And we continue...

Chapter Two
Lesser Demons

The citizens can feel it. Some profound wrongness that hangs heavy in the air. The world is dying and the citizens know they are powerless to prevent it. They simply continue to go about their lives. Living and dying as fate would have them. There has not been a child born in this land in a year. No one can explain why. The same way no one seems to have memory of anything before that time. Almost as if they all were born at the same moment as they are now.

Some people look to the Badlands for answers. Yet they all fear going there. A land of large stone structures of steel and glass. A land of decimation and destruction. The citizens believe their salvation lies in this place.

Only one person knows the truth. He was standing at the edge of a small tent village staring out across a vast desert. His dark hair hung down around his ears and a cloth was tired around the lower half of his face to keep the sand from his mouth. His green eyes sparkled in the darkening night.

By all rights, he should not be here. He’s a dead man in every sense of the world. Yet he stands at the edge of the desert his thoughts overwhelmed. His future a ticking clock.

He is dressed against the cold in a long sleeve dark wool coat. His hands are covered in fingerless gloves. He clenches and unclenches his fists. It’s all for show however. He doesn’t feel the cold. He doesn’t feel anything.

Something fluttered near him. He turned his head and looked. He felt air shift on this opposite side. His arm shot out and a blade slid out from his sleeve, stabbing into the creature that was hovering in the air next to him.

The demon hissed loudly and its leathery wings flapped twice before it expelled its last breath and died. It slid a few inches down the blade.

“They’re coming more frequently.”

The man lowered his sword and the demon slipped off. He raised his arm and the sword slid back into his sleeve. He looked at his friend.

“We can’t.”

“These people need our help. We can’t ignore that.”

“There’s no time.”

Nyhm crouched next to the demon and nudged it with his gloved hand.

“Tiko…” he said.

“There’s no time.” Tiko said, staring out at the desert. “I don’t have time.”

“Then we should do it quickly.”

Tiko sighed. “What about…”

“We will find him.”

“I’m running out of time.”

Nyhm said nothing.

“No good will come of this.” Tiko said softly.

“It usually doesn’t.”

Tiko clenched his fists again and looked at Nyhm’s expressionless face. They had only known each other a few weeks but they had grown close quickly. Tiko trusted Nyhm without question. Despite that trust, Tiko felt Nyhm was keeping something from him. Something important. He had been looking for any reason to go to the Badlands and now it seems he had found it.

Tiko nodded to Nyhm.

“I’ll get the horses.” Nyhm said as he walked past Tiko.

The world is dying. The truth of its illness lied waiting in the Badlands. Tiko knew it and suspected Nyhm knew something of it as well. What Tiko knew that Nyhm did not however, was that no matter what they did it could not be stopped.

*****

They rode out at nightfall. The sun falling beneath the horizon at their backs as they rode. The horse’s hooves clapped against the compact dirt as they made their way across the desert. It was several hours until they would reach the outskirts of the badlands and for most of those hours they rode in silence.

Nyhm’s scarred, ruined eyes were covered by a thick black cloth that was tied behind his head yet he deftly guided his horse across the hard desert sand.
Tiko followed close behind. He leaned down as he rode. His fingers clenching and unclenching the reins. Something was wrong. He could feel it in the air. He looked over his shoulder in time to see a large hulking shape swoop past him. He watched as it slammed into Nyhm and sent him flying over the head of his horse.

The creature hovered over Nyhm. Its thick leathery wings beating a rhythmic thump into the air.

Tiko yanked on the reins and his horse skidded to a stop. He slid off the saddle.

The creature was large and seemed to glow with a sheen of sweat in the brightening moonlight. It had large bony hands and its arms and legs were thick with veins. It’s head was hairless, slightly bulbous and deformed with big black. It’s mouth overstuffed with sharp yellow teeth.

“Go no farther.” It said and clacked it’s jaws together twice as if to emphasize it’s order.

It flapped it’s wings twice more before folding them behind it’s back and falling to the ground. It landed on it’s feet and stepped towards Nyhm.

“The lord says go no farther!” It barked and drew it’s leg back. It kicked hard at Nyhm and sent him rolling across the dirt.

Nyhm coughed and climbed to his feet. His horse nickered and darted away.

The demon clacked its teeth again and wiped a stream of drool from its chin.

Tiko glanced over at Nyhm. He could see a small stream of blood escape his nose.

“Wait.” Tiko whispered. He saw Nyhm relax slightly. Tiko nodded and took a step towards the demon.

“Human hearing must be worse than I thought.” The demon sputtered, “You will go no farther.”

“You will allow us to continue.” Tiko said, “Tell your lord we appreciate his concern.”

“Krenin does not concern. He concerns only for himself.” Teeth clap again.

Krenin. That name was vaguely familiar to Tiko. Nyhm seemed to be more familiar however.

“Krenin Volt is here?” Nyhm asked.
“Lord Volt is very much concerns with what you have in your head Mind Walker.” The demon walked forward, “He is asking that I bring you to him straight away. He wants what the Librarian gaven to you.”

Tiko moved quickly, as his sword slipped out of his sleeve. He gripped the hilt and launched it at the demon. It pierced its forehead and the demon fell dead to the ground.

“Who is Krenin Volt?” Tiko asked.

“Someone I’ve never met. Someone I learned about from Cecil. He knows Damian and Adia.”

Tiko looked at the body of the demon. He walked over and rolled it over with his foot. He yanked out his sword and wiped the demons sludge like blood off the blade.

“Get your horse.” Tiko said, “You will explain what that demon was talking about on the way.”

* * *

Darkness.

Brief scattered flashes of light occasionally broke through giving him momentary glances of the dungeon whose wall he was hanging from.

His arms were tight against the chains. His muscles bulging as he struggled to break free of their restraints. He was too weak.

He did not know why he was still alive. Surely, they knew how to kill him. There was no reason for them to keep him chained here. He surged forward with a roar and felt the chains reach their limit, yanking him back against the damp stone wall.

“Still ticking I see.” A woman's voice sounded from the dimly lit door. She stepped inside holding a lantern. Her platinum hair reflected the light. He could see the swell of her breasts struggling against the white corset she wore.

“Starr.” He growled. Feral and full of hate.

“Hungry lover?” She dropped a tin dish at his feet. It was half full of water and a moldy piece of bread. Starr’s boots echoed in the air as she walked to the side of the room. She opened the small door on the lantern and poured some of the oil on a torch and lit it with the flame. The room brightened. She set the lantern on the floor.

“It’s getting nippy so I decided to change my outfit a little.” She turned back to him and ran her fingers over the long dark leather coat. She pulled it tighter around her body, “Do you like?”

Damian said nothing. He simply watched her move. His eyes were glinting in the firelight.

“You shouldn't stare at a lady like that Damian. Might make a girl feel uncomfortable.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time I see one.”

Starr stepped forward and delivered a kick to Damian’s face. His head snapped to the side and the room spun.

“That’s enough Starr.”

Damian’s vision instantly cleared. It was as if cold water had been thrown in his face. His eyes locked on the newcomer.

“Hello Brother. Nice place you got here.” Valantine smiled as he stepped into the dungeon. He was wearing a cape over a black velvet suit. His hair pulled into a tight ponytail.

“Why do you keep coming back?” Damian asked.

“I guess the fates aren’t quite finished with me.” Valantine leaned forward and sniffed, “You do need a bath.”

Damian tilted his head.

Valantine glanced around and his eyes fell upon a loose stone. He picked it up and tossed it in the air. He caught it in his hand.

“Time to go brother.” He said and slammed the rock against Damian’s head, “We have an appointment to keep.”

*****

The desert beneath the hooves of the horses grew thinner as they rode. Beneath the yellow sand a hard grey surface was peaking through. The sky was rapidly darkening yet at the horizon, no sign of the Badlands was evident. Tiko slowed his horse to a walk. Nyhm rode up beside him.

“We’re close.” Nyhm said.

“We’ll camp for the night.” Tiko said as he climbed off his horse.

“If we keep going we’ll be there before dawn.”

Tiko shook his head.

“It’s better if we wait.” He said, “This is not a place to visit in the dark.”

Nyhm nodded and slid off his horse.

“Krenin Volt.” Tiko said and crossed his arms.

Nyhm stiffened.

“He is the one responsible for your parents immortality. They fought with him and he rewarded them. Some type of battle against an army of the undead. It wasn’t until later than Damian discovered the truth. Krenin was the true leader of the undead army and used the war as a means to seize control of ancient artifact called the Gaia Chain.”

“What is this Gaia Chain?” Tiko asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows for sure. Krenin vanished after a short fight with Damian. He hasn’t been seen or heard from since.”

“Yet he apparently survived the Crossing?”

“According to what Cecil knew, Krenin had access to one of the Elders Portals. He could go to any dimension he wished. If the information from Cecil is correct…” Nyhm tapped his head lightly, “it’s jumbled.”

“And Cecil? Why did he give you this…knowledge?”

Nyhm looked away from Tiko. He turned to his horse and pulled a blanket from the pack on the saddle.

“He’s dead isn’t he.”

Nyhm nodded.

Tiko clenched his fists, “You should have told me this before.”

“I…” Nyhm stopped, “You are right.”

“Gather some brush for a fire.” Tiko said and walked off into the darkness.

*****

“You have to wake up. You know this is not right you must wake up.”

In the dim darkness of the cave a woman slept on. The voices in her head echoed and faded. She was at peace on the stone slab awash in the dimming torch light.

“Wake up.”

This was the last thing she wanted to do.

“Wake up!”

And yet, she knew, somehow, it was what she had to do.

It was time. Despite the magics against her, despite the perfection of the world she was stuck in, she must wake up.

And so, with a howl barely human, she wrenched herself from her unnatural slumber.

It was upon waking that she realized the truth and she let herself cry. Alone, in the quiet solitude of the cave, she mourned for what she had lost.

She sobbed until her tears dried out and then the anger returned.

She was awake now.

The happiness of her dreamworld was gone.

All that was left was her fury.

To Be Continued...

Next: