Asgoleth the Warrior

chapter NINE

Demos winced with pain as his wounded leg reminded him of its presence. Anger burned in his heart as he thought of the barbarian who had inflicted the wound. If he ever caught the dog he would enjoy watching his slow and agonising death.

A slight sound from behind made him turn towards the open flap of his tent and he grinned, his pain forgotten, as he beheld Amira there. Behind her stretched the bleak and arid landscape of the Blasted Land, a desolate place of death. Long ago this place had been green and fertile and then the Great Destruction had come, leaving behind it this accursed wasteland.

He frowned as he thought of the distance he had yet to travel before he reached the hiding place of The Heart of Ra. For a week now he and his men had wound their way through this harsh and deadly land. Broiling in their armour by day and freezing by night. No sight or sound of life broke the monotony of their journey, for in all that desolation, they were the only living things.

He knew his men feared the demons and monsters that were said to haunt the wastes and a sneer touched his lips. He knew that they feared him more and they were right to do so. His wrath would be far worse than any demons if they should fail to obey him.

He dismissed the armed escort that had brought the princess to him and he grinned as the tent flap closed behind her. She was a lovely thing and he had taken much pleasure in exploring her sensitive mind. He delighted in watching her writhe in torment and horror at the things he showed her, the things he made her do for his amusement.

When his eyes locked with hers she became his helpless puppet, aware of what was happening to her but powerless to stop him. Oh she fought him every time but her mind and will, though strong, were untrained and could not stand against him.

He always won and he took a cruel pleasure in feeling her defences crumble slowly under his onslaught. So it would continue, each time she became inured to one horror he would force his will upon her and expose another level of her mind to exquisite torment. She still had so much to experience, so many levels of her mind to be stripped away. He would enjoy teaching her the true meaning of horror and when he finally tired of her? Well then, she would make a fine sacrifice to Balzar.

That however, lay far in the future. For today she would serve to pass an hour or two. He grinned again and said,

‘Look into my eyes, Amira. Tell me what you see there.’

Only a strangled gasp came from her throat as she strove to avoid his gaze and he laughed at her distress. His voice was low and compelling as he said,

‘Look at me, Amira, look at me.’

Slowly her head turned and beads of sweat ran down her face as she fought against his will but it was useless, her body would not obey her and at last, with a small cry of despair upon her lips, her eyes met his.

She gazed into his black, red flecked eyes and her remaining willpower slipped away from her. She was as helpless as a rabbit caught in the gaze of a serpent. He knew it and his mocking laughter filled the tent.

‘Look into my eyes, Amira. Look deep into my eyes and tell me what you see there.’

She moaned and her eyes flew wide with horror.

‘I see people; no, they are not people. They are monsters, hideous monsters! Ah by mighty Solus, what blasphemies! My lord I beg you to stop this. Please I beg you!’

Her pleas were ignored.

‘Tell me what they are doing, Amira’

‘They are dancing.’ she sobbed,’ Oh such shameful dancing.’

‘Can you hear the music they dance to?’

Her body stiffened and her eyes were dilated as the ghostly music grew louder in her brain. She screamed in torment and loathing and Demos, his black eyes glittering with malice, cried out.

‘Dance, Amira, dance to the music for your master.’

‘No!’ she cried, ‘I will not dance for you. I am Amira, princess of Torr. I will not do this.’

Demos merely grinned at her and watched as she fought with every fibre of her being to resist his will but it was no use. He was too strong for her. A moan of rage and shame escaped her as she felt her hips begin to sway. Slowly her arms rose into the air and her silken cloak fell to the soft carpet with a soft rustle.

She stood before him now, naked save for a hands breadth of silk about her swaying hips. Gold and silver bracelets around her wrists and ankles clashed and tinkled as she began to dance to the hellish music in her mind.

Wantonly, as abandoned as any tavern harlot, the princess swayed and leapt and gyrated before him, faster and faster until her shapely limbs were but a blur of spinning, leaping movement. Her hair whipped about her face and her body glistened with perspiration as she danced and Demos laughed as he watched her. She moaned and cried out, still fighting against his power but the demonic music held her captive. A helpless, beautiful puppet of her masters will.

No man with red blood in his veins could have watched her dance without being inflamed by her beauty and Demos, even though he was steeped in evil, was yet a man and felt desire start to burn within him. He raised his hand and said,

‘Stop.’

Instantly the music in her mind vanished and she sank, gasping, to her knees. His voice was harsh now, choked with passion as he commanded.

‘Crawl to me, princess. Crawl to me on your knees and beg me for my favours.’

He watched as her body obeyed his command, relished the fear and shame burning in her desperate eyes. She reached him and her hands caressed his body hungrily. Her eyes blazed with fury and despair but her voice was no longer hers to control.

‘My lord, I am your slave. I beg you to use me as you will. I beg you my lord, I beg you,’

He reached out and curled his fingers through her long dark hair. They closed cruelly and he drew her face towards his.

His lips drew towards hers, closer and closer until he could feel her breath upon his cheek. He drank in her helpless beauty and his lips drew back in a cruel, rictus smile.

‘I am going to take you on a journey such as you would never have believed possible Amira. You shall suffer for my pleasure and you will beg for more. Aye, how you shall suffer.’

His eyes glowed inhumanly red now and she shrieked with terror but still she could not summon the strength of will to escape his dominion of her. He laughed and ripped away the silk from her hips and she moaned and cried out yet again as this inhuman thing caressed her nakedness with cruel hands.

As he drew her down beside him she vowed to herself that this would be the last time she would suffer so at his hands. When she had control of her body back once more she would take her own life. She closed her eyes as he clutched at her body and steeled herself against the torment to come.

A horn blared out. Again and yet again the harsh notes sounded and it was answered by the sound of voices raised in anger and alarm. Amira found herself cast aside as Demos rose cursing to his feet, pulling on his robe as he did so. He pulled aside the tent flap and demanded an explanation of the soldier who came running towards him breathlessly.

‘My lord, I found our sentries at the southern perimeter lying dead with their throats cut. No one saw or heard anything.’

Demos glared angrily at the man who trembled before him and then he turned his eye upon Amira as she spat,

‘Perhaps you are not as mighty as you think you are you dog. There are some at least who do not fear you.’

Demos snarled and raised his hand and a bolt of red light shot from the gem upon his finger. It struck Amira and she began to shriek as she was engulfed by that ghastly radiance. She writhed and twisted while Demos snarled at her suffering. Finally he lowered his hand and she gasped and lay still as the glow faded. He left her like that, sprawled naked and unconscious on the floor of the tent, and then turned back to the terrified soldier.

‘Show me.’

He hissed and followed the man into the dark.

The wound in his leg ached and his face was a mask of black fury as he looked down upon the bodies of the sentries. By the light of the flickering torches his men held aloft, he could see that the dead men’s swords were still in their scabbards and their spears lay beside the bodies as if gently lowered. Death had reached out and taken these two without any fuss and had then retreated back into the shadows from whence it had come.

He glared out over the desolate landscape but could see nothing there. The pale light of the moon only served to deepen the shadows that lay among the scattered rocks. The killer could be hiding among them even now, laughing at him and waiting his chance to strike again. He snarled at the thought and raised his hand once more.

Bolt after bolt of ruby power lashed out into the night. Rocks were smashed to rubble under the terrible impacts and the thundering roar of their destruction pealed out all around. Men covered their ears and fell to their knees as their master sent forth his rage and fury. All around the perimeter of the encampment went the bolts of deadly power until at last, drained of energy, Demos lowered his hand.

The rumbling roar of the concussions gradually faded away into silence and men climbed slowly back to their feet, shocked by the display of deadly power they had just witnessed. Surely nothing could have survived that.

Demos glared at them and cried out,

‘Hear me Akonites; these two were killed by bandits. Foolish men who thought they were as strong as we. They have learned the error of their ways and have paid the price for their foolishness.

At first light a patrol will go forth and find the bodies which will then be hung from a scaffold as a warning to others that we are all powerful in this land. The danger is past now men, you need have no more fear.’

A ragged cheer greeted his confident words and Demos smiled coldly. Then he turned to the soldier, who had found the slain sentries and said,

‘See that these two are buried before first light. I don’t want the sight of their bodies to feed the fears of the men. See to it at once.’

‘Aye my lord, it shall be done.’ the soldier replied.

Suddenly the man gasped and his eyes opened wide with shock and Demos snarled as he saw the point of an arrow which had sprouted bloodily from the front of the man’s tunic. The soldier fell, clutching at the shaft that pierced his heart and as he did so, other men cried out as more deadly shafts found their marks in flesh.

The camp became a pandemonium of running men and frightened horses. In the light of the campfires the men made easy targets and Demos, cursing himself for not having thought of it sooner, cried out,

‘Put out those fires fools! They are giving away your positions.’

Several more men died as they obeyed his commands but at last the fires were extinguished and darkness cloaked the camp. A tense silence fell as all waited to see what would happen next.

Demos, like the others, lay on his belly on the ground and stared into the menacing gloom. None there would dare to say so but they all knew that he had failed them and so too, to his intense annoyance, did Demos. Word of his failure to defeat his foes would soon spread he knew and the knowledge rankled his soul. Whoever was out there in the darkness had dealt him a heavy blow this night but it was a blow he would recover from.

Once he had the Heart of Ra in his possession he would be truly invincible. Then let any who doubted him come forward. They would all die and their deaths would serve as a warning to others. He grinned at his ambitious dreams then froze as a long, blood curdling cry rang out. The sound echoed among the tumbled rocks making it impossible to locate its source and men clutched the earth and bit their lips in fear as they listened to that unholy noise. Such a cry could only come from the lips of a demon and all knew that these desolate wastes were home to such creatures.

Demos too trembled at the sound but not because he feared some demon of the wastes. He had heard that ghastly cry before when Asgoleth the Calthian had hacked his way out of the palace back in Torr. That barbarian had almost killed him then and now, here he was again, still stalking his prey. Suddenly, Demos, despite all the power he wielded, felt terribly, terribly afraid

The fear though was only a temporary thing and then his arrogance reasserted itself. He would not allow a filthy barbarian animal to destroy his plans. He reached out and gripped the arm of a soldier lying nearby.

‘Make your way to my tent and bring the princess Amira here to me. This barbarian has vowed to rescue her and that shall be his undoing, go now.’

The man gasped, ‘Aye my lord’ and slithered off into the darkness.

Demos grinned coldly into the night. Somewhere out there was a man foolish enough to think he could defy the will of Demos. Well he would soon learn how foolish he really was. Time passed with agonising slowness and Demos began to wonder if the soldier had made it. Then he heard a soft clanking sound and looking behind him he grinned as he saw a squad of his men approaching safely concealed behind a wall and roof of linked shields. No barbarian arrow would penetrate that barrier.

Within moments he too was behind the barrier and he gazed with cold satisfaction upon the swooning form of Amira. She would be the instrument of her would be rescuers doom. He would enjoy making her relive her part in this when the barbarian was dead. He raised a hand up to his mouth and called out.

‘Hear me Calthian; the princess is with me now. If you open fire again you may hit her.’

There was no answer but there were no arrows either and Demos grinned and went on.

‘Unless you surrender to me now Barbarian I will have her tortured to death. If you doubt me, listen.’

He turned to Amira and once more raised his hand. The gem pulsed with hellish ruby life but not as brightly as before. Using his power to blast the shadows beyond the perimeter of the camp had weakened him but he still had energy enough to carry out his threat. From the pulsing gem upon his finger a beam of red light leapt forth and the soldiers holding Amira jumped aside with frightened curses upon their lips as she was enveloped in a red glow.

Her eyes flew open and a long, pain filled, shriek was torn from her as that hellish light worked its grim magic upon her body. Again and again she cried out in her torment until Demos finally lowered his hand and the beam died away allowing her to fall sobbing to her hands and knees upon the ground. Demos called out,

‘Did you hear that Barbarian? That was just a taste of the agonies she will suffer unless you surrender to me. The dawn is but an hour away, you have until then to decide. Her life is in your hands.’

Amira raised tear filled eyes and glared at her tormentor with hatred and loathing.

‘He will not give himself up to you, you pig. He will hunt you down and slay you.’

Demos sneered at her and said,

‘How little you Know, little princess, this hulking brute of a barbarian desires your freedom not your death. He will surrender.’

‘Never!’ she cried, ‘Never! He will kill you, you animal.’

Demos smiled,

‘We shall see Amira, we shall see.’

They fell silent then and began the short wait for dawn.

As the eastern sky grew brighter and the rays of the rising sun drove back the shadows of the night, a tense, expectant silence lay over the Akonite encampment as they waited to see what the Calthian would do. The silence remained unbroken as the sun climbed higher and Demos snarled quietly as he looked out at the forbidding wastes that held his enemy. His men glanced at him from time to time but said nothing, fearful of arousing his wrath. At last Demos decided to force the barbarian’s hand. Perhaps the fool thought he had been bluffing in his threat to kill the girl. Well he would soon find out differently. He knew now the location of the Heart of Ra; he did not need her anymore.

‘Bring her.’ he growled as he rose to his feet. Once again his wounded leg sent out a clarion call of pain and his face twisted. By all the gods he thought, this barbarian was going to take a long time to die.

His strength had returned a little and as he emerged from the protection of the shields his body was once again clothed in a glowing mantle of red energy as it had been before the walls of Fort Kronos. In his glowing armour he was protected against any earthly weapons, as long as his strength lasted.

He searched the jumbled rocky terrain with keen eyes but could see no sign of his foe. He was out there though, this he knew, watching every move he made. He decided to give the barbarian something to watch and gripping Amira by the neck, so cruelly that she cried out in pain, he forced her to her knees at his feet. She struggled but his grip was too powerful for her to break. Demos called out,

‘Hear me, Calthian. This girl will die now because of you. You had the chance to save her and you did not take it. Watch then as her body is consumed by fire. Watch as her soul is torn from her body and borne off to everlasting torment.’

He laughed as he raised his hand and his eyes gleamed with wicked anticipation as he looked down upon his writhing captive. Again that evil gem began to pulse and glow and Amira screamed. She saw no pity in her captor’s eyes only a cruel joy and she knew without a doubt that he would carry out his threat. Despite her terror she cried out,

‘Do not listen to him, Asgoleth, he must be stopped. Kill him.’

Demos merely sneered at her and raised his hand for the killing stroke but before he could unleash the hellish gems power against her a voice rang out,

‘Hold dog! I am here.’

Demos gave a startled curse at the nearness of the voice and saw the huge form of the barbarian emerge, as if by magic, from the shadows where he had lain concealed.

‘Take him!’ screamed Demos and a squad of his soldiers leapt to obey. In moments Asgoleth had been stripped of his weapons and his arms bound behind him with thick leather thongs. Demos sneered at his captive.

‘Well done barbarian, now your pretty princess will live but you? Oh you will die as no man has died before. You will scream and beg for death and when I finally grant it to you, you will die thanking me.’

Asgoleth said nothing and Demos snarled,

‘Take him away; I will dispose of him later.’

Amira watched in despair as her protector was dragged away and she began to weep. He had been her only hope and now it seemed that hope had been dashed. With Asgoleth a prisoner she could think of nothing that could stand in the way of Demos’ plans to plunge the world into an age of slavery and nightmare.