Sheriff Oxenstierna stood stone-faced as Mr. Puffin approached him with ground-shaking steps. The demonic puffin threw back his head and laughed, green lightning flashing behind his massive feathery form.
"And what will YOU do if I refuse to be taken custody, scum spirit? Duel me to the death?"
"No," Berwald replied as he pulled out his Volcanic and tossed it to the side. "I will not fight you, Uncle."
"UNCLE?! Ha!" The puffin leaned over and stared into the sheriff's eyes "You are no nephew of mine. Son of that human-loving whore and her mortal consort, you have your mother's stupidity and your father's puniness!"
"That so?"
"Of course it is, you filthy half-blood!"
"I see." Berwald didn't blink as he stared back at the puffin's glowing green eyes "Move me then."
"What?"
"Move me," Berwald repeated "Try t' move m' from where I stand, Wind Spirit."
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" The puffin laughed as his wings pushed him into the sky "Are you challenging me? You're more foolish than I thought. Very well scum spirit, prepare yourself!"
Berwald closed his eyes, disconnected from all his senses and focused his thoughts on things that were true and real.
Like Tino. His poor, sweet wife…barely clinging on, strength sacrificed to save Berwald-
The gusts of wind propelled knives of ice into the sheriff's skin. Blood froze and stuck to his hands, arms and face. He dug his feet deeper into the ground as the storm force winds grew stronger, crushing him like an icy wall.
Irrelevant. The cold would pass, the pain would pass, but if he moved then Tino's soul was lost forever.
The puffin's massive claw closed around Berwald's head, squeezing so hard that blood ran down from the sheriff's ears. He coughed and gagged as one of the puffin's toes covered his mouth and nose. The sheriff grew lightheaded and dizzy as his oxygen supply slowly faded.
No. Berwald was not an oxygen-dependent human being. He was one with the earth, a stone steadfast and immovable. These attacks were nothing. Pain, life and death were inconsequential, as weightless as wind. Mr. Puffin did not have the power to take anything of real importance away.
Berwald's eyes stung as he opened them to a sea of black feathers. The puffin had removed its claw from Berwald's face and was now flying back up into the sky. The sheriff noticed that the puffin had shrunk significantly since the attacked has started. The bird was now only fifteen feet tall, and the expression on the demonic face radiated anger, anxiety and frustration.
The Wind Spirit was shrinking into nothing. But of course it was, the Wind Spirit was nothing. It had no connections to others, no ambitions for anything aside from increasing its own power. It was an empty, lonely, purposeless life form.
And because it was nothing, the demon flew right through Berwald as it tried to dive in for a death grab. Berwald stood strong, held in place by his resolution to save Tino and keep his family together. The ties that bonded humans together now turned into tangible, glowing cables that anchored Berwald securely to the place that he stood.
Mr. Puffin continued shrinking as he furiously tried to rain down a shower of demonic power spheres at the sheriff. Finally, reduced back to the size of the normal puffin and drained of his evil soul power, the demon collapsed to the ground, panting for breath.
"You *pant* think you've *pant* won, Sheriff?" the demon coughed up several feathers and let out a raspy laugh "I'll just come back again. Find another host, harvest more souls and get right back to business. You're stuck in place by those cables…all you would have to do is walk forward and step on me, but you can't, scum spirit. Ha! After I've caught my breath, I'll be flying off to safety and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it."
"Think again, you feathered freak," Emil emerged from the shadows, picked up the sheriff's Volcanic and advanced on the fallen bird. He wore a scowl of displeasure highly reminiscent of his older brother's default expression.
"Emil!?" Mr. Puffin's glowing green eyes widened with alarm. "Emil, buddy! You wouldn't really shoot your old bird friend, would you?"
"You're no friend of mine, you lying traitor," Emil's eyes narrowed as he pulled back the hammer on the gun and aimed it at Mr. Puffin's chest. "This is for you, Big Brother."
A pulled trigger and a gunshot later, the demonic wind spirit was no more.
Whew, I hope this chapter is easier to read than it was to write. Thank you all my lovely readers and reviewers. You're the niftiest, most supportive audience ever. I will do my best to write a cool and romantic ending for you guys. Love all around!
