Ashar'an Rising (Nexus Wars Saga) (66 page)

Like a lantern drawing bugs, the demons surged towards him, their frenzied cries echoing through the stadium, but Valdieron hardly heard them as he moved towards them. He was aware of the towering fire Demon, which had stopped several paces in front of the Portal, as if waiting for the others to dispose of him. He also noted with surprise the huge demon now wielded a fiery sword, easily as long as Valdieron was tall.

But Valdieron had his own fiery sword. In his right hand, the Dragonsword seemed to grow brighter the closer the demons came, as if sensing them and beckoning them. He could almost feel the sword humming, thirsting for the first bite into the flesh of a new demon.

The demon unlucky enough to reach him first was a cat  headed demon, fast and deadly, the dark sword in its hands weaving a deadly pattern, but Valdieron cut it down with a blinding move, the gleaming Dragonsword cleaving through its demonic hide like an oar through water. A spray of dark blood arced into the air as it fell, minus one arm at the shoulder and with its chest almost cloven through.

Suddenly swarmed by demons, Valdieron was silently thankful for the long hours spent in the Combat Ambit. Dark swords and wicked claws sought to break through and cut into his flesh from every angle, but somehow he weaved a dance of death around them, sometimes missing a wound with only a tear in his clothing to show how close it was, while adversely, his twin swords seemed to find Demon flesh at every turn. Where the Dragonsword seemed to thirst for demon blood, the slender rapier was used more for parrying, but whenever the chance arose, Valdieron sent it unerringly at a demon throat or eye with lethal accuracy.

But the sheer number of Demons that continued to come at him hardly seemed to lessen, and it was only a matter of time before he was wounded. One dark blade sliced across his hip as he spun, sending a searing pain through his body, while razor  sharp claws tore long lines across his chest. He fought on desperately, almost brutally, knowing he would soon be overwhelmed, but at least determined to take down as many of the Demons as he could. He did not feel afraid he would soon die, rather anger at himself for not being able to live up to the expectations that had been made of him, for what would happen with him gone? Would somebody else recover the Disk of Akashel and disable the Portals, or would the Demon host march unhindered across the realms, wreaking death and destruction at every turn?

His anger lifted him momentarily, as he roared a defiant cry and launched himself into the demons with a frenzy, but even so, for every demon he cut down, another replaced it, and it wasn't long before he was struck again, a dark sword opening a long cut along his left thigh.

Another cry rang out then, close by, and it took him a moment to realize it had been in Elvin, but its meaning was unknown to him, at least until a figure charged into the demon ranks, spinning and cutting in a frenzy that matched Valdieron's.

Janantar! How he got onto the arena floor, Valdieron did not know, but he had discarded the mask. This seemed to send the Demons into a frenzy of their own, for many turned from Valdieron to attack the Elf. The Bladesinger did not seem to mind, his gleaming Al'katar cutting through the demons with ease.

“
Fight, Valdieron. Let us send these Demons back to the voids where they belong.” Even in combat, the Elf maintained a smile, as if welcoming the fight, though he was brutally efficient and deadly. Buoyed by the Elf's presence and words, and remembering the words of Ka'Varal earlier about these others playing their own role in this, Valdieron resumed his merciless fight, lifting himself to match the Elf.

Another cry from beyond the ring of Demons, and more figures rushed into the melee, led by Andrak: Javin, to his left and sporting his bloodied wounds, while on his right the dark figure of Talisa, beautiful and deadly. They cut into the demons, who were too intent on getting through to Valdieron and Janantar, and soon the five were standing together, fighting side by side.

“
Thought you could use some help,” yelled Javin, kicking a screaming demon off his saber where he had impaled it through the chest.

“
What took you so long?” returned Valdieron with a smile, running another demon through with his rapier. Using the moment's respite that their added numbers gave him, he quickly looked around for the large fire demon, and wondered how long he had been fighting these demons for, because the demon still stood before the Portal, as if waiting for something, as more and more demons swept around it, heading for the fight.

“
We have to make it to the Portal!” he yelled, using one sword to point towards the dark gate as the other fended off an attack from a bulking Demon. The others must have heard him, for as he slowly began to work his way towards the Portal, they followed, slowly cutting a path through the demons.

Maybe this was what the huge fire demon was waiting for, to defend the Portal at any cost, for it turned towards the advancing group. Whether through luck, or an innate sense of danger, Valdieron noticed the Demon's movements as he battled two bulking Demons, both wielding two  handed swords with a quickness that matched the smaller demons, and with a skill that made it hard for Valdieron to quickly dispatch them. The fire demon leveled its sword, twenty feet away, and it began to pulse with an inner light. Brighter and brighter it became in less than a heartbeat, until suddenly it erupted in a glowing ball that hurtled straight towards them.

Instinctively, Valdieron threw up his Dragonsword to meet the incoming fireball, which exploded into the backs of the Demons that faced him, passing through them like the wind through the trees, the awesome heat incinerating them in an instant. Then it came to Valdieron, as if drawn to the glowing Dragonsword. Closing his eyes, Valdieron tried to concentrate on building some sort of shield the like of which Ka'Varal bore around him, hoping in his desperation he could at least partially block the magical assault. He felt a force, like a strong wind striking him, but there was not the intense heat he had expected, nor did the fires consume him. His eyes opened, not really knowing what to expect, but when he did, he found a faint blue aura rising before him like a large shield. It was fading, as if needing his concentration to keep it stable, but he was too shocked to try and refocus his energy onto it. Turning quickly, he saw there was nothing more than a ring of ash around the five of them from where the Demons had perished in the fireball, and the others all had fading shields around them, which had obviously saved them from the magical attack. Talisa, looking equally as shocked as Valdieron and the others, still had a strong blue shield around her, which did not fade as the others did.

A piercing scream rang through the stadium then, chilling Valdieron's heart in an instant as he recognized it had come from Kitara, even before he turned to find her being carried by a towering demon that appeared to be made of stone. Fifteen foot tall it stood, and in one hand it carried a long lance that flickered with electrical energy.

“
Kitara!”

Launching himself towards the stone demon, Valdieron sped to save his Princess. He could hear the shouts behind him for him to stop, but he was not about to let Kitara be taken by the Demon.

Seeing his approach, the stone demon turned, fixing his glowing eyes on Valdieron. If he had not been so enraged, Valdieron would have known fear then as he stared into their baleful depths. Slowly, the demons raised its arm holding the magical lance and launched it at Valdieron. Like a lightning bolt it sped at him, humming of energy as it sizzled through the air.

He dived to the side, but even as he did, he realized the weapon was not meant for him, though it passed barely a hand width from his shoulder. Twisting himself in the air, a cry frozen on his lips, he saw the enchanted weapon speed towards the unprotected form of Javin. Whether it was Valdieron's doing, or maybe some other, a shimmering blue field of energy encompassed Javin as the weapon closed on him. Like a sword cutting through grass, the lightning  lance pierced the blue shield with a deafening roar of thunder, exploding as it made contact, sending an eruption of coruscating sparks into the air, while the others around Javin were thrown from their feet.

Hitting the floor hard, Valdieron cried out as his hearing returned, the faint echoes of the explosion still reverberating through the stadium. Through teary eyes he found Javin's crumpled body lying on the sandy ground far back against the stadium wall, his upper torso a blackened tangle of ribs and scorched flesh. Through some cruel act of fate, the Darishi's face was untouched by the magical explosion, and Valdieron looked at his closed eyes and gave the faintest of departing smiles, for he looked more asleep than dead.

With a deafening cry of his own, which seemed to shake the very stadium to its core, Valdieron was up and racing for the departing demon, tears of anguish running down his face as he chased the stone demon as it made for the Portal. The second, huge fire Demon, moved to block Valdieron, as if to protect its kin.

Without thought, Valdieron turned to meet the fire demon, which stood readied with its great sword held high. Moving purely on instinct and anger, Valdieron did not slow as he approached the demon, his own swords preparing for the contact.

To any who saw the confrontation, Valdieron should have been crushed by the towering demon, whose eyes burnt with the very darkness that made up its soul. It swung mightily at Valdieron, who leaped upwards to meet it, Dragonsword coming forward to meet the demon's fiery weapon. The moment of contact between the two weapons brought with it a cracking unlike any had ever heard, and the stadium was rocked again from the impact of the magical energies clashing, throwing all from their save the greater demons and Valdieron. But the clash of weapons, so almighty that something had to give, matched the sword of Dragon bone against dark metal from the voids, crafted through unholy rites and dark magic. Like a stalk of ice, the dark sword shattered where the Dragonsword struck it.

Unable to defeat the attack, the Demon was struck across the chest as Valdieron's sword continued onwards, the enchanted blade ripping through its tough hide with ease. It gouged a deep furrow into the demon, a wound that did not bleed, but exposed an inner core of darkness. Still, the demon bellowed an unholy cry of pain, for the wound was mortal to the beast, with Valdieron's sword acting much as their dark blades did to human flesh. Like a canker, the wound began to widen and eat away, and as the demon continued to scream, it was slowly consumed by some force, its deafening cry reverberating through the stadium even when it was nothing more than a pile of ash on the sandy floor.

Frozen after the attack, Valdieron stood with head bowed. Tears ran unashamed down his face as he cried, for he knew the Demon had died so that its kin could escape with Kitara, for even as he looked up, the Portal was closing around the departing demon.

But still he ran for the Portal, determined to follow the Demon into the voids if he had to. He knew it would be suicide, for even he could not defeat the hosts of Demonkind on their own plane, but at that moment he did not really care. He was responsible for what had happened to Kitara, just as he was responsible for the death of Javin, and he was ready to die to get Kitara back.

“
Valdieron! STOP!”

The words of Ka'Varal stopped him with their commanding authority. He turned to see the cloaked Kay'taari striding across the arena, looking as old as he really was, and appearing more gaunt and fatigued than he should have been. He weighed heavily on his white staff to help him walk, and a small trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. His eyes, however, dark and grey like a thunderstorm, were still strong, and held Valdieron as his every thought tried to turn him back towards the Portal.

“
If you go through that Portal, you will die!”

“
I cannot let her die!” It was said as little more than a whisper, but it rang through the stadium, carrying a threat that seemed to make Ka'Varal cautious.

“
Then go and die, Valdieron, by all means.” Ka'Varal motioned to the Portal with his staff as he drew up before Valdieron, seeming more imposing than before, despite his obvious ill health. His hand clutching the staff seemed emaciated, and dark rings circled his eyes. “Go, and forget everything we fight for. As soon as you step through that Portal, you will seal the fate of every man, woman and child on Kil'Tar, for with your death there is no hope. Without you, nobody can find the Disk of Akashel, not even me.”

Torn by the old Kay'taari's words, Valdieron turned to face the Portal, taking one hesitant step before stopping, his head bowed, while tears ran down his face again. “What about the piece of the Disk?”

“
She did not have it on her,” whispered Ka'Varal, coming up to put his hand on Valdieron's shoulder. “We must close the Portal, Valdieron, or soon others will come through and begin to build in number. The realms are not ready for war yet, and not even these people of Sha'kar will be able to fight the Demons for long. Their nobles are still running back to their estates, wondering why and how they could have let themselves come to this, which is a start, but it will take time and much head  rolling before a suitable plan is effectively put into place. The realms are in chaos, and there is much work to be done.”

With a sobbing sigh, Valdieron raised his gaze towards the Portal one final time.

“
What do we do?”

Ka'Varel's squeezing hand on his shoulder was a sign the Kay'taari was proud of his response. “We could drop the stadium down around it, but I don't think that is wise, though with Zhak Lomar gone, this building should be sealed shut so nobody else can see the Portal. I have an intricate knowledge of the Portals, and I will try something never done before: destroy the Portal. I think it can be done, but I need your help.”