by JC Dameron
His maniacal cackling echoed throughout the room and I found myself eager to be done with this. Just as I was about to give up, I saw Leaha begin to move as she came to, and Seles bent down and sliced her arm with her dagger, crippling her as well.
"Leaha, my sister's oldest friend! I'm so happy you could join us today," Astiel said, walking to Leaha. "I've been dying to tell you about the last conversation that I had with your father before he passed. You see, when Grimaldi escaped, he inspired a bit of a rebellion amongst my men, and your dear old dad was at the head. I was outraged you understand, and I simply couldn't believe that a caster would willfully side with the humans against his own kind, but then again, like father like daughter I suppose. Anyway, after I crushed his pitiful rebellion, I decided to make an example out of him; and wouldn't you know it, the fact that his head hangs on the gates where I imprison those who don't want to join me is quite an effective deterrent, even all these years later. Before I relieved him of his thoughts, and the ability to have them, I told him what I was planning for each of you once Velareedra decided to show up. Would you believe that he had the indecency to call me a monster?" Astiel said, chuckling to himself. "Well, the good news is that a lot has changed since then, and I no longer plan to kill you. Rather, I am going to have my beautiful bride save you from birthing the true monster growing in your womb," he said, nodding to Seles.
Seles drew her second dagger, which didn't appear to be coated in poison, and slowly pierced Leaha's stomach going just deep enough to pierce her womb and the fetus growing inside of her. The poison, which prevented us from moving or speaking, also prevented Leaha's screams of pain, both physical and emotional, as her world was destroyed by Seles. I couldn't help but hope that Astiel was foolish enough to leave me alive. After the poison wore off, there would be a reckoning unlike any he had known.
"Oops!" Astiel said, waving to a group of casters, which had ported into the room moment's prior, to pick her up. "That's really going to hurt your babies chances, I bet," he said, laughing alongside Seles, as they took turns driving their fists into her stomach, and we were forced to watch as blood and fluids spilled out with each blow.
"Leaha!" I heard Ethan's voice ring, as he and Vesta rushed into the room without the armor, but wrapped in Vesta's visible barrier.
Astiel turned, and the casters that held Leaha dropped her to the ground and moved away.
"Seles?" Ethan and Vesta said in unison.
Seles dropped her poisoned dagger, pulling the other to her chest as she flashed to Ethan, ready to strike. She met with Vesta's barrier, and she was flung to the ground, unable to pierce it.
"Oh, ho, ho," Astiel said, as Seles failed to pierce the barrier. "This must be the girl that has connected to the Leylines of this world. Seles my love, leave this to me, you go and be a good girl and finish off Grimaldi for me," Astiel commanded.
"As you wish, my love," Seles said, rising to her feet.
Seles grabbed her bloody dagger from the ground beside her, and gave it a lick as she walked toward Grimaldi. I felt an enormous amount of Ether flow into me, and I turned to see that Vesta stood with her hands near each other, and her pointer fingers crossed as she faced Seles.
"Digitorum Ignis," she chanted, as her Ether explosively increased.
Twin orbs appeared, riddled in green flame, much like the orb she had learned to invoke only hours before. Vesta closed her eyes, as she visualized the orbs striking her target, and they launched rapidly at Seles. Seles stood in their path, unafraid, and as I felt another huge influx of Ether, I knew why. Vesta's flames were enveloped into a void which appeared before Seles, and as the void dispersed, so too did Vesta's attack. Seles was unafraid, because, although I didn't want it to be true, Astiel was truly with her, and she knew that he would protect her. Seles began to walk toward Grimaldi once again, and I could tell by the look in her eye's that she was lost. There was no Seles there, and I accepted that the woman that I knew as Seles had never truly existed. She was simply a persona made up by a madwoman to get close enough to hurt me, to hurt us all.
As Seles stood over Grimaldi's burnt body, ready to strike a killing blow, I felt a surge of Ether and I could see that Astiel had begun to manifest a focused attack in an attempt to pierce Vesta's barrier. While Vesta's Ether was unending due to her connection with the Leylines, and thus resulted in a power greater than Astiel's, his power was on par with hers in regards to the strength and effectiveness of an invocation that he could manifest while using his own Ether. Astiel drew letters in the sky, in the language of the gods, and lightning crackled from his fingertips as he drew the words that made up the chant for the invocation in a trail of electricity. When he had finished, the words collided together, and a bolt of lightning shot forth and pierced Vesta's barrier with ease. The bolt passed through Ethan's chest and struck Vesta's shoulder. Astiel clapped his hands together, and both of their bodies convulsed as the focused electricity was released within the barrier and electrocuted them and knocked them unconscious. As Ethan and Vesta fell to the ground, Vesta's barrier dropped as well.
"Seles," Astiel said, as Seles prepared to deal the final blow to Grimaldi. “You've spent the most time with these...people. I think that it would be most fitting for Leaha to be able to witness you while you strike the final blow to the father of her abomination, don't you agree?" Astiel grinned as he walked to Leaha and turned her face to where Ethan lay, unconscious. She was barely conscious herself, the pain from her injuries overwhelming her completely. But the look in her eyes broke my heart once again, as she looked to the man that she loved.
"I couldn't agree more, my love," Seles said, abandoning Grimaldi to walk to Ethan.
Seles placed her foot on Ethan's head and looked to me.
"Vel, I really need to thank you for all you've taught me over the years. I want to show you something that I picked up from you that I've never displayed publicly before. Amplificationem Corporalis," she chanted.
My heart sank, as Seles abandoned her speed enhancement, duplicating the physical enhancement that I had developed.
"Oh, Vel. Your face can't really show much expression right now, I know, but I really wish that I could see the look that your face would be making," Seles said, taunting me.
Seles looked back to Leaha, who was bleeding out from her wound, and despite her numbness had managed to convey her fear and disgust.
"Leaha, If I never get another chance to thank you for all the meals that you've made for me, let me take this moment to do so by freeing you from the bonds that you foolishly built with the humans of this world." Seles drove her foot down with all of her enhanced strength, crushing Ethan's skull in an instant. "Well, I'm probably gonna need new shoes after that," Seles said, walking back toward Grimaldi, chuckling as she shook Ethan's remains off of her foot.
I saw a light flash above me, and in an instant, every floor above the sixth floor where we stood was separated from the building and raised to the sky where a void devoured the building's top half before closing. A rift opened above Seles, and The Dragon appeared. She wore the same robe and dragon mask that I had seen her in previously, but this time, she floated effortlessly with golden wings of light which protruded from her back.
"Seles, kill Grimaldi, now!" Astiel said, building Ether to attack The Dragon.
I felt an enormous surge of Ether, and as Astiel chanted, The Dragon lunged her hand toward Seles and the force of her Ether pushed Seles through the floor, undoubtedly pushing her through numerous floors. Astiel didn't waste Ether chanting a focused spell, rather, he invoked rings of flame that he sent flying at The Dragon. She masterfully dodged his attacks with a flick of her wings left and then right, and ultimately dove down with the blade that I had seen before, drawn, ready to swoop down to attack Astiel. Astiel quickly invoked a wall of ice where the roof had been to block her path, and he rushed to where Seles had been forcefully driven down through the floor. Through the ice, I could see a great flame burn away the ice, and create a
pathway back into the room.mAstiel stood to his feet, resolute, and once again, I felt a large amount of Ether flow into me as he prepared to manifest an invocation to defeat The Dragon. As Astiel drew upon his Ether, The flames from The Dragon began to burn through the ice more quickly. Shortly thereafter, she burst through the hole that she had created and slammed into the ground, landing on her feet with her blade at the ready.
"I have warned you, young one, and I have given you many chances to change your path, but this is your final sin," she said, holding her hand out toward the sky, which was blocked by Astiel's giant blockade of ice.
From the ice, small plants sprouted, and their pollen fell down upon the room. I looked to Leaha, who was moments from taking her last breath, and I noticed that the hole inside of her stomach had begun to knit itself closed. I felt a tingling in my legs and arms and I remembered that the voice, which Vesta had given herself to, had also healed her leg. As I began to be able to feel my body once again, I felt the oddest feeling that I had ever experienced, and my lips began to quiver as I spoke.
"L..L...Le...Leaha," I said, feeling hoarse.
I tried to pull myself to my feet, but the tingling was only the beginning of regaining my ability to stand.
"Stay down," The Dragon said, looking to me. "When the time has come, use this," she said, tossing a circlet that appeared to be made from Basilisk Scales to me.
"Basilisk Scales!" Astiel began to laugh maniacally. "You not only believe that you can defeat me, demon, you think you can do so without killing me?!" He asked, laughing again.
"Young one. I had truly hoped that it would not come to this, but you are the flesh of your flesh, and the blood of your blood; you’re twisted and corrupt, there is nothing left to save of you," The Dragon said, lowering her head.
"And you are a self-righteous bitch who shouldn't even exist!" He said, invoking a wave of darkness, which rapidly shot toward The Dragon, drawing each of us across the floor in its wake.
I looked to see if it had harmed her, but it simply passed through her.
"Why can't I strike you, Demon?" Astiel yelled, throwing another wave of darkness, but the second wave passed through The Dragon as well.
"Darkness cannot destroy darkness, boy!" The dragon shouted, lunging her hand toward Astiel.
A cage rose from the ground and encased Astiel inside.
"Now!" She commanded, raising me to my feet with her Ether by lifting her hand. "That will not contain him for long.” The strain of the invocation weighing on her.
My feet still tingled, but I could feel The Dragon's Ether support my legs like a brace. I ran toward the cage and I saw chains of darkness wrap around Astiel, and they bound him as the cage sank back into the nothingness from which it came. As I reached Astiel, he broke free from the chains, and I felt his Ether flow into me as he held his hand to my face.
"Goodbye, sister," he said, as darkness gathered in his palm.
I could feel the darkness burning my face, as though it were a fire. I raised my arms through the pain, and I invoked a barrier. The darkness burned through the barrier, and I immediately lost vision in my left eye. I looked with my right eye to find Astiel's head, and I slammed the circlet down upon it, ignoring the pain. Astiel screamed as though he was in pain, and his invocation faded to nothing.
"Signaculum," I heard The Dragon chant, as she placed her hand on the jewel in the center of the circlet.
Astiel became enraged, and I could tell that he was frantically trying to draw from his Ether, but he was unable to do so. He drew his great blade, which he had named Wrath before our father died, from his back and swung it at The Dragon and I. I felt The Dragon draw me back with her Ether, and Astiel's blade connected with her face. As I flew backward, I saw her mask fall to the ground in two pieces, and I looked to Astiel, who's face had turned pale, seemingly fearful of what he saw.
"No, it can't be you. You're a monster!" He screamed, dropping Wrath, and falling to his knees.
I couldn't see The Dragon's face, but I heard her speak, more clearly than while she wore the mask.
"Now boy, you will know the fear of one who has been silenced by the darkness," she said, as she placed her finger to his lips, and he fell to the floor, unconscious.
The Dragon held out her hand, and she drew the pieces of her mask to it with her Ether and placed them on her face before turning. Her mask had been reassembled into one solid piece.
"The war is coming. Prepare yourselves," she said, as a rift opened beside her, which she stepped into, and she was gone just like that.
I looked at the devastation around me; the top levels of the UTF headquarters had vanished without a trace alongside any of the agents and casters that were within them. Grimaldi, Leaha, and Vesta were all conscious once again, but unable to stand just yet.
"Ethan!" Leaha screamed, as tears flowed down her face and she dragged herself across the floor to what remained of his body.
The casters, whom had ported in and held Leaha for Astiel and Seles to beat on her, fell to their faces in submission having seen the events unfold.
"Leaha," I said, walking over to her.
"No, Vel, not now. Just find Seles," she cried, as she held clutched what was left of her dead husband.
I had recovered enough that I was able to enhance my strength, so as to survive a fall down the hole that Seles's body had created when The Dragon drove her down multiple floors. I jumped and landed hard, dropping to one knee, and I prepared for Seles to strike if she had survived. I searched the area, but Seles was nowhere to be found. Like the snake that she was, she had ultimately abandoned her love and opted to save herself.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
The World Awakens to the Truth
After failing to find Seles's body, I returned to the lab on the sixth floor and once again surveyed the devastation that the battle had left behind. I pried Leaha away from Ethan's corpse, and injected her with something that Grimaldi had explained was a sedative. Her broken cries were sure to haunt me for the rest of days, and I couldn’t do much more after giving her the injection. Grimaldi must have known, so he took her from me and placed her into the rejuv tank to try and save her baby; however, even the rejuv tank had its limits, and seven months later, she gave birth to a stillborn child. The child appeared to be a normal human in every way, and as a result of her losses, Leaha vowed that she would not only never love again, but that she would make it her mission to wipe out anyone who followed Astiel. We have a new name now that the UTF is dead. Our name is inspired by my father's last lesson, we are The Blood Bound.
I can look across town from the new building we call home, purchased by Lucas with his deceased father's fortune. After recovering his father’s body he decided to not only fund us but also joined us as a member. He had used the telepad when the invasion began to port to Astiel's base of operations in China, where he found his father’s corpse. During Astiel's raid on the UTF Headquarters in New York, other segments of his forces had conducted similar attacks at other UTF headquarters across the world and wiped out most of the UTF as we knew it. After the invasion, Astiel's men ran rampant across this world, attacking cities and towns to avenge the leader that they had united under in my absence. The casters left without Astiel's rule began to conduct large scale raids, and they assaulted major cities across the world and alerted the humans of their presence.
Our existence was beyond anyones ability to cover it up any longer. The people of this world now knew that the casters were real, and present among them. A time of civil unrest began, neighbor fought neighbor, friend killed friend, and across the planet, the people of this world faced self-annihilation. Grimaldi, Vesta, Leaha, and I have committed our lives to rectifying the destruction that our people have brought to this world, and though Astiel's lips are forever sealed by The Dragons invocation, I know he holds they key to returning us to our home.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Takeover
4 years later...
"Vel!"
Leaha's voice rang across the intercom. "I need you here, now!" She said, and the intercom buzzed as she disconnected the system.
I looked to Astiel from the other side of the cell. I marveled to myself selfishly for just a moment, thinking about how much he resembled our father, the man he had taken part in having poisoned in hopes of ascending to his throne.
"You really do look like dad," I said, standing to my feet.
Liquid nourishment ran through tubes into Astiel, but just enough to keep him alive, leaving him in a perpetual state of weakness.
"Brother, Leaha’s urgency means that she's probably found another one of your dogs to slay," I said, taking in his misery like a breath of fresh air. "Well, good talk.,” I said, waving and laughing, as I walked to the elevator down the hall from the cell block.
Once I reached the fifth floor, the elevator opened, and I was met by Grimaldi.
"Hey Grim," I said, walking by as he entered the elevator.
"Hey, Vel, I'm off to the the nearest Chinese restaurant to grab us some dinner. And no worries, I will remember the chopsticks this time,” he said as the elevator shut.
I smiled, happy that Grimaldi had finally come around to calling me by my name, shortly after the incident at the UTF Headquarters. As I walked through the halls, I saw Lucas and Vesta in the lab, and I waived to Vesta. She was now fourteen, and she had become quite the warrior in the last four years, as well as the only person that I could train with effectively. Upon arriving at the command center, a few of our men walked out and saluted me as they passed. I walked into the room, that was all set up with computers, monitors, and all sort of gadgets, and it was laid out exactly as the UTF command center had been, at Leaha's request. In the center of the room, etched into the floor, was an image of Ethan's army dog tag which was only legible from the rise as you walked in. Around the etching were written the words, "Forever in our hearts, we fight for you, commander." The etching was tacky and in bad taste, but every time I saw it, I remembered the man he was, and I smiled, thankful to have known him. As for Leaha, she had truly gone mad, but mad Leaha was very fun to be around, and truly was a better commander than her late husband even had been.