As the soldiers recovered from their surprise, they aimed their gunfire higher. By then Adam had already calculated his next maneuver. He slid down the length of the pillar and called a whirlwind from his palms to propel him out at the closest soldier. The gun wielding lad cried out in fear as Adam flew at him, using the flow of the wind and the boy’s own unsteady aim to avoid the oncoming bullets. Adam touched down in front of him, drawing his sword and with a single swift movement slicing through the automatic weapon. He paused, locking eyes with the soldier who he recognized as one of the members who’d joined before he left. The look of terror he showed Adam was his unspoken way of begging for his life to the man he had come a long way to kill.
The other members of the Khazaki began to change formation and opened fire again. Adam moved out of the gunfire but the distracted youth was hit by the spray and screamed like a child. Adam cursed under his breath as the soldier’s body slumped to the ground, throwing his hand out and sending charged bolts of lightning at his pursuers. A few of them became victims of the force of nature and fell to the ground dead. The killing of those he once called allies was a painful blow, but just as with the first boy he didn’t have time to stop and think as more gunfire targeted him.
Taking to the sky again with another column of hard earth, Adam looked down at the scene. There were dozens of men standing about the village center, maybe fifteen or so more left with automatic weapons based on their rate of fire. If he could put down the shooters, the fight would fall much more in his favor. Commander Walker’s plan was to disable him with the gunfire before attempting to permanently kill him, but without their guns they would stand no chance against Adam. They had to have known this, but chose their cowardly method of attack anyway, a fact that troubled the already dismayed former commander.
From up on high, Adam cast addition bolts of lightning on all the gunman he could see. He didn’t bother to hold back at all; it was clear now that the people who had once been his friends had abandoned all loyalty for him. He heard the pained groans of the gunmen as the electricity surged through them to the ground, stopping their hearts in the process. Adam slid back down to meet an onslaught of swordsman charging at him like a pack of wolves ready to tear apart their prey. Seeing them like this, Adam had a moment of pause. He looked at the mix of young and old faces, some of whom he had known for decades, all intent on tearing him to pieces for the sake of a justice he called on them to practice. It was he who inspired the importance of loyalty in them, but they were not loyal to him. He could not be upset at them for fighting on as brave soldiers, even against a monster like him.
Adam’s face crumpled as he cried out, lunging forward into the advancing group. This brave action caught the Khazaki off guard and they hesitated for a moment, long enough for Adam to move in and cut down three of the officers, Emmanuel, Kendrick, and Nolan. He locked swords with an aging veteran of the group, Nicholai, and scored a fatal blow to him. Next was Eric, who Adam had enjoyed planning strategies with; he was impaled through the side and kicked down to the ground. Mendel, a quaint middle aged man who enjoyed painting, suffered a similar fate. One by one, all those in the group were bested and cast down, only to be replaced as a fresh group of swordsman charged at Adam.
Now that the initial intimidation factor was gone, Adam couldn’t expect to just swing his sword while his opponents allowed him to hit them. He slammed his foot into the ground and drove a wall of earth to cut their numbers in half as he attacked the men who had not been blocked. Their screams rang out as the characteristic blue jackets of the Khazaki were splattered red with their owners’ blood. Adam too was covered with their blood; it stained his hands and splashed on his face, onto his lips and over his glasses and eyes. Yet he was undeterred, making quick work of the men from the second charge.
More of them came, this time attacking in a coordinated pattern from three sides. Seeing himself stuck, Adam drew his second sword with his free hand and set to work on the next wave of soldiers while blocking those who attacked from another side. He felt a sting as one soldier sliced him across the back. Adam grit his teeth and, dropping low, kicked upwards to strike his attacker in the jaw. He spun around while close to the ground and cut through the legs of those nearby. As they fell, he swung both swords upwards to finish them off before moving on to the next set.
By now, a pile of bodies had formed around Adam. Those who rushed onward stepped over their fallen comrades to try their chances. Adam rebuked them for their disrespect by first impaling them with his swords followed by prompt decapitation. His breathing was becoming labored. The impact of this much activity was starting to hit him even in his heightened state of focus. He gasped for air, blocking an incoming swing with his two weapons as he caught his breath. Three fresh attackers took advantage of his weakening state and circled around him like he was a wounded animal. The three attacked while Adam was still preoccupied, but Adam broke off from his engagement to cut down two of them. The third found his mark and slashed Adam across the chest. Adam paid no heed to his injury, grabbing his assailant by the collar and stabbing him through his breastbone before throwing him aside to kill the fourth solider he was originally engaged with.
The surge of attackers started to slow as the cautious survivors paced around the village center, planning what they should do. Adam took the opportunity to catch his breath as the deep wound across his chest sealed itself up. He looked around at those hungry wolves that circled him. There were still a lot of them left; he’d lost track of how many he had killed. Ahead he saw Commander Walker with his arms folded, watching with morbid curiosity. Adam was disgusted that the Khazaki’s leader was allowing his men to rush in and die while he stood back and watched. Adam wondered what he was waiting for. Could it be that despite his orders, Sean still had his reservations about the attack? He had made such a big show about how he could not disregard the insult to justice that Adam had supposedly committed. Now he was silent, watching Adam wear himself out while his own men piled up on the ground like animals laid down for sacrifice.
Adam had lost focus for too long and felt the burning pain of a sword piercing his side. He screamed and jammed his elbow into the face of his attacker. This was enough of a distraction for Adam to disengage the soldier and cut him down. The sword stayed in his side, jutting out of his abdomen just above his hip. He intended to remove it, but as more attackers fell upon him he left it be and defended himself. Still fighting with a sword in each hand, Adam remained sharp as the never ending stream of his old friends stepped up to take a swing at him.
One of them, a stout man named Tyson, raised his sword high above his head intent on swinging down. The proud display only left his core exposed and Adam plunged his sword into Tyson’s chest. Surprise rippled across his face as Adam pulled out his sword and he stumbled backwards to fall into the fountain. As he splashed inside, Adam caught sight of someone beyond the fountain who had recovered a rapid-fire gun from one of the bodies. He pointed at Adam and opened fire. Adam dropped the sword in his left hand, grabbing a nearby assailant and pulling him off of his feet into the line of bullets. The unsuspecting soldier screamed as the bullets ripped into him and passed out his front side. They were slowed enough to not be immediately fatal to Adam, but still dealt him terrible and painful injuries across his body. He did his best to stay standing long enough for it to begin healing, meanwhile throwing his free hand up to call a rocky spike to impale the gunman across from the fountain.
Adam’s vision was blurred by the loss of senses brought on by exhaustion, as well as the blood that had splashed over his eyes. His temples throbbed like a clock striking at the top of the hour, a dull, steady beat that preoccupied his senses. He could see more of the Khazaki approaching him, but they were inky black blobs to him, shifting shapes that he struggled to focus on. Adam struggled to breathe, feeling the wear of the injuries he had sustained dragging him down. They had not been enough to temporarily bring him to his knees, but they impeded him and made him an
easy target. If it was Sean’s intent to erode Adam’s strength by throwing the entire Khazaki at him, he had succeeded.
One of the dark shapes rushed closer to him. Adam moaned and moved forward, swinging his swords to intercept the shape. He felt a pain in his shoulder but as he brought his right arm down he saw a flash of red against the darkness and the shape disappeared. More enemies came at him, and blinded as he was he continued to fend them off as best he could. There was a sharp sting in his left arm and he felt the weight of his sword fall away. His arm had been severed just below his elbow. He swung his other arm around to nip at his attacker, but he failed to get the kill. As he saw more and more shapes encircle him, Adam realized that he had been bested. In a moment, the Khazaki would fall upon him, and even if they couldn’t kill him, they would make quick work of hacking him to pieces and scattering his body around to see if that would do the trick. Adam wondered if it might, if somehow Sean was right, and they would be able to put him down for good. His vision failed him, and he awaited his uncertain fate.
Red flares burst like fireworks around the Khazaki soldiers, forcing them into a defensive panic. Commander Walker looked ahead of the village center and saw someone he was hoping to avoid: Baraluneska Repaltia, along with several other village mages. He had expected them to interfere prior to encountering Adam, and now that the Khazaki was in a state of disorder they would have a difficult time with the spellcasters. He cursed, running out of the line of spell fire to seek a defensive position.
“Third squad, take up arms!” he commanded, dodging a close call and rolling down on the ground. The mages had taken advantage with their surprise attack and long range spells. The Khazaki were back on the defense as Adam was abandoned, left wondering what his fate would be as the chaos continued around him.
Some of the fleeting Khazaki were able to recover the scattered guns and opened fire on the unsuspecting mages. Having never experienced gunfire like this before, many of the defending spellcasters were hit by the rapid spray of bullets and fell dead on the spot. Seeing what was happening, Baraluneska cast a glowing shield wall that halted the bullets while the other villagers continued their bombardment of spells. Balls of light fell like grenades at the feet of the Khazaki swordsmen, exploding in a fire that burned even as the dying men rolled on the ground in desperation to extinguish it.
Adam’s hazy vision started to come back to him as his body began to rebuild itself. He felt the bizarre sensation of the bullets inside of him slipping out and tumbling to the ground and the feeling of flesh and bone rebuilding itself beneath his elbow to reform his lost hand. The sword that was jammed through his side stayed in place and his body refused to do anything until it had been pulled out. His breathing picked up again, and the struggle around him started to take a more clear form. He realized that he hadn’t been cut to pieces, and in fact his aggressors now seemed preoccupied with something else. He could hear the muffled sounds of screams and explosions, but his dulled senses still struggled to make sense of what was happening.
“Close them in!” Baraluneska shouted to the remaining mages. She stepped up and raised her staff high above her. “Lumen Astrum!” The end of her staff glowed like the sun and shot a burst of light up to the heavens. It vanished in the darkness of the sky, but moments later the stars began to shine with blinding brilliance and a golden glow formed around Baraluneska. Keeping her staff held high, she called out, “Cadere caelum!”
The sky above rumbled like thunder and the stars which glowed so brightly seemed to grow larger. In truth, great orbs of light were getting closer, not the stars themselves but the products of Baraluneska’s spell that fell down and rained fury upon the Khazaki. The blasts tore through the invaders as well as any structures that were in the way of the attack. Baraluneska could rebuild her village if need be, and she was ready to do whatever she needed to in order to protect it.
The Khazaki forces shouted and scrambled to recover from the almost godlike assault. Those who had managed to retain their weapons continued to fire on the glowing shield wall. Even with its power, the wall was not invincible and began to show signs of weakening. After a few focused shots in a cracking part of the barrier, the wall fractured and splintered apart, falling like glass to the ground. The mages behind were caught off guard and evaded the incoming gunfire as best they could. Some were hit and fell, while others tried to return fire behind whatever shelter they could find.
Baraluneska lobbed more spheres from the sky, but found herself distracted as a round of gunfire spread near her. She moved out of the way, only to find herself in the path of another line of fire. Her next spell was only half complete when she was clipped by a few rounds and tumbled to the ground. The mages nearby called out to her in desperate fear, but were unable to help her as they found themselves pinned down by the gunfire. Then, as if by divine grace, the bullets stopped firing. A stalwart wizard took advantage of the ceasefire and rushed for Baraluneska, looking further ahead to see what had caused the pause. Someone else was fighting with the gunmen in close quarters, the stranger who had arrived in town the day before.
Having recovered enough, Adam returned to the fight and went after the gun-toting Khazaki soldiers with no mercy. The gunfire aimed at the mages turned towards him, but with the aid of his elemental powers Adam prevented a single shot from being fired. One by one those soldiers who had recovered their guns were brought down by spikes driven up from below. As the bullets stopped flying, Adam took advantage of the momentary peace to pull the sword from his side, letting it fall to the ground as a rush of blood followed it. He endured it, knowing it would be better to let it heal rather than slow him down as the fight carried on.
He heard the click of a gun, followed by the loud burst of rapid gunfire behind him. Adam moved in time to avoid a fatal shot, but sustained a few debilitating wounds once again. He spun and fell to the ground, seeing Commander Walker pointing his assault rifle at Adam. With cold eyes, he pulled the trigger again. The gun clicked and was silent. Commander Walker cursed while Adam took advantage of the chance and jumped up, swinging at his former lieutenant with the sword he retained from his time with the Khazaki. Commander Walker met him in reply by drawing his own sword and the two became locked in combat with each other.
Ahead of the village center, the surviving mages took advantage of Adam’s revival and resumed their attack on the Khazaki. Without their gunmen to support them, the swordsmen scrambled for cover but found little refuge against the wizards’ fury. Taking their chances, the swordsmen ran forward at the mages. From a distance the spellcasters had a tremendous advantage, but they were useless in close combat. If the Khazaki could get within a few feet of the wizards they would secure victory. It was a short charge, but even in their desperation they stood no chance.
A new barrier of light flew up and blocked their advance while a second one sprung up behind them. The last of the Khazaki were encircled by the mages’ spell and hacked at the wall in a vain attempt to escape. Had the villagers decided to be merciful that would have been the end of it, but these intruders had taken many lives and wounded Baraluneska; there would be no consideration of mercy for them. With staves pointed at the wall, the last standing wizards called out, “Ignis extermino!” Sparks ignited at the end of their staves and launched into steady streams of flames that engulfed the Khazaki soldiers. They dropped their weapons and tried to flee, scratching at the barrier with absolute horror as their bodies were torched. Their screams were heard as far as the Great Hall, where the villagers who hid from danger felt sickened by the sound of the dying men being burned alive.
While the foot soldiers perished at the hands of the mages, the last standing Khazaki soldier engaged Adam in an impassioned duel. With his second sword left behind where his arm was cut off, Adam was on equal terms fighting sword against sword with his former lieutenant. As he continued to recover from his sustained injuries during the course of the battle, Adam struggled to keep up with Commander Walker. Despite getting on
in years, the commander was the most adept of the swordsmen in the special police force. He had gotten personal lessons from Adam himself and the two had spent many hours sparring against each other. Adam had helped Sean to build his skills so that he would become an effective leader in the group. Now those same skills were being used against him. Even with Adam’s adeptness with a sword, he found fighting against Sean much more challenging than dueling against the other soldiers.
The two locked their swords against each other’s hilts, bringing them face to face. Sean glared at Adam, covered in the blood of the Khazaki and looking like a mess of his former self. “Why don’t you use those powers of yours? You could finish me off with no problem if you used them.”
“I don’t need to resort to that,” Adam growled. “This is more than just a fight. You made this personal, Sean. I won’t forgive you for what you’ve done here tonight, for what you’ve made me do. This is a matter of honor, and I intend to win by the virtue of this sword alone!”
He broke away and slashed at Commander Walker with a series of quick cuts, each of which his opponent blocked. The last swing was parried and Adam found himself ducking out of the way of the blade that skimmed over his head. He tumbled back and spun on his feet to move into a jumping thrust. Commander Walker smacked Adam’s sword away with his own and punched Adam in the face with his free hand. Adam grunted in pain as his glasses fell into the dirt, followed by Adam himself. Commander Walker stood over Adam, not taking the chance to gloat as he jabbed his sword downwards towards Adam’s chest. Adam rolled to the side as Commander Walker’s sword stuck into the ground. Before it could be removed, Adam screamed and lunged upwards with his own sword.
The battlefield became quiet. Adam found himself an inch away from Commander Walker’s face, his sword buried within his enemy’s chest and sticking out his back. He felt the soft gasp of Commander Walker’s breath against his face and he cringed. Adam gripped the hilt of his sword and jammed it further into Commander Walker’s chest with a painful cry. He felt the weight of his old ally fall on him as he caught the man and supported him with one hand while holding his sword in the other.
Fallout (Tales of the Other Universe Book 2) Page 19