Legendborn Oneshots

Icarus

It all happened so fast.

They weren't supposed to be outside of the barrier that long. It was a simple training exercise. But the bevy of hell beasts had come out of nowhere. And they were so coordinated. Like they'd been planning this. Which could only mean there was an Goruchel among them calling the shots.

And there was.

It took the shape of an older man, but there must have been some damage to the corpse. The arms where too long and it walked with a strange limp. Even Alice could tell that the creature was not human.

Despite its haggard appearance, it was strong. That misshapen potato sack of a creature was able to keep up with their Kingsmage. Punch for punch. Strike for strike. It was unsettling to see Sel struggling with just one Goruchel. Especially when I'd seen him take down twenty lesser demons in three minutes flat. Now a string of thirty other hellish creatures kept William and I occupied. We were all fighting for our lives.

That's when it happened.

A flying demon grabbed Alice. Just as it happened our eyes met and the terror registered so strong in Alice's eyes. My heart sank in an instant. All at once I was in that dark cave again watching Fitz fall to his death.

No. Not again. Never again.

I ran after her. Without a second thought. William screamed for me to wait, but I didn't. I used Arthur's strength to launch a sizable rock like a shotput ball. The bat like creature easily dodged it. I threw another and it's purplish leathery wings beat harder against the air. The downward wind gusts fell harshly kicking up leaves and dust blurring my vision.

By the time my eyes cleared Alice was so much higher in the air. I wasn't even sure if Sel could reach that height. Despite her obvious disadvantage, I could see Alice fighting back. She managed to free one of her arms from it's dangerous sharp talons. That left her swinging precariously by her other captured limb.

Alice! No!

My legs burned and I was struggling to keep up on foot with the speed of a demon in flight.

I knew what I had to do, but could I?

I focused all of Arthur's power, not to my hands, but to the center of my back. Flames shot out in the haphazard shape of wings. The flesh on my back burned with a pain that I'd never experienced before, but I couldn't summon the wherewithal to care. I was gaining height and speed toward her. Moving fast up toward Alice desperately reaching my hand out. The trees of the forest below became small underneath me, but I only spared a single glance down.

Closer.

Closer!

Closer!!!

Our hands clasped with a loud resounding clap. I pulled my arms around her. Alice was shaking, but her face was brave and calculating all the same. The flying beast let out a roar of discontent bringing down it's sharp nails to impale us both. We evaded breathlessly, holding on to each other for dear life. The oversized devil bird did everything it could to shake me off. My stomach threatened to upend itself. Soon it became apparent that the hellbeast was losing height due to our combined weight.

I got you now!

When I saw my opening, I pivoted us around and used my foot to kick the hottest flames I could manage.

My foot burned a hole right through the underside of the beast as it let out another deafening screech. It finally released its hold on Alice leaving us in total free fall plummeting toward the Earth.

Come on Arthur! I need more flames. This fall is definitely going to kill me.

A few small flames puttered from my back, then another spark from my foot. The sheer force of the air whipping around our bodies extinguished every attempt. As if resigning us, all I could do was wrap my arms around Alice tighter. I prayed Arthur's strength would be enough for my legs to take on the full impact of our fall.