Tender Mercies

"Get her sword," Kelnozz said, still watching Alesha like a hawk.

Eric nodded and walked around Kelnozz to pick up Alesha's sword. It felt warm in his hand, and the grip seemed to adjust to fit his hand nicely. He walked back over near Kelnozz, but was interrupted by a loud roar behind him. Spinning around, he caught Talifernon's fist in his jaw, making him stumble back a step.

Demon's possess a greater rate of healing then most beings do, due to their unnatural origins and powers. Talifernon had managed to not only heal his severed leg muscles, but also one of his fists and one of his pincers. He advanced on Eric now, reaching out and grabbing the man around the waist with the pincer and lifting him into the air. Eric groaned as the sharp edges of the demonic claw cut and scraped his abdomen.

Remembering the sword in his hand, he swung it then at the demon. An awkward cut, his intent was to hack into the arm that held him aloft. One of the demons other arms, with only a stump that was just beginning to regrow some fingers got in the way, causing the blade to be diverted. It still struck the demon though, but it managed to hack into Talifernon's head, severing the canine ear and shaving off a section of scalp.

The demon dropped Eric then, and howled in pain as he covered his head. Wasting no time, Eric scrambled away from the towering beast, concerned more with putting distance between the two of them then anything else at the moment.

Kelnozz watched Alesha carefully during the confrontation. She had roused herself somewhat, but only laid on the floor watching with interest as Talifernon growled and stalked towards Eric.

A body came flying through the air between Talifernon and Eric then, and a quick glance to the side showed the Garrick was still in the middle of the crowd of people, though many were now unconscious or otherwise incapacitated.

Talifernon came in swinging, forcing Eric to backpeddle furiously to avoid another ringing blow to his head. He stopped when he reached the end of the stage though, only a two foot drop to the floor remained, and the distance from the edge of the stage to the wall of the club was less then five feet away as well. Cursing, he saw the demon bearing down on him and made a rash decision.

Bellowing loudly, he charged the demon, trying to catch it off guard. He held the sword down low and threw his shoulder into the demon's midsection, trying to shoulder-check it. The greater mass and supernatural nature of the demon made his attack useless however. Bouncing off the demon's belly, he shook his head and slashed upwards with the sword. Talifernon howled as the sword cut into his crotch, narrowly missing his genitals, but slicing upwards through his abdomen and belly as though they were made of butter. His own strike at Eric landed on the man's head, but it lacked any force behind it, merely stunning the man.

Eric fell away from the demon then, amazed that the sword cut so cleanly and easily through the flesh and bone. He scrambled back to his feet as the demon tried to keep its bowels from pouring out of the wound until it healed back up. Slashing again, he opened up a horizontal wound that crossed the vertical one, making the demons efforts a failure. Eric then lashed out at the demon's knee, remembering how Kelnozz had taken him down earlier. Alesha's sword cut through the knee as easily as it did everywhere else, bringing Talifernon down to the ground with a crash.

Talifernon howled in pain and outrage. That such a puny mortal was hurting him was unthinkable. He swung for the man again, trying to swipe him off the stage and crush him in the process. Eric lunged forward, however, sinking the sword deeply into the demon's chest, and received only a glancing blow from the demon's hand. Talifernon's mouth opened in agony as it knew it had been defeated. As its body began to fail, it grabbed hold of Eric's arm with its pincer and threw a last punch at him. As the blow landed, the demon's form dissolved into smoke.

Eric flew backwards across the stage, some of the force diverted, but enough remained to crack his ribs and launch him into the air. He landed with a thud and laid staring up at the ceiling trying to work some air back into his lungs. The sword was still in his hands.

"What are you going to do with me?" Alesha asked once the fight was over and it was obvious that Eric was still alive.

"I'm still working on that," Kelnozz admitted. "I suppose I should kill you, but I'm having a hard time working up the conviction to do it."

Alesha tried to smile but failed. She glanced out at the crowd trying to overwhelm Garrick, in spite of his obviously incredible strength and skill. "You got a God to come with you for me, I suppose there really is no chance for me."

"He's not a God anymore, Nordan has taken his place. As Martin took Carson's place."

"Oh?" Alesha asked, beginning to win her fight against the fatigue the extensive use of her powers had caused her. "You've bested my demon and defeated me twice now. With your friends, you've slain dragons mightier then I could ever hope to best. I give up, Kelnozz."

"What should I do with you?" Kelnozz asked her suspiciously.

"Kill me, most likely," She replied. "If you take me back to Viconia and don't kill me, I'm sure I'll resort to my wicked ways. I never was much good with temptation. If you leave me here, what's to stop me one day from starting up another cult? I love power, Kelnozz, it feels so good to control others wants and needs"

If Kelnozz was surprised at her honesty, he hid it well. Instead he said, "I have another plan for you, I think. If you can guarantee your best behavior while with me, perhaps there is a way out of all this."

Alesha looked at him with genuine curiosity. Finally, she shrugged and nodded. "Alright, old friend, you have my best behavior."

"Good, now call off your minions so Garrick will stop having fun," He told her.

Smirking, Alesha rose off the floor and approached the front of the stage. Laying on the floor in misery, Eric had to admit that he nearly forgot the pain when he could stair up at a perfect nude body such as Alesha was displaying. She caught his eyes and smiled briefly, then threw him a wink and blew him a kiss before turning to the grand melee below.

"Stop!" She said, her voice magnified loudly enough so that everyone within the building heard it clearly. Kelnozz flexed his hands around his sword hilts warily, never before had she recovered her powers as quickly as she appeared to now.

"All of you will go home now, leave this place and never return to it. Forget the things that happened here. Go now!" Alesha turned back to Kelnozz and nodded her head. Kelnozz eyed her suspiciously for a moment, then nodded in return. Already the people below had stopped harassing Garrick. They turned as one and moved towards the exit, leaving the club as best they could. Those that could not make it on their own were helped out by others, and soon only the dead remained. Garrick had seen to it that that number was impressive. A full score of people lay with broken necks, backs, skulls, and other important bones.

Garrick hopped up onto the stage, half sneering at Alesha, and walked over to where Eric was laying. "You okay lad?" Garrick asked him, seeing the man's eyes were open and that he was conscious.

"Yeah," Eric replied weakly. "Just thinking about taking a nap is all."

Unseen behind them, Alesha closed her eyes and contacted her brother. 'Brian, I'm leaving now. Not the way I'd planned, but I'm still leaving. Continue your work and come and find me when it's time. Talifernon has been banished for 100 years by a man they call Eric, but I transfer ownership of his soul to you. Be well, my brother.'

"What's the matter?" Kelnozz asked her, seeing her eyes closed and her body swaying a little bit.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing, just trying to see if I had enough energy left to heal your friend again," Alesha lied. She walked over next to him and knelt down beside him. She placed her hand lightly on his chest and caused her healing energies to flow into him. He moaned as he felt his ribs shift to their proper positions and begin to mend. Alesha then leaned down to him and kissed him for a moment. Feigning weakness before getting back up, she let her head drop beside his ear and knew her hair hid their heads.

"Be wary, my brother will be after you for banishing his demon," She whispered. Eric's eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. "Shh, not a word of that to your friends, that's an order."

She stood up and moved away as though nothing had happened. Alesha then began to put her armor back on after checking with Kelnozz to see if she was allowed to. Eric struggled to his feet, his chest still sore much like his shoulder, but otherwise he felt fine. He opened his mouth to tell them what she had just said, but found that the words would not come out. He shut his mouth before they noticed and instead remained content to simply glare at her.

"What about this?" Eric asked, holding the sword out towards Kelnozz.

"Keep it, she won't be using it anymore," The dark elf replied, challenging Alesha with his words and gaze. She refused to take the bait, and simply nodded her head.

"Destroy this place," Kelnozz commanded her. Alesha frowned but nodded. They headed towards the door but before getting there Eric asked them to wait a moment. He hopped behind the bar and grabbed a few bottles of beer. Handing one to Kelnozz and one to Garrick, he opened one himself and said, "After a tough hockey game it's always good to suck down an ice cold beer. I figured this was kinda the same thing."

Alesha smirked while Garrick and Kelnozz just looked at each other. Twice now he had mentioned hockey, but neither of them knew what it was. They did know what to do with ale, however, and having already been shown how to remove the tops from the bottles, they quickly did so.

Once in the truck, Pamela was introduced to Alesha, and immediately the tension could be felt between the two women. As they pulled away, Alesha concentrated long enough to work her magic again. Brian slipped out the back door of the club moments before the liquor bottles behind the bar shattered and then ignited, spreading flames rapidly and consuming the place.

Epilogue

Using her magic to help instead of hinder, Garrick, Kelnozz, Alesha, and Pamela had returned to Ireland easily. They had left Eric behind in America to return to his home and normal life. Or at least, what sense of normality he could accept, given what he had seen and experienced. Then it was Pamela's turn to be left behind at a blank stone wall near where she had first encountered Kelnozz and Garrick.

She stood there with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes as the three travelers walked into the stone wall and disappeared before her very eyes. Pamela reached out and touched it after they had gone, encountering only hard rock. Smiling again at the magic of it all, she turned away to leave. She stopped when, just for a brief moment, she thought she had seen something out of the corner of her eye. Looking back, she once again saw the rocky cliff face. Shaking her head, she realized she must have imagined the doorway she thought she had seen. Sighing, she began to concoct the details of the visit to her cousins in France that she had told her husband she was visiting. Snorting, she realized he probably would not even ask for any.

*****

"You do deserve to die, you know," Kelnozz said to Alesha while they stood on the beautiful sandy beach of an otherwise empty lagoon.

Alesha glanced around, surprised to see so an utter absence of any other intelligent life. Palm trees, tropical grasses, and a few large turtles crawling out of an ocean that was impossibly blue were all that she could see.

"You keep saying that, but you don't do anything about it. If you're going to kill me, then get it over with already," Alesha responded, tired of not knowing what Kelnozz had in store for her. "Otherwise, let it go and shut up already."

Garrick slapped his leg and laughed at her outburst. A dark look from Kelnozz made him hide his mirth behind his other hand.

"What is this place?" Alesha asked, changing the subject.

"This is a forgotten world," Garrick said wistfully, remembering olden times fondly. "I found it a long time ago before my companions and I came to Viconia. At one time Kar had built a repository for several great magical artifacts that were best out of the hands of men."

Alesha fought the urge to smirk at his boast. Putting aside her bitterness she had to admit that Garrick's claims of being a longtime friend of Kar, Viconia's God of Magic, was most likely true. History told of how the current Gods had ascended to their position after Garrick, Celos, and Carson had defeated Bavorish in a mighty battle.

"And what of this museum or magic?" Alesha asked, wondering if perhaps there was something here she could entertain herself with after all.

"Aye, she's ever a troublesome wench, to be sure!" Garrick said, enjoying the scowl Alesha sent his way. Kelnozz's mood lightened slightly at the joke, though he was in no mood to jest.

"After rising to his position on Viconia he moved the building there with him," Garrick said, answering her question. "And don't worry about setting yourself up too nice here either, nothing other then animals lives here. Some are downright nasty, in fact, but there are no men or elves or anything else."

Alesha looked to Kelnozz with an alarmed look on her face. "What is this? You think to imprison me on an abandoned world? How will I survive?"

"Here you will be safe," Kelnozz said. "Bavorish and his minions can not reach you here. Further, you know how to hunt and fight, I have no doubt about your ability to survive. I shall visit from time to time as well to gauge your parole. Should any who know you or seek to harm or help you enter this place, their powers will be largely negated."

"So I'm sentenced to menial labor until I grow old and die here?" Alesha was torn between outrage and shock. Her knuckles were white gripping the table and her face was flushed with heat.

"Actually, that's not the case either," Garrick explained while grinning. "Time doesn't function quite normally for you. Search within you, by tapping into the divine powers he granted you, you have been made nearly as ageless as the elves of Viconia." Alesha ground her teeth in frustration and turned back to Kelnozz. "Are you serious? You're just going to leave me here? I surrendered to you, Kelnozz, I thought I meant something to you!"

"Have you noticed any difference in yourself since leaving Viconia?" Kelnozz asked her, ignoring her ranting.

Glaring at him, she answered curtly, "No."

"Perhaps that was because you still had Talifernon's influence. Now you are separated from both Bavorish and Talifernon, it is my hope that you will remember the girl who you used to be and remember kindness and fairness. That is why you are here, and your term of imprisonment is dependant upon your behavior accordingly," the elf told her.

"If I returned you to Viconia, Bavorish would continue to corrupt you, and history would repeat itself. I am giving you another chance, which is far more then any of the thousands of peoples you have wronged would give you, and perhaps even more then you deserve."

Garrick winked at her and smiled. It was a cold smile and it sent chills down Alesha's back to realize that without Kelnozz's protection, Garrick would be the first one in a long line of people ready to repay her for her harsh deeds. She nodded at last, slowly and hesitantly. "All right, I suppose I don't have a choice. I have no weapons and even my armor you've taken. My powers are weak, I'm at your mercy." Alesha sighed forlornly, glancing down at the simple boots, breeches, and blouse that she wore.

"Then this world is yours. You wanted a world to rule, now you have one," Garrick said to her darkly. "Enjoy the results of your ambitions."

Alesha closed her eyes and felt a shuddering chill pass through her quickly. They were serious, she was to be abandoned like a castaway. Not merely an island though, rather an entire world. She opened her eyes and looked at Kelnozz, they were wet with unshed tears but through them Kelnozz could see the anger in them clearly. Without another word she turned and stalked off into the tropical forest at the edge of the sand.

Kelnozz and Garrick stood silently for several long minutes, watching the empty beach. Finally Garrick spoke up, "You think she'll change?"

Kelnozz sighed. "No, not really."

Garrick chuckled softly then said, "Then why this elaborate ploy? Why not simply kill her?"

"That'd put me out of a job," Kelnozz said, his dark humor not lost on Garrick.

"Hardly, my friend! With Alesha out of the picture, there are plenty of things awaiting the Protector of Viconia. Take Ancaruin, for example."

Kelnozz looked sharply at Garrick. "What do you mean? We slew him!"

"You killed his body, aye," Garrick responded. "That dragon helped create Viconia, he's not so easily destroyed without destroying Viconia as well."

Kelnozz cursed under his breath. He dropped the silver dragon scale armor they had taken from Alesha on the beach and idly fingered the glowing pendant he had taken from Alesha. "So much for a vacation," He muttered.

Garrick laughed then and rose up from his seat. "Aye, now you begin to see why I gave Nordan my powers! To much responsibility, I'd rather be wenching and fighting!"

Kelnozz shook his head and nudged one of Alesha's boots with his foot to keep it sitting upright in the sand. She would certainly not need it, but he could think of nothing better to do with the equipment save for letting her have it.

Both men turned and began walking down the beach away. As they walked they began to shift and grow more and more transparent with each step.

"I think I'm going to go steal a ship and become a pirate again," Garrick said to himself. "I miss those days."

Kelnozz chuckled as they took their last step took them away from the unnamed world Alesha had been deposited on.

*****

"Find this man, his name is Eric," Brian said to the other people sitting around the table with him. He showed them the picture on the computer screen and made sure they all memorized it. "Find him and tell me where he is, but do nothing else. He is the key to finding Alesha."

They nodded to him and, as one, got up to indicate the meeting was adjourned. Brian alone remained sitting at the table in his house. With Alesha gone, Brian had learned how best to use his powers quickly, and already he had gained control of his father where Alesha's had left off. The man continued to work and function somewhat normally, completely ignorant of anything out of the ordinary. Most of the time he now slept at his office as well.

Brian toyed with the idea of finding a woman to fuck, but discarded it quickly. He had more important things to do. It was not every day that a 18 year old man had the power and control that he had. He smiled and decided that it was far more important for him to begin to build back the following that Alesha had before she had been taken away from him.