The Destroying Angel - Chapter 1 (Part 1/2)

Tancred ran. His breath came in short ragged gasps as he sucked in the air his lungs desperately needed. His leg muscles burned with an intense fiery sensation, sending jolts of agony through his body. It was as though his leg muscles had been doused in oil before being set alight into a white-hot liquid fire. An iron hand clenched his throat, its steel grip crushing his windpipe and threatening to choke off his supply of oxygen, the fingers slowly tightening with each passing moment. Adrenaline pulsed through Tancred’s veins, giving him the extra little bursts of energy needed to operate his leaden legs.

Tree branches swung at Tancred, their long and spindly fingers swiping at his face in attempts to blind him and scratch at his skin, clawing at his dirt-ridden clothes. Roots in the ground threatened to catch his boot cladded feet and send him sprawling across the earthen floor, leaving his fate in the hands of the advancing and merciless Reivers.

Tancred swiped back at the leafy obstacles and leaped over the roots that littered his path, slipping slightly in the moist and decaying matter with each jump he made. Each slight skid sent a lurch of terror through his body, an almost exhilarating feeling in the chase that forever screamed at him of the dangers that awaited him in his path.

The Reivers weren't far behind. It would take only one stumble and Tancred would fall into their hands. And he couldn't let that happen otherwise he would be captured by them and tortured, his mind twisted and mangled beyond recognition and his body never to be seen again.

At that moment, an intense heat brushed past against the tip of Tancred’s ear, disappearing as quickly as it had come. His stomach lurched as he caught sight of a smoking trail that snaked into the trees. There was another scalding heat at the tip of one of his ears and he glanced sideways in time to see a white ball of flames that licked at the air and explode with a puff of smoke against the bark of one of the trees. His eyes widened and the icy fingers of fear gripped his heart.

One of them is a Fire user?!

“You can’t outrun us forever, Scar Face!” one of the bandits yelled. Hoots of laughter echoed and rebounded off and through the trees, sending chills running down Tancred’s spine. “We’re gonna getcha and kill ya!”

Tancred zigged-zagged in his path, darting between trees this way and that, hoping to throw off the Reivers. Their peals of laughter immediately transformed to strings of curses and yells of fury as they lost sight of him within the trees. Tancred wasn't far now, he had to get around the bend and the waterfall with the tiny cavern would be there. The stitch in his side pulsated, its lightning bolts growing worse with each passing second and his throat burned, slowly sapping him of precious air.

The incredible roaring of the waterfall was faint, even from this distance but it was enough to fill Tancred with a hope that fuelled him with energy. For him the waterfall carried a sense of safety...and promised the deadly power of an open sky.

The trees began to thin out, the criss-crossing of the branches ahead gradually giving way to the brilliant azure blue. Tancred skidded around the bend and burst into the open.

The great beast bellowed from thirty or forty metres or so ahead. Gallons of frothing water rushed over the edge and crashed into the depths below, a blue and white curtain that concealed the narrow entrance of the cavern underneath. Even from here the icy cold water sprayed the finest droplets against Tancred’s cheeks and cloaked his surroundings in a delicate mist.

The hunters were about to become the hunted.

Electricity crackled through Tancred’s hair and his fingertips buzzed with an intense and familiar static, raising his hackles. It was as though he were greeting and embracing an old comrade again after so many years.

Above, monstrous and deep grey storm clouds had begun to gather, enveloping the lands and horizon with a shadowed darkness. Great rumbles of anger boomed out across the lands and shook through the grounds. Rain began to fall in fat, heavy drops and exploded against blades of grass with brief, sharp glows of light before showering other nearby blades with miniature water prisms.

The pattering of the rain against the ground beat in a rhythm of war drums. The chanting winds howled, whipping at Tancred’s hair with their long and spindly fingers.

The arrows came flying from the trees long before the Reivers flooded out, but the winds' deft hands snatched the arrows from their paths and sent them scattering across the grasses.

The Reivers donned manic grins upon their faces. They had Tancred in their hands and there was no escape: their grip upon him was iron strong and he wouldn’t slip through their fingers this time for they had cornered him like some stray animal in a back alley. There was nowhere to run nor hide.

Before they could begin to reload their crossbows and bows, Tancred threw out his outstretched hand. A bolt of electricity exploded from his palm and arced towards the bandits faster than one can blink. The Reivers shrieked and screamed, the delight on their faces turning to one of horror and fear as they leapt and scrambled for safety.

Now, a soft voice suddenly murmured into Tancred’s ear.

He slashed his arm through the air. For a split second, it was as though time itself had come to a grinding halt. Then, a blinding flash seared through Tancred’s vision, a burning bright white that could not have lasted for more than a tenth of a second. It robbed the world of its colours, staining it shades of greys and blacks. For half a moment, the core of a great tree glowed white and then it exploded. Shards of bark shot out in all directions, splintered wooden arrows that slashed at the Reivers.

The heavens bellowed a deafening roar that juddered through the earth, sending swarms of screeching birds into the air and knocking the Reivers to the ground, drowning their screams in its rage.

Tancred’s eyes blazed an electric blue, filled with an anger that toiled deep in his stomach and streaks of white that fizzled and danced in the churning waves of the stormy oceans.

As the last of the Reivers fled into the safety of the trees, Tancred lowered his arm. His breath hissed through his teeth and his lips were pulled back into a slight grimace. There was silence, save for the calls and cries of creatures in the trees, the booming thuds of his own heartbeat and the rushing of blood in his ears. All that remained of the once magnificent tree stood an almost grotesque form, a hideous and wizened stump robbed of every ounce of its beauty. A great orange and jagged scar ran down the charcoal trunk where the lightning had ripped into it.

Gone was the buzzing in Tancred’s fingertips and the static energy in his muscles. The storm had sapped Tancred of every last drop of his strength and turned his limbs to water. His vision swam and blurred before him, blacks and greys and whites swirling and contorting, losing their edges to become one. A ringing filled Tancred’s ears and the world swayed sickeningly. He closed his eyes against the dancing colours.

His knees buckled beneath him and he fell slowly, slowly as he gave in to the realm of darkness.

***

By the time Tancred came to, an impenetrable darkness had swooped down upon the lands and stained the horizon with shadows as far as one’s eyes could see.

Tancred slowly opened his eyes. For a few moments, the leaves of the overhanging tree branches and the pinpoints of the stars danced and churned before coming into focus. He frowned. Gone were the familiar rocky and low walls of the small cavern, the dancing flames and leaping shadows.

Then it all came back to him in a flood of images: the flocks of arrows flying towards him, the lightning bolts and the gnarled and wizened remains of the once magnificent tree.

“Lin,” Tancred murmured, his words as soft as a butterfly’s wings against his cracked and parched lips. “Lin...the Reivers...”

And then Lin was there, scooping Tancred up and supporting his neck with an arm.

“Drink,” said Lin. It was not an order but a word that was laced with kindness and concern.

It was only the moment Tancred took a sip from Lin's canteen that he realised just how truly thirsty he was. He drank the water in great gulps, briefly pausing only for small breaths of air. When his thirst was quenched at last, Tancred closed his eyes and breathed out slowly.

“We’re safe from the Reivers,” said Lin, “I figured something was wrong the moment that storm came out of nowhere. I carried you whilst you were sleeping. We should be far away from Reiver territory now.”

“Where...where are we?” Tancred opened his eyes. Two glittering emerald green eyes stared back at him.

“Further through the forest and closer to the Weeping Woods,” was Lin's answer. “I guess I bought us more time.”

“But, Lin, aren’t you exhausted?” Tancred said, “You carried me and our belongings all this way...”

“Don’t worry about me,” replied Lin, a ghost of a smile upon his lips. “Focus on yourself and getting some rest.”

Tancred pushed himself upright with the slightest frown. His muscles screamed and his joints creaked like the floorboards of an ancient, dusty house that hadn’t been tread in for years.

“I can give you some of my energy,” said Lin, “Then you won’t be so tired tomorrow.”

Tancred shook his head.

“No,” he softly replied, “You’ve done more than enough. You’ll tire yourself and make yourself sick.”

But before Tancred could pull himself away, Lin had firmly clasped Tancred’s hand in his own, their fingers entwining and making escape almost impossible.

Tancred watched as Lin relaxed and began to murmur, closing his eyes. For a few moments there was nothing. Then, like the breaking of a wave, a newfound energy flowed into his hands and flooded into his body, coating and soothing his aching and drained muscles with warmth. The bright light pulsated, illuminating Lin's silver hair and the black and green striped feathers that hung in front of his ears from the black leather headband. Electricity briefly danced through Tancred’s hair and the air crackled with static.

When it was finished, Lin opened his eyes again. The yellow flecks in his irises blazed a molten gold and filled his eyes with a radiant light for a few moments before fading to their usual yellow. He untangled his fingers from Tancred’s.

“Thank you, Lin,” Tancred softly said, to which Lin simply nodded.

The night air was cool against Tancred’s skin. He sat up, enabling himself to scan his surroundings for the first time.

They were in a small cove with giant and closely knit trees for walls this time. Their branches ran across the sky in dark streams that swallowed any glittering stars that lay in their paths. Stars dusted the dark blue sea in a glimmering array of colours: flickering from green to red, to gold and to bright blue.  

Fluorescent flowers dotted the forest floor, illuminating the velvety grass blades and the feet of the trees. Glowing green veins ran up the cracked bark of the trees and flying insects pulsated in the air. It was as though the forest itself was alive.

“It’s beautiful,” Lin’s voice shattered the awed silence that had enveloped him and Tancred. Tancred could only nod. “We’ll be leaving this all behind for Kirilia.”

“We should reach the city within the next couple of days or so,” Tancred replied, “We have enough gold coins to buy our own house this time, have a roof over our heads and somewhere safe to stay."

"You could set up your own hunting business and hunt for people," murmured Lin, "Then at least that way, there'll be a source of income for money."

“And you could use your gifts to heal people on the streets,” said Tancred, “There will be lots of people out there needing a Healer but unable to afford the costs. They’ll turn to you for help.”

Lin’s eyes widened.

“Me…heal?” he whispered, “I know so little about healing. The most I can fix are minor bone fractures and infected wounds. And what if I make a mistake that costs a life or brings agonising pain? I can’t take that risk.”

“Do you remember that time when that bear gouged a wound in my leg?” said Tancred, “I’d tried to crawl my way back to our camp. You were astonished that I’d managed to survive, let alone even walk a few miles.”

Lin slowly nodded. It was a memory that had forever burned itself into his mind and one that he could recall as vividly when it had first happened. Tancred had left for the forests that day and had promised to be back by sunset.

It wasn’t unusual for Tancred to disappear for a night and be back by morning with a kill. But night and morning had come and gone. Lin remembered the worry that had gnawed at him as he’d stood at the edge of the forest, the great trees that reached up towards the sky looming over him, a great blackness that was blotted across the rolling green hills of the landscape. Lin had had the sense that something awry had happened: it was rare that someone knew the landscapes and forests as well as Tancred did as he was as familiar with them as he was with the palms of his hands.

Lin had then entered the forests, armed with a dagger at his side and vowing that he would find his friend and bring him back. After all, it had been Tancred who had taken Lin in when Lin had first arrived in Ashara, offering him food and shelter. Lin couldn’t turn his back on him – he owed Tancred his life. Tancred had been more than an ally to Lin. He had shielded him from the hate and prejudice from many local Asharians and guaranteed him safety and kindness when other people had refused. How could Lin walk away from one of the greatest people he’d met at a time like this when they needed him the most?

After a half a day or so of searching and trekking through the woods, Lin had found Tancred lying on the ground, his back supported by the foot of a tree and close to death. Lin still did not know whether it was pure luck or blessings from the many gods that meant he had found Tancred. He remembered how the sickly sweet scent of death and blood had clung to Tancred like a heavy perfume. Lin’s breath had frozen in his throat the moment he’d caught sight of Tancred’s wound. The bear had gouged a hole so large and deep in Tancred’s thigh to expose the pulsating arteries and the white of the shattered bone within. Tancred’s skin had been burning to the touch, the tips of his hair soaked with sweat and his teeth gritted from the white hot agony.

The next few hours were a blur and a blot in Lin’s memory. He’d had to carry Tancred back to their campsite with Tancred drifting in and out of consciousness to murmur the occasional point of direction. It had been the first time that Lin had used his healing gifts since they had crossed the borders into Ashara, and he’d had heavy doubts that his abilities were even enough to save Tancred from his horrific injuries. Lin had had to muster all the courage he could find within himself

The burst of healing energy from his fingertips had felt strange yet familiar; he had almost forgotten what casting a healing spell was like after so many years. He had watched in silent awe as the splintered bone pieces knitted themselves together to become whole once again and the flesh melting into place to seal the wound. The healing had left Lin utterly drained of energy and he had blacked out afterwards, later awakening to Tancred propped up against a rock and warming his hands with a small fire. The sight of Tancred well and recovered had evoked a wave of relief and joy within Lin. He’d leapt to his feet with cry of euphoria and rushed over, almost tripping over them in the process, and flung his arms around his bemused friend with tears streaming down his cheeks.

“You saved my life, Lin,” Tancred’s voice shattered Lin’s thoughts, snapping him back into reality. “If it had not been for you I wouldn’t be here today.”

Lin shifted his gaze to the luminous petals by his feet and bit his lip. A painful lump had begun to swell in his throat.

“But still,” whispered Lin, “I couldn’t save Shi.”

“Lin,” the sudden harshness in Tancred’s voice surprised Lin. His gaze landed on Tancred again. “Your healing gifts have helped me to fight diseases that otherwise would have killed me,” Tancred continued, “I have faith in you. You’re a good person and Shi would have wanted you to be happy and enjoy life. You didn’t let him die.”

“Imagine,” Tancred softly said, “Us living under our own roof. Me, a hunter and you, a Healer. We’ll have a new life, a fresh start. No one will know us and there are many Imyoshi refugees in Kirilia, too, so your accent shouldn’t stand out. That is what Shi would’ve wanted.”