There was a figure that faced the anomaly, about seven or eight feet tall, and wore a cloak. Clutched in his right hand was a large, gleaming black sword, and in his left was a glowing red crystalline object that I couldn’t see clearly. He stood with one foot negligently resting on the bottom of the steps that led up to the top of the dais. A long, smooth cascade of jet-black hair decorated his shoulders. His face, which was characterized by sharp, angular features, somehow seemed even colder than the light emanated by the anomaly. My skin crawled as I felt palpable waves of malevolent hate pouring from him. I gasped.
He turned, and his cruel eyes swept the chamber, and finally landed on me. The smile that crossed his face was not one that I could call pleasant. “You are too late, human,” he mused. His voice was soft and melodious, yet it chilled me to the bone. “The portal is already open. The invasion can commence – with a sacrifice.”
Turning to flee the cave, I ran into something unyielding. Feeling around, I realized that some kind of invisible barrier was blocking the entrance to the chamber. I turned to face him, and I drew the old collection piece from its rickety scabbard, knowing that it was probably quite inferior to the blade wielded by this . . . well, whatever he was.
For once, I wished that I had not left my job teaching martial arts. I had taught classes for using the katana, but this old junker was a far cry from one of those fine blades. I raised the sword before me in a defensive stance. He laughed, his glee echoing off the walls of the chamber and creating a discordant cacophony with the crackling of the portal. He raised his weapon almost negligently, and strode confidently across the platform.
I have never been the best gymnast. I had never completely mastered doing flips and somersaults. Hoping to catch him off guard, however, I leaped forward in an attempt to do a roll and come up behind him.
My left hand, still wet from the rain, slipped, and I quickly tucked my head down to avoid smashing it into the stone floor. Floundering for a moment, I finally got my bearings and rolled to my feet. It didn’t work out perfectly, but at least now I had some room. He glared at me, irritated.
“Who are you?” I demanded.
His answer was a casually-swung strike from my left. I quickly brought the old blade up, deflecting the careless attack. Without pausing, he reversed the attack to a backhand blow. Ducking, I lunged forward, targeting his mid-torso. He reversed his sword to a sweeping parry, then reversed it again to block as I spun around to swing from my left side.
“The sacrifice fights back,” he mused. “Good. I like to make them squirm.”
“Yeah, well, this is one sacrifice you’re going to have to bleed for,” I snarled back at him.
With another laugh, he delivered an overhand blow that would have cut me in half had I not moved. Dancing to the left, I spun again, swinging with all of my strength from my right, aiming at his midsection. He blocked the attack, surprising me with his speed, and counterattacked with a whip-like slice at my arm. Pulling back hastily, I dropped low and swung at his leg.
This time, he did not just block my attack. His blade smashed into mine, nearly disarming me. Alerted that he was no longer in a casual mood, I did not bother trying to block, but again ducked low as his blade whistled over my head.
“I grow weary of this game, human,” he snarled. He dropped the crystal, and grasped his blade with both hands.
“Tough,” I retorted, spinning around to strike at his arm. Then I jumped to avoid a low sweep of his weapon.
The battle raged. I began to realize that he was very skilled – far more skilled than I. He was over-confident, though, and I began to look for an opportunity to take advantage of this.
The opportunity came, although not in a manner that I would have chosen. In the bluish light, I misjudged where the steps of the dais were, and I stumbled. Pain lanced through my body as his sword bit into my left side, and I fell to the ground. Clutching my bleeding side, I pried my eyes open, and saw his head thrown back in laughter. Gathering every ounce of strength left in my body, I leaped forward with my sword extended, and it struck squarely in his chest.
1 2 3
