Mary danced this way and that, gracefully avoiding her fake brother’s attacks as the small creature clapped and cheered, apparently having no issue with controlling two clones at once while watching the fights. Mary called out with her mind and pictured Gerard’s face. A few corridors away, Gerard’s hair stood on end. “Who’s there?!”, he shouted, whirling around with his sword at point in a split second. “You have to help us! Zack and I are pinned down by a demon!”, Mary’s voice echoed in his head. As if it were a childhood trail he had walked thousands of times, Gerard instantly knew exactly where to find Mary. He grabbed Alicia’s arm. “Babe,” he muttered, “We have to help them.” Alicia nodded silently, and the two broke into a run.
The door behind the small creature flew wide open, almost knocked off of its hinges. The creature was startled, but leapt away and began to conjure a third illusory being. This one had long, dirty blond hair framing an innocent-looking face. An evening gown fell about its small but curvy frame, and a pair of stiletto heels was held in its left hand. “Can’t argue with that,” Alicia chimed in, “I’d go barefoot if I had to fight here.” The cloned Alicia fell back into the empty stance of a Tai Chi Chuan student. Gerard squared his sword and shield. “Alicia, honey,” he sighed, “If you have any magical powers, now would be a good time to let me know.” She shook her head. “Not that I know of.”, she responded. The false Alicia flew forward like a breath of wind and knocked Gerard’s gut flat before he could raise his shield. “Jesus, she’s fucking fast!”, he spat through a mouthful of blood. “Must be the castle’s magic…”, Alicia muttered. Gerard raised his shield and it was hammered by a stone-crushing single whip, then a graceful spinning kick. Gerard raised his sword to counter as the clone’s left foot approached the ground. She took the opportunity to fly forward on her right foot and deliver a telling crane maneuver to Gerard’s chest. He was blown back against the wall behind him, flecks of brick flying this way and that. “I fucked up…”, he wheezed as his vision faded to slits, then to nothing.
Alicia stepped forth, enraged. Her shoes hit the ground next to her and she assumed her stance. “Nobody gets to hurt Gerard! Nobody!” A subtle change hit her eyes, and she was upon the clone with blinding speed, matching her blow for blow. A low kick met a low kick. Two single whips collided, two thunderous sets of brushed knees created shockwaves. The small creature watched the fight unfold, absolutely entranced. He checked in on the other two battles. Zack was locked blade on blade with the fake Gerard. Mary was pushing her fake brother’s shield aside with a continuous blast of energy. All three were at stalemates, and the creature broke a sweat. It was so wrapped up in watching the fights that it had engineered, it didn’t notice a bruised Gerard coming up behind it and placing the tip of a sword on the back of its neck. “Call them back,” Gerard said flatly, “we have some questions for you.” The creature shook its small head, and Gerard gave it a hefty kick. It fell flat on its face and a sharp sword pressed into the nape of its neck, drawing blood. “Let me rephrase that. You can give us answers, or you can die.” The three clones instantly snapped out of existence, and the four of them gathered around the small creature.
Gerard eased his sword up, and the creature slowly rose to its feet. “I am Philemon.”, it said in a distinguished voice, a gentlemanly British accent upon its tongue. “No, you’re fucking not.”, Gerard spat, “What’s your real name, and why are you attacking us?” The creature turned to him. “Yes, I ‘fucking’ am, sir. And I only wanted to test you all.” “Test, sure.”, Zack sneered, “Is that why these clones nearly killed us?” A few seconds passed. “Well?!”, Alicia chimed in, wriggling her toes anxiously. Mary stepped forward and bent down to meet the creature at eye level. “It’s OK… please, just tell us what’s going on?” Philemon smiled at her. “Between the barefoot queen, the street punk vampire and the hot-headed warrior, I’m glad somebody in this group has a spot of class.” He nodded and sat back on his haunches. “It’s quite simple, honestly.” He looked around at the group. “I love Lord Victor like a brother, and I didn’t want a group of brutes that couldn’t stand up to the demon possessing him to accost him and possibly bring him harm.” Gerard nodded. “So, you thought making clones of all of us to fight would be a good test why?” Philemon chuckled. “Silly boy… Don’t you know what happens to a soul when its holder kills somebody they hold dear?” He stood up. “Let me let you in on a little secret. That soul shatters into a million pieces. I made very convincing clones of each of you, so if you could stand to kill one another, I knew you would have the mental fortitude to stand against the demon.” Zack squared his fists. “Oh, that is the stupidest-” His rant was cut short by a fist to the gut from Alicia. “Alright, honey,” she said as she withdrew her hand from the imprint it had left in Zack’s armored stomach, “Now that we’ve basically passed your test, how can you help us?” Philemon smiled. “I’m glad you asked. Come with me.” He walked slowly between Gerard and Alicia, and began to scour the wall. “Where is it, where is it…” A click echoed. “Yes!” The wall fell away sideways to reveal a room with a beautifully adorned fountain, easily large enough to swim in. The five of them stepped into the room, the three humans and a vampire oohing and aahing at the beauty of it all.
“This is no ordinary fountain.”, Philemon said, then leapt into the waters. He climbed out, and all of his bruises from Gerard’s abuse were gone. The four collectively gasped. “It has other powers. Give me a sword so I can demonstrate, please.” Gerard and Zack eyed one another, then Zack finally volunteered his crystalline green monster of a blade. “If I don’t get that back in one piece, whatever’s left of it is going up your ass.” Philemon sneered at him, then turned to Mary. “Fire, please. The hottest you have.” He held up the blade. White-hot flames erupted from Mary’s hands and engulfed Zack’s sword. In seconds, its sparkling green blade turned black. Zack’s jaw dropped. “M-my sword!”, he screeched, “What the hell are you doing to my sword?!” The blade continued to turn uglier and uglier shades of brown and black, until it finally cracked. “Flame off, please.”, Philemon said softly. Mary complied. The four of them looked upon the charred wreck of a weapon. Zack burst into tears. “Now, observe.”, Philemon whispered, and tossed the sword into the fountain. Zack dropped to his knees. “Gerard, if you will?”, Philemon asked. Gerard nodded, then went to the side of the fountain and looked in. “It’s gone.”, he said flatly, looking back at Philemon. He pointed up. “Check the top.” Gerard craned his neck and saw, at the top of the tall fountain, Zack’s sword, in absolutely pristine condition and shining brightly in the moonlight. A quick flight saw him retrieve it, then hand it back to its dumbfounded owner. “How did - I did - No, I -” Zack’s gibberish was largely ignored. “This fountain can heal anything, living or inanimate!”, Philemon boasted. “The only thing my creation cannot do…” “Your creation?”, Mary chimed in. “MY CREATION,” Philemon bellowed, “Cannot bring back the dead.” The four stared in awe at the fountain, then back at its small creator. Philemon nodded. “You are welcome to use it any time, and there are others like it scattered about.” Gerard nodded. “That must be the fountain I found earlier and slept by… where Alicia found me.” The group turned to Alicia. “How did you get in here, anyway, mortal?”, Philemon said quizzically. Alicia sighed. “It’s kind of a long story…” Gerard sat down with his legs crisscrossed. “We got time.” Everybody else followed suit. Clearly, the sitting would not end until Alicia told her story.
“This is no ordinary fountain.”, Philemon said, then leapt into the waters. He climbed out, and all of his bruises from Gerard’s abuse were gone. The four collectively gasped. “It has other powers. Give me a sword so I can demonstrate, please.” Gerard and Zack eyed one another, then Zack finally volunteered his crystalline green monster of a blade. “If I don’t get that back in one piece, whatever’s left of it is going up your ass.” Philemon sneered at him, then turned to Mary. “Fire, please. The hottest you have.” He held up the blade. White-hot flames erupted from Mary’s hands and engulfed Zack’s sword. In seconds, its sparkling green blade turned black. Zack’s jaw dropped. “M-my sword!”, he screeched, “What the hell are you doing to my sword?!” The blade continued to turn uglier and uglier shades of brown and black, until it finally cracked. “Flame off, please.”, Philemon said softly. Mary complied. The four of them looked upon the charred wreck of a weapon. Zack burst into tears. “Now, observe.”, Philemon whispered, and tossed the sword into the fountain. Zack dropped to his knees. “Gerard, if you will?”, Philemon asked. Gerard nodded, then went to the side of the fountain and looked in. “It’s gone.”, he said flatly, looking back at Philemon. He pointed up. “Check the top.” Gerard craned his neck and saw, at the top of the tall fountain, Zack’s sword, in absolutely pristine condition and shining brightly in the moonlight. A quick flight saw him retrieve it, then hand it back to its dumbfounded owner. “How did - I did - No, I -” Zack’s gibberish was largely ignored. “This fountain can heal anything, living or inanimate!”, Philemon boasted. “The only thing my creation cannot do…” “Your creation?”, Mary chimed in. “MY CREATION,” Philemon bellowed, “Cannot bring back the dead.” The four stared in awe at the fountain, then back at its small creator. Philemon nodded. “You are welcome to use it any time, and there are others like it scattered about.” Gerard nodded. “That must be the fountain I found earlier and slept by… where Alicia found me.” The group turned to Alicia. “How did you get in here, anyway, mortal?”, Philemon said quizzically. Alicia sighed. “It’s kind of a long story…” Gerard sat down with his legs crisscrossed. “We got time.” Everybody else followed suit. Clearly, the sitting would not end until Alicia told her story.
No comments:
Post a Comment