The Brotherhood of the Abyss

CHAPTER X – DEATH’S HAND

“Stay close to me,” Duncan said as the girl gives him a nervous nod.

     “The Demons are everywhere,” Melchari said while observing the Celestial Eye.

     “Wish there is an easier way to get her out,” Duncan thought to himself. But it seems that the only way out will be the hard way. There are Demons in every route. They could charge head on as Earth Demons are pretty easy to take down, but with this girl tagging along they must move with caution. Magic will be useless in this scenario for they still carry the curse of the Fallen Angel Lucifer. Their magic is no longer meant to protect. If Duncan ever attempts to cast a protective charm around the girl, make her invisible, or transport her to safety in an instant (like teleportation), she will disintegrate.

     “Here, this will protect you from basic curses and weapons,” Duncan said. He took off his hooded cloak and gave it to the girl.

     Duncan quickly wraps a scarf around his face before the girl recognises him. The girl is a head shorter than Duncan but the cloak magically conforms to her smaller frame.

     “W-wait, how about you,” the girl asked.

     “Just worry about your own skin,” Duncan answered smugly.

     “But why are you helping me?”

     Duncan let go a deep sigh. The Demons are coming and if this girl would just shut up! And suddenly something black and hooded swishes from behind. This almost made the girl scream.

     “Easy,” Melchari said after fully materializing, “Well, I thought you needed a help here. I will give cover while we get her to safety.”

     “So, you’ve guess…”

     “That you are planning to get this girl out of here,” Melchari said slyly, “I was watching you two from the Celestial Eye.”

      Duncan felt a strong urge to throw an arm around Melchari.

     “And Boniface, let’s inform him,” Duncan suggested.

     “Already done that and he’s now clearing a path for us,” Melchari replied.

     “Let’s get going then. I’ll lead the way and you watch our backs. We will head to the nearest exit whether it might be windows or doors. I think I saw one a few corridors away. And you little girl, stay between us,” Duncan said to the girl.

     But before charging into the dangers of the corridors, Duncan makes the Sign of the Cross.     He then kicks the door with such a force that it flew off its hinges. Their noisy departure might attract several Earth Demons, but this is a part of an insidious plan. They storm the darkness of the corridors with Duncan leading the way. The girl maintains a firm grip on his hand and the warm touch is distracting. The enemy is yet to show itself but Duncan keeps throwing the girl a nervous glance, worrying an unseen hand might grab her.

     “What was that?” Melchari said after hearing a dull bang and death-shrieks.

     “The Demons aren’t so smart. I was hoping they will be drawn to the noise of the crashing door, so I left entrapments. This will delay their approach,” Duncan explained.

     What Duncan left in the room are a couple of star shaped instruments. Their spikes will extend to impale any Demons entering the room.

     Boniface had done his job well. The corridors are littered with weapon fragments and pieces of body parts. Their pacing is smooth and unobstructed but several Demons are making a bold move by magically going through solid walls.

     “Someone’s coming,” Duncan warned as the map conjured by the Foresight enchantment shows two Earth Demons approaching their way. Demons aren’t always guided by sight, smell or hearing. Like Duncan and his kind, they are capable of sensing the presence of living beings. Duncan and Melchari could evade their detection, but this girl can’t, but they hide her anyway to an empty niche behind a headless statue.

     Awkward footfalls and wheezy breaths signal the arrival of the Earth Demons. Their sudden appearance from the solid wall is nothing amusing, nevertheless terrifying. Demons come in all variants and these two had the general appearance of deformed human with gargoyle faces. Their armours and weapons are ornate.

     “There!” One of them screamed. They scrambled at the signs of life behind the statue, and they find a large, uncoiling brazen snake! 

     “IT’S A TRAP,” said one as the snake crushes him to death. His companion disintegrates after receiving a face-full of acid spit. Once the snake had done its purpose of disposing the Demons, it returns to its original form; a plain bronze staff before flying back to its master. A few corridors away it reaches Duncan.

     “Is that the Moses Rod?” Melchari asked as Duncan brandishes the magical weapon.

     “It had fooled the Demons’ senses. Good thing our hiding place had a secret escape route.”

     They are now a few corridors away. Duncan makes a constant check on the wall for windows where they can escape.

     “Sorry Duncan, but Boniface told me that someone had sealed all the windows and doors,” Melchari muttered.

     “I know; I’m just hoping they missed one.”

     Again Duncan senses danger. The Foresight warns them of ten Demons storming in all directions. This time the nearest hiding place is corridors away and they have no choice but to fight head on.

     “Get down,” Melchari pushed the girl low on the ground. The Demons emerge from the darkness, swords bare and screaming bloodlust.

     And a wave of terror is unleashed.

     A ring of Black Flame explodes from nowhere, incinerating the four nearest Demons. The survivors stagger away partly dazed by the noxious fumes of the cursed fire. Duncan cannot keep the Black Flame burning any longer or else it might affect the girl. Once the Flame is extinguished Duncan throws the Moses Rod at the remaining Demons. Several are quick enough to evade the monster Rod, which is now murdering their companions in its snake form. With the Demons partly disorganize, Duncan and Melchari began countering with curses. While remaining in her position to protect the girl, Melchari conjures a long and thin sword. Her skills with the blade are amazing. She beheads any Demons who survive her curses with the speed of a lashing whip. The rest pulled back, but suffers a quick death in the bare hands of Duncan.

     “Let’s move,” Duncan said urgently while retrieving the Moses Rod. Eight more Demons appeared out of the corner. This lot is bigger and more imposing. Without the Black Flame affecting their concentrations they are free to shoot curses. Melchari keep the girl behind her while Duncan makes a frantic counter. Upon seeing a lapse of concentration, Duncan jabs his dagger on the forehead of the nearest Demon as his Moses Rod kills the rest. Melchari’s curse then sings; killing any Demons it touches. Duncan then engages the remaining Demons in a chaotic and messy brawl. Behind Melchari the girl is staring transfixed, wondering why these people, who are complete strangers, are willing to fight for her own sake.

     The last of the Demons perished. Melchari is flicking her sword to clear it of blood.

     “This will do,” Duncan said as he kicks the wall beside him. The brute force produces a hole big enough to walk through.

      “You should not be doing that. The walls are bewitched, who knows what curse it holds,” Melchari warned.

     “Well, this wall is not,” Duncan replied.  

     They jumped into the hole before a gang of Demons show up. They can’t risk endangering this girl by having another prolonged fight.

     “Boniface spoke to me mentally,” Duncan said, “We must go to the hallways where the suits of amours stood guard. This will save us troubles.”

     Not knowing what he meant, Melchari gestures at the girl to follow Duncan to a winding path leading to the Hall of Armours. Along the way they killed several Demons who had dived from behind.

     “Got any plans to get her out,” Melchari asked Duncan, sword bleeding after slaying another Demons emerging from the ground.

     “To disenchant the exits, we need to kill the perpetrators of the curse, and we still have no idea who is behind this. We might as well risk it all and blast the wall.”

     “The Grandmaster, Boniface just informed me he and the others had arrived. They are fighting Earth Demons outside,” Melchari said.

     “Great, there are also Earth Demons in the forest,” Duncan sighed.

     “But at least we have the Grandmaster with us now, and Velruthiel could produce harmless protective spell.”

     “Well, we could meet them at the Great Hall of the castle.” Duncan added.

     Melchari checks the Celestial Eye; the Hall of Armours leads straight to the Great Hall.

     “Let’s inform the Grandmaster then,” Melchari suggested.

     “Not now, maybe he is still fighting the Earth Demons. We will call him once we get there. Our kinds could Rematerialize in split seconds.”

     In the language of the Order, Rematerializing is a form of teleportation.

     The Demons are nearly catching up to their slow pace. They are careful not to go too fast or they might injure the girl. More than once Duncan resisted the urge to carry the girl on his back to speed things up. A person this close will be harmed if he performs magic.   

     When they entered the Hall of Armours the girl nearly tripped after stepping on a dead Demon. The Demons’ remains littered the whole area, most in an awful condition. Their heads are split open by something sharp and heavy.

     “This is not Boniface’s doings,” Melchari said. The girl barely grimaced at the sight of death; obviously she is used to seeing corpses.

     “Boniface’s methods are humane and…” Duncan paused after noticing a nearby suit of armour splattered with blood and holding a bleeding halberd.

     “I think I know who did these,” Duncan said. Just in time the suits came to life to meet the marauding Demons coming down from the roof. The sickening sound of metal cutting through flesh awakens the silent hall. The Demons are no match to the stronger and quicker suits of armour. Whenever one is damaged by a curse, it reassembles and fights back. 

     “It seems they are only meant to protect this hallway,” Duncan said as a suit of armour goes still after butchering a shrieking Demon.

     “Too bad they are not made to loiter around. They will certainly make our jobs easier,” Melchari added.

     Feeling secured for the first time, they moved on. He gives the girl a brief glance, and he felt that the Demons seem to be drawn to her. The Demons are always following them and maybe this nameless princess is what those monsters are after. Melchari is thinking the same thing seeing on the meaningful look on her face.

     “It’s him!” Duncan points to the hooded Boniface at the end of the hallway.

     “It’s about time. So that’s her,” Boniface beamed at the girl, “Anyway the Great Hall is just beyond this corner. You must have heard from Melchari that the exits are sealed.”

     “Is there any alternative escape routes?” Duncan asked hopefully though he probably knew the answer.

    “Sorry Duncan, but there are no shortcuts here, I suggest we call Velruthiel first.  And before anything else…”

     Through Boniface’s will a solid wall burst out from the ground, blocking the entire corridor. The wall bears a complex relief of a four armed protective entity.

     “Slay any Demons that comes this way,” Boniface commanded the Guardian Wall.

     “It shall be done,” the Wall replied.

     They enter the vast enclosure of the Great Hall with their Morales inflated. Everything around here is as forbidding as the rest of the castle. Years of neglect had caused the once splendid Hall to fall into disrepair.

     “Let’s call the Grandmaster and Velruthiel now, they are probably through with the Demons,” Duncan suggested. But their moment of triumph is short lived. The enemy is proving to be more determined than they thought. Everyone had to escort the girl to the nearest concealment, for three monstrous creatures are now materializing from thin air. They had bodies of men and head of horses, and each stood twenty feet tall. Their fiery mane and tail emits foul odour.

     “Devil’s Mounts,” Duncan said to the others using his mind.

     “They’re enormous,” Melchari muttered. The girl beside her is too scared to speak.

     “Let’s call for back-up,” Boniface suggested.

     “That won’t be necessary; Devil’s Mounts aren’t so smart. We could take them on ourselves. And I believe the others are still fighting the Demons. They can’t help us right now. And besides…” Duncan paused.

     The Devil’s Mounts turn their mean, slanted eyes at their direction.

     “They must be the one who sealed the exits. Whenever a Demon bewitches an object it left an imprint of itself. And the exits emit the same magic as these foul beasts. Killing them will disenchant the exits,” he added.

     The Devil’s Mounts bound at them, making the ground tremble. Their approach is thwarted by a silver flash shooting from the end of Melchari’s sword.

     “I will distract them and don’t say anything! It’s my time to shine,” Melchari said as she leaps out before Boniface could stop her. For a girl who does little combat missions she is pretty quick and agile. She does a full sprint towards the other end of the Great Hall with the angered Devil’s Mounts thundering behind her. After cornering herself Melchari raises her weapon. Her sword is actually enormous; twice the length of a rapier. To wield it in a cramped environment requires considerable skills! And another silver flash shots from her sword, another means of distraction for the already provoked creatures. This diversion enables her to shoot an unseen curse from her left hand. Her curse connects with the knee of the nearest Devil’s Mount, causing it to topple forward. Melchari doesn’t waste a single moment and thrust her sword on the fallen monster.

     Melchari’s act further incensed the surviving Devil’s Mounts. They retaliated, oblivious to Boniface speeding from behind. He uses the same method of damaging the legs before going for the head. His actions are frantic. He fires curses in rapid succession before hacking the downed monster in frenzy. This is to ensure a quick kill before the enemy retaliates.

    “OVER THERE!” Melchari points to the third Devil’s Mount who survived Boniface’s curses. The Devil’s Mount is going for the girl instead. But Duncan had bewitched the floor around the collapsed pillar to emit Black Flames when step upon. A series of loud bangs indicate his entrapment works. The Devil’s Mount is on its knees, crippled by the brief flash of the cursed fire. Even on its weakened state the creature is making its last act of defiance by breathing fire. Before a single spark left its horsey mouth, Duncan leaps from behind to break its neck.

     “All cleared,” Duncan said. He managed to trick the Devil’s Mount into thinking that it was sensing the girl behind the remnants of the pillar. The place was bewitched to hoodwink the Demon’s senses.

     “Careful,” Melchari said as she helps the girl crawl out from her alternate hiding place near the main entrance. When Melchari lured the Devil’s Mount away, Duncan took the girl into a crevice he found beside the doorway. It’s amazing how she kept her pure white gown unsoiled even after crouching low in a dirty crevice. With the demise of the Devil’s Mounts, the spells sealing the entrances loose effect. The windows and doors swing open by themselves.

     “No time to waste, let’s move,” Duncan said.

     “You go, I’ll stay here, there are still Earth Demons left in the castle,” Boniface said while brandishing his bloody sword.

     “If that’s the case we’ll be seeing you,” Melchari said.

     On their way out Duncan is scanning the horizon looking for signs of Velruthiel and their Grandmaster. He senses them not too very far away along with squads of hostile Demons. The breath of the outside air from the surrounding forest is encouraging.

     “Careful,” Duncan said and everyone stops. He points to a line of leaf litters a few feet away. It conceals trenches surrounding the whole castle vicinity.

     “It’s a magical entrapment,” Duncan said. He kicks the layers of dry foliage aside to reveal a blazing pit.

     “The Demons had dug trenches around the castle, a final measure if the girl escapes on her own,” Melchari added. She consults the Celestial Eye, and it conjured a map showing the castle surrounded by cursed trenches.

     “Now if you fell in the pit, you will go back in the castle,” Duncan said. He drops an explosive ball that produces brilliant green smoke into the trench, and a pillar of smoke puffs from the topmost castle window.

     “Well, the trenches are only forty feet wide, we could jump farther than that,” Melchari suggested.

     “I prefer going airborne, jumping long distances might terrify her,” Duncan pointed at the girl.

     Melchari gave Duncan this do what’s necessary expression. The last thing the girl saw before being carried off by Duncan is a rain of something black that she assumed to be feathers. And then they are airborne.

     Melchari is the first to reach the other end of the pit. She chose to leap rather than fly. Duncan makes a soft and noiseless landing.

     “What’s that Mister,” the girl pointed at something on Duncan’s back.

     “Just what I told you, I’m as much of a monster as you, or worse,” he replied bitterly.

     Duncan had partly revealed his true form. He had sprouted great black wings. They are not the cartoonish ones portrayed in greeting cards, or what those cheesy cupids had worn. His enormous wings had a span of twenty feet. The feathers are inky, brutal and spiky. In fact, the winged Duncan had a bit of resemblance to a gargoyle.

     “I only looked human, but…” he said and he gives his monster wings a glance. He lowered the girl on the ground, with a little help from Melchari. Duncan lacks grace when doing these things.

     “Our race takes many shapes,” he continues, “our clan, the most ancient one, is known for their black wings. We are classified as part human, and our human side gave us the image of a normal person. But this doesn’t really make us a true human.”

     “Stop saying that Mister, flesh and blood doesn’t necessary make one a true human,” the girl spoke, her face contorted with the first hint of emotion. Duncan merely bowed his head while withdrawing his wings.

     “Velruthiel just spoke to me mentally, she advised us to stay where we are. She and the Grandmaster will come for our aid,” Duncan said to Melchari.

     “They’d better hurry,” Melchari said. She points to a hulking, horsey figure limping from the forest.

     “Is that a Devil’s Mount?” Duncan muttered.

     “Not another Devil’s Mount,” Melchari shrieked. The girl is clinging to Duncan’s arm as if her life depended on it. The only one who is not worried is Duncan. Yes, this specimen is bigger, but there is something wrong on the way it lumbers as if it was drunk. And he could sense another entity riding on its back.

     The ground rumbles as the monster collapses facedown, revealing someone familiar clinging on its back.

     “Oh, it’s you,” he said at the winged form of the Xafris.

     “You should at least thank me for dispatching this straggler, this is no easy feat,” she replied loudly, mouth still dripping with venom.

     The Xafris rose, careful to thread on the face of the dead Devil’s Mount.

     “And where are you when the Demons are invading your guarded location,” Melchari mouthed her.

     “Sad to say sleeping for too long had diminished my power. In this state my senses had weakened, and the filths managed to sneak in.”

     The Xafris kicked the Devil’s Mount’s face.

     “This monster is hard to kill. Curses won’t work so I have to use my venom,” she growled.

     And suddenly the girl approaches the Xafris without a hint of fear or repulse.

     “I never had the chance to say this to you, but please let me thank you for giving me a place to stay,” she smiled at her. The Xafris blink, face contorted in an attempt to recall something.

     “Let’s see, you’re the girl who came to me for a place to stay. That was a few days ago, am I right?” The Xafris said.

     Duncan and Melchari’s eyes flashed at these revelations. This girl is the second one they saw in the Xafris’ badly stored memory. And now it’s just a matter of knowing the identity of this nameless character and what she is doing in the World of Men.

     “Sorry I’m late,” Velruthiel said after appearing suddenly.

     “Just in time My Lady, the place is becoming dangerous by the moment,” Duncan said. He turned his head at a Demon he caught hiding in the tree.

     “You are indeed beautiful. Come, I will get you out of here,” Velruthiel said as she touches the girl’s hand.

     “So, where are you planning to take her,” Melchari asked while scanning the mottled landscape for hidden threats.

     “She will perish if we take her to the Order’s Headquarters. For a time being she will have to stay in Boniface’s encampment until we made the necessary arrangements.”

     Velruthiel grabbed the girl’s hand to perform the Dematerializing spell.

     “Sorry My Lady, but I can’t go,” the girl said suddenly

     “Don’t tell me you’re still thinking of dying,” Duncan mouthed. The increasing numbers of hidden Earth Demons is making him worry.

     “That’s not the reason Mister, but please let me stay,” she replied stubbornly.

     “You must go now; the place is no longer safe!” Melchari insisted.

     “Not without you all,” the girl muttered.

     “This is not the time for nonsense little girl,” Duncan shouted. He had seen a pair of eyes glaring from the bushes.

     “I won’t leave you to deal with the monsters yourselves,” the girl said firmly.

     “That’s nice of you,” Melchari grunted sarcastically, “but I think we could handle these ourselves.”

     And the Grandmaster appeared accompanied by Kane.

     “She refused to leave,” Velruthiel explained before Kane reacts.

     “WHAT THE…” Melchari shrieked. She jumps back, but not due to a sudden Demon attack. There is light coming from the girl.

     “I didn’t do anything!” Duncan said with both hands raised to show he never conjured a spell.

     “We know,” Kane replied.

     “Hey you, what are you doing here!” Duncan screamed at the girl. The lights surrounding her are now becoming brighter.

     “Doing my part, it’s me who caused all of these anyway,” the girl spoke, her voice sounding distant behind the barrier of lights.

     “No, you can’t do this!” Duncan growled, but it’s too late. The leaves, the stones and twigs are now flying in the spiralling wind she conjured. Duncan recognizes this form of enchantment; the girl is about to unleash the full horror of the Death’s Hand.

     “Stop this!” Duncan shouted, but Kane gave him a tap.

     “Let her do what she thought is right,” he whispered.

     “Wait, but…”

     “Mister, for once let me put my skills to good use,” the girl said serenely, “I will administer Death to the deserving; Morri en Menntis!”

     And Death awakens. The skull faced spectre that humans associate with Death appeared in the whirling wind. The Demons flee in a disorderly manner, sensing the end literary hovering above.

     “You have protected me well Mister, and this is to thank you,” the girl smiled at Duncan. She gestured at the Deathly Spectre to clear the areas of Demons. Every foul creature is sucked out from the forest, into the maw of the skull faced phantom.

     What follows is an eerie silence. Not a single trace of the Demons remains. Duncan could only stare at the blank pieces of sky where the Deathly Spectre hovered for its victims. To see the spell done up-close and not within a memory felt disturbing; the gliding phantom maybe the last thing those grey skinned creatures saw before being snatched into the afterlife.

     “Hey, you okay there,” Duncan asked the girl after seeing her going blank.

     “Just a bit tired,” the girl said weakly as she limps back to Duncan.

     “Yeah right,” Duncan muttered.

     Melchari and Velruthiel assist Duncan to lower the girl to the ground. The cloak Duncan gave makes for a good comforter. Velruthiel conjures a cushion where the girl rests her head.

     “She doesn’t look so good,” Boniface said soon after Rematerializing from the castle.

     “You’re here,” Velruthiel said to him.

     “My work is done, the castle is secured. Or should we say someone cleared it for me?”

     “How did you know?” Melchari asked.

     “The Demons simply vanished, and I saw from the window how this girl produces a horrible apparition,” he replied.

     “That was an effective spell though,” Velruthiel praised.

     “And a dangerous one to use; tell me, is this the effect of your enchantment, to be wasted away?” Duncan asked the girl.

     “You’re right Mister. Whenever I do the spell, it took a part of me with it,” the girl said weakly, “I’m already thinking of using it when the Demons arrived, but it’s too dangerous in a confined space.”

     “Just don’t say anything and take a rest,” Melchari said.

     The girl’s breathing becomes heavier and her strength falters.

     “And Mister, I heard your friends call you Duncan,” she said as she heaves a deep breath.

     “That will be my name,” he replied.

     “Well Mister, it will be impolite if you never knew who I am.  My name is Nyx. For now that’s all I can tell you, I need to doze off a bit. But as a thank you for saving my life…”

     She pulls Duncan closer with what remains of her strength and gave him a kiss on the forehead, a common gesture of respect, goodwill, and thanksgiving in the World she came.

     “She just lost consciousness,” Melchari said to everyone, seeing her head fall limp on the cushion.

     “We ought to take her to Boniface’s encampment now. Anything wrong Duncan?” Velruthiel then asked.

     “Huh, err, nothing,” Duncan muttered as she touches the point on his forehead where Nyx’s lips made contact. Somehow he doesn’t like the feel of being kissed.

     “The first thing we should have done when the Demons appeared is to inform our Grandmaster about the girl. In this way he could have sent Velruthiel to fetch her right away,” Boniface said then. Nyx stirred, giggling sweetly in her sleep.

     “But I think it is better this way. To let the girl stay with you until the fight is over had kept the Demons from venturing outside, near the surrounding towns and cities,” the Grandmaster answered.

     “Well, we should better get going then. This girl needs to be checked,” Kane suggested. He conjures a comfortable looking stretcher, more like a bed with handles.

     “Are you okay Duncan,” Melchari asked him while resting Nyx on the stretcher.

     “Err, yeah,” he replied blankly, privately wishing Nyx never kissed him.