The Fallen

by R. L. Drummond

  The soldier turned towards Cutter, now on his feet and breathing steadily in spite of the horrors that had torn his soul asunder, and now left him poisoned beyond all salvation. Belial’s champion looked upon him and with the harsh whisper of the grave, he rasped, “Who are you?”

  “I am Belial’s.” Cutter responded lifelessly.

  Belial’s champion nodded without emotion and as he turned, he stepped on the lifeless hand of the thug’s victim; his body and face distorted nightmarishly from the horrors of Belial’s Dark that had ultimately claimed his life. And as Belial’s soldier walked into the streets of Dahlia once again in search of his prey, his sire’s drones followed wordlessly behind.

  Wind howled through the midnight sky like the screams of the damned, harsh and ripping as it buffeted the trees with its force and whistled through the mountains. Rain fell from the heavens like streaking comets, cold and unforgiving and through the moonlit darkness of the night, came the shriek of metal and oaths of men. Reya watched the scene from outside her father’s body as he swung his great axe with a mighty roar, destroying rock and mortar with such colossal strength; but still his enemy fought on.

  He grunted at the ferocious knee that was thrust into his side and as he staggered back, he saw Tellan leap forward on the offensive, his bastard sword raised and glinting in the moonlight. Belial parried Tellan’s vicious advance with ferocious strikes of his own, ever moving backward in the search for refuge against such powerful numbers. When Belial spun around the weatherworn remnants of a stone pillar, Tellan immediately leapt to the other side, ready to deliver a crippling blow upon his enemy’s blind side. But a backwards swinging kick caught him squarely in the spine and Tellan sprawled onto the pillar’s rough face, gasping breathlessly as he sought for stability. Belial surged forward with a swing that would have cleaved Tellan’s head from his shoulders, but the sudden arrival of Jenko saw his blade thwarted by a sabre and as the angel followed up with another slash, Belial wasn’t quick enough to block the second sabre that scored his thigh.

  Belial staggered back clutching his leg and even as Jenko pressed his advantage, Baldur came barrelling forward with his great axe pulled back with fearsome anger. Belial’s eyes bulged at the sight of Baldur’s approaching speed, knowing all too well that enormous strength lay in those powerful arms. And in spite of the hasty guard the demon prince brought up in defence, Baldur’s great axe thundered against him. Belial collapsed to the ground from the force of Baldur’s attack and as he desperately kicked his legs to grant distance, Tellan surged forward with his bastard sword ready in an overhead strike.

  But the demon prince rolled away with astonishing speed safe from harm, for the corroded masonry beside him was the destroyed edge of long neglected battlements. Baldur hissed in irritation as Belial dropped onto the level below, landing in a messy roll that saw him clear from the immediate danger of the Asgardian onslaught. A fleet of arrows suddenly scorched from above, thudding into the grassy stones underfoot as Belial fled yet again and Baldur raised his eyes in relief that Timran was not without his bow.

  Timran sped along the ruined archway and onto the lip of a crumbled wall with Belial firmly in his sights, running fearlessly over the ruin’s rat maze structure in pursuit of their elusive quarry. Jenko leapt to Belial’s level himself and pounded relentlessly after him, a mirror of Timran’s chase as the bowman leapt from the battlements above and onto the remnants of a wide pillar. Timran fired again opportunistically as Belial made for a sudden corner and, with the roar that told him he had caught his target, Timran yelled his success to Baldur.

  Wordlessly, Tellan and Baldur made their own journey, sprinting across the direct route in spite of how convoluted the ruin’s skeleton lay before them. And when they finally caught up with their brothers, Jenko was already locked in a vicious struggle with Belial, a spinning and hacking melee that held such astonishing speed, it was almost impossible to stop. An arrow protruded from Belial’s calf and as Jenko leapt a devastating side kick into Belial’s chest, another arrow screamed from overhead, punching into the demon’s side. Belial roared as he spun from the impact, but at the sight of Baldur and Tellan’s imminent arrival, he broke the arrow’s shaft and brandished his long sword threateningly. Yet again the three angels launched their offensive, striking and parrying in tandem as Belial defended against the whirlwind of their sheer force and, with the slashing of Tellan’s blade across the demon prince’s stomach, Belial snarled in pain.

  He turned abruptly and sprinted for dear life along the edge of the cliff they had tracked him to and as Belial headed deeper into the ruined shelter of his lair, the Line of Baldur pursued him. They powered after him, breathless in their exertion and eager in the face of their most dangerous enemy’s demise; but as Baldur launched over the scattered bones of a fallen pillar, he felt an instinctual warning upon his soul.

  Belial’s speed had slowed considerably and as he spun to face his enemies with his long sword raised, Baldur looked ahead in horror at Tellan’s own sprinting pace. He gasped when Belial swung his sword against a straining rope hidden by a patch of leafy moss and as the severed tail of it fired into the sky like one of Timran’s arrows, a swallowing sense of apprehension gripped Baldur.

  “Tellan!” Baldur and Reya both roared forebodingly and with the deep rumble of stone that thundered underfoot, came a yell of shock from Tellan.

  Baldur’s heart was in his mouth when Tellan’s bastard sword suddenly spiralled into the air, clattering upon the grassy stones beyond the trap that had opened a chasm beneath his feet. Baldur yelled for his brothers to continue on the fight and as he sprinted forward with new speed, he let his great axe drop from his hands.

  Baldur flung himself flat upon the ground with his arm stretched out as far as his body could grant him and as he desperately gripped Tellan’s grasping hand, he gasped at the water that crashed onto murderous rocks so far below. Tellan’s legs swung precariously as he stared up at Baldur in fearful astonishment, and with a roar that came from his very soul, Baldur hauled his second up with as much strength as he could muster. Through the pounding effort in his head and heart Baldur could hear the roar of battle cries, and as Tellan gratefully grabbed onto his wrist, Jenko and Timran attacked their enemy once more.

  Baldur gasped at how fiercely Belial fought the slashing wall of Jenko’s attacks, for as wounded as the demon prince was, he still held a powerful defiance. Jenko staggered back with a grunt when Belial’s long sword scored his chest deeply, and as he blocked the oncoming attack, a roar from above heralded Timran’s arrival. Belial snarled as he swung his sword into the path of an approaching arrow, but upon his last draw, Timran had launched himself fearlessly into the air. In mid leap Timran unsheathed his short sword and Belial staggered back from the sheer power the angel’s downward strike brought.

  Baldur’s eyes snapped up at the deep tremble that resonated through the bowels of the ruin like the shifting of an earthquake and, as Timran was kicked backwards over the stone lip of a collapsed wall, Jenko staggered and dropped a sabre. Belial snarled and leapt on the immediate offensive, pressing his new advantage upon Jenko with feverish aggression, and as Baldur hauled Tellan onto level ground, so came the powerful blow that forced Jenko onto his knees. But still Baldur struggled with bringing Tellan to his feet and as Jenko raised his remaining blade in hasty defence of Belial’s attack, the demon prince kicked his sword arm outwards. Baldur’s eyes widened at how exposed Jenko’s torso was forced and the hitching of the demon prince’s elbow brought the unforgiving thrust of his infernal long sword.

  Jenko screamed when the murderous weapon punched through the right side of his chest, the tip of the demonic blade biting cleanly through him, and as he gasped from the impact, he stared down at how deeply the blade was embedded within him.

  “Jenko!!” Baldur roared impotently, so close that they could see the look of shock upon their brother’s face, but not close enough that they could aid him.

  Baldur reg
ained his weapon with a roar of anguished retribution and as he and Tellan began their sprint, Baldur realised despairingly that the fight had pushed on further along the ruin than he had expected. But still he and Tellan sprinted on, hefting their weapons aloft with their gaze focused on their target, until another rumble of stone echoed beneath their feet. Tellan looked at Baldur ominously, a questioning look in his eyes that asked if his commander had felt the same as he had, but the answer came from the even heavier rumble that saw both men staggering terribly.

  Without ceremony, Belial tore his weapon from Jenko and sprinted off again towards the cliff beyond, but with his fleeing came a devastating arrow that claimed the demon’s back and Baldur gasped gratefully that Timran had recovered his bow. But when Timran looked down upon his brother bleeding heavily on the stone floor, he dropped his bow with a dark, enraged glare and unsheathed his short sword again. Baldur watched on in despair as Timran sprinted after Belial with murderous retribution in his eyes and when the angel caught up to the now badly injured demon prince, Timran’s attacks were feral and rapid.

  Baldur dropped before Jenko’s trembling body and pressed his hands upon the gushing wound that pumped so much hot blood onto mossy stone below. Jenko ground his teeth through the spasms of pain that wracked his body and as he grasped Baldur’s shoulder strap with a hand that was slick with his own blood, he hissed for his commander to leave him.

  Reya watched on with her heart breaking at how steadfast Jenko was then, that even though he believed he was dying, he still couldn’t let his brother Timran face their powerful enemy alone. Baldur barked an order for Tellan to go on and as Tellan nodded firmly, the pair gathered their weapons and sprinted off again. Timran still pushed the sheer heat of his anger against Belial, the demon prince now exhausted from his injuries as he guarded as best he could against the angel’s relentless attacks. Timran pounded his short sword down onto Belial’s guard inexorably, roaring his retribution into the demon’s face with every feverish strike; but when another rumble beneath his feet brought the shifting of stone, he staggered terribly and dropped his short sword. Belial leapt from his defensive sprawl with a slash that claimed Timran’s torso, but still the angel surged forward and grasped Belial’s throat with his bare hands. Baldur gasped in shock as masonry began to fall about him in a hailstorm of Belial’s trap and as he looked upon Tellan’s face, he saw the whiteness there that spoke of his brother’s awareness of the real danger within this ruin.

  But as Baldur willed himself onward to save Timran, he swung his gaze towards the tremendous crack of stone that resonated forebodingly beyond. Baldur’s mouth hung open in fear when he saw the stone floor begin to crumble and as he stumbled to a stop, the walls of the ruin cascaded onto the ground in crashing waves. Baldur screamed a desperate warning of the ruin’s imminent demolition, for Belial’s trap had triggered a wave of destruction that corroded the very structure of the ruin. And as stone thundered down from above, each impact slammed into the ground with such powerful resonance, Baldur could feel it through the soles of his feet.

  Tellan’s arms wheeled as he screeched to a halt, for the stones below his feet rippled alarmingly and brought him the instinctual knowledge that within minutes, the entire ruin was doomed to crumble into bone crushing calamity. Tellan rolled sideways at the moment the floor collapsed from his feet and as he sprinted towards the empty archway of a glassless window that already sagged alarmingly, he leapt desperately for its edge. Baldur’s breath rushed from him as he echoed Tellan’s journey from a safer route, willing Tellan onward as he leapt for the security of a grassy hill nearby. As Baldur ran up the hill, he glanced up at the soaring figure of Tellan as he leapt to join him and together, the pair breathlessly sprinted on for Timran’s salvation.

  Puffing heavily and drenched in the torrential rain that hammered upon his face, Baldur forced himself ever onward and upon the sight of Timran still locked in a ferocious struggle against Belial, he shouted another warning of the ruin’s rushing collapse. Timran looked up at his commander’s fearful roar, but as he turned away, Belial seized his wrist and wrapped a hand tightly around the angel’s throat. Baldur gasped when the rumbling cascaded so loudly that the entire cliff shook, and with a last scream of his brother’s name, he could only watch when the stones beneath Belial and Timran collapsed.

  Timran and Belial tumbled calamitously from the cliff’s crumbling edge, screaming with flailing limbs and all that stopped Baldur from following their descent was Tellan, his arms hastily flung about his commander’s chest.

  “Baldur, he’s gone!”

  Reya wept from the heart-breaking anguish that tore through her father’s soul at those words, that as much as they had just witnessed the unthinkable true death of an immortal, they had lost their brother Timran to Belial’s destructive wrath.

  The two stood there in shocked woe, soaked through by the rain that pounded from the black clouds relentlessly. Eventually, Baldur turned at the soft pricking upon his instincts and he gasped at the sight of Jenko, sprawled face down on the grass he had tenaciously crawled onto. Baldur and Tellan ran back down the hill then and as they turned their brother onto his back between them, they stared in sombre silence at the corroded edge of the cliff. Knowing that Jenko’s wound needed immediate treatment, Baldur ordered the three on in search of shelter from the storm that still raged around them. But as the survivors of the Line of Baldur carried their injured brother, there was a heavy cloak of guilt within them all that smothered their victory over their most powerful nemesis.

  The planes are finally safe…Reya is safe…Baldur thought sombrely. But Reya could feel the crushing heaviness such a cost laid upon his soul.

  Reya woke up abruptly with a gasp and as she sat upright, she clutched her hands upon her heart in the hope that she could stop the sensation that it was about to burst from her chest.

  “It’s alright, sweetheart, I’m here.” Tellan hushed gently as he sat quickly upon the bed and wrapped his arms protectively around her little shoulders.

  “Is she alright?” Jenko asked from the window, perched within its frame as he watched the street below.

  “She’s fine.” Tellan answered quietly as he stroked Reya’s head and looked into her face, waiting for the moment her eyes fluttered drowsily from his soft comforts.

  Sleep found her swiftly once more and as he laid her gently back down, he tucked the covers around her body with such loving care. He studied her sleeping face then and when he finally spoke, his voice was a heavy murmur, “A week, Jenko…can we wait that long?”

  “We have to.” Jenko replied as he watched his commander’s actions with silent concern, “Orchid’s merchant is the best chance we’ve been given of getting Reya out the country. But we still need Vella’s help if we’ve to set Reya up. And we can’t do that if we don’t know where she is. Our plans haven’t changed, not really.”

  “But Belial is right behind us, I can feel it.”

  “I know…” Jenko acquiesced sombrely, “The time frame’s not ideal, my Lord, but it’s all we’ve got right now.”

  Tellan then sat back a little and rubbed his face wearily with a deep moan that was built upon the fatigue that had stacked up too heavily within his body and mind both. Jenko sketched his eyes across his commander and frowned at the hang–dog expression that filled his face in tired pallor.

  “When was the last time you slept, Tellan?” He asked quietly.

  Tellan settled his drained gaze upon his lieutenant and sighed deeply as he thought on what should have been a simple answer to a simple question. It was some time until he answered tiredly, “I’m not sure. Maybe…when we stopped before coming into Dahlia.”

  Jenko blinked slowly as he continued to observe his brother in troubled silence, for he could see the wearing toll Tellan’s constant vigilance had waged upon him. He inhaled deeply and looked out the window once more. “I meant, more than three hours’ worth.” He replied levelly.

  Tellan’s silence was m
ore than enough of an answer and as Jenko looked upon him again, he shook his head at the dark circles that weighed down Tellan’s eyes. “For God’s sake, Tellan you’re a mess.” He murmured bluntly.

  “You’re not exactly a prize winner yourself right now.”

  Jenko grinned wryly at Tellan’s uncharacteristically acidic response; even further proof that his commander was far more exhausted than was good for him.

  “You should get some sleep.” Jenko said with gentle insistence.

  But Tellan stubbornly shook his head and replied with a firm insistence of his own, “No, I can’t. Not when she’s had another nightmare.”

  Jenko rose from the windowsill with a weary sigh then and when he stood before Tellan, resolution was clear in his posture as he looked down at him. “You’re exhausted, Tellan.” He said with great emphasis, “What use will you be to her if you’re too tired to fight?”

  “But–”

  “You know I’m right.” Jenko replied firmly with his hands on his hips and with a tilt of his head, he added in wry humour, “So am I going to have to drug you? It’s bad enough that you insist on wearing that hideous overcoat; I don’t want to be seen with someone who can’t fight worth a damn.”

  Tellan huffed a laugh at the absurdity of his brother’s argument, “It’s nice those are your primary concerns.”

  “Seriously, I’ve seen potato sacks with better style. With the amount of thread you’ve used to patch up that bloody thing, you could’ve made a brand new overcoat.”

  Tellan frowned good–naturedly and shot back, “Fine, you win; I’ll get some sleep. If only to shut you up.” He then looked up fondly at his lieutenant, for he could see the care behind Jenko’s teasing and added playfully, “Since when did you become the sensible one anyway?”