Lonely One

Chapter 13 - Finally Fighting Together

××Stormy××

"Alright then Niton," Dad spat, "How do we do this?"

"Stormy's gonna kill him." Niton smiled crookedly and dropped an arm around my shoulders as he said this. My dads eyes narrowed in on the action and his words.

"No." The word was spoken by both my parents.

"Her bow has enough power to do it. And with an arrow of my design, it'll kill him," Niton reasoned.

"She will need people to cover her while she gets close enough," My mom spoke after a few minutes, causing Dads hard gaze to switch to her.

"You can't be serious?" Dad said accusingly.

"I am. A demon thinks she can do it, so why shouldn't we be believe it as well?"

It was a few more minutes of tense unspoken fighting before Dad nodded.

"Lets find the others then," He sighed, leading us to the last place he saw my family.

"The others?" Niton questioned, slashing the head off a flying demon as we followed closely behind.

"You'll see." He'd learn about my family soon enough and it still felt strange talking about it when we had both kept our pasts much to ourselves.

We battled our way across the clearing, using the trees to our advantage to block incoming magic attacks. The closer we got to the center, the bigger the demons got. I dodged behind a tree just as an axe flew by my head, lodging itself into a demons body.

It just so happened to be Finchs enchanted double sided axe. He landed on the ground next to me, a stupid smile on his face.

"You came back!"

Just floating behind Finch was his girlfriend Lavender, her purple wings fluttering behind her as healing magic flowed from her fingers. Her magic flowed from her directly into Finch, healing his wounds before our eyes. Before long the magic was being directed towards us. I could feel the tingly sensation on my skin before my cuts and burns began to heal.

"I did," I said, smiling slightly. Finch and I weren't exactly close but it still warmed my heart.

"This is Niton and he thinks Stormy can kill the high demon. We are going to cover her," Dad explained quickly. Finchs eyes widened, glancing to me quickly.

"Shes gotten good with the bow," Mom added in, setting her hands on Dads shoulders from the air.

"I'm going to gather a few fairies to help. I'll meet you there." Mom and Dad shared a quick kiss before she was off into the sky, quickly getting lost in the chaos of fairies and demons above.

"Where's Dion?" I asked.

"I'm here." I jumped as a hand landed on my shoulder and Niton bared his sharp teeth in surprise, knocking Dions hand away from me. Before Niton could react further, I pushed my arm out to stop him.

"This is my other brother, Dion," I explained. Dion didn't give Niton a second glance, his eyes still trained on the fight.

"Is this everyone? We need to move before Raum gets enough power to create something even worse." Niton looked worried, understandably so. The demons seemed to continue to get bigger.

"Yes, this way." Dad took the lead, rushing into the fighting again. I stayed in the middle of our small group and took shots whenever the opportunity presented itself.

It was surreal almost. This was what I had always wished for. I always wanted to fight alongside my family. To be part of the fight. To have this level of trust with those around me. Lavender stayed with me in the middle of the group, directing her magic to who needed it most which allowed us to make quick progress towards Raum.

Before long, Mom was rejoining us with multiple fairies in tow. I recognized one as my companion from school but that was it. The rest were strangers but they all looked ready to fight, to help me. We kept on, fairy magic and bladed weapons flying by my head but I never worried. We were in sync and for once, I believed I had a purpose. I was part of the fight.

We finally started nearing the epicenter. The grass beneath my feet was hot, I could feel the warm air against my skin and the fiery cracks in the earth grew larger.

I could hear the demonic chanting now and could see the large demons surrounding Raum, multiples of them dead littered around him, creating a shield. The king was unknowingly making this more difficult. I could almost make out his bright yellow hair from where I stood, standing out amongst the soot clouds.

"We need to find a place she can take the shot!" Niton yelled over the battle. The larger demons cries filled the air, making my ears ring. It was soon after we realized that one of the larger demons had noticed our small party and was heading towards us.

"Go! We'll take care of this!" Dad yelled, an unspoken spell lighting up his weapon. Dion and Finch were next to him; Finchs green wings making a rare appearance. Mom and the other fairies took off into the sky, Lavender staying back but ready.

With one last look, Niton and I rushed away. As much as I hated leaving my family behind, if I got rid of Raum, it would help them in the end. Niton kept me from getting hit as we weaved between burning trees and dead bodies, trying to find a spot where we could see Raum. It felt like we went in circles forever before we came upon a dense group of trees. We pushed through them, ready to keep going before I paused abruptly. Niton rammed into my back, almost causing us to topple over.

Nitons gaze followed my line of vision. His hands wrapped around my waist and quickly pulled me further back into the brush and foliage. His warm arms distracted me for a moment before we were both huddling down and watching the scene.

Before us stood Raum. Large red horns spiraled into the air and giant black, singed wings threw cinders across the earth. He was easily 12 feet tall, smaller than the large demons surrounding him but we both knew that power was not dictated by size.

"Are you ready for this?" Niton whispered against my ear. I wasn't sure but I nodded anyways.

"How does this work with your power?" I asked, holding the bow in front of me.

"Pull it back and I'll make the arrow."

Before I could even begin, a dark laugh surrounded us. My eyes shot up to meet Raums ink black wells.

"Niton. What a pleasure to see you here," His voice met my ears as a whisper and a shout. It was almost like a 100 voices had been chaoticlly blended into one.

Niton stood, stepping in front on me as I held my bow for dear life.

"Are you here to betray me?" Raum laughed. Nitons hands clenched his fists at his sides but before he could answer, dark smoke was surrounding him.