by Drako
“Well, let’s get to it!” Ares yelled over the wind.
Victoria snorted in annoyance, smoking coming from her nostrils. Andreas made a noise that seemed something like a laugh. The two dragons opened their mouths and two enormous balls of pitch black fire shot out, hurtling towards the pyramid.
“Bombs away!” Ares called down to his army with a laugh.
The fire struck, causing a massive explosion that totally destroyed the pyramid and caused the ground to quake violently for several miles throughout the desert. The two dragons began their descent among the dust and Ares and Kazarian quickly jumped off their backs to land next to a giant hole where the stone pyramid stood previously. When the dust cleared, Victoria and Andreas stood beside them in their human forms.
“That was exhilarating,” Ares commented, genuinely amused by the results.
Brandon and Demun were already at their sides as well, with the army advancing.
“Well, kids, what’s our next move?” Andreas asked.
“We’re dividing the army. Each of us takes a unit in and we split up,” Brandon answered.
“Not a bad strategy,” Ares commented.
“We simply need to make sure you’re ready for the son of Typhon,” Brandon replied. “He’s no weaker than any of his previous siblings. You’re going to need all your strength to pull this off. The army’s orders are to keep everyone and everything else off you and Victoria.”
“There’s also someone my dear brother is fond of and intends to rescue inside, although he won’t tell me who it is,” Demun added bitterly.
Brandon scowled at him. “That wasn’t necessary.”
“It is in the event that this special person is someone we might have mistaken for an enemy,” Victoria told him.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get her. Just do your part.” Brandon waved behind him and a small part of the army came forward to follow him down to the lower levels, where the enemy really waited.
“That’s rather strange,” Andreas commented.
“We can ponder his big dark secret later,” Ares told him. “Right now, we need to handle business. So, let’s follow orders and see how this plays out.”
Brandon stretched his power out through the facility, with the strange fog pouring out along the ground. He had about twenty of the warriors with him, and he walked with purpose.
“Dispatch the weak ones,” he ordered. “If they’re frozen, they’re weak. You all are safe from my power. Anything moving, you’d better be cautious with taking on.”
The warriors dispersed quickly, dispatching the targets that were frozen in place. Brandon, however, continued on.
Demun led the next unit in, shortly followed by the others. They stood in awe at the darkness surrounding them, and the frozen figures of the enemy.
“It looks like this just got easier,” Andreas muttered.
“In a sense, it’ll be easier,” Victoria told him. “Only the strongest will be able to withstand and resist his power. Those are the ones to worry about.”
Ares turned to his warriors. “Time to make yourselves useful. I want all those frozen dead at my feet. Clear the way for us to get through. Then, you’ll need to back the kid up. I don’t know who or what he’s after, but make sure he doesn’t get in over his head.”
Demun growled and shot forward, not waiting for the way to be cleared.
“We each have our own targets, it’s time to make our way to them.” Ares looked to Kazarian. “I want you with Andreas at all times during this.”
Kazarian rolled his eyes. “What will it take for you people to realize I’m a god now? I’m just as strong as anyone else in this little raiding party.”
“Do as I say and preferably with less bitching,” Ares responded.
Andreas drew his sword and signaled Kazarian to follow him as he moved.
“Guess that leaves us together for the moment,” Victoria commented.
“Our targets happen to be together. I get the distinct that your target is containing mine.” Ares lead the way deeper into the building.
Brandon’s determination was deadly, especially for the rogue wolves he came across. He caught most before they were able to transform, soon finding his sword coated with blood. The corridors were lit solely by torches and as he walked, his power spread the darkness deeper. Finally, he came to a set of large doors and stopped. What he sought was on the other side.
Demun came alongside him. “You’re not going in there alone. Whatever is behind that door, we face it together.”
Brandon looked into his twin’s eyes. “Thanks, but what’s behind these doors are rogue vampires and who they’re holding is my son’s mother.”
“Your what now?” Demun questioned, completely positive he’d misheard his brother.
“It’s a long story, but they have my son, and his mother, although I sense she’s fading.” Brandon turned to the door and held up his hand. “You better be ready, there’s a swarm of them in there.”
Demun held up his hand in front of the door as well. “You’d better explain this when we get out of here.”
The two blasted the doors together, blowing them off the hinges. Demun’s spear appeared in his right hand as Brandon unhooked his chakram. The room was large, and filled with vampires of different sizes and skin color. They began to hiss, clearly recognizing the boys. Brandon let the chakram fly as the swarm began to move. It flew effortlessly through the room, cutting through the throats of several vampires before embedding itself in the wall. Brandon and Demun charged into the room and separated.
Brandon, sword in hand, kicked the first vampire he came across in the face, knocking him flat on his back. With his left hand, he backhanded the next before turning and stabbing another through the stomach. With the sword still buried in the gut of the vampire, he delivered a side kick to the jaw of a rushing vampire, then yanked his sword free and slit the throat of another. A blur of movement, he made a quick turn, slashing several more vampires across the stomach. Knowing they were surrounding him, he flipped high up over their heads, landing behind most of the group. Charging forward, he viciously slashed another vampire across the torso with enough force to send the male vampire flying before he kept going. Extending his hand, the chakram flew back to it and he turned and let it fly again, gaining great satisfaction in seeing it take down a line of the vampires by beheading them before embedding itself in a final vampire’s chest.
Demun twirled his spear, taking down two vampires at once. With a quick run forward, he used the spear to catapult himself up over the group and land on top of three others. Before rising, he thrust the spear behind him, impaling another vampire. Rising, he removed the spear and swung it around, catching several others across the throat. Gripping the spear, he quickly hurled it forward, impaling a row of four vampires on it. Never losing a step, he turned and with his gauntlet, blocked a stab attempt. As the knife struck the gauntlet, fire sparked and the vampire was engulfed, screaming in agony before disintegrating. This made the others wary. Demun smirked and used their moment of hesitation against them, tackling several to the ground and biting into their necks in a savage manner, simply ripping their throats open and letting blood gush out.
The twins met up as the vampires were beginning to see that this fight couldn’t be won and were contemplating retreating. Brandon held up a hand and the doors they’d blown of the hinges floated back into placed and closed.
“You have something of mine, boys and girls, and frankly, your fighting chance of getting out of this room alive.” Brandon held out a hand and his chakram once again flew to it. “As you can see, we get pretty brutal around here. I don’t like vampires off the principle that you bastards don’t follow my grandfather’s laws, but what really pisses me off is when you make things personal.”
Demun watched the vampires move uneasily. They were plotting the best time to try to attack again. This was too easy.
Brandon held a similar line of thought and held up his hand
again. A massive wave of power caught the entire group of vampires and pinned them to the walls. Demun moved to search the room for a hidden compartment. Feeling along the wall, he felt a crack just big enough to slip his fingers into. Giving it a rough yank, he pulled a hidden door open and whistled to get his brother’s attention. Brandon was at his side almost instantly and they peered together into a small dark room. Brandon pointed at the doors they’d come in and the doors fell again, allowing some of their army in.
“Kill the rogues,” he ordered before venturing into the small room.
Inside was a sole cot with a body stretched out on it. The body was female and not moving. He stood over the cot and examined her. She was shorter than he was, a very petite figure in fact, and her light bronze skin was getting pale. She had long red hair and though her eyes were closed, he knew they were a bright hazel green. A pang of guilt sprang over him.
“Who is she?” Demun asked.
“Her name is Anaya,” Brandon answered. “I met her before I went to Shevat, and she showed up there briefly to see me. She is one of the Fae.”
“Fae?” Demun asked.
“As you can see, they’re a race of extremely beautiful people. They’re normally hidden from mortals, only appearing in fairy tales. They’re always rather small, like her, and are creations of the ancient goddess Verlaine.” Brandon continued to study her body. “I never told anyone about her. We weren’t an item, clearly.”
“But you have a child with her?”
Brandon nodded. “Things happen when I’m running off my demon blood.”
“So is this child a baby?” Demun began to inspect the room, looking for some sign of a child.
“He’s about three years old now, actually.” Brandon continued to study Anaya. “Don’t bother looking for him. You won’t find him.”
“Why not?” Demun stopped and watched his brother.
“Because he has inherent mystical ability and his mother instructed him to conceal himself until I tell him otherwise.” Brandon closed his eyes and held up his arms. “Theo, you can come out now.”
A few seconds later, a bright white ball of light appeared between his arms and quickly formed into the shape of a small body. The light faded, revealing a small child in Brandon’s arms. He looked quite a bit like Brandon, only his skin was lighter and his long black hair had bright red highlights running through it. His eyes were a bright hazel green and despite his young age, seemed filled with knowledge. He looked over at Demun with curiosity.
“That’s your uncle, Demun,” Brandon told him.
Theo turned his green eyes on his father and then looked back at Demun again.
“Yes, he looks like me. We’re twins. Now let’s focus on Mommy.” Brandon set him on his feet. “Did you put her to sleep?”
Theo nodded.
“Well then, it’s time to wake her up. Do you know how?”
“No, she didn’t teach me that yet,” Theo finally spoke, his voice low and somewhat high pitched, clearly that of a young child. However, he didn’t mispronounce his words like most young children do.
Brandon sighed. “Well, you just made Daddy’s job a little harder, kid. I need your mother awake to get you both out of here. But I’ll work this out somehow.”
“Can our aunt wake her up?” Demun asked.
“She’d probably have a better shot at it than I do,” Brandon answered. “The problem is, she doesn’t have time to stop here.”
“Well, we have to do something. Can we ask Hera for help?”
“Good idea.” Brandon closed his eyes for a few moments.
In a flash of multicolored light, the queen of the gods appeared. Dressed in a long dark blue flowing gown with a golden crown in her dark hair, her multicolored eyes held a hint of amusement as she gazed down at the boys.
“I have been wondering when you two would call on me,” she commented.
“I know you’re not the patron goddess of magic, but you’re the queen of the gods. Can you help me wake her up?” Brandon asked.
Hera walked over to Anaya’s body. “This is a complex situation. She’s in the sleep of the dead, one that makes the body by all appearances die. This is a spell normally used by the Fae in dire times. What a pain.”
“Can you wake her?” Brandon asked.
“Of course I can.” Hera leaned over Anaya and slapped her face a few times. “Rise and shine, kid, you’ve got things to do and your kid is safe.”
Anaya opened her eyes instantly. She sat up quickly and looked around. Hera stepped back and Brandon stepped forward.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” she responded. “Where’s Theo?”
Theo jumped up into her lap and wrapped his small arms around her.
“We need to get you out of here,” Brandon told her.
Demun stepped forward. “You get them out of here. I’ll handle everything here.”
“I agree with your brother’s strategy,” Hera commented.
“Fine.” Brandon leaned over Anaya and Theo and placed a hand over each of them. The room went dark for a second and when it cleared, the three were gone.
“I’d suggest you get moving,” Hera told Demun before vanishing.
“Might as well get this over with,” Demun muttered to himself.
Eighteen
Victoria and Ares had fought their way down to the lowest levels of the building, a trail of bodies left in their wake. Finally, they came to the door of the largest chamber in the place. Victoria pushed the doors open, revealing a large, mostly empty room. As she entered the room, the doors suddenly slammed shut behind her.
It looks like I’ll be on my own for this part, she thought.
Outside, Ares went to open the door, but found he was unable to get inside. He punched the door in frustration, but it remained closed.
Inside, Victoria advanced forward. She could sense the magic at work here. She’d definitely found her target, as well as another foe that would be considerably harder to take out. Muttering a spell underneath her breath, she spread her arms and a wave of power shot out in every direction. As expected, two figures were forced into view. The warlock was a quite unappealing man. His skin was fading in color, with spots of brown all over it. He was old, or at least appeared to be, and bald. His eyes were completely black, the same as Lucifer’s eyes. He was dressed in a black hooded robe that currently covered all but his head and hands. Next to him was a huge tower of a man, if a man was what you’d call him.
Victoria figured the man was about nine feet tall. His eyes were completely golden yellow with no white whatsoever. His ears were long and pointed, as was his jaw. His skin appeared to be a dark brown, and his hair was a dark blue. His hands were at least twice the size of her head and his nails were long and brown, and clearly sharp. His incisors were long and hung over his lip and he seemed to be breathing heavily. His body was mostly bare, except for a small pair of black shorts. His feet were similar to that of a dog’s hind legs in shape, but the same color as the rest of his body. There was no mistaking this child of the monster Typhon. She could sense the power in the man, as well as that of the warlock. However, the man was bound to the warlock, and his power was limited because of it.
“What a boon I’ve been granted this day,” the warlock commented. “I get the Dragon Witch all to myself.”
Victoria snorted. “Please, you have a child of Typhon in your corner. That’s hardly all to yourself. And trust me, you’re going to need him if you hope to survive, even if you have limited his power.”
The monster of a man locked his eyes on Victoria, clearly surprised by her deduction. The warlock scowled.
“That’s preposterous, his power is in no way limited.”
“Wow, you’re ugly and stupid, that’s a bad combination.” Victoria purposely avoided looking at the warlock, instead keeping her eyes on the larger man. “Tell the idiot enslaving you just how limited your power is. I can sense it. Frankly, I know the power your fa
ther possesses, and I’ve met several of his children. None of them were as weak as you are right now.”
“You lying little…” the warlock started.
Victoria held up her hand and the warlock’s speech was cut off. “Be quiet, grownups are talking.”
She was certain the larger man smiled. The warlock glared at him and he sighed.
“I’m afraid I’m honor bound to attack you.”
“Bring it on. It’s your funeral,” Victoria responded.
He vanished. Victoria flipped up high into the air, her foot connecting solidly with his jaw as he reappeared. As he fell, she turned and went after the warlock. He clearly wasn’t anticipating her movements, and as such was caught by surprise when Victoria punched him squarely in the face. He howled as his nose broke and blood gushed out. Continuing her assault, she caught him with a left hook to the jaw, then a blast of her power that sent him flying across the room. She turned, just in time to catch the arm of the monster. She fell back and took him with her, flipping him over her and onto his back. Victoria sprang back up and threw her hand up in the direction of the door, blasting it off the hinges and breaking the barrier the warlock had put up to keep Ares out. Ares barreled in and came to her side, and his rage was evident.
“You dare try to hold me from this room so that you could double team this woman?!”
He swung his foot forward and kicked the monster in the stomach so hard that the large body went flying across the room, crashing into the warlock. As the two hit the floor, Ares launched a blast of energy at them that sent them flying again. They hit the wall, and Ares blasted them again, holding them in place. Daggers appeared in his hand and he hurled them as his two dazed victims. The monster, however, broke free, so the daggers merely sank into the warlock, pinning him to the wall. Ares had avoided all vital spots. He turned, however, and launched another blast of energy at the monster, forcing him to his knees.