He then clenched his sword and ran into the battle to help his now fatigued friends who were being pushed back by the pack of Redborns and Crocs. When Bakari ran back into the opening, he saw Axyl and Shara both by the wall, trying to fight for their lives. If the Redborns all ran up to the fight at once, his friends would lose instantly. It was a good thing that the Redborns feared their skill. It kept them alive for a little bit longer. If only AiLeen was here to heal them and get their stamina back, he was sure they could take the group. He sucked up the courage to run and get into the fight. He would use what little skills he knew to help them.
He started attacking them from the back of the crowd. He took out two of the Redborns before getting knocked down.
“No Bakari, stay back!” Shara shouted over the crowd, noticing Bakari couldn’t handle himself. “Don’t get yourself killed for us! We will be okay.” She said, trying to motivate herself to fight back the horde but it just wasn’t enough as she kept getting knocked down.
Suddenly, more Redborns started falling in massive waves. More Hunters appeared, and one of them Bakari noticed. It was Ericka rushing to Shara’s aide. “I told you to stay with us!” she scolded her as she defended her. “I thought you were outside fighting.” Shara asked while taking a knee.
“I was, but we appear to have some help at the moment. An unknown Hunter is out there fighting the whole horde. She wouldn’t identify herself…. she told us to just come help you guys and she will be fine. Good thing we listened ‘because it didn’t look like you guys were going to last much longer.” Ericka said looking back at Shara and winking. “Now get up and let's take care of these cowards.” Ericka said to Shara.
Shara looked at Axyl and held her arm out. “Lets do this.” It seemed like Shara was actually having more fun fighting with Axyl than her own. Axyl took her arm and let out another loud roar fighting through the crowd. They started pushing back, making quick work of the horde. They tried to catch their breaths but then came Droga. He wasn’t in a nice mood anymore and he came in through the roof.
“I try so hard to be a nice guy, but I see nobody likes nice these days.” He said, letting steam out from his body. “I’m done playing around.” Droga ran towards Bakari with his blade drawn. Axyl ran towards Bakari, knocking him out of the way and clashing his sword with Droga’s blade.
Coming in from the outside war zone, the white-hooded Hunter was relentlessly fighting her way through.
“Another one?” Droga kicked Axyl down on top of Bakari when he seen the Hunter dressed in white again.
“Are you guys all right?” she asked in a muffled voice.
“Yes, we’re fine.” Axyl said, standing up, off of Bakari.
“This has gotten complicated real fast, but your friend is safe. I made sure of it.” She said to Bakari.
“Thank you!” He wanted to hug her but now wasn’t the time for that. Now was the time to survive.
“The real backup should be here any minute now. Then we shall have a numbers advantage and should force a retreat from them.” She said as she sliced a Redborn’s arm off that tried to grab Bakari. “Not twice… and sorry about your other friend who got captured, but I got her back safely in the basement. No one should be able to reach her until the Hunters get here.” She continued. Until Droga’s pet came bursting out of the house, eyes a fiery red looking right at them. “What the hell?! I thought it was dead.” Bakari mumbled.
“They are able to regenerate if you don’t destroy all of their hearts. Which is almost never because no one really knows where they all are to begin with.” Axyl continued “But when they come back, they are stronger than what they were before.”
“I'll take care of him before he gets out of hand. You watch his back.” She said as she ran towards Droga’s pet, and got knocked back towards the group.
“So bossy.” Axyl said to Bakari.
“She is but she seems like the person you would die from if you don’t listen to her.” Bakari replied, taking stance up next to Axyl.
Axyl was really now just fighting on willpower as he was so fatigued that it was getting hard to even hold his sword straight. He kept looking at Bakari to make sure he was safe. Suddenly Axyl heard some loud noises and he was hoping that it was AiLeen. He listened closer and he realized it indeed was her voice he was hearing. He couldn’t let her see him being all sluggish as she came through being her usual pleasant self, rampaging through the crowd of Redborns. She teleported right to their sides. “Did you miss me?” she said to Axyl, who lied and said he didn’t.
She chanted some words and tapped her staff on the ground, creating a barrier around her, Bakari, Axyl and the Hunters. “This should give you some time to get your stamina up to continue the fight. I also found the portal back to Zera, but it is quite the walk and I'm sure they aren’t just going to let us just stroll there.” AiLeen said still in her cheerful voice.
Axyl was too busy staring at Droga’s pet who was pouncing on the barrier trying to break it, and who also encouraged the Redborns to jump on it trying to bust it. AiLeen stopped talking and started chanting to hold her barrier up to keep them safe. With every hard tap by Droga’s pet, the barrier shrunk, and AiLeen forcefully made it bigger. She was using a large amount of her mana just to hold it up.
“I’ll handle this pet. Think you could let me out? It should help you hold your barrier.” The Hunter asked.
“I have another plan… I hope you guys can run. I don’t see us getting out of here from Droga any other way before your main forces arrive.” AiLeen looked around at everyone.
“We are all ears.” Axyl spoke up.
AiLeen didn’t say anything. She simply smiled and tapped her staff to the ground and a bright light flashed everyone who wasn’t in the barrier.
“RUN!” AiLeen shouted while running towards the door.
The Hunters split up from Bakari’s group once they all got out the door.
Droga came out the door, and rushed towards Bakari and the rest of his group. Angrily, he viciously attacked everyone even his own people.
The unknown Hunter saw this and warned them. “You all need to move faster. I’ll try to delay him!”
They began running through the trees in the direction towards where AiLeen told them the portal would be. Droga chased after them, trying to stop them. The unknown Hunter stepped in front of him to delay him a while as the others ran. Just like Axyl and Shara, she was fatigued. Droga was already on par with her when he was at half his strength. She had to be careful, otherwise she could die. Mid fight, Droga noticed the portal and knocked the Hunter out of the way, running straight for the portal and Bakari. Axyl noticed this, and without words, grabbed both Bakari and AiLeen and jumped in. They didn’t know where they would land. They were just falling, aimlessly.
From the Author
First, I want to thank my family, and friends for their support through the last few months of writing this book, and everyone who has purchased the book. It’s been a dream of mine for a while to write books, and I’ve finally done it. This is the first book I’ve ever completed, and trust me it was an interesting journey. I’ve been sitting on the idea for this book for a while, and I’m happy I finally made it a reality. AiLeen has been screaming at me for a while now (Yes she gives me headaches all the time) to write her on paper so the world can see how glamorous she is. I have a lot more in store as Bakari explores the vast world of Zera and ascends his way to the throne. I hope you all stay tuned in and watch how the journey unfolds. Thanks again!
P.S. Kas can’t wait for his spotlight in book two.
About the Author
Lorenzo Lionheart is an emerging young adult author and all-around kind soul known for his fantastical storylines, magical characters, and engaging plots. While he has never been one to set limits on himself creatively, his genres of choice range from fantasy and sci-fi, to action & adventure.
Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, Lorenzo's affinity for storytelling began during his early ch
ildhood, and he has been both reading and writing ever since. On top of that, as a brother among over 12 other siblings, he had a multitude of people to draw his inspiration from growing up. Ultimately, this all culminated into his debut novel entitled "Zera: Dawn of the Redborn."
Through the infinite power of words, Lorenzo strives to make people's days brighter, challenge the status quo, and offer an array of captivating worlds for his readers to escape to.
When he isn't spilling ink on a page or typing away on his notes app, Lorenzo is immersed in the colorful world of anime and manga. He is also an artist and avid Xbox gamer.
To find out more about Lorenzo Lionheart and his forthcoming publications, feel free to visit his blog at www.mindoflionheart.com
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