Risen: Beginning of a Legacy

Chapter Twenty: DeeDee

Classes were to resume in the morning. DeeDee was frantic, alone in the library, she thundered through the textbook in front of her. She had, hours before, reached the point all students arrive at, where their essays need to be written but inspiration for how to begin had not struck.
     'God damn it, what do I care if certain Horde have remarkable similarities to Oni daemons in Shintoism... how can I explain this crap?!'
Horde, known only as agents of Satan to the rest of the world, referred to as this daemon, or that daemon, each showing only a shadow of the true evil, Horde were capable. All texts told of the malevolent beings who mortals cannot see but are the cause of misery and death all over the globe.
     DeeDee sighed, shoving away the World Mythology textbook. She should've been more dedicated; it was her choice to debate Horde against the Oni legend from Japanese history. But this late in the evening her brain flat out refused, and honestly who did work over the holidays? Certainly not her.
     'I get it, Oni Horde equals bad juju. They steal souls, possess people and are mostly invisible, but we see them so why the frick write this essay!' DeeDee exclaimed to no one in particular. Being alone in the library had one advantage; her random outbursts didn't get heard. 'Foresight Angyali are dying out, and Divinare Angyali are less still.' she conceded, her head dropping into the book.
     'So, if most angyali can't sense the buggers unless in close proximity, you better finish the essay on identifying them when in hosts.' Evangeline countered.
Her friend's voice was a surprise. DeeDee jumped in shock and knocked her pile of books to the floor.
     'Holy shit balls!' she cried out.
     'Eloquently put.' Evangeline chuckled.
DeeDee bashed her friend with a textbook as the pair of them dropped to the floor, collecting up the mosaic of books.
     One of the heavier texts had cracked open when it made contact with the floor, an ugly illustration of one form a Horde could embody when emerging from shadows filled most of the page. DeeDee scrunched up her nose.
     'Good looking fella, isn't he?' she mocked.
She flipped the book so Evangeline could see. Her friend laughed, nodding.
     'Would give the boys at Warriod a run for their money.'
     'Perhaps,' DeeDee made to flick the image in defiance, 'we will best you foul beast—ah...'
As the pad of DeeDee's finger touched the hellish image, her body contracted. As if her brain needed to jump out of the place and moment she currently was, and into somewhere else, more in need of her attention.
     Her limbs crumpled, tremors jerking them about as her eyes rolled back. Barely aware of Evangeline scrambling over books to get to her, DeeDee lost her vision. An imposing, terrifying obsidian shade eclipsed her eyes and she cried out, her body seizing up. After an eternity trapped within a lightless world, DeeDee began to see fractions of something, as though her vision was on a strobe function. The Angyali forest was all she could make out, but then she registered a road. The track leading to the Angelus Academy keep itself.
     The convulsions intensified and DeeDee thought her body would break. Failing to grasp breath, she almost missed the shadows ripple in an impossible fashion. Horde, at least two dozen of them; leaches in the night, began forming between the trees and on the track leading to the Academy.
     DeeDee screamed. A hammer of white light slammed into her eyes, rocketing through her mind. She inhaled deeply; aware a cold sweat coated her body. Evangeline was frantic beside her and for a moment, DeeDee just gripped her friend.
     'We have to find Marguerite.'


                                                                              *


DeeDee and Evangeline burst into Angelus Marguerite's private rooms several minutes later, crying out for their Head Tutor.
     'Candidate DeeDee, Candidate Evangeline. What on--'
DeeDee, who never thought she would interrupt such a respected Angelus, cut across their elder.
     'Horde, dozens of them are materialising outside our walls.'
Marguerite looked from one girl to the other for mere moments, before her eyes glazed over as she used her Angelus traits to probe the aura around the school. Seconds later, her eyes, with resignation lacing them, re-focused on DeeDee and Evangeline. Marguerite went to her desk and gripping the closest pen she drew two runes onto her ancient hands.
     'How do you know this?' she asked as she drew.
     'I, I don't know...' DeeDee stammered truthfully.
     'She had some sort of fit in the library then knew.' Evangeline offered.
The elderly woman snapped her eyes to them. In that instant DeeDee knew something was up, and later, after the danger had passed, she was going to be in trouble.
     Evangeline had seen the look Angelus Marguerite had given DeeDee too, but the girl just took tight hold of DeeDee's hand. In that gesture, DeeDee knew Evangeline was going to be her closest friend for the rest of her days. DeeDee vowed to let her in completely and tugging Evangeline's hand back, promised silently to bring down her walls for at least this one person.
     'Later we will look into this, for now, get back to your dorm, girls.' Marguerite commanded.
Then with haste she left the room. The fact she had called them 'girls' not official titles as was her practice was concerning about the threat and DeeDee could see that Evangeline had noticed as she glanced across at DeeDee. DeeDee nodded a fraction, knowing already what her roommate was thinking as a different emotion entered her gaze.
     'Let's go.' DeeDee stated instead, not ready to voice what the pair of them had just decided in one look.
     As they bolted along corridors and up a couple of staircases, Angelus Marguerite's voice filtered through the Academy. Ethereal, it floated through the air as though each spot of the castle had an overhead speaker.
     'Candidates, our castle is under threat. We, the Angyali, will protect you, so please be strong and stay safely in your dorms, we are casting protective summons as I speak with you. Stay within your home walls and be safe.'
     'Will the summons be enough?' Evangeline asked as they burst into their stairwell.
DeeDee shot Evangeline a look over her shoulder,
     'No.'
As the pair of them clattered into the dorm, everyone was on the sofa. Orion and Zeru rose to their feet as the two girls caught their breath.
     'There's fire in the courtyard, what is it?' Orion asked.
     'Horde.' DeeDee and Evangeline said as one.
     'We might get overrun if no one comes to fight them out.' DeeDee continued.
She straightened, pulled back her shoulders and met Orion's shocked gaze, 'did you master the retrieval summons yet?'
     Please Gods, say he has.
The uneasy look Orion and Zeru swapped told DeeDee he must have. She waited until Orion's face settled into gritty determination. Evangeline returned from their bedroom, handing DeeDee a hair tie and finished knotting her own pony into place.
     'You four cannot be planning what I think you are.' Tien spoke up from her seat.
     'It's a battalion of Horde outside our walls and an Intra Terci might not come. So until Warriod decide whether to send their students, protecting Angelus rests with us and the Tutors.' Evangeline retorted.
Her voice was stern, her stance defiant and DeeDee matched her severity.
     'We have to try.'
     'No, no no, no. You are not going out that door!' Tien argued.
She burst up from her seat and stood opposite them, blocking their path. Brianna joined her in front of the entrance to their dorm. Orion put one strong hand on Tien's shoulder and his other on Brianna's.
     'The girls can hold their own with weapons now, I agree we should take a stand.' he reasoned.
     'You two can't go either.' Brianna added.
The group was shocked not only by her strong tone but also at the fact she pushed Orion back towards the other three.
     A creaking groan of wood buckling tore through the castle, the Horde were breaking into the courtyard. The six friends froze. The time for debate was over. Actions, not words were needed now; DeeDee swapped one last indecisive look with Zeru, Orion and Evangeline, unsure how to get Tien and Brianna to understand. DeeDee knew time was against them, but they had to make a stand.
     'It's what we're training for.' Zeru pointed out.
His statement hung in the air and DeeDee for one was glad he was with them, as his logical voice of reason was a trait somewhat lacking in Orion, Evangeline and herself. Tien and Brianna blinked and DeeDee watched as they processed this and realised that, yes, this war was becoming theirs.
     The 'candidate' label they had now would not last forever. DeeDee gripped Tien and Brianna's hands as the two of them shook their heads.
     'Angyali sacrifice for others. That is our most intrinsic role. It falls on us to do the most dangerous of roles when innocent lives are threatened. We will not let anyone down; let us prove our mettle within this world.'


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