The Esoteric Design

by A. R. Crebs

  “Ivory!” he shouted again with his low voice.

  “Dovian,” Aria moaned weakly. At this, Dovian quickly turned his head. “Is she alright?” she asked.

  “I am unsure,” he mumbled.

  Aria scooted across the ground, reaching out toward Ivory. Gasping, she held her sides and curled into a ball.

  “Hey! What’d I tell you? Don’t move!” Troy kneeled beside Aria. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

  “You are hurt?” Dovian asked.

  “No. No, I’m okay. Just make sure Ivory’s alright,” Aria groaned. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Why did crushed ribs have to hurt so much?

  “No, she isn’t alright,” Troy grumbled. “One of those big-and-nasties tried crushing her insides.”

  Dovian abruptly set Ivory down. Troy traded spots with the taller man and began checking Ivory’s vitals as well, his hands all over the thin girl’s neck. She was ice cold.

  “Let me heal you.” Dovian gently grabbed Aria’s body. “Take slow, even breaths, alright? Small ones,” he said softly to her, his black wings growing back their feathers.

  Aria nodded, breathing as instructed.

  Kovacevic stood, rifle aimed. He slowly began picking off the demons that were scampering down the street toward them. “We will be needin’ some backup soon,” he said.

  Dovian nodded, acknowledging the general. He was relieved to see that Kovacevic was still alive and had gotten out of the way of his and Euclid’s destructive battle.

  “Is this feeling any better?” Dovian questioned. He ran his glowing hands over Aria’s sides with his form crouched over her smaller one. Aria gasped, taking in a big breath of air. “Your lungs were punctured. Any longer and you could have died.”

  Troy eyed Aria. He gave her an angry, yet concerned, look. Her stubbornness could have gotten her killed.

  “Thank you, Dovian,” Aria gasped again.

  He continued running his hands over her back, healing her fractured vertebrae. Finally, he removed her helmet and brought his hand to her face, his fingertips healing the small scrapes on her cheeks and the massive bruise on her forehead. Aria watched him carefully. A moment ago, he looked so angry; now, he looked peaceful as he healed her. That expression quickly changed, however, once he looked at Ivory.

  “Is she awake yet?” he asked Troy.

  “No,” Troy replied.

  Troy and Dovian quickly switched spots, Troy grimacing as he gripped his side. Dovian quickly tugged him and pressed his hand against his ribcage. Troy didn’t dare move, and in a few seconds, Dovian had the man’s broken ribs healed. Once finished, the Sorcēarian immediately dropped to his knees beside Ivory. Troy and Aria immediately joined Kovacevic, helping him take down the mass of nearing enemies.

  “Ivory?” Dovian asked, staring into the woman’s wide eyes. She wasn’t responding. “Ivory!”

  The woman gasped, her tiny pupils finally widening and then thinning again as she focused on Dovian’s face.

  “D-Dovian!” She quickly rose, placing her palms against his cheeks. Her voice lowering, she said, “You’re alright! I’m so glad you are alright! I was worried! So worried!”

  “There’s nothing to worry about. I can take care of myself.” Dovian grabbed her petite hands and slowly lowered them. He gave her a small, uneasy smile. “Are you alright?”

  “Don’t worry about me, Dovian. I can take care of myself. I’m more worried about you,” she said.

  Dovian froze. ‘Don’t worry about me, Dovian. I can take care of myself. I’m more worried about you.’ He replayed the old memory.

  Mistaking his shocked look for one of disbelief, Ivory reassured him, her high-pitched tone returning. “I feel fine. Really.” She nodded.

  Shrugging his feelings away, Dovian gave her a nervous look but finally nodded. “If you say so. Always let me know if you need any help, okay?”

  “Okay.” She bobbed her head again.

  “We need a little help!” Aria shouted over her gunfire.

  Dovian lifted his head and felt his heart sink. They were completely surrounded. Beasts filled the streets ahead of them; they crowded the alleys and the streets behind as they filed into the city.

  “So, I take it that since you are here, Euclid should be finished off,” Kovacevic uttered with his cigar in his mouth.

  Dovian was silent. Aria and Troy both fed him hopeful looks.

  Kovacevic continued, “But seeing as these creatures are still surrounding us, I’m gonna guess that there’s a possibility that asshole is still around.”

  Dovian lowered his head, his hood covering his face. He slowly pushed the nervous Ivory behind him. She was defenseless, her weapon now buried deep in the debris of the crushed tower, her helmet along with it.

  “You would be correct in your second analysis,” Dovian muttered.

  “What?” Aria faced Dovian. “You let him go? Dovian!”

  “I didn’t let him go!” His icy eyes turned her way. His head was still lowered, but he was tall enough to reveal his glare to her, making the woman shrink. “I was about to end his life when you started screaming in my head. It was either chase after him or save Ivory. I’m sure, judging by the emotion in your call, that you wouldn’t want me to let her die.”

  Aria eyed Ivory.

  “It’s my fault. It’s my fault that Euclid got away,” Ivory said, wringing her hands tightly.

  “No. It isn’t your fault. If it were anyone’s, it would be mine,” Dovian said firmly.

  “It’s fine. I’m sure we’ll get plenty of chances to get the bastard. At least the whole city isn’t leveled yet.” Troy aimed and fired his rifle, hitting a Brawler directly between the eyes. “Yet is the keyword, though. How are we going to deal with them?”

  Demons lined the streets and alleyways for as far as the eye could see. There had to be at least fifty in the first square block. That didn’t include the ones still outside the city walls waiting to get through. Euclid had a never-ending army.

  “Well, fight is all we can do,” Dovian said. “Ivory.…”

  “Yes?” she responded nervously.

  “Take cover behind the barricades. I want you to keep your eyes on me. If there is trouble, call out, okay? Don’t let me get too far away from you.” Dovian looked over his shoulder at the tall, slender woman.

  “Okay,” she said hesitantly.

  “Take this. You will need some form of defense.” Kovacevic handed her a small sidearm and a couple of extra clips. Ivory gratefully grabbed the items and quickly did as she was told and ducked behind a wall of barricades, peering over the top.

  “Let’s do this,” Troy said, his optical camera picking up multiple targets as he opened fire.

  The creatures broke out into a quick sprint, hissing and growling as they scattered to the walls and rooftops of the surrounding buildings, all coming toward the small group. Were they the only ones alive? Where were all the other soldiers? The constant gunfire and monstrous calls were so loud they drowned out any other noise made within the city. The fire still fogged the streets with a blanket of black smoke, making it impossible to truly detect the amount of enemies filtering in.

  The three soldiers continued shooting, catching many of the creatures at a distance. The demons that made it safely through the hail of bullets immediately sped toward Dovian. He stood, his legs slightly bent, one arm resting at his side and the other balancing his staff. Having no true emotion, Dovian watched fearlessly as three creatures lunged toward him. As they were only an arm’s length away, he spun, slicing away their appendages in one swipe. Following through, he sidestepped as a monster jumped past him, and he cut into another and kicked back at the same time to plant his foot against the other’s skull and smashed it against the concrete. He landed the back end of the staff into the face of another and spun the weapon down and around his arm to cut upwards into the creature’s chin. Dovian continued his fighting–swooping and turning, sidestepping and jumping, brutally crushing the
monsters’ skulls into the walls and pavement.

  Deep into the alleyway near Dovian, a loud clinking commenced. Two enormous vibrations distorted the visual plane, heading directly toward the Sorcēarian–Brute attacks. Dovian turned, catching sight of this, and dove out of the way. Twirling his staff, he formed a bright-blue barricade of his own as the second wave crashed into him. The first vibration was heading directly toward Ivory.

  “Ivory! Move!” he roared.

  The girl had already detected the wave and was well on her way out into the street as the blast disintegrated her previous wall of protection. As soon as she moved away from her barricade, however, the Brawlers moved toward her. Without fear, Ivory raised her handgun and fired into their heads. One, two, three. They all fell. Dovian sighed with relief. At least she could defend herself for the time being, but as the many creatures neared, he feared they all would be in fatal danger soon.

  “I’m running out of ammunition!” Aria shouted. Troy quickly reached into his pack and handed the woman one of his last remaining magazines. Dovian watched the pair trade similar glances before returning to business. They, too, feared what was to come.

  “I’ve got a couple grenades left once I run out. But after that,” Kovacevic puffed on his diminishing cigar, “all I got is my smokes. And even then, there’s not enough for all of us.”

  Dovian would have to step up his game. They all were depending on him.

  ‘Got to do it, Dovian,’ he told himself.

  He jolted, as did the others, as a loud howl sounded from the end of the block. It called out again, the sound of crackling flames nearing them. As they feared, it was a Spewer. It trudged slowly, spitting fire on either side of the street for a whole block before it noticed the small army of five before it. Tiny golden eyes narrowed, and the beast tore off in their direction, growling and howling, alerting every last creature of their position.

  “You handle the small ones, I’ll take on this one,” Dovian said, running toward the beast.

  The two collided with one another, Dovian actually bringing the huge beast to its backside. For a few minutes, the two scuffled. The monster grabbed Dovian’s cape, tugging him back onto the concrete as he blasted away at its face with his staff. Dovian tucked and rolled backward onto his feet and then jumped gracefully to the side just as the massive being laid its fist into the ground beside him. Dovian sidestepped, throwing handfuls of energy toward the creature’s back and blasted the pockets lining his vertebrae. The Spewer howled, the fiery liquid eating its flesh. As it struggled to stand straight, Dovian mimicked its movements, stepping left and then right, planting blasts on the rest of the sacs before placing a final one into the base of its skull. As he did so, the two Brutes that had destroyed Ivory’s barricade neared his position, each one tossing invisible forces his way. He quickly dodged the blasts, making his way back toward his party, knowing full well that they were now out of ammunition, and the Brawlers were closing in on their positions very quickly. Dovian looked over his shoulder as he ran. The Spewer bubbled and rippled, its skin stretching out as it began to glow in vibrant red and orange. It was going to blow. Dovian smirked. The two Brutes were on either side of the Spewer just as it exploded, its mass taking out the two beasts, sending their bodies into pieces scattering across the walls of the buildings on either side of the small street.

  “Ivory, watch out!” Aria screamed at the top of her lungs.

  The warning was too late to reach Ivory’s ears. By the time the beautiful blonde had turned herself around, the monster’s clawed hand had dug itself deep into her abdomen. Ivory’s eyes were wide with shock. She trailed her scrawny hands over the demon’s own, down to its wrist. Black eyes with no pupils stared menacingly into Ivory’s. A small hiss sounded as drool dripped from its ragged teeth.

  “No….” Dovian spun with staff in hand and on guard.

  His eyes enlarged, his skin crawling with dread. He watched the scene for a second, his mouth gaping. The next instant he was charging to help the woman as she was surrounded. Giving a quick cry in Legacy, Dovian reached over his shoulder and under his cape and pressed solidly against the top of his back apparatus. Instantly, a high reached his brain, feeding into his emotions. Dovian gave a low growl as his wings fluttered, the black scales shimmering in the firelight surrounding him. Pulling his hands out to the sides, he grasped at the air, tugging the flame that consumed the buildings into swooping streaks that flowed from the palm of each hand. Swinging, he brought the flames down like a whip upon the creatures surrounding Aria, Troy, and Kovacevic. The demons shrieked, falling to ash. Giving another whirl, he harshly brought the violent, raging flames upon the circling bodies reaching out for Ivory. Giant, vibrant waves washed over the demons’ bodies, consuming them into dust. Dovian turned toward the blonde, readying to rid the creature that had its clawed fist buried deep in her middle, and paused.

  “Urgh,” Ivory made a low growl before her face twisted into a grimace of not pain, but anger. Her armored hands gripped the monster’s arms. She squeezed tightly, the force cracking and splintering the beryllium bones of the wild creature. The veins bulged and the muscles and tendons tore. It screamed, writhing and jolting about, trying to get away from the sudden pain, but she would not let go. Ivory slowly pulled the long claws from her body. She spun in a half circle, pulling the creature up and over her shoulder. Letting go; the demon spiraled through the air fast and landed hard against a lamppost nearly five meters away. It smashed rather unpleasantly with a loud crack.

  “What the….” Troy halted. He watched in awe, trying to make sense of what he just saw.

  Ivory leaned forward, her hand on her stomach. She turned to the approaching Dovian and grabbed his hand. “Hurry! Heal me!” she pleaded to him with enlarged eyes. Dovian nodded, unsure as to what to say. Ivory should have been dead; she should have been bleeding out by now. He gaped at her as she forced his hand over her wound. Staring at him, she waited for his flow of power. “Dovian!” she shouted. She looked to the side, watching the others near.

  “…Right.” He nodded out of his daze. After a second, a small blue aura transferred from his hand over her stomach. She closed her eyes, feeling the energy soar throughout her body. A little sigh whispered past her pink lips. Dovian watched her in wonder. He was so afraid only moments before. Now, he was unsure as to what actually happened.

  “Done.” He cleared his throat which broke Ivory from her relaxed daze. Tentatively, he removed his hand, staring at the broken body armor. Ivory’s pale skin was showing. There were no scars or hints of blood. Ivory appeared to have nothing more than a hole in her suit. He ran his hand over her belly again, mesmerized. Ivory tugged on her fingers nervously.

  “Uh…thanks,” she murmured quietly.

  “This isn’t right,” Dovian whispered, his glowing eyes staring into hers. She fidgeted under his intense stare.

  “I know. Just, don’t tell them,” she spoke out quickly before Troy and Aria were at their sides.

  “What happened?! Are you alright?!” Troy asked. He looked Ivory up and down as he grabbed her shoulders and tugged her from side to side.

  “How’d you avoid that attack?” Aria narrowed her eyes. Ivory shivered under her glare. Aria suspected something, and it made her nervous.

  “Uh, I…I was just lucky, I guess,” Ivory trembled in her speech.

  “It narrowly missed her internal organs and main arteries,” Dovian helped. “There was a small puncture in the intestines, but it was nothing my energy couldn’t cure.” His tone was unwavering, yet Aria didn’t believe him.

  “Wow…you’re somethin’ else, Dovian.” Troy gazed at the Sorcēarian.

  “Just like in the stories,” Kovacevic added.

  Aria eyed Dovian. He avoided her gaze and she knew. “Right. Well, be careful next time,” Aria said in a warning tone. “I don’t need the help dying on me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ivory whispered.

  “As much as I’d like to celebrate, I
think we still have things to worry about,” Troy muttered as he looked over his shoulder.

  The line of creatures was still arriving, filling the streets. It was impossible. With the soldiers out of ammo and Dovian already exhausted from the use of his energies, they were doomed. And to make things worse, another loud howl sounded in the distance, followed by a second closer one. More Spewers were on their way, and judging by the shouts and the sound of destruction flowing down the blocks, Brutes were on the attack as well. Maybe if all they had to deal with were Brawlers, they’d be alright. This, however, was looking like a never-ending nightmare that would surely bring them to their death.

  “I want you all to stay close together. Find protection under a barricade. I’ll have to take care of these things.” Dovian reached for his back apparatus again, fingers twitching nervously. “Actually, find some shelter in one of the buildings, preferably deep underground.”

  “What are you going to do, Dovian?” Aria asked.

  “Something I haven’t done since my entire race was obliterated,” he said hesitantly.

  Flashes of imagery from Ives flickered in Aria and Troy’s brains. The two looked at each other, their mouths open. Whatever he was planning could level the whole city of Saray. Aria could sense Dovian’s nervousness, sweat dripping from his brow, the first time she had seen him reveal any form of weakness or doubt.

  The Sorcēarian lifted his arms and unclasped the cape from his armor, revealing the large silver apparatus lining his spinal cord. He quickly handed the massive red cloth to Aria. He then proceeded to pull off the top of his coat and black robes, letting the upper half hang over the metal belt around his waist. Closing his eyes, Dovian began pulling on his apparatus; his muscles flexed beneath his skintight white undersuit.

  ‘What is he doing? Removing it?’ Aria watched.

  “Dovian,” she spoke up.

  “I told you to find shelter!” he shouted.