Bridgeworlds: Deep Flux (4 page)

Myles had tested the limits of his new found power and after trying
several times to teleport strait to the Mountain and only gaining half the
distance to it, he decided to give his powers a rest. He set forth walking east
with determination in his eyes. As he walked he watched the terrain change
from ash to green grass to desert. The air became dry and stale with a smell
almost like mold. Entering the land of Drakonge was exhausting in and of itself.
It seemed that the climate alone drained Myles. He walked for hours through
hills of sand, around vast lakes of quicksand, tar, and lava. Upon reaching the
mountain range he turned invisible.
This place should be crawling with Drakoni.
Yet as he approached he saw no Drakoni, though he found plenty of tracks.
There was an organized formation that had left toward the east.
No problem,
means tall dark and evil has no protection.

Myles was determined, but his rational side had not completely left
him. Haylale was, after all, known as the Adversary of man-kind. Wounded or
not, Myles wasn't sure what he would be capable of, but he buried this worry
deep inside him. He pressed on towards Mount Drakonge; it was ominous to say
the least. When Myles reached it, the first sun was already beginning to set in
the east behind the mountain, creating a golden ring around its silhouette.

Myles approached a giant black rock jutting out of the ground towering
into the sky. He made his way around a lava pit to the front entrance where an
entry way had been carved into the front of the volcano. The solid black stone
doors were tall enough for a Raphad to enter with arms up to the sky. Myles
pushed on the doors, which were warm to the touch, but they wouldn't budge.

I don’t think a door will ever stop me on this world,
Myles grinned. He
imagined that he was incorporeal and then attempted to step through the door.
As Myles anticipated, it worked. He looked around and saw that he was in a long
corridor leading to a large room. It was in complete disorder. It looked as
though there had been a fight, with several Drakoni bodies littered across the
floor of black stone. Myles entered the room which was decorated with ornate
chairs and tables made of bone and gold. The bones seemed to be from all the
races of Soterion. Six flags were hung, one on each wall along with lit torches
that cast eerie shadows. Each flag belonged to one of the other kingdoms, but
they had all been defaced. Tar had been splattered across their fronts, and a
dragon in flight, wings spread from one burned edge to the other, painted in
their centers in what looked to be dried blood.

How many different kinds of Drakoni are there? Myles walked around
the room trying to discover the story behind the scene. There were snake-like
Drakoni with red and gold scales and wings, small frail ones, and huge ones that
were so big they could likely pick up a Raphad. There were ones that looked like
wolves with emerald green eyes, horns all over, and no limbs except for a tail
that had a clawed hand at its end. Myles shuddered at the memory of a Drakoni
like that one biting him while he was still with the Magi. There were some that
looked more human-like, and others that had nothing human about them. The
only common traits among them were red scales and dragon-like features.

Near the entrance to the hallway there were several Drakoni
surrounding a larger one. It had black armor with gold trim and looked as
though he had been stabbed in the back with a giant sword. All the others had
broken necks. Myles took a guess that this big guy was a Drakoni Overlord and
that there was another Overlord who disagreed with him on what they should
do. One killed the other and had those who had sided with him killed too.
Sounds like a decent explanation. Eh, I'm probably completely off.

Myles surveyed the rest of the room and spotted two open wooden
doors behind a pile of bodies. He quickly crossed the room and poked his head
through the door. The vast chamber was a prison with hundreds of… cells?
These cells looked almost like stalls. The ones Myles looked in had hay and a
feed trough with straw beds laid out on the stone. As he approached the stalls
made of bars, Myles made out the figure of a dead creature on the floor of one
of them. The others seemed to be empty and open. Myles approached to
examine the corpse. It looked like a Minotaur; half the size of a Raphad, but that
was still a massive 13 feet tall. Its body was almost human; very muscular and
covered in short fur. It had the face of a bull and huge horns. It did not seem to
be injured. There were shackles and chains on its wrists and ankles.
What a
horrible life… to live stuck in this filthy prison inside a volcano.

Myles heard a soft scraping noise like skin sliding against stone. He
turned his head to look and there was Haylale, wearing a grey robe stained with
blood in the shape of a huge diagonal cut across his body. Myles had the sense
of déjà vu but couldn’t place it. Rage and fear were boiling up inside of him.
When Haylale saw who his visitor was he smiled and began laughing and
coughing at the same time. Myles formed a sword from thin air with his mind
and stalked to where Haylale was.

Haylale looked up at Myles and spoke with high- pitched mockery and
sarcasm, “Oh no! It’s the big bad Myles Callaghan come to finish me off!
Whatever will I do?!” Haylale started to laugh and cough again as he grabbed at
his chest.

I’m ready to be done with him.
With the flick of a wrist Myles brought
the sword down on the center of Haylale’s head, but the sword ricocheted and
sparked as if it had hit stone.

Haylale let out a cackle then gave Myles a serious look as he began to
pull himself up to look him in the eyes. Haylale’s eyes, they were so old, an
ancient malevolence so evil and knowledgeable. Myles felt a shiver go through
his body but he fought off the fear until Haylale spoke. “Dear Myles, you are
using the wrong weapon. If you wish to kill me… well, you just can’t.”

Myles let out a solid side kick and was glad to feel flesh instead of stone.
He kicked Haylale again and again. Haylale was forced back to another wall with
giant doors. This door was cracked just a bit, and Haylale quickly got up and ran
through it. Myles noted no fear in his eyes just determination.

The light of shining gold momentarily blinded Myles as he ran after
Haylale. There was a stream of lava running through the middle of the open
area with a ceiling hundreds of feet tall. The entire area was covered in piles of
gold and treasure.
The dragon’s horde!

“You have lost your power, Haylale. I plan to take full advantage of
that,” called Myles as he continued the chase. Haylale stopped running and
stood in front of him at a stream of lava running through the volcano. He spread
his arms gesturing to all of the treasure, “Take whatever you wish. It's yours, but
leave here and do not come back.”

“You don’t get it do you?” asked Myles in an angry tone as he shook his
head. “I've got a score to settle with you. If I had realized who I was working
with, I would have never gotten that sword for you. Besides, I will take whatever
I want when I'm done here.” He bent over to pick up a gold coin, but it was too
heavy.

Myles shrugged and approached Haylale. He gave him one last kick
straight into the river of lava. Haylale went in with a plop, sinking quickly with
no further sign of him. Myles shook his head.
That was too easy. The bugger is
likely not dead. But he is dealt with for now.

Gold coins fell loose under Myles’ foot. He tried to pick one up and it
lifted into his hand without resistance. He looked back to the flowing lava.
No
sign of tall, dark, and creepy… maybe he is dead.

It seemed the loot was anyone’s for the taking. Myles began going
through the treasure but after a few minutes he heard a splash behind him. He
turned around in time to see Haylale jumping out of the river of lava. His body
was glowing red like metal in a foundry. His eyes were pure light, and he moved
too fast for Myles to respond. Haylale wrapped his burning arms around Myles
pinning his arms and searing into his flesh. He whispered into his ear, “I am not
completely powerless. I have a little left and with that… I have a present for
you.”

A dark vortex began to form in front of Myles. It was like a swirling
tornado of inky blackness. Ignoring the burning he held onto Haylale tightly. In
desperation he spoke the words he had heard Kasey say once, a long time ago,
“In the name of Jesus Christ and in the power of his blood, I banish you from
Soterion!”

Haylale’s eyes got big for a moment but there was a touch of sarcasm in
them. Haylale spoke with conviction, power, and presence, “You fool. You do
not belong to Him,
you belong to me!
You are a liar, a cheat, and a thief of which
I am King!” As Haylale emphasized the last word, he gave Myles a powerful
shove sending him spiraling into the darkness of the vortex and Myles knew
nothing but blackness.

The Shepherd had appeared to Kasey in her dreams many times over
the past hundred years, but He had never appeared to her physically until last
night. He had forbidden her from marching on the field of Epher with the armies
of Soterion. That night was a time for firsts because for the first time she had
argued with his orders. She argued that she had trained with angels to do battle
against demons and she could greatly help. But the Shepherd wouldn’t change
his mind.

She obeyed His orders, but she was dangerously close to rebellion. She
would not sit at home as the armies of Soterion gathered to fight the Dark
Lord’s minions. He told her she was not to fight or march with the armies, but
he didn't say anything about not watching the battle. She flew high above the
battle from the north and watched from afar. Her new armor glinted with the
reflection of the sun. It was plate armor like she had before but it had a red tint
to it and the emblem of a phoenix on it. At first she was pleased because the
armies were crushing the army of Drakoni; she even felt safe enough to fly in for
a better look. But, when Mount Drakonge erupted, she soon knew the Great
Red Dragon had decided to join the battle.

With an instinctual fear, Kasey made herself invisible with one of Omar’s
devices. But even invisibility did not comfort her in the presence of the most
powerful enemy of all of creation. She watched frozen in horror as the Dragon
approached the field of Epher. She looked down on the poor people of Soterion,
wanting to help, but the Shepherd's command rang in her mind.

For a brief moment she saw Myles and her heart skipped a beat; she
had not seen him in 175 years. He was one of the most formidable fighters she
had ever seen and he had gained some kind of power to teleport through the
ranks of the enemy. He was single handedly finishing off the Drakoni army. Her
hopes of being with him again all came crashing down as she watched him get
stabbed from behind and fall unmoving to the ground. Tears streamed down
her face as she closed her eyes and prayed the most fervent prayer she ever
had.

“Lord of Light, I know that Your promises hold true and I know that all
things work together for Your will. You have made it known to me that one day
Myles Callaghan will be my husband and You have forbid me from entering the
battle. Please Lord, save his life so that he has another chance to accept You.”

As if in answer, Kasey saw the Shepherd watching the battle from a hill
in the distance. The Shepherd was focused on the Dragon as it landed, making
waste of the armies of Soterion with its breath of fire faster than Kasey could
have imagined. A chill went through her
.
Why is the Shepherd not fighting? Why
doesn’t He help them?
She had learned long ago that it was impossible to
understand the actions of the Shepherd, but this still bothered her greatly. With
a single spoken word the Shepherd could stop all of this, but instead He stood
by and watched without interfering.

The monarchs of Soterion stood on another hill on the other side of the
battle. They watched the carnage in horror before riding into battle themselves.
Kasey looked back to the Shepherd who was now holding the Sword of the Spirit
that she had given to Matthan
. Will he fight for them? Will he save them?
But
the Shepherd was still.

The Kings and Queens of Soterion reached the Great Red Dragon who
had seemed to wait for them. The dragon stood over fifty stories high. King
Erestar was about the size of one of his claws. These men and women, these
leaders of Soterion, had put their lives on the line in hopes of defeating the
beast. The Dragon did not breathe fire this time. It seemed he wanted this fight
to be more personal. He swiped his giant claws at them, gnashing his teeth, but
the monarchs of Soterion were fast and strong. They fought with great
determination.

Even Queen Ariana, who was but a finger tall, fought with courage and
used her size to her advantage. She darted into the Dragon’s ear and flew back
out quickly. Suddenly that half of the dragon’s face was frozen.
It must be one of
Omar’s liquid Nitrogen bombs,
she realized.
Smart. The Magi have had such a
large effect on this world.
…but Kasey knew they could not win this battle. The
Shepherd was holding the only weapon that would prevail against the dragon.

Still they fought on. Queen Elizabeth shot an exploding arrow into the
dragon's eye which did him much damage. This actually sent the dragon
staggering back.
Thanks to Omar and his Magi again,
she guessed.
Well, and the
queen’s impeccable aim
. The dragon was now blinded in one eye. Kasey began
to doubt her first assessment. They were indeed winning.