“What is it?” Emperor Marak asked softly as he rose and strapped on his weapons.
“Something besides horses is in the stables,” reported Gunta.
“Alert the others,” ordered the Torak. “If it is a false alarm, they will only miss a few moments of sleep.”
Gunta nodded and headed for the door. As he opened the door, he heard a shout from downstairs. A distant clash of steel made Gunta draw his sword and race for the stairs.
“Attack!” Gunta shouted as he started running down the stairs.
The Torak ran from the room and headed for the stairs. The door to the room occupied by Halman and Axor flew open. Halman stepped into the hallway with his sword drawn. He ran for the girls’ room at the other end of the hall while Marak started downstairs. Doors were slamming open behind the Torak as he raced down the stairs to the common room. Ahead of him, Marak could see Gunta swinging his sword at something coming in the rear door. Crawford held a bloody sword before him with his back braced against the front door. A dark shape rested unmoving at the innkeeper’s feet.
As Marak’s feet hit the ground floor, the body in front of the innkeeper started to get up. Crawford’s eyes grew wide with fear. He moved forward to kill the invader a second time. When he moved, the door behind him burst open, throwing the innkeeper to the floor. The Torak raced towards the front door. He jumped over the innkeeper and jabbed the Sword of Torak into the hellsoul trying to enter the inn. The hellsoul’s body evaporated in a black puff of smoke. The Emperor heard the innkeeper curse behind him. He also heard the clash of steel and a cry and a thud.
“Crawford?” called the Emperor without turning around.
“I am here,” the innkeeper panted. “This man doesn’t want to stay dead.”
“Go up and protect your girls,” ordered the Torak. “Send Halman down to me.”
“But…” protested Crawford.
“Just go,” commanded the Emperor. “Hurry.”
Emperor Marak slashed another hellsoul trying to get through the front door. As the body disappeared in smoke, he shoved the door shut and put his back to it. The hellsoul that Crawford had been fighting with was trying to get up again. Marak stretched forward and brought his sword down on the hellsoul’s head. The hellsoul disappeared in a puff. Marak saw Axor standing at the foot of the stairs. The room burst into brilliance as the Chula shaman sent a brilliant light disc into the kitchen. Marak could not see what had been shredded in there.
“They are coming in the windows up here,” shouted Eltor from the top of the stairs. “I keep killing them, but they will not die.”
“Axor,” shouted the Torak. “Get halfway up the stairs and kill anything trying to go up. Gunta, join me at the front door. We are taking this fight outside.”
Axor backpedaled up the stairs as Gunta ran away from the rear door. As Gunta ran across the common room, Marak shouted loudly and pulled the front door open. The hellsouls who had been trying to force their way in through the front door hesitated slightly. It was the opening that Marak had hoped for. He pushed the Sword of Torak before him as he stepped outside. Once clear of the door, the Emperor slashed his sword in a figure eight. The sword sliced cleanly through the flesh of the hellsouls. Three dark cloaks dropped to the ground, and Marak pushed onward.
The front of the inn had a small roof over the porch outside. As the Torak emerged from under the roof, a hellsoul dropped onto his back. Gunta’s sword sliced through the hellsoul’s legs, and it fell to the ground screaming. Gunta stepped up alongside the Torak as they both swung their swords furiously. Within moments the front of the inn was clear of hellsouls.
“Back inside,” Marak ordered Gunta as he turned and raced through the front door.
Axor was still on the steps. Body parts littered the floor, but the Torak could see nothing moving. He raced up the steps past the Chula shaman. The upstairs hallway was splattered in blood. MistyTrail and Mistake each had a hellsoul on the floor and were repeatedly stabbing them whenever they opened their eyes. Caldal and Eltor were shooting arrows along the corridor as creatures rose to attack. The Torak rushed towards the women first. He sliced each of the fallen hellsouls and nodded when their bodies disappeared. Marak turned and pushed past the elves.
“Save your arrows,” he said as he pushed by.
The Torak marched along the corridor striking a killing blow to each hellsoul as he rose. Within moments the hallway was thick with smoke.
“Check every room,” ordered the Emperor. “I want to know that they are all dead. If you find one alive, call for me. The Sword of Torak will vanquish them.”
The elves began searching the rooms. The Emperor turned and headed for the girls’ room. He threw open the door just in time to see an empty cloak fall to the floor.
“How did you do that?” Marak asked Halman.
“Decapitation,” answered Halman. “We kept killing the same three over and over again. When I decapitated one, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, just as if I had used the Sword of Torak. I figured if it could work once, why not try it on the others.”
“Excellent,” grinned the Emperor. “We must get word of this to everyone. Are the girls alright?”
“They are scared,” answered Crawford, “but otherwise unharmed. Thank you for sending Halman to protect them. They would have surely died if he had not been here. They came through the window.”
“From the roof out front,” nodded the Emperor. “Stay and watch over them, Crawford. Halman, make a circuit outside to see if any more are around.”
Halman nodded and raced out of the room. Marak turned to see if the elves had found anymore. They had not.
“Out front,” shouted Halman.
The Emperor raced down the stairs and out the front the door. Halman stood gazing down at a live hellsoul. The creature was on its back staring up at Halman. It had no legs to rise and attack. The Torak walked over to it and stared down.
“I carry the Sword of Torak,” declared the Emperor. “It has the ability to end your miserable existence. Shall I put you out of your misery?”
“What are you waiting for?” spat the hellsoul. “Kill me.”
“Not until you answer my questions,” retorted the Emperor. “When will the invasion begin?”
“I have no knowledge of that,” snarled the hellsoul. “Just kill me and be done with it.”
“I am the Torak,” declared the Emperor. “Were you specifically targeting me?”
“I will tell you nothing,” growled the creature.
Emperor Marak turned to Halman. “Continue your search. Count the cloaks so that we know how many tried to attack us this night. It was a great deal more than the six we encountered yesterday.”
“What are you waiting for,” snarled the hellsoul. “Kill me.”
“I think not,” replied the Torak. “You cannot die unless I kill you. I wonder what life will be like for you. You cannot stand or ride a horse. You cannot even crawl. The rest of your days will be confined to this very spot watching others come and go. I cannot imagine what a life like that will be.”
The hellsouls eyes clouded over with fear. It was not the fear of dying, but rather the fear of remaining alive. Emperor Marak turned and started to walk away.
“Stop,” shouted the hellsoul. “I will tell you what you want to know.”
Marak smiled inwardly and returned to stand over the creature. “Speak.”
“How do I know that you will kill me when I have spoken,” asked the hellsoul.
“Unlike the people of Motanga,” answered the Emperor, “I keep my word. Answer my questions, and you will die quickly.”
“Not all of us were sent to kill you,” the hellsoul stated without hesitation. “There are groups hunting for you along this road, but some of us have different missions. The six you spoke of ordered me and the others to join with them for this attack. Now kill me.”
“How may other groups are trying to kill me?” asked the Emperor.
“I don’t know,” answered the hellsoul. “I do know that you are a special target. There will be dozens of groups after you. There are thousands of us in all. Some of us have special targets. Others are free to strike at random. I really know little else. Kill me,” he pleaded as his arms rose in desperation.