Rupture: Rise of the Demon King (30 page)

Zach woke after a few hours. By then, the dead were in the ground, and so the five of them went about cleaning the house. The house was presentable by midafternoon. Mori gave the servants a new task of hiring new guards from the town militia while she and Seeko repaired the gate.

They were still working on the gate when Zach came running to them. “Sister!” he said. “Father is awake. He wants to talk to you.” Zach nodded to Seeko. “He wants to talk to the hero also.”

Seeko and Mori exchanged glances.

“The gate is pretty much repaired,” Seeko said. “It’s still fragile, but hopefully people will stay away now that it’s up again.” With that, the three headed back to the manor.

Luxant’s eyes opened weakly upon hearing the trio enter the room. “Mori …” he said faintly, “the bandits who attacked …”

“Don’t worry about them, Father. They are gone now, so save your strength. What did you want to talk to us about?”

“My son tells me that the sun is out for the first time in a long time …” Seeko hadn’t noticed; he had been busy all day.

“He says that you and the hero have stopped the demons, have stopped the storm caused by them …” He coughed. “Have stopped the demon portal.” He closed his eyes. “In my foolishness, I have neglected you, Mori.” A tear appeared in one eye. “I have always neglected you. I have never listened to you. I was too proud …”

Mori moved close and held his hand.

Luxant looked to Seeko. “And you, hero … You must be something special if my daughter has taken an interest in you. I have underestimated you …” He smiled. “You will pay me back for the lighthouse, right?” He laughed, but it quickly evolved into another coughing spasm.

“Dad,” Mori said gently. “Get some rest …”

“Mori …” he said. “The rebels … took the girl. I know where they are heading. My soldiers have followed them before.”

“Where?” Seeko asked. “One of our friends hunts them now.”

“They are past the Yedra Mountains, in their hideout … They call it Eclipse. Their leader is Greg, leader of the Shadow of Dawn.”

“Yes, I have heard about them. How big are they?” Seeko asked.

“I have no idea,” Mori said. “Regardless of their size, Keith is going to need help to get Hannet free. He can’t take down a whole army.”

Zach’s eyes lit up. “Oh, can I go with you? I want to help!”

Mori placed a hand on his head. “You have to stay here and take care of the manor and of Dad. That’s even more important than this.”

Zach stuck out his lower lip. “That’s no fun! I never get to do anything!”

Luxant looked to his son. “Son … Mori will not be here … and so you will have to take up my mantle … Maybe sooner than you think.” Another tear rolled down his cheek. “It will take years to recover from this … You will save our family, Zach.” He squeezed Mori’s hand. “And you, my daughter … you will save the world.” His grip loosened and his voice strengthened. “Go, my daughter. Go, hero. Save us! I believe in you! You will always have Luxant behind you!” He rose a shaky arm and pointed at the door. “Don’t come back unless those demons are gone!” With that, his arm collapsed and he instantly fell into a deep sleep.

Mori smiled. “Still being hard, even at the gates of death. Zach, make sure he has plenty of water, and when the servants return, have them replace his bandages.” She grabbed Seeko’s hand. “You heard the man. Let’s go, hero. We have a world to save!”

27: Coercion

4 Seek, 112 AV: Day 193

Before Seeko and Mori left the following morning to pursue Keith, they paid a visit to Lorissa’s grave. The windy autumn morning blew the few remaining clouds out of the azure sky and brought the sun fully to Merina for the first time in weeks.

Seeko’s eyes scanned the stone tombstone they had made for her. He vowed to avenge the poor girl. Seeko remembered the agony of becoming a demon, the pain Yoshino put him (and now her) through, and a tear came to his eye.

He looked to the ruins of the lighthouse. If he hadn’t been there, she wouldn’t have died. If he had left any other night … she wouldn’t have died. He would have protected her from … from this.

“Lorissa was nobody’s enemy,” Seeko began after wiping a tear away. “She was nothing but helpful and kind and sweet …” Seeko choked up and couldn’t continue.

“She had a hard life,” Mori continued. “It wasn’t fair that it ended so harshly. We all will mourn her, but Nyeri has her in her loving embrace. She will be safe from harm now.”

Silence settled on the duo, silence that cut deep. The quiet reminded Seeko that there was no one else now, no one but Mori and he, and he retreated into his mind.

Only he couldn’t stay there, either, for someone was waiting for him:
“It was Keith,”
Kerodesis said.
“Keith killed her. Kill him for this!”

Seeko looked back to the grave.
“Yoshino killed her.”
But that wasn’t true. When Seeko had been transformed into a demon, he was still “alive.” The tears came again, knowing that her fate was worse than death, that she had been trapped in the confines of her mind until someone put her out of her misery.

Seeko reached out to the Mother through the Voice, but knew that connection was severed as well. The only one who could have saved her was dead now.

“Do you think Keith killed her?” Seeko asked Mori. He couldn’t believe that he was letting Kerodesis get to him.

“Greg killed her.”

Seeko shook his head. “No. I killed her. I couldn’t protect her. Or Hannet. Now Keith is gone too. We could have saved her if we had waited. None of this would have happened if we had just waited!”

“Seeko,” Mori said, placing an arm around his waist, “you had no idea that this would happen—”

“Hannet would have known! Ahhh … that’s even worse! If I had killed Vishoni the first time, then she wouldn’t have been wounded and everything would be fine!”

Seeko let loose an orange fireball into the sky, roaring for a fate not fair. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mori was crying. Was it because of Lorissa? Him? He didn’t care. He moved to her and held her close, not letting her see his own tears.

Eventually, the duo composed themselves and readied themselves to catch Keith. They stood at the edge of Port Merina, Seeko holding his resupplied bag by its strap, Mori at his side, watching a light wind brush the grass like waves in a green sea.

“Just us again,” Seeko said distantly. He swung his bag onto his back and placed his hand on the hilt of his new sword.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get Keith and Hannet,” Mori said, new rapier on her belt.

“I hope so.” Images of a still Kazuma flooded his mind, followed by Lorissa’s cold, lifeless body. “They have to be alive. Keith deserves a piece when I tear Yoshino to shreds.”

They moved along the dirt road. “One thing at a time, Seeko,” Mori said. “We have to close the portals first. The Mother said so.”

Seeko kicked a rock. “She deserved to be there too.”

He trudged ahead silently. Who was he to control the fate of a world? He was just a nobody from another planet. Even if he was actually from here, Earth was his home. He thought back on his vision of Yoshino arguing with that man. Yoshino couldn’t remember his past, but it did happen. And he was both the cause and the solution. He watched Mori walk alongside him.

I’m here now; that’s all that matters. And my priority is to protect my friends.
Again he thought of the friends he had already lost.
And I will do better this time.

/ / / / /

Keith stood high above Eclipse, a large village of criminals, hidden within the trees of the Yedra mountainside. Bandits conversed by fires around the houses, and a stable holding kitsean mounts stood on the edge of the village, next to the path up the mountain.

He scanned the wooden buildings for one man: Greg. His search rewarded him and his eyes eventually landed on Greg’s light blue scarf. Greg spoke with some of the other bandits before heading toward what Keith assumed was Greg’s house. It was larger than the others and had the rebel flag, red with a black half-circle, hanging above the entrance.

When I get ahold of you Greg,
Keith thought as he propelled himself down the mountain,
there will be no escape.

He used bushes as cover and his wind magic to keep him upright on the steep slopes. The dirt shifted beneath his feet as he came to a stop at the bottom. He scanned his surroundings once more before dashing for the stable.

Keith opened the gate and pushed the kitseans into an uproar with a burst of wind. The creatures cried and burst out the open gate, rampaging into the village. Keith jumped onto one, riding it into the bandit camp.

The rebels fled as the herd of kitseans trampled through the town. Keith jumped off the beast, landing in front of Greg’s house. Rebels grabbed their weapons and came running toward him, but Keith ignored them and rushed inside.

Greg stood opposite of a large table from Keith. He wore almost the same clothes as Keith, except nicer, with a brown trim. He had the same short golden hair but an older face.

“Ah, hello again, Keith,” Greg said with a grin. “Always have to enter dramatically, I see,” Greg added, watching the kitseans rumble past his window.

Keith looked around at the other people standing in the lowly lit room with their weapons drawn. “Where’s Hannet?” he said.

“Oh.” Greg smiled and pointed to a door. It opened and there stood a bandit, holding a struggling Hannet. “You mean her?” Greg asked.

Hannet resisted, trying to squirm out of his grasp. “Keith!” she cried.

“So … you want her, do you?” Greg said. “Then get me what I want.”

Keith pulled out his sword. “Give her to me—now!”

Greg smirked. “I wouldn’t do that, Keith.”

Hannet’s holder pressed a dagger to her neck. Keith looked at her before lowering his weapon.

“That’s better,” Greg said.

“What do you want, then?” Keith asked. “What have I done to deserve this?”

Greg tapped on his chin, pretending to think. “Well, you were with those filthy Irenics … and after they burned down our town, you joined them. Reports have you marching to fight your own country.”

“I am not allied to the Irenic Empire. I only travel with the ones who saved my life.”

Greg spat at his feet. “So one good deed trumps all other loyalties—including family? Including your own brother?”

Keith lowered his head. “The kid I travel with is not a true Irenic; he is the Hero of Endetia.”

Greg turned away from him. “That’s what I had heard, and that is why I need you.” Greg walked up to the table, placing his hand on the map placed atop it. “I heard that he holds some necklaces, and they control demons.”

“That’s not true. They open a portal to the demons, but they don’t obey anyone.”

A grin spread across Greg’s face. “If the Halcyon can harness their power, so can we. And once we have that power, we can defeat the wretched Irenic once and for all.”

“So you want me to steal the necklaces from Seeko? No,” Keith said. “You have no idea what damage those demons can do. They’re too dangerous.”

“You will get me those necklaces or your girl here will die.” Greg pointed to Hannet, who now had a dagger flush against her neck. “The necklaces hold power within them. I will use them to control these monsters.”

“That’s not how they work!” Keith yelled. “Who did you hear this from?”

“A man named Yoshino. So far his information has been some of the most reliable I’ve ever received.”

“Yoshino is a demon! He is trying to trick you.”

“That explains his red eyes,” Greg said. “But just proof that the demons will help us destroy the Irenic. Your hero has been helping the Irenic, and his efforts would be better undone.”

“Greg, you’re an idiot,” Keith replied.

The man in the blue scarf swept his hand across the map and sighed. “I’ll give you one week to get the necklaces or your girl here dies.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Keith yelled.

“No! What’s ridiculous is you,” Greg lashed back. “Now get out of here before I have you killed.”

Keith scowled at his brother and put his weapon on his back. He burst through the doors to find the whole camp standing outside the building. He walked past them, clearing a path as he passed through. What was he supposed to do? Either he betrayed Seeko or Hannet would die.

He made his way to the edge of town and jolted up the path. He couldn’t lose Hannet. He soon stood at the top of the mountain and looked down on Eclipse. Hannet’s life lay in the hands of his corrupt brother, and he hated it.

/ / / / /

Keith spend the next couple of days making his way through the forest surrounding the mountains, running and leaping gracefully over the rugged terrain of the forest floor. He hoped he could reach Seeko in a couple of days, giving Keith the rest of the week to return.

A shrub rattled beside him, alarming him. He skidded to a stop, pulling out his sword in a smooth motion. He scanned the area, paranoid, but the rustling of overhead branches in the wind was the only thing breaking the silence. He reflexively jumped backward after hearing a soft twang. Then an arrow lodged itself in a tree to his left. The sound of multiple bows drawing back made him step back farther.

Keith spun around and rushed into the forest again. Arrows whizzed past him, barely avoiding their mark because of his magic interference. Soon Keith burst out of the thick trees into an open field of grass, turning to face his opponents. More arrows flew from the trees, but he stood firm. He blasted the arrows to either side using a wind current around him.

After another barrage of arrows, they stopped. Keith held up his weapon, ready for anything. A soft crumbling sound beneath his feet broke the lull. He shot a glance down, noticing a line split across the dirt. His jumped to one side of the rapidly expanding crack.

His effort, though, proved hopeless, as a pillar of rock shot up and caught his trailing leg. He soon found himself flailing through the air, launched by rocks. He hit with a thud, knocking him senseless.

The attackers burst out of their cover and charged at the dazed man. Keith stumbled to his feet, pointing his sword at the enemies. Rebels from Eclipse surrounded him, ready to attack.

“What are you doing?” Keith asked. “I’m on your side.”

“Not really,” said a female.

Keith searched for the source of the voice and was shocked at the discovery. “Bianca?”

The woman wore a smirk on her face, beaming brown eyes that accused him. “Not all of us are stupid enough to follow Greg’s plans.” She pushed back her wavy brown hair over her quiver. “We don’t want you to get those necklaces. Demons are nothing but trouble.”

Keith lowered his weapon and spoke slightly easier, “I don’t like this any more than you do, but someone’s life is in danger.”

“Your life is in danger,” Bianca shot back. “Sorry, but if you want to get those necklaces, you have to get through us.” She crossed her arms, holding her reinforced longbow in her hand.

Hannet,
Keith thought. “Gladly,” he said, raising his blade.

Bianca and seven other bandits surrounded Keith while drawing their weapons, some holding daggers, others only their bows.

“Well, Keith, it was nice knowing you,” Bianca said before drawing an arrow from her quiver.

They let their arrows fly, but Keith pushed them away with a solid swipe. He jumped forward, quickly cutting down the bandit before him. Another wave of arrows flew at him, and he again pushed them away. He charged at another but fell as the ground shifted beneath his feet. He coughed as he slammed into the ground, slowly picking himself up. A spike made of rock lunged from the earth, stopping inches from his face. The sudden attack sent him stumbling backward to the grass.

A bandit stood over him, but soon fell over after Keith stuck his sword through the man’s chest. Keith jumped away, feeling the ground for movement with his feet. Bianca lined up a shot, but Keith was ready for it. The arrow flew, and Bianca waved her hand to the side afterward. Keith pushed away the arrow, but fell instantly as the ground rolled under him.

He was underestimating her. He rolled quickly to his feet and charged at a nearby bandit. He gave one good swing and sliced open the man, blood spattering onto his scarf.

Keith jumped again toward a woman wielding a dagger. A spire shot out of the ground, but Keith pushed himself out of its way. Another mighty swing and another dead bandit. The ground moved, causing Keith to crutch on his sword for support. He looked at Bianca, who again moved the earth beneath his feet.