The Sentinels

Chapter 16- The Light in the Dark

C A L L U M

Callum couldn't fight his best friend.

He wouldn't let it end like this, even if the boy inside the midnight armor was not exactly Ben.

The Black Knight began firing shadowy blasts at Callum, but he pursued relentlessly, deflecting each blow with his sword.

Callum halted in front of the Black Knight, looking him in the eyes.

"Ben," Callum begged,"You know I can't let you do this. People are going to die. This isn't you!"

The Black Knight raised his sword, and Callum met the blade with a shield of solidified light.

Callum bashed the Black Knight back forcefully, and countered another strike with Excalibur.

"Ben, please!" Callum entreated desperately,"I don't want to hurt you."

The Black Knight slashed Bane across Callum's chest, and the deleterious blade cut through his armor, creating a deep gash. Callum jumped back to evade a blow to the face, but the sword still grazed his face, leaving a bloody laceration.

Callum looked to his friend forgivingly, stoically enduring the pain.

The Black Knight's fierce expression briefly was overtaken with uncertainty, but vengeance once again ignited in his eyes. With a snarl, he hurled a surge of darkness into Callum, and he was sent flying across the courtyard.

Callum crashed into the Washington Square Arch forcefully, and collapsed to the ground.

* * *

Vera knocked a soldier off his monstrous mount, flying into the air.

Fomorian horses were an unnatural amalgam of horses and bats. Large, leathery wings protruded from their equine bodies. Their heads were long, with features of pointed ears and fanged mouths.

A squadron of armored horseman on Fomorian chargers rode through the air chasing Ezra and Vera, the horses' eye sockets aglow with phantasmal fire.

Ezra, back in his draconic form, breathed a wave of fire at the horsemen. The hellish horses roared, evading the flames and continuing their hunt on the duo of sentinels.

Vera held out the Fomorian spear, and stirred her bucking horse toward Ezra. After focusing a dangerous amount of energy into the end of the weapon, she transpierced the spear into the horse's gaunt rib cage, and launched herself through the air.

Vera landed light-footedly onto the dragon, and the horse flew back toward the horde of horsemen. The spear flickered with light, and abruptly exploded, enveloping the horsemen in a concussive energy blast.

Vera smiled at the whirling mass of shadows left in the wake of the explosion.

Bolts of energy began to explode around them, and Vera frowned, finding legions of soldiers charging from under them.

Vera instinctively grabbed hold of the dragon's body, knowing exactly what happened next.

Ezra flew upward, gyrating in the air. He opened his mouth, and a stream of white-hot flames engulfed the street below.