The Dawn of Malice

Reinforcements

Lucian took just a few steps before leaping into the air.

Caerus stared up at him from below. The elder gentleman had jumped to the roof of a three-story building with such ease that Caerus' mouth was left agape.

"What are you waiting for?" Lucian shouted from above. "No one's looking."

"How?!" Caerus replied.

Lucian gave the young man an exasperated sigh and dropped back down. He'd jumped right in front of Caerus, their faces only a few inches apart. He had forgotten that Caerus was incognizant. He made his eyes glow just to see how the young man would react. As expected, Caerus took a step back his face contorted in fear.

"You can feel the blood pumping inside your body, correct?" Lucian said. "All you must do is have all that blood pump into the muscles of your legs when you squat down to jump. But try and feel the energy accumulate in your muscles, that energy is your Lifeblood. It feels like a warm pulsating tension when it flows through your veins. When you're ready, push upward while releasing the tension in your muscles."

"That's it?" Caerus said dumbfounded.

"That's it."

Caerus watched as Lucian spun and slightly crouched downward making an exaggeration of his movements so Caerus could copy them. He watched as Lucian's trousers tightened slightly and then released as he flew upward.

Caerus did his best to copy how Lucian made his leap upward. He crouched down slowly and closed his eyes to focus on how his blood flowed. He felt the warm Lifeblood rush toward his legs while simultaneously feeling dizzy from the effort. He could hear Lucian's muffled voice trying to speak to him, but Caerus ignored him. As instructed, he pushed upward while releasing the tension in his muscles and as he opened his eyes, he glimpsed the ledge of a fast-approaching roof before blacking out.

The roof that Lucian had been standing on shook as he stared down at Caerus' limp body falling to the ground. Even his stoic face could not control his laughter.

"I kept telling you to open your eyes, but you dared to ignore me," Lucian said between his chuckles.

He once again jumped down and stood in front of Caerus. The young man groaned as his eyes fluttered open but closed and remained closed. Lucian growled. This young man had been nothing but a hindrance to his plans so far. As he contemplated whether to leave Caerus behind or not, voices and rushing footsteps began to echo from the street corner.

"This is such a pain in the..."

Lucian grabbed Caerus by the arm and yanked him up while positioning his limp body on his shoulders. Crouching low, Lucian then pushed upward pushing against the wind with Caerus causing his jump to be slightly angled. This however worked in his favor as he aimed his trajectory toward a rooftop. The voices below them were none the wiser.

"Time to head toward the ruined building. The others should be waiting."

Lucian proceeded to jump from rooftop to rooftop. As he did so he could hear Caerus groan as his body jostled up and down. Lucian focused his Lifeblood to his eyes, and it began to burn with the crimson light. His magnified vision allowed him to spot many citizens who had fled toward the cathedral grounds. He kept viewing his surroundings making sure that no one could spot him as he traversed the city. As he neared the collapsed portion of the ruined city, he could no longer afford to jump across rooftops for fear of it crumbling beneath his feet.

He stopped at the edge of a singed roof before stepping off and landing upon the cobblestone street. Lucian took several steps through the rubble before he stopped and looked beyond. The mortar and stone of countless buildings scattered across the landscape before him. Littered all around him were the ashes and burnt wood of collapsed buildings and homes.