MAGIC KINGDOM
Chapter 3: He Ain't Heavy, He's Just Got Three Stakes in Him
Disclaimer: Raziel, his brothers and the world of Nosgoth belong to Eidos and the good people at Crystal Dynamics, and everyone else at Silicon Knights and such who created Legacy of Kain. I make no claim on them. Lupa the wolf-girl is however entirely my fault and I accept responsibility *sighs*. Apologies if this one is a little disjointed! I was being an insomniac at the time and was also possibly on a sugar high.
The killing of Raziel's other brothers had been quite a task. Raziel himself became angrier and more sarcastic as he worked his way steadily through his family, exacting vengeance and trading witty and caustic remarks. Lupa followed in his wake, nervously eating chocolate and trailing a spare fighting staff behind her, just in case.
"Your brother got his butt cemented to the wall?" Lupa said incredulously as Raziel, between bouts, slipped back into the spectral realm to eat. "How dumb is that? What, did he think he was making a fashion statement or something?"
"Zephon always liked to think he was more attractive than me," said Raziel, glaring warningly at a wraith, which skittered out of his way. "It honestly wasn't something that bothered me all those years ago, but now, I beg to differ."
"Is there a plan? To kill him, I mean."
"Uh…not a plan so much…"
"You're going to run screaming at him and hit him, aren't you," said Lupa, in the world-weary tones of one who has seen it all before.
"Essentially? Yes."
He made a practice swipe with the Reaver and the wraith retreated, hissing, to a safe distance. "Right. You sit tight by that torch up there, you'll be quite safe."
"Safe? Next to the decapitated human corpse? Okey-dokey."
Lupa sat down on a rock as Raziel returned them both to the material world, and watched the ensuing combat with slight trepidation: those claws were awfully big…
"Lupa!"
Raziel was running at a dead sprint directly towards her, holding a ball of –
"Oh, what is that?" Lupa moaned, trying to shuffle away from him. "Don't tell me that's what it smells like…"
Raziel leapt back in shock as the ball of red goo he was holding abruptly caught light on the torch flame. Instinctively, he hurled the burning thing from him, and it struck Zephon in the face. The spider-beast roared in agony.
Lupa and Raziel looked at each other. Lupa grinned.
"Okay," said Raziel, after a few seconds, "new plan."
"Go get more glowing red crap," said Lupa, patting him on the shoulder encouragingly.
On the edge of the Abyss, Raziel looked over at the broken bridge that hung from the entrance to Dumah's territory.
"I think this is going to involve a little swim," he said, and Lupa groaned. "What? This water even looks clean. It's running water. No living – or dead – things in it. Apart from me and you, in a minute."
"I hate this," Lupa groaned, grabbed Raziel's proffered claw, and prepared for the icy shock of the water as Raziel threw himself over the edge without any trace of hesitation.
"I'm not going in there and that's final."
In the Drowned Abbey, Raziel, cheerfully doing the backstroke across what had been Rahab's chamber, looked up at Lupa resentfully.
"I finally found you a pool and you won't even try it out? Ungrateful woman."
Lupa, who was crouched in the very centre of the tallest platform above the water, dipped a toe into the water and shuddered in disgust. "It's freezing," she pointed out. "And it looks dirty. Did you ever consider if Rahab bothered to get out to go to the toilet? Did he ever even wash?"
Raziel's only answer was a spray of water thrown up by the beating of his ragged wings. Lupa spluttered and shook her ears in revulsion.
"Ohh, you are in so much trouble, vamp-boy."
"Come in here and do something about it, then," taunted Raziel, treading water in the middle of the room.
Lupa almost looked as if she were considering it: then snapped out of it and scowled.
"Very clever. I'm still not coming in."
"Fine," said Raziel, "stay there. I'll just let you sit there and entertain the Rahabim."
He dived with a splash, hooves kicking.
"Rahabim, pah," Lupa muttered, glancing about her and seeing nothing. She huddled around her knees on the rock. It was cold in Rahab's chamber, and the pale light filtering in through the broken windows was doing nothing to make the place look more cheerful. The water was still and green –
Gloop.
A bubble broke the surface, followed by a series of ripples as a dark shadow cruised just underneath the water, then dived out of sight again. Lupa's eyes widened.
Gloop.
Another shape, this time unmistakably the speckled hood of a Rahabim, broke surface a mere yard or so away from Lupa's platform. She screamed and stood up, teetering on the edge of the stone: and it was at this point that Raziel's claws closed around her ankles and pulled her in.
There was a long, watery interlude, during which Lupa was fighting to breathe, and then Raziel dragged her out, gasping, onto the steps of his clan ground.
"Are you all right?" he asked, bending over her. She slapped him, hard.
"Jerk!"
"I see at least you haven't drowned," said Raziel, not put out in the slightest. "I was dreading the idea of having to give you the kiss of life. Lungs don't work, you see. Oh, and no mouth, coming to think of it."
Lupa struggled away from him, dripping. Her arms gave out and she flopped onto her side.
"Oh, now, don't hurt yourself," Raziel said, sounding concerned.
"Don't – touch – me!" Lupa gasped. "I need – to breathe – you idiot! Didn't you think of that? I'm not like you! I'm not dead!"
"I took a calculated risk. And you're still not dead, are you?"
"Not the point. Piss off."
Raziel knelt beside her and propped her soaking body up on his knees. She protested, weakly.
"I'm sorry," he said. Lupa used a word that even Kain would have balked at saying, and his eyebrows rose. "Such language! Keep that up and I won't let you take me shopping at the – what was it – mall?"
Lupa opened one eye and looked at him askance.
"You'll come shopping with me? Real shopping? And coffee? Really, Raz?"
He nodded.
"In my world?"
Again, he nodded, this time holding up one claw.
"But on one condition," he said.
Lupa stood in the valley, coat wrapped around her, and shivered. She was still wet from her brief plunge into the lake below Dumah's territory, and the wind was bitter. The snow drifted down relentlessly from above, and Raziel had disappeared around the bend on the trail, leaving her alone. He returned some minutes later, the Soul Reaver glowing red in his hands.
"Here," he said, "stand close to this thing."
It was burning like a brand, and Lupa gratefully walked by his sword arm side as they proceeded up the snowy valley.
"When you said you'd come back with me on one condition," Lupa began, as he helped her scale a tall pillar, his claws dug deep into the stone, "I wasn't anticipating snow. Or how cold it would be. Can I change my mind now? I think I'll cope without you on my next shopping spree."
"No," said Raziel. "I'm looking forward to it now. I want to see how many shop assistants I can frighten. Come on."
"And whose brilliant idea was it to take the stakes out?" Lupa wailed. Raziel, at a full sprint and still accelerating, ran past her and his hooves sparked on the floor as he cornered. Behind them, unseen, the great weight of Dumah's footsteps rumbled through the tunnels.
"He's still coming! Raz, wait up!"
Raziel had skidded to a halt in the central chamber of Dumah's palace, and Lupa almost collided with him as she came bolting out of the tunnels. "What? Why are we stopping? What?"
Raziel cocked his head to one side, listening.
"I don't hear anything," he said.
Lupa tried to calm her breathing long enough to listen: and sure enough Dumah's following footsteps had ceased.
"He's buggered off," she said.
"What?"
"He has, he's buggered off."
They proceeded back into the tunnels with caution. A surreptitious glance into Dumah's chamber revealed that yes, indeed, Dumah had returned to his throne room and was wandering about aimlessly, kicking at the carpet.
Raziel frowned.
"Dumah? Dumbass, more like. Let me ask you something," Lupa whispered. "He wasn't by any chance dropped on his head as a child, was he?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Raziel whispered back. "Possibly a case of all brawn and no brain…"
He stepped out into plain view of the throne room and waved the Soul Reaver cheerily in the air.
"Hey, Dumah! Over here! Did you miss me?"
Dumah grunted and started thumping towards the doorway.
"What are you doing?" Lupa hissed.
"I've figured it out! We have to keep his minuscule attention span occupied! Give me a hand and be ready to run like hell."
Lupa half-heartedly stepped up beside him and bounced on her heels. "Hey, Dumbass!" she cried. "How slow can you go?"
"And to think, you threw your jacket over Kain's head, but you're scared of Dumah," said Raziel disparagingly, as they both ran for it.
Dumah kept on their heels all the way to the central chamber, where Raziel was worried for a while that his brother was losing interest – so Lupa threw M&M's at his head while Raziel waited in the entrance to the next tunnel, poised to run.
The chocolate assault eventually goaded Dumah into chasing Raziel again. Lupa followed more slowly as Dumah thundered out into the furnace room, and finally realised what Raziel had worked out back at the throne room.
"He's gonna burn him," she breathed. "Hey! Raz! You made me waste good chocolate on someone you're gonna incinerate?"
Raziel, leaning on the levers, gave her an exasperated look, and then the whole room erupted in flame.
Next…a shopping spree…anyone interested and wanna come along?
