The 2nd Realm Book One (The 2nd Realm Trilogy 1)

by Montoya, RoChe

  Mandolyn stands there still in shock over her loss, but that is cut short when some evil ones land on the rooftop with them. She then goes from sorrow to rage, manifests silver body armor and shoulder plates with shiny metal scaled snakes for ribs extending down her torso; along with metallic, wire, and iron plated wings with a glowing blue gem embedded silver winged crown. For her choice of weapons she conjures two katana swords and starts to take out her rage against those who come for her. Charlotte sees her and decides to join her sister in arms by forming another weapon of the Rajput warriors, a khanda sword, and then begins to swing it around with deadly force. Seeing that there are more dark forces on the way Charlottes needs to get Mandolyn and the key to a different place. Off in the distance there is a clear building top, "Jake!" she screams, but he is too occupied to assist her. She once again grabs Mandolyn and soars into the air for the other building, but before she can get there, a twenty story structure comes loose from its stationary position and floats up forcing her to land on it. She runs to the edge of the dark spirit infested edifice and tosses the possessor of the fragment to the open rooftop across the way.

  There is no place to go, the empty roof is starting to take on enemies and there are not enough agents to come aid her. The Hindu Goddess takes a page from Jake's book and forms a machine gun and starts to shoot at everything that looks like it has bad intentions. Then she hears from above her, "Not to worry Agent Charlotte we will help you." It is Sir Edwardo Victoria and Zenon gliding down to the rooftop, with them are the Steampunk Guild as well as Phoenix and her fellow Egyptian gods. She leads some light spirits down to the street while Zenon has his duel ray guns and is disintegrating any Dark Elf, Shape Shifter or heathen that come onto the building's walls or rooftop. Sir Edwardo changes his once subtle mechanized arm into something a lot more fantastic with cogwheels and gears, making it look far more powerful and fierce looking, with a forearm length Gatling gun attached under his hand stretching back. He too shoots anyone he sees with malicious intent.

  Ninjato, named after the sword he uses is an assassin in black for the Steampunk Clan. With his ninja skill and short sword he leaps off of the building down to the street below. He begins by tossing multiple throwing stars at a group of Waffin SS troopers, turning them to powder. He slashes through whatever is left, and then he makes his way to a group of werewolves that chase a group of Christmas shoppers into a department store. Once inside, he manifests more throwing stars; all in the shape of gears with sharp teeth. They stick into the wolves but the ninja is not able to save all of the frightened civilians, two are now a pile of black ash. He doesn't let that failure get to him, he quickly returns to the bigger battle outside.

  Odin comes slamming through the dark tree called Pine Wood with a blade bigger than his own body, but nothing for a Norse God to wield. The herds of Centaurs make their charge down the street that is usually crowded with cars but now Dark Spirits. They stampede over all of them and slash through whatever ones didn't get tromped on. Rohanna even forms a mystical bow with no string attached from end to end. She pulls back and a glow of light is there instead, she releases an arrow of pure energy and begins to repeat herself all the way down the street killing any darkness that climbs the walls or flees by flight, still their efforts are not enough. "My lord, they are endless" she says to Odin when she comes to a stop.

  "No my dear, they only seem that way," he raises his massive sword and tells her, "We meet them in the blackness of the void if that is what it will take." And with that he is off to find more shadows to beat. Rohanna lifts her string less bow and lets more energy arrows fly, taking out one after another, but they just keep coming. She looks at a target on the wall of a building and takes aim. She lets loose and sends it to the void, then sees Terra Belle in full conflict with Brutal. She pulls back on her string of light but does not let it fly. She doesn't want to hit her comrade so she stays her attack, even though she is one of the many people in the realm who want to have a personal hand in taking him down. "Get him my friend," says Rohanna hoping the positive energy she sends her companion's way will be part of his destruction.

  Terra Belle and Brutal's bout in flight takes them right past Hazel who has her golden staff out and is in a physical contest with some vampire demons of her own. With agility demonstrated by a goddess, she is able to out maneuver her opposition and land some killing blows, sending them to the darkness. Phoenix is only twenty feet away from her with temple guard Anubis at her side and they are sending their own enemies to the nothing as fast as they are appearing in front of them. The living that are still in the area, if not being killed or ravaged, try to make it anywhere safe, but where? Many take refuge in buildings, but they begin to either collapse or float off into the air heading to who knows where. Some collide with other buildings and become massive stone, re-bar and body piles splattered with the fear and black dust of the once living.

  Terra Belle and Brutal go flying through the lower floor of a building causing it to crumble to the ground, killing any who may have sought refuge inside. When Brutal comes out of the rubble he sees Terra Belle waiting for him; she leaps into the air and comes down with her sword only to be blocked by his. He reaches up with his long arm and grabs her by her throat. "I have looked forward to killing you for a long time," he tells her with a wicked grin on his face. With nothing under her feet to brace or push off of, Terra Belle wraps her legs around the arm that is choking her as well as the shoulder connected to it, and with a powerful gust from her wings, she flips him over onto his back, forcing him to release his hold.

  Brutal launches into the air and Terra Belle gives chase not wanting to let him get away. He looks back to see how close she is to him but she is not behind him. She comes from below and slams him higher into the sky where the fists and elbows land on each other's faces. The fight slams into another building wall causing more debris to come slamming to the chaotic streets below. This time fortune shined and landed on a group of dark ones tormenting some civilians, sending the evil to the void. The two fighters continue to climb in elevation as the punches keep landing; neither will give in to the shock of the others blow. Brutal lands an unexpected knee and flies down with Terra Belle in his clutches, her wings of light starting to dim. He lands on the rooftop directly below them crashing through a water tank. It is the same roof as Mandolyn and Charlotte, but Brutal doesn't see them, focusing entirely on his rival. As Terra Belle gets to her feet, the man that was once known as the Zodiac Killer sticks his weapon of the 2nd Realm into her, sending her to the Void with all those who have died this day. Basking in his glory, Brutal doesn't see Mandolyn come behind him and take her vengeance for her fallen Friend Terra Belle and her beloved Paul. Still holding her katana, she sticks it straight into Brutal until she sees it come out the other side. As he turns to black ash he looks to see who it was that did him in and when his hand vaporizes, his sword clangs on the ground being that it was never his manifestation. Mandolyn picks it up in replacement of her construct and goes back to aid Zenon, Charlotte and Sir Edwardo.

  Gandriel and Buck are heading up one street riddled with dark ones blasting their concentrated energy blast; while Soaring Eagle and Angelica head down the same street with all four taking out as many of the Dark Ones that they can. "I have not seen Mack anywhere, the chaos all around shows that he is in the city with the other two pieces," Angelica says to the others.

  "And we have no one to go and look for him," Buck responds to her, and then contacts Nick who is just now arriving at the battle, "We need someone to find Mack, and if possible, contain him."

  "Easier said than done," he tells him as he lands on the ground with Jake, forms his own gun and starts to blast away at dark spirits all around, "There are not enough of us to keep up the fight and protect the Rogers woman, let alone mount a search party to find him."

  "These people are in full contact with our realm," Zenon comes in on the communication, "If he is not found this fight might as well stop now because no
thing will matter anymore." Nick knows the alien council member makes a valid point. He looks around to see who would be the right choice to take with him. Jake of course but he is leading the defensive here and cannot be taken away. He sees Olivia, Fauna and other fairies around and enlists them to help, and with that they are off.

  It is not far when Pearl and a band of her dark elves stand in their way. "Sir Nicolas," she says in a taunting tone.

  "Why does everyone keep calling me that?" Nick says, tired of the small joke that has apparently gone around the 2nd Realm at his expense.

  "I know what it is you are looking for and I don't think I will let you get there." Even when threatening death she still tries to pull out the seduction.

  "We'll handle this bitch," Cog, another steampunk fairy tells Nick, "You find Mack and end him."

  "I'm sorry little girl, did you say you'll handle me?" Pearl is not even fazed by the bitch comment, she is one and she is proud of it, but how can they think they will handle someone like her. "You never even had the backbone to stand up to that slime Bundy, princess, what makes you think you will even be in the same league as me?" Now that Pearl's attention is fixed on Cog and the rest of the fairies, Nick is off to do something he didn't want to do alone. It's not that he is afraid of Mack, not at all, they have battled before, he wanted more agents with him to assure his capture and now they are gone.

  "Don't flatter yourself whore, words aren't going to keep you safe," Azuela, a water fairy tells her as they begin to surround Pearl and her elves.

  Pearl makes a crystal at the head of her staff and sends an energy blast in all directions, hoping to hit every fairy around, but is happy when she sees three turn to black ash. "Kill them all!" she shouts to her soldiers, "I want their dark ash in a jar on my fireplace."

  The water fairy, Coral, fashions a bow and with water arrows starts to shoot at every dark elf she can. Another water fairy named Liquid makes her attempt for the queen elf herself. Pearl catches her with the end of her staff and swings the flying pixie over her own head and onto the cracked street. Liquid has her head near Pearl's feet so she reaches out to them and pulls her down to the ground; both hurry to get back up. With swords now formed, the two begin to swing at each other with eager blows, both blocking their opponents' attempts. Pearl shows this water fairy why many people in the 2nd Realm fear her; she forms a sword but this one is behind her foe, Liquid never even sees the blade as it penetrates through her body. The young woman can no longer keep fluttering her wings; she drops to the ground right in front of Pearl. "None of you can handle me." This time there is no flirt in her voice, there is no joke in her tone, and there is only ice in her demeanor and stone in her gaze. "You will not win this; none of you are going to survive."

  Olivia and Roxy had broken off of the attack on Pearl to take on a small group of her elves. Some pipes grow from Olivia's back and form a gun at the end that she grabs and starts to shoot at the elves of black hearts. Roxy if forming fist size rocks and hurling them at top speed colliding them with darks spirits all around. Olivia sees an evil bird man swooping at them as it goes around a floating hunk of street, she takes aim and fires at it but it maneuvers out of the way. She Shrinks down to a smaller size and flaps her black feather and metal wings to get to her new opponent. When she meets him he cannot keep up with her size and speed, she continues to hit him with hard sharp punches. He swings his hand and gets a lucky hit, like someone going after an annoying fly. Her top hat and goggles come off of her head, yet she heads straight back in. She gets close and the dark bird actually changes into a crow and begins to give chase after the metallic pixie. O stops on a dime, turns around to face the oncoming bird and in an instant she grows back to size and catches the crow in her right hand; conjuring her top hat with goggles back, she stuffs the bird in it and lights the hat on fire. When the black ash spills she makes another hat and puts it back on her head, and then flies off to join the others.

  From the air, Nick finally spots Mack, but he is closing in on Charlotte and Mandolyn. He heads in a straight line for them, plowing through any dark shadows that happen to be in the sky and in his way. The two girls are not alone on the rooftop, Zenon and Sir Edwardo are with them, but when Mack comes down he does it with an energy blow that drops everyone on the roof to the floor, stunning them. Mack casually walks up to the blonde key holder, but Nick slams into the one called Ripper and takes the far corner of the roof and building with them as they crash into the neighboring structure.

  Nick does not want to let this chance to end everything go, so he pulls himself together as fast as he can and swings his fist. It lands on Mack's face and sends him crashing back through the wall. He flies out after him to keep up his striking but Mack is ready for him. He stops the flying Nick and launches them both into the sky; like a rocket taking off inside an office and crashing through every floor on its way up. The entire time he is head-butting Nick as well as giving him his free elbow in the face. When he feels he is high enough, he heads back down at an amazing speed. When he reaches the last of the skyscrapers standing, he pushes off, sending Nick into the ground and incapacitating him; Nick lies on the ground unconscious.

  Mack makes his flight back to the rooftop that Mandolyn is on. When he gets to the top, he can see that Charlotte, Zenon and Sir Edwardo are still on the ground, but Mandolyn is starting to get to her feet. "There is great power in this one," he says impressed that those he knows to be powerful are still down from his blow; but this woman of the 1st Realm is able to come to. He pulls out the two fragments and as he steps close to the woman of the living, the key comes out of the pack she has had it in the whole time. Mack can no longer hold on to the pieces in his hands as they join the third in mid-air right in front of him. The three become one and a bright flash lets the whole area know that the key has formed. Mack reaches out to grab the key when he hears Mandolyn.

  "Are you really going to do this?"

  "You think you can talk me out of it? Do you know how many people I have slain in this shit hole of a world? Nothing, I would feel nothing."

  "It's because the feeling you are looking for does not exist. It was a false feeling you gave yourself in life and you will still never find what you are looking for. People have still found love in your world because that is real, it is the most pure of energy we could find, and you will feel it when you find it"

  "I don't need or want love." Sometimes, some people are just the way they are because that is who they have been their whole life. Mack motions to use the key.

  "Look at what is happening all around because of that thing," she points to the apocalypse.

  "Why do you think it is called the Ragnarok Key, you fool?" He takes the key and just the energy of the motion you would use for a key, a small portal forms out of nowhere. He inserts it and gets a rush of power; he receives visions of things past, present and future. His time as Jack the Ripper; the raging battle down in the chaos ridden streets, and the land of the living using the Ragnarok key themselves, then a rush of all the madness that they would unleash when doing so. "Inevitable," is all he can say as the enraging weather comes to an end, yet massive buildings remain floating in midair along with whatever else was lifted off of the ground. The battle in the streets of New York as well as around the world rage on as the two realms merge to become one, and madness consumes the globe.

  Into the Void Book 2

  With the Order of Light failing to maintain balance, the world is in chaos and death fills the land of the living. Overwhelmed by the dark spirits, the light struggles to save lives. With their only option to restore harmony, they must enter the one place no one is willing to go: The Void.

  About the Author

  RoChe Montoya is the name of a husband and wife writing team. The couple lives in Modoc County, California with their dog and two cats.

  www.rochemontoya.com

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