The Willbreaker (Book 1) (47 page)

              “No…” he said, quietly. As he spoke, Aurora turned her head and looked at him. Jasmine’s head twitched as she tried to turn it towards him. Their eyes met as blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. He could see it in her eyes, she was dying. She coughed again, quietly, and although no sound came from her mouth, she lipped the words, “I am sorry…”

              Her body began to fall over. Her head and her right arm, spliced through her chest, toppled backwards, cleanly cut from the rest of her torso. Her left arm and belly fell forward away from her waist and legs. Jasmine, cut cleanly in three pieces, toppled to the ground in a bloody pile.

              “Noooooooo!” Brandon screamed as tears poured from his eyes. His scream echoed through the roads and alleyways. Aurora watched him as the Lash Lords moved in between Aurora and Brandon. Brandon could not pull his eyes from the bloody heap of body parts. His body froze. He could not move, or even think anymore.

“Brandon,” Edward said. “Brandon!” Annoyance now filled his voice as he looked at Jasmine to see if she had any answers. She looked back at him and shrugged.

“What is the matter with you boy, are you alright?” he said, placing his hand on Brandon’s arm.

              Brandon turned his attention to Edward. They sat on the edge of the road, ahead of them stood the massive marble tower. Brandon peered around behind him; off in the distance he could see the gates of the city. They entered the city only moments before and what he saw had not happened yet.

              He looked up at the tower again, lost in thought. His power took him a place in the future. None of his vision had come true yet, but it would. He needed to use his knowledge to prevent his friends from dying.

“I am sorry, I was not ignoring you. I have a lot on my mind and we need to find Aurora. I do not know what I am going to do when I find her, but I know I have to do it.” He felt a bit silly repeating himself, but he did not want his friends to know he had seen this coming. “We have come too far to stop now, so here is what needs to happen.”

              Brandon explained his plan to Jasmine and Edward; Edward would stay back and wait for Blue by the city gates while he and Jasmine would search the towers for Aurora. They were to search the towers and then meet back in fifteen minutes. He tried his best to incorporate answers to all of the questions that Edward and Jasmine had asked him in his vision, and by the end of his speech, they sat ready and without questions.

              “Okay then, well, good,” he ended. “Remember, do not be the hero, stay alive and be careful.” Edward and Jasmine gave him an understanding nod, then they went their ways. Brandon stayed back momentarily to escape their view and then altered his previous course.

              Edward scurried alongside the buildings, staying close to the edge, towards the gate. Even from here, Edward could see the destruction caused by his large, six-armed friend. Smoke billowed in every direction. Bodies lie scattered about on the road, over crushed wagons, and even in a horse’s trough. Edward heard Blue grunting and roaring from within the cloud of thick dust.

              Edward paused, crouching lower to the ground, and squinted his eyes as he looked harder into the area where the gate and guard wall once stood. His body perked to attention when he noticed movement from within. Blue!

              Blue picked through the fallen stone and debris, looking for something. He reached his hand down into a pile of fallen wall and yanked a thick metal bar out. The bar must have been a support beam from the collapsed wall. He held it like a club, although it was much longer than he was tall.

              In a hushed yell, Edward called out, “Blue! Blue!” The monstrous beast’s head rose, chest inflated, as his eyes fell upon the old man. A large crooked smile broke his look of concentrated anger and he ran towards Edward, scooping him up in his arms in a giant hug.

              Edward laughed, trying to prevent himself from being crushed.

              “Ha! Easy there, big guy! I am glad to see you, too!” Blue set Edward down and then pressed Edward out to arm’s length away so he could look at him. Blue’s eyes rose, looking over the top of Edward’s head. The smile on his giant face slowly faded. With a quick shove, Edward hit the road and skidded against the wall.

              The thunderous crack of the metal whip, topped with a spinning blade, caused Blue to roar out in pain. Blood flowed from his collar bone down to his stomach from the wound. If Edward stood there, he would have been cut in two.

              Whip still in hand, Petal glared at Blue and Edward. Blue planted his feet, roaring out in defiance. The long “schick” of metal being pushed through flesh, muscle, and bone stopped after two red glowing and curved blades burst from Petal’s chest. Brandon pressed against the back of the gasping man put his face to the side of Petal’s head.

“Not today,” he whispered. Brandon yanked the blades out from Petal’s body. Blood flipped from the ends of the them, splattering the road on both sides of him. Petal grunted painfully as the swords left his body. He staggered forward and dropped his whip.

              Blinking and trying to regain his quickly vanishing sight, Petal took quick breaths; another step forward, followed by another quick breath. Blood sprayed from Petal’s neck as his head and body toppled to the ground separately. Brandon’s extended arm held the glowing red sword that beheaded the giant man.

              Brandon looked up to meet the other’s eyes. Focusing on Blue, he spoke.

“Take Edward and leave the city. Things are going to heat up and it is going to get very dangerous.” Edward started to interject, but Brandon cut him off. “Stop talking. Do as I ask. I have foreseen this, Edward, you must trust me.” Edward’s lips closed and he nodded. Edward had blind faith in Brandon’s abilities and he knew that Brandon held information that justified his request.

              “We will go, Brandon, but I cannot promise you that I won’t come looking for you if you do not return.”             

              Brandon looked at him, thinking, then nodded. “This will be over before the sun falls, one way or another. Either Aurora or myself will stand as the victor,” he said, turning and pointing to the third tower, the middle tower, that stood in the center of the city. “She’s there.”

              “Go. Now.” Brandon turned and ran towards the third tower. He knew he only had a few minutes before Jasmine would pass the second tower. She would not die today; Brandon’s dedication propelled him forward. He ran past building after building, eyes focused like a hawk’s on the tower where Jasmine lost her life in his vision.

              Jasmine’s eyes focused on the third tower. Her close call with the two women shook her confidence ever so slightly, but she needed to get to that tower. Brandon would be close and time wasted.

Jasmine approached the edge of the building opposite the third tower and peered outward cautiously.  Ahead of her, the tower stood straight up, tall and mighty. She quickly glanced down the street, looking for Brandon.  Suddenly, the dual metal doors at the base of the tower opened. Two men exited the tower together, both bent at the waist to avoid hitting their heads. The men’s muscles bulged at every joint, layered by a network of thick veins clearly visible on their tanned and thick skin. They walked with thick, solid footsteps, and each wore a black leather bondage mask. Jasmine gasped as Aurora walked out after them.

The two Lash Lords stopped and looked both ways down the road. Jasmine pressed herself tight against the edge of the building to avoid being seen. Satisfied with their search, the two huge men moved down the road and Aurora followed.

The roads were empty as Jasmine looked around frantically trying to find Brandon. Drawing in the ice-cool power within her, Jasmine shifted into a clone of Ivy Arclight. She was running out of time and she thought that Aurora would not pay attention to anyone of less status.

Ivy stepped from the alleyway. “Sister!” she yelled.

Aurora stopped as the Lash Lords withdrew their metal whips. She turned around and  looked at her sister. A small, knowing smile spread across her face.

“Well, sister. I wondered if you were going to join us for this fight. Where have you been?” The two Lash Lords walked closer to Aurora.

“I ran into some trouble up the Paraline River.” Jasmine prayed that her tone and wording would convince Aurora. Time. She needed to buy time.

“Oh, what kind of trouble?” Aurora asked, wryly.

“Four Gifted. They killed most of the Maidens and all of the Guardians, but in the end, they were dispatched.” She kicked herself, thinking how bad that sounded.

“They put up a fight. One of the armored Gifted took out the majority of our girls. I sent the Guardians in to finish them, but they were stronger than I anticipated. No matter, I made them pay for their resistance.”

Aurora drummed her fingers over her lips as she watched Ivy. The two men behind her stood motionless.

“Did one of them bare a red star tattoo on his forehead?” Her words were slow and precise.

Jasmine’s nerves lit aflame. Her mind raced with images of Aurora killing her, all in different and horrible ways. She quickly glanced down the road again. No sign of Brandon.

“No. I did not notice any tattoos or artwork of any kind. I believe they were just travelers.”

“Just travelers? Four Gifted, all in company, strong enough to take out my Blade Maidens and my Guardians, and you think it was just some sort of coincidence? Come on, sister. You are smarter than that.” Aurora had straightened her posture. Her small figure emanated power.

              Aurora paused momentarily, then asked, ‘How did you get into the city, Ivy?” Aurora dragged the name Ivy out, long and calculated.

              The sounds of metal on metal rang through the streets as Brandon withdrew his swords. Simultaneously, as Jasmine looked over towards Brandon, the sound of dead weight hitting the ground thudded next to Aurora. Both Jasmine and Aurora turned to identify the noise; Aurora startled by the closeness of the sound. Lying in limp humps on the ground, Princess and Flower were curled over on top of themselves. Grabbing ahold of the two men’s life cords and severing them seemed easier than it had ever been to Brandon; he had not used that aspect of his power since his escape from the Bauth’Dok caves. Aurora stared; face emotionless as she appeared to comprehend what happened. Slowly and evilly, her head rose with furrowed eyebrows, locking eyes with Brandon.

              Brandon unleashed the cool tidal wave of power restrained by his substantial will. It swept over him, covering his every thought and action with uncontainable power. His muscles energized with refreshing power, his mind exploded with brilliant clarity, and his focus became precise and clear. His magnetizing energy flowed forth like lightning, seeping into everything around him and as it did, Brandon focused his attention on Aurora. His vision swept towards her, hitting her like an invisible wall of smoke, into her flesh and then deeper, deeper, and deeper. He entered her mind; a vast expanse of glowing tendrils infinitely large. Each of the strands, a thought or an action, all tied to her conscious and subconscious being. The importance of finding the strand connected to her power became Brandon’s top priority. He raced through her mind, seeking and searching, but like an iron gate slamming shut, Brandon’s vision went instantly blank, barred by another immense and powerful force. Brandon’s eyes refocused on Aurora, who also refocused, obviously distracted by Brandon’s examination of her mind.

              Lips snarled and teeth bared, Aurora flicked her hand violently at Brandon. A ton of weight impacted his body, flipping him through the air like a tossed sack of dirt. Brandon’s head reared backwards, lungs fighting for air as his arms and legs flailed chaotically about. The momentum that carried him abruptly stopped as his body crushed into the side of a marble-walled building. Bones crunched and cracked, broke and splintered, as his internal organs ruptured from the catastrophic force of the blow. Brandon’s head bounced off the wall, splattering blood in all directions away from the impact point. A pained grunt left his mouth as he fell bluntly to the ground.

              Before he hit the wall, Aurora turned her anger to Jasmine. Jasmine screamed so hard she thought her vocal cords exploded. Pain, deeper than flesh, ripped through her body like a lightning bolt. The pain contracted every muscle at the same time with volatile power. The blood in her veins, seemingly replaced by acid, lit her vascular system aflame. Her bones seemed to sprout razor-sharp spurs and her flesh heated to a thousand degrees. The moisture in her eyes vanished, replaced with ground glass and the air in her lungs turned to magma. Everything shut down. Everything erupted and went into shock. Her body could not handle the pain. With a deathly scream, Jasmine fell to the ground, motionless.

              Aurora whipped around furiously and headed back inside the tower. Brandon forcibly raised his head, his vision blurry from his blood filled eyes. No words could describe the pain he felt. He sloppily sat in a growing pool of his own blood as it leaked from his ears, nose, mouth, and eyes, but he could only concern himself with Jasmine. He could not see more than ten feet as his vision blurred out.

             
Come on, Brandon, fix this. You should have expected that. Fix this. The pain is overwhelming my thoughts, but I must fix this. Get it together. Pull it together for Jasmine, and Edward, and Blue. Fix this. Pull it together for the men and women who are dying out in the battlefield right now. Fix this. I can overcome this, and I can fix this.

              Brandon’s eyes slowly closed as his breath shortened. His life faded. With a short breath, Brandon forced himself to hold on. He pushed away the pain, blocking out the endless stream of information that his body sent to his brain. He focused, and calmed his thoughts. Slowly, he released his breath. All became peaceful. He pulled in another short breath and held on to it. Visualizing his body through his closed eyes, Brandon saw his crumpled body in colors, the same way he did as a child when he hurt his arm with his old friend Matthew. There were deep hues of red and black, patches of dark blues, and a few tiny areas of yellow.
Fix this.