Had to split this chapter into two. There's a lot to handle here.
Enjoy, and PLEASE, REVIEW!
"How are we going to pull this off, exactly? There must be a thousand of them, and only five of us. It's a fool's fight!" Joseph asked skeptically, handing the binoculars to Artix, who took them and looked through them.
"I have seen circumstances like this before. The results were quite shocking. Do not underestimate the power of few versus the many. Especially when they work together." Sheeva muttered, sharpening Shinigami, as it had a few dents in the metal from the fights with the risen skeletons the day before.
Artix handed the binoculars to Kalas, and untangled his wedding band, hooked around a chain on his neck. He began to channel his energy to it, closing his eyes in focus. Zakkari glanced at them out of the corner of his eye. Sheeva chuckled, clutching her wedding ring as well, as she would do the same.
"Your target is Tazaro. We take care of the army. Those are our orders." He reminded them, scowling. Sheeva nodded slowly.
"Sometimes, though, orders must be broken. If you really must focus on the army, focus your attacks on the leaders. Without the supply of energy, the dead will fall. However, knowing my… husband…" She contemplated, stating his status with an icy tone dripping with displeasure.
She cleared her throat and shook her head.
"He may be channeling energy to the dead as well. So, even if we do take out the leaders, we may all have to work together to take him out. Something is not adding up. His manipulation of the dead is something new. He never used this technique in life." She mused, pausing in her sharpening.
"You're telling us this now?" Kalas growled, irate at her secrecy. She looked up at him, an apologetic look on her face.
"I did not know that his army was dead until we arrived, Kanites. Although, we can use this to our advantage. They are weak to fire. The body fills with volatile gasses after death, due to the emissions of detritovore insects that feed on the decaying flesh." She stated. They looked at her, confused. Artix chuckled at their expressions.
"They fill up with gas because the insects… fart, for lack of a better term, gasses that can easily catch on fire." He translated. They all nodded, smirking at his use of the word "fart". Sheeva shook her head, secretly amused by their immaturity.
She went back to sharpening her sword, and didn't bother to wipe this one clean. The metal shards could come in handy. They were a wonderful conductor of electricity.
She rummaged through her satchel, checking the potions that she had left. One vial of Veritaserum, five vials each of blood-replenisher, healing potions, and nutrient potions, and one vial of Pheonix tears. She was thankful that she hadn't had to use any of the potions, save for the Veritaserum.
"What are those?" Artix asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. She smiled and explained each one as she set them back in her bag.
"This is a truth potion. It is what I used on Audis Adi yesterday morning." She explained, holding up the clear-liquid filled bottle. It sparkled and gleamed in the setting sunlight. She picked up the Phoenix Tears next.
"These are Phoenix Tears. Or, Firebird Tears. They have a healing power stronger than most of the advanced healing potions out there." They stared at it, amazed.
"This is a blood-replenishing potion, this a healing potion, and this a nutrient potion. In case we ran into serious trouble." She explained, putting them all back.
She closed the bag and attached it to her side again, standing to walk out to the edge of the cliff, scanning the encampment in the valley. It was tightly packed, and her mind began to go crazy, thinking of ways that they could minimalize damage to themselves.
"Can any of you summon anything? We need something big. An ambush would help us immensely. They are tightly grouped." She asked, not turning to them. Artix stood and nodded. Summoning and magic was his specialty, after all.
"I can summon Levi. He may not be fire-type, but he's a hard-hitter." He suggested. She nodded. The water-dragon would help quite a bit.
"As we get close, summon him. Have him concentrate on the dead, while you four focus on the commanders. I have a feeling that I will not need to search for Tazaro. He will find me." She stated, her grip on the tree branch tightening as she grew livid at the thought. It shattered in her fist, splaying splinters of wood everywhere. She calmed herself down.
After a minute of silence, she spoke up again.
"Promise me something, will you? You have lives here. Families to return to. If you must retreat, do it. I do not want any deaths this evening." She ordered. They nodded, even Joseph, admitting that she really was concerned for their safety, and not blindly ordering them around or trying to preserve her honor.
"Yes, ma'am!" Kalas barked, grinning. She turned to them, finally, and smiled, appreciating their agreement. They'd come a very long way since their first meeting.
As the sun's rays disappeared over the mountain, Sheeva unsheathed Shinigami and Okami ni kama, spread her wings, and ran off the cliff, free-falling for a few minutes before catching the air, swooping up just above the ground and streaming through the forest, weaving in and out of tree trunks and bramble.
She pooled her energy to her mouth, inhaling deeply and letting out a breath of fire along the baselines of the tents set up around the edges of the encampment, setting them ablaze. She swooped up, gathered her energy, and did it again.
Panic and confusion erupted beneath her as the troops ran amok, trying to gather themselves. They raced back and forth, equipping their weapons, some with bows and arrows, other with swords. Sheeva formed a ball of energy around herself, shielding herself against some arrows aimed in her direction. As the shield's overall efficiency fell to its minimum, she flew outside of it and shot it at them. It hit the ground and popped, sending a blue pulse wave out from impact, knocking over a few of the enemies.
Artix formed his seals and punched the ground, thrusting his energy into the ground. A circular sigil burned into the ground as it rumbled and cracked. He jumped out of the way as a giant dragon flew out of the ground, rearing its teeth and letting out a mighty roar. Large claws sprouted out from its sides and it stomped down to the ground, crushing a few skeletons and terrifying some of the leaders.
Levi shot a water beam at the ground, knocking his puny enemies down and away from him. Artix rested on his back, his arms in pain from the intense summon. He'd poured more energy into the summoning than he'd hoped, but it was still effective.
Kalas weaved in and out of enemies, blocking slashes and kicking them. He grabbed a leader's head and snapped the man's neck with ease. The skeletons around the man fell to the ground, their energy source cut off. He gave a holler of excitement as he took off to aid Joseph, who'd had his hands full.
Zakkari, being more of a healer, kept his distance, casting shields of energy to surround those on his side. He ducked to avoid an axe that had been thrown at his head, and grabbed a nearby bow and quiver of arrows, shooting the skeleton that had thrown it in the head. It turned to him, outraged, and rushed at him, bones clicking and clacking as it chased him down.
He took to the air to avoid being cut as it sliced at him with its sword, knocking another arrow on the line and spitting fire at the tip of the arrow. Thankfully, it caught fire, and he shot it. It embedded itself in the ribcage, setting the skeleton on fire instantly. The skeleton ran around, flailing its arms. If it had vocal chords, he imagined it'd be screaming.
Joseph hacked away at an undead's chest and arms, slicing it off at the elbow. The undead looked at his arm, a dumbfounded expression on its face. It continued to attack blindly, and almost knocked Joseph to the ground. He'd have been dead if Kalas hadn't shown up and drove his fist through its body from behind its back, splaying decayed flesh and long-dead blood all over him.
"Oh, gross! What the hell is wrong with you?" He growled, glaring at Kalas. Kalas only smirked.
"I just saved your ass. Show a little gratitude, man!" He retorted, then ducked as Joseph jumped up, slicing over his head. The skeleton that had its axe raised above its head stopped, and its arms slid off. The blade of the axe cracked the skeleton's skull open, and it fell to the ground as a pile of bones.
"Oh. Thanks."
Joseph smirked and shook his head, taking off to chase down a leader that had taken off in fear, screaming like a little girl.
Sheeva froze momentarily. Her eyes had locked onto her target, locked in a heated sword fight with Artix, who was trying his best to fend him off with two long-bladed daggers. Artix lost his footing and fell backwards, hitting the ground hard. She swooped down and blocked the attack on the boy, shoving Tazaro backwards a few feet.
He smirked evilly as he looked back up at her.
"Sheeva, I was wondering when I'd see you again. I never imagined you'd be fighting me." He taunted, spreading his wings and unsheathing his other sword, strapped to his back. He twirled it around, and jumped up into the air, rushing for her.
She parried his attack, pushing herself to the side and out of the way. Her mind was still somewhat baffled, but she came to as he rushed at her again, almost slicing a wound into her hip.
They battled in the air, keeping on each other well, evenly matched. Their weapons clashed, shooting sparks everywhere as metal ground against metal. Okami ni kama glimmered a bright blue, while Shinigami radiated in red, both blades bloodthirsty.
He formed a ball of dark energy around himself and shot it at her. She whipped around and felt it whiz past her head. She retaliated, a red ball of energy flying towards him at top speed. She rushed for him behind it, aiming to stab him in the chest. He knocked her sword out of the way and missed cutting off her wing as she passed.
They both dropped to the ground, glaring daggers at each other. He readied another ball of dark energy, and she, red. They shot it at each other, and the spheres of energy collided, mixing to turn a crimson red color before they exploded.
Sheeva felt herself being thrown backwards and hit the ground, her stomach getting a twisting, pulling sensation. She tried to open her eyes, but couldn't, finding that she'd hit her head somewhat hard. She rolled herself over, feeling cobblestone. She snapped her eyes open immediately, and stared in horror as she saw that she was back at Hogwarts.
Staggering, she got to her feet, stumbling as she looked around. Her vision had doubled and the view was spinning in circles. She closed her eyes for a minute, taking some calming breaths. She felt her stomach churn when she opened them.
The entire campsite had been warped back to Hogwarts, including Tazaro and her team, who were all lying on the ground, stunned, trying to place what had just happened.
Her ears rang and her head swam, and she fell to one knee, trying to gain her bearings. She looked to Tazaro. He was coming to as well, groaning as he rolled over and sat up, looking around. His eyesight was dimmed, and he could barely see three feet in front of him. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. When he opened them, he was relieved to find that he could see a little clearer now. He looked around, amazed.
He was in a new place, and it was daytime. Across the distance, he could barely make out Sheeva's blurred form, leaned on one knee.
"Sheeva…" He spoke, his words slurring. He watched as Sheeva grabbed something from her pocket and opened it, downing it like a shot. She stood, and leaned against a statue of an old man, weakened. Angrily, Tazaro reached for the nearest captain, grabbed the back of his neck, and dug his claw into it, draining the man of energy. The man cried out and then fell limp, dead.
Tazaro stood, energy renewed, but then fell back to his knees, dizzied from trying to stand too quickly.
Sheeva was limping over to Zakkari, determined to get her healer back up to snuff. She rolled him over and sat him up, holding a potion to his lips and pouring the foul-tasting liquid in his mouth. He made a face as he drank it. She gave him another, and drank another for herself.
Tazaro crawled over to another live person, baring the man's neck to him. He grew fangs, and bit down, draining this man of his energy as well. He wasn't about to let them get the better of him.
Sheeva searched for Artix, and administered a healing potion to him, too. Joseph was already back on his feet, and was limping over to Kalas, trying to help him sit up and get to his feet too.
Tazaro grabbed his weapons again and spread his wings, still very much disoriented. It showed as he swayed back and forth as he staggered towards her, a drunken look on his face. Sheeva noticed, and rushed for Okami ni kama, picking it up tiredly.
The large wooden doors opened behind her, and she turned her head, scared. Her family stepped out, including Kathryn. All were relieved to see her, but then looked at her in terror as they saw the state that she was in. She shook her head.
"No, stay inside!" She barked at them. Tazaro heard the foreign language, looked over her shoulder, and scowled.
So it was as Balthazar said. She had betrayed him, and run away to a new world.
He raged, and rushed at her. She turned back and screamed, caught slightly off guard as he sliced at her head. She backed off, and the blade sheared off a lock of her hair instead. It fell to the ground, forgotten. She continued to jump back as he hacked away at her relentlessly. He turned his blade around and jabbed her in the stomach with the handle, knocking the wind out of her.
He grabbed her by the throat as she doubled over, pulling her close to him, staring her in the eye.
"Tell me. This is where you've been all these years?" He demanded to know. She could only look him in the eye, stunned.
"Tazaro, I—she stopped as he tightened his grip on her throat, choking her. She made to knee him between the legs to get him off of her, but dropped his sword and slapped her leg out of the way, moving between her legs and pinning her to the stone wall.
"No. No! It can't be true! I crawled through hell, searching for you. You betrayed me! You gave up on me! Forgot me!" He yelled, forming a sign and restraining her hands to the stone wall with the vines that grew up it. He heard two of the humans shouting something, and knocked a green light of energy away with a wave of his hand. The lights embedded themselves into the cobblestone and died.
"Do not attack him! You will only provoke him!" Sheeva choked out. Tazaro turned his attention back on her. He released his grip on her neck slightly, some sense returning to his clouded mind. He calmed as he saw the chain she wore, and traced his hand along it, hooking his finger beneath it and pulling it out from beneath her shirt.
He scowled as he saw that it wasn't his. It was someone else's. He looked back at her, hurt and fury in his blue eyes. He grabbed it in his fist and yanked the chain, breaking it and throwing it aside. It gave a metallic clang as it bounced along the ground.
"No, Sheeva, you're mine. You belong to me!" He hissed, tilting her head up to meet his as he crushed his lips against hers in a bruising kiss. She squeezed her eyes shut and tightened her hand into a fist, wanting to push him off of her, to get him away from her. This wasn't them anymore, she knew.
He was blindsided with a punch to his cheek, and thrown off of her, landing to the left a few feet. Blaise was glaring at him, seething with fury.
"Get your bloody hands off of our wife!" He shouted. The vines binding Sheeva to the wall started to recede, and Sheeva fell off of it.
Blaise caught her and held her steady, walking them backward a few feet. Tazaro stood up, rubbing his cheek where Blaise had hit him, impressed with the human's strength. Tazaro jumped into the air and rose up, forming a spear of energy, splitting it into two and firing slivers of them at Sheeva and her family.
She went to block them, but found that Artix had rushed between the two, knocking the spears of energy to the ground. Tazaro clapped his hands and the spears exploded, throwing Artix forward and Sheeva and Blaise backwards.
Sheeva rushed for Tazaro's sword as he dove for it, managing to kick it out of the way. He threw a punch at her and she pushed it aside, retaliating. They threw punches and kicks at each other, waves of red and black energy being shot from their palms and dispersing into the air.
Sheeva managed to hit him in the chest with her palm, and rose her hand, jabbing him in the same spot with her fingers, injecting some of her energy into his body. He stumbled backwards and caught her wrist as she went to attack him again, whipping around behind her and grabbing her by the collar to throw her across the cobblestone. She rolled over at the feet of her family.
Artix rushed in front of her, dagger in hand, trying to ensure that she could recover quickly and continue to protect her family. He formed a few seals and shot a yellow mist at Tazaro. Tazaro formed a bubble of energy and absorbed the mist, shooting it back at Sheeva's family.
Headed straight for Nayeli, Artix pushed her out of the way and the sphere hit him, exploding. He barely had time to move before his body petrified, turning completely to stone.
"Oh, Artix." Sheeva muttered sadly. She barely had time to think though, as Tazaro rushed for her again. She rolled out of the way as he punched the ground where her head had just been, and threw out a kick at his knee.
Severus and Nayeli had rushed out to grab a sword, and both headed for Tazaro, trying to get him away from their mother. Draco and Blaise cried out in fear as they watched their twins engage in the fight.
Tazaro jumped backward, whistled, and his swords returned to his hand just in time for him to block Severus, who'd attacked him from above. Nayeli swooped up from below, and he dodged her attack too, flying out of their reach.
As the other teammates gained their bearings and went to fight, Tazaro summoned his skeletons, diverting the majority of their attention on the new foes below. Nayeli and Severus ignored them below, and continued to pursue the man, attacking from left and right, below and above.
To their exhaustion, he was able to block everything they threw at him. Tazaro hit Severus in the back of his head with the handle of the sword, and Severus began to fall. He then rushed for Nayeli.
Kathryn saw Severus falling and rushed out, taking out her wand and shouting "Arresto Momentum", stopping him before he could hit the ground. She gently guided him inside the school, and then turned her attention to the skeletons around her.
"Use fire, girl!" Kalas barked, punching the head clean off a skeleton. It flailed around, waving its sword blindly. Kathryn ducked as a skeleton sliced at her head, pointing her wand at it, shouting out a surprised "bombarda!" The skeleton flew backward and hit one of the stone pillars, shattering and flinging bone everywhere.
"Huître, use fire!" Sheeva told her, translating what Kalas had said as she grabbed Okami ni kama from Severus' hands and took to the sky, trying to catch Tazaro's attention. Kathryn nodded, and focused, a jet of fire streaming from the end of her wand. As it grew, a giant wolf of fire took form, rushing around and biting into the skeletons with its powerful jaws.
Kalas, Zakkari, and Joseph ran away, wide-eyed as the wolf bounded after them, confusing friend from foe. Kathryn ran back too, turning to face the fire fiend as it growled at her. She smirked, and waved her wand.
"Glacius!" She commanded, sending jets of ice straight through the creature's body, impaling it to the ground. It whined at her, and sizzled out of existence as the ice melted. She turned around and grinned at her professors, then began to jump for joy, pleased with herself. The strangers were impressed too, and they nodded at her to show it.
"Tazaro! Leave my daughter alone!" Sheeva barked, wedging herself between Nayeli and Tazaro.
"Nayeli, take care of Severus." She ordered, taking Shinigami back from Nayeli. Nayeli obeyed and flew back down to the others. Sheeva looked back at a stunned Tazaro, who almost looked back at her sadly.
"That's your daughter?" He asked, seeming to come to his senses. Slowly, Sheeva nodded.
"Yes, Tazaro, that is my daughter. The man that you knocked out was my son." She admitted. Tazaro's eyes widened, and he shook his head. Where was Kadie?
"Kadie was killed, Tazaro. She was killed because we made her, a beautiful little girl, a mix of two races. We tempted society… and they killed us for it." She explained, able to tell what he was thinking. He stared at her, confused. He began to fall to the ground, and she followed, landing on her feet gracefully.
"They… killed her?" He asked, blinking, still trying to grasp her words. She nodded again.
"Zarkas murdered her in front of my very eyes, Tazaro. He even threw your pocket watch at my feet. That is when I knew… when I was forced to accept that you were dead." She had tears in her eyes, and she looked down at the ground in shame. Tazaro blinked, barely holding onto his sword, tears of his own falling down his cheeks.
He'd never see Kadie, no matter what. She didn't get the chance to grow up, like he'd spent years imagining. He barley felt his sword fall from his hand, crying out in anguish and clawing at his hair, furious.
"I don't understand! How'd you get here? Why? You abandoned our memory!" He yelled, confused. She shook her head again.
"No, Tazaro. I was banished. I cannot die here. The gods have granted me immortality, and after… twelve-thousand years, I can bear children again. I never abandoned our memories. I kept them close to my heart, but I… had to move on. Finally, I could start again, have the family that they took away." She muttered.
He collapsed, falling to his knees, clawing at his head still, letting out a howl of pain. He looked up at her, angry, his eyes turned dark. He formed a few seals and shot a sphere of energy in the air. It expanded, and a sigil appeared. From the heavens descended a giant winged, lion-like beast, roaring as it swooped down and then up to stand on its hind legs.
"Oh, shit!" Joseph blurted, backing away in fear. Zakkari backed away too, and so did Kalas. Draco, Blaise, and Nayeli stared at it, amazed. Kathryn helped Severus stand, and let out a startled cry as she saw the creature.
"What the hell is that thing?" Nayeli asked the strangers, pointing at it. Zakkari looked at her, and then back at the monstrous summon. He knocked an arrow on the line, mentally preparing himself.
"Brahma." He explained. They all looked back at it, scared.
"We've lost Artix. If Sheeva can't summon, we're done for. I think Zakkari's got the good idea this time." Kalas muttered, readjusting his knuckle guards.
"Yeah, well, we can't let a woman best us at everything, now, can we, Kalas?" Joseph added, more of a joking tone than he would have held a month ago. He formed a sign and split his sword into two.
"What? You're fighting too?" Kalas teased, sending Joseph a smirk. Joseph only chuckled and smirked back.
Draco kept a tight grip on his wand and stood among them. Blaise, Severus, Nayeli, and Kathryn stood with them. Joseph arched an eyebrow at the dark-skinned man, opening his mouth as he was trying to remember his name. He gave up, and settled with a slight nod of his head.
The summon crossed its arms and stared down at Sheeva, a long, bladed tail whipping around behind it. Its body was covered in scales, and its eyes were a deep yellow. It smirked down at her, mocking the puny woman.
"Tazaro… what have you done? Summoning Brahma. Controlling the dead. You… didn't make a deal, did you?" She asked, ignoring the summon and staring at Tazaro as calmly as she could, sadness still in her eyes.
Tazaro doubled over, and his back split open. A large, shadowy figure rose out of his back, and Tazaro fell to the ground, unconscious. The figure spread its wings, outstretching its arms.
"Poor thing. All he wanted was to see you again, Sheeva Jules. Imagine his surprise and happiness when he'd learned that you were alive and well. But then… pity, you'd moved on. How could he have ever known? Ever even guessed?" The figure said in a rumbling deep voice. Sheeva glared at the figure, scowling as the pieces clicked into place. It all made sense now.
"So… you took advantage of him. Why?" She demanded. The figure sneered and waved his hand, gaining a physical entity. The man was near seven foot tall, towering over Sheeva, amused with the way that she kept eye contact with him. Attempting to intimidate her even more, he spread his black feathered wings. His wingspan was almost twice his height from tip to tip. When he let them down, they almost touched the ground, if they didn't curl around his calves.
He had long black hair that sleeked down his broad shoulders, and an armguard strapped to his neck, protecting his left shoulder. A long blade, perhaps six feet long, was clutched menacingly in his hand. He chuckled at her, a devious grin on his face. His eyes were a dull grey, with catlike slits for pupils.
"Well? What are you going to do, Jules? I'll destroy you. Destroy your family. Just as Zarkas did years ago…" He disclosed, raising his hand. Dark clouds rolling in, circling around to a point in the middle of the sky. Lightning struck, and he raised his sword, catching a bolt in the blade and charging it. Sheeva rushed at him.
He blocked her, sparks of electricity discharging from his blade and dispersing into the air. The temperatures rose and the water dissipated, nature being disrupted from their fight. He was almost too fast for Sheeva to keep up with. She was already tired from her previous fighting as well as getting thrashed about.
As she went to stab him in the side, he pushed her blade to the side, stepped in close, and kicked her in the chest, sending her flying into the air. She threw her wings out, catching the air and swooping back down. He formed a sign and snapped his head in her direction. Time seemed to freeze, and she blinked, confused.
In the next second, she screamed in pain. She fell to one knee, cradling a wound in her shoulder and chest, as well as many cuts and gashes along her limbs. The man was behind her, blade above his head. He turned, and smirked at her. She achingly turned her head back to look at him.
Mind blown, she tried to stand, but fell again, panting.
"Face the facts, Sheeva Jules. You may best a human, a wizard, and even those of your own kind. But no matter what the gods may give you, you will never best one of us." He taunted. She growled, and went to attack him again, combining her swords. Shinigami's blade jutted out from Okami ni kama's mouth, almost like a tongue.
She leaped into the air, sword raised above her head, ready to strike. He simply lifted his sword, impaling her on it as he drove it through her torso, beneath her right breast. She cried out in pain, dropping her sword and gripping the blade of his, trying to push herself off of it.
He launched her into the air, picked up her sword, and vanished, reappearing behind her and slicing at her again, cutting her enough only to draw blood, wanting to draw his time of toying with her out as long as he could.
He did a front-flip and slammed her into the ground with the Okami-Shinigami mix. She hit the ground with such a force that any normal person's body would have been broken beyond repair. He then lodged her sword down, stabbing her once again with her own sword. He folded in his wings and landed on the handle, driving it further through and sinking it into the stone of the courtyard.
She coughed, blood dripping from the corners of her mouth. She fought hard to push the sword out of the ground and her body to no avail. She was glued to that particular spot. Her body gave out and her sight dimmed. She slipped away into darkness calmly, ready to bide her time in her field of purgatory.
"MOM!" Nayeli and Severus barked out, running out into the field, tears in their eyes. The summoning turned its head, and rushed for them. Nayeli jumped up to avoid a massive swipe of its claw and caught the air, dashing upward as it lashed again with the other claw.
She dived, kicked the giant creature in the face. It whined at her, and swiped at her with a claw again, knocking her aside. She pushed herself off of the paw and ran up the creature's arm again, giving it another kick to its jaw.
Severus had run up to it and focused a sphere of energy encircling his fist and jumped at it, punching it in the stomach. The energy exploded and sent the creature off of its feet and backwards, to the ground. The foundations rumbled with the fall, and the humans fought to stay standing.
"What, did she train her kids, too? Ruthless!" Joseph barked, impressed with their work. At this rate, they wouldn't have to fight at all.
The creature bellowed, grabbed Severus and threw him off of its chest, kicked itself off the ground and leapt into the air.
"Impressive, humans." It called down to them. It sucked in a breath of air, leaned back, and its chest split open to reveal what looked like three rows of shotgun barrels. They fired a volley of shots at them. Severus and Nayeli jumped and glided as fast as they could out of the way.
"Protego!" Blaise called out, shielding them as Brahma aimed just ahead of them.
The volley of shots stopped, and Brahma spread its wings, flapping them furiously. The dust that had kicked up was gusted away, and the beast grinned, still impressed with their quick movements. He'd have to try harder.
Draco pointed his wand at a large stone that had broken from one of the pillars, levitated it into the air, and shot it upwards, launching it at Brahma. Brahma caught it easily, and chucked it back. It rolled along the ground and smashed into the wall next to the entrance. Draco watched it roll, and then snapped his head back at the beast, out of ideas.
Kalas caught their attention, and motioned for them to stay. With a wave of his hand, he beckoned Joseph and Zakkari to follow.
They took to the air and surrounded Brahma, each forming seals of their own and firing a spell at him, almost too quick for Brahma to avoid. Zakkari's hit first, stunning Brahma long enough for the other two to contact. Joseph's bound the creature's arms and legs together, locking them down. Kalas' hit Brahma's wings, ripping massive holes in them, grounding him.
Brahma fell to the courtyard ground, smashing the statue of Dumbledore.
Joseph dove, sword pointed at the massive beast's chest. He drove it through to the hilt, jerking it downward as he continued to fall, a large gash ripped into the side of it, splaying even more warm sticky deep-red blood on him. He grimaced and shuddered, grossed out.
Kalas dove as well, punching the wind out of Brahma, swooping up and diving down three more times, shocking the summon with each hit. Brahma bellowed out in pain with each strike.
Zakkari had shot a sphere of light in the sky, shattering the darkness. He charged an arrow and took aim, but relaxed as rays of concentrated sunlight circled around him, collecting in the bow and arrow, transforming it from a meager, cheap, hunter's bow into a white, elegant and sleek bow, almost twice what it had been before. The arrow glimmered, radiating with the concentration of energy.
Zakkari smirked. This would do nicely. He pulled back the string, locking it into place underneath his jaw. He waited for Kalas to finish his battering before releasing the arrow.
It sailed through the air, letting out an earsplitting whistle as it flew. It embedded itself in Brahma's forehead, straight between its eyes. Brahma tensed, paralyzed. The arrow glimmered and injected energy into Brahma's body. His body swelled before lysing, turning into will-o-wisps of green. They watched, grinning proudly as the spheres floated into the sky, disappearing into the atmosphere.
Balthazar grabbed the handle of Okami-shinigami and ripped it out of the ground, rushing at Kalas. Kalas didn't have time to react as Balthazar kicked him in the chest, zipping behind him and impaling him on Shinigami's long blade. He whipped the blade around, sending Kalas' body flying.
It would have hit the wall, but Draco stopped it with a halting spell, and gently set it down. Joseph nodded, thanking him for helping to preserve their friend's now dead body. Zakkari flew down, checking Kalas' vitals. Sure enough, he was dead, his eyes lifeless. Zakkari sighed, and shut the eyelids closed.
He looked to Artix's stone statue, and then back at Kalas. He felt an immense anger overtake him. Zakkari stood sharply, turned on his heel, and knocked another arrow on the line. Joseph readied himself too, feeling the same rage. This bastard was picking them off one by one, and the humans couldn't do a damn thing to defend themselves.
Severus and Nayeli felt a tugging at their pants, and looked down. Their brother, with tears in his eyes, looked up at them. He reached around and lifted a sword into Nayeli's hands. She unsheathed it, and examined it closely. The blade was shiny, thick and new, the hilt made of gold and shaped like the head of a lion. The blade extended from the lion's open mouth. The handle was wrapped in red and gold trimmings for the colors of Gryffindor. Shocked, she looked back at him.
He handed another to Severus, who to accepted it gratefully and examined it. It was almost an arm's length, with a thin, but sturdy looking blade. There was a thin green line along the middle of it in the design of a slithering snake. The hilt was silver and in the shape of a snake's head, opened and appearing ready to strike. The handle was wrapped in emerald and silver trimmings for Slytherin. Severus grinned, amazed at his brother's crafting skills. Jeffrey never ceased to amaze.
"I've been working on these since last week, Sevy, Sissy." He explained. They beamed down at him, and knelt down to hug him, showering him with thanks for their gift. He smiled, and then glanced out at the battlefield, searching for his mother.
Draco and Blaise held him back, Blaise's hand covering Jeffrey's eyes.
"No, you go back inside. Go, Jeffrey." Draco ordered. Jeffrey protested.
"Where's mommy?" He cried out, fighting them. At this, Draco picked him up and carried him inside, trying to get him away from the site.
Blaise looked at Severus and Nayeli, a pleading look in his eyes. They looked back at him, and gave him a smile.
"Dad, we've got to. Mom's… dead." Severus sniffled, tears falling down his face.
"And if they die too, we're the only hope you've got, Dad." Nayeli continued, tears in her eyes too as Severus' words hit her.
Blaise could only look at them, lost for words. He found his voice.
"No, Sheeva's not—
-Go inside, Dad. Don't come out." Severus snapped sternly. Nayeli huffed, glaring at her father. She caught Kathryn's eyes.
"Kathryn, take him inside. We got this." She told her. Kathryn stared back at them, fearful.
"But, what if—
"Kathryn, go." Severus pleaded, moving to her and pulling her into a tight hug. He kissed her forehead, and rested his chin on the top of her head, running his fingers through her hair.
"Protect yourself. Protect my father. Because Nayeli and I are asking you… and… it's the right thing to do." He hated swaying her like this, but he knew it was the only way that he'd get her out of there and away from harm.
Kathryn tensed, and slowly nodded her head. She broke away from Severus and turned to Blaise, setting a comforting hand on his arm. He protested again, and she drew her wand on him.
"Professor, you and I are going inside. Now. I will hex you if I have to, sir." She ordered. Blaise gaped at her, and then stole a last look at the twins before turning on his heel, grumbling.
"Sheeva's not dead!" He barked behind him at them. They shook their heads sadly at their father's refusal to accept the truth. No one could recover from the damage that the bastard had done. No one could survive being stabbed in the chest. They'd even seen her eyes close in defeat. She wasn't coming back, ever.
Severus and Nayeli caught their target in their sights, rushing out boldly. Severus jumped and took to the air while Nayeli kept on the ground, their hearts pounding in their chests as they went to aid in the fight.
Well, I hope that you like it. It is a long chapter, and I've had a strike of writer's block lately...