by ID Johnson
“Jume!” Ru remembered Windy was telling her about him just as Max had shown up to take her to Larkin. He used his lasso to draw in his victim before destroying them. Raising her hands, Ru shot her blue light at his face, causing him to let go of the rope. He let out an angry roar as Cutter toppled to the ground at his feet. Though he was clearly dazed, he had enough presence of mind to raise his hands as well, causing Jume to let out another roar.
Behind the demon, Ru saw another form come forward, and then another. She didn’t have time to look to see who they might be, but she could see more shadows beyond these demons. Lyric, Rider, and Ivy sprang into action. A gust of air blew one of the demons backward into another and the forest began to vibrate as Ivy unleashed her powers, existing vines shooting out of the surrounding trees as new ones sprang forth as well. Rider was engaged with a large snake-like creature. Ru’d had enough snakes from her encounter with Medusa, so she was happy to let him handle that situation.
Despite Jume’s strength, with both of them concentrating their power on him, he was soon confined, and Ru shouted the words she knew would free them both with confidence and full belief that they would work. “Infernus et perdere faciam te in nomine Domini!” Jume let out another loud bellow before he disappeared in a plume of light.
Ru wanted to run to Cutter to see if he was alright, but he was already on his feet, engaging the next creature, and Ru returned her attention to the portal. Stilling herself and trying to regain her focus, she raised her hands again, thinking if she could just close the portal, all of these beasts would be locked on the other side.
As she brought her hands up once again, the ground beneath her feet began to tremble even more violently than it had with Ivy’s powers. One boom after another resounded through the forest, causing the ground to quake such that Ru couldn’t keep her footing. She looked from one friend to another to try to determine what was happening, but each of them looked just as flabbergasted as she felt.
The ground shook again, stronger this time, knocking Ru off her feet, backward onto the hardened lava ground. Her hip smarted where it made contact with the earth. Before she could regain her footing, there was another shudder. This one sent her bouncing backward almost five feet. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening as she continued to take to the air and land again every few seconds as the violent ground sent her farther and farther away from the portal. In front of her, she could see her friends on the ground as well. Even the demons they’d been fighting had lost their footing and were sent sprawling.
The portal was in the distance now, some fifty feet, but Ru stayed focused on it each time the jarring let up for a brief second. What she saw before her was almost unbelievable, despite the fact that she’d seen demons she never would’ve thought existed and had recently seen an angel fly. Nothing compared with the implausible scene playing out in front of her.
At first, only a toe protruded from the portal opening, a massive one which filled up the void of the entryway. It had to be nearly half Ru’s height if not taller and just as far across. Once it made its way through, she could see the rest of the foot slowly leaking its way past the confines of the narrow opening, and before her very eyes, a giant began to take form, one liquid appendage at a time. It was as if he were pouring himself through the portal from the bottom up.
His reformation brought a halt to his forward progress, which allowed Ru and the others to clamber to their feet. Her legs and side hurt badly, but she knew she’d have time to worry about that later as she stood, steadying herself for a moment with one of the trees.
The demons were up again, too, and the battles picked up where they had left off. Everyone else was engaged, which left Ru to face this Goliath all by herself.
“Kill it! Kill it!” Rider shouted at her as streaks of blue wrapped around the snake’s midsection. He seemed to be closing in on his prey, and Ru tried not to let the sight distract her. He was right. It would be best to take out the giant before he was fully formed.
With a deep breath, Ru drew upon all of the strength she had inside of her and aimed her blue light at the giant. It was difficult to figure out where to aim since he was only out of the portal up to his shins. Still, she hoped it would be enough. Perhaps it was because of his size, but she felt the need to shout even louder this time as she recited the incantation almost word for word along with Rider who was also sending the snake into oblivion. “Infernus et perdere faciam te in nomine Domini!”
This time, Ru didn’t feel as confident. It seemed like there should be a different incantation for something so large. Surprisingly, it worked right away, and Ru found herself gazing at an empty, though distant portal. She decided to close the expanse some before she recited the incantation that would blow the portal since her strength wasn’t quite what it was before.
As she began to run forward, something odd caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Rider was free now and had turned his attention to the demon Ivy was battling, which she almost had under control. However, Ru saw the bird-like monster Lyric was fighting burst into a black cloud and dissipate. At first, Ru thought perhaps Lyric had used an incantation she didn’t know to send him on, but then Lyric turned toward Rider. A gust of wind sent him flying through the air, crashing into a tree, hard. Lyric began to advance toward him, her hands raised, her face an angry scowl.
“What the…” Ru began. Lyric was attacking Rider! What was happening? How could she turn on him in the middle of a battle like that? Lyric had always been completely loyal. What she was seeing made no sense. But then, it was certainly happening.
“Ru! Help!” Ivy screamed. “Help Lyric!”
“Help Lyric?” Ru echoed. Did Ivy want her to attack Rider as well? Then, Ru remembered another demon Windy had told her about. In fact, there were several of them. “Jumper!” She took off running in Lyric’s direction, throwing herself between Rider and the form of her friend. She wasn’t sure if this was Jarwu or one of his cohorts, but it didn’t matter. She needed to break Lyric free before the body snatcher did any more damage.
Lyric sent a brisk breeze in the direction of a branch hanging directly over Ru’s and Rider’s heads. She looked up right in time to see it falling. Ru threw herself over Rider’s unconscious body, hoping to protect him, but as the tips of the branches snarled her hair, the branch seemed to suspend in midair. She looked up to see another vine wrapped around it, securing it to the tree so that it couldn’t fall the rest of the way. “Thank you, Ivy!” Ru shouted, climbing back to her feet.
Ivy didn’t have a chance to answer. The distraction from her own battle had cost her, and she stumbled backward. Luckily, Cutter was free now and was hurrying to her side. Ru turned back to face Lyric whose hands were raised again. This time, it was different, however. As Ru studied her friend’s face, she could see the struggle there. Lyric was fighting for control of her own body.
Ru raised her hands and aimed the blue light at Lyric’s midsection, praying she didn’t hurt her friend in the process. “In nomine Dei patris ego mittam te!”
Lyric let out a shriek of pain that sent birds soaring through the forest in all directions as she folded in half and dropped to her knees. The black cloud formed back above her head, and Ru wasted no time disposing of the jumper once and for all. “Infernus et perdere faciam te in nomine Domini!” Before the demon even had a chance to reform, Ru sent him back to Hell in a flash of light.
Lyric didn’t get up right away, and Ru was torn between running to her and dropping back to the ground behind her to check on Rider. “Lyric!” she shouted. Her friend’s hand reached out and waved at her, as if she was telling her to go on, which made Ru’s decision only slightly easier. She could see that Cutter and Ivy were making headway again on the remaining demon who resembled a tree himself, with branch-like horns on top of his head and elongated arms and legs that ended with long, stiff tentacles.
Ru spun around and dropped to her knees. “Rider?” She smoothed back his hair and patted
his cheek. “Rider?” Are you okay?”
He made a slight moaning noise. Ru was relieved to hear that he was at least alive. She slipped her backpack off and grabbed her water bottle. Taking the cap off, she poured some over his head and managed to slip a few drops into his mouth before he began to sputter.
“I’ll help him. You go,” Lyric said, her hand on Ru’s shoulder.
Ru looked back to see the pink-haired Keeper grimacing, and it looked like she’d actually crawled over. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Lyric managed, taking a seat next to Rider. “They’re not done yet. Giant only delayed….”
She couldn’t seem to get all of the message out, but Ru realized what she was saying. Sending the giant through the portal had been poor planning on Azrael’s part, or whoever had orchestrated this ambush, because he had clogged up the exit. But now, it wouldn’t be long before more enemy forces could get through.
Ru leaned over and kissed Rider’s temple and then pressed her lips to Lyric’s head as well before she stood. Leaving her backpack behind, she took a deep breath and headed back toward the portal.
Lyric’s prediction was right. Ru hadn’t made it ten feet before the feeling that something was coming tugged on her insides. While this didn’t seem large, like the giant, it seemed menacing. As the portal began to vibrate again, Ru raised her hands, prepared to close it once and for all. Out of nowhere, a burst of black smoke hit her in the side, knocking her backward into the trunk of a tree. She had no idea where it had come from, but as she fought to regain her footing, trying her best to ignore the pain in her shoulder, she realized she was too late. Once again, the sight in front of her was incomprehensible.
A Reaper stepped through the portal opening. Tall, with ebony hair, he wore the long black cloak she expected to see, a scythe in his hand. The man quickly ran to the left of the portal, and then another Reaper appeared on his heels. Dressed identically, with the same weapon, he ran to the right. Then, another sprang forth, and another. Ru watched, her eyes wide as the Reapers continued to pour out of the portal, as if Hell had spilled an inkwell and the thick, black substance was covering the entire earth.
“Holy Hell.”
It was hard to pull her eyes off of the sight, but she turned to see Cutter standing next to her.
“We’ll never be able to take all of them.” It was Ivy, and Ru glimpsed a look of defeat on her face as she came to a stop behind Cutter.
“We have to try,” he said. Ru could see the resolve in his face and noticed his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Ivy and I will hold them off while you concentrate on the portal.”
There had to be at least a hundred of them now, and they just kept coming. They were three rows deep, spread out in front of the trio in a defensive stance, as if they were awaiting orders to advance, though Ru didn’t know from whom. She didn’t recognize any of them. Even with the cloaks covering their faces, she would know if Nat was there. And then it dawned on her. He was there. He was the one that had knocked her backward when the Reapers first started charging through. He couldn’t come through the portal because the only way for him to get back to Hell was right in front of her, and he was on this side already. Why she hadn’t sensed him before, she wasn’t sure, but there was no doubt in her mind he was there now, just off in the distance, awaiting his remaining troops before beginning his mission—to destroy her and all of her friends.
Ru opened her mouth, thinking she’d tell Ivy and Cutter to take Lyric and Rider and run, but before she could get out a single word, the last Reaper took his position in front of them, and like a well-trained army, every scythe shifted at once, as if someone had ordered them to present arms. They were ready to attack.
From her right, Ru watched as Thanatos, dressed in the same cloak as his army, stepped through the trees, accompanied by four other Reapers, faces Ru had seen before. Raven and three others she’d seen at the battle in Reaper’s Hollow. Nat stood in front of all of them, wielding his scythe like a saber.
“Rune Ronobes!” he shouted, his face still deformed from the injury his father had inflicted on him. “I command you to step forward now! Join us—or you and all of your friends will die!”
Ru felt Cutter’s fingers wrap around her arm, clutching her harder than he likely meant to. He pulled her backward, forbidding her to go. But Ru knew what she had to do. If sacrificing herself would save her friends, she had no other choice.
She turned her head to look at Cutter. His expression was one of desperation; his eyes wide with tears in the corners, his teeth set in a grimace, though she could still see the fear—not of Nat, not even of dying, she realized, but of losing her.
“It’s okay,” she said quietly, hearing a whimper from Ivy. “I’ll go.”
“No, Ru. You can’t,” Cutter pleaded. “He’ll turn you into one of them.”
“Maybe,” Ru admitted. Thoughts of becoming a Reaper, particularly the kind that claimed unmarked souls, did not seem exceptionally appealing, but at least Nat was giving her options. “I’ll be alive, though. And so will you.”
“No, Ru. I won’t let you.”
“Cutter, it’s not your choice,” she reminded him, forcing his fingers off of her arm with her free hand. “Listen, if going with him will save the four of you, then I’ll do it. I’ll… I’ll be all right. And someday, I’ll find a way to escape. Then we can be together again.” Her voice faltered, and she hoped he couldn’t hear the doubt in her words. Something inside her seemed to know that if she ever gave into her Reaper blood, she’d never break free.
“Ru, please. I love you.” The tears reached the precipice, cascading down his face, and Cutter seemed to try to breathe them back in.
Reaching up to wipe them away, she said, “I love you, too. And that’s why you must live.” She managed a smile and leaned up to press her lips against his. She stole a quick glance at Ivy and then returned her gaze to Cutter, needing to see him one more time.
Before he could say anything else, Ru took a step forward. Nat was at least half a football field away from her, and there were branches partially blocking her view, but she could see a satisfied look on his face as she slowly began to make her way toward him. The pain she’d been feeling in her stomach all day began to morph into something different. It was as if giving into the blackness had changed its disposition, and she suddenly began to feel a tingling sensation, like she was excited. Ru’s hands squeezed against it, hoping to quiet the monster within her that struggled to be liberated.
She had reached the halfway point when she stopped. The view here was direct, no trees or branches between them now. “Do you promise you’ll let them go? All four of them?” she shouted.
Nat smirked, and then, raising his free hand, he made an X on his chest. “Cross my heart.” His voice was full of arrogance as he was already reveling in his victory. “Come along, Ru,” he said, beckoning, and Ru realized, he was calling her. If she took one more step in his direction of her own volition, she’d be answering that call; she’d be his to command.
Slowly, Ru turned her head to look back at her friends. Ivy had her arms wrapped tightly around Cutter whose face showed despair and hatred. Though she didn’t have a clear view of Rider and Lyric, she could see that they were still sitting beneath the tree. She took a few calming breaths, ready to turn back around and face Nat, ready to answer his call.
Before she turned her head, she saw something else moving behind Cutter and Ivy. At first, she thought it was just the wind blowing the leaves of the trees, but then she realized what she was seeing. The trees were so thick, it would be difficult to notice them if one didn’t know there was a possibility they were there. Unable to contain herself, a wide smile spread across Ru’s face. Cutter’s forehead puckered in confusion as he puzzled over her expression, and Ru silently sent him a message, Ivy, too. Their faces immediately brightened, though she knew it would be difficult for Nat or any of his Reapers to notice at such a distance.
Ru turned b
ack to face him, wondering how she might gain a few more moments’ time. “Nat,” she said quietly, looking into his green eyes, every bit as enchanting as they had always been, even though one was horribly maimed. “Do you remember when we first met?”
He tilted his head to the side, a shadow of perplexity passing across his face. “I do.”
“Do you remember what you told me then? About trust? About a villain’s side of the story?”
He held her gaze for a moment before answering. “Yes.”
“Since then, you’ve reminded me that bad guys don’t always wear black, and good guys don’t always wear white.”
Eyebrows arched over green spheres. “What is your point, Ru?”
“You were right,” she shrugged. Ru picked up one boot and held it out in front of her. Placing it on the ground closest to him would make her his. She watched his eyes widen as he stared at her foot, dangling in the air between them. She imagined if he had anyone to pray to, he was probably doing so, though she couldn’t imagine who someone such as himself would bow his head to at night. “Sometimes, good guys don’t wear white,” she said, her boot still suspended in midair. “Sometimes… they wear dark green.”
Ru watched his mouth form the word, “What?” as she dropped her boot onto the ground behind her other one, but she couldn’t hear him. She’d bought enough time. Even as the word came out of his mouth, a burst of blue light flew over her head, accompanied by a torrent of wind, and the ground began to shake. All around her, streaks of light filled the air as the angels came crashing into the line of Reapers. Ru backed away, taking shelter behind a nearby tree, allowing Flint’s forces to clear a path for her so that she could close the portal at last.