Authors: Kathy-Lynn Cross
“Please. Make it be swift. Please. Please, forgive me. Please… I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry… I’m… so… sorry.” I struggled to make myself heard over the truck’s engine, the weather, screaming children and now the sound of a meteor striking the front of Tod’s truck. Without notice, I was answered, but not as I had hoped. Something hit us hard. The front of the truck buckled. Tires protested to move forward while the bed of the truck raised off the road. Glass cracked and shattered, and somewhere behind me, metal bent under pressure, peeling the roof of the cab away. Instantly, hail mixed with pieces of safety glass fell into the cab of the truck. The wind whipped around Tod’s new convertible truck and transported us into the night’s version of hell. We all looked up and started screaming out of confusion. But what I saw actually made sense, and I pressed both lips tight before he thought I wasn’t worthy of his mercy.
Why would an angel come for me?
No. It was my own personal demon, here to whisk me into the unknown. Could this be the atonement for the ones who might die? The wind must have carried each sorrow-filled request straight to his ears. I was going to save the others by him taking my soul as payment. This beautiful creature would make everything right. He was huge and had wings so large they bled into the blackness above us. Menacing would be a proper first impression, but as I forced myself to look harder, focusing on his face, two indigo orbs bore into mine. Burning bright with a sense of determination, this demon met my stare with understanding. Death loomed but with a warming sensation. A blanket straight out of the dryer came to mind. I desired its warm embrace, accepting me as an offering in place of my friends.
Mesmerized by his presence, my body tingled as I raised my arms in acknowledgement, willing to accept the price. A glint of anticipation behind his eyes matched the flickering lights of the dashboard clock. I would try to shine as long as I could until the very end. Eleven fifty-six began to disappear.
Kill me fast is all I ask.
Mentally I made my final request as the supernatural being lunged down and scooped me up with its heavy claw. I gripped it with renewed hope. When I turned to face the dark angel, he broke his stare and looked down at my friends. A bone-chilling, black mist filled the space between me and them. The vapor was thick with a purple cast and tasted like hot asphalt. Their screams were cut short and heaviness overtook my body. Darkness wrapped its cold arms around me, weighing me down with its lifeless hold.
What have I done?
Sadness filled in where fear had cracked me. An overwhelming feeling of mourning took me prisoner. As I faced the last moments of my life, specific memories burned like flash paper. A first kiss, my first oral report, scenes from birthdays appeared to run backwards, the last memory was my parents smiling at me. Then recollection turned to driftwood caught up in the rapids plummeting down to the Ever After. Thoughts scattered from consciousness as I crashed into the waves. My inner voice reflected on a fact… I would never see 11:57 p.m. Then, death’s undertow claimed me.
Or so I thought.
I was flying so fast my wings did not make any flapping sounds. When I spotted the truck, she was barely keeping it together. From four miles away, I heard her voice and the three children with her. About five miles ahead of her vehicle, an eighteen-wheeler had started slightly weaving side to side. Faint sounds reverberated toward me from the driver of the truck. He was beginning to fall asleep at the wheel.
The chemical smell gripped my throat, making it even harder to press forward on the way to her precarious situation. Once again I found myself fighting against my nature and the River’s rights to claim her soul. The aroma of sweat glands, burning fire, and blood were not enough to cover up the new scent rolling off me. It was fear. I redirected the emotion and turned up the flame of anger as a distraction. How could it come to this? My existence alone made the word
fate
a real fear to other beings. Here I was, the messenger of dread. Instead, I allowed fear to push me, control me. I detested losing or being controlled and did not believe in panic controlling one’s fate, yet it was riding along with me.
Prying both eyes open, the pain was welcome as the sting from the vapors pierced to the back of my skull. I wondered for a brief instant if the kids plowing down death’s path could smell what awaited them only three miles ahead. I was aware that one of the male Vessels in the pickup had some importance to the Child. She called him Tod. My memory filed his name away as someone of importance because she spoke to him in a sultry voice. Hissing behind tight lips, it was unbelievable I would find humor in that situation.
In German, Tod means death.
How ironic, I had to literally save Alexcia from her date with death?
Real time seemed to have slowed both vehicles down, but I knew it was an illusion. Their movement shifted and my sight became distorted as the air took on the feeling of liquid. Time rippled around both of the trucks, and I could make out patches of its actual reality as the altered configuration shimmered from the disturbance. Now I knew which House was making another attempt on her life. An elemental being was nearby, trying to boost the time frame by escalating the big rig’s speed. The elementals must have gotten wind of me coming because I could sense about five of them. I sniffed the air for some new snacks. Two Wind Evokers and two Water Raisers. Unfortunately, an Earth Sculptor was also present
.
Taste of the last one still lingered in between a few back molars. The memory of clamping down triggered a gag reflex. That one had turned to sand as I closed my jaws. My stomach lurched, pushing bile up at the thought of gritty sand still wedged between my teeth. I had tasted his pasty grime for days.
I knew I was going into this with an advantage since they could not see me in this form. At least for the time being, I had a chance to surprise the elemental assassins. The night dripped with so much sweet irony, it started to make me nauseous. I scanned the road and across the terrain. The scouts were not far from the potential crash site. They could not wander too far from each other or it would break their connection. I smiled with a wide row of teeth, another advantage. If an elemental was out of range from the ingredients they used for magic, an alternate outlet was needed to draw power; hence, two of the same elementals worked side by side. I had to keep in mind their target was on the ground. That was why the Earth Sculptor was working alone. He was in his element. Most of the Unseen, from the House of Time, were at a huge disadvantage when they were out of their elements.
Without water for miles for the Water Raisers to draw from, the Wind Evokers needed to be off the ground to have the full potential of their magic. The House of Time was as powerful as the other two houses. It might be interesting but if Alexcia walked away from the scene alive, it would still count as a win, more or less. The odds of one of them ending up as a thorn in my claw were pretty good. Time really was working against us and not as a stupid metaphor.
I readjusted to focus on the ground because the Earth Sculptor was starting his attack. The floor beneath me buckled and cracked near the base of the red rocks. The sand rose and fell, taking on the motion of water. Waves of sand were heading toward the road where the vehicles were expected to collide. I made a mental picture of the ground on the road because the area was covered in a cascade of debris. Dirt and sand swirled high in the air around the trucks. The Wind Evokers were doing their part now, blinding the drivers so they could not see the road or each other until it was too late.
I flew higher to get a better vantage point because I could not make out where the Water Raisers were or what part of this production they were going to play. It worried me, and I started my descent to the top of the dark red rocks below. The closer I got, the more I picked up on the smells and voices. Mr. Eighteen-Wheeler was on the cusp of slumber, and the children in the pickup were beginning to complain to one another about never making it to their next destination. I could not hold back the smirk as I snorted in agreement with them. They could not be more correct about their situation. I gulped clean air before flying down to the base of the mountains, wanting to be ready for the Wind Evokers once I entered their plain. They would sense me as I breached their magic with this wingspan. I still could not pick up on the water elementals and it was beginning to piss me off. I shook my mane silently, allowing a brief second or two to prepare for battle. Bending down and pulling my wings in, I dove. The air rushing through both horns caused a high whistling in my ears. I tried to ignore the distraction and turned focus on which elemental to eliminate first.
Checking the distance between the trucks… they had roughly three miles until impact.
Damn.
What were the water ones up to? I figured the wind users were going to be the first of my targets. Looking from side to side, I spotted them on top of one of the Sculptor’s dunes. They had positioned themselves above a loose layer of rocks for a poetical slide, perhaps? I factored it into the rapidly unfolding events.
Plowing into the brash winds, I barely made out the elementals’ faint whispers. It was not possible to understand their languages, but they knew I had arrived. Obviously, females… from their stature and stance. One moved her hands into the winds. The other was half bent over, holding her stomach. That was the one I wanted. She used her arms controlling the wind, but the magic was coming from the one learning forward. Through the haze, I saw she was pale and sick. The nature of my beast was telling me to put down the weaker one first. Far be it for me to be the better daemon by doing it right.
Cupping my wings into the tormenting air and swooping in a half circle to come up from behind, I realized I had underestimated my foes. The bent elemental whipped up to face me, spread out her hands as a quick smirk crossed her lips. Caught off guard, she shot me with a blast of air knocking me off balance.
I roared.
Smoke billowed from my snout as I fanned the folds of skin to use them like air breaks. My roar tipped off the Earth Sculptor. “Shit,” I growled mentally. The Sculptor waved his hands in front and the ground grumbled as a hole formed. Then the strangest thing happened, he dove in as the hole closed behind him. I hovered, waiting to hear the burp. When nothing came of it, I figured he had bailed on the others. Thunder rolled from my chest, a form of laughter. I found it humorous there was such a thing as a smart elemental. A gust of wind flipped me to one side. The action served as a reminder this was far from over. The females switched places and the sick one used the other one’s power now. Screaming, she spun around and hit the rocks with her air. They exploded in a crumbled heap on the road beneath the dune.
I hissed at the Evokers. Claws out, I used the webbed extensions to pick up speed. One of them would get hit with everything I had. Longing for their screams of death, I charged. The pale elemental lunged behind her counterpart as she watched my descent.
The standing female raised her hands up and down in a fast motion. I felt the gust about to take me and rolled out of the way and ducked to the left. Leaving my wing halfway out, I pulled all four legs under me, pretending they had succeeded, adding to the deception by free falling.
Whichever one remained on the ground whispered something, and the standing girl laughed as she turned to look down at the other. This was my chance. I was low enough to the ground now. Opening both wings to their full width, they slapped against the air. The elementals did not have time on their side anymore. I reached out with my right claw, wrapping it around the closest Evoker and squeezed until I heard her spine break. She went limp.
Feeling numb looking at the nonexistence elemental, I turned to the screeching sick one as she tried to stand up in the sand. Without a link to her power, she was at my mercy, or so I thought. Her mouth worked with fervor as she conjured the last of her magic, using the rest of her counterpart’s power. With the winds of a cyclone, I crashed into the ground, and the sound waves from my impact distorted both plains.
Everything seemed to be moving in a thick, sluggish motion, as I watched the airflow around me change. Sniffing the air as I tried to stand and on three claws. I threw the limp Evoker away from me and watched her disintegrate before hitting the ground.
Then the sky became murky as the clouds rolled over their intended target of interest. Barely making out the drivers, I knew they were equally hindered by the same visibility troubles. Taking flight right now could be risky because I was unsure how high the dust cloud reached. While trying to figure out the dilemma I got myself into, the ground began to quake. A deep bellow from within the dirt was eerily familiar. It was the sound of a huge mass moving toward the surface. Instantly, the air was thick with debris, making it difficult to breathe.
I was disoriented and enraged. This needed to end now. Stretching out to flap away the film around me, I was struck from the side with a huge force. I blacked out for a second. Crazed, I craned my neck to face my attacker. Claws gripped into something gooey as I tried to gain traction to right myself. Whatever had me trapped, bellowed a low rumble and bent down to meet my gaze.
Holy Daemon!
Every scale bristled from the realization that the Earth Sculptor had changed into…
me.
I was out of time and had fallen for their ploy. Shock filled the core of my being. The Sculptor chortled, noticing its rolling boom was identical to mine. How had he stolen my thunder?
Disgusted with the dirt elemental for even thinking he could be one-third of what I was caused the upper palate in the back of my throat to close. The air sacks were close to bursting. Rage boiled over and, I let this dirt kisser have it. Fire streaked from me hitting it square in the chest.
Feel the burn, asshole
. The fake copy flew back with a thud, and the Sculptor flapped his sand-molded wings to put himself out as he dropped to the ground and rolled. Scrambling to my feet, a roar was ignited deep from within, making my own eyes tear up. I was consumed by anger. With legs tight as springs, they vaulted me into the air.
The water elementals had begun working the clouds, making them rip apart to let the downpour begin. An impending rock slide became a patient predator waiting for its prey to come to it. Now I knew where the Water Raisers were. I could smell them in the air not far behind me, riding on the back of the fuel truck. That was why I could not track their scent. Masked by the chemicals from the silver and black tanker, they must have had a plan B in case the air elementals failed.
The smell of charred ground filled my nostrils and trigged a memory that curdled stomach fluid. I landed hard on top of the cool sand, and it buckled under my weight. I roared again as a sign they could not defeat death, and then stomped to make my point. The grimy brown dragon took to his feet. Made of sand and dirt, I figured his wings were too heavy for him to take flight. So, I took the opportunity and launched myself back into the sky. At least it would clear away the smell and give me some time to think. I hovered above the battle, waiting for an opportunity to present itself. Using the dirt elemental’s disadvantage, he could not move his neck fast enough to focus on me in between the stars.
Looping back around where the last wind elemental had been, I was struck on the head with an idea. If he were going to portray me, he must eat the same as me. Pushing above the stinging winds, the sickly wind elemental was trying to hang on to the last of her power. I could feel her bite of power in the wind whippings she hit me with. Uncurling my wings, I coasted silently through the elemental’s wind screen while honing in on the Evoker. She was using a blending spell in her breeze form. It was a last ditch effort of her magic. The purpose of that design was disruption of her power to jam the attacker’s radar senses.
I clamped my jaw shut so I would not give away my position to the remaining assassins. The beast within me wanted nothing more than to tear them apart for even thinking they could touch Alexcia’s soul. It was my turn to flip destiny’s coin in our favor.
Fury raked and bristled each scale with small quakes. My sails jutted out from the adrenaline boost. I was getting a recharge as the rains began to fall. It pelted me, making threatening sounds from the drops as they hissed and fizzled. Oozing, black tar seeped from the wounds made by the Earth Sculptor’s claws.
This fight was no longer about them killing Alexcia. It had become personal and related more to Ashen pride being bruised than protecting the Child. Her safety had now been placed on the back burner. These elementals were not just attacking her but trying to put me down like a rabid Hellhound. For this intention alone, they were going to meet their Creator by either my claws or jaw, whichever caught them first. I felt the heat from the Smolder’s powers begin to glow from behind both eyes. A long time ago, I had been told by another daemon that when an Ashen reached the cap of their power, our eyes illuminated with deep azure. I represented a lighthouse in the sky, warning others to retreat from my presence or meet their death.