Malicious Tales

Chapter 2

They had managed to get to London without incident, and for that, Malice was very thankful. For once, Salem didn't even beep when they went through the metal detectors at the airport, which was just a miracle in itself. The quartet had spent the night in a B&B and had decided to head out for breakfast the next day. Malice hadn't been happy with the decision, but Felix persuaded her to give the younger two a break. However, sitting in the crowded restaurant, the Necromancer knew she should have listened to her instincts. She glanced around slowly, seeing three blondes staring at her table, as they had been for the past fifteen minutes. Another group of women were staring from the opposite side of the room, and Malice was sure that even a few of the waiters were in on it. 

"Felix, you see this too, right? I'm not just paranoid?" she whispered to the silver haired man. His head didn't even move, but Malice could tell he was watching, he always was.  

"There's no way it's a coincidence. I understand we're a tad.. noticeable, but not that many people can stare for that long. Not that they're actual people of course," said Felix. 

"Risen, then. Should've known. When the Fallen find us, the Light is never too far behind." Malice nodded in grim satisfaction as her suspicions were confirmed.  

"They won't attack with this many humans around, but we can't stay here all day either. We have to go, but we need a distraction so that they can't follow." 

"I have an idea. It's risky, and requires some damn good timing, but if we get it right, we'll be out of here with a headstart," said Malice, kicking Salem and Fallon lightly to get their attention, though when your boots have spikes coming out of them, lightly is still pretty painful. Salem tensed, ready to pounce when needed and Felix took Fallon's hand.  

Malice used her Elemental magic to summon a spark to her hand, and next thing they were out the door as the whole restaurant went up in flames. The twenty one year old kept a constant flame in her hand, ready to attack at a moments notice. Felix ran next to her, carrying Fallon in one arm, summoning his icy Elemental skills with the other. Salem turned into a street cat so that he could run faster, and the quartet finally found a deserted alley to hide in.  

While the others took a minute to catch their breath, Salem padded back around the corner of the alley to keep watch. Fire engines and police cars rushed back towards the burning restaurant. Typical nosey citizens went to see what was going on, in the hopes of getting gossip for the dinner table. It seemed like the whole world was converging on the small diner. Which made the Risen pretty noticeable, because they were the only ones heading the opposite way. There weren't many of them, eleven in total, but as Malice and the others had discovered, the Light armies went for quality over quantity, and it was a tactic that worked well against their enemies.  

"We have to get out, now, or we'll have a fight on our hands. Risen are coming fast," Salem reported to the others once he'd turned back to his human form. The four were about to get moving, when Fallon sat down on the ground, crossing her arms and refusing to move. 

"I'm not leaving without Mollie! You made me drop her at the restaurant, and I want her back, right now!" she sulked. 

"Fallon, now isn't the time for this childishness, we have to move. We'll get you a new doll later," hissed Malice, trying her best not to shout. But the little girl still wasn't moving and the Risen were getting ever closer.  

"Felix, move her now, we have to go!"  

But Malice's order was too late, because Fallon had already used her Morph powers and turned to stone, binding herself to the ground. As if that wasn't bad enough, Salem shouted again in warning as the Risen had reached them. The small army went into their battle formation, one Energy Elemental in the middle, the rest fanning out around them. Two Fire, two Ice, two Earth, two Water, and two wind Elementals hovering above the ground.  

Malice, Salem and Felix moved into their own positions, forming a barrier between the Risen and the still frozen Fallon. Salem's pupils turned to slits as he channelled his feline instincts, and thorned vines protruded from his hands and arms. Felix pulled down his scarf, his pointed teeth bared. His Faerie markings glowed violet beneath his headband and ice grew down his arms and formed spikes in his hands. Malice raised her arms into a fighting stance, calling upon her shadows for assistance. A monstrous shadow rose behind her, taking on the same pose, ready and waiting to fight at it's master's will.  

All this would have been enough to scare any normal people, but the Risen didn't even flinch. They considered themselves to be angels, so as far as they were concerned, they had nothing to fear. But they were wrong. 

Salem attacked first, shooting thorns at the nearest enemy. The Energy Elemental dodged the first attack, but got hit square in the jaw by a stray vine. Salem continued to strike, giving no chance for his opponent to fight back. 

Felix, meanwhile, was in a battle of wits. He squared off against an Earth and a Fire Elemental, waiting for his opportune moment to attack. The other two clearly were making no moves just yet, and Felix wasn't about to rush things. He could almost see the cogs turning in their heads as they tried to out-think their enemy, glancing at each other every few seconds. Which was where he saw their weakness. Clearly, they depended entirely on each other, probably newbies. Seeing an opportunity, Felix just stood back, feigning relaxation, and the Risen fell for it, hook, line and sinker. They both attacked him at the same time, trying to go in for the kill. The Earth Elemental got there first, trying to wrap the Faerie in vines, but then the Fire Elemental dove straight in, burning both the vines and his ally. The first Light fell to the ground in agony, and as soon as his accomplice turned to help him, Felix went in for the kill, freezing the man on the ground before launching himself onto the other one, tearing into his throat with his teeth.  

Malice and her shadow were fighting five enemies at once in a flurry of flames and darkness. Malice swooped low as an enemy flew at her, then sprung right back up with a fiery uppercut to his jaw. The Risen went out like a light, no pun intended, but Malice had no time to celebrate as another two came right at her. The pair of Water Elementals both raised their arms, shooting jet streams of water towards her. Luckily for Malice, she had just enough time to channel her shadows into a shield, blocking the attack and forcing it back to the source, throwing both enemies across the street. An earth Elemental was stupid enough to try and sneak up on her, but the shadow protecting her back flung it into the air and knocked him right into the ground in front of Malice, who promptly turned up the heat, setting fire to his body and slamming her spiked boot right into his face. The others had apparently decided she was the biggest threat, because the remaining four began to converge against her. Salem was unconscious, scorch marks along his side, Fallon was staying as a rock and Felix was trying to protect the two, so clearly Malice wouldn't be getting any help from them.  

Grinning madly, somewhat resembling her half-brother, Malice lowered her red-tinted goggles over her eyes and took a deep breath as she felt the fire and the darkness begin to consume her. In a matter of seconds, she was consumed with black flames, and with a shriek she attacked, the inferno spreading out to each enemy, turning them to ash in the blink of an eye.  

The fire finally died down, and Malice stuck her goggles back on top of her head. She saw Salem begin to stir and Felix rushed over to her. She dully registered some shouting but it all seemed very distant to her, and next thing she knew, she was passed out on the ground.