Wings and Steel

Chapter VIII - Warrior Fairy

"Under attack? What? How is that possible?? Who are the attackers?" He asked angrily, "Doesn't matter." He changed his mind right away as he started running.

A big knot formed into my throat. How is it indeed possible? The barrier I had put up was supposed to be impenetrable and were someone to attempt breaking through, we would have felt it long before it was broken. I already knew that not only he, but everyone else would undoubtedly blame me for this. I knew I had to face the threat and save everyone, even if it meant allowing them to find out a detail about me that I had been omitting to tell. I started running but Kaltar stopped and turned around to face me.

"You stay here." He said firmly as another tremor shook the walls.

"But I can help!" I pleaded.

"I said stay here. That's an order." He said angrily.

"I'm really sorry!" I said as I took a deep breath.

"You don't have to apologize, just-" He started but I cut him off.

"Slow." I said as I touched his shoulder, enchanting him. "I will fix this, I promise!" I said as I ran away towards the sound, "The spell will wear off in a few minutes!" I reassured him, my voice muffled by the overwhelming guilt I was feeling.

I finally got to where the intruder was. I stared wide-eyed at the giant armored serpent hissing and slamming its tail. Many warriors were there, most of them lying on the ground, badly hurt, and a few of them barely standing. I couldn't believe my eyes. How did that get past my barrier? It was impossible. I was brought to reality by Hilda's scream as the serpent hit her with its tail, slamming her against the floor. The monster opened its mouth to reveal sharp fangs with venom dripping from them. After showcasing its enormous mouth for a second, it lunged at Hilda.

"Speed." I shouted as I enchanted myself, running in front of her. "Repel." I said at the last second, causing the serpent to hit an invisible wall that I had just created and bounce back a good distance, hissing furiously and shaking its head in protest.

"Amanita, what are you doing? It's dangerous here!" Hilda said from behind me.

"I am ending this battle." I said frowning and looking at her over my shoulder. "Cover me."

She looked at me questioningly. The serpent tried to slam us with its tail this time, but I repelled it once again.

"Trust me. I only need a couple minutes." I said.

She nodded and got up.

"Warriors! Attack now!" She yelled and lifted up her sword, followed by the few men who were still standing.

"Chilled winds of North and South, I call upon ye!" I started chanting, "Bestow your great power onto this humble servant. Show the world your wrath and grant me the power to destroy my enemy with a single blow, so that each soul might tremble in front of your earth-shattering greatness!"

"What's going on?" Someone asked as a strong wind started blowing violently in the hall.

"Where is this coming from?" Another one asked.

"Out of the way!" I yelled, my voice sounding distorted, as if it belonged to someone else – or rather, something else, a great and powerful being.

"Take cover!" Hilda yelled.

I extended my hands to the side, gathering all the strength available to me. The monster focused on me and lunged forward, but it was too late, as I pushed the wind towards it with everything I had.