Chapter XIII

The horse covered in blood was so hacked up that Michael wondered how it stood. The one-armed man, pale like a sheet of paper, was shivering on the horse. His right arm, which was half chopped off, was covered with the red uniform drenched in blood, but the most terrifying thing was that both the rider and the horse had foggy white eyes.

Suddenly, the rider gripped his own throat tightly, gurgled he needed help, and dropped together with the horse. Nobody moved first, but then everybody ran towards the door. Michael and Uriel were standing as if frozen and did not even quiver. They eyed each other that it was time to run, but at that very moment, something strange happened. Those people who had just left returned quietly as if being enchanted by some magic.

The room was being filled up with mute panic. Although the people stupefied by the fights were gradually returning, they did not dare to utter a sound. They must have felt something was hopelessly wrong.

Uriel and Michael saw the door of the tavern despite the vast crowd of people. They noticed the guardsmen, covered in blood, mingled in the crowd, red eyes were glowing on their disturbingly pale faces. There were three of them, but the number was still enough to scare the unarmed people to death. The rider who had broken the window stood up slowly and the glow in his eyes made a well-dressed woman scream out with fear... The soldiers dressed in red uniforms acted.

They were extremely strong. They could easily take people up with their bare hands and throw them around. People were panicking, nobody dared to fight against them, no one even thought of doing that. Everyone tried to run, but the terrifying four did not allow them to approach either the door or the window.

As well as being strong, the red-eyed guardsmen were extremely quick. Uriel quietly whispered to Michael they could have tried escaping from the second-floor window. As if being under a spell, the girl was still standing at the stairs. Uriel and Michael got to her safely and dragged her up the stairs. Other people followed them too.

The second floor was largely occupied by the bedrooms, most of which were locked from inside by the scared customers. People, panicking and shivering with fear, were trying to break into the rooms. The second-floor corridor was filling up quickly, and Michael and Uriel soon realized that unless they hastened, the guardsmen would soon turn this place into a slaughter yard.

While Michael was trying to think about the way out, Uriel turned to the girl, shook her to bring her around, and asked her name.

"Angela," she said automatically.

"Listen to me, Angela, we need to get away as soon as possible, or we will all die; just calm down and tell me how to escape. There should be another exit."

"There is one window, over there," Angela pointed at the door.

Uriel tried the door, but it turned out to be locked from outside. The boys started kicking the door, but they soon realized they could not break it. They looked around in search of someone stronger. They picked out one huge, a queerly dressed black man with a sword around his waist.

Michael did not know what Uriel had told the man, as they were talking in a language unknown to him, but it did not really matter, the main thing was that the black man could break the door on the first try to they went into a small room. The window overlooked the street, but as soon as the boys looked through it, they lost all hope of escape.

About a dozen of the red-eyed guardsmen, surmounted on their horses, were waiting at the windows. Having witnessed their strength, the boys were sure that their number was not important at all.

"The entire building is besieged," Michael heard the girl's hopeless voice, and he was about to turn to Angela, standing at the window when he froze on the spot, seeing the wounded soldier with his arm cut off, at the doorstep.

The glowing red eyes were looking at the people in the room. Terrified and hopeless, they did not really mind who would be the first victim. There were five of them in the room - Blondy, Michael, Angela, the well-dressed woman, and the black man, who must have been the servant of the woman.

The guardsman stepped into the room, and Michael and Uriel grabbed their cudgels. Strangely, in these blood-shedding circumstances, Michael felt even excited, as standing in the room, ready to fight, was a sign of bravery on his side. The black man grabbed his sword, too.

The guardsman stopped and looked at the frozen people in the room. He suddenly rushed towards the black man, but quickly changed the direction and jumped in front of the well-dressed lady, punched her and threw her against the wall, then rushed back to the black man. The latter swooshed his sword, which, in fact, saved his life at that moment. The guardsman still dashed towards him, grabbed the blunt side of the sword with the only remaining hand, and threw the black man and his sword to the other side of the room, next he ran up to him, grabbed him by his throat, and lifted him up. He would definitely kill the black man if boys had not attacked him with their cudgels. The guardsman kicked Michael. Uriel's cudgel broke on the head of the soldier. He did not seem harmed, not even shaken a little; he only let go of the dark man who fell on the floor rasping.

Michael struggled to get up, but he was soon running towards the red-eyed soldier screaming desperately, but the adversary was first to attack Michael and threw him on the ground. Michael almost lost consciousness, feeling that his lungs were devoid of air. He could barely see how the soldier lifted Angela up in the air and was about to strangle her when Uriel hit him with a sword in the arm. The girl fell down with the cut-off hand of the men, still gripping her neck.

Michael stood up with difficulty. Although he felt dazed, he could still feel that the guardsman with no arms was faster than Uriel. Michael took a deep breath, and feeling a sudden rush of strength, grabbed his cudgel. Despite not being able to free himself from the fear, he ran after the red-eyed soldier, hit him with the cudgel, and jumped aside so that the soldier could not reach him. This movement was successful. Even though the red-eyed one avoided the strike, he could not hit the boy back; On the contrary, it was Michael who was preparing for the second attack. He swung the cudgel; the guardsman stepped back and at that moment Uriel swooshed his leg with the sword, leaving him one-legged. After this, everything finished quickly. Uriel's sword went through the heart of the man monster and the eyes of the guardsman became glassy and lifeless. Everything around was drenched in blood.

Blondy kneeled and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Michael helped Angela stand up.

"Don't be afraid, everything is behind." He tried to calm down the shivering, pale girl, but, deep in his heart, he knew he was lying to her. Nothing was over yet. The red-eyed riders were lurking in the street, whereas three guardsmen were slaughtering people in the tavern. If the boys did not come up with something sensible really quickly, they would soon be killed.

Michael tried to think hard, but he could not concentrate on anything. Uriel stood up and carefully looked through the broken door; the soldiers were there, but they already knew that, as they could hear them from the corridor.

There were only three people left alive in the room. They had lost every hope of escape and had no desire to fight against the adversaries. How lucky it was that the guardsman had only one arm and Uriel had cut off the second one. They knew they would not be that fortunate now even the adversaries attacked them one by one... They had to escape somehow, till there was time, but where could they go, Michael did not know, and neither did Uriel.

"This is the end, isn't it?" thought Michael. "All the dreams will disappear together with me..."

The word "dream" reminded him of something and he screamed - "The roof!" Angela stared at him surprised, Blondy, however, realized what he meant, "Let's go to the roof," he finished his words looking pleased with Michael's idea. While Uriel was opening the window, Michael was explaining to the girl that there would be nothing scary, at least not as scary as what would happen to them if they stayed in the room.

The first to crawl out of the room was Blondy as the most experienced climber. Standing on the windowpane, Michael helped him to climb up. Then they helped Angela, who stood on Michael's shoulders, while Uriel was holding her from above. Finally, it was Michael's turn, and he also managed to climb up onto the roof.

Michael looked down and saw how the red-eyed soldiers were staring at them.

"Those scaring eyes," said Michael. He did not feel safe on the roof. He felt apprehensive. What if the red eyed-soldiers could climb the walls? He became more scared by ominous glares from the soldiers standing in the streets.

They quickly got away from the edge, hoping that the attackers would soon forget them if they did not see them. So they sat shivering on the roof and listened to the sounds of death coming from downstairs.

Suddenly, they heard bells ringing. The guards of the city might have learned about the slaughter in the tavern, or they must have heard the noises coming from the building.

"I think that's good!" whispered Michael hopefully. No matter how strong the red-eyed soldiers were, they could not defeat hundreds of armed men.

He believed all was going to be well now and he let himself be happy, but he was too optimistic.

Suddenly, he saw a white hand clutching the edge of the roof. In several seconds, the guardsman that Uriel had just killed with a sword was standing in front of them, miraculously safe and sound; Not even a single scar was visible on his face. The eyes were glowing as brightly in the dark night as never. Now Michael was horrified. The soldier that was lying dead on the floor with both arms and a leg cut off in the fight now was standing in front of him as if nothing had happened. Was there really any logic to fighting against him? Or where else could they go? They were on the roof. No way out!

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The guardsman looked as if he knew how desperate the youngsters felt; he was not in a hurry to attack them. The enemy was getting closer and with every step he made, Michael felt how pleased the monster living in the body of a man was in anticipation of what was bound to happen to the kids. Michael felt fear and anger rise in his heart.

Michael checked his cudgel, looked at Uriel, and saw him holding the sword hilt in his hand, looking at him.

"We will die fighting", Uriel said. Michael got hold of the cudgel and stood next to Blondy.

The red-eyed suddenly stopped and stepped back with a heart-wrenching hissing.

"Is he really afraid of us?" thought Michael, but when he followed his gaze, he realized it was not them who the red-eyed soldier was looking at, but at somebody else behind them. He automatically turned around and glimpsed a stranger in a black robe with embroidered symbols and a silver mask on his face. The stranger had a hoodie on his head with which he hid his face. Michael could not even tell whether the stranger was a man or a woman. He was running towards them, more precisely, towards the guardsman, and his long cloak was swirling in the wind.

The red-eye started hissing loudly and took one more step back forward. The mysterious stranger moved smoothly as if gliding in the air. The guardsman hissed one more time and ran towards the stranger, who also started moving quicker and the distance between them got smaller. Michael glimpsed a swirling cloak and the leg inside it hit the guardsman. Michael could hear a terrible thunder-like sound, see how the guardsman fell back and fly in the air for several meters before he could land on the edge of the roof and grasped it with his only remaining hand. He got back to his feet and ran towards the stranger. Michael saw the chest, injured after the hit, heal in front of his eyes.

The stranger didn't move, he only threw his right hand back and when the red-eyed soldier got closer, the purple light shone out of the palm of his right hand. Suddenly, he struck with the sparkling hand on the roof. Whatever happened next was something weird that Michael had never experienced in his entire life.

They felt as if all the colors had disappeared from the universe and the sounds followed them. Strange bitter cold appeared from nowhere and permeated their souls. They felt as nailed to the rooftop by some strange force. Michael could only move his eyes and watch the guardsman fade in front of his eyes, still struggling to get up. The weight he felt on him was unbearable, and Michael felt it was becoming more and more difficult to breathe. Under the weight, the roof tiles broke in some places and Michael felt his spine was about to break into two when he suddenly felt the weight disappear.

He barely got back to his knees, breathing deeply, cold sweat covering his face and still feeling terrible pain in his back. Colors and sounds were coming back to the world slowly.

Michael glanced at the stranger. He was still standing, unmoved. The guardsman was kneeling and trying to get up, but in vain, one could hear his bones breaking inside. His body was squirming and his bulging eyes were about to pop out of their orbits...

"He can't feel pain. That must be the reason he is not screaming," whispered Blondy.

The stranger lifted his hand up and stood up. The red-eye was obviously in pain. He was horrified to look at or to listen to. Michael closed his eyes, or else he would throw up. The stranger started moving towards them. Uriel held up his sword to defend himself.

"If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be able to defend yourselves with that sword," said the masked man coldly. "Who was that red-eyed man?"

"The Guardsman," answered Michael briefly.

"Where did you see him for the first time?"

"He crushed into the tavern window with the horse," answered Michael, and retold the man everything that had happened.

"Did you observe any kind of color change in their eyes?" asked the stranger after a while.

"Before falling down from the horse, his eyes turned into white, but then they changed into red again," replied Blondy.

"I see," said the stranger and walked to the edge of the roof.

"Answer my questions and I will tell you something more interesting about these guardsmen!" shouted Uriel. Michael could hear Blondy's voice tremble, but he sounded determined at the same time. The man turned around and walked back to them swiftly.

"Tell me what you are planning to say!" said the man coldly.

"Answer my questions first." Blond did not give up easily.

"You know I can kill all three of you in a second, don't you?" they heard an ominous remark. Uriel answered nothing, only held up his sword and stared at the man directly in his eyes. They stood unmoving for some time.

"Ask me whatever you want. I will answer if I find it necessary," said the stranger.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" was Uriel's first question.

"Who I am is none of your business, but what I am doing here, I guess, you have already experienced," the man pointed at the remains of the red-eyed guardsman.

"So you kill creatures like him?"

"The cause I follow is much more than killing creatures, but this guardsman was very dangerous. I don't really know enough about them to help him... I could not just let him go, I had to kill him," explained the stranger.

"Where are these creatures from and what do they want from us? How can you fight like this and what the hell did you do to us a few minutes ago? How it comes you have so many unusual skills and what is happening? When will all this end?" Blond bombarded the stranger with questions.

"The reason they have sent me here is to find out where these creatures come from. I would have never imagined what I have seen today. A lot of things may change because of that, however, you won't be able to understand why. I don't intend to tell you anything about my skills, but in order to end the devastating process which started in several parts of the world simultaneously, you must tell me everything you know and bear in your mind that every second count."

Blondy gazed at the stranger, then he started talking. "It was reported that in the south of Mondelay, there must be a strange creature living in the mountains. We learned about this a few weeks ago. They sent there the army to check the rumors and you can see the result," added Uriel angrily. "Can you explain what could have turned men into monsters?" he pointed at the remains of the soldier.

"Did people live in the mountains?" asked the stranger calmly.

"They abandoned several villages after the appearance of the creature," Michael answered quickly.

The stranger did not reply, but he turned around and left them. He was halfway through the roof when he paused. "He must prepare to jump off," thought Michael to himself, but when the stranger stepped back, he knew something was not right and suddenly became nervous. When Michael heard strange hissing sounds behind him, he realized who was behind him before turning around.

The red-eyed guardsman, covered in blood, was getting ready for an enormous leap. He looked like a beast and the silver moonlight made him look even more terrifying. Michael started shaking in terror, turned to the man in the robe, but when he saw two more guardsmen standing in different corners of the roof, he felt blood curdle in his veins.

The guardsmen were getting closer. Uriel grabbed Michael and dragged him towards the center of the roof, close to the black-robed man. Screams and loud moaning reached them from downstairs. Michael heard the guardsmen slaughtering people in the tavern.

Everything was silver in the moonlight around and the eyes of the enemies looked like dancing red dots in the air. These eyes that one could not avoid looking at no matter how hard they tried.

The stranger flashed past Michael like an arrow. The guardsmen stormed towards the man's cloak, flattering like the raven's wings.

Michael glimpsed the stranger while he was still floating up in the air. However, he was instantly thrown away by the blast following the green light. The boy did not give in to the pain and sat up at once so that he would not miss a single detail about the fight. Indeed, it was incredible to see what was happening on the roof of one of the taverns in Mondelay. The man in the black cloak was fencing against two red-eyed guardsmen with astonishing speed; the soldiers, however, had to use fight back as their adversary was unbelievably strong and quick. Their tricks made Michael want to join them in the fight and could hardly keep himself away from jumping in the middle of the fight.

The third guardsman also stood up and joined the fight, although his wounds from the green light had not yet healed.

The steel sword sparks colored the silver light in gold. The boys could hear thunder around them and the fairy tale was coming to life in front of their eyes.

Michael did not fail to notice how skillfully the stranger avoided three swords, but in the end, getting ready to attack, one of them kicked him and threw him back. Falling down, he broke several tiles, rolled over down the roof, and stopped right at the edge, kneeling on one of his knees. He instantly waved his hand up and glowing in purple struck with it on the rooftop. The guardsmen were hit by the light and thrown on their backs, mesmerized by the strange cold filling up their bodies.

"The fight is over," thought Michael to himself, but as soon as he saw the guardsmen overcome the gravity, he knew nothing was over. Unbearable heaviness disappeared in seconds, the freed red-eyed soldiers appeared in front of the masked man and Michael once again thought that the fight was over, but before the three swords would cut into the flesh, the man in the black cloak turned around and swept the guardsmen away. The stranger jumped up back to his feet and continued swirling. The fiery shapes appeared around him and he directed them towards the red-eyed soldiers. One got caught on fire, whereas the other two avoided the attack and advanced towards the stranger. The latter stopped swirling as soon as he threw the fire figures over and waved his hand at unimaginable speed. As a result, a yellow cosmic body fell from the sky and took down the part of the roof, sweeping the guardsmen, burned to ashes, away. The explosion was so powerful that it threw the watching audience up in the air.

The stranger greeted the third red-eyed soldier with a sword and slaughtered him with his twirling motions. Then sat next to the kids to catch his breath.

"Are you OK?" the stranger did not really look worried. The youngsters did not answer them as they were petrified by what they had just witnessed.

"How did you do all this?" Michael could no longer hide his astonishment.

"It is strangely quiet," noted Uriel and Michael soon guessed the reason behind it. There had been a fight in front of the tavern a few minutes before. The silence, however, meant that it was over.

Three kids started at the stranger in fear when he got up and walked towards the edge of the roof that looked over the tavern entrance. He had barely got to the place when he jumped back and the arrow hit the spot he was just standing on. Soon another red-eyed soldier appeared, and it became obvious to the kids who had won the fight downstairs.

Blood was dripping from the silver weapons of the guardsmen, who looked like mystical knights under the moonlight, getting ready to fight. They were ten of them - Michael counted; they had obviously murdered the hundreds of defenders of the city without losing a single soldier themselves.

The fireballs appeared once again from the palms of the stranger and the red-eyed soldiers attacked. The fireballs encircled the stranger and the kids and saved them from a miserable death. Soon they had to obey the stranger and jumped down the roof hole made by the meteor-like cosmic body. Again, Michael glimpsed another guardsman turned into ashes and the walls bathed in blood almost made him throw up.

The stranger followed them, jumped through the hole like a cat and the fire covered the hole to protect the kids from the soldiers, but the monsters were not planning to give up that easily. They broke into the room through windows. Michael realized the second floor would also be swarmed by the soldiers. Next, everything happened so quickly that he could not restore the sequence of events in his memory.

The rooftop fight episodes looked like a masterpiece painted by a genial artist.

Cutthroats and slaughtered bodies collapsed walls and broken windows with torn curtains, broken bones and gutted bodies, sticky floor, and dirty ceiling. The shadows dancing on the walls reminded Michael of the stories about dancing shamans told by Uriel, the swirling of the cloaks of the red-eyed soldiers, drenched in blood, and that of the black cloak. The ghosts of death lurking in every corner and the danger imminent at any moment made Michael feel a riot of emotions.