| Sect eighteen: the end is near By Richard LeBlanc From atop a hill the party looked down. Before them was the assembled forces of the daemon lord Gaurre. Behind them was a demonic reconstructed version of Temal. In order for them to make things right - they had to first get through the unholy legions. And that - they knew was not going to be an easy task. "How are we going to get passed that?" Julia asked. The girl hopped down from her wolf and looked down at the combat ready legions. "We don't. You three will," she replied seriously. "What are you talking about?" Kaine asked. "They know the great wolves live. Soon they will march. I will use my magic to make them believe I am the last of the guardian mages. While the wolves and I keep them busy - you three will sneak in and do what must be done," she explained. "There is no way you will survive," Drake stated. "Had I helped sooner - when these beings stepped through the ether - perhaps - all of this might have been avoided. There is no other way. Now follow the hill line and keep low. I will make sure that they have more than enough to keep their attention away from you," she reassured. "If this is the only way," Julia began. "Perhaps - if we are fortunate - we will meet again," the girl said as she gave Julia a hug. She then looked over at Kaine and smiled. "You look out for them - if you don't - I will come back and haunt you - and you know I will," she teased. Kaine smiled and bowed to her. The three then made their way down the hill - out of the sight of the awaiting army. The witch then cast a spell that briefly made herself look like Julia. It faded - or so it seemed. She then waved her hands back and forth. The surviving great wolves made their way froward and joined the eldest wolf. "Our numbers aren't as great as theirs - how about we even the odds - just a touch," she commented. She knelt down and placed her hands against the ground and began to chant. As she did - the ground began to glow of an eerie light. The wolves were mildly agitated but held their ground. Just then ghost-like wisps began to seep up from the soil and take on the shape of more great wolves. With the snap of a finger - the ghosts looked as real as the solid wolves. She then skipped over and floated up and onto the eldest wolf. "We must buy them as much time as we can. We may not survive - but we will give those demons a fight they will never forget," she stated. With a wave of her hand - a serrated spear appeared. She gripped it and motioned for the army of wolves to approach the top of the hill. As soon as the demons saw the girl atop the wolf - screams echoed and the unholy masses charged. The witch smiled and looked up at the pointy end of her spear. "Attack!" she screamed out. The wolves howled out as they then charged down the hill. A short while later - the three were completely behind the demon lines. Julia looked over and could see the wolves tearing into the sea of demons. "She won't be able to keep them occupied for long," she pointed out. They hurried forward. Before them - the gates to the demonic city were open and unguarded. "Guess he has everyone in the field," Kaine stated. "Or - he is waiting for us inside - we can not afford to be careless - not here," Drake retorted seriously. Kaine nodded. As they entered the open doors - a chill went down their spines. It was as though - something had changed. "Tell me you felt something just happen," he stated. "We - have passed through his gate," Kaine stated. "How do you know?" Julia asked. Kaine reached over and quickly tapped the wall. A sizzling sound happened for an instant when his exposed flesh touched the unholy walls. "But - how is that you are able to walk here? Shouldn't the ground be burning you too?" she asked. Kaine smiled and hiked his robe up to reveal sturdy looking boots. "If I was wearing anything other than these - that would probably be so," he remarked. "So - where too now?" Drake asked. Julia looked around and pointed straight ahead. "How do you know the way?" he asked. "I don't know - something inside me just says that way," she replied. "Good enough for me," Kaine muttered - the three then made their way deeper into the unholy citadel. At that moment on the battlefield where the great wolves warred with the demonic horde - the battle seemed to be going strongly for the witch and the wolves. It was then that fire erupted from the ground behind the demons. All the fighting stopped. All eyes turned and saw a powerful looking creature. He stood almost eight feet tall and had large powerful wings. His eyes scanned the great wolves until he saw the witch. "The guardian mage - appears - at long - last," the daemon lord Gaurre echoed. The witch smiled. If he called her that - it meant that the spell was still working. "Gaurre - lord of daemons," she replied calmly. "You and your wretched beasts turned back my strongest champion before. But now - I am through with avatars - now - I will ravage this world and avenge the fallen daemons that you and yours have slain," Gaurre growled. The witch smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't come here to talk to your likes or let you win. We turned you slimy beasts back before - we will do so again! Attack!" she shouted out. The wolves howled out and attacked the stunned demons that were standing before them and Gaurre. At that moment - deep within the bowels of the unholy citadel - the group had stopped. Before them was a large room. The walls had hundreds of holes in them. And the floor was covered with oddly shaped tiles that had strange glyphs on them. "If that doesn't scream trap - I don't know what does," Kaine muttered. "The riddle - what that witch said," Drake began. "Walk in the name of the fallen god," Julia replied. "So these tiles spell out something - but only some of them. And if we step on the wrong one," Kaine began. "Trap gets sprung. Don't suppose they taught you to read this stuff?" Drake concluded and asked. Julia sighed and closed her eyes. As the two men talked - she quietly chanted. The two were going to chose a plan of action when they saw about fifteen of the stones on the floor beginning to glow. The stones marked the path across! "Walk in the name of the fallen god," she whispered. "I'll head across to make sure the way is clear," Drake stated - hopping from glowing stone to glowing stone. Within moments he was safely across. Nothing happened. He looked around and motioned for the others to follow. Kaine made his way across - taking exceptional care not to step on a wrong tile. Once across he looked at the glowing tiles. "Hurry Julia," Drake called out. She opened her eyes. As she did - the glowing stones began to dim. "Hurry before they go out," he added. She hopped from stone to stone. But as she the tiles reverted to normal when she was about ten feet away. "Where do I go?" she asked - afraid of stepping on the wrong tile. "The one three tiles in front of you," Kaine stated. "No - it was the one two tiles over," Drake retorted. Julia looked at how far it was and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and leaped blindly forward. Both Kaine and Drake expected the worse - but nothing happened. She opened her eyes and saw that Drake and Kaine were much closer. She shook her head and just bolted. Her foot hit a wrong tile! A wall fell down - blocking the door they had come from. Several rusted blood stained spikes extended from the walls. She didn't look back. A wall began to fall before her. Drake and Kaine stepped forward and did what they could to keep it up. Julia hurried by them - the two stepped away. The wall slammed down. They listened and could hear the sound of the walls moving. "Let's not do that again," Drake suggested with a smirk. The three dusted themselves off and continued forward. Meanwhile - back on the battlefield - the bodies of hundreds of broken demons littered the ground. The wolves and the witch slowly pressed forward. Gaurre merely watched - and waited. Soon he would act - but not before he was ready. He smiled a smug smile as his demon horde continued to swarm the vicious wolves. Back in the citadel - the group had once again come to a problematic situation. For they had arrived in a circular room. All around them - were almost a dozen corridors. They were about to advance when a ghost rose up and hovered before them. "One path - is life - the others - are death. Choose wisely," the ghost warned in a raspy voice. The three looked around and were hard pressed to remember which door that had even entered from. "That's just peachy," Drake muttered - seriously unimpressed. It was then that they looked at a dilapidated statue. It looked both worn and battered. And pieces of it littered the floor. "Any ideas?" Kaine asked - trying to see something on one of the doors that would offer some clue. Julia walked over and looked at the statue. "This statue - it faces that way," she remarked. Drake and Kaine looked over and nodded. "It faces two doors," Kaine pointed out. Julia studied the statue closely and noticed that some of the holes when all the way through - one such hole - was through one of the eyes. She climbed up and looked through the hole. "The door by you Kaine," she replied. "Are you sure?" he asked. Julia hopped down and looked at the statue. "One eye has been chipped away. the other has a hole that goes all the way through it. See through the eyes of a man that can not see," she replied rationally. Drake and Kaine looked at the statue and saw what she meant. "Let's hurry. Something tells me that time is of the essence," Kaine suggested. They hurried down the corridor Julia had suggested. As they ran - they could hear the sound of a wild beast thrashing about. They rounded a corner and saw an almost demonic looking Pegasus. All of them backed away. "Not friendly looking," Drake stated - weapon ready. "Might not be necessary - the beast is chained up," Kaine pointed out. "Be that as it may - that looks like a pretty strong animal," Drake pointed out. "What?" Julia asked. "I said," Drake began - only to realize that she wasn't talking to him - she was facing the enraged beast. "What do you hear?" he hesitantly asked. "It - it's hurting," she answered. "It could be trying to lure you closer," Kaine pointed out - the beast snorted at him. "I don't think so," she replied. she slowly walked towards the large animal. As she did - both Kaine and Drake feared the worse. Much to their surprise - the animal lowered its head and allowed her to pat it. "A curse has bound him here - like this," she told her friends. "We have to get him out of here," she added. The two looked at her as if she had lost her mind. They watched in disbelief as she walked over to where the beast was chained - and almost fell over when the link holding the beast prisoner - broke as easily as a rock would break glass. Nothing happened. "Julia - maybe you should step away from him?" Kaine suggested. "You don't understand - if we don't get him out of here - he'll die," she stated. Drake sighed and shook his head. He knew her well enough to know that there was no way he or Kaine were going to be able to dissuade her. Kaine was going to say something. Drake put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "But what about?" Kaine began. "Forget it. It won't do any good. Any idea how to get him out?" Drake interrupted and asked. Julia carefully climbed onto the winged horse's back. "He knows the way. Come on," she motioned. Kaine hesitantly got onto and sat down behind Julia. Drake grabbed the chain that was still loose around the Pegasus' neck and coiled it around his arm. "If he knows the way - tell him to go," Drake stated. Julie nodded. The horse wailed and spread its wings. Dust flew as the wings carried the three up through a hole in the roof. Once out - the three could see that they were in fact in hell. Around the demonic castle was a landscape that rivaled what they had seen below Gernome. "You sure he knows the way?" Kaine hesitantly asked - not appreciating the height. The horse nodded and dived towards a gate that was before the castle. Back where the war was winding down - most of the wolves and demons had perished. It was then that Gaurre howled out. A huge axe appeared in his hands. He swung it at the witch. The wolf arched up - blocking the blow with its body. The witch fell from the wolf and rolled into a dead wolf. "You put up a good struggle guardian mage - too bad it was for naught," Gaurre taunted. He spun his axe around and stabbed the handle through her stomach. He began to laugh - but it stopped when he saw the witch smile at him. "What? What madness is this?" he echoed - the spell faded. The ghost wolves vanished - and the true guise of the witch was revealed to him. "Where is?" he began. He looked over his shoulder at the gate to his citadel. The winged horse flew out. "You was tricked!" the witch mocked weakly as she closed her eyes. The daemon lord looked up at the cloud-covered sky and screamed. He charged up and arched straight towards them. "Big nasty thing heading this way," Kaine pointed out. Drake swung himself over to intercept - but the daemon seemed to veer away. He didn't know why at first - but then he heard her scream. He looked over and saw Gaurre with Julia in his clutches. "Julia!" he screamed out. Gaurre landed before the gate to hell and looked up at the two. "You may have freed the heart - but without the guardian mage - the ritual cannot be cast!" the daemon lord mocked as he flew back into hell. The Pegasus landed. Drake was going to follow when he heard a weak cough. He looked over and saw the witch. "You - must hurry - he - no kill her - can not - not yet. When the eye - blinks - too late," she strained weakly as the last bit of life left her. Drake and Kaine looked at each other. "Any idea what that meant?" Kaine asked. "I think she was saying that Gaurre can not kill her yet. If that's the case - we haven't a moment - to spare," Drake stated as the two bolted towards the gate to hell to rescue Julia. To be continued... |