50. Lydes is such a dick
50
Lydes is such a dick
Talon
I collapsed as soon as the golems loosened their grip. We had reached the top of the stairs. My lungs were burning, sweat drenched my back, and every muscle I had was sore.
“Move,” Cassandra hissed. When I didn’t respond right away, she grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me forward. She cast me down when we reached the centre of the room.
My vision swam, and I blinked, trying to get a sense of my surroundings.
It was a large room with vaulted ceilings, thick wooden beams crisscrossing high above us. The light spilled in from various archways that led to a wraparound balcony. Most were open to the elements, but a few still had stained glass doors attached.
I didn’t have to wonder where the relic was. It called to me, thrumming with power and life that echoed in my veins. It hung, suspended from golden vines from the ceiling above. The vines were filled with glowing liquid, bubbles moving slowly up and down their lengths. The pod itself was a translucent green, made up of layers of clear leaves. There was no doubt this was the object that had given me my second chance; I could feel the same warmth, the same energy that had filled me and cured me of the nagai’s poison, seeping into me again. It was restoring me. So slowly it was almost imperceptible, but it gave me hope. If I waited long enough, if I saved my strength…
I looked up, trying to get a glimpse of the object inside. I could see something solid inside it, and I peered at it, trying to make out the form. My blood went cold as it came into view.
It looked like… a baby.
Not just any baby; it was hellspawn. Two closed wings hung behind it, and its tail curled around its knees. Small, with tiny hands and tiny nub-horns poking out from wisps of black hair. It floated, a peaceful expression on its face, eyes closed as it slept. My heart sank.
I had seen another baby like that once—my sister, Percie. She had blue skin, whereas this child had red, but the likeness summoned a strong memory.
I was ten, and my mother laughed as she helped me brush Percie’s soft curls. I had been so scared I would brush too hard and hurt her.
She’s tougher than she looks, my mother had said.
A child? Lydes had sent me here to entomb a child?
Cassandra was staring up at the orb, eyes narrowed, and arms crossed. I turned back to the door, leaning forward. Perhaps I could buy a bit more time—
The thought was cut short as the hilt of Cassandra’s knife slammed into my chest. I groaned.
She knelt by my side, lifting my hand and exposing the golden brand. I shook, dread building as she prepared her knife. Lydes could not come here. He could not be in the same room as the infant. Kaine and Nidori needed to come, needed to save it. The trickle of energy that I was absorbing was not enough for me to fight back yet .
I weakly tried to pull my hand away, but she tightened her grip with a click of her tongue. Her blade glinted as she brought it to my palm. She sank it deeply into my flesh, dragging it along the whole length of the eyes.
A sound like a thunderclap split the room, and a shimmering form cracked into existence. Lydes stepped forward, his expression cold. He scanned the room, lip curling in disdain.
“So,” he said, folding his arms and looking at us. “I send one corrupted being to fulfil my quest, and despite his best efforts to fail , another abomination summons me.”
Sorcerers. They stole their magic from living beings. Lydes was not a fan.
“You’re lucky I was here,” said Cassandra. “He was planning to abandon you.”
“I am aware. Tell me, enferni, how did you figure it out?” His glowing eyes were examining me.
I turned towards him, speaking through gritted teeth. “Fuck you,” I said, though I didn’t know what he was talking about. Figure out that it was a baby?
“I can only assume it was the companion you allied yourself with. The sprite. She is one who has escaped my efforts to… reshape their knowledge. Bad luck, on my part, that you would find out the truth before you got here.”
“That you plan to entomb a child?” I said.
He laughed, the amusement not reaching his eyes. “I was wrong,” he said, his eyes flicking back to the pod. “He is just a noble fool. No, Talon, the truth is, I am here to end that atrocity.”
My blood turned to ice.
“But you said it sustained hundreds of lives… ” I managed, trying to understand what he was saying.
“Yes. Thousands of hellspawn ,” he spat, disdain curling his lip. “All the more reason for me to enjoy killing the vermin.”
He… had never intended for me to survive this. I had never liked Lydes, but this was something else. Betrayal.
Cassandra cleared her throat. “As I was saying, I was the one who brought you here when your charge abandoned you. I believe I am owed a boon.”
“You are owed nothing , you shadow-born leech,” he said, voice shaking. He turned to Cassandra. She took a step backward, face darkening. “Careful, Lydes,” she spat. “I don’t need you to get what I want.”
I shifted quietly, slowly lifting myself to a standing position beneath the pod. My wounds were almost healed, my vision clearer. I just needed them to argue a little bit longer, and I’d be strong enough again to put up a fight. Try and save this baby. Succeed where I failed Percie.
“You should count it as a blessing that I have spared your accursed existence. I cannot promise to be so lenient if you continue to address me,” Lydes was saying.
Cassandra lifted her hands, and her golems stomped forward.
“I know an apparition when I see one. All I have to do is slit that golden throat, and this echo of your form will be expelled.”
“How dare you threaten me!” Lydes roared, and he raised his hand, summoning a shimmering warhammer.
The golems charged at him.
“Well, well, well. This certainly makes our job easier,” came an amused whisper from behind me.
I turned around, heart thudding. Somehow, Kaine was here, half obscured by a thick column to my right. Two big steps, and I was at his side, pulling him into a hug .
“You can’t come crashing over here like an elephant,” he said, his eyes sparkling. “You’re going to give away my hiding spot.”
“How did you get here?” I asked.
“Cirae gave us a bit of help.”
“Just like that?”
“They seemed to be under the impression I would use it to come in here and be some kind of hero.”
I grinned.
“Jokes on them, then.”
“Why, Talon, I’m most offended,” he grabbed my arm and pulled us both further out of sight.
“Where’s Nidori? Is she okay?” I asked, worried.
“She’s currently fighting her way up here,” he said. “I don’t think she’s ever had to climb stairs before. She was using some rather colourful language, last I heard.”
There was a crash from beside us as Cassandra and Lydes continued their fight.
“So…what’s with the baby?” he said, peeking around the pillar.
“It’s the ‘relic.’ Lydes is trying to kill it.”
“How scandalous. Gods, I can’t stand hypocrites.” He pressed my sword into my hands, eyes glittering. “Let’s murder them.”
He vanished, and I turned, grateful to feel the comforting weight of my sword in my hand again.
I rounded the edge of the room, enjoying the fact I was not the centre of the fight for once. Lydes had just smashed the head off one of the Golems, and Cassandra was summoning another.
As her eyes slid to me and widened, I summoned the brightest orb I could muster.
Cassandra stumbled, blinking in the harsh light. This was it; I would not get another chance like this .
I charged forward and sank my sword deep into her chest. The golems dissolved into dust.
She collapsed with a hiss, transforming into a cloud of mist that retreated out of the window. Fuck. Well, Kaine did say that she was slippery.
That just left Lydes.
He straightened, brandishing his hammer as his eyes locked on to mine.
We circled each other, and with a petty twinge of satisfaction, I noted I was taller than him. I twisted forward in a solid strike, aiming for his torso. He deflected my sword with a twist of his hammer. I barely had time to lift my shield before he was turning for another blow. He was panting, though, already worn from his previous fight, while I had never felt better.
“Come here, devil. Let me have the satisfaction of cracking your skull beneath my hammer,” he snarled.
I bared my teeth at him. He was almost in front of some broken floorboards, and he didn’t seem to be paying much attention to his surroundings. I wondered how often he fought in hand-to-hand combat.
“I think, when I leave here, I’ll designate enferni as abominations, in the same class as other monsters. My Paladins will slay your people on sight,” he said, a sickening gleam in his eye.
I pushed down my response, trying to focus on strategy.
One more step, and I lunged forwards. He parried my swing, but stepped backwards as he did so, right onto the unstable ground. He twisted, trying to find his footing, but a dagger plunged into his side, and he fell, snarling. Kaine materialised, darting backwards for a second before he was gone again .
“It seems I am to be plagued with all manner of depraved creatures in this accursed tower. No matter. It will bring me great pleasure to erase your existence from this plane,” he said.
While his attention was on Kaine, I struck again, and he was forced to meet my blade with his hammer. I winced internally. That was not good for my blade. We were locked together, and sweat was pouring down my back.
Come on , I thought as Lydes slowly pushed forwards.
His eyes widened as Kaine landed on his back. Kaine’s eyes were narrowed as he held on tight, dagger slicing through Lydes’ neck. Lydes sank to his knees, hammer falling to the ground with a heavy clang. His form paled, then disintegrated to dust, falling into a pile on the floor.
I panted, staggering to the side and gripping a desk for support. I gritted my teeth and used the last of my energy to patch up my wounds.
Kaine sat in Lydes’ pile of dust and leaned back, resting against a pillar. He snorted, then gave a dry chuckle.
“What?” I asked, standing upright.
“Look who’s decided to join in,” he said, nodding to the stairs.
Nidori was in the doorframe, drenched in sweat and a furious expression on her reddened face. She was breathing heavily and leaning on the frame.
She sank to the ground. “I came… up… all those… stairs… and you’re done ?” she managed to say.
I walked over to her, scooping her up and pressing a kiss to her forehead. She crossed her arms, sulking. She had a nasty gash on her arm, which I patched up with some healing.
“Let’s not climb that many stairs ever fucking again.” She groaned, resting her head on my shoulder .
“We did it,” I said, kissing her again on her damp forehead.
“Not yet,” Kaine said. “Given all that’s just happened, I’m not celebrating until Cirae is here.”
“No, don’t call them yet.” Nidori slipped out of my hands and grabbed my arm, looking at me pleadingly.
I met her gaze.
“Nidori, the relic is a baby,” I said softly. “We can’t leave it here.”
She craned her neck, finding the pod in the centre of the room. “Oh,” she said, stepping towards it, eyes softening. Then she glanced back at me, eyes wide.
“Anyway, I found my oath,” I said.
She brightened. “Really?”
I nodded, guilt twisting in me as I lied to her. But I had to do this.
“Am I summoning them or not?” Kaine asked.
“Just let me do one thing first.”