Espial (11 page)

     Ace pointed
his bow toward the panel next to the ARC door. I wondered why he wasn’t getting
any arrows ready. My breath hastened as the demons’ pounding sent a massive
crack down the center of the door.

     “Steady,”
warned Rider.

     The
pounding continued and several more cracks appeared. They would invade at any
moment.

     “Steady...”

     One final
pound was heard and another massive crack was made in the door.

     “Ace NOW!”
shouted Rider.

     Ace
released the string of his bow. Midflight, I could see a red arrow magically
appear and hit the panel next to the door. The door blasted apart, smoke and
gravel pouring in. It was only a few moments after the dust settled that the
robotic demons came flooding in.

     General
Matthews took flight swinging his battle axes, demolishing the first line of
attacks pouring through. The first five rows of his army took flight as well,
fifty winged soldiers heading straight to the doorway and impaling the demons
attempting to fly through. These demons were light gray in color and bald, with
shiny metallic wings. Rider stuck his arm out, motioning for us to stay put.
Screams of agony filled the lobby as demons were struck or impaled. They were a
small group and it didn’t take long for Matthews and his first lines of defense
to destroy them all. Moans and screeches pierced the air as some of them lay
wounded, dying slowly on the ground. Suddenly, another onslaught of attacks
burst through the entryway, this time by larger non-robotic demons. Their wings
matched the girth of those in our army. They were all dark gray and had
menacingly long yellow talons. They possessed human-like faces, yet had beaks
for noses. They swooped in and began plucking up soldiers who tried their best to
fight them off, yet could not release themselves from the demons’ grips. The
demons flew them high to the ceiling and began dismembering them. I felt my
stomach churn as I watched them begin to laugh and lick the blood dripping from
the soldiers’ body parts, while others threw spears that impaled the soldiers
against the wall or floor. No additional demons were entering the room, yet it
was clear that the soldiers would not be able to last much longer.

     Matthews’
final five lines of defense took flight and began fighting them off. These
soldiers were slightly more powerful than the first, relaying significantly
more damage on the demons they were attacking. As they battled above us, ten
four-legged winged beasts strode through the doorway. Growling and snapping,
their teeth were so large, they could not fully close their mouths. They
resembled images I had seen of tigers in size and shape, yet had slick black
bodies and black featherless wings. They flew up and circled us. The skeletal
angels all smiled mischievously at one another, and then flew up to attack
these new beasts. Whimpers and screams flooded the hall as beasts fell to the
ground, fatally wounded by the skeletal angels. Our angels were merciless. Some
of the beasts that fell to the ground were still able to stand. Our skeletal
samurai angels jumped onto their backs, riding them around the room cackling
until they reached down and decapitated them. Some twisted their necks while
others ripped apart their jawbones. We watched as the soldiers and skeletal
angels continued to battle all around us.

     I
immediately began to feel strange. Something was off. I looked up in time to
see Sato’s two advisors walk through the doorway. The redheads’ hairs were on
fire and their eyes shone bright red. In black pant suits, their wings opened
up behind them, red and hairless. They had no fingers; red talons replaced
them. Where lips should be were holes, filled with thin pointed teeth.

     “Where is
Soleil Arch?” they hissed in unison, voices echoing throughout the lobby. As
they said this, four large robotic demons, crawling on their hands and knees,
entered behind them. I recognized one of them to be Levi Boz. Rider stepped
forward, brandishing his sword.

     “You are
not welcome here, Wrath and Fury,” he declared.

     The
redheads tilted their heads back and laughed.

     “Bold to
call us by name,” they taunted. They then took flight towards us. Rider lifted
up and swung at the one on the right. She caught his sword with her left talons
and pulled him close to her. Opening her hole wide to take a bite, Rider yanked
his sword back, cutting off three of her talons. She screeched and dove down
toward Wrath. She waved her hand and the talons began regenerating. Glinda
stepped forward and swiftly began dislodging her knives from her right hand.
She did so with skill and precision as she flew toward the four larger demons,
striking all of them in the chest. The demons reared back and flew towards her.
She kept flying towards them, removing more blades from her bosom. She met them
head on and stabbed them each with unmatched speed. The demons fell to the
ground and began removing the blades. Wrath flew toward her. Glinda spun around
in the air and dove back down towards us, Wrath pursuing her closely. In the
middle of the air, I saw six of Ace’s invisible arrows appear, chasing Wrath
from behind. She stopped midflight, turned and snatched the arrows from the air
right before they struck. Glinda landed in front of me, while Ace took off with
Rider in pursuit of Wrath.

     Sacra left
my side, making her way towards Fury, who had finished regenerating her talons.
Div and Glinda were the only ones who stood at my side. Sacra swung both her
sword and its scabbard as she and Fury began dueling, with Fury using her
talons. The four demonic robots took flight simultaneously and came in my
direction. Alex came out of nowhere, dispensing his white darts into their
faces. He caught one of them in its eye. That one fell to the ground, howling
in pain and clutching its face. Alex continued shooting the darts from his
hands at the demons, who tried using their wings to deflect them. Ace’s arrows
soon appeared as well and the both of them focused their attacks on the demons,
following them around the room. I turned and saw Rider fighting Wrath alone. She
was whipping her flaming hair in an attempt to strangle him. He avoided each of
her attempts, finally catching her hair with his sword, chopping it in half.
She screamed and lunged towards him with her talons. He flew around the lobby,
making his way towards Sacra and Fury. He landed softly next to Sacra, who
looked at him and nodded.

     Rider and
Sacra stood back to back, weapons drawn. Wrath and Fury circled them, cackling.
All the while, soldiers and skeletal angels continued fighting around us. Wrath
suddenly stopped moving. Fury walked over and stood facing her. The flames
shooting from their hair met and fused together. Light surrounded them and they
began taking steps closer toward each other. When I thought they couldn’t step
any further, Fury took on more step, this time into Wrath’s body. A single flame
devoured them momentarily, and then dissipated. Standing in their place was one
large woman with red hair. Twenty feet tall and broad, she looked exactly like
a larger version of the redheads. She bent her head back and released a column
of flames from her mouth. The fire struck the ceiling, setting it ablaze. She
then looked down at Sacra and Rider. Rider spread his wings to take off in the
opposite direction. Sacra turned to do the same, yet the demon woman reached
down and picked her up by her talons. Sacra gave a blood-curdling scream as the
talons pierced through her limbs and parts of her wings.

     “Sacra
nooooo!” I screamed, stepping forward.

     Div held me
back. “Stay here!” she commanded and took flight. Glinda lifted off in a flash,
right behind her. Rider changed directions and followed the demon woman, who
was now swiftly scaling one of the elevator shafts. Sacra continued crying and
screaming in pain. I looked around to find Alex. He and Ace were still battling
two remaining robotic demons. I took a deep breath. I used the strongest wing
strength I could muster and catapulted myself upward. I flew up and followed
the demon holding Sacra. It had already burst through elevator shaft. With
dread, I knew exactly where it was headed. I flew through the hole it made in
the shaft and found myself in the rooftop café. Glinda was flying circles
around the demon, dispensing blade after blade from her fingers. Rider was
fighting her from the front, while Div tried attacking her from behind. The
demon was extraordinarily fast. It blocked each of Rider’s attacks, and then
blocked Div’s. All of Glinda’s knives were knocked to the ground by the demons
wings. I spotted Sacra curled up on the ground by one of the rectangular
tables, trembling and moaning. I ran over to her and knelt at her side.

     “Hold on
Sacra,” I said, patting her head. “We’ll get you out of here.”

            She
opened her eyes briefly to look at me and gave a slight nod. She then closed
them and whimpered. Her breathing was severely labored and her arms and legs
had gaping holes from where the demon had clutched her. Her blue wings were
crumpled and dripping with blood, forming a pool beneath her. Her aura was a
faint light blue, her spiky hair now a dull gray color. I pulled the cloth off
of the nearby table and covered her gently. I turned in time to see the demon
whack both Div and Glinda with its wings, sending both flying to the opposite
side of the café. Both landed with a thud onto the ground.

     I flew up
and joined Rider, sais in my hands. Just as I tried to impale her back, she
turned with her mouth open wide to take a bite out of me. I stopped midflight
and doubled back. I dove down between its legs as it inhaled and spewed a
string of fire after me. The fire engulfed the entire café, causing the café’s
glass enclosure to shatter. I glanced over at Sacra, whose aura was
diminishing. Rider swung his sword at the demon’s right ankle. It stumbled
while screeching at him, a black liquid oozing out from the wound. While it
stumbled, I flew behind it and gave its wings several slashes and stabs with my
sais. It howled louder, turning to catch me. In doing so, one of its wings
knocked me out of the air, causing me to crash to the ground. It reached down
toward Rider, who quickly flew away from its claws. Rider flew toward me, as
smoke from the fire began clouding my eyesight. Glinda and Div came over as
well. The demon stumbled near Sacra. Noticing her, it bent down and picked her
up. I shot up, flying towards it to pull Sacra out of its grasp when it knocked
me with its wings, again sending me to the ground. Div and Glinda helped me get
my bearing when I looked up and saw the most horrific sight I had ever
witnessed. The demon tilted its head back, holding Sacra over its mouth with
both hands. It then squeezed her body, causing her blood to squirt out into its
mouth. Sacra gave one final shriek and then fell silent. The demon continued
squeezing her and we could hear Sacra’s bones breaking. It laughed as blood poured
into its mouth. The demon then plucked a feather from Sacra’s wings. It tossed
her body to the side of the café, where it caught fire. Sacra’s sword was flung
into the air and landed next to us. Glinda quickly grabbed it. The demon then
began picking its teeth with the feather, looking at us while still laughing.

     “The demon
is too strong in its larger state. We must leave NOW!” shouted Rider, pulling
me towards the entry.

     “But
Sacra…” I started, as we ran.

     “Unfortunately,
is gone. There’s nothing we can do,” said Rider solemnly.

     Glinda
cried silently on my right while Div guided me on my left as we flew hastily to
the elevator shaft. We all dove down, landing back in the lobby. The building
shook violently, followed by a loud cry. The demon dove down the shaft,
breathing fire the entire way. The entire lobby was now engulfed in flames.
Alex and Ace were fighting one final robotic demon, Levi Boz. The skeletal
angels battled alongside the soldiers who remained.

     “To the
ATS!” shouted Rider as he headed toward the tunnel that Glinda had left
unsealed.

     Alex and
Ace flew over, leaving Levi and diving down into the tunnel. General Matthews
pointed his battle axes towards the destroyed elevator shaft. His soldiers
disappeared in the middle of their fights. I could tell by a light breeze
passing across my face that they were flying up to the rooftop. He followed
them up as well.

     “Go!”
commanded Div, pushing me and Glinda closer toward the tunnel entry. Tears
still running down her face, Glinda dove below. The female demon had made its
way to the center of the lobby, swaying its head side to side as it blew more
fire throughout the hall. Rider’s head popped up above the tunnel entry.

            “Hurry!”
he said. I slid through, yet moved to the side for Div to dive down first. She
grabbed her sword that lay by the entryway and dove straight down. I hovered
next to Rider inside the shaft.

            “Dissapatae!”
yelled Rider.   

            The
red orbs that floated in the room began to glow brightly. Then one by one, they
began to explode. Hundreds of blasts filled the lobby as it began to collapse
on itself. The female demon screamed and began crawling through the ARC’s main
doorway. The skeletal samurais disappeared into thin air. Rider pushed me down
and waved his hand for the elevator to fully descend, sealing the tunnel. We
dove toward the bunkers as the explosions continued above us. We ran to the ATS
room and Rider sealed the wobbling wall behind us. We all stood in silence as
we listened to the ARC crumble. Rider joined Div, who stood at the hologram
desk, preparing the room for detonation after we transported to Los Angeles.
Looking closer, I could see tears falling silently down Div’s face. Glinda sat
on the floor near the large pod, quietly crying into her hair. Alex and Ace
removed all papers from the desk’s drawers and began tucking them into their
pockets. Without a word, I walked over and sat next to Glinda. I placed my arm
around her and she leaned into me, still sobbing into her hair.

            “Everyone
into the large pod,” said Rider almost inaudibly.

            We
all slowly rose and stood in the pod, except for Div. Once we were all in, she
initiated the countdown sequence and flew over to stand with us. Still holding
Glinda, I took one final look at the ATS. I had spent only a few days in the
ARC, yet it had already begun to feel like home.
Sacra.
Tears began to
trickle down my face.