Across Eternity: Book 5 – Chapter 3

Chains and Swords

“Noah!” Noah was shaken awake and instinctively pulled out his dagger to attack the unknown foe. Instead, he felt Valia grab his wrist. “It’s me, come on,” she said in the pitch blackness.

“What’s going on?” he asked, trying to shake off the lingering grip of slumber. Nearby, Panma and Shannon were awoken by the commotion and asked the same question.

“I think something is going on outside.”

Screams and snarls then echoed across the village, and the light of several flames entered the tent. Noah and Valia rushed outside to find the villagers in a sea of burning yurts, screaming and panicking as their camp was raided. Several dozen fiends had surrounded the village, armed and armored like the slavers they encountered earlier. Their hulking bodies, wrapped in steel plates and behind broad shields, were all but immune to the centaur’s arrows, and every warrior that charged them simply ended up as another layer of blood on their weapons.

Nord galloped over, clutching his bloody arm. “Chief Panma, they’ve erected some kind of wall of spikes around the village! We can’t get out!”

“Gather the women and children in the center of the village and keep them safe, then rally the men. Tonight, we are at war,” the chief replied.

“Chief Panma, with respect, a counterattack right now will just cost you more men,” said Noah. “Focus on organizing your people, get them grouped together and ready to run. Valia, if you can create an opening in that fence, then all the villagers can escape from this enclosure and leave the fiends behind.”

“I’m on it. I take it you’re going after the leader?”

“You know me well. Chief Panma, are you with us?”

“You’ve helped us once. I trust you to help us again.”

Noah and Valia split up, Valia heading to the fence to bring it down and Noah searching for the mysterious leader. As Nord described, the barrier was made of spikes growing from the ground like bamboo shoots. However, each point was formed from solid bone rather than wood.

“What in the world?” she hissed.

“You! Get away from there!” A fiend came charging towards her, unhindered by his thick armor.

Valia raised her sword. “Zodiac: Baol! Teez!” Wielding enhanced strength and her mana-sharpened blade, Valia lunged for the behemoth and sliced him in half down the middle. “Don’t interfere.” She then went to work hacking away at the fence, but even with all her power, it proved far more difficult than cutting down the armored fiend.

Meanwhile, Panma and the other men of the village ushered the confused and frightened villagers together and formed a protective wall of spears and bows around them. Everyone was in their centaur form, ready to run at the chief’s orders. In the group’s center were the women and elders, carrying small children on their backs and trying to comfort them in the presence of the monstrous fiends. They roared and snarled, banging their weapons against their shields and rattling chains to terrify their prey, and then all fell silent as two men stepped forward, both garbed in black cloaks.

One of them, carrying a sword, pulled back his hood to reveal pale skin, pointed ears, and wicked eyes. “Men and women of the horse tribe, I am Deacon, and I come to you tonight with an offer. Join us, or die. The mighty beings around you were given the same choice, given the chance to shed their weakness and experience true power, and look at them now. Aren’t they beautiful? Accept the blessing of the Profane, and a new life awaits you, a life of conquest and victory. Those who refuse will be butchered where they stand and fed to the survivors. So, what say you?”

Nord answered Deacon with an arrow, though he dodged it by tilting his head. “You say you offer us power, but you carry chains! The only life you can give us is one of anguish and horror!”

Deacon cracked a deranged grin. “Anguish? Horror? Let me teach you what those words mean.” He raised his sword above his head, and several centaurs shuddered in sight as the sleeve of his cloak dropped. Rather than holding a sword, Deacon’s arm had become a sword, a blade made of solid bone growing from his wrist. Attached to his forearm was his parasite, almost completely fused with the tissue. The second cloaked man half-heartedly motioned to stop him, but Deacon stabbed the ground with a squeal of delight.

A magic circle appeared around his arm, written with black runes, and flashed as bone spikes burst from the ground under Nord, piercing his limbs and body a dozen times. He howled in agony as he was hoisted into the air above the heads of his kin, then was silenced as a spike drove up through his chin and skewered his eye, narrowly missing his brain. All the wounds were nonfatal, leaving him unable to move and gripped by indescribable pain. Women and children screamed at the sight, watching his blood run down the spikes.

“That is the fate of those who refuse the Profane. If you’d like to avoid getting impaled on the stick, I have someone who will convince you of the value of the carrot.” He turned to the man behind him. “Go on, then, tell them the good news.”

The man began to transform beneath his cloak, with his two human legs changing into a horse’s body. He removed his cover to show the parasite latched onto his chest. He appeared gaunt, and his eyes were dark and sunken, but he had a smile on his face. In the center of the crowd, Shannon covered her mouth in shock while tears streamed down her eyes.

“Father,” she gasped.

“Friends, family, it is I, Korbin. I’ve come back to you, to deliver our clan to salvation.”

“Korbin died, you are a deceiver!” Panma shouted, but deep down, he could never forget the face of his daughter’s husband and granddaughter’s father.

“It really is me, Chief. I am Korbin, the same Korbin that hunted with you in the eastern hills, who fished with you in the Ysanan River, who pulled out that arrow that hit your shoulder all those years ago, who married Lenore and raised Shannon under your proud gaze.”

“Don’t you dare say her name, not while standing beside that monster!”

“Father!” Shannon cried out as she tried to break free of the group, but Panma stopped her.

“That isn’t your father!”

“But I am, and I’m here to fulfill a father’s duty, to give my child what she needs to live and be happy. When I was taken, I was full of fear and doubt, just as you are now, but that’s because I didn’t understand what awaited me.” He started petting the parasite on his chest. “That all changed when I received this wonderful gift. Words can’t describe it, the power it gives you, power that erases all fear and pain, the power to take whatever you want and destroy whatever gets in your way! With this, we can purge the land of the humans and rule over all the tribes as kings, as gods!”

“Madman, you’re a madman!” Panma exclaimed.

“You’ll understand. Once you experience it, you’ll understand. I brought these people here to show you how wonderful this gift is.”

“You brought them here?” Shannon gasped. “You led these monsters to our tribe and caused all this death and destruction?!”

“It’s a small price to pay, you’ll see. Everything that has been lost can be replaced, and our tribe will grow stronger than ever before. Come to me, Shannon. Trust your father, I know what’s best for you.”

“Yes, child, accept the gift. It is the only way you will leave this place alive,” said Deacon.

A new voice then spoke out. “Well now, things are getting interesting. I would appreciate the drama more if it wasn’t happening at this ungodly hour.”

Deacon spun around, facing the approaching stranger. How in the world had he snuck up on him like that? “Who are you?! Identify yourself!”

The stranger raised his hat and smiled. “Noah, the Wandering Spirit, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“I’ve heard that name before. You’ve left a number of horror stories in Uther.”

“You flatter me. It’s true, I do have quite a history, and I suggest you learn from it. Take your little beasties and get out of here.”

“You think you can kill me?”

“You’ll beg me to kill you, in the end. This is the only chance you’re going to get. Start running.”

“Enough of this. Korbin, show your friends the true meaning of power.”

“Yes, Master.”

Korbin began to change, releasing a groan that became a monstrous snarl. His body grew twice its original size, reshaping his skeleton and inflating his muscles. Claws grew from the tips of his fingers, his teeth extended into goblin-like tusks, and his skin became rough and grotesque. He faced Noah and roared like a mad beast.

“Are you really sure you want to do this in front of your daughter?” Noah asked as he drew his sword.

Korbin roared again and charged, with each hooved step shaking the ground. Noah calmly waited for him to get in close, and when the moment was right, he ducked down, rolling underneath Korbin’s huge body while delivering two precise slashes. Korbin struck the ground with a tumble, rolling and flailing to a stop, now missing his left front leg and right hind leg.

“Father!” Shannon screamed.

As he tried to get up, a glass sphere shattered against his face, spraying him with acid. Though his pain tolerance was elevated, he still snarled in anguish and tried to wipe it away, but his healing ability could not repair the damage until the acid had run its course.

“What was that about the meaning of power?” Noah asked, turning to Deacon.

“Bastard!” he cursed.

A loud whistle then rang out from behind the crowd of villagers. It was Valia, and though the fiends tried to silence her, she cut them down with equal grace and strength. “Everyone! This way to get out!” she shouted.

“Follow her! Move!” Panma ordered, prompting all the centaurs to turn and chase after Valia. Shannon hesitated, but he pulled her along.

“I did not say you could leave!” Deacon howled as another magic circle surrounded his flattened arm. A gunshot rang out, and Deacon swore he felt something pass right through him, as though Death itself had just breathed on the back of his neck. His spell was disrupted before he could activate it, and he turned to Noah, holding an illusory pistol in one hand and his sword in the other.

“They’re running for their lives. I suggest you do the same.”

“Go after them! Do not let a single one escape!” Deacon barked before turning to Noah. “I’ll have your head on a pike!” He then raised his arm and charged, initiating their fight.

Meanwhile, the horse tribe rushed out of their enclosure, escaping through the opening that Valia had created. They reached the open fields but were not out of danger. Countless more fiends were waiting for them, carrying weapons and chains to seize men, women, and children alike. The fiends ran on two legs or all fours with monstrous speed, trying to surround the crowd and block them back in. However, here on the plains, the centaurs had the advantage.

Panma directed everyone’s movements with shouts and cries in their native tongue, steering the group to avoid danger. In the middle were the women, children, and elderly, the most vulnerable of the tribe, but with their centaur bodies and nomadic lifestyle, they could move fast and travel far while the warriors kept the fiends at bay.

The moment the fiends entered the archers’ range, arrows assailed them like torrential rain and struck with pinpoint accuracy. Despite their regenerative abilities and high pain threshold, the powerful mutants were inevitably brought down, riddled with so many arrows that they could barely move or breathe. These warriors were the best archers in Handent, able to gallop at full speed while dispensing arrows rapidly and accurately. Even at night, their skills were impeccable. It seemed the centaurs would cross this hurdle, but that could not last.

The Ysanan River was ahead, a roaring torrent of foam and rock. Panma directed the herd to run parallel to it in search of an area they could cross. If they could reach the other side, the fiends would never catch them. Even with their mutated bodies, the centaurs’ arrows would bring them down, and the current would carry them off. However, as they searched for a calm area, their pursuers refused to give up.

“SHANNON!” Korbin roared as he rocketed across the plains, leading an army of fiends.

He had reattached his severed legs, and though remaining scarred from Noah’s acid, his face was also healed. Hearing his voice, Shannon nearly stumbled, her heart caught in a vise, but the women around her grabbed her hands to support her and keep her focused.

The men hesitated to shoot at one of their own, but their fear of the charging hulk forced them to release their arrows. In defense, Korbin grabbed two fiends by the backs of their necks and used them as shields to block the onslaught. A group of warriors hung back to intercept him, stabbing and slashing with their swords, but though they drew his blood, he smashed through them like a runaway train.

He was closing in on the back of the herd, moving with monstrous speed.