“I won’t let you hurt him!”
Shalina took another step towards Angel, but stopped when she noticed everything around her slow down. She could see Angel slowly being pulled back by Alcia, who had grabbed his arm and motioned for him to make a run for it.
“No,” Shalina’s voice echoed.
Angel looked back at Shalina one last time before running off with the others. The only person left standing there was a woman. She stared back at Shalina with a gentle look on her face, and almost smiled.
The glow in Shalina’s eyes faded when she realized that the woman looked exactly like her, “it couldn’t be,” The woman started to fade away into the air, “no, wait!” Shalina reached out for the woman, but she was already gone.
The wind had stopped, and time went back to its normal speed.
Verenda was finally able to move freely, and had went to catch Shalina before she hit to ground. She landed in his arms, feeling too tired to stand up on her own and looked up at him with glossy blue eyes.
“It was her,” She whispered, “she helped him...” her eyes began to roll back, and she fell unconscious.
“Shalina?” he stared down at her and saw a tear run down the side of her face, then he scooped her up into his arms and started following the remaining villagers to safety.
***
A camp was finally set up in an open field by sundown, and a large group of villagers, including Verenda, stopped to rest for the night.
The villagers must have been prepared for something like this, because they went right into setting up tents, and lighting fires. There were also people going around handing out fruits, and foods that they managed to grab during the attack.
A kind villager set up a pallet for Shalina to sleep on, that consisted of large leaves and soft grass, next to the fire.
“Thank you,” Verenda nodded, then he gently laid her down on the pallet.
“You’re welcome,” the villager said before going to help someone else in need.
Verenda sat down next to Shalina in front of the fire, and watched her sleep for a moment. He wouldn’t have thought that she was actually as powerful as she was, and felt a little uneasy. If she didn’t learn how to control her Verna soon, then she would end up hurting herself and others around her, even if she didn’t mean to.
What had set her off? She clearly had some sort of connection with Angel that he didn’t know about, and figured that whatever the connection may be, it was a terrible one. Shalina had her eyes set on him, but almost killed everyone else around them because she had lost control. There was no way that she would be able to survive without his help, and even if he wanted to, he couldn’t leave her alone. It was because he was drawn to Shalina now, and felt as if he had to protect her with his life.
Verenda smiled. He had only known this girl for but a couple of days, and couldn’t see himself without her.
***
“Shalina!” his voice echoed as he ran towards her and Darrengiy. She could barely see him through the tornado winds that surrounded them, but could still see the dark expression on Angel’s young face.
Shalina looked over at her hand in Darrengiy’s, and he smiled down at her, “everything’s going to be alright,” he said. That made her feel a little better, because she had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
The young girl wanted to run off to Angel, but was afraid to at the same time. She couldn’t tell if he was an enemy, or a friend. Which one was she supposed to trust? She soon got her answer when she looked around and saw many of her people, dead, on the ground, or scattering to get to safety.
Angel had the sword in his hand. The very sword that destroyed it all, and now he was coming for her....
***
“Moorenofs!” Someone yelled.
Shalina jumped out of her sleep, once again, but this time couldn’t move as fast as she had the day before.
Verenda had jumped to his feet and looked around to see that there were Moorenofs running through the village. The sight was almost comparable to the village after the attack. The tents were set on fire, and villagers were running for their lives again.
“Let’s go,” Verenda helped Shalina to her feet, “can you run?”
Shalina nodded her head and reached for her knife that was tucked away in her waist, “Vascana,” she said. The small knife had stretched into a sword.
Verenda looked to Shalina, feeling worried about her exhausted condition, and sighed, “Let’s go.”
Shalina nodded and took his hand so that she wouldn’t fall behind. Her body felt numb, and she had an agonizing headache that she wished would go away.
The two of them started running for the trees, so to get away from the demons and back into safety. Shalina wanted nothing more than to just go back to Verenda’s home, but she had the feeling that that was a long way in the opposite direction.
Verenda wanted so badly to stop and fight the Moorenof’s that chased them away, but he didn’t want to leave Shalina unprotected, so he had to escape instead. He knew that soon though, they would get what they deserved.
Verenda spotted Tasa running out of the woods, followed by two fully grown Bift’s, and thought about saving her, but he had to worry about his and Shalina’s life.
Tasa had tripped and rolled onto the grass, barely dodging the Bift’s paw.
“Oh, no,” Shalina ripped her hand from Verenda’s and ran off to help Tasa.
“Shalina, no,” Verenda caught her by her upper arm to stopped her from getting herself killed.
“Verenda! She’s going to be killed!” Shalina tried to fight her way out if his grip, but she was too weak.
“No, Shalina. There’s nothing you can do to save her-”
“Then you help her!” she yelled.
Tasa was steady backing away from the two beasts that were closing in on her, and was about to be crushed when Montago came from the sky, grabbed Tasa, and then jumped high over the second beast.
“There, she’s sa-” A sharp burning paint stopped Verenda in his spot.
Two darts stuck out of Verenda’s neck, causing his body to go numb, and he fell, limp, to the ground.
Shalina turned around to see Verenda laying on the ground, “Verenda?” she got down on both knees and shook him, but there was no sign of life, “Verenda!!”
Chapter 16: Mooralshia-Part 5
Ten minutes earlier...
Jacoda ran up to Angel out of breath, and started walking with him, “I have no idea where Tasa and Montago ran off to,” he put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath.
Angel sighed. He was upset because everyone had separated when a group of Moorenofs ran through their camp that they set up in the woods. After they had escaped from Shalina’s raging winds, they ended up being separated from the rest of the villagers, and set up camp before it got dark out.
Angel kicked a small log out of the way when he thought about the incident from yesterday. Shalina had hated him so much that she was willing to kill him, and all he wanted to do was get his old friend back! How could he get through to someone that despised his very being!?
“I’m sure she’s alright,” Jacoda said.
Jacoda, Tasa’s brother, had come across them after being separated from the villagers, and slept with them for the night. Before they even agreed that he could stay, Tasa was against him camping with them, and wanted them to turn him away. After the others convinced her to let him stay she just pretended that he didn’t exist. It was almost as awkward as Angel being around Shalina.
Angel looked at Jacoda, realizing that he were only talking about Tasa, and nodded, “If she is with Montago, then she’s fine. We need to find the others and make sure that their okay as well.”
“Right. Of course.”
The two of them walked cautiously through the woods for a while when they heard a woman’s cry for help. Angel’s head shot up in alert, then he burst into a full sprint towards the woman’s struggled screams, while Jacoda used his Moor
alshian legs to jump ahead.
“She’s near...” The sword said, “Be careful...”
Angel picked up his speed until he was finally free from the trees and out into the open.
Far off to the middle of the large plain, Angel saw villagers and Moorenofs running about, but those weren’t the screams that he had just heard moments ago. To his right is where the cry for help came from. He had first spotted Verenda on the ground, unconscious, then he noticed Shalina holding up her sword to one of the Moorenofs.
Shalina was surrounded by at least four other Moorenofs, and was far too weak to fight anymore. Especially after being sliced on her thigh by one of the demons long and sharp nails.
Angel pulled out his sword and made his way over to the Moorenof. He thrust his sword through its back before it made a move against the exhausted woman, then he started for another one with Jacoda fighting by his side.
Shalina frowned at Angel as he fought off the Moorenofs, but wasn’t going to stop him because she needed a distraction for her and Verenda, “Verenda? Verenda?” she held his face in her hands and he frowned. When he opened his eyes he gave a few coughs, “hey are you okay?” she asked in a worried tone.
Verenda grunted, then ripped the darts from out of his neck. The black mark that had formed on his skin when he was first shot had shrunken into a small dot that could barely be seen.
“You’re...healed?” Shalina asked in amazement.
Verenda still wore a tight frown, so hard that Shalina could see the veins in his temple. He grunted and cleared his throat, but then started coughing again, only this time, he seemed to be choking.
“No, no, no, no, no,” Shalina shook her head, “Verenda what’s happening? What do I do?”
Verenda didn’t answer. He just continued on coughing until Shalina gently rested her hand on his chest and his choking came to a stop.
“You’re...getting good at this...” Verenda said while breathing heavily.
“You’re okay,” Shalina sighed with relief.
Angel had thrust his sword through another Moorenof after seeing what had just happened, and felt a twinge of jealousy. Shalina could help Verenda, but not the very person that had real history with her. He protected her as a child, he was with her when their village was destroyed, he tried to save her, and yet, she hated him.
As Shalina helped Verenda to his feet, Angel spotted another Moorenof coming at them from behind. He debated on letting the demon get to Verenda, but didn’t want to risk it going for Shalina, so with one wave of his sword towards the sky, he turned the Moorenof into dust.
Jacoda had taken down the last Moorenof and walked up to Angel, “do you know them?”
Angel didn’t answer. He just watched as Shalina stood close to Verenda and spoke something that he couldn’t hear, then the two turned to face him with frowns on their faces.
Angel sighed and took a step towards them, but Verenda moved in front of Shalina just as fast, “I don’t know what your history is with her, but I know that she doesn’t want you near. Take what happened yesterday as just a warning.”
Angel gripped the handle of his sword tightly, “Verenda, I’m only going to ask you once to move. I need to speak with her. It’s important.”
Verenda held out his hand and waited for his staff to appear, then he released his wings so that they completely blocked Shalina’s view, “If the lady doesn’t want you near, then I won’t let you come any closer.”
“Guys...” Jacoda stood there confused, wondering why they were about to fight when they needed to be fighting demons.
“Look!” Angel yelled out of frustration, “It’s about Darrengiy! He’s going to use-”
“Enough of your lie’s Angel!” Shalina yelled as she stepped around Verenda, “I know that it was you! I remember back then- I remember all of it!”
“Shalina, what are you talking about? You don’t know anything! Honestly, how could you possibly be so stupid as to believe that I was the one who killed your family?” For a moment he felt like they were kids again, and having one of their traditional arguments.
“Enough,” Verenda said, “Angel, just leave it alone. She doesn’t trust you, and neither do I,” it was hard for him to believe that Angel took out Shalina’s village, but then again, he only knew him for a day. Darrengiy could have Shalina fooled though, and knew that he wouldn’t tell her the truth so that she wouldn’t be hurt. It was hard for Verenda to choose sides in this situation, because either one of them could be speaking the truth.
“We don’t have time for this! Verenda, if I have to kill you now, then I will, and she’ll come with us!”
Verenda’s pupils shrunk, and he got into a defensive staff, “I don’t want to fight you Angel. Just leave it alone.”
Angel knew that this wasn’t the best way to go about getting Shalina back, but he felt that there was no other way. He had to take her away from here and into hiding, then go after Darrengiy. If Darrengiy were to get his hands on her power, then there may be no way to stop him from taking over Vernasia.
“I’m sorry,” Angel held his sword in a defensive stance, “but if you try and stop me, then it looks like that’s exactly what we will be doing.”
Shalina stepped back, seeing that another fight was about to begin between someone she cared about, and the person that she hated most.
Verenda took a deep breath and waited for Angel to attack. He was ready for him to try and blow him into dust, because he knew that his staff would deflect the invisible current, but Angel didn’t come at him that way.
Angel ran at Verenda in full speed and slammed his sword against Verenda’s staff as he aimed down his head. Verenda held Angel’s sword off, then kicked him in the stomach and aimed the ball of his staff at Angel’s chest. Angel was too quick though, and blocked it with his sword, then spun around and aimed the blade at Verenda’s neck.
Verenda saw that attack coming from a mile away and simply shielded himself with one of his wings. Even though he was unable to used them to fly without an elixir, his wings were still very strong. He smiled at the thought that all this strength came from his mother...
Angel was pushed back by Verenda’s wing and he crashed down into the dirt. He was about to get back up when Verenda jumped into the air and came down to slam his heel into Angel’s chest. He didn’t get the attack to go through, because he had to get out of the way of Angel’s sword. Before his foot would have been sliced through, Verenda did a quick flip so to knock the sword out of Angel’s hand with his wings, and rolled over a few feet away from him.
“You guys!” Jacoda yelled, “Stop this! We don’t have time!”
Verenda and Angel got back to their feet and contemplated their next attacks. Angel’s sword was only a few feet away, but he knew that Verenda would see retrieving it as an opening, and didn’t want to be left vulnerable.
Angel reached out his hand towards the sword, and hoped that it would come to him the same way that it had done many times already, “come on,” after so many years he still didn’t know how to control it. The voice inside only spoke to him so often, and it was only to warn him, “Come on...”
Verenda saw what Angel was doing and made his attack. Angel decided to give up and run for the sword, but he wouldn’t get to it in time, because Verenda was only seconds away from slamming the ball of his staff against Angel and blowing him into golden embers...
“What are you doing!?” Orange and red flames were blown at Verenda, making him shield himself with both of his wings. Somehow water had slipped through them and wrapped around his neck, then he was yanked down to his back and saw Alcia, the Oceanian, holding her hands out towards him.
“Verenda!” Shalina ran to Verenda’s aid.
Angel just sighed and reached down to grab his sword, then he pointed it down at Verenda, who was too busy fighting for air to care. He didn’t want to kill Verenda, but saw no other option after their battle, because he had become an enemy now, and one that was getting in the way
of saving Vernasia.
“What the hell is going on?” Tren asked as he ran out of the woods with Zyas right behind him. He looked down at Shalina who was kneeled down next to the dying Verenda.
“Stop this!” Shalina yelled looking up at Alcia. Verenda was running out of time and would be dead soon.
“Don’t let him go,” Angel ordered as he slipped his sword away.
Shalina clenched her teeth while trying to control the rage that was building in the pit of her stomach, “Verenda?” her voice shook as she looked into his bloodshot eyes, “just keep fighting. Hold on,” her eyes began to water with tears, “please, let him go,” she asked looking back up at Alcia.
Alcia looked from Shalina to Angel and sighed. She didn’t want to kill Verenda right in front of Shalina, but also didn’t want him getting back up to attack Angel again. From afar, she could see that Angel was having trouble holding his ground against the winged man, and knew that he wasn’t a match for him yet.
“What’s going on?” Marian asked, “I thought that he was cool?”
Angel looked down at Verenda who was no longer fighting for air, “we were, but he wouldn’t let me get to Shalina. This is the girl we need to keep safe from Darrengiy, so that he won’t be as strong when we go after him.”
Alcia frowned at Angel and released Verenda before his pulse stopped, “I’m letting him go, Angel. He’s no longer a threat,” she said. Then she nodded down at Shalina, who only frowned back.
Angel nodded as well, “that’s fine,” he was actually relieved that Verenda wasn’t killed.
“So, what do we do now?” Tren asked.
“Well,” Angel sighed down at Shalina, “we need to take her away from this place and-”
Verenda’s eyes flashed open and he jumped back to his feet with his staff in hand. His ability to heal brought him back to consciousness within seconds, “you’re not taking her anywhere!” Verenda slammed the ball of his staff against the ground, creating a golden light that was almost as tall as Angel, and sent it right towards him.
Angel's Blade: Power (Angel Series Book 1) Page 20
