Renegade Rupture (43 page)

“Out with you, she-bitch! I’d know that stink of yours anywhere,” Nora yelled. Narsissa dropped from one of the trees, but she was not alone. Six Drakelings dropped beside her. Like a circus tamer, she twirled a whip of her own and snapped her monsters to attention.

“YOU’LL DIE, NORA! YOU’LL PAY FOR ALL YOU’VE DONE TO ME! ALL YOU TOOK FROM ME! YOUR DEATH IS LONG COMING! KILL HER! KILL HER NOW!” Narsissa squealed, snapping her whip and sending her monsters flying forward, their white gleaming teeth and eyes bared.

“Gisbo, get behind mommy, and don’t move!” Nora said. Without wasting a second, Gisbo did as he was told, gripped his mother’s leg as tightly as he could, and closed his eyes.

“You crazy twat . . .” Nora muttered under her breath as she twirled her whip above her head with brilliant grace and ignited her Naforian essence. She struck the biggest tree with her whip once, and stood, waiting, defenseless as the black beasts leapt and closed the distance. Suddenly, a huge branch, in one sweep, struck all the creatures out of the way, sending them flying with a burst of black muck and bouncing through the snow, yelping and squealing.

“Hold them off, my new friend, while I deal with their host,” Nora said to the giant tree that was now walking upon its roots as if they were legs, completely alive. The tree nodded and went at the blackened beasts in a flurry.

“Drakearon chose me, ME, above all others to be part of his twelve. You think you can save your life from me? THINK AGAIN! Falcon is mine! I WILL BRING HIM HOME!” Narsissa said, cracking her whip.

Nora brought up her whip, and with precise and deadly accuracy, hit the spiked ball on the end of Narsissa’s with her own, sending up sparks. In a fierce redirect, she sent Narsissa’s spiked ball back at her, right toward her temple. Narsissa dove into the snow, rolled, and cracked her whip forward again. Instead of blocking the deadly spiked ball with her own, Nora raised the handle of her whip. It bounced off harmlessly with a metallic cling.

“You come here, threaten my husband, threaten my son, and threaten me? Hate to break it to you, dear, but that was the worst thing you could do,” Nora said. In a full display of her power, she surged her weapon with her Naforian energy. The tiny spiked ball became the size of boulder, six feet by six feet, as it landed beside her with a massive slam.

“Metal manipulation? Impossible! It’s never been done! It, you couldn’t possibly swing that?” Narsissa asked.

“Can’t I?” Nora asked, smiling and flashing her hazel eyes, hazel eyes that would haunt Narsissa for years to come.

With a powerful yell, Nora swung it all about as if it weighed the same as before. Narsissa had no choice but to dive out of the way as Nora shattered Evergrowths into splinters, attempting to hit her target. Narsissa cursed, diving to and fro, rolling like a crazed squirrel until everything within a diameter of ten meters was destroyed. Narsissa stood, panting, but still full of essence. Nora, however, had just used up the rest of hers.

“You’re empty . . . you’re helpless!” Narsissa said, cackling like a witch. Nora fell to one knee, weakened and breathing hard.

“Mommy! Mommy, get up!” Gisbo said, shaking her.

“Sorry, sweetie, but your mommy’s dead,” Narsissa said as she walked toward her downed opponent.

“You’re living proof that Drakearon has flaws, and if one has flaws, they can be defeated,” Nora said.

“Blasphemy!” Narsissa screamed.

“It’s a fact, bitch. You know why?” Nora asked. “He chose a dumb whore like you above all others.”

It was then that Nora revealed her secret. Her little Boon, Neko, a flying squirrel, leapt from her loose robe, flew out, and landed smack upon Narsissa’s face, digging his claws in.

“GRAH! What the, GET IT OFF!” Narsissa screamed. Nora raised her ring to the sky.

“NEKO!” Nora yelled. She took Neko’s essence and merged with him, igniting her Boon form and taking on the appearance of her squirrel companion, even its bushy tail.

“And how do you suppose that’s going to help you?” Narsissa asked.

“I think only a quarter of my power is required for the likes of you,” Nora said as she smiled, raised two fingers to her mouth, and sent out a piercing whistle.

There was silence at first, and then, Narsissa heard countless squeals and squeaks rushing toward them.

“What, what’s happening?” Narsissa said.

“It’s simple, my dear Narsissa. That’s the sound of your death,” Nora said. In a massive wave of grey, brown, and other earthy tones, thousands of little critters burst onto the scene, moles, squirrels, chipmunks, chinchillas, rats, bats, mice, and hosts of other tiny rodents. Together in a tornado of tiny claws and teeth, they leapt and crashed down upon Narsissa in tremendous fury as they snipped and snapped, scratched and bit.

Narsissa was lost under them all. Only her screams could be heard, and only bursts of red and black could be seen shooting up from beneath the pile.

“I know that my little friends won’t be enough to kill you, what with that awful Drakeness of yours, but it is enough to keep you still, and that’s all I need,” Nora said. With a final crack of her whip, it straightened like a sword and glistened with a sharp, green edge. The little creatures stampeded back from whence they came. Nora then raised the surging weapon over her head.

“I know that the Drakeness can’t cure everything, like spinal injuries, brain damage, heart failure. Let’s try for all three in one shot,” Nora said as she threw down her straightened, sharpened whip.

She would have succeeded if not for the red blast that hit her back and threw her off balance, leaving her to settle for one injury. While crippling, hitting only the top of Narsissa’s spinal cord wasn’t a death blow. Narsissa’s spine shattered and froze her face forever in a twisted guile of pain.

“Mommy!” Gisbo screamed as she flew into the snow, the back of her robe smoking and gone, leaving her back bare. Her skin bubbled as her flesh dripped off of her. She screamed. Gisbo ran to her, then turned around to face the new assailant. He looked as if he savored each slow step forward, crutching the crusty snow with relish, staring at the third degree burned flesh. Nora lay helplessly, without essence or a Boon to protect her.

Gisbo looked up, right into the face of . . .

Gisbo snapped out of his dream and came back, for just a moment. Now he understood. Now he knew why they hid such a memory from him. It wasn’t fit for anyone with a living soul to hold on to.

Gisbo looked up into the face of a man wearing a white, tattered, blood soaked robe with a goat skull atop his head and face, hiding his features. All Gisbo would remember were those red, fiery eyes, eyes just like his. The Goat Man walked forward, picked Gisbo up by the throat, and tossed him aside as he took his mother, his world, and changed it forever.

“Eyes open. I want you to witness this, every single moment,” the Goat Man said. Fire burst out of the ground wrapping around his feet, preventing him from running, as another set pried his eyes open and held him still.

The Goat Man removed a dagger and cut at Gisbo’s mother. He cut away a limb, an eye, an earlobe, pulled teeth, pulled one fingernail at a time. All the while, Gisbo watched, listened to every scream, and took in every horrible second. Little by little, darkness came around him and the boy known as Gisbo Falcon, now that his memories had come full circle, was changed forever . . .

Gisbo’s eyes turned red and burst into fire just as they had in Heaven’s Shelter, just as they had when the wolves attacked him. A force, one he wasn’t fully in control of, something beyond elemental, took him over, and he was free of the mind and matter control of his torturer, something not even Vice Dastard was prepared for. Gisbo dropped from the air and like a freed beast from a cage, Gisbo flew at him, absorbing Fao and activating his feral form. After years of being used to not being pushed back, after years of being dominant, Vice Dastard was no longer the predator, but the prey . . .

In a wicked strike, Gisbo struck out with his clawed knuckles, striking Vice right across the chin, sending him soaring like an arrow straight into the side of the canyon, spraying rock, rubble, and dust every which way.

A good six feet into the wall of the canyon itself, buried in solid stone, Vice only had enough time to scrape dust out of his eyes before Gisbo was on him again with a crazed roar. Gisbo pounded him, over and over again, into the side of the canyon as loose boulders broke free, the ground shook, and the foundation of the canyon side loosened.

Vice took it all, every shot, every elbow, every headbutt, as Gisbo went wild, seemingly growing in power with every strike but as quickly as the power surge came, it halted. Gisbo fell to the ground, grabbing at his head and pulling out clumps of his hair, screaming like a mad man. He slammed his forehead into the ground, over and over again, until he lost consciousness.

It was over.

Vice was garbed in a cracked, white energy with a few broken spots, much like how clear ice turns and fills with white when cracked. His mental force field shattered around him like falling glass. A few more blows, Vice knew, and he would have been dead.

The son of Drakearon fell on his backside and sat, catching his breath, as he stared at the motionless Gisbo and the tremor of cracks across the ground that he had caused with his own forehead and power surge. Vice placed his face in his hands and erupted into a fierce, moaning cry.

Once he had his fill and had caught his breath, Vice picked up the battered boy and carried him inside the still miraculously intact cabin and shut the door behind him.

Chapter Thirty Two:
Vice’s Story

When Gisbo awoke, he awoke screaming, only to realize he was back in the old cabin. It was all there, everything, at the front of his mind. What stood out above all was the Goat Man’s face, with his burning, red eyes afire, just like his . . .

“You’re awake,” Vice said.

“You took them away, the blocks. I remember everything,” Gisbo said.

“So you do,” Vice said.

“It wasn’t you. It never was. My father, he has no idea, and yet you took the credit for her death. Why?” Gisbo said.

“I was there, in the aftermath of her death so the crime would be finished, and the Goat Man, would be free to do as he pleased without interference,” Vice said.

“Who is he? Where is he?” Gisbo asked.

“The Goat Man?” Vice said. “Finding him is downright impossible, and even if you did, he would kill you in a second. He’s beyond any of us,”

“Why should I trust you? You killed, YOU KILLED SHAVED! I’ll never forgive you, NEVER! You want to train me? You want to train me to kill you? Then let’s get to it! Right here, right now,” Gisbo said.

“And then what? You kill me, and then what? What do you do once your friend is avenged?” Vice asked, sounding strangely calm.

“I find the Goat Man, and I kill him,” Gisbo said.

“And then what?” Vice said.

“DON’T LECTURE ME!” Gisbo screamed as he lunged at him, only to be stopped by a burst of psychic energy. “DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU, YOU BASTARD!”

“Sit down, Gisbo,” Vice said, letting out a heavy sigh. “Get it now? This is why the blocks were put into place. If you knew, you would have dedicated your life to vengeance instead of helping others. Whether you want to believe me or not, I am not your enemy, and I am not helping you. Helping you is what the Renegades do. Helping is lending a hand. I am forcing your hand, along with my own, for what NEEDS to be done,” Vice said.

Gisbo gritted his teeth, breathing hard.

“Calm down,” Vice said. “Calm yourself.”

“Screw you,” Gisbo said.

“What do you know about me, Gisbo?” Vice asked.

“That you’re a crazed maniac who killed one of my best friends!” Gisbo screamed.

“Granted. Fine then, what do you know about my father?” Vice asked. Gisbo calmed, mostly out of confusion.

“What?” Gisbo asked.

“What do you know of my daughter?” Vice asked.

Gisbo was silent.

“Nina, she is my daughter. I understand you were once an item, and yet, you broke it off with her? Ever wonder why?” Vice asked.

“I . . .” Gisbo started.

“Nina still has images of you and her together, and she’s right. You were, are, supposed to be a couple, but, without even knowing exactly why, you broke it off with her. You didn’t feel like yourself around her, you felt your blood boil. She brought out a bad side of you, whereas Kennis brought out something good. Do you know why? Because of my bloodline, because of who my father is. Your blood, infected with the Drakeness now, causes a chemical reaction with your brain whenever you’re close to her, because the Dragon should not be present within you. My father’s blood should not flow through your veins. You haven’t met yet, but I assure you, you will, and very soon. Drakearon, my father, is coming for you,” Vice said.

“You’re lying!” Gisbo said.

“See, your blood boils around me as well, Gisbo. And why the hell would I lie? Sure, I’m crazy, but I’m not nuts,” Vice said. “You already helped take away Nina’s mother. Dare you kill her father too?”

“I, I had no choice! She . . .” Gisbo stammered, grabbing at his pounding head.