Sunrise Gate

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Their duel intensifies. Run. I move faster, pushing with every muscle in my body. Looking ahead I see Demi on the ground, her body badly scraped and bruised, blood staining her skin. Aaron doesn’t hold much better, his wisps jolting about frantically, his movements sluggish and churning slower and slower, but the demon in him pushes harder and his body obeys in an unnerving way as if it has no choice.

Several claws break free from Sabres and meet me, gashing me across the chest and stomach but I refuse to turn and fight. There’s no time to waste. Instead I only move quicker as I feel hot blood blot against my armor. Separatists and Guardians fight viciously, the death tolls racking up heavily now as time ticks by. All around I see the dead, the life in their face fading. I take care in evading every body I can, mindful of them even with their killers lurking not far away.

I watch ahead as Demi grunts, pulling herself to her feet with her hammer in hand. Aaron holds his staff ready for charge, the two staring down and breathing heavily. Aaron shouts to Demi, “You’re quite the opponent.” His voice is very deep and cuts through the air with a ripping force.

“I would say the same,” Demi shouts back panting. “But that’s already expected.”

Aaron laughs, “Your flattery is amusing. Really, it’s a shame.”

“What is?” Demi shouts back, lowering her hammer slightly.

“That you’ve chosen the losing side,” he says, waving an arm over the crowd. “Truly, look all around you.”

I follow his hand, looking as Demi does and for the first time I notice just how brutal the tide of battle has turned. All around I see Humans and Sabres fighting, but too many Humans fight one another. Too many are falling, leaving others to fight against odds unfairly stacked. Women and men, scouts or infantry or Separatist, all clash to the ground as the Sabres force their way on. Plenty of them lay dead, but not enough. Not even close to enough.

I look back over to Demi who wears a saddened face, disheartened by the truth. She shouts, “But it’s not over.” I can sense how she forced herself to say that.

“You know, it’s never too late to join the winning team,” Aaron smiles, showing all his teeth.

Demi shows surprise, but instead of answering she reacts, raising her hammer and running at him, bashing at him severely but he evades it, causing her to over swing in her anger and lose her balance. “Coward!” she shouts.

Aaron laughs, kiting around her. “Am I?” he says. “Look about you, Demi. The Separatists are going to win. The Sabres will, too. In fact, we’ll all win! Why, it’s only your Guardian friends who will lose. They will pay the price for us at least. The price of bringing forth a new world! Nothing comes free after all, now does it?” he laughs again, but Demi lashes out, slamming her hammer at him but he dodges it.

“Think about it, Demi. Think of a world with the Gods. Imagine a world where Nords and Humans live as one once more. Imagine the day that Nords would be welcomed into the cities, not persecuted and murdered. Imagine all the people who would be saved from that? And you could be the one to lead it all, bring in this era just like your father did. Have a legacy of your own! Isn’t that all you want? Just to be remembered?”

Demi clenches her fist and grinds her teeth, fiddling with her hammer as she erupts into speech. “Never! You do not know what I want! I will not abandon the Guardians for the slimy likes of you!” She takes her hammer and swings again, striking Aaron in the side this time, causing him to reel in pain. With him on the ground she raises the hammer overhead and bashes him again as hard as she can into the ground and the demon wails. She smiles and slams it into him again. “This is my legacy, beast!” She shouts, unleashing her full wrath as she loses her temper wildly. “I will annihilate you and every last one of your freaks!”