I had not learned
yet that I will forever be alone.
But I ramble about
nonsense to you. Kes made a camp within the small valley of the ambush,
but I could not stay within that defiled site. The moment that I
saw that Kes was about to build a fire, I crept silently away over the
hill to the west and hid myself within the tall plains grass.
I did not sleep that
night; horrible visions of fire and Kraz haunted me like some terrible
ghost from the recent past. The moment that I would close my eyes
I would see the Guild of Bridgeville engulfed in flames, and I would watch
as the flames reached out to grab me with terrible, snake-like arms.
And I would run, run as fast and as hard as I could, a mortal terror and
blind panic filling my soul. But I could not out-run the seeking
appendages. The flames would soon engulf me, a shattering scream
lodged in my throat, the flames licking at my skin and peeling my clothes
away like the layers of an onion. Suddenly I would feel a terrible,
writhing surge of fire strike my back, piercing through my chest -
And I would open my
eyes with a startled and painful gasp, the contorted and horrified face
of that Watchman filling my mind. Despite the warm night air, I would
shiver. No, I did not sleep a wink that night.
By dawn Thorax and
Chantel had recuperated enough to ride. We had no idea where we were,
save in the middle of the wilderness of the Central Plains. But Thorax
had earlier assured us that if we traveled far enough to the west, we would
find civilization.
Kes came to find me
when the others were ready to leave. "Kae?" she said tentatively
as she sat slowly beside me.
"You are the only
person who knows my name anymore." I lied, but for all practical
purposes it was true. Stephen had made it clear that he wished to
remain anonymous; Jack and his band were a world away for all it mattered.
And Leila was dead. - I gave no thought to my parents, long since
gone from the world and my mind.
Kes did not reply
to my statement. She did not have to. She could not; there
were no proper words. We sat in silence for a long while.
"Kae," Kes began at
last, revealing the human weakness of a dread of silence. "I want
you to know that I will always be here for you." She moved to put
her arm around me, but I pushed it away.
The night before,
my heart would have melted to hear those words and I would have believed
them with all of my soul. But I'd had another vision during that
night: the too familiar dream of Kes trapped with a crystal sphere, surrounded
with flames and rock. I could watch her pound heavily upon the magical
sphere, and her mouth forming round, strangely silent screams. That
night I'd had a realization. And I had continued to die.
"No you won't," I
said to Kes. My words were bitter, as if she was at fault for her
fate. "No one will always be there. I don't even think you'll
be 'round fer much longer. No one stays fer long." Gods!
If I could take back those words! Even then, I felt that by speaking
them I had sealed her fate, had made my dream reality. I would give
all that I am to take back those bitterly prophetic words.
The hurt shone through
Kes' face, and I bit my lower lip. Then, suddenly, almost desperately,
I wrapped my arms about her and held the elf close. "But you're here
right now. That's all that I care."
Kes hugged me close
as the dawn cast long, deep shadows before us and the sky slowly turned
from that deep twilight blue to gradually lighter shades. And I felt
her tears upon my hair.
Poor Kes, I thought.
Poor, poor Kes.
But what could I do?
The ride to Magidale
was uneventful. I remember only hours upon hours of endless, terribly
flat plains. The only hope I took that we were not lost in some featureless
Hell was the grey and purple mountains that loomed permanently on the horizon,
tremendous giants that kept watch over the whole valley. The journey
seemed to last an eternity in which I rarely removed my arms from about
Kes' waist, as if my feeble but determined grasp could keep her from the
torturous clutches of the universe and its designs.
We arrived in the
city of Magidale in the early evening, and I was cheated from my sunset
by the ponderous city walls. The reason for the city's name was plainly
evident even before one passed through the city gates. Towers and
spires of myriad designs stood well above the city walls, to be viewed
from miles around. The city, while not even worth comparing to the
size and awesome grandeur of Near Capital or even Bridgeville, none the
less had an air of elegance and prestige. I knew that there would
be no Thieves' Guild in this city, though many an apprentice mage could
find a master and tutor here without much trouble. Kes and Chantel
immediately relaxed upon entering the city, and even Thorax seemed more
comfortable in the slightly mystical air of Magidale.
The entire city unnerved
me. Though it was evident that most of population were not spellcasters,
the air throbbed with an aura of magical forces. Forces that were
far beyond my comprehension or control. A city full a thieves with
their knives and blades I could handle; a city full of mages and their
arts I could not.
Rather surprisingly,
there was a large House of the Sabbath in the city. The House typically
disdained mages, and demonized psykers. But here one thrived amidst
a great throng of wizards and the like. We made the House our first
stop, and paid a hefty sum - two of our four diamonds - to heal Chantel
and Thorax. Once that was accomplished, our next stop was evident
to everyone: an inne. The strain of the past few days had been great,
and it was beginning to show upon everyone's face, perhaps even mine, though
I tried my best to reveal nothing.
The two rooms we rented
that night at the inne cost a paltry few gold pieces, nothing that we could
not afford even without our new gems. Over dinner, conversation was
light, if a little guarded. No one mentioned the skirmish of the
night before, or even Bridgeville. Plans were made to rest a few
days, and then perhaps to seek employment here in Magidale, or maybe head
South to destinations unknown. "Hey, anything has to be safer than
what we've done so far," Chantel said, and nothing more was added.
We all understood, and then wished to stop remembering.
After perhaps a bit
too much wine, we retired to our rooms: Kes and I would share a chamber,
and Thorax and Chantel would sleep in the adjacent one. This happened
more by hazard than by plan; we had simply had enough money to afford two
rooms, and had felt like doing so.
It feels so strange
to refer to oneself as part of a collective. Being part of a larger
whole meant relying upon others, trusting people. The thieving maxim
"Trust no one" had been burned into my thinking since my youth. But
that night at last I really felt comfortable as part of a group.
That night I crawled into the bed with Kes with perhaps something of a
smile on my face and - maybe it was the wine - few worries on my mind.
And so I did not see
the black raven that had perched itself upon the window sill outside, its
eyes glowing a deep and angry red.
It was late, Nuin-Covl
yet again covering the world with her deepest black. But tonight
Lark had frowned upon the world, and thick clouds kept Luna or her stars
from shining upon the body of Gaia and her inhabitants. Despite the
warmth of summer, an unusually cool - almost cold - wind blew strongly
through the city streets. Though an occasional candle glowed within
a tower or two, like magical beacons upon a lost world, the city was fast
asleep, and would forever be ignorant of the blackness that seeped through
its streets upon the wind.
The cold rush of air
stopped before an inne, whose every window was black and every inhabitant
fast asleep. There the demon stood, its coal-like eyes burning within
the physical form it always took. It had been wounded not long before,
though the greatest blow had been to its pride, and now the demon stood
upon the window sill like some terrible bird of prey. Its thoughts
were black, and its intentions worse.
With a slight moan
that could have been the creak of a loose shutter, three figures appeared
in street before the inne, and the wind was gone. They were dressed
in all black, with the hoods of their robes pulled tightly over their heads.
They had found the demon, and knew that it had found the boy. What
purpose this errand served they were not sure, nor did they particularly
care. Glymch wanted the boy, and so the head priest would have him.
The three figures
passed silently into the inne, not bothering with the door. They
floated more than walked, making only a slight swishing sound when their
black robes brushed against some piece of furniture or a wall. They
ascended to the room where the boy was sleeping, and entered just as easily
- without using the door.
They examined both
the elf and the boy as they encircled the bed. Both appeared sound
asleep, a rather peaceful look upon their faces. They slept facing
each other, the elf's hand lying on the boy's shoulder. They emanated
an air of camaraderie that made the figures ill at ease. The servants
of Kraz were well aware of the powers of these two, their accomplishments.
It was best that they complete their task quickly.
The figures spoke
to each other in the only tongue they could remember; the sound of soft
scratches and clicks floated eerily through the air. One of the figures
glanced out the window to where the demon still perched, its eyes boring
into the boy. It was of use no longer, and was quickly commanded
away. But the demon stayed. The figure grumbled, but it could
do little about the demon.
With snake-like swiftness,
a figure reached down and took hold of the boy. Immediately the boy's
eyes flew open, and he opened his mouth to scream, but the cry remained
lodged in his throat and a look of total horror filled his face as he gazed
directly into the figure's eyes. The servant grinned wickedly at
its prey, and then the four flew out the window, the mass of the boy shattering
the glass.
The elf-mage started
from sleep at the tremendous noise, immediately awake and alert.
"Kae?" she called desperately, leaping from bed to the hole where the window
had been. "Kae?!" But there was no one and nothing to be seen,
only an empty street where blew a cool wind.
The demon lighted
upon the floor of the inne chamber, and the elf recoiled, her hand reaching
for a dagger that was not there at her hip. The raven allowed its
eyes to laugh, and then took to flight to follow the servants back to the
Black Chapel. It could hear the determined and menacing screams of
the elf-mage behind it as it flew away and thought: "She will come.
And I will dine."
I have little conscious
memories of the next few days, though then time had little meaning.
My life was divided into sleep, with terrible nightmares that offered little
rest, and waking, with perhaps worse atrocities: hideous tortures in stone
chambers far beneath the ground. Glymch played upon my fears and
my hatreds and my loves like a bard would play a lyre. I can remember
his demonic gaze when I first arrived. I felt that familiar, horrified
chill run down my spine and fill my very being, and I fought back tears.
His demonic smile revealed hideous teeth that were razor sharp, and his
hands sprouted things that were more like claws than fingers, though he
was extremely dexterous. I keep only vague impressions of the tortures
I endured to Glymch's great delight. And perhaps only vague impression
are enough.
I clearly remember
only one thing, a thought that reverberated from somewhere outside in the
back of my mind as I faded in an out of consciousness, a single word: revenge,
revenge, revenge.
"Kae."
The sound floated
into my consciousness, and then slowly faded away. I gave it no attention.
I was too tired.
"Kae."
Louder this time,
more determined. It echoed slightly in my dull state. I sill
paid no attention. I would not fall for this trick again. Glymch
would fill me with no more false hope.
"Kae!"
I felt myself being
shaken rather sternly, though gently. The action and the sound collided
in my mind, and I felt a moment of lucidity. I tried to open my eyes.
"Kes?" I moaned.
I felt the chains
being unlatched. Then I was taken down from the wall and cradled
softly in tender arms. A warm hand caressed my cheek. "Kae,
gods, what have they done to you?"
I managed, after a
great deal of effort, to open my eyes. Though my vision was still
blurred, I could be sure that it was Kes. The thought that this was
yet another illusion flickered across my mind, but I dismissed it.
I was too tired to fight anymore. If this was how Glymch would destroy
me, then so be it. I would welcome the freedom.
There was the bustle
and sound of movement about the room, and after a few moments of careful
attention I could discern the voices of Chantel and Thorax. They
sounded none too well themselves, though in considerably better condition
than me.
"The vial," I heard
Kes demand. "The vial, give it to me." Then I felt a cool,
syrupy liquid poured into my mouth and run down my throat.
I breathed deeply,
and laid my hand upon Kes' as she put the vial down. "Is it really
you? This isn't a trick, is it, Glymch?" It was a strain to
talk, to even form the words in my mind.
"No," Kes said.
"No, it's really me. I told you that I would be here. I promised."
The reminder sent
a chill stab of sorrow through me. "You shouldn't've come," I said.
"You shouldn't've - "
"Ssshh," Kes said,
covering my lips with a finger. "We've had a hell of time getting
down here to rescue you. Don't tell me now that it won't be worth
the trouble."
I closed my eyes again,
and thought to shake my head, but decided to conserve my strength.
Suddenly, the thick potion in my stomach began to work. I felt a
light heat begin to creep through my body, giving strength to my weary
bones and bruised muscles. I took another deep breath, and opened
my eyes to see Kes clearly now. Chantel was bent over, regarding
me with a touch of tenderness. I tried to give them a smile, but
found that I could not.
"That was the last
vial," Chantel said to Kes.
"I know," Kes replied.
"But we're going to need him."
"Hell of a lot of
good his being able to walk is going to do us if we get killed trying to
get out of here," Thorax said. I turned my head to see him standing
by the doorway, a massive sentinel. He had certainly seen better
days. His clothing was torn, and his right arm was wrapped, though
some blood had soaked through. There was a haggard and tired expression
on his face that was probably quite like mine.
"Gods," I said.
"What'd you guys go through to get here?"
"Hell, kid," Chantel
said. I turned to look at her, and saw that she was in no better
condition than the psyker. Her left cheek bore a large cut that would
most likely leave a scar, and there was bandage about her left thigh, which
I could see through a large hole in her robe. Chantel turned to Kes.
"So, have any ideas how we're going to get out of here?"
Kes gave a heavy sigh. "Certainly not the same way we came
in. The sanctuary is probably crawling with priests now."
"I'm surprised
that the lower levels aren't crawling with them yet," Thorax remarked.
"Frankly, I'm surprised that we've come this far."
I wriggled out of
Kes's arms and stood. My legs were shaky at first, but soon I found
my balance again. I took another deep breath. "It's the only
way in or out," I said.
"And how do you know
this?" Chantel asked.
"I know Glymch," I
replied. "He ain't stupid."
Kes looked suddenly
depressed, and Chantel bit her lower lip.
"What?" I asked.
"When we entered the
sanctuary," Kes began, "I cast a spell that would detect evil presences."
A heavy silence hung in the air for a moment. I knew the rest and
I did not want to hear it. "The entire hall glowed pitch black.
It was thicker than midnight in the heart of winter, and colder.
That hall is filled with shadows and demons unseen without the spell."
Her lip began to tremble. "I wish I had never cast it." She
sniffled. "I can't go back there, Kae. I just can't."
I stared at Kes in
utter disbelief. Kes was strong; Kes did not say things like that.
Kes could endure horrors that I could not. Kes, like Leila, was immortal.
I was dumbfounded, and I felt a little bit more of the foundation beneath
my feet crumble. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and clenched
my fists. I stuffed everything down inside: no more pain, no more
thoughts, no more feelings. The name of the game was survival.
"I'm gonna need a
weapon," I said.
Kes gave a shuddering
sigh, and then nodded. She took a knife from her belt and handed
it to me.
"We can't stay here
anymore," I said. "They know exactly what you guys're doin' here
and where you were goin'." I led the others out. Each of us
carried an determined grimace upon an otherwise blank face. It was
likely that none of us were going to make it out alive, but we couldn't
just sit back and let it happen.
And still that thought
reverberated in my mind, like a ghost ever so slowly fading further and
further away: revenge, revenge, revenge. There was faint,
mocking laughter in my ears, and it boiled my blood.
The cold stone corridors
were lighted by torches mounted upon the walls every few paces, but the
shadows were still deep and thick. I walked with the knife drawn
and ready, though I doubted that knife would do much good against most
of what I would find down here. The corridors seemed to be an endless,
vast labyrinth that surrounded us like the shadows. I felt tremendously
ill at ease, and jumped at the lightest sound. The rest of the party
remained silent behind me, and I had to look over my shoulder occasionally
to be sure that everyone was still following.
Finally, we arrived
at a set of stairs that had been carved from the same rock as the walls.
There was no one in sight, and the fact unnerved me.
"What gives?" Chantel
asked.
"I smell a trap,"
Thorax muttered. I nodded.
"There's only one
way out?" Kes asked. I nodded again, trying look apologetic.
Kes looked pensive, then reserved. "Then we're going to have to do
it."
I motioned for everyone
to be quiet as the sound of boots upon the stone floor approached at the
top of the stairs, and then slowly faded into the distance. We all
breathed a collective sigh of relief. "It's gonna be a mad dash,"
I said. "If we stop to fight we won't make it." The rest nodded
in agreement. We all turned our gaze to the top of the stairs.
There our destinies lied, which we knew was probably certain death.
"If you have any prayers," I said, "say 'em now."
There was total silence
for a few moments. I nodded, and began up the stairs.
We were met by a small
cadre of priests. They were dressed in their typical black robes,
and each carried a very nasty-looking morningstar.
I flashed them a menacing
smile. "Good morning, gentlemen. You have nice establishment
here, but I think we've overstayed our welcome."
"On the contrary,
we'd like you to stay much longer." I felt my stomach churn as Glymch
emerged from the shadows.
"Hell," Thorax cursed.
I did the only thing
I think of to do: I turned my heel and ran. There was no force in
all the universe that bring me to face Glymch one more time. Kraz
himself could strike me down, but he could not bring me to confront that
demon of a man anymore. I heard the thud and clank of weapons striking
flesh behind me. But I breathed a sigh of relief to see that all
three of my companions were following in my flight.
"You cannot escape,
boy! You cannot run forever!" Glymch's voice bellowed after me, his
scratchy voice sending shivers through my body and causing me to run faster.
I would be damned if I did not make it out of this chapel, one way or another.
Suddenly, another
group of priests appeared before us down the hallway. I gasped, and
immediately turned to open a door and dash inside, ushering my companions
in also. I slammed the door shut, and then leaned upon it, my chest
heaving.
"We're not going to
make it," Chantel said. "We're not going to make it."
"Shut up," I scowled.
"Find something to block this door, now!"
Chantel and Thorax
swiftly jumped to action. The room was apparently a library or study
of some sort, with several tables piled high with large books.
"Hello, what's this?"
Kes said as she grabbed an open book from a table that Thorax and Chantel
had just picked up.
"No time fer study,
Kes," I said. "Jus' gimme a hand here." I began piling books
upon the table before the door my other two companions had picked up another
table. The priests on the other side had begun to pound upon it.
"Kes...."
"Quiet," she said.
"This is a spellbook."
"And...."
"It might have something
to help us."
"Oh. Great.
Tell me when you find a handy spell. That is, if I'm still alive
to hear the wonderful news."
Kes flipped a few
pages, and then her eyes lit up like torches. "Here!" She stood
before the door, the spellbook in one hand, and began to read from it,
her hand weaving some mystical motions.
"Oh gods," I said.
Several priests had begun to emerge through the thick stone walls.
And suddenly, they stopped, halfway through, a grimace on each face.
I grinned as I realized what had happened: they were stuck. "Kes,
remind me to kiss you when we get out here." I swiftly slit open
a half-dozen exposed and helpless necks. I took a great deal of satisfaction
in the crimson pools on the floor.
"Now," Thorax said.
"Can you find a handy spell to get us the hell out of here?"
Kes began flipping
through the pages of the spellbook like mad. Gods only know how long
her protection spell would last. "Umm...." We waited with great
impatience. I kept a wary eye on the walls. "Umm....
Here!" Kes again began chanting some archaic tongue. She finished,
then closed the book with a huge grin.
"Kes, we're still
here," I said.
"The spell doesn't
move us," she explained. "But it allows us to move like those priests."
She motioned to the half-dozen corpses in the wall.
"Well, great, then,"
Chantel said. "Let's move!"
We quickly ran toward
the far wall, but all stopped just before it. "Are you sure this
is gonna work?" I asked.
Kes shrugged.
"Only one way to find out." She set her shoulders, and proceeded
to disappear through the wall.
I shook my head, unnerved
slightly at the effect. "I still hate magic." Then I dove through
the wall with Thorax and Chantel.
We emerged into a
gigantic room. Torches lined the walls, and the chamber was easily
fifty paces long and twenty paces wide. "Why do I have this feeling," I
said, "that we did not want to come here?"
"Perhaps," came a
gravelly voice from the far end of the chamber, "because I did wish you
to come."
I peered hard at the
far end of the huge chamber, but saw nothing... except a pair of blood-red,
glowing points in the shadows. The raven stepped forward into the
torch light, and then began to grow. As it grew, the demon began
to change form. In a matter of moments the demon stood before us
as the most grotesque creature that I could imagine: It stood upon
two goat's legs, though the torso was human and its hand sprouted claws
much like that of Glymch. A pair of bat-like wings protruded from
it back which encircled the head of a bull, with horns that almost touched
the ceiling. It must have stood three times the height of a man,
and its voice boomed like that of Kraz himself: "Do you prefer this to
that bird?!" it mocked.
"Gods," Thorax whispered.
"What the hell are
you?" Chantel demanded.
"I am called Dymancil,"
the demon answered. "Though my name means little to you, for now
I shall have my feast."
"Over my dead body,"
I grumbled.
"I was counting on
that." It gave a sly grin, and then its eyes narrowed into menacing
slits of burning red.
"Kae!" Kes called,
and then tossed me her dagger.
"But -"
"Just take it!" she
said. "It worked before. Besides, I've got a new spellbook
to exploit."
I huffed, and then
turned towards the demon with Kes' magical dagger in my hand. Thorax
and Chantel had already split to the sides of the room to give it many
targets instead of one.
"Don't think that
you're puny weapons or powers can harm me, mortals," Dymancil said.
"I'll pick you off one by one." He flinched as a Chantel's blue bolt
of energy struck him in the face, but it left no mark.
I huffed again.
"I just love unbeatable odds," I muttered to myself. "Kes, a really
big spell would be nice. Really soon!" Then, having nothing
better to do, I charged the demon. "I'm a fool," I said to myself
again. "I'm a dead fool."
Dymancil laughed as
I approached, then swung his massive arm and swept me neatly to the side.
I was flung full-force into the wall, knocking the wind out of me.
"Foolish boy," it laughed, then turned to Thorax, who seemed to be annoying
it with huge pillars of fire shooting from his hands.
I smiled to myself:
Dymancil had its back to me. "Foolish demon." I sprang to my
feet, ignoring the pain that assailed me from every muscle, and then ran
full-tilt towards the demon. When I was close enough, I leapt to
its back, and drove the dagger as hard and as deep as I could.
Dymancil roared in
pain, and quickly swung about. I was thrown from the demon's back,
but I kept the dagger in my hand as I smacked against another wall.
"Kes!" I called. "Soon would be a good thing!"
"I'm working on it!"
she answered.
Dymancil had swung
back around, and his seeking eyes found me in a moment. Chantel's
and Thorax's daring attacks seemed hardly more than little nuisances as
he approached. His red eyes burned with a horrible anger. I
had wounded him, and he would not let the insult pass without a fatal reply.
"Here!" Kes yelled.
She stood, and began casting the spell.
Dymancil's eyes flew
wide open as he recognized the spell that Kes was casting. "No!"
he cried, and turned to face her. He extended his hand palm-out towards
Kes, and suddenly the elf-mage was engulfed by a brilliant blue light that
formed a sphere about her. Quickly, the light began to solidify,
forming a transparent crystal sphere.
"NO!!" I screamed,
leaping to my feet and running to the demon. With my teeth gritted
in sheer angry force, I tore the dagger through Dymancil's heel, and it
fell to the floor, howling in pain. "You sonofabitch!!" I cried,
leaping atop its chest. "I'll kill you!! I'll kill you!!"
I stabbed the dagger again and again and again into the demon's chest with
all my strength, determined to beat the damned thing to death if that was
necessary.
Dymancil flailed about
in helpless pain as I assailed it. Finally, its chest full of gory
holes that oozed a thick, black blood, the demon howled in anguish, and
then disappeared. I fell to the floor with it no longer beneath me,
and sprawled in pool of its horrible blood.
"Kae," Chantel said
as she approached, "are you all right?"
I leapt to my feet
in an instant. "Kes!!" I yelled, and rushed to where she was trapped
within the sphere. She was pounding upon it ferociously, her mouth
forming terrible, silent screams. "Kes!!" I screamed as I pounded
upon the magical sphere. Suddenly, the sphere began to sink into
the floor. My panic increased. I screamed incoherently and
used the dagger upon the crystal sphere. I pounded harder and harder,
with all my might, as the sphere descended into the ground with Kes trapped
and helpless inside.
"KES!!" I bellowed
as the last bit of the sphere disappeared into the cold stone floor.
"KES!!" I pounded futilely upon the floor, tears streaming down my
face. I whimpered her name over and over as my fatigue finally overcame
my panic and anger, the jumble of terrible feelings in my heart.
I felt a tender hand
take my arm and begin to pull me to my feet. "Kae," Chantel said.
"Kae, she's gone. There's nothing you can do."
"NO!" I strained
against Chantel's grip. "NOOO!"
"Kae, dammit!" Chantel
snapped. "She gave her life to get you out of here, and it'd be a
goddamned shame if you didn't make it out alive!"
Her words struck some
chord, and suddenly calmed me. My lower lip trembled, though I had
stopped crying. I stared at the spot on the floor where Kes had disappeared.
A few moments passed in silence.
"Come on," I heard
Thorax say. He was definitely wounded. "They won't take long
to find us."
Chantel once again
took my arm, and began to pull me away. I was in such a daze that
I allowed myself to be pulled, even took a few steps, but I could not run.
I felt numb. All I could see was Kes pounding upon the crystal sphere,
watching those silent screams. I felt Thorax pick me up and throw
my slim figure over his shoulder. I gave no protest, I was too dazed.
I was too shocked and horrified to do much of anything.
Apparently the transportation
spell that Kes had cast was still working, for we passed through a number
of walls in our flight, startling quite a few servants of Kraz, and attracting
a good number of hunters. We burst into the sanctuary at a full-tilt
run.
"Put me down!" I cried
suddenly.
Thorax halted suddenly,
and tossed me to my feet. "Hope you can run, boy."
I nodded. "Keep
going," I said. "I'll meet you outside."
Chantel began to protest:
"What the - "
"Go!" I yelled.
"Just be ready to ride like the damned wind."
Chantel huffed and
she and Thorax ran out of the sanctuary just as priests began to flow out
of the back of the sanctuary. I drew my dagger, and held it ready
before me.
"Stop!" I yelled,
and to my slight surprise, they did. I breathed heavily and glared
at the group. I looked for Glymch in their midst, though I did not
see him. Even that monster could no longer frighten me. I had
just seen the bottom of the pit of despair, nothing could frighten me any
longer. A heavy silence hung in the air for a few long moments.
"You take this message back to your damned high priest and your damned
god: this is far from over!" I dug the dagger into the flat black
tile, and made a large gouge that was the length of my arm. Having
left my mark and my reminder, I turned and fled out of the sanctuary.
Thorax and Chantel
were waiting upon their horses. I jumped upon Kes' horse, fighting
down a pang of sorrow because she would ride it no longer. In a heartbeat
we were speeding away to the south. In perhaps half an hour we had
arrived at a ridge which overlooked the city of Bridgeville, and finally
I had a bearing on my location.
I looked behind us
for a long while, but there was no sign of any perusers. Perhaps
the priests had given up. Perhaps not.
A silence hung in
the air between the three of us for a long time as we sat upon our horses
on the road.
"So, now what?"
Chantel asked the obvious question at last.
It was approaching
dusk, and the setting sun cast beautiful red shadows upon the city in the
distance. Bridgeville's stalwart walls seemed to glow almost magically,
and I knew that I had to return. "I'm going back," I said.
"Why?" Thorax asked.
I looked at him and
smirked. "Why not? I have nowhere else to go."
"Stay with us," Chantel
pleaded.
I shook my head and
said gravely: "Kes's gone now, she was my only reason fer stayin'.
You guys have your own lives to live, an' you can do that without me."
Chantel nodded slowly
in acquiescence. "Well, then farewell," she said. "May the
gods smile upon you."
"The gods don't smile
upon me," I said. "I would prefer if they would not notice me at
all." And with that I left them, turning toward Bridgeville and speeding
away towards my new home.
As I approached the
city, I felt the hole in my heart open again and bleed once more.
I fought back the tears, but in vain. The Watchmen at the city gate
did not even stop me. I directed the horse to the nearest dark alley
that I could find, then climbed to roof of one of the adjacent buildings
to watch the sunset.
Feelings, Jack had
taught me, get you killed. You feel, you make mistakes; you make
mistakes, you get killed. It was a simple and horribly true maxim.
I had learned a new truth: feelings kill you. They hurt you, and they are
not worth the pain. Feelings are not worth dying for. I could
close my eyes against the burning sun, and easily imagine the feel of Kes
holding me close, the great security of her presence. But the moment
I opened my eyes, those feelings returned to the past and I remained in
the present, where she was gone.
It all has to do with
the fleeting nature of things. Nothing is permanent, everything you
know will someday crumble away to dust, rotting, decayed, and forgotten;
your friends, your loved ones, your faith, your god, the earth, everything.
Only I and the eternal universe will ever remain, completely alien to each
other and inextricably intertwined. To place faith in the temporary,
in the fleeting, is to commit suicide. You feel, you get killed.
The universe, I have
found, is a gleeful murderer. That is a reason I detest it.
It has taken much from me: my mother, Leila, Kes, my very humanity.
It is on that day when I lost Kes that I lost the greatest part of my humanity.
I would feel no longer. Survival was the name of the game, and my
feelings were doing a great job of getting me killed.
Just after the sunset
had ended, I noticed two men clad in rags walking quickly down the street.
The two thieves moved straight to their prey: and old beggar who had appeared
to be blind. The beggar jumped to his feet when he saw the thieves
coming, and then brandished a long dagger. The two thieves, however,
overpowered the old man in only a few moments, driving his bloody corpse
to the ground with a shove. In a heartbeat they had ripped the clothes
from his back and taken his dagger and belt pouch. Then they disappeared
into the deep evening shadows. I felt outraged: that was my kill.
I had noticed the faking beggar the moment I stepped onto the street, and
had been waiting until after the sunset.
Suddenly, I knew there
was something that I had to do. I jumped down to the ground and began
to make my way towards the Dark Alleys. I slipped past the Watchmen
guarding the bridge, and took my time to cross the river. I ran my
hand along the cold stone of the Bridge, and looked up to see the stars
shining brilliantly in the heavens with Luna. I have need of you
no longer, I thought. I cannot be comforted anymore. I have
no heart to break, no soul to wound.
I crept quickly and
unnoticed into the Dark Alleys, and easily found my way to the Thieves'
Guild. A beggar approached me and I slit his throat with my new dagger.
He fell to the ground, a bloody gargle in his throat. I opened the
door of the front-building and then swiftly found the concealed door to
the Guild proper. I violently kicked the portal open, and its crash
reverberated like a thunderclap in the entrance hall. Everyone inside
abruptly halted in mid-action and turned towards me.
"Who's the Master
of Thief?!" I demanded. One man approached me with a drawn short
sword, but in a moment I had severed the sword-hand from his arm and nearly
taken off his head. "I repeat, who's the Master Thief?"
A tall, muscular man
stepped forward. "I am Karl, the new Master Thief of this Guild."
He was not lying. In my present state of mixed numbness and heightened
senses, one could not lie to me. "Who in the Nine Hells are you?"
"I have no name,"
I said. "I am the best. I am the thief of thieves. I
am the rogue of rogues. I have come from Hell to bring it to you."
I dug Kes' dagger into the stone floor, and made another gouge about the
length of my arm. I stood and looked Karl in the eye. "Mark
me well." I turned quickly and left the Guild, disappearing swiftly
into the streets. My war upon the Guild had begun.
As I wandered the
Dark Alleys, I could not help feeling that I had come home. I knew
every twist and turn without ever being there before. The shadows
were deep and familiar. The entire city opened its arms and welcomed
me. It was mine now. I would rape it for the rest of eternity.
I wound my way through
the Dark Alleys until I came upon a tall spire, decrepit, old, and tumbling.
I entered to find it empty, and swiftly made my way to the top floor by
a winding stairway. I crouched upon the roof of the spire, staring
at the unsheathed dagger as it lay in my hands. The magical elfin
blade glowed softly in the dying sunlight. A single, last tear fell
upon the blade and ran down its length to fall finally to the street below.
I stood suddenly and screamed my pain, a terrible, angry cry that echoed
again and again across the roof-tops of the entire city. And I realized
then: my war upon the universe had begun.