Fate's Hand (20 page)

Daria and Rylan climbed into the cellar as the others rushed around, collecting their weapons.

“
I could think of a worse person to share a small dirt hole with,” Rylan said.

Val stopped rummaging through his pack and shot him a dangerous look. Rylan and Daria were halfway into the hole, looking back at Val with large smiles.

“I'm just messing with you, friend.” His face turned serious. “I will keep her safe.”

Val smiled and nodded as the two disappeared into the floor. Asher unlocked the door and walked out, bow in hand. “I’m heading over to that oak near the barn. Jerib, I trust your skills extend beyond scrying?”

Jerib blew the dust off the staff he had on his mantel and gave it a good whack on the wooden floor. “I remember a thing or two.”

Jerib watched as Val pulled the orc’s greatsword from the pack and looked down the blade. The dull metal gave a slight shine after having been cleaned and polished. The old wizard walked over and began casting over Val. He felt a warm glow run across his skin and into his flesh. All the sound and distractions seemed to fade as he looked at Jerib.

“We will be fine, my boy. Let your mind guide you.” Jerib walked out the front door and into the morning light. Val watched him wade through the thinning fog and raise his hands into the air.

Jerib slowly moved his staff across his body and chanted under his breath. A slight breeze came in and swept the fog away. Val joined Jerib in the field as a large shadow moved through the breaking fog. Asher gave a birdcall from a nearby tree moments before the Cerberus came into sight. Jerib ignored the creature, planted his staff into the ground, crouched down, and continued to chant. Val watched as the beast slowly walked into the clearing and sniffed the air. The Cerberus gave a sharp sniff and all three heads snapped to look at Val.

It growled lowly and continued toward the men. The leftmost head broke its gaze away to look into the trees by the barn. The rightmost head scanned the house. The middle head held its stare deep into Val’s eyes.

The Cerberus came three spear lengths away from Jerib and stopped, bringing its head low to the ground and its hind quarter high, preparing to pounce. The Cerberus seemed to smile as it showed its teeth and gave out a loud bark. The massive beast lunged at Jerib as the wizard was still crouched and unprepared. Its paws came down with a thunderous pounding on the ground, and in Jerib's place were three illusions standing between Val and the beast. The three Jeribs stood defiantly holding staves that crackled in the air with built up energy.

Arrows were in the air before the dog made its choice of action. Asher’s arrows bit into the back of the Cerberus’ leg and back. The dog gave out a slight whimper and snapped at the protruding arrows, but couldn’t reach them. The three heads turned their attention back to Jerib as it dashed forward. The far left Jerib looked back to Val

“
Strike it now.”

The Cerberus saw this and veered to that Jerib. Val took off running to the leftmost image to intercept the beast. As the dog brought his powerful jaws across Jerib’s body, the illusion dissipated to reveal Val bringing his large sword down across the back of the beast. Arrows rained down and the other two Jeribs turned and released the staff’s energy into the exposed side of the hell hound. The Cerberus was blown back and rolled across the ground.

Asher ran over to stand next to the two men as they looked at the scene. The beast was smoking from the blast of Jerib’s staff and the large gash in its back was bleeding dark red blood. Broken arrow shafts protruded all across the dog’s body. One of the heads rose up as it growled. The cut across its back and the burnt skin began closing up and reforming to sleek black fur. The arrow shafts began pushing out of its body as it brought its legs back underneath itself and pushed up. The Cerberus once again stood before the three men and all three heads growled as the broken arrows fell to the ground.

The two Jeribs began casting and said, “We are going to have to step it up, boys.” A Jerib reached back and placed his hand on Asher’s quiver.

“That will poison your arrows. Don’t touch the tips. Hopefully that won’t be so easy to regenerate. Val, don’t cut at it, chop its damn head off.” The dog didn’t wait for the three men to finish regrouping. It charged ahead at Asher. Val brought his weapon up to cut off the attack as Asher unleashed several arrows into the beast's neck. Jerib began casting another spell. At the last moment, as Asher dove away to avoid the Cerberus, the large beast dug in with its front legs and leaped at Val.

Caught off-guard by the the large muscular chest slamming into him, Val was sent spinning through the air. As the young man landed hard in the muddy bank of the small stream, the dog pounced once again. Val fended off one of the snapping jaws, but another bit deeply into his leg. Asher’s arrows came in fast, hitting the beast across its necks. One arrow plunged deep into the head pinning Val down. The volley urged the dog to withdraw and paw viciously at its face, trying to dislodge the arrow.

Jerib finished his spell and he and the remaining mirror image began waving their staves overhead, calling out to the other men to get clear. Asher helped Val to his feet and they ran toward the cabin to join Jerib.

“
This will only slow it down for a moment. Prepare for another attack.” Jerib released the spell he had built up, thrusting his staff in the direction of the Cerberus.

Rocks from the river began vibrating, then shot up in the air and began pelting the dog as it continued to scrape the poison arrow from its eye. The large beast growled low and pulled its heads in close, covering up as it waited out the shower of stones. Asher pulled out a potion and handed it to Val before readying another arrow. “Drink it quick; it will help with your leg.”

Val took a small bounce on it. “I don’t think it’s hurt that bad.”

Asher’s eyes passed over Val briefly. “That is just the rush of battle talking. Look down.”

Val saw the large pool of blood building around his foot. He panicked and almost dropped the bottle trying to remove the top. He chugged it and felt a warmth run down his throat and across his extremities.

“
Here it comes,” Jerib called as the beast gathered itself to attack once again, fully healed. Val walked to the side, away from the two men, to flank the monster. One of the heads tracked him as the other two watched Asher and Jerib. Asher took note of Val’s tactic and walked in the opposite direction. Jerib tapped his staff on the ground and it began to glow and thrum. The dog lowered its head, the hair on its back rose up, and it advanced on the wizard. Val waded in to intercept the Cerberus. Asher brought his bowstring back and took aim. The last illusion of Jerib faded out as he began a new spell. The dog stopped and growled low at all three men.

Jerib very calmly finished his spell and dropped the staff to catch it with his foot. His hand glowed with a dull green. He bent down and gently placed his hands on the ground. The glowing disappeared from his hands and faded into the dirt. Jerib grabbed the wooden staff and stood back up. He took a deep breath and held the staff at the ready.

"Well, come on, dog."

The Cerberus clawed the earth and took out in a full run at Jerib. Asher released several arrows into the beast’s hindquarter, causing one of the Cerberus heads to yelp as it stumbled. Val took the opportunity to charge the beast and hack down in a large overhand swing at its back leg. The Cerberus saw him and tried to turn to intercept the blow. Green glowing vines shot up from the ground and wrapped around the dog's legs, pulling him down and binding him to the ground. The vines grew and continuously wound up around the beast's body, holding it in place. The Cerberus strained and clawed at the vines to get loose.

Val used his time and hacked away, concentrating all his swings on one section of the dog’s leg, trying to sever it while Asher continued to hail arrows into the side of the Cerberus. As the arrows tried to push out, he drove more arrows into the existing wounds to keep them from closing up. He landed one shot, splitting an arrow in half and driving both deeper. The Cerberus buckled from the onslaught of attacks and let out a blood-curdling scream. Jerib was at the heads of the beast and released a burst of energy from his staff into the open mouth of the dog. Val finally hacked off its back leg, then used the momentum of his swing as it broke through the flesh to swing his sword high into the air for another attack. The beast finally pulled its side head free and snapped at Val.

Drenched in blood, Val jumped to evade the snapping jaws and slashed his greatsword down across the Cerberus’ neck. The weapon dug in deep and gave a resounding crack as the dog’s neck bone snapped. The head went limp and hung lifeless as the other two heads whipped themselves into a frenzy trying to break free of the winding vines. Raging, Val continued to hack away until he severed the Cerberus’ head. He took a step off the severed head and leaped onto the beast’s back. The vines wrapped around Val’s legs, binding him to the creature.

Asher fired his last arrow and dropped his bow before it landed. He ran to the side of the dog and grabbed the arrow shafts as they tied to push their way out, jamming them farther in. The Cerberus’ skin began to swell and blacken as the poison took effect. With one back leg trying to regenerate and the other one severely crippled, the beast finally collapsed to the ground. Jerib dropped his staff and began shouting out a new incantation as he fell to his knees. He placed his hands on the ground a few steps away from the Cerberus and continued to chant.

Val hacked and slashed, rending the flesh of vine and beast alike. The constant attacks to the magical vines began to weaken and thin them out. Jerib finished his spell and jabbed both hands into the dirt. Larger, thicker thorny vines sprouted up across the beast and fell down across its body, crushing it with their immense pull. Val jumped off the creature’s back as the new vines constricted, digging their thorns deep into the skin of the beast. The Cerberus let out a wheezing, gargling cry as the pressure of the vines crushed his body.

As Val was crouched down catching his breath, he looked to the Cerberus’ stump and saw a new leg beginning to grow.

“
It’s still regenerating!”

Jerib watched as the beast strained under the vines, still very much alive.

“Cut off the heads!” Jerib ran toward the cabin as Asher and Val began hacking away at the neck of the Cerberus. Jerib emerged, dragging two larger swords into the fight. He called out and tossed a blade to Asher as he used the other. Val grunted, his arm burned, and he felt like it couldn’t move anymore, but he pushed through the feeling until he finally cut off the middle head and moved over to help Jerib and Asher, but the two men made their final cut and severed the last head from the dog’s body. Jerib’s hand, covered in blood, dropped the sword and the man fell on his rear, breathing heavily.

“
Rylan is going to want some of this blood,” Asher said with a chuckle.

The vines holding the beast stopped moving and began to turn gray and crack all over. The Cerberus’ body turned pale and melted into a pool of dark liquid. As the puddle began soaking into the dirt, the vines crumbled and withered away.

“Is it done?” Asher asked.

Jerib relaxed his grip on his staff and held it instead to support his weight. “Yes, it is returned to the abyss.”
“You mean that didn’t kill it?”
Val asked.

Jerib touched the blackened soil as the last of the liquid disappeared. “No, it is dead. But when a demon of the abyss dies, it is returned to its plane of existence.”

“A demon? That was a Cerberus, right?” Val asked. His arm felt like he had been chopping wood for days.

“
What would a Cerberus want with us?” Asher asked. Val, covered in demon blood, looked to them with unsure eyes and then looked at his hand.

Drask was listening as the imp relayed every detail of the battle to his mind. He sat on the edge of his bed, his hands clasped before his face in anticipation. When the imp went silent and Drask sensed the panic run through his brain, the demon prince stopped breathing. The mental connection to the imp was suddenly ended, and Drask quickly realized his Cerberus was dead. The imp was either dead or removed the ring, knowing Drask would vent his rage through the weak demon.

Drask stood up, ripped the ring off his hand, and threw it against the floor. His mind raced, and without thinking, he conjured the first spell that came to mind. A powerful wave of hot sulfuric air exploded from his hands, destroying everything in his room. The only thing that kept that section of the tower from collapsing was the magic of the tower itself. Broken glass and splintered wood rained down as his spell ended and Drask finally stopped screaming.

Sirash burst in through the door and the prince spun on his heels, looking to release his rage on the first thing he saw. Sirash's face of horror stopped him from furthering his advance. He followed her gaze to the room and looked at the sentries he had all but forgotten. All four of the devil guards were spread out against the floors, ceiling, and walls. Yusar came running to investigate the noise. Drask lowered his hands and abandoned the spell he had been silently casting. He took a few deep breaths and calmed himself.

“Get this cleaned up. When Arihem gets back, send him to me. I will be in the top study.”

Sirash turned away from the gore and tried to protest.

“Alone,” Drask stated. Yusar and Sirash watched as the prince walked away, his head hung low. Sirash watched the destroyed bodies of the demons as they turned to ash and floated out the open window. She looked at Yusar with disgust.

“
Clean this up.”

The snake demon silently made her way down the hall in the opposite direction of Drask, leaving Yusar standing in the open doorway. The human almost walked away, but something among all the detritus caught his eye.

Arihem walked through the door of the study to be greeted by the impassive face of Drask.

“
Why are you visible?”

Arihem grabbed a chair, slid it across from the prince, and took a seat. Drask’s eyebrow raised as he watched the archfiend settle into the chair.

“I wanted you to know it was me, so you didn’t disintegrate me. I found your scouts. They were found out by a hunting party of elves, with an unfortunate end. But I can say for a certainty that the elves won’t be a bother anymore.” The large demon smiled as he took up a lit pipe from a side table. The demon gently placed the pipe between his teeth and closed his rough lips around the bit. He took a deep breath in and closed his eyes as the smoke burned his throat and lungs.

“
You miss the abyss?” Drask asked.

The large demon slowly exhaled. “To be honest, yes. But I respect what you are doing here. And the possibilities you bring.”

Drask gave a weak smile and looked down at the scroll he had used to transmutate the human’s hand onto himself. Arihem continued.

“
But you need to let us help you. Let Sirash handle more of the tower's needs. Lar is back with a legion of gnolls, let him take the lead on the army. We have generals enough to take control of the building duties. They have your design plans and they know failure is not an option.”

“
And what would you have me do, since you apparently know more than I?”

Arihem observed the rage in Drask’s eyes and frowned as he carefully placed the pipe back on the side table. The arch demon slowly slid the chair out from underneath him and kneeled before Drask.

“I apologize, my Prince. I was only giving my opinion as your general and guard.” Arihem was looking at the floor as he continued. “Forgive my casual attitude, I was only blood drunk from the slaughter of the elves. I believe it would be in your best interest to concentrate on the more important matter.”

Drask looked at the back of Arihem’s head as he calmly processed the demon's words.
             

“
What matter?”

Arihem looked at Drask’s hand and then up at the demon prince.

“I can only assume your outburst had something to do with that.”

Drask frowned and relaxed his posture, slumping on to the bed. “Get up. Yes, it did have to do with this blasted hand. The human was not alone when the Cerberus found him. It was destroyed and sent back to my father, who is no doubt delighted in my failure.”

“The imp?” Drask remembered the ring, absent from his finger. “Either dead or running scared. My connection is severed either way. When I was in the abyss, I had a network of agents that reached across the nine layers of the abyss. Here, I feel blind. And now that I have learned a little about who is running around with my hand, I feel like my efforts were in vain. I only know the general direction the human is in.”               Arihem stood up, face set in determination. “I will do whatever you wish, my Prince. May I suggest you focus all your efforts with Yusar on getting your feeling back. I don’t like humans in general, but I have spent countless hours spying on him and he seems sincere in his attempts to help you.”

Drask looked at Arihem for one last time before the large arch demon enacted his invisibility spell and disappeared once again. “Yes, I would have locked him away if I thought he wasn’t.” Drask lay back on his bed and closed his eyes. “Give me a day in solitude. I need to think about a lot of things. In the meantime, apprise Lar of his new duties, tell Sirash to handle the tower, and get my work force back on schedule.”

Drask listened as the sharp talons on Arihem’s feet clacked on the stone and out of the room. As the door opened, Arihem asked, “And the human?”

“
Tell him he has one day to come up with a solution.”