Land of Shadows (The Legend of the Gate Keeper Book 1) (20 page)

Morcel took a slow, deep breath. The hot, humid air filled his lungs. Then he released it, along with his fear and doubt. The river was calm now, the shoreline was peaceful. Morcel calmly opened his eyes.
I am ready
.

He stood up off the bench and began to flex and stretch, wearing nothing but his loincloth. The man had always been large, but his physique was shredded now from constant battles that had gone on for years. His eyes hadn’t changed a bit. They were still bright green and full of murder. He needed to find some way to survive whatever was waiting for him out there.

As he walked towards the iron gate, one of the men started clapping in a slow, steady beat. Others began to join in as the warrior marched on. Each man rose from his seat when the warrior passed by. He had fought beside these men, watched them die. They were his brothers. Soon, all were clapping in the same slow rhythm, a constant single beat that thundered through the chamber. Some picked up shields and began banging on them with swords. The public speaker was making the announcement for the upcoming battle, but no one could hear him inside the tunnel. The steady beat ended. The gladiators were now roaring wildly.

This was the last time Morcel would see his brothers. He would either be free and never return, or die in the most glorious way a warrior can. The next minutes of his life would decide all of that.

The mob in the arena roared as the iron gate rose with a grinding creak that echoed off the stone walls. Brightly colored flower petals rained like a downpour over the entrance. Morcel sprinted through the shower with his great axe hung over his shoulder. Dashing to the center of the arena, he threw it onto the sand where he stood. If this was to be his end, he would go out with a level of honor and reverence worthy of song and poetry for years to come.

He made four separate turns followed by four separate bows to acknowledge the mob that had cheered him on for years now. Each bow sent a storm of applause rising from that section, only to be outdone by the next. Some wanted to see him kill. Others wanted to see him die. But in the end, they’d all come to watch him.

His heightened sense of awareness took in everything: the smoldering heat that sent drops of sweat running down his forehead, stinging his eyes; the roaring crowd, now sounding like thunder from a distant storm rumbling low long after the hot flash of lightning cuts the air; the fly buzzing past his face in slow motion as its clear wings pumped up and down. Time moved at the speed of melting ice as his mind floated in nothingness.

He picked up his great axe, raising it slowly until it was pointing towards the other iron gate on the far side. A long second passed in what seemed an eternity before he spoke what would possibly be the last words he would ever say, words that boomed as if spoken by a god: “Send me your demon!”

The words rang through the arena with power and clarity. The mob broke into a chaotic frenzy as the iron gate slowly rose. The gears creaked, and the grinding noise screeched in the ears of all above it.

The mob, who had bordered on rioting not a moment ago, now went deathly quiet.

Morcel stared into the black tunnel.
Embrace death
. His rhythmic heartbeat thumped in his ears.
Meet your end
unblinking
. Time flowed like melting ice.
Every man dies
. His mind floated in nothingness.
But not every man chooses to face it
!

The gurgling roar that echoed from the tunnel was blood-curdling. The nightmare that emerged would have taken the heart of any other warrior, but not a warrior that grinned when facing death. The gorbel was over ten feet tall. A single eye seemed to glow red against its dark, leathery face. The giant had four thick massive arms, each holding crude wooden clubs. It roared again, flexing its huge muscles on its almost human-looking torso. As its head cocked back with a bone-chilling scream, rows and rows of pointed, sharp teeth that appeared to line its entire throat gleamed in the sunlight. It wiped the long, stringy black hair from its face as it charged.

Everyone gasped at the nightmarish sight, unable to speak, including Jade, who turned her head, not wanting to see the inevitable carnage.

Morcel only grinned and let out a blood-curdling war cry of his own as he returned the charge. Neither showed hesitation; the beasts sprinted towards each other like wild animals. When they engaged, the gorbel used its reach to strike first, bringing down all four of its weapons at once.

Morcel went from a dead sprint to a sideways roll, easily avoiding the barrage that sank deep into the sand. He spun on one knee as he slashed at the beast’s leg, but was too far away, catching nothing but air. He knew he was out of range even as he missed by several feet, but he had to keep mounting some kind of offense. He needed to find a way to keep this beast honest as he looked for his opening.

The gorbel showed no signs of defending itself. It swung wildly at Morcel.

He dodged and rolled repeatedly, trying to get his feet under him so he could mount some kind of attack while club strikes pummeled the ground around him. The range was too much; he couldn’t get inside the arm length of the beast. The warrior no longer held his axe with both hands on the handle. He now had one hand on the handle and one just under the blade to reinforce the weapon so he could use it to block, but with the explosive force behind the received blows, a full parry would be a last resort.

Morcel didn’t want to become defensive, but he had no choice.
Keep moving
! The warrior kept backing away, rolling to the side at the last possible second.

The onslaught was coming hard and heavy now. The mob was silent. Most were half-covering their eyes, watching the warrior backpedal for his life.

The beast’s clubs were beating the ground furiously. They crushed the sand where the warrior stood a fraction of a second ago, only to keep repeating as Morcel continued to roll and dodge. This was an assassination, not a tournament!

The warrior was in a completely defensive mode, but not without purpose. As his mind floated, he could feel the attacks more than see them; he knew where they were coming from. He could feel a pattern forming. The stupid beast was lunging right at him every time and making no adjustments to his movement at all. It was beginning to slow as well. Morcel’s conditioning was superb, but he couldn’t keep this up forever. He had to take a chance sooner or later. He came up from a side roll and held his axe firmly in front of him.

The gorbel dropped his club down hard, but not as hard as earlier. It was definitely slowing.

Morcel braced and then parried the vicious blow, reeling as the hard vibration pulsed down his arms. However, he countered hard even though his arms felt numb from the impact, slashing at the beast’s arm. It howled and backed away a few steps, but its scream was nowhere near the thunderous roar that erupted from the mob.
Now I am the hunter
!

The warrior pressed his attack hard as the roar from the crowd exploded throughout the arena. Morcel began savagely swinging his axe in wide, looping circles, more to get in on his foe than to actually cause any damage. Time moved in slow motion as he pumped his axe over and over.

The lumbering beast blocked the incoming barrage more out of instinct than skill, simply flinching by reflex, bringing his large weapons up defensively as the heavy blows came raining in repeatedly.

Morcel struck hard, not even looking for openings, throwing all his weight behind each blow, right at the creature’s desperate shield made of crossed clubs. “I am no slave!” he screamed as he chopped away at the clubs, sending splintering pieces of wood flying with every blow. “I am as free as the day I was born!”

Blows came down harder and harder. The gorbel fell to one knee, using all its dwindling strength to hold its splintering shield of clubs in place.

No one remained seated. The mob screamed as loud as they could, jumping up and down in a crazed frenzy.

The gorbel fell on its back, still holding the nearly useless weapons desperately in front of its face as the vicious shots continued to fall relentlessly on him like an avalanche of steel.

Morcel dropped blows with every word he shouted. “You…will…not…take…this…from…me!” he screamed. The final blow drove right through what was left of the clubs, sinking deep into the beast’s face. Mocel pulled the axe from the beast with a crackling sound and held it high into the air. He faintly remembered the roar of the crowd.

The mighty warrior collapsed from total exhaustion. It made no difference. He would wake a free man.

Chapter 13

The evening meal was a welcome sight for all that night. The day had been a trying ordeal for everyone. Between the unnerving images they had been forced to endure at the hands of Berkeni, to the legendary battle at Moxis that would probably be spoken of for years, everyone was simply exhausted.

Ilirra and Azek sat at their usual table, away from everyone else. They appeared to be arguing, as they did so often. Ilirra’s two giant red bodyguards stood nearby as always, appearing virtually lifeless but ready to unleash a massacre without a moment’s pause. The trio of friends sat by themselves as well. Jade had not uttered a single word since they left the arena. It was understandable, given the events of the evening.

Jacob and Eric continued to try and force uncomfortable small talk, complaining of anything they could think of, from how hot it had been throughout the day, down to the stuffed pheasant, which seemed a touch too cold. It was all just a way of distracting themselves from the reality of tomorrow.

“You two scared?” Jacob asked in a rush as his eyes bounced back and forth between his two friends. He was simply asking the burning question on everyone’s mind.

“Of course I am,” sniffed Eric, not even looking up from his plate as he pushed vegetables around in circles with his fork. “Even if we find these...
crytons
,” he said, shivering upon uttering the word, “what am I supposed to say to them? That they should just follow me because I told them to do so? That I’m here to make all their problems go away? That I’m—”

“Maybe you need to stop thinking so much and listen to me for a minute,” Jacob said, cutting him off with a raised hand. “I’m scared too, believe me. But really, what is dwelling on it going to solve? Does it seem like I ever plan anything?”

Eric and Jade both chuckled at the same time. As usual, Jacob had provided the relief they all needed from the tension that had built.

“You see what I mean?” Jacob said mockingly with his arms spread out wide. “But things just seem to work out well for me. I didn’t plan to sneak into Averan’s house last week to surprise her like that. When her dad woke up, I hid behind the chair. I wasn’t depending on any plan, I just reacted!”

Eric and Jade were holding their sides now, laughing through their tears. “When I jumped from the window in the other room, I got away, no problem. All of that started because I walked past her house and got a bright idea right at that moment. But I knew whatever came up, I would find some way to deal with it. I always do.”

As lighthearted as all this was, the message was well accepted. The ear-to-ear smile Jacob was wearing began to fade as he looked at his friends with a more serious expression. Putting his hand on Eric’s shoulder, he said, “If you try to hammer out every single detail of the problem at hand, you’ll make yourself go insane. Sometimes you just need some blind faith—faith that things will work out.” His smile returned. “We’re going to the dead forest tomorrow. I don’t know what’s going to happen and neither does anyone else, but I know everything is going to work out fine. I’m going to be with you guys every step of the way. Just have a little faith,” he said as he placed his other hand on Jade’s shoulder, giving both his friends a light shake. “Besides, you guys wouldn’t survive a minute without me!” he blurted out, then tried desperately to dodge the sudden assault of flying peas.

Ilirra showed up just in the nick of time to save Jacob from the vegetable attack. They all bent their heads low in embarrassment as Ilirra put her hands on Jade’s shoulders, taking the time to look each of the companions in the eye. But her lips, pressed tightly together, gave away her failing attempt not to laugh. As the Queen composed herself with great effort, she beckoned Jade to go for a walk.

Jade didn’t bother asking why, just rose from her seat to join her. She enjoyed Ilirra’s company and liked spending time with her. She often found herself wondering if that was strange or inappropriate. After all, Ilirra was a queen, and who was she to consider a queen as a friend? Of the few friends Jade now had in her life, Ilirra was the first girl she had gotten close to. That seemed like the most probable reason.

They only walked a short distance before stopping at one of the many doors in the hall.

“Go on inside, child,” said Ilirra. “The guards inside have been instructed to take your commands as if they came directly from me. I’ll see you in the morning.” With that, Ilirra turned to walk away without a second glance.

Jade watched her go, looking quite confused. Although she was sure Ilirra would never lead her to any harm, her instincts forced her to be wary. She slowly opened the door, revealing a sight she had somehow half expected. Morcel sat before her, leaning back in the fine wooden chair provided for him. He was not bound in any way, but five guards surrounded the warrior to make sure he didn’t get any ideas.
An
acceptable precaution,
Jade thought to herself. After all, all they knew for sure about the man was that he was
very
deadly. They were all armed and awaiting her instruction.

“Leave us,” Jade ordered with surprising authority. After hesitating a second, the guards filed out.

The big man seemed content enough as he sat back in his chair, eyeing Jade with heavy eyelids. He had also been given a decent outfit he was no doubt grateful for. Black leather shoes with brown pants and a decent, white button-down shirt made him appear quite noble. “Well met, young lady,” the gladiator said as he leaned even further back into the chair, clasping his hands behind his head. “You’re quite brave to dismiss the guards like that. Although I’m grateful you freed me from that life in the arena, you ought to be a little more carefu—” His voice trailed off as his eyes grew wide with recognition.
Those crystal-blue eyes. It can’t be
!

“Remember me now, do you?” Jade said with a tight grin as she approached the warrior with slow, deliberate steps.

He found himself wishing the guards were still here, and looked anxiously around the room.

Jade continued, “Yes, you are correct. I’m the one that requested the Queen try to buy out your contract.”

“But why would you do that?” he asked as he folded his massive arms across his chest. “You could have just left me in there and it would have made no difference. I’m nothing but primitive entertainment now.” The warrior lowered his head as his pride fell with every word. “My only purpose now is to entertain a mob.”

“Oh, I think you’re much more than that!” Jade shot back a little more sharply than she had intended. She cleared her throat and softened her tone before continuing, “You were a great warrior before that life was forced on you.” This time, Jade lowered her head. “Forced on you because of me,” she whispered, as if no longer talking to him, but speaking out loud the silent thoughts of her conscience.

Together, they sat in silence for a while, each reliving that day in their own minds, the day when both of their lives changed forever.

“I owe you your life back and I plan to repay that debt,” Jade finally said in a voice so soft it could hardly be heard.

“Not from where I’m sitting,” Morcel boomed, his bright green eyes flashing at her. “What I did that day, I did because my heart wouldn’t have forgiven me if I hadn’t. What they were doing to that boy…”

They both swallowed hard as the graphic memory flashed through both their minds.

“Look, you pulled me from that life in the arena.” The big man leaned forward and put his face close to the girl’s. “The way I see it, that debt belongs to me, not you.”

She stared at him a long while as she considered his words, her crystal-blue eyes flashing with contemplation. “Then let me make a proposal to you,” she said with a devilish grin. “What say you accompany us on a little adventure?”

The look on his face was one of curiosity with a touch of regret.

The two of them talked well into the night. Jade did her best not to overwhelm the warrior with minor details. The quest they were about to partake in would seem bewildering enough without trying to cover everything. Keeping the discussion broad and open seemed like the best way to convince him the quest was honorable and worthy of his efforts—and to convince Morcel she was not crazy.

To Jade’s great relief, it seemed the warrior was surprisingly well-versed in the prophesies of the ancient scrolls—a trait usually found among the more educated, or the few historians that roamed Tarmerria. Jade began to wonder more and more what Morcel’s formal background really was. Where had this deadly beast come from, and where had he studied the arts of reading, writing and general history? Questions for another time, she supposed. The important thing was that he had agreed to accompany them. An extra sword, as well as an honorable man who could be trusted, were always a welcome addition.

* * *

The morning came far too quickly. Jacob and Eric dragged their feet as they slowly got dressed.

Eric stood before the shared mirror staring at his own reflection.
They will see exactly
what everyone else sees.
He shook the words from his mind as he splashed the scented water on his face. “Are you ready to get going?” he asked Jacob, who was still facing away from him.

Jacob said nothing, just continued to dig around at the side of his bed. Then he turned suddenly, twirling his staff in a flashy show, aimed to entertain. He brought the dazzling spin to a halt, pointing the end right at Eric’s face. “You better believe I am,” he said, wearing his usual sheepish grin. If Jacob had one talent above all others, it was his ability to relax everyone around him, no matter the situation.

Eric rolled his eyes at him but smiled as he turned away from the pretend assault.

As the two headed down the hall, Eric eyed the art on the walls as they passed each piece. He seemed to notice the beautiful red curtains pulled back from the windows for the first time, and the silk tapestries that someone had poured their heart and soul into, trying to create scenes frozen in time that should outlive their creator. It occurred to him suddenly that this might be the last time he’d see any of these marvels.
Funny
, he thought to himself
, how we constantly take everything for granted—the beauty that is all around us, that we never even acknowledge until it seems we may never see it again.

They continued up to the Queen’s throne room, where they found a surprise waiting for them. As expected, Ilirra was there with her two red giants, and Jade, Berkeni, and Azek all awaited their arrival. But even though they had never seen him up close, the monster leaning against the far wall was unmistakable. It seems Jade had not only freed the man from the games, but had also convinced him to come along.

Eric couldn’t help but think,
He might have preferred the games
.

Azek leaned hard against the back wall looking rather bored, with his heavy eyelids and eyes constantly rolling. The grizzled man didn’t care much for this sort of superstitious nonsense, but for some reason he kept fingering his sword hilt just as a precaution.

Jade and Ilirra spoke to each other privately behind the throne, no doubt saying their goodbyes.

Packed bags lay at the feet of Berkeni as he made the final preparations to open this so-called gate.

Suddenly, the walls in the room began to pulse with a faint green light. Everyone jerked their heads around at the sudden change of lighting before looking to Berkeni. They had naturally assumed he had begun working his sorcery. The problem was, he looked as confused as everyone else. He held his hands out wide to indicate this was not his doing.

In a flash, weapons graced the palms of everyone at once. Even Berkeni had a small dagger in his hand all of a sudden.

A small, gray ring seemed to form from nothing in the center of the room. It cascaded a mild green light from its center, although the border remained gray and solid. Everyone backed away from it, weapons drawn and ready. The green light seemed to gain in strength as it pulsed from dim to bright and back again. A faint light green mist ascended from its center. Everyone watched and waited, not knowing what to do. As the mist ascended towards the ceiling, it began to take shape.

Within seconds, a grotesque figure levitated in the air before them. It gave a striking resemblance to a genie released from its bottle, the image seemingly becoming more shapeless mist than creature the closer down it got to the gray ring. The thing had large, yellow, catlike eyes and the tusks and nose of a boar. The thing smiled as its yellow eyes swept the room, pausing on each face a moment to prove it could also see everyone here.

The red giants exploded into action when that horrifying gaze fell upon Ilirra. They closed the short distance in a heartbeat. Whirling sickles shredded right through the repulsive image. The bodyguards displayed dazzling teamwork. One slashed low while the other slashed high, then reversed their attacks with the same freakish speed.

The slightly transparent image laughed at their futile efforts as its eyes fell on the queen once more. With that subtle glance towards their master, the giants rolled across the floor and back in front of Ilirra. Crossed sickles now formed an X in front of the queen as they tried to shield her.

Azek, also, sprinted across the room to take position in front of Ilirra. He dropped to one knee with his sword held out defensively. Dying meant nothing in defense of the Queen,