From the Ashes (27 page)

             
Alann countered it.

             
“Hold,” he told them. “We defeated this beast once before. We can do so ag-“

             
He was cut off by a flash of blinding white light that faded momentarily. As he blinked the stars from his vision, he could see the creature swinging forth with a devastating punch that would surely shatter the barrier of magic.

             
But then a streak of light, a blur of motion, and the demon’s outstretched hand parted from its wrist, hurling off in a spray of gore and flame.

             
Sinister.

             
The army as one drew a gasp as the weapon flew overhead, soaring above them to the top of the pyramid, even as the massive demon collapsed before them, the fabric of its being unravelling at the enormity of the wound, crushing like tinfoil the iron constructs beneath it.

             
Pol relaxed with an audible sigh as he let disperse the magical barrier before them. Alann was by his side, firm hand on his shoulder and a smile on his face as he spoke.

             
“Stroke of luck, eh? That beast looked like it packed a mean right hook…”

             
The youth smiled, even as he wiped away the sweat of exertion from his brow.

             
“I’m sure I could’ve handled it…”

***

The darkness. The evil. A malice that stretched back a million years, a billion, further, back beyond even the birth of time itself. This is what Gwenna encountered. She’d engaged the Seeress, thinking to battle on an even playing field, soul to soul. But she hadn’t factored something into her tactic.

             
Ceceline had lost her soul a very long time ago.

             
Oh, our dear Gwenna. How naïve, how young, how rash. You think your shaman master gave you wisdom? Child, your master even now spends an eternity down here with us. Oh, the torments. Can you hear him, screaming? Can you hear his pain?

             
She could. Oh, but she could. Where was Stone? Why was he not here, aiding them in their moment of need?

             
Stone?
The whispers laughed, mocking.
He is lost, girl. Taken, snatched, hurled away into the void, powerless and alone. There will be no last second rescue. No dashing prince on a white charger. This is no fairy tale, child.

             
Is that so?

             
A blast of pure and brilliant light brought Gwenna back to the real world, her and the Seeress hurled apart by irresistible force as a being of immeasurable might strode forth from the Portal, looming high above the pair. He raised his left hand, the handle of Sinister finding it an instant later.

             
Full power restored.

             
Graeme Stone. Protector of mankind.

             
The Seeress gazed upwards from the flagstones in disbelief, mouth opening and closing, composure lost.

             
“No… This… this can’t be…”

             
He looked at her, eyes blazing a luminous green now his connection to the elements was at full power again.

             
It is.

             
Ceceline rose, snarling. This is not how it should be. Not how it was fated. She summoned the power of her masters, launching streams of black lightning and dark fire to smite him, but such petty sorceries sparked harmlessly from him now he had his Glaives to channel his might.

             
The titan strode to the fallen shaman, reaching down with a mighty hand to raise her to her feet. Their skin touched, a moment of contact, and he could feel the wisdom of Wrynn coursing through her veins. He raised an eyebrow, surprised, before smiling.

             
You know?

             
On her feet now, she smiled in return, her own green eyes reflecting the radiance of his power.

             
“I do.” The relief, the bond of a shared secret, the joy of knowing a true kinship, despite being separated by generations. “But one thing I don’t know… how did you return?”

             
The giant smiled.

             
We do not only have enemies beyond the veil, but it seems allies as well.
He looked past her, to the top of the steps.
And speaking of friends…

             
The army of mankind rose into view, striding out of the smoke like heroes, led by a motley crew of men whose bravery had met every challenge and prevailed.

             
Iain, the Forester, youth who had taken on the mantle of leadership when it had been needed the most.

             
Marlyn, the Tulador, whose keen imagination had fashioned the weapons that had saved the day.

             
Pol, the shaman, supported by his fellows on either side, still weary from the burden of protecting his companions.

             
Arbistrath, once haughty, now less so, bearing proudly the scars of fighting alongside his fellow man.

             
Three of the Woodsman’s Four; Narlen, the Plainsman, Naresh the Servant and Elerik the Farmer, a trio, thrown together by the heat of battle and forged into men of power.

             
And lastly, the Woodsman himself, humble and strong, once consumed by vengeance, but now a leader of men.

             
Behind these heroes, scores of others, each brave, proud, each with his or her own tales to tell of the battle fought and friends lost. An army of heroes, who had fought the very denizens of hell itself and emerged victorious.

             
Stone gazed out upon them with blazing green eyes and his heart soared to see such proud examples of mankind, yet at the same time it broke with grief. For others had been lost.

             
Proud Hofsted, the Lieutenant ever loyal, ever willing to do his duty.

             
Master Wrynn, his mentor, his teacher, who had always had faith in him.

             
And so many others. So many. Foresters, Tulador Guards, Shamans and, even now on the plains two miles to the North, the Plains People.

             
His heart ached with a burden of grief that none could understand, for his knowledge surpassed all boundaries of man, knowing each and every soul that had been lost as though they were a close and intimate friend. Jafari, he remembered, almost as if he had been there, hurling himself into the blaze to break the spell that shielded the enemy army.

             
Should he have tried harder? Should he try, even now, after the event , to save them, these brave souls that had been lost in the conflict?

             
No. The dragon had warned him. Time was a strange and fickle beast, with flows and counter flows, but one thing was constant; a soul that had passed remained passed.

             
Minutes could be countered. Hours could not.

That rule could never be broken.

“Fools… all of you…”

The laughter of the Seeress broke him out of his contemplation, even as she was surrounded by the ranks of men and women that comprised the army of man.

              “Look above you, the armies of my masters come, even now!”

             
They looked. They saw the truth of her words, shimmering shapes, hell in the heavens. Ceceline rose on wings of shadow, floating above the army as her cackling laughter rang out across the platform.

             
“All your heroics, all your bravery, all your tampering with the natural flow of time; none of it matters.” She grinned as she spoke to the blazing figure that stood, towering above his lieutenants. “Even you cannot stand against the full legions of hell, my king…”

             
The Glaives hummed their indignation at his sides, as though daring her to test those words, but Stone thought back to what he’d witnessed in the anteroom of Hell, before giving a nod.

             
Perhaps.
He smiled.
But then, we won’t be here.

He turned to the leaders of his army, who all knelt down, bar Alann who merely nodded as he awaited his orders.

Enter the Portal. I shall follow.

“Of course, my Lord.”

Further laughter from the sorceress above them.

“Madness! The Portal yet forms! Your men will be lost throughout time and space…”

The Woodsman turned to the angel, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

“Does the witch speak the truth, my Lord?”

No point concealing the truth of the matter. The titan nodded.

Aye,
he admitted
. I can direct you with my power, but only so far. You will land on Earth, rest assured. But at which period of history, I cannot guarantee.
He placed a giant hand on the man’s shoulder.
But have faith,
he told the man
, I shall find you.
He raised his voice so that all might hear.
I will not rest till I find each and every one of you. Trust me.

Silence from the men, the only noise the howling of the wind across the tower and the rumbling of distant thunder as armies from beyond the Veil gathered for war.

Then…

“I trust you.”

Gwenna rose.

“As do I.”

Others rose too, the rustling of fabric and the murmur of voices as the entire army got to their feet and swore their trust in his word. Tears glistened Stone’s immortal eyes, moved by their confidence in him.

             
Go. I shall find you on the other side.

             
The Woodsman nodded and turned, facing the Portal before them, axe in hand.

             
“Follow me…”

             
He stepped forwards into the green swirl of energy… and was gone. Following his example the rest of the army marched forwards, each man and woman taking a deep breath, as though diving into water, before vanishing in turn into the Portal.

             
“Madness!” called the Seeress from above. “He deceives you! He will betray you!”

             
But they paid her no heed, streaming into the unknown with only their faith in their Lord to guide them. Eventually, only Gwenna and Stone remained on the pyramid. She turned to him, gazing up the two feet that separated their faces, two pairs of matching green eyes that regarded each other with love and familiarity unthinkable even a short time ago.

             
They embraced, the petite woman and the mighty titan, before parting.

             
Go. I will find you.

             
She nodded, turned without a word, and disappeared.

             
Leaving Stone alone, at last, in his adopted homeworld.

             
He looked about, as if capturing the image of this world for one last time before he left.

             
A booming of thunder, the stench of brimstone, and the world split asunder, the legions of Hell descending upon the platform, the island and the coast beyond. Looming giants towered above the Beacon. Vast ships of demonic iron floated high in the sky above.

Thumping footsteps, as Ceceline floated to the ground once more, a mighty horned shape forming beside her.

              Baron Asmodeus.

             
The demon frowned, confusion clear to see on his face.

             
“Stone…?”

             
The beast snarled, made to charge forwards, but a blinding sphere of coruscating light leapt out from Stone, surrounding him in an unbreakable barrier and keeping the forces of hell at bay.

             
Silence, Baron. You’re in my world, now.

             
The beast snorted, but didn’t speak.

             
Good. I shall leave you now, with this,
he tossed to the duo, the Seeress and the demon, a shining crystal, smooth like a pebble and wrought with glowing runes
, and some parting words.
He smiled as he spoke, but his voice was low, menacing and carried with it complete and utter conviction in his words.
You brought me here, a hundred years ago. You manipulated me, tricked me, fed me lies and power thinking that I would forge you a gateway to my world. You almost had me. But you made one mistake; you spent so much time trying to kill me, that you forgot about the real heroes of this world. The brave men and women ahead of me will help me to prepare my world, to forge a new future for mankind. A brighter future.