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I
Lepyer looked around in an uneasy attempt to find a place to be, somewhere close, but not too close. He needed to be in a position where he could strike fast, but not so that he would interrupt the fight; or become entangled in it.
He busied himself taking the unwanted weaponry back, and once he had everything put away he stayed there, within arms reach of a large spear and crossbow that he had hidden. It was the best position he could get for his attack.
Mortivian and Sed ran at each other, nearly falling from their weakened state.. Both knew how fierce and determined the other was. Both were equally sure of their ultimate victory.
The two beasts grabbed a hold of each other and hit the ground. Their combined effort caused them to end up against the grandstands, where a hungry dignitary tried to take a bite out of Mortivian. He failed, but Sed did not. His razor sharp teeth sunk deep into Mortivian's left shoulder, removing a chunk the size of a loaf of bread. Mortivian cried out, a shameful and unforgivable thing in this event. The blood loss was now too much to recover from, and Sed knew it.
To seal his fate, Sed forced his opponent away from him, and thrust his claw into the wound in Mortivian's chest. The ease at which his hand seized the beating heart of Mortivian surprised him. The flavor of the meat from his heart, still twitching enough to work against him closing his teeth around it, was sweeter than he could have imagined. The crowd took care of the rest of the body in short order.
Sed stood victorious. He would not only remain the Overlord, but had gained a lot of respect in the Council of Elders. He would assume control over them as well.
Every muscle in Lepyer's body tensed. The moment was at hand.
II
The pain of climbing a tree with such injuries was being washed away by the joy of being closer and closer to their son. Neither had any idea what they would do once on the branch next to him, but neither cared.
The ever increasing height gave the pair an unobstructed view of the fight, or would have, had they taken their eyes off of their boy.
III
Lepyer moved about, gathering the bones of Mortivian, the murderer, and taking them to the weapons stash. Sed was enjoying the admiration of the crowd. The moment was here.
The spear felt good, almost magical in his hand. He sent it along a straight path, aimed right at the spot between the shoulder blades of Sed, the Overlord.
Sed shouted from the pain but more so the surprise of the hit. He turned to see who had thrown it and saw that Lepyer had picked up the crossbow and aimed it at him. The lackey smiled as he squeezed the trigger and unleashed a ball of plasma energy, making Sed fly in reverse. He landed on his back, breaking the spear. The last thing the Overlord saw was an eagle up in the tree, looking down at him.
IV
Scapularium enjoyed seeing such evil beings meet their end, first Mortivian, then Sed. It was even better to see Lepyer moving to the now opening portal. He would go in with nothing and come out with his parents. Then he would be able to wing down and get them, using the amulet.
Lepyer looked up. His smile was warm and comforting; and short-lived. Sed had not died. He found enough strength to wield the broken spear and thrust it into the unprotected back of Lepyer. He stood, holding the spear while his victim could only arch his back, his face was showing his shock, his disbelief, then, his humanity.
Paul and Purity had reached the branch next to their son just in time to witness the death of Lepyer. What they saw next nearly caused them both to fall out of the tree.
Lepyer's body changed as the life drained from him. His size shrunk from nearly 15 feet to 6, his skin changed from an oozing green to pink, then blanched. For the last 400 years he had been Lepyer, an underling assigned to the filthiest jobs to be had in a filthy world.
But he had been born a human, and was dying as a human- Purity's father.
She had seen the whole thing. The man she thought had died because of his audacity to awaken the amulet had actually been sent to the alternate world, the dimension that used the same earth she did.
Purity tried to turn away, but could not. She saw her father hanging from the broken spear held by Sed, his eyes locking onto hers, then dimming as his spirit was freed. She felt a swirl of emotion as he came to her to say goodbye, for now. She knew she would see him again, but was too overwhelmed to take comfort from that thought.
She didn't even notice the sparkle of colors that was floating around her and Paul.
The amulet was working!
The sparks moved around each other and around the pair like a huge rope made of light, coming from the stone and piercing the wall that separated the two worlds.
Scapularium, breathing hard and on the verge of panic, had readied his wings to take flight, spreading and raising them, ready to flee. He just wanted to get away, hide, and cry. Then he tried to take off. The stone that he had carried with such ease now seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. That was when he looked down at it, still in his claw, and saw that it had activated itself!
His sharp, eagle eyes followed the trail that poured out of the stone, through the wall, and then he saw them. Paul and Purity smiled at their son, even as their bodies were being transformed into light.
The gentleness with which his parents were lifted from the branch and carried through the wall amazed the great bird. He could see the love in their eyes, even as the amulet received their vitality.
He could now lift the amulet as easily as before. He did just that, taking flight.
Sed stood between worlds, holding the portal open as the crowd made its way through, making sure no one could take a bite out any of his many bleeding wounds. He had seen the eagle. He knew what was happening up in the tree. He had neither strength or resource to do anything about it now. He needed time to heal and recover.
He looked up as Paul and Purity entered the amulet, and did not look away until the great bird had disappeared into the horizon.
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