Of the Blood

by Joshua Laack

Chapter 42

  Each immortal was a little more than a match for most demons. Most Blood can hold their own for a while against three or even four, maybe not enough to win on their own, but enough to defend until others could help. This battle was more than ten demons against each Blood on the field. Johari and Andrew found themselves with another Blood who Andrew didn't recognize from the council room. She had long brown hair hair and was closer to Andrew's height than Johari's.

  Moments after she formed the third of their triangle, it felt as though the whole horde of demons rushed in on just their group. Andrew switched into hyper speed mode. The new strategy worked better than he could have hoped.

  He kept most of the horde away from Johari and the other girl, allowing them to concentrate on just one at a time. In this way, demon parts began to pile up. Andrew lost focus of anything but the demons in front of them. Step in, block a rushing fist, punch a chest and knock three or so demons back. Run to the other side of his two fighters, grab a diving demon, spin and throw it back into the crowd.

  The blow took him by surprise. The larger fist appeared out of nowhere as it landed on the side of his head. Andrew expected to fly, but instead just crashed into a similar massive fist on the other side and fell to the ground in between them, his ears ringing with the force of the blow which had been many times that of the truck he had played baseball with. As he looked up from where he lay on the ground, the rest of the demon materialized and then all hope Andrew had for winning this fight vanished.

  Tendrils of smoke curled off of the demon's glistening body. The rest of the demons were all a flat black, but this one was glossy like marble. And it was massive, half again the size of the rest of the horde. It also seemed to be as fast as Andrew and much stronger.

  As he watched, the demon struck out at the female Blood whose name Andrew hadn't even learned. Its left hand stretched out and wrapped around her neck and the right smashed through her chest, leaving a hole where her heart should have been.

  Andrew stretched out his hand to help her, but the rest of his body wouldn't respond. A growl of anger left his throat as the now free left hand blasted Johari, who had been able to respond. Her neck bent at an awkward angle and she disappeared from his field of view. Andrew felt his heart skip a beat at the same instant and he knew it must have been her beat skipping that he felt. He feared the worst.

  The demon pulled its hand from the hole in the female Blood and allowed her limp form to fall away onto the piles of demons they had destroyed. Then the demon looked down at Andrew. It smiled, but it was not a pretty smile. The ragged teeth were blackened and the eyes smoldered with an evil sneer.

  “So you're the bug who escaped from my clutches. Look what good it has done you. You are still here where I wanted you, about to be crushed under my heel.” It was the voice of the demon who had been shouting orders earlier, but now it was speaking Aramaic. The way it spoke grated like a fork scraped across teeth. Andrew shuddered. “Not much are you?” If he was honest with himself, the monster was right. No matter how fast or strong Andrew was, what chance did he have against it? His will to fight spiraled down and he stopped struggling to move. His arm fell at his side. It was better to just lay here and let this thing kill him than to suffer any longer.

  “Ashmodai!” The soft feminine voice burst from the air nearby. “So nice of you to show your ugly face.” The demon who had been reaching for Andrew, reared back up and looked for the source of the voice. Andrew didn't care that she had come. What could she do? It was all over. The thoughts sank him down into a great blackness and pressed him inside those prison walls he was so used to.

  Andrew forced his eyes open. He saw darkness clouding his vision and his mind snapped. This demon was controlling him. He had been controlled once and he refused to do it again. He pushed back with the light in his mind as hard as he could. He pushed up and out of the prison in his mind. He raised himself up on one arm as the demon looked at him in surprise.

  “What are you fighting for you weak little thing? You cannot win.” Andrew ignored it's jab and forced himself to sit up. From his new vantage, he could see Tabitha, looking amazing as her twenty something form, standing not twenty feet away. Her feet were planted and her hands were fists at her sides. Andrew was glad that steely gaze was not directed at him. He thought it would have burned right through him.

  “Tabitha! Is that really you?” The demon burst into laughter. At least Andrew assumed that's what it was. It sounded like a large animal choking on its own tongue. “Remember the last time we met? That didn't turn out so well for you.” Tabitha didn't even blink.

  “Last time was different. Today it ends for you. You took one I cared about and destroyed him.”

  “Lazarus didn't need much help from me. You are pathetic creatures. He destroyed himself, and for simple lust. Now I will destroy you too.”

  As they talked, Andrew felt more strength returning to his mind and also to his body and after a moment, he stood and stepped back from the two figures locked in a death stare. He glanced around the field and his heart sank. Half of the Blood lay unmoving, Johari among them and his fears of the worst came crashing down on his chest.

  As he looked, she sat up and stretched her neck which had been broken, but was no longer. Relief flooded Andrew as he realized that she was going to be okay. Their was sorrow for the rest who would not get back up, but her he could not live without.

  That fear gone, Andrew turned back to face the one still in front of him. As he did, the demon, Ashmodai, rushed toward the much smaller form of Tabitha. Its huge truck of a fist came back and then forward at incredible speed. Tabitha stepped forward into a fighting stance much like the one Andrew knew from Aikido. Her right hand came up loosely in an open palm and met the much larger hand coming her way. Her whole form slid back until her back leg dug into the ground enough to stop her and then to everyone's amazement, Ashmodai's fist came to rest in the air, her palm resting against the giant hand.

  Tabitha stepped forward and inside of the great fist. Both her hands came back and launched forward in balled fist form, striking Ashmodai's lower stomach. The huge demon doubled over and crashed backward to the ground.

  From the look of shock on its face, Andrew knew that Ashmodai had not expected any level of resistance strong enough to deter it. To be honest, he hadn't expected much either. It stood back to its feet, but Ashmodai now stood in a much more defensive stance.

  The next few moments were some of the most incredible Andrew had ever witnessed. A small immortal and a demon that was more than twice her size fought back and forth with blows and kicks and blocks. Both went flying several times, but were right back into it. Each looked more and more frustrated as they came to realize how evenly matched they were.

  The rest of the battle had ceased to watch this epic fight. Andrew realized that the whole battle thus far had been to set up for this one fight, the outcome of which would decide their fate. It was so close that Andrew had no idea which way the hammer would fall.

  It was a small mistake. So small that he wouldn't have even considered it one. Tabitha stepped forward to strike a blow and stepped just a hair too far to the right. Realizing that this would bring her blow off center, she tried to adjust her footing. In the instant it took her to accomplish this, the truck came down from above and drove her to the ground. The demon brought up its foot as its fist came back and as Tabitha struggled to regain her own footing, Ashmodai's foot came down on top of her, burying her small form into the rock and dirt below.

  That great foot rose into the air, and fell again with enough force to shake the ground. Andrew couldn't watch any longer. As the foot rose and began to fall once more, he rushed forward as fast as he could. Johari had the same idea and she approached Ashmodai from the opposite side at the same time. Andrew kicked his dropping foot back and then they both grabbed an arm and pulled back. Andrew wasn't sure what either of them hoped to accomplish by this, except that maybe Tabitha would be able to recov
er.

  Instead, Andrew felt the power within him explode outward into the large demon. He also felt himself pulling some of that power out of Johari's hand where it touched his on the demon's arm. He added that to what was flowing into the large beast. It seemed to act almost like a giant taser, rendering the demon unable to control it's limbs. The other demons were bellowing and jumping up and down about this interference in what they saw as a one on one fight. Andrew wasn't certain what to do next.

  A blurring figure appeared between Them. Tabitha reached out and placed both hands flat upon Ashmodai's chest, as high as she could reach. Johari and Andrew still had firm grips upon its arms. There was the briefest pause, enough that it would've been impossible for her to hold still that long while they were fighting, and then the same power that came from he and Johari, blasted out of Tabitha's hands almost a hundred fold higher than theirs and ripped through Ashmodai's body. Some of it backlashed into Andrew, and from her gasp, into Johari as well.

  The aftereffects of that much power tingled in Andrew from head to toe. It did something else that he didn't expect either. He could feel the part of his body that no longer lived coming back to life. The joy of it made him break into a laughter he couldn't contain. Johari laughed not far away.

  Ashmodai wasn't laughing. The look on its face was one of terror as its body rippled from black to gray and then to white. After a few moments, the entire body gleamed white in the early afternoon sun.

  "Noooooo!” The agony in his much more lifelike voice was palpable. Johari and Andrew had released him by this point and now they stepped farther away. Ashmodai gripped his head in his hands, still screaming in an eerily human voice, and then he imploded in upon himself, vanishing into a tiny speck in the air. At the same moment, most of the demons vanished.

  The hundred or so remaining saw that they faced two hundred and fifty angry immortals and turned to run. Not a single one got away. Instead, they were torn to shreds. Johari and Andrew remained by Tabitha who now looked much older than when they first met her. She started to sag and Andrew grabbed her and held her up.

  "I'm so tired," she whispered, "so very, very tired." At that her eyes closed and she lost consciousness.

  Andrew could smell the scent of the life within her, and it was fading away. He knew she wouldn't last much longer like this. He had to do something, but he didn't know if he knew how. He reached a hand out to Johari. She frowned, but gave him her hand. At their touch, Andrew felt the same tingling of power they felt at each touch, but now he had some idea what it was. It was the spirit of life within them that was what kept all the Blood alive, not their blood as they believed. Andrew concentrated on that sensation and then tried to move it within himself as he had with the demon who had possessed him.

  At first nothing happened. Then Andrew felt a shift within himself. The spirit began to pull from Johari instead of just going back and forth between them. Inside of him, it spun throughout his whole body in a maelstrom, mixing with his own energy and then that spirit of life began to flow out into Tabitha. Andrew prepared himself to feel weaker and to age as it flowed out, but something unexpected happened.

  His body began to replenish the life faster than he could get rid of it. A great deal flowed back into Johari, so much that she gasped and dropped his hand. Andrew tried to push harder into Tabitha as the storm within himself was becoming uncomfortable, but he couldn't. He set her on the ground to break the contact. Even that didn't stop the whirlwind. It spiraled up and up until Andrew was certain that it would soon burst from him. At the point where he knew he could take no more, it reached a plateau before spinning down to something he could bear.

  “Astonishing!” The young woman on the ground rose to her feet. Her hair was bright and glowing white, though as Andrew watched, it began to fade back into the brown it had been after destroying Lazarus. She looked close to twenty again and in the prime of health. Johari's hair also had the same glow to it that faded as he watched. From the way she was looking at him, Andrew's own hair was glowing as well.

  Gingerly, Tabitha reached out and touched each of their cheeks. There was no more of the transfer that had occurred. With a trilling laugh, she grabbed them both into a large hug. After a long moment, she stepped back.

  "Johari, you were right. This young one is amazing. I had known that I would be giving up my life by what I was doing when I attacked Ashmodai. I never imagined anything could change that." She looked up at me with such a joyful expression. “I thought that I was ready to die, but in dying, discovered I was not. Thank you for giving me a chance to live once more.” Andrew didn't even know how to respond to a thanks of that magnitude. He settled with a nod and a simple,

  “You're welcome. I'm just glad it worked.” They stood there for a long moment before he thought of a question.

  “Tabitha, I understand that once Ashmodai was defeated, it had been holding the other demons here, so they were pulled back to wherever they came from. But why did giving life to Ashmodai kill it?”

  “The life didn't kill it, it's master did. Ashmodai and all of the demon lords get their strength and power from their master, just as the smaller demons get theirs from the lords. The master and the entire demon realm is one of death and destruction. The demon king couldn't tolerate any source of life within its domain so it took its power away from Ashmodai which destroyed it.” That was an idea that Andrew hadn't thought of. Had that been what had destroyed the demon within himself? Had the strength of his own life inside of it forced it's master to destroy it?

  “So now what,” asked Johari? “What will you do next?” Tabitha smiled, though it was a sad smile.

  “I will begin to fix what Lazarus has destroyed. I will work to rebuild our family and the council. Many lives have been lost and while they cannot be replaced, we must be strong. The battle has been won here, but the war is not yet over.” Andrew nodded at that. A great many demons had vanished, able to return and fight again. Not to mention the fact that they had been just those under the command of one demon lord. He was certain that there were more, and each with their own demons to command. “I would love for you two to remain and help me, though understand if that isn't your desire at the moment.” Johari nodded and grabbed Tabitha's hand.

  “We appreciate the desire to have us with you, but our life together is so young. A time together and apart from all of this is what I need more than anything now, and I believe Andrew feels the same.” She looked at him. Andrew thought for a moment, though that instant of thought in his incredible new brain was more like hours of pondering in the old one.

  He was torn. He felt two different things pulling on him. First there was the desire to just go away and be with Johari. He wanted to forget about the battle and those that had died so he could live. At the same time, Andrew felt the strong pull to remain and take up a place here, preparing for the next battle. He didn't know which pull was stronger, but he did know that she was the most important thing to him in this world at the moment, and her desire overrode any of his own for now.

  “For now, we need this time together. At some point we will return and please don't hesitate to call or visit us at any time.” Johari glanced into his eyes as if to try to understand the answer he had given and the motivation behind it, but she was getting what she wanted for the moment, so she said nothing. Andrew smiled as he corrected that thought. She said nothing here and now. He was certain the conversation wasn't yet over. That smile widened. They might even fight about it. It would be interesting to see who won that.

  Side by side, Tabitha, Johari and Andrew walked away from the field where they had each almost been destroyed, and where the war had nearly been lost. They walked toward a future that was much brighter than any of them could have hoped for.

  Epilogue

  They spent a few days with Tabitha in the council building, talking of her plans for the future, both for the council and and for the Blood as well. They also talked about t
rivial things, prolonging the moment until they said goodbye.

  Despite those delays, the time came and went and Johari and Andrew found themselves holding hands on the airplane and looking forward to their own future.

  “I still don't get it,” Johari said as they sat there. “I still don't get how you can continue to do more and more amazing things every time I turn around.” She laughed and caressed his cheek with her small hand. That tingle at their touch that had been there from the moment they met was still there, but now it reminded Andrew both of the life they had given together, and also of how connected they were.

  That last thought made him smile almost as much as the touch itself did. Johari shook her head, still smiling. “There has to be a point in which you can do no more to surprise me, but I've said that to myself already so many times, that I am beginning to doubt that you won't just go on surprising me for the rest of eternity.” Andrew grinned at her.

  “I guess we will just have to see won't we.” And that right there was the crux of his bubbling joy. They would be able to see. He had so believed on the first plane ride and the following days that they would not have this time that he was still absorbing the truth that they were alive. They were alive and they would stay that way for a long time. Andrew tried it out loud.

  “We are alive.” Johari grinned at him.

  “More alive than I think either of us have had the time to realize yet.” Andrew nodded, but didn't say anything.

  They spent the rest of the plane ride sitting as close as the airplane seats would allow, holding hands and grinning as they thought of the life that awaited them.

  …..

  About the Author

  Joshua Laack grew up in the country in the Southern part of Minnesota. Being in the country meant not a lot of things going on around him, so he spent a lot of time lost in imagination. That quickly translated into a love of reading and then of writing. This book is his first finished work, but certainly not his last.