Legacy of the Defender (The Defender Series Book 1)

by Jacob Spadt

I already knew the timing. To force the top around was tough; perhaps if I cut two of the legs before spinning it might be easier. It is not like I needed precision cuts, but twisting the head of this creature may have diminished the energy. I did not know if it was alive in the sense of thinking for itself. None of them moved around or do anything but grab, turn a daemon to energy, and fire. The decision was final. Positioning myself next to a leg, I waited until nothing was looking and sliced it clean. The creature shuddered. My second cut was faster than the first. To free up my hands, I dismissed my swords with a thought.

  As it started to fall, I grabbed one of the cut legs and pulled it towards the cliff face. It fought me; all my might was barely enough as if it knew what was about to happen. In the end, it turned without protest. The base of the creature did not attach to the ground, so the topple factor was accentuated by the twisting. The fall was perfect. I grunted while pulling hard and was amazed that the other daemons here did not notice me even cloaked. My speed had to be slow to stay hidden. For them to see a leg held up in that way must have looked strange. Released energy hit the ground with more force than the last. A large explosion rocked the area. Cracking stone echoed off the cliff faces.

  I let go of the leg. It spun back the other direction before finding equilibrium to settle. Ichor flowed from the wounds in spurts. The creature groaned and let out a call, a very loud call. Around me, several loose daemons looked for me. I did not dare move. Those looking on began to move over, some of them swinging their claws as they came, testing the very air as they strode, and looking for me. The number of daemons coming my way grew. They had me surrounded and did not even know it. Medium sized flyers began to show up. The risk increased with their presence.

  More cracking echoed off the walls.

  I was afraid to breathe for a moment. My second attempt had failed again and I was not going to push my luck. It was just then that a large four-legged daemon resembling a dog approached, snapping its oversized maw. I did not want that thing to bite me. It moved in leaps right at me rather quickly. The darkened pupils of its eyes seemed to be looking right at me. If it could see me there had to be action. I stepped towards it calling my blades. I had no doubts it could see me as it tracked my movements by adjusting its own. My cloaking had failed.

  "It sees you.” the voices mentally spoke the obvious in their dual tone.

  "It is just a large puppy," I said back. “We will succeed.”

  "Or you will die and that would be sad."

  "Quiet, I need to think."

  "No, you need to act," they declared.

  This creature was huge. It stood twelve feet tall and its head was nearly four feet wide. Powerful shoulders like a pit bull controlled its heavily muscled legs. It had spikes protruding from the ridgeline on its back. They looked like bone and fluid oozed from them, no doubt poison. Black talons on its feet looked equally un-inviting. I closed the distance to kill this thing before my position was any more compromised than it was.

  It leapt the last distance. My feet shifted to tilt my body to the side. I could see its right front paw, claws extended out in an attempt to open me up. As I rose upwards from the powerful thrust of my legs, I deflected with my first sword and countered with my second. Sparks flew as metal impacted claws, my second blade bit rather shallow. Considering the force I swung with, my surprise was great. The impact lessened the distance we both flew. I landed short, turned, and re-engaged. So did the creature

  My eyes fell to the wounds. They were not as deep as expected. In this camp, how could it be anything but a daemon? Otherwise, the cuts would be worse. The irony hit as it came in fast, and it feigned and dodged, avoiding my blows. That scared me, for it denoted intelligence. I tried to compensate on the second pass when it charged leading with its teeth…my body barely got clear. This thing was faster than the small daemons. The fight would be close. I could win quickly if the others stayed out of it. I ducked and rolled. My daemon protections would do me no good here.

  Sparks flew. My parries redirected its front claws again, followed by the teeth. This creature was so fast with its jaws it reminded me of the monsters I found at the river long ago. My blades bit but the damage appeared superficial. They just were not biting hard or fast enough no matter how quick I was, and I was fast. It lunged in again. I blocked and countered. My blade bit deep. It shrugged it off.

  "This has to end this quick." A chorus of voices chattered in my head urging me forward. I turned my healing on only to hear, "Why the delay?"

  "My friends, do you mind? If it is not constructive, then silence yourselves."

  "Sorry, we are trying," they said.

  "Try harder and remind me sooner. Is it unwise to commit halfheartedly?" I replied, repositioning myself.

  In it came.

  I took the hit to get in close.

  My blade found its eye; it burst as the tip penetrated.

  One claw struck my unguarded abdomen. It had taken my bait, but the price was high as the tremendous impact rocked me. The claws did not penetrate my armor or skin, but broke a few ribs. Breath came labored at first. I was hurt, but focusing past the pain. My continued movement suffered as the rib reset over the next few moments.

  "End this now," they replied in chorus.

  The creature pulled back, pawing at its wounded eye like a dog, whimpering and snarling at the same time. It put its paw down and looked at me with its remaining eye, trying to focus on me. I stayed on its left side as it circled. Mere seconds had passed since the first exchange. Smaller daemons looked on and got ready to pounce en mass. My eyes fell back to the overgrown puppy as it let out a roar and dove at me headlong. I sucked in a breath and leapt in the air flipping in a barrel roll over its head. Both swords flashed out as I rotated around, finding my target. A flash of ichor ejected from its flesh as my swords scored two hits, taking its remaining good eye. It roared. My smile turned to pain as I landed. My ribs protested. I hissed.

  My knees tried to buckle and I reengaged the cloak and winced as my strength left. I did not want to stick around as this creature thrashed around wildly, reaching out in all directions. The attempt felt like a failure until a cracking sound in the distance ran from one side of the cliff to the other end miles away. I smiled. A thunderous roar followed as mountain cliff came down with utter devastation. The ground shook so hard all fell to the ground as waves of energy rolled through the ranks.

  An avalanche of rock and dust headed towards the manufacturing area below. A large cloud of dust blocked my view as it hit. The impact was deafening. Debris shattered the building and buried all within at least a mile. Clouds billowed forth, taking visibility from the destroyed area. With the mission accomplished, I chose to move laterally, away from the mass destruction. My creeping walk slowed even more as my path carried me against the tide of the daemons rushing to the afflicted area. Each step brought more pain. I refocused on the healing rune again and felt a little relief. Waiting for the rib to pop back in place, I could not risk making noise for fear of discovery in such close proximity.

  That thought did not even finish when it popped.

  I winced and sucked air rather loudly, but there was too much chaos in this part of the camp; they were not looking for me. My cloak engaged, but it could not muffle the sound. The camp had no end to it, except where it hit the mountains and ran toward the city walls. Due the size, my path took me into an area unaffected by the destruction. I adjusted my angle toward the ridgeline several miles out of view of the cataclysm. A few daemons rushed about in this area almost running into me. Even though I could slowly move through stationary items, if something hit me, they would feel me.

  At least my ribs felt better. With no time reference to how much time had passed since the cliff came down, it was hard to gage how far away I was. Some creatures in this part of the camp headed back towards the ruin. Most of them remained in staging areas.

  The sun started to go down now. Moving in the dark in this camp would not be easy so I pic
ked up my crawling pace to a normal walk. I would appear more like a shimmer but with the waning light, the concern was minimal. I picked my way to the edge of the camp where the cliff rose up hundreds of feet and looked up. The top was beyond my sight, so a leap would be a bad idea. There would be many handholds on the way up and spotting them too difficult.

  The risk was great, but to wait would be greater. I picked and chose visible handholds that were solid and obvious. My ascent started. An uncomfortable place to sleep was the reality of my situation. There had to be a ledge higher up. The darkness fell quickly but illuminated every time a projectile impacted the walls of heaven. My teacher's wisdom would be welcome as I climbed. His words repeatedly played in my head. Survive! Suddenly, my hand found an outcropping that went back a ways. There was enough room for my body. Heaving myself exhausted over the edge, I lay flat for quite some time.

  The night, lit by the bombardment of heaven felt surreal. I started to feel like the composer of the national anthem for the United States did with the sky illuminating over and over. It was not quite the "rockets’ red glare" but was close enough. Rainbow effects scattered across the skyline. Some went fast. Others were much slower as the colors mixed and changed. There was always the boom in the distance when the shield absorbed a hit. The vibrations traveled through the ground and up the cliff. Distance did not matter.

  "Are you seeing this?" I said mentally. "Can you see this?"

  "We can sense it.” The lower voice said.

  "But through your eyes and thoughts, we can see and experience what you see.” The higher voice added. I still did not know which one was which, as they both did the same thing and both said the same things.

  "It is so beautiful,” I whispered. "Like real fire works!"

  I missed home for the first time in a while. My mind drifted. Thoughts of the holiday parade when the Fourth of July came into my mind. I wondered what month it was at home. Was it raining or cold? Did the fate of the world change? Was humankind still on a downward spiral? Were they worth protecting? Were what few friends I had safe?

  Friends. The word felt strange and far away.

  They made all of this worthwhile. Not the people I did not know but those in my little world. Their safety mattered...though they could never know or possibly understand the expanse of the universe, a universe with issues of its own. Heaven was holding on, barely...God, although his power infinite had his hands full.

  My reflecting faded. Suddenly an itch in my mind...The kind I would get before something wrong crashed over me like an ocean wave. I felt I had to be some place. A burning sensation on the back of my neck hit me with an electric jolt and burned my skin. It reminded me of the feeling of receiving runes. I reached back and felt a raised bump on my flesh forming. The area was sensitive. Another rune began to form.

  “That’s bizarre,” I said as the urge to leave increased significantly. A sudden thought of Malnuras came into my mind, and I wondered if he was okay. My vision blurred. I felt sick. I could not shake the thought. The little food left in my stomach was on alert. Fire spread over my skin and enveloped my whole body like flames rolling over my flesh. I wanted to cry out when the weightlessness took over. A fire appeared in front of me, very blurry.

  Gravity returned.

  Was I hallucinating? Did my mind just shift? The smell of blood was overwhelming. Yet, it was not daemon blood. Crimson with the hint of iron caught my nose. I felt my eyes flutter as I drew in deep breaths. The euphoria played with my mind. Senses became acute. Intoxication overwhelmed me as the need for battle took hold, and I searched for a target. Bodies of daemons lay everywhere in twisted shapes and forms. The corpses were in various stages of damage, from scorched to nearly disintegrated. Some were piles of ash in different stages of losing their cohesive form. Their powdered forms drifted away in the gentle wind.

  I was not on the ledge or dreaming.

  Somehow, I had just been teleported or transported to the scene of a fight and within seconds, realized it was the campsite…our campsite. The fire pit lay before me smoldering. Panic rose in me as I survey the area, magic flattened the. My last memory of the area was from afar. Fire fell from the heavens consuming a small portion of an incredibly large host. The evidence that it did not bode well for the host was evident. I looked around at the carnage with an open mouth. The very ground was burned so badly there was not even a smell of turned up dirt.

  Total devastation surrounded me.

  I was both shocked and impressed at the same time for it extended in every direction for thousands of feet. Stones melted. Concern rose as my eyes shifted around the area. Where was he? I began to move around the campsite try to find some sort of sign of him. Emotions swelled for the first time in years. The proverbial lump began to form as I began to breathe rather labored, fighting my reactions back to their origin.

  Debris littered the area. Trying to take it all in, I wandered around looking at the remnants of my sleeping mat, the cooking pot, and a small chest with a few of my personal effects. A pile of debris seemed strange. What I thought to be a pile of stones with a burnt tree resting on it was in fact not stones at all. Something was off. Crossing the wrecked clearing, I raced over and threw the fallen tree off with ease. Horrified at the mutilated form of my master, I felt my emotions swell, as if ready to explode. He had fallen where he stood; his robes covered in soil and clotted blood looking like stone.

  "The teacher..." my swords spoke aloud...this time in unison. "How is this possible?"

  My knees met the ashen soil. An inhuman cry escaped my lips. I pulled him into my lap and fell back on my heels. Tears flowed. All the days of his tutelage flooded my memory as I looked upon his broken body. The lacerations were so horrific that the caked blood had absorbed the dirt kicked up by the battle. He was unrecognizable, his body limp and lifeless. Despair took me quickly. Then I heard a sound. I looked around the clearing. Nothing stirred. It came again. A slight groan had escaped his lips.

  Somehow, he was alive.

  XII

  Retribution

  No…no…no…no.

  This cannot be happening

  Fear crept in. I fought to control the one thing a warrior should be able to master. Looking down at the broken body of my teacher stirred more emotions than my mind could process. I was not prepared to deal with this situation. The very thought that this could happen was unfathomable. Malnuras often took on hundreds of daemons without breaking a sweat. His skill with a weapon was exceptional. The practical application seen in the fire pit allowed me to see situations he could not recreate. Seeing how he leveled the area with magic brought a completely new depth to my teacher.

  Even with my limited knowledge of the arcane, I understood the concept of magical power when referencing a being's ability. I had studied wizards and sorcerers before. With raw power and a strong mental fortitude, this kind of devastation was possible. How it worked did not really matter to me. The effects of magic on a battlefield convinced me. Even if the power or abilities employed were minimal, throwing magic around in a battle made enemies falter unless they too had access to the arts. I paid attention during those lessons, because learning about them was important because the enemy had many tricks.

  With his ability to deftly wield a weapon and use magic in his favor, I concluded that Malnuras must have been some kind of hybrid. I smiled for a moment, forgetting the pain in my heart. He was always full of surprises.

  His wrist registered a faint pulse. Hundreds of cuts caked with dirt and blood covered his body. I gently rubbed the filth from around his eyes. Unsure of what to do, I decided to use the water skin to clean him up. Setting him down gently, I searched for the skin. It took a moment to locate, and, to my surprise, it still contained fluid.

  The scorched outside of the water skin was brittle. A reminder the entire area experienced holy fire that teacher pulled from the sky. I tore off a piece of my clothing off, moistened it, and began to wipe away the dirt. With each wipe of the cloth, h
is blood flowed again. Within minutes, I was frustrated because he was bleeding again. This was not acceptable. How could I stop him from bleeding out?

  We had herbs for healing that could help stop bleeding. He had a satchel on him still that contained such items. It was empty as if it had either been scattered around the camp or used up. There were a few shavings inside but nothing close to the amount needed. I had a hard time seeing. Every few seconds things got blurry. Was it possible my vision affected by teleporting? Why were my eyes not working? I rubbed at them in frustration, and continued feverishly working to clean Malnuras’s wounds. After a few moments, it was obvious tears made it hard to see.

  Emotions this strong rarely plagued me. Tears occasionally came, but never accompanied by these emotions. The sensation was very weird and distracting, especially since it obscured my vision. My frustration grew and the tears flowed even more. Focus was just outside of my grasp. I refused to lose my teacher and friend in a battle that he should have been able to win alone.

  My memories slipped back to the day it happened. The numbers I saw coming that day were way less than the bodies and piles of ash as far as my eyes could see. He must have faced numbers that were greater than he imagined they would send. The mass of the horde was as impressive as it was terrifying. That did not change the outcome of this battle, though. He was at death’s door. What could I do? He was slipping away right in front of me.

  Pain from the emotions made my chest hurt.

  The air was very stale. It was as if the oxygen burned away. There was a taint in the air. Smoke blanketed the area and made it difficult to look around the camp while attending to Malnuras’s situation. The answer eluded me. Hope faded. The attack obliterated our camp. Getting mad would not help. My emotions danced one the edge of undeniable rage. I put pressure on an area of a particularly nasty cut after cleaning it. The crimson kept flowing. Knowing it was his blood shut my lust for battle down right away. My failure hovered over me like a dark cloud; his life force faded. His blood further fed the dirt on which he lay. No more attempts to clean wounds would be wise. That would only accelerate his death. The issue settled itself. I could not save him.