Destiny (47 page)

Sliding to a stop the demon roared in fury as it whipped around to face them both. Not waiting for the monster’s next attack, Beth lunged forward with a two-handed slash at the weakened arm she’d struck earlier. As the katana cleaved through the demon’s forearm, Beth saw Captain MacRory leap past her shoulder with his blazing claymore held high above his head bellowing.

“Kanskje!” The greatsword cleaved half way through the monster’s thick neck as the demon reared back in rage and surprise. With a bellow, it backhanded the Captain away, sword and all, with its bloody stump.

Attacking from the opposite side, Ryan’s katana bit deep into the demon as he used the strength of his entire body for the strike. Ripping the blade free Ryan threw himself at the demon once again, only the demon was too fast to repeat the same attack two times in a row. As Ryan’s rune-charged katana struck at the weakened arm, the demon twisted its wrist bringing its glowing black metal blade in-line with the strike.

The results were spectacular. As soon as the opposing runes connected, the air lit up like a blown transformer. Red and blue rune-power arced between the blades as Ryan’s entire body jerked upright like he’d touched a live wire. The pulsating shower of conflicting eldritch energies ended a second later as Ryan was blasted off his feet.

With a wordless shriek, Beth lunged at the demon, striking a two-handed blow at the damaged forearm. She felt the blow through her entire body as the blade cleaved through the demon’s thick bone. Leaping back, Beth snapped into a guard position, bringing her katana up diagonally before her body as the demon lashed back.

Beth didn’t have a chance to react. One second she was standing on her feet and the next she was being pummeled into the ground. All that she could clearly remember seeing was the oozing stump leaving her face as the air whooshed out her lungs. As the arm pulled back to pound her again, a bellowing war cry rang in her ears.

“Kanskje!” Blue fire flashed over her head in a flaming arc as Captain MacRory’s claymore severed the demon’s armored head from its massive shoulders with one mighty swing.

***

Location Earth / Kane McDougal:

As the seventh demon leaped from the hole in the side of the mound, Kane shoved Hans and Wolfgang towards the beast slinging his axes through the air as once again the Ukkodians’ makeshift defensive line split like a well-oiled machine. With a yell, they charged the hulking piece of meat before it could decide on a target to charge.

Grimly Kane grinned at the loud double bong that rang out as the axe heads bounced harmlessly off the demon’s black metal helm. It was an old tactic his ancestors called ‘ringing the bell.' While the attack did nothing to hurt the demon, it had the intended result Kane wanted as the massive head swiveled in their direction. His boys split their attack to either side of the demon hacking low as Kane slid between the tree-trunk sized legs like he was going for a slide tackle scooping up his fallen axes.

Bellowing in rage the demon’s fist blades flailed at his boys in a twisting flurry of blows. As Hans and Wolfgang leaped out of the way, Kane launched himself at the demon’s back with a wordless shriek.

It didn’t matter that the demon was five meters tall or that Kane was only a little over a meter and a half on his best day. Most people were taller than Kane. Not that size had ever mattered. Being born on the bad side of town in South Limerick, Kane had been fighting larger opponents all his life, but through it all, he’d never frozen up in a fight. At least not until that first demon had looked him in the eyes. Letting the rage flow through him, Kane swore he would never let happen that again as he clambered up the demon’s back using his axes like a mountaineer’s pikes.

Planting one axe into the top of the demon’s muscular shoulder, Kane pulled himself all the way up while hacking at the thick corded neck one-handed with his second axe. Unbelievably, the glowing blade barely left a mark on the demon’s thick hide. Hooking his knee around the axe head buried in the creature’s shoulder, Kane shifted to a two-handed grip as he began raining down blow after blow on the monster’s thick corded neck. Chunks of oozing gray flesh spat out with every chop as he howled in fury. Just as it felt like he was beginning to make progress, a clawed fist backhanded him off his perch, slamming him into the ground ten meters away.

Rising to his hands and knees, Kane felt the healing energy flowing through his battered body as he staggered back to his feet. Within seconds, the blood streaming down his face slowly stopped as the jagged wounds on his forehead began closing shut. Spitting out a mouthful of blood Kane flicked the enraged demon off.

“You’d better hit harder than that if you want to hurt an Irish banger, ya bloody wanker!”

Ignoring Hans and Wolfgang slashing at its legs the demon hate-filled eyes locked onto Kane. As it lowered its head to charge, Kane blanched as another demon leaped out of the hole behind his boys. Before he could shout out a warning, the new demon’s black metal blades cut them both down.

For a second Kane couldn’t believe his eyes as the demon pounded the unmoving bodies again and again. Around him time seemed to stop as he took in the small groups of Ukkodians fighting for their lives. The original defensive line had been forced back step-by-step, splitting into smaller fighting units with each new demon arrival, until the fifth creature had clawed its way free of the hole. Thankfully the Greeks had arrived in time to catch the mob, but they too had been forced to split their ranks when demon number six joined the fight. Without Hans and Wolfgang, Kane didn’t see how he was going to stop these newest demons from overwhelming them all when the disparate plan suddenly came to him.

Taking a quick look over his shoulder to judge the distance, Kane launched himself at the charging demon as he threw his last axe at the monster that had slaughtered his boys. As the bong rang out, Kane slid between the first demon’s legs. Dodging around the second demon, Kane threw himself at the next demon climbing out of the pit. Drawing his daggers he pounced on the armored face slamming the thin blades into the demon’s red glowing eye slits. As the demon’s thick club like fingers pawed at its face, Kane back-flipped off the creature’s chest into a roll as he snatched up Han’s and Wolfgang’s large double-headed axes in each of his hands.

Spinning around Kane raced up the slope. A quick look over his shoulder confirmed that all three demons were chasing after him as he headed for the black horde at the top of the volcanic mound. As he neared the raging battle, three bloodcurdling roars blasted out behind him. The reaction was instantaneous as the entire backside of the horde suddenly whipped around in fear. The glowing red eyes that turned towards him didn’t even register Kane as they focused on the three massive demons barreling down on top of them. Immediately the black mass split open in front of Kane as the horde scattered before him shrieking and clawing at each other’s backs or leaping off the volcanic plateau in their fear to get away from the oncoming demons.

Praying to Ukko for strength Kane lifted both battle-axes over his head as a red glow began radiating from his body. Holy power flowed through is veins as the engraved runes of each bearded axe head erupted in blue fire. With a howling shriek, he threw himself at the retreating backs of the horde. Again and again, Kane tore into the bony carapaces before him swinging both battle-axes like a crazed man as he drove deeper and deeper into the packed bodies. Purple blood splattered his body with every hit as grayish-black bodies dropped to the ground in front of him with every strike.

The crunch of splintering bones and the shrieks of the dying filled the air as the horde went insane around him. Kane heard the physical concussion as the demons slammed into the horde’s compact mass behind him. Like wrecking balls, the massive red glowing blades killed indiscriminately in bloody sweeping paths of destruction as the demons chased after him in their fury.

Justified retribution thrummed through Kane’s soul as the gore and chunks of the enemy rained down around him. It was only a shame that he wouldn’t be able to take down the demon that had slaughtered his boys. Even so, Kane swore he would make these monsters pay for killing Hans and Wolfgang, even if it were the last thing he did.

A quick look behind let Kane know the desperate plan he’d come up with on the fly was almost up. If he were going to die, he might as well take as many of the evil cocksuckers with him that he could. At least, his sacrifice might give his people a chance to survive this day.

Leaping onto the back of a dying Scourge in front of him, Kane kept driving deeper into the packed mass, hacking the creatures down before they even knew he was there. Another quick jump brought him to the top of a mound of dead bodies as he turned to face the trio of demons. His energy reserves were almost spent, but he still had enough power for one last bout. As the runes of protection tattooed into his skin blazed to life, Kane held his glowing battle-axes at the ready.

“He wasn’t going out as a cladhaire!”

“Legionis procursus!” Kane almost jumped out of his skin as the words bellowed out behind him. As shrieking whistles rang out around him, the same voice bellowed again. “Cuneum formate!” Immediately a wedge of armored Minotaurs began flowing around him.

For a second Kane could only watch in shocked awe as the massive armored warriors suddenly charged, until the demons struck. With broad hacking sweeps, the demons blasted the Minotaurs aside as if they were toy soldiers. Even so, some managed to get through. Bellowing in fury, the survivors threw themselves at the demons hacking with their glowing fist blades.

Kane had been saving his last bit of juice for a killing blow before he died, but seeing the Minotaurs fighting for their lives, he used the energy for the aura he’d learned upon becoming a Keeper. The effort would drain him, but if they could take down these monsters, it would be worth it.

Concentration to share the aura with the horned warriors around him, Kane prayed to Ukko. “Kanskje.” As the red glow of the strength aura radiated out from him, the Minotaurs fighting for their lives began to glow as they received Ukko’s blessing.

Seeing the hated demon that had killed his boys stagger to its hands and knees before him, Kane dropped one of his bearded axes as he took a two-handed grip on the weapon still in his hands. With a wordless shrieked of rage, he leaped into the air as the axe head flared like a glowing beacon of wrath.

The impact drove the demon into the ground face first as the axe blade cut deep into the monster’s meaty neck. With a single-mindedness driven by loss, Kane ripped the axe-blade free and hacked again. This time taking the head completely off as the demon’s body collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Exhaustion weighed down Kane’s arms as he staggered back from the demon looking around. To either side of him were the headless corpses of the other two demons and the Minotaurs that had brought down. With a nod of thanks, Kane met the bulls’ unflinching eyes.

“Appreciate the assist, lads. What’s the plan now?”

The clank of metal behind him caught Kane’s attention as he turned around to see a large bloodstained Minotaur approaching him. Immediately he saw the sound was coming from one of the Minotaur’s fist blade that was slowly shrinking to reform into a gauntleted fist. Even more strange was the snake-like naked woman held in the bull’s arms. Coming to a stop before him, the Minotaur slammed a closed fist to his chest in salute.

“Fortitudinem, et honorem, Paladin. Et nesciebat Klavikians fecisset in terra.” (Strength and honor, Paladin. We did not know the Klavikians had made a place on earth.)

Wide-eyed, Kane hesitantly returned the fist salute. “You know, I didn’t catch any of that except the word Paladin.” As the lead bull’s head jerked back in surprise at his words, Kane saw the other Minotaurs tense around him. Studying Kane’s face intently, the large bull tried again.

“Tu es Paladin es Ukko an non? (Are you or are you not a Paladin of Ukko?)

There were only seven words and he even recognized two of them, but still Kane had no idea how to answer the large bull. Before he could think of something smart to say, a redheaded female sergeant stepped up with two other Marines at her back. All three of them looked like they’d been through the ringer. Covered in blood and dirt, they gripped their assault rifles in both hands surveying the carnage. As the female sergeant placing a callused hand on the lead Minotaur’s forearm, Kane read the name Driscoll on her uniform as she gave him an appraising look.

“Permitte me ut auxiliemini transferendum, Decanus Natalinus.” (Allow me to help translate, Decanus Natalinus.)

“I just wanted to say that was pretty impressive. Especially for an old man.”

Kane frowned as he tried to place the tone of her voice. The sergeant’s meaning was obvious as she nodded towards the pile of dead creatures behind him, but it was sometimes hard to know with Americans.

“Let me buy you a drink sometime and you’ll see I’m not all that old, lass.”

The large black Marine behind the sergeant gave Kane a warning glare as he angrily tried to shove past her to get at him. “Just answer the question you Mick-“

“Enough, Lance Corporal!”

Kane could see the man wanted to say more, but instead of pushing past her outstretched arm, the Marine stepped back with a sullen frown. Looking back at Kane a smirk played across the sergeant’s lips as she jerked her chin towards the large Minotaur on her other side.

“The big guy here wants to know if you’re a Paladin of Ukko. How about you start explaining what the hell that means and how you managed all of that by yourself?”