Legacy of the Defender (The Defender Series Book 1) (16 page)

The sound of falling ash was the smallest noise of all, but because there was a lot of it coming down it had an orchestra of sounds all to its own.  It sounded like rain.  There was a small comfort in that realization for I enjoyed sitting in the rain to meditate when possible.  It added a challenge to the aspect and the focus was more intense.  Even though it was not the same, as soon as the sound association processed, I was able to cross that off my mental list as I fell into meditation.  My focus was Mathias.

I started with his face.  The memory of meeting him the first time and how chiseled his features were, like those of a Greek god.  He had strength in ways that I did not understand at the time.  His very stride was that of a man that could kill you with his mind effortlessly.  He had taught me that battles began in the mind…win or lose.  I began pulling in all my remembrance of him.  A cohesive thought finally formed.  His voice came forward for me next out of the sensory aspect that my memory recalled.  My master impressed me in everything he did.

I remembered hearing his voice the first time.  It did not even sound human.  The harmonics that made up his words were in perfect rhythm and cadence.  Even for a warrior that had seen countless battles and had seen wonders and horrors, his voice never changed tempo unless he chose for it to.  He controlled his excitement and recollection of his achievements whenever he spoke.  There was an authority in his voice, and you hung on every word, for it was soothing at the same time.  It reached into your soul and showed you a platter of confidence, yet it made you work for everything and handed you nothing.  It inspired fear and confidence at the same time.  Thinking of it now brought a small twinge that I had to force back.  I did not realize how much I missed him.

My focus intensified as the pieces started to come into full view.  His presence saturated my senses.  He towered over me in the beginning, for my growth took a while to complete.  Like a giant of legend, he cast a long shadow.  The fondness I felt made me want to bow as if he were royalty from some distant land.  Yet he led men into war, which is something that dukes and barons do not do.  I still remembered seeing him swing his blade for the first time and the ease with which it passed through the leg of his target.

My thoughts narrowed to one word. 
Extraordinary!
  He was an example to me on every level of the type of man to strive to be.  I smiled and opened my eyes.  The singular picture in my thoughts began to grow and my focus shifted from pain to purpose.  I stood and turned around slowly.  His presence was everywhere.  It enveloped me, growing larger and larger.  It felt as if we both occupied the same space.  Something was pulling me in the opposite direction than Malnuras had thrown me.

I paused and released my thoughts of Mathias for a moment.  I returned my focus to Malnuras.  Memories evoked emotions, yet I did not feel the same response as before.  I felt nothing.  That worried me greatly.  I had no sense of where to look for him and no idea where to start.  It was as if he were dead.  Could he be?  Why would he leave me here?  I could not let those thoughts creep back in. 

My goal was clear.

My mind shifted back to Mathias.  Within seconds, I had the feeling that my master was back.  The feelings were strong.  I did not know what to do next so I locked in on wanting to be where my master was.  This feeling of elation built within me, and the teleport rune started to heat up.  The sensation intensified to a climax, but nothing happened. 

I started to despair and felt doubt grow in my mind like a throbbing sliver.  The focus began to bleed off.  Trying not to get angry or let my emotions control me, I concentrated on a new idea. 

I had not imagined me actually going to him.  No sooner did the idea form than I felt my vision blurred like before.  My balance shifted and I was off.  This time, however, it was instant.  There was no build up from the rune, nor was there any pain or nausea.  The campsite simply vanished from sight.  I could see nothing.  My hope grew.

Solid ground appeared under my feet.  Air moved rapidly around me like in a vortex, but it did not tear at me the way a tornado would.  Airflow stopped.  My eyes focused and my ears adjusted to the sounds of battle.  Called from their place on my back, my swords instinctively hit my hands.

My eyes panned my surroundings.  I found myself atop an enormous wall.  It was several hundreds of feet wide and had crenels on each side of it.  In front of me, great golden buildings disappeared thousands of feet above in the clouds.  The architecture was incredible as if I had stepped back in time to gothic designs that adorned every building in certain periods of history.  I was in awe of such a sight, but my focus was on my mission and did not allow time for distractions.  To my left and right, I heard the familiar sounds of the horde attacking.  My eyes panned.  Winged “men” and “women” were engaged in battle with swords all around me.  They wore beautifully adorned armor and the weapons glowed with some type of energy.  Combat was intense.  The horde’s foot troops seemed temporarily contained to one large area.  The locust daemons died by the hundreds, but the numbers were too great...  In they swept like a tide. 

The energy field was right in front of me, changing colors like a rainbow.  I had just seen this very same field not long ago. 
This time I was on the inside
.  I glanced around and saw the towers on the wall also disappeared into the cloud miles above me.  I gasped as the magnitude of this structure assaulted my senses.

I stood on the fortified walls of the City of Heaven.  Daemons killed angels by the hundreds every moment.  My mind stopped.  Everything inside me froze.  Hell invaded.  Heaven buckled beneath the onslaught.  Impossible! 

The horde had broken through the protective shield.

XIII

The Wall

With flaming blades in motion, I scythed the first of my attackers clean in half.  Three more met a similar fate in the next few strokes.  All died in a bloody mess faster than they could turn to engage me.  The bodies burned from the holiness in my blades.  Even the blood burned away. 

I was just getting started.  Daemons were getting a foothold on the wall, like a beachhead when a country invades the shores of another.  They held a small section of the wall.  That was all they needed to allow the fliers to get into the air.  The blood lust took me to a place of controlled rage.  Vengeance drove a righteous spike of fury into my heart.  They had taken Malnuras and now Heaven was wide open.  Nothing could make things even.  Tens of thousands of them needed to die today to begin to cover the debt.  My swords could not move fast enough.  There were a few surprised looks from the winged beings when I strode up next to them and stole their kills.

I fought alongside angels!

They bore a strong resemblance to pictures I had seen as a child.  The Grecian physique chiseled to perfection adorned with wings, ornate golden armor, and a beautiful weapon wreathed in flames.  They were almost as tall as I was with little variation in height.  Long lochs of braided hair of all shades, very Norse-like, fell upon the back their plate of armor.  Most had great helms that also had a winged pattern on them.  Several sported shields while others had two-handed weapons, like axes, spears, and mighty
swords.  All were amazingly graceful and warrior-like as they threw themselves methodically at the horde.

Sporadic glances around me revealed I was the only dual wielder.  My weapons sang a deadly dance.  Dozens more daemons died and I was catching them two and three at a time.  The controlled rage turned to strategy.  Hundreds of daemons fell by my hand in the first minutes.  Cheers erupted as the masses fell.  The momentum carried me.  Faster and faster my hands went.  The horde was not thinning by any means.

I hoped there were some wizards working on that shield.  Someone had to repair it while the combatants dealt with the insurgents.  “Why was God not defending the city?”  I thought.  Perhaps something happened to distract him, or maybe the horde finally hit the walls of Heaven with enough force to punch through.  I knew the answer to that question was not relevant right now, but it mattered.  The question occupied my thoughts for several minutes while I cut swaths of death through the nasty creatures closing in all around me. 

I had not even turned my own protections on.  In my rage, all I wanted was for them to perish, and I did not care what happened to me in the process.  It took several hits on me and some major blood to flow and fill my boot before the realization hit home.  My stubbornness hurt me more at times then the enemy did.  There were allies around me to protect.  Training was over.  Today counted.

Bodies of angels littered the wall and started to pile up
. 

Medium sized fliers formed the core, but mainly ground runners of the small to medium variety were swarming.  The Defenders appeared to stand strong.  Hundreds of the flyers flew out into the city and disappeared every moment, but I was not paying attention to them.  My foes all around died by the thousands as the forces of Heaven marshaled and we advanced.  I could see the breach now in the distance; it was far away and very, very big.

It took several hours of fighting before I got close enough to the breach to realize that it was not what it appeared to be.  The horde weakened the shield enough to allow magic to do more than simply creating an opening; it allowed the hordes to enter.  It was a true portal and it was bigger than I imagined it could be. Siege weapons continued to pound and weaken the city’s shield.  Small openings, the size of my fist, were fluxing open and closed.  Occasionally a stone projectile from outside would pass through.  It was getting dire.  With the horde pouring through and the projectiles smashing away at Heaven, I had all but forgotten my reason for being there.  Mathias had to be somewhere close. 

He was nowhere around.  I could not risk disengaging to look for him.  The attack was too intense.  Chances were we would find one another in the middle of the horde and end up in a back-to-back fight like I had always imagined.  Even alongside each other, the chance of failure was feasible.  Eventually, those defending would tire, and the invading numbers would be unending.  My faith in the skills of the angelic hosts renewed as I saw the ferocity in their fight.  I had seen warriors lead with valor and command men with ferocious courage.             

I found myself barking out commands to form lines and stand fast.  The portal was about five yards across and it flowed like a waterspout fully open.  They poured through faster than could be measured, hundreds every few seconds.  My skill at gauging the size of a host was good, which scared me.  It was as if hell opened up on Heaven through a fire hose, which simply kept flowing. 

The horde owned the sky. 

Arrows and bolts would occasionally kill a daemon on the wall, but mostly the Archers focused on the sky.  Angels tried to fight them in the air, but gangs of daemons descended upon them before they could get very far.  The archers were far more effective in taking them out in flight, for they aimed at the entire cloud of daemons blanketing the sky.  Dozens of daemons fell with every volley.  Flyers increased every minute the portal spewed forth reinforcements.  The tide was starting to turn in their favor.

A thing of beauty floated across the sky.  Her sword glowed with gold light, and her wings beat heavy and strong.  She wore the purest of white garments, fluttering behind her like snowy fire.  I did not see any armor.  Her blue eyes locked on mine, and I could see the concern on her face.  She flew down to the wall to join the battle, unprepared in my opinion.  At once, a giant clawed hand plucked her from the air.  It was one of the large wingless daemons.  The monster bit her head clean off and screamed.  It threw her body at the line of archers in a distant tower, hitting several.  Another angel fell at my feet, headless.  Two more dropped nearby, their wings gone.  My heart raced. 

Heaven was losing.

On the wall, angels fell in uncountable numbers.  Even though more filled their spots on the line, the fight was dismal.  We pressed to get to the breach.  I never thought I would see an angel get its wings torn from her back.  It took two of the medium flyers to grab it and make a wish.  A sickening rip sounded out before there was a shower of red.  The angel did not fall but continued to fight the best she could.  My stomach turned to see her bleeding out.  Such beauty covered in gore.  She killed one of the flyers that had one of her wings.  The second fell from my sword.  Her legs began to buckle and I grabbed her arm.

“Fall back and get some healing,” I said trying to not to sound as if I was giving an order to an angel.

“My Lord, the healers were the first to fall.”

“Wait, you mean to tell me they hit the healers first?”

“Yes my Lord.”

“Can you heal yourself?” 

She nodded.  “It will take some time, but I can stop the bleeding.” 

“Go then.  There is no reason to lose your life if you can live to fight another day.”  She begrudgingly started to walk away and fell flat on her face.  They ripped her apart when a sudden wave of attackers surged forward.  My body wanted to puke and fought back the pain from witnessing such evil.  Until now all of the carnage I witnessed was against me.  Even though the creatures in the forest died, I did not witness much of it.  Angels were dying by the hundreds.  How many could Heaven spare?

My attention turned back to the horde.  I could not believe what I heard.  The enemy not only breached the shields, but they managed to target the ones who can keep the guardians fighting…healers.  Their gift was to give their life energy to the wounded.  Depending on the skill level of the healer, each one could help dozens.  Healing was all they did.  Then they slept, and could do it again the next day.  Something was seriously wrong.  I needed to find Mathias fast or I felt we would lose this battle.  Time was up.

Next to me dozens of daemons imploded and turned to dust.  A flash of light and another group went down in a large swath.  My eyes focused on decorated and prestigious armor suddenly visible.  A blade, glowing bright, flashed out taking dozens of the denizens again.  I could feel the heat just like when a fire roars to life.  Its reach was incredible.  Fire leapt from the end as it rose and fell extending the killing zone by several feet.   

An officer of some kind stood a dozen feet before me wearing ornate armor and a winged helm.  His chiseled features were obvious from under his helm that looked Spartan by design.  His wings tucked in tight allowing his movement to be fluid in tight ranks.  Behind him was a host of angels dressed the same.  A new legion arrived that looked like battle hardy veterans.  As the leader strode up to me, another strike took down an even larger group that simply vaporized.  He nodded to me.

“Where is Mathias?”  I shouted.   

"Who?"

"Mathias, he is my master...I must find him."

His hand raised and point towards the center of the breach.  All I saw was swarms of daemons flying now where the fighting was heaviest.  Somehow it did not surprise me to learn the location of my master.  My destination was clear.  The horde surged suddenly again and the portal tore open farther.  The uncontrolled flow turned into a deluge filling the skies.  A wave of daemons slammed into the veterans and decimated the ranks as if breaking on sand.  The angelic formation folded in on itself as they turtle shelled.  Still outside, the commander stood before me still swinging his mighty blade at the tide in utter defiance.

“Turn around and fall back, you are going to die.”  Blood flowed freely from his wounds.

“This is what we do, my Lord.”  With that, he and these men threw himself in to a swarm of daemons and began to take them apart by the hundreds.  It did not matter.  Their sacrifice was tragic, but in war, people died…throw enough bodies at the machine to win.  Most of the time it was sheer numbers that won over strategy.  Spinning several times with blades out wide to clear my area, I turned my attention back to where Mathias was said to be and advanced.  Daemons re-engaged me, a wide swath formed as they fell to righteous fury.  Strikes rose and fell rhythmically with each step.  I almost did not feel any resistance anymore when my blades connected with a target.  Like a knife through butter, they passed unhindered.  It was a bit over stated but now that I was actually doing it, but the statement to be true.

The top of the wall was slick with angelic blood.  Angels continued to fall, adding to the mire of daemon ash blended with heavenly blood.  The duet in my head spoke.

"Unleash us.  The time is right."  Amidst my swings, I inquired what my companions meant.  An image filled my head of a flaming arc of energy decimating even more of my foes, extending off the tips of my blades like the blade the veteran commander had.  Each swing felt as if time stopped and the path of destruction was incredible.  The fallen were beyond count.  Focus rushed forward in my mind.  My blades had a request to empower them.

A vortex of death surrounded me.

Energy flowed up the blades.  My hands felt like they were in an oven.  I knew that feeling.  Something was about to change.  The same effect seen on that veteran officer’s blade leapt from mine on my next attack.  A primal yell came from my lips as the pain in my hands reached its max like before.  Thankfully my blades did not slip one iota.  The daemons engaging the angels around me turned to look giving the host time for a few free shots.

My next attack cleaved many of them in two; an arc of energy shot away from the blade as it cut and I watched in surprised satisfaction and this energy continued through several ranks of them.  A hundred easily died with that swing.  The next felled even more and opened a swath several yards deep.  No bodies remained of those just killed…holy fire decimated them before they hit the ground.  Renewed vigor came over me, and I fell upon my foes even faster and harder.

In front of me a wall of daemons crawled away from me in an attempt to retreat.  Stacked at least four high, they moved like the tide crashing on the beach.  The form rolled away from me.  Few left behind died without effort.  Suddenly the horde in front of me thinned.  A wave of energy knocked them aside.  A suit of bright armor unstained by the death, appeared, and disappeared as the battlefield flowed.  The color was a blend of gold and blue.  Not a speck of blood touched it.  My eyes hurt to gaze upon it for more than a moment.  I did not know if it was how it caught the light or the power contained within.  I lost sight of him again and fought hard towards his direction. 

Hundreds of the large ones were all over him.  It was clear the main host broke through.  The tide parted again.  I could see it...this portal was massive.  I found it odd that the largest of the multi-legged daemons came through last when they could have wreaked more havoc had they been first.  Perhaps the smaller ones were harder to control, as they were more animalistic than the bigger smarter ones. 

"
Or Fodder!”
the duet chimed in response to my thoughts.

Daemons disintegrated in front of me, felled by Mathias.  His mighty swings felled several of them, but they did not go down as easy.  They took the hits from the great sword he wielded as if he was swatting them with its flat side.  The blade was not the same one he carried during training.  It was twice the size and flashed as if made of energy itself.  Yet he could not cut these down as he had the lesser before.  The host parted as if something pushed through from behind.  Several large monsters appeared with thick black blades, standing easily over ten feet tall.  He engaged them without hesitation.  They parried his attacks almost with ease as the blades did not break and turned his attacks aside.  More appeared and surrounded him.