Earth God

by Jon Messenger

  Xander ignored the dragon as he strode down the road. He was intentionally moving slowly, taking his time and admiring what remained of the outskirts of the city. Many of the buildings were ruined and burned, much like the towns they had passed on the way into the city. They were gutted and blackened, often held up by little more than a charred beam or singed concrete wall.

  “I should fly to you and end this now,” the dragon threatened.

  Xander stopped walking and stared up at the skyscraper. He swallowed hard. The last thing he needed was the dragon rushing toward him before he was ready. Staring at the building, he watched the storm brewing around the penthouse as it boiled angrily in response to the dragon’s frustrations. He would have thought its anger would have sent it flying toward him at once but, instead, it seemed to have the opposite reaction. The more he mocked it, the more the Fire Elemental seemed to want to prolong his death.

  Fine, he thought. If anger slows it down, it’s time to buy some extra time. “If you just want to kill me, then come do it. Or, better yet, be the coward we both know you to be and just have your Fire Warriors do it.”

  A few structures around him were more or less intact. Xander peered into a department store as he passed, its front glass shattered outward and littering the road. A sea of Fire Warrior faces stared back at him, from where they were pressed shoulder to shoulder to watch his passing. With a flick of his hand, Xander created a vacuum within the building, sucking all the air out. The Fire Warriors clutched at their throats as their lungs screamed for air. As they stumbled toward the broken window, seeking an egress, Xander’s eyes glowed green. The dirt beneath the concrete sidewalk lurched upward, tearing loose a slab of concrete and throwing it into the window, blocking their path. As he continued on, unabated, Xander released air back into the department store.

  “I will kill you for your insolence,” the Elemental roared.

  “Heard it before. Still not impressed.” Good. He had to keep stalling for time.

  “You waste your time with my minions rather than face me yourself? And yet you call me a coward?”

  “Pretty much,” Xander goaded.

  The ground beneath his feet rumbled as pressure built in the drains and sewers. The manhole covers rattled dangerously as steam vented through their narrow holes. Turning his head to the side, Xander noted a few enraged Warriors peering from alleyways. At his command, the metal covers blew high into the air and water sprayed upward. The stream of filthy water turned and poured over the Fire Warriors, soaking them moments before an arctic wind rushed over them, freezing the blond men and women in place.

  He heard the dragon’s outraged howl in his mind but paid it no heed. He continued his walk into the city, disabling the Fire Caste as he passed.

  The dragon leaned back against its throne, no longer interested in talking to the Wind Warrior. Looking up, it caught Kobal’s eye. The Fire Warrior general seemed eager for a fight, to the point the blond man had trouble standing still as he waited impatiently.

  “The Wind Warrior is up to something,” the Fire Elemental said. “He must not have come alone. Those impertinent friends of his are in the city somewhere. Find them, General Kobal, and kill them all. No one enters or leaves this city without my permission. Am I understood?”

  “Clearly, My Master,” General Kobal replied. “I look forward to bringing you their heads.”

  “As do I, General. As do I.”

  It stood from its throne and marched onto the balcony. Far below, it could see the smoke-stained roof of the stadium. Peeling away its soft skin, it transformed into the dragon before leaping from the penthouse’s balcony. Spreading its wings, it launched out over the city.

  In its eyes, Xander’s position was marked as though a spotlight shone from the heavens. Blue, white, and green swirled in a cyclone around him, a whirling vortex of elemental energy waiting to be unleashed. With every use of an element, the color wheel shifted, showing blue for water, white for wind, or green for earth.

  Aside from feeling his power, like a warm knife sliding through its guts, it could feel the flickering of its own caste as they suffered losses at the hands of the Wind Warrior. The dragon had commanded they leave him alone, yet they suffered for their hesitation. For a brief, passing moment, it considered letting its Fire Warriors handle Xander. There were thousands of them within the city, more than enough to overwhelm him even with the assortment of elements at his command. In the end, it shook its long, reptilian neck, knowing it wanted to end him itself.

  As it skimmed the outskirts of the city, it could sense Xander’s attention shifting. He knew it was coming for him, its bloodlust painted in its aura. It opened and snapped its jaws shut in rapid succession, eager for the taste of his grinding bones between its teeth.

  “Your lover dies today,” it growled.

  Sammy stared through its eyes, amazed at the power emanating from Xander. When she had been captured, he’d been little more than a Wind Warrior. Even when she saw him in France, he seemed so unsure of himself. The power fluctuating around him now, though, exuded a confidence she hadn’t seen before. Xander was ready for this confrontation, far more than he had ever been before.

  “You’re fooling yourself,” Sammy replied. “He’s going to destroy you.”

  The dragon laughed derisively as it swooped lower, angling toward the Wind Warrior. Sammy felt a different anguish in the pit of her stomach. This would all end today, for better or worse. She had a sinking suspicion this would be her last day bonded to the dragon as well. If Xander won, he would find a way to free her. If he didn’t, the Fire Elemental would suffer her interruptions no longer. If the dragon won, she was sure her consciousness would be the very next thing it destroyed.

  “Damn it,” Sammy heard Xander say, though she wasn’t sure he intended his thoughts to be broadcast to the dragon.

  As the Elemental approached, Xander suddenly shot high into the air. The dragon craned its neck backward to watch his trajectory, but he flew easily out its reach. Arching its wings, the dragon swooped upward, following his path. Sucking in air, it prepared to bathe the Wind Warrior in fire. Instead, Xander turned abruptly and rocketed past the Fire Elemental. It released a gullet full of fire, but it harmlessly filled the air well behind Xander.

  “What is this?” the dragon screamed as it turned to give chase once more. “How long do you think you can keep this up before I destroy you?”

  Xander shrugged as he turned in midair and raised his watch. Checking the time, he smiled nervously toward the dragon. “Oh, I’m guessing about a couple hours.”

  Sean rubbed his forehead but pulled away his hand as his fingers grew slick with blood. He slowly raised his head, despite the pain that flared in his temples with each small movement. The front windshield had fractured, radiating from a point directly in front of him. His blood was still smeared in the cracks near the center of the fracture pattern.

  “Are you two okay?” he asked, his words slightly slurred.

  He heard shuffling in the back of the ambulance and a soft, feminine groan. He tried turning to look, but pain lanced down his shoulder and settled in the small of his back.

  “Jessica?” he moaned.

  “I’m here,” she said.

  She pushed a pile of medical supplies off her and climbed slowly to her feet. The back of the ambulance was in shambles. The gurney was overturned. From beneath it, she could see a dark-clad arm protruding. Panicked, she knelt beside the gurney and easily flipped it back over, exposing Lord Balor. The blond man’s eyes were closed, but his breathing was slow and steady. Nervously, she reached out to touch his face, but his eyes shot open. He knocked her hand aside as he sat upright, seemingly unharmed.

  “How’s Balor?” Sean asked.

  “Impertinent,” she replied. “Otherwise, he doesn’t seem hurt.”

  “What about you?”

  “A little less unscathed, but still okay. You’re not sounding too good.”

  She climbed over the fe
w boxes of medical supplies that hadn’t been looted when the ambulance was abandoned. As she approached the front cab, she saw the broken windshield and the splatter of blood.

  “Oh my God, you’re hurt.”

  Sean tried to turn away from her, knowing they didn’t have time for her to play nurse, but it was hard in the close confines of the driver’s seat.

  “Let me see,” she demanded.

  He turned slowly toward her, allowing her to see the gash above his left eyebrow. It was dripping blood, which ran from his chin and pooled on his shirt.

  “We need to stop the bleeding,” she said.

  “It’s not that serious,” he countered. “Find me a bandage or something and I’ll put pressure on it.”

  “You need stitches,” she said, probing around the edges of the cut with her finger.

  Her touch caused it to hurt anew, and Sean gently pushed her hand away. He turned his head straight so that she wouldn’t have a good view of his injury and would, hopefully, leave him be.

  “There’s got to be some bandages or gauze or something in the ambulance,” she said as she turned away from the cab. She picked up random sterilized packages off the floor of the truck, searching for something useful.

  Sean blinked as he tried to get his eyes to focus. He felt like he was forgetting something important, but couldn’t put his finger on it. Something seemed to be on the edge of his thoughts, whispering in the back of his mind, but every time he tried to concentrate, his head started aching all over again.

  Instead of trying to think, which had never been his forte anyway, he just stared out the window, past the cracked glass. White steam rose from the hood of the ambulance, a clear sign of a busted radiator. The car they hit had seen better days. It had already been in one accident before Sean accidently slammed into it. Now the hood was crumpled and the front tire nearly destroyed.

  Beyond the wrecked car, a man pushed himself to his knees. His arm was missing and the wound was dripping blood once more, where it had reopened. The bald man raised his head, exposing pointed teeth and glowing red eyes.

  Sean suddenly remembered what he’d forgotten. “Guys?” he said nervously.

  “Give me a second, Sean,” Jessica replied. “I found something that might help.”

  “Unless you just found the world’s largest fire extinguisher, I don’t think it’s going to be enough.”

  Jessica rushed to the cab and stared through the fractures. The general’s burning wings were gone, but he seemed more or less unhurt by the accident. If anything, he just looked pissed off.

  “Didn’t he die? Didn’t Xander kill him?”

  “Twice,” Sean replied surprisingly calmly. “I don’t think it took.”

  “Why won’t he just stay dead?” she muttered. “Get us out of here, Sean.”

  Sean dropped the transmission into reverse, and the ambulance wobbled unsteadily away from the car they had hit. Lights lit up the console before him. Low tire pressure, check engine, low oil, and temperature warnings illuminated above the speedometer in rapid succession. Sean pushed on the brakes, which responded albeit sluggishly.

  “This isn’t going to work,” he said.

  “Of course it is,” Jessica insisted. “This has to work, just drive.”

  Sean shook his head. “Even if I can get this thing to drive, which is in no way a promise, we’d never outrun Abraxas.”

  “I can stop him,” Lord Balor said sternly as he looked over Jessica’s shoulder. “He should have died when the cave collapsed on him, but apparently, all it was good for was taking one of his arms. This is a problem I shall soon remedy.”

  She could feel the heat radiating from his body, even as he had to lean against the wall for support. She shook her head at the sight of him, unsteady on his feet.

  “Maybe if you were healthy,” she replied, “but you can barely stand.”

  “And you’re too important,” Sean said. “Both of you, get out. I’ll buy us some time.”

  He dropped the ambulance into drive and, holding one foot on the brake, revved the engine.

  “What are you doing?” Jessica asked, grabbing the collar of his shirt.

  Sean glanced over at her, blood smeared across the side of his face from where he had absently wiped at the cut. “I’m buying you some time. You’re the brains of this operation, so figure out a way to stop Abraxas.”

  When she didn’t move, he reached over and shoved her backward. She ran into Balor and both of them stumbled toward the rear of the ambulance. “Hurry up and get out.” He pointed out the passenger’s side window, to where the hospital stood just off the interstate. “Head to the hospital and I’ll meet you there.”

  “You’d better,” she said, throwing open the back of the ambulance and jumping out with Lord Balor close behind. She wasn’t sure she believed him. It would be just like Sean to do something both incredibly stupid and incredibly heroic, all at the same time.

  When they were out of the ambulance, Sean let off the brake and pushed the gas pedal to the floor. The ambulance lurched forward just as General Abraxas found his feet. The bald man looked up as the white truck with a large red cross raced down the interstate toward him.

  Jessica and Balor used the ambulance for cover as they ran toward the hospital. She kept pausing to glance over her shoulder, knowing that there was a chance Sean might not survive. It was Balor who latched onto her arm and pulled her over the metal barrier. They slid down the slight incline on the far side before running toward the hospital.

  Abraxas saw the ambulance and, snarling, summoned the flaming wings. They erupted from his back, scorching the parked truck behind him as they spread to their full length. Sean bit the inside of his lip at the sight of the demonic figure. Rather than seeing his plan through, he kicked open the driver’s side door and leapt out, gritting his teeth as he hit the pavement and slid painfully across the ground.

  Reaching his one remaining arm skyward, the general beat his wings and started to lift off the ground. He had made it no more than a foot off the asphalt when the ambulance struck his legs. The impact drove him backward, where he slammed into the parked truck a split second before the ambulance crashed into him, pinning him in place. He howled in pain and anger as he dangled, stuck between the two massive vehicles.

  Sean climbed unsteadily to his feet, his torn sleeve exposing a nasty road rash running down his left arm. Everything hurt, far worse now than it had after the first accident. His unconscious mind told him to run, but he stood transfixed for a moment longer, watching Abraxas flail in place. After a moment, however, Abraxas placed his hands on the ambulance and pushed. To Sean’s amazement, the rubber tires squealed as they scraped across the pavement. The general was actually moving the ambulance!

  With a discontented sigh, Sean turned toward the hospital and limped quickly away.

  He could hear the ambulance moving behind him, inches with every push, but soon Abraxas would be able to free himself. He hoped the Fire Warrior’s legs were smashed, but he didn’t hold his breath. The man had survived being set on fire and washed away in a tidal wave, not to include… what had Balor said? Dropping a cave on him? Somehow, Sean doubted a car accident would do much to the general.

  Sean scanned the hospital, checking for signs of Jessica or Balor between the sea of parked cars, but saw nothing. He wasn’t sure where they had gone, only that he needed to find them.

  A thunderous crash echoed behind him as he ran across the grass separating the interstate from the hospital. He stole a glance over his shoulder to see the ambulance overturned. He was staring at its roof and its red lights that had shattered in the fall. For a second, he couldn’t see Abraxas. Then, suddenly, flaming wings rose up over the overturned truck. Abraxas launched into the air and set down on the side of the ambulance. The Fire Warrior glanced quickly over the landscape until his gaze settled on Sean.

  Sean’s stomach dropped to his feet as he hurried away. The hospital was close, much closer than Abraxas, but i
t still felt far too far away. A second later, the first fireball struck the ground beyond Sean’s right shoulder. The grass exploded in a wave of heat, smoke, and dirt that nearly knocked him over. Sean stumbled but stayed on his feet, pushing onward toward the hospital’s front doors. He didn’t know where Jessica and Balor had gone, but he stood a far better chance of fighting Abraxas if he was in the hospital rather than out in the open.

  Who was he kidding, he realized? He didn’t stand any chance against General Abraxas.

  To punctuate his point, a car in the parking lot erupted in flames. The gas tank exploded, lifting the car into the air before slamming it down onto the hood of the next car in the row.

  Despite the pain in his shoulder, head, and hip, Sean ran faster than he had in his life. As he got closer to the hospital, the front doors slid open and Jessica appeared like a guardian angel. She waved him forward as she yelled something indiscernible. He was sure it was either “he’s right behind you” or “run, you fat ass,” but he chose not to hear her either way.

  A shadow fell over him as he reached the doors and slid inside. He didn’t bother to look back; Jessica’s panicked expression told him how close behind the Fire Warrior was.

  “Please tell me… you… have a plan,” Sean panted.

  “I don’t know how much good it’ll do, but we have something,” she replied. “Can you run some more?”

  Sean glanced over his shoulder but couldn’t see Abraxas. He assumed the Fire Warrior was still airborne. “If it means getting away from him, I’ll run the damn fifty miles into L.A.”

  They turned away from the front of the hospital and ran into the darkness. Red emergency lights lined the hallway, offering meager lighting. Even so, Sean was nearly blind. Coming in from the bright outdoors, the emergency lights offered no help as his eyes tried to adjust to the gloom.

  “Where are we—?” he started to say just before the windows along the front of the hospital exploded. Glass showered the foyer. They were far enough away not to get hit by flying debris, but they were far more worried about Abraxas’ grand entrance into the Arrowhead hospital.