The Eternal Darkness (37 page)

Jonas reluctantly nodded.  Dominic motioned him to get ready. As they prepared to move, there was a faint sound of rocks sliding against each other behind them.  Dominic quickly pulled Jonas behind him and faced the threat.

“Dominic?” a familiar voice softly called.

Dominic and Jonas exchanged a look, and then Dominic replied, “Celric, over here.”

Celric came around one of the other boulders, spear in hand.  He motioned with his hand and more men with spears ran past towards the soldiers.  Celric came over and knelt next to them.

“What are you doing here?” Dominic asked.

“As I held Decan in my arms, I thought about what you were doing,” the man replied.  “How could I let you fight for our freedom from the Dark Ones while I sat in my home?  After Redric made an impassioned plea to me, I choose to help.  I sent runners to the other friendly clans, requesting men.  Nearly two hundred showed up and we marched night and day.  I was concerned that we would not reach you in time.  When we approached and I heard the thunder of Jonas’ power, we ran to help.”  He motioned towards the approaching soldiers.  “We will take care of these while you deal with the Dark Ones inside.”

“How did you know we would be here?” Dominic asked.

“We found a friend along the way,” Celric said, pointing behind him.  They looked and saw Elis, glowing with power, alongside Celric’s men.

“Now, go and kill the Dark Ones,” Celric said with a smile.  “We will guard your back.”

…

“Do you see the futility of resistance?” the demon demanded of Jake, dropping its attack.  They had battled to a stalemate, as neither of them could gain an advantage over the other.  “Do you now understand that you can never defeat me?  You are mortal and will tire eventually, then I will have you.”

Jake gained some space from the demon lord, while he continued to pull in its energy.  He felt an overwhelming frustration that despite the power he controlled, he had not been able to destroy it.  The emotions he had pulled in were slowly overpowering him.  He was lost in the desire for power and control.

There is another way
, the warm voice from his long-ago dream unexpectedly said in his mind.

He stiffened at the voice, suddenly confused.  Then the emotions returned like a wave, washing away his uncertainty.

Adrift in the ecstasy the power swirling through his body, he almost did not feel the hand on his leg.  Surprised, he looked down to see that Hailyn had crawled over and was kneeling next to him, her hand resting on his thigh.  He saw that she was badly burned.  Despite her injuries, Jake could see that she had a terrified look on her face, horrified over his transformation.  Jake, elevated by the dark magic, smiled callously at that look of fear. 
Was he not,
a part of him seemed to whisper,
now so far above them that Hailyn and all of the rest were right to fear him?  Did he not hold the power of life and death in his hands?

Jake continued to look at Hailyn, secure enough in his power to ignore the demon lord’s efforts to break free.  He stared into her eyes.  Her golden-brown eyes held fear and…something else.  He jerked back with a start.  Her fear was not
of
him, but
for
him.

“I love you, Jake,” Hailyn whispered.  “Let it go.”  Jake halted pulling in the power, suddenly still.  “I love you,” she repeated softly.

You can still choose, child
, the warm voice said in his mind.  Jake felt those overpowering emotions suddenly vanish, releasing his mind from their control.

Freed by Hailyn’s love and that voice, Jake spun, arms outstretched, and released the dark magic at the demon lord.  He tried to expel every particle of that power, sending it surging out as he broke the connection with the demon lord.  He fell to his knees, lightheaded and body trembling, as an immense blast of dark fire cut though the air to hammer into the demon.

The demon lord, unbalanced by the sudden cutoff of the connection between it and Jake, had no time to prepare for the power that slammed into it.  The dark magic stunned it like a physical blow, knocking it back, the blackness covering it.  It tried to catch its balance, but fell onto the polished floor, landing of its back as the fire burned into it.  It writhed on the floor, screaming, trying to master the energies racking its body.

As the demon tumbled back, Jake forced himself to move.  He lurched back to his feet and, in two steps, reached the sword.  Not stopping, he reached down to snatch it up as he staggered towards the fallen demon.  As soon as he touched it, brilliant white light erupted from the sword, throwing back the shadows.

Unprepared, Jake screamed as the sword’s power burned into his hands.  With faint residuals of the dark magic still in his body, his flesh smoked as if he had stuck them into a fire.  In sudden agony, he wanted to cast the sword away, but he ground his teeth against the pain.  He knew that this would be his only chance to succeed.  If the demon recovered, he and Hailyn were doomed.  The demon would no longer attempt to convert Jake; it would simply destroy him, leaving Hailyn alone and defenseless. The thought of Hailyn in the demon’s control frightened him enough to force his hands to clutch the swordhilt, despite the searing pain.  Trying to move as quickly as possible, he half-ran over to the demon, which had pushed itself back to its knees.

As he stumbled his way towards the demon lord, Jake reached for his magic.  There was a momentary hesitation, and then the magic responded and flowed into his body.  Too late, he realized his mistake.  His power encountered the remnants of the dark magic in his body.  Jake felt as if his body was suddenly cut by a thousand razors, all at once.  The pain in his ruined hands was nothing compared to the agony that ripped though his body.  His skin split open in numerous fissures, the flesh at the edges smoking and curling.  His renewed scream chased the demon’s, reverberating throughout the room.  For a moment that seemed to last forever, he was balanced on the point of complete destruction.

As the waves of anguish rippled through his body, he was barely able to hold on to consciousness.  Only his fear of failing Hailyn, like an anchor in a storm, prevented him from letting go.  Then, as suddenly as a thought, the burning pain receded as his magic cleared the dark power from his body.  However, he was gravely injured, his strength failing.  Without warning, warmth surged from the sword into his body, pulling the pain from him and beginning to heal the damage done.  It was not instant, but he could feel his wounds begin to close.

Free of the dark power, Jake’s body began to shine brightly with the blue light of his magic, magnified by the sword, pushing back the room’s shadows. He continued forward, closing the distance between him and the demon.  Once he was within striking distance, Jake thrust the sword forward with all of his remaining strength.

The demon, its beautiful features now marred by the dark fire it had absorbed, sensed the danger at the last second and twisted its body to avoid the blow.  The sword missed its vital center, but pierced its side just below the ribcage.  As the sword entered, it flared again and the demon screamed a cry of such agony that it seemed to shake the very foundation of the fortress. Hailyn could only cover her ears at the sound, desperately trying to focus on Jake.

Jake, guided by a sudden insight, directed his magic into the sword in his hands.  Like a sluice, his magic flowed through the sword and into the demon.

The demon lord, its once-beautiful face twisted in torment, surged to its feet.  The opposing magics tore through its form, bringing it an anguish that it had not experienced since its defeat and banishment at the end of the rebellion.  Lesser demons would have succumbed to the onslaught, but it was powerful, the strongest of all those that had crossed over.

It attempted to grab and pull the sword from its body, but the powers flowing in the sword resisted it. Unable to grasp the sword, it pushed at Jake, trying to work itself free.  But Jake, his magic still surging, was able to able to resist, as the demon could not easily penetrate his aura.  He continued to send his magic into the demon as he wrapped his arms around the hilt of the sword.  Trying to finish the demon, he hooked his elbows under the hilt guards and leaned his body into the sword to drive it deeper.  The demon howled in pain and frustration.  Unable to free itself, it changed methods.

With a snap that stunned the air of the hall, huge, bat-like wings, black with hooks of bone at the ends, suddenly unfurled from the demon’s back.  Like an extra set of limbs, the wings slashed rapidly at Jake, trying to dislodge him, trailing smoke as they burned from Jake’s aura.  The hooks sliced at his armor, scraping across his back.  His armor resisted the blows, but in the barrage, the hooks caught the leather straps, ripping them apart.  The hooks then found a hold and abruptly tore the armor away.  The blows continued, cutting into the flesh on Jake’s back, bringing a renewed scream from his lips.  Despite the relief provided by the sword, he felt the blood flowing from these wounds.  In his mind, he focused on Hailyn, her beautiful face and her love, clinging to that in his agony.  He found a reservoir of strength he did not know he had and kept the magic flowing into the sword.

The demon was desperate to be free of the magic tearing into its body.  Its wings swooped down, launching it into the air.  Jake, surprised by the sudden movement, almost lost his grip on the sword, but his arms were intertwined with the hilt guards.  He was suddenly dozens of feet above the stone floor.  Instinctively, he swung his legs forward and wrapped them around the demon’s body.  He found it difficult to maintain as the conflicting magics resisted him, burning his legs and not allowing him to keep a good hold.

As Jake and the demon reached the stone roof, the wings began to slash at him again, bringing new agony.  A fresh flow of blood ran down his back.  The demon lord’s hands shot out and gripped his shoulders, forcing past his magic, despite the damage it did to its hands.  It slowly began to push Jake away.

With his strength fading and grip starting to slip, Jake knew that he had only seconds to finish this.  If the demon succeeded in dislodging him, even if he somehow survived the fall to the floor, in his current condition, he would not stand a chance against another attack.  As the realization of what that really meant came to him, a sudden calm spread over his body.

In his mind’s eye, images of his family appeared, his parents, then his siblings.  He saw the faces of his friends, both here and back home.  He felt a deep regret that he would not see them again.

But above all, he saw Hailyn.  He recalled her smile, laughter, and those beautiful eyes.  In their reflection, he saw her love for him.  The love that he felt for her empowered him to do what he had to do.  His last thought was that he wished he had said good-bye.

…

Hailyn watched in stunned disbelief as the blue magic surrounding Jake’s body suddenly transformed into a dazzling white, mirroring the light of the sword.  It seemed to pause there for a brief moment, and then flowed through the sword into the demon.  The sword’s power surged in response, magnifying and increasing that might.  As the blazing white magic made contact with the demon, it screamed again.  For a moment, it resisted the energy, but then Hailyn saw the light streak through the demon, like silvery veins under its skin.  The scream cut off abruptly as the demon lord exploded in a conflagration of conflicting energies, the concussion reverberating in the hall and nearly rendering Hailyn unconscious. The sword, light suddenly gone, fell to the floor with a metallic ring and came to rest near the center of the room.

But Hailyn was oblivious to that as she watched in horror as Jake’s limp body, driven by the explosion and trailing smoke, fly across the hall.  With a sickening thud, he struck the stone wall at least twenty feet above the floor.  He fell, tumbling down to land in a crumpled heap. 

Hailyn, tears streaming down her face, moved as quickly as her injures would allow.  She crawled over and knelt next to Jake.  She immediately saw the damage.  In addition to his injuries, his hair was stark white, his body withered and pale.  She desperately reached for her power, but with her body still weak and injured, it did not come. Knowing it was hopeless, she reached out to touch his neck, praying to find a pulse.  She stayed like that for what seemed an eternity, trying to will a soft beat of his heart.

She finally removed her hand and collapsed next to Jake’s body, weeping.  There was nothing.  Jake was dead.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY-
O
NE

Unaware of anything else, Hailyn cradled Jake’s head in her lap, holding him tight, tears falling from her face.  Great sobs racked her body as she felt as if her heart was being physically torn in two.  The pain of her physical injuries paled in comparison with the sorrow she felt.

As she sat there on the hard stone floor, she felt a sudden heat and vibration on her wrist.  Shocked by its suddenness, she lifted her hand and looked at the bracelet.  As she did, the runes flared brightly and the bracelet flew from her wrist.

Unable to help herself, she followed the bracelet as it flew towards the sword.  Next to the sword, a sudden light flashed and a being stood there.  The bracelet attached itself to one of the being’s wrists where there was no armor.

The being turned towards her.  It was tall and potent, radiating power.  She felt a jolt as she saw that its face was similar to the demon lord’s, in that it was perfect and beautiful.  It had flawless dark skin, but its eyes were filled with an intense white light.  Man-shaped, he was wearing golden and silver armor that was covered in runes, fitted over a white robe.  Out of his back, two large wings appeared, made from feathers of the purest white. A bejeweled empty scabbard hung from his hip.  He reached down and picked up the sword.

At his touch, the sword blazed anew, driving away the shadows. “I am so sorry, child” he said as he gazed at her holding Jake’s body.  “I wish I could have spared you and him this, but it was necessary.”  He gestured at her and heat flared at her wounds, healing them.