Hellfire (14 page)

Panic ripped through him. He
searched for her thoughts, for any sense of her. Breathing hard enough to
hyperventilate, Alton forced himself to find calm, to take slow, even breaths
and narrow his searching mind to Ginny and only Ginny.

He listened for her thoughts.
They really needed to work on their newly discovered telepathy. He could barely
pick her up when she was next to him, but…

There! In the next room, the
main cavern they’d just left. He glanced once more toward the Sedona portal. It
was clear of demon mist for the moment. He spun around and raced through the
tunnel, skidding as he rounded the turn into the main cavern.

Ginny had her back to the
Lemurian portal. Framed in its golden glow, she fought a gathering of demons.
Beneath DarkFire’s purple glow they snarled with shining teeth and struck with
shimmering claws, though they were still only harmless mist. DarkFire flashed
through the insubstantial wraiths with unbelievable speed and blinding grace.
With a flick of her wrist, Ginny caught one of the demons as it launched itself
in her direction.

It exploded in a burst of
flames and sulfuric stench.

She fought like an expert
swordsman—feet dancing, her bandaged left hand
raised
behind her, DarkFire grasped firmly in her right as she twisted the blade
through demon after demon.

Mesmerized by her grace and
beauty, Alton stood in the entrance to the cavern and stared.

“You just gonna stand there
watching, or you gonna help?” Ginny flashed him a bright grin and lunged for
yet another snarling wraith.

Alton joined her. Standing
shoulder to shoulder, the two of them blocked the portal to Lemuria and
protected Alton’s world with their crystal swords. They found a perfect rhythm,
swinging right and left, slicing through the dark wraiths—visible now as
malignant demons in DarkFire’s purple fluorescence, black, smoky ghosts under
HellFire’s blue light—and watching the bursts of sulfuric flame with growing
satisfaction.

“Who goes there?”

With sword upraised, Alton
spun about as four Lemurian guards stepped through the portal. “Roland! Have
you come to help us?” Alton quickly turned his back on the four and slashed
through yet another wraith.

“Hey,
Roland!”
Ginny waved her bandaged hand and leapt forward. With a feral
grin on her face, she caught two wraiths with her dark crystal blade and
watched the demons explode.

“What are these things?”
Roland stepped up beside Alton and slashed his steel sword through a dark
ghost. The black smoke merely divided along the blade and reformed on either
side. “My sword doesn’t stop them!”

Alton cut through another
demon. Sparks flashed and it disappeared. “I was afraid of that. Only crystal
seems to kill them.” He lunged forward once more. Another demon died. “Why are
you here? I didn’t think the guard ever left Lemuria.”

“Right after your escape,
orders came down for your arrest. I’m sorry, Alton, but they were directly from
Artigos. He truly has disowned you. I was told to bring you back for trial,
even if it meant finding you in Earth’s dimension.”

Ginny spun around with her
sword raised high. Roland took a quick step back.

“You’ve got to be frickin’
kidding me!” she said. “We’re out here protecting Lemuria from a demon invasion
and you’re going to arrest us?”

Her voice rose on the last
word. Alton glanced her way, caught her eye, and winked. She glared at him in
return.

“To your
left!
Quickly!”
Roland pointed and Alton caught
yet another demon. “Those are my orders.” He glanced over his shoulder at the
other men. They stared wide-eyed at the battle going on in front of them and
didn’t say a word. Roland turned back to Ginny. “I didn’t say I intended to
follow them.”

“What? You’re going to ignore
the chancellor’s direct orders?” Alton faced Roland and stopped dead in his
tracks, ignoring the billowing cloud of demonic mist beginning to take shape
and form behind him. “Then what do you intend?”

Roland dipped his head. “I
intend to do as my Lord Taron asked—warn you not to return to Lemuria until he
brings the council around to his way of thinking. Already favor is turning
against your father. He has angered many by his disavowal of your birthright as
much as his denunciation of the Crone. She is a much beloved figure among the
common people. He has publicly denied her sacrifice and called it nothing more
than show.”

“What?” Ginny’s sword flashed
and DarkFire spoke. “Who in the nine hells does he think he is?”

Roland blinked. Then he
suddenly dropped to one knee. “Lady Daria.” He looked up at Ginny. “I recognize
her voice. I knew this wasn’t some kind of trick.”

“Of course it’s not a trick.”
The sword glowed with each word. “Stand, Roland of Kronus. I remember your
grandmother. She was a brave warrior and true to her people.
As
are you.”

Roland stood up. It was only
then that Alton realized the other three soldiers with him had gone to their
knees as well.

“Alton!”

Ginny’s cry spun him around. A
massive black beast towered over them, so tall its head touched the ceiling and
the span of its arms could have gathered all six of them at once.

Ginny held her sword high and
dark light illuminated the beast. Beneath DarkFire’s light, it was a horrifying
blend of many demons, a monster writhing with dozens of foul creatures melded
together.

Ginny lunged toward the
abomination. DarkFire slid through the middle, leaving flames and sparks in her
path. This creature appeared to have more substance than any they’d seen before
and all its many parts were screeching and howling, creating a horrifying cacophony
that echoed within the cavern.

Alton slashed through the
neck, expecting the head to tumble, but in spite of the flames from the demons
he killed, the mist reformed and the beast remained intact.

It shrieked and circled on
thick legs. Members of the guard spread out around it, but their steel swords
had no effect. Slashing through the roiling mist, they passed through
harmlessly without doing any damage.

Alton and Ginny fought on,
cutting and jabbing, attacking and retreating and yet the creature remained
upright, its many voices undiminished. When Ginny withdrew, it appeared as
nothing more than roiling mist in the shape of a beast, but when she slashed
out with DarkFire, the purple light illuminated the many foul demons still
forming the arms and legs, the thick body and huge head.

They continued to fight,
tiring now but driven to beat this thing before it crossed into Lemuria. Each
crystalline strike brought forth howls and shrieks and flashing sparks. As more
and more demons were destroyed, the beast grew smaller, though the wraiths
remained connected, changing within the fluid structure to take the places of
those Ginny or Alton killed.

Finally, it was no more than
waist high when Alton’s sword slashed from top to bottom and Ginny cut from
right to left. Fire flashed and the last wraith disappeared.

Panting, Ginny leaned against
the wall with DarkFire hanging loosely in her grasp. Her body trembled as she
sucked in great, deep breaths. The four soldiers of the guard stood in stunned
silence while Alton walked back along the tunnel and searched for more
demonkind, but the trail was clear and there were none to be seen.

He hurried back to the main
cavern. “I don’t get it. The demons were trying to go through the portal into
Lemuria. What could they possibly do in mist form?”

“Creatures such as these would
cause terrible panic among our people.” Roland glanced at the sword in his hand
and shook his head. “My weapon was useless against them. Those who carry
crystal have forgotten how to fight. They don’t have the balls to defend our
world.” He glanced at Alton and
blushed
a deep red.
“Present company
excepted
, sir.”

DarkFire glowed once again.
Ginny turned to Roland. “Hold your sword out, Roland.”

He frowned, but he did as she
said. Ginny touched the crystal point of her sword to Roland’s steel. His began
to glow as the other three soldiers gathered close. Within seconds, it was too
bright to look directly at the blade.

Then, with a sound as clear as
a bell, the blades rang as if they’d come together in battle. Ginny stepped
back. Roland gasped and held his sword high. The crystal facets glowed in the
reflected light of the surrounding portals, but where Ginny’s sword was
dark,
Roland’s blade glowed with crystalline purity.

Once again DarkFire pulsed
with light. “Your blade carries the spirit of Hesta, your grandmother. She
cannot speak, not yet, but she will.”

Roland stared at DarkFire as
if neither Ginny nor Alton existed. “Only the aristocracy may carry crystal.”
His words faded on a sigh of wonder. He held the sword high, turning and
twisting it so that light cascaded from the facets.

DarkFire flashed and her voice
echoed off the cavern’s walls. “That is the council’s law. Do you serve the
Council of Nine, or do you serve Lemuria?”

With that final question, DarkFire’s
glow faded. Ginny stared at her sword until the blade no longer cast its own
dark light. She carefully stuck it inside her scabbard. When she looked at
Roland, her golden eyes were shining. “Well, Roland? How do you answer
DarkFire’s question?”

Roland’s dark eyes flashed
from Ginny to Alton. Open-mouthed, he gaped at his stunned and speechless men.
They watched the crystal sword he clutched in his hand with wonder and obvious
envy. “I serve Lemuria,” he said. His voice was barely above a whisper.

Alton’s eyes burned with
unshed tears. He was flooded with a sense of loyalty and pride for his world
he’d not felt for hundreds of years. This was the spirit of Lemuria. These were
Lemurian soldiers. He cleared his throat and quietly asked, “Who do you serve?”

Roland held his sword aloft
and repeated his vow, stronger this time. “I serve Lemuria.” He glanced at his
men. They held their blades aloft, steel to his crystal. All of them, this time
together, said it again.
Loudly and with great pride.

“We serve Lemuria.”

Light burst from Roland’s
crystal sword. One of the men gasped as cold fire traveled from the linked
blades along each man’s powerful sword arm, then back up to the points. The
light flashed again, every color of the rainbow. This time, everyone in the
cavern gasped.

Four perfect crystal blades
shimmered. Light from the golden portal into Lemuria reflected from their many
facets.

Alton stared at the crystal,
almost mesmerized by the light. Then he shook himself and stepped forward. He
held his hand out to Roland. The Sergeant of the Guard stared at Alton’s hand
for a moment and then clasped it in his.

“I am not Lemuria’s ruler,”
Alton said, well aware his heart was pounding in his chest and sweat trickled
down his spine. He’d never seen anything like this. Never heard of common
soldiers bearing crystal, but then he’d not known of the women warriors of
Lemuria, either. Times were changing and the threat against his people grew by
the hour. With the power of the swords, maybe they did have a chance against
demonkind. He looked into Roland’s clear gaze. “I have no authority other than
that as a citizen of Lemuria, but I would ask you to return to Lemuria with
your story. Show the councilmen your swords. Explain the threat as only an
honest soldier can.”

Ginny grabbed Roland’s arm.
“You have to make them understand, Roland. Imprisoning Alton serves demonkind,
not Lemuria. Once you convince them, come back. Join us. You’re armed with
crystal now and we need you on our side.”

Alton stepped aside and left
the path to the portal clear. “Go to Taron. He’ll help you. We need soldiers
who carry crystal. That’s the only way we’re going to win this fight.”

Roland glanced at his
soldiers. The others held their swords
proudly,
ready
to follow whatever orders he gave. Without exchanging a word, Roland turned to
Alton. “They have to believe us. We carry crystal. Everyone knows if you’re not
meant to wield a crystal sword, it will turn on you.”

He stared at the beautiful
sword in his hand, slowly shook his head, and spoke with great reverence. “I
carry crystal with Hesta’s spirit still locked inside. We’ll go to Taron, but
first we’re going to the barracks. Once the men see what’s happened, we’ll have
the entire guard on our side.”

They marched through the
portal to Lemuria. Alton watched them go with a powerful sense of pride. Common
soldiers, yet common no longer. They’d shed millennia of dust from their
sandals with their decision.
Old ideas, tired philosophies,
and eons of inaction.

Their army was growing.
One brave soldier at a time.

Ginny shook her head and
wondered if she’d ever experience anything even close to normal again. “Do you
think they’ll be okay? I have a feeling your father’s out for blood.”

Alton turned away from the portal
and threw an arm over her shoulders. His casual hug felt so good and she was
absolutely beat. All she wanted to do was lean against him and just let Alton
carry her burdens…for a little while, at least.

“Roland’s decision to go to
the other men first is a good one,” Alton said. His fingers idly stroked her
arm. Ginny wondered if he had any idea what his touch did to her.

Obviously
not.
He was all business.

“If Roland has the guard
behind him,” he said, “the council will at least have to hear him out. The fact
he now bears crystal will carry a lot of weight with the other members, even if
my father refuses to acknowledge its importance.”