Vengeance from the Sky (Completed)

Chapter 8 - God of the Sky: Part II

Arlo raised his yellow-tinged fingers above him and sent a bolt of highly charged lightning into the clear, thick atmosphere. It tore open and the meteors began to vibrate against each other, straining to be free of their magical binds.

Ryker didn't waste a moment. He soared up to the atmosphere and fit his spine against the tear, holding the dangers of The Beyond at bay. As large and strong as he was, even Ryker was struggling to hold back the weight and the heat of the giant destructive rocks. The Sky God frowned as he watched the dragon interrupting his plans. He would have to do something about that beast.

"Arlo!" Talon bellowed, pointing his longsword at the God. "Your opponent is me."

Arlo sized up the lean, well-built, but not particularly masculine human and felt no true threat. He threw back his dark, hairless head and laughed long and harshly. "Please, human, what do you think you can do with that toy?"

"I have slain dragons that were bigger and fiercer then you, God. Show me what you are capable of." Talon challenged.

Arlo studied him with some amusement before coming to a decision. He reached his hand into the air and pulled a huge, golden, jagged-edged sword from no where and held it in front of him with both hands.

"No magic," Arlo promised, confident he wouldn't need to access his powers. "A tip for you, human, my only weakness is my heart, though you won't be able to get near it. Now, come at me."

Talon spent several seconds mentally planning his next actions, preparing himself for the battle to come. His brown eyes darkened to an almost-black as determination and resignation set in. He recognized the good chance that he might die this day, but one fact remained a beacon in his mind, he would win. He would win because to lose meant the end of life on their world, and that was something Talon would prevent by any means necessary.

Talon charged forward, sword raised, and took a powerful swing at Arlo's neck. Arlo pulled his weapon up swiftly and their blades met with a sharp, metallic clang.

"I'm surprised your sword didn't shatter upon impact with my God-forged claymore." Arlo noted, their faces mere inches apart.

"That is because this is no ordinary sword. The metal is made from adamantine, the bones of the Goddess, forged by my father, Lord of Dragons. It is the strongest weapon in the world," Talon explained, eyes boring into those of the deranged God.

"Let us see if Delphine's bones are stronger then my blade," Arlo taunted, and they shoved against each other's swords, both backing up a few paces.

A moment later, their blades clashed again, Talon's sword cutting from under and to the side, while Arlo forced his arms down and brought his claymore hard against Talon's weapon. Again their blades slid off each other and they charged once more. Again and again they swung, feinting and parrying one anothers blows. Without magic, they seemed almost evenly matched. But as Talon's brow began to sweat, Arlo remained unphased.

~

The hefty fireball that the lava-man had just released turned into a heavy chunk of hail and fell uselessly to the ground. Then the fingers and hand that had thrown it also froze solid. He pulled back the frozen appendage in confusion, his hatred-muddled mind not yet grasping what was happening to him. How was his intensely hot hand not melting the mysterious blue-white ice? Then the ice began to spread up his arm.

He panicked, waving the stiff, frozen limb frantically. Thinking he could break the ice off using force, he slammed the bluish hand onto his rock-hard thigh. Loud, groaning wails erupted from his mouth as his hand shattered into hundreds of tiny ice chunks. And still the was spreading.

~

Arlo was gaining way with Talon, slowly backing him up and bringing his sword down harder and harder. Talon knew he had to make a move quickly or he was going to die before taking down this God-turned-monster. He found himself studying Arlo's moves a bit more closely, waiting for the right opening.

Suddenly he saw it. Arlo's arms were raised high, ready to come down at any moment, and that's when Talon thrust the blade of his sword straight into the central, left portion of Arlo's chest.

Everything seemed to stand still for a few breathless seconds, and Talon's mouth twitched, seconds away from smiling in victory. Then the air chilled around them as Arlo began laughing low and quietly.

"Foolish human, did you really think I would keep my heart in the same place as you heathens? Did you really think you'd be the one to kill me?" Arlo mocked.

He laughed again, yet Talon's eyes went from black with dread to a warm brown. Arlo's laugh hitched and stopped abruptly and he gasped, just a short, soft sound, ending with a faint gurgle.

"No, but I knew I would," Wyng whispered into his ear from behind him. She was perched on his back in an ape-like manner, her hand buried deep into the right side of Arlo's back.

"Wyng...? Daugh-ter...?" he asked on a gasping breath.

"Goodbye, Father. Thank you for reminding me who I really am and the strength I hold inside." She whispered to him and yanked her hand back out of his body, a lumpy, black organ covered in blue blood in her grasp. She released his body and fluttered back to the ground as Arlo's knees buckled and his body crashed to the floor. She took a long, sad look at the heart she might have loved in another life. Then she set it on fire and watched as the organ and blood burned and flaked away until there was no evidence of it having existed.

Talon went to her side and wrapped his arms around her waist, sighing in relief that the worst of their ordeal was over. They watched as Arlo's body slowly broke down and faded into vapor before it disappeared completely.

"Where will his body go?" Talon asked, not really expecting an answer.

"The earth Goddess Delphine will return his body to their home beyond The Beyond. They were siblings, you know, children of the most powerful deity of all, The One." She sighed and pulled away from his embrace. "I have healed the sky and destroyed a God, but before I rest I must complete one last task."

Talon held back his question as he watched her fly up to Ryker's side. The meteors, free of Arlo's harness, had floated back out into The Beyond to complete their natural paths. She eased Ryker's great mass away from the gaping whole in the atmosphere and set her glowing white hands to repairing the damage.

Talon reunited with Ryker and they looked for their other comrades. Opal and Zenon stood side by side, observing the ice statue that was once a lava-man that was once a human. Zenon's eyes looked regretful, but satisfied, and Opal looked on in approval. Then Zenon nudged the statue with a single finger and the ice-man fell to the ground, breaking into thousands of tiny fragments. A moment later, Wyng floated back to the ground and smiled all around the alliance of heroes.

"Well done, friends, well done. Now, let's return home, shall we?" She suggested, blue eyes bright with unshed tears of either joy or sorrow, Talon couldn't tell. Then her eyes locked with his and Talon felt a tight pull against his heart. There was a promise of welcome in her starry eyes.

"Yes," he agreed, entwining his fingers with hers. "Let's go home."

~

**Don't stop reading yet! The final chapter is just a page away!!**