From Heaven To Earth (The Faith of the Fallen) (22 page)

Feit tried to close the gap between them.

He stabbed at her. She narrowly dodged and sliced at his arm with her
sword. It shattered against his armor. He tried to grab a hold of her. She flew
backwards away from him, saw where Riell’s sword had fallen and flew to grab
it. She knew the corrupted celestinite blade would even the odds.

He tried to close the gap between them, but arrows exploded against his
back and knocked him down. His armor was aflame, but the energy he siphoned
from the charlatan numbed the burns and kept the flames from overheating his
armor.

She picked up the blade, filled it with her Inner and turned it into a
trident. With every swing of his sword she tried to catch it and twist it from
his grasp. He was too strong for her though, and she had to stay defensive.

She could see invisible skia close in from the sky and redoubled her
efforts. She tried to use his swings to throw his weight, caused him to stumble
and thrust her trident into his chest. He grabbed its shaft and would have
swung her into the air if several skia’s spears had not bit into his back.

She sent a rush of Inner into the trident and its prongs extended. He
felt it go through his armor and the blow propelled him and the skia behind him
backwards. He gripped the trident and pulled it down with him. The trident
slipped from Feit’s grasp.

As it left her hands the trident reverted to a sword, and Dejanto yelled
when the prongs exited his flesh.

“Volley him from the air!” Feit yelled and took to the sky.

Arrows exploded against his armor. He erected another shield, but he knew
it would not last long against their assault in his weakened state. He
struggled to maintain it when the volley ceased.

He took a moment to compose himself.

He felt two invisible skia walk through and divided their torsos with a
whirl of his sword.

As they came through, he swatted them out of the air or felled them where
they stood. After a few minutes they stopped coming. Blood loss made him
sluggish and dizzy.

He tried another energy siphon to heal his wounds. His body rejected most
of the foreign Inner. A chill went through him as he pulled energy into him,
and his body numbed. It did not cease until he stopped siphoning.

His wounds would not heal. He had to find Drean and retreat. He dropped
his shield to see skia fighting skia in the air with spear, sword, and arrow.

He was exhausted but could still feel Drean’s aura and stumbled that
direction.

Three skia wearing the armor of The Falling Curtain were around Drean
when he found him. They had given the angel hot, Inner infused tea to
counteract the demon blood laced tranquilizer. He sprung into the air and
drifted down on a shadow slide he created to curve behind them and beheaded
them.

“Riell?” Drean asked.

“You’ll see her soon enough,” Dejanto said. “On the end of my sword.”

Drean whimpered. His motor skills were still impaired.

Something slammed into Dejanto and knocked him on his face. He rolled
over to see Riell collect a javelin that changed back into her sword when it
touched her hands, and when he stood they were sais.

“Told you she would catch up, angel.”

She ran at him and tried to use the momentum of Dejanto’s attacks against
him. Her left side was stiff from her wound, but only contusions remained.
Still unable to heal, Dejanto tried to remain defensive until his body would
accept more siphoned energy.

Riell noticed where the trident had penetrated Dejanto’s armor and struck
it whenever she saw the opportunity.

Fatigued, Dejanto sloppily attacked Riell, who dove forward with sais
outstretched and splintered his armor. He pushed her away before the sais bit
into his flesh too deeply. She attacked again, and he blocked both of the sais
with his blade. She pressed against him, determined to break his strength. Her
wings illuminated as she struggled.

She heard an impact some distance away, followed by an aftershock, and
the battle’s clamor ceased. A single roaring voice could be heard.

“Angel there?”

“Verill,” Riell said.

His thunderous footfalls shook the ground as he searched for them.

“Angel there! Angel there!” he roared over and over.

Riell pushed Dejanto away, camouflaged herself and flew into the air.

“I can still see you!” Dejanto said.

Yes, you can,
Riell thought.

Verill the Unbreakable looked like a fifty-foot tall demon, gorilla
crossbreed when he crashed through the trees.

Hopefully he can’t.

Shrazz rushed Gerald and attacked the angel with a barrage of punches and
kicks. Gerald dodged or blocked all of Shrazz’s techniques, but he could not
even begin to form a counterattack. Shrazz’s rapid offense would not allow it.

Gerald’s defense deteriorated before Shrazz. All of his punches,
previously unable to penetrate Gerald’s blocks, went through.

Shrazz pulled back his right arm and put momentum into his punch and
hoped to stun Gerald.

Gerald had looked bewildered and worn down, but when he saw Shrazz’s slow
haymaker he dropped his act. He used the momentum of Shrazz’s blow to pull him
off balance.

He kneed Shrazz’s stomach and gave him a quick right hook to the side of
his head. Shrazz tried to shake off the blow but only succeeded in stumbling.
Gerald torqued his body and followed his hook with a straight punch to Shrazz’s
mid-section. The strike propelled him backwards and into the air. Riell’s
shadowshield stretched like taffy when Shrazz collided with it and sent him
spiraling for Gerald when it snapped back into place.

Gerald focused his Inner. A glow surrounded him as he concentrated.
Shrazz steadied himself in the air and thought the velocity of his flight would
give him the advantage. Gerald took Shrazz’s punch, and the impact snapped
Gerald’s head back. Gerald gripped the exous’ arm tightly with his left arm and
twisted it.

Gerald grinned and surged Inner into his right hand. Its rush left
intense heat in its wake, followed by momentary numbness. Gerald grimaced and
fought against the urge to prematurely release the pressure. Flame, kindled by
his Inner, engulfed his right hand.

Gerald uppercutted Shrazz’s stomach and the power stored within his fist
detonated on impact. Gerald thought he heard Shrazz howl over the blast.

Gerald watched Shrazz hit the top of Riell’s shield and plummet back down
to the earth. Shrazz gripped his stomach as he stood.

“Ugh, that was a nice punch, angel.”

“Thanks, but I know it didn’t hurt you nearly as much as you’re letting
on.”

“What?”

“You heard me. I know you’re toying with me.”

“Perceptive.” Shrazz removed his hand from his stomach and stood up
straight. “Your punch was impressive nonetheless.” His vest was ruined.

He tore it off and did not bother to unfasten it. His dark skin glistened
with sweat. He grinned and ran at Gerald.

Shrazz flung a roundhouse kick in the angel’s direction when he reached
him. Gerald made no motion to block it, but when the kick should have made
contact with his torso it passed through him.

Shrazz growled as the angel’s body became translucent. Gerald had become
ethereal.

“I have a pitch for you.” Gerald smiled at the exous.

“Well, let’s hear it. But hurry.” Shrazz sighed and sat on the ground
before the angel. He knew neither he nor Gerald could harm one another while
Gerald straddled planes. “I would much rather continue our fight than
converse.”

Gerald cleared his throat. “We could join forces. Against Satan.”

“Against him?” Shrazz laughed. “Why would I want to eliminate my
employer?” Shrazz flexed his hands and clicked his claws together.

“So Satan hired you to kill me?”

Riell knew about this,
Gerald thought.
That’s why she set me
up. So Drean wouldn’t be compromised. At least I know her loyalties are with
Drean and not with Satan.

“I don’t understand where you got the impression that I was going to kill
you...” Shrazz stood and let his hand pass through Gerald’s body. He licked his
lips. “Your unique spirit energy is what I’m after.”

Gerald stepped away from the exous with a look of surprise on his face.
“Don’t do that again. The fact that you find me delicious creeps me out.”

Shrazz laughed.

“Sorry. I can’t help myself.”

“Well you wouldn’t really have much to gain if you joined with me then I
guess... other than the fact that we would be battling demons in Hell.”

Shrazz considered this.
More of Satan’s elite to feast on... hmm.

“No, I cannot accept the deal,” Shrazz said. “Satan would never forgive
such a betrayal, and his vengeance is not something I want on my back.”

Gerald let out a long drawn out sigh. “I had to try.” He let his body
attach to the physical plane again. “Let’s finish this.”

Shrazz acknowledged him by bringing the rest of his might to the surface.

All at once the exous’ height doubled, his muscles bulged with enhanced
strength, and his claws lengthened and thickened. Bright green light surrounded
Shrazz momentarily as his transformation completed. He opened his eyes and
smirked at Gerald.

“Wow, Shrazz,” Gerald said.

Shrazz chortled at Gerald’s remark.

“Are you ready to continue?”

“Whenever you are.” Gerald looked the exous over.

Shrazz roared and closed in to continue the fight.

Shrazz’s claws forced Gerald to either dodge or deflect his hand-to-hand
attacks which fatigued him.

“You still seem to have me beaten when it comes to agility, angel,”
Shrazz said between strikes.

Shrazz deferred to quick strikes to avoid Gerald’s counterattacks.

Shrazz’s claws nicked at the sleeves of his jacket and bit into his
flesh. Gerald tried not to focus on the state of his arms, but ache and
exhaustion eventually broke him.

He missed a block. Shrazz’s claws raked across his chest, and blood
flowed heavily from the wound. Shrazz kicked Gerald squarely on the fresh gouge
and sent him airborne.

Shrazz pointed his palms at Gerald and converged his Inner inside them to
create a projectile. He hurled a large green ball of flame at Gerald, who had
just bounced off of Riell’s shield.

Shrazz’s fireball connected with him and exploded. Shrazz could hear
Gerald’s cry of anguish over the detonation and smoke obscured him. The angel
fell and landed on his back, he coughed and lay still. Gerald’s eyes were
closed. Blood stained the whole front of his body. His clothes had almost
completely deteriorated. Gerald’s wings faded into view. They were thoroughly
caked with dirt but otherwise unblemished.

“I know that wasn’t enough to finish you!” Shrazz called. “Your wings are
completely unharmed!”

“You broke my enchantment? You asshole.”

Shrazz laughed.

“I hope it wasn’t expensive!”

So he knows my hereditary weakness. Wonderful. Looks like I have to
revert back to normal after all. This body has already proven itself to be too
weak to defend itself from Shrazz’s onslaught.

Gerald felt his wounds heal. With his wings unharmed his body regenerated
quickly.

Gerald knew if he returned to his angelic state, Riell’s shield would
breakdown from the strain. He did not want to bring the humans into the war.

Gerald looked up into the sky.

Gerald stood, removed his tattered jacket and shirt and tossed them to
the ground. He cleared his throat and spat out the blood that had collected in
his mouth.

“Tell me this, Shrazz, can you fly?”

“No. I can’t. Thinking of escaping?”

Shrazz held back his astonishment as Gerald’s wounds regenerated.

“Well after I drop this disguise the energy I generate will demolish this
shield,” Gerald said, he recalculated the radius of Riell’s shield and nodded
his head.

“I doubt you’ll even cause it to crack,” he scoffed.

“I’m going to create a larger shield beyond it right now. One that can
sustain more abuse. That way we’ll have more room for this.” Gerald closed his
eyes and took a deep breath, extended his hands to the sky and dropped them to
his sides slowly.

Shrazz shook his head and chuckled to himself.

“If it comes to that, angel. Let’s see this ‘transformation.’”

Gerald stretched his wings out fully.

“It’s already done.”

“There’s no way you could create a shield of that magnitude so quickly,
but your wingspan is impressive.”

He almost bit his tongue when Gerald’s wings burst into ocean blue flame.
A rush of air caused by the combustion of Gerald’s Inner knocked Shrazz to the
ground. He struggled to stand up.

Gerald was like polished ebony, smooth and with sheen. His mouth, nose
and ears disappeared as the change affected his face. His metamorphosis caused
a windstorm of such force that Shrazz had to dig his claws in the ground to
keep from being swept away. He blinked rapidly unable to believe what he saw.

Riell’s shield cracked. Gerald threw back his head and roared. Shrazz
could plainly hear the unnatural sound over the chaos.

A blue conflagration exploded from Gerald’s body and sent the exous
flailing. He waited calmly for Riell’s shield to stop his ascent. It didn’t.
Gerald had told him the truth when he said his transformation would destroy it.

Shrazz crashed through the trees and high into the air above the park.

Nuevas Cruces’ metropolis could be seen to the north in the distance. The
Organ Mountains were on the horizon to the east.

He felt pressure around his whole body. He squirmed to turn and see what
held him but could not.

“Don’t struggle.”

Gerald’s voice had become much deeper. Shrazz was startled and remained
still.

“Don’t worry, we’re going to finish this fight. We need to go a bit
higher.”

Shrazz almost vomited as Gerald penetrated the lowest tier of clouds in
the sky with a few flaps of his monstrous wings.

“We’ve stalled long enough, angel. Release me!”

“First I have to create a floor to close the shield.” Shrazz’s ears
popped as Gerald’s shield enveloped them. Simultaneously all the hair on his
body stood on end. Clouds around them dissipated while Gerald’s shield
increased in size.

Gerald released him and Shrazz fell a few feet before he hit solid ground
in midair.

“What?” Shrazz could see only air below him, but somehow stood.

“This shield will allow us to fight in the air without disturbing the
human’s park.”

“Your courtesy has no bounds, angel.”

Shrazz turned to the voice and saw Gerald again for the first time.

Gerald towered one hundred feet above Shrazz, and his wingspan had grown
in proportion to the rest of his body. Turquoise flame licked upwards from
where his eyes used to be.

“I’m sure you fully understand now, exous.”

“Yes, amazing. Your power is a rare delicacy indeed.” Shrazz shook all of
his muscles out.

Gerald put one of his enormous hands over his face to stifle his
laughter, but he couldn’t stop himself. He doubled over and guffawed. Large
gouts of blue flame erupted from where his lips would have been as he laughed.
Shrazz held his ears, but it still felt like his eardrums were about to burst.
When Gerald stopped Shrazz jumped from side to side, dropped down into a
fighting stance and attacked.

Gerald didn’t even seem to notice as Shrazz passed over his left wing.

Shrazz raised his claws to rend Gerald’s wing at the tendon.

Gerald whipped his wing back. Shrazz guarded himself before Gerald
swatted him away with the same wing. Flames that covered it seared the exous’
extended hands on contact and left them smoking and charred on the palms.
Shrazz blasted fire from his hands to slow himself. This opposing force halted
his motion, and he dropped down on the floor of Gerald’s shield.

He watched the green fireball fly further and further away.

How large did he make this shield? It should have stopped that
fireball by now.

He heard Gerald chuckle and whirled about. “No lollygagging, Shrazz!”

“You’ll regret chiding me, angel!”

Gerald kept his distance. Shrazz struggled to catch up. Seconds later, something
burned his back and knocked him on his face.

How did he attack me? He didn’t make a move.

Shrazz held his ears while Gerald laughed wildly.

“Damn it, what the hell is so...” Shrazz realized that it wasn’t the
angel that had attacked him at all. His fireball had bounced off the shield and
had hit him. Shrazz fumed, but his carelessness reminded him of something he
had seen in his vision.

Yes, I will be victorious.
In his vision Gerald had laid within a
crater, smoking and still.

Shrazz opened his eyes. He knew what he had to do.

Shrazz reduced his power to increase his speed.

Gerald felt Shrazz’s claws tear his skin before he saw him. Gerald could
only make out Shrazz’s location by a trail of green flame left by his aura.
Gerald tried to get Shrazz off of him, but every time he made a grab for the
exous, Shrazz would be in another spot altogether.

“Enough!” Gerald bellowed. He expelled Inner from every pore of his body
and caught sight of Shrazz spiraling away, smoking from the explosion.

Gerald flapped his wings to catch up to him. He reached out and gripped
Shrazz to crush him. Shrazz managed to wiggle his head and arms to the top of
Gerald’s deathtrap before Gerald squeezed with his other hand as well.

Shrazz closed his eyes and used Inner to erect a flimsy barrier over his
body to keep himself from being flattened by Gerald’s hands.

He felt the pressure lessen, but he knew Gerald would pop it without much
effort. He would have to work quickly.

Gerald felt Shrazz’s life-energy leak from him in deadly amounts, which
gave him the impression that the battle was at its conclusion.

He thinks that barrier will hold. What a fool. Let’s see how he
handles this.

Gerald channeled Inner into his hands, setting them aflame.

Shrazz’s barrier broke under the strain.

Shrazz fought with all of his will to stay conscious long enough for his
fusion of Inner and life-energy to amass for his final maneuver, but he
couldn’t.

Heat scalded him, and his high pitched scream brought a smile to Gerald’s
face.

He gave up and prayed for death, for the agony to end and then something
happened: his body absorbed Gerald’s energy. Gerald felt it spill from him,
like blood from an artery and could not stop it. He tried to squeeze Shrazz as
tightly as he could in his hands, but he felt weak. Shrazz felt uncomfortable,
but Gerald could not muster the strength he needed to finish him.