Dire Destiny of Ours (14 page)

"Destroyer Slade, we are here to protect you," said a seraph with a blue gem on his sleeve. "I am Legiaros Ketiss."

Despite the use of my new cringe-worthy name, I almost melted with relief. "Are you absolutely positive you're not here to kill me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes, sir."

The enemy Darklings and two remaining Brightlings charged around the curve. They saw the force of enemies and nearly fell over themselves in an effort to reverse course. The platoon of defenders rushed the enemy.

The Brightlings dove off the building and glided through the air.

I ran to the side of the building and shook my fist. "Run all you want, cowards, but I'll get you if it's the last thing I do."

Their flight pattern wobbled. The strain on their faces made it obvious they'd overextended themselves and were exhausted. The sera glanced down and a look of hopelessness erased the determination from her face. I followed her gaze and saw more soldiers gathering in the plaza at the base of the building. The Brightlings might be able to glide to the ground, but there was no escape for them now.

The sera flashed a furious, defiant look at me. "I have failed today, but others will come and they will succeed."

"You will die, monster," her companion declared.

The Brightlings gripped hands. A look of acceptance came over their faces. Their wings flickered away and they fell without a single cry toward the ground far below. The crowd parted like a sea of ants. I saw splashes of crimson paint the ground and looked away.

The enemy Darklings furiously fought my defenders. The cloudbank the attackers had arrived on hovered into view. Some tried to leap to it before it reached the building. Two made it while three others plunged to their deaths. The enemy leader rushed toward the cloudbank, but my rescuers surrounded him.

"Surrender," Ketiss called to him.

"Never," the seraph hissed back. Sword held high over his head, he loosed a battle cry and ran at Ketiss.

Blasts of Murk caught the seraph's charge. One slammed him in the shoulder. He dropped his sword. The next blast hit him in the face. His legs flew from beneath him and his back thudded against the glass. He groaned once and lay still. I heard shouts of fear and looked toward the cloudbank with the only remaining enemies. Ultraviolet beams speared into it. The billowing clouds dispersed, leaving only thin air between the escapees and the ground.

Biting back pain, I shot strands of Murk at them. I missed one, but caught the other and willed the aether rope to bind him. The strand contracted and brought him into the waiting arms of my protectors who immediately secured him. The enemy leader was also bound. Apparently, they'd knocked him senseless with their attacks instead of killing him.

"Are you injured, Destroyer?" Ketiss asked me.

The black Nightingale armor was soaked with blood, but it merely looked wet since it hid the red. "I've been better." I tried not to groan and hoped my supernatural healing would be able to do something.

"I'll have a healer attend you." He snapped his fingers and a young sera came forward.

"Yes, Legiaros?" she said.

He motioned toward me. "The Destroyer requires your services, Flava."

Her bright blue eyes looked me up and down. "Are you wounded, sir?"

I lowered the armor to display the slice across my chest. It still wasn't healing and I abruptly remembered why. Seraphim wings were pure aether. When the Brightling had sliced me, he might as well have hit me with a blast of magic. Unlike physical wounds, magical ones typically took longer to heal.

"Goodness, this is quite awful." She touched it.

I flinched. "I agree. It's awfully awful."

She blinked a couple times as if what I'd said hadn't translated, shrugged, and leaned forward to examine the wound. "This will take a few moments." Fingers extended, she sent gentle pulses of Murk into my wound. At first, my tissue seemed to resist the procedure, but suddenly began to seal shut like a zipper. The pain melted away and my body relaxed. I stifled a yawn.

"Wow, that was really good." I sounded like a stoner who'd just eaten a bag of cheesy poofs. With the chest wound gone, aches from other parts of my body gave notice that I had a lot more healing to do. It was also evident that my demon side was ravenous from the clawing sensation in my guts. I switched to incubus vision and saw the glowing auras of the Seraphim around me.

They glowed much brighter than humans. Healer Flava's halo shone bright and golden. A psychic tendril from my aura automatically quested toward this tempting source of sustenance. She flinched the moment it touched her aura.

Eyes wide, she backed away. "What are you doing?"

Ketiss raised his eyebrow. "What is the issue, healer?"

Forehead pinched, she stared at me. She felt her head. "He touched me."

I felt my face burning. "I'm sorry. There's a part of me that needs to feed."

She held her hand flat and splayed her fingers, demonstrating the way Seraphim fed. "You did not indicate you were feeding."

I shook my head. "My demon side feeds differently."

"Healer, you will assist the Destroyer in any way he requests." Ketiss gave her a sharp look. "Do I make myself clear?"

Her big eyes flared wide with fear. She looked down. "As you command, sir."

Ketiss surveyed the bodies and shook his head. "None of them are wearing gems. They must have known this would be a suicide mission."

I was about to ask him what help the gems would've been when a large cloudbank drew even with the roof. I felt vibrations beneath my feet and looked down to see a crowd of Darklings inside the building. Some seemed to be cheering and shouting something at me, but I couldn't hear them through the protective glass.

Ketiss motioned toward the cloudbank. "Destroyer, this will take you to a secure location. Flava and a contingent of guards will accompany you." He gave me a gem. "Press this to your uniform wherever you wish and it will adhere to the surface. Should you need to speak anyone, simply think of them and it will put you in touch."

"I need to question the captives later," I said. "I need to find out who sent them."

"They were obviously sent by the Heretics," Ketiss said.

"Even the Brightlings?" I was still having a really hard time wrapping my brain around that one.

"It is likely Brightling spies learned of your appearance from our information feed." He tapped the gem on his sleeve. "They realized you are the Destroyer of legend who has come to drive them from our lands and attempted to assassinate you."

"But the Heretics seemed to know them." I shook my head. "I think this goes deeper."

He gave me a curt nod. "I assure you, we'll get to the truth."

I looked at other nearby soldiers. Many of them wore open looks of fascination and admiration as they gazed upon me. I took Ketiss by the arm and led him a distance away. Once we were hopefully out of eavesdropping range, I faced him. "Which denomination are you affiliated with?"

He stiffened ever so slightly. "Atharis, sir, but my unit is mixed as required by law."

"Even those who don't believe?" I asked.

He nodded. "Heretics are treated as equals so long as they do not impede the teachings of Primogenesis."

How sweet of them.
"I killed Thala and Uoriss. I assume you've seen the video."

Ketiss looked down. "I have. It fills me with shame to know we have failed for so long. The Primogenitor must be very displeased with us." He almost looked as if he wanted to cry. "Our leaders have not done enough to drive the Brightlings from our lands. The enemy has been allowed to live for too long." He knelt before me. "I swear, Destroyer Slade, we will purge the Brightlings or be annihilated in the attempt."

These people are cray-cray to the max.

I managed not to cringe at his fanatical words and decided to play along for now. Thankfully, my days of Kings and Castles, a live-action role-playing game, had prepared me for eloquent speeches. "Brave words, Ketiss. Rise and go forth in the name of the Almighty. We will soon embark on an epic journey to the Promised Land and drive the Brightlings into the land of the dead."

He stood and gave me a sharp salute. Joy lit his face. "At once, Destroyer."

I pinched my lips tight to avoid snickering at my ridiculous declaration and walked with him back to the cloudbank. Flava and several guards waited on it. I stepped aboard, graced Ketiss with another nod, and turned to the crowd on the cloudbank with me. "Let's go."

A seraph on the other side saluted and the cloudbank moved out. We flew over a sea of people gathered in the square below. Even from here, I was able to see imagery from my battle with the Brightlings playing back from the gems the Darklings wore. I wondered how such recordings were transmitted to everyone so quickly and who was in charge of deciding which news people could see.

"Is there an agency that decides what news is published on the info feed?" I asked.

Flava raised an eyebrow. "The people decide which news is transmitted, Destroyer." She brushed a hand across her gem. "The more citizens who record and declare something as newsworthy, the more likely it will be seen by others."

"They upvote it?" I could tell she was confused by my internet lingo, so I clarified. "In other words, they give it a positive vote and once it hits a certain threshold, the gems automatically replay the news."

She nodded. "Yes, they…upvote." Flava said the word a couple more times as if practicing it.

Humans had made an art of murdering the English language by fusing words into almost unrecognizable mutants. It felt kind of nice that my magically acquired Cyrinthian skills allowed me to genetically modify this language as well. More importantly, I began to see that these gems were the analog to arcphones back on Eden. This info feed of theirs was like a social network on steroids.

I wanted to know more. "How long after something happens can a person go back and replay the event?"

Flava touched a finger to her chin and her gaze grew distant. "I am not sure, Destroyer. Things that are very important to me are always available. I simply think of what I wish to view, and it appears."

These gems sounded like an identity thief's wet dream. Despite the dozens of other questions I had about the magical gadgets, a towering monolith caught my eyes. The designer had created the structural equivalent of a neighborhood bully. Wide at the base and narrow at the top, this structure was built to intimidate. Several pyramids like the ones I'd seen at the other ministry building bordered the perimeter of the building's wide plaza, their eyes rotating to watch the surroundings.

"What is this place?" I asked.

Flava answered. "The Ministry of Defense, Destroyer."

"Will you stop calling me that?"

Her eyes filled with uncertainty. "What shall I call you?"

"Justin would be fine." I smiled.

"Is this a word from Eden?"

I managed not to laugh. "It's my first name."

Her eyes widened. "Oh. It would be improper for me to call you by such familiar terms."

"The Destroyer commands it," I said in what was hopefully a commanding voice.

Flava looked down. "As you command, Des—Justin."

Some of the other Darklings on the cloudbank cast jealous looks at Flava, as if I'd bought candy but only given it to her.

Our cloudy chariot docked at a circular platform jutting from halfway up the side of the building. The contingent of guards escorted me down a wide corridor devoid of decoration. The black floor and dark gray walls did nothing to alleviate the monotony. Flava charged a gem on the wall and a portion of it melted away to reveal a similarly bland room on the other side. She and I entered while the guards remained outside.

Unlike my previous residence, this room already had furniture, most of it in shades of white or black. On the right stood a table with four cloud chairs, and to the left, a floating cloud.

"Is that my own personal icloud?" I asked.

Flava's forehead wrinkled and abruptly smoothed over as if she'd just remembered I was a noob in these lands. "It is where you sleep."

"Really?" I made a beeline for it and touched the billowing surface. It was incredibly soft. I lay down felt it mold to my contours. It was almost like lying on thin air. "This is cool."