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You are not ready for the Final Hour.

how will we smile ever again
i'm asking you sincerely, my dear old friend
what do you say, is there a way
my dear old friend

how will we laugh just like before
when there's water rising up to our door
and we may never see each other again
my dear old friend


will there be someone to remember
a little place that we loved
how the music played all night and day
through the windows up above

how will we smile ever again

i'm asking you sincerely, my dear old friend
the moon on the hill says we probably will
my dear old friend

-Patty Griffin "My Dear Old Friend"

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Comes a Pale Horse

I

The wind crept through the tall grass, whispering its way to the two riders at the hill top. The sun had lowered itself closer to the ground with every moment and still they waited. One of the riders, the taller of the two, sat unmoving in his saddle. His horse stomped its foot impatiently and he only patted the beasts long dark neck.

His companion was even more impatient than the horse. He looked again at his master spoke hesitantly.

“We should go now. The men are ready. We can decimate this village and be back in time for supper.”

“Not. Yet.” The tall man said. He looked at his companion, his red eyes seemingly glowing in the rapidly dimming light, “You aren’t questioning my judgment are you, Phillip?”

Phillip felt his heart beating hard and fast in his chest. He had seen this man behead someone for less. He suddenly feared for his life.

“I wouldn’t presume to be worthy of such an action, Lord Valantine. I only wished to…”

“You might wish to close your mouth before you end up like Heinrich. His skull makes for a great door knocker. I’m sure it wouldn’t mind company.”

“Yes lord.”

Valantine looked to the west and watched as a cloud of dust edged closer to the small village below them.

He grinned and clapped Phillip on the back.

“The Monks are coming. Ride to the others and tell them we strike when the last of the sunlight is gone. I want the village to be ash by dawn.”

Phillip moved his horse away. After a few steps he pulled on the reins and turned back to Valantine.

“Lord, may I ask why this village is to be destroyed.”

Valantine answered without looking at him, “This is the secret city of Vesterburg Phillip.”

“Vesterburg? I thought it was only a rumor.”

“Not at all. It is indeed real and plump with orphans whose kin have fallen in the service of King Richard of Genae and the monks he sends to take care of them. The Pradians will dine well tonight I think.”

Phillip felt sick. He was not expecting to lay waste to a town full of children, especially buy allowing the demonic Pradians to feed on them. He could have no part of it. He crossed himself and turned to flee.

“Phillip. If you betray me I will visit your family personally.”

Valantine was looking at him over his shoulder.

Phillip felt his blood run cold. He managed a nod and rode away towards Valantine’s awaiting army.

Valantine would kill him of course. He knew this. He felt a slight pain in his gut. That thing was fighting inside him again. It clearly didn’t agree with what was about to happen. No matter. It wasn’t strong enough to overtake him anyhow.

“Enjoy the show brother.” Valantine whispered to himself.

He watched as the dust cloud arrived and a group of monks climbed off their horses. He saw several of the children rush out of the houses towards them. From the main building in the town a few of the resident monks walked towards the new comers.

Valantine smiled as the sun disappeared. Something settled on the ground next to him. He turned and looked at the ancient Pradian. Its sharp teeth peaked from beneath its pale upper lip.

“Your dog fetched us.” It hissed. Valantine knew this was one of the Pradian generals who did not agree with the amount of control Valantine had over his people. Valantine didn’t care how the Pradians felt. As long as he controlled them he had nothing to worry about. They were too honorable to break a blood oath. Valantine had defeated their king in battle and in a rare show of mercy had spared his life. The king put his entire race in Valantine’s debt. For all intents and purposes, Valantine was King of the Pradians. Very few of the Pradians were pleased with that but he let them feed on all the humans they could handle and any uprising was quickly eliminated.

“This is my gift to your people.”

The Pradian looked at the village and scoffed.

“Can’t you smell it, vampire?”

The Pradian growled, “Do not call me that human.”

“Smell the air General.” Valantine spread his arms, “You’re standing on the edge of Vesterburg.”

The Pradian sniffed the air. His eyes seemed to glaze over, “Innocence.”

Valantine grinned.

II

Damian sat up quickly with a sheen of sweat coating his bare chest. The dream was fresh in his mind. The pure desire and hunger in the voice of that monster was echoing in his head. He wished he could say it was only a dream but he knew it was not. He had witnessed the atrocity Valantine had unleashed. He had been a silent witness to the unimaginable horror that happened in Vesterburg. That memory had been locked deeply away for longer than he could even say. But now, everything was coming back.

He looked around the room and noticed he was covered in some kind of animal skin. A fire was blazing nearby. He looked at his hands. His chains were gone. He seemed to be in some kind of hut. There were several large animal hides hanging from the ceiling. They were made of thick grey fur that shimmered in the firelight.

Damian shifted his body and placed his feet on the floor. His boots were gone but he noticed they were resting by the fire. He peaked under the fur and was grateful to discover he wasn’t completely nude. His pants remained intact and dry.

“It is about time you’ve awakened.”

It was a gruff voice, thick with age and experience. It was a voice Damian had not heard in years, nor ever expected to hear again.

The man was sitting in a chair in the shadows not reached by the fire light. He stood up, his armor clinking and walked towards Damian.

Damian stood, his fists clenched tightly.

Krenin held up a thickly gloved hand and smiled slightly at Damian. His silvery eyes shined in the firelight.

“I am not here for a fight. We covered that ground long ago.”

Damian relaxed slightly.

“There are fresh clothes in the trunk there. I took the liberty of finding something that fits your preferred look.”

Damian stood and walked to the trunk. He bent over and popped it open. Inside was a long black coat made of heavy leather along with a dark tunic.

Damian picked up the cloth shirt and pulled it over his head.

“So you fished me from the river?”

“No. This man did.” Krenin waved his hand and a ball of fire floated out of the fireplace. It hovered in the air and danced slowly towards the shadows at the far side of the hut. The glow revealed a bloodied corpse of an old man. Krenin snapped his fingers and the ball of fire popped, casting the dead man again into the shadows.

“Why did you kill him?”

“The greater good,” Krenin crossed his arms, “You’ll find weapons inside that trunk as well.”

Damian glanced at the trunk.

“There will be plenty of time for that later.”

“I think there is time enough for it now.”

“I am not here for these games!” Krenin roared, “You will listen to me and understand that time is of the utmost importance here. Everything I did all those years ago was in preparation for the coming age. I will not have those plans ruined by him.”

“If you think I am going to help you usher in whatever it is you are trying to usher in you’re out of your brain old man.”

“You will help me Damian. Whether you want to or not. We share a common goal, you and I.”

“Any common interests of ours were extinguished when you betrayed the elders and went to war with me.”

“You know as well as I do that the elders were using you for their own ends. You held no allegiance to them.”

“I held allegiance to Cecil and you nearly destroyed him.”

“Collateral damage.”

Damian had heard enough. He rushed forward.

Krenin held up a hand and Damian flew back and crashed against the call. He fell back onto the bed.

“I am not the man you once quarreled with Damian. I am much, much more now. Your task now is to put Valantine in the ground before he finds what he came back for. Do it right this time. Your little friend knows exactly how it has to be done.” Krenin tapped his forehead, “Your old friend told him how.”

Damian rolled off the bed and stood up slowly, “What is it you’re after?”

Krenin simply smiled.

“Stop Valantine.”

“Oh I plan to. Then I’m coming after you.”

“I look forward to it.” Krenin said. He smirked and vanished, leaving Damian alone in the hut.

Damian brushed the dust from his arms and stepped over to the trunk. He opened it again and fished out the coat. At the bottom of the trunk were the weapons Krenin had left for him.

“I’ll be damned.”

Damian reached into the trunk and pulled out the silver handgun. He popped the magazine and checked it was full. He slammed it home. He stuffed the gun into his waistband and checked the trunk for the other weapons.

Inside were several spare magazines and something he never thought he would see again.

A single, golden katana.

Damian quickly pulled the coat on. It was a perfect fit. He grabbed his sword and the spare magazines and rushed for the door.

If Krenin was telling the truth then there was only one person alive that knew how to kill Valantine.

Nyhm, Damian thought, if you’re out there I’m coming.

III

Adia and Tiko rode behind the others. The other three riders were clustered together a few yards ahead. Tiko had a look of steely resolve across his face as he rode. He had not spoken since he had met up with Adia and the others several hours ago.

Adia edged her horse closer to Tiko. She leaned over and snatched the whip from his saddle.

“Hey…” Tiko tried to grab the whip but Adia moved it out of reach.

“Did you think I’d ignore this? That I wouldn’t ask what happened?”

Tiko returned his gaze to the road.

“She was looking for someone.” He said, “Someone you know.”

Adia pulled the reins on her horse. It nickered and stopped.

The others didn’t notice.

Tiko slowed his horse.

“Who?”

“Krenin Volt.”

The name hit Adia like a bullet. Tiko saw it in her eyes.

“Are you sure?”

“Tomas was working with him. A servant or something.”

Adia looked towards the riders in the distance.

“Krenin left him to die, Adia. I do not think he is a threat. Besides Nyhm…”

Adia held up her hand.

A rider had emerged from the tree line ahead. He rode atop a pale white horse that was in sharp contrast to his dark clothing.

“It can’t be…” Tiko whispered.

But it was. Damian kicked his horse and rode towards them. He smiled when he saw Adia but his smile fell away when he saw Tiko.

His words failed him. The sight of his son in front of him was a shock to the system. After everything he had been through it was nearly too much.

Tiko fully expected the world around him to vanish. He was sent to find Damian and here he was in front of him as if nothing had happened. He felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He slid off his horse.

Damian did the same. They approached and embraced.

The world did not vanish and Tiko for the first time since he returned felt whole again.

* * * * *

The orange fire burned brightly in the darkness. The small group of travelers lay scattered around the fire, except for two of them.

Adia and Damian stand near a rapidly running creek. Adia dips her hands in and splashes the water against her face.

“Did you expect to hear his name again?” She asked.

“Not in this lifetime.” Damian sighed and sat near the edge of the water. He had a deep sense of unease. Adia had told him of her captivity. If he hadn’t been trapped by Valantine, he would have been able to find and free her.

Adia saw this on his face.

“We were both trapped, Damian. If either of us was free we would have saved the other. I know this. It doesn’t do any good dwelling on it.”

“Do you understand what is going on here?” He asked her, “Why Tiko is back, why Valantine is back?”

“I’m really not concerned with the whys anymore Damian. I just want to put Valantine back in the ground.”

“I’m not so sure we can do that.” Damian said, “Krenin told me that’s exactly what he wants me to do. Meaning whatever Krenin has planned can’t seem to happen as long as Valantine is around.”

“You saw Krenin?”

Damian nodded, “He’s stronger than before. He’s got some kind of magic…” He looked over his shoulder towards the fire, “I’m not sure how comfortable I am riding with Krenin’s little…friend.”

“He’s seems trustworthy.”

“I’ve seen him fight. I’ve seen him carry out orders. He is relentless.”

“You know Tomas?”

“Long time ago. Before you.”

“Is he immortal?”

“I’m not sure what he is. If he was gifted the way we were, I don’t know.”

“Gifted? Is that what you call it? Is that what you think we are?”

Damian looked at her.

“This is a curse Damian. We should have died long ago.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“900 Years. 900 years is a long time Damian. It’s too long. It’s too long to do what we do. It’s too long to love someone and know it’s in vain.”

“I can’t give you what you want.” Damian whispered.

“I know this. We had our time Damian. Short as it was. There was only one good thing to come from it and he’s sleeping by that fire. I know what we were back then but what are we now? After everything, what are we now?”

“All that we have left is each other Adia. We can’t let that go.”

Adia stood up.

“900 years is a long time to hold on to something.” She turned and walked towards the fire.

Damian had a flash of a memory of a burning town filled with innocent children and clergy. He lowered his head. If only Adia knew all there was to know. 900 years wouldn’t seem quite as long as she thought. Not compared to Damian. Not in the least.

“There will never be peace.” He whispered softly. The words so quiet he barely heard them himself/

Adia left Damian sitting by the creek. She walked to the fire as quietly as she could but noticed Tomas was sitting awake. He looked up at her as she approached and gave her a nod.

Adia settled down on the hard dirt and pulled her cloak around her. She saw Alexia sleeping peacefully nearby. Both Tiko and Nyhm were snoring slightly on the opposite side of the fire. Damian had yet to follow her up from the creek. She felt disappointed with their talk. She didn’t mean to start an argument; it just seemed to come naturally. She sighed and closed her eyes and hoped that sleep would come claim her quickly.

It did not.

Instead Tomas cleared his throat and began to speak.

“My lord spoke of you many times over the years, Lady Silverblade.” He spoke to her with his head slightly bowed, “You were very dear to him I think.”

“Dear enough that he sent some bounty hunter to split me in half?”

Tomas shrugged and looked at her.

“He treats those he loves worse than his enemies, trust.”

“And you think he loved you Tomas?”

“I was but a servant. Loyal to a fault, but just a servant. In the end he left me to die at the hands of your friend. I was no son, no comrade to Lord Volt.”

“And yet you still call him lord?”

“Old habits I suppose.” He leaned back and for a moment Adia thought he was going to end the conversation there, “I have learned a great many things from Lord Volt. He once told me his greatest disappointment was having to fight those he was most proud of.”

Adia scoffed, “He was skilled at deception Tomas. Speaking to you I know where he got his practice.”

“I know a lie when it is uttered Lady Silverblade. Even if others do not.”

Adia looked at him sharply. Had he heard them talking by the creek? If so what was it he was referring to? Frankly, she was too tired to think it over or question him further. Instead, she asked the only thing she could muster the energy to be concerned about.

“Why is Krenin here?”

“To obtain the Gaia Chain at long lost he believes he has finally tracked it here to this world.”

Adia suddenly did not feel as tired as before.

“The Gaia Chain is the reason he betrayed The Elders. They never felt it necessary to tell us what it was.”

“It is a relic of the Ancient Gods. It is said that the Gaia Chain represents every world in existence. Every link is another dimension, another world.”

“Why does Krenin want it?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Damian said as he stepped from the shadows into the firelight, “Whoever holds the chain has the power to remake everything.”

Adia had a sudden pain in her stomach. She knew at once looking at Damian in the firelight that everything was not as it seemed. She felt a flash of anger as she realized Damian had been keeping information from her.

“Just what the hell is going on here Damian?”

Damian looked at her. His eyes were deadly serious.

“The Bloodline shall end in the service of the chain.” Damian said.

“What the hell does that mean?” Adia asked.

“It means that my final task is to protect the Gaia Chain.”

* * * * *

He watched them from the shadows and listened as they spoke. Even in the dead of night, in wide open spaces the idiots spill their guts like no one could possibly be listening.

But of course, he was listening, and liking what he was hearing more and more.

This changes everything, Valantine thought, perhaps he could find this Krenin Volt and make an ally out of an enemy. Unfortunately, he was unable to learn anything else. He saw Nyhm jolt awake from sleep and look directly at the area he was hiding in.

“Balls.” He whispered, “Time to go.” Valantine slipped back into the shadows and darted off into the forest.

He ran until he reached the small clearing where he had tied his horse. He didn’t seem to have anyone following him so he figured he had made it free and clear. His next goal is to figure out how exactly to track down Krenin Volt. Normally, he’d send Starr on this type of chore. She had certain, gifts, when it came to convincing and recruiting. He hadn’t heard from her in quite a while. In fact, he almost cared enough to worry if he wasn’t so furious about her desertion.

“Why do you run?” A voice came from behind Valantine. He reached for the dagger inside his coat.

“You won’t need that.”

Valantine turned slowly and lowered his hand. He adjusted the dark coat he was wearing and looked at the man speaking go him.

“You have great power in you yet you run from them.” Krenin said. He had his arms crossed. Valantine was exceptionally worried about the large handle behind his head that was no doubt attached to a very large blade, “You are an enigma, Mr. Valantine. You continue to defy those that would claim your soul. You have some very angry people after you. Both from this world and the next.”

Valantine smirked, “A lot of people want to know the things that I know. Keeping me dead is a good way to get at that information.”

It was Krenin’s turn to smirk, “You don’t know near as much as you think you do.”

“I know what you’re looking for.” Valantine said, “I can help you find it.”

Krenin laughed.

Valantine turned away and climbed onto his horse.

“Again Valantine, you overestimate your relevance. Still, you might be of some use. I’d rather have you at my side than in my way.”

Valantine flew from his horse and crashed to the ground. Krenin walked over to him and knelt beside him.

“Listen to me closely Valantine. Heed these words carefully. I am the master and you are the dog.” Krenin grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. He set Valantine on his feet.

“Bow.”

Valantine looked in Krenin’s eyes.

“Be a good dog, Valantine.” Krenin drew his arm back and delivered a thunderous punch to Valantine’s gut, “and BOW.”

Valantine collapsed to his knees.

“There you go.” Krenin tapped Valantine’s head, “Now listen closely. I don’t need your help to find the Gaia Chain. I already know exactly where it is. However, there is something I need for you to find.”

Valantine looked up at him, “What would that be?”

“The man with answers.”

“Who?”

“The first of the Elders.” Krenin walked from Valantine and climbed upon a ghostly white horse with shimmery silver eyes. That horse seemingly appeared out of thin air, “You might have better luck tracking him by his chosen name.”

Valantine looked at him. He was becoming increasingly frustrated with these games, “And that is?”

“The Storyteller.”

To Be Continued