The battle in front of the Free City had grown more chaotic with the arrival of the reinforcements. The nil fought with the fierce and frantic vigor of beings not of this world. Their stamina seemed to be limitless, matched only by the savagery with which they attacked the defenders. But between the combined might of the knights of Cerise, the wulves of Luthagen, and the efforts of the Rogues the tide was changing.
The ground forces of the Rogues and wulves had created a safe perimeter around the front of the Free City. With this established, the wulves formed hunting parties to punch holes in the writhing mass of nil and establish better positions. And they punched hard.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Cerisans were digging through the lines of demons. Their mounted cavalry had the advantage over the nil in almost every way except numbers and that didn’t matter much. They formed wedges and dug deep into the flanks, slaughtering their enemies before retreating. But in the retreat, another group would dive forward going further and further. A spear that didn’t stop.
Vincent lunged forward his sword slicing through a nil cleanly and he turned firing his gun quickly. He shot another dead but the click of the chamber wasn’t a welcome sound. A pair of nil rushed at him before ice lanced through their heads and were held a loft.
Alison slid forward and swung her arms, sending a wall of ice through the nil proper. A pair of wulves ran past, jumping off the newly formed wall and clawing through the demons. But one went too far and the nil swarmed them. They let out a howl that turned to a whimper of death.
Vincent winced at the sound and took the moment to reload. He turned and watched another wulf get swarmed but this time a trio of Rogues came to the rescue. One shot a nil dead while the other two skewered the demon on their swords. Together they brought down the third and the wulf nodded toward them.
Another group had been badly surrounded but suddenly they were being protected by a sphere of wind. While the nil were rebuffed, Sefirin in his miniature dragon form crashed down tearing them apart. And at his back was the massive three headed dog making quick work of what was left. When they finished, he jumped on the dog’s back, and off they went with Lily flying overhead.
“That’s not something you see every day,” Vincent said glancing at Alison.
“No it’s not, but it’s welcome,” she replied. And it was true. Many of the wulves from Luthagen had started to pair with groups of Rogues to make their fighting force that much more effective.
Vincent started forward again but stumbled and then hit the ground hard holding his side. He looked down and saw that he’d tripped over the dead body of a former Rogue. Vincent didn’t know them personally but still felt the loss. As he got up his side burned and he groaned holding his side tightly.
Alison’s hand went over his and he sighed as the coolness made the pain lessen. She looked at him worriedly, “You shouldn’t be out here with us.”
“Hey thanks. That helps with my pride.”
“You don’t have that kind of pride.”
He smirked, “No I don’t. But this is my home. Not gonna let the others die for me.”
“We don’t care about them. We just care that we have you alive once we survive this.”
Vincent stood up straight and took a very deep breath. “I’m good. Both of you. I promise. And we’re going to win this.”
The ground shook suddenly and he leaned against Alison as they both looked up at the battle beyond the one they were struggling with. The massive demon that led the charge and spawned all of the nil was locked in combat a necromantic creature that couldn’t die. It had broken parts of the bone several times. Shattered the rib cage. Even gone so far as to rip off the head of the thing and yet it persisted and continued to fight.
“And then there’s that,” Vincent laughed. “Hopefully they don’t kill us in the crossfire.”
“Vincent,” Alison said softly almost like she was stunned. “Look.”
She pointed and they watched Ryza walk toward the thick of the fighting. She was tapping the staff on the ground as she went. She walked through the battlefield, Snow and Stephanie at her side in their humanoid wulf forms. And behind them, they saw the procession.
Dead Rogues, dead wulves and wolves, and dead nil all coming to life, pulling themselves off the ground. One by one they came back with their glowing green eyes. They both looked back and their eyes widened as the train of the dead was growing with each step she took.
This was the first time watching Ryza that Vincent really grasped what she was and what she could do. There was something off putting about seeing people he’d known be revived like this. The monsters that he’d fought serving her. But she was a necromancer and this was a war. This was her comfort zone.
Ryza turned her hand slowly and sent the zombies at her back rushing into the fight. They leaped at the nil, attacking them with whatever tools and weapons they had. And the demons responded accordingly but there was one crucial difference. When they died, they came back and those that came back were under Ryza’s command.
The nil realized that the thing causing them f trouble was this woman and started putting a focus on her. But that was where Snow and Stephanie came in. Between their claws and their teeth, not a single nil was going to lay a hand on their mate.
Vincent and Alison only watched for so long before throwing themselves back into the fighting. They did what they could, helping the people they called friends. But it wasn’t lost on anyone that the dead were picking themselves off the ground and answering Ryza’s call.
Ryza watched her army go to work, but her ears perked up. Not because she heard something but because she felt something. Felt it before it was coming without knowing what it was. All she knew was that it was powerful.
She swung the staff away down and immediately began to back up. Looking quickly at her mates, she raised her hands, and spectral hands spawned beneath them. They grabbed them both and jerked them backward and away from the fighting. Away from herself.
They let out yelps of shock that she did her best to block out. She looked in front of her and finally saw exactly what she feared. The black energy that started as a simple dot and then expanded in every direction until it turned into a massive all consuming black sphere. The nil, the rogues, ceriasns, wulves, and even her own zombies were devoured by it as it spawned.
Ryza narrowed her eyes and felt the magic at her core. She growled, grinding her teeth, and watched the man stand in the center of it. She knew his scent before she saw his face. She’d been waiting for this.
The ground was cratered from the force of the teleportation. Daze’s feet sunk into the sand and he leaned on his sword. He looked at it and sure enough, the crack had spread going through some of the orbs. He stumbled forward and pressed a hand against his face.
But as he looked at his hand his eyes widened. He could see it had been entirely covered by black scales, his fingers even ending in claws now. Closing his eyes tightly, he coughed into his still normal hand. Daze grabbed the sword and surveyed the fighting around the Free City.
The nil were losing and the demon he called was near exhaustion. The Sanctum was defeated but Noria was a lost cause now. He’d be damned if he lost the Free City as well. Golden light flashed in front of his face and when it faded, Ryza stood in front of him wielding his brother’s staff.
“At last you show yourself Daze,” she said turning the weapon back and forth.
Daze fought the urge to snarl and instead smirked, “You’ve been expecting me?”
“I knew you’d show yourself here eventually.”
“Oh? You mean your paltry reinforcements in Noria? They were merely an unexpected setback.”
“Is that so?” Ryza asked and motioned her staff toward him. “And where praytail did that crack come from?”
His glare was quick and instinctive, “A setback and nothing else.”
“You’re bluffing worse than my wolves,” she smirked flashing her fangs. “Your power is unstable. I can sense that much.”
Daze started to retaliate when he started to cough. He covered his mouth and shut his eyes, “Enough of this. I am too close to lose now.”
Turning the sword in hand he held it up to the sky. A wave of golden light spread out across the battlefield. And when the light faded there was silence. Everyone stood frozen, poised to kill their enemy, cowering as death hovered above them, or helping a friend. From the smallest grain of sand to the massive demon, time had stopped.
Breathing hard Daze looked down and saw that both of his arms had been covered by scales. He stood slowly and put his sword at his back, forcing himself forward. But before he could take another step further his foot caught and he looked down. A spectral hand had wrapped around his ankle tightly and was pulling on him.
Snarling he looked up at Ryza who had one hand raised, the stopwatch around her neck glowing. “Even now he continues to meddle!”
Turning he swung his, a crescent of black mage flying at her. She blocked with the tip of her staff and redirecting the magic into the sky. Daze darted at her sliding across the sand with the sword. She stepped back dodging and spinning her staff around blocking and parrying his attacks. She stopped backing off though and went on the offensive, bringing the staff down on his head.
He crossed his arms in defense and she jumped forward kneeing him in the jaw. Her fur flowed and her limbs grew as she took on her wulf form. She howled and rushed at him clawing him in the chest. She felt the hard armor of his scales and he retaliated his sword slicing across her chest.
Snarling and turning the staff in her hands, she thrust it forward. It barely missed him but it pulsed and a quick explosion of gold light sent him skidding away. He touched his chest and watched as Ryza carved her staff into the ground quickly.
Black magic trailed his sword as he thrust forward. It manifested into black blades that raced at the necromancer. Snow and Stephanie both rushed forward, taking the brunt of the damage. Turning the sword around Daze clapped his hands together and the ground rumbled beneath them.
Ryza looked at the ground quickly and stabbed her staff down into the center of the circle. Gold light wrapped around them, before being enveloped by an explosion of black magic. Daze panted and felt a strange ripple of magic. He whirled around erecting a shield as a wave of fire engulfed him.
Another shield of his flew to his defense as ice rained down, thumping into the sand. Looking back and forth quickly, he watched the magic dissipate around Ryza. She was no worse for wear, standing back in her human form, Stephanie and Snow standing over her.
Daze looked up quickly and the shadows wrapped around him, as white beams of light shot into him. The shield shook under the impact but it didn’t fall. However the moment he lowered the shield, a bloody long sword just barely missed his face.
Morrigan narrowed her eyes at him and slid away as Benidict thrust forward with his own sword and Alistair came down with his greatsword. Daze barely got out of the way of the attack and slumped forward. The trio of Sanguiknights readied themselves and went on the attack again.
Daze felt the impact on his sword and stopped blocking, instead using his black shields. Alistair jumped forward and brought down his sword and Daze caught it in his scaled hand. But Alistair grinned and yanked, pulling him off balance. As Daze stumbled forward, Benidict lunged.
Before Daze could block again, Morrigan attacked from behind, and this time her sword found its mark. It struck him in the side piercing his stomach. He let out a strangled cry, exploding with black light blowing all three of the knights away.
“The rats just keep coming don’t they?”
“I brought enough people to make this difficult for you.”
He started coughing again and the scales covered his mouth this time. He started to get his bearings when he heard the splitting of the air. He jerked his head upwards as Emeralda crashed into him. She dragged him through the sand roaring as Sofie screamed from her back.
The sand exploded as she threw him before finally tossing him through the air. Sofie thrust her hands forward, a single beam of white light crashing into his chest. Daze grunted and tried to shove his sword into the beam, turning it into the ground. “Child! You and your dragon thought yourself significant! You are a speck in the face of a god! I have the power of both dragon and faerie. So you can die!”
Before he could make good on that threat a gut shot rang out. Vincent panted lowering his gun and Daze felt the blood dripping from his shoulder. He swung his arm and a blade of black light hit Vincent head on. Vincent barely stepped out of the way but not before blood leaped across his face. He cried out holding one hand over his eye and sinking to his knees.
Daze snarled ready to finish off the Rogue when he was lifted off the ground by a sudden tornado. Lily stepped forward keeping her staff trained on him, keeping the wind from slicing into his scales.
Wrestling control of his body back from the gale Daze floated on the air. But then a shadow overtook him and jaws locked around his chest. Silver flapped her wings and unleashed a torrent of fire point back. He crashed into the ground under the pressure of the heat
When the flames ceased he was smoking and on his knees. He leaned on the sword and saw there were more cracks in it now. He channeled more power into the weapon when a pair of claws ripped across his back. He whirled around trying to swing but his attacker was already moving.
Sefirin, covered in his spike plated scales, glowed as he assumed his giant dragon form. Daze jumped backward, barely avoiding the massive swipe of the spellcaster. Daze raised his hand, paralyzing Sefirin on the spot. He started to swing at the boy when Nero grabbed his wrist and swung him back into the sand.
Daze rolled away and shouted his pain, crouching on the ground and holding his shoulder. The scales had expanded and the sword was vibrating. Ryza looked toward the father and son duo and then shouted. “Break his sword! Do it now!”
“You ready Sefirin?!” Nero shouted as his scales covered his body.
Sefirin roared as he shrank back down to the form that mirrored his fathers, “Let’s do it!”
Daze turned to face them when legions of spectral hands grabbed at his body. He fought them off but not fast enough to stop the dragons that came at him. Roaring his hatred, he raised his sword to swing at them. The fists of the dragons collided with the sword and power exploded in a wave and that blew the two of them away.
Daze’s eyes widened as he heard the snap of metal and watched the blade of the sword flip end over end before sinking into the sand. He sank to his knees as the scales crawled over his face. Nero and Sefirin were swept back by a strong gust of wind and slid to stand next to Lily.
Daze shook and the ground trembled, “No! No! I control you!” He put his hands to his head and let out a scream holding onto the broken piece of the sword. The physical presence of the magic almost forced them all to the ground.
“What’s happening to him?” Nero called out.
But Ryza stood despite the pressure around them and walked forward slowly, leaning on the staff. Walking through the maelstrom of magic, Ryza ground her teeth together until she stood in front of him. Narrowing her eyes, she knocked the sword from his hand before kicking him backward.
He slid across the sand and a golden sphere wrapped around the sword. Snarling and baring her fangs, her ears went down. “It’s over Daze. I know what you’ve done and you’ll pay for everything. You hear me? Everything!”
Daze opened his mouth to speak but instead coughed blood and oil. Ryza jumped backward as a giant mouth came up from the ground. It was draconic and entirely black to the point where it devoured the light around her. Daze looked at Ryza, but more than that he looked at the stopwatch at her neck. For a moment she thought she saw regret. But then the jaws closed around him and the sensation that wafted over them was final.
When the last vestige of the mouth disappeared, there was silence. Time continued and the sounds of the war all but disappeared. Replacing them were the sounds of the nil and demon screeching in pain. They howled until their essence disappeared, fading into a fine mist. Even the massive demon was dragged back into the realm from which it came from.
When the last of the nil disappeared silence settled on the battlefield. Even the dead that Ryza had resurrected, fell over in heaps. The only ones left were those that belonged in this plane of existence.
“What. What the hell just happened?” Vincent asked holding his hand over his eye tightly. It was soaked in blood but adrenaline was keeping him upright. Alison rushed to his side, putting her softly glowing hands over his face.
The necromancer turned the staff between her fingers, emulating her dead friend before sending it away. “I merely abused the weakness that Daze so clearly relied on.”
“What do you mean?” Dawn asked motioning toward the spot where he had disappeared.
“Demons don’t like being dragged into the human world. Especially when they themselves aren’t willing,” Ryza said looking at her.
As she spoke Penny nodded internally, “It’s true. We come here because we have an interest or we are dragged here. And when the latter comes up, if we are able, we have our retribution.”
Alison took a slow breath as she took her hands back. The bleeding had stopped for now on Vincent’s eye, “You trying to suggest something Penny?”
“No not at this time,” Penny said. “Is he going to be alright?”
“He will be.”
“I’m still not following,” Sefirin said rubbing his head.
“Neither am I,” Sofie added.
“I’ll explain more properly at another time. But for right now, know this. Daze is gone and his soul is in the possession of a demon not likely to relinquish control anytime soon.”
Vincent started to say more but before he could get a word out, he was pushed forward slowly. Startled and ready for another monster he whirled around only to instead be greeted by a tired whinney. The horse chuffed and stamped at the ground, limping slightly and hair all over the place.
Vincent looked at Blaze and a bark of a laugh broke out. “There you are you stupid horse. Where’ve you been?” Blaze made a noise and Vincent laughed again. He pressed his forehead against his head. “Yeah me too. Boy do I got stories to tell you.”
“So then it’s over?” Nero asked as he limped forward with his family all around him.
“Yes,” Ryza stood slowly as Stephanie and Snow padded toward her before changing back into their human forms. Ryza looked at them both and let out a shaky breath. “It’s over.”
As the relief washed over the, the sword pieces that had been snapped off started to vibrate and give off waves of magic. Everyone tensed, expecting one final trick from Daze. But the pieces rose from the ground, the vibrations growing stronger.
It pulsed once and a brilliant light shot straight into the sky with a massive crack of thunder and the echo of a roar. It pulsed again a beam of light shot flew into the east, stars dancing within it like fish swimming up a river. Again, it pulsed and this time a brilliant beam of pure white energy flew west leaving a streak behind it. It pulsed more as golden magic seeped out of the sword like sand, falling below and disappearing.
And with one final pulse, it unleashed a torrent of black oil and sludge into the sand. When the last of it fell, it merged together into a dome shape and then evaporated. In its wake was a naked woman. She was on her knees with long black hair, thin brown fur that covered her body, a pair of small triangular ears within the depths of her hair, and a thin brown tail swishing through the sand.
She shuddered, her eyes closed tight, but she looked at each of them. She had one red eye and one catseye. She bared sharp teeth as she looked at each of them. “Where the hell am I?”
“You’re in the Free City,” Alison said slowly. “Who are you?”
“My names Regina. First guardian and right arm to Badou, king of Noria.”
The Harlequin Library 