Keepers of Time

16. Images: Part 2

16. Images: Part 2

“The demons have found them,” I said in a rush. “There is just one from the last image I saw. But there must be more.”

Gabriel nodded as we ran to find the latch that opened to the secretive underground cave.  We found it hidden beneath a discreetly covered patch of tulips that was seamlessly made for its purpose.  Gabriel and I would have never stumbled upon it if it wasn’t for Kimberly’s memories.

The hidden trapdoor opened with a creek, pitch darkness meeting our eyes as we descended down the ancient ladder. Once we reached the bottom of the cave Gabriel materialized a torch and set it ablaze, the fire illuminating our surroundings.  It wasn’t even a full minute that we were below that we heard the distant clattering of metal and grunting.

We ran in the direction of the commotion, unsheathing our concealed daggers. What we came to face was going to require more arsenal than our measly daggers.  Gabriel must have thought the same thing as he materialized his sword in hand and tossed an extra to me.  We engaged in the battle with the beastly Snipcriz demons, carefully minding their pinchers.  They carried poison that would take days to heal from, not to mention the agonizing pain that ensued from the bite itself.

Snipcriz demon’s were huge genetically altered spiders like a science experiment gone wrong.  On a scale of 1 to 10 on the deadliest demon scale they were a 10 and could kill us if they released enough of their poison into our system.

When the demons saw two new threats they scattered away from Kimberly and Nick (I believe that was the dark haired brother’s name), leaving only one demon for Kimberly to fight while Nick tried to manage with two.  That left one demon for both Gabriel and I.

“How did you-” I heard Kimberly say, stopping mid sentence.  A momentary look in her direction made my heart stop in my throat.  She was lying on the ground, crawling away from the demon’s advancement.

“Dammit!”

Feeling the anger from the demon in front of me and the fear for Kimberly’s life, I stalked forward and dodged to the left as its pinchers made a move to penetrate my skin.  But I was faster and I thrust my sword into its center, killing the disgusting creature.

When I turned around, I saw Gabriel finishing off his Snipcriz.  He didn’t waste time as he ran to the other side of the cave where Nick was still in the defense, fending off the two Snipcriz.  I ran to my right where Kimberly was also on the defense, dodging the Snipcriz’s pinchers as it thrust forward in swift moments, trying to bite her.

It succeeded.

Everything happened in slow motion as I saw it bite at her side, hooking its razor sharp claws into her head and releasing its deadly poison.  Her agonizing scream struck a chord deep within my soul.  Everything faded into the background and only the sound of her pain resonated within the chambers of my being.  Boiling, hot rage consumed my every thought as I thrust my sword into the unsuspecting demon, and everything around me came rushing back in double time. 

I sank down into my knees and curled Kimberly into my lap.  A soft whimper of pain escaped her lips and I soothingly rocked her in my arms, feeling as if the world was crumbling around me.  Gabriel and Nick were still in a fiercely tight battle with the other demons until Nick slayed his followed by Gabriel’s defeat.

“How did you know I was here,” she said breathlessly.

Her eyes were glazed over and I knew that her vision was failing her.  She closed her eyes and said slowly, “I’m dying…I can feel it. Please, don’t go.”

“Shh…you’re going to be okay,” I said but even as I said those words a tremor of fear of their uncertainty hit me in full force.  I didn’t know how much poison the demon had inflicted into her system.  We needed to get her back to the Council.