As promised, lotsa action in this chapter. :)
Chapter 29, Royal bloodKarl slept soundly, only giving away hardly audible whimpers now and then and low sounds as his paws lazily scratched the air and ground in his sleep. The birds were resting closer to the cliffs.
The slowly declining moonlight shone down through the leaves and swiftly touched Lise's armor, hair, skin and Kevin's tunic and fur.
None of them had slept during the night, instead slumbered through the day to be able to stay alert when the sun sunk beneath the ocean.
The sunset had been several hours ago, and no enemy in sight.
Lise wasn't complaining though. Neither was Kevin.
At first they had been tense, filled with worried anticipation listening after the slightest sound as soon as it began to get dark. But after Wisp had told them that he'd sense the slightest surge of evil and have time to warn them long before the enemy arrived, the two warriors had managed to slowly relax.
Now Kevin had settled back against a tree, his wide mouth showing off a small, warm smile. Lise was settled by him, almost lying down as she leaned against his chest with a soft smile, her cheek against his shoulder.
They had been in much the same position for quite some time now, not feeling like moving.
Kevin's pointing finger carefully caressed Lise's cheek, her eyes partly closed as the simple touch slowly brushed away all worries her mind had carried for months.
He kept his claws as far in as possible not to risk cutting her, of course. It was pretty peculiar, come to think of it… the finger that touched her was hairy; a werewolf's. That was perhaps a bit twisted, but Lise didn't mind.
'I'll never mind…'
Her arms that had snaked around his waist squeezed their grip a bit at the thought, at the same time as Kevin's warmth brushed over the corner of her lips. He turned his face to her a little, his golden eyes almost gleaming as his smile widened a bit, tenderly. Lise smiled back, straightening up to get into a better position for her legs. The right one had begun to turn a bit numb, but she hadn't noticed.
Kevin's finger came back to her soft skin after she had settled again.
'Please stay with me when this is over…' she thought, subconsciously hugging his waist tighter again as she closed her eyes against the worry of that reflection.
After all they had gone through, all they had felt, she knew she never could accept any suitor except the one she was leaning at right then. The mere thought made her throat feel soar. But still…
She knew he never wanted to be king of the beastmen, and what she asked of him was to carry the same title just in another kingdom. What if he wouldn't…
Lise's eyes pressed tighter shut. But as she did, Kevin's fingers spread out over her cheek and when she looked up he was watching her with silent concern.
"It's… I'll tell you later," Lise whispered.
"Alright."
She shifted again to sit up closer to him.
At one time she'd been frustrated about his sense of smell, just after the first battle with Rakadra… but now she only felt a warm security. It wasn't that Kevin constantly was keeping a watching eye… nose on her, he really cared.
'I'll ask him after the battle,' she thought, 'now isn't the right time.'
For a moment she pondered that one.
'Heh… famous bad thing to say before combat…'
She wryly smirked a bit at the thought, pushing it away with the fact that neither she nor Kevin were fabled heroes in a fairy tale.
Kevin looked up, through the branches above them. The sky was still dark, but there was a hint of lighter blue.
"Will be dawn soon," he muttered.
"Yes… maybe they'll come tomorrow instead?" Lise said with a small frown.
As if called -he probably felt that way- Wisp floated into existence on the other side of Kevin, forcefully keeping his light down to make sure.
"Well, they won't come at day," he grimly said, "the demons hate the sun, even though it won't kill them."
"What about Jagan?" the princess asked.
Wisp shook.
"He's a high vampire, the sun can't harm him. Maybe make him a bit weaker but…"
He suddenly fell silent and his small flames literally froze. The two warriors tensed, listening intensely.
There was a distant, flapping sound. Powerful flaps. From above.
Very slowly, without making a single sound Lise and Kevin moved to stand on one knee each, getting into a position that they could break into a dash from. Wisp sunk down to the ground, the fact that he was holding his light back making it almost impossible to see him.
And one demon landed in the light of the Mana stone. Kevin's hand touched Lise's on the ground and the palms met, for grim determination as they watched through the bushes' leaves.
The unholy beast was surely seven feet tall, but it was crouching more that the son of the Beast King ever did. Seemed almost like there was something very wrong with its spine. Twined horns not similar to any animal's crowned its head, it was a pile of muscles. The sickly greenish skin was stretched over arms and legs thick as tree trunks. Three inch claws sharp as daggers were its fingertips.
And yet… though it was obviously fearfully strong one couldn't call it a nice landing as it descended. The beast was stumbling and almost leaned at the fence of the balcony. The stone's glow unveiled that there was a deep cut in the right arm, only partly healed. At least it didn't bleed, but it didn't look very comfortable.
The two human warriors exchanged glances and almost smirked, concluding.
Grunting a bit the demon reached down and began drawing something on the ground with a claw, but the low wall hid what he was doing exactly. There was just the icing sound of claw over stone to use for guesses.
A small body sneaked up beside Lise, crouching as if ready to leap. She looked down in surprise.
All of a sudden Karl looked twice as big as he normally did, and with her now well developed dark sight Lise thought that the hair on his neck seemed to bristle. He didn't growl, not a sound escaped him. But it was absolutely clear that he was ready for battle.
"This is too dangerous, Karl!" Lise whispered, hardly even hearing herself, "please stand back, alright?"
The young wolf looked up at the princess, hurt somehow. Kevin shook his big head.
"She right," he said in a grunted whisper, "too much danger. Go."
Karl hesitated for a moment, but then he seemed to shrink and bitterly strutted into the depths of the small forest. The two humans turned to the ruins again.
Something erupted from the ground before the demon. One couldn't call it a light, for it was dark. And at the same time, for a split second it was brighter than the stone's glow. Then it faded to a black-purple glimmer reflected in the beast's skin.
"Teleporting that close to my stone!" Wisp hissed, "he has some nerve!"
"Master Jagan," the demon growled in a voice which was more of a hoarse howling, "the gate is ready."
"Where is Rakadra?" a voice from out of nowhere demanded.
This one was colder, and completely free of growls and hoarseness. In fact, it was so clean of everything over all that it was completely dead.
By the words two hands gently squeezed each other.
"He is dead," the demon snarled, anger making his voice even thicker.
"So it was true then…" Jagan hissed, "who did it?"
"The son of Beast King, Kevin."
The hands tightened their grip again.
"I see," Jagan said after a moment, "and the princess is of course freed?"
"Yes, master."
"Hmph. For now we'll take the other sacrifice, then."
Kevin held back a yelp as Lise's fingers nearly broke a few bones in his hand when she tensed even more. She realized it quickly and let go again, sending him an apologizing look. But the werewolf just shook his head a bit and looked ahead.
For a moment nothing happened. Then suddenly four shadows materialized before the demon.
There were two more demons, standing a little less crouching than the first one, but not exactly straight either. They held a slumping body between them.
Lise's head lowered for a moment.
That was a full grown man, not her brother.
Kevin's hand closed up around hers, soothingly tighter. She looked up again and grimly nodded, glaring at the fourth creature.
Oh well, even so the stone must be protected.
Because of the demons' crouching Jagan stood taller than his servants, otherwise they probably would have had to look down at him. Gray hair spread out from his deadly pale face like the wings of the devil, the pitch-black cloak that was wrapped around him working to strengthen the effect of the aberrant colorlessness.
"What in the name of the high demon has happened to you?" the vampire growled, "and where is Chrock?"
"Beast King," the demon growled, which easily said was explanation enough.
"That family be damned…"
Jagan shook his head and turned to the stone.
"… But, for now we have other things to attend to. We'll deal with those murderers later."
The glimmer of the Mana stone and the strangely glowing darkness created such a strange illumination that it was impossible to see the prisoner clearly. But it at least seemed to be a male human, dressed in loose, light clothes.
Lise frowned, finding something familiar about the man. But she wasn't sure what it was.
"If you please," Jagan smirked at the two guardian demons.
They nodded and raised their free hands.
"Now just excuse me a darn second!"
Wisp flashed out of thin air in front of Jagan, who took a step backwards with a growl. The demons lowered their arms in surprise.
"Why you insect!" the vampire snarled and tried to smack the elemental out of the air.
"Now!" Wisp shouted while he swiftly ducked.
"Coming right up!" Lise growled and dashed out of the bushes with Kevin beside her.
Even while they bolted across the river and leaped onto the rather crowded balcony Wisp sent out three pure lightning bolts to the spear and Kevin's hands. Weapon and claws spread holy stars through the night air and the already wounded demon almost stumbled into the Mana stone.
With a snarl Jagan teleported out of the way of the continuous attack; Lise's assault was taken by the slower left guard. The demon dropped his prisoner and clutched his bleeding side, his companion's massive fist dashed towards Lise's head. But even if Kevin hadn't tackled the beast, Lise would have had time to duck.
"Come on!" she hissed and tried to help the more or less unconscious man get up.
It was… the Flame Kahn of Navarre!?
She had seen him a couple of times when she was younger, long before the war. But she remembered his peculiar beard and the clothes. He was the leader of the ninjas and had always moved very quickly and with power despite his age. Not now, however. He was slumping, though not dead according to the few movements he did trying to stand.
And there was no time for surprise.
"I'll take him, watch my back!" Kevin growled, threw the ninja king over his shoulder and leaped into the river.
Lise swiftly followed him off the balcony and spun around to watch out for the demons' retaliation.
The two less wounded ones flew at her with paralyzing roars, but she leaped aside by instincts earned in the Mana blessing even before she had time to feel panic. The outstretched, gigantic hands missed her and the demons landed in the water.
"Stay there!" Kevin snarled and more or less threw the Kahn into the bushes.
Water exploded around his feet as he dashed to Lise's aid while the more crouching beast joined his friends. None of them had had time to attack her; now their concentration was split as Kevin tackled the same as before and Lise rammed his less healthy companion, cutting up a matching wound on his right side before she leaped backwards again. But as she did the first of the beasts to arrive to the kingdom stormed forward and his thick fingers grabbed her arms before she could react.
She fell with a screech, her whole body and face being pressed into the water. Through the blur of liquid filled with wild bubbles she saw the demon's yellow teeth as he smirked down at her struggling form.
"Don't kill them!" Jagan's voice hissed above everything, "I want them alive! Do you hear me? Alive!"
Lise's leg shot up and she violently planted the foot in the demon's stomach, nearly breaking all her toes. But the grip of her loosened and she broke free, sending her spear forcefully upwards despite the fact that she hardly could see with all the water and wet hair over her face. The blind attack served its purpose however since there was a satisfying roar of pain. She hurriedly rolled aside to get out of the flow of black blood and stood up, dripping as she fought to regain her breath and push the hair from her face quickly.
What she finally saw caused her to screech in rage and bolt forwards.
One of the demons stood before Kevin with a wicked, ugly grin, raising it's hand with claws stretched for full effect. It wasn't that the son of the Beast King just stood there waiting for the slash to cleave vital parts of him; he was in fact struggling to get free from the other demon which was keeping him locked in a merciless bear hug from behind.
Lise nearly cut off the raised arm completely and the demon stumbled aside with a roar. It wasn't before she stood still that she felt the pain in her left leg. The demon she had broken free from had managed to reach her calf with his claws just as she leaped.
She stumbled out of reach with a grimace.
"Take this!" Wisp shouted and a storm of pure, white orbs exploded from him.
Once more Jagan teleported away, but each one of the demons screeched and harshly bellowed of pain when the holy force hit them.
"I'll get you yet, Wisp!"
Jagan's clawed hand swept through the air and the elemental had to duck again.
"Oh yeah?!" he shot back and sent out tentacles of light after the vampire.
The two were caught in a violent battle on the balcony, too busy with each other to have time to aid their warriors.
But even while Wisp was starting his counterattack against Jagan Kevin used the moment's confusion against his warden. The werewolf's feet hit the stony, almost solid ground beneath the water's surface and with all his might he heaved backwards. The demon lost his balance with a surprised growl and a second later there was a horrifyingly cracking sound and yet another roar.
It seemed like the demon's wings had come between a rock and his back.
Kevin got loose and rolled aside a moment before the first monster's claws should have buried in his stomach. Instead the ally of the attacker got even more wounded. It was amazing that he still had the power to roar after that.
Drops of water exploded from the werewolf as he quickly shook to get rid of the liquid which made his fur much heavier than it should. As soon as he had regained a more proper weight he attacked the clumsy one.
The sky was slowly but steadily turning bluish.
Lise was struggling with the other fairly healthy demon. He had gotten a grip of her left arm and tried to snatch her spear. The only reason he still hadn't succeeded was that his badly cut arms and other wounds made the movements slower. Not that Lise was unharmed either.
The princess clumsily stabbed her spear at the demon's shoulder and managed to break free. But she nearly slipped on a rock below the surface and her left leg screamed in pain. Wisp was a bit too busy to heal her for the moment.
Somehow she managed to keep her balance and glared at the profusely bleeding beast before her. He was starting to get a bit too many holes than even a servant of the Dark could handle without falling, yet so far he was still standing and just getting angrier the more he was hurt. Grimly the princess took her spear in both hands and tried to find a defensive stance despite her wound.
"Duck, Lise!" Kevin shouted.
She obeyed blindly and almost slipped again.
A bluish orb twice the size of her head flared past above her, tiny sparks of lightning encircling it. Before the demon had time to do anything about it the power ball slammed into his chest and went straight through without leaving a mark.
At first it seemed like the demon was unharmed, just stunned in surprise.
Then it let out a fading growl and started to fall.
Before it reached the water it had turned into eerie smoke rising towards the steadily lighter sky.
Lise spun around.
Kevin was just lowering his hands, breathing heavily and crouching a bit, but with a triumphant grin.
(Does anybody else think of the Dragonball series when he does that attack in the game? author's note :P)
"What in the damned…?" Jagan snarled.
"Looks like the godhands are back to protect the Light, eh?" Wisp smirked.
Then the last standing demon stumbled forward and swung out his arm, smacking Kevin's nearest hand out of the way and clawing up four deep cuts in tunic, fur-covered skin and flesh. With a yelping growl of agony the werewolf staggered backwards, clutching at his chest.
Jagan's triumph was smashed as Wisp rammed into him, surprisingly powerfully for something being a rather small, white flame. At the same time Lise leaped forwards with a furious warcry, jumping much higher and quicker than should be possible for a human standing with water covering half the lower legs and with a wound of that caliber. With all her might she stabbed her spear into the demon's back, wriggled it out more or less standing on him and jumped down, stabbing again when standing in the water behind the beast.
Kevin dashed forwards and raised his hand with a pained grimace. Despite the agony he flung out his claws at the demon's throat and black blood flooded into the river.
The demon crashed into the stained water and dissolved a moment later.
"Are you alright?" Lise hissed, reaching out for her friend's shoulder.
"Fools!" Jagan bellowed.
Wisp was sent flying over the river with an enraged screech filled with horror. The vampire spun to the Mana stone and raised his hands, guttural chanting crawling through his throat.
Two lives had been sacrificed, free to use for releasing the stone's power.
"No!" Kevin, Lise and Wisp shouted.
The princess rushed forwards and leaped onto the wall of the balcony, trying to stab her glowing spear at Jagan's head. But with a movement like a snake he sent out his hand and grabbed the weapon half a second before it would have hit him. The sudden stop combined with the insecure ground beneath her feet caused Lise to loose her balance and she fell onto the balcony with a harsh screech. Kevin growled and tried to rush to her aid, but he violently stumbled and fell into the river.
Furiously looking around he found the last demon, his eyes thin in agony and their unholy glow faltering with loss of blood and life. But his long, powerful fingers encircled Kevin's ankle, keeping him bound.
Growling in rage the werewolf tried to get up and reach his foe. That was when Wisp crashed into his shoulder after another hit from Jagan. Kevin didn't pay any heed to that, but when he heard Lise's scream he clumsily spun back at the ruins, his soul freezing in horror.
"Let me go!"
She was struggling with all her might, trying to kick Jagan as he held her above ground with tight grips of her bare upper arms, smirking. Beside them the stars of the Mana stone weren't falling anymore; they were dancing around it, faster and faster.
"It's too late, you idiots," the vampire sneered, his red eyes almost flaming.
Kevin desperately tried to tear himself free, but even though the demon groaned of pain he refused to let go.
Lise took in a shocked, fearful breath as Jagan's arms suddenly encircled her shoulders, roughly pressing her against his chest. His cloak spread out like a pair of black wings before wrapping itself around the two.
"NO!!" Kevin roared with all his last remaining strength, fruitlessly fighting to break free to save his beloved friend before…
"Royal blood," Jagan softly, hungrily smirked and grabbed Lise's hair to force her head backwards, "it's all too hard to find in such a beautiful container…"
Lise's scream pierced the air and turned Kevin's every muscle into ice. It seemed to last for a pitch-black, flaring eternity before she fell silent, her head limblessly falling forwards and aside when Jagan let go of her.
The vampire straightened up with a hoarse chuckling, a thin stream of Lise's blood running out of the corner of his mouth and dripping onto her collarbone.
Kevin's hands splashed into the water and his neck couldn't support his heavy head as he almost fell forwards completely, red-hot, bitter tears falling into the muddy river.
The first sunray swept over the world and apathetically washed away the shivering prince's werewolf form. He didn't even notice.
Goddess, no… no…
"Now really," Jagan coldly sneered just ahead of the young man, "I'd expect more from the son of Beast King."
Kevin looked up, but he didn't have enough emotions left to summon even the tiniest grain of hatred; completely drained of feelings.
Now Jagan was standing on the river's surface, carrying Lise's lifeless body by the knees and shoulders. Her arms and legs hung loosely, hair flowing over the vampire's arm. The rising sun painted it with dead fire.
The dark one looked ahead, at the demon.
"You've done well," the vampire gravely said, "go back and await your rebirth."
Vaguely Kevin noted that the grip of his ankle dissolved, but he was still watching Jagan through blurred eyes. The vampire coldly looked back, a smirk forming on his lips again.
"What, her?" he said and moved his arms a little so that Lise's limbs sluggishly swayed, "no, she's not dead."
Kevin's whole being twitched.
"What…" he croaked.
"Of course not, in just a short while she'll wake up as a vampire," Jagan said with a cruel smirk.
"No…"
The half blood tried to stand up, pathetically fighting to reach out with the last grain of strength he had left.
"Give her back…" he snarled without any power, "I killed Rakadra, not she…"
"And Rakadra is the only reason I spare both of you."
Jagan's cold, red eyes flared with anger, but dark triumph just as well as he sneered at the weakened beastman.
"As soon as we have the sword of Mana the Dark Prince will rule this world and he will revive our faithful warriors," the vampire viciously informed, "I think that after all the trouble my disciple went through an undead slave mistress and a pet is the least he deserves."
"No…"
"You shouldn't declare victory before counting the survivors, Jagan!"
Wisp tackled the vampire from the left, causing him to stumble a little, more of surprise than anything else though. However, in the next second a snarling, half grown wolf puppy and his blessed claws attacked Jagan's right arm. With a growl the evil one stumbled again, clumsily elbowing Karl into the river.
There was a powerful screech from above and the two gigantic birds dived, claws glowing with Wisp's power and stretched for not too kind grabbing. Jagan ducked out of the way with a swift movement, but as he did Kevin reached Lise's loosely hanging arm and when the vampire fulfilled the movement he dropped the princess into the river.
Hurriedly the half blood lifted Lise's face above the surface and protectively held her against his soar chest with the strength of relief, oblivious to the agony from his wounds.
Realizing he was outnumbered as one of the birds swept down to guard the humans, and with the other feathered one, Karl and Wisp warningly approaching him, Jagan had to admit defeat. With eyes thin with rage he teleported onto the balcony.
"Too bad you can't do that when holding someone without dropping them!" Wisp snarled, taunting.
"Think you've won?" the vampire coldly said and pointed at the Mana stone, where the stars now was flowing towards the heavens, "you know it's only for now, Wisp."
And with that he leaped into the invisible gateway on the stone floor and was gone.
About everyone left in the area breathed in relief.
"Thank the goddess…" the elemental sighed.
"Wisp?" Kevin grunted, idly stroking Lise's deathly pale face.
The two birds landed in the water and concernedly watched the two warriors while Karl padded up to his human friends and anxiously whimpered while sniffing the princess' wet hair.
The elemental lowered and watched Lise for a moment, then he calmingly shook.
"Don't worry, Kevin, I won't let her become a vampire," he said with a soothing smile, "let's see… this should do it."
A thread of holy fire swept out from Wisp's body and into the two small holes on the amazon's neck. She gave an almost inaudible moan as the purifying force entered her veins and spread beneath her skin, adding an inner glow of her body as Jagan's poison was hunted down.
But she didn't wake up even as the light disappeared, though the paleness ruling her skin had faltered a little. Hair plastered against her head and arms by the water, eyes shut and lips lazily apart.
"She'll need to rest for a few days," Wisp said, "with my healing she'll recover quickly but I'd like to see that she stays put in at least a week. And you need to rest to, young man."
"Gah…" Kevin slurred and tried to stand up, but doing that and carry Lise at the same time in his state…
Not possible.
"Take it easy, I'll help…"
Wisp showered both his human allies in healing light, and slowly the son of Beast King managed to get to his feet.
Afterwards he couldn't recall how he made it back to their small camp, he only remembered clumsily wrapping up Lise's wet hair in her towel so that it wouldn't cause her coldness; knowing that the loss of blood probably would bring her very unpleasant chills anyway.
Done that he somehow managed to release the laces of her armor and free her of the equipment before he laid her back on her bedroll, wrapping her up in his arms and the blanket. He fell asleep before Wisp even had time to announce that he'd call his brother Salamando to dry their clothes. Not that drying was the only thing the half blood's clothes needed; his pants had gotten away with a tear from the ankle where the demon had held him. However the shirt was plainly about to fall apart.
But it wasn't something anybody had the nerve to care about for the moment.
Since Kevin had collapsed on his own bedroll which laid beside Lise's, the only thing the host could offer the still more unconscious than awake Flame Kahn was a simple bed of big leaves. While the two birds on request tore down the green blades of the nearest trees Wisp slowly led the older, zombie-alike man out of the bushes and eventually onto the resting place. Where Hawk's leader promptly left the awake world to the fullest.
Taken cared of everything, the four still moving exchanged glances and went to find someplace to sleep as well. What a morning…