OKAY THIS CHAPTER IS REALLY LONG OMG IM SO SORRY. BUT IT'S LIKE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES. ALSO SORRY FOR BEING INACTIVE.
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Salazar, more like mutant Salazar, took a swing at Kade. He must've hit harder than expected because Kade stumbled back when his forearm was struck. It didn't take him long to recover and sturdy himself. He rushed at the demon, fists aflame and swinging furiously. Salazar had gained in height and easily defended himself against the attacks. It wasn't as if he did it effortlessly, though. Kade could really pack a punch.
The rest of us watched the fight intently, careful to keep our distance. It was a balanced fight it seemed, but since it had been so long since Kade was at full strength and had full control of his power, he was having trouble adjusting at first.
"He can handle it," Odis told me, obviously noticing my concern. "He fought with Salazar quite a few times before you came along. And he's fought scarier things... you have nothing to worry about." That made me feel a little better but I still didn't like the looks of it. He was struggling too much for my liking and I wished there was something I could do.
In an instant, my attention was altered as I was tackled to the ground. I didn't know what it was at first until a set of jaws snapped around my arm. My throat grew sore from screaming when teeth ripped into my flesh and tore through muscle into bone. Xur... he was trying to eat me. How did I forget he was there?! How was I so distracted?!
I could somehow hear Odis and Maeve fighting against other gargoyles over my piercing cries. Clearly, I wasn't the only one bombarded by a sudden attack.
I couldn't keep my eyes off of the ripped flesh and blood pouring from my arm. My feet kicked up dirt like a child having a tantrum and my other hand couldn't decide whether to touch the wound or not. Xur wasn't on top of me but any closer and he would've been. With my tattered arm attracting more and more weakness every second, I made a sad attempt to crawl away from the beast. The bone in my arm peeked through the shredded flesh and muscle and I could almost feel the vomit working it's way up my throat. My arm was obviously bleeding profusely, so the blood loss was slowing the speed at which I tried to escape. Xur's hand wrapped around my ankle, claws digging into my leg as he dragged me through the dirt. I cried out weakly and kicked him... no success.
"I had a burning hatred for you ever since the first time I laid eyes on you. I've finally got my hands on you... on your flesh. And I must say you taste better than I thought." His eyes were shining brightly as he spoke. My blood was dripping from his chapped lips and edgy teeth, easy to see when he smiled.
Maeve suddenly fell next to me. Her face was bloody and beaten but her eyes were vibrant. I noticed wolf-Odis fighting off two gargoyles, one of which must've gotten the best of our dear witch. He knocked them clean off their feet and tackled Xur, wrestling with him dangerously close to Kade's flames.
Maeve groaned in agony and shifted weakly. Based on the way she tried to keep her eyes locked on mine, there was obviously something she wanted to tell me. Then, in the lowest, trembly voice she could possibly manage, she whispered, "I humbly request deliverance of thy's power, of thy's control over the gates of Hell, over thy's ruling of all things evil and damned. Bestow upon me your greatness, for the gods guard my soul and wish to do no harm."
I stared profoundly at her, a bit disturbed by what she was chanting, especially when she began reciting it over an over. Her shaking hand touched two fingers to my forehead and her eyes widened with expectation. The volume of her voice became quieter with each word, meaning she was losing consciousness. She kept tapping my head though, endlessly saying those words until she could go on no longer. "Xur" was the last thing she managed to get out, only adding to my bafflement and worry. What was she trying to tell me? I started panicking when she finally collapsed and fell silent. Thankfully, I could still see her breathing so I let her rest, but her mysterious message swarmed my head. I didn't have the energy for this, for calculating some plan I wasn't aware of. I was growing weaker by the second and could only watch Odis and Xur continue their equally matched battle.
Weird chant... forehead...Xur? Then it hit me. Of course! Oh God... please tell me what I was about to do was her intention.
My voice quivered as I called out weakly. "Odis!" The wolf looked at me. He had just headbutted Xur and stunned him for a moment, itching to do more. His self-control was very impressive. "Back off of Xur. Help Maeve while I deal with him." His amber eyes darted to my arm and I could tell what he was thinking. Clearly, my head wasn't screwed on right. "Now!" I urged. Without another moment of hesitation, he shifted back and sprinted to Maeve.
While he was lifting her bridal style he asked, "Are you crazy, Bella? What the hell could you possibly be planning now?!" I didn't have an answer for him and he didn't wait for one. The two of them disappeared from my line of sight, allowing Xur to focus his full attention on me. He approached me a bit slowly, displaying the effects of his minor fight with Odis.
"You reek of desperation," I spat at him, trembling from head to toe. "You try so desperately to be the best, to satisfy your weak master." After pausing to catch my breath, I started chuckling. "You're no general... you're just a puny, pathetic bat."
"Shut your mouth!" he growled.
"And it's funny when you fail at things. Oh, God... what an incompetent little bat you are." It was fun to make fun of him. It made me feel powerful.
"Stop calling me a bat!" He jumped on me and let out a horrendous screech, spitting blood and saliva all over my face. I used my good hand to wipe it away. My other arm was killing me but I still managed to laugh as I touched my fingers to his forehead. He was confused and so was I when he didn't try to push them away. Our eyes were locked and I soon saw the specks of purple inside of his. Wow, I thought. I was mind controlling him without even meaning to. It obviously wasn't taking full effect, I didn't expect it to either. He was strong, I'll admit. Holding him still and allowing me to touch him was the only thing I could do. So I continued on and as quietly as I could, I began whispering Maeve's creepy chant. It was easy to remember, considering she had repeated it quite a few times.
"What? What are you saying?" Xur said in a panic, managing a bit of freedom close to the end. He tried to lean in to hear but by the time he realized what I was mumbling and the terror finally spread across his face, things began to happen.
The ground shook wildly, like an earthquake, and I felt the earth below me loosening. Literally, it started crumbling and falling. I looked to my left and right, noticing piece by piece disappear into some mysterious hole below me. Xur backed off and stayed clear of the phenomenon. I was too weak to crawl away and dizzy from the blood loss. Someone suddenly grabbed me, though, and lifted me swiftly. I could only cling to my savior with one arm and cry out in pain because of the other.
"It's okay," Kade said, looking down at me with a smile. "I've gotcha." His face looked awful with its swelling, bleeding, and bruising.
We got a good distance away from the massive cave-in and when I turned around I could see Salazar angrily approaching. He was completely oblivious to the earth falling around him and didn't jump to safety until a piece fell from beneath his feet. That's when he decided to focus on what was happening. He eyes watched with horror and anger and he screamed vicious words at me as Kade and I backed away even more.
I felt something coursing through my veins, something foreign that I'd never experienced before. The pain in my arm began to drain at an incredible rate and as I looked down to see the reason, skin and muscle began materializing out of nowhere. My arm was being mended by this mysterious force, and whether it was good or evil I wasn't going to complain. It felt nice to gain all of my strength and energy back at once. "Bella," Kade whispered to me in disbelief as I was still gawking at my arm. I gazed up at him only to realize we weren't looking at the same thing.
His blue eyes were wide but I couldn't tell if it was with horror or shock, probably both. I couldn't decide between the two for myself as I studied what was around me. The raging flames that belonged to him and that were once orange were now a piercing, vibrant purple. They were more intense... but at the same time tamer. I saw a pattern in the way they flickered but didn't know how to exactly put it into words. "What... how did you...?" Kade began to ask.
"I don't know," I whispered. I was still flooded with that foreign feeling, like pricks and vibrations. I wasn't sure what was happening and I definitely wasn't doing it on purpose.
Kade directed my attention to the earth that was still falling away piece by piece in front of us. There was now a huge, gaping hole, streaked with an orange fire that fell thousands of feet into the ground. It was hard to ignore: the burning rock, lava falls, rough ledges, and the unendurable cries of tortured souls. That's when I figured out what this was... a pit of Hell.
"You did that," I heard Maeve say. She and Odis appeared on my left and she thankfully looked a lot healthier than she did a bit ago. What she said was said with a smile, meaning it was supposed to encourage me, to make me feel good about myself. But it didn't make feel good at all. "The spell I gave you was a translated Latin spell, only taking effect if said by a god. What you did was borrow the power of something evil and use it to create a ripple in space and open up one of Hell's pits. Whatever falls into it... stays." Her green eyes studied the pit with interest. Her last statement dwelled on me, which I'm sure was her intention.
My eyes focused on Salazar who had managed to find a way around the pit. He and Xur had finally met up and were approaching at an incredibly fast speed. We all spread out, not even taking the time to discuss a plan. It wasn't really needed, though, because we all knew what had to be done: knock those two assholes into the pit.
Odis and Maeve took on Xur and Kade and I took on Salazar. Regular teams I see.
"You're so full of shit, Salazar!" Kade snapped. "You're not even worthy enough to lick the dirt off my shoe." The demon grew nearer, fury burning in those hateful red eyes of his. Kade stepped closer to the pit so I went with him. He was trying to get Salazar closer to it by provoking him with trash talk... not a bad plan, I must say. Though I thought a high ruling prince like him would be smarter than that.
"Oh, please. Some fool with daddy issues like yourself can't speak of worthiness," the demon retorted, apparently unaware of what we were doing. He continued to follow blindly.
"You're one to talk about daddy issues," Kade snapped. "At least mine isn't locked away in his own home."
"Oh, save it. I should've known your kind would be able to pull a stunt like that."
"Exactly. You underestimate us, demon."
"You're still just pesky flies to me... warlock."
The two stared each other down, waiting for the next comment or action. Salazar took a small step forward but leaped back immediately when the earth in front of him fell. His eyes darted to the pit and it was obvious he figured out what was going on. "Ah... do you think I'm that stupid?" he asked, laughing up a storm. "I know what happens when something falls into one of those. Don't think I'm gonna let you push me in. If anything... you'll be the one spending the rest of your days down there... and so will your little princess."
I ignored him. Instead, I anxiously watched Odis and Maeve wrestle with Xur out of the corner of my eye. Odis had him pinned down by the throat while Maeve stood over him and chanted something mysterious. When I glimpsed back at Salazar, I realized he had followed my gaze and was now observing them intently. Xur was squirming and screeching out painfully, though I wasn't quite sure what Maeve was doing to him. His master obviously didn't approve and raced over to the three. Kade and I followed hastily, but not fast enough to suspend him. In swift sequence, he booted Odis off of Xur and tackled Maeve to the ground. He began hammering into her while Xur dived on top of Odis and did the same thing.
Hatred and fury swallowed me suddenly. I leaped on Salazar's back and tugged at his silvery hair, squalling and kicking him when I saw Maeve's bloody face. She was conscious and raging. Her usually vibrant green eyes were now clouded and terrifying as she growled, displaying her teeth like an angry dog beaten one too many times.
Beside me, Kade and Odis had teamed up on Xur. The creature was almost as angry as me which provided him with some sort of adrenaline rush. He wasn't planning on giving the boys an easy fight, obviously.
Salazar was now making a strong effort to get me off of him. He was standing and clawing at me as I began digging my fingers into his eyes. He screamed and intentionally fell backward. My back collided painfully with the ground and that mixed with his sudden weight made me let go immediately. I scrambled to my feet, ready to attack again until I realized he wasn't even focused on me. He was staring emotionlessly at Maeve who had also made it to her feet. She glared at him from under her crimson hair and the darkness her eyes carried told me some shit was about to go down.
"I've dealt with you for too long," she said to him. "You've taken everything from me... from us. It's time we finally put a stop to your bullshit." A crack of thunder made me jump. Either it was coincidentally timed or Maeve had done something extra. As a flash of lightning struck the sky, rain began to drench all of us. The purple flames around us weren't extinguished and they along with the burning pit remained lively.
"I couldn't care less about what I've taken from you. I've taken a lot of things from a lot of people," the demon retorted comically. Maeve didn't find it very funny.
She looked at me, her persona unchanging. Her mouth didn't move but I suddenly heard her silky voice inside of my head. I was startled, obviously, due to it's realistic sound and not some conscience. I didn't take my eyes off of her as "she" spoke.
"Bella, can you hear me? If so, don't say anything out loud. Just think it. I can hear your confusion but I'll explain if you just listen."
I couldn't quite understand the situation but I understood what she was saying. Instead of saying yes out loud, I spoke the word in my mind, just like if I was thinking to myself.
"Good. I've heard of this ability being associated with gods. A lot of your powers deal with your mind, which, to my relief, includes telepathy. Once you learn to control it, you can connect with someone willing to talk like so. Since you've never done it before, your thoughts were easily accessible to me. Some witch spell, ignore it. But anyway, we need to take Salazar down and we need to do it quickly. If we do it by talking like this he won't know what hit him. Understand?"
"Yes," I thought. This was a way for us to coordinate without Salazar hearing... genius. Pretty cool too.
"Now I understand gods can locate weak points on their opponents. While you were on Salazar, did you find any?" she asked.
"No, I didn't even think about doing that," I replied.
"I'm pretty sure he's not gonna give you another opportunity to either."
"Most likely."
"Then I guess we'll have to work off common sense." I even heard her sigh of frustration.
"Are you just going to stand here? Come on. I'm anxious to see what it's like to fight two girls," Salazar groaned as Maeve and I conversed in silence.
"Well... there is one weak point every guy shares," I 'said' to her. A smile crept across her face.
"You're right. Good thinking. But that's gonna be hard to hit at first. We need to do something to leave him defenseless," she insisted.
"A good kick in the knees will do the trick," I offered. We agreed on the plan and took action. Since I was already behind him, I easily kicked the back of his knee and watched him tumble to the ground reflexively. Maeve was quick to deliver that below the belt kick and the satisfaction that swept her face when he cried out in agony made me smile.
But suddenly, the demon scrambled to his feet. Pain still shadowed his face but he had enough mobility and strength to do some serious damage. "You wretched whores! Damn you!" he fumed. I didn't appreciate being called a whore so I swiftly roundhouse kicked him in the jaw and sent him to the ground again. But he was up in no time, clearly proving that he wouldn't be defeated that easily. He then launched himself at me, swinging a heavy fist which I somehow blocked with my forearm. He froze with shock and so did I for a moment there. But the way he left himself vulnerable for just those few seconds allowed for me to sneak my technique in. I grabbed his head and connected our eyes; those red piercing orbs made my knees weak... in the bad sense of course. But I channeled every bit of energy, every bit of strength I had into him. When his eyes widened in horror I smiled with delight.
I'm not quite sure what I did, I didn't even have a set punishment in my head. I just... winged it I guess. But whatever it was was strong enough to overpower his self-proclaimed greatness. The veins in Salazar's face began to protrude from his skin, vulgarly shifting beneath it like worms in loose soil. They glowed a dark shade of red for a moment and then purple flooded them, almost as if I had corroded his soul somehow. The color reached his eyes but not a trace of it shifted into his eye color. The veins that stretched from his sockets reminded me of the rays of the sun, beautiful but deadly. Smoke began to ooze from them and I suddenly received déjà vu from when I scorched his eyes a while back. He screamed like he had then and tumbled backward, falling to his knees and digging his palms into his eyes like a crying child. His head shook madly but only sent more smoke into the air.
Maeve observed the scene from a safe distance and smiled malevolently. I joined her and was surprised that I could feel so much satisfaction from someone's agony. It scared the hell out of me but at the same time, I felt... powerful.
The two of us were quickly distracted when a loud screech pierced our ears. To our right, Xur came stumbling forward with Kade and Odis right on his heels. The gargoyle's body was scarred and bleeding, but the best part was that his head was aflame. I could see the skin on his face melting and his mouth open wide as he screeched louder than he had ever before. He spun in circles, obviously unaware of the stop, drop, and roll technique that could possibly save this life. Kade's fists were aflame but the fire died out as his smile grew. Odis joined Maeve and we all watched him finish his dirty work.
Salazar wavered as he stood to his feet, but he didn't try to attack me or any of the others. He was too weak to do anything but watch Kade finish off his second in command. Xur, to our advantage, was spinning towards the pit and obviously didn't notice because he was too busy fighting the raging flames engulfing his head. He stopped just as his foot touched the ledge and rocks crumbled down. Clearly, he hadn't lost all of his common sense.
That didn't bother Kade one bit. He sprinted at the creature and delivered a final kick to his back, and with an overwhelming feeling of victory, we all watched Xur helplessly fall to his potential death.
Salazar raged but his eyes couldn't focus on Kade. His sockets still oozed with smoke and it was easy to tell he was losing his eyesight and possibly his eyes. But it didn't stop him; he drunkenly ran at Kade who seized him without much effort. He grabbed both of his arms and made sure the demon looked him straight in the eyes.
"This is where your story comes to an end," he growled. Salazar realized he was defeated and didn't make any more efforts to struggle. He still yelled when Kade twisted his arms and shoved him forward with a staggering amount of fuming strength. The demon stumbled the rest of the way and wasn't able to stop himself from tripping over the edge of the pit. His cries could be heard echoing off of the rocky walls as he joined Xur in the Hell he was responsible for.
As if the pit had been waiting to welcome him, the ground began to develop and concealed the gaping hole. In a matter of seconds, there was no sign of the pit and the purple flames around us sizzled out.
We all exchanged looks. We weren't smiling anymore but inside we were beaming with joy.
It was finally over.