by Jamie Hawke
Huera stepped up to Arthur first, holding out her wing. “A fresh feather, given by me. It contains the magic.”
“Not the eggs?” I asked.
She turned to frown at me, and laughed. “Oh, gods no. Those contain a different magic altogether.”
“I have to pluck a feather?” Arthur asked.
She nodded. “If you were to take one without permission, or try, anyway, your hand would become stuck to me, and anyone who tried to help you, stuck to you. It’s a messy and complicated affair, but one we don’t have to worry about here. I only have a limited number until they have to grow back,
“What about the snakes and leaves thing, like before?” I asked.
Arthur shook his head as he selected a feather. “This isn’t the same—that has to deal with bringing people back from the dead, in a sense. Here, we’re spirits without bodies, mostly.” As the feather came loose, gold light flowed from it, circling him with tiny specks like dust reflecting in the sun but so much brighter. It then flowed into him, and he was no longer glowing blue and semi-translucent, but complete with a real body, a slight golden glow to his skin.
Nivian embraced him, the two kissing while Huera stepped towards Elisa’s brothers next. Two of them went through the same routine before Red appeared in the portal.
“It’s time. We have company.”
Arthur glanced back at Huera and Queen Mab, the latter waving him off. “Go, fight. Save the world. We’ll be right behind you.”
Nivian nodded, and we ran to join Red.
“Hurry, brothers,” Elisa called back over her shoulder, “I’ll be anxiously awaiting your arrival.”
We emerged back onto the hillside to find it much darker than before.
“You made it just in time,” Sekhmet said, and then pointed up, as if I could’ve missed the mass of pyramids forming overhead. They’re coming from the Fae world, Queen Mab said, and I turned to see her stepping toward us from the portal.
“This is from the spirit realm?” I asked.
“We have a whole underground system of buildings like this,” she said, frowning. “Now it explains where they’ve been hiding, and why the underground has been inaccessible for so long.”
“And where all the Shades were going,” I said, watching as streams of darkness flowed down toward us, descending with gods and Legends held on high.
I’d said this and turned back to the queen to see her reaction, but froze in confusion. While before she’d looked every bit the fairy queen, as I watched she was growing long, curved horns from her head, her cheekbones becoming more pronounced, lips fuller.
She reached up and touched her mouth, hand then going to the base of one of the horns. “Ah, I see my own glamour has been removed as I was granted access.” She held out her arms in the ways she often did, and bowed her head slightly.
“Maleficent?” Elisa asked. “I thought we had her locked up.”
“Queen of the fairies, aren’t I?” Queen Mab, or apparently Maleficent, said. “Queen Mab tried to invade my dreams once and I couldn’t exactly have that, so… yes, I took her ichor, took her essence and use it as glamour when the time’s right. Helped me escape, but now I’m here, ready to help.”
“Wait, so…” I glanced from her to Red and the others. “Maleficent, good or bad?”
Elisa cocked her head, not really sure how to answer that. Given that the others were looking to her, I took this to mean nobody really knew anymore. Or weren’t ready to answer with her watching.
“You see,” Maleficent said, stepping toward me, “the answer to your question might have been quite different if you’d asked anytime before we witnessed this.” She turned back up to the sky, watching the plumes of Shades, closer now, almost upon us. “That was before I found this. I knew someone was taking a large portion of my fairies, but to turn them into Shades? To spew them out at Earth like they’re no better than bullets? Yeah, I mean to have words with those behind the attack. And by words, I mean tear them to shreds.”
“I… good.”
She smiled, looking around at our little army, and then nodded. “Let’s go kick their asses, shall we?”
“But the fairies…”
“Unfortunately, gone.” Her eyes showed a sorrow very out of place on her. “The moment they went over, the moment they became Shades, they were lost to me. Gone, forever.”
Without another word on the matter, we turned toward the incoming enemy as the rest of our team strode out from the portal, joining us at our sides. And by the rest, I mean all of them. Elisa’s brothers and all. I quickly applied my previously earned ichor, glad to see I was able to get the skill that cancelled out powers nearby. No luck on the illusion one yet, but it would be up next.
For now, it was fight time.
67
In the face of the onslaught, I called forth Roar. Together we stood our ground with my team, my runes glowing bright and Excalibur charging up with energy. Sharon took up the other side in full wolf mode, while Pucky’s horns were glowing where she stood to my left and behind. Red’s robe was already flapping about, preparing for the attack.
Elisa charged past, only she didn’t have the same look as before. Instead, the white light I’d seen her use previously seemed to have formed into protective armor that gleamed like the moon. In one hand she held a spear of the same material, a shield in the other, with a swan-like helmet on her head.
Her brothers’ armor was extending, glowing in this same way as they charged, and meeting the enemy in a clash of light versus darkness.
I started to charge, too, but caught wind of my name and turned to see Maleficent gesturing to the Arthur who had risen into the sky, a new sword of golden light in his hand. Sekhmet and Bastet were both in animal forms running past me with streaks of magic gleaming in their wake, and then a flurry of fairies came flying out of the portal, moving to intercept the enemy.
“It’s going to be a fun fight!” Maleficent said, laughing as she caught up with us, and I continued my charge, Roar pounding along at my side.
The Shades swept over us in waves of darkness, but we were the bulwark that kept them at bay. My team was the staff of Moses that parted the waters, and as I glowed with my rune power—absorbing water for more energy, pulling it from ground and air—prana flowed down to me and I used it to strengthen my connection with Roar, to keep us strong. When I could, I’d duck and quickly assign points, to the extent that soon my strength was at five-hundred percent and my speed at four-hundred. But seeing the host arrayed against us, it was clear where the points really needed to go—stamina. It was all a blur, but I remember at one point getting my stamina to a thousand percent and then watching it flash green, refusing to go higher. Maxed out!
More of the Shades came and we fought, and as I pushed more prana into Roar, a strange thing started happening. I could see from his eyes, sense with his senses. It didn’t take away from my own, rather amplifying them to make me more aware of my surroundings. That made me sure it was a smart move, so I started funneling more prana his way, and in a flash he spun, wings out and slicing through the enemy as if they’d taken on a weapon ability of their own. Hot damn, this was going to be fun if I could level up both myself and him, basically surrounded by an endless supply of prana.
Pucky was nearby, shooting her huge-ass rifle at anything she could. I even caught sight of Ali Baba, who I’d lost track of in all the chaos and maneuvering. He had his genie magic going, swirling around enemies, turning them into wind-up toys when he could, shooting out attacks at those powerful enough to resist his simple tricks.
Meanwhile, Elisa and her brothers were tearing through the enemy, making a show of it. You could almost say they were stealing my prana, since at this point it was feeding their armor, making them hulk out. Pretty badass. I spun, avoiding a strike from one and then retaliating with my blade, and watched as a red cloak moved through the crowd, the large wolf that I knew to be Sharon close behind.
Again I swiped at the air,
not even bothering to aim this time, and managed to hit one of those fucks. Two came at me at once with strikes that might have done damage if not for my shield flashing up, and then I knelt, coming under a dark shadowy form to shoot out with my group attack. At least ten prana orbs shot my way, and I assigned them to speed.
The momentary distraction wasn’t smart though, because I barely had time to register the way the Shades were parting, the form of Heimdall blasting down with his rainbow light and massive sword.
Good thing I had my lion upgrades, because it was through Roar’s eyes that I saw it, because of him that I was able to drop and roll to the side to avoid the first blow. My sword was up in time to parry the next strike, and the third met my shield—blasting it to pieces!
Damn, I didn’t know if that would need a recharge or if it was gone forever, but either way it wasn’t good.
“Mortals,” he said, bringing his sword up in a swing that should have been impossible with a blade that size, “will never be able to stand against gods!”
“Good thing you’re just a cocky, arrogant, fucking dickhead then,” I replied, and thrust out, using my skill to shoot a blade of light. When he dodged in a flash, I considered cancelling out skills to see if that would put us on even footing, but he was twice my size and using a sword he’d likely been training with for hundreds or thousands of years, depending on whether he was an original or not. Instead, I opted for attacking his ego. “You’re not a god, you’re a pissant, pea-brain jerk who thinks he’s better than everyone.”
I went on the attack, hoping the words plus my aggression would trigger something in him. It worked. He roared, coming to meet me in a charge, and our swords collided in a burst of colors and energy that sent us both back. Wispy hands gripped me but Roar was there, tearing through them, then looking at me in a way that made me understand. He would hold off the nearby Shades while I took care of Bobby-Big-Balls over there. I nodded, turning to get back into the fight.
Another thing about my moment with Roar. I was reminded that I didn’t have to rely only on my senses. Taking that into account with this Heimdall guy’s rage, a plan began to form.
This time when we clashed swords and I called him weak, said any of my team could take him, I let him catch me with his sword, barely, making sure I turned so that it was the broadside. The impact sent me flying, landing facing away from him with my sword skittering across the ground.
But that’s exactly what I wanted.
Using Roar’s senses I knew he was coming at me, and holding out my hand I prepared. When he was lunging, sword coming down for my neck, I summoned my blade, caught it, and turned with a thrust up and kick to his legs.
He went sprawling, sword going up under his sternum so that I could leverage that and throw him over me, sword still in him. Then I was up, summoning it to me, but jumping so that I was taken to it instead. I let the impact do the work, my weight and gravity pushing the blade in deeper, so that I could see his red eyes fade to empty, black sockets as his life force faded. Then he was gone, his ichor entering me.
Without hesitation, I upgraded to get the illusion skill. I had no idea what would come next, and I needed to be ready.
Just then, Huera came charging past with Pucky and Toewi, in pursuit of a group of Shades, while behind me I realized the enemy was clearing enough that I could make out Sekhmet and Bastet where they fought, the others on the far side of them.
We were winning, at least for the moment. Mowgli and the others had joined us and were leading an attack that pushed the Shades away to the East, another group, including Chris’s, had moved the enemy on the west back to the bottom of the hill. My group had the immediate north and south handled.
But the darkness surged, a form appearing in the sky. It descended toward us, and all of the surviving enemy backed up, awaiting their ally.
Ra! He’d arrived.
68
Ra stopped not far out, close enough to throw a stone at, with my upgraded strength, anyway. He sneered at us, translucent hawk wings out behind him, his helmet glowing like the sun.
“You’ve returned,” he said, turning to assess us all. I wasn’t sure who he was addressing, but the statement applied to many of us. “Do you really think you have a chance of standing against me?”
Without waiting to see if anyone else would answer, I shouted out, “I’m the Protector. I will protect.”
“You, boy?” He gestured out to the world. “You owe them no loyalty—they’ll destroy each other just as they’d destroy all of us! I’ve lived among them, I know.”
“It’s never too late to make a change.” I stepped forward, hating how I sounded like a motivational poster. “In this case, the change starts with you backing off… or dying.”
He scoffed. “You’re in no position to threaten me. My forces surround the world.”
“And yet, I’ll bet they’ll fall back the moment I’ve taken your head.”
“You…?” He scoffed. “You’re like a little baby compared to me, you with that sword—you’re as likely to cut off your own scrotum as scratch me. You, a Protector? Join me, I’ll train you. I’ll show you what being a Protector really means.”
“I know what it means well enough.”
“Clearly, you don’t.” He moved closer, eyes boring into me. “I am a god, yes, but also a Legend, if you must call it so. Your kind were meant to protect us all, to see that humanity can’t touch us.”
“I’m here to protect your kind, yes.” I stepped forward, again, not wanting to seem like I was the backing down type. “In this case, that means protecting both fairy tales and humanity in one… against you.”
“Well then…” He held out his hands, a sudden rush of gods appearing at his side. An army like that of heaven about to descend on us. Shit, it was intimidating. “Prepare to die, Protector.”
He brought his hands forward and the gods streamed down on us. To her credit, Maleficent was the first one to charge this time, her fairies streaming up with her in a blinding effect that let her attack hit the mark on two gods right off the bat. Sekhmet and Bastet were right behind her, so I got the idea that the gods were taking the brunt of the attack from us “non-gods.”
But I wasn’t about to stand for that—I was going to take my share of the blows, dammit. Running up to the first god to land, I met him in combat while Elisa took out one who was coming in at me from above.
“Thanks!” I shouted, and the blast that I sent through this god was enough to stun him until I’d slashed his throat open with my blazing blue blade.
Attacks came at me that I absorbed, using the energy for a group attack, then running to help defend Huera as she healed two of Elisa’s brothers. My whole team was in the process of moving together, forming a wedge, while the gods kept the enemy from getting behind us. Spells were flying, Chris and the others making their way back to us and half-way up the hill, Mowgli and the other Myths doing their best to join forces as well. The gods were working to keep us separated, Legends were mostly being used as cannon fodder so that flying monkeys, trolls, and various others, like Rumpelstiltskin, were falling dead in droves. A few Myths fell, too, but so far none of my own team, and none that I knew by name.
A roar sounded, then two more, and I glanced back to see three large bears, one with Goldi locks on his shoulder. She held a bazooka, which she fired into the sky. The explosion hit the closest pyramid, sending a large section of it down to crush the enemy beneath it. Goldi and her crew came charging, others with rifles and more following. From what I could tell, this new group wasn’t even fairy tale.
Jets streaked overhead in the distance, laying down the attack on the buildings in the sky, but one vanished.
“The normies are back at it, at least,” Red said, momentarily appearing at my side. “They’re seeing our fight and rallying to the cause.”
“About time,” I grumbled.
Maybe they could at least serve as a distraction, but as few normie lives lost during the process,
the better. I’d never understood the idea of valuing civilian lives more than those of the military, but now that I was there in the midst of a battle, it started to make sense. We were there to give our lives, if that’s what it took. Every one of us was there to sacrifice so that others didn’t have to, which meant that every life lost ‘back home’ was another loss to our cause, another reason our sacrifice, if it came to that, would mean that much less. Our lives weren’t less valuable, but if I were to die there on the battlefield, so be it. As long as my death resulted in less chance of success for the enemy, and in less death back home.
Not that I could compare myself to those men and women in the military, I thought with a laugh. They’d been doing this for years, training and fighting for our lives and freedom, and here I was like a baby in the grand scheme of it all.
Then again, I was going for the end game. Whatever it took to grow, to make myself the ultimate warrior… I’d do it.
Maybe when this was all over, I’d find a way of changing how the system worked. I could partner with the police, the Marines, all of them, and combine their discipline and firepower with my use of the supernatural. A conversation for another time, of course, because at the moment I was staring down a goddess who’d decided I was her next target. Then another. Then a third. All stared at me, slowly stepping closer, weapons drawn.
I recognized them, maybe from a show I’d been watching recently and then read about online? I wasn’t sure, but seeing them there with their gowns of stars and planet patterns, their curved blades, and the way their eyes seemed dark and full of the stars.
Confirming my guess, a voice said, “That’s the Evening Star on the right.” A moment later, Maleficent was there at my side, materializing next to me with a flash of purple and fairies darting about her. “I’ll take her.”
That left the Morning Star and the Midnight Star. Cool, I could try for two ancient goddesses. Why not?
