Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle) (100 page)

Sorono’s
thoughts did help as
he
replied
in heavy breaths. “Yes. We did it. Sorry Sorono, but these wounds
…
have taken me
out of the fight for some time to come.”

“How bad
are they?”
H
is large hazel eyes were wide with worry.
“Not as
bad as his,”
They
both looked down to see that Ranvan still falling to the earth
in two pieces
. “but they are really bad. If I don’t find a way to close the wounds
soon,
I might bleed to death. The pain is so great that it is
impossible for me
to focus properly.”

Sorono’s
jaw tightened and his expression became serious.
“If that is the case, Connor, this will hurt. Find something to bite down on.”

The look in his eye told
him
what he planned to do. Knowing this
,
Connor
ripped the bloodie
d
mail
that wrapped around his
left leg and put a thick piece between
his
teeth.
His
legs dangled between
Sorono’s cradling arms and it made him
feel like a child.
Tool soon found itself holstered against
his
right hip once again.
Once
he
finished
prepar
ing
him
self
,
the real pain
began.

Sorono
pulled
him
in one arm and used his teeth to take off his Dark Steel claws. He placed the metal securely in his belt and
used his free hand to rip off the legs of
Connor’s
pants, just above
the
wounds. Once he saw the extent of th
e puncture wounds he realized the gravity of them
. He then lifted his free hand and create
d a small ball of an orange
flame on the tip of his index
claw. As the flame approached the
legs
Connor tightly shut his
eyes. There
came
a sizzling sound
as the flame began cauterizing the wounds, but Connor
was thankful for Sorono because he made the flame hot enough to m
ake the
nerve receptors think that the flame was cold
by making it too hot to read
. After he
finished sealing the tops of the legs he helped him
turn around to close the wounds on the backside of
his
hamstrings.

Before
Connor
knew it he said
“It is finished. Sorry, but I cannot do anything about your broken leg. At least you won’t die from blood loss
now
.”
Connor
finally removed
the
mouthpiece and held it in
his
left hand.

To change the subject he
asked “We defeated our nemesis. So what now?”

“
You just leave the rest to me. I
f it weren’t for your aid I wouldn’t be alive at this very moment. You have done more than expected, little brother.”
He then smiled genuinely.

Sorono continued carrying
Connor
, but he gladly
accepted a compromise to hold his
upper body in his hand rather than being cradled. He flew
them
back to the White House
just as the battles continued to rage throughout the city. There were a few new corpses laying around the front lawn, but the guards that were left behind were all accounted for and unharmed and the cameras were still in the same spot that they were originally placed.

Once Sorono gently laid
him
against the building’s outside wall
,
Connor found that his
bottom the only
area
not in
blinding
pain.

Sorono then turned around in an almost protective manner
,
in front of
him
.
Connor
felt his mind reaching
out
fa
r and wide as he
let him in. His mental voice
took a
calm
aspect
, sure and laced with the highest authority.

“Everyone must stop what they are doing. For those of us who are here to protect, relay my thoughts to those who are outside my mental reach. All off our enemy who have come here seeking to dominate humanity are hereby ordered to surrender. Your leader has been defeated and killed. You have no leader and no hope of winning as you once thought. If you surrender now I will give you only one chance to live. If you choose to continue fighting
this pointless crusade you will die. Either way you have already lost. Choose to continue living or die pointlessly.

“If you come quietly, surrender your weapons to my people and have them escort you to the specified location
you will see another day
. Make your choice, Now!”
Then Sorono sen
t
the mental images of Ranvan falling to the ground, headless.

In less than a minute
Connor
could easily hear that the battles throughout the city had quieted dramatically
and the shaking of the earth stilled slightly
, but there were still a few fights raging. Those that continued warring were quickly dealt with. Soon all that could be seen
above the building from where he
sat was the black smoke that rose from the battle site.

It was finally over.
The protectors
won.

Useless and Valuable

“Sarah?” At the sound of
her
name
she
turned around to see Head Elder Poseidon’s deep green eyes looking upon
her
in mild importance
and fatigue
.

After her
ba
ttle with the dangerous female she
had returned to the Empire State building to help protect it and those
who remained
inside. Since
her
return
,
the sun had dipped below the horizon and night had taken day’s place. In certain parts of the city extensive damage
will require months and even years to repair or rebuild completely
, but at least they were empty
,
for the most part
,
and
civilian
casualties remained at a minimum.

Not wanti
ng to delay what he had to say she
replied with a simple “Yes?”

Calmly he stated “This day’s battle had been long and very difficult, but as it is, our enemy numbers are diminishing by the second. From the last report I received
,
there is less than a thousand remaining and we far outnumber them. Soon enough their lives will be extinguished. Since that is the case, I believe your
presence
w
ill no
longer
be
necessary.” Then he smiled.

Understanding washed through
her
as
she
glanced at
her
family.
Jack
,
Jillian
and Amber were all tired, but unharmed. Ben had a deep gash on his forearm from an accident of his own doing. He had dove through one of the windows of this building when he though
t
a Keeper
flew
too close to him, and panicked. Amber cracked jokes at him while she stitched his wounds earlier. Right now
they were all looking at Sarah
expectantly and when
she
didn’t move or speak Amber said “Oh just go already! Geesh, we’ll cover for you.
We’ll meet up later, like planned.
Go to my brother-in-law and see how he’s doing. Remember
,
you told us he’s hurt?”

Her
mouth opened to give a smart retort, but nothing came out.
She
simply nodded to everyone and turned to the
shattered
window.

Without another thing holding her
back
here,
she
lea
pt from the window and smiled. She conjured
a Pressure wedge before
her face and body as she
poured e
nergy down her
legs to get to
her
soul mate as quickly as possible.

She
b
lar
ed
through the sky
,
feeling
her
apprehension lessen
by the second
and
her
chest was warming. It was too dark to see properly, but
she felt the pull to her
destination and used its perfect
guide
to get there.

In less than an hour after
the
initial start
,
she
made it to Washington D.C. and the city was lit up just enough
for her
to see much of the destruction that had been done. New York’s destruction could be patched up with a simple band-aid compared to what happened in this city. Apparently the
enemy’s
main force did arrive here and the destruction was the undeniable proof.
S
piraling and flickering emergency lights
became brighter
the lower
she
flew
, blocking off areas with the most destruction and raging fires that still lived.
Large forms worked alongside the scene to aid trapped victims from collapsed buildings.
T
he
n she could see the horde of people. T
he
many
people
had
gathered around dead Keepers and
also
those that
remained alive. She
didn’t have the mind to stop because onl
y one thing truly mattered to her
.

Moments later
she
felt the pull of
her bond lessening and the closer she got to the
destination the
brighter
and warmer her chest felt
. The White House was lit up with floodlights bright enough for even the blind to see clearly. The entire area swarm
ed
with
both
Keepers and Humans
alike
.
S
cattered,
roaring cheers from the ancient reptiles
who won blended with
those of the mortals who did their best to keep up.
M
any humans
stood
in uniform
,
who were mainly from the military, but no w
eapons were raised. The closer she
flew the more details could be seen. In the
lush lawn
of the White House were many humans, but only ten or so Keepers remained inside the fence. Many of the streets leading towards the White House were closed off, but the barricades were holding back thousands mor
e shouting and upset humans than
normal.

Without slowing for anyone
,
she dived straight down. Sarah
finally saw him after being so far away. He was looking direc
tly at her
while
smiling
joyously
. His warm and rel
ieved emotions washed through her like a warm bath after a hard day’s work
. He didn’t come to
her
for some reason, but he
simply sat
against the wall of the building while also on the grass. His face and body was splotched in red, but his facial features were so achingly handsome.

She
flipped midair and cut the energy to
her
legs and fell
directly at him. In an instant she
fell directly into his cradled and powerful arms.

“Connor.”
She
said lovingly while looking up into his predatory hazel eyes that were full of joy.