Raith’s expression was both savage and infuriated. The turncoat had escaped from right under their noses, killing two Skycloud soldiers and wounding several others. It stung worse than a slap to the face.
“He’s injured.” Claudia dug her fingers into a patch of blood-soaked soil and brought them up to her nose to take a sniff. “The traitor won’t get far.”
137 Lifedrinker Arrow
Sunlight crept over the desert, dispelling the darkness. Wind cleaved the night’s cloud cover, allowing shafts of blood-red light to peek through.
The moment day broke, the temperature began to rise. The heat sent creatures of the night scurrying for their nests, and in only a few minutes, hot air warped the horizon. It was hard to see any further than a few hundred feet away.
Cloudhawk struggled over the dunes while the wind whipped around him. He clutched his gun and leaned against the biting gusts, trudging at an even pace. What he experienced at Blackwater Base had made him strong. Now, his energy recovered faster than he spent it. So long as he had energy to spare, he could keep moving.
He made sure to keep a safe distance between him and his enemies. Whenever they were about to catch up, he would lose them in the ruins. They repeated this sequence over and over again for six hours, never clashing but never losing track of each other.
Cloudhawk knew where he had the advantage, and he knew how to make use of it. His enemies were many, but that made them slow and unwieldy.
The trail of blood they’d found? Cloudhawk had planted it on purpose. For one thing, he had to lead them away from Lighthouse Point. Otherwise, they would have continued killing those poor people. It also gave them the mistaken impression that he was hurt. The aim was to make them feel overconfident. It was for the same reason that he didn’t use his relic cloak to escape.
The young demon hunters aimed to exhaust their wounded prey by keeping up the chase. However, they were starting to question their decision as they struggled back and forth to gain ground without being able to catch sight of him.
He still hadn’t collapsed. On the contrary, his pursuers were beginning to tire while Cloudhawk just kept going. Claudia, who had been using her senses to track him this whole time, was quickly becoming exhausted.
Both of the demon hunters were far stronger than Cloudhawk, and the soldiers they brought were each about his equal. It was a sharp disparity in strength, but out in the wastelands, it wasn’t always strength that won fights. Experience, patience, and luck were one’s weapons. Oftentimes, the weaker beasts of the wastes could take on a vastly stronger foe and win handily.
Eventually, Cloudhawk’s intentions became clear to the Elysians: he was pretending to be weak to force them into exhaustion!
Like many wastelands creatures, he was pretending to be weak to confound his pursuers. At the last moment, he would turn and attack, taking them by surprise. Much like a pack of wolves, Cloudhawk would take a bite out of their forces, slowly chipping away at their strength. Then, when they were exhausted, he would strike – expending the least energy while maximizing the damage inflicted.
The wastelands were a cruel and effective teacher. Cloudhawk was a talented student. Over time, the Skycloud soldiers slowed to a crawl while he hadn’t weakened at all.
Claudia turned her head and looked at the soldiers. Stragglers were falling further and further behind, stretching their group out. She could tell at a glance that they were tired and not at their best. Their prey was more cunning than she’d given him credit for. He was more tenacious than had been predicted. Their soldiers wouldn’t be able to keep this chase up for very much longer.
Stragglers were left behind to try and catch up while the demon hunters pressed ahead. However, this spread them thin. Was this not the traitor’s intention?
“I think we’ve been tricked. The turncoat isn’t injured at all!” Raith had come around to the realization as well. Though he was dripping with sweat, his eyes were as hard and as cold as ice. He regularly scanned the horizon. “He’s clearly skilled at traveling through the ruins. But, if he thinks that will be enough to save him, he’s gravely underestimated us.”
He reached to his waist where an elaborate arrow had been strung through his belt and pulled it free. It was unclear what the arrow was made of. It was about as long as a hand, and arcane runes had been carved all along its surface. The marks of a relic.
Claudia looked at him with the light of surprise in her eyes. “You’re going to use the Lifedrinker?”
The Lifedrinker arrow. Raith’s heirloom relic!
He’d only acquired it recently, and as such, he wasn’t very proficient in its use. Employing it cost him a lot in energy and psychic power, making it unsuitable for most situations. Now appeared to be the time.
The arrow emitted a crisp and melodious sound, and then, like an extendable baton, its ends snapped out to form a three-foot-long arrow. The runes on its surface glowed mysteriously and shrouded it in a cocoon of light – an indication that the relic had been awakened.
“Our group is too slow getting through these ruins. If we continue, when will this chase end?” He slowly lifted the arrow in his hands. “It is a disgrace to use the Lifedrinker on this turncoat, but we are beset by dangers all throughout these blighted lands. Our enemy is cunning. It is worth using this arrow to ensure the safety of our holy warriors and to end this farce quickly!”
Once the arrow was loosed, the turncoat would surely die. The result was indisputable!
Claudia produced a small bottle, within which was Cloudhawk’s blood. They’d gathered it from the dirt back at Lighthouse Point. A single drop was extracted and poured onto the Lifedrinker arrow’s triangular head. The moment the blood touched its smooth surface, it vanished. Archaic runes shimmered hungrily in response and turned red. The arrow had marked its target.
Raith and Claudia exchanged a wordless glance. She nodded and stepped back.
The young demon hunter placed his foot atop a nearby rock and assumed an archer’s stance. He drew back the bowstring with a deep sigh. Energy gathered quickly around him, causing the dirt and gravel below his feet to tremble. Even the rock beneath his feet began to crack under the strain. Inch by inch, the exorcist bow, bearing the Lifedrinker arrow, was drawn back toward its limit.
Nearby, the Skycloud soldiers looked on with envy and admiration.
The young demon hunter’s bow was a relic that did not need any arrows. By itself, the bow could lay an enemy low, but when combined with the arrow, these two relics could do truly frightening things. Young though he was, Raith commanded such impressive power. He was an outstanding talent among the younger generation of demon hunters.
Slowly, he drew back the bow, face red and veins stark and throbbing on his forehead. He wasn’t pulling on a mere string. Instead, it felt like he was trying to pull back a thousand-pound weight. It took five seconds just to draw it half way.
His Lifedrinker arrow was becoming brighter. The force field around him was becoming more intense.
At last, he reached his limit. With his heart filled full of bloodlust and rancor, he released it all with a single shouted command. “Go!”
The Lifedrinker arrow vanished in a streak of red light. As silent as death. Faster than the eye could follow.
Raith swayed and nearly fell over, but Claudia had been ready. She stepped forward and made sure he stayed on his feet. She looked even more excited than he did since witnessing the use of his heirloom was a special thing. “You did it!”
When she caught him, Raith’s heart began to flutter. It made him proud and filled his heart with manly vigor that he was able to manage the act of using the arrow in front of her.
The two of them had known each other for ten years. Chosen as children, they had trained, grown, and improved together. Both were young, barely twenty, and trusted each other implicitly.
Claudia was a year younger than Raith. She looked up to him like an older brother, while he had long ago developed feelings for her. All o
f his bluster, all of his bravado, all of his great effort was just so that she would see him.
Filled with pride and self-confidence, Raith was sure the turncoat had been slain. “The rest of you wait here for our orders. Captains, come with us.”
Ten soldiers separated from the crowd and made to follow. These captains were much stronger than the typical holy warrior. Leaving the burden that was the other soldiers behind, this smaller group could move faster. With Claudia and Raith in the lead, they left in search of their prey’s body.
As the Lifedrinker arrow was released, a flood of foreboding enveloped Cloudhawk. It was a terrible sensation like something had torn open his throat and pierced his spine. He couldn’t imagine what sort of thing would make him feel this way.
Then, the ripples of a relic’s power reached him.
His face fell when he felt what was coming. Without looking back, he threw himself to the side.
An arrow, moving faster than he could fathom, screamed past. It was frightening enough that he could hardly follow it with his eyes. More terrifying was the fact that the arrow hadn’t made any noise at all. Not even the sound of rustling wind could be heard as it swept by. Cloudhawk had survived solely because of his danger sense and the sound of the relic’s resonance. Anyone else would have died on the spot.
Missing by mere inches, the arrow raced by, only to spin in midair a few dozen feet away and head back towards him. Left with no recourse, Cloudhawk hit the ground hard enough to make his vision blurry.
Whatever relic this was, it sure was difficult to deal with! Once it locked onto a target, it would adjust its trajectory until it struck. If the first pass missed, it came around for a second, then a third, and a fourth. It would only stop once he was dead.
When had Cloudhawk ever encountered a weapon like this? It was too strange, too wily!
The second pass missed. It was coming back for a third, still moving as fast as lightning!
Cloudhawk pulled himself forward with his hands, but with his every movement, the arrow followed like the specter of death hungry for his soul. His eyes went wide as it headed right for him, but he flopped behind a low-lying wall just in time. A fraction of a second later, the sound of splintering rock assailed his ears as the whole wall crumbled. The Lifedrinker arrow pierced his cover, searching for his rapidly beating heart. Rrrrip! His armor split like it was made of paper, and it was the Gospel of Sand beneath that saved his life.
It ricocheted off and rocketed into the sky. He’d hoped the wall would protect him, but it might as well have not been there. The arrow soared high overhead before turning back one hundred and eighty degrees and beginning its descent.
It was coming right for the top of Cloudhawk’s skull. Too deadly, too frightening! Nothing seemed to slow it down!
He was so frightened that his whole body was drenched in a cold sweat. He wrenched the iron dagger from his waist and, with a scream, swung it wildly at the arrow. He put all his power behind it, for if he failed to stop it, the arrow would take his life!
Clang!
Snap!
Half the dagger’s blade lodged itself in the sand. Cloudhawk was left with only the hilt.
However, the Lifedrinker arrow had been knocked aside. It continued a few feet into the distance before turning around and picking up speed once more.
He was left stunned, at a loss. What the fuck was this goddamn thing?! How was it so hard to escape?
There was no other avenue of escape left to him. He activated his cloak. Perhaps, if he disappeared, the arrow couldn’t follow... but if it could, then he was out of luck.
138 Fatal Hit
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds!
Cloudhawk anxiously searched himself with his hands but found no wounds. The Lifedrinker arrow hovered in the air less than a foot away from his chest, frozen in midair. Its razor-sharp tip was pointed directly at his eye.
The sanguine runes etched on its surface flickered and then dimmed. As he watched, the possessed arrow turned and flew into the distance.
The Lifedrinker arrow deftly maneuvered through the ruins. It avoided obstacles, retracing its route back to where it’d come from. Eventually, it found its way back to Raith.
He snatched it from the air. With his chest puffed out, the young demon hunter proudly proclaimed, “Moon, don’t worry. The traitor has already been dealt with.”
Yet, she peered at the arrow with doubt. “So quickly?”
“Don’t underestimate this relic! This is one of Skycloud’s greatest hunting relics!” Had anyone other than Claudia questioned him, Raith would have flown into an imperious rage. He might have even killed the offender. Yet, before her, there wasn’t even a hint of anger. On the contrary, he patiently explained the relic’s power. “This relic was created by a master demon hunter a hundred years ago. Shot from his hand, this arrow would hunt its target relentlessly for five days and five nights. Once, his target was more than three miles away, but in the end, the arrow still took his life as intended.”
The others blanched at the story. It hunted its target for five whole days? Killed it from three miles away?
How could such a deadly tool exist in this world? Only the gods could have created such a righteous and powerful thing.
“This relic has three special qualities. First, it’s able to locate its target and attack with extreme precision. Second, it’s silent so as to take its target’s life before they even knew what was happening. And third, if somehow its first attack missed, it will just keep coming. Either the relic’s holy powers are used up, or its target dies. Those are the only outcomes.” He flicked his wrist and the arrow contracted back into the form of a small rod. He slipped it back into his belt. “It had enough power to return to me, so that means the job is done. If you need confirmation, you can use your perception to try and find him yourself.”
Until a life was taken, the arrow would not come back. That was what made the relic arrow so special.
Raith did not possess the skill or power of a master demon hunter, but the ten minutes he could manage was more than sufficient. Actually, only a couple of minutes had passed since he fired the Lifedrinker arrow, and it was back already. Their target had to be dead. Raith was confident of this assumption.
Claudia nodded and focused her psychic energy into the torque necklace around her neck. The tracking relic hummed to life. Just like her companion promised, she could not find any sign of their prey. In all likelihood, he was dead.
“Do you believe me now?” He wanted to maintain a level of modesty before the girl he admired, but it was difficult for him to hide the arrogance behind his eyes. “Let’s hurry before some monster makes a meal of our prize.”
The twelve hunters from Skycloud picked up the pace towards Cloudhawk’s last known location.
Before long, the terrain had become a complex maze of buildings, thousands of them in various states of disrepair that towered like ancient sentinels. In the center was an enormous ship that had crashed to earth. It was phenomenally large with half of it buried in the rubble. Its parts were strewn all around.
So, this was their prey’s chosen cemetery?
Claudia shut her eyes and channeled her focus once again into her relic necklace. It shimmered in response to her call. Waves of invisible resonance reached out like radar in all directions, and in an instant, she knew the terrain as well as if she’d walked the whole thing herself.
“There’s nothing dangerous nearby.”
Strange. No corpse, either?
Both demon hunters were young and talented, outstanding members of their class. Claudia’s expertise was investigation and probing while Raith was a gifted hunter and assassin. Together, they formed a frightening pair, made all the more formidable by the ten Skycloud captains at their back. It was probably better for the traitor to be already dead before they found him.
“He has to be nearby.” Raith looked around the dilapidated surroundings. “This place is a mess. Spread out and search!
”
Cloudhawk hid in a fissure along the mothership’s hull. Once the girl’s probe swept by, he cautiously allowed the power of his cloak to fade. He perched amidst the ruins, so well blended in that he might as well have been a chameleon. With slow, deliberate movements, he pulled his rifle off his shoulder and loaded an armor-piercing round.
This guy is way too overconfident. Egotistical prick.
He wasn’t downplaying how dangerous the Lifedrinker arrow was, but every relic had a weakness. Cloudhawk’s invisibility cloak masked everything; his sound, body heat, and aura just vanished. Any indication that he was alive had vanished as well. Without any means to find its target, the arrow assumed its mission was complete.
Claudia’s tracking was troublesome too. It didn’t seem to tire her out too much but was very effective. All this time, it was through her that they were able to pinpoint his location. However, with some effort and time, Cloudhawk was able to find her weakness as well.
She couldn’t sustain the pulses for long. They came in waves, roughly three minutes apart.
Once Cloudhawk saw the pattern, he started to take advantage. When the pulses were due, he hid beneath the power of the cloak. Her powers seemed to work similarly to the Lifedrinker arrow, so once he was safely masked by the cloak, her tracker relic was rendered effectively useless. He knew their tricks, and because of his cloak, these demon hunters had been lulled into a false sense of security. Now was the time to strike back.
Cloudhawk tentatively crept out from his hiding spot and inched forward, using the ruins as cover until he found a good spot: an intersection where both demon hunters would have to eventually cross.
He was ready, but who was his target this time?
The girl’s relic could pin him down, and she had a strong sense for danger. If Cloudhawk chose her, she would be able to feel it, so he wasn’t absolutely sure his sneak attack would land. The boy was quick, nimble, and well trained. After using the arrow, he would be physically and mentally drained. He was at his weakest… making him the right target.
The Wastelander Page 94