by Oxford, Rain
“I’m proud of you, sweetheart.” I hugged him for just a moment. “Now go protect your brother.” Seimei and Ikiru were both waiting restlessly next to Hail. Ron returned to Hail’s side just as Mordon returned to mine.
“They’re ready.”
“One more thing,” I said. I let my magic flow out into the crowd once again, this time creating silver, leather straps around the wrists of our allies. “When you fight an enemy, your bands will glow red,” I told the alliance, letting my magic both carry and translate my words. “If you end up fighting a friend, they will glow white. Demons can also possess people, so be aware.”
“What about armor?” Mordon asked.
“There are too many shifters. Also, many of these people have never worn armor before and I believe it would take too long for them to adapt. It would do more harm than good.”
“Then I think now is your chance to impart some great words of wisdom.”
I looked at the army in front of me and then the opposing army behind me. “You want some words of wisdom, Mordon? Don’t eat yellow snow and try not to get shot.”
“That is sound advice.”
“We can destroy many minor demons, but doing so among mortals… there will be collateral,” Azyle said.
“Strike them only when they are away then. Protect our side above destroying the demons. Take out as many demons as you can before they make it to our side, then focus on protecting us while we fight.”
“Do you want us to fight or protect?” Samorde asked.
“Sorry, Regivus; I can’t take him seriously like that.” With the barest spark of my power, I shattered the god’s curse over the Guardian. Although I made sure not to inadvertently lengthen the penalty on the Enep people, I didn’t want Samorde to suffer for another moment for a sin he hadn’t committed. He wasn’t even alive when it was committed.
The Guardian changed within seconds from someone who looked younger than Ron to an adult of around twenty-five. He was still very fair and delicate looking, but at least I didn’t expect to hear his voice break when he spoke. He tried to thank me, but he was interrupted.
An Ancient appeared just a few feet from me. Mordon instantly struck with the azurath blade, but the Ancient vanished and reappeared just out of the blade’s reach. His hands were raised in surrender. “Easy, dragon, I come in peace.”
“For how long?” Mordon snarled.
The gods all formed a solid wall, ready to strike if the Ancient made an unexpected move. This Ancient had medium brown hair and deep gray eyes. Although the power emanating from him was similar to Xul’s, he didn’t have the same dark, gothic appearance.
“I despise living in the void,” he admitted. “However, I have no desire to change the universe into the void. I respect the balance as the dominate force of the universe, and I respect the Qadah as the dominate force of the void.”
“You know then?” I asked.
“Know what?” Mordon asked.
“I am good friends with Janus,” the Ancient said, ignoring my brother. “I was the one who warned him of the attack so that he could go into hiding in time, and I was the one who rescued him when he tried to warn you instead of hiding.”
“Are you here to fight with us?” Xul asked.
“No. I have come to tell you Argodothra set a trap.”
“I know,” I said.
“You plan to fall into it?” the Ancient asked.
“I see a path much worse and I have made my choice,” I said. He nodded and vanished. I turned to the demons below me and took the echo from my bag. “Be prepared,” I said. Bloodshed would commence the moment the confusion cleared.
“I got your back.”
That wasn’t my point, but I appreciated his support. I had given the demons enough warnings. All those who stood before me to fight me and my alliance were damned in my opinion. I would fight for my friends and for the freedom and life of all people.
I pulled both demon magic and Iadnah energy from inside and focused on the book in my hand. As it was a false book, I mentally erased the names that were in it that were also in the real book. Of course, none of the people would be hurt and my Guardian book would be unaffected.
I poured my magic into the book to absorb the power of the remaining names. I didn’t know any individual name, but they were in my head if I ever needed them. Letting my power amplify my voice like Mordon’s had, I shouted to the demons. “Return to the void and never enter the universe again unless you are called by name!” I demanded.
I sensed their struggle, but I had their names and more than enough power. A quarter of the opposing army disappeared. A cheer went up through the crowd behind me, but that was as far as the celebration got. Realizing that they received the first hit, the remaining demons started appearing among our people.
The gods got to work striking down the demons that were still on the low ground. Several demons tried to surround me, but Mordon was trained with the sword to prevent that tactic. He cut down demons like they were dummies, faster than I had ever seen him move.
In the face of being surrounded, dragons shifted and took to the skies. Although they only blew fire (or ice or even plasma in some cases) over the demons, there were some on our side who were terrified, including the Erame women. I focused on the demon magic in the crowd, but I couldn’t differentiate between friend demons and foe demons as I unleashed my targeted magic.
Stop.
Every demon amongst the alliance froze, which allowed the good guys to gain a little ground. I could only hold it for a few seconds, however, because I was worried that the good demons would be confused for bad ones. I turned my efforts onto the demons still on the field below us and greatly increased the efficiency of the gods’ attacks, but there were too many demons to stop them all.
The modified, supercharged weapons of the alliance seemed to be working well, and although they drew on my energies, it wasn’t too much for me to handle. The demons had the advantage of throwing energy spheres as weapons, so I used the same power I had created weapons with to create shields that would work against magic. Not everyone could hold a shield due to the size of their chosen weapons, but those who needed the defense were provided.
While all of the demons could do magic, most of the alliance could as well. I could feel the demon energy throughout as demons tried to do everything from creating earthquakes to drawing storms. On this barren planet, resources were meager and it was easy for our allied demons to thwart the efforts of our foes.
Demons started shifting into creatures of unimaginable horrors. Some were twisted versions of the nightmares of multiple worlds. The dragons were our strongest force against those displays, as people gave the horrifying demons plenty of room. One particular demon shifted into a huge sandworm… only to find that the dry, cracked ground was too hard even for him.
It almost looked like this was going to be an easy victory, but I knew better. I could see how everything could go wrong. A hesitation here, a wrong step there… I could see the death of every person that fought on my side, but I could also see them surviving.
Three of the demons that Mordon fought started shifting into dejeva while the remaining two distracted him. I was about to use my magic on them when three loud shots rang out and all three of the half shifted beasts burst into ash. Edward was lost in the crowd before I could say anything. Either my magic had enhanced his gun, too, or he had awesome connections of his own.
Unfortunately, the battle was becoming more and more spread out. Although this made it easier for the dragons and the gods to act, I had a more difficult time keeping track of people. All of the demons were now mixed in and engaged in some kind of battle with the alliance. People fought with weapons or magic, but there were just too many demons. It was a mess of metal clashing with metal, blood and ash flying, fire, and wayward energy.
People were injured. I was wandering into the fighting before I realized what I was doing. Mordon followed, of course, and kept my enemies off my
back. Friend and foe together would move out of my path as I searched out those who were injured. Some of them I healed as I walked by… unfortunately, some were killed by the enemy instantly.
I saw a woman step to her right, not seeing the demon behind her that was ready to strike. I felt her thoughts and changed them so that she stepped to her left instead. Not expecting it, the sneaky demon stabbed his accomplice instead. There were demons who tried to enter the minds of people, but it was simple enough to crush that behavior with a simple thought.
Scum, I thought.
As I healed my allies, my mind was flickering through the thoughts and lifespans of people around me. Many of them I had to manipulate to prevent mortal wounds. Some were so stubborn I had to control more than their thoughts to keep them alive.
The Guardians were doing well, as were the gods who fought against the Ancients to keep the powerful demons out of my way. As it turned out, the gods were holding the Ancients off okay, despite the fact that these demons were as old and powerful as the gods themselves. Unfortunately, many of our alliance didn’t know how to fight, let alone fight amongst others.
The people of Malta were having more trouble than those of other world. While the fire users and their air users could use their power, there was no water for the water tribe and the land was too unreceptive for the land tribe to make anything of it.
Ishte-mor captured my attention. After spending most of his life in training, his every move was flawless. His magic was nothing to scoff at, either. The cane that normally made him appear frail actually lengthened to twice its normal span. Wielding his cane like a weapon, he was a strong force to be reckoned with up until that point. Nevertheless, he was about to walk right into to path of an almost feral pack of varug who had been infuriated by some unfortunate demons.
I didn’t know what I was going to do until my magic was already released. My energy hit him with no apparent effect. He stepped back from the demon he faced and a large black varug pounced on him. The huge wolf-like creature met thin air instead of a fleshy body as the beast passed right through the king and hit the ground with a roll. Shocked, the varug ran off to find easier foe. His pack followed their leader until they found a small group of demons to devour. The demon that fought the king saw this, cut his losses, and bolted.
Another demon ran for his life behind me. Ron tackled him, bit into the demon’s shoulder, and tried to scratch the demon’s eyes out. I looped my arm around my son’s waist and picked him up. “Hey now, angel, is that any way to fight?”
“He shot my hair!” the fourteen-year-old screamed, struggling to escape my grasp.
Hail ran up to us and bent over, panting with his bow dangling at his side. “The little shit can run.”
I let Ron go and he fingered several strands of hair by his right ear. “Does it look horrible?”
“It’s not even noticeable, sweetheart.”
The demon who had hurt Ron’s hair tried to run away, but like a cat, my son pounced again and bit the demon, who screamed. Hail sighed and tried to pull his brother off the enemy. The purple-haired warrior woman, Sheena, kept trying to fight near Ron, but my son stubbornly refused to give her even a hint of acknowledgment.
Reality shifted as the sunlight began to fade. Everyone, including the demons, looked up at the sky in time to see what looked like a solar eclipse. The moon-shaped object halted in front of the sun, spilling darkness over us all. As much as I seemed to see in this battle, I wasn’t expecting a battle cry to erupt from our side.
The sky filled with fire, giving us dark yellow and orange light to fight by. Other dragons lit the sky with lightning. People on the ground fought harder as they bonded in the dark with their alien allies. Our forces grew stronger as the demons began to fall faster. Red wristbands danced in the dark like we were at a night club.
The Erame fae used whips of burning white energy to destroy the demons, as it only took one touch. Sifters fought with tooth and claw alongside wizards who shielded them. Some of the varug even let wizards ride them. Vaigdan people all had ridiculously badass weapons.
Demons started shooting down the dragons in the sky, which made a thick rain of blood and temporary blinded dozens of our people. I healed the dragons I could, but they needed leadership if they were going to make it. “Mordon, go help the dragons,” I said.
“I’m not leaving you,” he growled back.
Xul was suddenly beside him. “I’ll help Dylan, you help the dragons.”
My brother looked at me, unsure, but I nodded and pushed him away. Drawing on my power, he shifted and took to the skies. The others instantly turned to his leadership as he was the oldest and strongest dragon among them. He used my power to deflect the demons’ attacks until the demons started to refocus their efforts on the ground force.
The fae got their magic from sunlight, so many of them were already growing weaker in the darkness. The people of Skrev, however, were masters of navigating in the dark and using it to ambush their enemies.
I continued trying to heal people even as some of the powerful healers in the crowd started using their power to help others. The noise was deafening, but it grew louder as our side prevailed, so I was grateful for it.
It was more difficult to see the paths and encourage people in order to prevent their deaths in the dark. I could feel both the phantom sensation of the injuries I healed, as well as the injuries of people I needed to heal. I was mostly able to block out the first and follow the second, but I became increasingly aware that the gods needed help.
I made my way back to the edge of the cliff. The gods had taken their fight with the Ancients down there, where people and minor demons wouldn’t get in the way. With none of my allies in immediate danger of doing something that would get them killed, I jumped from the edge of the cliff.
Xul shouted curses at me, but jumped as well. Instead of creating a physical shield around me, I used the same technique to form a round platform, about five feet across, under me. Xul landed beside me as I guided it down gently.
As soon as I stepped off the platform, Mordon landed in front of me and roared. His scales changed from black to dark red to display his displeasure, before slowly darkening back to black. I knew he was angry that I didn’t warn him before jumping, but I wasn’t thinking as I normally did. It wasn’t that I was distracted or spacy… more like I was elsewhere.
I felt like my mind was spread out as with my magic. I was physically standing in front of a dragon, but mentally, I was still trying to heal people, read people’s immediate futures, and help them defeat the demons. As I passed him, I patted Mordon on his snout, earning a puff of hot smoke. His scales were as smooth as glass and almost hotter than I could stand. Of course, I had felt my brother’s dragon scales before, so I knew what to expect. With a great flap of his wings, he disappeared into the black sky.
Ten of the gods battled against five Ancients. It may have seemed like the gods were at an advantage, but the Ancients were apparently much stronger. I couldn’t see the paths of the gods, for they were each able to see all of their own paths, and I couldn’t see the paths of the Ancients, as their demon magic was too strong. Even though I knew what I was, I wasn’t at full power.
It was mostly energy that flew between them. Huge rocks had been torn up out of the ground to use as a shield by the gods. I sent an image to them after a few seconds of watching them fight. The gods instantly positioned themselves as I had suggested; paired up. Regivus and Roshne paired up, Mreje with Avoli, Azenoth with Araxi, Erono with Zer, and Enki with Madus. Roshne, Avoli, Araxi, Zer, and Madus would act as defense for the gods while the others would be offense.
This bought me time. The force of Lore was not strong seeing as how this was a new world, but it would eventually be great. I could use that potential. I could pull strength from the world at its greatest moment in time. When Alice would be its Guardian.
After healing the worlds with my magic many years before, it made sense that they recognized m
y call. Immediately, energy of every world except Raktusha flooded me. It wasn’t my body but my soul that controlled the energy.
Sunlight returned to Lore as the Ancients were finally outmatched. I felt rather than heard the cheering of the fae, along with the grumbling of the Skrev people.
My intention was to make the Ancients stop by any means. For two of them, that meant instant death. Another disappeared to the void, never to return under any circumstances. The remaining two Ancients surrendered and dropped to their knees in a low bow. One was female and the other was male.
“Who is your leader?” I asked.
“The goddess,” the female demon said. She had dirty blond hair, made dirtier by the battle she had fought so hard in.
As my power still commanded them from inside out, it was a simple matter to retract their power. They were actually quite a bit less powerful than Xul was. With a simple thought, I destroyed their demon bodies made of the remains of the dead and created mortal bodies in their chosen images. As an afterthought, I replicated their clothes as well. It felt like I was replacing darkness with light. They were both clearly confused and shocked, but neither would raise their head.
“You two will live as mortals here until you learn what life is,” I said.
The woman finally raised her medium brown eyes to look at me. “We only ever wanted life.” Tears streamed from her eyes and, startled, she reached up to wipe them. “Is this blood?”
“Blood is red,” I told her. “It’s what’s all over the ground.”
She ran her fingers across the ground, gathering both blood and ash on her hands. “Then why is the blood of my brother black,” she asked, referring to the ash.
Before I could respond, Mordon landed beside me and shifted. “Nila,” he said.
I instantly flashed to the High King, ignoring the fact that doing so should have been impossible. Nila was lying on someone’s black leather jacket in obvious pain. While I had focused on my enemy, I hadn’t been protecting my friends.