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Chapter 5
What this thing was did not matter now. There were a handful of innocent lives in its path, and all were ripe to devour. It looked beyond the underpass, a foul haze trailed from its joints and vented like steam when it plunged forward. The ground shook under its powerful charge. Its teeth, like jagged jocks, snarled a blood curdling sound.
“Auguste!”, Leonora shouted.
Before Ezabel, the Attendant activated his knightstone. There was no hesitation. No second thought. No panic. Auguste, the seasoned knight, took to his duty as a wyvern did to its prey. The potent hum of the stone embedded in his silvered gauntlet had awakened. A pale, ghostly light surged in his eyes. Toward the beast, he took a single step and disappeared. In his wake was a deafening boom of wind that pushed Ezabel over.
This was real. Every soul had just witnessed death. Panic stripped the courtyard of all sensibility. Screams riddled the air. Those that remained began to run off, only to realize they had been caged in. The only means of escape was through the underpass, where Auguste and the creature barreled at one another, destined for a violent impact.
In his hands came a shimmering warhammer, vehemently drawn from his back. He clutched it as he had done countless times before; with unwavering purpose. Then, in a stone cracking collision, Auguste’s weapon collided with the dripping claws of the beast. The underpass fractured and trembled from the pressure of the two titans.
“What the hell is that!?”, a guard shouted.
“Leonora, what are your orders!?”, another followed.
“Get everyone inside!”, she commanded. “Protect the knightstone!”
The guardsmen made haste, but a panicked crowd was difficult to herd. Though occupied, the creature remained dangerously close. Which thrusted fear upon the people like no other. Everyone fled, trampling those that could not, all while hoping they could make it into the town hall first.
It was a clamor of boots and wails that neared Ezabel when she pressed herself upright. Dread had begun to set in. She was close to the door and only needed to ascend the steps to safety. As if she was beset upon by a pack of rabid wolves, she moved forward with desperation, only to be beaten there by the crowd. She was thrusted aside by flailing arms. Pressed away by frightened shoulders. Stomped upon by terrified feet. She gritted her teeth, grunting when her body was forced below the chaos.
“Make way!”, a guardsman shouted.
Ezabel gazed through the canopy of bodies and coughed in pain. A single guard pushed through the noise with a chest in tow. The knightstone. It had been stowed and moved. Its safety was paramount.
For the beast, a moment of clarity had set in between the madness. Its clawed forearms had been held back until now, forced into a taxing trade of blows at the hand of Auguste’s warhammer. Every exchange resounded and shook the foundations. However, the sight of the knightstone being moved had triggered a rage within it. A rage that forced an opening in Auguste’s otherwise daunting defense. A single blow from its clawed fist found itself buried within the Attendant’s gut, sending him across the courtyard and into the stone wall. A spurt of blood spewed from his lips.
Ezabel had been told of an Attendant’s invincibility from every book and bedtime story. It was a childish thought, truly. She knew better. Yet, she was beset by anguish when Auguste took such a vicious blow. She looked on, frozen. Only to realize that the creature had suddenly snapped its jaw open.
It trained itself at the chest and at the fleeing guard who held it. A dense, volatile energy materialized between its jagged teeth. Like blackened thunder, it crackled off a storm of savage magic. Knowledge of such a monster had never come across Ezabel. Regardless, her instincts told all was futile in the face of such reckless bloodthirst. She braced for death.
A column of dark magic erupted from the beast’s maw, a powerful breath that displaced all light and sound. It pulverized the town hall upon impact. In its place, an explosion lifted high into the air. Suddenly, a blaze began to spread. But, even as the debris landed around her, Ezabel only heard the ringing in her ears. Even the deep toll of the town bell had gone silent for her when it crashed into the earth. She could do nothing when a stone came screaming in her direction and blunted the side of her head.
The flames roared as wood and stone rained upon the yard in a fiery hail. Never before had she felt so helpless. A numbness took hold of her left side when she plunged into the grass below. Her body felt weak, beaten and pummeled into exhaustion. Her limbs struggled to respond. Not even a full breath could be managed. Darkness loomed in the corner of her eyes. Her will faded with dangerous speed.
She reached as best as she could. A desolate attempt at moving elsewhere. Anywhere. There was a pounding that incessantly pained her chest. It was too much. To collapse then and there - to succumb to every bit of agony that plagued her at that very moment; it was her final wish. At least then, it would outright end. No more pain. No more fear.
But, that was not how her favorite books ended.
In the distance and pressed upon by a wooden board, a glint beckoned. A sheen that denied her any chance at renouncing her future.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
°°
“Achoo!”.
Why, of all places, did it have to be here? Ezabel had already known why they came to this place, naturally. She just liked to complain. It was in the middle of the woods, after all. Alm had very little in the way of clearings and it was not a good idea to have three young adults sparring throughout the streets. This small patch of tall grass beyond a set of rolling hills, and at the border of the village, was the only place she could practice with her brothers.
“Bless you..”, Xavier replied. “Allergies again?”
“Mm.”, Ezabel nodded.
She struggled to keep her nose from dripping and her eyes were red from the itch. The infamous caerose flower was in abundance here, to which she was annoyingly allergic. She thought them beautiful and always wondered why their time only lasted a month in the summer. Too bad she had no means of admiring them without a furious sneeze.
Luckily, they were just about finished for the day. Four hours of sparring and footwork had reduced each of them down to a tired lump. Xavier, still, was undefeated. Vance kept up, but always fell short of his brother. Ezabel, as usual, struggled to best either of them. Though, she blamed the pollen for that.
“My eyes are so itchy!”, Ezabel grumbled.
“At least, you’re getting faster!”, Vance mentioned.
“Shut up.”
“Sheesh. That’s the last time I give you a compliment.”
“Keep it together, Eza.”, Xavier stated. “Take it as a lesson: you’ll still have to put up your best, even when things aren’t ideal. Nothing will be easy when you become an Attendant. As Bastion says.”
“If she becomes an Attendant.”, Vance chuckled.
To be genuine, Ezabel was a bit too tired to absorb any of Xavier’s advice, or Vance’s taunting. She really only had energy to do one thing in particular. Which was to toss, with a very loaded arm, her practice sword right into Vance’s chest. For someone who had just exerted herself for hours, it was honestly impressive.
“Acht! What the hell!?”
It struck true with a muffled thud and bounced off of the leather padding Vance had on his torso. In fact, they all wore it. Though, Vance’s set was noticeably dirtier. - Ezabel groaned, a little overwhelmed by the fatigue and perpetual sniffling. She fell against the tall grass, flattening her silhouette into a sea of green. The summer sky soared overhead and moved on without any concern for them.
“Will any of this even be useful when we get our knightstones?”, she muttered.
“It’s important that we are able to handle ourselves without one.”, Xavier answered.
“But, who needs a sword if I could break one with my own hands?”
“You will, when you fail because you aren’t practicing.”, Vance quipped.
“Even if any of us fail to become Attendants, we still have things to take care of. - And for that, we’ll have to get better at this. No exceptions.”.
As usual, Xavier ended their conversion with stern words. He was always right. Ezabel knew it well. All of their work, practice, training; even the excess of books she had read. They all had a purpose. And above all, it was important that she never forgot the reason they decided to become Attendant Knights. - Between her lips came a calming breath.
“We’ll see it through.”, Ezabel said with a gentle tone.
To which, her brothers nodded in agreement, albeit in their own way.
“Okay..”, she sat up. “I’m done here. I’m going to hang out with Bastion. See ya!”
“Don’t forget your sword.”, Xavier replied.
“Bring it back for me!”
°°
A fit of uneven coughs spilled out of Dani’s throat. The fumes grew dense and the fire showed no sign of slowing. She had knelt down on the far end of the courtyard, opposite the beast. Below her, Leonora had fallen still. The Attendant’s body had been forced into submission, a weakened state, hazardously close to being wholly critical. But, it was a tradeoff that saw many other lives endure.
With her own sheer might and will, Leonora had stepped between the attack and the crowd that pushed for the town hall. By the power of her knightstone, a wall of protective magic intercepted the blast and dispersed its brutality in every other direction. It raked the courtyard with unstable energy, crumbling stone and wall alike. But, it was a necessary act to ensure that the people behind her had not been killed.
She bought enough time for all to get out of the way. Alas, that was all she could handle in such a tight circumstance. Her barrier held firm until the last of the candidates were clear of the strike, and finally cracked under the pressure. As a bludgeon did to glass, the creature stormed ahead and crushed Leonora’s barrier with its shoulder.
Against the stonewall of the courtyard, she collided and fell limp. Where Dani scrambled to reach her. With Auguste already out of commission and Leonora freshly conquered, all was bleak.
Now, away from the underpass, the monster prowled over the rubble. A dreadful snarl as if it searched for something. It was an opportunity that many in the terrified crowd took to flee. While those that were early managed to make it out, the rest were not as lucky; their desperate movements suddenly attracted the beast, who turned to them with a ferocious, hunting leer.
From the elbows, the creature’s formidable arms ejected a black smoke that signaled another charge. Its claws bore at the dirt and pressed as it readied to launch itself at those in flight. A murderous breath hung from its gaping maw, as if it relished the carnage to come. A bloodbath only one sprint away.
Then a thump came from another direction and a book fell against the beast’s head. A maddening interruption that threw it into an enhanced state of rampage. Its eyes burned. It’s maw shook. Its arms turned to crush the dirt beneath. - Dani had drawn its fervor. A raw reaction. If she had not, those that escaped would have been slaughtered like sheep.
She could not help herself, no matter how stupid of a thing it was. And now, having done so, she gritted her teeth and quivered. She was helpless, frozen on both knees. The monster came with a thunderous tear. Its claw bared high into the sky and descended upon her. It craved her demise; to crush her like an insect.
Dani reeled back and braced. Her eyes were shut tight. Tears squeezed out and rolled down her cheek. A shadow rose high above her and fell absolute. Darkness enveloped all.
An immense quake rumbled on impact. The beast had brought its arm down with a force so overwhelming that it could punch a hole clean through the thickest of castle walls. A pillar of dirt erupted and spewed into the air. Its chest heaved as rage coursed through its veins. Through its jaws came a mighty roar whose intensity was matched only by the malice in its eyes.
Yet, the beast found no corpse. Its claws were void of trickling crimson. Hunger boiled in its throat, dissatisfied. It wanted nothing more than to bring its wrath down upon her again. But, as it pulled its arm away, something had caught it. The ichor upon its skin bubbled furiously. Muscles strained. The smoke of its joints fumed with a seething hatred.
For the first time that evening, its overwhelming brutality had been tempered. Reduced to little more than a flailing limb at the mercy of something unknown. Dirt and smoke obscured the force that held onto its claw. But, amidst the veil was a striking, viridescent gaze. It stared back, perfectly encircled by a radiant, white light.
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