Flight

by Jason Cheek

  “I can accept those conditions, Son.” Looking over his shoulder, the Chief called back to Agent Foster. “Does the CTA still have those Marine Super Cobras on standby at the Palm Beach Airport?”

  Smiling grimly, Agent Foster seemed to come to a decision as he answered the Chief.

  “I don’t have crews on stand-by, but I can have four birds for you in less than an hour.”

  “Good, then get on it. While you’re working on that, I should be able to call in a few favors and get my hands on at least two Bell Hueys, and four EC135s choppers.

  Looking back at Beth, the Chief smiled confidently.

  “Then, let’s get this ball rolling people! Detective, I want you to the radio the Ranger Station at Jonathan Dickens State Park. Tell them, I want all of their airboats and rangers ready to go when we arrive.”

  Beth took off as the Chief began striding towards the temporary Command Center shouting orders with Agent Foster followed behind, already on his cell phone giving his own orders. Suddenly left alone, I saw Susan approaching me from the building’s entrance. Other than being white as a sheet, she looked a hundred percent better.

  “Feeling better?”

  Steadying herself with a hand on my upper arm, she smiled up at me weakly.

  “The food helped, but I feel like I could sleep a week.” Looking back at the people being helped by the paramedics, Susan shook her head in wonder. “I still can’t believe we managed to save so many lives.”

  “Me neither, Ukko gave me a boost, but if we all hadn't given our best. We wouldn't have saved the people we did.”

  Slipping my arm around her waist to giving her support, I walked us towards the white sheet thrown over the remains of the Priestess of Loviatar laying in the parking lot.

  Kneeling down, I pulled the sheet back inspecting the remains. Unbelievably, the cloak had managed to come through the explosion whole, but not the creature that wore it. The white scales were the same as I remembered from so long ago, when I had first seen the Priestesses of Loviatar on Mount Ukko for the first time, just before they murdered my parents and wiped out my Father’s people.

  “What in the world is this?”

  Susan words snapped me back to the present as she picked up a delicately crafted tinnearlian chain holding a bloodied puppy’s leg from the folds of the black robes. Looking up, I froze seeing the bloody little paw as it slowly swiveled until it pointed directly at me. Susan moved her hand thoughtfully from side to side as the paw continued to point at me unswervingly.

  “I think they were using this to track you down, Hon.”

  Looking up at me, Susan’s words caught in her throat as she saw my look of horror as all of the blood drained out of my face.

  I knew a tracking spell when I saw one, but that wasn’t what made my heart suddenly start pounding in my chest. I had just thought the Tuonellian’s had found another portal to Earth, but seeing the Werewolf pup’s freshly torn out leg dangling from the tinnearlian chain. I suddenly understood in my heart of hearts what my mind had refused to accept.

  Tears began streaming down my face as I held my shaking palm under the hanging chain. Looking into my eyes, tears began running down Susan’s face as she reached out to share my pain. My voice cracked as I spoke softly.

  “Give me the chain Susan.”

  “I’m sorry Hon. God Startüm, I’m so sorry.”

  I could tell she wanted to hold me, but the look in my eyes held her back. This time my voice held as I repeated myself, my voice sounding husky from the intense emotions raging through me.

  “Give me the chain!”

  Numbly, Susan let the chain slide from her fingers, until the bloody leg laid in the palm of my hand. Slowly, my fist closed over the tiny leg as I clutched it tightly to my chest. Laying my other hand over the Holy Symbol of Ukko etched in the center of my breastplate, I raised my eyes to the heavens crying out my prayer.

  “Ukko gi meg dødsfall stirre!” (Ukko grant me death’s gaze!)

  A ray of light shot down from the heavens enveloping me in its golden light as the holy symbol on my chest began to glow under my hand. A moment later, the gathered divine power flowed into my eyes. When the light completely filled my senses, I suddenly burned. I felt like the skin was being flayed from my body as the last moments of the little Werewolf’s life rushed through my mind.

  I felt what the young one had felt.

  I knew what the young one knew.

  I gasped for breath crying out in a silent scream at the excruciating pain flooding through me. That’s when I saw it … the pile of dead Shadowfang Werewolves that were protecting Winter Fangs pass, the massacred young smashed to death against the rocks of Winter Heart, the ritual death Stonewalker endured before she was torn limb from limb.

  My piercing howl rang out into the night’s sky as I threw my head back letting the despair and loneliness boil out of my wounded soul. Tears began streaming down my face at the loss of my Grandsire and my Mother’s people, but still I howled. I howled until my tears disappeared, and all that was left was a burning anger.

  All my life I’d held back the terrible fury of my inner Werewolf with an iron fist, but now as I called forth my power. I let it run free. Energy crackled in the air around me like lightning as I focused my Will. With a cry of rage, I sent the gathered energy out in a massive pulse through the tiny leg in my hand.

  The Tuonellians would not desecrate Stonewalker’s corpse again!

  Chapter 14

  Location Earth / Florida present day:

  Dyniessus sudden cry of pain as she collapsed to her knees brought Sister Leenara running to her side.

  “What’s wrong Sister?”

  She joined her Sister on the ground a second later as Loviatar’s communion slammed into her like a war hammer with its intensity. The message was short and direct.

  Their Sister Torenundra was dead!

  As soon as Loviatar’s presence left them, Leenara pushed herself off the ground unsteadily. Looking at her Sister, she hissed unbelievably.

  “The Barbed Antitheus and the Scourge that followed her, what happened to them?”

  “They are all dead too.”

  “How … how is that possible? The whelp hasn’t even come of age yet.”

  Opening her eyes, Dyniessus met her sister’s gaze incredulously as she realized what the only answer could be.

  “The half-breed is a Paladin of Ukko after all!”

  Lytolna’s fearful hiss carried in the heavy night’s air as the Scourge nearest to them shifted nervously at the sound. Rising to her feet, Dyniessus signaled for her sister to follow.

  “Come with me quickly.”

  For the last seven years since the Tuonellian armies had been decimated. The Priestess of Loviatar had focused on corrupting the monarchs of the various races of Irlendria. Confident that their ancient nemesis had been destroyed, they knew it was only a matter of time before they conquered all of Irlendria, but now all those years of careful planning could be in jeopardy.

  With the blessing of Ukko, the Klavikians had held against the marauding armies of the Tuonellian for over a millennium. Their twelve paladins were able to protect their armies from Loviatar’s corrupting touch, denying the Tuonellian’s their rightful place as rulers of the weaker races.

  The younger Sisters of Loviatar would scoff at her fear of one lonely Paladin of Ukko remaining, but Dyniessus understood better than most priestesses what the battles between their Gods meant. Heading to the center of the greater circle of power she had drawn out earlier. She picked up the dead Werewolf pup turning to her sister.

  “We need a new tracking spell for the whelp!”

  Unquestioning, Leenara followed her Sister’s orders. Working quickly, both priestesses began chanting to create the new spell. As the power began to build around them, Dyniessus ripped the little Werewolf pup’s hind legs out from the roots as Leenara prepared the tinnearlian chain. Focusing her Will, she removed the remnants of the last tracking spell.r />
  Pulling the last remaining hairs of Novastar Ironwolf from the pouch inside her robes, Dyniessus pressed them against the hind leg she’d just removed along with her last stone from Winter Fangs. Focusing her Will, the green flames of her power began to glow brightly when she felt the sudden disruption.

  Before Dyniessus could raise her defenses within the circle of power where they both knelt, she felt the power of Ukko flow into the Werewolf pup’s body lying at the center of the circle as a golden light began shining forth from the lifeless corpse. She had just enough time to look into Leenara’s shocked face, when the little body began to disintegrate in front of them.

  Screaming in hate, Leenara slammed her power against the golden light, Willing the circle of power closed around them. The green flames of Loviatar slammed into golden radiance before Dyniessus could cry out a warning to her Sister.

  KKKAAABBBOOOOOOMMM!

  In the sudden darkness, light spots blinded Dyniessus eyes as she pushed herself back to her feet. Slowly, she made her way back to her Sister’s side, before falling to her knees once again. Leenara’s broken body lay unmoving as her Sister’s bleeding eyes painfully met Dyniessus’s gaze.

  “What just happened?”

  “The whelp must have used Torenundra’s tracking spell to destroy the Werewolf’s corpse.”

  “But he shouldn’t have the power to do that!” Leenara hissed sharply coughing up blood. “It’s not possible for a God with only one follower to penetrate a greater circle of power like that!”

  Dyniessus agreed with her sister, but was afraid to speak her fears out loud. The metaphysical power had crashed through her wards like they weren’t even there. A cold shiver ran down her spine as she stared at her Sister, sometimes simply speaking a thought gave it a power of its own accord. She would wait until she communed with Loviatar before broaching her fears. For now, she would ask Leenara to pray with her.

  A sudden choking sound from a nearby Scourge was the only warning they had before the demon attacked. Diving forward, Dyniessus rolled out of the way just as the creature’s barbed fist smashed into the ground where she had been kneeling a second before. Rolling to her feet, she turned around pointing a clawed hand at the Barbed Antitheus hissing at the top of her lungs.

  “PRAEURO!”

  At her command, a green flaming bolt of energy shot out from her hand punching through the center of the creature’s chest. Dyniessus hissed a curse as the demon simply ignored the terrible wound that would have dropped any living creature dead in its tracks. For that second, she had forgotten that demon’s were impervious to most magical and physical attacks. Only the Priestess that summoned a demon from the Abyss could destroy the creatures simply with their magic.

  Seething in anger, she watched the demon slam its claws through Leenara’s gut before scooping up her broken body in its bloody fist. Its evil eyes took in the Priestess’s dying face grinning in ecstasy. As it pulled its other fist back to end her life, Leenara suddenly grasped the demon’s wrists with both hands as she released her seal of punishment hissing weakly.

  “ADFLICTIO!”

  The Barbed Antitheus froze as its muscles immediately clenched in agony. Unable to move it screamed in silent torment as Leenara hung limply from its barbed fist like a slab of meat. Moving quickly, Dyniessus rushed to her Sister’s aid. Leenara had to banish the demon back to the Abyss before she died, or it would be free to wreck havoc until they could destroy it. But first, she had to remove her Sister from the creature’s grasp. Otherwise, it would pull Leenara with it back into its own dimension.

  Carefully, Dyniessus lifted her Sister from the creature’s clawed hand. Laying her gently on the ground, she whispered into her Sister’s ear.

  “Banish it now Sister!”

  Dyniessus fed her power as Leenara focused her Will. Raising her arm before her, she pointed at the demon whispering the banishment spell with the last of her strength.

  “Ego Daemonium eiceret de te Abyssum!“ (I banish you Demon of the Abyss!)

  Dyniessus breathed a sigh of relief when a dimensional rift swallowed the demon in its gaping black maw a second later, returning it to the Abyss. Kneeling down next to her Sister, Dyniessus suddenly realized she was dead. Leenara must have used the last of her strength to banish the demon before she died.

  Closing her eyes, Dyniessus gave a short prayer to Loviatar, praying that the Goddess would show mercy to her Sister for her failure. It was a threat every Priestess of Loviatar faced when calling forth otherworldly creatures to serve them. The demons hungered for the spiritual life of creatures from other dimensions. Usually they were willing to serve the Priestesses of Loviatar for a chance to feed, but sometimes the creature’s hunger was too great to control. That was why the seals of punishment had been built into the summoning process. Normally the use of the seal was enough to enforce the creature’s service, but if the Priestess died while the demon was still summoned, it would go into a feeding frenzy until its vessel was destroyed. Some demons were known to attack priestesses when they were injured or weakened in hopes that it could kill them before the seal of punishment could be triggered. For the most part this only occurred with lesser demons, since they were too brutish to comprehend that they would not be called upon again to serve. Dyniessus had not wanted to summon the Barbed Antitheus, even though she agreed with Sister Lytolna that they were the best suited to overwhelm the Werewolves defenses. The brutes were known for their frequent betrayals.

  Standing up, she looked at the Scourge silently standing around the perimeter, watching silently while keeping their eyes respectfully lowered. She didn’t trust the creatures as far as she could throw one of them. The only thing that kept the slaves in line was the knowledge that their tribes would be exterminated for any betrayal.

  Angrily, Dyniessus stalked to the center of the circle of power. Kneeling down, she closed her eyes calling out to Loviatar. Feeling the touch of her Goddess, Dyniessus shared her fears of Ukko and this world. She explained the challenges and defeats that she’d ran into so far, and lastly she prayed for guidance.

  When Dyniessus came out of her trance her eyes glowed green from Loviatar’s touch. As her goddess’s power flowed through her veins, she knew what she needed to do. First, she pulled out the two large summoning crystals from her pouch, placing them at the cardinal points of her circle. Next, she went to Leenara’s corpse to pull out the summoning crystals she carried with her. Placing them on the last two cardinal points of the circle, she stood on the outside edge of the circle of power.

  Raising her arms above her head, she began the chant of summoning. The words of power that Loviatar had gifted her burned through her mind as Dyniessus hissed out the words she had been given. As the circle of power began burning with intense green flames, she felt the power of Loviatar surge into the Sigils of Tenindora drawn in blood at the center of the circle. Falling to her knees, Dyniessus threw her sinuous head back as she screeched out her summons into the night’s sky.

  “PERDITOR!”

  The dimensional rift that opened before her was the largest Dyniessus had ever seen. As she watched, a cloven hoof stepped through the portal as a clawed hand, almost as wide as she was tall, gripped the edges of the portal to force it open even further. Dumbfounded, she watched the giant horned head push its way through the doorway to stand in the middle of the circle. Unbelievably, she watched as the Major Pit Fiend tower above her twenty four feet into the air. Thick chains around its neck held a hammered breastplate to its massive chest, while more of the same chains held a thigh length armored skirt around its waist. In its gauntleted hand, the devil held an enormous double headed battleaxe engraved with black symbols of power running down its broad head. Stretching out its bat wings to their maximum extension, the demon’s bull like head arched skyward as its roar of challenge shook the ground beneath her feet.

  The Pit Fiend’s head swiveled around for the creature that summoned it to this New World. Seeing Dyniessus on her knees bef
ore it, the devil’s glowing red eyes met her own as the creatures voice reverberated inside her head.

 

  Chapter 15

  Location Earth / Florida present day:

  I felt Susan’s arms holding my head as she murmured softly rocking me back and forth.

  “Everything will be okay Hon. Shush now, it will all be okay.”

  Every muscle in my body ached, and my throat felt like raw meat. Slowly, I became aware of my surroundings once more as the divine power left me. Looking down, I saw that the small Werewolf’s paw had turned to ash when it disintegrated in my hand. Stonewalker could now rest in peace.

  Closing my hand into a fist, I swore to Ukko. I would make the Tuonellians pay for this atrocity!

  My blood raged through my veins as I stood once again firmly pushing Susan away. Releasing my head, I heard Susan’s gasp as she looked at me. I could see my glowing yellow eyes reflected in her sky blue eyes as I forced words through my raw throat.

  “It is not okay! It will never be okay!”

  “What’s happened Startüm? What did you see?”

  I felt the soul crushing anguish once more as the vision of the deaths of my Mother’s people came back to me once more. I clenched my eyes closed until the pain was tolerable once more. This time there were no more tears, only the rage that demanded satisfaction. My people would be avenged! Opening my eyes once more, I met Susan’s worried eyes.

  “They are all dead. My Grandsire’s Pack has been slaughtered by these creatures. Everyone was slaughtered, even the young!” I growled out the last words.

  “They are all dead!”

  Susan’s hand went to her mouth as she looked back at me in horror. I could see the compassion in her eyes as she realized what that meant. Turning away from her, I began striding with a purpose across the parking lot heading for the wrecked SUV we had arrived in before the fight.

  It was time to go!

  I heard a cry from Susan as she grabbed my elbow, trying to stop me from leaving.