Of Kings and Demons (25 page)

When he woke, Marz was greeted by a wry
smile. It belonged to the archer who had shot him. Marz howled and tried to
stand but found his legs tied. He soon realized there were not just one but
dozens of faces staring at him. The owner of the bow leapt onto the trunk of a
fallen tree and cast an intimidating look at the white wolf.

Marz studied him closely.

Unimpressive in stature, standing at no
more than five feet tall, he was a minion. He had a thick beard, huge
inquisitive eyes, and a bulbous nose. The wrinkled face told Marz the being
must be at least three hundred years of age.

Marz’s suspicions were confirmed when he
spotted the emblem craved on his belt—a leaping unicorn, the family symbol of
the ancient dwarves. Marz howled aloud but his sudden motion frightened the
dwarf.

The dwarf turned to run but then stopped.
He returned to face Marz, looking at him in expression of disbelief and anger.
He sputtered in a loud and crude tone.

“You can see me! You can actually see me!”
the dwarf declared. “You are no ordinary wolf! Oh good gracious.”

Marz sat quietly as the dwarf stepped near
with a ready sword in hand. When the dwarf was only about a yard away, the snow
wolf raised its bound feet. The glitter from the lace, tied on his hind leg,
blinded the dwarf.

As the dwarf drew closer to study the lace,
he dwarf exclaimed “It cannot be,” He dropped to his knees and took Marz’s leg
in his hand.

“It is Gwyneth?”

Marz nodded.

“She gave it to you?”

Before Marz could respond, branches rustled
nearby and someone bellowed. “Duncan, do we shoot?”

        “Hold your arrows!” the dwarf shouted. “Nevin! Come down here!”

Within seconds, a figure leapt from the heights of the tree with the
agility of a squirrel and landed behind the crouching dwarf. The new arrival
was a rotund being, half a head shorter than Duncan. He held a bow in one hand
and an arrow in the other. From their hiding positions, dozens of dwarves
emerged and lowered their weaponry.

Marz sniffed in relief as Duncan knifed the
bind ropes loose.

“Does this look familiar?” Duncan pointed
to the lace on Marz’s leg.

Nevin eyed it intently. His eyes widened
and the bow and arrow slipped from his fingers. In quiet humility, he crossed
his chest. Marz withdrew his leg and raised himself on all fours. In full
height, Marz raised a loud howl that resonated through the forest.

The dwarves exchanged looks.

“Inform Lord Alfred. We need to act
quickly.”

Nevin obliged and raised a horn and blew in
full power. A deep drone echoed through the woods, a summon to arms, a call to
battle in aid of their Angel friends.

                                     #    

On the ground, Gwyneth had barely found her
foothold when Maganus dashed over and gave a bear hug. Jin joined in the
embrace; the trio’s reunion generated a swell of positive vibes. The ring of
light of
Affectus
, positive angelic energy rippled across the span of
darkness.

Maganus stepped back and summoned Mathew to
his side. The lad bowed, eyes fixed on Gwyneth.

“It has been a while, Mathew,” she
remarked.

Mathew stared, spellbound by the White
Angel’s beauty.

“ I’m Gwyneth,” she said. “You do not remember me?”

Mathew’s eyebrows knitted, then faint
images of a lady in white, the snow, the smile, and the eyes, shuttered in and
out of his mind.

Gwyneth prompted him. “You were no taller
than a stool, my boy.”

Mathew’s eyes brightened. “This was all
predestined? My sister and I?”

“Nothing ever is predestined, Mathew. I had
visited you and your sister when you were much younger. I had to submerge your
memories in case it disrupted your free will.”

“I am really a kingling?”

Gwyneth smiled. “I am not sure. The mandate
covers both you and your sister. Whatever that person might be, please stay
alive.”

“I will, for my sister’s sake.”

Gwyneth smiled. “She is with Barbatos in
the Castle.”

Mathew’s face froze, and he instinctively
reached for his sword.

“She is the bait. You came for her.
Barbatos succeeded.”

“As I had expected,” Jin murmured. “Then
the real plot is just about to unfold.”

        “We must go back for her!” Mathew said.

“You don’t have to.”Maganus remarked dryly
“ Barbatos will bring her to us,”

Jin and Gwyneth nodded in unison.

Gwyneth added “He nearly killed me.” She
noticed the twitching of Maganus’s beard and asked, “What is wrong, my old
friend?”

“I can’t wait to meet him.” He clenched his
hands, the bones crackling with determination. “That traitor.”

“You will have your chance,” Gwyneth said.
“What are we up against?”

“Familiars, Demons, and everything else
they have got on Earth.”

“It will be our combat,” Jin said.

Gwyneth grabbed Mathew by his arm. “Be
prepared. We will see daylight.”

“Daylight!” Maganus cried as the rest
chorused.

“Be prepared? I am clueless.” Mathew asked.

Gwyneth flashed a smile and gave Jin the cue. The Guardian Angel summoned
his bow and gently twanged his bow. Instantly, an arrow blazed towards the dark
woods. Like a firebird, the arrow illuminated the landscape and the menance,
the Angels had hinted, materialized like a horror drama.

Mathew and the Guardian Angels saw the size
of their threat—an army of familiars that numbered in the thousands was
advancing towards them. At the head of the demonic horde was Count Raum, mounted
on a menacing Cerberus.

The spectacle knocked the group into a
rambling silence. Their faces were grim except Maganus who expressed his
amazement with a whistle. The stomping of the hordes shook the ground. Mathew
felt his heart trembled as the ground shook beneath him. He looked at the
Angels next to him and clamped his jaws, then he tightened his grip on his
sword.

“How about showing them what we have got,”
Gwyneth raised her voice.

“Good idea,” Jin sad. “Who wants to go
first?”

“We flip a coin?” Maganus said.

Gwyneth countered. “A coin has only two
sides; there are three of us.”

“Gwyneth, you should rest,” Jin said.

Gwyneth retorted “Jin, they are coming for us, all of us. They don’t care
if I need a break.”

Jin eyed Maganus, who said. “How about the human method of scissors,
paper, and stone?”

“Brilliant, Always the prank—” Gwyneth
remarked.

A deafening chorus of demonic shrills cut her off, and a cacophony of
battle horns and drums blanketed the fields.

“Better hurry,” Gwyneth said and put a fist
forth. Maganus smiled and did the same, followed by Jin.

        “I will be the mediator,” Father Bellator said. “One, two, three
…”

But only Gwyneth and Jin showed their hands. Maganus turned and ran to
the frontline. “I am more senior.” He winked “I go first.”

“Where is your code of honour?” Gwyneth
shouted.

 Maganus ignored her, shut his eyes, and focused his energies. He raised
his battleaxes to the sky and roared “
Triumphus ut miles militis of bonus
copiae copie!
”

A gale rose and bolts of energy struck the advancing Familiars. The first
column of Demons dropped like punctuated dolls, mowed down
.
There
was momentary chaos but Count Raum was a charismatic commander, calmed his
legions and ordered them back into formation.

 “They are advancing again,” Father
Bellator said.

“It is not over, Father,” Maganus said. He
clasped his hands and prayed aloud. The chants was barely audible initially but
soon grew loud and intense. The Angel of the Woods extended his hands clasped
like an arrow and cried, “
Triumphus miles militis of Olympus!
”

A bolt of lightning sprang from the steady
hands and tore into the advancing army. Familiar spirits—goblins and imps burst
into flame, sending the rank and file into panic, and the advance rolled to a
halt.

Mathew stood in awe of the Angel’s
impressive show of power and ran over. “Maganus, that—” Then he paused
mid-sentence as he caught sight of the Maganus’s haggard face.

“Good lord.” Mathew asked.

“How did you know? The Lord was good,”
Maganus joked as he staggered towards Jin. “Your turn?” 

J in had barely replied when a heart-wrenching shrill torn through the
air rocketing towards them. A dark-winged creature swooped like a crescendo.

Eberhard!

The new arrival crash-landed into Maganus and sent the Angel of Woods
rolling across the field like a loose ball of iron. The Angel steamrolled the
trees as if they were made of paper and disappeared into the darkness with the
gargoyle chieftain in hot pursuit.

“I must face them alone,” Jin declared.

#

They made their way unhindered, down the
corridor, through the famous Crypt, and headed for the stairs. The great
corridors of power, the majestic Capital Building, sat silent, while on the
outside, the pandemonium raged on of rattling guns, dying men, and shrilling of
winged demons shrills.

“ Walter, you are fine?”

The governor had clenched his fist.

“I just sorry for those men out there,
dying.” Walter lowered his head and shook his head. He turned to Eugene and
muttered. “I will remember this and those bastards will pay for it.”

The pair turned a corner but was dismayed
to find a few gargoyles at the end of the corridor ripping apart bodies and
chewing on the parts.

“Can I kill them?”

Glasses shattered and shearing shrills told Walter caution is another
form of valour. Patrick grabbed him by the arm “Let’s run. We need to hide.”

They sprinted down the corridor, across the
Crypt through the Halls of Columns, where statues of such eminent Americans as
Francis Preston Blair and Edmund Kirby Smith were on display.

Eugene grabbed Walter by the shoulder and
lifted him off the ground, his wings in full majestic white as they flew
through the hall. Behind him, gargoyles were on scalding hot pursuit.

Eugene’s momentum was shaken when a
gargoyles torn at his wings with its long talons. The Angel dropped Walter
haplessly. In a suave barrel roll, the Angel positioned himself over the
gargoyles. With two swift motions, he smashed the Demons into pieces.

Eugene turned back and looked for Walter
but was stumped to find Bruno at one end of the hall, surrounded by his
troopers. He had struck an authoritative pose, hands on hips and gleaming with
hauteur

“Angel boy, do you think you are going to walk out alive?” he said and
flared his nostrils.

Eugene landed and studied the siege, the overwhelming presence of the
gargoyles.
What chances now?

The Guardian Angel swallowed hard as his
eyes alternated between a furious Walter and emboldened Bruno.

“Walter.”

“I wish I had a pistol or stick. It
sickened me to see these beasts clawing their way up the white walls of Congress.”

“Calm.”

“This is the highest lawmaking entity of
the land, sacred ground of the noblest of ideas and principles of mankind. They
are not fit to be here.”

Eugene nodded and turned to Bruno.

“Your presence, all of you, is a stark
flout of the rules of engagement set by God.  You do not belong on Earth.”

Bruno laughed. “What can do you about it?”

Eugene continued. “One gamble, a gamble
that your side will lose.”

“Bah!” Bruno spat. “Hubris before you
breath your last!”

Eugene turned towards Walter “I am sorry. I
will never surrender so let’s fight.”

Then the Guardian Angel turned to Bruno and announced. “You will have to
beat me, beast!”

Eugene stood his ground and unleashed a
bolt of energy, which felled a couple of gargoyles. The other gargoyles joined
in and Eugene had to fight blow for blow until he crushed the final foe. Eugene
caught a glimpse of Bruno, who stood at the far end gloating over the Angel’s
futile effort. More squadrons of the gargoyles now joined their lieutenant who
was rearing for the final kill. As the prospect of final termination weighed
crushingly on his heart, an idea struck him. 

He looked at the ceiling then at Bruno who
was now leaping towards him like a ravenous hound, backed like packs of beasts.
When they were just a leapt away,  Eugene dropped his warhammer and ripped the
golden cross from his neck. Clutching the cross to his chest, Eugene begun to
chant in earnest. “Guardians of Congress—
Custodia of Congressus.
Audite
meus citatus.
” His sonorous voice resonated through the Capitol like an
angry stream of water and swept the gargoyles away.