When we arrived at the cave, Raven was in trouble. He was in flight and had picked a fight with not one, but all the fallen angels who had emerged from the fissure between our world and the Borderland. They numbered in the hundreds, and as in heaven, they had ranks not unlike soldiers. Some were more powerful and dangerous than others. Some were nearly equal to the Chiefs in their power. All of them were attacking Raven.

The Chiefs immediately flew into the middle of the fight and sought out the most dangerous of our foe. From somewhere in the depths of their armor, they had drawn what looked to be double edged longswords. With the light of the moon bouncing off their razor’s edge, they looked heavy, but the Chiefs welded them easily with one hand. They were master swordsmen, and soon fallen angels began falling from the sky.

The rest of us had lots to do as well. As mentioned, there were hundreds of Draco in the air. My warrior tribe had axes similar to Tasha’s and were a very efficient fighting force. We moved together, and if one was fighting someone in front of them, the eyes of the others would tell them exactly what was going on behind them. In one case, one of the warriors had a fight before him, and another Draco swooped in to attack from behind. With barely an interruption, the warrior’s axe flew up, cleaved the unseen approaching Draco, killing it, and then came round and struck the guy in front of him. It was probably my watching the encounter that told my fellow warrior of the approaching assailant from behind, and he knew this with the same certainty as if seeing it with his own eyes.

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I had to adjust my fighting style somewhat. All I had for an axe was the one that guy lent me at the campsite. It wasn’t even a full sized fighting axe. Fortunately, I am a bird of prey. I found the thick claws of my feet to be just as effective a weapon. I’d fly overhead, drop down on a Draco, grasp it with my claws right at the shoulder blades where his wings begin and break them. Then before letting go, I’d reach down and snap the Draco’s neck. I should let you know, these were lesser Draco I was fighting. I wouldn’t get away with the higher ranking Draco the Chiefs were fighting.

From down at the cave, the Dark Angel, watched the battle. He was still ushering a steady stream of Mark Steppers out of the Borderland and back into the world they once inhabited. There were thousands of them.

He looked up. The weaker Draco were beginning to fall, but the higher ranking archangels were fighting strong. The fighting had spread, and the arena now spanned an area of at least a mile. Some of the fighters had moved away from close combat, and were charging each other from a distance, moving at incredible speeds. It was time for the Dark Angel to act.

I wouldn’t even have noticed the Dark Angel except I was looking directly at Tasha when it happened. It was more like a blur and then Tasha was gone. The only reason I knew something happened to her, was I was looking right at her; then she was gone.

I followed the trajectory, and if it hadn’t been for my keen eyesight, I wouldn’t have found her. I did though. She was sprawled on the mountainous rock below me, the Dark Angel standing beside her. I dove down to help her, but when I got closer, I could see she was dead.