The Willbreaker (Book 1) (45 page)

The Guardians ripped through the wild men, destroying them without prejudice. They crushed their weak bones with massive fists, pounded them with endless punches, and buried them into the earth as they stepped over them to get to the next one.

Reinhold reached the first Guardian with sword drawn. The Guardian reached for him with four arms as the other two rose above him in clenched fists. With a single upward swing, the Heart of the King separated the beast’s arms from his body. The Guardian’s arms flew off to the side as Cedric whipped his sword around and slammed it straight down into the monster’s chest. With a spray of blood, the Guardian whaled out and its chest cavity separated in two, falling backwards into death.

Another Guardian leaped at the King from twenty paces off, flying through air with all fists ready to smash its target. Cedric raised the Heart of the King, pointing it at the incoming beast and with a scream, “No!”, an invisible force hit the Guardian like a battering ram against a castle door, throwing him backwards across the battlefield.

Cedric stepped backwards, avoiding the crushing blow from another Guardian. Dirt and bloody mud exploded from the impact as the Guardian’s hand crashed down into empty earth. With a twist of his body and gripping his sword with both hands, Cedric swung the sword into the mid-section of the Guardian, cleaving it cleanly in half at its waist.

Templars and wild men, man and lizard men, all fell to the giant six-armed monsters. Arrows and swords bounced off their skin like sticks on leather. Their sheer size and extra arms made them problematic to even the most trained and skilled of warriors.

Janga arrived at the wagon-cage, eyeing the man within with suspicious eyes. Bram looked at him from under his brow, obviously not caring. 

“Things are getting exciting out there, aren’t they
Janga
,” Bram said sarcastically.

“You are the Avatar of War. You seek the thrill of advanced combat, your movements in tuned with the movements of another, with the first to fall behind in the dance becoming the one who loses everything. It’s a challenging and exciting game that you play, but I would be willing to bet that this game of yours has become dull and unexciting. No one can stand against the blades of the Avatar of War.”

Bram’s brow relaxed as a small smile grew on the side of his mouth. “I am not interested in falling for your manipulations. What is it you want, boy?”

Janga cut right to the point. “I want to make a deal.”

“I do not make deals.”

“An offer, then.” Janga proposed. “As we speak, the greatest war of this century is raging in the plains ahead of us, and you sit, here, locked up in this cage.”

“I am aware of my situation,
Janga
.”

“We both know, even with all of your power, you are stuck in here. I can offer you something that you want and it just so happens that you can offer me something that I want.”

“I’m listening.”

“We were winning this war until, well, look for yourself.”

Bram slowly turned his head to peer at the battlefield. The Kella’Dune Guardians washed over Reinhold’s forces like a tidal wave. The King’s forces split up, some choosing to stay in attempt to buy the others time and the others who followed the King’s order to flee.

“So here is my deal. I will make it only once and you must take it or leave it, because I am needed on the battlefield. I will offer you your freedom, escape from this cage, and release from your custody. In return, you will fight against Aurora’s monsters,
only
Aurora’s monsters. You must grant our forces liberty from your destruction. Once this is over, you will either be dead or you will have your freedom. Either way, I think it’s a good deal. Take it or leave it.”

“So I help you kill the Guardians and you let me leave? How do you know I won’t go against my word and destroy you all?”

“I don’t, but that is a risk I will take if you give me your word. Now, what is it?”

The Avatar of War put his hands on his blades and stood up in the small cage with a smile.

              The Avatar of War walked from the small encampment as Reinhold’s men moved clear of him. Bram’s brow pointed and the small smile on his face showed a slight glimmer of his teeth. He looked out upon the action in the field ahead: giant six-armed monsters, many times larger than their enemy, smashed and crushed the small humans and elves that gave resistance. The flinging body of a Templar went airborne over the group of Guardians and smashed into a busted pike barrier. Another Templar held his ground against one of the monsters, quickly avoiding the incoming hammer fists and slashing tirelessly at the body of the Guardian, to no avail. The Guardian attacked with his upper arms causing the Templar to strafe to his left, right into the open hands of the Guardians lower arms. The monster picked him up as the Templar brought his polearm down into the Guardian’s face. In a single swift motion, the giant beast slammed his hands together, instantly crushing the elf and killing him.

              Reinhold lead the attack, each swing lopping off limbs and separating thick torsos from tree-like legs. He downed the monsters left and right, but even with his small victories, this battle could not be won. Reinhold’s forces could not withstand the size and power of the Kella’Dune. Their six-armed attacks overwhelmed many of the great fighters. This battle would be over shortly.

              Bram walked onto the battlefield. Crossing his arms to the opposing hips, he wrapped his fingers tightly around the grips of his two glimmering swords, withdrawing and pointing them towards the wall of incoming beasts. With a yell, he began to run.

              Step after step, leaping as fast and far as possible, Bram leaned forward as he ran, pushing him ever closer to the Guardians. Leaping over fallen bodies and torn up earth, Bram pressed off the ground with his legs as he neared the back of the human resistance, thrusting him high into the air. Right arm back, muscles tense and ready to unleash their stored up energy, Bram released his power. The explosion rang clear within his mind, dampening all other sounds on the battlefield. The pull of gravity against his flying body eased as he froze in midair. The battle ahead and below him stilled in a single frame of action; swords in mid-swing, falling warriors caught in an invisible web, and the spray of blood from dying elves and men captured and unmoving. Silence rang within the Avatar’s ears. Bram took it all in; where he would land, who fought ahead of him, and the arc of swinging blades. He calculated his moves, for only his mind had immunity from his power that slowed all action around him. His thoughts raced like lightning as all others fell into the slow quicksand of his amazing power.

              Time inched forward slowly as Bram maneuvered his blade through three out-stretched giant arms that reached for the King, seizing the small opening he saw to bring his magical blade into the side of the Guardian’s head. His blade contacted with the beast’s face, spurting blood outward in a thick mist as the blade moved through the beast’s skull, cleaving the top of its head off.

              As the half-headed Guardian tipped backwards, Bram planted his foot into its chest, leaping off towards another one. Arms outward like wings and blades pointing straight ahead of him, Bram collided into the side of the beast, ramming the blade in his left hand into the beasts ribcage and plunging the blade in his right hand into its back. Bram buried both blades up to the guards, and with a “schick” he pulled them back out, covered in blood.

              Another Guardian roared as it tried to grab Bram, but his ever slow movements indicated his every move. Bram ducked into the beast as its hands shot over his head, stepping to the side to avoid the beast’s incoming leg. Bram put all of his might into an upward thrust, blades first, and sank both of them into the gut of the monster, pushing them upward towards the Guardian’s chest until both blades vanished. With a quick tug, Bram withdrew his weapons and stepped away as the beast toppled over towards him.

              The army of giants inched towards him ever so slowly. In the group of incoming Guardians, Bram turned his head to catch the eyes of a particular Guardian. The giant beast had its sight locked on him and in each of his six arms, he clutched various weapons from the battlefield. Gripped in his upper two arms, the beast held two mighty hammers. His mid-arms branded two-handed claymores, and his bottom set of arms held the polearms of the Blade Maidens. This beast could smash, cut, or skewer him. Bram smiled at the thought.

              The Avatar of War rushed forward towards his new target. Like a mouse, he avoided the passing Guardians that stood in the way between him and the armed Guardian. The Guardian moved towards him in a straight line as well, obviously seeking to end him.

              Bram watched the Guardian meticulously. He watched how the beast planted his feet, how each arm swung in stride carrying its weapons, how his body tilted from left to right as it moved, and how its hips twisted with each forward movement of its legs. 

              For those in real time, the distance between the Avatar and the Kella’Dune Guardian closed quickly. The gigantic conqueror swept both polearms wide towards Bram, lunging the claymores directly towards his chest while bringing the hammers down in an overhead swing; a single attack with six weapons that would normally be unavoidable.

              With cat-like grace, Bram bent backwards as the polearms swept over his chest. The claymores shot over his mid-section, leaving small cuts along his belly in passing as he bridged backwards, bracing his fall with his hands on the ground over his head. As the mighty swords split, Bram kicked his feet away from the beast, throwing momentum into a leap that flipped him over as the two hammers crushed the ground where he stood a fraction of a second ago.

              The Guardian stood tall and roared, holding his weapons high as his muscles pounded and pulsed with the energy of battle. Bram watched the Guardian and saw the bends in his legs tense, the balance of his arms shift and the arch in his back straighten. He prepared to leap, and Bram moved to avoid it. The Guardian bounded upwards, moving through the air with all weapons raised, ready to bring them down up the Avatar.

              Bram bounded ahead, running underneath the flying beast and turning around so he faced the Guardian as he landed. With lightning strokes, Bram brought his blades down upon the Guardian’s back repeatedly, splitting him open like an onion. The beast arched his back, attempting to get away from the Avatar but Bram leaped on him, swinging his blade around the beast’s neck. Grabbing the tip of the blade with his other hand, Bram pulled the blade towards him, severing the head of the Kella’Dune.

              Brandon, Jasmine, and Edward ran inside the city. The streets were cobbled and besides the damage of war, the city appeared immaculate and well maintained. As they scuttled down the main road, staying close to the roads edge, Jasmine jerked on Brandon’s shirt, motioning to one of the large towers ahead that overlooked the city. The tower, a white marble beacon within the city, rose upwards towards the heavens.  Everything in Orlimay seemed to be made from marble or granite. This would be a beautiful place to visit, if someone besides Aurora governed it.

              Brandon looked upward at the tower. “There are five of those here. Aurora has to be in one of them. I guess we’ll start there.”

              Edward grabbed ahold of Brandon’s arm. “What exactly is your plan if she’s in there?” He looked at Brandon with soft eyes.

              Brandon sighed and his eyes dropped to the ground. “I don’t really know. I just know I have to try and stop her. I haven’t actually thought about the details of it.”

              “Well, perhaps you should,” Edward said bluntly.

              “We’ve come too far to mess up now,” Jasmine added.

              Brandon nodded. “Alright. Aurora is going to have her personal guards around her, the Lash Lords, in addition she may also have Guardians. I also wouldn’t be surprised if she has other Gifted with her as well. That’s a whole lot of mess to handle at once.”

              Edward pointed again to the tower. “Aurora has to be hiding in one of those towers. She would have a visual advantage point from up there. She would also be able to use her powers at a distance. We just have to find out which one she is in. Until we know that, it does not really matter what we plan on doing. I think we need to split up. If we stick to alleyways and back roads, we should be able to avoid too much trouble.”

              “I do not think that is such a good idea. We will not stand a chance if we get caught alone in here,” Brandon said.

              “But time is important, and I am not too sure we can afford examining the towers one at a time. Besides, we will be spotted much easier if we stay in a group. Jasmine should not have any problems here, being female, and I am pretty good at moving through areas unseen. My only concern is if
you
can handle it, Brandon?” Edward looked at Brandon with a small smirk on his face.

              “This is not something to joke about, but you are probably right. Aurora’s forces should all be outside fending off Reinhold.” Brandon turned his head to make sure no one approached. “Check out the towers, then meet back here in twenty minutes. Stick to the less obvious paths and stay hidden. Edward, I need you to stay here.”

              Edward stood up, ready to move, when he looked down at Brandon with surprise.

              “Why? We stand a much better chance to find…”

              “I want you to stay here and watch for Blue. We are going to need his help. It will be easy to hide here and stay out of danger.”

              Edward tried to protest but his words were cut short. “Look, Edward, we are going to need Blue. We do not know what lies ahead of us, and I know I can trust you to bring him to me. You found me twice before and there is no one else in this world who I trust more. Do you think you can do this? For me?” Brandon reached his hand out and placed it on Edward’s shoulder.

              The hardness of Edward’s brow softened. “Yes, Brandon. I will make sure Blue and I are with you when you need us.”

              “Thank you, friend. Jasmine, it is up to us to find out which tower the Empress is in. Do not do anything reckless, just poke around. If there is an excess of guards, there is a good chance that is the tower we are looking for. Do not do anything by yourself. Do not be a hero. We all need to survive if we stand any chance of facing Aurora.”

              Jasmine looked at Brandon attentively and gave him a small nod.

              “There are five towers like that one scattered throughout the city. I saw them from the tree line,” Brandon said, pointing to the tower. We need to check all of them. Get an idea of what each tower has for defenses and then meet back here in twenty minutes.”

              “Got it, I will be careful,” Jasmine added with a smile.

              “Edward, are you good?”

              “Yes, please, travel even the back roads with caution. We are in the heart of evil here, everyone in this place is your enemy, armed or not.”

              Brandon and Jasmine both nodded. “It seems that the towers are spread out evenly throughout the city. If you head that way,” he said, pointing through the alley closest to them, “cross a handful of streets and you should be at another tower. Start there. I’ll start here and we will circle the city until we meet at the middle tower.”

              “Got it,” she said, standing up in the alleyway.

              Brandon gave one more reassuring look at Jasmine and Edward and then in a half crouch, hurried along the buildings down the road. Jasmine cleared half of the alleyway before Edward turned back towards the city gates.

              As he scuttled down the edge of the perfectly cobbled road, Edward saw the plumes of unsettled dust and dirt surrounding the once intact gate and guard wall. Now, the towering section of the guard wall that housed the gate sat in crumbled pieces, spread across the roadway and out into the plains. The guard towers on either side of the wall lay in mounds and heaps of broken and crushed brick and stone.

              Lifeless bodies, dressed in the signature armor of Empress Aurora, lay scattered about, some out in the open and others partially buried under the piles of rubble. As Edward looked upon the area, movement within the hazy air caught his attention. It was Blue!

              Blue picked through the rubble, appearing to be looking for something. As Edward stepped out onto the road, Blue’s head perked up, fists clenched, ready for another round. As his blue eyes fell upon the old man, joy replaced ferocity. Blue held onto a thick metal bar in his lower right hand. It appeared that he used it to cause some of the destruction at the gate. Blue moved over to greet Edward. To Edward’s surprise, Blue ran up to him and embraced him tightly within his arms.

              “Ha! Easy there, big guy! I am glad to see you, too!” Blue pressed Edward out to arm’s length away so he could look at him. Blue’s eyes rose, looking over the top of Edward’s head. The smile on his giant face slowly turned to anger. With a quick shove, Edward hit the road and rolled against the wall.

              The thunderous crack of the metal whip, topped with a spinning blade, caused Blue to roar out in pain. Blood flowed from his collar bone down to his stomach from the wound. If Edward stood there, he would have been cut in two.