The Demon's Blade (26 page)

The usually thorough and calculating mind of the Executioner stopped cold. Until that moment, it had not even occurred to him, but now that Rana had placed it in front of him, the truth of it was undeniable. How could I have so easily fallen into this trap? The timing was perfect. With winter oncoming, there would be only two paths of escape. From the beginning, I thought that Avirosa would expect me to head west, but I must have been wrong. The goblins must have threatened Mandala, forcing the city to fortify itself, and closing off that route. That forced my hand, and sent me to the underpass, and into the gloom crawler. Then there was the trap at Thordas, and the revelation that the pass at Galad had been closed by an avalanche. The avalanche! They must have triggered it. No single mage could have done it, but several working together could have. That’s why the goblins at Thordas had no commanders. The shades hadn’t had enough time to get back, and they expected me to come to the pass anyway. They would have expected me to force the passage westward, then fallen upon me at Galad while I was already weakened by the chase. When I turned south, it confused them, so they had to regroup. It still doesn’t explain how they knew my exact position, but everything fits. Rana was right. I’ve been beaten so easily, driven like a fox before the hounds. Have I really become that weak?

“Darien, what do we do?” Jerris asked plaintively as he nervously drummed his fingers, waiting for a response from the silent shade. The older half-elf noticed the desperate look of fear and questioning in the boy’s young eyes. He could not help but feel that he had failed Jerris, that despite his best efforts, he had led the boy to ruin after all. He swallowed hard, realizing what he had to do. This would be the end of their journey together.

“Loathe as I am to admit it, Rana is right. I’ve been outmaneuvered. The game is up, and I’ve lost. Even if we left the horses and could climb out of the canyon, they’d just find us again. There’s no point in running anymore, at least not for me.”

“What do you mean, ‘not for you’?” Rana said. “You’re not thinking of splitting up? What would that accomplish? Even if one of us manages to escape, won’t he just find the one that gets away the same way he did this time?”

“Perhaps, and perhaps not,” the Executioner said, a hint of resignation coloring his voice. “It’s me he’s after, not you. Once he finds me, he will probably ignore the two of you entirely. If I deliberately show myself while you hide, I can draw them to me. Once that happens, you simply have to run in the opposite direction, and find a path up out of the canyon. You still have the faerie to guide you.”

“I can’t just leave you here to die! I won’t!” Jerris exclaimed, his voice turning to a high pitched cry, tears forming in his eyes.

Darien tried his best to comfort the young man. “You won’t be leaving me here to die. I don’t intend to die here, but I may have to use the Demon Sword. There’s a very powerful shade there, and probably several others under his command. If it isn’t Avirosa, it’s someone just as dangerous. This isn’t your fight. Enough people have died on my account. The two of you need not share this doom.”

“To the thirteen hells with that!” Rana stomped her foot angrily, then firmly planted herself in front of Darien with her hands on her hips. “You gave up the right to claim that anything is ‘your fight’ when you picked up that sword. Didn’t you just tell me a few days ago that this was bigger than the three of us? Didn’t you explain what would happen if the Demon King got that weapon back? What has changed since then? Nothing, except that you’re afraid you might actually lose. Do you think you’re making a noble sacrifice? Is that what you want, to die a glorious death in battle? Do you think that will redeem your crimes? Will one act of heroism erase years of cruelty and evil?”

“Of course I don’t think that,” Darien muttered unthinkingly, his mind still registering the shock of the woman’s reaction to his offer to let her escape. “This isn’t some quest to redeem myself. I know well enough that I’m beyond any redemption in your eyes, or the eyes of countless others like you.”

“Then what is it about? What, exactly, is the point of letting the two of us escape? What will that accomplish? If you win, you turn yourself into a monster, perhaps more terrible than the Demon King. If you lose, then the Demon King gets the sword, and that’s much worse.”

“I won’t lose. I’ve felt the sword’s power, and you haven’t. Avirosa is a fool if he thinks he can stand against it. I may not be the equal of the Master, but I can at least far surpass his generals. You can’t stop me.”

“Maybe not, but I can try,” the stubborn woman fired back. “At any rate, I’m not going to let you rush into a foolish death because of some warped sense of guilt. Your life is no longer your own, and you can’t just throw it away that easily. I set out to avenge my family by killing you, but I see now that killing you would be as much a mercy as a punishment. There’s nothing I can do to you worse than what you’ve already done to yourself.” Darien shifted uneasily, stunned by the realization that the woman who had tried to take his life less than a week ago was now just as vehemently trying to save it. Rana stared straight into his eyes, reading his confusion, and pushed even harder. “That weapon you carry can bring ruin to every person walking this world. Your life belongs to them now. If you mean to use the sword, then you will do it with the two of us standing beside you. If our lives mean so much to you, then perhaps that will allow you to use it without losing your mind. The fact that you have been able to keep it this long must mean something. I don’t yet know what that is, but I intend to find out. Perhaps the miserable fate of having to aid my family’s murderer is my own just punishment for seeking bloody vengeance. Whatever the case, we can’t just sit here and curse our miserable luck. We’re in this together now, tethered by fate whether we like it or not. Now stop this nonsense about letting us escape, and think of a better plan.”

“Leave him alone,” Jerris said. “Can’t you see that he’s doing the best he can? You don’t have to berate him about it.”

“Peace, Jerris,” Darien said, raising his hand and shaking his head. “She’s right again, and right to say it. There’s no point in further debating the matter.”

“So, upriver or downriver?” Rana asked. “That’s the only two choices we have, and somehow I doubt we’ll be fortunate enough to find a path up out of this canyon either way.”

Darien shook his head as he and Jerris mounted up. “We’ll head downstream, quickly but carefully. Watch the rim of the canyon for mages. They may try to bring a landslide down on top of us…” Darien’s voice trailed off, as an idea suddenly struck him, obvious as he thought about it. They could indeed send down a landslide from above, but it was far easier to create such a spell from the canyon floor, and block the canyon entirely.

“What is it?” Jerris asked curiously, noticing the change in his older companion.

“Oh, just an idea. You’ll see.”

Chapter 23: The Executioner and the Wraith

They rode down the canyon, howls echoing all round them. The Executioner watched the rim of the canyon, vigilant eyes searching for any enemies that might be waiting. He kept the other two close by him, as far from the canyon wall as possible, even walking in the water where the current was slow. It wasn’t long before he saw it, a narrow point in the canyon, where the canyon walls drew near to one another. The water charged through the gap just below the path, through a deep channel cut deeply into the narrow space. This was the point he had been looking for. The three travelers gingerly made their way along a narrow ledge just above the water, and once they were through, Darien motioned his two companions ahead.

Darien then prepared to channel the earth spell. He climbed down from his horse, and put his hand upon the stone, focusing the energy on a point about halfway up the western canyon wall. The ground shook, and a crack formed, snaking out from his hand up to the point he had chosen. Then he turned, quickly pulled himself up on Cloud’s back, and urged the horse forward. Behind him, there was a loud crack as part of the canyon fell away, then a rumbling din as the rocks broke apart, and tumbled crashing into the gap. Once the magic had ceased, the gap was filled up to a height of several feet. The water of the river quickly filled the space behind the blockage, and trickled through gaps between the stones, then tumbled over the top. No path remained for any pursuers to follow.

Without a word, the three started forward again, satisfied now that the pursuers upriver would not be able to pass. A few minutes later, the travelers rounded a bend in the river, where the canyon opened wide and ran straight ahead for several hundred yards straight into the distance. The river ran wide and shallow here, no more than calf deep. The hard stone of the canyon floor was replaced by loose round gravel, yellow, red, gray, white, and black. The barking and yelping of the warrogs could be heard somewhere ahead. They were close.

Darien focused his sight far into the distance, as far as his magic would allow. The canyon ended at a sheer rock face, while the water disappeared into a dark opening, passing underground. Dark shapes flitted and danced against the stone backdrop, sure signs of movement, but he could make out no more. He slowed the pace to a walk, and moved cautiously ahead. Soon, the shapes became clearer ahead, and the Executioner could tell what he was up against. Half a dozen cloaked figures stood in front of the cliff face to the right of the river. A company of twenty-five or so goblins, armed with long knives, guarded the left bank. Just inside the mouth of the cave, a large shape could be seen, crouching in the darkness, and staring out with cold yellow eyes. As Darien drew slowly closer, he recognized the shape of a wyvern, a green scaly lizard with a long snakelike body, thick rear legs ending in vicious talons, and leathery wings instead of front legs. A saddle was secured just above the wings, behind the serpentine neck. Wyverns were violent, vicious creatures, difficult to control. There was only one mage in the service of the Demon King who possessed the necessary skill in domination magic to bring one to heal. It was certain now that Avirosa was here.

When they had closed to within a hundred yards, the three unlikely comrades took shelter in a shaded alcove on the canyon wall out of sight of the enemy to prepare whatever plan they could.

“Do you think they saw us?” Jerris asked.

“I don’t think so. The area where they stand is in the sun, and we have been walking in the shadows of the canyon wall. They won’t be able to see us until we’re very close,” Darien answered, and Rana nodded her agreement.

“So, do we just charge them, or do you have some other idea?” the lady knight asked.

“Well, they know we’re coming, but we may still be able to surprise them, at least partially.”

“How do you think you’re going to manage that? They’re going to be looking for us.”

“No, they’re going to be looking for me,” the wily half-elf said. “They don’t know who you are and probably don’t care. They know I’m traveling with two companions, but I doubt they consider you much of a threat, at least not compared to me. They know me and my reputation in the order. They may have seen me fight. They’ll be afraid of me, hopefully so much so that they ignore everything else. Avirosa loves to avoid direct confrontations, so I may be able to delay him, if I go out first and pretend to parlay with him. While their attention is focused on me, you just have to stick to the shadows of the canyon wall, use the stray boulders for cover, and get close enough for a quick strike. You have the speed for it. I saw that much when you fought me.”

“Alright, I hate sneak attacks, but under the circumstances, I suppose I’ll take any advantage I can get.”

“One more thing,” Darien added with a serious tone. “Leave Avirosa to me. He’ll be the one speaking. Focus on the other shades. They will be the next most serious threat. I have an idea to take care of the goblins, at least for a short time.”

“What about the beast in the cave?”

“Wyverns are hard to control. I doubt he’ll risk trying to control it while he’s fighting me at the same time, but be wary of it all the same.”

“What do I do?” Jerris said.

“Just stay here out of sight. Against these opponents, you’ll just be in the way.”

“But I’ve been practicing the magic like you showed me and…”

“There isn’t time to argue about it now, Jerris. Just do as you’re told,” the older half-elf didn’t wait for Jerris to finish. This was no time for misplaced heroics. The younger half-elf fell silent and hung his head.

Darien left the alcove, and rode slowly forward toward the rock wall and the dark cave. He had not gone far before the enemies became aware of his presence. They turned towards him, readying themselves, but one of them, a tall thin figure, raised a hand, and they made no move to attack. The Executioner had drawn to within twenty yards, just where the edge of the canyon shadows gave way to the light of the morning sun. A strange sensation came over him, a sudden stirring of some long forgotten secret, some lost memory, something missing, something important. Then it was before him, staring back at him out of the black marble of its eye, sitting on a red stone boulder just a few feet ahead, the answer to all the riddles, the crow. He remembered it now, his mind wincing at the shock, and the sudden realization that it had been right in front of him all along. He had seen it a few days earlier, and heard its call many times, but in the haze of his past, the importance of this creature had been lost. The crow served Avirosa, but Darien had forgotten. It was always there, sitting upon the wraith’s shoulder like a hunched shadow. It never left him except when spying on his targets. Darien remembered now, the beasts who served Avirosa were not bound merely by spells that wore off after a time, but were permanently bound to him, so he could control them with only a thought, or see through their eyes. Each of them had a powerful enchantment placed directly upon it, altering its mind and enslaving it to his will. When the Executioner had drawn within a few feet of the bird, it abruptly flew off towards the rock wall, lighting upon Avirosa’s shoulder. Now all the questions were answered; this was how the enemy had known where to find them. With the riddle finally solved, all that was left was the confrontation that must occur, the one that, though he had not realized it, had always been inevitable.

“Avirosa!” the Executioner shouted into the light. “I would speak with you, to negotiate for the lives of my companions.” The dark figure nodded, and without hesitation, Darien dismounted, and walked forward into the light, arms raised. The cloaked figures of the shades glared at him ominously. There were five in total, fewer than he had expected, but more than enough all the same. The goblins let loose shrill war cries, like the howls of monkeys.

As Darien drew near, Avirosa lowered the hood of his cloak, revealing his sunken corpselike features, and pallid complexion. His stringy white hair flowed down the sides of his head, clumping together into long ropey strands. The thin skeletal hand of the Wraith rose, and the crow flitted away. Darien stared straight into sickly yellow-green eyes, which met his gaze and returned it. The two men stood in silence, each sizing up the other, prepared for any move. Neither made any, and the Executioner was content to wait for his opponent to break the silence. Every second of distraction worked to his advantage.

Finally, Avirosa spoke, his voice thin, cold, calm, quiet almost a whisper, but clearly heard over any other sound. That was one of his special talents, the voice of the dead, as it was called. Whether it was some form of augmentation magic, or simply a talent of the throat, or some combination of both, Darien could never tell. Either way, to hear it again in this place was disturbing. “Well, Darien. It seems our little game is at an end. I must say, you have given me an interesting chase, turning into the wilderness. How was it that you knew we were waiting at Galad? I must admit I was quite surprised when you turned south. No matter, you changed nothing.” The Wraith smiled a thin, sickly smile.

“So it seems, but then you have good fortune to thank as well. I might have gone west from Kantu. You took a considerable risk placing all your strength here in the Craglands.”

Avirosa shrugged and chuckled slightly. “A risk? No, I think not. You underestimate your value to the Master. Of course I was not the only one sent after you. The Master and I both expected you to run west, and that way was watched as well. Had you gone that way, you would already be dead. We sent our very best.”

“Alistair the Abyss was sent after me, all that way north.”

“He was, and once we knew you were headed here, word was sent. He’s on his way now, probably already making the journey down the underpass. You’re trapped. I have orders to take you alive if possible, but dead if necessary. Just give up and make this easier on yourself. I have no interest in the two who travel with you. Surrender, and they may go their own way. I have no reason to pursue them.”

“Trapped, am I?” the Executioner said. “You forget, Avirosa, I have the Demon Sword. None but the Master, himself, can best me. The way I see it, we each have a great deal to lose here.”

“If you did not fear to use that weapon, you would have already drawn it,” Avirosa said as he smiled back at Darien. “The Master knows everything about that sword. It is his property, after all.”

“I’m sure he does, but that hardly matters to you. If the need is dire enough, I will certainly risk using the sword, and you will certainly not escape.”

Avirosa laughed heartily. “Oh ho. Maybe not, but where will you go? We’ve seen to it that you have nowhere to run. You forget who it is you are up against. My life is of little consequence. Death is nothing to me. I die at the Master’s command without hesitation, but you, how weak and pathetic you have become without the Master, a foolish, petulant child, just as you were when we found you. I was Kirin’s favorite student before you were, if you remember. I know how he thinks, and so I know how you think. You are, after all, so like him, clever, but predictable. It is not surprising that you both betrayed us. Elf scum have no place in the Order, gifted though you are. Your blood is too tainted by that accursed race. You always loved your elf blood more than you loved the Order, just as he did. The two of you were always so immovable, so calm, so detached, as if that made you better than us.”

“Still jealous that I took your place? Even after all this time? I’m not interested in old rivalries, and it’s disappointing that you still carry such a grudge. A shade should not indulge in such pointless trifles. It is beneath our dignity.”

“Arrogant fool! You, a traitor, presume to lecture me on what the Order is about. You do not understand the magnitude of our power. You never did. You always belonged to us, from the very beginning.”

“Oh, do explain,” Darien taunted Avirosa. Already nearly a minute had passed, and Avirosa continued to willingly fall into the trap “As always, I find the anger and envy of you humans so amusing.”

Avirosa did not react at first, but slowly, a smile formed on his face, snaking across from right to left, like a worm creeping across dead dusty soil. “Very well then, fool. You deserve to suffer for your treason.” Avirosa spoke coldly, and with a confidence that unnerved Darien. A moment ago, the wraith had been seething with anger, and now seemed almost amused. What secret was he keeping that gave him such assurance? “How do you think it was that you were brought into the Order? How do you think we found you? Did you really believe Kirin just happened upon your mother’s execution? Didn’t that strike you as a bit too convenient?”

Ah, so that’s it, Darien thought. Of course he doesn’t realize Kirin told me before he died. “Is that all?” the Executioner smiled back, chuckling wickedly. “Did you really think I didn’t know that you arranged her execution already? I knew Kirin far better than you did.”

“So, he told you did he? Even so, there’s something yet you don’t know.” The Wraith continued to smile confidently. “You do remember that day don’t you? You remember the axe falling? You remember how her head fell away from her body? Does it still haunt your nightmares? Can you still see it in your mind? I certainly can.”

What did he mean? Darien’s mind groped for answers. Avirosa was there? How? Even so, Darien kept his calm, allowing no trace of confusion or doubt to show through on his face. “You were there then? What difference does that make?”

“What difference? Don’t you remember? Aren’t you Darien the Executioner? That was the name you chose for yourself on that day, wasn’t it? I remember speaking to you that day. I had no idea my words would inspire you so.”