Guardians: The Last Elder

Chapter 27: The Battle of Morlea (part 3)

"A great battle is a terrible thing," the old knight said, "but in the midst of blood and carnage, there is sometimes also beauty, beauty that could break your heart."
~ George R.R. Martin (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms)

                                                                ________________________ 

Josh's POV

The demons were raining down from everywhere. I wasn't sure how they managed to pass the magical force field and the invisible electric walls guarded by some of the best warriors and warlocks, but there was no time to figure it out.

I slashed and hacked with my two scimitars. I didn't have enough time to grab my beloved sword which was why I had to make do with what was provided. I cut off the arms of an Uzir demon – the ones with six limbs and two heads, I stabbed my sword through the gut of a Raez demon, shot a dagger that I kept tucked in sleeves of my leather jacket towards the Iszri demons – the winged creatures – that was lunging towards me with its feet outstretched. I would've almost, dare I say it, had fun if only I wasn't consumed with worry about a certain black-eyed girl.

I hope she's in the crypt, I thought but I knew she was a stubborn ass and would probably be outraged at the thought of being left behind with a bunch of kids.

I felt a sour stench invade my nostrils. I whirled around and sure enough, there was another demon rushing towards me. This one was particularly ugly with slitted eyes, repulsive saliva drooping from its open mouth and a hideous hide enveloping its skeletal frame that skeptically reminded me of a lizard.

It lumbered towards me and I readied my pair of scimitars when abruptly it burst into flames. Startled, I almost dropped my weapons as I stared at the pile of ash left behind by the burned demon. I shrugged, thinking somebody must have shot a fire arrow and was about to move to my next target but only then realized that there were no targets left. An entire crowd of Guardians looked at each other in confusion as the demons went up in flames.

And then, out of the blue, a large roar of thunder split the night sky. I whirled around and watched with a mixture of horror and confusion, my mouth agape, as a zoom of lightening raced down and struck the ground. It was right where the stretch of forest began. The lake near it seemed to sizzle and the trees around charred. I felt the fine hair behind my neck erupt into goose bumps. The smell of electricity was evident. If I squinted hard enough I could see a tiny figure...wield the thunder as if it were a weapon.

What the fuck?

I stared as a cloud of dirt and wind whirled around the figure, making the person rise off the ground. My head whipped up like the others, following the person's ascend towards the night sky. The figure seemed to be glowing; purple, blue sparks dancing out of their body. Was it a warlock?

The clouds, thunder and dirt swirled faster around the figure. The winds were ferocious and snarling, making my eyes and nose clog with sand. But, nevertheless, something urged me to go forward. Something about the figure seemed really familiar.

Fighting against the winds, I walked towards the storm. I looked up, grabbing an abandoned shield lying on the ground and using it to shelter my eyes. But amidst the hurricane, it was a near impossible task to make out the person's face but I still guessed that it was a female.

A particularly large thunder crackled, casting a harsh glow over the entire city of Morlea for a split second. And in that split second, my eyes finally saw through the tempest and could make out the silhouette hovering at the center of the storm.

I almost felt my eyes bulge out of its socket when I realized it was...Ava! My Ava!

"Who is that girl?" I heard a voice ask behind me.