Angel on the Edge (4 page)

Fear pushed him back as he stumbled to get to his
feet. Fire lanced through his legs as he watched the arms of the
hydra shoot out into the forest and coil around the shadows. Yelps
of pain and damnation echoed into the night as the thorns bit into
their targets.

The light and the sea creature were not enough.
Demons poured in like a tsunami, their black mass a tidal wave of
fear, and their evil magic leaving them featureless as the white
light of his angel sparked and bounced from demon to demon.

Crawling backward, Dale could feel the stones in the
dirt scratching at his skin. The creatures hadn't spotted him yet
as the hydra and angel fought valiantly, though the certainty that
they would find him cemented his feet to the ground.

"Get out of here while you still can!" Her voice
echoed in his mind.

Water splashed on his back as dark masses fell into
the pool. The bodies of demons floated by, torn and silent as the
hydra bit one in half and shook its remains before throwing it back
to the forest. Ghostly figures crawling on all fours climbed the
serpent's body, scales and thorns falling as the beasts shredded
its skin in any attempt to bring the defender down.

Dale could feel the beat of his heart as the blood
pounded in his ears. Fear washed down his spine, the sensation
leaving his limbs numb as he struggled to find the strength to
move. Shouts and shrieks filled the night as rain started to
trickle around the forest alcove.

In only a few moments, the sprinkle of water opened
the heavens above as the rain began to fall in sheets and
lightening streaked across the sky. Droplets trickled down Dale's
face as he watched his angel's light continue to bounce through the
darkness, its movements hard to watch, but the screams of her
victims rang loud and clear.

He wanted to help; he wanted so badly to protect her
as his dreams had told him to. What could he do? The evil that
leaked from the demons was an ooze that covered him like a skin,
its fear sinking deep into his soul as he could only watch in
horror.

"Ah!"

Her voice crackled in his mind as her light tumbled
across the opening and stopped with a thump against the tree line
across from him. Cracks zigzagged their way up the wall as he
watched her figure pull itself together from the light, her power
struggling to continue the fight as she sprawled on the ground.

Blood covered her armor, black and oily as it
stained her chest. Crimson red trickled down her forehead as he
watched her face wince in pain as she pushed herself to her knees,
the howls of darkness closing tightly around her. A large groan
vibrated over the storm as he watched her regain her footing, the
light of her power hesitating as her body started to transform.

Thrashing in the water behind him, Dale turned only
a moment before that shredded corpse of a demon, bloody snout, and
fire red eyes splattered at his feet.

"Oh my god!" Dale cowered as his legs kicked into
drive and thrusted him backward.

Demon blood, salty and rank with iron covered his
face as he stumbled onto his back. With a roll to the side, Dale
felt his hand grip onto something that his mind had lost sight of,
but the feeling of warmth flooded his soul the moment his skin made
contact.

Light erupted through the forest as the shadows
retreated in his vision. The cloud of evil disappeared as Dale's
eyes widened to what he could see. Men, or what could once be
called men, ran on all four limbs as they surrounded his angel.
Their bodies were starved, the joints enlarged and grotesque from
their transformation, but the dark power within them ate at their
souls. Their red eyes burned as the demonic need for power consumed
everything around them.

His angel continued to fight. He could see her
graceful form tear into her enemies, her blade slicing through the
demons like a hot knife through butter, but he could see her
strength failing. Claws had torn her silk dress as dark stains
wrapped themselves around her like the hands of a lover. There was
no fear in her eyes as she pushed deeper into the enemy, her
determination was unending as the odds against her were too high
for victory.

With a squeeze of the blade's handle, Dale pushed
himself to his knees as he felt the presence behind him. Magic
pricked the skin on his back, the tiny hands of the devil searching
for a weakness it could use to take him. The demon sniffed the fear
that cloaked Dale like an aura; it inched its way closer as the
pounding of Dale's heart throbbed in his head.

Biting down on his lip, Dale spun and swung the
weapon out in front of him like a shield as he fell backward. The
demon reacted to the quick movement, clawed hands extended, Dale
could see the transformed man's jaws open, and pointed teeth
dripping with venom as it lunged forward.

Black magic exploded in front of Dale's face as the
demon became a pile of ash at the moment his blade made contact
with its body. Flakes of burning embers floated to the ground, the
essence of the evil magic dissipated as he pushed himself off of
his back.

Seated, he watched as the fighting that surrounded
his angel slowed. Those closest to her continued to fight, lunging
themselves through the opening and into the whirlwind that was her
blade, hoping to take her down with numbers more than skill or
weapons. Those furthest away had sensed the change the same moment
Dale and the hydra that remained floating in the water did. They
turned away from the threat that the angel imposed, allowing their
attention to draw to him.

Dale could see the fire in their eyes. They looked
at him, and he could feel their magic probe deep into his body
where the seed of fear had sprouted. His weapon shook in his hands
as he forced himself to his feet. Holding the weapon, he held the
blade toward them. He didn't understand what it could do, or even
how to use it, but the demons hesitated as they approached him.

Step by step they inched closer. Dark claws dug into
the earth as they approached. Their elongated snouts lifted in the
air as they inhaled the essence of the magic that Dale held in his
hands. He could see the saliva dripping from their jowls as they
grew nearer. Six demons spread as they approached, each snapping
their jaws as they remained far enough away to avoid the sword, but
close enough he could feel their teeth tearing at his skin
already.

Sweat ran down Dale's hands. He wanted to be sick.
Blood covered him, and the stench of death filled the air. His
knees were weak as he took another step backward; he didn't know
how to fight, but he knew he couldn't allow them behind him. With
each step, he tried to turn away from the pool of water where the
hydra remained. If he fell, they would be on him. His throat was
dry as the aches of his burning heart throbbed through his
shoulders and down to the hands that gripped his father's gift.

"Ah!" Dale shrieked.

Pain scorched up his ankle as it turned sideways and
tumbled him backward. The heel of his boot snagged on the vines
that crafted his angel's tree stump seat and dropped him down, his
back hitting the soft branches that created the backrest. All six
of the demons growled excitedly, their eyes burning bright as they
dug their claws deep and bunched their muscles to attack.

Swiftly, the line of demons swept to the side in a
howl of anger as Learnie's arm wrapped around the first and dragged
it across the ground and took the other five with it. All six
tumbled together and crashed into the outer wall, yelps of pain
rang out as the poison set in, but the evil would not be contained.
Racing to their feet, five of the six climbed back to their feet
and charged toward the pool of water. Their fight with Dale was
forgotten, their anger and lust for blood turned toward the
creature that had tattered their bodies with barbs and poisons that
tore down to their bones.

Inching through the shadows, Dale watched as the
darkness struggled with the light of his vision. He could see the
carnage that laid around his angel, her form surrounded by the torn
bodies of countless enemies that continued to stream from the
forest. The Hydra, his male form hidden by his magic, struggled as
the five demons danced around, their claws and fangs wearing the
man and his serpent limbs down as blood and pieces of body floated
across the water.

Dale let the tip of his father's sword touch the
ground as he leaned against the trunk of the Oak tree that provided
shade for his angel's bed. The only exit laid before him, filled
with the bodies of a hundred dead demons and it only lead him
deeper into the darkness that awaited them all.

Fatigue cramped his muscles, he couldn't move, he
didn't want to move. Just yesterday his biggest worry was if there
would be enough rain to grow anything but thistle in his village's
garden. Now, he couldn't think of his life past the next few
moments. His angel couldn't lose. She had been protecting his
people for over ten years if his dreams had been true, but now he
could see no way out. She was alone, and he was of no help. She
would fight for them, and watching as the blood of another demon
splattered across the stained skin of her face, he knew she would
die for them. But what could he do? He was only a young man,
holding a blade he didn't even know how to use.

Squeezing onto the weapon's handle, he looked to the
sky above. He watched the rain fall in gray droplets as another
bolt of lightning streaked across the sky and slammed into a tree
on the outside of the wooden barrier.

"Father, whoever you are, give me the strength to
help. I do not have her courage or her magic, but do not let her
die this night," Dale pleaded into the night. "Give me some way to
help her, do not let us die out here in the dark."

Dale cringed as the taste of demon blood raced over
the tip of his tongue. Iron and foulness choked at his throat, his
stomach curling as the taste lingered in his mouth. The fighting
was endless, the mass of darkness overwhelming the powerful light
that filled his vision. He could feel the tears burn at the edges
of his eyes as he fought the urge to crawl into a hole and hide.
Maybe they wouldn't find him, maybe this was all a dream.

A nightmare, he could live with that. He'd wake up
in the morning and thank the heaven's it was all over. The sword
rattled in his hands as his legs struggled to keep him up. This
night would be so much better if it were all in his
imagination.

Dale squeezed his eyes as his heart skipped a beat.
Thunder rumbled through the forest as the endless wave of demons
parted, and the light of his angel remained. He could see her
figure waver, the power of her light fading as she struggled to
stand, her dress ripped to pieces, and her body covered in the gore
of her enemies and her injuries. Moans echoed into the night as the
man who was the hydra collapsed onto his knees, the bodies of
demons scattered around him in the pool of water.

Steps. Colossal steps sent tiny earthquakes through
the forest as a darkness approached from the forest. Dale's new
vision could not pierce the veil as the monster approached. The
skeletons of Mother Nature's beauty only reached the chest of the
enemy. It walked like a man, its shoulders hunched and layered with
muscles. He could not see the head in the dark clouds above, but
the red fire that ignited within its eyes shined like beacons into
the night.

Lesser demons shrieked as it stood behind the wooden
barrier. Sounds of fear and excitement raced through the night as
the nightmare stood waiting as his angel remained resolute in her
resolve. Dale couldn't breathe, his mind a blank slate as he stared
at the thing that awaited them. It was death in physical form. No
power, no angel could fight this creature. He fell to his knees as
the tears rained from his eyes.

What could they do? Why did it have to be him?

He wanted to call out to her, scream her name before
it was all over. But he didn't even know what it was. She was a
mystery, a secret that would avoid him until the moment he died.
His lips moved, and his lungs burned, but nothing came out as the
darkness exploded around him.

* * *

"Why have you come here?" Her voice struggled with
disbelief.

Dale could hear his angel, but his world was a dark
void.

"It was you all along; everyone died because of
you."

Who was she talking with? Dale struggled to move as
pain wracked his entire body. He brought his hand to his face but
could no longer see. He could feel his toes wiggle and both arms
move, but the fear he was blind hit him like a speeding car.

The darkness. The evil had taken his sight.

"We trusted you!"

Her screams sliced into his eardrums as he rolled to
his side. Coughing forced its way out as his eyes opened, and the
shadows pushed back. He wasn't blind, but the smell of ash and dust
filled his lungs.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance,"
her voice was trembling on the edge of fear and madness.

"Put all of this behind you, join me and we can rule
this world together," a male voice, deep and throaty answered.

Dale could feel his breathing struggle as he pushed
himself to his knees. Dark soot rained from the sky as small fires
burned throughout the forest clearing. The wall that had separated
them all was shattered, broken limbs of trees smoked and lay
scattered, the fog of destruction thick with despair.

"Rule this world?" Her words could not contain the
madness. "He'll never let someone like you rule. You aren't strong
enough to take his place, none of us are."

Dale pushed himself to his feet; he had rolled
behind his angel's hammock when the explosion had rocked the earth.
With his shoulder pressed against the remains of the Oak tree, he
used its faltering strength to keep himself upright, and squinted
into the darkness.