Legacy of the Defender (The Defender Series Book 1)

by Jacob Spadt

  They did not even touch me. My whirling blades bit through wing, skull, and flesh with great ease, dropping them or driving them back. They tried it again. I repeated the move with even greater efficiency, killing even more, but one of them scored a minor hit on my right leg as my blade passed. He had lunged in. Even though my timing was perfect, his was better. There were hundreds upon hundreds surrounding me. The odds mattered not. Claws rang against steel as I slashed at the medium sized daemons moving in on me. They provided a moderate challenge. Right hand high to left hand low, my hands gaited back and forth like extensions of my will. Daemon arms swung with furious abandon. My blows continued to reign down. I counted four parries before I found an opening on the last daemon, cleaving it head to groin with such force that I cracked the stones in the courtyard without even hitting them. The sheer force that released as my blade passed through with all that energy exploded in a tremendous burst into the ground and knocked a few of the small daemons down. Stone showered in small bits around me.

  My mind was present. With each passing moment, I observed footing, positioning of targets, and every other incremental nuance of the battle. I could see everything. My training had taught me that each move set up the next move, and that move led into the next. It was a game of chess where staying several moves ahead of your opponent was is how the game worked. With a focused mind, my targets disappeared. Then it happened.

  They stopped coming.

  "Do not let them regroup. They will come again stronger,” my blades spoke in unison.

  I took pause and surveyed the square for a moment. It was a mess, littered with daemon corpses falling to ash. Bodies of several hundred villagers mixed in. I did not have to look to see the horde killed them. Hundreds flew around the area, circling in a taunting gesture. They dared me to engage. I wanted to holler out and say, “Look at the courtyard! You are losing!” The words would be a waste. They would die soon enough. One last look afforded me a glimpse of the big daemon as it walked behind a building and disappeared from sight. I sprinted to catch up, crossing the square and rounding the corner with a burst of speed.

  One daemon hid there. I took his head off without breaking stride. It hit the ground, its eyes repeatedly blinking while I moved past. For a second it reminded me of Morse code and I wondered what the message would have been. “Thank you for killing me quickly.” My grin remained as the head bounced behind me on the stones.

  The building was at least thirty feet long and two stories with a pitched roof covered in tiles. One of the tiles hit the ground in front of me. It shattered into many pieces. A quick glance revealed a small leaper daemon up there cowering. It had tossed a tile at me, no doubt more of an insult, as it knew it could not stop me. I did not even bother looking again but reached the end of the building and rounded the corner in a defensive stance. Ahead, the monstrous daemon walked casually away. It had some type of domesticated animal in its hand that was crying out as he squeezed.

  A sickening crunch followed by laughter.

  Even at this distance, this thing was huge. Compared to one of the dragon-like daemons it was not as large, but it still towered over the largest of the common flying ones. A curved weapon hung at its hip. My studies had taught me that any creature using a weapon was intelligent on some level. I began to size it up mentally and went over engagement tactics in my head. Something told me not to charge. My fury was building and I kept fighting the urge to ignore my instincts. Breath came slowly. Energy flowed to my core for a moment then released, flowing to my hands, feet, and head. I drew nearer to the Leader.

  All my runes burned as I got closer and my defenses automatically engaged. Thirty feet from him...there was a flash of movement...out of the shadows came four shapes. Large wolf shaped creatures that had a stride just like large gorillas, came at me from all sides. I tucked and rolled back to my feet, engaging them.

  Laughter exploded from the rooftops. The horde wanted a show. The large daemon sat down on the edge of a small building and began to eat the animal in its grip. That distraction cost me. One of them lunged and tried to swallow my head. Its teeth almost closed on my neck.

  My defenses held the razor sharp teeth at bay, but I kept the shield compressed enough that the beast still had ahold of me. I felt another grab my legs. A tug of war ensued. The energy required to keep the defensive shield strong was depleting me fast. I pulled on my reserves to replenish and bolster the shield’s power.

  A disgusting pop pervaded my ears...sinew tore and snapped. My defensive bubble expanded and the monster’s jaw tore open, dislocating in the process. A spray of ichor fell on the shield and rolled off. The beast dropped me then fell away pawing at its face. The other lost its grip on me as well, nursing some chipped teeth that snapped. I was on my feet effortlessly in seconds and attacked...leaping at the one with a broken jaw. Both sword tips sliced into the skull and sunk to the hilt.

  Then the unimaginable happened.

  My attempts to free them failed. The beast convulsed and threw its body around. Not wanting to lose my weapons amidst a fight, I held onto the hilts with a vice grip. Flopping around in a death throw, the creature’s motion was so violent that it tossed me as if I was not even there.

  Other daemons landed blows against my thighs and legs. First one, then three in a row, struck. A few of the claws got through the shield and hit my calf. Skin split and moisture spilled out. The armored cloth had a small breach. Searing pain ignited my leg.

  My leg burned from the inside. Poison seemed to be the standard for these creatures. I had to maintain focus on holding on and gripped for my very life. The daemon threw itself around, slamming us against both a building and causing damage to itself in the process. The wall collapsed. My shield took the impact easily and spread the kinetic energy evenly across it. Healing slowed and my shield drained my energy heavily. The effect of the poison crept in.

  Several more thrashes attempted to dislodge me. The horde howled at the creature’s display amidst its death throws. It had to be amusing, as it felt like a bull ride to me...one that I had never experienced. Efforts to turn the blades failed. They refused to budge. I would have to kill the beast or be at full strength before I could remove the rest of the horde. The thought of letting go and calling them to me sounded feasible, but the thought was impossible as long as were wedged.

  Locking my grip, I shifted my focus inward and imagined the poison flushing out. The rune began to heat up and the energy flowed out then down. It felt like a battle was raging in my blood stream. Not wanting to close my eyes to increase the meditation focus I needed to deal with the poison, I kept trying to track where we would collide next. The swirling chaos of this beast’s movements took me in a direction I did not anticipate. My grip failed and the world spun as I went through a wall, followed by another one, which buried me underneath it.

  Choking on dust, my bearings eluded me. “The bell definitely got rung on that one,” the words seemed so bold in my mind that I felt I was watching Mathias spray painting using a daemon’s heart and ichor to paint the word “Clang” on the wall. It was all in my head, of course. The weight of the wall hampered my movement. The amount of rubble was unknown, as I prayed for a few seconds before they began to claw at me. One thought followed me to its conclusion.

  I did not have my swords. My grip failed. Anxiety set in and I fought to drive it back. This was that moment that would define me for the rest of my life, no matter how long or short. I chose to hold for a moment and refocused on the healing to take place. Eternity had a new definition. The beasts began to dig through the pile above me. Weight on me shifted each time they cleared debris. My shield was off! Did they knock me more senseless than I had realized?

  The weight pressed down on me...but it was bearable. A burning in my veins told me that the poison was still present. My mind let go and focus returned. The small pocket of air choked me with dust. This would have to happen without the benefit of breathing. Dark water flowed over stones in a stream...the
image leapt into my thoughts. Its waters flowed clouded and rough. The barely visible plants swayed back and forth like a rhythm. I had some air in my lungs. It would have to suffice.

  I imagined the water began to clear. The thought came as I imagined the pollutant upstream running dry. The bottom became clearer by the moment. Life returned to the water. Frogs and fish chased water striders and other small creatures. Balance had returned.

  Energy flowed. I felt the poison recede and warmth flow internally from the inside down to my toes. It was just starting to feel like my body floated when the rune activated and not a moment too soon. The weight above me lessened. My shield came into place on its own to my surprise as if my body knew it had to turn it off to heal fully. That would not surprise me but was truly unexpected and for that, I was thankful. Rolling to my back was a little hard but I managed it just in time. I saw two sets of jaws coming in at me, and each one of them grabbed an arm and managed to bite down hard enough to secure me. I could not move.

  Embarrassment set in for a moment. The events ran quickly through my head. I looked at my actions from at least three angles while being drug from the rubble and displayed almost proudly from the maws of these two stinky and fetid smelling creatures. The dead one with my swords in its skull twitched on the ground. The other one was injured and laid quiet, spilling ichor on the ground from its multiple wounds. It must have succumbed after I went through the wall. It also was not moving. The smell was awful. Had I not been in the stomach of the biggest one nothing could have smelled worse.

  I started to laugh at the irony as my canine restraints of the daemon variety paraded me forward to the large daemon. Even with my tremendous strength, I could not break free. It was the first time anything had ever pinned me down. I tried to kick them in the sides, but they held on tighter. Somehow, the protective field around me was not working very well, and I started to feel pressure on my bones from teeth. I tried to turn my healing back on as the pressure turned to pain, and I felt the teeth start to crush but not break the skin. It had to be the armor holding them back from puncturing the skin, but the pressure was very painful.

  In my mind, the image of being drug forward towards this creature played out. I was embarrassed that somehow my foes had gotten the best of me. A smile remained on my lips as I chose to be stoic in the face of this denizen. It felt as if I were doing an iron cross like a gymnast on the rings, only no skill was involved and it was not a demonstration. My pose was rather pathetic and beaten. With chin up, I looked the large daemon right in the eyes and gritted my teeth with a fully clenched jaw. The pain got worse.

  Weakness settled over me, slight at first. My position no doubt led to a loss of circulation. I was fading. My training gave me a tactical advantage. I knew that my strength alone would have been enough to break free of the hold the overgrown daemon dogs had on me. The poison neutralized in my blood. How was my strength still waning? This did intrigue me, but it was not until my healing shut down on its own and my other failed completely that I knew there was something else terribly wrong. I cannot say it was an unfair fight, but this one had the upper hand when all of my runic abilities collapsed.

  Fear found its way to my heart and wrapped its icy hands around it. The monstrous daemon chuckled as it stuffed its mouth full of whatever was left of the creature it had captured. Not only did it belch loudly, but it also sprayed me with half eaten particles. My eyes closed when I saw it heading towards me. The smell nearly made me gag. More laughter ensued. The daemon leaned against a building, half sitting on it and dislodging tiles with every shift of its weight as it fell over from laughing.

  The creature roared with deep, throaty laughter.

  “You must feel proud,” I found myself saying.

  Could it even understand me? Did my words register to this monster? Its gaze fell upon me giving chills that crawled up from my core and wrapped themselves around my neck. My airway tightened. The fear was real. This thing scared me more than a large six-legged beast that flew, a beast ten times the size of this one.

  His giant head panned the clearing. Viscous drool dripped in long cords from its maw onto its chest. The largely formed plates there were natural and pitted, probably from such behavior before. His demeanor was arrogant as he surveyed the carnage of the city. There was hardly any damage to the city, but a dead populace put a damper on any hopes the inhabitants could recover.

  Another chuckle rolled from its fetid mouth. It sat there looking at me. Anger and hatred radiated from it. For a second, I felt sorry for it. It only knew death and destruction. It caused only pain and agony to other sentient beings. That was not a life for anything to live. I had to remind myself that it was a daemon. Evil comprised its core. A moment of sadness washed over me. That changed when my eyes spotted a pile of rocks off to the side, near of the building on which it sat.

  A corpse in rags lay atop the pile. Their colors were unrecognizable. Blood covered the mass. I was about to look away when something caught my eye. The arrangement of the rocks reminded me of something.

  Malnuras had been on a similar rock pile!

  My control was gone. Rage burst forth. All the time spent training on controlling how situations affected my judgment did not prepare me for this. My expression reflected this...for the large daemon looked straight at me and broke out into laughter. What could only be a smile crossed its twisted face. A spasm ran down my spine and my stomach felt like it was in my throat. Nausea was present when my eyes fell upon the body of my teacher...then shifted to his killer. Righteous fury returned to me as if God himself reached down and touched me.

  Fury turned into vengeance. I had to kill this damnation and I needed to do it now. The sum of all my skill and determination may not be good enough, but I called everything forth. It felt like my heart was a cauldron bubbling over onto a raging fire. Pressure inside my head increased. Just when the stress was nearly unbearable, the creature spoke. My bones froze at the very sound of its voice as its spoke perfectly in a language I could understand. Its forked tongue waggled and there was not a hint of an accent.

  “You should save your strength human. You are going to need it for what I have planned.”

  My look of shock must have been priceless for it made a pouting gesture with its face. My response was stuck in my throat. I stared in disbelief. More laughter rang out across the empty courtyard. Whisperings in the daemonic tongue echoed across the rooftops. I tried to count the individual voices I heard but lost track at about thirty-nine when it spoke again.

  “What, nothing to say? Your teacher did not have much to say either. He did, however, taste delightful, and I savored every drop of his blood. I never thought that I would get to taste God’s flesh. It was delicious.”

  I felt myself puke slightly in my mouth. Did I just hear this thing correctly? Did it say God's flesh? My thoughts raced over the last few years or what I felt to be years. The statement did not make any sense that God would be out here when Heaven was under siege. His power did keep Heaven safe. But was this possible?

  Logic did not govern my thoughts for the few seconds after that statement. I was truly confused. If this were God, why would he allow this? How could the hordes stand up to God? His power should be enough to wipe out anything that attacked him. I was just about to call the declaration bullshit when I stopped in mid thought, just like a logic program screeching to a halt when it realizes it cannot calculate pi out to infinity.

  It made sudden sense. Heaven fell because this daemon had a small piece of God. Without it, God is not whole, and the horde was able to punch a hole in the defenses of the city...the safe harbor of souls for eternity. I realized when this thought hit me that my mouth was still full of vomit. I was about to swallow it to speak when an idea came forth...one that I had used before. This daemon was still flesh and blood.

  I felt myself grow weaker. Something needed to happen right now. Tactic after tactic played in my mind while this filth droned on about how it was going to torture me in w
ays a human, even one such as myself, could not tolerate for even a few moments. Nothing in my memory came to mind except the words “uh oh” written on the wall behind me in my own blood. Despair was about to take root when I heard a voice, plain as day, in my head. At first, I did not believe it. Again, it spoke.

  “Call us,” a faint whisper said.

  Before the sentence even finished in my mind, my weapons were in my hands and in one motion I thrust them both right into the soft pallet and into the brain of the daemon dogs that had successfully soaked my shirt with drool whilst holding me captive. The metal bit flesh and I turned on the flames while twisting the blades, proving my point to these creatures. A hushed sound followed by screaming emanated as I tore my blades free and fell to my feet. I looked at the large daemon in front of me that was staring in disbelief. There was no hesitation. With minuscule energy left, I launched myself at its head with only the need to get close. The contents of my mouth found their target, right in the creatures’ eyes.

  I swung hard at its head.

  It rolled to the right at the last second and I felt my sword bite something that should not have given any resistance. The daemon had a necklace on with a large medallion hanging from it. As my blade struck true, a searing light, in slow motion escaped from the cut splitting it in two. A minor explosion went off right under the daemon’s face. My landing was hard as this shock wave of energy hit me before my feet touched down. I went ass over elbows onto my face. A rumbling sound came from behind, followed by multiple crashes and screams. Several of the small fliers and leapers that lined the roofs died as well.