Legacy of the Defender (The Defender Series Book 1) (24 page)

I stood in amazement and wonder at what it had done and what it was about to do.  Suddenly the frequency of this shifting increased in speed and started to make a whirring sound like a flutter.  There was a flash.  When my eyes finally adjusted, two began to phase in behind it.  A curse came out of my mouth.  For a second, I thought the smaller ones might have heard me.  They were growing rapidly and flitting about.  I finally had an answer. 

This is how they worked!

“How do I stop this?” ran through my mind.  This was not good when it was just one of them.  Now two more of them gaited in.  The smaller ones were almost full size now.  I analyzed the situation.  Nothing came to mind.  Uncertainty flowed to all corners of my thoughts.  What if this was another attempt to gain access to the City?  The two new summoners finally solidified.  

I cursed again.  Father held something back.  I thought of calling to him mentally but knew this was mine alone to handle.

Great.  Taking one was hard enough, now there were three.

Now the trio of them started the process of stretching the portal open.  The same thing happened as before.  They opened up those plates on their shoulders and tendrils of energy shot out but instead of connecting to the gate, they connected to the one standing in front connected to the portal already.  The tendrils attached and something new unfolded.  First thing was all of a sudden the smaller daemons started to kill each other.  Ichor flew everywhere and the portal open about an inch.  The main summoner was now iridescent.  I could see his form still but it was almost fully opaque and the energy drained from it into the two behind him.  They in turn had a bunch of tiny little daemons erupt from the same areas as the shoulder plates had covered.  They both began to chant something and energy began to build even higher.  My stomach was upset.  I started to wince a bit but could not take my eyes of this event.  I had to learn everything I could.   

Those two began to glow and the process repeated.  The smaller daemons all began to slaughter themselves and the two newcomers phased in and out for seconds before a major shift, but this time it was four.  Tendrils came out as they solidified and the plates opened up to release the next group of small daemons.  This process seemed to be repeating itself about every ten to fifteen count and I started to do the math.  Soon there would be more than I could imagine. 

I looked down at my swords, already in my hands without even a thought.  The incredible feeling from holding them made me smile.  Confidence to take the whole host on by myself became a reality even though Malnuras’s death shook me at the time.  Reflecting, this event travelled across all my training making me realize one thing.

Everything happens for a reason and becomes a lesson.

The voices came into my head.  Without even thinking about it, I responded internally. 

There are now seven Summoners.

Remember the wall!

There is something was to be said for being a smart tactician and I was learning and processing every second this new information.  My thoughts consumed me for a second and I tried to remember everything that happened on the wall.  I ran over lesson after lesson in my mind as fast as my brain would let me review.  The words he said about the shoulders.  Those huge plates were like a breastplate on a warrior only ten times as thick.  I looked at my swords.  Even on a good day, piercing that kind of armored covering straight on would be difficult.

Then I remembered the flames.  They could carve deeper.  My mind finally opened fully.  The last one cooked like a lobster.

I smiled.  I could do this. 

Energy rolled into the area from all around.  My insides twisted in agony.  It was hard to stand.  The seven from before glowed bright, connected with each other.  There was a flash and I expected to see fifteen if the ratio held true.  To my horror, I was both right and wrong.  My eyes fought to adjust.  Standing behind the summoners was one of the big ones with four wings and six legs.  I knew I could not take the summoners, the minions, and one of these big nasty dragon-like daemons.  Whatever happened, the battlefield could not stay the way it was, so I watched the scene as it unfolded in front of me.

This changed everything.

Right after the dragon-daemon arrived, it did something I did not expect.  I assumed some sort of stance and began to grunt and roll its abdomen.  The dark colored flesh rippled like a wave.  This went on for moments and was followed a shower of fluids that exploded from the belly of the beast.  It went everywhere and it stunk.  In this fluid, there were dozens of the flyers lying scattered over the area.  They began to move.  The summoners glowed even brighter. 

I lost count of the bodies that were starting to stir in the horrible fluid when it hit me.  That was the faint smell I had been dealing with all three days except this was so putrid that my stomach turned several times.  My seasoned skill in slaying these creatures by the hundreds and their ichor covering me is the only thing that kept me from making noise by donating my stomach to the ground. 

I was hurting.  This was worse than the day at the portal.  The smell reached right inside and grabbed me by the base of my spine.  I was pinned in place.  It took sheer willpower to stand.  The medium daemons now stood and began moving around.  It was some sort of embryonic fluid.  This rotted the ground just like negative energy itself in physical form.  Disgust turned to anger.

The medium daemons then took to the air, swirling in a chaotic formation like bees around the big one.  They gained speed and maneuvered around.  I glanced at the portal.  It was now more than five feet across and growing.  I was in trouble.  

I predicted, if they killed the big one, it would open the portal the rest of the way and complete the ritual.  My pain leveled off.  My arms felt weighted as if held down by chains.  I felt hopeless as if about to fail.  I had to act...I needed to act.  This had to stop.  I needed my blood lust.  Where was it?  I had to break the hold this weakness had on me.  I wanted to cry out but doing so would get me killed.  My own teeth dug into my tongue and crimson began to flow.

My arms shook.  My legs felt like roots not wanting to break free of the ground.  Yet I lifted them…one step forward…two steps…then five.  Sheer force of will was moving my feet.  I could hear Father’s words ringing in my mind.  Slow motion took over.  The flying host of hundreds was in a passing formation and was about to open up the big female that birthed them.  I heard the words in my mind.

“You have to hit them in the shoulder!”

Looking at the closest Summoners, I realized something.  The plates lifted and the tendrils of energy came from the exposed area.  I could see strange looking flesh in a hive like formation with little honeycomb patterns.  There were tendons and strange looking organs.  It really was vulnerable there.  There was no protection with it lifted.  

My feet left the ground ten paces away.  Momentum carried me across the forty feet.  Swords were out wide; this exposed area was my target.  There was enough of the creature still in phase and my swords found their mark.  My blades bit flesh right under the open plates on both sides.  A blinding flash erupted.  

Time exploded. 

A crack like thunder deafened my ears.  I was already flying off some direction, blinded.  My skin was of fire.  Nerves head to toe felt the impact.  A vortex swirled and pulled me towards where the portal was forming.  Seeing through the flying debris was difficult but I managed to see the seven summoners were gone, probably consumed right away and many of the flyers were gone.

Impact!
 

Hitting hard, my body tumbled across the rocky surface before taking a knee.  The maelstrom of energy tore at me for several more seconds before it died to a lulling wind.  Dust filled the air.  I could barely see anything.  The vile dirt, muddied by the daemon fluid, got in my mouth.  My teeth were caked   Gagging was breathing.  A large shadow in front of me...that I thought was the coalescing of the dust into a small vortex...now went up in to the air like a small tornado. 

Reduces its effectiveness?  That is funny.

Did the summoner daemon best father that day, or did father fake it so he could see my response in dealing with something that he knew would be a challenge?  All I could do was laugh while the earth fell all around me.

The wind slowed.  All the dust and dirt fell to the ground. 

Debris continued to rain down, taking most of the darkness out of the air.  I realized the shadow was not the dust or dirt.  It was the flyers coming right at me with a big six-legged dragon daemon in a full run as they swarmed around, blotting the large one out.  I could hear their teeth chattering with excitement and their guttural speech sounded like a daemonic chorus, only it was every musical key all at once.  Almost like the sound of bees coming. 

Bees would be nice compared to this mess.

Since I had learned to fight, a certain amount of refinement came with the power.  The knowledge of one’s achievement makes one think almost like a scholar or in a similar fashion.  It dawned on me that facing such odds was fool hardy.  Standing upon the walls of Heaven I saw millions, but I stood with angels that numbered as many.  The word escaped my lips and the first wave came in high and from the right.  I could not count the incoming horde, for its number defied logic and blotted out the bright moon.

“Shit!”

I happened to glance behind me at the portal.  It remained, but reduced back to a rift.  Then it began to grow again.  The fabric flexed and flapped like a sail on a ship getting wider and wider, moving faster and faster.  I could see movement on the other side.  Light started to pour through and bathed the area in a warm hue...much like the unnatural light of a florescent bulb might cast in a room.  A white room now, sparsely decorated came to view. 

The horde flew back a thousand feet or more by the vortex and was still dozens of moments out.  I took my eyes off them to afford a better look inside the rift, as this was a unique opportunity.  I peeked in a little further and, to my horror, found a hospital.  There was an occupied gurney there.

Fury hit me.  They were going to attack a helpless place.  Instinct told me to close this portal and face my greatest battle.  Time was running out.  The sky was now black, for there were so many incoming flyers that it blotted out the moon completely as they came.  There was not enough time on this side to close it from here and defend myself at the same time.  I knew what needed doing.  I had seen the horde at Heaven’s walls.  I had estimated millions of legions there in the siege.  This number that came at me was only a fraction of that army, but who knows what I could not see.  This was a force meant to establish a beachhead on Earth.  The assault on Heaven had, once again, been the distraction.

My instructions were vague.  Father did not tell me I would be witnessing a portal opening, or dealing with those beings responsible.  Now I knew what he meant for me to do.  I pictured the Summoners and the acts to follow.  I focused on my Father and called his name out in my mind.  “Father, here it is, this is what we needed to know.  Use this information well.”  Energy left me as the message went out.  I hoped he would get it.  They now knew what to look for in the daemon ranks to staunch the tide of the portals opening to Earth.

If I jumped through and used it as a choke point, then that would buy me the time to close it?  I should be able to teleport back.  The portal was only several strides away.  Nearing the opening, I gasped in shock at what I saw. 
The body in the bed was mine!
I dove without delay head first through the opening.  If my body remained unprotected, they would win.

This just got personal. 

Light began to fade.  I envisioned the portal collapsing as tendrils of energy latched on behind me and began to fold it up like paper.  The energy flowed from me out to the edges of the fabric.  Like before, invisible hands began grabbing that portal’s edges to pull them closed again.  I felt the bubble finally pop as it collapsed in on itself. 

My body began to dematerialize.  Panic arose.  Darkness swallowed me.  I swirled into the void.  My essence flowed in circles.  Ahead, two lights speed towards me.  The closer I got the face of a beautiful woman appeared in each portal.  Her blond hair glowed as if sunlight made up each of the hairs.  I felt myself slam into something soft.  My mind went blank.  Beeping in the distance sounded like an alarm on a machine.

What just happened?  Where was I?

Part II

XVII

Rude Awakenings

My eyelids crept open. 

Darkness, my ally for ages, fled at the first sign of light.  Blackness remained behind and surrounded me like a tainted sweater.  Dark and pungent odors filled my senses, as if evil itself was just there and I was its meal.  I felt submerged in some sort of fluid that secreted out of my pores.  It gave me the creeps.  My body hurt head to toe and something was not right.  Painfully, I raised my head.  Bad idea!  As my eyes came into focus, a splitting headache followed.  After a few moments, the images came into focus. 

A hospital. 

What am I doing in a hospital?

The clean smell of bleach and sanitation drifted about.  I painfully panned the room with strained eyes.  There were pictures next to the bed.  My mother, Jason, and Jesus, all in different frames, thankfully, because that would have really freaked me out. 
Okay weird combination,
I thought.  Then it hit me…my mother and Jason were older.  Hell, he had facial hair, my mother did too, but it was not that noticeable.  I sucked in a gulp of air as I tried to sit up.  It caused a spasm.  That is when the priest sleeping in a corner chair caught my eye.  My head began to throb even more and weightlessness made everything spin a bit.  I was descending backwards into the pillows before long.

Images swam in my head.  Pain shot though every nerve in my body.  I heard something that sounded like when someone flat lines on a heart monitor.  BEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP!  Everything was so confusing.  My response was to close my eyes and moan.  “This must be hell!”  The words sounded more like croaking.  It did not even sound like English. 

I heard shouting coming from somewhere nearby.  More noise followed a crashing sound.  My thoughts continued to race.
 
Suddenly there was someone next to me.  A gentle presence masked in strength...female.  Her scent was subtle.  Kind of a sweet smell but there was something else unidentifiable.  Firm hands held me down as another set of hands checked what I could only assume were vitals.  A slight pinch in my arm, followed by a warm dizziness, rolled over me.

My eyes opened to confront my assailant.  She was beautiful, almost angelic.  Long blonde hair pulled back tightly.  The brownest eyes I had ever seen next to that pinup model Jason had…what was her name again?  I thought about it for a moment.  My then mind raced back to the woman before me.  Was the concept of a hot nurse a fable? 
Maybe this was Heaven
.  To my right, my eyes lazily turned and made me jump; another woman looked me over.  She had a huge nose, squinty eyes, and black hair, all mounted on a very large, round head.  Her face started to twist and melt away.  I began to shudder and tried to crawl away.  Vice-like hands gripped me.  I could go nowhere.

“Hold still!” she said.  “Dammit Eryn, hold him, he’s convulsing!”

“I have him, and no, he’s not convulsing, but you startled him,” the goddess spoke in return.  The mere sound of her voice made me calm a bit.  That warmth running through me was increasing more and more.  “This must be what drugs feel like,” my voice uttered.

Silence gripped the room as eyes locked on mine and looks of surprise ensued.

“Did he just speak?” said a male voice from across the room.  “Sweet Jesus, I better call his mother.”  Footsteps clapped out of the room and down the hall. 

I panned the room then back to the beautiful blonde.  She held my gaze for just a moment and smiled in a caregiver kind of way.  There was warmth about her.  A depth in her eyes suggested to me that she had seen many horrible things. 

How would I know that?  I am only sixteen.

My mind overloaded with images and memories.  I tensed up and closed my eyes.  Memories of pain and suffering mixed with violence.  Had someone been reading me stories of such horrors?  A creeping darkness pinned me to the bed.  There were images of creatures crawling out of a dark spot that was fading.  They began to swoop on me, taunting me as they flew with great speed, and all I could do was throw up my hands and cower.

“What the hell am I seeing?  Make them go away!”  My hands guarded my face and no matter what I did I could still see them swirling around me.  Voices, so dark and guttural, spoke and the gestures were obvious.  When they spoke, some viscous fluid dripped from their mouths that, disgusting in color, was almost black like a putrid vileness.  Whimpering was all I could do...I waved my hands in front of my face to fend them off.

I heard that soothing voice again.  “Shhh, you are hallucinating.  There’s nothing there.  It’s okay,” she said softly.

Before I could think, I replied, “No shit!” even though the images did not appear any less then real.  They were real enough and kept coming at me, but I noticed they never touched me and they began to fade with each pass as a white light bathed them from somewhere.  The room returned to view.  Waves of nausea hit me.  They crashed against my head.  My stomach knotted, each time causing my body to shudder with each pass.  I must have been convulsing more than imagined for my body was practically lifting off the table every time one hit.  This lasted for several moments.  Strong, gentle hands on me managed to hold me in place.

“This will pass, but it will take time.  Try to relax.”  An image of Jason with his goatee jumped in my head.  He looked so much older.  I felt an eyebrow painfully rise on my face.

“How long has it been?” the question finally moved its way to the surface of my thought and found a way to my lips.

“I think you should wait until the counselor comes in, I wou….”

“How long, dammit?”  I demanded as the anger in me started to rise.  I tried to sit up, but
her strong hands held me firmly in place.

“Strangely...six years to the day,” the doctor chimed in after removing the stethoscope from my chest.  “You have been in a coma for six years, Dieter.”

Six years...what the hell?  Where did he come from?

“Call me Dietz,” I interjected before her words sunk in.  “Only my mother calls me Dieter.” 

She smiled.

“Did you hear me, Dietz?  Six years!” she repeated this time with a softer voice.  The words processed but did not fully take hold, for it made no sense what she was saying. 

“Wait,” I thought, “the accident.  A car had hit us both, and then I hit a tree.” 

Images of Jason on the hood of a car with a mangled bike smashed on the bumper flashed through my mind.  It was out of control and my view faded back as the car swerved off the road.  The look of terror the driver’s face before it flipped over was the last thing I remember before darkness rolled over my vision like a black cloud of smoke obscuring everything.  Thoughts of the lake swirled before me bringing the feeling of the pretty girl’s lips upon mine.  I must have made a funny face or something.  The nurse tried to not laugh, but a kind of stifled snicker happened, and she cleared her throat.

My mind raced again but this time it stopped on one stabbing question like someone turned the wheel of fortune with my thoughts being the topic: 
If it has been six years, then why did I hurt so damn bad and not just have a dull ache
?  I paused and swallowed what little saliva that had begun to gather to moisten my throat.  Another breath followed.  They got easier, the deeper the intake as if my oxygen was cut short, making me weak all these years.

“So why does my body hurt so much if it’s had time to heal?” 

The murmuring around the room was inaudible...but I could tell there was another voice now that must have joined the noise.  The bed began to raise me to an upright position; the nurse stepped back when it hit its zenith.  The first thing I noticed was her figure.  Damn it looked good.  I started to undress her with my eyes when a man stepped forward blocking my view.  He must have done it on purpose because he completely blocked her out.  My eyes refocused. 
Figures
.  I was not staring that hard…  I can barely focus… maybe that is what it looked like.

“Dietz, this is going to be hard to understand, but I want you to hear me out before you respond, okay?” 

I nodded my head the best I could, my eyes transfixed on his horrible tie he wore that had caught my attention soon after they refocused.  His voice was rather pleasant and made me relax a little bit more.

“How are his vitals?”  I felt hands checking my pulse.  A bright light shone in my eyes that made me wince.  A beeping came from next to the bed and some equipment that must have been monitoring me was visible but remained blurry.  My pulse was steady.  A calm image rolled across the screen.  There was a pause in the room.  I closed my eyes to rest.

“They seem strong, Doctor.  I’ll go get his doctor, and I want to make su…”

“No need, I am here, stand aside,” another male voice commanded as it approached.  I felt the other presence move aside.  I heard this new voice enter the room and footsteps approach.  A hand on my chin, rather firm, lifted my head slightly.  I opened my eyes and saw an older man, mid-fifties by his look.  Graying hair blotted his head and dark brown eyes.  He was clean-shaven despite his horrible haircut, or lack thereof.

“Dieter, I am Doctor Cooper your attending physician.  How do you feel?”  He turned to the monitor and looked at the nurse.  “His vitals are good, this is remarkable.  How long has he been awake?”  A bright light shined in my eyes.  I winced again and blinked a few times to try to shrug off the intruding light.

“Minutes,” the nurse responded.  “He just awoke.  I can’t believe how strong his vitals are now because a minute ago he flat lined.”  She tried to whisper the last word into his ear, but I caught it.

“Did he now?” the new doctor said.  “Well young man, you are truly a wonder.”  He turned to the nurse.  “Get him some food and monitor him.  Something simple.  We don’t want to shock his system.  I would advise taking it easy for now.  You’ll have some questions for us soon I imagine.  We will have someone speak to you in a bit and tell you what has been going on once we are sure you are stable.”

Words came to my lips.  “Ok…can I get some water?”

“Sure…Eryn will you?”  He nodded as he moved over the grab the chart off the end of my bed and waved another man out of the room that had been at my side moments earlier.  He attempted to whisper and I was surprised that I could hear his voice so clearly.  “Try not to tell him too much up front unless he shows signs he can handle it.  This is truly amazing.”  The hushed tones continued as they exited the room and a glass of water with a straw arrived held by the beautiful nurse.  I took a draw off the straw and swallowed.  A small wince hit my face for it even hurt to swallow.

“Easy now,” she said with a smile.  I managed to smile in return as my head slowly dropped back.  Six years.  It was not fathomable.  My eyes locked on the nurse’s for a few seconds before they closed.  “I’ll get you some food.  The mac and cheese is really good and should be soft enough.”

“Ok,” I responded, not knowing if eating was possible though it sounded good.  Pondering how long it had been was hard.  My entire body hurt.  Any small movements racked me with pain because of my efforts.  I decided against moving for now and closed my eyes again. 
What the hell was happening?

The next few hours passed in a blur.  When asleep, my dreams were the better part of horrific.  Shadow-like creatures ran around me in a field somewhere.  The smell was disgusting and indescribable.  My body was in some strange position...one that could not have been comfortable.  It was like what you would see when someone’s body lay broken on the ground.  Things were not right with this pose.  Several times I sat up ready to scream but was too weak to do so.  I paid dearly for my sudden exit from the dreams.  Pain racked me each time.

Several nurses paid me many visits.  On several occasions, they jumped more than I did when my exodus from a dream was sudden and startling.  A few laughed...but the others felt very threatened or timid near me to start with.  It added to my growing confusion.

The pretty one came back only once.  That was disappointing.  Something about her drew me in.  Something felt like a magnet.  It was not just because of her beauty.  Something about her made me curious why deep in her gaze there was so much sadness behind the smile.  She did not speak on this occasion, only jotted quickly on my chart and left.

I could get used to looking at her. 

Movement caught my eye.  They were back...the little bastards.  The shadows flitted across the walls and around the room.  They moved so fast I could not track them.  Like waving a flashlight on a wall, they flowed over top one another.  My body tensed up and the heart monitor went nuts.  God it hurt to move.  What in the world was happening?

Into the room burst several nurses, the pretty one, and the not so pretty one.  I was already swatting my hand in front of my face.  The biting was new.  I was trying to knock these shadow figures off my arms and legs to no avail.  I could not move fast enough.  "Get them off me...please!  Help!"

Strong arms grabbed hold of me.  Pressing me to the bed firmly, their nails felt like little teeth in the mouths of these creatures.  I screamed and thrashed about trying to get away.  In they came.  The nurses helped me down.  A large one slowly crawled up my chest.  His eyes burned with hatred.  Spittle ran down his chin onto the sheet, scorching holes as each drop landed.  It opened its mouth wide and leaned in.  I screamed.