Effectively ripping the guard in half.
The two pieces of the man fell to the floor, his legs still kicking while his upper half hit the floor, landing on his back with a clatter. He flailed his arms around like an overturned turtle, trying unsuccessfully to right himself. The whole thing might have been comical if the man's insides weren't starting to leak out of the bottom of the armor.
Ean had to turn away, barely able to contain the bile rising in his throat. It had been one thing to see the aftermath of the attack of these creatures outside of the mine. It was totally different to see the process in person.
A second guard had been taken down, this one missing an entire arm. The remaining guards were starting to become overwhelmed by the creatures, spending more energy keeping those blades from finding the holes in their armor than actually doing any damage against them. Ean wasn't any kind of fighter, but even he could tell the red-clad guards were fighting a losing battle.
A few of the Living Dead began pushing their way back towards the exit, while some of the women and even a couple of the men began screaming in terror as they tried to get out as quickly as possible. A few frantically pushing citizens quickly turned into dozens, and it only took a few moments before the way out was completely blocked with fallen or struggling soldiers.
Not all of the villagers went running however. More than a dozen men and women ran into the fighting instead of away from it, each one carrying some kind of makeshift weapon or small blade, and all of them not wearing a bit of protection. Most went to help the guards while a couple tried their best to pull the wounded away.
Not encumbered by any armor, most were nimble enough to dodge the attacks of the flesh and bone beasts. While unable to do any major damage, they kept the beasts from killing more of the guards. It seemed like they were going to be forced into another stalemate until one of the unarmored men got inside of one of the creature's reaches and planted a knife hilt deep right between the thing's eyes.
The creature immediately dropped its gruesome arms and legs, creating a clatter as it struck the stone floor. The man that had killed the monster stood over it, Ean easily able to see the shock on his face.
The death of one of their fellow monsters sent the other beasts into a frenzy. With a collective moan they started lashing out in every direction. The unarmored men were forced back, those not getting out of the way quickly enough receiving deep gashes to their arms and bodies. The beasts didn't stop there, though. Where before, they had stayed in the tunnel leading towards the living quarters, now they started to push towards the wider space of the junction. With danger surging towards him, Ean had to move.
Ulften was still standing next to Ean, the man's already pale blue face turning paler by the moment. If anyone could get the people calm enough to march out of here, it was him.
"Ulften. Your people..."
The man rounded on him faster than Ean expected, a small, curved blade suddenly in his hands. His face was twisted, the mouth snarling and his eyes glaring but with a slightly vacant look.
"This is your fault! Those things are your doing, and you led us all in here to die!"
Before Ean could even respond, the man thrust the blade straight at Ean's chest. Just as quickly, Azalea was there, her hand grabbing the man's wrist before the blade even got close to Ean. But it wasn't Azalea, the tan, pretty girl with blond hair that stood next to Ean, glaring at his attacker. It was Azalea the Yulari, her blue skin amplified the light coming off Ean's tattoos while her dark purple hair seemed to absorb it. Her leathery wings were folded closely behind her body, twitching slightly as she stared down Ulften.
A small smile spread across Azalea's lips, showing off her perfect teeth and two small fangs. She sniffed a few times at Ulften and her smile widened.
"You know what I am!" she said, a mix of surprise and pleasure in her voice. "You are emanating so much fear right now it's delicious, but it's more towards me than at those ugly beasts."
"I know what you are, temptress," Ulften replied, not bothering to mask the disgust in his voice. "Just another monster. I thought we were rid of your kind forever when the previous owner of these mines died." He finished his sentence by spitting at her feet.
"Not very polite, trying to kill my friend and now spitting at me." Her face twitched, and a crunching sound came from Ulften's wrist. The blade dropped from his hand, clattering to the ground, while he quickly pulled his hand back. The hand was limp and the wrist bone looked broken to Ean's trained eye.
"Azalea, we don't have time for this..." Ean began, but Azalea spoke right over him.
"I just saved you from receiving a knife to the stomach. Don't even try to lecture me on how I go about--"
Four separate yells resonated over the already deafening noise of the fighting and screams of those trying to flee. As all three of them turned together, Ean's eyes went wide as he watched three of the flesh beasts finish taking down four of the unarmored defenders at the same time, opening up a clear path right to where Ean, Azalea, and Ulften were standing. With a triumphant moan, the three beasts charged towards them.
As Ulften let out a terrified yell, Ean braced himself for the worst, but again Azalea moved right into action.
Wrapping Ean up in a bear hug, she lifted him off the ground. Her wings wrapped around both of them, shutting them off from the rest of the world just as the flesh beasts were about to reach them. Held by Azalea, Ean felt the impacts as the creatures crashed into the wings. To Ean's surprise, the creatures did not tear right through the wings. Instead, Ean heard dull thuds beat against the leather. The Yulari's wings were much sturdier than Ean had expected.
Azalea began to move sideways, taking Ean with her as the muffled sounds of battle continued outside of protective wings.
"Fourth time I'm saving your life," she whispered to him. Held this close, with most of his shirt missing and the little amount of clothes she wore in her natural form, he could feel the warmth of her body against his. It was a strange, comforting feeling that was the complete opposite of what he should be feeling at the moment.
"Thank you," he said back, feeling a bit awkward for some reason.
Laughing, she squeezed him a little tighter for a moment. "Such a polite boy. Well then, I'll be polite too. Sorry."
"Sorry for whaa--" he began, but his words turned into a yell as her wings opened up and she tossed him a dozen paces away from her. He bounced a few times on the stone before rolling and coming to a stop on his side, facing Azalea. Taking a quick look around, Ean found himself down an empty tunnel. Behind Azalea, Ean could see the junction and the battle still going on.
Azalea flashed him a quick smile and a wink before turning just in time to meet the rush of two flesh creatures. Her wings folded against her back as she nimbly dodged the bladed arms of her attackers, stepping under their hasty strikes. It looked like a graceful dance the way she weaved in and out of the eight separate arms of the two creatures. Occasionally she would lash out with a foot, the long nails on her toes raking into the skin of the creature and forcing it back. Ean watched in amazement, marveling at the Yulari's power combined with unnatural grace and speed.
After a few moments of dipping and dodging, Azalea increased her attacks. She lashed out with a foot at one of the flesh monsters, sending it backwards then grabbed the bone blade of another with both hands at a spot that was slightly past where it jutted out of the creature's fleshy elbow. With a loud crack, she broke the blade off as easily as Ean would snap a twig, tossing the large piece of bone to the ground. The monster attacked with another of his three remaining blades, but Azalea was too quick. Repeating the same action, she broke off a second bone. By the time the other monster had rejoined the battle, Azalea had broken off three of the monster's bone blades. All in a matter of a few heartbeats, smiling the entire time.
Just as quickly, though, two more of the creatures appeared out of the crowd behind Azalea, joining in on the attack. They must have either realized who was the gr
eater danger or had simply finished off most of the remaining guards. Either way, the three creatures and their one wounded brother surrounded Azalea, each one lashing out and trying to catch her unaware.
Azalea's wings lifted slightly, protecting the back of her head from any attack she couldn't see coming. She still dodged and weaved, escaping the blows of almost twice as many bone blades now. Azalea didn't seem to pick up speed as she ducked under one blade then dodged to the right to avoid another, but the smile was certainly gone from her mouth now. Not taking her eyes off her attackers, she yelled out to Ean.
"Get out of here, now. If one slips by me, I don't know if I'd be able to stop him from getting to you." She ducked under another blade and then let a different blow graze off her wings.
"I'm not leaving you!" Ean shouted back, taking a step towards the Yulari. When he tried to take another, it felt like his leg was caught on something. Looking down, he found the blur of the imp wrapped around his leg.
"Zin, let go! We have to help!"
"Help how? By dying?" the imp's voice sounded desperate. "She can handle herself. We would just get in the way. We need to go."
"No chance!" Ean tried to move back towards the fighting, but it was difficult to walk without tripping with the imp on his leg.
"Ean, if we try to help, she'll get distracted watching out for you, and we'll all die. If we go now, once we've gotten far enough away she can get away as well."
Ean grimaced, knowing that the imp was right but still not wanting to leave a friend behind. He took another step towards her.
Glancing back at him, the Yulari frowned as she dodged two bone blades at once.
"Get out of here now!" She yelled before sending a kick that snapped the leg of one of the monsters. The creature dropped like a stone, but even from the ground its bladed arms tried to catch Azalea. Snatching one of the blades in her hands, she broke off the edge, spun out of the way of two other blades meant to impale her, and launched the piece of bone she held in her hand at Ean.
The tip struck him squarely in the chest, with just enough force to break the skin. With a wince he took a step back then nodded as his eyes met Azalea's for the briefest of moments. Then she was spinning away again, always on the move, keeping each of the creatures around her occupied.
"Fine," Ean said, although the word burned his tongue. As soon as it was out of his mouth, Zin detached himself from Ean's leg. "Let's go."
Something else tugged at him then, and he looked down at Zin once more before realizing it was the connection to his hound. Ean felt boredom from the beast. Of course. He had told the animal to stay and surprisingly, it had listened, not bothering to even move after the chaos ensued.
Ean sent what he hoped was an order for the hound to join him. He received a sense of relief back, and in moments the hound came barreling through the crowd, knocking over both Living Dead and flesh beast alike as they crowded in the junction. The hound even managed to knock down two of the flesh beasts that were engaged with Azalea on his way to Ean's side. The Yulari took the opportunity to lure the two standing away from the opening to the tunnel back towards the middle of the junction. Ean watched as she disappeared into the crowd of bodies and beasts, all four of the flesh beasts she had been fighting giving chase for a moment, then changing their targets to the more easily overcome townsfolk.
Straining his eyes one last moment to try and catch sight of her, Ean sighed and turned his back to the carnage. He immediately began to jog down the tunnel, not waiting to see if Zin or the hound followed, letting the tattoos on his arm dim so that the light and everything around him was barely visible. No point lighting the way for those creatures to follow them. So, on he jogged in silence, into the darkness, leaving a piece of himself back with the Yulari that was fighting for him.
"NOT THAT WAY," ZIN says after they stumbled along for a while. "If we keep following that tunnel, we will run into the kennels and a dead end. Head right."
Ean stopped at the imp's words, staring ahead towards the kennels. He hadn't been jogging for long, but it felt like it had been days since he left Azalea. He had been lost in his own thoughts, moving ahead without really paying attention to the bends and sharp turns of this tunnel. Zin had remained quiet up until this point, Ean's breath and the panting of the hound the only sound echoing in the corridor.
"Where does the other path lead?" he asked quietly.
"Back through the two Carnslug hatcheries and then the kitchen." The imp's voice sounded odd, lacking its usual sarcastic tone. Clearly, he recognized the gravity of the situation. "The kitchen connects to the dining hall and back towards the living quarters one way, the library and then the throne room the other way."
"Fine."
Ean paused to stare back down the way they had come. Taking a moment to better attune himself to the energy flowing within him, he mystically reached out in an attempt to try and feel where Azalea was in the mines.
It was useless, of course. The entire mine hummed with the energy of the Abyss, growing stronger in the direction Zin was leading them. He couldn't even distinguish Zin or the hound in all of that energy, and they were standing only a few paces away. All he could do was hope for the best...
...or he could be a man and go back and try and help her...
"She wouldn't want you to do that," Zin said as if he had read Ean's thoughts. "She purposefully drew the beasts off so we could get away and continue on. Let's not waste that effort."
"You're happy to see her gone," Ean growled. "You never trusted her, even though it was your idea to have her come along in the first place." Disgust laced his words. A part of him knew that the disgust was more for himself, but he couldn't help directing it at the imp. "Now you don't have to worry about her anymore."
"Ean..." the imp began, but Ean cut him off with a raised hand.
"I know... I know..."
Leaning back against the wall, Ean let himself slide down into a sitting position. What kind of a man was he? First he had no problem letting Bran and Jaslen run off into the woods, abandoning them to who knows what. He had barely even thought about them since that night. For all he knew, they could have died in those woods, lost and starving or attacked by animals. He should have gone after them.
And now he was doing the same thing to Azalea, leaving her on her own. Except those monsters were far worse than anything Bran and Jaslen could have run into in the forest. Sure, she might have been able to hold her own against four of them, but could she survive more than that? Ean by himself wouldn't last a few moments against one of those creatures, but the hound could help...
An image flashed through his mind--Azalea pinned to the ground by dozens of bone blades, his hound being ripped apart, Zin impaled on the blade of another monster...
It was one thing to know that moving on was the right decision, but it certainly didn't make it any easier.
"Ean, we have to go," Zin said softly.
"You're right." Pushing himself back to his feet, he nodded. "We still have things to do."
So they pushed on, neither speaking a word, the hound slightly behind them. Ean tried his best to not dwell on things, but every now and then, the image of Azalea's smirking face flashed in his mind. He needed to keep his mind on the task at hand. But first...
"Zin," Ean finally said, growing tired of the silence. "I'm sorry."
Glancing down at the imp, Ean caught Zin give a slight shrug. "It's fine. Like you said, I supported bringing her along. I thought we could use her and then didn't like it when the two of you started getting all buddy-buddy."
"Jealous?" Ean tried to force a laugh after the word, but he couldn't put any emotion into it.
"No, not jealous. I was worried that she was manipulating you, turning you into one of her playthings."
"But her tricks don't work on me."
That got a laugh out of the imp. "You might be immune to her Yulari tricks, but she has the same set of tricks as all beautiful girls. Did I ever tell you that a beautifu
l human woman, not all that different from how the Yulari looked, led to my former master's downfall?
Ean's ears perked up. "Uh, no. Go on."
"Well, like I've said, by the end, my master was a harsh and cruel man set on taking over the entire land. He did things that give me the shivers. But through it all, there was one constant thing that could occasionally bring out his old, more compassionate side. A girl named Adara.
Now, I won't bother you with their entire history, but Adara was supposedly at my master's side from the beginning. She was there back when he was, well, whatever he was before he came into power. She stuck by his side as his power grew and even supported him when he started down a darker path. From what I remember of the two of them, anytime she was around, all of my master's minions relaxed just the slightest bit. If Adara was in the room, you felt the slightest bit safer."
"But you said she led to his downfall?"
"From what I've overheard. Remember, I wasn't there when he died, and in the chaos that ensued after his death, it was hard to get any straight answers. Most of his minions were worrying about when they would be dragged back down to the Abyss, and most wouldn't waste the time talking to an imp in even the best circumstances."
"So then what did you hear happened?"
"She betrayed him, which led to his death. Other than that, I have no idea. I overheard some Cruxlum raging about how Adara had been the one to deliver the killing blow. A pair of Mangoli mentioned that she had simply distracted him long enough for someone else to make the deadly strike." Zin shrugged, his face scrunching up slightly. "I'm sure someone knows, but they are probably still stuck down in the Abyss. If they are still alive after this long."
"So, you thought Azalea would bring about the same fate for me."
"In one way or another. Of course, I thought she was a completely selfish creature as well. She certainly proved me wrong today. Believe it or not, I do hope that we round one of these corners and find her smirking at us. Just hopefully not with any of those horrible creatures close behind her."
Descent Into Darkness (Book 2) Page 26
