Chapter Twenty Nine
The largest shadow at the back picked speed and hurtled to the front. Her essence could barely keep up with the deluge of input. She could feel and sense everything. The rustling of the smallest blade of grass to the squawk of the largest birds in the air; she was at one with nature.
She enjoyed moments like these the most. When she could shed her haggard mortal form, which had been severely battered by age, she’d transcended, at one with the elements and disturbingly part of everything.
The surroundings whizzed by at a breathtaking speed. They rose higher, climbing to high altitudes where the air was thinnest. Their speed was fastest at this height. Seconds ticked into minutes and minutes into an hour and they descended falling below a hundred feet. The familiar landscape of Oraromi came into view.
Cold and mist mixed in a chaotic miasma. Visibility was basically zero. The fortunate thing was creatures like them did not need to see with their eyes.
Miles ahead they heard the roar of the Evonso spirit. It was too far away to be heard by human ears. Luckily, there wasn’t much human left in any of them anymore.
“Get ready__” her words were like the lowest whisper of air. Even the sensitive hearing of a wild cat couldn’t have picked up her words if it wanted to.
Long razor sharp talons sprouted from their fingers. A few of her minions grew large and bulbous, standing close to twenty feet tall with long razor sharp scythes whose blades were shrouded with thick black smoke.
Her glowing red eyes grew dull and brooding. Even with the arsenal at their disposal _ she couldn’t help questioning if this was a war they could win.
The Evonso spirit roared again. It was closer, about half a mile if her senses could be trusted. Fifteen inch glinting claws pushed themselves out from under her skin. It was time to go to WAR.
The Evonso spirit hurtled between a thick cluster of tall teak trees with almost two hundred infected racing after it. A steep drop loomed twenty paces away. He continued to hurtle forward. For a few terrifying seconds it appeared it was going to hurtle down the edge of it; seconds from dropping he spun on one heel the claws on one foot raking across the edge and pulled to a grinding halt. Thick dust covered him like a shroud as he took deep gulps of the clean rain scented air.
A thunder of slurring growls rose around him deafening the distant rumble of approaching rainfall. His red eyes grew yellowish and he snorted in what appeared to be fury.
He took to his heels once again, his large horns cutting a thick path through the mist above. If he knew what fear was he might have been tempted to feel it. It didn’t take a genius to know he was being hunted. For a creature that had lived as long as he had, he was all too familiar with the hunted feeling. Not to mention he caught the unforgettable scents of one of those who’d put him in his prison in the first place.
His mallet sized hands clenched and unclenched. Perhaps it was just as well __ there would be a reckoning this day. He would have his vengeance on those who placed him in that crypt centuries ago; and in so doing end them for EVER.
A high pitched screech left his lips, too high for the human ear. But those that could hear it __ responded immediately.
She swept low, diving underneath a very large branch. Her minions followed as quickly as they could barely managing to keep up. It wasn’t surprising, she’d always been quicker than most; she found it extremely satisfying that even after so many centuries and so much dark magic she was still quicker than all of them.
She sensed the danger as soon as she entered the tree line. The thick foliage seemed awash with it. It knew! The deadly spirit knew they were after it.
“Look sharp people ___ it knows we are coming.” Muttering a few spells under her breath her senses extended, covering almost a five mile radius.
There were seven blind spots within the umbrella range of her senses. One was ten metres away. Her glowing eyes swung in that direction but she wasn’t click enough and felt the hard blow which rocked her to the very depths of her being.
She plummeted hearing the furious roars of her minions ring out around her. Her scattered thoughts struggled to come up with an explanation to how it was able to hit her in her spiritual state.
She hit the ground hard digging a deep crater into it. Winded, she struggled to catch her breath. Rising slowly, she was perturbed to hear a slurring wave of sound ring out from every side. She was surrounded, by the Evonso spirit’s minions; the infected.
Fifty leaped from their perches in the trees covering her with snarls and bites. She could feel every punch and every bite. She couldn’t fathom how that was possible. She was in a transfigured state after all.
A flurry of spells burst from her lips in an agonized screech. A scorching wave of heat burst from the depths of her being, exploding outwards, carrying the attacking infected with it.
The wounds were serious but not fatal. They weren’t physical wounds __ some of her kind would argue spiritual wounds were the hardest to recover from. It needed treatment that required a skill few of her kind possessed anymore.
She could heal from these wounds herself. If it was the Evonso spirit that bit her __ that would be another matter. Her eyes whirled around in a wild frantic way.
More infected leaped from tree to tree __ approaching her at speeds to rival the quickest cheetah. Her claws extended even more as she leaped backwards executing a perfect seven foot long back flip. A mass of infected struck the ground with a sickening crack yelling their slurring gasps into the air.
Two more leaped over their felled comrades with gaping fangs extended. She did a triple flip spinning in midair like a spinning top. When the infected struck the ground their bodies were without their heads.
Landing perfectly, she took two steps back raking her claws through the air in a slow threatening way. Her eyes burned like hot coals ___ the silent dare not too subtly implied.
The crumpled pile of infected rose swaying drunkenly; several seconds ticked by. None moved a muscle __ the only constant was the ring of slurring.
They darted forward without warning. A quick spell muttered almost soundlessly sent her hurtling into the air as if shot upwards by a jet engine.
Their clawed hands raked empty air. She muttered a few more spells in a flurry of words. Fire burst from her hands in wide scorching bursts incinerating the horde crouched beneath her.
She did a quick sweep with her senses. Her minions were gone __ she couldn’t sense any of them. Could it be? Were they all __ gone? The cold chill of fear raced down her essence. Before she could give into it completely she sensed something else. It was huge and approaching at great speeds.
Whirling around, a long surge of flame burst from her arm __ but she wasn’t quick enough and she felt its raking claws slash through the flame erupting from her arm, cut through her protective shield and pierce her essence. The cold icy chill of death was instantaneous. It flooded her insides like a tidal wave that she knew no level of dark magic could stop.
Her yellow eyes grew glazed and unfocused as she caught a fleeting glimpse of the grotesque face of the Evonso spirit. It’s burning gaze locked and held with hers.
“It’s been years, centuries since you trapped me in the throes of the unending sleep. In the chaotic miasma that was my dreams I imagined how it would feel when I slew you and your minions as I just did. My wildest imaginations could not however have prepared me for this. This peace, glorious satisfaction, this insane bliss; though I must admit there is a hint of sadness knowing I have little to look forward to now I have conquered you in a way and manner my dreams could not have conceived.
“Alas __ I am a bit forward. I do have something to look forward to __ how stupid am have to have so easily forgotten the monumental destruction that still lies ahead of you and your species.”
It leaned forward not stopping until their faces were only inches apart.
“I shall cherish the day when you and your entire species are wiped off
the face of the earth. That day cometh soon; die with the knowledge that in just a few of your earth months, most of the human population will be nothing more than a distant memory __”
And as if obeying his words she closed her eyes and died completely; for the first time in almost six hundred years.