6) The Angel and the Assassin
"That's just insulting," Marshall chuckled and steered me to where the elf was holding the unconscious frame of the old librarian. He made sure that I was behind him the whole time. "Instead of facing me himself, he sent a pathetic child and his fallen angel."
"'A pathetic child'? You're gonna regret that!" The small child whined then spat out.
"A meddling speck is nothing that a god should waste his time on," the angelic voice of the woman before them returned calmly. Marshall handed me to Gumytrin, pushing me down to a crouching position beside the elf. Flegimdur came from inside, tossed a blood red axe to the vampire who caught it without even looking then shouldered the weapon. Flegimdur walked up to us and carried Lady Tamara back inside. Marshall stood between the citizens of Terrafoire and two of the Lich's Court.
"If I'm just a little speck, then why send two members? Two, instead of one? While we're at that, why send his court? I am just a little speck after all," Marshall taunted. I felt a smile tug on my face. He was really laying it on thick wasn't he. It was also obvious that it was working. The kid's face was fuming red while a scowl contrasted with the angelic halo on the woman's head.
"C'mon," Gumytrin grunted then hoisted me up to my feet. Marshall stood his full height, making sure to hide the two of us, his long pale fingers shifting around the hilt of Miltiades, something my father used to do to find that one sweet spot that makes the sword feel like an extension of your very being. Flegimdur came back outside cautiously, after handing the librarian to LSP, with his twin blades on each hand. "Let's get you back inside."
"I don't think so," the voice of a child suddenly came from behind us. My body reacted immediately. I grabbed hold of Gumytrin's spear near the tip and yanked it back. The other end made impact with the torso of the angel's companion. "Ugh," I heard him grunt. I turned around to see the boy, about the same age as Geemo, clutch his stomach then start laughing. What was wrong with this kid? "Wow. Some vampire you are. I almost killed your friends and you didn't even notice."
"Shut your mouth insolent child," the angel hissed him, her white dress flowed graciously as she herself floated inches above the ground, her wings flapping slightly. "You got past because he let you. Don't flatter yourself boy. He could kill you in a second but if he did, his attention would not be focused on me. It'll only take a second for me to do away his little companions there and the rest of this village. Am I right, vampire?"
"Yes you are. This boy is a speck to me," Marshall sneered, keeping his attention on Angelica while Meemow fumed. Gumytrin kept me behind him as Flegimdur stood in front of the boy.
"Get her inside Gumytrin," the orange haired elf-dwarf man told the elf. Gumytrin nodded and walked backwards, slowly steering me to open doors of the City Hall.
"I don't think so, elven prince," I saw the elf flinch at the mention of his title. What was the heir of the elven throne doing in the former village of the human monarchs? Before another thought raced through my head, the angel caught my eye. She raised a hand but Marshall pointed Miltiades at her. "The Lich is interested in that girl." What? What could that evil tyrant possibly want with me? Her hand glowed even brighter. It began to pulse then launched itself to the open doors of City Hall.
"No!" I heard Gumytrin yell as the light passed over us. I held my breath. What was that strange light going towards the villagers? Will it hurt them? The elf and I froze to see that the light didn't even enter the City Hall. The Librarian stood in front of the villagers with her hand raised, leaning against her staff. Her face was scrunched up in concentration. She was muttering words that I couldn't hear. A strange light appeared in front of the doors then surrounded the whole building. The light from the angel was deflected and landed at the building beside City Hall, completely pulverizing it.
"You knew she was awake, didn't you? Is that why you did nothing to save the girl's friends?" Angelica said in an amused voice. The raven haired vampire chuckled and pointed at his ear. "That's right, vampire senses are a hundred times more acute than any other race. It has been a while since I've encountered your kind."
"Are we just going to talk or what?" Marshall Lee hissed then drew out his own sword whose sheath I didn't even notice on his hip. On one hand he has Miltiades pointed at the fallen angel, on the other he held a pure black blade with intricate silver designs going down the blade and red jewel dominated the center of the ivory hilt. Why did that design look so familiar? Where did I see it from? I know I've seen it before but that doesn't matter right now. "Fionna!" Marshall yelled then threw my father's heirloom over his shoulder. My body moved automatically to catch the sword. Most people would see it dangerous and even hurt themselves trying to catch an unsheathed weapon but my father's training prepared me better. The next thing I remember was the blade shining in my hand and I stood with the other three in a defense stance.
"Ah so the girl knows how to fight. That stance looks familiar. Who taught you, child?" Angelica mused.
Marshall Lee stepped in front of me. "Keep your attention on me, wench."
"Protective, are we?" Marshall growled menacingly in response. "In that case, I'll just take the girl!" Angelica's wings flapped louder, raising her higher and then propelled herself towards me. At the same time, Meemow made his move. The boy grabbed the sharpened boomerang from his back and launched it at Flegimdur. The orange haired man simply leaned ever so slightly to avoid the projectile, even when it came back. The angel's holy face turned to one of those you'd most likely see on a corpse. The whites of her eyes turned yellow with decay. Her skin, the part that I could see, turned violescent and sunk to the outline of her bones.
My blue eyes stayed on Angelica as my mind calculated the time I had to react. For an angel on wings, she was moving slower than I expected. However, before she even came close to me, Marshall grabbed my hand and roughly pulled me behind him. His ebony blade clashed with Angelica's elongated claws. The vampire pulled me around to his front. He wrapped his arm around my waist while his sword parried the fallen angel's attacks. Marshall pushed the angel back, forcing her back into the air. She climbed up to the sky. She soared on her back for a second then dive bombed back into the plaza.
Marshall Lee pointed the tip of his sword at the oncoming fallen angel, his face stoic but I could tell he was concentrating hard. Suddenly, I felt heat radiating from his blade. The heat kept increasing until the ebony sword burst into black and red flames. My body flinched as the heat became practically unbearable to me, even though it relieved me from the cold winter of Aaa. The raven haired vampire pulled me to his side, shielding me from the scorching heat. With a flick of his sword, the blazing heat disappeared. A jet of fire erupted from the tip of his blade and shot towards Angelica.
The fallen angel flipped through the air effortlessly and evaded the attack. "Is that the best you can do vampire?" she screeched. I saw a smirk appear on Marshall's face and, using his blade as a whip, controlled the rope of flames. The single jet of fire split into ten, each one moving on its own to catch the angel. The clashing of metal to metal and high pitched laughter caught my attention. Over Marshall's shoulder, I saw Meemow utter something and then throw his boomerang once more. Gumytrin deflected it but as soon as his spear made contact with the projectile, it morphed into a clone of the boy. Then more copies popped out of no where. Each one of them had that irritating laugh as all six of them, including the original, lunged at Gumytrin and Flegimdur.
That was when an idea popped out of my head. There was no way I was just going to stand there and let these men fight while Marshall protected me. No, this was my home and I will help defend it. Besides, Marshall needs to focus on taking down that horrible woman instead of protecting me. My fingers searched for that one sweet spot on Miltiades. As soon as they found it, I raised my arm towards the vampire's black blade. Instantly, my blade heated up from the black flames. "Fionna, what are you doing?" Marshall grunted, still concentrating on the whips attacking Angelica.
"Trust me," I whispered back. With the heated blade in my hand, I ducked underneath his arm and silently ran up to one of Meemow's clones. Luck have it, as soon as I struck him, he held up a small dagger against his arm and the clones suddenly disappeared in a puff on smoke. "So the blonde wench knows how to fight-argh!" The real Meemow hissed after the scorching heat from my blade transferred onto his then scorched his arm. "You wench!"
"Don't underestimate me, Child," I sneered. I kicked the back of his knee and he fell, clutching his arm then jumped away from me. The boy glared daggers at me then smiled. Just what the heck was he smiling at? Then I heard it. The screech and cackling of the angel came from above me. How she was able to dodge all of Marshall's whips of fire was beyond me but I didn't have time to think about it. That angel's primary intention was me, not the vampire. I faced the flying menace, waiting for her to come to me, the boy completely slipped my mind. I heard him come charging at me but my focus was on the angel. His voice became louder and I shifted on my feet. His screaming was stopped by a loud clang of metal against metal.
"Don't you forget about us," I heard Flegimdur chuckle. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him meeting blades with the boy as Gumytrin snuck up behind him. Heat surrounded me as I continued to glare at the oncoming angel. The vampire's streams of fire created a dome around me, protecting me from the enemy. Angelica let out an earsplitting screech then dropped in a greater velocity. I plunged Miltiades into one of the black strips of fire, allowing her to heat up intensely. Marshall appeared by my side with the blood red double edged axe on one hand and the ebony blade, now free of the streams of fire, in the other.
"Die!" She screeched as she tore through the dome of fire around me and the vampire. Marshall spun the axe around his arm then launched it straight at the fallen angel. The angel was about to dodge it until it froze in mid air right in front of her. Black shadows erupted from its center, entangling themselves around the angel. She crashed feet away from us and that's when Marshall made his move. With incredibly inhumane speed, he appeared by her side in no time, the black blade quickly accelerating towards her. A boomerang came out of no where and flew towards the back of Marshall's head. I made my move, instantly moving to stand back to back with the tall raven haired man and deflecting it.
"Dammit Gumytrin, Flegimdur! Take care of that kid already!" Marshall hollered then beheaded the angel. Her head rolled away and I relaxed. I looked over at Marshall to find him still tense and his black fires still encircled us rapidly. The fallen angel was dead, why was he still-? The decapitated head started laughing. Oh, that's why. Marshall pushed me backwards. "Fionna, I've seen her fight before," Marshall whispered to me as the body and the head of the fallen angel began to glow. "The head will grow a body and the body will grow a head." The glow brightened and formed the silhouette of two women. One had wings while the other didn't. "She will be focusing most of her efforts on me. The one with wings is more powerful, I'll take care of her. You think can handle the other?"
"Do I have a choice?" I breathed back and faced the wingless copy of Angelica. I heard a deep chuckle come from the vampire.
"That depends on you," he laughed then lunged at the winged Angelica. Both copies charged at him but I tackled my target away from him as he clashed blade to claw with his target. The wingless Angelica screeched at me and kicked my stomach. My back slammed onto the ground then she was on top of me. I blocked her with my red blade while she tried to claw at me. It was my turn to to kick her in the stomach. She leaned back and raised one of her arms. I took my chance and planted my foot in her gut. She doubled over and I grabbed the shoulders of her clothing. While pulling on her shoulders, I pushed my foot into her stomach and threw her over my head. My hand quickly brought Miltiades down on her head. She rolled away and jumped to her feet. I mentally slapped myself and reminded myself to refrain from cutting off her head, unless I want to deal with another one.
I heard Marshall growl menacingly and the intensity of the fire surrounding us increased. From the corner of my eyes, I saw his opponent spread her wings apart then flapped them while staying grounded. The force of the wind was countered by the raging fire. My enemy was almost blown away until she dived to the ground. I did the same, feeling the force of the wind intensifying. My breathing began shallow as I tried to put my heart back in a steady pace. I forced my eyes to open, even just by a little, and squinted at the vampire and the angel. Marshall had somehow retrieved his axe, shadows still radiated around its base, and pointed it at Angelica. Both of them were panting, Angelica more than him. Marshall's cloak was on the ground while the fallen angel had gashes all over her with green blood oozing out of it. A couple streams of fire reached out to the enemy like fingers. "You think it's really going to be that easy?"
"It's over," Marshall growled intimidatingly soft, yet it was audible. The fire spun around us faster, so did the flapping of the angel. The roar of rushing elements drowned out my hearing. I had to shut my eyes from the force. A small sound amidst the roar of wind and fire reached my ears but I couldn't make out what it was. It got louder and louder until I realized what it was: the shuffled footsteps of the wingless angel coming towards me. But it was all too late to react. Miltiades was roughly kicked away from my hand and my head was yanked up by the hair. I struggled to get free but my whole body froze when I felt the razor sharp tips of Angelica's claws on my jugular. The wind stopped and my eyes snapped open as I was forced on my feet when Angelica pressed her claws deeper into my alabaster skin.
"For years, centuries, you've alluded the Lich's watchful eye. You even managed to stop his plans, even save the entire human race a century ago," The angel sneered. "I will put an end to your meddling."
"Do you even know how to kill me?" Marshall laughed at her.
"Kill you? Oh no my dear vampire warrior. I am not here to kill you. Oh far from it."
"Oh really? Then why come here? To enlist me for the court?"
"Well why not? You have an incredible skill set, worthy of the of the Lich's applause."
"A speck worthy of his applause? Now that just makes no sense," the vampire laughed. "Of all the centuries I've been alive, why come now? And what the hell makes the old prick think that I'm going to join him?"
"You're right. For all the centuries we've known you, we have never found a weakness of yours. We know your history, your family, your old friends, before the blooding." I saw Marshall's muscles tense under his shirt. I thought he was born a vampire? Now that I thought about it, I did ask a rather personal question. The wingless angel tugged at my hair. Right, I was a hostage at the time. I should really be thinking of a way out. "Even if we wiped out all your little friends. That elven prince over there, the bastard child with the orange hair or even this village, thanks to the cold blood in your veins, you won't save them, in fact, their deaths will all the more make you angrier or more powerful, not something that we need to happen. There was nothing we could do to make our puppet. You had absolutely nothing to lose," the angel giggled. "That is, until now."
"That's what you think," the vampire returned.
The wingless Angelica punched me in the gut. I held in a gasped of pain. When I didn't make a sound, she punched me again. A painful groan escaped my lips. I wished that Marshall Lee didn't hear but he was a vampire after all. The circulating fires around us froze. I watched him with regretful cerulean eyes as he slowly turned towards me. His blood red eyes were wide with shock and something else, worry? Fear? No, he can't worry about me now! He needs to stop Angelica! If what she's saying is true, if he really is that powerful, then he can lead a war against the Lich! Why is he looking at me like that? I stared back at him, begging him to end the angel's life, to save Terrafoire.
To my horror, he did the exact opposite. Marshall lowered his axe, the shadows around it and the fire around us disappeared. All that I could hear was the clanging of blades between Meemow and his new clone against Gumytrin and Flegimdur. But the two of them stopped as soon as they saw Angelica's claw on my neck. They froze and were immediately jumped by their opponents. They dropped their weapons when Meemow and his clone held daggers against their throats.
"You have taken quite an interest in this girl haven't you? We've watched you Marshall. You don't just save random damsels in distress. You don't just stay in one village for years. Yet, you stayed in this village, planted the seed of rebellion in its inhabitants and you killed the orge general posted here. You also saved this girl multiple times, even looked after her." I flinched. What?
"Let her go," Marshall growled, his eyes burned with rage and fury.
"Oh, so you do care for the little wench?" The angel laughed, her decayed teeth showing. "Do you see this my Lord? We have found it! We have done it! We have found the vampire's weakness!" She shrieked in laughter at the sky while pointing a gnarled finger at me. His weakness? Are they implying that I, some little orphan girl that still laments over the fact that she was unable to help her family in any way at all or the one that has to duck and cover every time a soldier walks by because she's paranoid that her hunting trips have been found out, am this all powerful vampire's weakness? I don't believe this! Marshall, he- why am I his weakness? Why would he risk anything for me? I am nothing compared to him! A speck just floating along wherever time will take me.
"NO!" I didn't even know it was my voice that yelled it out. No. No. NO! I am not going to be the reason Marshall falls to the hands of the Lich. I could feel it. The anger, it was boiling up inside me. In there, I knew, was desperation as well. My mind went blank and my body moved on its own. My fighting instincts were coming and taking over every move and thought I made. And for once, I didn't fight it. I wasn't going to let the Lich get his hands on Terrafoire. I wasn't going to let him get his hands on Cake, or Geemo, or Lance. I wasn't going to let him have Marshall Lee.
My hand grabbed the claw at my neck. I tightened my grip then swung under her arm, bending it in the opposite direction. She screamed and I ignored her. My hand was still around her wrist, and with the other hand, I punched her right in the shoulder. Her arm broke in a sickening crack. She fell to her knees in pain. The next thing I knew, my palms were on either side of head. Rationality came back to me for split second, but not long enough for me to consider what I was doing. I felt it through my whole being; the snapping of her neck by my hand, easier than opening the jars of needles back home for Cake.
I stepped over her fallen body as it disintegrated into wisps of smoke. I grabbed Miltiades from the ground. I heard weapons clashing around me. Flegimdur and Gumytrin somehow freed themselves from the boy and his clone. Marshall let out an enraged roar. He raised his axe and brought it down crashing onto the angel. She dodged it but he wasn't done. Purple fire erupted from his mouth and almost consumed Angelica. Almost. It did, however, catch her wings and she crashed into the cobblestone. Seconds later, Miltiades was raised over me head and my arms brought crashing down to her. She rolled away and jumped. Black fire from Marshall's weapon shot themselves at her as I chased after her. Angelica threw bolts of light at me. I don't know if they were really that slow or I've just gotten faster. It didn't matter at the time. I dodged those orbs of light easily as I made my way towards her. Even while she was dodging Marshall's jets of fire, she was able to keep her attention to me and even meet me head on. The vampire's fires left her alone as soon as she met with me. Did he call them back so I wouldn't be caught in the crossfire?
Angelica's attacks were lightning fast. However, so were mine. I parried and countered each one of her attacks. She had incredible skill. I guess that was to be expected from someone of the court. She clawed at my head. I ducked and maneuvered myself behind her. My target was her tattered wings that were barely clinging onto her back. My blade went through them as if nothing. I felt the breaking of the membranes and the bones through my sword. The angel let out an earsplitting scream and clawed at me. Her claws caught my arms, leaving a couple deep lacerations. In return, I struck her on the side, deepening one of the cuts she received with her previous battle with the vampire. She staggered away and I clutched my left arm. I ripped the arm of that sleeve and wrapped it around tightly on the wound to stop the bleeding. The fallen angel screeched and lunged at me while I was still crouched on the ground. Miltiades flew just outside of my reach as my back slammed against the cobblestone ground.
"You are just a human! An insignificant little human girl!" She shrieked, her voice was no longer holy, replaced by the rasping of her decaying vocal cords. She pinned my wrists against the ground. I could feel the coarse blue skin scratching against mine.
"At least I wasn't cast away by heaven into a life of servitude, unable to ever transcend into the gate of Glob," My voice hissed at her and I knew I hit a nerve. She was sitting down my stomach, staying out of my legs' reach. She dug one of her knees into my stomach. She let go of my left wrist and gripped the bloody fabric on my arm instead. I groaned in pain then glared at her. She raised her other arms and I took that chance. She froze at a striking position as my fingers wrapped around her throat.
"Stupid human girl! I don't need to breath! I am above mortal life!" She laughed and brought her clawed hand straight at my exposed neck.
"Angelica!" the voice of a boy yelled out desperately. Both the angel and I snapped our heads towards Meemow. He was shaking from head to toe. He was forced to his knees by Marshall Lee. The vampire had his long fingers wrapped around his throat. The edge of his blood red axe pushed against the assassin's stomach. Marshall made Meemow raise his chin, leaving his neck exposed. He bared his fangs, eyes were glowing bright red, and hissed intimidatingly, causing the poor boy whimper in fear.
The angel restraining me only chuckled. "You call yourself an assassin. Pathetic." She brought her arm down, encasing my throat in her rotting claws. She released my other arm, both automatically grabbed at her claws around my neck, then raised her arm towards Marshall. She uttered a word in a different language and her claws flew off towards him. Why didn't Marshall move out of the-oh my Glob. The claws embedded themselves in his torso. Meemow's torso. The boy's eyes widened in shock. He tried to say something but blood came out of his mouth instead of words. His body stopped shaking and went limp in Marshall's arm. The vampire gently laid his body down and pushed his eyelids to cover his dead eyes.
"You killed him," I whispered in shock. "He was your friend, your ally, and you killed him!" Where did this emotion come from? He was just a little boy, even if he was an assassin. He was just a boy, the same age as Geemo for Glob's sake!
"You worry about your enemy? Why don't you give him your condolences when you see him!" She tightened her grip around my neck but my newfound strength saved my life. I managed to shove her off of me. Gumytrin and Flegimdur immediately appeared at either side of her, their blades pointed at vital points in her body. Marshall kicked Miltiades towards me then helped me onto my feet. "I'm not finished yet!" She growled then used some sort of magic to push the men away from her. Before they even hit the ground, the vampire had tackled the fallen angel and pinned her down with his axe. She struggled against his grip but Marshall Lee was stronger.
"You're finished," he whispered calmly. Gumytrin jumped to his feet and ran towards City Hall. What on Aaa is he doing?
"Then kill me!" She laughed. I gritted my teeth. No wonder she was a fallen. She killed her own ally then laughed at the face of her soon to be killer. "Drive that axe that built the foundations of the Vampyre Castle into my heart!"
"Do you honestly think I am going to fall for that?" The vampire chuckled. "You said it yourself. You are no mortal, doing that will do nothing to you. It may even get you out of my grip. No, I will not be the one to kill you. She is."
The elf came back with Tamara in his arms. I ran up beside her and help her stand steadily. "Tamara," the fallen angel said bluntly. The librarian closed her eyes and began an incantation in a different language. Angelica began to scream and writhe in pain under Marshall's grip. Is this how an angel dies?
"Do you honestly think it will end here Marshall Lee?" She screeched in between screams. "The others-they will come for you. They will come for this village and they will take your girl! HAHAHA!" She laughed maniacally. "The Court- they will hunt you down to the end of time. The Lich will find you and this girl. Oh the things he will do to her, ha ha, the horrible things he can do to such a pretty little gem. And right in front of you! You won't be able to save her. You can't protect her forever! She is your weakness!" She spat out at Marshall's face. I could see that the vampire was shaking in fury. Angelica turned her head towards me and uttered her final words. "You will be the reason, you will be the one responsible for the death of Marshall Lee!"
"Enough!" Marshall roared and raised his axe. I felt the weight of the world crash down on me. This powerful vampire will die? Because of me?
"No Marshall! Don't!" Flegimdur hollered and tackled the vampire just as Tamara finished her incantation.
The two men fell to the ground as Angelica let out one final earsplitting scream. Her body was raised by some invisible force but continued to writhe and jerk in pain. Her sunken eyes met mine and she began to cackle. Tamara raised an arm and pointed at her. The angel's body disintegrated into smoke then everything was silent.