The Ratings War III: Republic of Heaven (Second Round Finals)
- Thread starter The Sorrow
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Alright, I'm really overloaded. Due to the forfeits, I declare RWIII over.
For now, however, I will allow exhibition matches while I try to slog through work.
For now, however, I will allow exhibition matches while I try to slog through work.
...Wow.The Sorrow said:
Zemmy beat Logician? Champion of RW1? Great job.
I will be awaiting RW4 with great anticipation. And hopefully, with actual competitors this time.
And I'll be back in RW4 with a character I'm actually quite fond of. Percy, the white mage.The Sorrow said:
Speaking of characters I'm not fond of, (weren't we?) I tried to write a story for you Lord Krunk in which Axel and Athena had to fight Lex. I figured, you deserved to have your characters fought at least once; they're good characters and you got to the finals with them, after a fashion. I still hate Lex though. None the less, I'm about half way through it and could probably force myself to finish it. Do you still care about Axel/Athena anymore or have you lost interest in them? Should I make an effort to finish?
I would love to see it finished, actually. I haven't given up on the characters, - I had their ending planned to a T - I've just given up on my competitors.Khedive Rex said:
This round anyway.
Oh, whoops. Guess my memory's a little bit bad.The Sorrow said:
Kind of an anticlimax this RW, ain't it? With all the people joining and detailed introductions I must admit that I expected much more of a finale. It was a fun time though, I really enjoyed reading the stories that were put through and every character felt genuinely unique and every confrontation was an enjoyable read, thanks greatly to the settings supplied by The Sorrow. I enjoyed reading and judging this Ratings War very much and even though I would have liked for a more exciting ending, I'm very glad that I was able to take a small part in this thing.
I don't feel a need for a climax. They're extremely overrated in my opinion. I loved the stories and characters told here, and I will as always look forward to seeing the next batch, and the conclusion of this one. I'll probably also whip up a character I won't have enough time to put effort into its entries for RW4, but I always enjoy creating characters. Heh, Rose has a novel's worth of background, but entries are a different story. Oh well, practise makes perfect.
I haven't been on the forums that much recently. Just wondering if someone could tell me when RW4 begins, unless it already has.
...Thank you so much for telling me.Lothae said:It already has, but noone's posted on the thread, I assume they're all writing up their profiles/auditions. We've got until the 5th of January to get those posted before it startsLord Krunk said:. You can find it on page 3 4 or 5 of the RP forums as far as I know.
Edit: Here's a link.
Holy- WHY DON'T I GET TOLD THINGS?!Lothae said:It already has, but noone's posted on the thread, I assume they're all writing up their profiles/auditions. We've got until the 5th of January to get those posted before it startsLord Krunk said:
Edit: Here's a link.
If no ones posted its probably because no ones noticed (it's a different RP Forum than it used to be, things go quick these days.) I'll have my character and intro sheet up later tonight. I might also PM the people in this RW and let them know the next one is on.
Lothae, you have just become my hero.
So, a long time ago I started writing a story that was a non-cannon addendum to this thread. I liked Lord Krunk's characters a lot and thought it was a shame he never got a fight, so I arranged one.
And then I forgot about it. For like ... ever.
And then I found it. And was all like ... I should finish this.
And then I finished it. And was all like ... I should post this.
And then I found this thread. And I was like -
"I'M REALLY SORRY TO BUMP A THREAD THATS BEEN DEAD FOR A YEAR, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO PUT THIS!!! I'M SORRY!!! Please don't stab me."
... And you were there for it.
But yeah, anyway. Here's a theoretical Lex v. Axel/Athena fight. From the past but hopefully well aged.
And then I forgot about it. For like ... ever.
And then I found it. And was all like ... I should finish this.
And then I finished it. And was all like ... I should post this.
And then I found this thread. And I was like -
"I'M REALLY SORRY TO BUMP A THREAD THATS BEEN DEAD FOR A YEAR, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO PUT THIS!!! I'M SORRY!!! Please don't stab me."
... And you were there for it.
But yeah, anyway. Here's a theoretical Lex v. Axel/Athena fight. From the past but hopefully well aged.
Old blood is tacky to the touch. A chemical explanation excuses this but I?ve always felt that chemistry answers the question of how and carefully avoids the issue of why. For example, a chemist will tell you that lakes freeze from the top down because ice is less dense than water, and that chemist will smile at you and swagger away and never in his highly logical, intellectual, comfortable life will he consider the fish allowed to live through winter because a thin alley of liquid water was saved for him at the bottom of the pond.
Dried blood isn?t tacky because it oxidizes or because it contains white blood cells. That?s how it?s tacky, the method it?s chosen to act on it?s intentions. Blood sticks to your hands and clothes and knives because its single greatest fear is being left behind. A shimmering pool of red on the rough concrete ground has no purpose; it is unwanted and unloved even as its sheltered brethren are protected and cherished by the bodies in which they toil. Discarded blood will never again be cherished, it will spend its short pitiful life holding on dearly to whatever it may grasp in its weak and weathered embrace. It will know shame, it will know ignominy, and then it will be no more than a thin discoloration on the ground. Forgotten.
It is the ultimate drive of what is living to preserve itself. The final act of all things is fighting for one more act. And so it is with blood, as it holds fast to what gave it power. I understand that now, like I never could before. Because today, my hands are covered in tacky dried blood, the mark of my victory.
I have victory.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
The smell of decay stormed through Lex, tore him bodily. He?d never smelled something so horrible. The scent of death was never allowed on Lex?s farm, the fallen were swept away and burned before they ever had the opportunity to fester. But in the oven of this swamp, the rot set in almost before the dead stopped moving. The mold was waiting for it?s next avatar and the roaches had a menu of delicacies to choose from. Dead men floated in the bog, riddled with bullet holes. Lex found them uninteresting. Blank, almost bored, expressions on little bundles of flesh that used to contain sinful and frivolous minds did not inspire empathy as readily in Lex as it appeared to in some. No, to Lex their odor was far more alarming then their fates.
Baron Samedi trudged through the rice patty, his long legs taking abuse from the submerged vines and spines. He seemed determined to reach every dead man and when he did he invariably pushed them lower into the bog, from which they never floated again. Tending to the spirits of the dead, that was his purpose after all.
?Alexander.? The Baron said, his voice oddly nasal and southern. ?You?ll give me a moment I hope. There are only a few more.?
?Your business doesn?t require my attention Samedi.? Lex responded, his own voice deep and Creole. ?I?ll leave without you.?
?Ah, but your business requires my attention, doesn?t it? And I do wish you would call me Baron Samedi.? The tall pale man said, still wading through the mire toward the next casualty.
?You?ve done nothing to earn a title of nobility.?
?I?ve carried the dead for longer than you?ve been alive. That is beside the point though. If you won?t wait for me, you don?t need to. I?ll catch up.?
Lex hesitated. Samedi was a schemer, always had been. For as long as the two knew each other they were enemies caught in a tangle of rules that prevented either from ending their dispute. This tournament was changing that. Lex couldn?t kill Samedi because Lex was mortal and Samedi was a Loa, one of the spirits that rule the world; his most powerful magic and sharpest knife could never wound the Loa, he?d come to accept this. Similarly, Lex was a favorite tool of the Devil, one of the two Creatures who made earth. Samedi wouldn?t risk incurring the ire of such a being just to end a short-lived mortal a little sooner. And so their anger and resentment stewed and refined itself. But the man who won this tournament became a god. And Lex was close. If Lex gained divinity, the truce would be over and the fight could begin. And honestly, though Samedi would never admit it, that thought sent chills down his spine and parched his mouth. Samedi would do everything in his power, short of harvesting Lex?s damned soul himself, to kill the mortal who aspired to be a god; and Lex knew that.
And so the question floated through Lex like the putrid scent floating through the air, better to leave your greatest enemy behind you or at your side where you can watch him?
Lex rubbed his temples with his powerful black hands. He wanted to bark ?Be quick.? But he would not give Samedi the satisfaction. The Baron laughed anyway, stretching the thin skin of his face until he was truly indistinguishable from a skull in a suit.
?Ain?t you kind?? He said teasingly, reaching for the next victim.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
I?d sell your heart to the junkman, baby, for a buck.
For a buck.
If you?re lookin? for someone to pull you out of that ditch, you?re out a?luck.
Out a?luck.
?Turn that stupid thing off Axel. I don?t need it patronizing me.? Athena sniped. Her face was twisted in anger and hunger and yet, she was very pretty. Scarlett hair, full lips, deep placid eyes, a single streak of mud across her cheek that only served to artfully render the perfection of that pale innocent skin; Axel saw it all. The thought that she was beautiful couldn?t be said to have rushed through his mind. That would imply the thought left at some point. Axel was always aware that his partner in this tournament was also the most delicate, warm and loving woman he had ever seen. A part of him wanted to kill himself.
The Great Shadow took that woman. No, that was being too fair, glossing over what he?d done. He?d stolen the girl right out of her bedroom, dragged her to the Hunger, tied her down, watched the Shadow burrow, smelled her perfume as Athena?s body stood and told him he?d been loyal and that he would be rewarded. He didn?t have a choice, he belonged to The Shadow; but he led a pitiful excuse for a life and he knew. He?d known since the day he?d killed that girl.
?Athena, the radio has always been useful for us in this tournament. I don?t think turning it off would be a good idea.? Axel said absently, not really listening to the lyrics anymore.
?I said turn it off Axel. Don?t disobey me.?
?Yes Athena.?
God?s away, gods away, gods away on business.
Business. ?Chhk-
?I don?t know what your obsession with that damn thing is. If it were me I?d have thrown it down a cliff when it first showed up.?
?Sorry Athena. It?s just, it fell out of the sky. It?s got to be important, right??
?Nothing?s important you dolt. Except me, I?m important.? She added hastily. ?The entire world is a floating speck of dust in space populated by mites who seem to think they own the place. Don?t forget, you?re a Nihilist, you?re mine. I took you in when none of the other mites wanted you. So when I tell you to chuck a transistor radio down a cliff, you damn well chuck it.?
?Yes Athena.? Axel said, tucking his radio carefully away in a back pocket. After all, it?s not as though she told him explicitly to chuck it.
They marched in silence, Athena occasionally placing a palm over her stomach. It was obviously frustrating her that the pair weren?t beamed to a place with more people. Or any people for that matter. A wet dirt road beside a pungent rice patty was all the greeting they received. Whoever they were supposed to fight hadn?t shown his or her or, fuck, it?s face in the thirty odd minutes they?d been walking down the path, and the lack of fleshy morsels was obviously starting to get to Athena.
?She looks adorable when she?s frustrated? I hate myself.?
Time passed in silence, measured only by the metronome of footfalls in the brackish mud. No enemy came, no people came, nothing happened. If Axel hadn?t seen purgatory first hand, he might have guessed this was what it looked like. A single road, cumbersome to travel, extending into infinity along an ocean of dark, undrinkable water. Yes, there was something correct about that. After all, what did clouds and diffuse light symbolize, really? Poor weather? A road, one perilous to travel, an adventure that you learn from, surely that was a better test of a man?s soul? Angels would learn so much more watching men and women fail and tire and frolic along a path where there was no concept of victory than watching them twiddle their thumbs during heaven?s equivalent of a power outage. Axel wanted to tell Athena about this idea. But he didn?t want to tell the Great Shadow. So he said nothing.
Coincidentally this was all for the better, if he?d turned to talk to Athena, he would have missed the tiny gleam of metal covered haphazardly by the mud. As it was, he narrowly avoided loosing his balance and falling on the object. Athena looked at him like he was foolish and turned to continue on her way but Axel stopped her half way through the step.
?Don?t! There?s a mine! We?re in the fucking Vietnamese War!?
Athena sneered at him, ?If we?re in a war, where are the soldiers??
All at once, thirty men with guns stood from under the rice patty and began shouting in a foreign language. The leader?s face was red and he shivered ever so slightly as the slime rolled down his back. He was a young man really, obviously scared; scared and angry.
Athena licked her lips, eyes shining silver. The man in front pointed his gun at her and shouted ?America?!? She shook her head. ?Not exactly.?
It happened fast. Athena shot forward, her jaw dislocated, she landed on the leader?s chest, he fell down. The others started shooting. Athena held the leader?s throat between her teeth and a white substance flowed into her mouth. The Vietnamese man and Athena were both ripped by bullet holes and blood flowed cleanly from one of them, right into the rice patty, staining the water. The other soldiers stepped back to avoid the blood, it was a dirty thing now. Athena followed them.
Axel ran and ducked behind the other side of the road. Athena had one significant advantage, she was immortal. Axel was not. A single bullet hole would end his life and he would die there in that swamp. The idea didn?t appeal. He didn?t mind the concept of dying but he wasn?t sure he was ready to abandon Athena. Or the Hunger for that matter.
Shrieks and gunfire rocketed from the other side of the road. There was a wet kind of slump and then Athena made a noise best described as ?nom-nom. She would be through with them soon enough. And she was busy now, which meant Axel had free time.
He took the radio from his pocket and pushed the switch to bring it to life. The song started again.
Dried blood isn?t tacky because it oxidizes or because it contains white blood cells. That?s how it?s tacky, the method it?s chosen to act on it?s intentions. Blood sticks to your hands and clothes and knives because its single greatest fear is being left behind. A shimmering pool of red on the rough concrete ground has no purpose; it is unwanted and unloved even as its sheltered brethren are protected and cherished by the bodies in which they toil. Discarded blood will never again be cherished, it will spend its short pitiful life holding on dearly to whatever it may grasp in its weak and weathered embrace. It will know shame, it will know ignominy, and then it will be no more than a thin discoloration on the ground. Forgotten.
It is the ultimate drive of what is living to preserve itself. The final act of all things is fighting for one more act. And so it is with blood, as it holds fast to what gave it power. I understand that now, like I never could before. Because today, my hands are covered in tacky dried blood, the mark of my victory.
I have victory.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
The smell of decay stormed through Lex, tore him bodily. He?d never smelled something so horrible. The scent of death was never allowed on Lex?s farm, the fallen were swept away and burned before they ever had the opportunity to fester. But in the oven of this swamp, the rot set in almost before the dead stopped moving. The mold was waiting for it?s next avatar and the roaches had a menu of delicacies to choose from. Dead men floated in the bog, riddled with bullet holes. Lex found them uninteresting. Blank, almost bored, expressions on little bundles of flesh that used to contain sinful and frivolous minds did not inspire empathy as readily in Lex as it appeared to in some. No, to Lex their odor was far more alarming then their fates.
Baron Samedi trudged through the rice patty, his long legs taking abuse from the submerged vines and spines. He seemed determined to reach every dead man and when he did he invariably pushed them lower into the bog, from which they never floated again. Tending to the spirits of the dead, that was his purpose after all.
?Alexander.? The Baron said, his voice oddly nasal and southern. ?You?ll give me a moment I hope. There are only a few more.?
?Your business doesn?t require my attention Samedi.? Lex responded, his own voice deep and Creole. ?I?ll leave without you.?
?Ah, but your business requires my attention, doesn?t it? And I do wish you would call me Baron Samedi.? The tall pale man said, still wading through the mire toward the next casualty.
?You?ve done nothing to earn a title of nobility.?
?I?ve carried the dead for longer than you?ve been alive. That is beside the point though. If you won?t wait for me, you don?t need to. I?ll catch up.?
Lex hesitated. Samedi was a schemer, always had been. For as long as the two knew each other they were enemies caught in a tangle of rules that prevented either from ending their dispute. This tournament was changing that. Lex couldn?t kill Samedi because Lex was mortal and Samedi was a Loa, one of the spirits that rule the world; his most powerful magic and sharpest knife could never wound the Loa, he?d come to accept this. Similarly, Lex was a favorite tool of the Devil, one of the two Creatures who made earth. Samedi wouldn?t risk incurring the ire of such a being just to end a short-lived mortal a little sooner. And so their anger and resentment stewed and refined itself. But the man who won this tournament became a god. And Lex was close. If Lex gained divinity, the truce would be over and the fight could begin. And honestly, though Samedi would never admit it, that thought sent chills down his spine and parched his mouth. Samedi would do everything in his power, short of harvesting Lex?s damned soul himself, to kill the mortal who aspired to be a god; and Lex knew that.
And so the question floated through Lex like the putrid scent floating through the air, better to leave your greatest enemy behind you or at your side where you can watch him?
Lex rubbed his temples with his powerful black hands. He wanted to bark ?Be quick.? But he would not give Samedi the satisfaction. The Baron laughed anyway, stretching the thin skin of his face until he was truly indistinguishable from a skull in a suit.
?Ain?t you kind?? He said teasingly, reaching for the next victim.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
I?d sell your heart to the junkman, baby, for a buck.
For a buck.
If you?re lookin? for someone to pull you out of that ditch, you?re out a?luck.
Out a?luck.
?Turn that stupid thing off Axel. I don?t need it patronizing me.? Athena sniped. Her face was twisted in anger and hunger and yet, she was very pretty. Scarlett hair, full lips, deep placid eyes, a single streak of mud across her cheek that only served to artfully render the perfection of that pale innocent skin; Axel saw it all. The thought that she was beautiful couldn?t be said to have rushed through his mind. That would imply the thought left at some point. Axel was always aware that his partner in this tournament was also the most delicate, warm and loving woman he had ever seen. A part of him wanted to kill himself.
The Great Shadow took that woman. No, that was being too fair, glossing over what he?d done. He?d stolen the girl right out of her bedroom, dragged her to the Hunger, tied her down, watched the Shadow burrow, smelled her perfume as Athena?s body stood and told him he?d been loyal and that he would be rewarded. He didn?t have a choice, he belonged to The Shadow; but he led a pitiful excuse for a life and he knew. He?d known since the day he?d killed that girl.
?Athena, the radio has always been useful for us in this tournament. I don?t think turning it off would be a good idea.? Axel said absently, not really listening to the lyrics anymore.
?I said turn it off Axel. Don?t disobey me.?
?Yes Athena.?
God?s away, gods away, gods away on business.
Business. ?Chhk-
?I don?t know what your obsession with that damn thing is. If it were me I?d have thrown it down a cliff when it first showed up.?
?Sorry Athena. It?s just, it fell out of the sky. It?s got to be important, right??
?Nothing?s important you dolt. Except me, I?m important.? She added hastily. ?The entire world is a floating speck of dust in space populated by mites who seem to think they own the place. Don?t forget, you?re a Nihilist, you?re mine. I took you in when none of the other mites wanted you. So when I tell you to chuck a transistor radio down a cliff, you damn well chuck it.?
?Yes Athena.? Axel said, tucking his radio carefully away in a back pocket. After all, it?s not as though she told him explicitly to chuck it.
They marched in silence, Athena occasionally placing a palm over her stomach. It was obviously frustrating her that the pair weren?t beamed to a place with more people. Or any people for that matter. A wet dirt road beside a pungent rice patty was all the greeting they received. Whoever they were supposed to fight hadn?t shown his or her or, fuck, it?s face in the thirty odd minutes they?d been walking down the path, and the lack of fleshy morsels was obviously starting to get to Athena.
?She looks adorable when she?s frustrated? I hate myself.?
Time passed in silence, measured only by the metronome of footfalls in the brackish mud. No enemy came, no people came, nothing happened. If Axel hadn?t seen purgatory first hand, he might have guessed this was what it looked like. A single road, cumbersome to travel, extending into infinity along an ocean of dark, undrinkable water. Yes, there was something correct about that. After all, what did clouds and diffuse light symbolize, really? Poor weather? A road, one perilous to travel, an adventure that you learn from, surely that was a better test of a man?s soul? Angels would learn so much more watching men and women fail and tire and frolic along a path where there was no concept of victory than watching them twiddle their thumbs during heaven?s equivalent of a power outage. Axel wanted to tell Athena about this idea. But he didn?t want to tell the Great Shadow. So he said nothing.
Coincidentally this was all for the better, if he?d turned to talk to Athena, he would have missed the tiny gleam of metal covered haphazardly by the mud. As it was, he narrowly avoided loosing his balance and falling on the object. Athena looked at him like he was foolish and turned to continue on her way but Axel stopped her half way through the step.
?Don?t! There?s a mine! We?re in the fucking Vietnamese War!?
Athena sneered at him, ?If we?re in a war, where are the soldiers??
All at once, thirty men with guns stood from under the rice patty and began shouting in a foreign language. The leader?s face was red and he shivered ever so slightly as the slime rolled down his back. He was a young man really, obviously scared; scared and angry.
Athena licked her lips, eyes shining silver. The man in front pointed his gun at her and shouted ?America?!? She shook her head. ?Not exactly.?
It happened fast. Athena shot forward, her jaw dislocated, she landed on the leader?s chest, he fell down. The others started shooting. Athena held the leader?s throat between her teeth and a white substance flowed into her mouth. The Vietnamese man and Athena were both ripped by bullet holes and blood flowed cleanly from one of them, right into the rice patty, staining the water. The other soldiers stepped back to avoid the blood, it was a dirty thing now. Athena followed them.
Axel ran and ducked behind the other side of the road. Athena had one significant advantage, she was immortal. Axel was not. A single bullet hole would end his life and he would die there in that swamp. The idea didn?t appeal. He didn?t mind the concept of dying but he wasn?t sure he was ready to abandon Athena. Or the Hunger for that matter.
Shrieks and gunfire rocketed from the other side of the road. There was a wet kind of slump and then Athena made a noise best described as ?nom-nom. She would be through with them soon enough. And she was busy now, which meant Axel had free time.
He took the radio from his pocket and pushed the switch to bring it to life. The song started again.
Lex and the Baron had set off from the rice patty almost five minutes ago and quickly found themselves on a little dirt road leading off into the distance. They didn?t speak to each other. Their hatred transcended little games of insult or taunt; they preferred to keep to themselves and wait until the opportunity to end their rivalry was presented.
The sound of running feet came from the far end of the road. The Baron smiled and Lex withdrew a medium sized knife, wide handled and lightly serrated. With relish Samedi reported on Lex?s position and inventory to the mysterious running figure. He?d made that his version of hello in all the fights preceding so Lex couldn?t be surprised. Nonetheless, he found the forced revoking of any startle he could deliver to his opponent quite ? frustrating. It put him at an obvious disadvantage.
But then across three fights, he wasn?t dead yet.
Lex braced himself and brought his knife up to bear just as the figure became visible in the distance. It was an Asian man, covered in mud, face contorted with fright. He was obviously a soldier but Lex didn?t see any weaponry on him and he ran more like a cowardly dog than a tool of war.
The soldier saw Lex and seemed relieved. He ran at them and threw his arms around Lex?s blood red suit, crying onto his shoulder.
?She eat us!? He yelled between sobs. ?We surrender and she eat us all!?
Lex grimaced and pushed the poor man away from him. He landed squat on the ground still sobbing.
?Who?? The man?s personal struggles, tribulations and psychological scarring didn?t interest Lex. In fact, it could be said that he found them repelling.
?Vietcong! She eat Vietcong. Me ? and friends. She eat us!?
?Why did you leave?? Lex asked. Baron Samedi tutted and turned his back on the pair. He knew this scene.
The soldier looked confused and just repeated ?She eat us.?
?If this woman ate your unit, you should have killed her or been eaten. You were sent here by your leader to serve a higher purpose; attempting to escape your duty is arrogance and arrogance is sinful. You spat in the face or your superiors today. More than that, you issued a challenge. By ignoring the directions issued to you the assertion is made that you are above the rules, that the directions you issue are superior in quality to those of your director. You quietly usurp his power and claim dominance of the group. Why have you done this??
?I don?t want die.?
?No one wants to. That?s hardly an excuse.?
?I have daughter. Please. Two month daughter.?
?You have a two month old daughter?? Lex asked calmly.
?I want see her.? The man sobbed more violently than before. He was a pathetic lump on the ground, a ball of tears.
Lex put his knife away and lifted the man to his feet by his shoulders. He looked calmly into his eyes and was now quite satisfied. ?You abandoned your unit, fled your responsibilities and sowed havoc and in-fighting in your chain of command, because you wanted to see your daughter again.? Lex nodded his head and withdrew another, shorter more delicate knife from his jacket. ?You threw away your purpose when you left. Discarded it for a girl you barely know, who doesn?t know you... because temptation led you astray. You were more concerned about the luxury of sight than your commandments. For remedy, I will remove your eyes. What leads us away from our purpose is temptation, and temptation is as sin. I will lead you away from temptation. And when I?m done you will serve your purpose again, proudly. You?ll be better. Now, open your eyes wide.? Lex forced the man?s eyelid all the way open and held him as he struggled feverishly. ?And don?t blink.?
Baron Samedi tapped his foot while the screaming happened behind him. It was over quickly, Lex never wasted time and, anyway, it really isn?t as tough as people think to remove an eye or two. After, hell, less than twenty seconds the Baron turned around to see Lex washing his hands in the rice patty next to the road. The Vietnamese man was in a ball on the ground, still crying and no doubt burning the cuts in his eye sockets with the saline tears. Two gored globes deflated in front of him.
Lex stood a moment later and faced the Vietnamese man. ?You?re better; go be eaten.? The soldier stood and ran off wildly, going the completely wrong direction and falling over himself, howling grief all the way. Lex seemed satisfied.
?He can?t live long like that.? Samedi pointed out.
?That?s your business, not mine. I taught him the lesson he needed to learn. When his time comes you can kill him.? With that Lex set off again the way the Vietcong soldier came, pulling a small glass vial from his jacket. It was filled with little red leaves held in by a cork stopper. Lex extracted the vegetation and popped a handful into his mouth. It was bitter and left a taste of rot, but every injury serves a purpose.
?What was that then?? Samedi asked.
?Barlow leaves. They make the blood sour.?
?You think that?ll keep a cannibal off you??
Lex shrugged. ?It works on ticks.?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
The pair rounded a turn in the road and saw Athena, dress ripped and stained with blood, in a circle of squirming bodies. She?d broken the legs on a couple soldiers and was giggling in the middle of them, trying to decide which would go first.
It?s rare to see Baron Samedi grow pale. His bone whiteness hides it well on days when he does, but Lex was a little too observant. ?What?? he asked.
A chill ran through Samedi, a hot chill, like all the blood moving at once. ?I know her.? He said, almost without thinking. ?We all do.?
?Who is she?? Lex asked.
The Baron didn?t look at him, just kept a frozen stare on the woman with scarlet hair. There wasn?t really a name for her. She was one of the old things; creatures that lived before the concept of identity, beings that solely existed and didn?t worry about how or why or what they were. Some of the Loa called this one The Hunger. Some called her the Great Shadow. All the Baron knew was that she was ancient and magnificently powerful and destructive as all hell. Samedi studied Lex carefully for a moment, judging the consequence of the Shadow winning.
He made his decision.
?Why that?s Suzy-Lu, came down from Kentucky. Just say ?Yoo-hoo? and she?ll help you get lucky. Alexander, I ain?t tellin? you shit.?
Lex raised his eyebrows lazily. ?Fine.? With a resigned grimace he downed the rest of the Barlow leaves and strode toward the rice patty where the girl was giggling. The Baron stayed put, this didn?t need his help to ensure Lex?s death. You can?t fight the old things and hope to win. The old things don?t die.
Athena followed Lex?s slow march into the rice patty with inebriated interest. He was much like a muscled hippopotamus swaying awkwardly into the muck. He was comically misplaced and oddly placid, but ferocity boiling just behind the eyes still betrayed one simple fact; he was deadly.
Lex pulled a long silver knife. ?You are my opponent, correct??
A man standing next to Athena might have seen, with very good eyes and no small portion of luck, a dark shimmering in the air like waves of heat distorting the world. A man much farther away would only have seen a woman suddenly dragged into the air as though tied at the waist to some cruel but invisible flying beast. Samedi saw the Great Shadow leap at Lex, at such a speed it?s host body might tear. Lex saw only the dark swamp mud soaring up to choke him.
Abysmal darkness assaulted his senses while cold slippery teeth slid into the back of his neck. Her teeth didn?t burn, as knives burned severing muscles and tendons, they numbed and irritated like sharp wide mosquito needles. Lex felt himself loosing consciousness, only to be awoken by a shout that might splinter bones. The weight on his back left as the noise grew more distant.
?AGHKHOHAA! Oh you are a foul thing! It burns!? The scarlet haired woman wailed as Lex stood. The crimson suited man groggily seized his silver knife and ran a red line down his black palm. ?You are my opponent then.? He said painting the knife in his wet blood. With a flick of his wrist he shot the weapon at the girl, piercing her in the stomach. She wretched. ?And what are you?? Lex continued, painting another blade as he wobbily stood. ?Not a girl. Why are you hiding inside of one?? This knife punctured her shoulder. The girl heaved again but could not vomit. ?Are you trying to dodge responsibility? Or are you attempting to realize a dream of being something other than what you are? Or is it cowardice? Afraid to show your true face??
?AXEL!!!? Athena shouted, voice thick with frenzy but not yet fear.
?All of these are sins ma?am.? Lex continued painting another blade. ?And what is sinful must be cut away.?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
On the road Baron Samedi fumed. ?Works on ticks. Very funny Alexander! The Great Shadow was contorted on the ground, summoning the strength to stand between bouts of vomiting. The two knives still stood inside of her and she seemed uninterested in removing them.
This couldn?t be allowed. Alexander was Lecturing one of the old ones. There were gods that didn?t have that kind of gall! The Baron searched for some trap he could lay or some distraction he could provoke; he wasn?t permitted to enter the fight himself but he?d be damned if he was going to watch his nemesis prevail again.
He saw the dead soldiers in the bog, and some of the living ones; all carrying weaponry, most carrying canteens. He prepared to sprint to them when a mohawked man came rushing out of the reeds on the other side of the road. He was carrying a little transistor radio playing a macabre tune and Samedi knew immediately that it wasn?t right.
?Boy, wait!? He said, grabbing his shoulder. The lad struggled but Samedi restrained him. ?Where did you get that radio??
Axel pulled away violently, ?What?! It fell from the sky! I have to go save her!? Samedi tutted and knocked the legs out from under Axel. ?Leave that to me. And tell me who you killed. They?re important, they?re not supposed to die. It needs to be reported.? Axel struggled. ?I haven?t killed anyone! What are you talking about! Let me up, I have to save her!?
?AXEL!!!? Athena shouted again, slightly more furious.
?Kid, we?ll talk later.? Samedi said deeming he had little time. This boy and his radio would have to be dealt with, but that issue would keep. Lex and the Old One, that was growing more putrid by the moment. He turned preparing to march off when over his shoulder he called back, ?I?d stay out of the water if I were you.? And with that, suddenly Axel was alone on the road.
Samedi appeared next to the dead. It was a benefit of the trade. A man can die anywhere and it was impractical to send the reaper on trains, so the universe provided. The dead man he appeared next to today was the Vietcong in the rice patty, mere feet from Lex and Athena. Samedi didn?t waste time, grabbing up the discarded gun and firing at the dead man?s canteen. He repeated the pattern with every dead and living soldier in the patty, one by one puncturing their drinks. When he was done, he searched the dead man for a flare, pulled the end and hoped.
A wave of fire burned over the pond. Sure enough, water may have been standard issue but some of the soldiers had taken it upon themselves to spike their rations with wonderfully flammable spirits. Those spirits ignited and spread across the pool, finding more and more fuel in the plants floating on and just below the surface. Before long the entire patty would alight. Himself and the Hunger would get out fine, they were spiritual beings, a physical fire was hardly a nuisance. Alexander on the other hand, would be less lucky.
He looked back to the road as Lex made a dive under water. Axel was standing again. A normal man may have been staring at the beautiful symphony of fire dancing on the waves, but this man merely stared dumbfounded at his radio.
?Hey!? Samedi shouted back. ?Be ready!?
The sound of running feet came from the far end of the road. The Baron smiled and Lex withdrew a medium sized knife, wide handled and lightly serrated. With relish Samedi reported on Lex?s position and inventory to the mysterious running figure. He?d made that his version of hello in all the fights preceding so Lex couldn?t be surprised. Nonetheless, he found the forced revoking of any startle he could deliver to his opponent quite ? frustrating. It put him at an obvious disadvantage.
But then across three fights, he wasn?t dead yet.
Lex braced himself and brought his knife up to bear just as the figure became visible in the distance. It was an Asian man, covered in mud, face contorted with fright. He was obviously a soldier but Lex didn?t see any weaponry on him and he ran more like a cowardly dog than a tool of war.
The soldier saw Lex and seemed relieved. He ran at them and threw his arms around Lex?s blood red suit, crying onto his shoulder.
?She eat us!? He yelled between sobs. ?We surrender and she eat us all!?
Lex grimaced and pushed the poor man away from him. He landed squat on the ground still sobbing.
?Who?? The man?s personal struggles, tribulations and psychological scarring didn?t interest Lex. In fact, it could be said that he found them repelling.
?Vietcong! She eat Vietcong. Me ? and friends. She eat us!?
?Why did you leave?? Lex asked. Baron Samedi tutted and turned his back on the pair. He knew this scene.
The soldier looked confused and just repeated ?She eat us.?
?If this woman ate your unit, you should have killed her or been eaten. You were sent here by your leader to serve a higher purpose; attempting to escape your duty is arrogance and arrogance is sinful. You spat in the face or your superiors today. More than that, you issued a challenge. By ignoring the directions issued to you the assertion is made that you are above the rules, that the directions you issue are superior in quality to those of your director. You quietly usurp his power and claim dominance of the group. Why have you done this??
?I don?t want die.?
?No one wants to. That?s hardly an excuse.?
?I have daughter. Please. Two month daughter.?
?You have a two month old daughter?? Lex asked calmly.
?I want see her.? The man sobbed more violently than before. He was a pathetic lump on the ground, a ball of tears.
Lex put his knife away and lifted the man to his feet by his shoulders. He looked calmly into his eyes and was now quite satisfied. ?You abandoned your unit, fled your responsibilities and sowed havoc and in-fighting in your chain of command, because you wanted to see your daughter again.? Lex nodded his head and withdrew another, shorter more delicate knife from his jacket. ?You threw away your purpose when you left. Discarded it for a girl you barely know, who doesn?t know you... because temptation led you astray. You were more concerned about the luxury of sight than your commandments. For remedy, I will remove your eyes. What leads us away from our purpose is temptation, and temptation is as sin. I will lead you away from temptation. And when I?m done you will serve your purpose again, proudly. You?ll be better. Now, open your eyes wide.? Lex forced the man?s eyelid all the way open and held him as he struggled feverishly. ?And don?t blink.?
Baron Samedi tapped his foot while the screaming happened behind him. It was over quickly, Lex never wasted time and, anyway, it really isn?t as tough as people think to remove an eye or two. After, hell, less than twenty seconds the Baron turned around to see Lex washing his hands in the rice patty next to the road. The Vietnamese man was in a ball on the ground, still crying and no doubt burning the cuts in his eye sockets with the saline tears. Two gored globes deflated in front of him.
Lex stood a moment later and faced the Vietnamese man. ?You?re better; go be eaten.? The soldier stood and ran off wildly, going the completely wrong direction and falling over himself, howling grief all the way. Lex seemed satisfied.
?He can?t live long like that.? Samedi pointed out.
?That?s your business, not mine. I taught him the lesson he needed to learn. When his time comes you can kill him.? With that Lex set off again the way the Vietcong soldier came, pulling a small glass vial from his jacket. It was filled with little red leaves held in by a cork stopper. Lex extracted the vegetation and popped a handful into his mouth. It was bitter and left a taste of rot, but every injury serves a purpose.
?What was that then?? Samedi asked.
?Barlow leaves. They make the blood sour.?
?You think that?ll keep a cannibal off you??
Lex shrugged. ?It works on ticks.?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
The pair rounded a turn in the road and saw Athena, dress ripped and stained with blood, in a circle of squirming bodies. She?d broken the legs on a couple soldiers and was giggling in the middle of them, trying to decide which would go first.
It?s rare to see Baron Samedi grow pale. His bone whiteness hides it well on days when he does, but Lex was a little too observant. ?What?? he asked.
A chill ran through Samedi, a hot chill, like all the blood moving at once. ?I know her.? He said, almost without thinking. ?We all do.?
?Who is she?? Lex asked.
The Baron didn?t look at him, just kept a frozen stare on the woman with scarlet hair. There wasn?t really a name for her. She was one of the old things; creatures that lived before the concept of identity, beings that solely existed and didn?t worry about how or why or what they were. Some of the Loa called this one The Hunger. Some called her the Great Shadow. All the Baron knew was that she was ancient and magnificently powerful and destructive as all hell. Samedi studied Lex carefully for a moment, judging the consequence of the Shadow winning.
He made his decision.
?Why that?s Suzy-Lu, came down from Kentucky. Just say ?Yoo-hoo? and she?ll help you get lucky. Alexander, I ain?t tellin? you shit.?
Lex raised his eyebrows lazily. ?Fine.? With a resigned grimace he downed the rest of the Barlow leaves and strode toward the rice patty where the girl was giggling. The Baron stayed put, this didn?t need his help to ensure Lex?s death. You can?t fight the old things and hope to win. The old things don?t die.
Athena followed Lex?s slow march into the rice patty with inebriated interest. He was much like a muscled hippopotamus swaying awkwardly into the muck. He was comically misplaced and oddly placid, but ferocity boiling just behind the eyes still betrayed one simple fact; he was deadly.
Lex pulled a long silver knife. ?You are my opponent, correct??
A man standing next to Athena might have seen, with very good eyes and no small portion of luck, a dark shimmering in the air like waves of heat distorting the world. A man much farther away would only have seen a woman suddenly dragged into the air as though tied at the waist to some cruel but invisible flying beast. Samedi saw the Great Shadow leap at Lex, at such a speed it?s host body might tear. Lex saw only the dark swamp mud soaring up to choke him.
Abysmal darkness assaulted his senses while cold slippery teeth slid into the back of his neck. Her teeth didn?t burn, as knives burned severing muscles and tendons, they numbed and irritated like sharp wide mosquito needles. Lex felt himself loosing consciousness, only to be awoken by a shout that might splinter bones. The weight on his back left as the noise grew more distant.
?AGHKHOHAA! Oh you are a foul thing! It burns!? The scarlet haired woman wailed as Lex stood. The crimson suited man groggily seized his silver knife and ran a red line down his black palm. ?You are my opponent then.? He said painting the knife in his wet blood. With a flick of his wrist he shot the weapon at the girl, piercing her in the stomach. She wretched. ?And what are you?? Lex continued, painting another blade as he wobbily stood. ?Not a girl. Why are you hiding inside of one?? This knife punctured her shoulder. The girl heaved again but could not vomit. ?Are you trying to dodge responsibility? Or are you attempting to realize a dream of being something other than what you are? Or is it cowardice? Afraid to show your true face??
?AXEL!!!? Athena shouted, voice thick with frenzy but not yet fear.
?All of these are sins ma?am.? Lex continued painting another blade. ?And what is sinful must be cut away.?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
On the road Baron Samedi fumed. ?Works on ticks. Very funny Alexander! The Great Shadow was contorted on the ground, summoning the strength to stand between bouts of vomiting. The two knives still stood inside of her and she seemed uninterested in removing them.
This couldn?t be allowed. Alexander was Lecturing one of the old ones. There were gods that didn?t have that kind of gall! The Baron searched for some trap he could lay or some distraction he could provoke; he wasn?t permitted to enter the fight himself but he?d be damned if he was going to watch his nemesis prevail again.
He saw the dead soldiers in the bog, and some of the living ones; all carrying weaponry, most carrying canteens. He prepared to sprint to them when a mohawked man came rushing out of the reeds on the other side of the road. He was carrying a little transistor radio playing a macabre tune and Samedi knew immediately that it wasn?t right.
?Boy, wait!? He said, grabbing his shoulder. The lad struggled but Samedi restrained him. ?Where did you get that radio??
Axel pulled away violently, ?What?! It fell from the sky! I have to go save her!? Samedi tutted and knocked the legs out from under Axel. ?Leave that to me. And tell me who you killed. They?re important, they?re not supposed to die. It needs to be reported.? Axel struggled. ?I haven?t killed anyone! What are you talking about! Let me up, I have to save her!?
?AXEL!!!? Athena shouted again, slightly more furious.
?Kid, we?ll talk later.? Samedi said deeming he had little time. This boy and his radio would have to be dealt with, but that issue would keep. Lex and the Old One, that was growing more putrid by the moment. He turned preparing to march off when over his shoulder he called back, ?I?d stay out of the water if I were you.? And with that, suddenly Axel was alone on the road.
Samedi appeared next to the dead. It was a benefit of the trade. A man can die anywhere and it was impractical to send the reaper on trains, so the universe provided. The dead man he appeared next to today was the Vietcong in the rice patty, mere feet from Lex and Athena. Samedi didn?t waste time, grabbing up the discarded gun and firing at the dead man?s canteen. He repeated the pattern with every dead and living soldier in the patty, one by one puncturing their drinks. When he was done, he searched the dead man for a flare, pulled the end and hoped.
A wave of fire burned over the pond. Sure enough, water may have been standard issue but some of the soldiers had taken it upon themselves to spike their rations with wonderfully flammable spirits. Those spirits ignited and spread across the pool, finding more and more fuel in the plants floating on and just below the surface. Before long the entire patty would alight. Himself and the Hunger would get out fine, they were spiritual beings, a physical fire was hardly a nuisance. Alexander on the other hand, would be less lucky.
He looked back to the road as Lex made a dive under water. Axel was standing again. A normal man may have been staring at the beautiful symphony of fire dancing on the waves, but this man merely stared dumbfounded at his radio.
?Hey!? Samedi shouted back. ?Be ready!?
Too long for a single comment apprently. I again apologize profusly.
Axel broke his concentrated stare as a man in red burst from the rice patty. Fire played across the back of his scarlet suit jacket bestowing upon him the silhouette of a demon, risen from hell. Without words or courtesy he delivered a battering hook to Axel?s jaw, dropping him.
Axel was vaguely aware of pain and dizziness and of his assailant discarding his suit to reveal a thin black dress shirt billowing around large muscles. The coat fell with a metallic note and knifes stuck from it like quills from a hedgehog. In the absence of his blades Lex carried little canisters and candles and mirrors strapped to every inch of his person like a wandering apothecary. He reached for one now. With delicate precision he scrapped a yellow bark against the wound on his neck. When he withdrew the palette it held a sizable measure of clear goo.
Axel reacted instinctively. It was voodoo. This demon was practicing voodoo on his mistress and he?d found a piece of her to take, her spittle on his neck. It could not be allowed.
Axel leapt and slammed his shoulder into the man before he?d even gained his balance. The pair flew into the mud, breaking beakers and mirrors as they rolled against each other. Lex was stronger, Axel knew it, but he didn?t possess the maddening drive that pushed Axel farther and farther past his limits. Lex gripped Axel?s neck. Axel threw his knees into Lex?s side. Lex pinned Axel by his shoulders. Axel rammed his head into Lex?s neck. The two fought, Lex all precision and practice, Axel fury and passion; and while they struggled, Athena stalked away from the burning pond.
?Kill him Axel!? She commanded, trudging toward the shore. ?I can?t stand the taste of him. It?s putrid! His flavor has even seeped into this one! She tastes like mildew and sickness. Kill him for fucksake!?
Lex hesitated, distracted by the approach of the demon woman, and Axel saw his opportunity. He pulled his knees close to his stomach underneath Lex?s muscled form and kicked with all the strength he possessed. The witchdoctor flew from him, a look of surprise sprinting through his visage as he landed flat many feet away. Axel scurried to his feet preparing himself for the second round and watching as Lex lumbered vertical. They were on equal footing now, both tired, both prepared, both apprised of each other?s weaknesses. Axel felt something in him boil, he was warm and his body was light and the steam flew to his mind and fogged his reason. They were on equal footing! There were people counting on him! He could win! He could win Athena?s respect! This was his moment! This was his day! With a warrior?s shout he steeled his overworked muscles and leapt for his opponent with all the grace and fury of a warrior angel.
Lex punched him in the side of his jaw. Axel fell down.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
It was all not working out. Lex hadn?t expected the other one, Axel. Hadn?t anticipated his ferocity. And now he was separated from his knives, bereft of the majority of his herbs, physically tired and moments away from a second confrontation with demon lady. She couldn?t eat him, and that had taken her by surprise the first time, but she could still tear his limbs away like a plump cooked turkey. If he hadn?t lost the spittle he?d have had a move; as he stood he was thoroughly outplayed. There were only moments before Axel would wake up again, and then only moments before demon lady was in strike range. And so Lex hastily searched his pockets looking for any weapon his wrestling hadn?t rendered useless.
He found salt. One large box of fine grain salt stashed in his deep side pocket. It was a coward?s way out and he detested that this horrible pair brought him to such measures, but Axel wriggled on the ground and reminded Lex of the desperation of his situation. With a sigh he resigned himself.
Ripping the top of the box open with powerful hands Lex exposed the contents. He then whispered a quiet spell for the white granules. All that remained was to seal the pact, and so he brought his powerful black hand to his mouth and, feeling the bones of his thumb and finger brought to rest on either cheek and the soft flesh between laid bare before his tongue, bit. Blood poured out, lots of blood. Lex spat the remains of skin on the ground, trying to purge his tongue of the sickening flavor that repulsed the demon, and poured his personal creek into the box of salt, staining all those perfect white globes, giving them power. The demon lady crossed onto the solid shore from the lake of fire as Lex swung his salt above his head in a maneuver he knew well. In the space of a second a red and white ring encompassed him and his captive.
?What do you think you?ve done magic man?? Athena shouted from the perimeter of the circle. She played at insouciance but Lex could hear the hesitation in her voice.
?Standard spell of protection. Nothing physical can cross over.? Lex said kicking Axel?s stomach and pulling his body up into a head-lock. He looked for his discarded coat. It was just past the barrier.
?You think that will stop me? You?re an idiot. Not a physical creature, remember??
?That body is. If you want to kill me you have to discard that mask and let the world see what you really are. You won?t hide behind that girl anymore. I won?t allow it.?
Athena froze. Her red hair was singed and her robes were black with smoke and spent blood and for the first time in this entire tournament, possibly in generations, The Hunger looked scared.
?? I was correct then.? Lex declared while loosening his grip on Axel?s windpipe. A moment before the lad was to be a sacrifice, now he was Lex?s only source of information. ?Announce forfeit if you won?t meet the conditions of our fight.?
?Fuck you mortal!? Athena shouted in reply.
?We have nothing more to discuss.?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Blood rushed back into Axel?s head. He wasn?t sure what was going on, except that everything was bright. Athena was ashen faced many feet away and it made him sad. He decided to comfort her and took a step toward his girl.
His knee was kicked out from under him and he hung by his neck at the hands of the voodoo man. A horrible headache crashed symbols in his head and all the memories came back. He knew where he was, he knew what was happening and he knew that, for the moment, Lex was in control.
?You back?? The man said, his deep Cajun drawl oddly casual.
? ? ?uck oo.?
?I don?t understand you, child. I don?t know what motivates you to follow the demon. Explain yourself.?
?? ?uck oo.?
?I don?t understand who the demon is, where she comes from, why she is allowed in this tournament. Please explain her.?
?Don?t tell him anything Axel!? The Hunger shouted.
?? Athena.? He said longingly.
?Athena is it? The goddess of wisdom? ... There is Atheniloisaz arch demon of deaths at sea. Is this what you mean??
?Just Athena.? Axel spat angrily.
?? Oh! The girl.?
?You dolt! You blithering fumbling IDIOT!!!?
?I?m sorry Athena??
Lex stared as best he could at the face of his captive. There was genuine sorrow there, guilt perhaps. Disappointment around the brow, self loathing in the jaw, and an excess of will that weighed his spirit to the ground made his face a grim illustration of the life he led. There was one thing Lex could see, could not avoid seeing. That this lad truly was sorry; sorry for so many things.
He loosened his grip on Axel?s throat. ?That?s not Athena.? He said simply. Axel said nothing. ?You know that she?s not your Athena? That it is a demon??
?It?s my demon!? Axel spat. ?Athena was never mine. The Shadow was mine. I don?t care about the girl! I don?t care about the girl.?
Lex opposed simply. ?Yes you do.?
?No I don?t.?
?He?s playing you Axel! Shut up! Stop talking!?
?If I may interject,? Baron Samedi said with measured frustration on the edge of the perimeter. ?This is a touching and heartfelt dialogue you three have goin? but there is actual cosmic business to attend to. I think I have just figured out where you got that radio boy.?
All parties raised their heads. Lex and Axel seemed confused whereas Athena merely shook her head and scowled at the Loa.
?Do you love Athena despite not knowing her? Feel inspired to live by greater standards when you?re around her? Feel the need to protect her, almost instinctively? Answer truthfully now boy.?
Axel?s face was stunned in confusion. He knew nothing had changed to warrant such confusion. The enemy was after all, still interrogating him but it froze his core to hear the spirit accuse him of all the things he hid most fervently. And he claimed to know the origins of the radio. Standing back from it all, everything seemed so surreal.
?Y-Yes.? He finally stammered.
?And did you find miss Athena on Kensley Lane??
??Yes. How did you-?
?Then the radio isn?t yours, Axel. It?s hers. You?ve killed a muse and your ? patron has been wanderin? around in her body.?
Axel was vaguely aware of pain and dizziness and of his assailant discarding his suit to reveal a thin black dress shirt billowing around large muscles. The coat fell with a metallic note and knifes stuck from it like quills from a hedgehog. In the absence of his blades Lex carried little canisters and candles and mirrors strapped to every inch of his person like a wandering apothecary. He reached for one now. With delicate precision he scrapped a yellow bark against the wound on his neck. When he withdrew the palette it held a sizable measure of clear goo.
Axel reacted instinctively. It was voodoo. This demon was practicing voodoo on his mistress and he?d found a piece of her to take, her spittle on his neck. It could not be allowed.
Axel leapt and slammed his shoulder into the man before he?d even gained his balance. The pair flew into the mud, breaking beakers and mirrors as they rolled against each other. Lex was stronger, Axel knew it, but he didn?t possess the maddening drive that pushed Axel farther and farther past his limits. Lex gripped Axel?s neck. Axel threw his knees into Lex?s side. Lex pinned Axel by his shoulders. Axel rammed his head into Lex?s neck. The two fought, Lex all precision and practice, Axel fury and passion; and while they struggled, Athena stalked away from the burning pond.
?Kill him Axel!? She commanded, trudging toward the shore. ?I can?t stand the taste of him. It?s putrid! His flavor has even seeped into this one! She tastes like mildew and sickness. Kill him for fucksake!?
Lex hesitated, distracted by the approach of the demon woman, and Axel saw his opportunity. He pulled his knees close to his stomach underneath Lex?s muscled form and kicked with all the strength he possessed. The witchdoctor flew from him, a look of surprise sprinting through his visage as he landed flat many feet away. Axel scurried to his feet preparing himself for the second round and watching as Lex lumbered vertical. They were on equal footing now, both tired, both prepared, both apprised of each other?s weaknesses. Axel felt something in him boil, he was warm and his body was light and the steam flew to his mind and fogged his reason. They were on equal footing! There were people counting on him! He could win! He could win Athena?s respect! This was his moment! This was his day! With a warrior?s shout he steeled his overworked muscles and leapt for his opponent with all the grace and fury of a warrior angel.
Lex punched him in the side of his jaw. Axel fell down.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
It was all not working out. Lex hadn?t expected the other one, Axel. Hadn?t anticipated his ferocity. And now he was separated from his knives, bereft of the majority of his herbs, physically tired and moments away from a second confrontation with demon lady. She couldn?t eat him, and that had taken her by surprise the first time, but she could still tear his limbs away like a plump cooked turkey. If he hadn?t lost the spittle he?d have had a move; as he stood he was thoroughly outplayed. There were only moments before Axel would wake up again, and then only moments before demon lady was in strike range. And so Lex hastily searched his pockets looking for any weapon his wrestling hadn?t rendered useless.
He found salt. One large box of fine grain salt stashed in his deep side pocket. It was a coward?s way out and he detested that this horrible pair brought him to such measures, but Axel wriggled on the ground and reminded Lex of the desperation of his situation. With a sigh he resigned himself.
Ripping the top of the box open with powerful hands Lex exposed the contents. He then whispered a quiet spell for the white granules. All that remained was to seal the pact, and so he brought his powerful black hand to his mouth and, feeling the bones of his thumb and finger brought to rest on either cheek and the soft flesh between laid bare before his tongue, bit. Blood poured out, lots of blood. Lex spat the remains of skin on the ground, trying to purge his tongue of the sickening flavor that repulsed the demon, and poured his personal creek into the box of salt, staining all those perfect white globes, giving them power. The demon lady crossed onto the solid shore from the lake of fire as Lex swung his salt above his head in a maneuver he knew well. In the space of a second a red and white ring encompassed him and his captive.
?What do you think you?ve done magic man?? Athena shouted from the perimeter of the circle. She played at insouciance but Lex could hear the hesitation in her voice.
?Standard spell of protection. Nothing physical can cross over.? Lex said kicking Axel?s stomach and pulling his body up into a head-lock. He looked for his discarded coat. It was just past the barrier.
?You think that will stop me? You?re an idiot. Not a physical creature, remember??
?That body is. If you want to kill me you have to discard that mask and let the world see what you really are. You won?t hide behind that girl anymore. I won?t allow it.?
Athena froze. Her red hair was singed and her robes were black with smoke and spent blood and for the first time in this entire tournament, possibly in generations, The Hunger looked scared.
?? I was correct then.? Lex declared while loosening his grip on Axel?s windpipe. A moment before the lad was to be a sacrifice, now he was Lex?s only source of information. ?Announce forfeit if you won?t meet the conditions of our fight.?
?Fuck you mortal!? Athena shouted in reply.
?We have nothing more to discuss.?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Blood rushed back into Axel?s head. He wasn?t sure what was going on, except that everything was bright. Athena was ashen faced many feet away and it made him sad. He decided to comfort her and took a step toward his girl.
His knee was kicked out from under him and he hung by his neck at the hands of the voodoo man. A horrible headache crashed symbols in his head and all the memories came back. He knew where he was, he knew what was happening and he knew that, for the moment, Lex was in control.
?You back?? The man said, his deep Cajun drawl oddly casual.
? ? ?uck oo.?
?I don?t understand you, child. I don?t know what motivates you to follow the demon. Explain yourself.?
?? ?uck oo.?
?I don?t understand who the demon is, where she comes from, why she is allowed in this tournament. Please explain her.?
?Don?t tell him anything Axel!? The Hunger shouted.
?? Athena.? He said longingly.
?Athena is it? The goddess of wisdom? ... There is Atheniloisaz arch demon of deaths at sea. Is this what you mean??
?Just Athena.? Axel spat angrily.
?? Oh! The girl.?
?You dolt! You blithering fumbling IDIOT!!!?
?I?m sorry Athena??
Lex stared as best he could at the face of his captive. There was genuine sorrow there, guilt perhaps. Disappointment around the brow, self loathing in the jaw, and an excess of will that weighed his spirit to the ground made his face a grim illustration of the life he led. There was one thing Lex could see, could not avoid seeing. That this lad truly was sorry; sorry for so many things.
He loosened his grip on Axel?s throat. ?That?s not Athena.? He said simply. Axel said nothing. ?You know that she?s not your Athena? That it is a demon??
?It?s my demon!? Axel spat. ?Athena was never mine. The Shadow was mine. I don?t care about the girl! I don?t care about the girl.?
Lex opposed simply. ?Yes you do.?
?No I don?t.?
?He?s playing you Axel! Shut up! Stop talking!?
?If I may interject,? Baron Samedi said with measured frustration on the edge of the perimeter. ?This is a touching and heartfelt dialogue you three have goin? but there is actual cosmic business to attend to. I think I have just figured out where you got that radio boy.?
All parties raised their heads. Lex and Axel seemed confused whereas Athena merely shook her head and scowled at the Loa.
?Do you love Athena despite not knowing her? Feel inspired to live by greater standards when you?re around her? Feel the need to protect her, almost instinctively? Answer truthfully now boy.?
Axel?s face was stunned in confusion. He knew nothing had changed to warrant such confusion. The enemy was after all, still interrogating him but it froze his core to hear the spirit accuse him of all the things he hid most fervently. And he claimed to know the origins of the radio. Standing back from it all, everything seemed so surreal.
?Y-Yes.? He finally stammered.
?And did you find miss Athena on Kensley Lane??
??Yes. How did you-?
?Then the radio isn?t yours, Axel. It?s hers. You?ve killed a muse and your ? patron has been wanderin? around in her body.?
Lex watched with irritable confusion as Samedi snapped his finger to a slow deliberate beat, it was a nervous tick of his.
?Is that bad?? Axel asked. He?d given up trying to make sense of everything that was happening to him. Ever since he?d given The Hunger Athena everything started to feel more and more like a dream. He wasn?t sure he cared anymore how the dream ended.
?Illegal actually? FOR GOD?S SAKE!!! COULDN?T YOU HAVE PICKED ANYONE ELSE?! ? I have to report this.?
?Oh, you don?t have to do that now.? Athena said dismissively.
?I do actually. The fact that I know means I?ve reported it. Which means a damn battalion of archangels are coming to re-acquire the muse. Fuck. You have maybe five minutes to kill Alexander over there! And you?d better do it! I?m not goin? to watch him advance again!?
Athena?s look turned sour. ?Don?t you dare lecture me! I can kill this mortal with hardly an effort. And when I?ve won they?ll whisk me back to purgatory, safe and sound. I don?t need to fear exposing myself now, I just need to kill this one quickly.?
?Killing takes a partner.? Lex called placidly. ?I won?t be yours.?
?? Muse?? Axel whistled past his constriction.
?Don?t underestimate Alexander! Think before you rush in; he?s caught you by the shorthairs once already and right now he?s a cornered animal. You don?t know what he can do.?
?? Muse?? Axel said slightly louder.
?Are you implying I don?t know how to kill a mortal, parlor-trick wielding or otherwise? Do you think I haven?t eaten thousands of voodoo priests who fought just as hard for their pitiful lives? Do you think I haven?t eaten a thousand of your kind, Baron?? You impetuous worm!!!? Athena?s tired body slumped to the ground like a broken spring finally uncoiling. Axel?s quiet pleads for explanation continued unabated and unacknowledged. The Baron leapt away and was snatched out of the air by some lithe invisible force. Lex bit through Axel?s ear and siphoned a pool of blood into his mouth. Screams echoed. Demons drank.
Samedi shimmered as his form fluctuated. He didn?t scream, millions upon millions of undead voices screamed while The Hunger clung to his throat. He rippled, and a great cold overtook the rice patty like unseen eyes watching from all directions. Samedi?s eyes stayed on one thing, Lex?s discarded coat. He stretched his left leg to reach only to see it buckle and fold behind his back in an effort distinctly painful and foreign. His position shifted in the air and something horrible and damp purred. His head lolled to face Lex, the form of his skull flat and obtuse and his eyes covered by a thin gossamer veil. He shouted, the simplest noise he could make, and struggled to slowly reform the cacophony into a distinct and recognizable plea.
?Please. Don?t. Let.? He rolled in the air and grew paler and paler until he glowed, illuminating the dank mediocrity of the rice patty. And the light burned into a deeper orange and grew dimmer and slowly dimmer as the damp invisible parasite purred. The light faded. Darkness sprouted. The final wisps of what Baron Samedi was began to fade from the world. And then, a single silver knife punctured the space below the extinguishing aura and Axel tore and rent the invisible creature with desperate but measured ferocity.
A pin?s head of orange light ignited above them and grew stronger and brighter as the terrible thing below yowled and curdled and made itself sick. Axel stabbed again and the light exploded into form as a naked pale man fell to the ground and crawled desperately away. Axel pushed his knife once more into the great writhing and left it embedded in its bleeding side before tackling the weak but living Baron Samedi. He shouted ?What do you mean Muse?! Answer me!? And punched the Loa?s jaw. The Great Hunger reeled and tried to bite into the traitor?s exposed back. Something gray and resolute stopped it.
?Old magic.? Lex announced from inside his circle. The Great Hunger turned to watch the human like a mongoose confronted with a cobra. An equal and loathed opponent. ?I don?t know what you are, but you?re old; older than Samedi. Older than some gods I suspect.?
The hunger stalked around the circle, nervous for the first time in millennia and angry like she had never been before. ?What did you do to my servant??
Lex watched the floating knife follow the perimeter of the circle, and thus kept eye contact with the Hunger. ?Only the fundamentals work on you.? He continued. ?Salt spreads the essence of what it touches, silver burns and cauterizes spirits, running water is a barrier for everything and a person?s blood is his will. Only the fundamentals.?
The Hunger repeated in colder tones ?What have you done to my servant??
Lex watched The Hunger stalk. ?When you made him your servant, you took part of his blood. Made sure a part of him would always be yours. You?re old and those are the old ways.?
?Stop calling me old!!!?
?You are. There?s a short list of things that can kill Loa. I?ve checked.?
The Hunger shook and arched its back and tensed it?s jaw and narrowed it?s eyes and curled it?s tentacles and flattened it?s ears and whispered shrilly ?What have you done to what is mine??
?What is ours.? Lex looked to where Axel had tackled Samedi, they were collapsed on the shore of the rice patty now. Samedi lay on his back and Axel kneeled on his chest, beating and harassing the new-born death spirit. But Samedi couldn?t part his gaze from the Hunger, and from Lex. Lex couldn?t guess what was running through the Loa?s mind.
?Mine.? It said simply.
?Ours.? Lex returned his gaze to the floating knife. ?I took some of Axel?s blood. He?s mine now too. But a man can?t have two masters. The old rules dictate that under this condition the servant will be immune to the beatings of his masters for two and twenty days and if the problem is not resolved in that time, the servant will die. You and I don?t have twenty two days. For the four minutes it takes for those angels to find us, it?s only you and I. Not you and I and the girl and her lover and Baron Samedi?s meddling, I?ve cut that away from you. You have only yourself to rely on, in your naked frailty. And now that you?re exposed, you will be weighed and judged. I?m curious, for how long have you fled the scales??
The knife didn?t move. It floated irresolute, guarded, frozen, poised it was anyone?s guess. Lex stared and waited as Axel wailed demands on Samedi in the distance. Finally, a voice that cut and cooled said ?You have a flair for the poetic. Poets taste good.?
?Answer my question.?
?I was here before the scales. Before anything. Before everything.?
?Do you consider yourself exempt from the righteous order of the universe? Because no one is free from the law. Your arrogance and presumption is as sin. And sins are punished.?
The floating knife yowled and pounced into the circle, leaving the imprints of insect feelers and claws where it landed. Lex wasted no time and leapt for the head of the creature, approximately. His ribs felt the racking from long thin powerful wires before he noticed his body being swept aside in mid-air. The landing was soft but gruesome as something chitinous purred and scurried onto his torso. He savaged the creature with kicks but it?s hide barely bended and tentacles wrapped onto his ankles and around his neck conquered him. The warm dry feelers constricted his throat and pulled him out from under the Great Shadow, hanging him in the air. Lex couldn?t see colors, or hear noises, everything in his world was the tension and inevitable snap as the vines on his ankles performed aerial pirouettes with his legs, another twist around and around. There was no great billowing of putrid air before his face, only silence and coldness as the tentacles wrapped harder around his throat and wrapped his legs harder around each other.
It was inevitable in the end. One of them snapped. The bones of his leg split in three places above the knee, like pasta bent too far. The bones of his leg split in two places below the knee, like a branch chopped in half. The jagged protrusions ruptured the skin and tore through muscles to show their gnarly visage to the world. Blood evacuated him, rapidly.
It must have happened that a stray crest of the red water hit the Hunger somewhere unpleasant. An eye, or the inside of a nostril may have been the target. All Lex felt was the roiling agony of his leg, he barely noticed that his body had been dropped and more venomous shouting spilled forth from the floating knife. It spun and tried to rid itself of something, cursing and wailing in tongues Lex never heard before. The shimmer of the silver on the knife flowed and ebbed as the dying sun?s fire painted it. And Lex felt nauseous. Lex felt weak. Lex felt empty. But more than any fear or anger or physical pain, Lex felt the ingratitude and injustice. He felt that there was something wrong with the order of the universe. And so, finally, he felt the handle of the knife in his quivering black hands as he pulled it from the beast.
The Hunger turned to see it?s quarry, filthy in a pool of it?s own blood. The pathetic thing wretched and vomited. It dropped it?s knife in it?s fit, covering the blade in filth from it?s leg and its stomach. It screamed something a banshee would dream to mimic as it forced itself onto one bent and shaking knee at the edge of its silly circle. And then, something quieter but far more painful left it?s limp jaw and pale face while the poor pathetic creature hopped the line.
The Hunger glided to the edge of the arena. Lex had broken the circle when he kicked himself over. A slim line of emptiness marked where the salt had been disturbed. Meanwhile, Lex rested on his back just over the line. The Hunger marched to the perimeter by Lex?s side and whispered a low sweet eulogy. ?I am above your punishment. I am above god?s punishment. My will is absolute. You cannot comprehend the degree to which I can destroy you. You can?t know how fortunate you are, to be allowed to die the natural way.?
Lex?s eyes rolled into his head and he coughed. He said words, but he didn?t have thoughts anymore. So the words meant little. At the end of Lex?s life, all that remained in him was indignation, repulsion, and his sense of duty. He?d lived his life with these three things. Its suitable he would die with them.
?You should not have touched what is mine.?
The words meant very little to The Great Shadow, who turned around to approach the body of Athena, lying limp on the other side of the circle. But they inspired something profound in the muscle memory of the limp body of Lex. Indignation. Her hubris and arrogance burned inside him and he remembered how repulsive her sins were. That girl. She was going to hide again in that girl. Lex had one duty. Expose sin and cut it away. Cut it all away. And then, he remembered the knife.
The Great Shadow glided to the far perimeter of the circle and stooped as she prepared to cross it, only to be physically thrown from the boundary, violent jetties of wind muscling her to the center of the circle. She started and threw herself at the barrier racking it with claws and feelers and teeth but something black and grey and almighty held the wall in place and savaged her back to the center of the circle. It looked back at it?s fallen foe, and shouted something horrible.
Lex still lay on his back. But the knife he held in his left hand was stabbed into the ground where the break in the circle was before. The silver knife coated in a thick layer of his tacky blood was supplemented with the still flowing warm blood escaping from Lex?s failed heart. He?d used himself to fill the circle. Salt carries the essence of what it touches and blood is a person?s will. So he?d made a circle of himself, offset with all the indignation, repulsion and duty he?d stored in a lifetime.
The Hunger racked against the walls but they were rigid, merciless and so very cold. All the force she could summon was not enough to upset their towering will and she was repulsed back to the center of the circle by jabs of chilling wind. She shouted with the bellowing ferocity of a caged animal. No noise escaped the circle.
And then angels blotted out the sky.
?Is that bad?? Axel asked. He?d given up trying to make sense of everything that was happening to him. Ever since he?d given The Hunger Athena everything started to feel more and more like a dream. He wasn?t sure he cared anymore how the dream ended.
?Illegal actually? FOR GOD?S SAKE!!! COULDN?T YOU HAVE PICKED ANYONE ELSE?! ? I have to report this.?
?Oh, you don?t have to do that now.? Athena said dismissively.
?I do actually. The fact that I know means I?ve reported it. Which means a damn battalion of archangels are coming to re-acquire the muse. Fuck. You have maybe five minutes to kill Alexander over there! And you?d better do it! I?m not goin? to watch him advance again!?
Athena?s look turned sour. ?Don?t you dare lecture me! I can kill this mortal with hardly an effort. And when I?ve won they?ll whisk me back to purgatory, safe and sound. I don?t need to fear exposing myself now, I just need to kill this one quickly.?
?Killing takes a partner.? Lex called placidly. ?I won?t be yours.?
?? Muse?? Axel whistled past his constriction.
?Don?t underestimate Alexander! Think before you rush in; he?s caught you by the shorthairs once already and right now he?s a cornered animal. You don?t know what he can do.?
?? Muse?? Axel said slightly louder.
?Are you implying I don?t know how to kill a mortal, parlor-trick wielding or otherwise? Do you think I haven?t eaten thousands of voodoo priests who fought just as hard for their pitiful lives? Do you think I haven?t eaten a thousand of your kind, Baron?? You impetuous worm!!!? Athena?s tired body slumped to the ground like a broken spring finally uncoiling. Axel?s quiet pleads for explanation continued unabated and unacknowledged. The Baron leapt away and was snatched out of the air by some lithe invisible force. Lex bit through Axel?s ear and siphoned a pool of blood into his mouth. Screams echoed. Demons drank.
Samedi shimmered as his form fluctuated. He didn?t scream, millions upon millions of undead voices screamed while The Hunger clung to his throat. He rippled, and a great cold overtook the rice patty like unseen eyes watching from all directions. Samedi?s eyes stayed on one thing, Lex?s discarded coat. He stretched his left leg to reach only to see it buckle and fold behind his back in an effort distinctly painful and foreign. His position shifted in the air and something horrible and damp purred. His head lolled to face Lex, the form of his skull flat and obtuse and his eyes covered by a thin gossamer veil. He shouted, the simplest noise he could make, and struggled to slowly reform the cacophony into a distinct and recognizable plea.
?Please. Don?t. Let.? He rolled in the air and grew paler and paler until he glowed, illuminating the dank mediocrity of the rice patty. And the light burned into a deeper orange and grew dimmer and slowly dimmer as the damp invisible parasite purred. The light faded. Darkness sprouted. The final wisps of what Baron Samedi was began to fade from the world. And then, a single silver knife punctured the space below the extinguishing aura and Axel tore and rent the invisible creature with desperate but measured ferocity.
A pin?s head of orange light ignited above them and grew stronger and brighter as the terrible thing below yowled and curdled and made itself sick. Axel stabbed again and the light exploded into form as a naked pale man fell to the ground and crawled desperately away. Axel pushed his knife once more into the great writhing and left it embedded in its bleeding side before tackling the weak but living Baron Samedi. He shouted ?What do you mean Muse?! Answer me!? And punched the Loa?s jaw. The Great Hunger reeled and tried to bite into the traitor?s exposed back. Something gray and resolute stopped it.
?Old magic.? Lex announced from inside his circle. The Great Hunger turned to watch the human like a mongoose confronted with a cobra. An equal and loathed opponent. ?I don?t know what you are, but you?re old; older than Samedi. Older than some gods I suspect.?
The hunger stalked around the circle, nervous for the first time in millennia and angry like she had never been before. ?What did you do to my servant??
Lex watched the floating knife follow the perimeter of the circle, and thus kept eye contact with the Hunger. ?Only the fundamentals work on you.? He continued. ?Salt spreads the essence of what it touches, silver burns and cauterizes spirits, running water is a barrier for everything and a person?s blood is his will. Only the fundamentals.?
The Hunger repeated in colder tones ?What have you done to my servant??
Lex watched The Hunger stalk. ?When you made him your servant, you took part of his blood. Made sure a part of him would always be yours. You?re old and those are the old ways.?
?Stop calling me old!!!?
?You are. There?s a short list of things that can kill Loa. I?ve checked.?
The Hunger shook and arched its back and tensed it?s jaw and narrowed it?s eyes and curled it?s tentacles and flattened it?s ears and whispered shrilly ?What have you done to what is mine??
?What is ours.? Lex looked to where Axel had tackled Samedi, they were collapsed on the shore of the rice patty now. Samedi lay on his back and Axel kneeled on his chest, beating and harassing the new-born death spirit. But Samedi couldn?t part his gaze from the Hunger, and from Lex. Lex couldn?t guess what was running through the Loa?s mind.
?Mine.? It said simply.
?Ours.? Lex returned his gaze to the floating knife. ?I took some of Axel?s blood. He?s mine now too. But a man can?t have two masters. The old rules dictate that under this condition the servant will be immune to the beatings of his masters for two and twenty days and if the problem is not resolved in that time, the servant will die. You and I don?t have twenty two days. For the four minutes it takes for those angels to find us, it?s only you and I. Not you and I and the girl and her lover and Baron Samedi?s meddling, I?ve cut that away from you. You have only yourself to rely on, in your naked frailty. And now that you?re exposed, you will be weighed and judged. I?m curious, for how long have you fled the scales??
The knife didn?t move. It floated irresolute, guarded, frozen, poised it was anyone?s guess. Lex stared and waited as Axel wailed demands on Samedi in the distance. Finally, a voice that cut and cooled said ?You have a flair for the poetic. Poets taste good.?
?Answer my question.?
?I was here before the scales. Before anything. Before everything.?
?Do you consider yourself exempt from the righteous order of the universe? Because no one is free from the law. Your arrogance and presumption is as sin. And sins are punished.?
The floating knife yowled and pounced into the circle, leaving the imprints of insect feelers and claws where it landed. Lex wasted no time and leapt for the head of the creature, approximately. His ribs felt the racking from long thin powerful wires before he noticed his body being swept aside in mid-air. The landing was soft but gruesome as something chitinous purred and scurried onto his torso. He savaged the creature with kicks but it?s hide barely bended and tentacles wrapped onto his ankles and around his neck conquered him. The warm dry feelers constricted his throat and pulled him out from under the Great Shadow, hanging him in the air. Lex couldn?t see colors, or hear noises, everything in his world was the tension and inevitable snap as the vines on his ankles performed aerial pirouettes with his legs, another twist around and around. There was no great billowing of putrid air before his face, only silence and coldness as the tentacles wrapped harder around his throat and wrapped his legs harder around each other.
It was inevitable in the end. One of them snapped. The bones of his leg split in three places above the knee, like pasta bent too far. The bones of his leg split in two places below the knee, like a branch chopped in half. The jagged protrusions ruptured the skin and tore through muscles to show their gnarly visage to the world. Blood evacuated him, rapidly.
It must have happened that a stray crest of the red water hit the Hunger somewhere unpleasant. An eye, or the inside of a nostril may have been the target. All Lex felt was the roiling agony of his leg, he barely noticed that his body had been dropped and more venomous shouting spilled forth from the floating knife. It spun and tried to rid itself of something, cursing and wailing in tongues Lex never heard before. The shimmer of the silver on the knife flowed and ebbed as the dying sun?s fire painted it. And Lex felt nauseous. Lex felt weak. Lex felt empty. But more than any fear or anger or physical pain, Lex felt the ingratitude and injustice. He felt that there was something wrong with the order of the universe. And so, finally, he felt the handle of the knife in his quivering black hands as he pulled it from the beast.
The Hunger turned to see it?s quarry, filthy in a pool of it?s own blood. The pathetic thing wretched and vomited. It dropped it?s knife in it?s fit, covering the blade in filth from it?s leg and its stomach. It screamed something a banshee would dream to mimic as it forced itself onto one bent and shaking knee at the edge of its silly circle. And then, something quieter but far more painful left it?s limp jaw and pale face while the poor pathetic creature hopped the line.
The Hunger glided to the edge of the arena. Lex had broken the circle when he kicked himself over. A slim line of emptiness marked where the salt had been disturbed. Meanwhile, Lex rested on his back just over the line. The Hunger marched to the perimeter by Lex?s side and whispered a low sweet eulogy. ?I am above your punishment. I am above god?s punishment. My will is absolute. You cannot comprehend the degree to which I can destroy you. You can?t know how fortunate you are, to be allowed to die the natural way.?
Lex?s eyes rolled into his head and he coughed. He said words, but he didn?t have thoughts anymore. So the words meant little. At the end of Lex?s life, all that remained in him was indignation, repulsion, and his sense of duty. He?d lived his life with these three things. Its suitable he would die with them.
?You should not have touched what is mine.?
The words meant very little to The Great Shadow, who turned around to approach the body of Athena, lying limp on the other side of the circle. But they inspired something profound in the muscle memory of the limp body of Lex. Indignation. Her hubris and arrogance burned inside him and he remembered how repulsive her sins were. That girl. She was going to hide again in that girl. Lex had one duty. Expose sin and cut it away. Cut it all away. And then, he remembered the knife.
The Great Shadow glided to the far perimeter of the circle and stooped as she prepared to cross it, only to be physically thrown from the boundary, violent jetties of wind muscling her to the center of the circle. She started and threw herself at the barrier racking it with claws and feelers and teeth but something black and grey and almighty held the wall in place and savaged her back to the center of the circle. It looked back at it?s fallen foe, and shouted something horrible.
Lex still lay on his back. But the knife he held in his left hand was stabbed into the ground where the break in the circle was before. The silver knife coated in a thick layer of his tacky blood was supplemented with the still flowing warm blood escaping from Lex?s failed heart. He?d used himself to fill the circle. Salt carries the essence of what it touches and blood is a person?s will. So he?d made a circle of himself, offset with all the indignation, repulsion and duty he?d stored in a lifetime.
The Hunger racked against the walls but they were rigid, merciless and so very cold. All the force she could summon was not enough to upset their towering will and she was repulsed back to the center of the circle by jabs of chilling wind. She shouted with the bellowing ferocity of a caged animal. No noise escaped the circle.
And then angels blotted out the sky.
The last one. I. Am. So. Sorry.
"So, boy." Samedi said calmly. "You have questions." He was thinner than usual. More tired. But one of the angels had found him a suit and so he sat in rather more limited exposure and hence more dignity. ?You have questions.?
Axel sat with holy linens wrapped around him. The angels had insisted when they arrived. ?What are they doing?? He said, not indicating the army of angels soaring over and through the vegetation of the swamp, sprinkling things on the ground and writing runes while some sat in groups chanting slow and hopeful hymns.
Samedi scratched his jaw and sighed. ?Well, there?s a lot of work to be done.? He finally said, frustration edging his voice. ?Making someone immortal is ? a lot of work.?
?But I don?t understand. Why? What?s going on??
An angel interrupted to check the health of the two men, for the fourth time. Axel waited for Samedi?s response. Samedi wasn?t eager. The Loa bent his knees and counted fingers and recited important fact about his past, it was a perfect excuse to not think about it. To not consider that he?d lost.
Of course, it wouldn?t last forever. The angel left eventually and there was only Axel, waiting, patient but pointed.
?That boy of mine, Alexander.? He said finally. ?He?s boorish. You can?t negotiate with him; he doesn?t have a taste for subtlety, he?s not delicate and he won?t compromise. I like to think the best of humanity are like ? ships on the waves. They are enterprising and ambitious and more than a little daring. Lex was never a ship on the waves. He was the sharp old rocks just below the surface, sinking any ship that dared tried for new lands? As you can tell he and I never got along.?
Axel stared quietly at the Loa. When nothing more came he finally stood and caught the attention of one of the angels. ?Excuse me.? He said. ?Can you please explain to me what?s going on!?
The angel finished shaping a rune on the ground. Before standing and turning to face the man with the Mohawk. ?Hello citizen of earth. How can I be helpful??
?What the fuck is happening?!? Axel finally screamed. ?There?s this big empty circle with two dead people next to it and I want to know why everyone?s making such a big deal! A-And why I can?t take Athena and give her a proper burial! And-and Imortality?! For what, for who, everyone?s dead!?
The angel?s smile didn?t waver for a minute. ?Citizen of earth, allow me to explain. The big circle only appears empty. It is actually occupied by an ancient and malevolent being your species would not have a name for-?
?You mean the Great Shadow? Why is it in there??
The angel?s smile bent minutely. ?Yes. The Great Shadow. That?s a good name. It?s in there because it can?t leave. One of the humans, Alexander Daramy, is keeping it imprisoned.?
?What? That, horrible man with the knives? He?s dead, how is he keeping her in there??
?The body has died but a significant portion of its blood was transferred to the salt circle. That would normally not be enough to transfer an entire consciousness to a salt circle, but because of the physical link established through the knife coated in his blood and held in his hand, and the fact that he was dying anyway, Alexander Daramy?s ? ?Soul? would be the best work in your language, was absorbed by the salt circle.?
Axel switched his gaze between the angel and the circle. ?You mean ? You mean that monster is still alive in the circle??
?Yes. But by itself this position will not last. The soul will fade eventually. So, we are taking steps to ensure that Alexander Daramy?s soul is kept alive inside the cage-?
?Cage??
?Yes. The salt circle. It?s a prison for The Great Shadow. And we are ensuring the prison stays strong by giving the body of Alexander Daramy immortality so that it may continue to bleed into the salt and keep the essence of Alexander Daramy alive in the walls of the prison. We are also changing the ground from volcanic sediment deposits to salt in a perfect circle running 30 meters down underneath the pre-existing salt circle.?
?Wait, you?re keeping the voodoo man?s body alive so it can keep a warm flow of blood going to the new and improved salt circle? That horrific! And he?s going to spend eternity like that??
?Yes. Keeping the Great Hungering Shadow contained forever. Now, if you will excuse me citizen of earth, I must return to work.?
?No! I won?t-?
?That?s enough.? Samedi said covering Axel?s mouth from behind and dragging him off. The pair wrestled for a short while before ending up in the mud. Axel was fury and spent passions, Samedi was a rag soaked in castor oil. The Loa took a head butt and three punches in the ribs before Axel relented and collapsed against a wispy half-dead tree. ?You feel better?? Samedi asked recumbent in the mud.
?Not really.? Axel responded staring at nothing on the horizon.
?Fuck I don?t like this either, boy! Lex?s will is goin? to live forever. There?s goin? to be rules against hurting him - people employed to protect the sanctity of his cage. He?s goin? to have fucking legends. The Perseus of his fucking generation! The man who captured the Great Shadow! FUCK!? Samedi stood with surprising grace and punched the tree Axel stood against. A crater remained in the bark and Samedi marched to the side with Axel on it. ?But I can see that ? My monster makes a pretty good cage for your monster. Thinking of it, he was always dull like a wall. Now he actually is one.?
?Couldn?t it have been any one else??
?I don?t think anyone else would work. There?s one thing must be said for Lex, he?s persistent. Food, rest and common decency were always for ?weaker men?. He does what he?s goin? to do for as long as it takes. Forever, in this case.?
The two sat in silence for a moment. Listening to the hymns of the distant chorus calmed them both. Or perhaps it was the acceptance of the inevitability of it. Either way, Axel found himself taking longer, steadier breaths and wondering about the question he really cared for.
?Why won?t they let me burry Athena? Is it because she?s a muse??
?No actually.? Samedi answered, not really thinking. ?They think she may be associated with why Lex is keeping the cage up. They want her there as a perpetual motivation for Lex to keep the Hunger bottled. Incidentally, they?re making her immortal too. Not alive of course, the way you or I would be. But they?re gonna make her body work. She?ll lie there forever.?
Axel slumped against the tree. Two thoughts fought for supremacy in his head. ?She deserves better!? and ?He doesn?t deserve her!? A darker part of him was prepared to counter should either side prevail. She had deserved better than Axel. Axel hadn?t deserved her.
He let his thoughts stew as memories of her danced in his mind. The tournament. This fucking tournament. That was all he remembered, her devouring people and telling him he was stupid. They could have had a real life together. Instead he killed her and now she was going to live forever next to a puritan monolith and an ancient monstrosity.
?If it?s any consolation, you advance to the next round.? Samedi knew it wasn?t consolation, but he needed something to say. And his new coat didn?t hold any cigars.
?Yeah??
?Yeah. The Hunger got disqualified because ? well. And while Lex is still alive he?s been classified as too important to participate in the tournament. So he was DQ?ed to. You?re winner by default.?
?? I think I forfeit my next round.? Axel said plainly. He was done. Done with killing. He wanted to escape the memories of what he?d been.
?I figured you would. Only having twenty two days to live, what?s the point in spending them fighting.? Samedi said nodding his head.
Axel looked at the gaunt figure. He didn?t sound like he was joking, and it was nothing to joke about. A cold chill settled at the back of his spine. ?Twenty two days??
?Yeah. Had you forgotten? Old magic? The Hunger and Lex have both had of your blood. They?re both still alive. And they?re not in any position to come to a compromise about you. They have twenty two days to do so before you die. They won?t... So you?re gonna die in twenty two days?? The gaunt man nodded casually, like he was summing a particularly thoughtless equation. ?Hey, listen. I?ll see you then but, in the mean time, I can?t stay here.? Samedi said, getting up to leave.
?Hey wait! Wait! What am I supposed to do??
?Uhh ? Whatever you want really. It?s your last month on Earth, so there?s no consequences. That being the case I?d suggest ? everything. And all the pretty people. See you boy.?
Samedi stood and walked off to exit. Axel stared blankly at the figure while he crossed the swampy rice patty. Seconds dragged for so long it felt like time had abandoned the dark rice patty. And then Samedi stopped. And sighed. And turned around.
?Hey!? He shouted back. ?Do you ever wonder how things might have turned out? In a different world on a different day? It seems like in life you can make one decision and send the train of events barreling east when its destination was west. Just one little flip of a switch can change everything you might experience, every choice you have to make. It?s like changing from AM to FM; the world is different. But they?re both worlds that might have been yours.?
Axel brow lowered quizzically. Samedi seemed to nod toward where he?d been sitting on the tree. And when Axel looked, he found the Radio. Athena?s Radio. Her tool for inspiration. And for the first time he notice, the dial was set to AM.
?You were an orphan, weren?t you?? Samedi asked, calling over the weeds. ?Maybe, you should have stayed that way.?
Axel turned the dial to FM. A song began to play as Samedi faded away. His last words drifted over the reeds. ?If its any consolation.?
Axel sat with holy linens wrapped around him. The angels had insisted when they arrived. ?What are they doing?? He said, not indicating the army of angels soaring over and through the vegetation of the swamp, sprinkling things on the ground and writing runes while some sat in groups chanting slow and hopeful hymns.
Samedi scratched his jaw and sighed. ?Well, there?s a lot of work to be done.? He finally said, frustration edging his voice. ?Making someone immortal is ? a lot of work.?
?But I don?t understand. Why? What?s going on??
An angel interrupted to check the health of the two men, for the fourth time. Axel waited for Samedi?s response. Samedi wasn?t eager. The Loa bent his knees and counted fingers and recited important fact about his past, it was a perfect excuse to not think about it. To not consider that he?d lost.
Of course, it wouldn?t last forever. The angel left eventually and there was only Axel, waiting, patient but pointed.
?That boy of mine, Alexander.? He said finally. ?He?s boorish. You can?t negotiate with him; he doesn?t have a taste for subtlety, he?s not delicate and he won?t compromise. I like to think the best of humanity are like ? ships on the waves. They are enterprising and ambitious and more than a little daring. Lex was never a ship on the waves. He was the sharp old rocks just below the surface, sinking any ship that dared tried for new lands? As you can tell he and I never got along.?
Axel stared quietly at the Loa. When nothing more came he finally stood and caught the attention of one of the angels. ?Excuse me.? He said. ?Can you please explain to me what?s going on!?
The angel finished shaping a rune on the ground. Before standing and turning to face the man with the Mohawk. ?Hello citizen of earth. How can I be helpful??
?What the fuck is happening?!? Axel finally screamed. ?There?s this big empty circle with two dead people next to it and I want to know why everyone?s making such a big deal! A-And why I can?t take Athena and give her a proper burial! And-and Imortality?! For what, for who, everyone?s dead!?
The angel?s smile didn?t waver for a minute. ?Citizen of earth, allow me to explain. The big circle only appears empty. It is actually occupied by an ancient and malevolent being your species would not have a name for-?
?You mean the Great Shadow? Why is it in there??
The angel?s smile bent minutely. ?Yes. The Great Shadow. That?s a good name. It?s in there because it can?t leave. One of the humans, Alexander Daramy, is keeping it imprisoned.?
?What? That, horrible man with the knives? He?s dead, how is he keeping her in there??
?The body has died but a significant portion of its blood was transferred to the salt circle. That would normally not be enough to transfer an entire consciousness to a salt circle, but because of the physical link established through the knife coated in his blood and held in his hand, and the fact that he was dying anyway, Alexander Daramy?s ? ?Soul? would be the best work in your language, was absorbed by the salt circle.?
Axel switched his gaze between the angel and the circle. ?You mean ? You mean that monster is still alive in the circle??
?Yes. But by itself this position will not last. The soul will fade eventually. So, we are taking steps to ensure that Alexander Daramy?s soul is kept alive inside the cage-?
?Cage??
?Yes. The salt circle. It?s a prison for The Great Shadow. And we are ensuring the prison stays strong by giving the body of Alexander Daramy immortality so that it may continue to bleed into the salt and keep the essence of Alexander Daramy alive in the walls of the prison. We are also changing the ground from volcanic sediment deposits to salt in a perfect circle running 30 meters down underneath the pre-existing salt circle.?
?Wait, you?re keeping the voodoo man?s body alive so it can keep a warm flow of blood going to the new and improved salt circle? That horrific! And he?s going to spend eternity like that??
?Yes. Keeping the Great Hungering Shadow contained forever. Now, if you will excuse me citizen of earth, I must return to work.?
?No! I won?t-?
?That?s enough.? Samedi said covering Axel?s mouth from behind and dragging him off. The pair wrestled for a short while before ending up in the mud. Axel was fury and spent passions, Samedi was a rag soaked in castor oil. The Loa took a head butt and three punches in the ribs before Axel relented and collapsed against a wispy half-dead tree. ?You feel better?? Samedi asked recumbent in the mud.
?Not really.? Axel responded staring at nothing on the horizon.
?Fuck I don?t like this either, boy! Lex?s will is goin? to live forever. There?s goin? to be rules against hurting him - people employed to protect the sanctity of his cage. He?s goin? to have fucking legends. The Perseus of his fucking generation! The man who captured the Great Shadow! FUCK!? Samedi stood with surprising grace and punched the tree Axel stood against. A crater remained in the bark and Samedi marched to the side with Axel on it. ?But I can see that ? My monster makes a pretty good cage for your monster. Thinking of it, he was always dull like a wall. Now he actually is one.?
?Couldn?t it have been any one else??
?I don?t think anyone else would work. There?s one thing must be said for Lex, he?s persistent. Food, rest and common decency were always for ?weaker men?. He does what he?s goin? to do for as long as it takes. Forever, in this case.?
The two sat in silence for a moment. Listening to the hymns of the distant chorus calmed them both. Or perhaps it was the acceptance of the inevitability of it. Either way, Axel found himself taking longer, steadier breaths and wondering about the question he really cared for.
?Why won?t they let me burry Athena? Is it because she?s a muse??
?No actually.? Samedi answered, not really thinking. ?They think she may be associated with why Lex is keeping the cage up. They want her there as a perpetual motivation for Lex to keep the Hunger bottled. Incidentally, they?re making her immortal too. Not alive of course, the way you or I would be. But they?re gonna make her body work. She?ll lie there forever.?
Axel slumped against the tree. Two thoughts fought for supremacy in his head. ?She deserves better!? and ?He doesn?t deserve her!? A darker part of him was prepared to counter should either side prevail. She had deserved better than Axel. Axel hadn?t deserved her.
He let his thoughts stew as memories of her danced in his mind. The tournament. This fucking tournament. That was all he remembered, her devouring people and telling him he was stupid. They could have had a real life together. Instead he killed her and now she was going to live forever next to a puritan monolith and an ancient monstrosity.
?If it?s any consolation, you advance to the next round.? Samedi knew it wasn?t consolation, but he needed something to say. And his new coat didn?t hold any cigars.
?Yeah??
?Yeah. The Hunger got disqualified because ? well. And while Lex is still alive he?s been classified as too important to participate in the tournament. So he was DQ?ed to. You?re winner by default.?
?? I think I forfeit my next round.? Axel said plainly. He was done. Done with killing. He wanted to escape the memories of what he?d been.
?I figured you would. Only having twenty two days to live, what?s the point in spending them fighting.? Samedi said nodding his head.
Axel looked at the gaunt figure. He didn?t sound like he was joking, and it was nothing to joke about. A cold chill settled at the back of his spine. ?Twenty two days??
?Yeah. Had you forgotten? Old magic? The Hunger and Lex have both had of your blood. They?re both still alive. And they?re not in any position to come to a compromise about you. They have twenty two days to do so before you die. They won?t... So you?re gonna die in twenty two days?? The gaunt man nodded casually, like he was summing a particularly thoughtless equation. ?Hey, listen. I?ll see you then but, in the mean time, I can?t stay here.? Samedi said, getting up to leave.
?Hey wait! Wait! What am I supposed to do??
?Uhh ? Whatever you want really. It?s your last month on Earth, so there?s no consequences. That being the case I?d suggest ? everything. And all the pretty people. See you boy.?
Samedi stood and walked off to exit. Axel stared blankly at the figure while he crossed the swampy rice patty. Seconds dragged for so long it felt like time had abandoned the dark rice patty. And then Samedi stopped. And sighed. And turned around.
?Hey!? He shouted back. ?Do you ever wonder how things might have turned out? In a different world on a different day? It seems like in life you can make one decision and send the train of events barreling east when its destination was west. Just one little flip of a switch can change everything you might experience, every choice you have to make. It?s like changing from AM to FM; the world is different. But they?re both worlds that might have been yours.?
Axel brow lowered quizzically. Samedi seemed to nod toward where he?d been sitting on the tree. And when Axel looked, he found the Radio. Athena?s Radio. Her tool for inspiration. And for the first time he notice, the dial was set to AM.
?You were an orphan, weren?t you?? Samedi asked, calling over the weeds. ?Maybe, you should have stayed that way.?
Axel turned the dial to FM. A song began to play as Samedi faded away. His last words drifted over the reeds. ?If its any consolation.?
Legends tell of a dark forbidden place defended by the angels. But that?s not to say it?s holy. It was the stage for a monumental battle, many generations ago. A powerful shaman tried to usurp the powers of God. He used blood and herbs to create spells so evil and nefarious, none could stand against him. But on his path to god-hood, he stumbled, quite by accident, into the nest of a foe more ancient and monstrous than any deity. The creature was older than creation, and it hungered from the shadows for everything that lived in the light. It?s great hunger had consumed men, and armies, and gods and worlds and yet for all its fury and power, it could not eat the mighty shaman.
They fought each other into the night beside a lake of fire, neither gaining clear advantage. The shaman was cunning and cruel and kept the ancient beast at bay, but as night blossomed the power of the shadow grew too great. It seized him in its gruesome hands and tore his leg away. The shaman fell to the ground, immobilized and dying.
But that?s not the end of the story. You see, the ancient beast had captured a girl from one of the villages who was so beautiful, no man who looked upon her could help but fall in love. And when the shaman hit the ground he saw clearly for the first time the girl hidden behind the beast, waiting to be rescued. And the shaman was so moved by her plight and her beauty that he took all of himself, his strength and wisdom and experience and even his hatred and funneled it into a single silver blade that contained all of his powers.
With his final breath he stabbed the blade into the ground at the monsters feet. And everything he was moved to the earth below the ancient creature. And before the beast even knew to react, an impregnable fortress erupted around him, shielding the beautiful girl from the endless hunger of the monster. It roared and crashed against the mighty walls of its cage, but the shaman?s magic was too strong. It could never escape while the shaman was living. And the shaman would live forever in the ground beneath the beast.
The girl was so moved by the shaman?s sacrifice, she could never bring herself to abandon him. Despite the evils he had done and the darkness of his soul the girl stayed always by his side and came to know his movements in the earth. And decades past before she noticed that she never aged, and she didn?t need food or water. She wondered if it was the gods rewarding her great beauty or another gift of the mighty shaman, keeping death himself away. Either way, she remains there to this day with the shaman and the beast and the blade. And the angels themselves tread lightly on that dark but hallowed ground for they know that the two blackest most powerful beings this world has ever seen still fight there to this day in bitter, painful, standstill.
Did you like your story? I?m glad. Now go to sleep son.
They fought each other into the night beside a lake of fire, neither gaining clear advantage. The shaman was cunning and cruel and kept the ancient beast at bay, but as night blossomed the power of the shadow grew too great. It seized him in its gruesome hands and tore his leg away. The shaman fell to the ground, immobilized and dying.
But that?s not the end of the story. You see, the ancient beast had captured a girl from one of the villages who was so beautiful, no man who looked upon her could help but fall in love. And when the shaman hit the ground he saw clearly for the first time the girl hidden behind the beast, waiting to be rescued. And the shaman was so moved by her plight and her beauty that he took all of himself, his strength and wisdom and experience and even his hatred and funneled it into a single silver blade that contained all of his powers.
With his final breath he stabbed the blade into the ground at the monsters feet. And everything he was moved to the earth below the ancient creature. And before the beast even knew to react, an impregnable fortress erupted around him, shielding the beautiful girl from the endless hunger of the monster. It roared and crashed against the mighty walls of its cage, but the shaman?s magic was too strong. It could never escape while the shaman was living. And the shaman would live forever in the ground beneath the beast.
The girl was so moved by the shaman?s sacrifice, she could never bring herself to abandon him. Despite the evils he had done and the darkness of his soul the girl stayed always by his side and came to know his movements in the earth. And decades past before she noticed that she never aged, and she didn?t need food or water. She wondered if it was the gods rewarding her great beauty or another gift of the mighty shaman, keeping death himself away. Either way, she remains there to this day with the shaman and the beast and the blade. And the angels themselves tread lightly on that dark but hallowed ground for they know that the two blackest most powerful beings this world has ever seen still fight there to this day in bitter, painful, standstill.
Did you like your story? I?m glad. Now go to sleep son.