Read Sacrifice: The Demontouched Saga (Book 5) Online
Authors: Douglas Wayne
Sacrifice: The Demontouched Saga (Book 5) (8 page)
“NO!” I shout, focusing on pulling the steel tipped cleats. Thanks to my powers, I clear the wall of flame by nearly five feet before bringing myself safely to the ground.
At this point, Sara is on the ground, no longer arrogant or as smooth of a fighter as she once was. The moment I hear her cries I know the asshole left her to deal with the rest.
“It ends,” Michael says, pulling his angel blade out of the sheath on his back. It is a large sword, easily six feet tall, that shines with a piercing white light. He lifts the blade over his head, preparing to bring it down into her skull.
With my own blade out, I run forward once again, putting every ounce of energy I have into the quickest sprint of my life. I reach their side right in time to get my sword in the way to parry the blow.
“What is the meaning of this?” Michal says, his eyes full of rage.
“She was possessed,” I say. “You removed the demon. Now let her go.”
Michael laughs, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. “She will never be free until she is dead.”
“You can change that. You can exorcise Israfil from her body!”
“Why would I want to do that?” he says. “So he can possess another?” He takes a few steps back, bringing his sword to bear in front of him. “No. He will die here today.”
With my blades at the ready, I stand in front of the injured Sara. “You’ll have to go through me.”
Michael laughs again. “In a hurry to die?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“So be it,” Michael says, swinging his blade at me with an underhanded motion.
I picked one hell of a time to pick a fight with an angel.
Swinging my sword to the side, I parry the blow before going for a counterattack he easily dodges.
“Not bad, Demontouched. Ezekiel taught you well.”
Angered at hearing the name, I move in for a strike just to take a fist in the nose which causes my eyes to water up immediately.
“Don’t be angry, little one. You will be with him soon.”
I wipe the tears from my eyes in time to see him swinging his blade at a wide arc, giving me no time to react. My heart sinks as my body awaits the feel of the blade as it cuts me in two.
“Back off of him!” Sara shouts, creating a barrier of flame in front of me. Michael, seeing the threat stopped his swing in time to avoid the fire.
“As you see, Demontouched. Your friend is long gone.”
“Oh no, I’m here Michael,” she says. “With a little help.”
I let a smile reach my lips knowing she is back in my corner. With any luck she can keep Israfil in check long enough to finish this fight, then I can draw him out.
Michael, backs up to keep both of us in front of him, though runs out of room when his back hits the wall.
“Very well,” he says, slamming the hilt of his blade on the top of the wall. The force of the blow splits the sword in two equal halves, which he wields in each hand with a smile.
I launch at the angel with a thrust to his gut. The blow misses its mark but aided by a blast of flame from Sara, Michael is unable to counterattack.
For the next few minutes our fight continues much like this, with either side gaining a definite advantage. Michael is good. Much better than any being I’ve ever fought. I need to end this quick though. One of us can keep this dance up for much longer than the other.
With a last ditch effort, Michael takes a swing at Sara, giving me an opening. I swing my sword in a wide arc at the angel, putting a nice deep gash in his abdomen. My victory is short lived, however, when I notice Sara’s body on the ground pinned to the ground with one of his swords through her shoulder. She is crying out on the ground as Michael holds his his innards in his vessel, thanks to my deep cut.
“It’s over,” I say, kicking his remaining sword away. “Nobody has to die here today.”
There are very few things that can really push me over the edge, but Michael tests my patience with another booming laugh.
“It’s too late for her.”
The moment I look down at her on the ground, her eyes roll back into her head as she convulses on the charred ground.
“Save her!” I shout though I really want to finish him off.
“Why would I want to do that?”
“Because you are an angel,” I say. “You were sent here to protect us.”
Michael laughs once more causing me to grip the hilt of my sword even tighter.
“I was sent to kill my brothers that left the heavens, not to protect your pathetic kind.”
My anger gets the best of me and I give him a power induced backhand, thanks to the knife in my hand.
“Do it now or…!”
“Or what?” he says. “You’ll kill me?”
At this point it is taking every ounce of my being to keep from thrusting the blade of my sword through this asshole’s chest. Lord knows he deserves it by now. If I had a way to save Sara on my own, I would do it without a second thought. It pisses me off to need someone like this.
Michael shifts off of his knees, opting to sit his ass on the ground before opening his mouth once again.
“I will make you a deal, Demontouched.”
“I thought you weren’t happy with my last one.”
“I wasn’t. But you did it for the love of another.” He coughs for a few moments before talking again. “I will remove the blade and heal her completely in one condition.”
“Name it.”
“I remove Israfil.”
“Done!” I say, letting a smile reach my lips.
“And Einuir.”
The moment I hear that name, my knees buckle causing my stomach to drop with it. It’ll hard enough to close the portal with my powers. We won’t stand a chance if I don’t have them.
But when I notice her body stop moving, I know the decision I have to make.
“Done,” I say, lowering my head. The tears start shortly after. He doesn’t even give me the dignity to watch him bring her back, instead causing me to black out as he rips away part of my being.
Part of my soul.
- 13 -
When I finally wake up I find myself in the back of my Expedition, lying next to Sara. I roll over and caress her face with my hand, but she doesn’t move. Whatever Michael did to her, I only hope it didn’t kill her. I know I wasn’t able to save everyone I tried it on.
Stepping out of the car, I have to shield my eyes from the bright morning sun. Once my eyes adjust I take a look at my surroundings to see I’m parked in the middle of the highway. Which highway is another question though I’d guess I’m still close to Chicago considering the size of the surrounding buildings.
“Where are we?” Sara asks, causing me to rush to her side in the back of the ride.
“Safe now,” I say.
She looks up at me with a smile before allowing me to help her out of the back.
“I don’t want to freak you out, but you haven’t been with us for a while now.”
She nods her head. “The last thing I remember is you cutting me free.”
“Good,” I say. “Because the demon who possessed you did horrible things.”
I see a tear form in the corner of her eye I wipe away before allowing any more to flow.
“It wasn’t your fault,” I say.
She looks up at me, struggling to smile.
“It wasn’t. You didn’t ask for him to take over.”
“But I wore the amulet even though you warned me not to.”
“Not the same.” I say, pacing a few steps. “You couldn’t have known what they had planned.”
I know deep down she may have gone anyways. Nal was in a position of wanting to help the survivors and needed someone with some firepower to help. With me laid up with a broken leg, she took up the mantle and hit the streets. She only did what any self respecting human being would have in her position.
I take that back.
Most of them would have run far and hard the other way.
That’s that makes her special.
I bend over and lift her chin with my finger. “We need to go back now,” I say. “Nal and the others are in danger and need my help.”
She nods her head before standing up. “Our help.”
I smile. “I’d prefer it that way, but I wasn’t going to volunteer you without asking.”
We both get in the car and I tear down the road. While I may no longer have my powers, I still have my life. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to give them that without a fight.
I look over at Sara when we cross through Springfield and smile. If today is the day I’m going to die, I couldn’t ask for better company.
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Follow Mitch as he fights to keep humanity out of the hands of demonkind.
The Complete Demontouched Saga
The Demontouched Saga
The Nephalem Files
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
I can remember the first fantasy book I read as a kid. It was Dragons of Autumn Twilight and the rest of the Dragonlance Chronicles. Raistlin, Tas, Tanis, and the rest of the cast had me putting my name on the list to borrow the book at least once a year at my school library. From the first read I fell in love.
From there my love of fantasy turned into a love of gaming. Dungeons and Dragons, Rift, and Shadowrun firmly had my attention throughout my teenage years. There was hardly a week… a day when my friends and I didn’t sit down to play something. Even when we weren’t playing, we had a blast just creating characters or talking about the settings.