From Hell with Love (46 page)

Niccolo breathed out quickly as he moved and continued running, knowing that if he stayed there, the club would find its way into his skull sooner or later.  Niccolo was proved correct in his assumption as he felt the air behind him whip around, but he wasted no time patting himself on the back.  As he ran toward another of Balam’s soldiers, his bastard sword bubbled into existence.  The soldier tried to sweep Niccolo’s legs out from under him with an axe, but was rewarded by Niccolo jumping into the air and thrusting a blade directly through his mouth, the leper’s entire body slamming forward as he fell.  Niccolo landed on top of the corpse with his feet on the demon’s shoulders, yanking out his blade before the body even came to rest.

With a short breath to gather his composure, Niccolo turned to find the street had devolved into chaos.  Although Balam had decided to stay back from the carnage, all of his men were scattered around them and most of their focus was on the large, four-armed creature the Horsemen had recruited.  Moloch seemed to be having the time of his life, crushing the most foolish and throwing some of the others through the air.  Niccolo looked back down to find that Cadmus was fighting off a trio of the brutes, their axes and clubs falling around him, which caused him to worry.  That fear was proved groundless when Cadmus tricked one of the demons to throw its double-headed axe deep into the gut of one of the other brutes and then rolled underneath a wild swing from another, bringing the blade of his scythe across the soft tissue of the demon’s knee.

Niccolo almost smiled at his friend’s work before letting his gaze wander over to the Amazon, who was in a duel with the feline king.  His mind filled with worry as he already saw blood flowing from scratches to her face and exposed skin and noticed the deep rents that had been made in the armor Cimeries had bothered to wear.  He was about to help the woman when he saw two of Balam’s cronies rushing toward him, one wielding a great sword and the other a ball and chain.

“Shit,” he muttered before running at them, his sword held along his right side.  When they were close enough, the brute with the great sword leapt with an overhand, two-handed strike while the demon with the ball and chain continued to run forward.  Niccolo ducked to the left side, letting the blade fall just to the right of his arm, and then sprang forward at the first opportunity.  The creature was not prepared for Niccolo’s sudden leap, which allowed the leper to plant his foot onto the demon’s bended knee.  He smiled as the other warrior did exactly what he needed him to, sending the ball and chain toward him.

Niccolo pushed off of the demon’s knee and leapt straight up, twisting in the air as the spiked, iron ball slammed into the other brute’s armored torso, sending the demon staggering backward and falling to the street.  Niccolo used the midair opportunity to drive the point of his sword down, using his weight to slam the green blade through the demon’s chest.  With a cry of pain, the warrior realized that Niccolo’s bastard sword had impaled his heart, causing him to fall back as his life left him.

Niccolo did not have the time to relish his kill, so he tried to remove the green blade from the corpse of his enemy.  After a second, Niccolo realized that was not going to happen and panicked before leaping back, seeing the heavy, iron ball slam into the demonic corpse and crush its rib cage.  The leper scrambled to his feet just in time for the demon’s partner to lift the weapon menacingly, saliva dripping from its ruined mouth.

“This won’t be so easy, Horseman.  I’ll break all of your bones.  Make you feel unbearable pain.  I’ll make you wish-” he threatened, but after the first statement Niccolo did not really need to pay attention, as he knew this was the kind of person who valued words over actions.  The leper ran forward, shocking the demon with the ball and chain enough to hesitate, and gritted his teeth.  The creature had raised his weapon and sent the ball into its circular motion, but Niccolo knew that was not going to matter.  Before the demon was able to aim his weapon into Niccolo’s skull, the leper had thrown out his demonic arm and jammed his claws into the man’s mouth, curling his fingers so black nails dug into the soft flesh of the demon’s lower jaw.

“I wish you would stop talking,” Niccolo said with a smirk before clenching his fist and throwing his twisted arm to the floor, instantly dislocating the demon’s jaw.  The brute cried in pain and horror as Niccolo withdrew his hand, causing the man's jaw to hang limply by the skin of his face.  Niccolo then threw a right hook into the man’s head, causing him to go flying and lie still on the street.  Sighing in disgust, Niccolo gave one last look to his enemy; he could stay alive for now.

Suddenly remembering the situation, Niccolo jumped over to the corpse of its partner and grabbed the handle of his blade tightly.  He withdrew the bastard sword with a small bit of effort and then tried to run toward Cimeries, who seemed to be having difficulty with Viné.  He was stopped in his tracks by a violent rumbling, which caused him to look back to his left.  Balam stood there with his mouth foaming, enraged by what he had just seen.

“You’re
mine
, human,” the demon king roared before swatting one of his soldiers aside, his body crashing through a nearby wall, and then ran toward Niccolo on all four legs.  The leper tried to react, but against any presumptions he could make about Balam’s size, the demonic king was remarkably fast.  Before Niccolo could do much more than bring his green blade vertical, Balam threw his right paw against Niccolo’s left side, sending the bastard sword out of his grip and making him tumble end over end.

Niccolo tried to roll over so that he could face his enemy head-on and set his feet down to gain traction.  However, it proved to be too much, causing him to tumble over again, but he found his bearings once more and used his demonic arm to stop his momentum, deep trenches forming as he dragged his nails along the ground.  He stood up just in time to find Balam standing over him, about to slam his arms down on top of Niccolo.

“It’s over!” the fallen shouted before throwing his fists down, intent on crushing the former human.  Niccolo did the only thing he could think of and made himself as narrow as possible before jumping straight up.  He almost couldn’t believe it when he made it through the gap created between Balam’s left arm and his gaping mouth, but he sprang into action as soon as he cleared the fallen’s body.

Throwing his demonic arm outwards to gain purchase, Niccolo wrapped his legs around the demon king’s neck and grabbed a handful of arrows from the quiver on his back.

“That all you got?” he shouted before slamming the arrows down into Balam’s spine, hoping to destroy the bundled nerve tissue and end the fight early.  The demonic bear roared in protest and reared up on his hind legs, trying to throw Niccolo off balance, but he just squeezed his thighs tighter and dug his claws in further.  He took out the arrows quickly before stabbing them back into Balam’s neck, watching blood and loose skin flying out of the wounds he had just created.

Balam roared before bringing up his front paws and using his nails to tear into Niccolo’s calf muscles behind his grieves.  The scale armor was nothing to the demonic king, so Niccolo felt his legs being torn apart and released the pressure from his thighs.  Before he could react, Niccolo was thrown from the demon king’s back and rolled along the ground, feeling blood seeping out of his legs.  When he looked up, the bundle of arrows still in his hand, he found Balam breathing heavily ten yards away from him.

“Not bad,
human
,” Balam said, his chest heaving after his ordeal.  Niccolo had not noticed, but his demonic hand had actually dug deep into the bear’s eye socket, chunks of skin had been torn out of his face and the eye itself hung loosely from its retinal cord.  Balam twisted his neck, cracking his spine before sniffing, which somehow drew the eye back into its socket.

“You should…see me on a good day,” Niccolo joked, trying to pick himself up as his useless legs were splayed out behind him.  He wanted to die on his knees, at the very least.

“There are no more days for you, human.  I’ll see to
that
!” Balam shouted before rearing on his hind legs, the very air vibrating throughout the street.  Niccolo could only watch as the hulking demon king seemed to grow large, in fact he
was
growing larger, and the leper realized Balam had been taking it easy on him.  The beast roared again, its goat teeth growing in prominence as his lips retreated and his gums jutted forward, creating an absurd mouth for the creature.  Balam’s horns also grew larger, twisting outward as they did and then jutting forward just like his teeth.  After gaining three times his already huge amount of body mass, Balam seemed to be done with his transformation.  The demon king stalked toward his prey, knowing that Niccolo could not move with his legs torn up from the last attack.

“JUST FOR THE INSULT, HUMAN,” Balam said, his voice even louder than usual.  “JUST FOR THE COUNCIL, I’LL EAT YOU IN TWO BITES.  I’LL LET YOU LOOK AT YOUR FILTHY GUTS BEFORE ENDING IT.”  The beast walked forward, the ground shaking with every step, and soon its massive face was just a few feet above Niccolo, Balam's saliva dripping onto the ground all around him.

“At least it will be better than looking at your face,” Niccolo said as he brought himself up to kneel.  The goat mouth chuckled as it came nearer, but Niccolo was suddenly battered with the king’s cry of pain and the stale, terrible breath that came with it.  Balam’s head rose up and away from Niccolo, which caused the Horseman to wonder what had happened, but it only took a glance to see what had happened.

“WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?” Balam roared, shaking the entire street, but Niccolo was not looking at the massive demon; he was staring at the naked man on the emaciated horse.  Niccolo could only take in the sight of the dirty man holding a shield on his left arm and a spear in his right hand, a spear that was buried deep in the bear’s chest.

“You’re in my quarter, Balam.  If anyone is allowed to be angry, it’s me,” Diogenes said as he tried to push the spear in deeper, but the Horseman did not have the chance.  The spear was pulled out of his hand as Balam turned, eventually slamming his head into the horse beneath the philosopher.  The naked man went flying from the impact, but he used the momentum with grace, scrambling to his feet after just a moment.  His horse was not so lucky.

“NOT MUCH OF A HORSEMAN, ARE YOU?” Balam teased, rearing back onto his hind legs and throwing back his head to let blood drip into his mouth.  Impaled on his horns and squealing weakly was Diogenes’ horse.  “THIS ONE TASTES GOOD.”

“I hope you enjoy it,” Diogenes said before winding his right arm, sending an audible “pop” through the din of battle.  “Despair’s so skinny that there’s not much blood in her.”

“Do you,” Niccolo started in shock, watching as Despair languished on Balam’s horns before turning to the Horseman of Famine, “do you even care that she’s in pain?”  The philosopher lazily turned to him and scoffed at the question.

“Of course I do,” he said before shrugging and turning back to the massive demon.  “I just know that this
king
will die very soon.”

“GRAND WORDS, HUMAN.  YOU CAN LIVE IF YOU JUST WALK AWAY,” Balam said before lowering back to all fours and chuckling menacing.  Diogenes just yawned before walking forward, unimpressed by the demon king.

“At the very least, I have to get my horse,” he said lazily before springing into action.  Niccolo could barely believe the Horseman’s skill as he sprinted forward, moving so fast that Balam did not even have a chance to lower his head.  Diogenes jumped onto the demon’s front leg and grabbed handfuls of brown fur before scrambling up to Balam’s grotesque head.  The demon made a few confused sounds of protest before the Greek shoved himself in between the bear’s skull and the body of his horse, preparing for the next maneuver.

Balam was thrown back by the force Diogenes was able to create with his legs and Niccolo watched as the demon crashed to the street, sending vibrations throughout the scene, and Diogenes, holding Despair, landed on the ground.  The Horseman quietly said a few words before lowering Despair, patting the ailing horse’s heaving chest and then standing back up.

“WHO…WHO ARE YOU?!” Balam roared in confusion, turning over so he could stand once more.  The philosopher slowly walked toward his enemy, not intimidated by the massive creature which could swallow him whole.

“What does it matter who kills you?  You’ll still be dead,” Diogenes said, drawing a panicked roar from the demon.  The Horseman kept a stone face, standing there as the deadly king ran toward him roaring as he went.  Niccolo shakily got to his feet, desperate to help his fellow Horseman now that his legs were partially healed, but he did not have enough time to help the man.

Fortunately, Diogenes did not need it.  The philosopher ran underneath Balam’s snapping jaws and took hold of his spear before pulling it out, drawing a scream from the demon.  The bear tried to fall onto the Horseman in order to crush him, but Diogenes leapt out of the way before jumping onto the fallen’s back, shoving his spear through Balam’s neck.  When the bear rose onto his rear legs, Niccolo was surprised to see Diogenes staring at him from the demon’s shoulder.

“SHOOT HIM!  RIGHT IN HIS HEART!” Diogenes shouted, causing Niccolo to scan down the bear’s massive frame.  Blood was pouring out of the hole, but the leper realized why Diogenes needed his help.  The demon’s heart was just too far inside its body for Diogenes’ spear to reach it.  Niccolo wasted no time before grabbing the bow from his back, grateful that he still held the bunch of arrows in his right hand.

The Horseman of Pestilence deftly nocked three of the arrows against the string, dropping the rest, and then focused on Balam’s massive body.  As he breathed out in that last second, Niccolo doubted that three arrows would be able to do much to a demon king, but then he felt something stirring within him.  Indignation and rage, pride and wrath seemed to flow out of his heart, making Niccolo realize that he was not alone in this strike.  Feeling the lion’s strength of Valefor become his own, Niccolo roared before loosing the arrows from his bow.