Abigail headed towards Nick, her friends looking at her with sadness and Lucuris wanting to go up to her and try to help her with whatever was going thru her mind, but Oracle gave him a look, a look telling him not to. So instead everyone just let her go to Nick without interfering. Everyone could see she was trembling holding Zee in her arms, and tears flowing from her cheeks. The sadness set upon her face, looking at Nick on the floor, not able to move. She slowly lowered herself as both Knees trembled as they hit the floor, she couldn’t believe he got this hurt. The guilt set in her body, and the pain was overwhelming. “If it wasn’t for me, you would have never gotten hurt. I’m so sorry Nick. I couldn’t even protect myself, and instead you got hurt...I’m so sorry, you must hate my guts right now,” Abigail said as she started to put Zee down next to her. She then held Nicks hand and held it in hers, she didn’t want this to happen again. “You are always there protecting everyone, throwing yourself in harm’s way. It’s my fault, all my fault,” Abigail said in a low whisper, as she placed her face into Nick’s chest and started to sob.
“Are you always this fucking sad,” Nick said as he slowly opened his eyes. His body was aching from all of energy he had used and getting hit and sliced by the many demons he fought. It felt like someone beat the crap out of him for hours. Amaterasu barked with joy and jumped on Nick's chest pushing Abigail away, she then started to lick Nicks face. “It’s good to see you’re ok Amaterasu, I’m glad,” Nick said as he started to pet her.
Abigail backed away a bit, and stared at Nick, feeling relieved. Her sobbing stopped, and a smile slowly cracked from her face. “You scared the shit out of me Nick,” Abigail said as she started to smile nervously.
“I never knew you cared so much for me Abigail,” Nick said as he started to chuckle.
The rest of the group saw that Nick was awake, and talking to Abigail, they slowly made their way to both of them. Lucuris was glad that Nick was alright and didn’t stay knocked out for too long. He was afraid if they got attacked again, they might be totally screwed.
“Nick we gotta get out of here. We don’t wanna be vulnerable in case something does attack us. Let’s all head in my car and you all can stay over at my house,” Abigail said as she grabbed Zee from the floor and started to head to her vehicle.
Lucuris was going to follow her and the rest of the group, but he saw that Nick was having trouble getting up and decided to help him. “Wait Nick let me help you up man,” Lucuris said while crouching down a bit in order to pick Nick up easier.
“Thanks, Lucuris, my body is so damn tired. I can barely walk, all those demons just kept coming,” Nick said as he grabbed Lucuris’s right shoulder and tried to get up on his own two feet.
“You and Jessica were amazing Nick,” Lucuris said while holding Nick as they walked towards Abigail’s car. He couldn’t believe how powerful they both were in fighting off so many demons. They both looked confident and worked together with their familiars. Lucuris felt kind of weak compared to them, he didn’t have those kind of abilities. To him he felt useless, he couldn’t help them out at all. Then again, he wasn’t the only one to feel useless Oracle must have felt the same way not being able to help his friends, but at least he knew what they were up against, Lucuris had no clue. “I wish I could have helped you all, to be honest though I was really scared,” Lucuris said looking towards the ground.
Nick looked at Lucuris and could see something bothered him. He knew that this must be hard for him to handle, but he didn’t believe Lucuris was useless at all. “Fear is in everyone man. I mean when I fought those demons I had fear in me, but I had you guys to help me overcome it, just by your presence I was able to make the fear disappear,” Nick said to Lucuris trying to reassure him. Nick knew he was in great pain, but he felt that his pain was small compared to Lucuris’s inner pain. Not knowing who you were, what you were good for, a feeling all too familiar to Nick. “You know Lucuris, I wasn’t always this awesome. I was like you once, but decided I wanted to be an Exorcist. So, I trained my body and mind. I wanted to be able to protect my family from ever getting hurt again, from those demons.” Nick said as tears started to come out of him.
“I know this isn’t my place to ask, but what happened to your family, what did they do?” Lucuris asked as he started to stare at Nick. He never knew that Nick was this emotional, probably hid it to show he wasn’t weak.
Nick never really told anyone of his past, why he wanted to defeat demons harming people, he was always a closed book. But for some reason he felt like he could tell Lucuris, that maybe, just maybe it would show his friend that he isn’t alone in this world. To show him that they need Lucuris more than anything, that Abigail’s brother was the key and Nick could feel it in the core of his body. “My family was a really happy family, your typical family to be honest. We were tight knit, best of friends. One night though when we had a bad lightning storm, our lights went out and all we had to keep our living room lit was candles. My mom was saying prayers during this time, which at the time I felt was silly, as to why she did them, but I understand now. The reason why she did it was to keep away the demons. Since it was late at night and dark, the demons were powerful. Sadly, my mom wasn’t able to keep them at bay, the demons came from beneath us, to us they looked like shadows, but who knows how they looked to my mother. She and my father tried their hardest to defeat the demons using their prayers, but they were no match,” Nick said to Lucuris as he paused, and his eyes started to swell up. “They...They took my sister. The demons took her away. I cried for her, I prayed for her. Mom and dad were broken, they were never the same. I then swore that I would find my sister Lucuris and I would save her from those fucking demons who took her away from me,” Nick said shaking at the thought of that night made his blood boil, and Lucuris could see it in his eyes, the fire burning within him.
“Don’t worry Nick, we’ll all find your sister together. I won’t let you go alone man!” Lucuris said with a smile, he knew this meant a lot to Nick and he wanted to help his new friend in search of a loved one.
With a nod and a small smile Nick agreed with Lucuris, both of them reached Abigail’s car and everyone else was already inside waiting for them. Oracle and Jessica were in the back. Zee and Amaterasu were up front with Abigail, Nick and Lucuris had to squeeze in the back and sit on the laps of Jessica and Oracle so they all could fit inside.
“You guys ready to go back into the city,” Abigail said as she looked in her rear-view mirror and saw that they were too busy trying to get comfortable to even care.
The night was beautiful Abigail thought in her head as she started to drive away from their meeting place. Even though it was just a cave, to her it felt more of a home than anything else. She then looked out at the sky and saw that no stars were showing, and then a rumble came from the sky, it sounded like a monstrous roar between lions. So shocking and gripping that Nick couldn’t help but noticed. His eyes darted to the window on his side and saw that lightning started to hit the earth. To him it could mean only one thing, demons were going to pour out. The lightning hit back into the city where everyone lived, and that is what scared Nick the most.
His eyes looked in horror as he jumped out of the car. “This is when they are at their strongest, when lightning hits it means they are here to feast on the children,” Nick said softly to himself as he started to wrap one of his hands around his wrist. “This is bad man. I got to get back to town fast. Amaterasu, Let’s go, grant me your aid my friend,” Nick said as he turned towards the car and saw that Amaterasu was already out of the vehicle and gave him a loud bark. Nick knew that he had to act quickly so as soon as Amaterasu swirled around Nick and started flying into the air with him by her side.
Everyone saw what happened but did not believe it. Nick left so quickly that no one had time to react. As soon as Nick was in the air though Jessica got out of the car and knew that she could not let him go alone. “Guys, I’m going with Nick. Whatever made him leave so fast must have really
spooked him,” Jessica said as she was looking at everyone in the car. “Odin let's follow Nick, looks like the battle is just beginning my friend!” Jessica said smiling at Odin as he grabbed her and tossed her on his shoulder. Odin then crouched with his sword in one hand, and shield in the other and leapt into the air flying towards the city and to Nick.
Lucuris looked at Oracle “Man this suck...I feel bad for not being able to help them,” Lucuris said as he started to mess with his hair. He knew they were doing all they can to protect them, but at least Abigail was able to fight alongside of them. To Lucuris he felt oracle and him were pretty useless. He felt like they would get in the way more than anything. Even Though Nick and they didn’t show it, Lucuris felt like he was a burden to everyone.
“We can do only what we are able to Lucuris. It may not be much, but at least it shows we are trying. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, why not do something about it,” Oracle said as he was typing on his laptop.
Lucuris looked down at the floor, and just thought how harsh that sounded. Maybe Oracle is right, that he should do something about it, but he did not know what. He looked up at Abigail and saw she was concentrating on driving with Zee by her side, but he couldn’t help but feel lost. All he knew was that he wanted to be helpful to his friends, and that he was going to do whatever it took to be strong and to protect those who mean the most to him.
Chapter 4
Abigail’s vehicle stopped with a screeched as they entered the city. Lucuris and Oracle started to get out of the car and looking around the city itself but saw nothing but flames. They knew things would be bad with the demons running rampant, but they never knew it would get this bad. Lucuris could only see rubble coming off from buildings, fire spreading on the vehicles on the street. The city seemed abandoned, like everyone in the city disappeared or something, and Lucuris wondered what happened in the minutes they were away from Nick and Jessica.
“Man, this looks bad guys,” Lucuris said as he looked at Oracle and Abigail, both of them with worried looks on their faces, but their attention was not at the city and it being in flames, but the sky itself.
Abigail saw what seemed to be a bunch of blackness sweeping the sky. But once she looked more closely it wasn’t just blackness, but instead demons. A ton of flying demons swirling with their fangs out, their eyes glowing red, and drooling from their mouths as they sought out their prey. “Oh no, what the fuck is happening. Nick and Jessica their up there, “Abigail yelled out loud as she pointed to the sky.
“This doesn’t look good; the odds are against them. The demons are swarming them, they have no way out,” Oracle said looking at the sky and feeling hopeless at the current situation.
Lucuris could see Nick and Jessica within the swirling darkness in the sky. Nick firing at the demons with his handguns, and Amaterasu by his side. Each bullet hitting the darkness with a bang, leaving a hole, but slowly filling in with more demons. Jessica and Odin slashing thru the demons like a violent tornado. The four of them were trying their hardest to keep the demons away from the city. But Lucuris could see in Nicks, and Jessica's eyes that even they could not keep up this act. He could see how badly they were hurt, both of them bleeding from their arms by the demons claws. The drops of sweat leaving their faces, their stamina was decreasing. But they kept trying. Lucuris knew they would keep fighting until they died. “Dammit, Dammit There has to be something we can do!” Lucuris yelled as he slammed a fist into Abigail’s vehicle. The pain in his hand was immense, but it was not as bad as the pain within his heart. He felt helpless, yet again there was nothing he could do to help.
“You guys stay here. I am going to help Nick and Jessica. I promise you brother that I will protect you, and everyone else. No one is going to die. Not Nick, or Jessica. Please stay safe,” Abigail said while placing her hand on Lucuris’s shoulder and then hugging him from behind, leaning her head down on his shoulder.
Abigail then looked at Zee who nuzzled her leg. “It’s time my friend, for us to go into battle,” She said while petting the little dragon on his head.
Zee then began to flap his wings excitedly, as he began to glow. His body was changing shape, it was growing. His body expanding, big as Abigail’s car, if not bigger. His scales looked like they were as hard as diamond. His eyes darted to the sky, not with fear, but with determination. His wings spanned long and wide. Zee sucked in the smoke that was nearby thru his nostrils, and then blew flames out of his mouth towards the sky. “My my, looks like the flame god has awakened,” Abigail said as she started to climb Zee’s back. The both of them then took off into the sky, darting in the air with the might of Zee’s wings and amazing speed. Abigail knew that she had to save her friends, and she knew she could with Zee by her side.
Lucuris stood there in awe at what he just saw. His mouth opened wide in disbelief. “He-He transformed. How the heck can he do something like that? I mean it just happened out of nowhere. Did you know he could do that man?” Lucuris asked as he saw Oracle just staring at him.
“Zee went only by Abigail’s emotions,” Oracle said while taking off his glasses and cleaning them off as his hands trembled. “The stronger her emotions become, the stronger her familiar. She was confident in her abilities, and most of all confident in Zee’s,” Oracle said out loud feeling relieved Abigail went to Nick and Jessica, but he just hoped that they would be able to make it back to them in one piece.
Lucuris could feel the darkness surrounding them. The cool wind brushing against his face as a cold chill shot through his spine. “Abigail may have told us to wait here, but I don’t think we should. I mean they are fighting in the skies, but what if something happens and they came crashing to the ground. We could be hit,” Lucuris said as he looked up in the sky, seeing flashes of light as he saw Amaterasu flying in circles around her companions flashing out rays of light.
Oracle could feel the hairs on the back of his neck and arms begin to jump up. The sight of his friends fighting made him fear for their lives. He never saw this many demons come out, it seemed like it was a nightmare he couldn’t escape. Why now? Why at this time do they choose to attack? The thoughts kept racing to his mind, but he knew Lucuris was right. “You’re right Lucuris, we have to leave them. We have to find a place to hide. God knows how many demons are out in the world at this moment. For all we know they could be here sneaking behind us,” Oracle said looking down the street trying to find an open window, or door so they can hide until the danger was gone.
“I just hope they will be ok, and not worry about us. It just hurts feeling so damn useless. But I cannot always rely on my big sis to bail me out,” Lucuris said as he picked up a small branch from the ground trying to wield it as a weapon. He saw the town around him, the cars set ablaze, buildings crumbling. Stores with broken windows, and not a person in sight. He was angry that he couldn’t protect the people of his town. Even though they were strangers, and he never really met any of them he still knew that they were still his part of his world. “Not again Oracle...These demons will not hurt anyone else!” Lucuris said as he tighten his grip on the branch until the wood itself was piercing his skin and began to make his hands bleed. The emotions he had against the monsters attacking his city and friends was hatred, and also fear. “Sure, we can’t stay here and just be dead meat waiting to be eaten. But we also can’t abandon our friends,” Lucuris said as he held the branch with both hands. “We stay and fight...even if it cost us our lives,”
Oracle could see the anger Lucuris held. He didn’t know why he hated those demons so much, but he knew that Lucuris’s attitude change. He didn’t look like the person he met in the cave, that person seemed so fragile, and quiet. But this person, this new Lucuris just seemed...determined to him. “I donno Lucuris, we can’t help them anyway...we have no powers of summoning. We cannot exorcise demons like they can. Those three studied the summoning ritual for years. They gained their powers through hard work,” Oracle said looking at the sky and seeing his friends fight back
the demons alongside their familiars.
“Then show me how. Show me how to summon, and use powers like theirs,” Lucuris said looking at Oracle as he gripped the branch holding in his fury. Lucuris knew it sounded crazy to try and learn it, with him just being human. He wasn’t born into a world where magic, or demons existed, not until just recently. But to him he had to at least try. He stared at Jessica who was in the sky fighting with Odin near her, he arms were scratched from the few demon attacks. She was bleeding slightly from them, but kept on pursuing, and so were the rest of his friends.
Oracle rushed to the nearest house and sat his laptop in front of an open door. “This is crazy. You have no experience with demons, no knowledge of fighting them, no idea what their histories are. But I don’t think even my reasoning can stop you at all,” Oracle said as he let out a small sigh clicking thru different files on his screen. Until he came across one file that knew could help Lucuris in this time. “You can’t summon any familiars, not now. You haven’t studied the demon arts, or holy rights to begin fighting using Nicks and everyone else’s abilities,” Oracle said turning towards Lucuris seeing him just stare at his screen captivated. Oracle knew Lucuris would do whatever it took to help his friends, but he wasn’t sure if he should let Abigail’s brother throw his life away if it could possibly fail.
The Book of the Magi Page 5
