Elpis

by Aaron McGowan

  “Watch it!” Borely yelled.

  “Don’t just charge in there,” Areo said, pushing Borely back. “He’ll freeze you to death if you get too close. Unless you think you can punch away freezing air.” She took a few steps to the side to separate herself from Borely.

  Augurc was surrounded on three sides by Areo, Borely, and Kitoh. He pointed some of his vine-controlled weapons toward Borely, some toward Areo, and the rest toward Kitoh.

  “You two again,” Augurc said. “And the dragon.”

  Areo wondered if he would say anything more, but Augurc’s tight-lipped face only tightened further. Was he... upset?

  To Areo’s surprise, Augurc turned to Kitoh and sprinted toward the dragon. It took a moment for everyone to react to this decision, including Kitoh.

  The dragon lurched forward and snapped his jaws at Augurc, faster than Areo expected. Yet despite Kitoh’s speed, Augurc managed to step aside of the dragon’s fangs. At the same time, Augurc caused a vine to shove a lance into Kitoh’s left eye. The dragon roared, but Augurc remained unfazed. He leaped forward and slammed his right hand against Kitoh’s long neck, releasing a burst of frozen air against the dragon. Kitoh roared louder and stumbled to his side, half his neck frozen.

  Meanwhile Areo and Borely both ran toward Augurc from behind, but somehow the man was able to fight them both off with the many weapons held by his vines. Even while fighting a dragon, Augurc was able to take on both Areo and Borely without needing to see them. Areo dodged one sword and batted away a second one, then sliced apart the vine holding a lance. The vine instantly grew a bit longer to grab the lance before it hit the ground. Augurc continued to attack Areo with multiple weapons, keeping her from reaching him.

  Areo leaped back from the vines and various weaponry, then activated her tan Nexi stone. She caused a large stalagmite to burst out of the ground beside Augurc. He leaped aside just before he could get impaled. Borely meanwhile avoided Augurc’s attacks and fired a jet of water. Incredulously, Augurc also managed to avoid this as well.

  Augurc turned toward Areo and caused several more vines to jab their weapons at her. The man’s control over the vines was uncanny—they were not only fast, but incredibly precise. Areo dodged a sword shot for her leg, then a lance jabbing toward her head. Immediately she had to step aside of a sword swinging for her side, then step over a second sword and duck beneath a third one. She relied more on her hearing and sense of the vines’ motion rather than on her sight, and managed to keep up with Augurc’s repeated attacks.

  Areo heard Borely fall, and she realized he was about to get impaled with a lance. She turned and clawed past a couple vines holding swords. Borely managed to jet away the lance aimed for him at the last moment, still having enough energy to activate his dark blue Nexi. Several vines zipped behind Areo all at once.

  Simultaneously they shot for her, and Areo realized there was no way to avoid them all. She positioned herself to take the attacks as best she could. One sword cut through the side of her left arm while a lance pushed through the right side of her hip. The other two swords barely missed her head and chest. Screaming, she immediately turned and clawed away the vines holding the sword and lance that hit her.

  Without even a moment’s pause, the two cut vines flew against her, shoving her backward.

  Straight into the path of another sword. The vine shoved the blade through Areo’s back and out her stomach. Before she could even react, a knife-wielding vine lurched down for her head. Areo tried to leap back, but was held in place by the sword in her waist.

  In one swift motion, the knife slit across Areo’s throat.

  Terico and Delkol exchanged blows, managing to block one another’s attacks with their swords. They each charged their blades with orange energy, then white energy, then finally purple energy, knocking each other back with every attack.

  After one such impact, Terico flew back a ways and forced more sparking white Nexi energy into his blade. His vision turned a blinding white for a few seconds, but he could still see where Delkol was and what he was doing—Delkol’s very presence was abundantly clear in Terico’s mind, just from the sheer amount of Elpis energy emanating from him.

  Terico shot off a bolt of lightning at Delkol, who created a barrier of earth out of thin air in front of him. The floating wall of dirt exploded into bits, which Delkol then launched at Terico, each of them sharpening into small spikes. Terico released a shockwave of purple energy around him, blowing away each of the sharp stones before they could reach him.

  Delkol was immediately upon Terico, swinging his blade with the added force of orange Nexi energy. Terico’s insides still shook from the purple Nexi energy he had accessed, but he managed to activate a burst of red Nexi at Delkol. The detonation of fire pushed Terico back, but he wasn’t able to maintain a strong connection with the fire, which Delkol easily swatted away with a release of light blue Nexi.

  Before Terico could attack, Delkol released a series of vines from his sword. Glowing silver feathers ran up the vines, causing them to fly for Terico more quickly. Terico caused a layer of brown Nexi substance to surround him. The silver Nexi-powered vines shot straight through the floating swamp material, but the vines were slowed down, making it possible for Terico to keep track of all of them. The instant the vines poked through the other side of the swamp substance, Terico set the vines on fire with red Nexi energy. He fought through his burning headache and caused the flames to rush down the vines, straight back to Delkol.

  Terico blasted apart the swamp substance with purple Nexi energy, then shot himself toward his enemy. Delkol caused his vines to fall off his sword before Terico’s flames could reach him. Terico shot off a blast of light blue Nexi from his sword, but Delkol managed to cover himself with protective yellow energy in time. Delkol shot up to Terico and swung his blade for Terico’s head. With orange Nexi powering his sword, Terico blocked Delkol’s attack.

  Delkol’s blade also glowed orange, but Terico realized there was gray energy flowing through it as well. He felt his heart skip a beat. His eyes widened at the sight. The reminder of all he had lost.

  “One of my brother’s subjects informed me of your most recent loss,” Delkol said, unable to hide his glee. “Poisonous Nexi energy... There is no Nexi greater than this. Save for the full Elpis, there is no force on the entire planet that can stop the cold grip of death!”

  Terico shoved Delkol’s blade back, but Delkol immediately caused a blast of purple energy to knock Terico to the side. Silver feathers sprouted from the end of Delkol’s blade, growing several meters in four razor sharp arcs. Terico avoided the feathers, but flew straight into a second blast of Delkol’s loose purple energy. Terico rebounded toward Delkol, barely avoiding the gray and silver blade.

  Vines suddenly emerged from the sword and encircled Terico’s body. Orange energy filled the vines, causing them to tighten before Terico could slice away at them. Terico tried accessing the purple Nexi energy to free himself, but the agony of the Elpis was overwhelming him.

  Delkol swung Terico down straight for the ground, flinging him into the hard earth from at least twenty meters in the air. Terico slowed his fall with the loose purple energy he finally managed to access, but the impact still nearly knocked him unconscious. Accessing the Elpis’s energy filled Terico’s entire body with unthinkable agony. His muscles felt like they were tearing into little bits when he tried to move. Even screaming from the pain became too difficult to do, his voice fading away and his throat filling with icy, stinging blood.

  Delkol floated a couple meters above, an ecstatic grin spread across his transformed face.

  “Did you think you were my equal, simply because you have two pieces of the Elpis, just as I do? You never stood a chance against me, Terico. You are young and naïve, while I am an experienced swordsman and master of Nexi. I have killed at least a hundred times as many people as you have.

  “Did you think your determination would be enough for you to defeat me? My determi
nation far exceeds yours! You may have the burning of revenge in your heart—at least a couple weeks’ worth. But I have hundreds of years’ worth of the Shire line’s lust for revenge built up in my heart. I am ready to explode! I am ready to overpower everyone that opposes me with the pain and misery of over half a millennium!”

  12

  The Fate of Destroyers and Saviors

  “Areo!” Borely screamed. He punched away a vine-guided lance and avoided the swing of a sword.

  With Areo stabbed through the stomach, she was unable to avoid the attacks Augurc followed up with. A vine brought down a long knife and slashed it at Areo’s throat.

  “No!” Borely yelled. He punched aside two more swords and sprinted to Areo before Augurc could stab her even further.

  With all the concentration Borely could muster, he activated his dark blue Nexi and shot off a thin jet of water. Slight motions with his head directed the water to slice through the vines near Areo, including the one attached to the sword lodged through her back. Before Areo could fall to the ground, Borely grabbed her and continued to run away. He glanced back and found Augurc sending several weapon-wielding vines toward him. Borely considered shooting another jet of water at them, but didn’t feel he’d have the energy to fire one and still be able to keep fighting much longer.

  Several massive water jets fired through the vines and weapons approaching Borely. He stumbled forward from the sudden bursts of water, but managed to keep hold of Areo. Once he regained his footing, he turned and found a group of Fiefs soldiers charging into the area—accompanied by a troop of eigni in red and teal uniforms. Borely guessed they had come to assist the city at Rilv’s request. The eigni repeatedly fired large bursts of water toward Augurc, who was forced to call for reinforcements. A troop of Shire soldiers fighting atop the city walls headed down a number of staircases, rushing toward Augurc’s location.

  Borely carried Areo to a spot past a group of Fiefs soldiers who worked together to hold back a couple Brotherhood fighters. This was the safest area Borely could find, but he knew it probably wouldn’t stay that way much longer. He looked down at Areo and found her wounds just as terrible as he expected. There was no way Borely was going to be able to heal her, even if he did have the means to perform the first aid or operations her body required.

  “Blood,” Areo whispered.

  She needed blood. Of course—vampires could regenerate if they drank enough blood, Borely remembered. He looked around for any nearby corpses, but found he had brought Areo past the region of greatest bloodshed. Borely would have to work his way past the nearby skirmishes in order to take Areo to a corpse for some blood. There wasn’t enough time.

  Can’t believe I’m doing this, Borely thought. He lowered his head down to Areo’s mouth, then brought her head up a bit so she could bite into his neck.

  “Borely...” Areo breathed out.

  “Hurry up,” Borely said. “You need blood to live. I have some. Just don’t turn me into a vampire. I’ll kill you if you go too far.”

  Areo immediately sunk her fangs into Borely’s neck. As Areo sucked blood from Borely’s body, he felt his skin turn a little cold. His insides felt numb, but there was a scratching feeling in his bones. Perhaps it was the altered flow of blood in his body. For at least a minute, Areo continued to devour Borely’s blood.

  “A...Areo...” Borely struggled to say. His eyes rolled back for a moment, but he forced himself to keep conscious. “Stop...”

  Areo took a few more gulps of Borely’s blood before lifting her fangs from his neck. She stepped aside of Borely, who lay on the ground, all the strength in his body drained away. Gritting her teeth, Areo wrenched the sword out of her stomach. She screamed and fell to the ground, blood pouring down her waist.

  Fangs clamped down into Borely’s neck once again. He pushed back instinctively, memories of his brother flooding through his semi-conscious mind. Areo held Borely down and sucked more blood from his neck. Apparently the first round of blood sucking was just to heal her neck, and this time she needed to heal her stomach now that the sword was pulled out.

  Borely felt all the energy in his body fade away, and any effort he made to resist Areo was hopeless. Long, weary seconds passed, and Borely slowly found himself unable to even move. His limbs hung lifeless, and he felt his heartbeat slow down, growing quieter and quieter.

  She’s killing me to save herself, Borely thought. I wish... I wish...

  “I wish... I could have lived... a little longer,” Borely whispered.

  He felt Areo’s teeth release from Borely’s neck. “Quit being so dramatic. You’ll be fine.”

  Borely opened his eyes and sat up. He blinked a couple times, regaining his vision. His breathing returned to normal, and though he was greatly weakened, he didn’t feel he was in any danger of dying. He looked over at Areo and saw that her neck and waist were free of the wounds Augurc had inflicted on her.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to fight anymore right now, but I’ll make sure you get through this alive—no matter what.”

  “Just hurry and kill Augurc,” Borely said.

  And hope Terico kills Delkol, he added in his head.

  Areo nodded and turned back to the battlefield. Borely watched her join with some of the eigni assisting the Fiefs soldiers against Augurc, and realized a couple of the reinforcements were Kitoh’s parents. This group of eigni must have come from Vursa. Augurc used a number of free vines from his arms to push himself away from the jets of water the eigni shot at him, and still had the power to control other vines to kill off every soldier that drew near to him.

  Borely realized he still had some energy held up in his metal gloves. If he could find the strength to land a good punch, he could use his orange Nexi stones at least a couple more times. He pushed himself to his feet and followed a couple Fiefs soldiers who finished off a Brotherhood member. Borely quickly found himself back in the fray, where soldiers on both sides of the war utilized weapons and Nexi abilities of every kind. In the center of it all was Augurc, taking down several Fiefs soldiers with every swing of his blade-wielding vines.

  “Master!” Areo exclaimed. “Brother!”

  Borely looked to where Areo was looking, and found five vampires leaping down from the roof of a nearby building. Each of them wore hooded black robes, though Borely imagined they all had pink Nexi stones to enable them to be in the sunlight at all. Apparently Areo knew two of these vampires.

  “How are you all here?” Areo asked.

  “Little Sister!” one vampire exclaimed. “Setar called for aid, so we borrowed some Rite Nexi and hurried over.”

  “Now’s not the time—Augurc takes priority,” one of the vampires said. He was a man who looked worn-out with centuries of age, despite having the appearance of someone in his late twenties. “Jenba, Areo—come with me.” Areo and one of the other vampires followed, this one a man with thin eyes, and perhaps in his thirties. The three rushed toward Augurc, their claws all extended.

  The remaining vampires assisted the eigni and Fiefs soldiers, who were beginning to get overwhelmed by the ever-increasing masses of Shire soldiers.

  Borely fought off a Shire swordsman that leaped in front of his path. It was difficult to keep up with him, as Borely relied solely on what little strength his body held. His head turned dizzy from all the effort of blocking the man’s attacks, and it was difficult to find a good opening to counter with. He didn’t want to use what little power he had left for his Nexi stones—it was vital to save them for Augurc.

  The swordsman swung for Borely again, and this time Borely simply blocked the blade with the metal palm of his left hand, then delivered a punch to the face with his right fist. Once the man was knocked out, Borely continued toward Augurc.

  Areo and the two other vampires slashed away at Augurc’s vines, which failed to retrieve their fallen weapons as the three continued to cut through the growing vines. Augurc continued to grow more and more vines, now
just hoping to grab at least one of the three vampires. They were all fast, but Areo was especially quick, energized by the blood Borely offered her.

  As he held them back with his vines, Augurc bent down to the corpse of a Fiefs soldier and lifted him off the ground. Augurc pushed his right hand into a deep wound in the man’s body.

  “Get back!” Borely screamed, recognizing what Augurc was about to do. Areo was too busy with the vines to notice, and the other two vampires wouldn’t know the full extent of Augurc’s abilities.

  A web of interconnecting ice shards exploded from the corpse’s body, expanding even faster than it had back on the Brotherhood airship. Areo rushed out of the way, just barely fast enough to avoid the long, thin icicles growing toward her. One of the other vampires was quickly stabbed in the leg by an icicle, and about to get impaled a half-dozen more times. The vampire who led the two rushed back to him and pulled him away before they could get caught in the web of ice.

  From a safe distance, Borely circled the ever-growing ice formation. He was careful to avoid all the fighting Shire and Fiefs soldiers, and rushed toward Augurc from the side. From atop a nearby building, Borely caught sight of a Brotherhood member—a masked woman with long purple hair. She raised a bow and arrow and aimed it toward the vampire carrying his injured comrade. With the vampire nearly surrounded by the growing mass of ice, there wouldn’t be any way to dodge the arrow.

  Borely fired a jet of water at the woman, forcing her to leap aside. She released her arrow in the process, but it flew into the web of ice harmlessly. Borely nearly fell to the ground, his energy almost depleted. The Brotherhood member raised her bow again, quickly arming it with another arrow. Borely realized she was aiming for Areo this time. Areo was still escaping from the growing web of ice, which had expanded to where many Fiefs and Shire soldiers were fighting. Most turned and fled from the attack, while others were impaled, ally and foe alike. It was an ability too powerful for even Augurc to manage perfectly.