William attempted to move toward the girl, but something held his feet in place. I’m dreaming, he thought.
A pillar of flame erupted around Talia and she rose up from the floor screaming in agony. Creatures of flame, demons with animal heads, appeared and surrounded Talia’s flame-prison. “William!” she screamed.
Suddenly he found he could move. He was wearing armor and carrying a sword of blinding light. He struck the first demon from behind and it shrieked in pain.
All the creatures turned as one and began to move in concert against William, who stood resolute, refusing to concede a foot to them, and laid about with his sword. But for each one he cut, another took its place. Hot talons struck at his shield and armor. He felt pain and heat, yet the armor remained intact. He found that his arm was tiring and his legs were growing shaky, but he continued to stand fast and deal out injury with every thrust.
After a seemingly endless time, his lungs were fit to burst and he had to will each blow as if commanding an unwilling servant; his arms and legs were so reluctant to obey him. Yet the demons continued to press him, and an increasing number of their blows were getting through.
Still he could see no damage to his armor and no wounds were visible on his body, though he could still feel each talon and fang, feel the searing heat of their touch on his flesh. They bore him back and he felt despair engulf him, but each time he thought it impossible to continue, Talia’s pleading voice would reach him: “William! Save me! William, help me!”
He raised his arm again, the pain threatening to overwhelm him, and unleashed another blow.
Slowly the tide turned. A demon fell, and no other appeared. He turned his pain-racked body to attack the next creature about its head and shoulders till it was gone.
As each creature fell, renewed hope rose up within William and he drove himself onward. Depths of strength he did not realize existed within him were plumbed, and he struck, again and again.
Then suddenly the last demon was gone. He stumbled, barely able to put one foot before the other. Somehow, he reached the tower of flame trapping Talia. She stood there calmly, smiling at him.
His parched lips parted and in a voice as dry as sand he said, “Talia?”
When he reached out to touch the flames, they vanished. The girl he loved hung suspended in the air and her smile was radiant.
Softly, William said, “We did it, Talia. It’s over.”
A rumble arose around them and the Rainbow Parrot’s taproom shattered like a mirror, the shards falling away into nothing. They stood facing one another in a featureless black void.
William reached out to touch Talia, but before his hand could reach her cheek, a voice boomed out: “No, son of conDoin. Though you have freed Talia’s soul from being consumed, your part in this has only begun.”
Talia looked at William and her lips were motionless, but he could still hear her dying declaration in his mind.
“I swear by Kahooli I will have my vengeance!”
The deep voice came again: “I am Kahooli, God of Vengeance, and your dedication calls to me. Because of your dedication I will answer this woman’s dying prayer. You will not be alone in what lies ahead of you.”
Talia began to fade before his eyes. William reached for her, but his fingers passed through her image, as if through smoke.
Weeping, he cried, “Talia, please stay!”
Talia’s eyes also shed tears as she spoke in a voice like a whispering breeze. “Say goodbye to me, please . . .”
At the last instant before she became insubstantial, William whispered, “Goodbye, my love.”
Suddenly, his body was racked with agony and his lungs burned as if on fire. He rolled over, retching as water spilled from his lungs. Coughing, he felt strong hands help him to sit upright.
He blinked and cleared his vision. He was drenched in water, wearing the armor he had worn when facing Bear, not the mystical plate he had worn when facing the demons.
A face swam before him, slowly coming into focus. A hawk-beaked man with intense eyes regarded him.
After a moment, William said, “I know you!”
“Yes, my young friend,” said the man, sitting back on his heels upon the riverbank, watching William. “You are that young officer I met some weeks ago, escorting some dignitary from a foreign land on a hunt, if I recall. My name is Sidi.
“I saw you floating in the river, and since it is unusual to see a lad swimming in armor, I deduced you were in some need of aid. It appears that I was correct.”
Glancing around, William asked, “Where am I?”
“On the banks of the river, obviously.” Pointing downstream, Sidi added, “That ways lies a town called Haldon Head and beyond it, the sea.”
William looked around again. They were in a stretch of woodlands, and there was little to be seen nearby save trees. “What were you doing here?”
“I was looking for someone.”
“Who?”