Fallen

Chapter 45. The great showdown [Michael]

I let my hand go through another one of Mørke's beasts. The glow leaving nothing but dust in its wake. Everything is so familiar now. The fighting, my endless strength to keep on tearing them down, one after the other. I've done this before, many times. It's like I finally remember everything.

There's a dark shadow flying past me. It throws Tina into a tree, dumping her on the ground, unmoving.

"Look out!" I call out, but before Caleb can react to my warning, Mørke already has him by the throat. I see the way Caleb's hand grasps Mørke's wrist as he struggles for air, feet lifting off the ground. Mørke throws him away with a huff of his breath, almost effortlessly.

"No!" I cry as Caleb smacks hits into a tree the same way as Tina, now lying motionless on the ground.

I feel the anger simmer within as I jump into action. I rush towards Mørke, channeling the glow, feeling it become warmer, stronger. I direct my hit towards his middle, expecting to be met with a solid body, but instead, I only meet air.

I feel a push in my back, forcing me to tumble down to the ground, sliding across the mud. The rain pouring down makes it even more slippery, making me lose my balance. I try standing up, but a kick to my back has me falling into the mud, face first.

I can feel Mørke's clawed hand pull at my right wing, where it's connected to my back. It stings, the pain running down my spine.

"My monsters might be something you can defeat," Mørke starts, his other hand tangling into the hair in the back of my head, pulling my face closer to his, claws lightly digging into my skull. "But me? I'm so much more than just snarls and claws. You're in over your head, little angel." He spits out, his words laced with spite.

Mørke pushes me into the soil, a solid kick landing on my ribs, then another to my rear. I spit out the mud as kick after kick lands on my body. I'm unable to get up. Bruises are already slowly starting to form on my body.

I look up from under the rain, seeing a pair of feet come into view in front of me. "Call your sword," My father says, staring down at me with his judgy frown.

I reach out to him, for him to help me. But he disappears into the pouring rain, the tinged white glow of his hue now gone. My sword? I think.

I close my eyes, ignoring the vicious snarks coming from Mørke and his kicks landing on my body. Instead, I reach out for the sword in my mind. My hand clasps onto the cold handle, the heaviness familiar in my hold.

I turn with enough force, my sword slicing through the wind before driving into a solid body. Mørke cries out in surprise, taking sluggish steps back while clutching onto the sharp end of the sword stuck in his middle.

"Get him!" Mørke cries out to his beasts, appearing as he falls onto his knees. They all jump on me at once, but I take them down with ease, ignoring the soreness of my own body. They all turn to dust before me, seeping into the ground.

"I'm going to make you pay for this," My voice booms over the heavy downpour. A crack of thunder, loud in the sky.

I pick up my sword that Mørke managed to take out. I near his slumped form. He's crawling away from me, slowly. The chuckle he lets out surprises me. It's low, void of his looming doom.

"You put up a good fight, I'll give you that," Mørke says. "That sword caught me by surprise. But this is starting to become really boring." He lets out a low whine as his spine starts to crack and transform. His clothes tear off as his body starts to grow bigger. His pale skin turns ink black as fur starts to grow out.

Mørke, no longer in his human form, turns his now beast-like head to me, eyes glowing a fiery orange.

"You're finally showing me your true colors, I see," I speak, getting into position and pointing my sword at him. "You're uglier than I expected. I didn't think that was even possible."