The Fallen

by R. L. Drummond

  Jenko’s ascent mirrored Vella’s heroic leap as she brandished her crossbow in mid–flight, firing a deadly bolt into a soldier that had managed to begin a climb of his own. She threw the crossbow to the side in favour of her knife and upon her landing roll, she screamed into battle like an avenging Valkyrie. As human as Vella was, it was Jenko that had trained her in combat and with every manoeuvre that carried her from the immediate danger of the enemy blades that so eagerly sought her flesh, the legacy of the Line of Baldur flowed through her.

  Vella’s speed could almost have rivalled Jenko’s as she slashed and hacked into the soldiers that clustered around her, every strike a strategic gambit that crippled her enemy’s attacks before they could land. She rolled under the aggressive swing of the soldier beside her and even as she flowed onto her feet, her knife slashed upwards into the groin of another. She plucked a spare knife from the twitching hands of a dead soldier and with a deadly spin, she sliced spurting blood from another’s neck. In seamless motion Vella flowed from the danger of an overhead strike, her knife claiming the man’s side and as she spun to face her attacker, she peppered his chest with a rapid series of stabs.

  And when they finally swallowed around her, grinning evilly in the face of their overwhelming numbers against her, Vella defiantly brandished her red stained blades. They stalked closer as one, so close that she could see the colours of their eyes beneath the clouded silver of their pupils. She glared as they raised their weapons, but when the form of their prey became shrouded in oppressively dark, black smoke, Vella made her escape. They chased after her doggedly as she fled deeper into the maze of the ruin, for Jenko had reached the top of the wall now and was far from their sight.

  Jenko sped across the crumbling lip of the wall as lightly as a thief, and leapt for the archway that loomed ahead of the yawning drop that broke the integrity of the wall he ran. He stared at the sight of Belial crouched aggressively over his brother and with a ferocious narrowing of his eyes, he swore a silent oath of his imminent arrival. He then looked up at the edge of what was left of the rampart that skirted the courtyard in erratic disrepair and, with a small flare of hope within him, he ground his teeth and redoubled his speed. Jenko sprinted towards the battlement that would lead him there and as he jumped onto a broken pillar as a stepping stone, he leapt for the battlement’s edge with a grunt of self–encouragement. He landed into a rolling sprint that whipped wind past his face in a mad race against Reya’s own journey for Tellan and, with the narrow rampart becoming so focused in his eyes that everything else faded into a blur, Jenko poured the last of his stamina into his legs.

  He soared into the air with his limbs wheeling for as much distance as he could garner and, incredibly, his hand grasped the edge of the rampart with triumphant strength. Jenko hauled himself upwards with a roar of adrenalin and as he pounded along towards the end of the ruin, he ground his teeth against the agony of Tellan’s screams.

  Jenko watched in despair as Belial slammed Tellan’s back against the ground, ever tearing his Light from him with such force that even Jenko could feel the impact of his brother’s pain. Just a little more, my Lord, Jenko promised as he ran for the end of the rampart, to get as close to Belial as he could. And when Jenko finally reached the end of his journey, he unsheathed his sabres with a dark oath to each of the Line of Baldur, streaking through the air for his prey like an attacking predator.

  Tellan’s eyes seized the blur of Jenko’s leaping form with a silent gasp of gratitude and, gathering his strength as best he could, he punched the heel of his palm under Belial’s jaw. Belial’s head snapped up with a grunt of shock that Tellan’s soul still burned with fighting defiance, yet the second, unexpected attack of Jenko’s feet from above reeled Belial with an explosion of breath that staggered him.

  As soon as Jenko rolled onto his feet he launched forward on the offensive, bringing his sabres around in an overhead arc that sought to sever the demon’s head from his neck. But Belial’s reactions were swift and as he evaded the attack with a response from his own rapidly drawn weapon, the two met head to head with ferocious roars.

  Tellan gulped in air as he fought for control over what Light was left within him, all too aware of how weak he had become after Belial’s unspeakable torture. Metal shrieked within his ears as he stretched out impotently for his bastard sword that lay so far away, too far from his position that sorrowful frustration ached within him. His brother needed his help…and he was powerless to come to his aid.

  “Get up, Tellan!”

  Tellan tried to…but he was so weak…

  “Uncle Tellan! Get up!!”

  Reya? He thought in displacement and when he felt his arm lifted around slender shoulders, he glanced up blearily at the violet eyes that stared at him with frightened concern. His voice failed him as he looked upon her golden hair that plastered wetly against the blood of his severed ear, and it wasn’t until she began to haul him upwards with a grunt of effort that Tellan realised…

  She had come to save him.

  Tellan gasped as he gripped onto Reya’s shoulder and with the seizing of his hand that brought him staggering onto his feet, his beloved niece half carried, half dragged him away from the fight. Tellan’s eyes fluttered drunkenly at the murmured encouragement Reya spoke, ever telling him it was alright, that she was here for him. Tellan’s heart swelled with anguished pride at how wonderful she was.

  “Reya…s–shouldn’t have…come…” Tellan mumbled despairingly as his niece dragged him resolutely along. She had come for him as he would have done for her…it was a moment of sorrowful joy within Tellan.

  “I know. But I couldn’t leave you.” Reya replied as she grunted under his weight, despairing of how pale and drawn he had become under the crashing influence of Belial’s tortures. His hair was now almost as white as Timran’s had been, the wonderful blue of his eyes now faded and grey…Reya shuddered at the agony he must have endured at the hands of his torturer.

  “My love…” Tellan whispered.

  “No!!”

  Reya turned her head automatically at the roar that resounded so ferociously across the ruin, realising that Belial had seen her amid the fury of Jenko’s fight, and she gasped in fear. Belial redoubled his aggression upon Jenko then and as he flung everything he had at the angel, Jenko staggered from the primal rage that boiled from the demon’s strikes like a blazing inferno. Jenko grunted as he pushed his guard desperately against the powerful strength of Belial’s relentless attack but, when he realised Belial had herded him too well towards the edge of the cliff, Jenko gasped.

  The mighty side kick that slammed into Jenko’s chest stole the breath from him and, as his sabres clattered onto the ground with a spray of the thick blood that coated them thickly, he tumbled backwards from the cliff’s edge with a scream.

  “Jenko!!” Reya screamed shrilly from the courtyard behind and with the whipping of Belial’s head, came the interruption of his triumph over Jenko’s demise.

  “You came to me after all.” Belial snarled smoothly as he turned fully and approached Baldur’s daughter with a predatory stalk.

  “I’ve come for my uncle, not you.” Reya glared defiantly as she hefted her uncle’s weight, in spite of how badly she trembled at how powerful the demon prince was. She could feel the Dark within Belial, a cascading torrent of sheer energy that spoke of danger and darkness…of the unspeakably hellish things within the Abyss that commanded such evil.

  “How noble.” Belial sneered with dark derision and as he looked upon the prize he had so desperately chased for so long, he asked, “Tell me, little one…what exactly was your plan? Did you think I would just give up Tellan so easily?”

  “Run, Reya…” Tellan whispered as he struggled to reach his knees on his own, for Belial approached his niece with such aggressive promise that he knew he had to fight. He had to find the strength to continue from somewhere; he couldn’t let Belial take his niece.

  But Belial simply seized his collar wi
th a contemptuous snarl and dismissively tossed Tellan’s exhausted body aside like a rag–doll. Tellan crumpled painfully onto the ground and as he rolled onto his back, he could hear the triumph in Belial’s voice, “I could just take you now. You have no one left to protect you, child.”

  “Yes she does.” A voice said from the stairs and as Vella staggered doggedly up the steps, Reya gasped at the blood that dripped from her head and side where she had been cut terribly. Vella stopped breathlessly in front of Reya with fierce protection in her eyes and Tellan gasped in relief at the crossbow she levelled at her target dangerously.

  Belial barked a laugh at the wounded human before him, how raggedly she sagged. “Do you honestly think you will have the time to pull that trigger, vermin?” He snarled threateningly.

  “That depends.” Vella huffed as she limped before Reya, determined that as injured as she was, she’d still protect the girl, “Are you a gambling man?”

  “I am no man, child, and you are exhausted.”

  “True…” Vella admitted with a lifting of her sweating brow and as she skewed a bloody eye at him, she added, “But near as I can tell you’re still mortal, and nothing quite ruins your day like a bolt in the heart.”

  Tellan ground his teeth in resolution as he surged onto his knees, emboldened by the raw tenacity that sparked electrically from Vella. He was still ravaged badly by Belial’s torture upon him but, as Belial swept forward with tremendous speed, Tellan endeavoured doggedly that he would still stand. Vella’s crossbow loosed at the rushing demon and as it thudded home into Belial’s chest, she pushed Reya away from the demon’s surging path. So fast was his sudden advance that Vella couldn’t avoid the hands that wrapped murderously around her throat and her eyes widened in incredulous fear at how easily he lifted her.

  “And now I have you, human.” Belial hissed triumphantly, lifting Vella’s body until her feet came clear off the ground, and she gulped at how effortlessly he shrugged off what should have been incredible pain from the bolt that pierced his chest, “What will you do now, I wonder?”

  Vella’s face boiled red at the pressure Belial forced upon her throat and as she struggled for breath, her vision already darkening from those hateful hands, there was a scraping of steel on stone behind the demon. Belial looked behind himself almost dismissively and when he saw that Reya now stood with her uncle’s weapon raised trembling in her hands, for it was far too heavy for her to carry, he laughed insolently.

  “And what are you going to do with that, child?” He laughed mockingly as she struggled with its weight, “Look at you, you can hardly hold it!”

  Vella’s eyes rolled in unconsciousness when she finally succumbed to the sheer pressure that pounded within her head and as Belial discarded her dismissively, Reya heaved the bastard sword with a grunt. She threw it with as much strength as she could find within herself and, when a ripped gauntlet shot out for its handle, Tellan surged forward with a roar of defiance.

  In the moment Tellan brought down his blade on the attack, Belial swiftly drew his infernal long sword with a snarl of dark surprise and its wicked edge thwarted the angel’s strike with a solid block that locked them together. Reya gasped as she watched her uncle strain tenaciously against Belial’s guard with what little strength he had left in him, despairing of how injured he was. Such terrible wounds that bled and bruised him so badly cast an echo of her father’s death within her mind and as she looked upon how badly Tellan’s arms trembled after Belial’s tortures, she wept angrily for him.

  Belial looked upon the drained face of Tellan as they strained strength against strength and with the grunt of exertion that escaped the angel’s lips, Belial pushed forward insistently. “You’re too weak, Tellan.” The demon hissed intimidatingly as he forced him back.

  “Maybe…but…” Tellan grunted as he fought against the strength of Belial’s arms. But when a flurry of motion at the edge of the ruin caught his vision, like a flash of dawn light through dark storm clouds, he pushed back from their hold with renewed vigour and roared defiantly, “I’m not dead yet!!”

  Belial staggered backward against the unexpected strength that was still at Tellan’s command and as Jenko somehow streaked forward in deadly attack, his sabres were brandished in a fearless thrust that burned for Belial’s heart.

  “Jenko!” Reya breathed in resounding relief and her heart soared at the sight of him, battered and bruised terribly from his fall, but still somehow mercifully alive.

  Belial met Jenko’s strike with a sweep of his long sword, but the sheer force that powered the angel’s downwards strike staggered him greatly and he cursed the angel’s tenacity on surviving what should have been a fatal fall. A stalwart glance of resolution passed between Tellan and Jenko then and together, they surged forward on the attack with their weapons raised, knowing as one that whatever the outcome, this would be their last battle against their eternal foe. The angels powered towards their enemy with twin bellows of defiance and Belial deflected every ferocious strike with a wall of steel that screamed with metallic impact.

  Tellan and Jenko flowed together seamlessly, a reunion of the ferocious battles Reya had seen within her dreams, each slice and thrust pushing Belial further away from his prize. Steel whipped so feverishly through the air that she could scarcely follow it, but with each furious exchange came the chilling realisation that Tellan’s exhaustion was too great for him to continue, and she gasped when he stumbled amid the fight. Jenko came to his aid with a hasty block that thwarted the downward strike that would have claimed his brother’s head, but Belial retaliated with a powerful side kick that slammed devastatingly into Jenko’s chest and he stumbled back with a gasp. Tellan rushed forward to come to Jenko’s aid, but as injured and exhausted as he was, Belial parried with ease and the strike that followed was far quicker than Tellan could defend against.

  Belial sank his sword deeply into Tellan’s abdomen, punching through his back until the blade glistened darkly in the moonlight and as he grunted against the impact that sent fire throughout his being, Reya screamed shrilly.

  “Tellan!!” Jenko roared despairingly as his heart leapt into his throat, staring at the horrendous sight of his brother speared upon his enemy’s sword. And with the screaming, incoherent inferno of rage that boiled within him, he launched himself at Belial with everything he had, determined more than ever that he would destroy the demon prince.

  Tellan’s eyes flared when Belial cruelly ripped his blade from him once more and as he dropped helplessly onto his knees, he could feel the approach of his death with the fleeing of his blood. He collapsed on his back with a ragged gurgle of breath and even though he pressed his hands upon the wound that bled him badly, he knew that his time had come.

  “Tellan!!” Reya shrieked mournfully, but her voice sounded so far away. It wasn’t until he felt an impact upon his stomach that Tellan realised she had come to him and as she pressed her hands over the blood that welled so thickly between his own fingers, he gasped for breath that wouldn’t fill his lungs.

  “Reya…” He whispered, incredulous that he had been granted the wonderful gift of seeing her one last time before he died.

  “I’m sorry, Uncle…” Reya wept in anguished despair and as she cast her eyes across the injuries that she knew no human would have ever been able to endure, tears cascaded from her eyes, “I tried to save you…but I wasn’t fast enough.”

  “Hush, my love.” Tellan murmured as he touched her face lovingly, saddened at how his fingertips anointed her skin with his lifeblood, “You did save me.”

  Reya pressed Tellan’s hand against her cheek, uncaring of the blood that coated her skin as she wept in soul destroying anguish. She knew that he was dying, her guardian, her wonderful uncle, and when he coughed harshly until blood sputtered thickly from his mouth, Reya sobbed in woeful grief.

  “Reya, listen to me.” Tellan muttered insistently even as he struggled for breath, “Remember…remember my promise? Back in The Cauldron?”


  Reya’s face crumpled as she nodded. “You…you promised you’d never leave me.” She whispered plaintively.

  Tellan swallowed convulsively as he brought their entwined hands onto her heart and his white lips trembled with the sheer effort of speaking when he uttered through the barest of breaths, “Take…take what’s left of…my Light.”

  Reya gasped and pushed his hands back down with hardly any resistance from Tellan’s trembling hands. “I–I can’t, Uncle!” She protested in horrified anguish.

  “It’s alright, Reya. My body is dying–”

  “No!”

  “Please, sweetheart!” Tellan cried urgently and he coughed blood terribly yet again, his eyes rolling in his head with his impending death, “I’ve…not much time left. You…you must…”

  Reya closed her eyes despairingly at witnessing her beloved uncle’s death and with the plaintive words that must have pained him so much to utter, she finally nodded her consent. Tellan sighed gratefully and when he pressed their entwined hands back upon her heart, Reya felt a tremendous jolt within her that arched her back powerfully.

  Electric vitality the likes of which she had only ever felt within her dreams flooded into her being then, coursing through her body like the raging currents of an unstoppable ocean. Memories cascaded throughout the tumultuous tumble of her mind then, the moments she had both cherished and taken for granted back in the safe embrace of Fieldhaven. Playing hide and seek in the acres of wheat that stretched forever; laughing upon the back of her uncle as they returned from the market; spinning breathlessly under the canopy of her favourite tree, bathed in sunlight. She realised then with numb shock that she was seeing all of these wonderful memories through Tellan’s eyes and, when she found herself blessed with impossible knowledge she shouldn’t possibly have known, she realised then that he had somehow merged his Light with what little her father’s lineage had bestowed upon her.