The Chaos Blade - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"I have loved deeply once in my life, more deeply then I hope I ever do again," Yamara began, looking into the distance. "And through my own folly, that person is forever gone. By my own hand she has died not once but twice. Never to return."

"One man alone amongst the countless men I have known has ever proven worthy enough to gain my respect and my trust, but if I ever see him again I suspect he will find me not the person he hoped to find."

She looked at Eric then, her eyes focusing on his. There was a rebellious spirit contained within them. A spirit that challenged him. "There is nothing between us, Eric. Know that now and know also that I am only telling you this to repay any debt I may have for you rescuing me from your hospital."

Eric raised his eyebrows in surprise at her bluntness, but tried to otherwise keep a calm face. His thoughts raced but he kept them reigned in. After all, plenty of women had said similar thing to him and they had all fallen for him in time, it just made it more of a challenge for him. "So what about the sex? That was damn good. Hell, it was great... that was nothing too?"

Yamara smirked. "It was okay, don't flatter yourself. Better then most, even, but not the best. If you will be silent and stop interrupting me you will understand better."

Eric doubted her. He enjoyed a position of wealth and power, he never had to go without someone to share his bed if he wanted it. Yamara had been one of the best ever. Even the hookers in Bangkok he had been with paled in comparison to her. That kind of passion did not happen without some emotional attachment. It just was not possible, was it?

Seeing no response other then a nod forthcoming, Yamara continued. "The girl I met on another world. Acathia was a hot world. A world with two suns and precious little water."

"Brina and I escaped that world, which was not the world of my birth, somewhat by accident. We ended up on a planet known as Malatoria. There evil truly befell us, though it was my fault as clearly as any."

Yamara's stare never wavered, making Eric begin to feel uncomfortable with the strange intimacy that the eye contact was forming when combined with the quiet but serious tone of her voice.

"We fell in with a man who at first seemed to want the best for us. In truth he wanted only Brina, for I had caused him to lose face already. As time passed he moved closer and closer to her, poisoning her thoughts with his words. Then at the last I forced a confrontation and slew him. Brina was caught up in the middle of the fight and was slain herself on my own sword."

Eric's eyes widened a little. He expected Yamara to show some sign of regret, but instead she only tightened her jaw a little. He was both impressed and a little scared at her control.

"I fled the city then, spending years by myself in the wild living as only I could. In time people came and pulled me from it. James and Brina lived, they said. I killed almost the entire troop of messengers before I heard their message from one of them who was herself mortally wounded by me. I tracked down the surviving member who had fled and questioned him roughly about it. Then I made him take me to them. Along the way I grew tired of him and left him behind."

"Striking out on my own into the heart of an evil kingdom I had to be very careful. Once there I needed a new guide. The one I found had been waiting for me. Evart was his name and no better man will I ever find. He was a spy, you see, an agent against darkness. He pledged his support to me and together we made it to the new home of James and Brina. There, late at night in a castle filled with fey servants, I again fought against James. Brina stayed out of this fight, at her Master's bidding. So overconfident was he that he mistakenly let Brina come to me when I was wounded sorely and nearly overcome with poison. She gave me the secret to defeating him and the strength to use it then, for she could not do it herself."

Yamara raised her head a little, her chin sticking out defiantly. "I cast him aside then, leaving him paralyzed in his defeat. His own Master showed up then. James was destroyed forever at that point, his dark liege considering him weak and foolish. I refused to take his throne in his absence and was thus given the ultimatum of leaving Malatoria behind forever or being tortured for a thousand years. I chose to leave it behind."

Her chin quivered for the briefest of moments then. She had lapsed into a very brief silence before continuing. "Before I stepped into the portal I was allowed a few moments with Brina. To survive the fatal blow she had received she had become something dark and evil herself. She fought against it with me, and knowing the truth of how things had been she fought against her very nature. She begged me to end her, as her free will had returned with James' death and she desired to be at peace. We could never be together, only one of us could go through the portal and even if we could she would forever be succumbing to her desires to slake her demonic hungers. It was there, nearly in the heart of Mardurin, in the castle of the Baron of Palungol, that I destroyed her forever."

She paused again, gaining strength with each passing breath. She waited for Eric to say or do something. In response he simply sat there and listened, knowing any action or judgment on his part would ruin what little rapport he was building with her. Finally she resumed her tale.

"I was standing on a doorstep next. In front of me was a door. A signpost beside me read, 'Tavern of the Broken Axe'."

"Ah ha!" Eric cried out, finally speaking. Yamara looked a little startled at his sudden exclamation.

"Sorry," he said, grinning triumphantly, "I was hoping you would get to that place sooner or later. It just validates my theory is all."

"You have been there?" She asked, her voice a little louder now that she was not seeing mostly memories.

He shook his head. "No, but I know a few people that have. Don't worry about that right now, let's just say I have my own story to tell. But first, back to yours."

Yamara eyed him shrewdly for a moment then nodded. She took a deep breath and went back in time, explaining a version that was remarkably close to the truth to him.

"That explains it," Eric muttered, leaning back. He had felt himself remember Alesha all to well when Yamara had described her, and found that it sent shivers down his spine and blood to his groin. He adjusted himself to a more comfortable position before continuing. "Those assholes that broke into my apartment must have been her lackeys."

"Not hers, her brothers," Yamara insisted. Then, under her breath she muttered, "I think."

If Eric heard the latter comment, he ignored it. "Whoever's they may be, they have the sword and if what Kelnozz told me is true, that's a bad thing. I've seen a lot of weird shit since they came into my life, and apparently that's only a fraction of the weird shit out there where you guys all come from. I guess that sword has a few souls trapped in it. A powerful demon among others. I should have trouble believing it, but somehow it just seems my sort of luck lately."

"Talifernon."

"Huh?" Eric said, not understanding the word Yamara had spoken.

"The demons name is Talifernon. He was Alesha's familiar," she explained.

"What's a familiar?" Eric asked.

Before Yamara could answer the door opened and Bill walked back in. A half smoked lit cigarette hung out of his mouth and he looked in innocently. "Hey kids, mind if I come back in? Starting to rain out there and, damnit, I'm bored."

Yamara looked questioningly at Eric. She was willing to follow his lead apparently. He nodded and motioned for Cowboy to take a seat. "It's a long story, Cowboy, so hang tight and I'll catch you up when she's done."

"A familiar is a wizards pet. They share some kind of special bond that enables them to share powers with each other, in a limited fashion. I don't really know how any of it works. But, while the bond is in effect it is very stressful and even often painful to a wizard if their familiar is slain or banished. In Alesha's case, Talifernon was an exceptionally powerful familiar. Most familiars are common creatures such as cats, birds, even frogs and the like. Some rare powerful wizards have lesser demons such as imps or magical creatures like pseudo-dragons. That Alesha had a major demon such as Talifernon as a familiar is a testimony to her great power while she was at her peak."

"What the hell-" Cowboy began, stopping halfway in his descent to a chair.

"Oh, I forgot to mention something," Eric said with a smirk. "You're probably not going to believe a damn word of this either. Just smile and pretend we're not crazy for a little while longer."

Bill stared at him for a long minute then just shrugged and chuckled. "Whatever you say, Eric, it's your show." He sank into the chair and stabbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the end table next to him.

Eric smiled weakly and turned back to Yamara. "So why you?"

She glanced at Bill and sat up on the bed a little straighter. Hiding any discomfort, she swung her legs off the edge and faced Eric directly. "I came here to steal the sword from you and return it to Alesha."

Bill chuckled and reached into his pocket to fish out his pack of cigarettes. "Gotta give her points for honesty!"

Eric ignored his friend and stared back into Yamara's unsettling eyes. "It might not have been as easy as you think," he said matter-of-factly. "If anybody who does not know the proper release on it tried to take it, it would have set off some alarms and brought the buildings guards running, not to mention me."

"I'm not your average thief," Yamara replied with a faint smile.

"I gathered that," Eric said darkly. He glanced at Cowboy and scowled when he saw the shit eating grin on his face.

---

Yamara had been showing some signs of weariness so Eric had suggested she get some more sleep. Bill and he had gone outside and stood under the narrow dry walkway that the overhanging roof protected from the drizzle outside. Once there Eric told Bill as much of the story as he could remember and piece together, which took considerably longer and was more thorough then he had intended.

"I haven't had one of these in years," Eric muttered as Bill held out his Zippo to light the cigarette he had given him.

"Just like falling off a bike, you never forget!" Bill said, grinning.

Eric scowled but puffed until the end glowed red. He took a few experimental drags on it and was surprised to feel that while it had been years, his lungs had not forgotten. "Tastes like shit," He growled.

Cowboy laughed.

"Any suggestions?" Eric asked, getting back to the heart of the matter.

"Sure, we ditch the bitch and head for the border. You still got that rice burner don't ya?"

"It's a custom Honda Valkyrie putting out more torque and horses then your fat boy does!" Eric protested.

"Still a rice burner," Bill said. Eric scowled at him and flicked the mostly unsmoked cigarette away. Technically he was right, it was a Japanese bike, even if it was a badass cruiser.

"You ever see that dyna-glide I picked up a couple of years ago?" Eric said, thinking back to his small motorcycle collection he had built over the years.

"You bought a Harley? Thought you were never going to come over to the dark side?" Bill said, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah well, they've got a sound you just can't beat and I love a loud bike. Besides, with the fuel injection and rubber engine mounts, it doesn't shake my fillings out like your hog."

Bill shrugged. He enjoyed his ride, and so did most of the women that rode with him, but not everybody was perfect. "Okay, so we go grab that bike and head for Mexico. I know this place along the gulf coast not to far south from Texas that's a great place to lay low for a while."

Eric chuckled. "That'd probably be more fun then we deserve. Last time we went to a bar in Mexico we got arrested, remember?"

"Not my fault you can't handle real tequila," Bill said, glancing at the slowly brightening horizon.

"And it's not my fault you had to try and score with the owners 14 year old daughter!" Eric countered.

"She looked 18 to me."

Both men laughed and stayed silent a moment while they remembered the 'good' old days. "Getting old, bro," Bill finally said.

Eric grunted something that was a cross between an agreement and an expletive.

"She's cute enough I guess," Bill admitted at last. "And she's got that really weird accent that I can't place... that kinda helps her story out some. The marks on her skin I noticed can be explained away as scars that have faded a lot, but man, you're talking about twenty or more years of fading, and she ain't more then twenty or twenty-one or I'm a nun."

"Well sister, she told me she was twenty-three."

Eric received a rude gesture involving a certain finger for that remark, but Bill continued nonplussed. "She's healing fast, that's for sure. What is it about her that's got you hooked though? You've had better looking women and women with more reasonable stories."

"Guess I'm a sucker for a hard luck case," Eric joked. That earned him a sarcastic laugh from his friend who knew him better then that. "Okay, I don't really know why I'm throwing my lot in with her. There's just something about her. She's different and I think she's genuine. More honest then any other women I've ever known."

"Thought she told you she's been a thief, a spy, an assassin, and who knows what else?"

"Well, there is that," Eric admitted with a sheepish grin. "But in some sick and twisted way that lends credence to her honesty."

Bill shook his head and looked away. "I think you're thinking with your dick man."

Eric briefly remembered the one night he had spent with Yamara and smiled wistfully. "Could be, Cowboy."

"You really gotta get that sword back?"

"Yeah, I do. I gave them my word and if that wasn't enough, then these are not the types of guys you want to piss off."

Bill cursed and spit. "Well I'm not saying I believe a goddamn thing that either of you have told me tonight, but you know me. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let any of us stick their necks out on their own."

Eric smiled and clapped him on the back. "Thanks Cowboy, I owe ya."

"You owe me more then you'll ever be able to pay, Eric. Remember that time in Saudi?"

"What are you talking about? That was me pulling your ass out before her husband, the sheik, caught you!" Eric said.

Bill grinned. "Yeah, you should have distracted him instead of getting me out. She had a great set of titties!"

Both men laughed some more. Finally they calmed down and returned to thinking about the situation. "Any idea where these jokers hang out?" Bill asked.

"Not yet, but I'll find out." Eric promised.

"We gonna need any more help on this?"

"Sure could use Lurch." Eric said quietly.

"Yeah," Bill agreed softly. "Damn shame about that kidney transplant not working for him."

An unspoken moment of silence passed between them at the memory of their teammate and friend. "I think the three of us can handle it."

Bill nodded and then clapped him on the shoulder. "Go get some sack time Eric, I'll stand watch."

Continued in Chapter 8

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