Beyond the Hell Cliffs (48 page)

These were not the crude sketches of a young boy, though.  On the parchment were beautifully detailed renderings of women he could not have imagined.  Lokai with deep purple skin, Urufen with lush collars of fur and Faier with opaque eyes like black stones.  The forms at his fingertips were exotic and alluring and painted from an informed memory of what they looked like.

“They’re all yours, boy,”
came a voice behind him. 

Raegith whipped around to see a figure sitting at the table where he ate his meals.  It was a masculine figure, but it was like no other man he had ever seen.  His head was like that of a serpent or lizard and his body was covered in leathery scales that rippled with changing colors.  His hands and feet were wicked claws and a forked tongue flickered between his sharp, creased lips.

“Take them out… play with them.  Hell, those are just a few of what the world has to offer.  You’ll get bored with those soon enough and then you’ll go collect even more.”

“Who the hell are you?” Raegith asked, looking around to see if there were any others in the room with him.

“You wouldn’t recognize me, but we’re good friends, you and I,” the lizard man replied, lounging in the chair and looking over some of the pictures.  “I’ve been with you from the start, Raegith.  You can call me Wrath, if you like.”

“What are you doing here, Wrath?  Have you come to free me from this prison?”

“No, he comes to ruin you!” 

The girl who spoke to him walked out from the shadows.  He recognized her.  She was the young Twileen girl who had brought him food from the nearby village.  He had not seen her since the night he snuck her into the keep and kissed her on the ledge of the tower under the full moon.  It was the greatest moment of his brief youth and he had sobbed for days when he learned she would never be back.

“Put those papers down, Raegith, they’re not what you want,” she said.  “I’m what you want.”

“Don’t listen to this bitch, Raegith,” the lizard groaned.  “She promises nothing but ignorance and complacence.  She’s done nothing for you; not like I have.  I’m the one who kept you warm when you were alone.  I’m the one who kept you alive through the torture; the one that pushed you on when the hills turned to mountains.  I’m the reason you’re still here.”

“You don’t need him anymore, Raegith,” the girl said.  “He poisons you, is all.  Let me cleanse you and take you with me.  I will take you home, Raegith.”

“Bullshit!” the lizard said, standing up.  “You’ve been here to
o long, Raegith.  Let’s get the fuck out of here!  We’ll march across this land, killing the men and enslaving the women!  I’ll show you a hell of a time!”

“He’ll show you to your death!” the girl shouted.

Suddenly the walls broke apart and the space between was filled with light that blinded all three of them.

“Enough of this,” a voice boomed, pushing Raegith back.  “This is my mountain and I do not have the time for this bickering.”

“The Master,” both of the visitors said, bowing down before the light spilling through the cracks of the brick and slowly tearing the stone wall apart with its power.

Raegith looked around, confused with the familiarity he felt in front of the light.  As he shielded his eyes and tried to look past the glaring intensity of it, he knew that his answers were somewhere inside.

“What am I supposed to do?” he shouted at the light.  “You already know, don’t you?  Just tell me!”

“Choose.”

“Which one?” Raegith asked.  “Which one do I choose?  I don’t even know who these two are… who they really are.”

“To your right lies the Path of Action,” the voice said.  “You have been on this path from the moment you left the Keep and it has led you here, keeping you alive and moving the entire time.  Continue to follow it and you will be filled with power, but you will never find peace and you will never be satisfied.

“To your left lies the Path of Inaction.  This is the reward you have earned from your actions and it will keep you safe and comfortable until your end.  Follow it and you will be drained of power over others, but you will have peace and you will have love.  That is balance.  Each of you, say your one truth now.”

The Twileen girl turned to Raegith.  “Ignorance is bliss, Raegith.  In order to wipe away your troubles, I must also wipe away your cares for those who have not earned your reward.  Your mind cannot be restful and you cannot be happy as long as you dwell on your failures.”

Raegith looked over at the lizard and Wrath spoke to him.  “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.  You cannot affect change from a comfortable chair and to make a better world for those you care about, you must place yourself in danger constantly.  You will bring death to your enemies and eventually your enemies will bring death to you.”

“Neither of these choices
seem entirely evil or entirely good,” Raegith said to the light.  “I either abandon my friends for a life of bliss or I follow a path of death and destruction in order to save them.  This isn’t fair.”

“Fair has nothing to do with balance,” the voice said.  “Neither does good nor evil.  I leave you here now, Raegith, to find your Path out of this prison.  Choose to follow one… destroy the other.”

Then the light was gone and he was alone in the room with the Twileen girl and the lizard man.  He felt a power welling up inside of him and his hands were engulfed in blue flame as his body overflowed with energy.

“Kill the bitch and this power is yours, Raegith,” the lizard hissed.  “She is weak and easily stomped out!”

“Empty this power into the demon, Raegith,” the girl said.  “His armor is strong, but you have enough power to destroy it!”

Raegith looked at the power in his hands and thought about what the light had told him.  He could not have both companions and he could not leave his prison until one or the other was destroyed.
  Everything he had done, every step he had taken forward out of Forster’s Keep had all culminated in this single decision.

Raegith’s scream was primal, like some caged beast tearing at the walls.  He drove into the small girl and slammed her against the wall, holding her by the throat as the flames burned into her.  The lizard squealed with joy and encouraged him, but there were only tears in Raegith’s eyes.

“A life with me… everything you wanted to have with Onyx… with Kalystra…” the girl gulped, dying out in his hands.  “You could have had it… if you would have just let… this… go…”

“I can’t
!” Raegith wailed, shuddering with the grief he felt in this act.

With a final push, before she could say anymore to make him doubt his decision, Raegith flexed his power and the flames erupted through the Twileen girl.  She was disintegrated instantly and Raegith stood leaning against the wall.  He dropped down to the ashes of the girl and felt a body.

The Keep walls disappeared, along with the grinning, laughing lizard man and Raegith found himself in the stadium atop the Yamada.  His shackles were shattered and all around Junrei’sha were scattered, as if some huge blast had knocked them from their feet.  The two Elders, bruised and injured from the blast, stared at him in horror and disbelief.  Then Raegith realized they were staring not at him, but the body of Noriko below him.

“Raegith,” she whispered, blood running between her lips.

Raegith froze, looking down at her in shock.  The flames were still wrapped around his hands and arms like blazing gauntlets.  Something had happened while he was inside the vision of the Keep and he remembered nothing of it.

“What happened?”

“I tried to keep you from it…” she said.  “The demon.  I tried to make you choose our path, but he was too strong… your need for vengeance was too strong… I could not see it.  This is the choice you made.”

“It was you?” Raegith screamed.  “I thought it was a vision; a girl from my past!  Why would the light trick me into thinking that it wasn’t you?”

“You were given a choice, Raegith.  Choose one… destroy the other.  I represented one path… the demon the other path.  You can’t have both.”

“No, Noriko, I didn’t want this,” Raegith said.  “I just wanted to save my friends.  I just wanted to save everyone… even you.”

“That’s not what was offered, Raegith.”  She reached her hand up to his cheek and brushed the wetness away.  “I’m not scared for me… I’m scared for you… and what you will become now, because of me.”

“What are you talking about?  You tried to save me.”

“As you tried to save the ones you care for, Raegith.  Just as you did, I chose the Path of Action… in order to have you.”

“But it didn’t work!” Raegith exclaimed.  “You did it for nothing.  If I had known…”

“Not for nothing.”  Noriko pulled him down and kissed him.  The blood on her lips stung him deep within his chest.  “There is no wrong Path, Raegith.  My Path led me to you, I still believe that.  I just mistakenly believed I could choose your Path for you… I wanted you so badly for myself.”

“
Why couldn’t you just tell me all of this?  Why does every decision I make end up killing someone?  What have I done to deserve this, Noriko?”

“Deserving has nothing to do with it.”  Noriko smiled up at him and exhaled.  Then she stopped moving and Raegith knew that she was gone; just like so many others who wanted to be with him.

“You’ve killed her,” one of the Elders said.  “She tried to help you… to love you and you killed her for it!  There was no demon inside of you, Raegith the Grass-haired… you
are
the demon!”

Raegith kissed Noriko’s forehead and rose to his feet.  All around him were Junrei’sha braced to avenge their fallen sister.  They did not step closer, however.  They were all frightened of him, with his power to defeat Noriko.  The power still burned inside of him, even as the flames around his fists died out.

“Leave this place, Grass-haired Demon,” the other Elder commanded.  “You are no longer welcome among us.  You do not follow the Path.”

“You’re wrong
, Elder,” Raegith said, leveling his angry gaze at the old Lokai.  “I follow the Path closer than any of you.  You may be fine living up here, content in your safe haven while those below slowly choke to death on the ashes of their ancestors; I am not.  I have bigger things in mind.”

“I shudder to think of the world you will create down below,” the Elder said. 
“A world of Yin with no balance.”

“Elder, you don’t know shit about balance,” Raegith countered.  “Sitting up here on your perch, looking down without remorse or pity on those below, content to believe everything they have is exactly what they deserve… I’ve seen this before.  You’re no different than the men in Rellizbix.  There is no balance north and south of the Hell Cliffs… but there will be.”

“You’re deluded.”

“I am enlightened
,” Raegith grinned.  “And I have no use for any of you.”

Raegith turned and left the Junrei’sha behind.  He did not return to the cabin he shared with Noriko and he did not look over his shoulder to see what the others did with her body.  He had made his choice and though the cost was more than he expected or wanted, he had the power he sought.  Noriko was not the first casualty along his Path and she would not be the last; but starting now, he was back to the business of keeping his promise to Onyx
.

As soon as he left the walls of the Junrei’sha and was out in the bitter cold of the Yamada, the gate sealed behind him and fused shut.  He chuckled at their fear, but did not turn.  Before him a familiar figure stood, draped in her black robe and shadowy hood.

“A thousand devils couldn’t shout to me as loud as that spike of power just did,” Izanami said.  “That was you, wasn’t it?”

“You remembered me,” Raegith joked.  “Or you just hang out outside these walls every day hoping I’ll come out for you?”

“Please!  I’ve not scaled this mountain in the five years since you ditched me,” she replied.  “Honestly, I assumed you died within minutes of my departure.”

“Any other men come by your shack since that day?”

“None have made it far enough,” Izanami said, defensively.  “Why?  Are you jealous or something?  Maybe you think you were so good that I would just wait for you and ignore anyone else’s company?  You’re full of yourself.”

Raegith walked up to her and pushed her hood back
from her ghostly white face.  “I’ve been stuck in there for five years with nothing more than a memory of a woman’s touch.  I’m tired of talking.”

“Oh?  You’ve… five years without…?” she stammered, reaching out to touch his chest.  “Are you asking me to… unholy
spirits, that’s a lot of power!”

“How fast can you get us down this mountain,
Izanami?” Raegith asked, running his hand up her hip and around her waist.

“Yeah, uh… jumping?” she asked, distracted. 
“Fast.  Real fast!  Hang on.”

Chapter 45

Helkree sat at the table across from Fenra and Freya.  It was a conversation she had been putting off for weeks; months even.  She did not want to have it and she assumed Fenra did not either, yet here she was shutting out all excuses and siding with Freya.  Helkree refilled her mug and tipped it up, drinking deeply from it.

“You can’t just drink us away, too, Helkree,” Freya said.

“Fuck off, brat.  You’re not a Helcat, yet.”

“The hell she isn’t,” Fenra said.  “We’ve both put her through the ringer and she’s stayed up here with us almost the entire time.  She’s been with us longer than I had when you created this gang.  Hel, we’ve been up here for so long we don’t even know how the others are doing.”

“The others are still waiting, Fenra,” Helkree growled.  “Why is it only the fucking Urufen bitches in this gang have a problem with that plan?”

“We’re not giving up on him,” Fenra said.  “We’re just talking about leaving the village and linking back up with the others.  We left Hitomi, Kimura, Indie and the prison survivors all in Shimada after clearing the Rathgar out of every farming village in the west.  That had to have hurt whoever claimed the Citadel and the refugees.  There could have been an effort to reclaim those villages.  We could be the only Helcats left!”

Freya
spoke up again, despite the menacing glare cast her way by Helkree.  “I barely knew him, but you two have told me the stories enough times for me to feel like I do.  I’m committed to you guys; to the Helcats.  I’m sure Grass-hair will figure all of this out once he’s back, but it’s been five years.”

“He said to wait,” Helkree whispered.  “Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to agree to do that?  I’m his protector… without him I don’t have a purpose.  Can’t you understand that?”

“No, I can’t,” Fenra said.  “You don’t get to forge us into something great and wonderful; to give us all something we’ve never had before and then ditch us because your reason for doing so is late.  We need you, Helkree.  The rest of the world can go fuck itself, but we need you.”

“If we leave here, we do it only to get everyone out.” Helkree took another long pull from her mug, finishing it off in two gulps.  “We
get the Helcats and anyone who is worth saving and pull them out of the west.  Then we all meet up with Beretta, station everyone in that shanty town she erected and I come back to wait for Raegith.”

“And you bring his ass back to the rest of us, safely.” Fenra said, raising her mug.

“No shit!” Freya said.  “I’ve been totally saving myself for him.”

Fenra and Helkree turned and raised their eyebrows at her.

“What?  Seriously, for like, the last six weeks I’ve been saving myself for him,” she said, defensively.  “Come on, I’m twenty-one years old.  I last saw the dude when I was fifteen and there are a lot of cute guys around here that are my own kind.  It’s not really fair on them for me to hold out like that.”

“Are you guys packed?” Helkree asked, shaking her head at Freya and addressing Fenra. 

“We’re ready to head out in the morning, if you’re not crippled by a hangover.”

“I can only promise not to be crippled,” Helkree said, burping loudly.

“Ugh… I can never get used to you doing that,” Freya said, crinkling her nose.

Helkree left the other two and stepped outside.  Brimgor was waiting for her outside the tavern.  He had his gear strapped to his back and was on his way down the mountain.  He looked as if he had been standing outside the door for some time, waiting to come in and he was surprised by her sudden appearance.

“I was just about to come in and have a drink with you,” he said.

“You’re shifting your weight between your hips the way you do when you’ve been standing in one place for too long without moving.”

“A weakness you would have never picked up on five years ago,” Brimgor laughed.  “You’re both the best and worst student I’ve ever had.”

“I’m the only student you’ve ever had,” she replied, feeling awkward around her father. 
“You’re leaving, then?”

“I’ve overstayed my welcome, here, I think.  Though Th
orin would never tell me so; he’s worried I might impregnate his daughters and they’ll come track me down for training.”

“I didn’t track you down, Brimgor,” she hissed and then felt bad for it once she saw his reaction.

“No… no you didn’t.  It was a bad joke.”

“I appreciate what you’ve done for me,” she said, trying to soften her tone.  “I’m leaving out in the morning.  I have to go find out what’s happening to my gang of girls that I accidentally turned into horny, foul-mouthed killers.  I’ll be back, though, to wait for Raegith.”

“I’ll be waiting for him as well,” Brimgor replied.  “I’ll be moving west, back to the warmer parts.  Come find me when he gets back.”

“We’ll see.  You may have to follow the screams and find us.”

“Helkree!” Hildr screamed from the mouth of the cave. 

“What in the hell is her problem?” Helkree mumbled, looking up at her with confusion. 
“What?!”

“Come quickly!  Bring your crew!” she yelled.  “Your friend is back!”

“You’re expecting a friend?” Brimgor asked.  “I haven’t seen anyone come in from the front…”

“Raegith,” she said.

“The Grass-haired dude is back!  He’s with Thorin!  Everyone, to the meeting chamber!”

Fenra exploded through the door with Freya right behind her.  “What did she just say?”

Helkree did not respond.  She dropped into a sprint and ran straight for the opening of the cave.  Fenra and Freya were right beside her, but knew better than to get in front of her no matter how much faster they were.  The three of them brushed people aside and ran through the caves and into the area where everyone was convening.

There at the front of the room, before all of the benches and tables, stood Raegith. 

He was wearing white and grey robes that had some wear on them and his green hair was long again, like the day she had met him.  Other than his clothes and hair length, he looked the same.  His face was still youthful and smiling and his stance was loose and tall.  Beside him was the Urufen Elder and another person cloaked in all black with a large, billowy hood that hid any hints of who was underneath.  Had he brought one of the Junrei’sha with him?  Was it Noriko?

Raegith caught sight of her standing there, taking him in and his expression softened.  He tilted his head with a smile and opened his arms toward her. 

Helkree did not think of her surroundings or her reputation as a stone-cold bitch.  She thought of nothing but the space between her and Raegith and how to shorten it.  She rushed to him, almost knocking him over as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

“You’re still here,” he said, holding her head to him and letting her hold on to him.

“Where the fuck else would I be?” she replied.  “You didn’t have to take so damn long, though.”

“It’ll be worth it.” He
pushed her back and looked into her eyes.  “I promise you, I’ll make it worth it.  I’m never failing anyone else again.”

There was something else different about him.  Something had changed in his green eyes.  It was a madness that she had seen before, when the Empress had died; only this time it wasn’t a chaotic, unbridled force, but one with focus.  He had lost another piece of himself since he left, but he had channeled the rage inside of him.  For a moment, to her, he looked like a demi-god that had swooped down from its mountain home and changed its form into one of a mortal.  Beneath his skin and steady gaze, she caught a brief glimpse of something sinister; with scales and claws and slitted eyes that laughed with demonic glee.

“I found it, Helkree.”

“But you’re still… Raegith, right?” she asked.

“Even better,” he replied.  “Stay up here with me a moment.”

Raegith turned to Thorin.  “Is everyone here?”

“Everyone that I’ll allow,” the Elder said.  He did not look nearly as pleased to see Raegith as Helkree and the others were.  “I’ll uphold my end of the deal.  You just make sure you do the same.  I’m only doing this for the sake of my own people.”

“That’s noble of you, Elder, but you’ll be getting the recognition of your entire race once this is over.”

“What is going on, Grass-hair?” Fenra asked, embracing him.  “Do I not get a hug as well?”

“Of course you do, Fenra,” Raegith said, grabbing her around the shoulders and squeezing her.

“You won’t believe the training we’ve undergone.  I need to show you…” she started to say.

“In a moment, I promise,” Raegith interrupted.  “Right now I need to address the crowd.”

Helkree was concerned.  She wondered why Raegith would choose to see them like this, in front of the entire village.  He had obviously been here long enough to strike up some sort of deal with Thorin.  Why had he not come immediately to see her and Fenra?  Why was he so eager to address a room full of strangers that he could not speak more than a few words to Fenra, his most devoted follower besides her?

“Everyone, the man called Grass-hair would like to speak to you for a moment.  As Elder of the tribe, I insist you listen and take his words into consideration.”

“Thank you, Elder,” Raegith said, taking his outstretched arm and bowing his head in respect.  He then turned to the gathered villagers in the room.  “It’s been a long journey back to this place and I have friends to catch up with, so I’ll make this brief.”

He turned and winked at Helkree as he said this and she smirked back at him.

“Five years ago, I came to this village in search of a way to find the Junrei’sha; to find a way to save this land from the shadow of death you have all lived under for centuries.  I found the Junrei’sha… and I found the power.  Now I return to you and everyone else in this land that would die without ever tasting true freedom and I return with the power to give it to you!”

Raegith turned to the figure dressed in all black. 
“An offering of stone, please.”

The figure nodded its head and walked to the side of Raegith.  With a slender, white hand, the robed figure touched the ground and drew a symbol upon it with blood.

The ground shook slightly and a pillar of smooth stone rose from the circle she drew, stopping as the top reached head height to Raegith.  He asked a few of the young Urufens in the front row to test the pillar, making sure it was composed of pure stone.  The youths could not dent or budge the pillar and soon sat down, astonished at the magic trick and applauding.

“Quite impressive, isn’t it?” Raegith said, drawing
amazed looks and murmurs from the others.  “This kind of magic is useful, but nothing that a mage from my homeland could not do with the right training.  This is nothing to be impressed by.”

Raegith took a deep breath and released it slowly as the robed figure backed away.  Thorin took a few steps back as well, unsure of what was happening and everyone
quieted as Raegith steadied his breathing and focused, bringing his hands up at the elbow before him.

Suddenly blue flames erupted along his forearms and wrapped around his fists.  He opened his eyes and turned to the stone pillar. 
Helkree had seen him step in with a straight punch before and it was beautiful the way he moved his body.  As light as he was and the way he moved like a dancer, everyone who had ever received that punch was always stunned by how much power could come from a move so graceful… but this was different.  Raegith seemed almost to glide across the distance more than step and the movement of his fist could not be tracked.  One moment he was dashing forward on the air just above the ground and the next moment the pillar was exploding at the point of contact.

Shards flew out the back of the pillar like deadly arrows, shattering against the wall behind it.  The top of the beam above his fist buckled and fell forward as everything six inches above and below his fist was obliterated.  Cracks spider-webbed along the entire column and as Raegith slowly withdrew his fist everything crumbled to the ground in a pile of debris.  It was as if the pillar had been hit by the hammer of the gods.

“Holy shit!” Helkree yelled, backing away.

Thorin nearly hit the ground and others scrambled over their seats and tables.  Some were screaming while a few of the young boys cheered in excitement and called for more.  There in the middle of all of the madness, Raegith looked about the room with a satisfied grin.

“It’s power that will bring us what we need.  We have always relied on power here in the Greimere; that is our way.  You follow those who have the power, and those who have power are responsible for leading.  For too long we have followed those with power who are comfortable with leading not upward, but downward, into our graves.

“When those souls below you, in the villages and fields and in the Citadel die o
ff, and they will… your proud tribe will soon follow.  Sure, you’ll outlast everyone else, because the Alfhildr has made you strong and you have never been conquered, but death for you will not come from a spear or axe.  Death for you will be slow, agonizing and devoid of company.  The Tyrra Clan has strength that no other clan of Urufen possess; it is your duty to lead the others to that strength!  If not you, then who?  Who will save your kinsmen from death?  Who will save themselves from death?”