Fate's Hand (8 page)

Temo and Jora stopped in the woods as soon as they spotted the tip of the black tower. Temo went through his spells to prepare for an attack. Jora, a large, silent man who brandished a flamberge sword and bear skin armor, stood by. Temo calmly rolled up his sleeves and took several deep breaths. The muscular battle mage began to move his hands in a methodical and rhythmic motion. Around his hands and wrist, a faint glowing light began to radiate. Temo closed his eyes and silently mouthed the words of each protective spell he wanted to cast. Jora kneeled down before the mage and waited for him to finish. Temo placed one hand on his chest and the other on Jora’s shoulder. Slowly the light faded from his hands and washed over the men as it covered their bodies.

The muscles in Jora’s neck relaxed and he slumped his head a bit as the warm spell flowed across him. He stood up and hefted his large weapon. He tested the weight and looked surprised to find it lighter than normal. He nodded his head to Temo in approval. When he finished, the two men stood and looked up at the tower.

“We are not here to attack them, just to find out who this new owner is. Let me do the talking. If we do see Yusar, wait for me to make the first move. Your stoneskin and reflection spell should keep you safe for only a few hits.”

Jora grunted and started his approach to the tower. It was a little larger than a town's watch tower, with six or seven floors. The construction was foreign, to say the least. There were not many mason lines in the smooth black stone and where there were, they were not large enough to get a finger into. The two men walked around the entire structure. It had no windows or openings. Not even a door.

Temo recalled the word to summon a door, but before he could, one appeared before him. He cautiously reached out, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. As soon as he walked in, the door slammed behind him. He could hear Jora slamming the wall and shouting outside. Temo didn’t bother trying to open the door; he knew the tower would only respond to the master. He walked down a dim hall and into a large, open area. The room looked to be much larger than the outside could host. There was a long table with several gold candelabras on the table with long, lit candles. They didn’t give much light, but Temo could see a figure sitting at the head of the table.

Temo entered carefully, his eyes scanning the room. Shadows shifted around the room at the edge of the candlelight.

“Please, sit,” came a deep, calm voice. The shadowy figure at the end of the table lifted his gloved hand and indicated a chair at the other end of the table. Temo sat, but kept his hammer in his lap.

“
Where is Yusar the thief?” Temo asked as he looked around the room.

“
I’m sure my messenger told you the tower has a new master.”

“
Then what happened to him? And why call me here?” The dark man snapped his fingers and two small demons came from a side room, carrying something wrapped in silk. Temo tightened his grip on the hammer and braced his feet to be able to kick up out of the chair quickly. The two demons stopped before him and kept their eyes to the ground. One of them reached up and partially uncovered the item. Temo’s eyes brightened slightly and he looked at the dark figure once again.

“
Please, go ahead.”

Temo lifted the hammer from his lap and placed it on the floor next to his chair. He reached into the material. As soon as his hand touched the leather grip, he knew it was his lost axe. He removed the weapon, the light cloth rolling down the metal. The material was cleanly sliced wherever it touched the blade. He looked past the magical weapon and saw the two hideous demons smiling at him. Temo frowned and looked back to his host. With another wave of his gloved hand, he sent the two demons scampering off into the darkness.

“Opportunity. That’s what being a mercenary is all about, isn’t it? I brought you here to offer you an opportunity.” The host stood from the table and, in the same movement, so did Temo.

“
Work for me and I will triple what you make in a year in the first few months.”

Temo looked to the shadows, then back to the man. “Work for a man who has demons to do his biddings. What sort of help could I offer you?”

Drask stepped forward into the light, showing his ash red skin and horns. “No, work for a demon that works with devils and men.”

As Drask spoke, Temo noticed a large half-snake demon woman with six arms slide into a doorway. Temo’s felt his pulse hasten, seeing the danger he was in.

“I will, unfortunately, have to decline.”

The tall, slender demon before him lost his smile. “Well then,” he replied as he crossed his arms, “you are free to go.”

Not taking the invitation for granted, Temo bowed then turned and walked away. As he neared the solid wall he did not to slow his pace. At the last second, a door appeared in the stone, letting daylight flood the dark corridor. Temo pushed through and out of the tower. The blinding light let him only take a few steps before it compelled him to stop and shield his eyes. A muffled sound came from his side and Temo spun to see Jora stuck against the tower itself with a large goop of green slime all across his body. The slime covered the majority of his face and his eyes were wide with fear, but he still managed to gesture with them to the left. When Temo changed his gaze, he saw the wizard Yusar, standing casually a few feet away. Temo’s blood boiled and he gripped the lost axe and advanced on the wizard.

“
I’ve waited a long time for this, thief.”

The red wizard exploded into action and began to summon a spell. Temo twirled the axe into his hands, remembering its weight. He hefted it over his head then hurled it with a loud grunt. Temo immediately wrapped his fingers around another axe handle as it appeared in his hand. He threw this one to the right and rolled to left as another axe appeared. He sent it spinning to the left side of the wizard. Yusar smirked and crouched down under the first spinning axe, casting all the while. The axe disappeared as it flew over Yusar’s head. The second axe to Yusar’s right disappeared as it flew past the wizard. The last axe flew by Yusar’s left side and cracked into a nearby tree. Temo came out of his roll and charged at the wizard. Yusar finished the last phrase of his spell and shot out a crackling purple energy ball that flew past Temo’s head. The mercenary closed in and seized the wizard by his arm, and screamed a word of dispel.

The wizard and battle mage came crashing to the ground as their protective spells cracked and fizzled around them. Temo brought a quick fist around to strike the wizard in his nose but took a dagger slash across his forearm for the action. Temo jumped away from the wizard and threw dirt at the wizard’s unprotected eyes. He turned and ran away from Yusar. He grabbed his axe pulled it free of the tree trunk. Using the momentum of the pull, he spun in the air and threw the axe as soon as the wizard came into view. When he came down from the spin, Temo yelled and made a movement to throw to the left, where the wizard squatted, and then to the right with a loud grunt. Yusar got to his knees as he finished his spell and extended his hand. A blast of ice came from Yusar to strike Temo, but was cut short by the axe that did not alter its course this time, but slammed into Yusar’s shoulder and spun him around into the dirt.

The bit of ice that made it through bit into Temo’s flesh and burned with a cold sting. He reached down to his belt for a potion to help heal his wounds, but a bony hand caught his arm.

Yusar’s first spell finally finished and a pair of skeletons materialized in a light purple haze behind him. The first skeleton that made his way over backhanded Temo across the chest and sent him staggering back. Another skeleton wrenched Temo's axe from Yusar’s shoulder, ignored the wizard's screams, and waded in toward Temo. Temo went into action and grabbed a dagger from his boot to face the two closing skeletons. Movement caught his eye and he looked beyond the wizard. The Demon from the tower had come out and approached the fallen man.

The skeleton to his right lunged and Temo side-stepped the attack. He grabbed the skeleton with his free hand and twisted its arm behind it to face the other summon. Temo flipped the dagger free in his hand and caught it by its blade, then flung it over the skeleton’s shoulder. The armed skeleton came in at a rush with the axe high overhead when the dagger connected pommel first to its knee with a loud crack. The skeleton was faltered in its advance and the lowered the axe to regain balance. Temo used the moment to bring his knee up and kick the skeleton he held toward the other. The two inanimate summons crashed into each other with a loud snapping noise, both of their bodies flying into pieces. Temo walked into the scattered bones and gave a silent look to the downed wizard as he retrieved his axe.

Temo downed his healing potion and slapped the cheek of the axe against his bicep, shattering the ice that had formed there. He invoked a ball of electricity to swarm around the haft of the weapon and his forearm as he started toward the wizard and demon. Temo eyed the devil that stood impassively, over to the side. Drask smiled, then waved a hand on for him to continue.

Yusar struggled to free something from of his robe with his working hand when Temo came to stand over him. Temo kicked Yusar's elbow to remove his hand from the robe and stepped on it to pin him down.

“Did you kill my uncle?” Temo asked, staring down at the wizard.

Yusar looked to Drask with pleading eyes for a moment but, seeing no compassion, he turned back to Temo.

“It doesn’t matter,” Temo said with a voice as cold as the axe he hefted.

“
You should know,” the devil called out, “I need a human to serve as my general. If Yusar dies, you will either fill his role, or you, too, will die today. The choice is yours.”

The air was silent except the crackling electricity around Temo’s weapon.

“The tower. It is supposed to be mine.” He glanced over to the demon, keeping the axe in the air.

“
The tower is mine now,” Drask replied with a smile.

Temo looked past Drask to the naga and a host of armed demons standing beside the tower, then looked back to the wizard with a face grim and defiant. The wizard, thinking he had won the moment, smiled up at Temo. The battle mage stood breathing heavy, weapon overhead.

“Fine,” Temo said and quickly brought the axe down with all his strength into the wizard's chest with a resounding thud. He immediately released the axe and spun toward Drask and released the built up electricity in his arms. The moment the bolts hit the smiling demon, Temo blinked. He sucked in a deep breath, surprised to find himself looking down at his own hand grasping a handle.

He was sitting in a comfortable chair in a dim room. Temo quickly realized he was back in the banquet hall of the devil. Drask sat patiently at the end of the table. Temo looked down at the handle. The silk covering it rolled away to reveal a tarnished mace with several emeralds lain in the head, with etched runes surrounding them.

“What is this?” Temo quietly demanded.

“
A test, that’s all,” came the voice from the other side of the room. Temo looked across the table and squinted his eyes to see the devil, but could not focus on him.

“
A test?” Temo echoed. A sharp loud whisper in his ear clarified: “You failed.” Before Temo could react, he felt a sharp pain in his neck. His body went numb and everything went black.

Yusar watched as the mercenary was dragged away from the room by Drask's demons. Yusar felt concerned over how many demons were showing up each day, his tower quickly becoming his own personal hell. He thought of the two small imps that carried away the wicked mace Temo held only moments ago
—a magical weapon Yusar knew all to well. He had found it many years before in an abandoned elven city. At that time, the red wizard was under the employ of a small dark-skinned dwarf who plundered graves and castles alike in the search for magical riches. The moment the dwarf pulled the mace from the rubble, Yusar saw the change in his eyes. In mere moments, the short and powerful dwarf went into a rage and smashed in the head of his best friend and business partner. Yusar thought it was part of a double cross, but when the dwarf began yelling about scorpions attacking and told his friend to get behind him, he knew the man had gone crazy. After a few members in the party tried to stop his rampage, it was clear they would have to kill him.