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My first glance of the inner sanctum was enough to convince me that the fight for the Holy Grail was not behind us.
Our earlier view of the sanctum from the gateway had been distorted by the sheer size of the temple complex. It was breathtaking and terrifying at the same time. The roof was almost four stories overhead, supported by a golden tower in each corner, and a series of golden pillars throughout. The sanctum was open on its four faces, but a translucent blue hue formed a perimeter several feet inside the enclosure.
We needed to pass through the barrier to reach the inner sanctum. On the surface, the barrier looked like a shield, but as I probed it with my senses it wasn’t resonating on any arcane frequency I could identify.
Beyond the blue barrier, the sanctum’s defenses only grew more intense. The golden platform broke into a series of narrow pathways made of gold that rested on a lake of fire. The walkways appeared to be the only safe passage across the flaming expanse. The paths themselves were three feet wide, and as I traced their branchlike limbs, I realized that it too was a maze. In the center of it all stood a golden altar on which rested a silver chalice.
My breath caught in my chest as I beheld the Holy Grail. Men had searched for centuries and found no trace of it. Yet here I was looking at it with my own eyes. A feeling of awesome wonder settled over me. I’d never considered myself the religious sort, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was in the presence of something greater than myself.
“Well, this is different,” Murdoch muttered as he surveyed the summit.
“Come again?” I replied. “What do you mean it’s different?”
Murdoch pointed at the lake of blazing fire surrounding the paths that led to the Grail. “I’ve never seen the sanctum with its defenses active. When I was last here, this whole chamber was a single level, and there was no fire. The ground did always have a fascinating pattern to it. I never expected this was what it was for. This is the final layer of the temple’s defense.”
“What about the shield?” I pointed at the haze of blue that formed a barrier around the outer perimeter of the summit.
“That, on the other hand,” Murdoch replied, “I know exactly what it is.”
“Care to fill the rest of us in, then?” Lara asked. There was a weariness to her tone that I expected was a product of both the journey we’d made to get here, and a frustration with being kept in the dark.
“It’s a barrier to keep evil at bay,” Murdoch replied. “It also levels the playing field in the summit. Anything moving faster than a human can move will have its momentum checked. Dizzy, I’d not brave flying here, otherwise you could end up in that lake. Guns will also be useless here. Projectile weapons won’t make it more than a few feet before they lose their stopping power.”
“How is that even possible?” I asked.
I’d seen a lot of enchantments in my time, but if Murdoch was right, this chamber operated on an entirely different level.
“I know what it is, but I can’t explain how it operates.” He shrugged. “Test it if you like. It’s probably best we determine whether it’s functioning as intended anyway.”
Dizzy drew her bow, nocked an arrow, and fired it. The arrow passed through the blue shield with a whispering slice before decelerating and sinking into the pit of fire.
“Yup, still working,” Murdoch replied as he eyed the Grail. “Once we head in there, we won’t be able to rely on our weapons.”
At the other side of the chamber there was motion, dashing my hopes that we were the only ones to survive the labyrinth. At the top of the stairs on the far side of the inner sanctum, a crimson plume came into view. It rested atop a Corinthian helmet made of bronze. I groaned as one after another, six of Ares’ guards in total, climbed the final steps to the summit. There were followed by Edward Knight and Tan.
It turned out that, like all cockroaches, Edward Knight simply refused to die.
“Will the barrier harm us, Murdoch?” I asked, not wanting to waste another moment.
“Not at all,” he answered. “Its purpose was not to keep people out.”
“Good, let’s go. We need to reach the Grail before Knight does.”
The last thing I wanted was for them to beat us to the central platform. With our guns useless, the spear-and-shield-armed bodyguards would be at their most dangerous. It seemed even the temple’s inner sanctum was conspiring against us. Had Knight known what he could expect to find here? Or had he simply gotten lucky?
I plunged through the blue barrier, a strange sense of peace washing over me as I did. I was tired, weary, and bruised from the events of the past twenty-four hours but for a fleeting moment, while bathed in the barrier’s magic, it felt like all was right with the world. It almost brought a tear to my eye. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so at peace.
And then the feeling was gone.
I emerged, stepping onto a golden path leading into the maze of fire. One wrong move, one lost footing, and we were as good as dead.
I tested the golden platform, putting a little weight on it. It didn’t budge, so it was clearly fixed to something. I stepped out onto the maze and hurried across the golden path. I didn’t dare sprint; I couldn’t afford a single misstep.
Lara, Dizzy, and Murdoch followed close behind. I charted what I hoped would be a safe course through the maze.
Edward Knight watched our progress with interest. Once we entered the maze, he led his contingent of Greek bodyguards through the shield.
“Seth, you shouldn’t be here,” he shouted across the sanctum.
“Me? It’s you who has no business being here. Isn’t the power of the god of war enough for you? You fly too close to the sun, Knight. Your greed will be your undoing.”
Knight raised his arm, his suit sleeves drawing back as he did. The bracers of Ares were gone. “They were but a temporary gift. You know that, Seth. The Grail is forever.”
I pushed on, not letting him distract me from the shining chalice at the heart of the maze.
“I’ll tell you what, Seth. We’ve worked well together in the past. Let me have the Grail, and I swear to you, you and your friends will be left in peace for as long as I live.”
“Seth,” Murdoch whispered, “we cannot treat with the devil.”
“Not a chance, Knight,” I called. “Besides, I don’t owe you anything.”
“No, you don’t,” Knight said, pulling on the brim of his fedora. “But I have grown rather fond of you and would prefer to not see you brutally murdered. Last chance, Seth. You’re outnumbered and can’t possibly hope to leave here alive. Give me the Grail and we will even escort you out. Refuse, and we’ll kill you all.”
With Murdoch on our side, I was gambling that Knight knew less about the sanctum than we did.
“Go ahead. Give it your best shot,” I shouted as I stopped and pointed to my heart. “I’ll give you a freebie.”
“Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance, Seth,” Knight replied, shaking his head. “I try to be fair, but as always you seem determined to be on the losing side of this struggle.”
He reached behind his back and drew out his pistol. Without hesitation, he leveled it at me and fired. Once, twice, three times in quick succession. The bullets made it all of six feet before they hit the golden path, rolled across it, and toppled into the lake of fire.
I smiled and gave him a shrug. “Better luck next time.”
The maze of golden bridges led me off to the right as it meandered its way to the Grail platform. We kept up a steady pace as we raced for the central platform.
Knight and his cronies were on a parallel course to us. They closed the distance.
“Kill them,” Knight shouted, pointing at us.
The burly Greek warrior raised his spear and hurled it at me. The spear made it about fifteen feet before its momentum was checked by the magic of the sanctum. It clattered uselessly to the path, before sliding into the lake of fire.
“It’s a new world, Knight,” I shouted. “If you want me dead here, you’re going to have to do it with your bare hands. And I think we both know what’ll happen if you get that close to me.”
Knight had seen me in action during the Grand Trial. And while he didn’t know the full scope of my powers, he did know that I could turn him to stone with an effort of will.
“If you get that close to me,” Knight shouted back, “one of these good chaps is going to impale you like a pig on a spit. Do you really think you can best the house guard of the god of war in close combat?”
His question hung unanswered in the air as I turned left. I didn’t need to fight him. I only needed to reach the Grail first.
I sped down the stretch of path. I was almost at the next junction when the entire inner sanctum shook.
“Oh dear,” Lara muttered behind me.
“Just keep moving,” I replied. “That’s all we can do.”
The shaking continued and we slowed our pace. It was more important to keep our footing, and the more the sanctum shook, the more difficult that became.
With an ear-splitting roar that shook the inner sanctum even more, the minotaur-like head of the Behemoth rose over the eastern edge of the sanctum. It wasn’t climbing stairs; it was simply scaling the tower itself.
My heart pounded as I watched the Behemoth rise to its full height, its horns almost scraping against the roof of the sanctum.
“Perhaps the shield will keep it out?” Dizzy offered.
“Hope springs eternal,” Murdoch replied.
The Behemoth lumbered forward, passing through the barrier as if it was nothing.
“Oh damn,” Dizzy replied. “So much for that.”
The Behemoth twisted its statuesque head to look at us, and then to look at Edward Knight and his group. They were closer to the Behemoth as they raced for the Grail.
“Not us. Not us, please,” I said out loud.
The Behemoth snorted and set off toward us, ignoring Knight and his cronies.
“So much for your theory, Murdoch,” I replied. “That thing wants our heads.”
The Behemoth lumbered across the sanctum, its massive stride allowing it to bridge the gaps between paths, passing safely over the lake of fire.
More voices filled the sanctum and I turned to find the forces of the Inquisition streaming onto the plateau via the entrance on the far left. At their head was the same priest we had encountered in the maze earlier. Only now, it seemed he’d found the rest of his reinforcements. On seeing us, the Inquisition raised their weapons and fired, but discovered the dampening field for themselves.
“There’s the Grail,” the priest called to his men. “Seize it. Don’t let these heathens near it.”
They were too far away for us to do anything about. And if every route to the Grail was the same length, they had to be well behind us, as was Edward Knight. But the Behemoth was closing in on us quickly. It lumbered from platform to platform, its silver sword resting on its shoulders, its red eyes blazing like orbs of fire.
“It must know we’re closest,” Murdoch muttered. “And it’s acting to keep the Grail safe.”
“Any idea how to bring it down?” I asked, nodding toward the Behemoth as we moved.
“I don’t even know what it’s made of,” Murdoch replied. “That metal alloy is like no steel I’ve ever seen.”
“Then we keep moving,” I said.
The path ahead of us abruptly cut off, leaving a foot and a half gap between the end of the platform and a narrow set of steppingstones. Ten of them lay in a row before continuing a new path on the other side.
I glanced over my shoulder, checking the Behemoth’s progress. I didn’t want to get caught against the edge of the platform, or worse yet, while we were on the stepping stones.
“We can make it,” I said aloud, hoping I was right.
With a grunt, I pushed myself forward and jumped. My foot touched on the first stone only briefly before I continued on to the next. The stones were just far enough apart that I had to jump from one to the next. My heart pounded with each sanctum-shaking crunch of the Behemoth’s feet, but I kept my eyes ahead of me.
The second I touched solid ground on the path on the far side, I breathed a sigh of relief. Lara landed behind me, followed by Murdoch.
Dizzy was last in line, and the Behemoth was closing quickly.
“Come on Dizzy,” I shouted. “Move your ass!”
Dizzy reached the second to last stepping stone as the Behemoth caught up to her. It raised its sword and brought it down. Dizzy leaped forward, her foot leaving the stone right as the Behemoth’s sword obliterated the golden stepping stone, cleaving it in half. The two pieces split and sank into the lake of fire.
The Behemoth raised its sword, molten slag running from its blade. If the creature could carve through the path, it would have no trouble splitting any of us in two.
The Behemoth brought the blade down again and, knowing I couldn’t outrun it, I ducked under the weapon. The Behemoth raised its blade high, ready to strike again, its legs straddling two platforms. I raced toward the Behemoth. The creature kicked me in the chest so hard, it felt like an elephant was sitting on my lungs. I flew back three feet before I even hit the ground.
My whole body felt the strength of the blow, as the wind was forced from me, but I couldn’t afford to lose focus. Sliding across the platform, I reached out with both arms trying to arrest my momentum before I dropped into the lake of fire.
I slid to a halt, my sneakers dangling precariously over the edge of the path. The heat from the lake of fire threatened to melt my shoes and the legs of my pants.
I dragged myself back onto the path, trying to catch my breath as Murdoch fished in the duffel.
Clambering to my feet, I started back to the fight. The Behemoth rose over Lara, her eyes never leaving the sword as the Behemoth brought it down. She stepped sideways, deftly avoiding the blow. The sword cleaved through the path, scoring deep into the golden surface. The path seemed to tremble as if it had been shaken loose from its moorings.
“Move,” I shouted as I pushed the others ahead. Another one of those blows and this whole segment of the path was going under.
We reached a T-intersection and took the rightmost path as the Behemoth ambled after us.
“Dizzy, give me your bow,” I called.
“What, why?” she replied. “It’s not going to do anything to that.”
“Just trust me,” I replied. “And be ready when I call.”
Dizzy pulled her bow off her shoulder and handed it to me. I turned to face the creature, waving the bow to try and get its attention as Murdoch fished a piece of C4 out of his bag.
“We just need him lower,” Murdoch called, pointing to the creature’s chest which towered high above us.
There was a gap in its torso, between the top of its alloy breastplate and the rest of its massive form. If we could jam some explosives in there, hopefully it would be enough to deal a killing blow.
But first we needed to bring it down to our level. I waved my bow at the creature and ducked under it as the creature brought up its leg, nudging me backwards. I stumbled, falling onto my back.
Without any hesitation, the Behemoth raised its sword overhead and brought it down in a vertical strike. I waited until the last second, and then rolled to one side. The blade buried itself in the golden path. The Behemoth grunted in frustration.
As it tried to pull the sword free, Murdoch placed one leg on the Behemoth’s knee joint and jumped for all he was worth. With one hand, he grabbed the front of the Behemoth’s breastplate and pulled himself up before jamming the C4 down the inside of the Behemoth’s alien alloy breastplate. There was a rattle as the C4 fell down between the body and the armor of the creature, before eventually coming to a halt.
I got to my feet and extended the bow to Lara who understood my intentions. Standing behind the creature as we were, we only needed a little bit of force applied. The Behemoth reared up, sensing the danger as it grappled at its breastplate.
“Now, Dizzy,” I shouted.
Dizzy raced toward the Behemoth, shifting as she went. Her form melted into a water buffalo as she careened straight into the Behemoth’s legs and shunted it backwards. The Behemoth tried to stop as Lara and I caught its left leg with the bow and pushed forward.
The weight of the Behemoth snapped the bow. The Behemoth teetered before falling backward. The summit shook as the Behemoth’s form hit the path, its right hand resting on the walkway as the entire left side of its body sank into the lake of fire. The alien metal grew white hot as the heat of the lake washed over it.
“Run for it,” I shouted to Lara.
Dizzy, already back in her human form, ran. Lara and I were right behind her. Murdoch was a good ten feet ahead of us, the detonator in his hand.
The Behemoth tried to rise out of the lake of fire, its body blazing white-hot. Murdoch lifted the detonator and jammed the button. The alien steel of the Behemoth’s breastplate trapped the blast, forcing it inward.
Fire flared as a gaping hole was blasted through the Behemoth’s chest. The creature’s crimson eyes blinked once and went out as its form slipped back into the lake of fire, leaving only the sword behind.
“Way to go!” I pumped my fist in the air, as the Behemoth’s head vanished beneath the surface of the lake of fire.
I checked our progress to the Grail. The time we had been waylaid with the Behemoth had cost us dearly. Knight was ahead of us now, and the Inquisition was quickly getting there, too.
A clamoring sound carried through the temple.
“What now?” I groaned.
“More scorpions, or those carrion constructs?” Dizzy asked.
“Neither,” Murdoch replied, turning to face the rising racket. I turned too, as the tide of oily black demon creatures poured out of the tunnel we’d used to enter the sanctum.