Shadow Seed (9 page)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

On the outskirts of Vesuvia, the amount of
Pelasgians appeared endless.

Fighting Turin, like Marus, was like trying
to fight a ghost. Fog shrouded his body as it swirled around him.
He easily blocked several attacks from a Satyr before stabbing it
through the neck.

Vesuvians from all of the Houses were
present. It was at times like this Marus was reminded of the
disparity in power, even between individuals of the same House.

A Remian five hundred years old, and looked
like an Olympic athlete, easily disarmed and killed a Satyr and two
Centaurs within three seconds before going after a Cyclops.

Another Remian, just over a hundred years of
age, was thrown to the ground by a Corinthian and killed with a
stab to the heart.

It was easiest to spot the differences in
power between two people of the House of Liro.

Many could grow razor-sharp claws and had a
small change in appearance, notably in the face area.

Some Liros had a semi-final form with
slightly bigger claws, and more pronounced physical changes.

With each level came a slight increase in
strength and speed, but this didn't compare to the Remia.

There was no such thing as a Liro without
heightened senses.

All of this was enough to combat many of the
Pelasgians fiercely, if they could get their hands on them.

A few Liros reached the final form. It was
terrifying to behold, being more bat than man in appearance. While
the Cyclopes’ size proved to be a bit of a problem, the Liros could
pounce on anything smaller and claw them to pieces.

The Doran had perfected the use of blood as a
weapon. It was like liquid mercury in their hands, and they had
full control over it.

One used his blood staff to block a
Corinthian's sword before turning it into a whip-like weapon that
shot through the Corinthian's chest.

A powerful Doran could control the blood
without even touching it. The blood spike was a nasty weapon that
could repeatedly run someone through, with the Doran at a safe
distance.

Two Satyrs went after Marus, jabbing at him
with their spears through the fog. One managed to slash his coat
pocket, dropping the few precious blood marbles he had.

Several yards away a Centaur took aim with
his bow.

As Marus tricked the Satyrs into stabbing
each other, an arrow stuck his shoulder. Flinching for a split
second, he took a Satyr's spear and threw it at the Centaur's head
with incredible precision.

At the rear of the Vesuvian army, the Siena
made the most of their unmatched intuition with a bow and
arrow.

What separated one Siena from another was
their ability to hit a target in all the commotion. The least adept
aimed high, shooting far into the enemy army.

For the more experienced, it was like
watching a magic trick executed effortlessly. The best could fire
past dozens of people in the midst of battle, and hit the enemy
exactly where they wanted.

The only Vesuvians not physically fighting
were the Kanara. Mind-control used a fair amount of blood, even for
the powerful ones. In a massive battle, it wasn’t as efficient as a
support role.

They functioned as a second set of eyes for
those actually fighting. A Remian pulling his sword from a Satyr
would have been struck from behind were it not for the timely
telepathic warning of a watchful Kanara.

The Kanara also relayed vital information
about enemy movements at the speed of thought. This let the
Vesuvians instantly know where their line was beginning to break
and reinforce it.

The dirty fighting was left to the Orlok, and
they loved it. Those who could do so remained invisible, with many
Pelasgians never knowing what hit them.

They preferred jagged knives and blunt
objects, quickly eliminating enemies already locked in battle from
behind.

A Turin girl blocked one attack after another
from two Corinthians using only a short sword. As a Minotaur joined
the fray, she threw a black powder that ignited with a blinding
flash. With some assistance from the Orlok, she was able to quickly
finish off the Pelasgians.

Melding with the ground in the nick of time,
Marus barely avoided being smashed by a Cyclops bringing his mace
down like a hammer. He instantly reemerged and stabbed the Cyclops
through the chest.

Monitoring the battle from the Council's
building, Helen called out to Marus with her telepathy. “Fall back!
The Pelasgians are pushing hard into the flanks.”

“Can we counter?” Marus thought as he pulled
the arrow out.

“It doesn’t look good,” Helen replied. “The
rural section should be better for fighting, but you must go
now.”

At once, the Vesuvians went into retreat.

The Pelasgians gave chase, fighting much of
the way across the farmlands. They soon reached the rural section,
a part of the city with buildings up to three stories high at the
most.

“Stand your ground!” Marus ordered.

Without question, the Vesuvians turned to
face the incoming enemy.

Marus dodged a Minotaur and kicked him to the
side where an Orlok happily took over.

Little by little the fog covering Marus was
dissipating, making him easier to see. A Corinthian swung and
barely missed.

Marus blocked the second attack, but that
allowed a Satyr to spear him in the stomach.

The sound of Marus' grunting in pain
instantly drew his fellow Vesuvians' attention.

A Liro tackled the Satyr, with many of the
Turin charging the Pelasgians.

The fog around Marus completely vanished as
he pulled the spear out. Slumping against a house as he retreated,
he noticed his blood marbles were gone. Another arrow struck his
leg, causing him to fall over some baskets.

A Cyclops broke through the Vesuvian line,
swinging his massive club. He spotted Marus and ran at him.

Marus forced himself up and dove into a small
dark corner, virtually disappearing.

The Cyclops swung his club and completely
demolished the corner. It seemed impossible, but there was no
body.

Marus dropped from another shaded area
directly above and rammed his staff into the Cyclops' back. He was
thrown forward as the Pelasgian fell dead into a small market
stand.

Wounded and disoriented, Marus crawled and
made it as far as the next corner where he saw his fellow Turin
struggling with another Cyclops at the next intersection.

The Vesuvians behind him were doing well, but
they seemed so few to the Pelasgians.

The shadow of a winged creature overcame
Marus and landed beside him. Looking up weakly, he was relieved to
see it was Gavin.

Gavin and a select few were in their
legendary form. This was very similar to the final form, but came
with huge batwings.

With a low hiss, Gavin dropped a blood marble
and flew off.

Liros in this form were also very nimble in
the air, as Gavin flew up past an oncoming griffin and picked off
its rider with ease, dropping him to the chaos below.

Marus ate the marble and was instantly on his
feet, fog shrouding his body. Melding with the ground, he grabbed
his staff.

In the next moment, as a Cyclops swung his
mace, Marus exploded from the ground behind thrusting his staff
through the Cyclops' head.

One of the Turin approached. “Marus, help is
on the way, but the enemy is pouring in from everywhere. What are
we going to do?”

Marus looked back at the sound of Pelasgians
coming around the next corner, and gave what he hoped wouldn't be
his last order. “Stand your ground.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“This way,” Gillan said, guiding others into
one of hundreds of large boats. “Stay calm. Everything will be
fine.”

Close by on the pier, Caycee watched the sky
as Khothu filed past her.

Several Erinies and Corinthians with griffins
landed on the dock, attacking and scattering the Khothu in all
directions.

Caycee took aim with her bow and nailed an
Eriny with an arrow to the head. She quickly fired off another
arrow, killing a Corinthian.

The now riderless griffin went after a small
Typhon girl, who fired what little flames she could to slow the
creature down as she ran.

Caycee fired an arrow and hit one of the
griffin's hind legs, but the animal barely paused.

Tripping over her feet from running so fast,
the girl fell and cowered in the fetal position. Just as the
griffin was about to take a bite, Nasia seemed to come out of
nowhere and slashed the creature's side with her sword.

Writhing in pain, the griffin had no chance
of avoiding the searing hot fire Nasia then doused it with. As the
creature looked for any way to escape it tried to fly off, only to
fall dead into the water.

Nasia picked the crying girl up. “There,
there now. You'll be fine. Let's get you out of here,” she said.
With the commotion ahead of her, she ran off with the girl towards
another boat.

As Gillan continued cramming as many people
on the boat as he could, Melkor arrived on the dock with Kemik
close behind.

When the Erinies turned their attention to
him, Melkor came to a dead stop, holding his son behind him.

Kemik shook in fear at the sight of Erinies
growling as they approached and took up the whole width of the
dock. “Do something, Dad!”

Waiting for the right moment, Melkor caused a
chunk of wall to break and levitate between himself and the
Erinies. It suddenly shattered into dozens of smaller, very sharp
shards that shot into the Erinies.

Gillan was familiar with Melkor's abilities,
but even he was stunned with the visceral way the Komodo disposed
of the enemy.

Caycee continued to provide covering
fire.

When they finally arrived at the boat, Melkor
helped his son on and began to walk back down the pier.

“Dad,” Kemik yelled. “Where are you
going?”

Melkor stopped. “I am needed here. You go
with the others.”

Kemik hopped off the boat. “No way! I'm
staying with you!”

It was difficult for Melkor to face his son.
He didn’t want Kemik to see the worry in his face. “Don't argue
with me! The Pelasgians are ruthless savages, and they won't think
twice about killing you.”

A tear rolled down Kemik's face.

Melkor softened up a little. “I promise we'll
see each other again,” he said, hugging his son. “But I can't do my
job if I have to worry about you. Now please, go.”

Kemik reluctantly boarded the boat. “Fight
well, Father.”

The boat now full, everyone on the pier had
to turn back, and it was slow going with so many people.

Caycee was now on the dock helping people.
She never noticed Piscoro, a Caidoz, jumping out of the water and
landing a few yards not far behind.

Piscoro had a long armored tail with a
stinger she used to swat several Khothu away.

Caycee sensed the terror from the Khothu
around her and turned to see what was happening. Before she could
react though, Piscoro's stinger was in her stomach.

With a quick whip of the tail, Piscoro sent
Caycee soaring over one building and into the wall of another.

Many of Caycee's bones broke as blood shot
from her mouth.

Gillan made a torrent of water crash into
Piscoro with enough power to knock most people down a street.
Letting up, he was stunned to see her standing as though nothing
had happened.

“Allow me,” Melkor said, with the ground
taking hold of Piscoro's feet and a wall of earth rising up to tip
over on top of her.

“Hurry,” Gillan said running. “We have to
find Caycee.”

As they reached the dock, Melkor watched as
Piscoro poured out in liquid form from under the wall and reshaped
herself in seconds.

Gillan and Melkor didn’t know what to do.
Piscoro took one step toward them before bursting into a cloud of
mist from a fireball that struck her from behind.

Gillan breathed a sigh of relief seeing it
was Nasia who saved them. “As if the Pelasgians weren't enough,” he
said. “Who was she?”

“Who knows,” Melkor replied. “But it looks
like she has friends.”

Gillan could see the ram-headed Eisar further
down the dock wreaking havok with a mace of fire.

On the opposite side of the dock, Quasairu
didn't appear to have a weapon until he opened his beak and belted
out a loud squawk that could shatter glass a hundred yards
away.

While the Pelasgians retreated, Marduk walked
up behind Cesni and Ivee watching as the Caidoz appeared throughout
Tiamat, attacking at random and causing widespread destruction.

“I almost feel bad for them,” Cesni said.

Ivee giggled. “Almost.”

Suruta could easily be confused for a
Minotaur, but her femininity was definitely more apparent and she
was much more deadly with a hammer that could crack the ground open
like an earthquake.

Imigen also had a beak, but his weapon was a
whip that flailed around like it had a mind of its own. As he stood
in the middle of the plaza, an ethereal twin kept randomly
appearing within nearby, doing his actual fighting.

Neccra had a giant crab claw that could cut
steel like a hot knife through butter or punch holes into walls.
She demolished many of the buildings on the shoreline.

On one of the islands, Oel used his lion
claws to set anything he touched ablaze. Even the ground he walked
on was smoldering.

Uratistagis reached back into his horse-like
mane of fire and pulled out an arrow. Taking aim with his bow, he
shot the arrow at a building, causing it to erupt into a ball of
flames.

Even if she didn't have the gills of a fish,
Cipess could stay underwater indefinitely. She leapt straight up
out of the sea, throwing a stream of water like a spear so fast it
went through several buildings.