Soul Under the Mountain (Legend of Reason Series) (42 page)

"I am well enough to strike down any of them. You will need to wield the sword for now, but when we get the hammer back, I do not think I will be able to handle it properly with only one arm. You will be the one to carry the hammer after all is said and done. Perhaps, if we are lucky, Maeris can repair my arm and make me whole again."

"I hope so, brother.
How do you think we use these portals? Just walk right through?"

Gorin walked down the row of columns. "These are different places all over the new world. We need to find the one that leads to the Columns of Inshae in northern Vindyrion. I suppose it is as simple as walking through the correct portal."

Gewin joined his twin in his search. "Here it is, brother. But I do not see the city of Morendiir. I see only the bridge leading into Vindyrion."

"The Columns of Inshae are south of Morendiir and face the south. Morendiir is on the other side of the temple, at the rear."

They stepped through the portal and found themselves arriving instantly at the Columns of Inshae. The temple there was far larger than any other temple they had ever seen, and it took a while to walk to the rear. Every column that they walked by was as big as any single temple in Medora, and tall enough that misty clouds could be seen near the tops.

One they reached the rear of the temple, the green city of the dead came into view. Far beneath them, at the bottom of the steps were all of the gods, surrounded by countless statues of spectators. The lifeless beings watched silently from a distance, curious about the sights their dead eyes beheld.

Rommus Tirinius stood in front of the gods, and several of his companions stood off to the side. Tannis was one of them, and at the moment his back was to the temple. If he would just stay there a while longer, Gewin could stab the sword through his back and complete their quest.
They descended the steps in silence; their hearts racing with nervous excitement.

——————

Tannis felt his heart pumping furiously in his chest. He couldn't seem to come to grips with the reality of standing before the gods. Their appearance was something similar to what he imagined, but their attitude was not even remotely close. Oderion especially surprised him, as he had always pictured him as a loving, caring god with the best intentions and hope for mankind. The haughty god he saw before him did not fit that description at all. Rommus had called him the god of indifference; and that seemed to be a fitting label.

But Rommus had drawn all of the attention away from the mighty gods standing in front of Tannis. His own son, who he had raised from a child, was standing tall and proud against the gods. He had threatened them, and they had deserved it. They offered up no respect towards him, but they clearly feared him. It was a sight that was even harder to believe than seeing
the gods themselves.

Tannis feared for
Rommus's life. Terinopus and Tachion seemed to side with Rommus, but the remaining four were obviously angry and wanted to harm him. Certainly they wouldn't think twice about harming the rest of them either, but Tannis wasn't as concerned about that. He had come to the point in his life where his influence over the world was waning, and his son's influence was much more important. The world needed Rommus more than it needed him.

The gods finally stopped laughing and Maeris spoke. "You do not even have the blade that you threaten us with.
You are a mortal who can do us no harm at all. What could you possibly believe you could accomplish here?"

"At least one god will be killed this day," Rommus said. "If it is me, then so be it, but I am here to kill you, Maeris."

More laughter erupted and Maeris stepped forward. "Then come to me, boy. See what horrors the god of destruction can rain down on you."

Tannis watched in terror as Rommus ran right at the taunting god. His red armor appeared in a flash of red light, and he swung the golden hammer with all his might at Maeris. Surges of power rippled through the air as the hammer fell upon some sort of invisible shield around Maeris. Still, the impact affected him, and
t
he
god
struggled to stay on his feet. His face showed that he was in pain, but soon that gave way to white hot rage.

——————

Alana winced as Rommus clashed with Maeris. She stood there transfixed, unable to help him at all. Vohl watched with similar awe, not knowing what could be done to assist Rommus. The fight was his alone, and luckily the other gods did not attempt to interf
ere. The god
of time and the god of life stood between her and the other gods, offering at least the appearance of protection from the gods of darkness and Oderion.

Maeris punched only the air, but his swings did not miss. Instead, the air around his fists lit up and crackled with energy. While it appeared that he never touched Rommus at all, he was clearly pummeling him. He drove Rommus to the ground with his attack, and Rommus nearly dropped the golden hammer.

Maeris backed up a step and struck the earth with his mighty fist. An earthquake followed, shaking all of Morendiir and knocking Alana and Vohl to the ground momentarily. When she got to her feet, she saw a crack in the ground stretching from where Maeris stood to
well beyond where Rommus was—b
ut Rommus was no longer there. It was several seconds before she realized that he must have been swallowed up inside the earth.

Fortunately, Rommus climbed up out of the fissure, hauling himself up to firmer land. Once he got to his feet, he was blasted by winds that Maeris sent forth from his hands.
The dirt at his feet came up in dust and clumps, battering him as he tried to stay upright.

Then the howling winds turned to a twisting inferno as Maeris baked Rommus with flame. The fire
tore into Rommus with the same ferocity
as the wind, but now the air was so hot that Alana could feel it begin to singe her skin at a distance.

Somehow
Rommus emerged from the torrent of flame and it dissipated behind him. He swung the hammer at the ground, and another earthquake shook Morendiir. More cracks opened in the earth, but they were too small and unfocused. Maeris was virtually unaffected by the attempt.

Maeris raised his arms to the sky and the clouds darkened. A mix of heavy rain and large hail began falling almost immediately. Alana covered her head as best as she could until Vohl offered to help her. She leaned into him as he bent over her; protecting her from the
large
balls of ice falling from the sky. They crashed to the ground and shattered, sounding like a million fine vases falling to the floor.

Rommus's armor protected him from the falling ice, but
it was piling up and made it difficult for him to walk. Luckily the ground was still roasting from the fire that Maeris attacked him with, and it was already beginning to melt in that area.

But the rain was coming down harder and harder. In addition to what was coming down from the sky, water was also co
ming up from all of the cracks
in the earth. It wasn't long before all of Morendiir began to flood, and before she knew it, the water was nearly up to her knees.

While the water rose, Maeris attacked with more of his punches to the air. Rommus had a hard time avoiding them, but he was able to stay on his feet and even strike Maeris with the hammer on occasion. But no matter how many times Rommus struck Maeris, some invisible shield of protection always nullified the attack. It did push Maeris backwards and cause him some discomfort, but he was not injured at all.

Maeris stood his ground, with water rising to his knees. He held both arms up above his head, and then crossed them. In the distance, behind Rommus, Alana saw the sky darken further. A new wind buffeted all of them as a tornado began to form. It reached full strength
in mere moments, and it began to rip the buildings apart. Heavy columns flew through the air and crashed into more intact buildings, shredding them and splintering stone.

Rocks flew by and grains of sandy dirt assaulted her eyes.
She held an arm up to try to shield her eyes, but it did little to help. As much as she
feared to do so, she close
d her eyes to protect them; only risking opening
them
on occasion to see what was happening to Rommus. Every time she did so, the world darkened under the threatening sky. The twister fed off of the thick clouds above and the floodwaters below, growing in size and strength as it approached.

Suddenly Vohl's voice pierced the
terrible howl of the storm.

——————

"Tannis! Behind you!"

The hounds of Maeris had descended the stairs and the golden sword Archenarius had nearly cut through Tannis's back. Vohl had already drawn his sword and rushed to block the thrust, parrying the blade and driving its point to the ground. A massive hand backhanded him, blinding him with pain and knocking him
into the deepening water
. His sword flipped through the air and landed in a patch of grass
on slightly higher ground
.

Vohl shook his head to clear it and then got to his feet to try to protect Alana and Tannis. Terinopus and Tachion were focused on the battle between Maeris and Rommus, and had not noticed that there was another attack from the rear. The wailing winds
kept them from hearing what was happening, so they were no protection at all from the attacking twins.

Tannis hacked away with his sword, trying to avoid the golden blade. Vohl saw Alana draw her sword, but he yelled for her not to attack. He didn't doubt her strength or skill, but the twins were far too strong for her to face. Even Rommus wearing his armor was hardly a match for them. But as loud as he yelled, she either could not hear him over the wind, or she refused to listen.

Alana attacked the injured twin, who fought with only a knife. He clearly had lost his good arm when Vohl cut it off, as he lacked efficient coordination as he attacked with his left hand. But he was still quite formidable, and he was just a little faster than Alana. Luckily, since she fought with a sword, she had a better reach.

Tannis attacked the other twin. It was actually less of an attack and more of a defense against the golden sword, but he did try to slice the skin of the beast when he was able. Even though his sword did manage to slip into the monster's flesh a few times, the wounds did nothing to slow it down. It would just growl in anger, although its roars could not be heard over the powerful winds.

Vohl retrieved his sword and hurried in to assist Tannis and Alana. He fought both of the beasts, trying to keep both Tannis and Alana from being killed. Every time one of them seemed to have the upper hand, the other would need help. It was a dreadful choreography; a dance performed right at the edge of life and death.

——————

Dirt danced and swirled around him on the screaming wind. Rommus held the hammer tightly in his hand, but his feet were beginning to slip out from under him. The winds were becoming too strong and it was hard to keep his footing. He kept finding himself crouching lower and lower to the ground to try to counter the effects of the winds, but that made it difficult to attack Maeris or defend himself.

Still, he found openings to swing the hammer at Maeris. While it did not seem to harm him, it at least caused him to stumble backwards and cause him some pain. Rommus could think of nothing else to do to attack the god, but that really wasn't his major worry. His real concern was being able to protect the others when the twins arrived.

Panic ran cold through his soul when he saw that they had already arrived.
Alana, Tannis and Vohl all fought against them
together, but even with one of the beasts injured it was beginning to look like they were winning. Rommus yelled between his hammer strikes, trying to get the attention of Terinopus or Tachion, but they just stood there watching him; seemingly oblivious to the skirmish behind them.

But Maeris had noticed that his minions had arrived. He positioned himself in such a way that Rommus could not get
around him to help his friends, and began attacking with renewed enthusiasm. He continually punched at the air, somehow hitting him with magic from a distance while doing so. The strikes caused Rommus's muscles to flex hard and lock up. It was painful, and it slowed him down dramatically, but it didn't seem to be doing any permanent damage.

Rommus fought hard to get away from Maeris and save his friends before it was too late. Vohl was safe from Archenarius, but if Alana was cut, her soul would go right to the void. It Tannis was cut, then both he and Rommus would die at the same instant. The gods of darkness would then begin to overthrow the other gods, and the entire structure of all the realms would begin to fall. The very fabric of reality would begin to unravel into unfamiliar threads.

An idea came to him, but he resisted the thought. When he was in the cave fighting Demeos, he had tried to call
forth the black lightning that he was able to summon a few times before, but none came. He thought that perhaps since his power as a god could not be fully restored while another Tirinius lived, that he could not access that power. It was also possible that since he was prevented from calling forth the lightning because deep in Demeos's cave, there was no sky for lightning to f
or
m above him.  Either way he feared to try to summon it, because if he paused for just a moment, Maeris might find a way to defeat him.