Chapter Nineteen

Death in the Family

JANUS

I can still do this. Janus clenched his teeth. In his mind, he went through a quick checklist. Pan is primed, pellet in the barrel…He cocked the weapon and levelled, his finger tightening on the trigger. He had the Emperor in his sights, completely immersed in spectating the battle between the Warriors and the Crimson Order's priests who had ambushed them in full force. It was a mess down there, and Janus knew he needed to capitalise on the chaos before he lost his window of opportunity. I can still do this.

A loud crack echoed through the room and he felt the butt of the rifle slam against his shoulder as he pulled the trigger. His eyes followed the trajectory of the pellet, willing the Emperor to react. Again, Hans was quick enough to catch the pellet before it could get to him.

"I admire your determination." Hans chuckled, lifting the pellet between two fingers and brandishing it for Janus to see. "But you've already tried that once. You mercenary types are brave, but not too bright." He crushed the pellet between both fingers. Janus smiled. A potent greenish-grey gas poured out of the pellet as it broke, engulfing the surprised Emperor in a cloud of smoke.

Finally. Janus dropped his rifle, grabbed his bow and leapt over the parapet. He landed on the ground deftly and rolled to his feet. By now, the gas had begun to clear, leaving Hans with a confused look on his face.

"Nerve gas." Janus explained, breathing safely through his mask. "Immortal or not, your body will still succumb to its effects."

Hans tried to open his mouth slowly, but no words seemed to be able to escape. A look of frustration crossed his face as his movements got increasingly sluggish. With great difficulty, he slurred: "I have the spirit of the Eternal King. This won't hold me."

"Don't worry, I just need a minute." Janus drew his falchion and charged.

Hans, though slowed by the effects of the nerve gas, had just enough in him to sidestep the mercenary and sluggishly drew his own sword, a thin rapier. This in and of itself seemed to be difficult for Hans, who grunted as he brought his sword up to parry a swift downward cut from Janus.

Knocking the sword out of the Emperor's hand, Janus lunged and spitted Hans, running his blade through his stomach and felt the sword emerge from the other end. Burying the sword to the hilt, Janus twisted the blade, and pulled Hans close as his mouth gaped open silently.

"Your reign is over." Janus whispered in a low growl. "Your mad crusade ends here." With that, he stepped away and let Hans buckle to a knee.

At first, Janus thought Hans was wheezing for air as he attempted to draw his last breaths. But then to his horror, they began to sound more like pained chuckling.

"You fool." Hans croaked, lifting his head, blood dripping from his mouth. Sluggishly, he got to his feet and placed a hand on the hilt of Janus' falchion. The nerve gas must have begun to worn off, for Hans' movements grew quicker. He ripped the sword out of his body and blood splattered on the ground between himself and Janus. With that, he brandished Janus' sword tauntingly, a smirk on his face. "You can't kill me."

I'm beginning to realise that now. Janus' heart sank as he saw Hans' wounds heal before his very eyes. The blood still soaked the Emperor's clothes, but that didn't seem to bother him. Hans dropped into a duelist's stance, the falchion in his hand. By now, the nerve gas had completely worn off, far quicker than a normal human would have taken to recover. There goes my edge.

But Janus knew he couldn't give up. Not when he was this close to finding Elsa and the others. In a suicide move, he drew his own dagger, brandishing it in an icepick grip, all the while gluing his eyes to the Emperor who stood mockingly before him.

"Come, then." Hans coaxed. "Let's see how long you can last."

"I intend to." Janus darted forward, then zig-zagged the last few paces to throw the Emperor off. Then he swung right and dove low, getting close enough to Hans' left leg to slice his ligament. The Emperor spun, swinging his sword in an attempt to decapitate him, but obviously Janus saw that coming. Rolling across the ground, he came up and blocked a textbook stab, sidestepped another and grabbed Hans' wrist before he could withdraw. Janus sliced the tendon in his right arm and twisted his falchion sword out of Hans' grip, but sacrificed his defence for that manoeuvre. A haymaker connected with Janus' jaw, almost shattering it, but Janus managed to backpedal and put enough distance between himself and Hans before the Emperor could land another blow.

Blinking away the stars which threatened to cloud his vision, he found his balance and breath. Hans knew damn well how to pack a punch. Or perhaps it was something to do with the powers of the Eternal King. Whatever it was, Janus knew he was in too deep to stop now. The others were too occupied battling the Crimson Order's priests and assassins. It was up to him to finish the job himself.

Without any further pause, Hans barrelled forward, spinning to the left at the last moment before Hans had a chance to react. Bringing his sword up in a well measured arc, he sliced the tendon in Hans' left arm, and pivoted on his foot. In the same motion, he swung his sword across the back of Hans' knee in a spray of arterial blood, and kicked the back of his leg.

Hans buckled, and tried to get up. He gave a grunt and his entire body collapsed like jelly.

"Just because you can't feel the pain of your tendons being sliced doesn't mean you don't need them." Janus dropped his falchion and grabbed the Emperor's collar.

"You know it's only a matter of time before I heal." Hans said irritably, his arms and legs useless to him now. His cold green eyes seemed to gloat. "And then you're going to pay for this inconvenience."

"Where's Elsa?" Janus growled. For a second, his habits had him place his dagger to Hans' throat, but he quickly remembered that it would do no good. There was no use in threatening a man who had nothing to lose, and nothing to fear. "Where's Jade and Tracy? Where are you holding them?"

"And to think Elsa fell in love with you instead of me." Hans chuckled at a joke that probably only he understood. "A simple-minded killer."

"Where are they?" Janus shook him. His voice rose. "What did you do to them?"

"I haven't done anything. Yet." Hans said calmly, without any hint of agonising pain. "But when I'm done with you lot, I'll make sure your precious Elsa suffers a fate worse than death before I let her die."

Snarling in frustration, Janus smashed his forearm into the Emperor's face and levered himself to his feet.

"Oh, but I can't say the same for your other friend." Hans said.

"What?"

Electricity pulsated through Janus' body, causing him to loosen his grip on the Emperor. Janus dropped to a knee, grunting in pure agony as all his cells seemed to be lit on fire. The electricity waned and dissipated, leaving Janus breathing heavily and his body trembling in shock.

A familiar figure came to stand beside the fallen figure of the Emperor. Janus forced himself to lift his head. His heart sank.

"Are you alright, Emperor?" Jade stooped down to help Hans get up.

"Don't worry about me. Get rid of him." Hans grinned at Janus.

"Yes, my Lord." Jade turned her attention back to Janus, her hands sparkling blue with electricity. She wore a brown cloak much like the Mage Slayers, her ivory skin having seemed to grow even more pale. Her green eyes had also grown red and hollow, almost as though she had no soul.

"Jade!" Janus hissed, forcing himself to his feet. "It's me! We're here to help you."

"Oh, she doesn't need your help." Hans taunted.

"Jade!" There was no recognition in her eyes.

"Magnus did a fine job turning her into one of the Mage Slayers." Hans tried to get to his feet but slumped again. "Don't bother trying to reach out to her. You're just wasting your time."

"You bastard. I swear I'm going to kill you if that's the last thing I do." Janus growled, attempting to dart past Jade.

Jade moved fast, her whole figure lit up by blue sparks of lightning. She intercepted Janus and grabbed him. A wave of electricity surged through Janus and he roared. With the narrowing of her eyes, Jade sent him flying across the room, catapulted by the sheer force of her lightning.

Hitting the wall, Janus did his best to break his fall through the nausea. Breathing heavily, he blinked and tried to focus his eyes. Jade had blasted him across the entire room, placing him near the exit.

This is futile. Janus reassessed the situation. Everyone was still embroiled in battle, and it looked like the Warriors would eventually lose. This was a losing battle, one of which none of them could possibly make it out of alive. With their former comrade Jade, an Elemental Sorceress, working against them now, there was no way they could survive this if they stayed.

It was time to change tactics before it was too late. He reminded himself of his primary mission and objective. Find Elsa and Tracy.

He saw Hans slowly pushing himself to his feet, his demon working overtime to patch up his wounds. And striding towards him was Jade.

"Finish him. Don't let him get away!" Hans' voice boomed across the audience chambers.

Jade's eyes grew blue, her hands sparkling with energy as she drew closer towards Janus. There was nothing left of his ally that he'd once known.

Janus knew he had no other choice. He didn't want to abandon the others, but he knew that staying would mean certain death. And he had a promise to fulfil. Picturing the white chalk markings in his mind, he darted out of the chambers with Jade close behind.

MELODY

"Where the hell is he going?" Deirdre shouted over at Melody, from where she and Eleanor were still busy cutting their way through a tirade of the Order's fanatics.

Confused for a second, Melody dispatched another assassin with an arrow through the shin, and whirled round to see what Deirdre was talking about. She saw Janus bolting for the exit, ignoring the fight around him, and she got even more confused as she saw Jade.

"Jade?" She gaped silently. What was going on?

"Is he abandoning us?" Maui growled, delivering a jaw breaking clothesline to a charging priest with his massive arm outstretched.

"I don't know." Melody repeated for the third time that night. She'd never felt this desperate and at a loss for what to do. The more she thought about it, the more it felt like they were trapped. Was that Jade she'd seen?

Wielding their sorcery, Deirdre and Eleanor were still going strong, though the two sisters were gradually slowing down in the face of so many enemies. And apparently, it seemed Janus had left, for whatever reason, with Jade in tow. Melody didn't have time to ponder that. Maui's clothes were soaked with sweat, his bald head gleaming under the bright chandelier lamps. He looked worn out. She herself didn't know how much longer she could keep this up, having used up most of her own arrows. Only a few remained, and the battle wasn't slowing down at all.

"We need to get to Hans!" Maui pointed. "He's the one causing all this! If we can stop him-"

Melody nodded across the distance, knowing that it was their only chance, regardless of how slim. At least twenty more enemies made up of priests and Mage Slayer stood between them and the Emperor. Reaching into her quiver, she pulled out one of the last few arrows which had a grappling hook attached to it. Nocking the arrow as she ran forward towards the barrier of enemies, she fired the arrow into the chandelier right above Hans.

She tugged on the rope connected to the arrow and felt it begin to recoil. Hoisted through the air by her grappling arrow, Melody soared over the heads of the priests and Mage Slayer in a wide arc, and released the arrow after she crossed over. Landing on her feet, she ran straight at Hans, whose clothes were soaked with blood. Janus must have tried to kill him. Melody was going to see if she could do better. She slammed her knee into Hans' stomach.

Or she would have, if he hadn't blocked her running knee. The force and strength of his defensive manoeuvre sent a bout of dull pain shooting through her leg, and she forced herself to backpedal a couple of steps. Hans, though evidently still recovering from whatever wounds Janus had inflicted on him, pushed his advantage, lashing out at her in a flurry of quick and well aimed blows.

She managed to bat some away, blocking another few with her compound bow, but some came too fast. The Emperor was too fast. He put so much power behind his punches that the ones Melody couldn't block sent her reeling backwards, but she quickly did a backward roll and came up to her feet again. She sprang forward and low, driving her shoulder into Hans' chest, attempting to bull him to the ground. But he was way stronger than he appeared. He skidded a few steps backwards and quickly regained his balance. His elbow connected with the back of her neck, and she went limp, vision blurring almost instantly.

"Stop fighting," Hans said, almost in a vexed tone as he drew a knife as though he were a butcher ready to slice raw meat. "You know you can't win."

"But we'll keep trying to our dying breath." Maui slammed his full weight into the Emperor's flank, sending Hans flying into a nearby pillar. The pillar dented upon impact, and Hans fell to a knee, plaster and dust falling all around him.

Melody tried to get to her feet, but her vision went grey and spotty. Nursing the back of her neck, she groaned. She watched as Maui charged towards Hans again like an angry bull, this time without the aid of his demigod abilities to transform him into one. But all the same, he rushed to meet the enemy with the same determination and confidence.

The ex-demigod swung his fish hook at Hans, who ducked beneath his massive arm, and came up behind him. Maui spun, driving his elbow into the side of the Emperor's head. When Hans sagged, Maui slammed his iron-like fists against his shoulder blades and sent him tumbling to the ground. But that didn't faze Hans. He drew a small blade seemingly out of nowhere and slashed it across the front of Maui's shin.

Growling, Maui back-pedalled, clutching his wounded leg which spewed blood now. Hans shifted his grip on the knife and lunged. Maui batted the knife clean out of Hans' hand and delivered a crushing headbutt which would have sent any other man reeling. Instead, Hans staggered back a couple of steps and smiled.

It took Maui a few seconds to realise what was wrong, and by the time he looked down, it was already too late. A second knife was buried to the hilt in his stomach, and blood had already stained his clothes crimson. Normally, Maui would have simply pulled the blade out and carried on like nothing had happened. But now, he was no longer immortal. The big man swayed for a moment and dropped to a knee.

"Maui!" Melody screamed, ignoring the massive headache she was getting as she pushed herself back to her feet. She sprinted over to Maui's side, ignoring Hans who let her pass him by. Sliding the last few steps, she fell to her knees beside her wounded friend who clutched his wounded stomach.

"No, no, no, no…" Melody muttered over and over again like a mantra, helplessly looking at Maui who was breathing heavily. She had no powers to heal him, and she felt utterly useless right now. Clasping Maui's hand in her own, she helped him lie down on his back slowly.

Deirdre and Eleanor must have heard her scream, for they had now managed to fight their way through the Order on the other side of the chambers to get to Hans. Standing between Hans and the others, Deirdre conjured up a wall of fire around Hans which grew increasingly tighter, trapping him within. The flames licked out, scorching his clothes and skin and prevented him from getting to them.

"Shit." Eleanor muttered under her breath, staring at Maui and Melody.

"Help him!" Melody shouted, looking at the former Empress for assistance.

Eleanor looked powerless all of a sudden. "I…I can't. My demon powers doesn't…"

Melody tore her eyes away from Eleanor in frustration, and looked down at Maui who lay on the ground, blood beginning to stain the carpet.

"You can't win!" Hans' voice boomed effortlessly as though it was being projected off the walls. All of a sudden, it sounded as if his words were not his own. His own voice grew into a gravelly snarl, intermingled with a far more ancient creature. "You will all perish here tonight."

"Screw this. We need to get out of here." Eleanor conjured up a black portal of magic, much like the one she had created back in Denmark when she tossed Melody and her friends into another dimension. The portal swirled, black tendrils nested around the edges like omens. "Get in!"

"No!" Melody shouted. "We need to find Elsa and the others! We can't abandon them!"

"They're probably already dead!" Eleanor snapped. "If you don't want to end up dead too, we need to retreat!"

Deirdre stopped her attack on Hans, and the fires died away instantly, leaving Hans surrounded by a wall of steam and thick, black smoke. But otherwise, the Emperor was utterly unharmed and smirking victoriously.

"We can't stop him! He's going to murder us all if we don't move!" Deirdre shouted, hurrying to help drag Maui towards the portal.

Eleanor used her free hand to blast another round of demon sorcery at Hans to slow him down. The Emperor seemed to absorb the attack, basking in the energy.

"Something-something's wrong!" Eleanor gasped. "My powers…" she whirled to the others. "He's sapping my powers! If you're going to move, move now!"

"No!" Melody said weakly. Suddenly, she found herself being levitated off the ground by whatever remained of Eleanor's demon powers, and fought futilely. Maui was also similarly levitated, and both of them were pushed through Eleanor's portal, with Deirdre and Eleanor herself following suit.

All of a sudden, Melody and the others were out in the middle of nowhere. It was cold and dark, and Melody took a moment to orient herself. They were at the top of some mountain, and the snow was falling.

"Where-" Deirdre began.

"Outside the capital." Eleanor said, and then more softly. "My capital." She sunk into the snow and began weeping quietly into her hands. "My powers…gone."

Ignoring the bitter cold, Melody scrambled over to Maui, who lay in the snow, blood already soaking the white blanket. Deirdre joined her, and they both exchanged helpless glances.

"Maui, just hang on." Melody said desperately, squeezing his hand tightly.

"We'll get you help." Deirdre added, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She looked up at Melody. "Maybe I can cauterise the wound."

"Would it work?"

Deirdre looked pensive. "I've never tried it, but I wouldn't dare risk it."

"This is Maui's life we're talking about here!"

"Don't you think I know that?" The fiery sorceress snapped.

"Stop. It's going to be okay." Maui smiled weakly.

The knife in his gut said otherwise. Melody put a hand on his stomach, not daring to remove the knife. Blood continued to ooze from his wound, soaking Maui's hands as well as her own.

"Funny, I've never seen my own blood before." Maui noted quietly.

"Don't talk. Please." Melody looked at him, her eyes beginning to well up. "Just lie still."

"And whatever you do," Deirdre said firmly. "Don't close your eyes."

"This wound won't kill me. Not for a couple of days anyway," Maui said.

"We're going to get you somewhere safe and then we'll tend to your wounds, okay?" Melody tried to keep herself level-headed. She looked about but all she could see was a never ending landscape of cursed snow with the howling winds beating against her face.

"You won't make it if you take me. They'll be coming for all of you. I'll only slow you down."

"No, we're not going to leave you." Deirdre snapped. "Just…rest till we figure something out."

"You don't understand. I'm already dead." Maui said calmly. "I'm going to bleed out slowly and painfully, and nothing you do is going to be able to save me. You can't drag me with you and outrun Hans," He tilted his head to look straight at Melody. "And that's why I need you to do me one last favour."

No. Melody shook her head, biting back a choke. Tears pressed her eyes. "No. No, Maui-"

"End it quickly." Maui squeezed her hand lightly. "End it quickly and run so that you may survive."

"No. I can't." Melody choked. "I won't kill you. I won't."

"You don't understand," Maui reassured her, squeezing her hand lightly. "I've cheated death for a thousand years. It's time I stopped running."

"You can't." Melody's voice wavered. "You can't die, and I won't kill you."

"I'm going to die either way. This way is a hell of a lot less painful," He smiled calmly, hand still pressed against his bleeding belly. "Don't you see? This is what I've always wanted."

He paused to inhale deeply. "In all my years of life, all I've ever wanted is to know what it means to be human." Maui said softly, his breath getting increasingly shallow. "And now I get to experience the most vulnerable part of human existence. The thing that makes life meaningful. Death."

The word cut through Melody's heart like a cold blade. "No…"

"Do it. Let me go." Maui said tiredly with a calm smile on his face. His eyes no longer had the sparkle in them, but they were still the same eyes that belonged to the demigod Melody had first met on that beach two years ago.

"Maui." Deirdre choked back her tears as she gripped his left hand tightly.

"I've made my peace," he said confidently. "After a thousand years, it's fitting that I should go out fighting alongside the Warriors. The people I love." He gave Melody's hand a gentle squeeze, and his eyes moved between the two girls. "Don't blame yourselves. I don't."

Melody tried to find the words to reply, but a wave of emotion threatened to overwhelm her that instant. She knew he was right. There was only one way this could end. All she could do was force a shaky smile as she held his massive right hand, her other hand drawing an arrow from her quiver.

"Thank you. Do me one last favour?" His voice had grown very weak.

"Anything." Melody choked back tears as she forced herself to tighten her grip around the arrow's shaft.

"Find Moana. Tell her that I was at peace. Tell her she would've been proud."

"I will." Melody steadied her voice. "I promise. Close your eyes."

"Thank you," Maui whispered as he closed his eyes, his voice almost lost in the howls of the winter night. "For the adventures of a lifetime."

Breathing in deeply, Melody raised the arrow above her head. Everything within her was screaming for her not to do it. But she knew that Maui was right. For them to survive, this had to happen. Before she could change her mind or stop herself again, Melody plunged the arrow straight into his heart in one swift, clean motion.

She felt Maui's grip loosen and his hand went slack.

It's over. He…he's gone. A glance of despair from Deirdre broke Melody's heart. Nearby, Eleanor continued to sob to herself. They stayed that way for a long time, in the middle of the howling storm. Then finally, Melody inhaled a shuddering breath and tried to get to her feet. She found that she couldn't, having been overcome by a sudden bout of exhaustion and emotions.

"What now?" Deirdre asked. Her voice trembled.

"I…I don't know." Melody admitted for the fourth time that night. Janus had left them halfway through the fight. Jade had seemingly been turned against them. Maui the demigod, their closest and longest serving ally and friend, was dead, thanks to her. Elsa and Tracy were still prisoners somewhere in Exon. Hans was untouchable. And now, Melody, Deirdre and Eleanor were stranded out in the middle of nowhere, unable to fight Hans again by themselves, and miles away from Anna's armies which could very well have been defeated by now.

We lost. Melody concluded internally, warm tears streaming helplessly down her cheeks and turning cold instantly in the night wind as she gazed into the far horizon of the white landscape. And there's no coming back from this.

Author's Commentary:

Originally, this was meant to be the end of the previous book. But I felt that having this as a cliffhanger wouldn't have been as impactful. It would have just left many empty while waiting for Book 5. So instead, I went with Hans' cliffhanger for the ending of Book 4 and shifted 20 chapters over to the beginning of Book 5. But yes, this is a dark finish to Part 1 of Book 5. Let us have a moment of silence for our departed Warrior, and see what comes next.