“What the hell is that!?” Tren yelled.
The brown, black, and white beast stood on its hind legs and gave out a loud roar, then it slammed back down on its two front paws with long razor blade nails. It only had half a head with one purple eye, one half of a large pink nose, and one half of a pair of black lips.
“It’s a Bift,” Tasa answered.
“A what?” Tren had never heard of such a monster.
Zyas grabbed his new bow from behind his back and held it by its sturdy string so not to be cut by the razors on the other side, Tren still had on his blood armor, Alcia managed to squeeze out a little water from the grass, and Marian had both hands lit in flames. Angel just stood next to Tasa with his sword in hand, “get back!”
Tasa gave Angel a confused look, but then shook her head and stayed where she was, “don’t worry about me.”
The Bift roared again, and scared the birds out of the trees. Angel looked to Tasa, who had bent her knees and held her hands out as if ready for an attack. He wondered what this woman could possibly do to stop that very large beast from ripping her into shreds.
Angel stepped forward, but stopped when Tasa put her hand out, “what?”
“Look,” she nodded towards the five cloaked men, with skin as white as the clouds.
Angel frowned in confusion as he has never seen men so pale unless they were dead. Even still, they wouldn’t have been that white. The cloaked men stood there with their white eyes focused on the group of teens in a horizontal line.
“Hey,” Tasa whispered, “I’ll take the beast, and you guys take the Moorenofs.”
Tren frowned again, “the What?” he shook his head.
Angel nodded, figuring that the Moorenofs were the pale men in brown cloaks.
Marian leaned over to Tren, “when will we start fighting?” he asked.
Tren shook his head, “I have no idea, but keep in mind that we take the Moorenofs, while she takes the Bift.”
Marian laughed, then whispered, “Where did they get these names from?”
“I have no idea,” Tren whispered back.
Zyas stepped forward, “here they come.”
The Moorenofs sprinted for the six teens, initiating the dangerous battle, and the Bift ran behind them.
Tasa pulled out her knife and jumped high into the air, over the white creatures, and onto the Bift’s head, where she had impaled it with her small knife. At first, Angel only wanted to watch her battle the furry giant, but then when a Moorenof came at him, all he was worried about was protecting himself.
A Moorenof raced for Tren with its sharp nails ready to claw at Tren’s flesh, but when it finally reached him, Tren easily evaded its attack and side kicked the demon to the throat, knocking it onto its back. Tren smiled, but was also confused on why it was so easy to take it down, then he shrugged it off and continued to defend himself.
Zyas clearly hadn’t gotten a Moorenof as weak as Tren’s opponent, because he was struggling just to get it from on top of him. It seemed as if the beast wanted to eat him by the way it snapped its sharp teeth over and over trying to get a chunk of Zyas’s neck.
“Get off of me!” Zyas wished that the creature had hair so that he could grab some and try to yank him off, but its head was completely bald. The creature snapped over him again while slobbering on Zyas’s arms, and causing them to burn, “ah!” Angrily, Zyas punched the Moorenof and it fell to its side. He then rolled back to his feet, grabbing his bow on the way, and slashed at the Moorenofs white neck when it came for him again.
Marian laughed as he dodged the crazed Moorenofs wild swings. Not one of those sharp nails so much as nicked him, and he thought it was hilarious. He stopped moving for a second and let a flame ignite in the palm of his hand, then when the creature got close enough to him, he simply slammed his palm over its eyes, causing it to scream in pain, “well, it sounds human,” he shrugged.
“Zyas!” Tren warned.
A Moorenof had attacked Zyas from behind, and slammed its body into him. Zyas fell to the ground, and quickly rolled over to his back so that he could at least see the punches that came down on him. A second later, an orange flame knocked the Moorenof off of Zyas and onto the ground, where it screamed while trying to roll off the flames.
Angel walked up to the Moorenof and watched it roll around, frantically trying to put out the flames, then he raised his sword and impaled it in the chest.
The other three boys just stared at Angel as if he’d just committed a cold blooded murder, and then turned to Alcia, who was occupied with the last Moorenof.
Alcia had stepped out of the way as the Moorenof slashed through her watery body with its nails. It became angrier by the second, wondering why it couldn’t draw blood. The Moorenof came at her faster, and after a few more times, succeeded in slashing her arm.
Alcia jumped from the pain, and didn’t understand why her body had become solid again. She tightened her fist and tried to pull more water from the dirt, but couldn’t muster up the strength and began to panic. Her body had used up all the energy that she had left from liquefying itself.
“Alcia,” Zyas jumped to his feet and ran for the Moorenof with his razor sharp bow, “leave her alone!” Zyas raised his bow and then slashed it across the creature’s neck. It immediately fell to the ground dead, “you okay?”
Alcia nodded her head, then turned to the large beast that Tasa continued to fight.
Angel watched as Tasa stabbed at the Bift over and over again as it shook and fought to get her off of its back. He figured that Tasa must have done this many times, because she held onto its fur tightly and didn’t let go.
Angel raised his sword for a second, but lowered it when he saw the beast was finally slowing down. It swayed to the right and then crashed down onto its side, making the ground to shake.
Tasa jumped off of the Bift, covered in its blood, and walked away from it as though nothing had happened. She examined the scene and smiled, “you guys are pretty good,” she nodded, “not bad,” she turned to Angel, and then down at his sword that didn’t have one ounce of blood, “we should get going before more come.”
“Yeah,” Angel said as he looked from left to right, “lead the way.”
Tasa looked back at him one more time before walking into the trees.
“So, no one’s going to ask her what the hell all that was about?” Marian asked.
Tren shook his head and followed the rest of the group, “guess we’ll find out.”
After walking for thirty minutes through the forest, Angel began to notice that the trees were so high that he couldn’t see where they stopped, but they weren’t so different than the ones in Varenwhile. Just for a moment, he felt like he was back home, and it definitely felt good to be around nature again, after being locked away at the sector. He looked down at his uniform and sighed.
“You’re from the sector, huh?” Tasa asked.
Angel nodded, “yeah, we just got away.”
“What world were you born?”
“Varenwhile,” Angel responded, missing his home.
“Ah, I heard of that place. My father told me all about it.”
Angel frowned in thought, “your father...you said that he knew that I was coming here?”
“Yeah, but we must not talk about that right now. We need to get you all in new clothes before the others notice,” Tasa said back to all of them, “don’t want anyone reporting to the sector.”
Angel looked over at Tasa and saw that she was wearing a brown leather top to cover her breasts, a pair of brown leather shorts, and wore no shoes. He wondered what kind of clothes that she would have them wearing.
“Others?” Alcia asked.
“Yes, I do live with other people in my village you know.”
“Duh,” Marian said.
“Shut-up Marian,” Alcia replied.
“You shut-” Marian bumped into the back of Tren, and then pushed him, “what are you doing bro?”
Tasa had stopped in the middle of a s
mall opening surrounded by trees and turned around to face the group of five, “we’re here.”
Worried that they may have walked into some kind of trap, Angel grabbed the handle of his sword, and was ready to use it for another battle, but then let it go when Tasa gave a soft smile. She then, unexpectedly, jumped high into the air and disappeared passed the trees.
“Well, what the hell is going on?” Tren yelled.
Angel looked up, and a second later, Tasa landed back on the ground with a rope in her hand, “why are you able to jump like that?”
Tasa shrugged, “I get it from my father.”
“What’s with the rope?” Alcia asked.
Tasa looked around to make sure that no demons were lurking, and then motioned for Alcia to come closer. Once Alcia was in front of her, she looked back at Zyas, who just shrugged.
“Take this,” Tasa handed the rope over to Alcia, “hold onto it tightly.”
“Why...” Alcia held it tight with both hands.
Tasa pulled on the rope twice, and suddenly, Alcia was ripped from the ground and passed the trees.
“Hey! Wait-” Zyas ran to where Alcia were standing, “where did she go?! What is this!?”
“Don’t worry, she’s safe,” Tasa reassured.
Four more ropes fell from the trees, and the four boys looked at each other in confusion.
“Well, come up when you’re ready,” Tasa said. Zyas was about to grab her when she bolted into the air and out of sight again.
Angel sighed and walked up to one of the ropes. He grabbed it with both hands and looked up, noticing that the trees blocked any exposure to the sun, “come on, guys.”
“What if it’s a trap?” Zyas asked.
“Well, Alcia’s up there now. We have no choice but to go see if she’s safe,” Angel answered.
“What is up there?” Marian asked.
“I know just as much as you do buddy,” Angel tugged on the rope twice, and was yanked into the air, just like Alcia was a few minutes ago.
The rope pulled Angel through the first layer of leaves, and then through multiple layers after that. The branches passed by in a blur, causing him to start to panic. When he looked down, he noticed that the others were right below him, and that the ground was no longer in sight. Just how high were these trees?
Angel looked back up and saw that there was a wooden platform above him that circled around a tree, then he noticed that the rope was being pulled through a body shaped hole in the wooden floor. In less than a second, Angel was pulled through the hole, and ended up letting go of the rope and rolling towards the edge of the platform. The momentum had control over Angel for a moment, but then he quickly stopped himself from rolling off of the edge, and falling down from where he just came. Which was a very long way down.
Tren, Marian, and Zyas finally made it to the wooden surface, and was as shocked as Angel was when they saw where they were.
Angel looked over the edge of the platform, and was amazed by the village in the trees. There were so many people walking around over the large bridges, hanging by strong ropes, in almost every direction. The bridges were connected to the tall trees that each had wooden platforms built around them for people to walk on. Some walkways went around a tree once, but then there were some that spiraled down as far as Angel could see.
Angel finally got back to his feet and looked up at the sky, “there is it,” he said to himself. He smiled at the beautiful birds that flew above him, and then at his friends who were each giving him an odd look.
Angel frowned, “what?”
Tasa came from around the bend of the tree with Alcia behind her, and was as confused as Angel was, “what is it?” Angel went back to his original emotionless stare.
Tren and Marian looked away as if they didn’t just see Angel smiling, which was rare, and Zyas tried his best not to laugh.
“It’s nothing,” Zyas said. He turned to Tasa, “your home is beautiful. How did you build such a place?”
Tasa smiled, then her smile faded, “our ancestors built it,” she sighed. It had just dawned on her that she came to the village with strangers, and not Montago, the man that she loved.
Angel recognized the look on her face, and remembered how he had to get used to being without Shalina, “it’ll be alright. I’m sure that he’ll come back.”
Tasa clenched her teeth and looked away, “let’s get you some new clothes before the villagers recognize the ones your wearing,” Tasa walked around the tree and onto a wooden bridge connected to it. The others followed behind her up the bridge that made a steep hill, and had to hold onto the rope tightly, so not to fall back onto each other.
Marian looked back and saw that no one was on the platform they had been pulled up to, “hey, who pulled us up?”
Tasa was too far ahead to hear the question, and continued up the steep hill as if she were walking on flat ground. Marian continued to look over his shoulder, still looking for the people that pulled him up, and saw that there was one last platform higher up with multiple ropes hanging from it.
“This way,” after they made it to the top of the bridge, Tasa led them around another tree, and onto another bridge that led downwards this time.
Angel watched as two kids ran by laughing carelessly, as if there was no possibility that they might fall, then he turned back to Tasa, who was already at the bottom of the bridge and now walking downwards on the spiral platform. She finally came to a stop and waited for the others to catch up.
Tren stopped and looked over the edge, towards the ground, and couldn’t see it, “where the hell are the railings around here?”
Marian shrugged, “I’ve been wondering the same thing since we arrived.”
Tasa faced the tree and slid open a door that was covered with bark, then she waved for the others to follow her inside the tree, where her home was.
Alcia took Zyas’s hand, worried about what laid ahead, and let Angel enter in first, then they all followed him into the darkness.
Angel held the handle of his sword as he walked down the spiral cramped set of steps. He hoped that they weren’t being taken anywhere dangerous. He felt a bit of calmness from the fact that his sword wasn’t warning him, which meant no danger came his way, but he still wasn’t completely sure, on account that she only warns him sometimes.
Tasa suddenly stopped, and Angel bumped right into her, “watch it,” she said angrily, “then she turned back around and slid open another door that led to a small home similar to the huts in Varenwhile, but even smaller.
They each stepped into the house, and Marian slid the door shut behind him. He then turned around and noticed that there was a single mat in the middle of the floor, a small table against the wooden wall on the right, and a chair on the left.
“Alcia,” Tasa called. She led her to another sliding door, “you can change in here. Let me get you all some clothes.”
Alcia looked back at the boys, who just shrugged, and then followed Tasa into the dark room. While the girls were in the other room, Marian started looking around to find out where the light was coming from.
“Guys, am I the only one here that’s curious about this place?” Marian asked.
“No, but I’d rather not drive myself nuts worrying about how everything works,” Tren answered, “there’s the light,” Tren pointed across the room to the right corner in what looked to be the ceiling. There was a jar hanging from it with very bright flying insects inside. They blinked on and off like a broken light that needed fixing.
“Amazing,” Zyas said, “we don’t have bugs that big in Varenwhile. At least not any that glow.”
The door slid back open, and Zyas turned to see Alcia wearing the same leather outfit as Tasa. He almost blushed when he noticed that her chest was bigger than he’d thought because of the baggy clothes she had to wear before. His eyes then followed down to her thick and tight legs that were revealed by the high leather shorts she was wearing, making her look like a real warrior.
&nbs
p; Tren and Marian started laughing behind him, and Angel slightly smiled over at them.
“What’s so funny?” Alcia asked frowning, “Does it look bad?”
When Zyas didn’t answer, Angel did, “No, it looks great on you. They’re laughing at something else.”
Zyas swallowed, and wanted to quickly change the subject, “Tasa, you have our clothes?”
“Yeah, they are some of Montago’s. Here,” She handed over the pair of clothes to each of the boys.
They were only given a pair of brown pants that felt like wool.
“No shirts?” Angel asked.
Tasa shook her head, “shirts?” she truly looked confused.
“Yeah,” Marian pointed at the shirt he had on, “shirts.”
“Oh, your tops. No, you guys won’t be needing those here,” Tasa answered, “and Montago doesn’t have any.”
Tren held up the pants, displeased, “how come you guys get to wear the good stuff and we get...these?”
Tasa sighed, “Look, if you don’t like it then you’re welcome to wear your sector clothes, but don’t blame me if you get caught. Montago only has one pair of warrior clothing and he’s wearing it right now.”
Tren nodded, “fine.”
Angel had already changed while everyone was busy talking and tossed his old clothes on the small table. He then adjusted the sword on his back and made sure that the strap across his chest was tight enough.
The others went ahead and changed as well, with the girls facing in the opposite direction. Once all the boys were shirtless with their wool pants pulled up to their waists, they all stood there looking down at their new clothes.
Zyas smiled at Alcia, “you’re lucky.”
Alcia gave a slight smile, “those pants look good on you,” she tried not to laugh.
“So,” Tren started, “what is there to do around here?”
Before Tasa could answer, Marian spoke, “the better question is, what are we doing here?”
The cramped room was silent for a moment, because no one knew what to say, or what to do. They had just escaped the sector and made their way into a village in the trees. Everyone had forgotten about home, and didn’t know where to take their adventure next.
Angel's Blade: Power (Angel Series Book 1) Page 10