Destroyer of Worlds

2

Even far underground, the tremors reverberated from the constant fusillade. Dust and fragments showered down until the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons feared that the rock overhead was on the point of collapse. They had made their way along the dead riverbed and through Virginia's network of crawl-spaces into the lower reaches of the Fortress with speed. Their parting of the ways had been swift, with nods and hugs, none of them knowing if they would ever see each other again.

Now Hunter climbed steps that had the sickly texture of meat with the whisper of his brother giant in his head. Following in his footsteps came Virginia, seeming to carry a great age with her now that she was back in the place of torment, then Jack, serious and intent, and a frightened Miller at the rear.

The steps opened onto a narrow corridor running along the Fortress wall overlooking the battle. The heat there was intense. Charred bodies lined the way, and thick smoke rolled in through gaping holes. A few Lament-Brood fought mechanically with Fomorii warriors clinging to the outside wall.

The Balor Claw sang as Hunter moved swiftly down the corridor, taking apart any Enemy he met. A branching corridor led them deep into the heart of the Fortress. At one point the route was blocked from wall to wall by a solid column of Lament-Brood marching towards the front line. The Balor Claw reduced them to nothing in minutes. Hunter pushed on relentlessly. Jack, who knew him best, could not read his mood: anger, desperation, grief, something of all three? Mostly, he appeared impassive, as though the enemy warriors he was despatching were little more than a distraction, and for the first time Jack felt chilled by what he saw there.

They emerged into a courtyard where a carpet of bones covered the flags. In the centre stood a wooden post from which several chains hung.

When Virginia saw it she began to sob, sucking in huge mouthfuls of air. Jack and Miller tried to comfort her, but she broke free from them and raced towards a low building on the right-hand side of the court.

Hunter cursed loudly. 'That's the wrong way!'

'You can't leave her alone in this place!' Miller protested.

Without hesitation, Hunter raced in pursuit of the young girl. Fleet of foot, she moved rapidly through the low building to a dark, stinking room on the far side. Hunter caught up with her standing in the doorway, still sobbing. She flinched when he placed a hand on her shoulder.

As his eyes grew accustomed to the gloom, Hunter saw that the room was filled with people wearing clothes from many periods of Earth's history. They were dirty, bloody, beaten down; some had lost eyes, limbs, some had been so hideously scarred they didn't lift their faces from the floor. The room was thick with their own filth, and around the edge many decomposing bodies lay.

'Who are these people?' Breathless on his arrival, Miller quickly came close to tears.

'People the Void stole from Earth to work here in the Fortress.' Jack's grim face resembled a skull in the half-light. Hunter knew he was remembering his own kidnapping from his mother's side and his long, agonising incarceration in the Court of the Final Word.

'Are your people here?' Hunter asked gently.

Virginia was rigid; it was somehow worse than her crying.

'Virginia?' The voice was barely more than a croak rustling out from the depths of the dark.

'Mama?' Virginia started, and then hurried into the room. She came to a halt next to a woman who could have been in her forties but looked thirty years older. Kneeling amidst the filth, she had lost half her hair, and her forearms were so badly scarred they were pink and raw. Virginia buried her face in the woman's neck, whimpering.

'Virginia, why did you come back here?' her mother said. 'You were free of the pestilential torments inflicted in this place.'

'Mama, Mr Hunter is here to save us.'

The woman looked up at Hunter with eyes that scarcely dared believe. 'You are here to deliver us from this place?'

Whispers leaped from person to person, spreading rapidly around the room. Desperate hands clutched at Hunter's legs. Others tried to stand, or dragged themselves towards him.

'No pressure, then,' Hunter muttered to himself. 'Yes, I'm here to help,' he announced. 'That noise you hear is this place being taken apart brick by brick. There'll be no more suffering. Stay here a while longer — it's dangerous out there. But don't worry — we're going to free you.'

Anguished cries of relief were joined by loud prayers of thanks. 'Don't worry, Mama,' Virginia said, stroking her mother's head. 'Mr Hunter and his friends are good and true. Our saviours. God has answered all our pleas.' Her mother began to cry silently.

Hunter crouched down and said to Virginia reassuringly, 'You stay here and look after your mum, okay? I'll be back for you when this business is finished.'

Smiling for the first time since Hunter had met her, Virginia nodded eagerly.

Out in the courtyard, Miller said, 'See, Mr Hunter, everyone can see you're a good man.'

'Shut up, Miller, or I'll be forced to slap you around.'

Miller winked at Jack. 'Just like my friend, Ryan.'

The giant's whispers returned to Hunter's head, guiding him quickly through a maze of buildings, corridors and stairs until he reached a tower of gleaming obsidian. Barely able to keep up, Jack gasped, 'Is this where Laura is?'

'On her way to the top. You stay down here.'

Racing into the tower, Hunter took the steps two at a time, the Balor Claw scraping loudly on the stone as he rounded the spiral. Footsteps echoed from above. The stairs opened out into a room covering the entire floor of the tower, with large windows ranged around the circumference. Through one Hunter could see part of the Burning Man, unsettlingly close; figures writhed in agony within the outline. Through the others the Fortress blazed, the Fabulous Beasts sinuously riding the air currents. The beat of their wings was deafening.

Her face tear-stained, Laura stood in a daze near one of the windows. She started when she saw him and then lurched, on the brink of a faint.

'I'm not a ghost. Or the walking dead.'

Stunned, her fear subsided and she gulped for words that wouldn't come.

Hunter rapped his temple. 'Indestructible. Solid bone.'

Her shock passed quickly and she moved rapidly to the window and clung on to the frame. 'I should have guessed. I can't even kill someone properly.'

When Hunter took a step towards her, she placed one foot on the ledge ready to propel herself outside. 'Get away from me,' she said flatly.

'Come away from the window.'

'What? So you can cut me to pieces with your killer glove?'

'I'm not going to hurt you.'

'Right.' Her laugh was laced with bitterness. 'I tried to murder you. God, all this time I thought I had. You, and Jack, and Miller, and… and… little Virginia.'

'They're all fine.'

A sob broke through; her expression was shattered. 'You loved me. You're the only person I've ever met who loves me for who I am, not what I can give you, and I betrayed you. Of course you're going to kill me. And you're going to make me suffer first. And why the hell not! I deserve it.' She pushed herself fully into the window, glancing at the dizzying drop.

'What are you doing, Laura?'

'What does it look like I'm doing? You think I can carry on-' The words caught in her throat.

'I still love you.'

Laura flinched as if she'd been slapped.

'I've never said that to anyone before.'

She gulped back a sob. 'What's wrong with you, you crazy bastard? I tried to kill you!'

'I know you. I know how your mind works. I know how your heart works. I know every tiny, twisty turn of your maze-like personality. And I know that once you peel back all the protective layers you've wrapped yourself in, deep down inside you're a good person. I believe in you. Whatever you tried to do to me, that's not you.'

Laura began to cry. 'It's the end of the world out there, and we're having a boyfriend-girlfriend talk! For God's sake, get a grip! You're supposed to be the hero!'

Laura hovered on the brink for a moment, and then collapsed onto the window ledge. Hunter pulled her up, holding the Balor Claw behind his back.

Looking deep into his eyes, she said, 'You always were a good liar, Hunter. Do it, then. I won't stop you.'

Hunter pushed her against the wall and ripped her T-shirt down the back. Embedded in her shoulder-blade was a shiny black spider. As he watched, it dug its legs deeper into her flesh. With relief, Laura began to cry silently.

'You'll never get it out,' she said.

'How long has it been there?'

'After you saved me from the Court of the Final Word and I went back to Earth… no one asked how I found the others so easily in New York. Everyone takes so many coincidences for granted, nobody questions any more. They caught me and fixed that bastard into my flesh. I was their fail-safe. Every time things looked like they were going in the wrong direction, I was forced to give a little shove, make a comment, do whatever it took to destabilise. Brilliant, wasn't it? Because that's what I do anyway!'

'Hold still.' Hunter deftly manoeuvred the Balor Claw so that he could plunge it into the spider without touching Laura's flesh. With a sizzle, the spider was wrenched from Existence.

Gasping for breath, Laura clutched at the wall for support. 'It was whispering in my head all the time. It wouldn't let me speak… do anything to show it was there. I let everybody down.'

'You couldn't help it.'

'Why couldn't I fight against it? I gave Veitch such a hard time when the Caraprix controlled him, and now… I'm so sorry for how I treated him.'

'Hush.' Slipping the Balor Claw into his backpack, Hunter held her tightly.

She remained silent for a moment and then said quietly, 'You bastard. How could you believe in me? Now I've got no excuse.'

'You never had any — you were just too dumb to see it.' He kissed her on the forehead. 'Hmm. I guess this isn't the right time for sex. We have a bit of a job to do first. You up for it?'

Laura pulled herself away from him, gradually finding her equilibrium. 'So, who do you want killing?'