Hello dear readers!! Sorry for the long wait, I was feeling a big uninspired but I've been working on this chapter for a while. It's a new POV from a new type of spiritual gift.
WARNING: Profanity and offensive language
Chapter 6: Bel
Kihran Marrid walked out her front door right as the first meteor bomb hit the capital building. Asteroids rained down from the sky in glowing orbs of destruction, and the screams of terrified citizens flew past her as they ran to escape the danger. Her twin brother Kahrin bumped into her back as she stood frozen in place, then shouldered past her to peer out beyond.
"Ready?" he asked, cracking the knuckles of his large brown hands and stretching out his neck, "You start or I?"
Kihran blinked away the image of the glowing shower in the abyss beyond, and threw off her traveling cloak. She wore a simple red dress with onyx buttons, her dark brown hair pulled up with a matching red ribbon into a neat bun tied up onto the top of her head. Kahrin wore a matching set of crimson robes, the skirts both were cut down the center and tied back out of the way. He also wore a matching red band strapped around his crown which pushed back his smooth, deep brown locks. Kihran had always been a few inches taller than her twin, but he had started to gain on her as they reached adulthood. They stood next to each other, facing slightly away, and she could see how equally matched they were in height, stature, and posture, as well as their identical dark brown eyes and tanned skin. She was now only about an inch taller at 7 inches 6 feet, he reached almost 6 and 6.
Kahrin lifted his hands in the air, palms out towards the center of the village. The capitol building burned and the muffled screams of fleeing citizens buzzed in Kirhan's mind as she tried to focus. She glanced sideways at her twin, then they both latched their sight onto the point of entry.
All the bombs seemed to fall from the same place, a deep black opening hovering over the city causing midnight darkness in the middle of the day. The meteors flew as if thrown from a great height and burned with a fire that seemed to scorch the town before even landing, and then as they made impact a booming crash and a wall of fire shot into the air. The fire then spread, lapping up every unstable house, market stall, or person who couldn't get away fast enough. Though there was no rain, lightning flashed continuously and the sound of a deep thunderous laugh roared as if the villain stood right in front of them.
Thinking with one mind, the twins moved their hands together, forming the shape of a diamond with four points, palms facing out toward the storm cloud. Then they began to chant, without knowing beforehand which incantation of protection from the Ancient Word needed to be used, but the Lord gave it to them. Their voices boomed out as if from a resounding loudspeaker, tearing through the darkness with an ethereal echo:
"You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
The Lord is your refuge, no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near you.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not be harmed."
As they spoke, a light shone from their outstretched palms, and then an opaque blue, green, yellow orb of the same flowing light began to take shape. It expanded and rose above the twin's heads, then began to shake violently. Short pulses of energy flowed from the power of the Lord through their limbs, making it difficult to stay upright.
Kihran focused on the beast in the sky. It peered down from the void it had created in the clouds, a huge man-shaped creature covered in dark orange and red scales. As it moved side to side, the shimmering of its coat caught the light of the flames and seemed to reflect the destruction back down. It had large black eyes shaped like a snake's, with heavy lids and a long neck that stretched out and the laughter seemed to die in its throat as it saw the bright shifting orb of Protection they had cast.
The dragon-like creature made a roaring cry and flew down from a high perch, then started pelting the ground more closely with its bolts of rock and metal. Except for its long neck and bright scales, it could have been a gigantic man--Kihran guessed it had to be almost 500 feet tall-- and wearing a black cloak, its flowing length stretching out behind him. It had no wings, but flew with tremendous power and seemed both fireproof and bulletproof to its own destructive power.
It flew over their heads, then dove sharply trying to bomb the hill that Kahrin and Kihrah stood upon. The missiles missed, but struck the inn behind them where they had been staying for the last week. It exploded in flames and put both the twins off balance. Kihran felt a sharp breeze behind her back, that seemed to buoy her back up onto her feet and steadied her stance again.
Thank you, she said to the wind, and she and her brother returned their focus to the beast circling the sky above the city.
It made another sudden diving motion, but this time aimed at a group of cowering citizens making their way to the safe bunker hidden underneath the town center. It threw meteors wildly, trying to cause as much chaos as possible before becoming Returned.
Kihran held the orb with all her strength, waiting for Kahrin's countdown.
"10 more seconds..." he called as loudly as he could over the noises of terror.
Kihran gritted her teeth, inhaling and exhaling sharply. She watched it swing around and around, pelting anywhere it could see and swung its deadly breath from side to side.
"8..." the beast lunged at the crowd, trying to snatch at the bodies and draw them away from their spell.
Kihran gasped, and started fidgeting. She had made the mistake before of trying to save individuals rather than whole cities and it had had dire consequences. She knew she had to wait, but watching death win so many souls caused her entire being to ache and she wanted to collapse into sobs.
"5..." She blinked back tears, doubling her focus on channeling the power given to her.
"4..." The beast had snatched a small handful of citizens.
"3..." They wriggled in its grasp, choking and unable to speak or cry out.
"2..." The beast opened its palm and let them fall, then snatched a small child out of the air. It held it up to its mouth, opening its jaws wide.
"1...NOW!!"
In perfect synchrony, the twins started a slow walk through the city. The orb shattered and the seeds of light flew in thousands of different directions. Kihran shot a blast of pure energy towards the beast's lower jaw. It hit just as the child was shaken from the clawed thumb, screaming in terror, but Kahrin anticipated her move and quickly used a cushioning charm to catch the child right before she landed. The light engulfed her in a cloud of protection and spirited her away out of danger.
The beast's jaw hung slightly off its left hinge, but it snapped upright, targeting the Protectors. It soared at them again, swinging wildly down trying to smash or impale or reach any bit of them it could. The black expanse above seemed to grow as it edged toward the twins, following in the wake of the beast.
Kihran lunged to the right just as Kahrin darted to the left, leaving the beast to choose a target as it drew up quickly. It turned, facing Kihran, in its mind the easy target and shot forward, throwing asteroids and spitting flames.
Draw it out, she thought, her pulse racing with adrenaline. She seemed to fly, swiftly catching the wind which pulled her forward at superhuman speed to the farthest wall of the city perimeter. She clapped her hands together, threw them behind her then used the force to shoot forward.
Faster, she tried to keep herself balanced, faster..... Just one more alley, one more street.... Almost there!
The beast held its huge scaly arms out, eyes dripping with desire and carnal lust to kill, to destroy. She pulled up short, rising with the wind, she faced the huge glowing monster with fury enveloping her being. She didn't try to defend herself, she held no power within her, she simply let the beast lunge at her with all its might. She closed her eyes, and heard the snarl of greed and the erratic snapping of its broken jaw, only feet away from her. She felt its hot breath scorching the land in front of her, then suddenly she shot herself straight up into the sky at the very last second, speeding across thousands of feet in an instant.
The monster had no time to correct its course, it flew, arms breaking on impact, straight into a mountain that had just sprung up from Kahrin's outstretched hands. He held the charm, yellow light pulsing around the mangled body, then picked up the mountain itself, beast trapped inside, flailing and screaming in pain.
Kihran joined her twin, holding the cage of rock from above. They twisted it in the shape of a large smooth stone, fully encasing the monster inside. It started to glow with fire and rage from the inside, but was sealed tight.
"Be gone, demon beastie, you are Returned now to the depths. Today you are defeated," Kahrin laughed at the glowing orb as they heard the creature flail and lash out in his cage futilely.
The twins stepped back and the ball of stone floated up into the black expanse above, which seemed to zip itself up behind as if it had never been there.
The sky shone blue and bright. The sun blazed down its mid afternoon light onto the devastation left behind. Buildings crumbled, fires were starting to be put out all over the city, and corpses layered the streets with blood and entrails. People began to meekly come out from hiding then rushed to their destroyed homes or businesses, and a sharp wail cried out as if with one voice.
Kihran tried to breathe, she couldn't face what had happened to all those innocents. Kahrin stepped back onto the main path, his legs wobbled and his brow beaded in sweat and blood. She was sure she must look just as bad. She grabbed his right hand, and they squeezed each other tightly. If the townsfolk let the twins help, the clean up and restoration would go much faster. However, she could already sense the tension as they passed gaunt faces filled with fury and despair. Women wept over the bodies of their brave husbands and sons, who had foolishly tried to stand their ground and fight. Children wandered together, calling for their parents and crying.
The twins stood out in their—now stained and ripped—bright red garments. Kahrin pulled her into the town square and swung to address the remaining citizens, but as he opened his mouth to speak a man's booming voice roared out from the back of the crowd
"You! You two n**gers brought this demon to our doorstep, you call yourselves fucking protectors? You claim to have God's light? Damn you, God damn you both!"
Other voices chimed in, with equal rage fueled by mob mentality. The voices all blended together in a harmony of hatred.
"You led it straight to us! We give you our hospitality and you murder our people and destroy our city!"
"Fuck you and fuck your God! You devils, you monsters."
"Bring back my boy! My only son! You killed him, you killed them all."
Suddenly from her right, a rotting piece of wood or stone struck Kihran straight in the back. She stumbled forward slightly as Kahrin went to catch her, and a rotting piece of fruit hit him in the side of the head. Some of the people began to spit, shout obscenities, and brandished weapons behind the power of the mob. None of them seemed to recall the twins could strike them all down with a signal whisper.
"Get the fuck out of here!"
"Take your trouble and your curse with you, filthy false protectors."
"Get out! Fuck off."
The twins ran, stumbling over small fences and holding their arms above their heads as they sprinted to the main gate. Food and other debris followed them as the crowd surged forward, then died when their targets fled out of reach. Kihran yanked open the gate and hurried out, Kahrin followed.
The mob finally dispersed, mumbling maledictions and throwing their hands up in fury. As Kahrin rushed to pull the gate closed, a tiny figure darted between the small gap and rushed to Kihran. It was the small child they had saved from the beast's clutches, who would have been residing in his guts now for digestion if not for her quick rescue.
Kahrin went to shoo the child back inside, anxiously darting to look at the crowd who was all but gone. A small group of other children hid behind an overturned merchant cart, staring at the twins with fear and respect. A small dark boy waved at Kahrin, and smiled meekly before darting back behind the cart. Kihran looked down at the meek, dirty child. Clearly an orphan or a street kid, she was thin and her hair was a bit matted but her face shone with innocent gratitude. She held out a shaking hand, and offered something to her. Kihran held out her palm, and the child dropped a small gold colored medallion. It was shaped like a sparrow with worn off edges from age, but it held a sparkle of great care from an attentive owner.
Kihran went to hand it back and say she couldn't accept such an offering, but the child hugged her around the waist quickly and then ran back inside the cursed city. Kahrin slammed the gate and came over to where she stood, gripping the medallion tightly. He held her cheeks gently in his hands and examined her for wounds. They both knew that they had escaped without major injury, but it was a comfort to look out for each other when the world hated you for something you couldn't control, something you didn't ask for.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I shouldn't have led us to Bel in the first place. I saw this happening, I saw the destruction and I thought we could stop it...I--"
"Hush," Kahrin smiled at her only a bit condescending, "They would have all died without us. That's our purpose, to save those who we can, and to keep protecting the realm. Even those racist, dumbass, mother and sister fuckers." He laughed at his own joke, and then hugged her.
"Let's just go," Kihran sighed, "I don't know where we're going next but--"
"We'll find it," Kahrin said, arm around her shoulders, "We always find it."
And they began to walk toward the fading light.