by Jacob Spadt
Celuine had knocked me down and took a blast meant for me. She saved me from serious damage. A look of intense pain crossed her face and she fell hard not moving. The ground around me erupted from more bolts of energy. Rolling to the side behind a large tree, I jumped up trying to assess the situation. Several of the mobile energy creatures had me pinned. My shield came on, but I did not know if it could stop that type of weapon.
To my right, I sensed movement and turned to face it. Swords were in my hands and powered on as strong as I could make them charge. Fire ran the length of the blades. My eyes locked onto one of the creatures flanking me. It had just finished consuming a daemon. I had no time to react. It was about to fire when the part of it that would release the energy when suddenly destroyed and the familiar crack of a shot gun went off. The energy released, adding to the blast. Thirty feet of forest around it ignited like napalm. Running around the area, I caught movement and turned to face the assailant.
A friendly bearded face stood before me. Covered head to toe in ichor, Jason appeared sporting a shot gun, a rifle, and a machete hanging off his belt, also coated in ichor. He ran to my tree as the one he just passed exploded into a burst of embers showing the area directly around us again. The area started to burn.
"You’re a sight for sore eyes," he laughed. "Is this what you do for whomever?"
"More or less," I responded, surprised at how accepting of the idea he was.
"Good, there of them coming from some type of rift or portal. I assume you can deal with that as well?" he added with a touch or seriousness, a side of him never seen before. “Several of them carried large stones…strangely enough. Any ideas?”
“I have no clue about that, but I cannot be good.” I smiled remembering how many times we pretended. "Just like when we were kids, huh? Only this time the monsters are real,” I replied
“Yeah, no kidding, my imagination was pretty vivid, I just never thought you could see the daemons, too."
I looked at him with my jaw down.
"Why do you think I became a hunter to begin with? They hide and look like trees that have multiple root systems. I have never seen them walk before, only grab, and consume animals. Whatever these smaller things are, they consume them before firing.”
“Daemons. The smallest type. Leapers.”
I tried to assess how many there were, but the earth shaking made it hard. I knew what these things could do, especially the larger models. While I was thinking, Jason jaw dropped for a moment before he continued.
"It is like they were waiting for something here all these years. Now I know how they get here."
"They are the ammo," he said, looking at me. I nodded. "Seriously?"
"As I ever can be. You have my back?" He nodded.
XXXIX
Reality
The forest erupted in flames.
Around us, the first salvo of energy blasts hit close. For several minutes, one or two at a time came spaced apart. Now it was constant, unrelenting bombardment. I did not know if Celuine was dead, but I owed her my life. She knew the risk most certainly, but it was not my style to leave someone down. I had to get to her. Exploding trees, dirt, and debris turned the once quiet forest in to a war zone.
They had us pinned down.
Celuine's body lay fifteen feet away. The exact location of her wound was not apparent. I was unable to determine if getting to her was worth a suicide run. My honor dictated that no matter what, I had to try.
The barrage cleared a lot of branches, taking cover away quickly. My enemy was not just trying to finish her. We needed to keep moving. It was a simple matter of tactics, but then again, so was keeping your head down. I was no good to anyone while stuck in a fox hole. My blades were thirsty for battle, or perhaps my desire to cut daemons to bits tried to override getting to my angelic sister. Both plans drove me toward action. Even after I scoop Celuine up we would need an egress point.
"Cover me when you see me disappear!” I hollered over the sounds of destruction. Jason nodded in reply. I quickly peeked around the cluster of stumps and tried to time it to avoid getting a face full of energy. Three targets in a one hundred and twenty or so degree arc at various ranges availed themselves. They took no care in hiding and kept firing repeatedly. I pulled my head back and pointed the direction I was looking a moment before.
"You can do that?” Jason questioned with excitement, barely able to contain himself.
"You would be amazed at what I can do. We can discuss it later. Give me three shots when you see me fade." Several energy blasts hit the tree above us, showering wood chips all over. Smoke thickened as more foliage and trees caught fire. That did not make me happy. I thought of the first lightning storm I watched destroyed a whole forest. That was a decimation level event. It still made me sick at the thought, but I chose to focus on my target. One of the daemons fired from behind some large bushes, affording a bit more cover than the other two. This offered me more cover from bullets fired that general direction where my teleport would carry me.
I focused on my target. More blasts came in hard and fast, signifying more creatures joining the fray. Trees began to fall and offered a little more to hide behind as they piled atop of one another creating a small barricade. It did not offer any protection from the opposite side.
Jason hollered, "GO...GO...GO,” right before I finished activating. Why did my vision have to go so blurry every time? I closed my eyes when things shifted.
I reappeared behind my target and heard Jason fire his salvo. Several screams ensued from the smaller feeder daemons telling me he had a hit his marks. The idea to turn them invisible was moot. Jason needed to see them, so that would be counterproductive here.
Several of the smaller ones failed to notice I was there until they died. Others around them stood like before in Heaven’s assault. My swords swiped several times and bodies burst into nothingness. They did not know I was there until I was slicing them apart. The makeshift line ran behind each of the living weapons. It still intrigued me how they gave themselves up to die. A good start if you ask me.
I cut through the last one in this group and saw the tendril reach back to grab for another volley, but its strange gnarled hand found only air. My blades scythed out, removing its appendage and causing it to howl and turn. It called out in some strange tongue. It did not have a visible mouth from which it cried out. Instinctively both blades connected, severing its head. Greenish ichor sprayed the area as a choking sound started and ended when it fell over dead. The body turned into an explosion of ash as it hit the ground and faded away.
Looking to the left, I saw another creature about ninety feet away fire on Jason's location. It was an easy stride through some light cover making it easier for me to stay hidden. I charged, killing the firing daemon before it could grab another energy source. Taking their head was easier on these smaller versions because I could reach them without having to leap. The creature toppled over and landed right on several of the smaller ones in the line behind it. Several got pinned beneath its body, making them even easier targets to dispatch. It was a matter of cleaning up the before they could call for help or attacked me themselves.
Things did not go easily for long as the third creature saw me coming and turned to fire. Another blast flew at me and glanced off my shield. I moved evasively till I was right on it. A straight shot to my shield could be bad. It was not a theory I felt like testing. It let out a high pitched shrill, cut short when I removed its head. Soon they would know I moved within their ranks, compromising their tactics.
"You must move faster. A portal must be close by,” Sabathiel said in a singular voice.
"He must deal with the ones he finds. If he gets surrounded it will remove his advantage of position," Radueriel added to the dialogue.
"You are the Defender now Tathlyn. You must take care of yourself and deal with the task. No un-needed risked should ever be considered except as a last resort," they said in unison.
"Agreed my friends.
The threat level here is growing. Caution will be exercised."
Explosions echoed through the trees. Hope that Jason and my sister were okay hung heavy on my mind. It killed me to leave her on the ground with no proof she yet lived. This was the second time I found myself in a mess and had to worry about the life of another within the same day. I refocused on Jason and reappeared next to him a few moments later. He just about jumped out of his skin. The look on his face told me that he was relieved. The horde decimated the forest. Taking cover low to the ground was the only thing I could do here. With my size, low crawling still made me a little vulnerable. My armor made the feeling of being a duck on a pond a bit more bearable. Such odds were not the problem; it was the location and I was about to change that. I could teleport one other person but the farther the range, the longer it took and we still had a portal to find.
I grabbed Celuine and looked to Jason in one swift motion. She was remarkably heavy even with her daintiness in her angelic form. Perhaps it just came as a surprise to me that she weighed as much as she did. Mathias told me that sometimes a magically created weapon had a property called weighted...for when it struck that extra weight made the wound more severe. He had also explained how some beings had more mass to them, even though they looked the same. That was probably the case here. I smiled at how things in my new world were exactly as they should be even if appearances misled.
"Follow me and try to keep up," I said quietly, making a beeline for the place cleared moments before. Crashing through the fallen timbers was not as easy as I had hoped. Celuine was over my shoulder as we ran, but moving through the smoke filled forest slowed me down. Jason stayed right behind me, matching my pace. Something told me he would move faster on his own even with my stride. His ability to choose a path then was second to mine growing up for I had lived out here longer. His ability superseded my skill, for he was a ranger of sorts when not working.
Nearly a quarter mile passed. The daemons ceased pounding that location for a moment, so we stopped to assess Celuine's wound. She was barely alive, and it would take a lot out of me to fully heal her. I trusted she could heal herself if I brought her back to consciousness. Her wound was through the back plate, right at the base of the neck. The armor took the brunt of it, but something had gotten through, hurting her badly.
"Keep watch. This is will take a little bit."
Jason nodded. He went to a tree and began setting up quick hunters blind to conceal himself. My focus shifted to Celuine. I removed the plates as gently as possible. The front came off easily enough, but in the back plate, jagged metal bent inward, digging into her spine. The pressure on the spine must have pinched several nerves causing her body into a coma. This would take its toll on me.
Energy charged in my core for a moment before I turned my focus to her. I needed to reduce the swelling in the soft tissue. My fingers tried lifting the plate slowly. Several moments had passed before anything budged. The blast embedded it in the bone. When it finally released, the blood flow increased rapidly.
My focus sharpened. The memory of the day I healed Malnuras flooded back. Emotions surged. It clouded my thoughts for a moment, taxing my concentration. That day, using this ability had knocked me out and allowed the horde to capture him, and Heaven fell because of it. The weight of what was at stake here was not as great. Failure would mean the life of an angel, my sister, not a walking avatar dying again. It was not an option either way. Earth needs its Defenders, and Heaven needs its angels.
The tissue repaired slowly and the damage to her vertebrae even slower. She breathed a little easier now but was still unconscious. I focused on knitting fibers together and increasing blood flow to the area. Her pulse strengthened and slowly her breaths became deeper and deeper until her eyes finally opened. Slight panic washed over her and she started to fight until her eyes locked on mine and she relaxed. My senses tingled as she closed her eyes and her own healing kicked in. Celuine smiled for the first time since I had seen her in this form.
"Thank you," she whispered as she sat up, shaking some cobwebs out of her head. Damage like that tended to leave one paralyzed so it made sense that her abilities failed for a moment, rendering her helpless. I handed her the breast plate. Holding up the rear piece, my thumb pressed hard on the twisted metal and it groaned in protest before bending flat. Several jagged edges later it was flat again. She stood feeling much better than she had been, for sure. I helped her refasten the armor.
"I need to go for the portal. Can you handle these things now that you know what we are dealing with?” I asked.
"They will not gain tactical favor a second time. We fell into an ambush set for the old Defender. They are not expecting an angel and a hybrid Defender. Take your friend with you. I will handle this. Meet me back at my domicile. I will not be long," she assured me.
Jason had made his way back to the camp. He took one more look at Celuine and smiled. She looked back at him as she walked by shaking her head. I could tell what he thought before he did and why would he not? She was beautiful and a warrior but the key component was she was an angel. If she ever got permission to marry, it would most likely be someone important. His grin did not fade after she left camp, and it made it hard to look at him without knowing how he felt for I was that way with Eryn.
"We need to go to where the portal is. Can you take me?” He nodded yes and pointed towards south east.
"There is something bigger there that is not like these smaller things. It stands on two feet. The creature knew the direction of my approach before I got anywhere near it. It was focusing on some strange circle of light floating in the air. Is that a portal?
"Yes, that sounds like what I need to find. We need to move fast before reinforcements come."
"The creature is smart and doesn't stand still," Jason added. "I can kill it if I can get line of sight. I tried to get a bead on it once but had to run away. That's when I saw Bigfoot running from me."
We moved through the forest. Jason led expertly. He did not disappoint me with his speed. We paused for a moment to listen to the forest. Our enemies were not close by at the present.
"I have a question," I whispered "As kids when we ran around in the woods; you could really see these things I just fought? How did you know they were daemons?"
"It was a guess. I knew something was up where I could see them and you could not. They tried to blend in. Occasionally, I caught them moving. A few years ago I saw one kill something. So whenever I see them, they die. It is all I’ve done since you were hurt, but looking for Sasquatch was my focus."
He paused and stared at me. "So why did you come out here? To stop me or to help me?"
"There is a lot I can’t explain right now. Just know something: My title is Defender. The Sasquatch was the one that chose me to replace him because of what happened that day when I told him to look out. I will tell you more as soon as we have time, but we have to get to that portal. If you know where it is, take me to it. Otherwise, I will have to spend a lot of time and effort finding it."
"Let’s continue then." He took off at a rapid pace. "I hope you can still keep up.” It was obvious he knew where he was going.
Sounds of battle rang out to my left. I heard the distinctive chimes of a sword hitting something hard, causing it to vibrate. Many times it was the after affect from a successful kill…A smile crossed my face knowing Celuine was close. Perhaps it was time for mankind to get more involved in protecting their planet.
I wondered if Jason would be up to the task. He was tough. But could he handle the changes to his reality? His outlook, when he visited me in the hospital, showed that he was a fighter... his cause was noble as it pertained to me, and a misguided sense of honor. But what I saw today made me think that was a ruse. His heart was indeed in the right place.
We ran at a fast pace for about ten minutes then slowed. Motioning me to get sneaky, Jason pointed at something off in the distance about eighty yards away. I crept forward into cover. Sure enough, there
was a portal open. It angled toward us, so it looked oval and close to eight feet tall. Jason was right. There was also a large pile of stones, carved or cut in irregular shapes on the ground. Next to the rock pile stood an arch way. Strange they built and arch as if marking the spot to build a structure or mark the area as a marshaling point for future invasions. The horde was getting confident that it would be able to return to this exact spot and construct a building. Motion caught my eye.
Some sort of creature moved about. One I had anticipated. A hybrid was there with a daemon. Hybrids not only commanded, but also added a serious threat. We had no way of knowing what else was here.
Talk about ugly.
This thing towered over the medium sized daemon that stood guard. The hybrid looked like it had some sort of scales all over it. By all appearances, it was male. He seemed to be looking around often and focusing in certain directions at times. Suddenly he would trace symbols in the air, and an energy wave rolled out into the woods. I got a distinct impression he was giving commands based on where his attention focused and how he moved his hand, but I could not be certain. Occasionally he would look at a scroll.
"Can you take him?” I whispered.
"Yes, but he always seems to know when he is being targeted. I had him in my sights earlier and he moved almost as if he knew there was danger. It was creepy.”
"Then I will distract him. Give me about a minute, and then take aim." I was able to focus my energy on the area. I could see the clearing and that made memorizing it easy enough. My energy gathered faster than usual. That should have triggered a warning. Something was strange, but I dismissed the thought not wanting to over analyze.
Perception shifted.
I stood inside a ring of protective barriers not viewable from a distance. Runes hung in the air suspended by the arcane. He spun to face me and hissed in a guttural voice something almost like English. His face disjointed and I could see he had mandibles and four eyes. His hands only had two fingers and no opposing thumb. Without hesitation, he charged me.