The Eternal Darkness (36 page)

He finally felt the farthest ones slip from his grasp.  To his surprise, they did not collapse, but continued on.  As he lost contact with the others, they also continued to walk away.  When the last one left his grasp, he turned and looked at Hailyn.  She seemed surprised as well.

Letting go of whatever just happened, he pointed towards the doors.  Hailyn gave him a brave smile and squeezed his hand.  He hurriedly slid the sword off his back.  Carefully undoing the ties, he pushed back its cover, exposing the hilt, and grasped it.  He felt warmth rush into his body as he drew the sword out, its blade glowing radiantly.  He embraced his magic, his form shining brightly, and turned to the doors.

Taking a deep breath, he gently pushed on one of the doors, attempting to avoid making any noise.  Despite its size, the door opened smoothly and silently.  They quickly entered the room, its polished floors gleaming, with torches set into the walls.  Several braziers were placed around the room, fires flickering, causing the shadows to dance.

Jake saw that the doors were set in the middle of a wall.  The room was large, as it stretched at least a hundred feet across.  He saw other doors in the walls on either side.  The arched ceiling was high, thirty or more feet above the floor.  He and Hailyn, searching for movement, moved cautiously towards the center of the hall.

Near the opposite wall, he saw a tall stone throne.  He glanced briefly at it, but his attention was drawn to the two large boulders that seemed so out of place in this room.  It was not the boulders so much as rotating black hole between them, rimmed in red fire. It was the source of much of the malice Jake felt.  He heard Hailyn gasp and part of him wanted to turn and run away.

"You are not whom I expected, but it will save me the effort to have to track you down," a deep clear voice said, echoing in the vast hall.  A tall figure, its black robe rustling, came out from behind the throne and began to approach them.  Jake could not make out its face, but he knew this was the demon lord, its own darkness hidden by the evil radiating from the portal.  “And you have brought me the sword.”

Raising the sword, Jake pulled in more of his power to counter any attack.  "That is close enough," Jake warned.  The figure continued towards them without pause.

As the figure advanced, its face was gradually lit by the light of Jake and Hailyn’s power.  They were stunned when saw its face.  Expecting something similar to Creatos or the other demons that they had faced, they were unprepared for the unnatural beauty of the creature.  Tall and sinewy, it moved with an easy grace.  Its skin was a flawless alabaster color.  But its face was what held them dumbstruck.  It was a beautiful face, perfectly shaped, framed by flowing dark hair.  Its eyes, however, were as black as the darkest night.

The demon stopped a dozen paces from Jake, a smile crossing its face as it saw their expressions. "Were you expecting something else?" the demon laughed softly. "Something more sinister?  I am Narimus, master of my followers and lord of this world."

Jake, swallowing his fear, stepped forward, holding the sword ready.  The demon lord smiled more broadly at that.  “Do not be foolish, Jake,” the demon told him.  “I know that you faced Creatos, but you cannot hope to stand against me, even with your little cleric friend.  Even my enemy was unable to do so and he is far more powerful than you.  Release the sword and serve me, and I will let the girl live.”

“I will never serve the likes of you,” Jake stated.

“That is what my former apprentice, the other from your world, said as well, until I showed him the true extent of my power,” the demon lord said.  Its beautiful face twisted in contempt.  “I assume that you did not leave him alive.  Bruce was always overconfident in his powers.”

“I am not Bruce,” Jake said softly.  “I only want the people of this world to be free of you.”

“You have no power to compel me,” the demon stated as its lips twisted with scorn.  “In fact, I do not even have to raise my own hand against you.”  With that, doors opened on either side of them and demons poured in.  Jake saw Imps and the female demons, as well as several pairs of the male red demons.

Reacting, Jake launched a blast of power against the demon lord, driving him back.  Pulling Hailyn close, they attacked the demons as they closed.  Imps exploded as their power struck, but the female and male demons were able to withstand their blows.  Demon fire struck at them, crashing into their defenses, the sounds reverberating throughout the hall, while the demon lord stood back and observed, a smile on its face.

When the demons came close enough, Jake launched himself forward, striking out with the sword.  The sword flared as he sliced through one of the female demon, and it exploded, forcing Jake back.  A male demon came charging in, reaching for the sword.  Jake hit it with his power, knocking it back, and then followed with a blow from the sword.  The demon fell to ground, clutching at its side and Jake finished it with a blast of power.

He stepped back, moving closer to Hailyn.  The demons had backed away, not wanting to get within reach of the sword, but were still sending black fire at them.  The sheer amount was staggering.  Jake focused his power on defending against the demons’ attacks when he felt tendrils of the demons’ power slipping past his defenses, burning his skin.  The clamor of the battle was deafening as they fought to a relative stalemate.

Suddenly, the demon lord entered the fray, sending a bolt of power streaking at Hailyn.  Under duress from the other demons, the blow took her by surprise.  Crashing past her defenses, it blasted her away, sending her tumbling back towards the wall, her robes smoldering.  She tried to rise, but fell back.

“Hailyn!” Jake cried and ran back towards her.  With a savage cry, the demons followed.  Enraged, he spun back into them, swinging the sword.  Several fell to his assault, the sword flaring each time it struck, before the demon lord launched an enormous blast of dark power.  Jake brought up the sword, drawing on its power, to meet the attack, but the blow still staggered him, pain shooting through his body as the demon fire burned into him.

He tried to regain his balance when another blow rocked him.  As he reeled back, one of the male demons leapt forward and grasped his hand that held the sword.  With a sudden yank, it tore the sword from his hands, sending it sliding back towards the other demons.  Jake blasted the demon off of him as the other demons scattered out of the way of the sword.  Jake drew in his power as he started forward to try to recover the sword.

“Enough,” the demon lord ordered, stepping forward.  It lifted an arm, a tight ball of black fire surrounding its hand, pointing at Hailyn.  “Release your power or I will kill the cleric.”

Jake felt his frustration and fear rise.  He glanced back at Hailyn.  She was still trying to rise, but her power was gone.  A strike from any of the demons would kill her.  Seeing no other option, he released his power.

“Good,” the demon lord said as it smiled.  “I will teach you the true meaning of power, but I must have your oath.  Kneel and say, ‘I live to serve you,’ and I will spare the girl.”

As the demon lord stared at him with those cold eyes and the other demons laughed, an image flashed in his mind.  It was Bruce, absorbing the demons’ life energy in the northern fortress. 
It destroyed those demons
, he recalled.

Can I do it?
  He knew how to find those points of life energy, but what would it do to him?  As he hesitated, he heard Hailyn moan in pain behind him.  That sound stiffened his resolve. 
I will not let her die
.  Forgetting about the cost, he shook off his doubts, reached out with his mind and seized those burning points of energy, pulling in the life force of the demons.

…

His hand tight on his staff, Jonas sent a golden blast of power into the demons coming around the cluster of rocks where he and Dominic were fighting for their lives.  Dominic, blood flowing from several wounds, was fighting the last soldier while Jonas engaged the demons.  With a sudden change of movement, Dominic closed with the soldier, driving his knife home.  The man fell as Dominic moved back towards Jonas.

Before Jonas could react, a red male demon leapt from around the rocks, closing with him.  Dominic did not hesitate.  He leapt forward and intercepted the demon, driving his sword into its side.  The demon howled and spun, striking Dominic with its fist.  His armor absorbed the blow, but the force sent him flying back into a boulder.  Jonas heard his head slam against the stone and Dominic fell to his knees, leaving a bloody streak on the stone.  He tried to get up, but he staggered and fell forward.

The demon began to close with Dominic.  Jonas, his fear for his lifelong friend surging, unleashed a blast of power the drove all of the demons back.  He ran over towards Dominic, ignoring the demons for moment, feeling their power burn into his back.  He reached Dominic, who was still trying to rise, and stood before him.  He saw the demons approaching, their dark power ready.

He felt a serenity descend over him.  He smiled, which caused the demons to hesitate for a moment.  “Come and try me, demons.  I do not fear you or death,” he said in a loud voice.  Grounding his staff, he prepared to stand over Dominic and fight their enemies as long as he had breath in his body, just as Dominic had done all of those years ago. 

…

The demons’ life force burned and savaged Jake’s senses as he continued to draw it in.  Despite the pain, there was an ecstasy as well.  The force was wild, but it was also power, making him feel stronger than ever.  His whole body was quivering with the effort to control it; it was like a beast trapped in a tiny cage.

He felt the emotions of the demons flow in as well, a towering rage, a need for control, and a contempt for all life.  His lips pulled back in a snarl as these feelings ripped through his mind.  As he struggled to control these emotions, he felt something else as well.  Underneath it all, driving the other emotions, was a deep, unquenchable sense of loss.

Riding these emotions, he looked contemptuously at the demons before him, which were desperately trying to cut off Jake’s connection.  Only the demon lord was not moving about; it was just standing there staring at Jake as he drew more power in.

Lost in the swirling sensations of power and emotions, Jake was unaware that his blue eyes were turning black.

…

Pain surged through Jonas, as more of the demons’ power broke through his magic, his flesh smoking where it burned.  He fought with all of his might, but he could not gain the advantage over the demons.  He could also feel the beginnings of the exhaustion that came when he wielded power for a long time.  Dominic was still unable to gain his feet, the severe blow to his head incapacitating him.

Rocked back by a combined attack, Jonas was pushed into Dominic.  Jonas felt his feet slip out from under him as he tumbled back.  He heard a triumphant shout from the demons as they surged forward.  He caught himself and tried to focus his power, but one of the female demons had already leapt for him, claws extended.  He tried to bring his staff around, but he was already too late.

Just before the demon reached him, a beam of the purest white light struck it, blasting it away and reducing it to ash.  Jonas saw the runes of his staff flare brilliantly and his power spike.

“The Guardian!” he heard a demon cry.  He looked over and saw a tall figure standing on the top of a nearby boulder, glowing in an aura of silvery light, striking at the demons.  Jonas surged to his feet and joined the figure in attacking the demons.  Between them, they quickly destroyed the demons before they could flee.

Panting from the effort, Jonas looked over at the figure.  He saw the figure gesture towards him.  Warmth spread through his body, healing his wounds and restoring his strength.  He heard Dominic curse and turned to look at him, ready to heal him.  He saw Dominic push himself up, his wounds gone and eyes clear and focused.  Jonas turned back towards the glowing figure, but it was gone.

“What just happened?” Dominic asked as he picked up his sword.

“I think that we are needed inside,” Jonas said.  “Things are coming to a head.”

They began to make their way back towards the entrance when Dominic halted him and pointed behind them.  Jonas craned his head and saw a large group of soldiers moving through the rocks.

“We can outrun them,” Jonas said.

“Maybe, but it will do no good,” Dominic said, looking ahead.

Jonas turned and spotted armed men in the rocks, heading straight for them.

…

One by one, the demons collapsed into heaps as Jake drew out all of their life force.  His whole body felt like it was on fire, burning with power, as he watched them fall.  Soon, the only one left was the demon lord.  Jake tried to pull harder at that connection, but he reached the limit of what he could hold.

“Now you see, fool,” the demon lord spat.  “I am eternal and your mortal flesh can never take that from me.”  It crossed its arms.  “Release me now or I will make you suffer more than you have already earned.”

“Let us go,” Jake ordered as he pulled harder on his link with the demon.

The demon lord laughed.  “Do think I can be controlled?  You are more the fool than I thought.”  Its eyes bored into Jake’s.  “Release me,” it repeated.

“Maybe I’ll destroy you instead,” Jake snarled and unleashed a burst of black fire at the demon.  The demon lord blocked the attack and countered with its own dark power.  Jake was forced back by the demon’s might, but continued to draw on its life energy.  With the dark power surging through his body, he felt invincible.  Laughing, he stuck back.

He and the demon lord circled each other, exchanging streaks of midnight fire, shaking the throne room with their battle’s intensity.

…

Sprinting to the boulders closest to the entrance, Dominic knelt near Jonas, keeping his eyes on the approaching men.  “When I tell you, we will run for the entrance,” he said quietly.  “When the enemy comes after us, I will turn and fight while you continue on.”  He saw the look in Jonas’ eyes.  “No arguments, Jonas.  You can do nothing against these soldiers.  Your fight is inside.”