Chapter 38 - Beyond the Veil

“What?” Hump’s heart stopped. He glanced at Celaine, who stared at him with wide and terrified eyes. “I… I can’t do that.”

“It’s a shame, I know,” Kassius said. “You’re clearly quite fond of her, but you must understand my predicament. Talk is one thing, but I need you to prove your commitment through action. Kill Celaine. Take the first step on the path to eternity.”

“This is pointless,” Hump growled. “If I betray Celaine, all it proves is that I can betray anyone. You included.”

Kassius smiled. “Oh, I don’t doubt that. Every man has his price. Every man has his breaking point. There can be no path back, Hump.”

Hump frowned. He forced himself not to glance at the tunnel, not to do anything that might give Vamir away.

“Why are you pondering?” Kassius chuckled. “This is hardly a decision. I am offering you a choice between immortality and death. Celaine’s life was forfeit the moment she entered this chamber; you merely must decide whether you die with her or not.” Kassius shook the handle of his knife, urging Hump to take it. The silver blade shone with the faint red glow of the crystal barrier around the dungeon core. “Don’t be a fool,” Kassius hissed. “Take it. This is the first of the many steps you must take.”

Hump met Kassius’ eyes, filled with a cold green light that chilled him to his core.

Just buy time, Hump told himself. He reached out a trembling hand and took the knife. The hilt felt foreign in his hand. The leather was soft and smooth, the silver hilt studded with red gems. Hump felt the power from within them. They were smaller than the kobold heartstones, but they were far more powerful. Warmth flooded in from his hand, helping to relieve the cold of essence overuse.

“Very good,” Kassius said. He placed a hand on Hump’s shoulder and turned him to face Celaine. “Now get on with it. I’ve a dragon to kill after all.”

Hump stared at the knife in his hand and took his first step. When he looked up, he saw Celaine glaring back at him defiantly. Did she really think he could kill her?

You could, a quiet voice whispered inside his head. The part of him that hungered for he’d never had. Wealth, comfort, power. You could kill her and join him. You could be powerful.

“Well, go on!” Kassius said impatiently. “It’s time, Hump. Do it and be done with it, then we might all get out of this hell pit.”

Hump’s heart thundered as he stepped closer to Celaine. As he approached, she struggled against the Black Paladin’s grasp with a sudden fury. He took another slow step toward her, his staff clacking against the stone ground. He willed her to understand with every fibre of his being.

Hurry up Vamir, he thought.

He was standing in front of her before he knew it. She stopped struggling and was staring at him, her eyes shining with that same warm green light. The light that had given him hope when he was entombed by darkness. It was nothing like the cold death in Kassius’ eyes; hers were filled with life.

“You won’t,” she said quietly. “You’re a good person, Hump. You can’t kill me.”

Hump gulped. His mouth felt dry. He wanted to reassure her, but he couldn’t. He had an act to play, and Kassius had to believe it if they were both to survive. “You don’t know me. I’m no Chosen for a reason, Celaine. It was fun while it lasted, but this fairy tale is over.”

She snorted. Even here with death only steps away, she managed to be obnoxious. “Sure. You’re an evil arsehole that just puts their life on the line to help people for the hell of it.”

Hump shrugged. “At the end of the day, I’ve got to look out for myself.”

She stared at him, fire in her eyes. “Then do it. Get it over with. Better one of us live than both of us die. And I certainly don’t want to be the one stuck working with Prince Kassius.”

Hump held her eyes, then glanced at the paladin. His scarred face was a stoic mask. Up close, his skin appeared like pale leather covered in bulging growths. It could happen to him just as easily, mutilated beyond recognition, completely ensnared by Kassius’ power. Enthralled as nothing more than a puppet. If it could happen to one of the Lady Light’s Chosen, it could happen to anyone.

“Can you not even look at me,” Celaine growled. “Coward.”

“Sorry about this,” Hump said quietly. He raised his dagger and she flinched, squinting her eyes but never taking them from the blade.

Hump took a deep breath and tried to steady his shaky hand.

“Do it,” Kassius snapped. “There’s no use dragging this out.”

Celaine’s eyes met Hump’s once more, a flicker of doubt on her face. She flinched again as Hump plunged the dagger straight into the Black Paladin’s remaining eye.

As it turned out, the paladin did still feel pain after all, it simply had to be enough of it. Lucas stumbled back screaming, releasing Celaine from his grip. Celaine kicked hard at the side of his left knee, and Hump heard something crunch. The blow sent the paladin to the ground where he clutched at his eye with a hand.

Warm blood streamed down the knife, coating Hump’s hand, and feeding the red heartstones on its hilt. The gemstones glimmered like tiny eyes amidst the blood. Hump felt their hunger as if it were his own. A sliver of essence trickled in to his hand and up his hand, and he felt a little warm return to him. He wanted more. He needed… Even as the paladin’s blood empowered the dagger, the man writhed on the ground nearby. Hump shivered. The hunger turned to nausea. Only the faintest trickle of essence yet it had been enough for the dagger to influence his thoughts.

“I offered you everything,” Kassius snarled. The pressure of his will descended on Hump like a physical force, pressing him down. Hump staggered, staying on his feet only through the use of his staff. Kassius’ will might be strong, but it was nothing compared to Kelisia’s presence. He wouldn’t fall.

Hump whirled on him, stabbing the butt of his staff into the ground at his feet and gripping it tightly with both hands. Kassius’ face was twisted with rage. The world darkened in response. Shadow crept up around him just as Hump had seen it around the Black Paladin. The darkness enveloped Kassius, as if his will had taken form and wrapped itself around him like a cloak.

“Like I could murder her in cold blood,” Hump growled.

“I’d hoped you would have the sense to overcome such weak resolve in view of grander things,” Kassius said coldly. “It would have been a mercy and now that chance is gone. Death by my blade is a slow affair, and I’ll ensure you both experience every second of it. The poison will weaken you at first. Then you will feel it burn as it seeps into your muscles. Your flesh will blacken and die as necrosis sets in. Not even a dragon can survive it.”

Hump’s eyes went to Kassius’ blade on instinct, drawn in by the power of the black veins along its steal. Dread filled him as that deadly power was directed his way. Bone cold power that froze Hump’s body in fear. At his core, his soul shuddered, as if it were ready to leave his body and call it a day. The world felt even colder than before, and Hump took a step back.

“You were the one that killed the wolf dragon?” Hump asked, desperately searching for anything he could say to keep him talking.

He shrugged. “If it were that simple, we wouldn’t be in this mess. She escaped with a fatal wound, one she clearly succumbed to later. I suppose the credit goes to me, but it’s difficult to be proud when the execution was so poor.”

“You’ll pay for this,” Celaine said. “Even if you kill us, wolf dragons don’t forget. Her pack will hunt you till the edge of the world.”

“If only,” Kassius said. “Life would be far easier if I didn’t have to seek them out myself.”

“Bastard,” Celaine snarled. She tried to shove past Hump, but he blocked her path with his back. She was limping from the damage of the dragon’s strike. “Let me past!”

“Stop, Celaine” Hump said. “I’m serious this time. We do this together.”

Celaine paused. “Okay,” she said, stepping up beside him. “I’ll follow your lead.”

Kassius snorted and stepped toward them. “I tire of this.”

His skin seemed to have sunken against the bones of his face, as pale light rippled beneath. An ethereal glow that revealed a piece of his true nature. He radiated an aura that made Hump want to sink to his knees and cower. Kassius’ soul was already tainted by death; the dragon’s heartstone would not be his first. Beyond his appearance, there was little human in him left. What remained was a monster.

Come on, Vamir! Hump thought. Come on!

“I hope you have a plan,” Celaine said quietly.

A plan? Hump would have laughed at the idea if not for the reaper of death strolling toward them. He passed her Kassius’ dagger and readied his staff, as if it would somehow make a difference. He cycled the little essence the dagger had given him and gritted his teeth against the fresh wave of cold that flooded through his channels.

“Do you really think you can fight me?” Kassius sneered.

“It’s not like you’re leaving us much choice,” Hump said.

“Oh Hump,” Kassius sighed as he took another casual step. “There was a choice, you simply chose wrong. You’ll understand how true that is before the end.”

Once more Hump’s eyes flicked to the sword. There was no way he could fight. But he wasn’t fighting to win, he was fighting for seconds. With any luck, Vamir might just hurry up a bit.

As Kassius took his next step, Hump gathered his will and stabbed his staff toward the ground at his feet. He’d only recovered a little essence, so he’d have to make it count. “Transform Earth,” he said through gritted teeth, as he felt the warmth leave him. Sharp, icy pain pierced through his chest.

But at a puff of bronze essence escaped his staff, moving through the air like a faint mist.. Kassius raised his sword to swipe it aside, but the essence fell short. It wasn’t Kassius he’d aimed at.

A puff of bronze essence burst from his staff and streaked through the air. Kassius raised his sword to block, but the essence fell short. It wasn’t Kassius he’d aimed at.

The essence dissipated into the stone at Kassius’ feet. The ground shimmered, then a small patch turned to sand. Guided by the last strand of Hump’s will, it sucked in Kassius’ foot, dragging it down past the ankle.

Kassius looked down at it curiously. “Was this meant to save—”

There was a blur of silver light, so fast, Hump hardly had time to blink. When he opened his eyes, an arrow had buried itself into the side Kassius’ chest, piercing his armour just beneath the armpit. Kassius snarled in pain and whirled to face the tunnel.

“Who dares?” he roared. Blood spluttered from his lips. It ran out from the corners of his mouth in dark red streaks that trailed down his chin, stark against his pale skin.

The air before the tunnel shimmered faintly, like waves of heat across a cityscape. From the waves came slivers of golden essence, disappearing in a moment. Vamir faded into view. His armour was torn in places, his face was splattered with dried blood, but even now he wore a smirk as he watched Kassius.

“Surprise,” he said dryly. “You may want to duck.”

Kassius frowned. “Duck?”

Hump frowned too. Duck?

Suddenly, hump felt Celaine’s arms around his neck. She dragged him back and his legs fell out beneath him. They hit the ground together, pain flaring in Hump’s elbow and back where he took the brunt of the fall. He gasped; the impact knocking the breath from his lungs.

“You—” Kassius began.

Silver light exploded from the arrow in his chest. The chamber boomed. The sickly scent of blood filled the air as the blast flung Kassius to the ground.

Hump stared wide eyed at his lifeless body. Blood spilled onto the stones, pooling around it. Where his foot had been caught in the sand, it had acted as an anchor, preventing the explosion from blasting him further.

“Move!” Celaine shouted.

His ears were ringing, but the urgency in her voice was enough to make him roll onto his front and get onto his hands and knees. She tugged at him, and together they crawled for the cover of the nearby boulder. But they were still a long way from safety. Vamir stood alone at the tunnel entrance, an arrow already notched.

Hump peaked out from their shelter as shadow gathered around Kassius’ fallen body. There was an evil to that darkness that made Hump shiver, just like the presence of death that surrounded the prince’s sword. This was no power he had felt before. This was something new, something darker. Something that only those that had truly given up their humanity could manifest. It made the aura of the Black Paladin seem like little more than smoke.

Vamir loosed an arrow, but the shadow whipped out and knocked it aside, sending it clattering to the ground. Then it lifted Kassius, his arms outstretched at either side so that his body formed a cross, enshrouded in an armour of darkness. For a moment, he floated there, suspended by shadow.

The façade of a prince had fallen, the true monster within now showed its face.

He was sickly pale, like all the blood and life had been drained from his body. The explosion had torn apart his rips, leaving a hole in his chest. And there, Hump glimpsed something no human should possess. A heartstone embedded in the flesh of his heart, glowing with the same pale green as the rest of his essence. His ribs cracked and scrunched as they pulled themselves back together in seconds, the wound healed over before Hump could get a proper look.

Gently, the shadow lowered him to the ground. Kassius took a deep breath, then stabbed a finger at Vamir. “Kill him,” he commanded.

The undead kobolds let loose a fevered scream and surged toward the tunnel at once.

Hump’s heart raced. He pushed himself up against the boulder, peering out from behind it to see Vamir unmoving.

“Have you seen enough?” Vamir asked.

“That was more than enough, Vamir,” a woman’s voice said.

And then Hump felt it. A gentle wind through the chamber, a whisper of some foreign essence that didn’t belong in the depths of a dungeon. He felt light, and warmth once more. The air shimmered again, and what he was seeing struck him.

A veil. One that had been almost completely invisible. So perfect that Hump hadn’t sensed the faintest sliver of essence, yet it spread out across the entire space before the tunnel. The essence dissipated in waves of golden light, fading into the air as a dozen figures became clear within. Reinforcements had come.