Guardians of Rhea (12 page)

“Don’t get your hopes up yet,” Sara said.
“They can still invade us. I’ve heard you all talk about how many
of them there are, and to be honest I never thought much of it. But
if what Caycee said is true then we could be looking at worlds of
these guys. I don’t know about you, Janah, but I’m feeling a little
worse.”

The Fenrir were transfixed on the moon.
“Hey,” Leon said, grabbing their attention, and placing his pointer
finger across his lips.

Gillan looked toward the sea, confused. He
then held his hand out as if to cause something to happen.
“Uh-oh.”

Leon then noticed Kamala's similar concern
over a rock. “What is it?” he asked.

“Our abilities don't work here,” Kamala
said.

“I can sense the water,” Gillan said. “But
nothing happens.”

Nedim held his fist up close to his face. A
faint yellow glow briefly emanated from his hand. “It seems the
Khothu's powers are somehow suppressed in this realm.”

Frustrated, Kamala and Gillan equipped their
weapons.

“Stay focused,” Leon said. Peering off into
the valley, he spotted Eris flying into a small town. “This
way.”

Everyone moved in line as fast as they
could.

“So let me guess,” Sara said. “These
Myrmidons are pretty special.”

“As far as we know, yes,” Leon replied doing
his best to keep an eye on the town. “They're unique. If that thing
is a Myrmidon, it should be the only one that can open those
portals.”

Gillan and Janah held hands going down an
incline.

“Looks like I might actually get my wish to
kill a Pelasgian after all,” Janah said.

“Okay, seriously!” Gillan said. “Who looks
forward to that?”

Sara saw that there was no place to take
cover as they approached the town. “Uh, Leon,” she said,
disconcerted.

Just short of exposing the group to the open,
Leon stopped behind a large geode jutting out from the ground.

“I don't see a way in,” Sara said, looking
around. “At least, not without taking a stroll through no man's
land.”

The town had a wall much like New Haven,
though there were no buildings any taller than two stories. It was
a little too quiet for comfort. Even from their ideal vantage
point, they could see no one inside.

“Caycee,” Leon called. “Get up here.”

“If this isn’t an ambush,” Kamala said, “I
don't know what is.”

Caycee huddled next to Leon. “It always feels
good when you want my opinion.”

“Just tell me what you feel,” said Leon.

“I've had a bad feeling ever since we left
Vesuvia.” Caycee chuckled. “If I had to lean one way or the other,
I'd say we better be ready for anything. Something's down there,
but I don't think it's waiting for us.”

“Good,” Leon said, then looking back to the
group. “Everyone, get your war face on.”

The Fenrir morphed back into their wolf
form.

“Wait here,” Leon said, before running off so
fast no one could see him until he reached the gate to the city and
jumped over it.

“Is he out of his bloody mind?” Darek
asked.

Within moments, Leon was pulling the gate
open and waved for the rest to join him.

Inside, the town appeared deserted.

“You sure that thing is still here?” Nedim
asked.

“I've had my eyes on this place almost the
whole time,” Leon answered. “She has to be here.”

“Maybe we should split up,” Doradus
suggested.

“I don't know about that,” Kamala said.
“We're much stronger as a group.”

“I agree with both of you,” Sara said. “It
looks like we’re on the main street. We can split up into two
staggered groups, one on each side. This way we're close enough to
help each other and it'll be harder for someone to surround
us.”

“You know, we could probably just walk down
the street, but I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Leon
said. “Nedim, take the Fenrir and cover the left. Caycee, Darek, go
with them. If you see that woman, don't hesitate to kill her.”

In their hasty search through the town, Leon
and Nedim made sure to keep each other in sight, pausing only
briefly to communicate with hand signals.

The main street dead-ended at a large
rectangular building with an ominous green glow visible through the
windows.

Leon signaled for everyone to stop.

Sara whispered. “What now?”

“Stay here,” Leon said, silently going
forward alone. Jumping on the roof, he found an opening and dropped
down.

Now inside the building, Leon could hear the
portal as well as some movement. After making his way down to the
first floor, he carefully peeked around a corner, barely catching a
glimpse of Eris.

In one swift move, Leon leapt around the
corner and unsheathed his sword, but stopped at the sight of a
Corinthian woman and her child between him and his target.

Hesitation.

Eris immediately grabbed the Corinthians and
flew through the portal, which instantly closed.

Leon stood, paralyzed at the lost
opportunity.

From the shadows, a Corinthian soldier came
charging, grabbing Leon and driving him through several walls until
they ended up on the street.

Sara and the others quickly moved in to help,
but Leon was fast to flip the Corinthian over and stab him through
the chest.

“Did you do it?!” Janah asked excitedly.

Leon slowly rose to his feet. “No.”

Just then, the echo of a dozen battle cries
came over the wall.

All eyes fell back down the main street.

“What was that?” Kamala asked.

“Not good,” Leon answered. “Everyone, back to
the gate!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Leon took off at top speed. He covered the
distance in mere seconds, and began closing the gate as fast as he
could. A little over a hundred yards away, he could see what looked
like several dozen Pelasgians charging. Many of them were
Corinthian, some riding griffins.

Some Pelasgians were Satyrs. Armed with a
spear, they had an upper body like a human and large horns on the
head. They also had the legs of a goat and a long tail.

There were also a few tall, hulking Cyclopes
charging with large clubs.

Circling high in the sky was an Eriny, a
gangly ten-foot tall humanoid monstrosity with a massive bat-like
wingspan.

As Leon secured the gate, the rest of the
group arrived.

“How many?” Arloff asked.

“Not sure, several dozen or so,” answered
Leon.

“There's no way we can hold up here for
long,” Sara said. “We should go out there and meet those things
head-on.”

“I wouldn't worry about waiting.”

Running at full speed, four Corinthians on
griffins jumped over the wall.

Nedim looked up and saw one of the griffins
descending on him. He quickly placed his arms across his chest,
forming an energy shield around his body.

Crashing almost on top of the shield, the
griffin stumbled back before charging at Nedim again. The other
three griffins landed among the group, dispersing them in various
directions.

The griffin took a powerful swipe at Nedim
causing his shield to fade out. Arloff tackled it, knocking the
rider off. In brutal fashion he grabbed the creature's neck with
both hands and snapped it like a twig. The Corinthian drew his
sword and stabbed Arloff through the ribs. Without so much as
flinching, Arloff took hold of the Corinthian and flung him over
the wall.

The Fenrir fearlessly went after a griffin
and its rider, circling and attacking like a pack of wolves
bringing down their prey.

Several yards away, Kamala was on the run
from a griffin hot on her tail. Sara and Caycee took aim with their
bows and fired, one striking the griffin's hind leg – the other
hitting the Corinthian's shoulder.

The Corinthian hardly reacted, reaching over
to pull out the arrow, but the griffin squawked in pain and ran at
the ladies. Kamala quickly threw an axe into the back of the
Corinthian, who fell, causing the griffin to pause just long enough
for Sara and Caycee to fire another volley of arrows, this time
felling the beast.

The Cyclopes outside smashed their clubs
against the gate, breaking it down piece by piece.

Leon easily dodged a griffin's attempt to
bite him. With the swing of his sword the animal's neck was slashed
halfway, and as fast as the Corinthian could jump off, Leon impaled
him from behind.

Darek, in his final form, had both hands tied
up with a griffin's beak. It took everything he had just to hold
the creature while Janah distracted the Corinthian for Gillan, who
jumped from the opposite side and buried a sai into the Pelasgian's
chest. Janah then drove both swords into the griffin's side for a
quick kill.

“Gather up!” Leon said. “Try to stay
together.”

The Pelasgians suddenly came crashing through
the gate in a full-on blitz for the group.

Leon dashed into the oncoming horde with a
flurry of stabbing and slashing. With his Vesuvian speed, he easily
dodged or countered every attack. In a matter of seconds a
half-dozen Corinthians fell by his sword alone.

Arloff charged forward, tackling two
Cyclopes. He drove his hand into one of their eyes, grabbing
whatever he could and ripping it out. The Fenrir followed, each
lunging at a Corinthian. It was just enough to break up any
momentum the Pelasgians had going.

With the equinox in one hand, Sara grabbed
her daggers and threw them as fast as she could, at best, slowing
the oncoming Pelasgians down just a bit more. Caycee fired her
remaining arrows to hinder the Pelasgian advance before drawing her
rapier. The women then worked in tandem, bringing down one
Pelasgian after another.

Kamala deflected a Corinthian's sword with an
axe and countered with the other, driving it into his neck. Gillan
was close by, being out-muscled by a Corinthian who easily tossed
him to the ground. Kamala ran by, bringing the Corinthian down with
a blow to his knee and finishing him off with an axe to the
heart.

Nedim barely managed to block a Corinthian's
sword with his long knife as it came dangerously close to his face.
With the enemy nearly on top, he quickly placed his hand on the
Corinthian's chest and fired an energy ball that tore through a few
Pelasgians.

Several Corinthians were having their own
trouble with Janah. She cut through many like a warrior possessed.
Her feline nature, when unleashed, was very fierce and fast.

The remaining Pelasgians outside the gate
pushed through in a mindless frenzy.

Darek easily broke a Corinthian's neck with a
swipe of his hand. Two more Corinthians advanced, using their
shields to block and batter him. Darek rammed one, knocking the
Corinthian back and unwittingly allowed a third to slice him across
the back. Darek screeched in pain.

“Darek!” Leon cried, slaying any Pelasgian in
his way as he desperately tried to reach his comrade.

A Corinthian stabbed Darek in the back as
another impaled him through the heart.

“No!” Caycee screamed, as she helplessly
watched her friend disintegrate into embers blown away by the
wind.

The teeth and claws of a Fenrir were just as
good as any blade. Doradus slashed wildly, cutting a Satyr to
ribbons. As he ran at his next victim, a Satyr threw his spear,
piercing Doradus' side.

Several more Satyrs closed in, jabbing their
spears into Doradus, who yelped and howled in pain. Hurok growled
in anger, knowing that one of his own had fallen.

The Cyclopes were almost as strong as Arloff,
and their clubs dealt major damage to the Promethean when they
struck.

Arloff fell back when a club whacked him hard
on the head. A few Corinthians immediately joined the fray, hacking
at what they could. Surrounded, Arloff fought as hard as he could
before the Pelasgians' numbers overwhelmed him.

The Eriny descended from the sky. With a
single backhand, he sent Gillan sprawling to the ground. Sara and
Kamala ran as fast as they could to help; everyone else was locked
in fighting.

Gillan rolled out of the way just in time
when the Eriny tried to stomp him. Getting up as quick as he could
with the ten-foot tall creature trying to grab him, he swung a sai
into the Pelasgian's hand.

The Eriny jerked back, screaming. He pulled
the sai out and tossed it aside. Stepping toward Gillan, he
suddenly screamed again as Sara's dagger struck his back leg. To
his side, he spotted Kamala closing in and used his wings to knock
her away.

Sara was about to confront the Eriny when a
Satyr tried flanking her.

Kamala struggled to get up, but the Eriny
closed in fast, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her off the
ground.

Gillan had climbed to the roof of a building
nearby, and jumped the Eriny from behind, using his sais to impale
the creature and hold on.

Kamala used her axe to lop off the hand
holding her. Landing on her feet, she was unable to get out of the
way in time to avoid the Eriny's sharp claws tearing into her side,
causing her to cry out in terrible pain.

“No!” Gillan yelled, pulling a sai out and
ramming it into the back of the Eriny's head. He held on as the
creature stumbled a bit and fell forward. “Kamala!” he called,
running to her as she lay on the ground.

A Corinthian tried to sneak up on Sara as she
battled a Satyr, but was caught by surprise himself when Leon
darted by, slashing his neck. Sara knocked the Satyr down with a
kick before slaying him with her equinox.

The last Pelasgian, a Cyclops, had Rona by
the neck, smashing her against a building. Caycee and Janah stabbed
and slashed the Cyclops until he let go. In one jump, Rona clawed
the Cyclops down the midsection, making him reel back in pain –
which was short-lived thanks to an energy blast from Nedim that
vaporized his head.