“What now?” Jerico asked. “Will you leave us be?”
Luther shook his head sadly.
“No,” he said. “I cannot. There are too many of my order who desire your death. You’re the last of them, Jerico. You are too great a prize, and too dangerous a foe, to let live.”
Darius laughed.
“How else would Karak reward loyalty and aid?” he asked. “We’ve done your dirty work. Now to dispose of the corpses, correct?”
Luther’s neck flushed.
“It does not have to be this way,” he said. “Darius, you were once a most faithful paladin. You know the law that must be given to this world. And you, Jerico, your order is crushed. Your brethren are gone. But you can still aid this world. Have you not seen what we can accomplish together? Bring your teachings of mercy and forgiveness to the Stronghold. Help me mold our understanding of Karak into something men of all faiths might embrace. Come with me. Both of you, join me. It is not too late.”
Darius looked to Jerico, and the answer was clear on his face.
“Give us a moment to consider,” Darius told Luther. “I would talk with my friend.”
Luther bowed low.
“Of course,” he said before trudging off.
“Talk?” asked Jerico when he was gone. “What is there to talk about?”
“Plenty,” Darius said. He beckoned Valessa to come out of hiding. “We can’t win this, Jerico. They are too many, and even if we could cross the river, it would only be a matter of time before they hunted us down like dogs.”
“I will not sell my soul,” Jerico insisted.
“And I would not have you do so, either. No, you need to run. I have a plan, desperate perhaps, but I think it will save you.”
Jerico began shaking his head, immediately protesting.
“No,” he said. “No, I won’t. I won’t leave you, Darius, listen to me, I’m not leaving.”
“You have to,” Darius insisted. “You’re the last, Jerico, and you’re the best of us. I owe you everything, so for this once, let me pay you back.”
“You would have me run like a coward?”
“I would have you live,” Darius said. “Is that so terrible a request?”
Jerico flung his shield onto his back, and he glanced about the burning forest. His eyes settled on Valessa, who stood quietly beside him.
“And you?” he asked her.
“My place is with him,” she said, nodding toward Darius.
Jerico bit his lower lip, and then at last he gave in.
“So be it,” he said, stepping forward and embracing Darius. “May we see each other again.”
“In this life or beyond,” Darius said, and he did his best to smile. “Now get out of here.”
Slowly, reluctantly, Jerico clipped his mace to his belt and turned to the river.
“Promise me something,” he said before he left.
“What is that?”
“When you see Luther again, don’t hate him. I’ve never seen a better man so horribly lost.”
Weaving his way through the fire, he vanished amid the smoke. Darius watched him go as he felt his stomach harden into a stone. Valessa touched his arm.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said.
“Do you?” he asked, and when he looked into her eyes, he saw she did.
“I do it for you,” she said. “Is he worth it?”
Darius looked to the river.
“I hope so,” he said.
They turned and waited for Luther’s return as the fire around them spread. Into that growing inferno came Luther, a dozen priests and paladins with him. They halted just beyond the edge of the trees, and Luther stepped forward.
“I would have your answer!” he cried.
Darius drew his sword and looked to the side. Valessa was there, but she wore the heavy platemail of a paladin of Ashhur. Her hair was long and red, and on her back was a tower shield. Her face, though, was still her own when she spoke to him as they stood before the ring of flames.
“Feel no guilt,” she said. “No one will weep for my passing.”
“One person will,” Darius said softly as her face became Jerico’s.
“An answer!” cried Luther.
“You would have an answer?” Darius said, jerking his attention back to Karak’s followers. His sword rose high in the air. “His life is not yours. You will not have him. You will not kill him. He is beyond you now.”
Down came his sword, crashing through Valessa’s neck. Light flashed, and then she collapsed into the fire before her, the flames obscuring the decay of her body as it dissolved into white mist that was soon lost amid the smoke. Darius felt a sob catch in his throat, and he prayed they would not see the tears in his eyes as he turned to face them.