"Roger that ma'am." A voice from high above came over the communicators. "We're here if you need us."
The two gunships ceased their fire and their mighty roars came to a stop. The only sounds now disrupting this peaceful Russian valley were the ever present drones of the helicopter's blades. Meredith stood at the edge of the helicopter and studied the barrier ahead. The surface ripples slowly faded, appearing as if nothing had ever scratched it. She had hoped the gunships would be able to punch through, but deep in her heart she knew they wouldn’t be able. She sighed before glancing over to the other choppers floating around her before speaking.
"Pilot!" Meredith shouted over the droning of the rotor. "Bring the helicopters closer! It's time for plan B!"
"Plan B?!" One voice could be heard over the communicator. It was one Aerin remembered well, the leader of the Midwestern monks. She had met him and his monks some time ago; and though they didn't particularly care for Meredith, they had grown quite fond of Aerin. "I thought the gunship was supposed to break through!" The Monk questioned. "I never agreed to mix my magic with hers!"
"But sir!"
"No! We had a plan! I will not mix magic with that fallen angel! I agreed to help her but this is too much!"
"Listen here, you little shit." Samuel's stern voice boomed over the communicators for everyone to hear. "This fallen Angel is our only shot at saving this dirtball we call a planet. So unless you want to lose everything you’ve ever known and loved, shut your damn mouth and do what she says."
Silence filled the radio for what felt like an eternity. Aerin smiled slightly at Samuel's outburst, but couldn't help but feel sorry for the monk on the receiving end. Not a single person dared speak until the monk’s pride finally recovered. After a moment or so his voice came across the communicators.
"Fine. I'll do it, but I won't like it."
"As long as it gets done, I couldn't care less." Samuel sat back in the uncomfortable chair and crossed his arms.
With no more objections, the helicopters drew closer above the barrier. Nearly two dozen, they hovered together in a circle, spaced just far enough to be safe. Samuel stood and slid the chopper's door open for Meredith, and she held tightly to both the handrail and Samuel’s pants leg as the fierce Russian wind whipped around inside blowing her white dress about.
"Alright everybody!" Meredith spoke into the communicator on her wrist loudly. "It's just like we rehearsed. I'll make the base, everyone dumps everything they’ve got into it, and the monks will throw it!"
"We'll do it..."
"Aerin." Meredith turned toward the helicopter closest to her. "Remember, you're creating the explosion. This one’s all you… no pressure."
"I've got this." Aerin cracked her knuckles and popped her neck in anticipation.
"Alright then everyone, let's do this."
Meredith brought her hands together into a loud clap. As she pulled them apart slowly, a small blue sphere began to take shape. It pulsed and spun between her hands and she held it there for a moment as she focused more power into it. It began to increase in size slowly, her hands moving apart more as the ball of energy grew. When it was nearly as big as she was, she allowed it to float out of the helicopter and hover, suspended, between the choppers. One by one, various magic users from the group poured their own energy into the sphere. The ball continued to grow and expand with each added burst of energy. When it was finally Aerin's turn, it was massive, easily twice as large as any of the helicopters.
Aerin clapped her hands together and created a terribly powerful explosive spell, one of the strongest she’d ever managed before. It was a red gyro that hummed with an oddly hypnotic tone as it grew slowly to the size of a basketball. She thrust her hands forward and the spell flew out, striking the sphere that hung suspended between the helicopters. It burrowed deep inside and attached itself to the core. Slowly the massive spell changed from a light blue to a bright, violent, pulsating red.
Now that the spell was complete, the monks took hold of it, pulling it towards the helicopter closest to the barrier. With all of their combined might, they hurled the massive bomb downward as hard as they could. Plan B impacted into the barrier's surface with a terribly loud groan. The spell dug into the magical wall, sending huge ripples out in all directions as it attempted to drill in deep. At first it didn’t appear strong enough to break though, but once the bomb exploded the ripples on the surface became too great for the barrier to withstand. Like waves crashing on the rocky shore, the magical wall began to ripple and tear. Huge cracks ran the entire dome’s length as chunks began to fall in, the whole structure failing under its own weight. A massive hole began to form where the explosion had occurred, revealing a large village deep below. However, the group had no time to marvel at their accomplishment. As soon as the barrier was open, the sky began to fill with smaller explosions all around.
"Scatter! We've got flak!"
The choppers broke away in all directions and pitched forward hard, heading for the ground below as fast as they could. Aerin nearly dove into her seat before she lost her balance. Her hands tightened around the handrails beside her seat until her knuckles were white. Though she was a master of flying, there was somehow about losing control that made her stomach twist. To make matters worse, she watched as a helicopter off to her left suddenly caught fire and exploded. A brilliant white beam of light had come from the village below, searing the chopper in two like a hot knife through butter.
"What the hell?!" Aerin's pilot exclaimed as he put as much space between them and the burning chopper as he could. "That's not AA!"
"It's a Throne!" Aerin shouted, though a moment too late.
The beam fired again, but her pilot had been better than the last. He reacted quickly and turned the chopper hard to the left, allowing the beam to miss the main fuselage where Aerin was seated. Instead, the beam tore up through the tail, shearing the rotor off completely. The back end of the helicopter exploded, sending the rest of the craft spinning violently out of control. A dozen warning sirens blared as lights flashed inside the cockpit. Aerin held on as tightly as she could as she watched the mountains of Novaya Zemlya spin round and round outside the open door. Slowly she used all her upper body strength to pull herself into the cockpit and tug on the pilot's arm as her vision began to blur from the combined dizziness and G forces.
"We have to go!" She shouted.
"I... I can't move!" The pilot grunted as he pushed onto the flight stick with all his might.
"This thing is going down! Come on, we have to go now!" She urged, tugging on his arm.
"If I let go... neither of us will make it out! I'll hold it for you!"
"To hell with that!"
Aerin suddenly pulled the man out of his seat without warning. The moment his hands let go of the stick, the helicopter spun around hard and flipped over. Both Aerin and the pilot were thrown onto the ceiling as the chopper began to descend rapidly towards the ground. Hoisting him up as best she could, she kicked out of the helicopter and unfurled her wings. A sudden updraft unexpectedly forced her upward, and she spun around just in time to see her reflection in the helicopter's blade as it whizzed within inches of her head.
After such a close encounter, she sped down and away from the craft as fast as possible. She touched down into the snowy village with a hard thud before dropping the pilot in the snow. Behind her, the chopper slammed down into a hillside in a massive fireball. Aerin looked down and smiled at the pilot who looked all too happy to be alive. She made sure he was alright before she rushed off, pressing further into the village.
Meredith's chopper had fared far better than some of the others. It touched down inside the village with no issues, and the soldiers inside disembarked and began to secure the area. Shouts of orders from the squad leader and the beating of the rotors was the only thing disturbing this empty village street. Samuel and Meredith stepped out onto the frozen ground and got a feeling for how desolate the area was. Quickly, Samuel tapped on the
chopper's side before spinning his fingers to signal the chopper to take off.
"You need to get out of here as fast as you can!" Meredith shouted up into the helicopter.
"Roger that, ma'am!"
The blades spun up to full speed and the craft turned round and lurched forward to fly away. Just as it did, a white hot beam of pure energy barreled down the main street toward it. Meredith jumped ahead and quickly deployed a magical shield that stopped the beam in its tracks before it could strike another chopper. She grunted as her small boots were forced into the soft ground below her, pushed back by the force of the attack.
"Sammy! Go!" She shouted to her side. "I've got this!"
"Right." Samuel nodded before turning and rushing away to the right.
He ran down a side alley between two small houses at top speed as he headed for what appeared to be the center of the village. While everyone else was busy, he had a job to do. He closed his eyes as he ran and focused deeply. Each heavy footfall in the snow sent ripples out around him, touching everything in the small village. He could feel the pulsing of the earth beneath him, the snowdrifts atop the houses, and the movement of every soldier he had ordered ahead of him. As he prepared to round a corner he suddenly stopped. Three life forms stood ahead, none of which he was familiar with. He could feel the weapons in their hands, the armor that they wore, but they weren’t marines. Something about them felt off, but he had to be sure. He drew his sword as a crimson flame swirled up around him, melting the snow at his feet.
Samuel ran around the corner to get a quick look at the potential enemies. There were three fully armed and armored soldiers, fully clad in black, of unknown origin. Without warning they opened fire the moment Samuel appeared before them. The rain of bullets impacted into a small shield Samuel held deployed from his left hand. He didn't have time to be held up by small fry like this, so with a snap of his fingers he appeared behind the three men. Three quick slashes made short work of the soldiers and they all fell to the ground lifeless. As they lay motionless in the snow below, Samuel looked them over. Something seemed off about these soldiers, though he couldn't quite place it. He shook his head and continued on into the village. There was a Bloodstone in there somewhere. A Bloodstone guarded by William. This had gone on too long; it was time to finish things.
Aerin leaned up against the wall of a house as she did her best to avoid detection. There was a flak gun just on the other side of the next building that was sending a steady stream of fire into the air as it belched periodically toward the gunships overhead. She had a particular spell in mind for the machine, but needed to be just a little closer, so she crept inside the house she was resting against. The house was empty, completely devoid of life. There were no furnishings, no pictures of any kind, no dust. No one had ever lived here before. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she reeled around to shield herself from the fire of half a dozen soldiers, the same ones Samuel had encountered just before.
She could feel her feet sliding on the floor as the force of the bullets impacting her shield pushed her back. As her heels touched the wall behind her she summoned up her strength and pushed hard on the shield, converting the barrier into a wave that she threw toward her attackers. The wall of energy tore through the house, slamming into the six soldiers outside, sending them flying into a snowy bank. She breathed heavy, partly mad at herself for not having sensed them coming sooner. Aerin closed her eyes and calmed her mind, feeling her surroundings. No other life forms were around, save for the operator of the flak gun nearby. She rushed out the door of the house towards the gun, a glowing red spell in hand. She jumped into the air and hurled the spell at the machine. It impacted into the base of the gun and made a loud whine as it seemed to fold in on itself, pulling snow and dirt towards it before it exploded into a brilliant flash that completely leveled the machine. With her mission temporarily completed, Aerin made her way over to the incapacitated soldiers and began to examine them.
"Well done, Angel!"
A voice called out to Aerin over the radio that hung from the man’s chest. It was a voice that she had not heard in a very long time, one that filled her with a deep sadness and an equally deeper hatred.
"Richard!" She shouted, her voice filled with rage. "Where are you?!"
"It's good to see you too!" His voice echoed throughout every soldier’s radio. It sounded different, like it had changed over the years.
"Why don't you come out here where I can see you? Face to face."
"I'd love to, but you see... Things aren't like they once were." He paused. "I prefer to let my soldiers do all the fighting now. Do you like them? I made them just for you all!"
"I'm going to kill them, Richard." Aerin stated. "And then I'm coming for you."
"Don't keep me waiting!"
Aerin threw the radio to the ground and stepped on it. She hated that man with every fiber of her being and hearing his voice had set her on edge. She was angry enough not to notice the other black soldier that had snuck up on her until it was almost too late. She spun around just in time to come face to face with the soldier's gun, pointed right at her. Suddenly, the man's head exploded as a faint crack could be heard in the distance. Aerin spun around towards the direction the shot had come from. Off in the distance, she could barely make out the glint of a rifle scope. She gave Isaac a thumb up before running off, disappearing out of his sight.
"That's my girl." Isaac said with a smile as he watched Aerin disappear out of view. He adjusted the dial on the large scope he was looking through as he began to speak again. "And she's the one worried about me." He mused, causing a small smile from the sniper to his left. “Alright, let’s see what we can do…”
Isaac surveyed the cold Russian landscape through his large viewfinder. The sound of distant gunfire filled the village ahead of them and so he listened in, following it until he found something they could work with. He turned the scope slowly until he came upon a small house in the distance.
“Two on the rooftops to the North.” He said, pointing without looking away from the scope. “1 o’clock, just close enough. Adjust elevation.”
“Can do.” The sniper to his left stated. The man clicked a dial on top of his scope and steadied his aim.
“Hold up.” Isaac instructed. “Wait for the shot, might be able to hit them both.”
“Got it.” The sniper gripped his rifle and took a deep breath. His finger stayed on the trigger as he waited for just the right moment. Finally, he squeezed with his index finger and the rifle bucked into his shoulder as it released a powerful round that struck both targets.
“Good shot.” Isaac praised after he had already begun looking for more targets. “10 0’clock low, 400 yards. There’s some going after our guys.”
“I see them.” The sniper swung his rifle left and dialed in the enemies. With one shot a soldier fell, and with a few more the others were down as well. With the lane clear, the friendly squad was able to move up, and they gave there thanks in the form of a nod in Isaac’s direction.
“You are tearing it up out there.” Isaac joked as he looked around for more. “Hey, looks like Samuel is about to run into trouble, how about we help him out? Get back at him for earlier.” Isaac laughed. “2 o’clock, 500 yards, beside the two houses. Looks like he’s about to walk into an ambush.”
The sniper spun his rifle to the right and adjusted his scope. There was a small squad readied up behind a house, waiting for Samuel to step around. Both the sniper and Isaac watched as Samuel ran around the corner, throwing up a shield to protect himself from the hail of gunfire as if he had known the soldiers were around the corner. In a flash, Samuel appeared behind his assailants, cutting them down with no effort.
“Well shit.” Isaac remarked. “Guess he doesn’t need our help after all.” He stated with a shrug. “Let’s see… Got one more target, another squad just up-" His words were interrupted by the sudden gunfire from the floor below. Ten to fifteen rounds fired off from the man watching th
eir back down below. It ceased and the sound of a struggle took its place before silence filled the house. "Our rear, hold on, I'll go check it out."
"Roger that, I'll pack up here." The sniper said as he began to disassemble his gun.
Isaac walked slowly toward the door leading down to the stairs. He drew his large combat knife from his vest and made his way down. An eerie silence filled the room below him as he pressed forward. At the base of the stairs a crimson liquid trickled across the floor. Following it around the corner, Isaac discovered the body of his, now deceased, rear guardsman. He lay clutching his rifle in a pool of his own blood. Next to him a large man clad in a dark trench coat held a blood covered sword in his left hand.
“You…” Isaac brought his blade up and aimed it toward the man as he readied himself for combat. He analyzed the man in front of him, his body absolutely radiated with power. “I had a feeling I’d run into you.”
“Really?”
“They told me not to fight you.”
“That sounds about right.” The man said as he turned to face Isaac.
“Unfortunately for us both, I’m bad at following orders.” Isaac stated.
“Is that so?” The man slashed his sword to the side, causing the blood to fly off and spatter in a neat arc beside him. “What’s your name, boy?”
“Isaac. And you must be William.”
Chapter Twenty Two
Isaac and William stood motionless across the room from each other. Both had a firm grasp on their respective weapon, but neither moved. A fierce battle waged between them, though they stood perfectly still. One analyzed the other as they searched their opponent for any sign of weakness. A gust of frigid wind blew through the empty house; it swirled around the room carrying in a bit of snow that deposited itself at their feet. As the wind subsided, the door at the far end of the room suddenly slammed shut.
Isaac rushed forward with his combat knife at the ready as William brought his mighty blade down. The greatsword was large and seemed slow to Isaac, and so he quickly dodged the attack with little effort. He swung his knife forward in a slash, but caught nothing but metal as William pulled his sword back to block. Isaac reeled back from the impact of the sudden collision and William took the opportunity to go on the offensive. He swung his sword, first a slash across, and then a slash down the middle. Each time Isaac had to jump backward, pulling in his stomach to keep from getting hit.
Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale Page 41
