Hell's Bells...Finale

I turned to Naomi. “We can’t leave until I do something about those creatures out there that are preventing us from leaving. Will you be OK here for a moment?”

She glanced out the window behind me and shook her head. “No, we’re coming with you.”

“What are talking about? It is quite a drop from here!”

Naomi reached out and touched my shoulder. “We’ll make it down there, you just worry about yourself.”

Alexa perked up as she looked from me to her mother. “Are we going to fly again, Mama?”

Naomi nodded and put both arms around Alexa again before smiling down at her daughter. “Yes, dear, we’re going to fly again, but not too much this time, OK?”

Alexa bobbed her head and pumped her tiny fist. “Yay!”

Naomi shifted her gaze back to me. “Go now, we’ll follow behind you at a safe distance.”

I shook my head and decided to trust her judgment. I knew that she would never do anything that she would endanger Alexa.

Using my gloved hands, I cleared all of the sharp shards of glass from the opening of the window, pulling the curtains off the wall in the process. Once it was clear, I stepped up onto the windowsill, hunching my shoulders down to fit into the square opening, if barely.

Another violent explosion rocked the house as I prepared to jump by glancing to the ground beneath me. Unearthly screams of pain and terror accompanied the blast, giving me the impetus I needed to get going. I pushed myself forward, kicking out with my legs in an attempt to land standing up.

It worked, almost.

I landed on my backside with a tremendous thud in one of Ravyn’s favorite flower beds. I let go of the rucksack that had unbalanced my fall and started scrambling up to my feet amid of a shower of dirt and ruined petals. My actions became more urgent as I noticed two wolf-like shadows emerge from the bushes near where I had seen the line of figures holding up the shield in the Shadowland. It was all I could do to get Excalibur out and my feet set before they were upon me.

Apparently, the blade decided that these creatures, were worthy of taking on and guided my hand as I lashed out at the first of the attacking beasts. I felt the blade sink into it, but its weight bore the blade downward as the second beast launched itself into my chest, knocking back to the ground.

The creature snarled and snapped at my face, held back only by my left hand on its throat. I tried to wrest Excalibur from the first creature’s chest, but I lacked the leverage to yank it free while lying on my back, pinned down by the second.

I was just about to give up on pulling the sword free and taking the thing on with my hands when the creature, much to our mutual surprise, began to float above me, its paws flailing helplessly in an attempt to regain traction.

Naomi’s voice rang out from the shadows to my left, obviously straining with effort. “Now, Rusty! I can’t hold it for long, it’s too heavy!”

Using only my left hand, I heaved upwards and yanked at Excalibur with my right. The blade slipped free and slashed upwards across the throat of the still struggling second creature. Its lifeless body fell to the ground as I stood up.

Naomi stepped from the shadows, pale and sweaty with exhaustion, Alexa standing beside her.

Alexa was straining against Naomi’s hand, reaching toward the first dead creature. “Poor wolfies!”

“Hush, girl. These aren’t real wolves.” Naomi pulled her back gently.

“Follow me.” I waved at them to get behind me. “We need to get to the perimeter so I can get you guys to safety.”

I reached down and grabbed the rucksack with my left hand and brandished the glowing blade of Excalibur with my right as I began moving towards where I had seen the figures standing in the Shadowland.

Nothing else moved to attack us as we moved forward, so I was able to take a glance back towards the Coop. The building behind us was glowing orange from the flames that were now eating at the place from several locations inside. Smoke billowed upwards, disappearing in the night sky.

I wondered how this could be happening without any response from the Fire Department, but I had to push that thought away as we approached the perimeter. I felt, more than saw, the field of energy that had been set up by the man-sized creatures that I had seen earlier. There was no sign of them with my normal sight, so I shifted my vision to the Shadowland.

As my vision shifted, I found myself staring in the vacant, nearly lifeless eyes of a pale, naked creature that stood, unmoving, spread-eagle. Its long, thin arms stretched outward towards the outstretched arms of others just like it.

Looking into its face, I now recognized them for what they were…Drake had called these creatures Dream Weavers. They were another servant race of the An’girasii. They worked in groups of thirteen, using their powers from the Shadowland to create powerful, complex illusions in the ‘real’ world.

They apparently also had the ability to shut off my access to the Shadowland.

I lashed out with Excalibur towards the Dream Weaver immediately in front of me.

There was a tremendous amount of resistance, as if the illusory shield created by the Weavers was resisting the power of the blade. Sparks of magickal energy erupted as the blade fought its way through the shield and into abdomen of the Weaver.

The shower of sparks turned into an eruption of energy that must have flashed into the real world as well. The entire illusion that had been created by the Weavers crumbled in an explosion of energy that threw me back into normal vision again.

Alexa called out in appreciate surprise. “Oooh, fireworks!”

I sheathed Excalibur in one motion and reached out to Naomi. “Hold on! This is going to be rough!”

I called the Shadow and stepped from this former place of safety to another, Naomi and Alexa in tow…