“Come on, then,” Harruq said, drawing his swords and grinning. “Follow me. Like old times, just better.”
“Indeed,” Qurrah said, wiping tears from his face. “Lead the way.”
T hey ran toward the castle, avoiding the bodies that fell from the sky. Far behind them the sound of magic and steel rang long and loud. Antonil and his men were pressing into the city, and with Mira, Aurelia, and Tarlak aiding them, they were more than a match for the demonic forces. Pressed by both air and ground, the demons would soon retreat to the portal.
Harruq stopped halfway up the stairs to the castle entrance, turning and waiting for his winded brother. He saw Qurrah glance up at him, his eyes widening. Harruq spun, flinging his swords into a desperate defense. Ulamn landed, swinging his gigantic two-handed sword. Their blades connected, and Harruq felt panic at the immense strength the demon wielded. He fell down the stairs, unable to withstand the blow.
Qurrah was already casting a spell before Ulamn could advance.
“Hemorrhage,” he shouted. Ulamn’s right arm jerked back, and blood poured from within the armor. The demon snarled and clutched his shoulder, holding his sword with his wounded arm. Red light shone around his hand. The flow of blood ceased as one of the rubies in his sword faded black.
“You are fools,” Ulamn said, gripping his sword with both hands and angling his body into a stance. “I coddled you, cur, and now you betray me?”
“Call me a fool all you want,” Qurrah said, his mind racing through the spells he knew. “You’re still going to die.”
Harruq lunged, but Ulamn batted his swords away as if they were toys. His wings spread wide, and with a single flap the force they generated knocked Harruq back down the stairs a second time, muttering and grumbling as he rolled.
“Your wings,” Qurrah said, his mind locked on a spell. “They trouble me.”
He crossed his arms, and red fire danced around his body as if he were a candle struggling to light. When he closed his eyes the fire roared, but not around him. The feathers on Ulamn’s wings burst into flame, surrounding him with thick black smoke. Ulamn pulled his wings tight and screamed in fury. He leaped down the stairs, his sword slamming deep into the ground where Harruq had been. The half-orc stepped back, not daring to meet the demon’s strength head on.
And then he could go no further, for he stood directly before Qurrah.
“We might need to run,” he said as Ulamn charged like an enraged bull.
“Stand,” Qurrah said, magic dancing on his fingers. “Fight him!”
Trusting his brother, Harruq met the demon’s attack, blocking it with both his swords. He expected his arms to spasm with pain, and his body to fly back as it had before, but instead Ulamn’s sword retreated. Sparks showered between their weapons, deep black with purple centers. Dark flame surrounded Ulamn’s weapon. He swung, but his own blade resisted his movements, like a limb fighting against its own body. Harruq shoved the attack aside with ease, stepped forward, and stabbed one of his swords through a crease in the demon’s armor.
Ulamn screamed in pain, and as he did the dark fire on his blade vanished. Qurrah gave him no time to recover. His whip lashed, wrapping around fingers. The whip burst into flame, but instead of dropping the sword Ulamn jerked the whip right out of Qurrah’s grasp. The fire vanished, and he shook off the leather with a glare. A few well-placed strikes with his sword sent Harruq staggering back.
“You will beg,” Ulamn said, still stinking of burned feathers. His glare at Qurrah was full of promises. “When your bones are pebbles, and your flesh is peeled and gone, you will beg.”
“Good luck getting to him,” Harruq said, bracing his legs for another charge.
Ulamn burst into a run with such speed Harruq was completely unprepared for the elbow that slammed into his face. He could have been gutted, but Ulamn’s sword slipped right past, aimed straight for Qurrah’s stomach. Qurrah slammed his hands together, yanking a wall of shadow from the ground. The sword could not penetrate. Harruq fell back against the shadow wall, lashing out with his blades. Salvation clacked against armor, but Condemnation nicked a piece of neck, drawing blood. Ulamn swung, attempting to sever Harruq in two. Quick as he had summoned the shadow wall, Qurrah released it. Harruq fell, the gigantic blade slicing the air above his head.
“Hemorrhage,” Qurrah shouted again, leaping past his brother with his hand outstretched. It connected with Ulamn’s chestplate, and from it magic poured out stronger than ever. The demon screamed as the flesh of his chest exploded with blood. He fell to one knee, gasping through the pain. He backhanded Qurrah with his gauntlet, strong enough to draw blood from his nose. With a quivering arm, he grabbed his sword and shoved it forward, hoping to gut Qurrah while he staggered. Harruq, however, had other ideas. From his perch on his back he slapped the blade away with both his swords, rolled to a sitting position, and then lunged. His knee smashed Ulamn’s face. As they heard the sick crunch, Harruq slipped Salvation’s edge against Ulamn’s throat.
“You can yield,” Harruq said as he pressed hard enough to draw blood. “Pull your troops out and be gone.”
“I’d rather die,” Ulamn said. He lunged for his sword, knowing full well he would never reach it. Harruq snarled like a beast as he yanked his blade, tearing open the demon’s throat. Gurgling and gasping, Ulamn clutched the wound with his hands and bled until he died.
“Come,” Qurrah said, grabbing his brother’s arm and pulling him further up the stairs. “Our time is short.”
“Yeah,” Harruq said, wiping blood from his face and following after.
T essanna stood before the throne room, openly weeping. Her face was not of sorrow, though, but of vicious, unbridled fury. In the corner Velixar lay curled on his hands and knees, gasping out labored breaths as he watched the girl with blackest eyes approach the dying portal.
“You both were fools to try what you did,” she said to Velixar without looking at him. “Neither of you could have survived without my help. Mommy would have torn you to pieces.”
She spun and glared at Karak’s prophet.
“I’ve carried the burden, same as you both,” she said. “But I hid it. You never saw it, never felt it, but I’m why you two never crumpled under the weight. Thousands of troops, you damn fool.”
She turned back to the portal and took another step. It swirled a dark blue, and within its ripples she saw hundreds of stars. She lifted her arms and let her tears fall.
“He’s gone,” she said. “His hold on the portal is gone. You feel it too, don’t you? Of course you do. That’s why you’re a crumpled child. My lover’s gone. He’s cursed me, blamed me, and abandoned me. What am I to do, pawn of a death god? What do I do?”
The drain of the portal was an acute pain in her mind, and with all her focus she grabbed it, held it firm.
“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” she said to Velixar. “If I’m a disease to this world, then I’ll burn the world away. I will give you what you want. What you’ve always wanted. Will you live to see it?”
She poured all her power, the power of a goddess, into tearing open the portal. It swirled larger and larger, and the entire castle shook beneath her feet. She never heard the castle doors swing open, but when Qurrah’s voice rang out behind her, she spun, tears of blood running down her face.
“Qurrah?” she asked, her hair fluttering in an ethereal wind.
“Don’t!” he shouted as loud as he could. “Forgive me, Tess, I was wrong. Close the damn thing!”
Her mouth dropped open. Her black eyes flared red and white. She was furious at his earlier words. She was joyful he was alive. She was confused by the sight of Harruq with him, and she was afraid of what it might mean. And above all, she was hurt, very hurt.
“No,” she said. “You’ve earned this.”
A final wave of her hand and the portal stretched wall to wall, filling the entire castle with its glow. Air blasted outward. Harruq held onto his brother, lifting an arm and bracing his body against the door to hold them still. In the corner, Velixar laughed.
The portal rippled. A frightening stillness filled the room, broken only by their breathing and Velixar’s maniacal laughter.
“What have you done?” Harruq dared ask.
And then Thulos, god of war, stepped through the portal and into the land of Dezrel.
