Tender Mercies

All of that she noticed nearly instantly, and further, that while the black man was extremely attractive, the white man had the looks, allure, and attraction of a Norse God. She wondered idly if it was Thor himself that had come to save her. But who would that make the black man? A black Loki, perhaps?

The black man spoke again, but his words she could not understand. She tried to focus on them, but they did not sound like a language she had ever heard before. Then the white giant glanced at her naked groin and smiled. The smile was not a threatening one, but still Pamela felt her embarrassment return. She glanced about and saw her pants, and quickly pulled them onto her legs and over her hips. In doing so, she saw what had happened to her assailants.

Shaun was laying on the floor, obviously dead and in a pool of his own blood. The knife he had used to scare her was on the ground nearby, but the gash across his stomach and the puncture wound in his chest left no doubt that the black man's swords had recently been put to use. She felt her head lighten at the sight, and her bile threatened to rise. Turning quickly, she saw Ryan, laying crumpled against the wall of the tower, his neck and arm bent at angles that proved they were broken. A trail of blood had leaked from his broken and mangled nose to run down his cheek and neck.

She turned again, knowing her battle was lost. She rushed outside, past the two surprised men, and emptied her lunch into the grasses of the courtyard. They followed after, giving her some time and distance to finish her retching and compose herself. At long last, she was finished, though she still felt chills running down her back at the murders done in cold blood only a few feet away. Sure, she had been saved, but violence was against her nature, and the thought of it made her stomach queasy again.

"I thank you for your help, good sirs," She began, leaning against the outside wall of the tower. "But did ya have ta kill them?"

The two looked to each other, a strange look of understanding passing between them. The black man's hand raised to touch the dolphin earring on his ear and he grinned. He looked back to Pamela, the grin still there, and said something else she couldn't understand, then repeated what she had said to him, though speaking it slowly and carefully. Finally he made motions with his hands between them that she interpreted to mean he wanted her to continue.

"Well, I do na know what to say," She said, surprised that for once in her life she was nearly speechless. "Where are you from and why are you wearing those silly clothes and weapons?"

Both men slowly repeated what she said after it was clear she wasn't going to say anymore. Then spoke to her in their own incomprehensible language. Shrugging apologetically, she realized that they were trying to learn English from her, and they seemed to be able to do it at an incredible speed. A part of her was fascinated and excited by it, until she remembered the rest of the men who would soon be showing up.

"I do na know how you can understand me, if you do na know me language, but in a wee bit there will be eight more men coming up here to help those other two rape and kill me," Pamela said, finding herself almost wishing that the same thing happened to the others that had happened to the first two. "Some of them will have guns, you can be sure!"

"Guns?" Both men said, confusion on their faces. Being a fine Irish lass and raised on Irish folklore, Pamela was as superstitious as the next Irishman. Still, what was good to tell tall stories about over a pint and what was real was beginning to become confused to her.

"Ya do na know what a gun is, do ya?" She asked, grinning incredulously.

Both shook their heads, a look of intrigue on their faces. Pamela could not help herself but laugh at the sight. "A gun is a weapon that used exploding gunpowder to shoot a lead bullet out from the barrel. It goes farther then a longbow, and can kill a man without the man even seeing the man that's shooting at him!" She finally explained.

The black man nodded while the white man frowned and said a single word distastefully. That caused a chuckle from the black man, followed by some words that Pamela could tell by the tone were used to make fun of the other man. The white man shrugged and grinned after a moment.

"My name is Pamela, you can call me Pammy, good Sirs," Pamela said, when they were done.

"Kelnozz Risingmoon," The black man said slowly, nodding to her.

"Garrick Hammerthane," The white man replied, smiling beautifully at her again and making her knees tremble in spite of the recent events.

A loud crack of thunder rang out then, making both men start and spin about towards the direction it came from. Pamela let out a shriek and dropped to the ground. She had recognized it as a gunshot. Garrick reached up to his arm and pulled his hand away, blood was on his fingers.

"That's what a gun can do!" Pammy said, scooting further around the back of the tower from where the attackers were.

The open gate was a good twenty feet away, and in it stood all eight of the men. Two of which held guns pointed at Kelnozz and Garrick, while another three held knives. The remaining three men watched about carefully, in case the gunshot drew any unwanted attention.

"What happened to Shaun and Ryan?" Connor said, stepping forward and pointing his pistol at Garrick and Nordan.

"Shaun? Ryan?" Kelnozz said.

"Aye, the two that were to be holding that whore o'er there!" Connor nodded towards where Pammy was hiding.

Kelnozz looked to Pammy and saw the look of fear on her face. He winked at her, then turned back to the others. Speaking in his own language, he said something to Garrick, who was barely restraining himself already.

Garrick exploded into action, pulling his hammer off the harness on his back and throwing it with enough force so that when it crashed into the other gun wielding man's chest, it picked him off the ground and sent his body back out the gate. A loud thunderclap accompanied the strike, deafening the men at the gate and nearly doing the same to the more experienced Kelnozz and Garrick.

Kelnozz was moving as well, he ran in at an arc, somehow his swords moving into his hands without anyone other then him realizing it. Connor only had a chance to fire once, missing Kelnozz, before the elf was upon him. One of the longswords crashed into the pistol, knocking it to the ground and cutting Connor's trigger finger off. The other one he reversed and slammed the pommel with to much force into the man's head, cracking his skull and knocking him unconscious.

"Don't let any get away!" Pamela said, knowing that as much as she hated what was happening, if they let any get away, they would be in even more trouble.

Garrick's hammer was back in his hands, and he strode forward into the stunned group of men. Kelnozz had already downed one of the knife wielders, and was turning to deal with another. The newest knife fell to the ground, a disembodied hand still clutching it. Then the body of the man followed, blood gushing from the gash in his chest.

Garrick's hammer found another victim, crushing the arm and ribs of the third and final man with a dagger. He collapsed, gasping for a breath that would not fill his collapsed and punctured lungs. Another swing sent another man to his grave, shattered spine and broken ribs cutting into his organs as he turned to flee.

Kelnozz hamstrung another man that tried to flee, silencing his panicked cries with a slice across his throat, and then only one man was left, and he was already running away from the gate, trying to make it to the nearby forest. Garrick looked at him and threw his hammer again, then turned away before it reached its destination.

The sound of thunder telling them the hammer had indeed connected rolled over them a second later. Garrick opened his hand at his side and the hammer magically reappeared in it. He placed it back in the harness on his back and Kelnozz cleaned off his swords on Connor's shirt before sheathing them.

Pamela approached them, her mouth open in shock and horror. Never before had she seen anything to resemble what had just taken place. She worked for the hospital, and had heard gruesome stories, but she was sure those paled in comparison to what had just happened. There was so much blood on the ground, she could not believe it. So much violence, and the two that had done it appeared calm and casual, as though nothing was out of the ordinary. She saw the blood running down Garrick's arm, a wound that he had appeared to have forgotten about, and her mind refused to accept anymore.

Kelnozz caught her on her way to the ground. He chuckled as he set her down, knowing from her actions and the look on her face that she was unaccustomed to violence, as if her fainting was not proof enough!

"I'll stay with her, you follow their trail and see if there are any more of them," Kelnozz said, reverting to the common tongue of Viconia. "And check your arm, you're bleeding."

Garrick looked at his arm, remembering it was where the gun had hit him. He looked surprised and wandered away from the keep, easily following the obvious tracks through the high grass.

*****

Garrick and Kelnozz sat in the courtyard of the keep, a fire keeping them warm in the chill night of Northern Ireland. Garrick was digging at the hole in his shoulder with a dagger, trying to find the source of his continued irritation. At long last, through gritted teeth, he grunted triumphantly and popped out the small lead slug.

"It looks like a small sling stone," Kelnozz said, studying the bullet in Garrick's palm.

"Aye, but no sling could bury it so far in the flesh!" Garrick muttered, eyeing his sore shoulder.

Pamela had to leave them soon after she woke up, but she explained she would return the next day. After all, she owed them her life. Something about her simple and plain honesty had impressed both the men, and they let her leave because of it.

Garrick had tracked the men to a graveyard, and after determining no more were waiting for them, he came back up and, with Kelnozz's help, they put the bodies in an ancient tomb they found in the graveyard, including Connor, who had died from a brain hemorrhage without regaining consciousness. Pamela claimed that the graveyard was seldom, if ever visited, so in their minds, the situation was taken care of.

Both men talked into the night, swapping stories and getting to know one another better. They were fast becoming friends, even more so then Kelnozz and Nordan had been. Losing the coin toss, Kelnozz drew the first watch for the night.

In the morning, shortly after Garrick had killed and butchered a sheep for breakfast, Pamela showed up. It was the method of her arrival that had both men so startled. She had arrived in a strange looking and extremely loud carriage with no horses to pull it.

Seeing their looks of curiosity, Pamela set about trying to explain things to them. First the car, then the English language. With the magical earrings Garrick had given them learning the language was easy for them, for each word they heard they understood and were able to remember. Thus, in a few hours of listening to Pamela talk, both men were able to speak to her in her own language, though it was broken and in many cases, they needed more help with missing words.

"Your car," Kelnozz said slowly, trying to put the proper words together, "will take us to Florida?"

Pamela laughed then, as she had many times listening to the two man struggle to master English. "No, good Sirs, it cannot. Florida is over an ocean, many thousands of kilometers from here. To get there, you must take a boat or a airplane."

"Airplane?" Garrick asked.

"An airplane is like a car that flies," Pamela said, not knowing enough about the physics behind the science of flight to explain it.

"It carries people?" Kelnozz asked. Pamela nodded, smiling at how quickly they figured things out. She had taken to thinking of them as very large children that were able to learn at a phenomenal rate.

"Dragons," Garrick said, grinning triumphantly. Kelnozz nodded, also smiling.

Pamela closed her eyes and laughed. Instead of contradicting them, she let them think an airplane was a dragon. Formerly a flight stewardess, she found the analogy not entirely unfitting. Besides, everyone knew there was no such thing as a dragon.

*****

Pamela yawned and struggled to open her eyes back up. It was very late for her, but after talking to Kelnozz and Garrick for the past two days, she had come to here their stories. Not for the first time, she wondered at her own sanity for believing them, even for a moment. The tales they told were the stuff of legend. Fairy tales told to children. She was Irish though, and an Irishman (or Irishwoman, in her case) that isn't superstitious just isn't an Irishwoman.

So, now she was on her computer and telephone, trying to locate some acquaintances of hers. Her luck was hit and miss, but when the phone rang a few moments later, she felt deep within her that it was the call she had been waiting up for.

"Hello?" She answered it.

"This is Robin," The man's voice on the other end responded.

Pammy breathed a sigh of relief and quickly explained what she needed. Robin listened patiently to her, then asked a few questions to flesh her needs out a bit, then promised to get back with her in a few hours. Pamela groaned, knowing she would get no sleep that night.

To while away her time, she resorted to her computer, chatting away with friends scattered about the globe, fleshing out more ideas and details for the upcoming journey. By the time the night was over, she had not only began to flesh out a plan, but it actually seemed to be taking place.

*****

Alesha woke up with a start. For just a moment, she had felt something. Something she had not felt in a long time. Rising naked from bed, she grabbed her sword and left her room behind. Descending quietly to the living room, she settled onto the couch and drew her blade from its scabbard.

"Talifernon, I demand answers!" She hissed, staring at the blade.

'What troubles you, Mistress' he responded in his growling voice.

"I just woke from sleep and sensed my old companion and lover, Kelnozz. He is here, on Earth!"

'You would know more readily then I, my awareness is trapped within this blade.' Alesha could sense his frustration and anger, but knew he was bound to obey by their God.

"Is there no counsel you can provide?" She asked, annoyed.

The demon was silent for a moment before he spoke. 'So long as I remain trapped within this blade, I am powerless.'

Alesha spat out a curse and lay back on the couch. After a moment of thought, she seized upon an idea. The very same idea Talifernon knew she would come upon.

"And what if I let you out of the blade, Talifernon. Would you then have the power to answer my questions?"

'Aye, Mistress, I would have that power.'

There was something different in his tone that Alesha did not like. "But if I release you from the blade, what's to keep you loyal to me?"

Alesha could sense the demon's mirth from within her sword. It was an unholy and evil thing, and she was certain that it did not bode well for her. 'Bavorish forced me into your servitude, Mistress.'

Somewhat placated by that, Alesha still did not trust the demon. Nevertheless, she needed answers. Brooding on the problem longer, she soon decided that it was a necessary risk. With a minor flexing of her willpower, she released the demon from the magical blade.

The moonlight in the room seemed to dim then, though Alesha was certain it was only her imagination. A slight chill swept through the air, though she did not feel it for her natural resistance to such things. Then, as though she had blinked her eyes, Talifernon stood in front of her.

"Greetings, mistress," He said, a wicked smile upon his canine face. His eyes flashed over her body, openly admiring her beauty. Then he looked out the window and stared at the moon, waxing past a quarter full. He growled happily, a deep and harsh sound that made the hairs on Alesha's arms raise.

"Tell me what I need to know, demon!" Alesha snapped, refusing to allow herself any uncertainty as to what she had done.

The four armed demon turned back to her, forced to hunch over as the 10 foot ceiling in the room did not accommodate his 12 foot height. "Find out on your own, human, I have my freedom at last!"

Alesha's eyes widened in outrage. "What of Bavorish's decree?" She spat out, rising off the couch and bringing her sword in front of her.

"He has no power on this world, bitch! Here the Gods lay sleeping and dead."

Talifernon reached for her then, grabbing her around the waist with one giant pincered hand, and just under her shoulders with the other. Both of Alesha's hands came together on the hilt of her sword, which was raised above her head, and she began to swing it forward, snarling angrily at the demon.

Talifernon's two human arms caught hers around the forearms, and with his demonic strength, pulled them apart. He forced her arms further and further apart, drawing a strangled gasp of pain from her.

"Don't you want to fuck me, demon? Like you did before? You remember how great it felt, don't you? You can have it again if you release me!" Alesha tried to bargain with the dog faced nightmare.

Growling low in his throat, he responded to her, "You defeated me like that before, you think that I am so stupid? I have waited to long for this, bitch, today you die by my hands!"

Alesha screamed as he pulled her arms further apart, until finally she could not fight any longer. With a wet popping sound, both of her arms tore free from her body at the shoulders, trailing spurting blood and rent flesh. Knowing the shock and pain would drive her unconscious, Talifernon wasted no time and dug his pincers into her flesh as well, tearing and twisting her body so that in moments, her legs flopped and twitched as the were separated from her body. Alesha's upper torso fell on the couch, blood, gore, and ruined organs slipping out of it. She stared at the demon with a cold hatred as the last light faded from her eyes.

Talifernon remained standing for a moment, staring at the ruins of Alesha's body. He chuckled then, knowing that he was truly free and had an entire world to plunder. He turned to leave, then stopped when he remembered Alesha's magical blade. Turning back, he looked for it, determined to make it his as well.

"Looking for something?"

The demon whirled about, then stopped in obvious shock to see Alesha standing between him and the patio door to the outside. In her hand was her sword. Around them, the gory remains of Alesha's body faded away, leaving no marks or stains behind.

"How?" He asked in outrage.

"An illusion, Talifernon, I let you see what you wanted to see, and now I know part of what I needed to know," Alesha responded coldly. "After all those months of counsel, all the companionship, you would destroy me so readily?"

Talifernon growled deep in his throat, prepared to make what he had just thought had happened into a reality. He tensed his muscles and prepared to spring on her.

"But wait, Talifernon, is this just another illusion? Or am I really here?" Alesha asked. The demon noted that her head was turned slightly, as though she wasn't looking quite straight at him. He glanced about warily, determined to find her true hiding spot and put an end to her.

Alesha's sword lashed out cutting a deep gash into the demons side. He howled and looked back at her in surprise. "It's me!" She spat out, reaching out with her other hand and grabbing a fist that swung at her face. In spite of his greater size, Alesha easily held the hand at bay. A supernatural black fire erupted around her hand, burning cold into Talifernon's arm, while Alesha pulled the demon off balance and lower so that their faces were less then a foot apart.