by Peter Saenz
Mika steps out of the fog and repeats Tobias’ earlier spell, saying “Plurimus immunda, reverto.”
The demons scream, and fly upwards into the dimensional ripple. Mika then runs over to Damon’s group, using her sword to strike at various demons along the way.
The look on Malik’s face is livid. “Kill them all!”
The demons stop attacking our circle and instead focus their energies at Mika and the others. Mika holds her hand in front of her, creating a small shield of her own. The energy sent at her is easily deflected away. The wolves, however, allow the energy to hit them. They shift into their half wolf forms, allowing their natural immunity to magic to shrug off any effects the demonic magic has on them.
Luke shrouds Mika and the wolves in shadow, allowing them to be temporarily hidden from the demon’s view. The demons stop their attack, unsure of where to direct their magics at next. Tobias seizes the opportunity and uses his nature magic to have several of the surrounding trees impale various demons with the sharp ends of their branches. More bodies disappear, allowing Tobias to send the now hostless demons back into the dimensional ripple.
The demon possessed Kevin sends a wall of flame at Luke’s dark shrouds. Afraid my friends will be hurt, I shout, “Scatter!”
The four of them jump out of the darkness just in time as the fire wall engulfs the dark cloud, leaving a small pyre in it’s wake. Gabriella reaches into a side pocket and pulls out a collapsible archery bow. She uses it to send two arrows at Kevin. He manages to deflect one arrow magically. The second strikes him in the shoulder, sending him falling to the ground. I will for fire to engulf Kevin, giving him a taste of his own medicine. The demon inside Kevin screams out in pain. Malik removes his now tattered red cloak and dramatically flings it at Kevin. The cloak takes on a life of it’s own, covering Kevin and extinguishing the flames.
Seeing what has happened, Gabriella then separates her bow’s handle, creating a make shift bolo. She throws it at a nearby demon. The weapon wraps around it, allowing Gabriella enough time to race over to it and slice the demon several times with her claws before it reduces itself to ash. The demon spirit left behind, angered, attempts to attack Gabriella out of revenge. Before it can reach her, I throw the remainder of my blessed powder at the demon, causing it to shriek in pain. I yell the words required to send the demon back to it’s dimension, forcing my will outwards along with the words. The demon is immediately sucked into the ripple above.
When I turn around, I see Zack on the other side of the invisible protection wall leering at me. The cut I gave him under his eye is still present. His new demonic features surprises me profusely. I instinctively back up several steps, and out of the protection circle. I hear shrieking laughter. A pair of very powerful hands grabs me from behind, and suddenly I’m no longer touching ground. I hear Tobias yell my name.
Seeing what has happened, Fenrus leaps out of the protection circle as well and lands inside of me. I immediately feel my body begin to grow and change. I use my nails to rake against the hands holding me. The demon screams, and I feel myself falling downward. I look down and see I’m close to 20 feet in the air now. I position myself as quickly as I can and land on the ground with ease. Seeing I am now free from the protection circle, Zack attacks me repeatedly with his magics. The majority I am able to shrug off but I know that if he keeps it up, I could be in serious trouble. I grab his next bolt meant to kill me and shape the power in my hands, meaning to send it back at him. The power though is very dark and evil. I throw it to the ground instead, not wanting to hold onto it any longer. It lands on a broken tree log, leaving it black in color. Zack laughs in response.
I then hear my mother scream, “Devin! Behind you!”
I feel a demon slam into me from behind, sending me to the ground. The moment we land, the demon begins maniacally laughing and clawing into my back. I scream out in pain. I then hear a whack sound, stopping the attack. I turn around and see that my mother has a log in her hand and has used it to knock the demon off of me. By now the demon has already recovered and is ready to attack my mother.
“Mom! Run!”, I yell. I try to move, but the magics laced in with the demon’s claw marks make me wince in pain. Is this what the other werewolves felt after they received the same type of attack from me?
My father fortunately appears and slices the demon’s head off with his sword. The head and body crumble to dust. As soon as I see the demon spirit left behind, I say, “Plurimus immunda, reverto.” The demon screams and is sucked into the ripple above.
I stagger up, shifting back into my full human form. Fenrus lands at my side. I immediately deflect another energy attack and shout, “Someone, get my mother to safety!”
Instantly Tobias appears beside her and ushers my mother into the protection circle. He then forms a dome around my mother made of earth. Suddenly three earth pillars surface around the protection circle. A second later the pillars change shape and become rudimentary humanoid forms. Guarding the circle, the earth golems swing their large fists at any demonic beings near it. I can see my mother looking on at everything happening through the various cracks and fissures in the earth dome.
Teleporting back to me, Tobias says, “She should be safe in there.”
I say to Tobias, “Thank you.” He smiles back briefly before sending a deflection hex at a newly attacking demon.
Now back on his feet, Malik rejoins the fight with newfound vigor. Seeing that Tobias and I are now both outside of the circle, he sends a powerful wave of negative energy at us. Following Mika’s example, we place our hands forward and concentrate on forming a shield large enough to block the magic from hitting us. Once the wave hits our shield the magic dissipates but the force of the blast knocks us backward.
Standing back up on our own two feet, I say to Tobias, “Where is he getting this level of strength from? He’s never been this powerful before!”
From within the protection circle Luke shouts, “Look! There!”
We see that Luke is pointing towards Malik’s chest. Sticking out of his remaining robes are several devotional amulets. They are easily recognizable. They’re the same amulets that I’ve seen Zack, Cole and Kevin wear since the day I’ve met them.
Tobias says, “That’s where he’s getting his power from. After the others were possessed, he took their amulets and is using them to amplify his own gifts.”
Angered by our discovery, he sends another powerful wave at Luke. The wave disintegrates one of the earth golems and finally causes the protection circle to collapse. My mother and Luke aren’t affected as the circle took the full brunt of the attack, but they too are knocked backward from the force of the blast.
Seeing that he is now vulnerable, the demonically possessed Cole lunges at Luke. Just before they make contact, Luke disappears into darkness, leaving Cole on all fours on the ground. Luke then appears a few feet away from him, sending a pain hex at the demon. Cole convulses on the floor as Luke uses the sharp end of his cane to impale the demon. As opposed to the homeless people’s bodies, Cole doesn’t turn to ash. Instead his body starts to turn inward into itself until it resembles a withered husk. The demon inside the now dead form forces itself out, angered that it’s once powerful host is now no longer available to it.
Luke says, “Plurimus immunda, reverto.”
The demon screams as it flies upward.
Seeing a demon approaching behind Luke, Nicholas yells, “Look out!” Nicholas grabs a long reed from his pocket and holds it to his mouth. He blows a poisoned dart at the demon hovering toward Luke. Somehow the demon senses the projectile and stops it in midair. It then sends the poisoned dart back towards Nicholas. Just before it strikes, Tobias jumps in front of Nicholas and causes the dart to strike his own forearm. Tobias quickly removes the dart and casts it to the ground.
Nicholas says, “But...”
Tobias stops him from continuing his train of thought and says, “When I was treated, I was also given immunity to the poison. Con
sider it a thank you for saving Devin in the arena.”
Nicholas humbly nods his head, then pushes Tobias aside, swiping his were-claw at the now oncoming demon. The two tumble on the ground raking each other with their claws. Nicholas soon after stands triumphant. Mika sees the demon left behind in the ash and sends it back into the ripple.
Mika then rejoins Damon, cornering the now burnt Kevin against a tree. Kevin flails his arm forward, sending foul magic toward them. Before it can strike them, Mika sends a barrage of white daggers into Kevin’s energy. Once they collide, Mika’s daggers explode outward. Her now white gas magics overtake Kevin’s energies, sending it back towards him. He screams in fear, but it’s too late. Once the energy hits him, he dies instantly. His withering husk falls to the base of the tree behind him. A few moments later a small imp-like creature emerges from his mouth.
Following the other’s example, Damon tries saying, “Plurimus immunda, reverto.”
Uttering the spell causes Damon to feel light headed. Likewise, the demon flies into the air, jerking left and right. Seeing the situation, Mika properly says, “Plurimus immunda, reverto.” As soon as she does, the demon flies straight into the ripple above.
Holding Damon by his shoulders, Mika asks, “Are you alright?”
Blushing, Damon says, “Yeah. Just wanted to see if I could do it.”
Mika answers back, “The fact that anything happened at all says that you definitely have the gift.” Seeing another demon approaching, Mika projects white daggers at it. She then finishes her thought with Damon, saying, “Maybe when all this is through we can see just how far you can go.”
Still blushing, Damon says, “I’d like that.”
Ahead of me, I can see Zack leering in my direction. Fenrus growls in response. Zack flings his hand at Fenrus, sending him flying towards a tree. Fenrus howls in pain upon impact. Through our connection I feel his pain as well.
“Fenrus!”, I shout.
I run over to him, inspecting him for any wounds. I mentally ask him if he’s okay. With a twinge in his voice, I hear him mentally answer, “I’ll be okay.”
Angered, I hurl a powerful hex at Zack. Malik sees what I have done and counter acts my magics with his own. My spell dissipates in mid-air before it can reach Zack. He laughs in response. Zack then hovers toward my mother, still encased in Tobias’ earth dome. The two remaining earth golems see Zack near them, and swing their arms at him in response. Zack and Malik wave their arms, reverting the golems back into inanimate piles of earth.
Now fingering the crevices of the earth dome, Malik says, “What do we have here? Is this the bitch responsible for bringing little Devin into the world?”
I yell, “Stay away from her!”
I then send another hex at both Malik and Zack. Malik easily reduces it to nothing again. I look at Fenrus and know he’s too hurt to merge with me. The demon claw marks on my back are also beginning to take their toll. Using my interaction with Malik to his advantage, my father silently flies at the two of them from behind, using his swords to slice at their backs.
Malik and Zack wince in pain. Once my father lands on his feet, he takes out two small daggers and throws them at Malik and Zack. Zack sends the daggers back at my father, but he easily blocks them both with his sword.
Angered, Malik points at my father and says, “Demons! Kill this one!”
On cue, the remaining demons stop their battles with the other wolves and witches. They turn their attention solely towards my father, drifting towards him to better exact their fury.
“No!”, I yell. There’s no way my father will be able to survive such an attack.
Suddenly, various new werewolves fly out of the shadows. They bite and claw at the remaining demons. One by one each demon is pulled down to the ground and killed. Looking at their coloring, I can see that not just one clan of wolves has joined in on our battle, but all of them. Red colored werewolves, grey, black, brown... Each one savagely attacks the remaining demons until their bodies are nothing but piles of ash. In unison, Luke, Tobias, Mika and I say the words necessary to send the now emerging demons back into the ripple. The night sky is filled with demon screams as the dark imps return to their own realm, where they belong. Looking around, I can see that the only ones left are Malik and Zack.
Surprisingly, a young woman materializes behind Malik. She looks to be about 25 years old and is wearing long flowing white priestess robes. Around her neck I see she is wearing the Eye of Bastet, and on her hand is a matching bracelet and ring. Her shining green eyes tell me that this is somehow Anna in a new more youthful form.
Expectedly, I hear Mika ask aloud, “Grandmamma?”
The young Anna waves her hand, sending both Malik and Zack to the ground. They land in black soot, their once demonic allies. Anna then extends her hand toward Malik. Magically, the devotional amulets around his neck fly into her hand.
Anna then says, “You’ve killed my daughter and have warped the Craft’s purpose and teachings to service your own selfish desires. No more. You will meet your end on a level playing field.”
Anna mutters an incantation in ancient Egyptian. Soon after the devotional amulets in her hand rust over and turn black. Then, just as the demon hosts before them, the amulets turn to dust, blowing away into the night air.
Malik screams, “No!!!”
Zack winces in pain. Having his devotional amulet now destroyed, a part of his soul is now destroyed as well. The experience leaves him weak. I use what is left of my strength to send another powerful hex towards him. Zack screams out once the spell takes hold. His body begins writhing in pain. Tobias sends his own hex at Zack, now sending his body into convulsions. Luke creates a hex as well. The third magic entry makes Zack’s body stop moving. A few moments later Zack’s body begins to shrivel into itself. Once the demon inside him rips through the husk that once was Zack, Mika steps forward and sends the last of the demons through the ripple above.
Seeing that he is now left alone, and with a good portion of his magical strength destroyed, Malik tries to teleport into nearby shadows. Before he can do so, I lock onto that part of his magical self and hold onto it with all my might. I’m not yet strong enough to bind Malik’s magics though. I can feel my hold loosening. In only a few moments Malik will be able to teleport again, thus allowing him to escape judgment. Suddenly I can feel the others trying to help me. One by one I can feel Tobias, Mika, Luke and Anna adding their strength to my own. We gradually suppress that part of Malik, making him helpless to magically leave us.
Sensing what we’ve done, Malik panics and tries to run. Several werewolves block his path. He backs up to where he once stood. Luke surprises me. He walks over to Malik and strikes him across the face with his cane. Malik puts the back of his hand to his cheek, feeling the emergence of blood from where Luke’s cane has broken through the skin.
Luke says, “You really thought you were gonna get away with it, didn’t you? You just had to prove how powerful you are. Well look at you know. You’re gonna die and I’m going to stand on the sidelines laughing. In the end you’re nothing but a joke. My gods will see to it that you suffer long after you die for what you’ve done.”
Malik reaches into one of the sleeves of his robe and pulls out a long slender dagger. Before he has a chance of reacting, Malik uses it to stab Luke upwards in the stomach. Luke immediately spits up blood then falls onto Malik’s shoulder.
With a look of triumph, Malik says, “Who’s laughing now?”
§
CHAPTER TWELVE
Vengeance and Rebirth
As Tobias and I yell out in protest, Malik throws Luke off of him, then grabs Luke’s cane with his free hand. He draws a ring around himself in the dirt using Luke’s cane as a writing instrument. Malik then says aloud, “With blood I have taken and with blood I have myself spilt, circle of protection guard me!”
Instantly a red tinted protection circle forms around Malik, cutting off the small magical hold we have on Malik’s a
bility to teleport. I run over to Luke and hold him in my arms. There is too much blood. I know I’ll never be able to save him in time.
Grief stricken, I tell him, “I’m so sorry.”
Luke gives me a weak smile and says, “Don’t worry about it. It’s you who I should be apologizing to.” Luke gives a brief look at Malik, safely standing in his protection circle. “That bastard’s circle was half made with my blood and magic. He won’t be able to leave it until I pass over. I don’t have a lot of time. You need to do something quick before...he escapes.”
Luke winces in pain. I also notice his breathing has become labored. Clenching his fist tightly in front of him, I can see that Luke is holding on to something. I open his quivering fist. Inside I find Malik’s devotional amulet. Upon seeing it, Malik screams out in anger.
I lift Luke, carrying him in my arms over to Fenrus. I gently lay him beside my familiar, careful not to cause him any more added pain. Tobias, Mika, and Damon join me. I look over to the now young Anna, but she stays her distance. Mika notices also, but doesn’t say a word. Looking at the three near me, I say, “Whatever happens, protect Luke and Fenrus.”
I can see Tobias’ eyes watering over. I try to hold back my own tears, turning to Malik with a fierce determination in mind. Holding his devotional amulet in the air, I address Malik loudly enough so that everyone present can hear me.
“You want this? Come and get it. Just you and me. No one else is to help me in any way. Whatever happens, this ends tonight.”
Malik is seething with anger. He knows I have him cornered. Once Luke dies, his protection circle will disappear and he’ll be able to teleport to safety. My having his devotional amulet, however, changes things. Inside of the amulet are pieces of many of his ancestor’s souls. They augment his power and strengthen him. It’s the one thing Malik could never live without. I stare steely into his eyes. This is it. Our final fight.
