Sent off by Lamius, Mark and Horan appeared in a nondescript sandstone room, a large circle in the floor marking the portal. A wooden door led out into the rest of the palace.
Horan slumped onto a wall and sat down. “Just give yourself a second to rest up. We don’t know if Thel’s here.”
Mark fell over when a deep thud rocked the room. “I think he’s here.”
Mark shuffled back to the wall, looking at Horan from across the room. “Let me guess, you’re expecting me to start a conversation?”
Horan nodded. “You’re learning quick.”
Mark sighed. “Fine. So, what did you and your dad talk about?”
“…Can we talk about something else? I’m… still figuring that one out.”
Mark shrugged. “Alright. So… What are you gonna say to your family here? You haven’t seen each other in a month.”
“I mostly just want to know if they’re all okay. I don’t want to think that they were in danger.”
Mark nodded slowly. “You know, this is a rare opportunity. You could talk to a few of them, maybe incite an uprising to weaken Thel’s forces before the primary assault?”
“Maybe. If there’s a real chance of that working, I might.”
Another thud passed through the room. Mark slowly got to his feet. “Alright, I think I’m ready to roll.” He pulled his gun out and turned it into a small submachine gun. “Stay behind me, I want to test this thing out.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t need any ammo.” Horan got up and weakly summoned a sword. “Let’s get moving.”
-
As Horan navigated the two through the empty hallways of the palace, the noises from elsewhere in the building began to become clearer. A loud thud rang out almost rhythmically, followed shortly after by a much smaller noise. It seemed to be coming from outside the palace.
Mark stepped through a banquet hall with a hastily patched-up hole in the wall and entered another corridor. “It’s so… quiet. Where is everyone? Outside?”
Horan shrugged cautiously. “Maybe. Won’t hurt to check, though I’m not sure I want to know what’s making those noises.”
Mark stopped. “Do you know any exits less obvious than the main one?”
Horan shook his head. “Don’t want one. We figured it was important to create a cultivated experience for newcomers.”
“I guess that makes sense. This is a pretty nice place.”
“Oh, thanks. My dad designed it, but I oversaw a few renovations. Anyway, the foyer is this way. Watch out for demons, that spot was guarded when I was in here last time.”
The noises became louder and clearer as the two approached the entrance hall. Mark and Horan looked over at the doorway from a balcony on the second floor. The gilded double doors hung loosely from their hinges, swinging open slightly whenever the noise outside rang out.
Mark descended a stairwell and cautiously looked outside. After peering out for a split second, he hurriedly turned away. “That’s not good.”
Horan attempted to look through the doorway. “Why, what’s out there? Is it Thel?”
Mark pulled Horan away from the door. “I saw a person-shaped red blob off in the distance. I’m not taking any chances.”
Horan slowly crept through the doorway again. “Alright, let’s just be careful. I need to know how everyone’s doing.”
Before he could get a good look at anything, Horan ducked behind one of the pillars holding up the entrance archway. He quickly gestured for Mark to follow, then looked out at the landscape beyond.
What had used to be the ramshackle, post-nuclear part of the city had been reduced to a smouldering crater, rubble haphazardly strewn all over the scorched earth. A single pillar stood on the edge of the crater, an indistinct, red-robed figure sitting hunched atop it. The middle of the crater had seemingly been flattened out, and a massive statue, almost a mile tall, stood in the middle.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Before Horan got a chance to see who the statue was meant to represent, the figure on the pillar waved his arm in the air. With an ear-splitting crack, the top half of the statue split in two and fell off of the waist. When the two halves struck the ground, they dissolved into massive piles of sand.
The figure on the pillar, almost definitely Thel, waved his hand again. The sand on the ground rose through the air and reformed on top of the still-standing waist of the statue, forming what Horan managed to recognize as Renan’s face.
A few seconds later, Thel waved his hand again, and the statue’s head and shoulders neatly slid off of the rest of the statue, once again turning to sand upon hitting the ground.
Mark and Horan spent a few minutes watching Thel obliterate and recreate the statue, with the Primus the statue represented changing every time Thel fixed it.
Mark tore his eyes away from the sight and looked around. The ruined buildings of Cairo had seemingly all been levelled, reducing the entire city to lasted ruins. Everywhere Mark looked, it seemed like the city was completely devoid of life.
Mark turned to Horan. “I don’t see anyone. Did Thel abandon the city or something?”
Horan rested his forehead against the nearby pillar. “No. He’d never leave the palace like this. I don’t see any demons. Whatever he did, we’re not finding what we’re looking for. Not here, not anywhere else.”
Mark raised an arm limply. “Wait, what do you...?” His arm dropped quickly. “…Oh.”
Mark looked at Horan for a moment, then quickly stood up and walked back to the doorway. Before he passed back into the palace, he briefly paused in the doorway. “I’ll be in the portal room, come find me once you’re ready to leave.”
-
Mark was waiting in the portal room when Horan arrived. In the middle of the circle on the floor, a silvery ball of light was slowly growing in size.
Mark let Horan pass as he walked slowly towards the light. Mark looked sadly at Horan. “Ready to go?”
Horan nodded slowly and stepped inside the circle. He instantly dissolved into a haze of light and was sucked into the light in the centre. Mark quickly followed suit, taking the portal back to Lamius’ home.
-
Lamius was waiting for Mark and Horan on the other side of the portal. “Give me a little time to prepare the next portal out. Well? How is everyone?”
Horan sat on the floor silently. Mark leaned against the wall, clutching his head. “Probably gone, along with most of Cairo.”
Lamius nodded sombrely after a few seconds. “I see.” He looked down at Horan. “Maybe this will help you decide what you should do now.”
Mark knelt down next to Horan. “Whatever it is you plan to do, I’m helping you with it.”
Horan took a long time to react. “…Thanks. Thel is going down. I can’t let him do any more damage. This isn’t happening again.”
Lamius stepped around Horan and held his hands up over the portal circle, sniffling quietly. “I just hope that you can do it. If it’s what you think is the best idea, I hope you can bring him to justice. And… maybe don’t bother trying to appeal to him. Whatever’s going on… That’s not my brother anymore.”
Mark pulled out his gun, then holstered it again when he realized that there was no point in actually pulling it out. “Don’t worry about that. If you really want to do this, we’re doing it.”
Horan smiled and looked up at Mark. “Thanks. That… means a lot.”
“I’m just trying to help you through this. Lamius, have you prepared enough souls to send up?”
Lamius finished preparing the portal and dropped his hands to his sides. “Only a few, but I’ll be able to send up a sizeable amount quite soon. Oh, and, both of you? If you manage to take Thel alive, bring him down here. I’d like to do a little myself, thanks.”
Mark nodded. “We’ll do what we can.” He stepped into the portal, vanishing into the light.
Horan stood up. “Bye, dad. Thanks for helping me think about this.”
Lamius waved Horan away. “I’m just trying to help my son through a tough time. Now go finish this.”
Horan nodded and stepped into the portal.
-
Thel strode into the empty portal room, in a part of the palace he had almost completely forgotten about. “So. Horan thinks he can waltz into my home and check out what I’m doing?” A smile played across his lips. “Well, I think it’s about time I show him what I’m really made of.” He stretched his shoulders. “After all, there’s only one place he could’ve come from. Watch out, Greece. Thel’s coming in hot.”
He spun on his heel and walked out of the room. “Minions…! Wait, no, I killed them all. Fine, I’ll plan the trip myself.”
It had been a long time since Thel had been through this part of the palace. As he walked through the empty halls, he passed a painting that caught his attention.
The image depicted Thel as he was about a hundred years ago, commissioned by Horan as part of a project to refurbish all the art in the palace. Standing next to Thel in the painting was Lamius and Renan, his two siblings. Lamius and Renan were holding hands next to each other, with Lamius’ prosthetic hand draped over Thel’s shoulder. Everyone in the painting was smiling calmly, without a care in the world.
Thel quietly stared at the painting of himself for a long time, focusing on his own serene grin. Thel didn’t move, but he began to glow with a dull red light, which rapidly grew brighter and brighter. Before he knew it, he exploded with raw chaotic energy, consuming the entire palace in a scarlet blaze.
Thel floated in the air, staring at the empty space where the painting had been mere seconds before and breathing heavily. After a moment of staring off into space, he regained his thoughts and flew north, headed straight for Greece. He had a job to do.