The Devil's Deuce (The Barrier War) (78 page)

Whatever impulse that had held Birch in check abruptly
vanished, and he took two running steps and leapt from the wall of the Barrier.
Selti leapt from his shoulder and began a midair transformation to his natural,
dragon-like shape. Birch glided over the heads of other defenders
-
who were struggling to deal with the black
battering ram that had halted in their midst
-
and landed a few feet from the last remaining
Ash’Ailant
.

Birch drew his sword grimly and was aware of Selti soaring
overhead to land on the forward battlements of the Barrier. The gray dakkan
peered down at the Black paladins and prepared to launch himself into their
midst.

Malith whirled, sensing Birch’s presence, and stopped as
though stunned to see him there. There were no words exchanged between them.
There was no need. The two men rushed each other and attacked in a furious
clash of weapons.

Birch had more strength than his opponent, thanks to the
presence of Kaelus within him. He had the barest advantage in speed and size
over Malith, but he knew these would count him in little stead against a
warrior of Malith’s cunning and skill. Birch had a sudden flashback to one day
during their training when Malith had toyed with him for nearly a half hour
before finishing him off.

He was determined that such would not be the case now.

In his own thoughts, Malith wondered what had changed in
Birch. He was just as fast and skilled as he’d always been, and the latter was
a poor comparison to Malith’s own abilities. He had slain Gerard, who had been
his only real rival, and he was confident he would soon slay Birch, but the
Gray paladin was immensely strong, far more powerful than he should have been.
A bizarre possibility dawned on Malith, and he wondered for a moment how such a
thing could even be, even as he felt in his heart that it was so.

Birch’s eyes. His strength. The sheer force of will Malith
felt from him. These were not the things of a mortal, but rather the signs of
an immortal presence, and a powerful one at that. Malith no longer wondered
where Kaelus had been hiding. He knew, and that knowledge made him afraid. He
knew he could beat Birch, but could Malith overcome the power of Kaelus, a
demon second in power only to Mephistopheles himself?

Malith almost turned tail and fled, leaving the field to
others to accomplish his mission. He didn’t need to be present at the
destruction of the final
Ash’Ailant
. He’d half convinced himself to
retreat when he realized that if Kaelus was truly in ascension in the enemy
Malith now faced, he would have long since shown his power and killed Malith.
Mayhap the demon was aiding Birch and granting him power, but there were
obviously limitations to that power.

Malith’s confidence returned, and he redoubled his assault
on Birch.

Gray withstood Black for several long seconds that stretched
into minutes. The two warriors moved so quickly that for them, in the heat of
battle a second
was
a minute, and they lunged and parried back and forth
in a quick-footed dance that carried them all about the field of battle. Malith
was aware that Birch’s gray dakkan was wreaking havoc among his chosen seven
warriors, and at least two more of the Black paladins were dead. But there were
more where they came from, and Malith wasted no further thoughts on them.

Birch’s strength caused Malith to overreach several attacks,
as Birch parried a blow with enough force to throw Malith off balance. He
recovered quickly each time and prevented Birch from capitalizing on the mistake,
but during one such interchange, Birch scored a deep hit on Malith’s leg that
sheared off part of his armor and left a wide cut down his calf. The injury was
minor, but it enraged Malith, and he threw everything he had into one final
barrage, intending to finish the attack quickly.

Malith forced Birch back further and further and saw the
Gray paladin’s frustration as he was unable to stop Malith’s attacks. The Black
paladin smiled a twisted smile behind his faceplate and knew victory was his.

Birch finally parried one of Malith’s blows and threw it
back with his enhanced strength, and he saw Malith struggle to regain his
balance. Birch lashed out with his sword, which hummed in the air as it
descended on Malith’s neck…

Which suddenly wasn’t there anymore. Malith shifted ever so
slightly and avoided the attack, counting on Birch to go for the obvious
opening Malith had left him. Birch had always been so predictable, even in his
training days. Malith had baited him, and now it was time for his prey to fall.

With a profound sense of satisfaction, Malith knocked
Birch’s sword from his hand, spun in the same motion, and buried his black
blade in the Gray paladin’s heart.

Birch stared at him a moment, not comprehending the
triumphant look on Malith’s face. He looked down and saw the black sword, and
he followed it with his eyes to his chest with a numb expression on his face.
Then he looked back at Malith, and the fire in his eyes flickered and faded.

Birch slid backwards off Malith’s sword and lay motionless at
his feet.

The measure of a warrior is how he will act at the moment of imminent
death.

- Garnet
jo’Garet
,

“The Warrior Mythos” (1030 AM)

- 1 -

Garnet arrived at the rear gates to the white courtyard as the
battering ram lumbered to a halt, and he immediately ordered Shadow Company to
attack. Marc and Michael rushed forward and, when they couldn’t strike directly
at the demons, dropped to their bellies and sliced the demons’ feet out from
beneath them. The drolkuls howled as the paladins’ blades lopped the clawed
feet off at the ankle, and those who hadn’t been immediately attacked burrowed
into the ground and disappeared.

Flasch and Guilian rushed up the stairs and lent their
support against the demons and damned souls still assaulting the Barrier. With
a worried glance, Garnet looked to where he’d last seen the childris and saw
only an empty wall. Either the childris had moved on, or else the elves had
overcome them and had themselves moved on to another enemy. Garnet sent with
them a prayer for God’s blessings, then put them out of his mind.

Across the courtyard, he saw Birch’s dakkan roaring and
tearing into a group of Black paladins and the demons accompanying them, and
Garnet knew that was where he would next be needed. He left Marc to deal with
the immediate area and took Michael and his platoon with him across the
courtyard. They broke against the Black paladins like a tidal wave against an
unsuspecting shore.

A mass of demons and damned souls had joined the fray in the
wake of the Black paladins, and it was here Garnet had Michael concentrate his
forces. A quick thought brought Flasch’s platoon down from the wall and in
behind the demons. They opened a breach, into which
Guilian’s
platoon poured to seal up and hold the entryway to the courtyard where the
gates had once stood. Shadow Company took control of the courtyard, but they
were held in their places by the press of battle.

Garnet looked about quickly, seeking sources of danger, and
his eyes fell on Malith and the crumpled body of Birch. The Black paladin was
standing triumphantly over the fallen Gray, and his sword was poised to strike
again.

“Selti!” Garnet screamed at the dakkan, who had already
turned towards Birch when the Gray paladin fell. Selti screamed in rage and
struck Malith a crushing blow with his tail, knocking the Black paladin halfway
across the courtyard before he fell to the ground. Garnet was already in motion
to intercept him as Malith got irritably to his feet, apparently unharmed by
the blow.

Selti crouched protectively over Birch’s body, his teeth
bared viciously as he dared any puny human or demon to approach the fallen
paladin. A wall of struggling denarae and damned souls crossed in front of
Garnet, blocking him from Malith. He looked at the fray and screamed in his
mind,
“Davin!
Jesop
!”

The two denarae immediately turned and, reading Garnet’s
intentions, knelt and entwined their hands. Garnet planted his foot in the net
of their fingers and pumped his leg even as they threw him into the air. He
sailed over the heads of the damned souls and glided swiftly down to land only
a few feet behind Malith, who spun to face this new foe.

“Now there is come one who will take your measure,” Garnet
said in a grim voice.

Malith regarded him silently, sizing him up as an opponent.
Garnet was larger than even his mountainous father, a fact which usually caused
people to underestimate his speed and agility. He might not be as quick as
Flasch and Danner were with their hands, but with a sword, even his own massive
weapon, he was still faster than all but the fastest of warriors. It wasn’t
just about speed, it was knowing what to do with the weapon once it was in
motion.

In the bare seconds it took Garnet to stand and gather
himself, and for Malith to come to whatever conclusions he had about his
opponent, the two found themselves ready to fight. They did not rush together
as had Malith and Birch, but rather they circled each other warily. Garnet knew
of Malith’s skill, both from Gerard’s living testimony and the evidence of his
death. Malith, however, knew nothing of Garnet’s abilities, and so he probed
Garnet and tested him before committing to a serious attack.

Garnet resisted the temptation to lose himself in hatred for
this man, who had slain not only Garnet’s mentor and second father, Gerard, but
had also killed the man who represented all that was possible in mortals
-
the only man to have returned from Hell by
his own strength and will. Instead of fiery rage, Garnet turned his fury
ice-cold and refused to let it consume and control him. He remembered Gerard
coaching him on just this point, and suddenly it was as if his slain commander
and mentor was in Garnet’s head, directing him and teaching him the way of the
sword.

“Don’t wait for him to
let his guard down, that’s a wholly defensive way of fighting. Understand the
man and the spirit of his attack, and then you’ll know how to defeat him.”

Malith attacked fiercely, testing Garnet’s speed and agility.
Garnet watched the initial pattern of Malith’s attacks and knew exactly where
the Black paladin was going to strike. He parried where necessary, matching the
speed and placement of the blows perfectly. Halfway through the attack
sequence, Garnet stepped to the side and tripped Malith, much as he’d done to
Gerard during the early days of his training. Malith sprawled in the dirt for
the space of a heartbeat before he was back on his feet and facing Garnet. He’d
lost his helmet in the tumble, and how his abyss-like eyes stared with naked
hatred at Garnet.

“Understand your
enemy. Become one with him and you can know his every thought and move.”

Garnet moved in the instant Malith shifted to the side,
preparing to counter an attack he already knew was coming. Malith would feel
the need to assault Garnet quickly, to recover face and prevent Garnet from
gaining the advantage of confidence. Malith would try to break that down before
it had a chance to build: his arrogance would demand it. When the Black paladin
swung his sword, Garnet’s blade was already in place to block it.

“Break his rhythm.
Destroy his timing before he has a chance to feel it himself.”

Malith swung again, reacting a split-second after Garnet’s
parry to launch another attack. Garnet watched carefully, and saw within three
swings what combination Malith was using. He didn’t parry, nor did he avoid the
attacks as he’d done before. Instead, Garnet shifted his weight forward and
tilted his sword slightly, an obvious indication he was about to attack. Malith
immediately broke off his attack to defend against a blow that never began.
Garnet smiled at the Black paladin, who sneered in derision at the ploy.

“Control your enemy,
Garnet! If he’s going to attack, stop him at the syllable ‘at…’ If he’s going
to lunge, stop him at ‘
lu
…’”

Malith shifted his sword to attack, and Garnet smacked the
blade out of the way. He did not make an attack of his own, for Malith would
expect that. The Black paladin recovered and shifted his weight ever so
slightly in one foot, so Garnet lunged forward to forestall the motion. Malith
immediately shifted back in reaction, but yet again Garnet withheld his attack.

“Let him expend motion
on useless things, but suppress the important ones. Command his actions, and
you will control the battle.”

Malith feinted an attack, and Garnet moved only enough to
compensate in case the Black paladin made it a real strike. Malith circled to
the side, and Garnet turned just enough to keep Malith where he wanted him.
Malith attacked again, but Garnet led him into a wasted series of attacks that
expended far more of the Black paladin’s energy than Garnet’s own. When the
rhythm of the attack faltered, Garnet smashed it apart and sent his opponent
reeling.

“An attack is a
constant crushing action, start to finish, not necessarily of his body, but of
his will and his spirit.”

Malith was now frustrated and acting rashly, and Garnet knew
it was his time to strike. He allowed Malith to make one more attack, and Garnet
threw himself forward with his sword at the exact same time. Malith withdrew
and parried Garnet’s attack, but was almost too slow for the second swing.
Garnet had not, until then, done much more than disrupt Malith’s fighting, and
the other warrior was thrown off balance by his sudden willingness to attack.

Garnet did not aim to injure and wear down his opponent, nor
did he intend to allow Malith the opportunity to recover his wits. Instead,
Garnet kept up a constant barrage of attacks that left the Black paladin
guessing from which angle the next blow would come. Garnet began one obvious
pattern of attack only to shift it in mid-swing and move on to something
completely different. Malith adapted quickly, but now there was fear in his
eyes as he realized for the first time he faced someone who was not only better
than him, but who also knew how to control Malith’s every action. Garnet was
scripting the duel a bare instant before he enacted the play, and Malith filled
his role as Garnet knew he would… he had no choice.