3. A Fabled Voice
“Oh goodie, look what new pet the bitch got for us to play with,” Marcus said, dripping with sarcasm.
“How the fuck did she bag herself a Devourer?” Orth said as the big bastard of a Demon barged his way through the other glowing green souls, so as he could be the next to charge. He had thick, overly long arms and looked slightly different to any Devourer I had seen before. In fact, he looked more like some crazed scientist’s failed project and Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein’s monster came to mind.
It looked to be ten feet tall, with its arms as thick as its thighs. Its hands had been replaced by giant spiked maces that were held into place with crude iron pins driven deep into its toughened, thick skin. It made me wonder what color it was before its soul had fallen prey to this bitch of a soul collector.
Well, whatever it was, it had been crudely modified regardless. and long before Niniane had gotten her hands on him. Because Devourers didn’t typically have strips of metal plates hammered over their eyes, nor did they have razor wire wrapped in between rows of their teeth for that extra mean bite. I would have wondered how the thing found us at all, but then I noticed the way it tried to lift its head higher in the air as if trying to scent our position. I say try, because one of its huge horns had been sawn off and chained to the one on the other side, making it too weighty for it to hold its head up straight.
Oh yeah, this poor bastard had been fucked with alright, making him a Gods be damned abomination, even for Hell.
“Leave him to me,” Asher said, rolling his massive shoulders before he suddenly punched two of his flaming fists to the ground. The muscles on his arched bare back tensed before a popping sound could be heard, as if a giant was cracking his knuckles. Then with an almighty roar, boned blades emerged from the sides of his forearms, that looked to be serrated and most helpful of all… deadly.
Although just how deadly against something that technically didn’t have an actual body to bloody, was anyone’s guess. As hitting these guys was like making an impact against vapor. Your hand went through, and it was enough to cause damage, but it wasn’t enough for that shit not to just form back to itself.
Although something happened when Marcus fought with his powers, as he managed to throw out a hit with his staff, knocking the Draugr Demon he was fighting to one side, before stabbing it in where the heart would be. It then burst into a cloud of green fire before it was sucked back into form and its flaming soul snaked back into where the book floated before Niniane. The bitch was sitting high up in her perch like some malevolent bird, her outfit only adding to the apt statement, seeing as it was a dress made of long, oily, green feathers.
As for the Demon Marcus had been able to dispatch, the Draugr, were a race of Demon usually reserved as guards in the lower levels of Hell, and were known to most of Hell as once famously guarding the mighty beast, Abaddon. That was before his mortal counterpart was found in Adam.
But these seven-foot-tall Demons weren’t so easy to fight against, despite Marcus’s precise attack. And from the looks of things, there were quite a few left of them in the ranks, waiting for their turn to attack. Their hairless heads, floppy ears, over pronounced cheekbones and horned chins were seen easily over the height of most of the others.
“Well, that’s a good sign, these fuckers can be killed after all,” Marcus said grinning, before we all looked to Niniane who was laughing in her evil, shrill way, just as the very same soul rose from the book and returned good as new once more. Or as good as a controlled Summoned soul could be.
“You were saying, Pencil Dick?” Orth commented before lashing out at two more ghostly figures that got close enough.
“Yes well, I don’t see you being as effective as I am,” Marcus commented dryly after hitting them both in the heart, once more sending them back to the book. Then my brother punched his fist through a flaming Ukobatch’s chest, ripped out his ghostly heart, and squeezed it until it evaporated into green smoke between his fingers. This meant that like Marcus’s previous victims, the dwarfed sized Demon also burst into vapor the moment its heart was destroyed, before floating back toward the book.
“You were saying?” Orth said with a shit-eating grin. Marcus scoffed at this before turning back to fight the next wave sent our way. And so, it continued, now with us having something to aim our attacks on, as taking out their hearts may not have killed them, but it took them out long enough that it at least thinned the onslaught of her army. But like the Draugr, there were more than just one Ukobatch in the crowd. It was unsurprising really, not when the Ukobatch were easy to come by, given they were known as a workforce in Hell. They were usually put to work in hot environments, due to their flame-resistant skin.
Speaking of which, the modified Devourer Asher was still fighting, was not, and he howled when Asher finally got close enough to, like my brother, punch his flaming fist through his chest and ripped out his much larger heart.
But the victory was short lived, as wave after wave of Demons from all walks of Hellish life continued to come at us. There were Dzoavits, ogre-like Demons known in Shoshonean mythology whose stories included atrocities like kidnapping children and eating them. If legend was correct, the terrorizing Dzoavits had been lured into the Devil’s hole and trapped there. Which sounded correct considering the Devil’s hole was a known to hold a now dormant portal into Hell. Hence the name of the geologic formation located in Death Valley National Park.
There were also Demons known as Leshys, that had the ability to change their size and looked like walking trees thanks to their rough, bark-like skin. It crunched as my own fist hammered through the chest of the one that had chosen to attack me, this despite its ghostly shell.
But the Leshy was soon replaced by the next Demonic soul taken, this time a Vetala, who were often known in our worlds as being Posession Officers for newly risen or fallen Supernatural life. Those chosen were often charged with being responsible for the ethical and physical safeguarding of new vessels. That whoever the Angel or Demon was assigned to inhabit such, it was their job to ensure that the vessels were taken over humanely.
Well, it looked like Niniane had gotten her hands on the Spirit walkers of the Dead, as two attacked Marcus, working as one. As for myself, I kicked one of the little bastards known as the Kobold who was trying to bite into my leg. These little goblin fuckers could almost pass as being ugly children, until they opened their snarling mouths and showed you their multiple rows of pin sharp teeth. Although, due to their smaller size, it made kicking them across the arena a novel and, admittedly, enjoyable way of dealing with them.
But there were hundreds more and this was just to name a few, for there were plenty of species I didn’t know and had never seen before. Because Niniane had clearly been busy building up her high status as a Summoner, hence why she could host such events such as the Summoner Games. And if this was what eventually happened to anyone who dare threaten that rank, well then they obviously weren’t a threat for long.
It was endless, as wave after wave came at us from all angles. Which meant that our fighting space eventually got smaller and smaller, and pretty soon we would be fighting shoulder to shoulder.
“Give it up, HellBeast King, for they will not kill you, so fight them all you want!” Niniane shouted, now standing up to watch the fight more closely, and telling me in fact she was concerned that I would accidently be killed. Because she was right, they were never trying to kill me, but merely trying to make their way through me to get to the ones I defended.
“No, but they may accidently hit me when I am saving one of them and then what would your precious Geryon think!?” I shouted back, as I ducked just as one of the Wendigo Demons was taking a swing for my brother, and nearly ended up taking my head off instead. But this just proved my point, as now Niniane looked even more worried.
“So, what’s it going to be, Niniane!? ‘Cause I would rather die fighting at my brother’s side than watch him fall alone!” I shouted as I continued to dispatch them, only to have their souls rejoin the forced against us moments later.
“Oh yeah, want to save your brother’s ass but your best friend…? Noooo,” Marcus grumbled,
“It was a bit long winded, don’t you think? Mentioning you all by name, plus, I am going for affect here,” I said back, making him grin.
“Oh, well, in that case, how’s this for effect?” Marcus replied, spinning his staff around at speed above his head before hammering it down and making those closest to our right side all fly back from the force.
“Great, now just do it five hundred more times and then they might want a fucking tea break!” Orth grumbled before then saying, “Oh, the fuck with this shit!” Then he erupted into his HellBeast and started taking on more of them, but the problem with this was he broke the safety of formation. Now they could come at him from all sides.
He started to get covered in the fuckers, a mountain of green ghostly limbs, making me roar out,
“ORTHRUS!” Then just before he could get completely pulled under the rain of blows that was crashing down on him, I too pulled away, snarling,
“You two, back-to-back!” After that I went running, bursting into my own HellBeast form as I leapt through the air and took with me the ones on his back. This freed him enough to get back to his feet and deal with the ones circling him. But before I thought the same thing would happen to me, they started backing away and only going for my brother. So, I started tearing into as many of them as I could, seeing now that Marcus and Asher were close to being overwhelmed as it was never fucking ending!
I butted my head against my brother’s the second there was a big enough gap for me to do so, feeling the bite of pain in my hind leg after some little Kobold fucker bit me again. But before I could react, Niniane pulled it back with a motion of her hand, making it howl in pain as she tightened her fist. A green flame ingulfed it, as she stopped any attacking me. However, this gave me the time to shift back into my mortal vessel, telling my brother,
“We have to get back, the others are getting killed over there!” Orth nodded before making the shift himself, and just in time for me to roar as Marcus got hit, going down on his knees. This at the same time Asher took a blow to the head, knocking him clean off his feet. Dark, navy-toned blood now oozed around one of his four horns, he looked to struggle even keeping his head upright.
“You cover Marcus, I will save Asher!” I said before running for the man that over my imprisonment here, I had come to call friend. But then with him now trying to shake off the brutal blow, I only just had enough time to stop the next one as a horned, big mother fucker was lifting him up by the neck and pulling his meaty fist back ready to punch Asher to death.
“Hey, buttercup, wanna see what that feels like?” I said, making him turn my way just as I let my fist go flying. I felt the crack of something solid before it evaporated, like they only spent moments when being hit as something tangible. Then before it could recover, I tore my clawed hands through its chest and took its heart before destroying it. I didn’t wait around to watch as the soul returned back to its jailor, instead now focusing on helping my friend.
“Thanks,” Asher said as I ducked my head under his arm so as to hoist him up, before helping him back over to the group. Not that we were in much shape to continue, as it was a fucking undying army against four.
“I am getting real tired of this shit,” Orth complained.
“Yes, well, it’s not exactly my idea of a titty picnic either,” Marcus said, now looking like he was running low on his power supply. Which meant that when it looked like another Drude was about to get the upper hand, I pulled him back before he could get hit by some curved blade. I then snapped the Demon’s wrist up before impaling his own head on the end of his weapon. However, this wasn’t as effective as taking its heart, so I caught the blade as it made its way through the ghostly figure before it could crash to the ground. Then I tossed it to my other hand and hammered its end through the Drude’s chest.
Again, just like the ones we managed to kill for a short time, his body exploded into green fire before slithering in the air like a sea serpent right back into the book to regenerate.
However, before the next in line was there ready to fight, Niniane suddenly appeared on the arena floor and clapped her hands. Then she parted them to the sides, making her army float back as one, like Moses dividing the ocean. Then she sighed, shaking her head as if this was all very taxing it wasn’t going her way. Although the crowd most definitely was looking entertained and they only hushed down when she motioned for them to do so.
“How disappointing, as I can see now that you are determined to die right alongside them, which I’m afraid I just can’t have.”
I gritted my teeth at this, knowing I wasn’t about to like what was coming next.
“Then quit these sick games of yours and send us back to our cells, or let us die as warriors, for I don’t fucking care which!” I snarled back, making Marcus mutter quietly,
“Er, I for one do care, quite a lot actually… not that it matters.”
I shot him a dark look over my shoulder.
“I also care to live, if we are voting,” Asher added, making me resist the urge to roll my eyes.
“No, I think not, but you are right, my plans will have to change.” I narrowed my eyes at her in warning.
“I stand with them till the end, Niniane,” I declared firmly.
“Yes, but the end is when I say it is and as for you, well I am just afraid you will have to imagine how it ends for those you care for back in your prison cell.” The horror of this hit me like a fucking freight train!
“NO!” I roared the second I felt the bars of my cell reaching out for me from behind, making my brother’s warning only a second too late, as I could already feel it snaking around my body. This before at the ready to drag me away and forced me from the fight.
“I swear it on my fucking soul, Niniane, I will fucking kill you!” At this she laughed, coming closer and asked in an arrogant tone,
“Oh yeah, you and whose army?” But then the unbelievable happened, as before I even got chance to answer her, a voice I had only heard in my dreams until recently was the one to answer her. In fact, I had to question whether or not I had been knocked out and was now currently lying on the floor unconscious. For that was surely the only explanation for the voice I now heard coming from behind her.
“He doesn’t need an army, bitch, he has me!” I swear it to be the voice of a fucking angel, and one only revealed to be my Ella the second Niniane snarled angrily and turned side on to look back at her. A move that awarded me the incredible sight, for there she was, living and breathing, standing in the middle of the arena just within reach of the fucking Summoner’s book.
“Fuck,”Orth hissed at the same time Marcus whistled. As for Asher,
“I take it this be the famed funny laugh girl?”
“Got it in one,” Marcus replied. But as for me, I was still trying to piece together whether this was actually fucking happening! Asking myself a million fucking questions and unable to make a single step toward her due to these fucking chains! Something Ella noticed with a grit of her teeth before warning,
“Now, let my HellBeast go!”
“Oh, I will let him go alright, but as for you, I think it’s time you get a glimpse of my power.” Then I roared in fury as the bars started taking me back, fighting against me in my desperate effort to break free and get to her. But even this was not enough for me to miss her reply,
“Why would I need that…? WHEN YOU CAN JUST HAVE A TASTE OF MINE!” She roared in a voice I didn’t recognize before the very last thing I saw was my girl foolishly…
Reachfor the Book of Souls.