by Jaye Shields
• • •
Chaos smiled as she watched the three Goddesses. The dumb bitches didn’t even realize they were an important part of her plan to extract revenge on Sabin and his Dryad. She would wreak havoc upon the human plane in the Dryad’s city if it were the last thing she did.
Now Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera strolled through the Portal Realm. It was not a common sight since Gods and Goddesses could create their own portals. But now, the three gorgeous ladies floated through the fog, glowing like flesh and blood angels.
Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, had the face of a young, innocent woman. And no matter how much hot sex she seemed to find, it never lessened the sweet innocence of her youthful face. The same height as Aphrodite, and with the same exquisite, porcelain skin, Hera, the Goddess of Marriage, flanked Aphrodite’s right side. Her long, pure blond hair was her outstanding feature. On the other side, Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, revealed a graceful gait, though her stunning gray eyes were watchful of trouble, scanning the fog intently. A simple white cloth tied by golden ropes wrapped elegantly around her voluptuous body, concealing what many described as the most exotic of the Goddesses. Eris had brought the trio to the plane by challenging them to a contest of looks. Tossing a shiny red apple into the air, she had called out to them, “This is for the fairest of you.”
Of course, all of them had reached out to catch the apple at the same time and immediately began bickering. Eris had smiled innocently, so content that for a moment, she looked beautiful in a very sinister way. “I have a wonderful idea. A game if you will,” she offered the Goddesses. “Go to the Portal Realm and let us see which of you can coax the most kisses on your palms from the Knights there.”
So now the women strolled through the fog. One by one, the Knights stopped in their tracks, enamored with the presence of the ethereal beauties. Soon they were surrounded by Knights, their blue and gray eyes gazing appreciatively at the women. As Eris watched from the onyx mirror in her room, she realized that her distraction was in full swing. Now was the time.
She dipped her fingers into the mirror and spread her palm across a dense population of demons in the Asuras Realm. Power seeped from her fingertips, demanding the demons to do as she willed. They were ever so happy to oblige as she opened the portal for them to escape.
The Goddesses continued their stroll, taking the Knights farther and farther away from the portal to Alcatraz. Caught up in Aphrodite’s lustful essence in particular kept the Knights from noticing the Asuras demons racing by through the fog. The Goddesses, too, were unaware of the trespassers, too blinded by their own shining narcissism. Sex demons, vampires, gargoyles, and dragon breeds barreled toward the portal to Alcatraz Island as instructed. Other demons traveling through the Portal Realm noticed the excitement and joined the parade. And then, the fog parted, and the demons shot through portal, the distant sound of Chaos’ laughter echoing in the distance.
• • •
Above Alcatraz, Sabin gazed into the eyes of his love. “Trust me, Tera.” Sabin relished the palm she’d let rest in his hand. She’d come to the portal site. That was enough to assure him there was at least the tiniest chance of proving to her that she’d never have to doubt him. She must know deep in her heart that after what they shared, it would have been impossible for him to be with another.
Just when Sabin noticed a glimmer of hope in Tera’s gaze, he heard a rumble from the portal. Looking up into the fog, Sabin saw the demons about to drop onto the roof of the prison. “Do you trust me?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He crushed his lips against Tera’s with urgency before tossing her off the ledge of the prison.
She screamed but he knew that she would land with the grace of a Dryad. Thump. “What the hell?”
But he was already firing his astral gun into the fog, penetrating the demons’ skins just before they dropped to the ground. The first two demons to drop were vampires, followed by saw-toothed leeches, and he quickly slapped handcuffs on their incapacitated bodies. The next thing he knew, a dragon spread its wings and flew through the portal, taking off into the night.
“Shit.” He barely uttered the word before a giant demon dropped down, its heavy body crushing Sabin to the roof of the prison.
• • •
“Was that a dragon?” Tera shouted from the ground. But she heard only a grunt and a feral growl in response. The next thing she knew a huge headless black body hurled over the edge roof of the prisons. Black blood oozed from the severed neck of the twelve-foot, winged mass.
Backing away from the prison wall, she finally caught a glimpse of the scene unfolding on the roof. Sabin was surrounded by various demons, fighting them all at once. More demons continued to drop while the dragon, clouded by the fog, flew above the mêlée, spewing flames downward.
Sabin yelled down, “We’re going to need back-up. Can you call your coven?”
Grabbing her cell phone quickly out of the pocket of her leather jacket, Tera punched Sparrow’s number. Suddenly, a vampire misted in front of her. Caught by surprise, Tera dropped her phone and ducked before the vampire could reach out and catch her by the neck. Reaching back into her pocket, she pulled out a small, but short, thick wooden stake and drove it into the creature’s heart. Even as she drove the stake deeper, the leech opened its mouth wide, trying to rip out her throat with its razor-like teeth.
Suddenly, Sabin jumped from the roof, landing to sandwich the vampire between them. Plunging a stake into the leech from behind, he thrust the evil one to the ground where it slowly began to decompose. He held up the dark, granite-like stake that glowed faintly. “Made from astral stone, if it’s necessary to kill this kind of vampire.” Sabin thrust it into her hands and turned toward the onslaught of approaching demons.
A faint voice called out from the ground. “Hello? Are you listening to Rage Against the Machine again? Turn down that damn music!”
Tera recalled the cell phone lying in the dirt. Picking it up, she cradled it against her cheek. “Sparrow, that’s not music, it’s the real deal. Vampires. Demons. Dragons. That’s brimstone you’re hearing.”
“Is this April Fools? Are you punking me right now?”
“No,” Tera yelled into the phone. “I don’t have time for this. Sabin and I are under attack on Alcatraz Island.”
There was silence on the line.
“So, did you guys make up?”
“Sparrow, can you send Morgana and Melissandra? It’s Dungeons and Dragons and Middle Earth status over here!” Another vampire misted behind her. Tera spun rapidly and elbowed the creature with her cell-phone hand, while driving in the astral stake with the other.
“Whoa, is that bone crunching I hear?” Sparrow’s voice was a calm awe.
“Yes, damn it.” But before she could react, a large boot kicked the phone out of her hand. Her fingers throbbed with pain, but she averted a giant fist aimed at her face just in a nick of time. She dropped to the ground and swept her feet out to bring the humanoid-looking demon to the dirt. She noticed that the moment the demon hit the ground, its eyes blazed from brown to red and its chocolate skin bubbled like lava.
“Tera,” Sabin called out. “Don’t touch him. Move!”
Leaping away from the monster, she watched Sabin shoot several astral bullets into the demon’s body. Its skin bubbled violently and suddenly erupted in a molten mass before raining back down to the ground in a puddle.
Shaking off the revolting sight, she ran to help Sabin fight off the group of demons swarming him. A vampire teleported around the fray, trying to confuse Sabin in the scuffle, but Tera anticipated his move and again drove the astral stake in.
Sabin ripped the head off of one of the naked sex demons. “Thanks, love.”
“No worries.” As another demon leapt toward her, she flipped gracefully and caught the creature off-guard. She felt a thrill as she lan
ded the kick, bringing the demon to its knees. Sabin stepped forward and snapped its neck. Working together came so easily that it caught Tera off-guard.
“Wow, you two make quite the gruesome couple.” Sparrow’s chipper voice penetrated the fog. Tera finished off another demon that had jumped down from the roof. Despite the war status, she was filled with a fuzzy warmth.
A vampire teleported behind Sparrow, but as soon as it did, its body seized as if struck by lightning. Tera paused her fighting to behold Morgana and Melissandra fixing a wicked spell on the enemy. The aunts’ hands were crooked and strained, as if so much power coursed through them that the flesh could hardly contain it. The vampire’s body continued to seize and jerk, until finally, its head exploded in a bloody, crimson mess.
“All is fair in war, sweet Sparrow.” Melissandra patted her hands together in self-gratification.
Demons still swarmed the island and Tera looked frantically at her mortal family. “Use a protection spell. A serious one,” Tera yelled at them as she and Sabin fought side by side.
Morgana screamed as she seized another killing spell toward an approaching demon. “I am in agreement, but we can only carry so much power and energy at once.”
At that moment, the dragon swept down from the fog in a mass of thick silver scales with flames spilling from a fang-laden mouth. Sabin launched a couple of astral bullets to debilitate demons approaching Sparrow. “Hey, girls,” Tera heard him call out to the aunts, “Think you can launch me upward?”
Tera caught his eye and shook her head nervously. It was too late.
“Coming right up.”
“Literally,” Melissandra giggled. With that, the sisters used telekinesis to launch Sabin’s body through the air until his body collided with the dragon.
“Me, too,” Tera yelled, feeling frantic, unable to see Sabin so high within the fog. The only traces of the dragon and unwanted rider were a bright burst of yellow and orange within the lavender blanketing the dark night sky.
“I don’t think so, dear.” When a burst of flames came closer to the ground, Morgana and Melissandra focused on manifesting a safety orb around themselves. “Sparrow, protect yourself, too,” they ordered.
Sparrow closed her eyes to concentrate on creating a safety orb, but she suddenly exploded in a scream that penetrated the night, and echoed off the front of the high prison walls.
Latched onto Sparrow’s calf was a gargoyle the size of a bulldog. The charbroiled red skin of the gothic creature was nearly as horrifying as the large canines that were currently pulling on her leg like a chew toy.
A sonic boom shook the ground. The dragon landed nearby in a dead heap. Sabin dropped to the ground near Sparrow and drove his dagger into the gargoyle’s gut. Ripping apart the stomach, the gizzards of the tiny demon seeped out, and her leg was free.
“Sparrow!” Morgana rushed over with her sister, their eyes lit with fear and concern. “Melissandra, screw our safety orb, let us focus on healing her.”
“That will take too long. Let’s bandage her up before she bleeds too much.”
Morgana’s eyes flickered with anger at her sister. “Do you have bandages then?”
Defeated, Melissandra shook her head. “You’re right, we can do this, we just need to concentrate.”
When Tera rushed over, a demon right behind her, Sabin decapitated the creature in a swift, easy move.
“Gosh, I’ve never realized that decapitation skills would one day be on my list of boyfriend must-haves.” Sparrow tried to joke weakly. “Oh here,” she pulled herself up on her elbows to reach behind her back. “I thought this would help. I hope you don’t mind I rifled through your closet.”
Tera could have cried with happiness when she realized that Sparrow had brought the bow Artemis had helped her make. The quiver was blessed with infinite artillery. “Thanks, hon.” She pressed a calming hand on her friend’s brow as the aunts hovered near Sparrow’s leg. A glow began illuminating the wound.
“By the way,” Sparrow managed, her voice less pained. “I found some scandalous things in your closet.” She offered a playful wink. “Now go kick some ass.”
Tera stood, feeling the strength and determination of her own body. Today she would make Artemis proud. Pulling an arrow back proudly, she let it sing toward its enemy. The barb pierced the heart of a vampire. Unlike her wooden stake, the arrow ruptured the heart, and it sank to the ground in a slow decay.
Smiling, she launched another arrow at a vampire she saw drop from the portal. Motioning with her head to the quiver on her back, she gloated playfully. “Gifted by a Goddess. Guess that counts for something.”
Just as she was getting cocky, another dragon flew out of the portal. Instead of launching an offensive, Sabin ran toward her and pressed a kiss against her lips quickly and passionately. “I must leave, Tera. I need to seal the portal. I thought the Knights would have by now. I’m not sure what’s going on. Can you hold it down here?” A dangerous concern hung in Sabin’s eyes. His look implied that if she had said no, he would have stayed on the island, never leaving her side even if the dragon made it across the water and began torching the city.
“I got it here. And thanks to your quick action, Sparrow’s injury is minor and healing as we speak. Go.”
With that, Sabin pulled her to him once more. A demon approached, but the kiss continued. From the distance, Morgana zapped the demon with a bolt of electricity, bringing the beast to the ground for a moment. The lovers spoke their apologies once more during the brief kiss, letting the truth of their bond ignite heat between their bodies, filling them with power to finish the battle. “I trust you, Sabin.”
Finally drawing away, Sabin nodded knowingly at Tera. With that, he decapitated the creature that Morgana had zapped, and made his way atop the prison. In a moment, he was gone. Tera was left to fight the battle with Morgana, Melissandra, and a healing Sparrow.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rowen and Sodor arrived in the portal together to begin what they expected to be a normal shift, but the duo was met with an unforgettable scene of chaos. Near the portal to Alcatraz Island in the Human Realm, a massive hoard of demons were battling each other, struggling to eek through the portal. Zeth was already there, and was quickly subduing many of the creatures, slicing off heads with his astral sword. Clearly, the situation was dire if the Knight was killing instead of incarcerating.
Not sparing another moment, the two ran toward the fray just as a dragon the size of an elephant flew through the portal. “Hell plane! King Breasal is gonna be pissed,” was all Rowan could say before his body collided in combat with a massive winged demon.
“Forget Breasal.” Sodor fired his astral gun into the chests of many of the demons. “Sabin’s gonna be pissed. He asked us to hold down the fort for his mini-vacay in the Human Realm and now look what happened.” Sodor ducked as a massive cyclops swung out with a beefy arm. “Man, I always feel bad killing these guys, one eye and all.” But with a swift move, he withdrew his astral sword and shoved it deep into the massive body. Black blood oozed from the yellowish-green, scabby skin of the creature. When the cyclops fell to its knees, the Knight swept out with a beheading arc of the sword.
Suddenly, fire erupted through the thick fog of the Portal Realm. “Stop the dragon from reaching the portal,” Sodor called out to the Knights.
But Zeth was already there. Leaping onto the smaller, bull-sized dragon, he plunged his sword down into the monster’s neck. But the dragon bucked and tossed its head in pain and Zeth was thrown.
A Quetzalem appeared, its wings spread beautifully, thick blue scales exposed, golden eyes blazing. The Quetzalem flew directly in front of the dragon, only to have a roar of flames unleashed upon his body. But because the Quetzalem was a member of the dragon family, it was immune to flames, and landed on the thick neck. Using his own brute strength, the blu
e-scaled dragon-demon clamped the large mouth shut so that no more brimstone could be unleashed. “Now Knights, send him to the prison.”
Rowen reached the dragon first, pushing his way through the chaos, and applied the mystical handcuffs. He nodded quickly at the Quetzalem, “Thank you.”
“No worries, you looked like you needed help.” The two warriors from different sides of the battle clasped each other by the arm. “I am Pyrrhus. Thank you for arresting the dragon. I didn’t want my endangered cousin to have to die for Eris’ amusement. The fewer dragons that die today, the better.”
Comprehension flooded Rowen’s eyes. “You are right — she is surely behind this.” Without time for further discussion, Rowen and the blue-skinned dragon demon fought savagely against the chaotic hoard of demons. But smaller creatures like gargoyles and teleporting vampires easily eeked through the crowd at the portal.
• • •
The portal erupted in light as Sabin stepped through from the other side. Immediately engaged in combat, he realized that his order of Knights were already hard at work. Even a Quetzalem demon seemed to be fighting to contain the chaos with them.
“Rowen!” Sabin bellowed as he dispatched a lesser demon. “Help me seal off this portal!”
Rowen fought his way through to join him. To seal off the portal, the two of them would need to chant uninterrupted, which meant finding a break from the fighting.
Holding their strong arms wide so that their two bodies guarded the entrance of the portal, they began to chant as Sodor and Zeth guarded their backs. Shrihalva destrria foghum celibee. The chant repeated over and over. Finally, a purple light illuminated the circumference of the portal as if it was a mystical zipper.
“It’s shut!” Rowen called.
“But we must return now, too many demons have escaped. My woman fights them off as we speak. She has with her three Wiccans who also will need protection.”
