Once the two got back to the safety of the dune they had hidden the car behind, Horan’s strength gave out and the two of them crashed into the sand. After slowing his breathing and fully processing everything that had just happened, Mark was the first to speak.
“That, uh, could have gone better.”
Horan shrugged. “Well, what I can’t figure out is how Thel managed to do… all that. We were pretty much on par before I lost my eye, but he wiped the floor with me back there. What changed?”
Mark got back into the car and started packing away his guns. “You tell me, I’m new to this. I mean, it’s not a completely hopeless situation. Turns out, shooting him in the face sixteen times can mess him up pretty good.”
Horan sighed and slumped against the side of the car. “No, that was just a fraction of his power that he detached from himself to mock me. Hey, didn’t he say something about my Ro at the end?”
Mark closed the glove box. “I think so. Isn’t roe, like, fish eggs or something?”
Horan absent-mindedly drew lines in the sand. “Ro, like your Ro. It’s like the part of your soul you draw your power from. I think if you give yours to someone, it’s tacked onto their soul, so it boosts their power but weakens your own. Hey, that’s probably how he got so powerful! He, like, intimidated people into giving him their Ro. I guess he wanted mine to make him even stronger.”
Mark pondered the new information. “Well, if you’re right, we can probably use that to figure out his weakness. Maybe we could, I don’t know, remove all that stuff from his soul? Can we do that?”
Horan got up. “I know I can’t. Well, it’s been a good run. Maybe I can convince him to enslave me instead of killing me.” He began walking back towards Cairo.
Mark scrambled out of the car. “Hey, wait! Can’t we go somewhere else and like, find someone else to fight Thel? Is there anyone close?”
Horan stopped. “Outsourcing. I like your thinking, human. Let me think… Ooh! The Greeks are super strong, even after all this time, and they’re close! We can just get a ship, sail across the Mediterranean and make them deal with Thel for me! Foolproof!”
He hopped back into the backseat, pulling the door closed behind him with a small gust of wind. “To the c… Wait, no. Thel probably has a bunch of water demons working for him. He’s most likely already set them out to patrol the seas. I hope you’re ready to take me the long way round, human.”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Mark groaned slightly. “Hey, exactly how screwed would I be if Thel actually took over the world?”
Horan continued shifting his weight in an attempt to find an actually comfortable position. “His whole deal is that he makes giant storms, has weird chaos powers (but I think it’s just generic red stuff and he calls it chaos energy to sound cool) and wipes out the accomplishments of others, it’s not hard to guess.”
Mark fumbled around his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Alright… Hey, I found this in Cairo. It’s a servitude contract. If you sign it, I’ll be “inalienably servile” to you for the duration of our trip, so I can’t take orders from anyone else unless you give the go-ahead. I signed it, you just need to for it to take effect. Pen.” He took out a pen from his other pocket.
Horan chuckled. “Finally learning your place, eh? Well, good for you.” He took the pen and paper and wrote his name in some ancient script in the spot Mark pointed at. Once he was done, he handed the contract back to Mark. “Also, I want a vehicle with a bigger backseat, if you see one of them on the way, get it for me. And now, our quest has begun! To Greece, human!”
Mark checked the time on his car’s clock. 3 PM. He sighed and turned the ignition. “Been a long day, but it’s gonna be a longer trip.”
-
Wiping the blood off his face, Thel leaned on a nearby wall as he stumbled back to the palace entrance. A few demons, attracted to the noise of the battle, nervously looked at him as he walked past. One of them spoke up. “Are you alright, Lord Thel?”
Thel’s arm shot out. His hand wrapping around the demon’s throat. “I. Am. Fine,” he growled, as he crushed the demon’s windpipe. Releasing his grip, the demon limply collapsed to the ground. The demons gave him an even wider berth and watched him in utter silence as he trudged back to the pyramid, muttering as he went. “Don’t need help… Think I’m weak… The nerve of them…”
“Alright, that should be Pakistan wrapped up. Now, back to Mali… Actually, that’s a wrap for today. You can go do something else.” Original Thel shooed Erlani off as Clone Thel walked back into the throne room, face dripping blood onto the carpet. Original Thel took his doppelganger by the shoulder and merged the lesser back into his original body, as if an invisible observer uncrossed their eyes and focused the two Thels into one image. Frowning at the newly gained memories, Thel absentmindedly touched a small scar on his forehead, all that carried over from his clone’s injuries.
“Hey Earl, while you’re going, put a bounty on my brother and that human. Dead or alive. For the reward, the capturer’s heart’s desire. That’s a classic.”
Erlani grinned to himself. “Yes, Lord Thel. Maybe now I can actually have some fun with this job.”
Thel rubbed his face. “Good henchman. I’m going to bed. Day one of my eternal dominion was… I dunno.”