Chapter 13
The Struggle
The fall from the skyship was incredible, by which Terrill felt it only pertained to the sights. There was something majestic and equally horrific about plummeting from such heights through a swarm of monsters to the walled city that was the capital of Valorda. To Terrill’s surprise, and to his companion’s credit, Floyd wasn’t panicking or screaming. His eyes held the same kind of focus as his own, and the Guardian realized just how seriously his friend was taking this situation.
Gone was the Floyd that only worried for Torry. He had a new responsibility on his shoulders.
“Looks like they spotted us,” he said, his voice almost lost amidst the howling wind. His limbs dangled at his side, rippling with the force of gravity that was pulling them downward faster than either of them was ready to admit. Floyd tried to steady them, eventually managing a grip on his daggers to hold them as a defense. Terrill had never let go of his sword, ready for the winged creature now flapping for them, a horde of smaller ones following behind.
Terrill pointed his sword forward and, if it was possible, he began to fall even faster. The winged monster, now looking like a strange abomination of a bird, screeched with its elongated beak open. Its cry summoned its brethren, and as one force they flocked together in a murderous flight for the duo. Terrill ensured they wouldn’t manage it, swinging his sword. At its blade, stones were created, jettisoning into the different creatures and tearing through them with precision. Floyd was less accurate, opting for a billowing flame that consumed his figure, like wings that seared away the darkness that threatened to corrode them.
The bird didn’t like this, its wings expanding wide enough to cover the sun, its talons ready to tear apart their skin. They didn’t stop their rapid descent. Nor did they communicate what they planned. The duo simply acted, with Floyd’s body smoking as he pulled in front of Terrill. Blade poised, he planted Floyd’s feet upon it and threw him off. The redhead streaked through the sky, his fiery blades plunging into the creature and ripping out the other side, turning it and its ilk to ash.
The roofs of Valorda, and the square where Terrill had once danced with Krysta, were far too close now.
Floyd decided to point this out. “Any way to avoid us going splat?”
“Might have an idea, but it’ll be a bit muddy,” Terrill yelled to him. He realized he had to act fast, as Floyd was much closer to a disastrous crash landing than Terrill was. With no time, Terrill held his free hand out, finding his own skin was distorted from the wind, and the black particles on the air. Worse yet was that below was a horde of creatures like giant cats with barbed tails and overlong fangs. They were leaping at fleeing citizens, and Terrill decided to make their act twofold. He summoned the incantation in his mind, drawing on Torry’s lessons, and acted with his knowledge. “Mud Collapse!”
Magic flowed down from his body to the earth they were hurtling towards, striking the center of the square. Terrill wasn’t sure how successful such a larger scale spell would work, but he soon saw it begin, the stone street liquefying before their eyes. A couple of the monsters took notice, and with a growl, they leapt forth. It was perfect timing, both of them striking the monsters with their feet, allowing the action to slow them down just enough to hit the mud with minimal damage. Not that Terrill wasn’t shaken, the impact reverberating through his body and into his jaw, rattling his eyes around.
Floyd was no better, groaning as he clutched at his head. Only their intact bodies offered solace, because they certainly didn’t get any from the growling monsters that now formed a ring around them. Some of the citizens had paused in their flight to stare back at this strange arrival, worried about some new threat. The monsters all leapt at the pair, and Terrill offered a scoff, which was matched by Floyd’s chuckle.
The people didn’t need to worry about a further threat, but Terrill was sure they’d be surprised by the show the duo would put on.
Lifting his foot, Terrill squelched back into the mud, and his magic took effect once again. The mud solidified, but kept both Terrill and Floyd standing on the surface. Meanwhile, the cat-like creatures were all locked in by the stone that consumed the square, removing the definition of the stones that once lined it, but giving the people a chance to gather themselves into their escape. Those that didn’t gasped with a mix of awe, fright and horror when Terrill stabbed down. Where the creatures were trapped, spikes emerged to impale them. Those that weren’t eliminated were seared by a lash of fire that Floyd created, disintegrating them into ashes.
That was far from the end of the assault on the city, and both straightened to get their bearings.
Valorda had become a warzone, masked with a haze of ash. Some four-legged monsters ran about the city, chasing the citizens down, while the winged ones that had attempted to stop their assault were picking off the soldiers that were marshalling on the walls. Unable to fire their cannons into the populace below, all they could use were spears and bows, both of which were ineffective against the horde laying siege to them. Only their square was clear, the people who had fallen over taking a breather or screaming with unbidden panic. Down other streets, Terrill could see the Valordan ground forces pushing a monster back, while others moved to different stations within the city.
“So, what now?” Floyd asked.
“We protect the people,” Terrill insisted, flashing his sword out. The closest person heard his words, looking up at him like some sort of savior, but Terrill knew it would take more than the two of them to save the city.
“And what about stopping the monsters?” Floyd asked. He looked ready to run, eyes flitting every direction they could until Terrill stopped the fidgeting with a hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll leave you to find the source, but get as many people out of harm’s way as you can in the meantime. This is just as much about proving to Golbrucht we won’t let him win his game.” Floyd’s head bobbed up and down, and when his body began to burn, Terrill realized he was just nodding, the message received loud and clear. Terrill took his hand away, and in one motion, Floyd was off, blowing past the bewildered citizens. Terrill turned to them. “Is there a safe space for any of you to go?”
No one was quick to answer, one of the reasons being that their homes and buildings were on fire. Only one had the prescience to point at the castle, an option that didn’t seem all that feasible. Terrill sighed. “Wh-what do we do, mister?”
Terrill looked down, seeing a familiar little girl, who had once placed flowers in Krysta’s hair. She had no recollection of him, but Terrill leaned down, offering a smile. “You keep each other safe. I’ll make sure no monsters get the rest of the city. All of you, stay together here. Defend yourselves with what you can. I’ll block off the square.”
No one sought to argue with him, and once they were all gathered, Terrill stomped his feet, creating a new wall around the square, high enough that the ground creatures could not penetrate its surface, though the level of the square itself sank quite a bit. Satisfied, Terrill turned to leave through the only exit. “Mister, please be safe!”
“Leave it to me!” Terrill called back, waving to the traumatized people. They couldn’t get a word out of their flapping mouths, and Terrill couldn’t worry about this group. There were still screams in the city.
He dove in, running down the ripped-up streets and overturned carts to a connecting road for another major square. This one wasn’t so empty, the sight of a troop of soldiers fighting a flaming creature as tall as the buildings themselves, its horns prominent as it whipped a black chain around. Terrill dashed that way, peering down the small alleys to ensure he wasn’t missing anything. Only one cowering woman and her grandson could be seen, huddling in the darkness to avoid detection.
“Grandma, is it going to be okay?”
“I don’t know, child. This is just like…”
Terrill grimaced, having a feeling he knew just what the woman was comparing this situation to: the war. A hellish shriek resounded, and Terrill saw the ashes coalescing into the form of a wall that blocked his path to the square. He spun his sword around, running right at it.
“Out of my way!” The creature’s claws swiped at him, its stone wall unmoving. Terrill bat the blow aside with his sword, and thrust forward. The earth heeded his call, joining together into a whirring cone. “Stone Drill.”
Skreeeee! The creature was impaled, a mighty hole left where the stone entered, and it burst to the dark particles. Terrill ran straight through it, all the way to square. The chain wielded by the creature fighting there came flying for him and he ducked, only for it to strike a pair of soldiers and toss them against a building, before wrapping around a lamppost.
“Pull it together, men! We’ve got a city to make safe! We’ll not let this become a war again!” a captain called. The infernal creature raised its chain back up and whipped it down at the captain. He deflected the blow, but a scream indicated his arm had broken from the force, burns lacing their way up it. Terrill ran in before the second blow could be made.
“Stone Shield!” The earth moved, and some soldiers fell over at the sight of the stony slab inserting itself between the chain and the captain. The hasty defense broke apart, but the momentum of the chain was halted. Terrill looked back to the commanding officer. “Captain, pull back. You’re injured.”
“Who…who are you?”
The chain flicked forward again, this time with fire, and Terrill readied himself. “I’m a Guardian. Now, get your people safe! Any soldier who can still fight, help defeat this thing. Use stones if you have to!”
They didn’t act right away, still shocked by Terrill’s magic and whether he could stand a chance against the creature. Terrill chose to show them, his sword swinging up to meet the chain head on. With the arc of his blade, a stone spire emerged, piercing the chain and snapping it in two. The monster recoiled, and in place of its flaming chain came its claw, with all the hellish flames it could muster. None of it compared to Blaise, and Terrill ignored the still smarting pain of his ribs. He jumped.
With another slash, Terrill cut into the arm, giving him enough leverage to land upon it and run up, to the awe of the soldiers. His fist was covered in earth and he punched as the creature opened its mouth, a fire forming within. Terrill worried he would be consumed, only for the jaw to snap shut. Below, some soldiers had grabbed what was left dangling of the chain, pulling the horned devil’s body down. Terrill completed his swing, and sent the beast toppling to the ground.
He plunged downward, focusing what magic energy he could as he pierced the creature, sending the earth ripping through its body. It took a second, but the creature dissipated, and the square erupted with cheers.
“Don’t take your eyes off the situation. The rest of your city is in danger,” Terrill snapped at them. Each obeyed, holding their weapons close and saluting. He may have freaked them out, but Terrill realized that Valorda was made of sterner stuff. They were ready and willing to fulfill their duty, scrambling to head for the next location.
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A roar interrupted them before they did, a great tiger crashing through the streets, on a collision course for Terrill. The wind picked up around him, cutting the air like knives, but Terrill held his sword ready for the pouncing creature. To the soldiers’ surprise, it was soon impaled with a lance of wind that pinned it against a wall before it disappeared. Terrill held no such surprise, looking up to see the familiar blonde head of hair, her clothes flickering with the wind she had created.
Winifred needed to share no words with him, and with a single finger, he beckoned her.
The winds around the plaza increased and she blasted from the roof. Some soldiers were knocked back, and some new monsters in the area were blown upwards. With a flick of her wrist, Winifred sent the crescent gales for Terrill. He needed no magic and blocked each of them, feeling the gashes along his arms. His body wavered for a moment from the pain that he hid, but had enough alacrity to slash for where Winifred had been. She floated back instead, touching to the ground as a monster charged her head on, heedless of friend or foe.
Winifred quickly proved which when her palm fired a gust of wind backwards that ripped the charging boar apart. Terrill quirked an eyebrow.
“You just can’t help yourself, can you, Terrill?” she said. Her eyes were narrowed, and her voice deeper as she spoke. The look on her face betrayed no emotion, but the blue of her eyes told him who was in control, and that something had changed inside the woman he had clashed with numerous times. “What do you really think you can do here?”
“Whatever I can.” Terrill straightened, ignoring the new pains upon his body, keeping his adrenaline high so it wouldn’t give out. “If I can protect one person, that’ll be enough. If I can free one soul, I’ll be at peace.”
“You’re walking right into their trap!” Winifred flew for him, a sword ripping from a soldier’s grip to clash against his own. This time, she grabbed hold of it, the both of them straining as their faces got close. Her cold eyes tried to pierce him, but he pushed back with his own burning determination. “Just like the war that the Fiends threw the world into, you allowed yourself to be tossed into their game, and you’ll end up with nothing to show for it.”
“Just like Eric?” Her eyes flashed at the name, the sword pulling back as she spun. Terrill moved out of the way and watched as the sword pierced a rather large bug with red eyes. It screeched and twitched before it fell to the ground, writhing in agony. She was beginning to confuse him. “I don’t intend to throw away my life. That’s why I have others to rely on. Others who can do what I can’t. We’ll free you.”
“And what happens when that requires someone to die? You said you’d fight fate, but what if making those choices required those closest to you to die to give this world a chance?” Her solemnity was profound, and Terrill could hear her loud and clear. Her breast was shaking, her entire body overcome with her own words. Turning her head just a little, Terrill could see tears, but he could not know for whom she cried. “If your choice required you to sacrifice someone, could you do it? Could you shoulder that?”
“I already told you that I won’t let it happen!” Terrill swung up again, the plaza eaten up by the rocks that came for her. She parted them with a single blast of wind. Unfeeling. Uncaring. Terrill pulled himself up, every breath now hurting some part of his body. The soldiers had either gone to help other areas of the city or were watching, waiting for a moment to rush in. “I told you I’d free you, and Lumen, and everyone else trapped in their own despair. So, I will.”
“You don’t even know what it would take.” Quick as a shot, the compressed air fired, slicing along Terrill’s side. He grunted, but refused to buckle, running forward to attack, his sword glancing off of hers. “Eric thought just like you, but his only solution was to die. He gave his life hoping to free me from this contradictory existence! He was a fool! I loved him, but he died a fool’s death, and you’ll end up no different!”
Her sword plunged down and Terrill rose to meet her, their blades clashing with a force of elements so resounding, some of the buildings cracked. Terrill metered his breath, but never faltered as he pushed closer. “That’s where I disagree…because I’m here right now. I’ll keep that promise he made you, and free you! Just like I tore them out of the Shadow!”
“Don’t you get it yet, Terrill?!” Winifred’s voice was ripping at her throat, the anguish bubbling up from beneath the surface. After all her jeers and taunts, for the first time, Terrill felt he was seeing the true Winifred, the one wracked with guilt and pain. “You can’t rip despair out of people. You can’t just stop the Fiends by thinking you can save them, because this whole time you’ve been a part of their twisted game. Even now, Golbrucht and Clay moved you just to slaughter your comrades, or to get a vessel. That altruistic heart of yours is nothing but a nuisance to you, and with it, you can’t save anyone!”
The tempest increased, beginning to blow Terrill back, but he removed a hand from his sword to punch straight through with his earthen fist, canceling the spell, but driving them apart. He looked up, snarling at the woman who was heaving with her own exertion. “Winifred, why are you here?”
She refused to answer, the sword dropping from her hand. The clank of boots indicated the soldiers moving inward, and the screeches confirmed that the battle in Valorda was not yet over. “I told you…I’m a contradiction. Maybe it’s a love of my homeland that’s still in me. Maybe it’s protecting what Eric fought for. Maybe it’s because Clay ordered me here. I have no idea. I’ve gone too long swept up in everyone else’s flow, desperate to claw my way out…and then some idiot hero kept getting in my way.
“But isn’t that what makes you special? You keep going, digging deep inside a person’s soul, trying to push them forward to save themselves. I hate you for it. I hate that for one moment, I realized I’d given up on being me and accepted what fate had in store. Now, I just want one thing.”
Terrill didn’t need to ask to know what it was. He already knew. He had known from the time they clashed at Fort Tierial: she wanted to fight for her own existence, free of everyone else. Free of Golbrucht. Free of Clay. Free of Eric. She wanted a choice that was irrevocably and indisputably hers.
And only he could give it to her.
“A fight to the end,” he confirmed, her eyes flashing when he said it. He shook his head. “That’s not what I want. Because I’m no one special. I’m just some guy who got thrown into another world and was forced to play hero. But I’m not. I’m only Terrill the Guardian, and that means I want to save your soul, not destroy it.”
“My soul is already gone. I just want to be free. I just want to know I’m still living!”
“Yeah, well I don’t have time for that nonsense!” A globe of stones formed from the splintered fragments in the plaza, and out of the corner of his eye, Terrill saw an orange light against the backdrop of night. “I’m going to protect Valorda and stop Golbrucht. And if you get in my way… You, or any of the Fiends, I’ll kick your asses.”
“You’ll need to kill me!”
“Floyd, now!” Terrill ripped his stone through the plaza, sending it hurtling for Winifred. She caught it with one hand and blew it apart with her wind, leaving her wide-open for a streaking fireball to sail through it and explode upon her skin. Winifred stumbled back, and Terrill thrust forward, his sword catching her cheek before he kicked into her chest and sent her flying backwards. “You want to be free? Then start by breaking free of them. You’re still human, aren’t you? Who cares what fate says?”
Winifred growled at his words, but didn’t dare to attack when Floyd appeared as a blur, stationing himself next to Terrill with his daggers crossed. The look on his face told Terrill that he had located the source, his eyes traveling to the castle. He didn’t take his eyes off Winifred, in any case. She did the same.
“Fate… I’m tortured by it, but exist outside it. Hah. Guess I’m the one that’s not meant to be here.”
“Who cares about that kind of crap?” Floyd shouted, getting the Fiend’s attention. “Who cares if you’re not meant to be? I know I wasn’t supposed to be involved in any of it, but I am now, and I’m making the most of it, of my potential, to see things done my way.”
“So, if you want to fight, then we can fight, but you have to choose, Winifred.”
“I don’t have a choice,” she said, the forlorn chuckle escaping her lips. “When the curtain falls, he’ll make sure we fight all the same. But I want something on my terms.”
Terrill watched her reach up and touch to the gash on her cheek, the wisps of wind leaving it in place of blood. Terrill shared a look with Floyd and then towards the castle, the storm of monsters growing thicker. They had no more time for this. Planting his foot, Terrill kicked off and ran right at Winifred, Floyd at his side. The woman sent a new gale ripping out, but they didn’t stop. Floyd ducked low, his dagger cutting into her side as Terrill’s hands met her hands…
…except they were now claws. Proof of being a Fiend.
He disengaged, kicking her in the back as he spoke the last words he had time for.
“You want something on your terms, then act for yourself. Your own choices. I’ll make that happen, but it starts with you, not me.” His feet hit the stone with heavier footfalls as Floyd raced ahead for the growing swirl of monsters over the castle. “You want something on your terms? Start by saving this country and proving you’re not his.”
With that, Terrill created a barrier between him and Winifred that slammed into her and tossed her further into the square. He didn’t look back to see if she was making that choice.
Yet, as he and Floyd advanced further into the city, a great cyclone could be heard, and some of the ashes disappeared. On that wind was carried a single plea, the decision and promise made. “Free me.”
I will, he promised. Next time we fight, I’ll cut you free from everything.
He didn’t give her another glance.
“The monsters are localized around the castle. I think that must be where the Lifeblood of Darkness runs!” Floyd yelled to Terrill as they caught up with one another. “A lot of soldiers are busy in the city, but a number have pulled back to protect the king. I don’t know if they got in the castle. What do you plan to do when we get there?”
Terrill didn’t have an answer for any of it, though the crazy notion of severing the Lifeblood’s line entered his head. If they broke Golbrucht’s hold, then it was possible to…
A monster careened into the street, rampaging for them, yet not seeing them at all. Terrill and Floyd cut through it in a second, reaching the stairs that climbed to the castle. It was infested with all manner of monsters and the soldiers that were attempting to beat them back. It was unsuccessful at best.
Neither hesitated, plunging into the darkness. Before the monsters could turn their heads, the two cast spells, with a line of stones running up the sides of the stairs and throwing the creatures off, while Floyd blitzed forward, cloaked in flame to sear the enemies to pieces. That got their attention, and all of the monsters turned towards the pair, their red eyes unsettling in the burning night. It was all of Golbrucht’s malice directed for them, and Terrill and Floyd took it full bore, their eyes drawn upward to the castle gates, where piles of monsters were attempting to break through.
In seconds, the faster monsters had the duo surrounded, leaping for them. The soldiers gawked on, given a moment to recover, and some had the consciousness and awareness to run for the surrounded pair. It did little good, as the swarm of monsters grew thick. Kicking one creature, and slicing through another, Terrill raised his voice, especially once he saw the twister deeper in the city.
“Soldiers of Valorda, protect your king! We’ll buy you time!” Floyd slashed upward through one before crossing his blades to let out a gush of flames that consumed a line of monsters. More replaced them, tackling the redhead and knocking him to the stairs. Terrill was quick to pull him back up. Terrill gave an insistent glare to the closest soldier. “Go!”
“M-men! For the king!” It was a shaky rallying cry, but was one nonetheless, leaving Terrill and Floyd to face the flood of monsters alone. His companion laughed, wiping blood from his head as they placed their backs against one another.
“You’re great at that stuff, Terrill, but how do you plan on getting out of this?”
“Fighting like hell and breaking that line Golbrucht is using.”
Floyd would have entered full-on guffawing, but the ring of monsters was drawing closer. “That’s the kind of dumbass plan I would usually have. How do you plan to manage that? The line might be under the castle.”
“I’ll think it up. For now, let’s do what we said and buy them some time.”
Floyd nodded, his grim lips indicating the uphill battle they had ahead of them. All at once, the monsters jumped at them, and they initiated their counterattack, slashing through what they could. Terrill created a ring of spikes to impale some, but others charged through. The boys circled around, but as soon as they could cut some down, more took their place. All too quickly, they found themselves overrun.
Floyd let one of his daggers slip, and Terrill was rammed by another creature, faster than most, pinned beneath its claws and unable to reach his sword. He attempted to summon his magic, but as the creature dug into his rib, he cried out, tears causing his vision to blur. At the top of the stairs, Terrill could see the soldiers beating their way inside, and underneath his hands he could swear to feeling the energy of the Lifeblood’s pulse, churning out more monsters through Golbrucht’s power.
The jaw of the creature descended for his neck, another slamming Floyd into the rocks where he coughed. Terrill kicked, eager to break free.
Then, it stopped. Beneath his hands, something changed.
Time stood still, the monsters all shuddering, some of them backing off.
They weren’t fast enough, and a geyser of light appeared where Terrill lay. The castle stairs were torn apart, but his body was unharmed. The creature atop him was caught in the blast of pure light, torn apart and turned into nothing, not even ash. Many other creatures were caught in the eclipsing blow that consumed even the very night, until it faded at last, leaving a burned-out crater outside Valorda’s castle.
“Terrill, Floyd, I’m sorry. But I can’t stand by anymore. I, too, will defy this world’s flow if I can.” Her voice made both look up, and the woman to who it belonged brandished her rapier, the arm holding it completely crystallized and breaking down. The monsters recoiled at her appearance, but Terrill could only smile.
They had reunited with Krysta.