Chapter Thirty-Five

"Onward men, they flee us in the streets. Burn their living along with their dead. Show them the mercy they showed the inhabitants of this city."
Kiera was on the palace steps. They had managed to ovewhelm the Ga-Vok defenders all across the city and she, Daniel, and Enge had fought through the chaotic melee and were entering the palace. She just hadn't been willing to pass up one last morale raising battlecry before entering.
"We should head to the throne room. Their commander will likely be there, if we kill him we can seal their fate."

They found little opposition within, the Ga-Vok had front loaded their defense and what few remained within the palace were weak or infirm. Enge sheathed his knives, Daniel only killed that which challenged him, but Kiera cut down every Ga-Vok that she could reach without straying off her chosen route to the throne of her father.

When they reached the throne room they were met by an unexpected sight.
"Mom! You're still alive."
"Yes son, I'm here." Callin was standing beside the throne in full armor. Before her was the corpse of a large Ga-Vok warrior and his massive axe.
As mother and son moved to embrace, a small green dart flew past Daniels shoulder, embedding itself within her eye.
Kiera watched with horror as Daniel spun to slay his mother's assailant. And Enge did not attempt to resist as Daniel's blade sunk into his chest.
"Why Enge? What did she ever do to you to deserve this?"
"Captain," Blood now filling his mouth, "Thats.."
Enge grabbed Daniel and spun them, switching positions with his captain and then grunting in pain as a shadowy bolt pierced his being. "Not...mother."
We pity him." Callin's form began to fade away, all color purged from her form. She grew ethereal and her features melted as the shadow brought down it's facade.
"We would have offered him an eternity with his mother." The shade's voice had sunk to a moist crackle, all trace of individuality lost.
"What devilry is this? Kiera, be on your guard." Daniel brandished his sword at the circling demon.
"The masters tell us that you must die. If you will not accept the shadow, then we shall consume you." A flurry of dark spikes cut through the air towards him. He and Kiera managed to dodge and parry the onslaught, and Daniel hurled himself across the room at the foe. His blow was clean, to a mortal it would have been fatal.
It whisked across the room, then charged down it's center, raking the corpse with its claw.
"Rise Arkha Shadesworn. The masters desire that you serve on in death."
The Ga-Vok body rose, drawn upward as if by threads of air. The ghoul assaulted Kiera with his axe. It's movements were slow and lacked finesse, but it was unrelenting in it's assault. As they fought she impaled it upon her blade, only to find the corpse grab her outreached arm and prepare to deliver the blow. She defelcted it with magic, and the two began to engage in this sort of dance of blocking, beating, and attempting to extract themselves from the other.

Daniel remained focused on the shade. Though his blade drew no blood and caused no harm, his blows were many and his resolve unending. He noticed his father laying leaned against the wall, His breath was harsh and the wound in his side was great; his weapon must have been lost in the fight for Daniel could see it nowhere.
"Your people are right to claim strength alone as ancestor, for wisdom would be disgraced to have borne such foolish children as your kind. Listen to wisdom, it tells you that we can not be beaten. Subnit to us mortal, and join us in eternity."
"Go to hell demon." A bolt of light flew from the far corner of the room, missing the shade entirely.
"That would have been so much cooler if it had hit. How do you aim this thing?"
Tressa was badly bruised, but still walking. She seemed to have aquired Gar's blades and was using the enchantment upon it to try and fight the demon.
"Get out of here kid, this situation is out of your hands!"
"I don't see your plan working. Last succsesfull thing you did was kill your bodyguard."
Another bolt flew across the room, this time glancing the shade's shoulder.
"It burns us! The masters ordained victory, you shall not deny us."
A dart of shadow hurtled towards Tressa, but Daniel cut it from the air.
"Fine, just remember I warned you. Now demon, face the wrath of the Stones!"

This could have been a very epic and memorable moment, but the sad truth of the matter was that Daniel and Tressa simply did not work well together. His parrying of the shade's attacks all to often blocked Tressa's attacks as well. Her attampts at attack were severly inhibited by her poor aim and lack of combat training or experience. Ultimately the shade simply began ignoring Daniel and forcing Tressa to defend herself with a combination of counter shots and magical shields. All the while Kiera remained exhaustedly attempting to extarct herself from the risen Arkha.

"Tressa, don't aim. Let the enemy come to you." Gar may have been to wounded to fight himself, but he wasn't quite out.
"And throw myself on the demon's mercy?"
"Do you trust me child?"

Tressa stopped dodging, and as the shade lept to impale her upon its spikes she cut across its chest instinctively.
"Who's mercy were you being thrown to again?"
"But I can't just so without thinking? How can I ever hope to defeat a demon on instinct?"
"Your instincts were crafted with more thought, and have the bebefit of experience that you can not hope to possess at so young an age. Now, upon who's mercy are you thrown?"
Tressa lashed out at the shade as it charged oonce more.
"The practitioners of the light differ from those of the shadow in one critical way. While the shadow priest believes that this world must be enjoyed to it's fullest because there is no way to control ones future in death; the priest of the light has faith that in the next life their might be a power who extends mercy to it's followers."
The shade began to grow darker, "We'll teach you about mercy as you beg it of us!"
As it brought its spike-sprouting fist downward towards Tressa a light burst through its chest.

The shade recoiled. A low howl began courseing through the room. Arkha's body collapsed motionless, and as Kiera pulled herself from under it she saw that the shade had hardened to stone. Tressa withdrew the wepon from the shade's husk, and as she did so it crumbled and not even dust remained of it.

"That would have been a good time for a one-liner. If anyone asks in the future, could we all say I said the whole 'go to hell demon' thing then instead of when I actually did say it?"
Gar chuckled before turning to his son. "Daniel, I hadn't told you then because it was to soon to be certain. Your mother didn't divorce me; she went to prison for being an acomplice to murder. They let her out twice, once so she could serve as bodyguard to here on Anatolia. The other time was so she could deliver our daughter to a more suitable caretaker. Unfortunately the caretaker she chose was under the influence of the Shaditha, and I suspect that is when this shade took on her identity."
"And Tressa's my sister. Enge, bless his memory, noticed how simmilar she looked to you."
"I figured it out when you came to talk to me that night."
"It's a good thing Palace guards weren't as clever as you two, it would have made my job a lot harder."

Kiera just looked between them, confused and mildly surprised. She had what she'd come for, the palace was hers. It bothered her that she could have been trained to fight by a shade, but all of this 'higher planes and powers' just seemed silly to her.
"Miss Kiera, I think you owe my brother something for his services."
Daniel looked at her, "It was a joke really, I would never exect the lady of Anatolia to actually go on a date with a mercenary like.."
"Tressa didn't feel that way about it. Ressurections don't come cheap you know."
She wiped the blood off of her sword.
"And you know, I could use a nice dinner after all this. Once we get the infrastructure back up and running; you sir, are taking me out to dinner and a movie."

Gar walked over to his daughter.
"You know, if you want to fight better in the future I might know an old adventurer who'd be willing to offer some tips."
"Only if you show me how to do that teleporting thing of yours, Dad."

And the tides of war receded for a time. There was peace on Anatolia, but elsewhere in the empire; fate worked it's spider's web. Other lives, and other tales were drawn together and the balance of the walking-wolves and the children of strength lay in the hands of a child. A child who would know both worlds, and the curse of silver that lay upon her.

To be continued in 'of fury, fire, and the full moon'