Night Guardian

Chapter 2, Part 5

"Oh shit," Kayla said.

It was the beast. They could hear it's breath from outside, its steps shaking the ground as it paced around the mansion.

"It can't get in here, can it?" Kayla practically whimpered.

"No. As long as the owner of this house is alive, a protection will remain over it." Sondra said. "I guess the beast wanted to come to us."
"How did it go undetected though? We searched every inch of the land!"

"I do not know.  There are many questions that remain unanswered.  For now, we need to protect the citizens of this town, and kill the beast tonight." She answered.
"Let's go. Flaen will stay here with Kayla and Maestro."

"But I never get to fight!" He complained.

"That's because you always fuck shit up," Nicholas ruffled his hair, walking past him with the group. Flaen pouted.

"Be careful," the three said, almost in unison. 

Sondra made sure to bolt the door behind them with an enchantment.

CARLOS

"Gaaah! That fucking Maestro will pay for this!" Carlos exclaimed, holding his eye. The coward had been injured by Michael's powers, and that wasn't even the full force of it. He didn't know what Michael did to him, but he did know it felt like acid had been poured onto his eyeball. It would take a while for him to heal it; the image he projected to the guardians through the onyx stone did not depict his actual features. The real  Carlos was no longer the good looking caramel skinned relative of Nicholas Devereaux. His features were unrecognizable and grotesque; he had to sew himself a new form out of the skins of many animals he'd killed so that he looked like some sort of super creature. His form was weak, but steadily building strength through the curse devouring the land. The souls of the poor animals he'd killed were trapped under his command, and they took on many forms themselves, like shape-shifters.

"Where is Thomas?" He said to them in his deep raspy voice.

"I am here, Master Devereaux," came a voice, with a southern twang to it. "Is there anything you need assistance with?"

"I need you to hear what I'm about to say," he replied. "Listen, all of you. The second installment of our plan begins tonight. My servants will go out and bite every man, woman and child they come across. Do not touch the holy ones, or you will surely disintegrate. Go now! Fulfill your duties!" The creatures screamed in approval, an unnerving cry that sounded like rusty nails scraping a chalkboard.
They all flew out into the darkness, leaving just Carlos and his most valued servant.
"I have a special task for you" he gave a malformed smile. The man adjusted his spectacles on the bridge of his nose. "Tell me what I have to do," he said.

SONDRA

Sondra and the other guardians rushed out of the mansion, only to be met with nothing but silence. Confused, they looked around for the beast, waiting to see if it had gone behind the house. However, it didn't come.

"What the hell?" Nicholas said. "Can this thing fly?"

"I don't think so...unless it is a shapeshifter," she responded.

"It's on top of the house!" Gil shouted, pointing upward. They all scattered as it jumped to crush them flat. It hit the ground with a large thump and released a deafening roar.

The thing's yellow eyes leered at them all, a terrifying thing to behold in the darkness. It was massive, with jet black fur that stood up as it prepared to attack.

"I have been waiting for this moment," it licked its chops, pacing back and forth. "My master has promised me all the human flesh in the world, I will be called Minax, KING of animals...I will wear your skins as trophies!"

It attacked, and they started throwing their deadliest curses at it. None of them even put a dent in his fur. They all looked at each other, beginning to worry.

"What is it even made  of?" Nicholas exclaimed.

"I am not sure. We need to combine our energies. Fire at the same time! Everything has a weak point!"

They started to use even more advanced magic, to no avail. Only a scratch. To make matters worse, the beast opened it's great mouth and inhaled so that anything in its path was sucked into it. They got a glimpse inside, and nothing but a swirling vortex of darkness was visible. The creature was like a destructive black hole itself. Still, they kept fighting.

and fighting

and fighting.

Until they apparated back into the mansion to form another plan. The beast was banging on the doors. They could hear it's eerie voice saying "come out and fight me!"

"what's happening?" Kayla asked. She noticed that they looked worn out and slightly defeated.

"None of our curses or incantations work. We need another plan," Gil said. "I will summon my sword of moonstone. It seems that it is the only thing able to penetrate a powerful curse like this." He extended his hand outward, and a sword materialized. "We need to regain our energy and strike again."

They all agreed and formulated a plan; Nicholas, Sondra, and Minerva would distract Minax while Gil would sneak behind the creature and kill it. They took a moment to regain their composure, and stepped outside again.

Minax was surely waiting for them, and he charged them immediately.
                           ____
That night was suspenseful. Kayla lay upstairs in Michael's room, watching him sleep. Every now and then she would hear a distant thud and shouts as the others fought Minax outside. Kayla wished she could be of some help. She wished Michael were better. To be honest, she wanted to see the full extent of his powers, wanted to see him beat his enemies. Unfortunately, Michael was ill.
His condition was slowly improving. It seemed as if the Moon Potion had been doing its job drawing the toxin out of his body, but it wasn't quick enough. Who knows the toll that three hundred years worth of damage could take?

Michael stirred fitfully in his sleep,  and she stroked his hair, wondering what he was dreaming about. There was another thud outside, this time, against the window, which managed to scare the mess out of her. Michael awakened immediately when she flinched, sensing that she was afraid. He spoke to her quietly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, the fighting just scared me, is all," she replied. Mike pouted, now restless and worried because he couldn't help anyone. "I want to watch them out of the window," he said, moving to get up.

"It's only going to frustrate you, even more, to watch and not help."

"I know, but it's also torture to listen to."

Kayla jumped as Minax's terrible roar shook the windows of the house again. Then, just like that, everything was silent. The two looked at each other, and Kayla rushed to open the curtains.

_____

Minax was too strong.

Sondra, Gil, Nicholas, and Minerva were all exhausted and frustrated because not one tuft of fur on Minax's hide was harmed in any way. They, however, sported scratch marks that were slow to heal. It turns out that if Minax were to scratch or bite you, some of the pestilences would eat away at the skin like acid. Luckily for them, they were physically sound enough to handle it.

They tried to distract the creature as planned, but it was like it had eyes everywhere. It knew where they would disappear and show up, blocked their magic and weapons, and taunted them with laughter. He truly was a living breathing vortex of magic. Whatever they threw at him, he absorbed and returned to them tenfold. The damage had been done to the trees, street lamps were scattered and overturned, and Michael's car had gone missing.

"I've had enough," Gil fumed, "This ends now. You all will stay here."

Gil approached the beast, sword drawn. Despite the others' protests, he  advanced as Minax snapped his teeth, nearly taking an arm off. Gil caught the beast's fur and climbed on top of him, stabbing him  in the eye with the sword. Minax howled in agony, trying to shake him off. Black ichor spewed from his eye. What happened next, no one would be able to predict. Gil did the unexpected, and launched himself head first into the beast's mouth, sacrificing himself.

"Gil! NOOO!" Nicholas screamed.

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