Michael Foster - She Who Has No Name

‘Even more the reason for dark powers to covet you, boy. Can you not hear their voices whispering in your mind? They come to all who have great strength, for evil things are always looking for a way into this world and a gate must have two sides if it is to exist. You must put them from your mind without hesitation. To give yourself to them is to lose yourself altogether.’

‘I hear nothing but you, Grand Master, trying to delay me while you finish crafting your spell. So be it. Let whatever you have brought come and I will destroy it.’

‘This is your last chance, Samuel. I can still stop this if you will only come to your senses. The beast I have found is beyond anything this world has seen. I stumbled across it long ago as I scoured the other realms, but I have never dared bring such a creatureinto this world before.’ Samuel stood silent in response. ‘Very well, boy. Forgive me then, for it has arrived.’

It was then that the summoning took form, just as the old man had said, called into being with incredible skill and a vast amount of power. It was evident, now, why the first beast had been so lacklustre. It had only been a distraction, sent to delay him. Anthem had figured that Samuel would waste time playing with the thing, and he had guessed well. He had used the time to seek out precisely the creature he desired, and it came billowing forth from the ether in an explosion of fury.

The old man scampered away,and Samuel also had to scramble aside, for the buildings vanished into dust and fire and something enormous came rushing from the remains. It was truly a demon in every sense of the word, engulfed in flames and howling for flesh. It was about as tall as the previous beast, but its exterior was covered in bone and drippingwithgore and jelly-like ooze. Its head was a dome of bone, lacking eyes, but with a puckered,sniffing nose. Its mouth wasa series ofjaws within jaws, all gnashing and biting and expelling fire. Spikes and tendrils erupted from its skin in place of hairs,and the talons on its claws and feet were each curved scythes the length of a man. It was hideously fast and Samuel blasted the thing with spells as he back-stepped,but his magic hadlittle effect.

‘You overstepped your bounds, boy,’ Anthem called from behind it. ‘All men become fools when they believe they have power over others. You have proved to be no exception, Samuel. I had hoped you would become a great magician, but you have fallen into corruption. I hope your son will fare better beneath my care.’

Samuel was incensed with rage and stood his place to show the old man all he was worth. As the beast bore down on him, he sent a wrath of power to disembowel it. The spell sang true from his fingertips and struck the creature fair in the middle, but to no effect. With a swipe,it scooped him from the ground and brought him to its terrible mouth. Its fiery breath washed over him like molten pain, but such physical feelings were no longer relevant to him. It put him towards its maw, but he had no wish to enter such a hellish place and he cast his hands out, holding the beast’s outer jaws open with his magic-imbued strength.

Layers of inner teeth hammered and gnashed with excitement just before him, and Samuel could see more layering in its throat, all the way down its gullet, but it could not push him in. He held firm, but also he could not escape. Worst of all, it seemed to be sucking at his power through its very touch. An air of utter evil smothered him and filled his mind with darkness, making it hard to think. With its brimstone breath devouring his flesh and its claw holding him firm, Samuel could not escape.

He threw up a shield to keep the fiery breath from his skin, and the foul air ran away,as if from an umbrella, but that was only a small respite. His magic was vast, but as quickly as he restored his protection, it was eaten away. More of his magic went into keeping himself from its stomach,and the two of them waged a titanic struggle-he, a tiny black-cloaked doll in its grip and it, an unstoppable beast from some unknown hell.

‘I will not…be…defeated!’ Samuel declared, but still he could not escape. He pulverised the thing with spells that would shatter solid stone, but it took time to make a spell of greater worth and,busy as he was keeping his body replenished andawayfrom itsgapingmouth, that was time he could not afford. ‘Damn you, Anthem!’ he swore and his anger boiled from him. His muscles began to shake, but the beast did not weaken.

All things have limits and only then did Samuel realise his foolishness. Again and again,he pelted the beast with his magic, looking for some weakness, but it seemed to have none. Anger turned to desperation as he felt his magic waning.

‘This is the end,’ Anthem’s voice carried across to him.

Throughout the city, people were still fleeing and,in homes and houses all around, many still hid. Others lay dying on the streets or under piles of shattered stone. As Samuel felt his own strength failing, he could feel theirs calling to him. He needed more power and they each had it, blazing irresistibly within them. Perhaps he could have withstood the temptation, and perhaps he could have found another way to escape, but the demon’s vile air cluttered his mind and whispering voices began clamouring for his attention.

He yelled aloud-a mixture of exertion and desperation-and all throughout the city those fireflies of life came flying towards him, their abandoned husks dropping behind them as they fled. In every building and on every street within that quarter of the city the people fell dead-whether running or hiding or holding onto each other in fear, it made no difference. Their energy was plucked from their bodies at Samuel’s summonsand they came flooding towards him. He could hear Grand Master Anthem shouting out in protest, but even the roar of the creature’s breath was a whisper compared to the din of all these souls stampeding into him. He lost all thought of the beast that held him and his mind turned to gaining more and more such souls. The thought occurred to him that what he was doing was wrong, but he ignored it, for nothing mattered more than freeing himself and devouring these morsels. He knew that each bite was the life of an innocent human, but he could not think of that now; the unquenchable hunger for more overtook him, unchallenged.

‘No!’ came a sudden furious shout and Samuel was roused from his task. The demon was no longer holding him, for it lay beneath him with its head split apart as if its mouth had been unhinged and kicked open, yet he still hovered in place, hanging in mid-air,held aloft by burning tendrils of magic.

‘No, Samuel!’ came the voice again and he realised it was the stubborn old magician who had disturbed him. ‘What are you doing, Samuel? For the love of everything, look at what you are doing! You are killing everyone! This is vile work! I cannot allow it or we all will be lost!’

Samuel opened his mouth, but he could no longer form words. Something spilled from his lips, hot and infused with power, and he had no interest in communication. The light around the jabbering old magician had enticed him and his attention focussed on that. He willed himself to float towards the old man and began pulling at his energy, as ifhe wereunravelling a thread from a woollen jumper. In turn, a whip of magic came hurtling out from the old magician and wrapped itself around Samuel.

‘Two can play at this game!’ the defiant Grand Master roared and he began tugging at Samuel’s power in return.

Samuel was enraged and howled in anger as Anthem sucked at his strength. The two of them tugged back and forth with their power, playing a tug of war with each other’s very spirit. The old man was incapable of doing too much harm, but every drop of power that was stolen stung Samuel and left him mindless with rage. He drew closer and closer to the old man, pulling faster and faster as he closed the distance, until Anthem had barely a sliver of life remaining.