Chapter 38
Friends and Enemies
The looming structure of the church towered above them, William and Susan both stood across the street from St Mary's church. The rain had stopped for a few minutes, but it would most likely start again soon.
"Have you got a plan"? Susan asked
"Maybe, Kadius will have his soldiers in defence positions around the church" William answered
"How do you know that"?
"Because that's what I taught him to do"
William then started walking away from the church and around the corner into the next street, he stopped again this time facing the side of the church. Susan caught up with him and gave him a confused look, however he didn't respond.
"William"?
He didn't respond, instead he crossed the street and stopped at a tree which stood just outside of the church's wall. Susan followed and watched as William climbed into the tree with ease and then gestured her to follow, he held out his hand which she took instantly and with strength he pulled her up into the many branches with him.
He pointed to the church courtyard which was now visible, they saw many soldiers patrolling and waiting for an attack. William noticed immediately that they had abandoned their guns and had instead armed themselves with swords, axes and daggers.
"Why haven't they got guns"? Susan asked
"Because Kadius wants to make this battle personal, we are going to settle it just like we would in Narnia" William explained
He then pulled his bow off his back and loaded it with an arrow; he nodded at Susan to do the same. He then aimed an arrow and waited, finally he fired and his arrow which sailed through the air and hit a soldier straight in the side of the neck.
He fired more arrows and Susan did the same, the soldiers shouted in confusion but the arrows continued to hit their targets. William eventually pulled out Excalibur and jumped into the courtyard where he cut down his first soldier.
Another solider armed with an axe charged at William; however William easily countered the attack and severed the soldiers hand from his wrist causing him to fall to his knees screaming.
More soldiers armed with swords, daggers and axes all charged at William. He managed to dodge the attacks and used his superior swordsman skills to easily end the lives of the attacking soldiers.
Susan continued to fire her arrows; more soldiers fell in the courtyard before finally the soldiers stopped their approach and instead just stood in a line facing William. William was confused at this but his confusion turned to hatred when the church doors opened and Kadius exited the church wearing his black priest robes and Calgri in his right hand.
"I knew you would come" Kadius said with a small smile
"Tash will not rise tonight Kadius, if I have to die to stop him then I will" William replied his grip on the hilt of Excalibur tightening so much that his knuckles turned white
Susan saw this and jumped down from the tree; she loaded another arrow and aimed it at Kadius's head. She stood next to William in defiance and narrowed her eyes at Kadius who just smiled and gave a small chuckle.
"And here is the Gentle Queen" He said
"I'll fire Kadius, I warn you" Susan warned
"I like her William, she's got guts just like Sophia did" Kadius replied
William's eyes opened in shock, his grip on Excalibur got even tighter. Kadius smiled at how he was making William angry, this fight he knew would be a tough one so he needed to throw William off his game and make him lose control.
"Don't you dare speak her name" William growled
"Your right no more talking lets settle this in the way we know best" Kadius responded pointing at Calgri.
William and Calgri walked forward and began circling each other in the middle of the church courtyard. The clouds above turned even darker and bolts of lightning began to appear in the sky.
Kadius gave a blood curdling scream and lunged forward swinging Calgri at William's head who raised Excalibur to block it. William started hammering Excalibur at Kadius who began backing back towards the church while blocking William's strikes.
Susan watched as William and Kadius battled towards the church, Susan looked at the soldiers and wondered what they were planning to do. She moved towards one of the many inner walls in the courtyard and kept her bow aimed at the soldiers.
"Kill her"! Kadius ordered
Susan gulped as the soldiers began to approach with sick evil smiles on their faces, she fired an arrow at a soldier which connected with his chest causing him to scream and hit the floor.
The other soldiers began to approach faster, Susan reloaded and fired again. However the soldiers were approaching faster than she could reload. She fired one more arrow and instead drew Rhindon from its sheath and held it up high, the spirit of her brother Peter flew through her body.
The first soldier ran at her his own sword held high, Susan however was able to counter his attack and stab in the stomach. Peter and Edmund had taught her how to use a sword during their reign and it was all coming back to her.
She ducked as a soldier aimed an axe at her skull; she sliced his torso with Rhindon sending him screaming to the floor. Another soldier ran at her with a dagger but she stuck the blade into his shoulder causing him to fall against the wall.
She retreated further into the courtyard blocking every attempt at the soldier's attacks; she could no longer see William and Kadius which meant their battle had now been taken into the church.
William was knocked against one of the many pews, Kadius's face was so determined William knew it would take all of his strength and skill to defeat his former pupil. William brought Excalibur against Calgri causing sparks to shoot from the blades and the sound of ringing blades echoing around the church.
"You know William, I looked up to you like a brother or a father" Kadius said as their blades connected again their strength being tested.
"I know, but you betrayed Narnia Kadius and you went back on the code I taught you" William replied detaching his blade from his and began to hammer against Calgri causing his former pupil to grunt.
Kadius swung his sword at William's waist but he blocked it and hit the blade down to the floor where he kept it pinned. William then balled up his fist and with all his strength he punched Kadius in the face sending him into the pews.
William then raised Excalibur up and with one last sad look at his pupil he brought the blade down but Kadius rolled out of the way causing William's blade to hit the wood of the pew. Kadius then spun around and sliced the blade of Calgri against William's shoulder causing blood to splatter from the wound.
William growled in pain but managed to block Kadius's next attack and push him back further into the church. Kadius then hit William causing him to stumble back; he then headed to the church's stairs leading to the bell tower.
William followed with Excalibur glowing white as its power flowed through him; they started to walk up the stairs the blades of their swords connecting again and again. Kadius swung at William's head who ducked and managed to stab him in the shoulder causing him to fall against the steps.
William raised Excalibur to strike again but Kadius managed to kick William in his knee causing him to stumble against the wall. Kadius got back to his feet and aimed his sword at William's chest but he managed to block it, Kadius however then disarmed William of Excalibur but William kneed him in the stomach and punched him in the face sending him to against the wall on the other side.
William looked around for Excalibur but saw it lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. Kadius stumbled back to his feet but William sidestepped him and hit another punch sending him down the stairs.
William then made the decision to dive over Kadius who at the same time aimed his sword at William's feet. William hit the floor and rolled on the floor picking up Excalibur as he went; William then turned around and moved back up the stairs. Kadius however ran further up the stairs causing William to chase after him.
Susan managed to slash Rhindon across the stomach of another soldier and began to move into the church. Other soldiers followed but Susan managed to force them back towards the exit but she knew soon that her defence would falter.
She knew she had to find where the items were, it seemed the best thing to do as William fought Kadius somewhere else in the church. Susan was pushed against one of the pews and was disarmed of Rhindon.
The soldier raised a dagger and held her down; he gave an evil smile as he started to slowly bring the blade of the dagger closer to Susan and started to rub the cold metal against her cheek.
"You are a very pretty lady" he whispered
Susan shuddered at that, she tried to fight him but he was too strong. He raised the dagger up and was about to plunge the dagger into her chest when suddenly another blade came piercing through his chest causing his eyes to widen and fall off to the side dead.
Susan looked to up to see a young woman standing there; she had a long blonde hair and a slim body. Susan thought she was beautiful, she didn't know who she was but she had saved her life and that showed that she was not with the soldiers.
"Are you alright"? The woman asked
"Yes thank you, who are you"?
"Victoria" she answered
Victoria then handed Rhindon back to Susan and then began looking around the church. Susan saw that there was no more soldiers and that meant she was now free to search from the items.
"Victoria what are you doing here"? Susan asked
"It's a long story, but I supposed you're looking for the five items the soldiers brought in"
"Yes, how did you know that?"
"Never mind that, follow me"
Victoria then began walking to the alter table, once she had approached she removed the rug in front of the table to reveal a trapdoor which she opened. Victoria then gave a small smile to Susan before disappearing through the door, Susan waited for a minuet she made sheathed Rhindon once again and made sure she still had her bow and arrows before following.
William and Kadius climbed higher and higher in the tower, they were battered, bruised and bleeding but still continued to fight. William managed to cut Kadius in his side causing him to scream and fall back against the wall, William aimed another strike but Kadius blocked it and hit William in the face with the hilt of Calgri sending him back towards the floor.
They were both breathing heavily; they knew each other's moves so well that it didn't seem one could beat the other. William then looked at Excalibur and knew that it was time for desperate measures, raised Excalibur and took a deep breath before speaking.
"I call on the power of Excalibur, the sword of Aslan and his power" he shouted causing the blade to turn blue.
However at the same time Kadius gave a small smile and raised Calgri up in the air in the same manner William had done with Excalibur and spoke at the same time as William.
"I call on the power of Calgri, the sword of Tash and his power"
The blade of Calgri then turned red; both of them swung their magical glowing swords at one another where they connected. There was a bright white a light and a blast of energy which sent both William and Kadius flying through the air.
Kadius was sent up the flight of stairs and onto the top floor of the bell tower, William was sent down the stairs and connected hard into the wall and hit the floor hard knocking him unconscious for a few minutes.
Susan followed Victoria through some dark corridors; the temperature had dropped hugely causing her to shiver. The women didn't speak to each other and just continued to walk through the dark corridors; finally they arrived in a massive chamber where the five items sat in the middle of the room.
The painting, the rings, and the horn sat on some stone pillars. The wardrobe just stood on the floor, but Susan wasn't watching them instead she was staring at the huge black portal which seemed to float in the middle of the items and straight away Susan knew that this was the gateway Tash was using to enter Earth.
Susan was then grabbed from behind and thrown into the floor; she was staring up at a short middle aged man holding a dagger. He moved towards her but Victoria jumped onto his back and tried to strangle him, but with surprising strength he threw off of his back and it the shock of Susan stabbed Victoria straight in the stomach with the dagger.
He then turned towards Susan with the bloody dagger in his hand; Susan drew Rhindon and pointed it in defence. However the man kept on approaching not even fazed by the sight of the great Narnian sword.
"Quigley stop, you don't have to do this" Victoria groaned from the floor
"Yes I do, he is watching and he will see me kill Susan the Gentle" Quigley replied moving closer to Susan who looked terrified into the man's eyes which seemed cold and lifeless, she somehow knew that Tash had affected him and in that moment she was really scared for her life.
William slowly opened his eyes and struggled back to his feet; he dragged himself up the stairs and came out onto the top of the bell tower. He raised Excalibur up ready for Kadius but there was no sign of him, William was nervous he knew Kadius was there but until he could see him Kadius had the advantage.
William looked down from the tower and saw Kadius's car parked on the kerb directly below him. It was a long way down and William didn't want to fall, he turned around only to be met with the blade of Calgri heading towards him.
William blocked it and pushed back against it; Kadius was bleeding heavily from his forehead and seemed to have done damage to his ankle as he was now limping. However he began to hammer Calgri against Excalibur, William was forced down onto one knee and tried one last effort to push back but was disarmed as Excalibur landed on the floor out of his reach.
William quickly pulled the dagger from his belt but that too was easily knocked out of his hand, Kadius then hit William several times in the face with the hilt of Calgri before kicking him in the chest causing William to roll over the edge of the balcony where he ended up hanging from the balcony.
"Well so this how it ends for the Phoenix, hanging on for dear life from a balcony" Kadius whispered with a smile of victory on his face.
"Kadius please it's not too late, we can still beat him together" William pleaded as he tried to hang on
"No William, this is the end" Kadius said as he raised Calgri in the air
William watched as Calgri was raised, he saw the look of victory in Kadius's face and knew that he had truly lost his former pupil and friend. Kadius stepped closer to him as the rain continued to fall.
But just when Kadius was about to bring Calgri down William pulled out the dagger from his boot and stuck it straight into Kadius's stomach who dropped Calgri over the edge of the tower and fell to his knees. He looked at the wound and slowly pulled out the dagger, he then smiled as he put his hand to wound and then looked at William with sadness in his eyes.
"For Narnia William"? He asked smiling at his old question he used to ask before a battle in Narnia.
William reached forward and grabbed Kadius by his robes; he looked his former friend in the eyes and wished that it had not come to this. But Aslan never makes people's lives easy and William knew this was meant to be.
"No, for me"
He then pulled Kadius over the edge where he fell through the sky, he didn't scream but just closed his eyes accepting his fate and seemed to be happy that he would be at peace. He then landed on his car with a terrifying crash; William looked at his body and knew that Kadius was now truly dead.