Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 01:21:39 +0000
From: Michael Offutt <kavrik@hotmail.com>
Subject: Deeping Lore - Chapter 10 SF/F Section

7/25/2011 -- If you are enjoying this story, please follow me at my
blog. The address is http://slckismet.blogspot.com. I'm an aspiring writer
who is trying to build a platform for the future.


Chapter 10
The Chaosphere


Kian walked dead center with Ella Fravaugh and Henna while Dylan took
point. "Ephram, you take left. Crispin, I want you on the right," the
Valion Alpha said.

Both soldiers unquestionably followed Dylan's orders. Sir Heath Falna
walked behind them, watching the mist for signs of the undead. Kian could
hear the young knight's thoughts which were so focused on the task at hand;
he gripped the handle of his sword in white-knuckled fury. Each of the
Valions had their holy swords drawn and ready; Kian saw that the long shiny
blades glimmered with a faint blue light in the dark shadows thrown by the
necropolis.

Kian started to walk forward to join Dylan when his partner turned to him
and said, "Kian, I want you in the middle. We can't protect you if you're
out front. No offense, but you're abilities are not quite as useful here as
ours."

Kian nodded and looked at the knights with love and respect. They were
sacred warriors and their faith would protect them here against the touch
of the undead far better than his own. And all of them were concerned for
his safety. They wanted to protect him, but to do so; he'd need to stay
within their holy aura. He stopped to allow Ella Fravaugh to catch up with
him. The ground underneath his toes felt squishy and he grimaced with
distaste.

The fog rose up all around them and swallowed Dylan whole before it reached
out with grasping tendrils to envelop his body. Kian felt the cool mist
through cracks in his armor. He knew he still walked between them only
because of the jingle their spurs made each time they took a step and from
the motion of their bodies that showed on the inside of his glass
visor. The ground underneath their feet became soggier and sucked at the
soles of their boots and from a few paces ahead, he heard Dylan curse.

To his left and right, Kian saw eyes appear in the mist. They were
smoldering red points that floated in a miasma of gray. The smell of
rotting flesh filled his nostrils; discordant moans floated through the
air, varying in cadence and pitch.

He continued forward and the mist let up some. He saw Dylan leaning against
the stone foundation of one of the statues. He walked over to him and
waited while the others caught up. Something had brushed Sir Avery's thigh
and left a frosty imprint on the armor. Kian could feel Dylan's pain which
was brief and sharp. Whatever had done this, could not bare the touch of
Dylan's holy aura for long and had either been destroyed by it, or fled
back into the cover of mist.

In Kian's visor, he saw there was a throng of bodies gathered about ten
feet out from them, hundreds of undead that were keeping their distance
because the light from the Valion swords hurt them and the holy aura given
off by these pure, brave, and good men was a line that they couldn't cross.

"We're completely surrounded," Kian said obviously a little worried. He
stood next to his boyfriend, perhaps unconsciously seeking the warmth and
security that Dylan gave him. "I know you can't see them because of the
mist, but they're out there. Just beyond reach."

"I know," he stated. "Our auras are amplifying each other, keeping them out
of range. Still, the strong ones can tolerate the aura for a short while."
He turned to face Ella Fravaugh and Henna. "How are you two holding up?"

Henna looked frightened. "The sooner we leave this place the better."

"I agree," Ella Fravaugh said. "In which direction did the Chaosphere lie
that Kian spotted from the shoulder of the colossus?"

"I think it was a bit north of here," Kian declared. "It's rather hard to
be sure because of the mist."

"I-I'll go check again," Kian stated. "It'll just be a moment."

"No," Dylan said. "It's too dangerous now that the moon is out. I forbid
it."

Kian swallowed. "Alright. But I'm not afraid."

"I know you're not," Dylan said. "I just don't want you risking your head
is all." He reached over and softly massaged Kian's neck with his fingers,
reassuring him. "Let's just stay together."

"Something's coming," Heath said, slamming his visor down.

"How can you be sure?" Ella Fravaugh asked.

"I smell it."

Kian wrinkled his nose, not sure exactly how the silver-haired young man
could discern between scents in this awful place. Then, he heard something
heavy moving toward them. Its footfalls were loud and moist; the crowd of
ghouls and skeletons visible on his visor dodged from out of its way. Kian
looked up and saw a thing that he guessed to be ten feet tall. It was
humanoid, but with no face. Its body was pitch black, gaunt, and naked. As
far as he could tell, it possessed no genitalia. It had two arms that ended
in six-fingered hands tipped with sharp claws. It's emaciated yet strongly
muscled body seemed to be comprised entirely of black stone. This was a
Nightshade, a powerful undead.

It paused at the edge of the holy circle and the mist vacated before it
like clouds before the wind. For the first time, Kian could see the faint
holy aura creating a fragile bubble around the small group. The towering
Nightshade faced Heath and bent at the waist, extending its fingers along
the glimmering protection, trying to pierce it. The silver-haired knight
stood his ground, sword held tightly in his fist and fingers clenched in
his gauntlet which also gave off a pale blue light. The Nightshade produced
an orifice in the middle of its face as well as two holes for eyes and then
screeched. It was a horrible, high-pitched noise that sounded like the
screams of men set on fire.

Sparks lanced along the surface of the holy circle and smoke rose from the
Nightshade's appendages. Blisters formed on its unholy black skin, yet,
what it smelled within the circle was too tempting. It raised a hand and a
black beam of energy struck Heath in the chest and Kian thought he saw
Heath's soul emerge out of his back as a beautiful, glowing silver
light. The black beam pulled on this soul like a child pulls on a rubber
band and Heath resisted, forcing it to snap back into place and nearly
collapsed to his knees. The black beam dissipated into nothingness and the
Nightshade shrieked.

It plunged its hands through the holy aura and grabbed Heath about the
waist. The knight swung about with his sword as the Nightshade lifted him
from the ground. Crispin, Dylan, and Ephram rushed the thing and Kian
flickered and appeared over it and plunged Bloodbane into the Nightshade's
skull; landing on the monster's shoulders. This was a terrible mistake.

Kian's feet touched that coal black skin and freezing current shot through
his body starting from his toes. He cried out, dropped his weapon, and fell
into the rotten earth. Undead swarmed him and he felt fingers rake aross
his magical corobidian armor. In the next second, Dylan was there slicing,
hewing, and hacking undead to pieces. He reached down and pulled Kian to
his feet and pushed him back to where the others stood, fighting off the
Nightshade. Kian grabbed Bloodbane and limped into the circle of protection
surrounding the holy knights. His thigh and right arm burned where undead
had clawed him and his feet were sore. Even through his armor, the bone
chilling cold had bloodied his skin and burnt his flesh in places.

The Nightshade hurled Heath into the base of the stone statue and Kian
heard the knight's spine crack as bones shattered. His body went limp and a
fountain of blood streamed out of his mouth. Kian ran over to him and
pulled him into the safety of the circle while Ephram cut off the
Nightshade's legs with powerful blows of the holy sword. Blue fire burned
on the open wounds of the terrible undead monster. This was holy fire sent
from the God of War and it inflicted such pain on the Nightshade that the
thing's face nearly caved in from it's death screams. Crispin finished the
towering undead with a punch from his holy gauntlet to the skull, smashing
it to bits and scattering rotten brains in a semicircle around them.

In the fold of Kian's arms, Heath's breathing strengthened and his eyes
fluttered briefly before opening. Spots of blue smiled up at Kian and he
started to move his arms and legs and his body straightened as bones came
together inside his shattered body. A moment later he was whole again, he
stood up, and dusted himself off. He'd completely healed from something
that should have killed him. Without even thinking, the silver-haired
knight hugged Kian and kissed him on the helmet. On the dark side of the
visor, tears of joy streamed down Kian's face. Dylan had been right...his
knights were unkillable.

Kian glanced lovingly at his best friend who stood next to him, jeweled
eyes darting into the mist, looking for the next threat. "Alright, let's
head north," he commanded. The zombies and ghouls scattered before the
Valion knight Alpha and reformed in their wake as the party passed. Next to
Kian, Ella Fravaugh held the holy symbol of Melzhondra in his hands and
uttered swift prayers to the Blood Goddess. They made their way past
ancient stone tombs that bore wicked statues and bas-reliefs of demons and
devils alike. Primeval piles of dust and bone stirred in their passing as
the spirit of those buried sought to inhale the fragrance of life that
flowed from the young men's skin. It was a scent long forgotten in this
place. A thing that was sweet as honey and warm as spring breath.

The party wended its way through the necropolis, minding the edge of the
mysterious gray light that emanated in a huge swath from the orbiting moon
Hurlothrumbo. Skeletons burned to ash in the holy aura given off by Dylan
and his wolves, ghouls shrieked as their skin was burnt by it, and zombies
crumpled into dust. Directly ahead, Kian saw the glow of firelight. They
emerged onto the stone casings that comprised the foundation of the
Fortress of Unbreakable Walls. The two naga at the Chaosphere slithered
toward them on serpentine tails, holding forth their gargantuan swords
whose blades were as long as Kian's body. The grinding of the Byssian stone
rings reminded Kian of stone mills that worked raw grain into flour.

Dylan charged in and the first naga immolated him in a shower of flame from
its glowing crimson eyes. Simultaneously, it swung at him with the
sword. Dylan caught it with his own blade and turned it aside before it
struck him in the ribs. He cried out from burned skin and slashed at the
Naga with his own blade. It caught Dylan's swing with the shield and moved
forward, thrusting him toward the wall. The smell of burnt flesh filled the
air.

Ephram tucked and rolled under the Naga's shield and came up with his own
sword and slashed at the Naga's midsection, cutting through the armor it
wore and drawing red blood that fell in flaming drops. It howled and moved
to one side and thrust its tail against Ephram who tripped and got crushed
underneath it. Kian flickered and attacked driving Bloodbane between the
thing's shoulder blades as he landed on its back. It swung the end of the
tail around to hit him but he ducked the blow with his supernatural
reflexes. "Crispin, Heath attack the second naga," Dylan's thoughts came
through. "Crispin, distract the Naga with your blade...don't be afraid of
the fire, it will burn you but your skin will regenerate almost
instantly. Heath, roll under the shield and punch the area where the torso
joins the tail with your gauntlet. It'll break the gastrointestinal sac
under the skin where the two chemicals are contained that when mixed, allow
them to spray fire from their eyes."

Kian wondered how Dylan knew that but Dylan's thoughts easily floated
through his own mind. He realized that Dylan, like himself, was much older
than he looked. His age had been frozen in time by the God of War and as
such, he'd been in the military for many years already. In fact, he'd
joined right after he and Kian had broken up that first time in the mines
of Kala-Pur. Part of being in the military meant that he studied how to
fight monsters. It was much different than Kian's assassin training because
it primarily concerned tactics and strategy. However, Dylan, like most
Valion knights, was highly intelligent and resourceful. He'd studied many
monsters; naga included, and was directing his men the best way he knew
how.

Kian pulled Bloodbane free from between the scapula of the enraged naga and
hopped down to help Ephram to his feet. Next to them, Heath and Crispin
were engaged with the other naga. Just as their Captain had directed, Heath
distracted the Naga while Crispin rolled underneath the shield. The
athletic red-head slammed his fist repeatedly in the vital area identified
by Dylan and burst the sac. Beneath the naga's skin, the two chemicals
mixed and the monster bellowed in pain as its own flesh lit on fire. It
rose up and trampled Crispin underneath its flaming body and skewered Heath
through the stomach and out the other side with its sword. Blood sprayed
over Kian who leapt up, grabbed hold of Heath and pulled him off the
blade. The silver-haired knight staggered a moment, hands on his knees,
breathing hard while his flesh healed under his armor. In the meantime,
Kian helped Crispin to his feet and pushed his head down to avoid a shield
slam from the enraged and burning naga. Then, he teleported onto the things
back and swung Bloodbane in a tight arc, lopping off the head of the
monster which flew off and fell amongst the throng of undead that clustered
just beyond the firelight. Flames erupted around Kian, causing his armor to
smolder. He jumped and landed, keeping his distance from the knights while
his corobidian cooled so as not to poison them. He didn't know how
regeneration would work against poison, and truthfully, didn't want to find
out. While he waited, apart from them, he watched Dylan finish off the
other naga.

It was a furious battle, but one that demonstrated just how athletic the
knight truly was. He ducked, whirled, and slammed his weapon repeatedly
against the ferocious creature, muscles twisting and bending underneath
white armor. His grace defied the flexibility of many professional
gymnasts.

Dylan parried the other naga's blade ducked and got caught in the right
with a backward swing of the serrated blade. It cut through his armor,
showering the area directly in front of him with blue sparks. Blood welled
from out of the wound but Dylan pulled himself off the sword and ran his
own blade through the naga's chin and out the back of its skull. The great
monster shuddered and fell, dropping its weapon and shield with a
clang. The Valion Captain pulled his sword free and walked over to Kian and
the others to make sure they were okay.

"I'd be dead twice over today if it weren't for you," Heath said to Kian
with a soft and kind voice. "I love you."

"I know," he said to him, voice submissive and somewhat gravelly. Then he
hugged him and just so the others wouldn't be jealous, he let all of the
knights hug him and caress him on the helmet.

"Having an omega with us," Crispin said in their collective minds, "is the
coolest thing ever milord."

"Be sure to thank Kian," Dylan's thoughts said.

"We will sir, many times tonight," they all thought at once. The comment
caused a unified chuckle and Kian was visited upon by many visions of the
experience they'd had last night from differing points of view. He knew he
was good but had no idea that he was that good.

The conversation made Kian blush and he smiled at his boys who loved him so
much. He turned and regarded the strangely rotating chaosphere which
continued to grind away as it had for thousands of years in this strange
wall of Byssian stone. Sweat that pooled in his armor leaked from the
creases, from around his encased toes, giving him the momentary thought
that Crispin was going to have a nice treat for him tonight when all of
this was over. As if in answer, the red-head opened his visor and smiled at
him. Kian chuckled to himself at the unique marks the wolves had put on him
and thanked Tethyr that he only had four with whom he had to deal. As much
as he was going to enjoy them, he prayed that there would never be
another. Four was enough and all that he could handle in a single night. Of
course, he entertained all of these thoughts behind the wall he'd erected
in his mind. That sacred place he was sure he could still enjoy privacy
from the prying eyes of his many boy lovers.

His thoughts returned to the door. He wondered if Bloodbane could damage
Byssian stone and while he did so, he ran the platinum stud along the back
of his teeth. It made a dull clack on the enamel and sounded like a stick
run across the boards of a white picket fence.

A booming voice erupted from the shadows surrounding the entrance and the
Timeron Knights appeared in great numbers. In the front was Skallhaundar
Romax himself, eyes alight with blue lightning. The Darkglory regarded the
Valions with distaste; Kian saw that in the back, Timeron Knights were
slaughtering the undead that threw themselves against the contingent in
waves as these evil men did not enjoy the benefits of a holy aura.

Dylan strode up and stood twenty feet from the Darkglory leader who'd
locked eyes with the brilliant Valion Alpha.

"Surrender and I shall grant you a swift death," Skallhaundar taunted.

In answer, Dylan lifted his visor and spat on the flagstones. "If you were
dead, I wouldn't piss on you to mark your corpse as my property. The
followers of the Queen of Demons are as worthless as they are weak."

Skellhaunder was so infuriated that his hands trembled. "Kill them all. And
bring me his body so that I can eat it!"

Ten of the Timeron Knights who were not engaged with undead rushed into the
square. Kian flickered and engaged one who whirled his razor cloak at
him. He dodged out of the way, knocked the knight's sword arm aside with a
punch and a kick and split him in two with Bloodbane. Then he flickered
next to Ephram who was being triple teamed. One knight had grabbed Ephram's
sword arm while another ran him through multiple times with his
blade. Blood dripped all over the ground from the mortal wounds. Kian broke
the man's grip and Ephram smashed one of the assailants full on in the face
with his gauntlet, sending bone chips exploding through mutilated
flesh. The Timeron Knight fell limp pulling Ephram down with its weight as
the top of his fist was caught in the guy's helmet. Skillfully, he swung
his blade in an arc, fended off a thrust from another steel blade and
skewered a second Timeron Knight. Kian killed the last, cutting his head
off giving Ephram enough time to free his fist from the first man he'd
killed. Gauntlet dripping blood and some brain, Ephram parried a blow from
another Timeron who was undaunted by the Valion's uncanny recovery. Ephram
ducked under the swirling cloak and slid his sword through the gut and
followed up with an uppercut to the jaw. Kian heard him gurgle as he
died. It was a sound he'd heard far too often.

Skellhaundar and Dylan were furiously fighting and lightning arced around
Dylan's slender form as he danced in and out of melee combat with the blue
dragon darkglory. Blades sang as they clashed metal on metal. Skellhaundar
managed to disarm Dylan and drove his cibrian blade toward the small
unprotected point where helmet met collar. Kian flickered and appeared in
front of the blade, kicked Dylan back and caught the sword between his
palms, turned it aside, and spirit kicked Skellhaundar in the chest. The
Darkglory flew back into the wall stunned.

"Kian! Stay out of this!" Dylan roared. "I've got this handled." He
retrieved his sword and pushed Kian out of the way and engaged the
Darkglory again.

To his left, Ella Fravaugh rolled out onto the flagstones casting a
spell. Glass shards exploded amidst the remaining Timeron Knights in the
back who were engaged with waves of undead. Four of the Timerons instantly
dropped in the shower of powerful magic, as well as a score of
undead. Meat, body parts, and blood sprayed out over the necropolis from
the detonation of the spell. The skintight black corobidian armor the men
wore did nothing to shield them from the power of Melzhondran fury.

Crispin cried out and Kian saw the red-head, green-eyed boy stabbed through
with four swords. Blood poured from between his lips while Kian watched
helplessly; the Timeron knights who'd cut into his lover laughed and kicked
his body forward. Their laughs stopped, however, a moment later when
Crispin hopped to his feet again and beheaded the closest knight on the
right.

"What the fuck?!" one of them exclaimed. "How is this possible?"

Crispin grinned, spitting blood and engaged the knights, lopping off limbs,
and ducking under razor cloaks. He killed another with a punch from his
gauntlet which upended the bearded Timeron and knocked him into one of the
fiery braziers where his cloak burst into flames. Kian grinned when he
heard the man scream, the hot coals frying him alive within his corobidian
armor.

"Help me..." Heath called out into Kian's mind.

Kian whirled and saw that three knights had knocked him prone and were
cutting down on him with their swords. He felt Heath's pain with every cut
and teleported to his friend's side. He knocked one of the knights down
with an elbow shot to the helmet. Heath took advantage of Kian's sudden
appearance and swung his sword about lopping off the right leg of one of
the Timeron Knights standing over him. Blood squirted over him and Heath
struck the good leg hard on the knee, knocking him to the earth. Kian
dodged the blow from the last standing knight, slipped behind him, and put
him in a hold while Heath leapt to his feet and punched through the guy's
gut, stretched out his fingers inside of his abdomen and closed them on his
spine through the hole in his stomach. Blood fountained from between the
man's lips and his eyes rolled into his head. Then Heath crushed the man's
spinal cord in his grip and tore loose bone as he pulled his hand
free. Kian let him slide like a limp, weighted sack to the ground.

Ella Fravaugh let loose with an Oubliette spell and sunk two of the Timeron
Knights in shimmering pink orbs into the ground. Shrieking the men
disappeared beneath the surface of the earth with clawed hands that grasped
at the last vestiges of light.

Kian looked to Dylan who was bathed in electricity as Skellhaundar fought
him back and forth in front of the gate. Movement just to their right
caught his eye and he saw a Timeron Knight carry a boy and set him on the
seal before the door. He looked back and saw the gray light from
Hurlothrumbo wash over the carnage. Anyone caught in its path shrieked in
pain and in moments, turned to ash as it slaughtered the living.

"The light!" Kian exclaimed to the others in his mind. The Valions dodged
the swath and ran to the edges of it. It struck Kian full on for just a
second before he teleported and he felt the pain of the gray light as he
reappeared. Crispin grabbed him before he collapsed, breathless. Underneath
his armor, Kian's skin was awash in sweat as it poured off of him and his
eyes were wide and frenetic. Ella Fravaugh and Henna just barely managed to
escape. They had been closer to the edge of the light and were using spells
to slay the enemy so the distance they had to cover had not been
vast. Still, patches of the hare-foot's fur smoldered and became brittle.

The Timeron Knight along with Skellhaundar jumped into the seal where magic
must have protected them; Dylan was not so lucky. He ran toward them but
got caught by the gray light. Kian watched, horrified, as Dylan started to
turn to ash but the insane regeneration coursing through his omega-infused
blood renewed his flesh second-by-second. He continued to run and made it
to the edge where he collapsed next to Kian, smoke rising from his skin
which still had a gray pallor to it. It took a full minute for his normal
color to return and every second of that was spent in excruciating
agony. Meanwhile Skellhaundar Romax and the last Timeron Knight watched as
the Chaosgate slowed and came to a stop, revealing an ominous black portal
into the fortress.

Kian weakly got up and put his arms around Dylan. He didn't care what was
going on anymore because he knew that his boyfriend had barely escaped with
his life. He hugged him tightly and sobbed quietly, kissing the back of
Dylan's helmet and rocking him carefully and lovingly in his arms.

"Kian, I'm alive," he said. "And no longer in pain thanks to you."
Carefully, he extricated himself from Kian's embrace and kissed him
back. "We don't have time for this...but we will later. Do you understand?"

He opened his visor and dried his eyes. "Yes."

"I know these feelings that are spinning through you are amplified by the
rut but focus...we all need to focus."

The Knights concurred, gathering around Kian and patting him reassuringly
on the shoulder, hugging him so that he could be bolstered by their
physical touch. They knew he sought reassurance that they were okay and
were offering it to him so that he could calm himself. It worked. Kian
swallowed and looked out at the two knights and the boy standing within the
seal that protected them from the gray light of the necromantic moon
above. Skellhaundar Romax cut the boy's arm so deeply that blood dripped
from the elbow and Dylan grimaced. The youth cried out and Kian felt his
heart jump because it wasn't right to hurt this beautiful boy. He reasoned
that maybe this child was 12 years old at the most. He had light brown hair
and gray eyes. He was thin and dressed in a simple smock with torn pants
and no shoes. His feet looked dirty and covered with clay or ash. And they
not only meant to bleed him, but they'd also planned to offer him to a
terrible creature that would consume his flesh and rape his soul. This
monster was called only the Faceless Lord and Kian believed that this was
the evil referred to in his vision. However, there were so many things that
confused him. He didn't understand how men could knowingly harm a child; he
didn't understand how any book could be worth the price of an innocent
life.

Hearing his thoughts, Dylan spoke up, "Kian, you're a good person. Not all
men think like you and I. Some commit evil simply because it pleases them."

Kian knew this of course, but for some reason, it was more difficult to
accept.

As the boy's blood dripped on the flagstones, it spread as if guided by
magical hands and a zone of safety appeared within the gray light that led
up to the gateway. Triumphant, Skellhaundar Romax grabbed the boy, lifted
him into his arms and walked with the other knight striding directly behind
him. Once they stood within the open Chaosphere, they shackled the boy to
the arrow points so that he stood within the very center of the rotating
rings. Then they left him there, still bleeding, presumably as a sacrifice
to the hellish inhabitants that resided on the far side of these
walls. Kian saw the boy tremble and look around with wild eyes, knowing
that he was doomed to a horrible death. He pulled futilely at the shackles,
scraped skin from his wrists and hands but to no avail. Then he started to
cry.

Kian swallowed his spit in frustration.

"How can we get across this?" Dylan asked. "That gray light almost killed
me. There's no way we can cross through it and survive."

"I've an idea," Ella Fravaugh said.

"Please, tell us," Ephram said. Kian noted that the piercing in his mouth
caught the gleam of the firelight. The knight saw the blond assassin
staring at him and winked playfully.

"Henna, care to explain?" Ella Fravaugh prompted the fairy.

She cleared her throat and floated up on her butterfly wings. "The unseelie
court are filled with wicked fairies that use our magic to skin men to form
tapestries to hang in the halls of Clooth-na-Bare. If you notice, the
undead are not turned to ash. Neither are the bodies of those that were
already dead when the necromantic light caught up to them. Indeed, if you
watch, you can see them starting to stir as the gray light animates them
with its powerful undead energy. I've a spell which can flay the skin from
the corpses of the freshly dead and assemble it into a tapestry. Then, we
can hold it over our heads and run to the seal and through the portal."

"Do it," Dylan commanded. "Please."

Henna nodded and began to sing.


"The host is riding from Knocknarea And over the grave of Clooth-na-Bare;
Caolite tossing his burning hair, And Niamh calling Away, come away:

Empty your heart of its mortal dream.  The winds awaken, the leaves whirl
round, Our cheeks are pale, our hair is unbound, Our breasts are heaving,
our eyes are agleam,

Our arms are waving, our lips are apart; And if any gaze on our rushing
band, We come between him and the deed of his hand, We come between him and
the hope of his heart.

The host is rushing t'wixt night and day, And where is there hope or deed
as fair?  Coalite tossing his burning hair, And Niamh calling Away, come
away."


The ancient fairy magic filled the battleground with scarlet mist that rose
upward from the ground like a cloud of thick dust disturbed by a thousand
footfalls. Kian heard the tear of skin and saw the magic rip the flesh from
the dozen or so dead knights who were starting to animate under the gray
light of Hurlothrumbo. The skins floated upward and joined together and
then floated toward Henna's outstretched hands as she sung. When it exited
the rim of the gray light, Crispin and Ephram grabbed it and stretched it
over them using their hands. The leather wasn't cured by any means and
still dripped gobbets of blood and flesh from one side. It rained down on
them in thick droplets.

"Let's move and quickly," Dylan stated.

The seven of them proceeded out into the gray light and as Henna had
predicted, they were protected underneath the dead flesh. Dylan quickly led
them to the seal and then up to where the gate and the boy were
waiting. The boy started screaming as they approached and the knights moved
through to the other side while Kian stopped and knelt next to him.

"Shhhh... you're not going to die."

"Help me," the boy begged.

Kian nodded and looked at Dylan.

"He has to stay here or the portal will close on us," Dylan warned. "I want
to save him as much as you. But not if it means our own imprisonment."

"Maybe, and maybe not," Kian stated. The assassin looked at the rings of
Byssian stone and pulled out Bloodbane. Then with all his strength he
rammed the point of the blade into the rings and the sword cut through them
and into the foundation of the wall. Kian buried it almost to the hilt and
let go.

Dylan blinked with shock and watched Kian loosen the shackles that bound
the boy and scoop him gently into his arms. Then he walked out of the
Chaosphere carrying the boy and set him down amidst the other knights on
the inside of the Fortress of Unbreakable Walls. Carefully, he bandaged the
boy's wounds who continued to hug the blond assassin about the neck. Kian
just smiled at the boy's affection and tousled his hair with his gloved
hand.

Behind them, the mysterious Chaosphere activated because the sacrifice was
no longer in place. However, the rings couldn't move because Bloodbane
prevented them from doing so. The gate shrieked but the power of the
miraculous sword was too great to overcome.

Dylan smiled at Kian, still unable to process that somehow, Kian's sword
was so powerful that it was able to stop a gateway designed to hold back
powerful demons from spilling into the world of men. But was it really that
much of a surprise? Bloodbane was an artifact of tremendous evil and the
one that wielded it was really no different. It gave Dylan pause and he
looked at his lover in another light. It was easy to buy into Kian's young
flawless face...to think that this boy was harmless. But to do so was to
repeat a mistake responsible for destroying thousands of victims. Kian was
capable of murder and bloodshed on a level unfamiliar to most men and he
felt it wise to realize this. Dylan made it a point to understand that each
night, he and his men made love to a monster that had the skill and
knowledge to kill any one of them. It made him swallow nervously and admit
to himself that he found Kian's dark side strangely seductive as if the
blond boy needed other attributes to make him even more irresistable.

In the role of leader, he directed them to proceed down a dark corridor of
stone. From somewhere below, warm air wafted upward carrying with it the
smell of putrefaction and the screams of doomed souls. And Dylan gripped
his sword tightly, hoping for some payback at Skellhaundar Romax's expense.



End of Chapter Ten.

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