One Minute to Midnight (21 page)

Filly and Roderick nodded in
understanding, and they continued downward into a building heat,
until red fire light began to illuminate the cave. They stepped out
into a vast cavern where a river of fire was running through the
center. Lava bubbles popped and burst in long arcs across a stone
bridge that would allow them passage. The odor of sulfur reeked and
stole their breath with its overpowering fumes.
"Look, there!" Roderick gasped.

On the other side of the river of fire
stood a twelve foot tall black winged, muscle bound, maroon tinted
demon with one large onyx horn curling from the right side of his
head. Before him on the floor was a large steel anvil, and behind a
massive fireplace lit and ready for business. He was watching them,
his head cocked to the side as if waiting for one of them to speak,
but after a moment the demon grew impatient and grunted.

"We seek Mortis! We are knights of
King Edwards's court…"

The demon cut them off. "That's me,
what do you want? I'm busy."

"Mortis, we've been sent to have our
blades re-forged on the Anvil of Dhampir." Marcus said.
"I’m not sure I want to help you humans. I’ve seen you perform more
wicked treachery than I ever have, and I’ve been around a long,
long time. Maybe this monster you fight is a sign. Go
away."

"We have no quarrel with you, ours is
with Dersha the witch. We need your help, please!" Roderick said.
Mortis stood more at ease at the mention of her name, and laughed
out loud.

"You’re going to fight Dersha? That is
interesting. All three of you, or is there an army of millions
waiting above?"

"She destroyed our army in the woods
yesterday. You'll help us, then?"

"Dersha is a form of Dravix, and he’s
a demon from the ninth level of Hell. You stand no chance of
defeating him, and with my help the most you can hope for is
returning him to his own realm. Dravix probably assumed you’d die
in the quicksand out in front of my cave, or that I’d kill you,
which was certainly a consideration when you stumbled into my
chamber. Give me your swords and I’ll see what I can do." Mortis
said.

Each man turned over his blade to
Mortis, who looked them over with a frown.

"These are not bad. The steel is
strong and I believe you've given me something to work with. We’ll
know if it can be done in a short time." Mortis said and then began
to work.

Marcus, Roderick, and Filly waited for
hours as Mortis melted their swords, re-forged, and hammered the
new blades into razor sharp weapons of pure destruction. Filly
watched Mortis work with the fascination of a child, and saw that
when Mortis had completed each blade, it had an aura about it. One
aura was blue, another green, and the third purple. Mortis
fashioned each sword with a new grip, a wolf's skull pommel, and a
cross guard which curved outward into two sharp fangs. When his
work was complete, he waved for the men to join him.
"These weapons will defeat any undead with a touch of the blade,
and if used in battle against corruptible men, their bodies will
burst into flames. They have each been infused with the eternal
angelic energy of a living being sympathetic to your cause. These
spirits will aid you until you no longer require their assistance;
that is their agreement with me." Mortis handed the blue sword to
Marcus. "This is Mercy." The green sword he gave to Filly. "She is
Hope." The final sword went to Roderick. "I give you Faith."
"Thank you for your help, Mortis." Marcus bowed his
head.

"You are the leader of these men?"
Mortis asked Marcus.
"I am."

"Dravix believes I'll aid
in his campaign to overthrow the world of men, however, even if I
wanted to, there is a balance that must be maintained between
Heaven, Earth, and Hell. If Dravix succeeds, he will tip the scales
and create a power vacuum. Those swords will lay the walking dead
to final rest, but are useless against demons, and he knows this,
that's why he sent you to me. You'll need
this
to send Dravix back to hell."
Mortis tossed a small wooden box to Marcus.

"What is it?"

"The power to transform negative
energy. Do not open it in this place."

"Thank you." Marcus said.

"I'm not sure if I did you any favors.
Three knights against Dravix and a legion of the undead are bad
odds on a good day, but when you see the chance to strike him down,
don't hesitate for an instant. As you impale Dravix with your
blade, point the ring at the space between his eyes."

They each bid Mortis farewell, he
wished them luck and they walked up the long tunnel toward
daylight. When they exited the mouth of the cave, a path opened
through the woods and their feet stood on solid ground, but the
rain persisted.

"If we never pass this way again I'll
live the rest of my days in peace." Filly said. The other two
nodded in agreement.

Marcus opened the small box Mortis
gave him and marveled at the beauty inside. It was a ring crafted
from jade in the shape of a demonic skull, and as he gazed upon it
Marcus could hear it whisper into his mind. He shut the box, and
when they returned to their horses he placed the box inside a
saddlebag. They rode back to Warren with speed, and met Delio
inside his inn.

"Welcome back, I’m surprised to see
you! I was putting on a pot of tea, and you look cold and wet. Come
sit by the fire"

"Have you seen any sign of Dersha?"
Marcus asked Delio.

"Um, Marcus, you may want to see
this." Filly said. He was standing at the door looking out of the
window into a hard falling rainstorm.

"The undead march against us now!"
Roderick said. He watched a horde of hundreds of lurching;
wandering reanimated corpses come from the north.
"Well, Delio, it looks like we got here just in time." Marcus said.
He turned to face Delio, but the man had vanished.

"Have either of you noticed how empty
this hamlet is? I have not seen one person other than the innkeeper
since we arrived. Not one shop keep, not a single person traveling
from one house to another." Filly said.

"It is raining and he said many of the
villagers had been disappearing for one reason or another."
Roderick replied.

"No, Filly's right." Marcus looked out
the window and realized for the first time that the houses of this
little village were all shells of dwellings. The windows were all
broken, and most of them had been burned in horrible fires. They
were in a ghost town. "We've been tricked!"

"Delio is Dravix in disguise!" Filly
growled.
"To arms, brothers! We fight for Nodd this day!" Marcus said. He
was out in the rain before either of his comrades could
act.

Marcus rushed into a herd of the
walking dead, slashing with his blue blade into their bodies. As he
touched them, they exploded into a rain of grey ash that covered
the ground like soot. Filly ran into the fight and helped hack the
adversary to pieces. As they defeated two, three more appeared out
of the woods beyond the hamlet. The battle pushed them back into
Warren, and although they were outnumbered now by four to one, none
of the knights had taken damage.
"Filly, on your left!" Roderick screamed. A skeletal minotaur
clambered after Filly. He dodged to the right just as a horn grazed
his neck, giving him a minor flesh wound.

Filly threw an uppercut, knocking the
minotaur backward and cutting him in half, turning the rotting
skeleton to ashes.

"This could go on all day! Where is
Dravix?" Roderick asked.

Marcus was struck by a sudden
intuition and turned toward the direction of their castle. The rain
had stopped and they could see sun on the horizon and a column of
smoke.

"Our castle!" Roderick
yelled.

"I think I know where Dravix went.
Let's get moving." Marcus said. The urgency in his voice
electrified his brothers, and they raced for their horses.
Leaving the horde behind, they rode as if their lives depended on
it, knew their friends and neighbors lives did. The castle grew
closer and the three riders could see the flames rising from behind
the castle walls. People the size of dots from their distance were
running from Dravix's demons.
"He left the undead behind to keep us busy while his demons attack
the fortress." Marcus said. He reached into the saddle bag and
retrieved the little box. With one hand he opened it and took the
jade ring out with his teeth. Removing a glove he placed the ring
on his finger with as much care as possible. Fury beat in his
heart, and fire roiled though his veins as the jade skull glowed
with bright green luminescence.
They rode up to the castle gates as winged demons harassed the
fleeing townspeople from behind the once protective walls of their
home. The knights had drawn attention, and as a winged harpy
swooped down for an attack with her clawed feet, Marcus slashed up
with his sword, decimating her. Filly and Roderick did the same to
the foes that approached them.
"Do not stop riding until we get into that castle. We have to
protect the king." Marcus yelled.
They thundered across the drawbridge, blasting through a wall of
fire blocking the entrance as terrified villagers ran by them in
the opposite direction. Bodies littered the streets as demonic
forces slaughtered humanity. Marcus, Filly, and Roderick began to
slice and hack their way through the village as they headed for
King Edward’s castle. Dersha greeted them at the castle entrance in
her maroon robes, and instead of the usual crone appearance, she
assumed the façade of a beautiful young girl in her
mid-twenties.

"You're late! Did you three have fun
with my walking dead?" Dersha said.

"You'll pay for your mischief, witch!"
Filly said. His eyes burned like fire for a moment, and then turned
to pained surprise as a forked tail exploded through his chest. In
an instant he was carried away by a winged demon and dropped from
two hundred feet onto a cobblestone street.

Roderick leapt from his horse and was
confronted by a large red demon resembling Mortis, but this one
wielded a double bladed battle-axe, with fire dancing in his eyes.
Roderick rushed forward with his sword held out in front of him
like a battering ram. Marcus tried to scream for him to stop, but
it was too late. The demon sidestepped his attempt and used the
battle-axe to separate Roderick's head from his shoulders.
"Noooooo!" Marcus yelled. Dersha laughed at him from where she
stood, mocking his pain.
As Roderick dropped to the ground in a pool of blood, his head
rolled down the street. Marcus jumped in the air and kicked his
brother’s murderer in the chest with both feet, knocking it to the
ground. Dersha stopped laughing and began to conjure a spell as her
hands wound around each other. Marcus kicked the demon as he was
regaining his feet and ran past him, and then threw his sword at a
surprised Dersha. She had no time to put her hands up or react
before the blade was buried deep into her chest. Then Marcus
remembered what Mortis told him, and pointed the jade ring at
Dersha's forehead. She screamed as if on fire, and dropped to her
knees. The façade of a young woman vaporized as her true form took
shape. Dravix was a hideous misshapen abomination resembling a half
human dragon. The jade ring pulled his life force out in a green
vapor trail, and as he burst into white flame the demonic ring
glowed with brilliant light. Marcus looked down only once, and was
blinded by the sight.

Dravix exploded into ashes and the
demonic army, now without their leader, turned into white vapor and
vanished into the mid-afternoon sun. The kingdom was safe once
again. Marcus stood over the body of his headless friend and wept.
King Edward approached Marcus and embraced him as a brother.
"Marcus! You are a hero to our people!" Edward said.
"Sire, my sole priority is your safety. We raced back once we saw
the flames and smoke." Marcus said. He released his embrace of the
king and stepped back.
“You and Filly will command the army as we rebuild. I am sorry to
see Roderick was killed before Dersha could be defeated, and the
loss of each of my men at the hands of that witch is a weight on my
soul.”
“Sire, we will do what we must and defend our town against any foul
demon that passes this way.” Marcus said. He turned his eyes to the
east, and perhaps it was a trick of sunlight in the clouds, but
Marcus could see the smiling eyes of an angel looking upon him with
approval.

sun king

Some days begin with a
foul stench in the air, and you know you’re headed for trouble.
This was just one of those days for Warner
Collins.

My name is Warner Collins, and it’s
well into the twenty-first century. The world's become a chaotic
maze of confusion, violence, and economic slavery for many, many
people. It all started earlier this afternoon. My mind is tired as
I lay on my ratty old couch, the one with blood stains on it from
god knows who. I bought the couch from an old hippie, and he said
the stains were there when he bought it from a drug dealer. Dark
blossoms spread across the left cushion like modern art, soaked so
deep they may have come from the factory that way. When you don't
have money it's amazing what you can get used to.
I’m staring at the ceiling as a podcast comparing the United States
and Chinese viewpoints on the New World Order drones on. This week
China's against it, last week it was Russia, and India. In another
week rumors of Russia warming to the idea will begin to float
around the press. The United States steadfastly denies
globalization, while at the same time insisting that the NWO will
save the world from fascism, and undemocratic policies held by US
interests.