Of Kings and Demons (24 page)

“You did?”

“Maganus and Jin.”

Gwyneth felt her heart lightened.

“They are my friends.”

In the tight embrace, Gwyneth felt the
girl’s frail body convulsing in sobs, and every weep broke her heart.

“We are going home.” Gently she stroked her
hair. “Why did they bring you here?”

Sarah stood away and explained her story in
halting words.

“Where is your brother now?”

“With Maganus, I think.”

Gwyneth took Sarah by the hand, but the
girl pulled back.

“I don’t think we can.”

“Why?”

“He wouldn’t let me.”

A chill rippled down the Angel’s spine.
“Who is he?”

Before Sarah could answer, Gwyneth heard
someone behind her. “Barbatos. Lord Barbatos.”

Gwyneth froze.

“What is wrong with you, Gwyneth? You will
not face an old friend”

She remained silent.

“You survived the ambush.”

The White Angel turned. She could feel the waves of emotion crashing on
her consciousness.

“Your heart is disturbed, Gwyneth.”

“Darius,” the White Angel whispered.
He
can read me. He has grown powerful.

Before Gwyneth could utter a second word, a bolt of lightning was
unleashed. Gwyneth parried with her palm, but it was barely twenty-four hours
since her injury, and she was no match for the powers of darkness.

The impact sent the Angel onto the wall.

#

Maganus was motionless and the sight of a fallen opponent lifted the ego
of Eberhard. The gargoyle stretched his wings to full length, proud and
haughty. Mathew tried to help but was afraid he might touch broken bones.
Is
Maganus dead? Do angels die on earth?

Then he heard Father Bellator.

“Behind you!”

Eberhard was nearing, each step a jolt to Mathew’s heart. Shaking, he drew
his sword, ready to defend Maganus.

“You want to stop me?” Eberhard bellowed.

“I will die for him. He saved me. You have
to get past me first.”

“You?” Eberhard jabbed a rugged finger in
mockery. “Pathetic humans! Just like that stupid lass.”

“Lass?” Mathew asked.

“Your
sister
.” He snarled.

“Where is she?” Mathew asked.

“Defeat me and the answer is your reward,”
Eberhard replied.

Without hesitation, Mathew shoved his sword at the beast. But Eberhard
grabbed it with ease, and with tweak of his hand, broke the blade into two.

“Mathew Springs, the age of man is over.”

Mathew shivered but remembered Jin’s words. He steadied his breathing. “I
am no ordinary man. I am a King of men.”

And so saying, Mathew unsheathed the sword
Maganus had given him. Swerving to the right, he swung his sword in a slicing
motion, but it caused nothing more than a scratch on the creature’s iron-hard
torso.

Eberhard retaliated and gripped the blade.
He pulled Mathew forward and raised his claws, ready for the kill. Mathew
stared wide-eyed as the talons swept towards his him. Then he heard a blast and
Eberhard froze. Mathew looked away and saw Father Bellator, on the floor, with
his shotgun in hand.

Mathew took advantage of the moment and
made another charge. However, Eberhard answered with his claws which a lithe
Mathew ducked in time. Eberhard loosened his grip on the sword and whipped
Mathew off his feet with the tail. The boy hit the ground and lost
consciousness.

Eberhard was ready to crush Mathew but
found himself immobilized. He was shocked to find Maganus, very much alive,
holding onto his belt.

In a heroic motion, Maganus lifted Eberhard
over his head.

        “My answer to your ambush!” the Guardian Angel bellowed, and with
all his might, flung the creature crashing through the roof.

Maganus checked on Mathew who was bruised
but breathing.

A chorus of war cries shattered their respite. A squadron of gargoyles
rose like a tornado in the darkness.

“Let’s go, Mathew!” Maganus said.

He helped the boy to his feet, and went to raise Father Bellator off the
ground and on his shoulder. The trio ran down corridor, with the swamp of
gargoyles hot on their heels like a pack of bloodthirsty hounds.

The trio turned left and right, twisting
through the labyrinth of castle hallways, but they seemed to be going in
circles.

Maganus had sensed his Mathew’s fear and
warned, “Calm. They can’t get you Mathew if they cannot smell your fear.”

At that moment, a gargoyle swooped over
Mathew and locked its talons on his right shoulder. Mathew broke free with a
hard hit on the creature’s belly with his sword.

Maganus jumped in front of Mathew like a protective wall. He lowered
Father Bellator to the floor and clasped his arms in prayer.

“
Incendia of Olympus, Contego obviam
Malum
!”

A shield of fire formed over them, and the
first of the descending gargoyles began to drop like toasted game.

“Should I have given you an umbrella?”
Maganus said.

Mathew smiled. “Make sure it is
demon-proof!”

“Humour is the best panacea for all evils.”

Mathew nodded and helped Father Bellator to his feet. “Hurry!” Maganus
instructed as he lifted his head and sniffed. “I smelled the woods. Safety is
ahead.”

Maganus moved forward and the castle doors
materialized at the end of the corridor. He raised his right hand and sent a
power bolt at the doors, which swung open with an eerie creak.

Outside of the castle, they were greeted by stale air. Mathew sensed
danger but got a clue about the hazard when he saw Maganus who looked grave and
shocked. Mathew followed the Angel’s line of sight and saw a gargantuan serpent
circling itself around Jin. Lying not far away was the carcass of Dilu, his
heavenly steed.

#

Barbatos sniggered.

“I once heard a conversation between two
powerful angels.”

“What were they talking about?”

“Whispers.”

“Whispers? They were whispering?”

Barbatos shook his head

“No. They mentioned something about
whispers that will save mankind.”

“Whispers that will save mankind.”

“Someone from the Kings of Men. Her
whispers will save mankind, and defeat the demons.”

Sarah’s smiled vaporized. She felt her
forehead wet and her throat dry.

“Why are you silent?”

“Listening to you.”

Barbatos stepped forth, his boots clicking
with intent

“I think that person is you.”

The presence of Lord Barbatos jarred Gwyneth’s heartbeat. Recollection of
their earlier encounter brought back the taste of blood and the daunting fear.
Gwyneth suffered paralysis and her moment of hesitation gave Barbatos the
opportunity to attack.

With a snap of his fingers, he flung a ball
of energy that hurled Gwyneth across the room. The White Angel struggled to her
feet and winked to a stunned Sarah.

“I am fine,” Gwyneth whispered and then
signaled her to a corner.

“You are strong,” Lord Barbatos said, and
he began to conjure another ball of energy.

“Be merciful, Darius.”

The Demon sniggered and shook his head.
Gwyneth easily parried the second bolt of energy.

Gwyneth smiled. “Tell me why?”

“You will know in due course.”

“We had a truce …”

“Truces are for weaklings! We can never
co-exist! Stability, war-free years, and civilization advancement in the last
decade— your race has all the credit for the accomplishments. However, mankind
is unworthy of your sacrifices. We have already controlled every arena of human
activity.”

Gwyneth inhaled as she tried to placate the
wild sensation of fear. Gradually as the dust in her subconscious settled,
Gwyneth mumbled her prayers. Her weapon the Snow Scepter, materialized in her
hand. The weapon was forged from the iron found in the depths of the Arctic.

Barbatos chuckled. “You are endangering
yourself by using that Scepter.” Deploying the weapon would sap her energies,
and she had been conserving her finite powers for a pivotal moment. Is this
that moment?

“I am ready to take the risk.”

“I am thrilled by your foolhardy behaviour,
Gwyneth.”

#

In one motion, Maganus rested Father Bellator by a boulder and engaged
the serpent with his battleaxes which he dispensed off with ease. In one suave
move, Maganus beheaded the serpent and freed Jin from its clutches.

Mathew crouched next to the Guardian Angel
and tried to help him to his feet but soon realized another problem.

“Mathew, Jin is under a demonic spell. Look
at his legs.” Maganus said.

Mathew checked and groaned at the sight of thick layers of greenish
growth rooting Jin to the ground. “What are these?”

“We called them W
oolish
. Demonic
weeds. They are bred in Hell and places of extreme evil. The substance looks
like grass, but the difference is that it feeds on the essence of all life
forms, sucking like parasites until the hosts expire.”

“Thanks for the botany lesson,” Mathew
said. “Let do something about it.”     

Maganus nodded and produced his smoking
pipe.

As he lit it, Mathew exclaimed, “Maganus,
is this the time for a puff?”

Maganus winked. “Watch me.” The Guardian Angel inhaled from the pipe and
blew rings of smoke at the Woolish. The vines that trapped Jin began to recede
and wither into dust.

Despite weakened by paratrophic vines, Jin
leapt over to his beloved steed. Tears, rarely seen from the normally stoic
Angle, flowed down his cheeks. “Gone is my companion,” He bowed his head and
said a prayer. A whiff of chill air passed by them and the carcass vaporized
into a path of light.

“I was careless to wander off, Jin,” Mathew
said.

“Fault not yours, Mathew. You are only
human.”

Mathew wondered, was that meant as comfort
or sarcasm?

Bellator’s moaning drew their attention, and Maganus went to him. “We’d
forgotten about you.”

“I am fine, Maganus,” Father Bellator said
and reloaded his shotgun. “I was born for one purpose, to fight and beat those
Demons.”

As if baited by Bellator’s words, trees
swayed and Mathew felt a chill crawling up his back. He searched the vast span
of darkness for any sign of their enemies. The green trees lining both sides of
the estate were willowy, with spidery branches, and the grass was a deathly
grey.

“The woods are so different,” he said.
“They looked dead.”

“They have been choked by the presence of
darkness, with their roots nestled into depths of evil,” Maganus said. “All
essence of nature, the trees and grassesare virtually sapped by the presence of
the Demons. It is sustenance to them, fuel to keep them strong in the realm of
Earth.”

Mathew drew his sword. “That means they are nearby?”

“Nearby?” Maganus said as he moved
alongside Mathew. “They are
everywhere
.”

#

Lord Barbatos looked at Gwyneth with a malefic smile, tightened his fist
and released his palms. Another bolt of lightning flew at the White Angel.
Despite a brave parry with the scepter, the impact knocked Gwyneth into a
somersault, landing clumsy onto the table.

“Disgrace to the Angels,” Barbatos said.

“Pride precedes a fall, Darius.”

“Your sermons again.” Barbatos rolled his eyes and said, “You’d
underestimated the power of darkness.”

“Mercy, patience, and guidance are the ways to raise them,” Gwyneth
retorted.

“You have tried. For two thousand years. What’s the score like?” Barbatos
sneered.

Gwyneth answered with a swing of her scepter that released a ball of
white energy at Barbatos. However, the dark lord vaporized it with ease of a
twist of his hand. Like a phantom, Barbatos reappeared behind Gwyneth.

The Angel preempted him with a kick that hit Barbatos’s torso.

“I am impressed,” Barbatos began to say,
but a second kick cut him off and hit him on the chest. “Is this the best you
could do?”

“Better than a shameless ploy to kidnap the
little girl.”

“Gwyneth, this is no kidnap.”

Barbatos responded with wrapped fists and a fighting stance but Gwyneth
was silent

“Another of your grand schemes again?”
Gwyneth swallowed hard. “When will
you
learn …
Darius
?”

Barbatos cringed and shut his eyes.

“Have you forgotten the original purpose of
your existence?” Gwyneth continued.

The Dark Lord raised his hands again.
“Enough of your sentimentality. Lets continue our fight.”

Lord Barbatos smiled and his physique began to mutate, His muscles
burgeoned and the eyes burned red; horns began to sprout through his wavy hair.

        “Darius!”

“Gwyneth!” Barbatos bellowed a reminder.
“You should just worry about your friends.”

“My friends?”

As Gwyneth pondered, Barbatos had hurled
over a ball of red energy. The White Angel raised her scepter tentatively,
thinking of her comrades. The brutal power, like a stomp bull, sent her through
the window and spiraling in freefall. A spell of darkness enveloped her, but
she quickly gained consciousness and spotted a star-like spark of light darting
towards her.

It dropped faster than her and within
moments, Gwyneth found herself in the custody and warmth of a furry cushion.
Marz! The snow wolf had returned.

Gwyneth reached the ground safely thanks to
Marz’s agility. She hugged her

loyal companion with brimming elation. She sensed the
presence of somebody else and quickly.

She checked her surroundings. Just yards
away, a group of figures standing. Her

taunt face dissolved into smiles.

“Maganus!”

“Gwyneth? Gwyneth!”