SHANEGORMLEY

Kallis, Kira and Ryoko left afterwards, aiming to get as close to the tower as possible then wait for the grand distraction. They kept low, out of sight through the narrow gaps between buildings aiming to not be spotted or raising any suspicion. They reached a dead end, much to Ryoko’s surprise as a single story building had manifested since she last used the back alley. The wall was easily scaled, giving them a vantage point to view the main street all the way down to the central tower. The market along the run was busier then ever, with all sorts of outlandish folk jostling through the crowds. A large bearded man with two mongrels stood leaning against the wall beneath the trio, which halted their progress as one of the dogs snapped viciously up at them. The large man yanked at the dog’s chain and it ceased jumping with a yelp. Kira slid off the roof, landing with a cat’s grace. Kallis decided to roll, stumbling to the ground into the back of Kira, who turned and glared then pulled him to the wall as Ryoko lowered herself. The three of them waited a moment, watching the bustling masses. They moved from building to building, staying out the main run until they were at the periphery of the tower.
 
It was some time before anything of note happened. An aging woman with wild grey hair was first to notice – she screamed above the crowd and raised an arm to the sky. Kallis’ eyes followed to where her finger pointed, he could see a dazzling object flashing a rainbow of colours in the skyline. Steadily more and more bystanders began to notice the mysterious object. Refracted light danced from the rooftop to rooftop catching the beams of the sun, splashing arches of light into the mesmerised crowd that had come to a stand still. “Is… Is that a chandelier?” Ryoko gasped.
 
Dimitri and three of the other larger youths were carrying it across the roofs, much to the amazement of those below. The guards by the tower door began to gesture and shout to and fro the building tops. Three left their post, running with spears held high then charging through the confused crowd. As the youngsters atop the roofs bounded forward with their luxurious prize, it started to appear one was weaker than the rest, and as he lost his footing Dimitri’s side of the chandelier was wrenched from all of their hands, spinning over the edge of the rooftop. Dimitri slid hard down the tiles to attempt to prevent it falling, grabbing the old oak frame at the vast light fittings centre. It dragged him to the edge; the tiles beneath him falling to the ground and only the timber frame of the building giving him any leverage as he strained against its weight. The momentum of the many crystal droplets and shards caused a final tug, making it slip from his hands. The startled crowd below scrambled to avoid the giant structure, stumbling over one another, grabbing and clawing past those in the centre of the street. It crashed down into the market square just as the last beggar crawled out from where he’d been slumped. Glass shattered all across the floor; thousands of splintered shards peppered the crowd. The remaining tower guards ran forward to help the disorientated citizens.
 
Kira seized the opportunity, leading Kallis and Ryoko to the door. She whipped out her lock pick, and expertly unlocked the door in seconds, then ushered the other two into the tower. As Kira slid in behind them, she silently closed the door behind her which locked with a click. Darkness greeted the apprehensive would-be thieves. As their eyes adjusted to the gloom they noticed a spiralling stone staircase stood before them. It followed the inner wall of the tower, rising steeply hundreds of feet above. All that seemed to be on the ground floor was a single stool covered in cobwebs.
Ryoko was first to proceed toward the stairs, Kallis followed so closely as to almost tread on her ankles. Up and up they went, the tall stairs seemed to have been designed for someone much larger. Kallis stumbled over his cloak as he climbed on all fours holding in a pained squeal that Kira still shushed. They paused when they reached the summit and all that could be heard was Ryoko gasping for air as she struggled with the giant steps, but soon after she was beside them and there was utter silence. An old stone doorway with elaborate markings blocked their path. The door was crafted in what appeared to be black marble and carved into it were strange figures engaging in ritual acts. Kallis surveyed the images while the others pondered how to open a door with no handles. Kira ran her hand carefully across the surface of the door; it was cold to the touch and caused her fingertips to tingle.“The treasure must lie behind this door,” Ryoko whispered.
 
“B-but there’s no lock for me to pick though. I’m not sure how we get in; it must be a magical door,” Kira stammered, a confused look etched on her face.
 
“Let me try,” offered Ryoko, as she placed the open palm of her right hand onto the door. She closed her eyes, and began to focus her energy. The others watched as her hand moved slightly from side to side. Slowly a faint yellow light grew around it. The light grew brighter until Kallis and Kira were forced to look away.
 
No sooner had they looked away than a thunderous crack sounded form the door, reverberating through the hollow tower. Ryoko screamed, recoiling away from the door, clutching her hand, which smouldered at the tips. As Kira and Kallis watched the singed flesh began to whither, turning black. Ryoko shrieked again, pushing her hand away in revulsion, but the blackness trickled through her pale hand like poison moving through her bloodstream. In mere moments her entire hand had become grotesque, appearing petrified and as she attempted to move it, her fingers seemed to be foreign entities. The hideous burnt claws refused to be commanded, yet they still moved with a will of their own, independently twitching and bending in sickeningly unnatural directions.
 
“Don’t panic, I’ve got a salve that should help. It may not cure it, but it should stop it spreading,” said Kira, although her expression looked unsure. She pulled a leather pouch from her belt which contained a single glass vial filled with a mysterious grey substance. Taking the stopper from the vial, she began to smear the paste onto Ryoko’s withered appendage. It had a peculiar aroma, sweet at first, then unpleasant with a lingering odour. As the ointment was applied, the black curse ceased its relentless onslaught into Ryoko’s body.
 
“That feels better. Well, at least I can feel it again anyway. What is that?” Ryoko queried.
 
“I stole it from an apothecary in Portenburgh. It’s said to possess magical qualities on account of it being an extract of Kraken ink. Or that’s what the dumb peddler said.”
“It can’t do anymore harm, I guess,” sighed Ryoko.
 
Kallis’ attention had been drawn once again to the door. There was something about it that captivated him. He seemed to take a morbid interest in the depictions of the gruesome acts, and in particular the pretty looking women with horns and bat like wings rising from a pool that Kallis imagined to be blood. Surrounding the demon women were various armed figures attempting to stave off the creature, but as the panels progressed they appeared to be unable to do so as she soared high into the air and summon lightening down onto them.
 
An overwhelming urge came over him; to stroke the figure of the woman, her nubile body of polished black stone and tiny figure head that protruded slightly from the door. Brushing his finger over the face, he felt a deep cut split his finger as if razor sharp fangs had snapped at him. Kallis yelped, startling Ryoko and Kira who had been having a hushed discussion as to how to enter the sealed room. Only as the blood from Kallis’ finger splattered the carvings around the doorway, did their dispute end and a deep groove began to emerge in the centre. There was only a small amount of blood passing from the cut, yet it flowed like a river around the curled channels of the decorative panels surrounding the door. The blood seeped upward and around the entire marble doorway, causing the carved figures to move, acting out the violent rituals they had been captured in; as though they had been waiting for a time when fresh blood had been spilled to continue. Slowly, every carving came to life and the blood seemed to form a continuous flowing loop. The door then sprung open with an ominous hiss, as stale smelling gas seeped from the room beyond it. Kallis pushed the door and it slowly swung inward, revealing a dimly lit room.
 
Kallis looked about him, noticing an old dry torch sat in a sconce mounted to the staircase wall. As he grabbed it, Kira pulled yet another pouch from her belt and pinched a small amount of powder which ignited the torch when she sprinkled it over the parched wrappings. “Its tinder dust, a simple powder but very useful and less heavy than flint and steel,” Kira whispered, grabbing the torch and moving past the threshold. She peered into the gloom tentatively, before leading the way with the torch held aloft.
 
The floor of the room glistened with untold riches, but her eyes were immediately drawn to a gold encrusted scabbard. The others moved in behind her, and she quickly acknowledged them before making her way to the dagger, grabbing it from the mound of gold it resided on. Surprisingly it didn’t feel heavy in her small hand, despite what its size would suggest. Kira was captivated by its splendour, she tugged the hilt from the scabbard and a marvellous ruby dagger gleamed before her. Light from the torch refracted brilliantly on the blade, casting mesmerising patterns that danced across the wall. Kira looked in silent awe at the beautiful dagger, her eyes flickering from the intricately designed hilt to the ruby shard that gleamed viciously.
 
It was not until Kallis launched himself backward into the pile of gold just in front of Kira that she collected herself and tucked the dagger into her belt. Kallis audibly gasped, lost for words, pointing at something in the corner of the room. Turning slowly, they saw what had startled him; an ethereal shadow. Ryoko had been stuffing what little space there was in her tight fitting leather armour with gold and jewellery before joining Kira to survey the thick cloud of what appeared to be dust particles that were beginning to form a humanoid shape. It clung rigidly in the air, and slowly formed a face, which swam into focus. Furious narrowed eyes glowed beneath a furrowed brow which projected pure malice upon the onlookers. Thin cruel lips parted to reveal rows of rotten teeth, yet it remained a lifeless grey, save the deathly black gauntlet on its right wrist. The gauntlet glistened eerily, the intensity of its blackness exuded icy waves of despair, but it was adorned with a single golden arabesque insignia.
 
Kallis had spotted the gauntlet adorned an arabesque ‘K’ bound to the arm of a statue in the far corner of the room. As he had edged nearer to get a closer look he noticed the horrific detail of the statue and became acutely aware that it could have been a fossilized corpse that had once lived. Only inches away from the thing he surveyed its features with intrigue. It had the shape of a man, but its limbs were unproportionate to its body and its fingers seemed to have whittled into long, thin tendrils. The face too seemed entirely inhuman as the nose was nothing more than two narrow slits and its eyes wide with horror, or hate, were sunk deep into its head. Kallis reasoned that years of weathering had no doubt etched the human features from the statues face and pushing the thoughts from his mind he had drawn his sword and cleaved the dead mans arm off just beneath the elbow. He had expected more resistance and the sound of metal contacting with stone, but the blade passed through the statue with noiseless ease. The severed limb fell to the floor and the hand crumbled like burnt paper, leaving only the gauntlet behind. Kallis greedily snatched it from the floor and put it on his own wrist, marvelling at the golden ‘K’. Barely had the inky black gauntlet settled on his skin than the insidious demon that now loomed before him had been appeared.
 
“It was me, I awoke it,” Kallis whimpered, brandishing his arm aloft to show the others the gauntlet. As Kallis had raised his arm the evil eyes of the demon had locked onto him and it had screeched – a foul stinking screech that burnt the nostrils.
 
Ryoko stood bolt upright, fear etched on her face. “Oh Kallis, you should never steal from the dead, least of all a demon.” Her words seemed redundant, as all things of antiquity would have belonged to the dead in Kallis’ mind. He certainly didn’t feel he would live past the end of the day, yet alone a century at this rate.
 
His mind focussed on the source of the demon, the ebony gauntlet. He resolved that the only way to banish it back from whence it came was to separate it from the gauntlet, and with that thought he charged toward the creature. It swung high with its deathly black talons, sparks flaring from the stone wall as Kallis ducked beneath the clumsy swipe. The spiked tips stuck into a thick wedge of mortar, jamming just long enough for Kallis to jump up and grab the thick bracer that mimicked the one he wore on his arm, as though it was the shadow copy. He pulled with all his might and the gauntlet suddenly broke free from the beast’s arm, as it did so one of the deformed claws within it was wrenched from its skeletal hand. Kallis fell backward, bouncing toward Kira and Ryoko. The trio watched in horror as the severed digit soared through the air, turning into black ash that scattered onto a pile of gold coins.
A horrendous screech cleaved through the musty air, alerting the entire city as to a presence in the ancient tower. The horror was cast from the demon like an audible spell, freezing them to the spot as the demon husk lurched forward in uneven lumbering strides. Its talon tipped hands were outstretched, grasping at the air while it slowly made its way forward. It seemed to take more form now, mummified sinew began to moistly glisten and a fossilised forked tongue whipped between its serrated teeth coated in froth that lingered at the corners of its mouth. It seemed to laugh with gleeful anticipation of the bountiful meal before it.
 
Thinking fast, Ryoko summoned her magical spear and flung it at the spectral figure but it plunged through the demons chest and continued right through into the wall behind without leaving a scratch. Kira seized the opportunity to flank the creature, darting behind it and drawing her iron dagger. The demon remained focussed solely on Kallis who still clutched the gauntlet. Kira slashed hard and low at the demons ankle, but as expected to feel the knife struggle as it tore through the tendons she instead found it glided through the spectral limb as easily as it did the air.
Kallis shuffled backward, till he had his back flat to the wall but he was routed to the spot now. The grasping talons were near enough to his face to create a breeze he could feel on his cheek. Ryoko shrieked then called out to Kallis, “throw the gauntlet, that’s what it wants.” Her voice unnerved Kallis further. But he snapped out of his fear induced trance. Something erupted inside him and an overwhelming surge of adrenaline coursed through his body. He ducked underneath the spectres slashing talons and ran toward the only exit. As he did so the door which seemed to have been slowly closing inched shut, sealing them all inside the vault. His hands collided with the black surface, searing his palms. Kallis continued, forcing his entire weight against the door, ignoring the blisters that were forming on his supple hands. The door remained shut as Kallis pushed furiously until the pain overcame him and he collapsed in a heap. Ryoko had chased after him and dragged him to his feet. By the time Kallis was upright the demon was almost upon them again, but now its eyes blazed with blazing crimson fury as it snarled and hissed at them. Ryoko and Kallis were trapped between the demon and the unmoving door. Despite its slow reflexes it seemed impossible they would both escape its lunging talons.
 
“Quickly Kallis, throw the gauntlet to Kira, that’s what it’s after,” Ryoko said, her voice quavering as she took erratic heavy breathes. Kallis looked down at the black gauntlet that he had dropped beside him. It gleamed with an unnatural quality that still entranced him. Ryoko seized the opportunity to swoop down and grab the gauntlet. In one fluid motion she stooped and threw it over the demons head. Its claws flung into the air as it arched its head to follow its prized possession through the air. Kira deftly caught it and tucked it into one of the many pouches attached to her belt. As it vanished from sight the demon cried a shrill scream that made their ears ring painfully. Ryoko managed to lead Kallis around the abomination as it flailed in all directions searching for the lost gauntlet. It was only when they reached Kira’s side that she had the awful realisation that they were all trapped in the room with the seemingly immortal demon.
 
“What do we do?” cried Kira, her calm collected persona vanishing before the others for the first time. Their eyes collectively darted around the room, searching for a way out as the demon once more sidled toward them.
 
“The window!” yelled Ryoko. She pointed at an arrow slit, and the rays of daylight that beamed through the mortar which had all but completely crumbled to dust around it. All three of them ran and shoulder barged the large mason hewn stone that housed the arrow slit and it tumbled down to the ground. As it crashed, breaking to pieces at the base of the tower an entire contingent of guards gathered to survey the cause of the collapse.
 
Kira glanced down. “We’ll never make it. We’re hundreds of feet from the nearest rooftop,” she shouted, looking back at the demon.
 
“We…We have no choice,” stammered Ryoko. “Soon that demon will catch us and devour our very souls. You can stay if you like, but I refuse to spend all eternity as a slave to that fiend.” With that she grabbed an emerald encrusted cloak that lay near her feet and stepped onto the ledge of the window.
 
“This might slow our fall,” she questioned her own logic as she spoke, then summoned another magical spear and drew breath. “Now, who’s with me?”
Kallis solemnly nodded and grabbed onto one end of the spear. Kira looked hesitantly at the demon which was almost upon her. She threw her old iron dagger hopefully at the demons head, but it dislocated its jaw and looked to swallow the blade. Saliva dripped to the floor, and the knife passed through its oesophagus and chimed as it hit the stone flagon floor. Kira recoiled as the demon emitted a hellish below once more. She turned, grasping the other end of the spear to Kallis and tightly shut her eyes.
“I hate heights,” Kira uttered, her eyes beginning to betray her as hot trickling tears left clean tracks down her dirty face.
 
Kallis noticed her knuckles had turned white as she held the shaft of the spear so tight.
“Don’t worry, I’m with you.”  As he spoke the demon finally charged them, Ryoko screamed and fell backwards through the window, dragging the two youngsters with her.