by Kunego, Chad
“Blythe!”
Her gaze snapped up and he felt the surge of Aether well up inside her as her eyes began glowing neon blue. Slowing down, he carefully approached her.
“GET AWAY FROM HER!”
An unexpected impact across his back knocked him off balance slightly. As the blows started coming faster, he realized he was being attacked by multiple people. Amitiel instinctively swished her tail, knocking the swords out of his attackers’ hands before tripping and pushing them backward. Spinning around, he saw the fear in their eyes.
“Guys, it’s me!”
Cliff tried to scramble to his feet, eyeing where his partially melted sword had fallen.
“What’s wrong with all of you?”
“You look a bit different than the last time they saw you.”
Samuel turned around to see Blythe slowly standing up, her eyes fading back to their normal color.
“Huh?”
“Uh, you’re on fire and have wings you dummy.”
Looking down at himself, he nearly slapped himself in the forehead before realizing he was still holding his swords. Sheathing them, he looked back at her.
“You have a point.”
>Amitiel, kill the flames.< With a whump, the flames extinguished themselves while Amitiel’s wings shrank down behind him.
“Sorry about that guys, didn’t mean to scare you like that.”
“Samuel…?”
Samuel glanced over at Karen as he held his right hand behind him, allowing Amitiel to scurry onto his arm and wrap around it before becoming still.
“Heh… yeah, it’s me. I, uh, finally remembered who, and more importantly, what I am.”
Cliff tentatively started to approach him.
“Holy-ee shit. What the hell are you. And what the hell were those things!”
“Well, that’s kinda a long story, one I don’t really have time to explain right now. All I can say is that I need you guys to get out of the city as fast as you can. Something really bad’s about to happen.”
“Something bad’s going to happen! Something bad’s already happened. Hazel’s dead!”
Samuel looked sadly down at Hazel’s body before looking back up at his friends.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner, and I know this sucks, but you all need to get out of the city. Otherwise, there’s a real good chance you’ll all die.”
Turning to look at Blythe, he continued.
“You need to leave as well, but once this is over, we’re going to need to talk about what’s happening to you.”
He watched as she nodded without saying anything.
“If this city is still here tomorrow morning, I want you to meet me at the Miskatonic library. Do you know where it is?”
“Yes, but where are you going?”
“I need to stop what’s happening, or there won’t be a city, possibly a world.”
Blythe stepped toward him.
“Then I’m going with you.”
“You can’t. I can’t do what I need to do unless I know you’re somewhere safe.”
He turned toward Cliff.
“Make sure she stays with you guys.”
“What if there’s more of those creatures?”
Samuel looked at Cliff for a second before turning back toward Blythe. Gently holding her hand, he nodded toward her.
“I’ll come back for you. Just stay safe.”
>Amitiel, keep her safe for me. Would you do that for me please?< >I’m not leaving you again.< >You have to. I need her to stay alive until I can come back for her. I promise I’ll come back for the both of you.< Samuel felt the hurt feelings before she animated and rapidly slid off his arm and wrapped around Blythe’s.
Blythe’s eyes went wide as she looked up at him.
“I can hear her in my head.”
“Yes, her name’s Amitiel and she’s going to help keep you all safe. Now go!”
Spinning around, he got a running start before leaping through the hole in the roof. Landing outside, he sprinted off, leaping over buildings as he headed toward the library.
Chapter 40
“Sybil! The outer perimeter alert’s gone off. It’s detecting demonic and aetheric energy building up to dangerous levels.”
“Acknowledged. Get everyone ready. Expect a full assault any minute.”
Cora watched as Sybil nodded before the other person rushed off.
“What can I do?”
As Sybil looked her up and down, she felt an eerie sensation pass through her.
“At this point, nothing. You haven’t progressed far enough. Stay down here with your partner. With any luck, it’ll be over quickly.”
“Progressed enough? Progressed enough for what?”
“I don’t have time to explain. If we survive this, I’ll answer any questions you have. But for right now, you’ll only get in the way.”
Before Cora could say anything else, she felt a vibration rock the building.
“They’re testing our defenses!”
Sybil grabbed Cora by the shoulders and stared in her face.
“Stay with Frank. Under no circumstance leave his side. To do so will mean death.”
As Cora opened her mouth, Sybil spun and blurred away, the whoosh of her sprint causing loose papers to get pulled into her wake. Cora headed back to Frank’s room.
“Damn it!”
“What, you don’t like my company now?”
Cora looked down at Frank.
“I thought you were down for the count. They’d told me they’d given you something to rest.”
“Yeah… Tasted like crap, too.”
“Well, I guess I could think of worse places to be for the end of the world. How you feeling?”
Cora felt herself smile when he chuckled.
“Like twice-hammered, reheated crap, but thanks for asking. Could you help me sit up?”
Cora walked over and gently pulled her partner into a seated position, placing extra pillows behind him to prop him up.
“So what’d I miss while I was out? Did I hear you say something about the end of the world?”
“Frank, you’ll never believe me. We’ve moved into biblical references now.”
Frank patted a spot on his bed.
“Take a seat. Looks like we’ll be here for a bit, so fill me in.”
Cora sighed as she sat down, taking Frank’s hand into hers.
“Well, for starters, I know who our boy is finally…”
“Oh really? Who?”
§§§§§§§§§§§§
“Where do we stand with the centurions?”
“They’re almost fully charged. They’ll be ready within the next five minutes.”
Sybil shook her head before running her fingers through her hair. Pulling out a leather thong, she tied it back into a ponytail.
“Remind me if we make it through this to keep them at least at eighty percent charged. That miscalculation might cost us today.”
“Noted.”
Sybil looked at the battlefield map.
I’m glad we spent the research time to make this thing. Seeing the entire battlefield in real time might just help us get out of this alive.
As she watched, she could see the massing supernatural creatures starting to pile up around the shield in three places along with a few fliers that were testing the inner perimeter before being turned into cinders. What appeared to be the main force was to the front of the building several blocks off, along with two skirmisher groups flanking left and right. The strategy made sense. The library had been made by dwarves and titans. Their ability to create structures that repelled nearly any supernatural force was well founded. Short of Leviathan himself showing up, the only way in was the front door. A door guarded by some very powerful sentinels that had been here since long before she took over.
“Fully charged!”
“Good. Everyone ready?”
Sybil looked around as everyone murmured about the coming battle, casting uneasy a
nd nervous gazes back and forth. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and hopped up on a table.
“Can everyone hear me okay?”
After a few seconds of everyone nodding, she continued.
“I’m sure all of you are aware that something major has happened. As best we can tell, a ritual that unknown parties were trying to perform appears to have been completed, or at least progressed far enough that we might not be able to stop it. We haven’t been able to get in touch with the other garrisons around the world, so we don’t know how widespread this is or if it’s only us.
“At this time, we don’t know how large a force is coming against us. What I do know is this, we cannot let them succeed. I don’t know what their aim is, but with all the relics we have in storage, allowing them to get inside could spell the end of the world. End of story. I know you won’t let me down just as I know I won’t let you down, either.
“Take this remaining time to prepare yourself for battle. I know most of you here haven’t experienced a major conflict since becoming a syphon, but take heart. I’ve broken you up into groups led by someone who has. Trust them and their decisions. There’s a bigger picture here than what you may personally understand. If you can keep it together and follow orders, we stand a good chance of seeing the Sun rise tomorrow. God bless and stay safe.”
Sybil hopped off the table to the sound of awkward sounding cheers and clapping.
How the hell do they come up with those motivational speeches in the movies. Do they practice them beforehand on the off-chance they’ll need to give one? Hopefully I’ll get the chance to practice if I ever have to give another one…
A loud gong went off, accompanied by the feeling of the floors vibrating. As Sybil listened, she could hear the sound of heavy impacts echoing around the building.
“The centurions have moved to engage!”
“Syphons! Move out!”
§§§§§§§§§§§§
The impact jarred her teeth as she swung her arm up at the last second to block a sword the size of a steel girder. Sliding forward while keeping her arm in contact with the metal, she shoved the blade upward, throwing the giant nephlim off balance. Before it could recover, she leapt forward, burying her blade into his chest and twisting before kicking off backward. Doing a backflip, she landed gracefully with her sword up, looking around for the next target.
“LOOK OUT!”
Sybil turned in time to see one of the centurions start to topple off-balance toward her. Throwing herself to the side at the last second, she narrowly avoided being crushed under the weight of the guardian. Ripping off the section of her armored duster that was pinned under the sentinel, she glanced around her.
“Fall back and regroup! Wedge formation!”
Sybil got her feet back under her before leaping over a knot of orcs, landing forty feet away. As she landed, several other syphons formed up behind her, creating a V-shape.
“Forward! Let’s see if we can break up some of their formations!”
Driving forward, Sybil swung her blade side to side. She trusted the people to her left and right would deal with the wounded she left in her wake as she plowed ahead. As the first group of orcs broke and ran, she quickly scanned the battlefield for her next target. A loud grinding sound caught her attention.
Glancing over, she saw the fallen centurion slowly dragging itself back to its feet. Continuing her survey, she finally caught a glimpse of who was leading the attack.
Heaven help us, it’s Damien.
Sybil focused her energy for a moment before sending out a telepathic blast.
>There! That’s who we need to stop. If he falls, we have a chance of stemming the tide.< She watched as everyone glanced her way before looking in the direction she was pointing. Several of the older syphons gasped and stumbled backward as they recognized who was leading the attack.
>If we work together, we can end this. If he’s here, then it’s even more important we stop them before they get to the library. The steps are the line in the sand if humanity is to survive. Molon labe!< Letting out a primal scream, they all charged at the archdemon commander.
§§§§§§§§§§§§
The air was blasted from her lungs as the kick launched her half the length of a football field before getting embedded in the engine block of a pickup truck. She tried weakly to claw her way out as she watched the archdemon slowly drift through the air toward her. She half-heartedly tried to raise her sword in defense before noticing the blade was snapped off a couple inches above the guard.
“Now now lady Sybil… is that any way to treat an old acquaintance?”
Trying to draw in a breath around her fractured ribs, she sneered at Damien.
“Go to hell,” she gasped before launching into a coughing fit.
“Really my dear? That’s the best you can do? Where do you think I’m headed after this little scrimmage? Not some human amusement park to hang out with an oversized mouse…”
Without warning, Damien dropped from the sky, stomping one foot onto her broken ribs and grinding at them as he leaned in close.
“When I’m finished here, I’m going back to my condo next to a lovely lake of fire. The brimstone fountains are to die for. Those damn HOA fees to keep the souls screaming are hell to pay for though…”
Sybil pushed against his foot helplessly as he flipped his sword around, the tip creasing a spot on her forehead.
“I guess this is goodbye then. It was such a nice massacre you arranged for me to have.”
As the blade slowly started to dig into her skin, she squeezed her eyes shut.
“Really… Is that any way to treat a lady?”
“Wha—?”
Without warning, the pressure of Damien’s foot vanished with a loud thump. Opening her eyes slowly, she tried to understand what she was seeing.
“Last time I saw you, you couldn’t count to ten on your fingers…”
“You asshole. Do you know how hard it was to regrow this thing?”
“Apparently not hard enough.”
Sybil watched as Samuel turned his head in her direction.
“Sorry I’m late. You okay?”
Chapter 41
Samuel watched as blood started to trickle from the spot where Damien’s blade started to press into Sybil’s forehead.
>Cruel bastard, isn’t he?< >Yeah… Let’s go wipe that smirk off his face a second time.< “Is that any way to treat a lady?”
Samuel launched himself through the air, kicking the archdemon in the side of the head, propelling him into the side of another vehicle. The impact almost ripped the vehicle completely in half.
“Last time I saw you, you couldn’t count to ten on your fingers…”
As he watched Damien extract himself from the wreckage, the archdemon brushed chunks of metal and plastic off like it was dust. He shook his new hand at him.
“You asshole. Do you know how hard it was to regrow this thing?”
“Apparently not hard enough.”
Samuel heard Sybil’s labored breathing starting to ease up slightly. He glanced over at her while keeping Damien in his peripheral. He spotted several compound fractures, but since she was still breathing, she’d pull through if he could beat Damien.
“Sorry I’m late. You okay?”
He winced slightly as she tried to look at him. Her one eye was nearly swollen shut from the beating she’d taken.
“Sa… Samuel?”
He slowly approached her as he kept Hoarfrost between himself and the creature.
“Oh go on. A few more minutes won’t matter anyway. I can wait. Just hurry up with this sappy shit.”
Samuel nodded to the archdemon.
“That’s very sporting of you, sir.”
“Why thank you. I see your manners are back. Am I to take it your memories are back as well?”
Samuel nodded slightly as he crouched over Sybil. He gently ran his hand over Sybil, realigning her broken bones while she gasped.
“Huh? Why would you think that?”
Samuel found her vial of aether and opened it. He dripped a few drops in her mouth before sealing it. Sybil shuddered before she responded, her bones snapping as they quickly started healing.
“You had that other peltae on your arm. The one that She used to crack the firmament the first time.”
Samuel looked down at her sadly.
“Yeah… I should have never given it to her. It was a bad idea.”
Sybil winced as her ribs snapped back into place.
“That’s an understatement.”
“At least she didn’t have it the second time when she caused the flood.”
“Not very reassuring.”
As the pain lifted from her eyes, Samuel noticed her glance at his arm.
“You don’t have it anymore? Where is it?”
“I let a friend borrow Amitiel to keep her safe.”
“Oh bravo! You might have actually stood a chance if you had held on to her…”
Samuel glanced back up at the archdemon.
“My patience is at an end. Time to die Samuel. Rest easy knowing that your girlfriend here will be following along shortly.”
Samuel barely got Raguel up in time to block the vicious strike.
Raguel screeched in pain.
>It cut me!<
Samuel leapt backward to put distance between them before looking down. A gash was slowly closing up across Raguel’s back.
“Oh, you like that? It’s amazing what you can do with this old thing.”
Samuel looked back up as his opponent stalked toward him, casually waving his sword in front of him.
“Excalibur?”
“Precisely. Did you know this was an actual angelic weapon? Now you get to have a wonderful dilemma… Do you protect yourself at the expense of your little dragon there? Or do you take it on the chin for him instead.”
