A War of Shadows...Part 4

The Bane Arixtocles, still hovering about a foot off the ground, had turned his attention from the fallen Ravyn towards Jim and Alana Danae as they tried to come up behind him, each carrying strange looking firearms.

I was running towards the Bane as fast as I could, but I knew I wouldn’t get there in time.

I waved for Jim and Alana to get down and hurled Excalibur towards the Bane. The blade hurtled through air, twirling end over hilt in a blaze of magickal energies, scything towards the creature.

I saw Jim’s eyes grow wide with confusion and shock even as he hit the dirt. Alana had beaten him to the ground.

The Bane saw the hurtling sword in time to throw up one arm to deflect it with a blast of red energy, just as I had anticipated. The blade skittered off towards Jim, landing less than three feet to his left with the hilt vibrating as the blade stuck into the earth.

As the Bane turned to face me, I sent a whispered message towards Jim. “Don’t worry about me. Watch for your opportunity and strike with Excalibur.”

The Bane’s face lit up as he recognized me. “I’ve been waiting for you, human. I won’t be as gentle with you as I was with your fire-throwing friend over there. She might actually prove to be a useful diversion after I eliminate you.”

I slowed to a walk, but continued to shorten the distance between us. My hands were empty, so I opened and closed them reflexively.

“I think you are overestimating your strength, Bane. Even now, I am digesting on the Spirit of your brother, the Dragon.”

Arixtocles’ eyes narrowed. “Malaxifer was a fool. Besides, without that sword, you are no threat to me.”

I smiled. “We’ll see about that.”

He threw out his right hand towards me. As he did so, a huge blast of red energy erupted from his palm and blasted me in the chest.

I staggered under the searing onslaught but continued pressing forward, there was only a hundred feet between us now.

The energy tore at my body, shredding my skin.

The Bane laughed as he watched my reaction to his attack. “There will be nothing left of you, Human, when I am done. It will be as if you had never existed.”

Through my peripheral vision, I could see that Jim had pulled Excalibur from the ground and was making his way behind the Bane. I had to keep the thing distracted.

“Arixtocles, you think you have the power to stop me? Look, I am still coming for you. When I get there, I will feast on your Spirit.”

The Bane glared as he brought up his left hand and redoubled the size of the bolt of blazing red energy that he pouring into me. The bolt was tearing at the very fabric of my physical being. He was trying to vaporize my body.

I leaned forward into the blasting force of the massive beam. As quickly as my skin was dissolving, it was being replenished by the small wisps of Shadow that were constantly crawling around inside of me ever since Ma Grendel and I had been merged.

The Bane’s face contorted in a snarl as I continued to plod towards him, one step at a time. “How can your frail, man-made body resist my powers?” He threw his second had towards me, blasting out with a second bolt of energy. “I will incinerate you, Human!”

The power of this second effort forced me back and down to one knee. I stood back up through sheer force of Will and staggered forward. There was less than twenty feet between the Bane and I, Jim was almost equidistant. He needed more time. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to give it to him. My body was beginning to dissolve faster than the Shadow could repair it.

I lunged forward, but tripped on the carcass of a dead wolf. I landed in front of the Bane, face down and spread-eagle. The move surprised Arixtocles as well, providing my pet Shadows the briefest of badly needed moments to restore a fraction of what had been destroyed by his attacks.

I rolled over just in time to see Arixtocles smile in glee as he slipped forward to administer what he anticipated to be a death blow. As he brought his arms up to finish me, the business end of Excalibur erupted from his chest in a shower of black ichor and chaotic, destructive energies…

(To be continued next week)