"Bracken," Seth said, "I have an idea."
"Let's have it," Bracken replied, eyes on the battle.
Seth began unbuckling his sword belt. "Why don't you take Vasilis? I'm sure you could make better use of it than I could."
"A noble gesture," Bracken said, temporarily taking his eyes off the scattered skirmishes. "But you're wrong, Seth. A sword like Vasilis does not always connect to a new master as it has connected to you. You and the Sword of Light and Darkness complement each other. I can sense that in my hands it would be a fine weapon, but it would fail to draw power from my mind and heart as it does from yours. I will fare just as well using my horn. Keep your blade."
"What should we do?" Vanessa asked.
"We wait," Bracken said. "Without wings, we can't harass the enemy like the astrids or the fairies. Our weapons will be needed as the battle unfolds."
On the field between the shrine and the prison, the harassing raids had enraged the demons, and the battle was growing fiercer. Seth saw a couple of fairies torn from the air, and an injured astrid had to be rescued by companions. The demons spread ever wider to confront the multidirectional sorties. For the moment, Bracken had succeeded in preventing the demons from concentrating their efforts on the shrine.
Without warning, the Sphinx appeared near Bracken. Dusty and winded, he held the Translocator in his hands and supported the Chronometer in the crook of his arm. The Font of Immortality protruded from his belt.
"The other two artifacts?" Bracken asked the Sphinx, evidently unsurprised by his appearance.
"Nagi Luna will not let the Oculus out of her grasp," the Sphinx said. "Graulas is the same with the Sands of Sanctity. This was the first moment when I had a chance to snatch any of the artifacts. Gorgrog has just emerged from confinement, and all attention was on him. As it was, I had to gar-rote Mr. Lich."
"You killed your friend?" Seth asked.
"He sided with the demons against me," the Sphinx said. "His willful treachery helped create this disaster. I thanked him appropriately."
"Will the artifacts do us any good at this point?" Kendra asked.
"My plan depends on recovering them," Bracken said, taking the Sphinx by the hand and fixing him with a level stare. "Will you shuttle in a strike force to recover the other artifacts?"
"It would be my honor," the Sphinx said.
"Fair enough," Bracken said, releasing his hand. "Targoron, Silvestrus, go with the Sphinx and retrieve the remaining artifacts."
"I need a better weapon," the Sphinx said.
"Take mine," Trask offered.
The Sphinx handed the Chronometer and the Font of Immortality to a nearby astrid, and then accepted the sword from Trask. "This belonged to the Gray Assassin," the Sphinx recognized, hardness entering his eyes. "It should do the job."
"You will engage the enemy only as a last resort," Bracken said. "Your priority must be to transport the artifacts back to us."
"And try to return my sword," Trask added.
"Graulas and Nagi Luna will not relinquish the remaining artifacts lightly," the Sphinx affirmed, swishing his sword through the air.
"Let me come," Seth blurted. "I'll take care of Graulas."
Bracken looked at Seth's sheathed sword. He hesitated, glancing at Kendra, who shook her head. Bracken rubbed his temple. "The Sphinx will take Targoron and Silvestrus first, then return for Seth and Peredor." Kendra gave Seth a worried frown. He tried to reassure her with a small smile. Bracken rested a hand on the Sphinx's shoulder. "After retrieving the artifacts, your priority will be to protect Seth and his sword."
There came a tremendous roar from the rift in the dome, a bellow of rage and triumph, easily overpowering the clamor of battle. An enormous figure came striding from the rift, a humanoid with a tremendous rack of contorted antlers. Body covered in thick fur, the personage stood taller than Hugo but shorter than the colossal Brogo. In defiance of the direct glare from the rising sun, darkness rippled around him. One fist held a huge, elaborate sword, edges bristling with spikes and serrations. Several corpses dragged on the ground behind him, affixed to his wide belt by black chains. An iron crown hugged the base of the antlers, atop a bullish head.
"Gorgrog," Bracken said.
"The time to move is now," the Sphinx insisted. "Go," Bracken ordered.
The Sphinx twisted the Translocator and disappeared with Targoron and Silvestrus. A moment later he reappeared alone. Seth stepped forward with Peredor. They each laid a hand on the Translocator. When the Sphinx twisted the device, they were suddenly inside the dome.
Enough sunlight gleamed through the gaping crack in one wall to light the dome, but persistent shadows remained off to the sides. The ceiling seemed to curve impossibly high. At the center of the room, demons continued to emerge from a circular void in the floor, the real gateway of Zzyzx.
From this closer vantage, the demons appeared much more terrifying. Targoron was already locked in combat with a six-armed foe, and Silvestrus put a spear through a two-headed brute with teeth like knives. Peredor brought his war hammer down on the head of a stocky, bearded foe with blue skin and bright yellow eyes.
Graulas stood not far off, near the wall, away from the throng of demons parading toward the fissure in the wall of the dome. His face broke into an eager, evil smile when he met eyes with Seth. In one hand he held the Sands of Sanctity. The other hand gripped a heavy spear.
"You came looking for me after all," Graulas said, boisterous voice penetrating the tumult. "I should have known. You have collected quite a sword. Again, you astonish me, Seth Sorenson. Sadly, my final lesson will be that any blade is only as mighty as the wielder. Come. We have unfinished business, you and I."
Several demons had beset the Sphinx and the three astrids, but the other demons ignored Seth. Maybe he didn't look threatening enough to worry about. Maybe they were leaving him for Graulas. Whatever the case, Seth found himself walking forward, closing the gap between himself and the demon who had tricked and betrayed him.
Seth gazed up at the ram head framed by a set of curled horns. Broadly built, thickly muscled, clad in a breastplate and greaves, Graulas did not appear sickly in any way. Seth kept his hand on the pommel of his sword, instinct telling him not to draw it yet. Graulas seemed to assume that Seth was an unworthy wielder of Vasilis, and Seth saw no reason to persuade him otherwise.
"I can sense your confidence in your weapon," Graulas said. "Vasilis is a celebrated talisman. I almost claimed it once. Much better men than you have lost it. Your cause is hopeless. No help can avail you today. Stop delaying. The sword will function better unsheathed."
If Graulas lunged forward, he could now reach Seth with his spear. Seth's mouth felt dry. The wild ruckus of the cavorting demons faded from his attention. How had he imagined he could defeat Graulas? The demon had torn down a house with his bare hands! He had usurped the power of the Sphinx!
Seth clenched his jaw. There was no turning back now, nowhere to run. His only allies were fighting for their lives. And Graulas had the Sands of Sanctity.
Seth no longer advanced. "I healed you and you killed my friend."
Graulas sneered. "Don't stop there. By healing me, you essentially opened Zzyzx."
"Yeah, well, I'm here to unheal you." As Seth pulled out Vasilis, the blade sang in his hand, glaring with a scarlet intensity he had not yet seen. The sparks of defiance inside of Seth flamed into fury and confidence.
Graulas grimaced, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. The demon glanced away, and Seth followed his gaze to Nagi Luna, who perched on a rocky outcrop cackling wildly. Grunting, Graulas jabbed the spear at Seth. The thrust seemed slow and clumsy, and Seth hacked the head off the spear with a quick sweep of his blade.
"You claimed the sword had not taken to him!" Graulas growled vehemently. Seth could tell that the demon was no longer speaking English, but he could still comprehend the meaning. Scarlet flames spread down the shaft of his spear.
"Try to claim authority over me, will you?" Nagi Luna jeered at Graulas. "Try to steal the glory of my conquest?"
Graulas threw the shaft of his spear at Seth, who dodged aside without trouble. "Curse you for this, hag," Graulas rumbled. "You'll pay. If I fall, I'll summon a curse that will--"
"Kill him, boy," Nagi Luna snapped.
Graulas and Seth sprang toward each other simultaneously. Vasilis blazed, slicing through fur and breastplate almost without slowing. Angry flames erupted over Graulas as his claws raked down Seth's sides and his teeth clamped shut on his shoulder.
Seth fell flat on his back, Vasilis still in his hand, the crushing weight of the flaming demon pressing down on him. Stripes of pain seared his sides, and the demon's teeth remained embedded in his shoulder. The stench of burning meat and fur filled his nostrils. Seth could not move. As the fire spread over Graulas, Seth realized he would be cooked along with his blazing enemy. At least he would not die alone! Coulter would be proud.
Strong hands started prying the teeth apart at his shoulder, and the weight of the fiery demon rolled off of him. The Sphinx helped Seth to his feet. Peredor stood at his side. Targoron and Silvestrus continued to fight valiantly nearby. Beside Seth, raging flames consumed the lifeless corpse of the old demon.
"You really can use that sword," the Sphinx said, impressed.
"The Sands of Sanctity?" Seth asked, feeling lightheaded. Refreshing energy flowed into his arm through Vasilis. Without the sword, Seth doubted whether he would be standing.
"Nagi Luna grabbed the artifact the instant Graulas fell," the Sphinx said darkly.
Turning, Seth saw her grinning on her rocky perch, the Sands of Sanctity in one hand, the Oculus in the other. Other demons had gathered around her in a defensive formation.
"Return the artifacts," the Sphinx demanded.
Nagi Luna gave a strangled cackle. "I am no longer your prisoner! I am the liberator of demonkind!"
More demons surged to protect her. Hunched and shriveled as she was, Nagi Luna would soon get away. Seth charged forward, Vasilis held high. Strength flooded into him from the sword, and the blade blazed like the hottest coals in a forge. Demons howled and wailed as Vasilis cleaved them, often striking two or three with a single swipe. As when he had dispatched the undead behind the Totem Wall, the sword seemed to subtly guide Seth, as if they were partners working together.
Alongside Seth, the Sphinx, Targoron, Silvestrus, and Peredor joined the fray. The demons gave way before them, particularly cowering from the fiery blade that effortlessly carved through armor and shield, shell and scales, setting ablaze all who came near.
Nagi Luna began to scramble away. Across the room, a hulking, shaggy demon with antlers like a moose moved toward them, holding an enormous battle-ax.
"Orogoro approaches," the Sphinx panted beside Seth. "The eldest son of Gorgrog. If he intervenes, all is lost."
Seth experienced a heightened sense of awareness, absorbing all the details of the scene in an instant. Despite the ferocious attack he and the others had mounted, too many demons separated them from Nagi Luna. Orogoro would reach her first. And the artifacts would be gone, the artifacts Bracken had said were central to his plan. Without those artifacts the world would end.
The decision was made in an instant. Mustering all his strength, Seth hauled back Vasilis and flung it at Nagi Luna. The sword leapt from his hand with more force than the throw warranted, as if determined to reach the target, shedding flames and sparks as it spun through the air. The blade pierced the wizened demon through the back, and flames engulfed her shriveled form.
Seth crashed to the ground. Without Vasilis, all vitality had fled. The agony of his wounds reached new intensity, as if acid had been poured on his injuries. Dimly, Seth was aware of Peredor, Targoron, and Silvestrus springing into the air. Cheek against the ground, he foggily watched heavy boots shuffle near. Succumbing to pain and exhaustion, he did nothing to protect himself as jostling demons began to trample him. As his consciousness faded, the pain diminished.
The bite and scratches from Graulas had been poisonous. He could feel the toxins flowing in his veins. He had cheated death several times. Now he would finally die. He had done his best. Hopefully one of the others would recover the artifacts from Nagi Luna.
Then Peredor knelt at his side and slid the hilt of Vasilis into his hand. The blade glowed, and awareness returned.
"The artifacts," Seth mumbled, sitting up.
"The Sphinx and Targoron got them," Peredor said. "They were being swarmed, so they teleported away with them. Silvestrus has fallen."
Cradling Seth in his strong arms, the astrid took flight. Seth looked down at the mass of demons continuing to flood from the round void in the floor, and watched the crowd marching out through the rift in the side of the dome.
"I feel... weak," Seth mumbled.
"Vasilis strengthens you, but it doesn't heal you," Peredor said, evading a winged demon. "Hang on. There is poison in you. Stay awake. Keep talking."
"Who got the artifacts?" Seth asked sluggishly.
Peredor dove through the rift in the dome, and a moment later they were gliding over the battlefield toward the shrine. With Seth in his arms, rather than fight, Peredor spent his whole energy dodging adversaries. Above the army of demons, Peredor employed dizzying acrobatics to keep away from enemies, but Seth experienced the maneuvers numbly, as if from a great distance.
"You still with me?" Peredor asked. They were nearing the shrine.
"Still with you," Seth slurred. In his hand, the glow of Vasilis had grown faint.