Until This World Ends

Ch16: Castle Crasher

At the edge of camp, Regis horse waited for him, along with the minor caravan of Loric's things. If he could, he'd ignore everything and ride straight for his childhood home. Some part of him worried for the father he couldn't connect with.

History chilled that urge. The train wouldn't arrive any faster than it could. They would likely get to their meeting point before the train. But ignoring the machine altogether would be several more days' journey for what would take hours behind a steam engine.

Regis mounted his horse, glancing around for Gareth. "Where's my high priest?"

Loric shifted closer to him. "He said he'd come at the much slower pace of the army. He's too old for these cast-iron water bombs."

The crown prince sighed. "You haven't found the scepter yet, have you?"

"I think she keeps it on her—it has to have been since she opened the world to you." Loric shook his had. "I need it. I don't even know what it is, but I need it."

It had been the same conversation ever since Regis woke up the young knight. "Yeah, we don't switch from knight to paladin without it. I get it."

It was a strange word, only used for 3 lifetimes, but it encapsulated the difference between the Goddess' warriors and those blessed by her in its entirety.

"No, you don't understand." Loric paused as he was about to run his fingers through his hair, but between his gauntlet and helm, it was an empty gesture. "It's the one thing that I can't remember a thing about in all my memories. She is keeping information from us, still."

That thought had crossed Regis' mind on several occasions. They were in direct competition with the Goddess. They were all-knowing demigods, in their own way, but mortal. Severely mortal. The things he didn't know made his pulse race. But instead of running away, it made him start the avalanche towards yet another death. Whether it was his, the world's, or the dragon, who the depths knew?

They met with the train and loaded up swiftly. It made its mockery of a merry way to the outskirts of King's Cross. The city looked fine and calm, but the king's spire was missing from the skyline. Regis winced, knowing full well how it must have fell. He had come near to the same thing in the temple on occasion.

They left the horses and excess gear in the pullmen's care and walked into a silent city. No, not the dead that Regis remembered as Valentine. There was more life here. Dumb birds twittered in the eaves. Hushed voices muttered behind shuttered windows as the 4 men pressed on into the square.

Passing the gallows, Regis was relieved to see them empty, not full of dead men's bones. A dog was chained to the base as one of the guards that kept small children from playing on the scaffolding. She lay silent, ignoring them. Either the knights weren't interesting or she knew to keep silent due to the monster in their midst.

Soon, they faced the castle. The ever-present crack in the door to an empty building mocked Regis and made his skin crawl. Forget that there was no spire for the demon to hide in. It was stuck in there, too large for that hole, even after knocking down the tower.

They were walking towards their deaths, to be near his childhood home.

For a brief moment, he wanted Symphora there. She could win this battle with her sacrifice. This wasn't the ghost who held more power than the feeble old paladin, but a girl whose life was sacrificed to his in betrothal. She held no more power than he did, perhaps even less, in the here and now. Wishful thinking was a damned nuisance.

"What order do we go in?" Loric hissed.

Regis startled a hair but refused to flinch. "I have never been the catalyst for the end. The couple times I died before then, the world went on without me. But you are needed when she comes out of hiding. I'm going in alone, and if she wants to spare me, she will show up. I want you out here, guarding things. Only engage if you have no choice."

"What about Hin and Vorex?" Loric grabbed his arm as he raised his voice for the more silent knights that followed behind.

Regis looked both men over, noting that these were some of the strangers he turned. They had no connection, not in any life. He wasn't sure how they would react in close quarter fighting with the great beast, but that was not their fault. The former crown prince put that lack of camaraderie squarely on his own shoulders. They belonged to Loric in their own ways. That would work better together, without him. "I'm walking into a trap. Let me be the only rat caught."

At least the weight of this life's lineage kept them from arguing against his choice. He ducked in before that veil folded at the folly of what he planned.

The great hall was patchy, with small cracks of light. The creature had battered at the ceiling far more than breaking the tower. It had crumpled straight down on top of the throne, bisecting his father.

Regis hoped Rexius felt nothing. Not that he loved the man, but more the memories of a childhood gone awry. It felt like there was some good in his father, but they always missed out on finding each other. He let out a shaky breath as he took a few further steps into the mottled room.

A hand grabbed his arm. He whipped around quickly, gauntlet going for a throat he knew had to be behind him. Regis wound up with the scepter in his grip, while the Goddess clung to the wall's shadows. He stared at her in bewilderment for her choice in timing and delivery. "What are you doing?"

She hissed, shushing him to silence before she whispered, "I can't be seen by that thing. They are hunting for me."

The scepter was as unbalanced as ever, not fit for a fight. "I do not have the power to wield this."

"I will help with that, but I can't..."

Regis slashed his hand through the air. This demon had to know he was here, by now. "We don't have time. You know my ways, so guide them?"

She nodded, and seemed to disappear into the rose-toned walls.

It did no good for Regis to hide. These things like to jump from the lofts to land on the bowels of men. So he strode out into the center of the room and snarled to the heavens, "Come out, you damn dung beetle."

It waited until he looked back down before it pounced. He didn't need the muffled cry of the Goddess behind him to let him know that he was going to be knocked on his ass. From memory long lost, he shifted his grip on the scepter as it lengthened into a pike. Bracing his arm on the floor, he crouched down and let the creature land with all its weight on the spear.

It cracked the shell, causing its long legs to skitter and push itself off the tip and to the side. There were barely any traces of blood, but this was good for the first clash. A twist of his wrist shortened it, giving him a false blade that glowed with faith. Regis grinned grimly, as that wasn't his to command. Not yet, at least. She delivered on her promise.

That time wasted nearly put the creature's tail through his head. He ducked out to his right, cursing the heft of the scepter.

It wasn't about to let him near it again. Legs danced in to stab, tail whipped from any quarter he didn't look quickly enough towards. Regis was forced to draw his sword and keep his hands far away from the demon's touch. Thankfully, he deflected everything that came his way. Soon the creature picked up speed, forcing the former crown prince to block more strikes with the same shifting swing. The power of the blow kept pushing his arms back out of stance. He was going to wind up dead just from being outnumbered. It backed him across the throneroom without any effort. He had no idea what the game was or if it was just that much more overpowering that he had to dance backwards with each blow.

That's when his sword caught in the ever-rampaging tail. The creature yanked him up above his head, still stabbing away at the ground. The scepter became a javelin, and he threw it through the crack that radiated light across its back, from where it had first skided through the demon's defenses. Her scepter embedded itself deep in the core of the beast.

It thrashed away from him. Regis had witnessed cleaner kills against this demon, but it was clearly fighting death, not him.

He sank down at the feet of his father, unaware that he rested against the dead. When he glanced back at what was behind him, he patted the leg, muttering, "I did what I could."

It was irrational, at best. His mind tasted more like the insanity of the silent years than it did of the rage that led armies. All that did was keep him in a stupor as Ashera walked through the dappled light.

"You know that it's time. Choose which power we should run in these last battles."

That part bothered him. She still wanted to dole out everything. Her knights must run on a thin strand of power, hoping that it will be enough in the escalating violence.

True, they were stronger than ever before. He still suspected that they weren't shit, to whatever had her hiding in the shadows. "Hrm."

He stood and made his way to the now-exposed demon. The tail didn't have a stinger like a scorpion. It was a tangled coil of shot-shaped bones with spikes that made his stomach churn. It wasn't meant to poison him. It was meant to crush his body and grind it into the pavers. If it wasn't for the build of the monster, that tail would be better in a side-swipe. Why was it built so wrong?

The scepter had pierced through the beast and mostly flew through it's body. That left it hanging onto the skin of the monster by the last few inches of shaft. Touching the scepter, it collapsed down into itself. It's misbegotten weight firmly settled in his hand, and he called out, "Loric!"

It felt a bit ridiculous watching the three knights run in, only to stumble into a bow in front of the Goddess. Loric did spring back up first and hold out his hands for the scepter.

Regis glanced at the Goddess and finally answered her. "I want them all."

Then he handed the weapon to her most faithful, and she disappeared before she could object.

No one flinched, as her abscence had been expected. The young madman of yesterlife knew enough about the scepter to know he could tie it to a cage. He wasn't sure of the details. Her disappearance happened the same way, all those lifetimes ago.

Loric sighed heavily. "I made this."

"How?" Regis has no idea what he meant by it.

"I said she was withholding things, right? I made this, and I have no clue how. While I can't make more of them for her, we could wield similar weapons in battle. I have to sit down with the pullmen. Why would she keep this from me?"

"Why would she let her most faithful know a damn thing? He was the one who made stabbing her half to death a necessity of power in this realm." Hin laughed. "Man, she's not all-knowing. She's just been telling you how you did it for all these years."

A lot more disquieting extrapolations rode out the man's laughter, eventually leaving all 4 silent.