The sight stunned me. All around me, there were big boulders of rocks that seemed to be placed there because of a huge explosion, making them land all over the place. The rocks were a deep red and seemed hot to the touch, as smoke was coming from them. There was absolutely no vegetation around and the ground was made of the same red rock as the boulders that were lying on it, only it did not feel hot. But was impressed me the most about all of this, was the mountain in front of me with a huge castle built on it.
�The Black Mountain�� I whispered.
Actually, the mountain itself was not black at all. It was the same color as red as the ground and the rocks, only a dozen times bigger. It was the castle that was built on it that was black. With a lot of big windows and several huge towers, it looked mysterious, almost sheltered from the rest of the world. There was one main part of the castle that had huge, closed doors, and smaller towers that were built against it. All of the towers, and the main part, had pointed roofs from which I could not see the ends of, because the castle was so high up in the air that dark clouds circled around the towers. It was almost impossible to get up to the castle, save for a small flight of stairs that was made around the mountain.
�I am not going up there.� I said.
�Don�t be such a baby. You can�t just quit now that we have come here! Come on, let�s go now.� Raghnall simply said and grabbed my arm, dragging me with him. When we approached to mountain, I saw that to get to the castle, you had to cross a small, wooden bridge over a channel full of lava. When I saw this, I pulled my arm loose and stopped.
�No. Oh no, I am not.�
�Yes, you are. It is not as scary as it looks.� Raghnall said, and began to drag me over it, and to my surprise Kayne seemed to be in this complot too, pushing me forward.
�Traitor.� I mumbled, at which he smiled. But Raghnall was right and it really was not that scary. Within a flash, we already were on the other side and they were dragging me and pushing me up the mountain. The path was steep and small but I managed as long as I did not look over the edge. And then, we were at the door of the castle.
�How do we get in?� I wondered, but before I had even finished the sentence the two heavy doors opened right before us. Inside, I could see vague shapes, but it was mainly just dark.
�Someone has been expecting us.� Raghnall commented.
�I did not expect it any otherwise.� Kayne said. We carefully stepped in, not sure what we were getting ourselves into. Behind us, the doors suddenly closed and I jumped up in shock. The darkness inside the castle was overwhelming, somehow different from other darkness, and it took a while before I could see what was inside. From what I could see, we were standing in a big hall; the walls looked cold and dark and it was completely empty. There were two doors on both sides, leading to rooms next to this one. A big stairway was leading upstairs, but I could not see what was there because it was too dark.
�Where to, now?� Kayne whispered from beside me.
�I am not sure.� Raghnall said. �We could-�
�Upstairs.� I interrupted him. Because it was upstairs that I saw a faint light shining, almost not visible.
�Upstairs? Why?� Kayne asked me.
�Don�t you see it? The light?�
�I do not see anything�� Kayne asked while peering into the darkness. I saw Raghnall trying to figure out what I was looking at too, and could not understand how they could not see it. The light was shining brighter now, and I started to walk towards it. I ran up the stairs and I saw the light getting brighter until I came to the top of the stairs. The light seemed to be coming from behind a big, oaken door. I heard Raghnall and Kayne follow me and soon we were all standing on top of the stairs. We all exchanged a look and Raghnall put his hand on the doorknob, and opened the door. There was an explosion of light and I was blinded me for a moment. It shone directly into my eyes so I closed them and then got less bright. When it had faded enough to see again, I opened my eyes again.
I saw Keir. He was standing in the middle of the room, which was quite dark right now, save for a few torches that were hanging on the walls. The room was huge; it kind of resembled a big cathedral except it was almost entirely empty. Big windows with figures crafted into them gave view to the outside, but it was completely dark. The entire room was made of big, heavy grayish stones but to my surprise it was not very cold. And there, in the back of the room, was Aislin lying seemingly unconscious on some kind of altar. She looked even thinner than at the last time I had seen her and her face looked bruised and dried blood stuck on her hair and face. As for Keir, he had a sinister smile on his face, looking very pleased with himself.
�Well, well, if it isn�t our little group of heroes. My, it has shrunken so fast. I wonder how that has happened?� He said slyly.
�You know very well what has happened to Teagan and Cahal. And I sincerely hope you do not think you can get away with it that easily.� Kayne growled, his fists clenched.
�You mean you really think you will be able to stop me?� Keir threw his head in his neck and laughed a laugh that sent chills up my spin. When he was done, he looked at us with cold eyes. �Silly mortals. If you would just have kept out of other people�s business this would not have happened at all. Not that I will regret killing you, oh no, it will be my pleasure!�
�Do it, then.� I turned to see Raghnall standing there, looking very serious and staring at Keir. �Kill us, if you want it so bad.�
�Raghnall�!� I exclaimed. The God of Death chuckled.
�You want death so badly, Elf-boy? Here, I can give it to you!� He placed his hands together and a bright red light enveloped him, then stroked out, much like I had done in Morvyn. I saw it coming towards me so fast that I would not have been able to do anything in time, when Raghnall jumped before me and blocked the light. I could see it hurt him, but he did not as much as wince, before he lunged at Keir, grabbed the God�s arms and twisting them around his back.
�Kayne, now!�
Kayne quickly created a huge blue ball of energy and threw it to Keir. Raghnall moved out of the way just in time, and then it hit the God. Smoke made it impossible to see what was going on for a moment, but then it cleared and I could see that Keir was still standing.
�Silly mortals! Are you really that stupid, thinking you could kill me? I am a God, remember? I do not die!� Keir laughed while dusting himself off.
�Did I ever say we wanted to try and kill you? No. We have a nicer surprise for you, Mr. God, but I would not want to tell you what it is and spoil it.� Raghnall grinned. I blinked, not knowing what he meant by that. But then again, the Elf had a tendency of not telling what was really going on.
�Am I supposed to be scared now?� Keir chuckled. �You will never make it out of this castle alive, much less even make a scratch on me!�
�Kayne?� Raghnall asked while looking at the smaller man, who just nodded. They both started to fire at Keir; Raghnall his fireballs and Kayne�s energy balls. I was feeling quite useless as I saw them both attacking the God, so strong yet it did not seem to bother Keir at all. All the balls hit him, creating a huge cloud of smoke around him but I could still hear that cold laugh of his. When Raghnall and Kayne stopped for a moment to catch their breaths, the smoke cleared and Keir was still standing there, seemingly not hurt at all.
�Do you see now that you cannot win? This ends now.� Keir said and lifted his hands and before one of us could even move, he shot a small beam right towards Kayne. It was too late for the wizard to create a counterattack and the beam went right through his chest, going out through his back and hitting the wall. Kayne staggered backwards and fell down on the ground.
�Kayne!� I yelled, running towards the wizard. When I kneeled down I saw that there was a whole the size of a big plate in his chest. Kayne was breathing shallowly and his face was contorted in pain. I grabbed his hand and squeezed gently in it. �Hold on, Kayne��
Kayne shook his hand and then coughed, blood coming from his mouth. �It is no use. Kill me�� He whispered.
�No, I�� I started, but was interrupted by Keir�s harsh laugh.
�That can be arranged!� At which he made a fist of his left hand and then there was an explosion. I was thrown backwards by the force of it, right against the wall and when I opened my eyes I saw nothing but smoke on the spot where Kayne had been lying just a moment ago. I closed my eyes again, hoping this was just an illusion and I heard Raghnall attacking Keir again but my head hurt so much I could not do anything. Then, there was the voice.
Kill him.
It was so soft that I first thought it was an illusion, that my ears were deceiving me but then I heard it again, a little louder this time. I opened my eyes but saw no one who could have said it, except for�
Aislin. The Goddess was still lying on the altar, not moving, but I was sure the voice belonged to her. How? I asked her with my thoughts. How do I kill a God that even my friends, who are so much stronger, cannot kill?
Bredon.
The sword. The sword that was still strapped on my back, now poking into my ribs. I had forgotten all about it but I just knew that this was it, this was how Keir would die. By the sword of Aislin�s husband. I looked at the God who was still fighting Raghnall; the Elf was losing horribly but I had the key, I had found the way to kill Keir. The only problem was how to distract Keir long enough to be able to stab him with the sword. I put the sword out of his scabbard and held it into my hands; to my surprise it was now much heavier than the first time I had touched it. I had almost trouble holding it up and when I stood up, I almost fell down again because of its weight.
Just after I had stood up, Keir slung Raghnall against the wall with an invisible energy wave. The Elf smashed against the wall and stayed there, not moving. For a moment, it was completely silent in the room and then the God laughed.
�It is just you and me now, little girl. Last time we have met you surprised me quite a bit with that attack of yours, but I surely do not hope you will do that again, as I do not think our dear Aislin would survive that. I suggest you just give up and let me kill you; I promise I will be gentle. If you surrender willingly I will make it quick and painless. Now, little girl, what will you do?�
�I will never give up! I came here with a goal, namely to free Aislin from you, and I have not come this far just to let me get killed by someone like you!� I yelled.
�You surely have a lot of courage, and I must admit, I admire that. But let me tell you this; right now it would be the best if you would give up. You have no chance to win, I hope you realize that. Giving up would save us both time and trouble, and I have so much more better things to do right now.� The God said.
�No!� I shouted, my voice echoing through the room. I held up the sword and ran towards Keir, even though I knew he was right; I had no chance. The God was so much more stronger than me and I had never wielded a sword before, but I could not give up this easily. I owed it Teagan and Cahal and Kayne and Raghnall, even though I was not sure if the Elf was really dead. I tried to steady Bredon but every time I held it above my head it either fell backwards, making me stagger, or forwards, making me stop. Approaching Keir, aiming the sword at him, striking, missing. The God grabbed the blade of the sword with ease, and laughed.
�You are just making a fool of yourself, girl! Give up!�
�I do not think so!� I just kept trying to hit the God, but deep down I knew it was futile. Even though Bredon had said you did not have to have swordsmen skills, I could not even seem to come near Keir. After I had swung the sword again a few times, and of course missed again, I leaned on the sword with my arms, trying to catch my breath. I had smashed against a wall once, unable to stop myself when I slung the sword towards Keir and had a cut on my forehead. I wiped the blood off with my hand and saw it trickle on the floor.
�Why�why did you take Aislin?� I asked. �Why not any other Goddess?�
�My, my, you are actually the first one that has asked that question. Well, let me tell you. It was because of Kael, that pathetic moral. That idiot had to play the hero and kill someone who was actually very dear to me. Her name was Carey and she was my daughter and he killed her. Just because she liked to kill people. I mean, what kind of excuse is that? Doesn�t anyone kill someone from time to time? But anyway, he killed her and when I said I would revenge her, he laughed into my face. He laughed. So, after he died I kidnapped Aislin and I had my revenge, the end. Or so I thought, until you mortals came along and ruined everything.� Keir explained.
�That daughter of yours was good for nothing! She just slaughtered innocent people whenever she felt like!� I yelled.
�Really now?!� Keir roared. �And how would you know that? Surely you weren�t there yourself!�
�Ah�� I gasped, clasping a hand over my mouth. How did I know that? I felt like it had not even come out of my own mouth.
�Kael.�
�What?� I blinked, looking at the God.
�Keep out of this!� Keir yelled, although I did not know if he was talking to me or someone else.
Kill.
That was a new voice, and I wondered for a moment if I was going crazy, hearing all these voices. That moment passed soon enough, as for a second my body seemed to be controlled by another person. My arms suddenly lifted themselves, holding up the sword like it weighed nothing. The tip was pointed at Keir and for some reason I did not feel as clumsy as before. The God himself seemed to be preoccupied with something else, looking around like there was a small fly buzzing around his head. This time, I knew I could do it and I focused one Bredon and Keir alone, blocking out everything else, resulting that I did not hear the sound coming from the altar, the flash of white clothing as I ran towards the God of Death, sword ready to strike, I did not hear the footsteps and I thrust the sword towards Keir, for some reason knowing what I was doing and with the speed I had made I could not stop as suddenly another body forced itself between the small gap of the sword and Keir and then it went right through both of them.
Aislin and Keir.
�A-Aislin!� I gasped. The blood spread on her white dress, making a blood red flower on her left breasts and she smiled, for the first time I had met her she smiled a truly happy smile. Keir behind her gasped, hissed, clawed, but the sword went through him, the tip poking out of his back. I quickly pulled the sword back and Keir fell to his knees, his hands clawing his chest. Aislin did not have the strength to stay upright and she fell on the floor, her hair underneath her head like a fan and she was still smiling that smile of pure bliss. Her violet eyes shone and she looked at me.
�Do not be worried, Shaylee. This is what I wanted, my lifetime is over. It is time for me to be with my husband, Kael, again. I think he likes you; he decided to help you just now, did you notice?�
�Aislin�please don�t�� I whispered.
�It is okay. I know you will be good, I can feel it. Shaylee, thank you for saving me from my prison�Thank you�� And as she whispered those last two words, the color drained from her body and right before my very eyes she turned into white sand, which was blown away by a wind that was not there before. �Thank you�� The wind whispered.
She was gone and Keir was still there. It was right what he had said; a God could not die easily like that. Aislin had been weakened considerably so the sword had been enough to make an end to her life, Keir however had been strong and healthy and the sword had wounded him, but not enough to kill him.
Seal.
�What�?� I whispered. Then the same force that had made me pick up the sword again forced me to put my left hand against Keir�s forehead. The God�s skin felt sweaty and dry like a snake�s skin at the same time and gave me some kind of electrical shock through my body. I felt the same power inside of my body that had been there in Morvyn when I exploded, and a purple glow suddenly surrounded my body. The words left my lips by its own.
�Baghda Nai Ka Zin!�
The same shade of purple flashed before my eyes, blinding me for a moment and when my eyes had recovered enough I could see there was some kind of round hole in the air. It was right behind Keir and had a purple glowing edge with weird letters on it and it was black, the blackest black I had ever seen. Keir looked up into my eyes, now no more than a pathetic heap and bleeding heavily from his chest. He put his hand over the gaping wound, trying to stop the bleeding somehow.
�Little girl�Shaylee, do not do it! Can�t we make an arrangement of some sort? We could be grand together, rule over this world, the two of us. Please�� The God begged.
�Don�t even bother.� I whispered, then concentrated on my hand that was still touching Keir�s forehead, moving all the power in my body there and then, with the invisible force I had Keir seen use a lot, I forced it out of my hand and against Keir, making him being blown backwards with an �oof� sound. Moving so fast he could not stop himself anymore, he fell right into the hole with glowed brighter, a blinding purple and then turned smaller and smaller, until it was the size of a needlepoint and then closed with a plopping sound.
Keir was gone and it was silent. The silence pressed against my eardrums, making them buzz. I let go of the sword and it clattered against the stone floor, echoing through the castle. Putting my hands against my ears, hoping to block the silence out, desperately for someone to talk to, to break this deadly silence.
Raghnall.
I turned around, expecting to see the Elf�s body still slumped against the wall. I blinked. I blinked again. He was gone. The body was gone and nothing in this room proved that anyone had been here at all. I ran to the door, grabbing the doorframe and slinging myself to the right, checked the rooms next to the first one, then ran to the left, searching for someone, anyone, but the whole castle was empty. I walked back to the room in which I had fought Keir and picked up Bredon. I could see my breath in the air in little puffs of ice cold air, and somehow the temperature had dropped below the freezing point. I stroked the metal, which was now splattered with the blood of the two Gods and was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that said to get out of her. Now. Running out of the now cold room, down the stairs, breath coming out in little puffs and legs actually to tired to walk on, dragging Kael�s sword with me. Right off the stairs, into the hall, push the doors that had fallen shut open.
Outside it was raining. Dark clouds had assembled above the castle, releasing a cold, steady rain. There was a strong wind pulling at my hair and clothes, sending chills down my spine. The rain soaked me instantly and the wind howled around the castle, creating an eerie air around it all. It was silent except for that until suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, one of the towers of the castle behind my broke off. At first, there was a cracking sound and I could not see where it was coming from until it got louder and then broke off with a bang. It leaned towards the front off the castle and then fell down on the ground a few feet away from me. Dust was all around me, blocking my vision and when it was gone I was surprised to see myself unharmed. In the distance, I could see the mountains collapse under their own weight and the castle behind me groaned and started to collapse too. The lava around the castle disappeared and the channel was filled with the dirt of the castle. Somehow, all these things did not upset me or hurt me; everything was a blur, not really happening, just a dream. And this went on until there was debris all around, and even that fell apart, made into dust, blown away by the wind. Everything around me was gone and there was no further prove that there had been anything in the first place. I was standing into one big wasteland, no more human existence on the planet, and all the while the wind howled and the rain poured down on me.
�Shaylee!� The wind said. �Shaylee, you did well! It is now time to return.�
�Return�� I whispered, not sure what the wind meant by that. It showed its meaning by opening the sky, creating a hole in the blanket of clouds that covered the sky. The sun shone through, right on my face, drying off the rain and the occasional tear that might have been there. It dried my clothes and warmed my heart and I closed my eyes, relishing the feeling. And yes, it was now time to return, as I felt my body break down too, just like everything else on the Earth had done moments earlier. It was a wonderful feeling, not painful like I had expected. My mind went blank, all my thought and emotions leaving me and I felt deliciously empty, free from the worries and pains and the discomfort living brought. I welcomed this soft death, my destruction, Earth�s destruction. And as my body turned into sand, I thought:
This is how Death should be.
