THE LAST GATEKEEPER

The Act

          Scorned bodies lie in the road beginning to decompose and Azlyn couldn’t bring herself to look at them, she didn’t have time to look at them. The Wraith rode after her. From what little she’d actually seen of the thing it had long limbs and a faceless head. Its skin was similar to that described of an angel. Everyone had always been told that Angels were faceless, white skinned and winged guardians. But here she was getting chased by that of the same description. She turned her head once more as she scrambled toward the tavern. Its features gleamed in the grey rain; a larger frame than a man but similar besides that, wore no clothes and had no distinctive gender. It had had wings when it landed but now she couldn’t see them.

            She strode into the charred building and realized he might be too big to get through the door. Azlyn turned back and saw it shatter the door frame without losing any of its pace. She turned back and ran out the backdoor.

            Damn she thought to herself seeing nothing for miles further on. It would surely be able to keep that pace longer than she could, she would have no hope running further. Her hair was soaked at this point and she realized how wet she was. She realized the way her shirt now stuck hot against her back and stomach, the way her sleeves hugged her forearms and caressed her calves. She withdrew the blade Crohan had given her and shifted on her left heel to face the Wraith. Even without a face it seemed to grimace as it broke the backdoor’s frames. She was atoned and if she died here than it would be a formidable death. Her grasp on the blade tightened.

            “AKIMI!” She barked and slashed in much the same way Crow would do so. The Wraith barely dodged the swing and it cringed backwards. It gave him a simple migraine at best but nothing that would even cause damage. Again that seemingly impossible yet very real grimace crossed its face.

            The blade wavered in her hand as she slung it through the air again and this time it struck the wraith’s left forearm. Its movements were very metallic and it seemed to feel no pain as the blade gouged into its flesh. It, blade still lodged into left arm, struck out at Azlyn with its right arm. She pulled back losing the blade in its arm. Rain barraged against her back and she could tell she was beginning to shiver. In all directions this grey cloud stretched in the sky and left no visible sun to glare through its veil. She drew the other sword Crow had given her and sliced the Wraith’s gut open. From the pale colored abdomen bled a white substance that Azlyn quickly concluded to be blood and she uplifted the blade into the Wraith’s chin as it came closer. It stopped rather than fell back and seemed to only get angry about the cut rather than hurt. That same white blood swept down its neck and collected in its detailed collar bone. It again pursued and Azlyn made to run backwards. But before she turned she ran into the picket fence that she’d forgotten about. Its presence came to her back and she jabbed her blade back at the Wraith. She felt the blade get caught in something and glanced back at the Wraith with its body holding the blade in the same place she’d slashed its abdomen. Before when he’d seemed not to feel any of the efforts she put into wounding the Wraith, this stopped him and an aura of awe seemed to shroud it. Its head tilted down and faced the blade in its stomach as if it could see it. Azlyn was amazed by how close she was to the thing and hesitated a second too long. It looked up and bluntly threw its right armed punch into her face.

            Dibala had given Crow a good fight so far. He’d just felt the full blown force of a furious lightning bolt cast by the witch. She wanted to win this and it showed, her sarcastic attitude had faded from her face and she was devoted to the fight now.

            Crohan flew slid in the mud and only a rock stopped him. He suffered the affects of the disorientation for only moments and quickly gathered himself. A loud noise to his right turned his head and Crow saw one of the tall Wraiths hit Azlyn in the face. The force cast her through the fence to her back and across the plains. A blaze of fear hit Crow’s heart for a mere second but that was enough, the last time he’d felt fear had been at least a year ago. She went limp in the mud. Crow saw the Wraith step over the demolished fence and was faced with a decision.

            Help the girl or Kill the Witch

            After all this time and after all the innocent souls that had died in his path, was he really getting delayed by one single girl?

            Forget the girl and KILL THE WITCH He told himself.

            He stumbled to his feet and picked up his blade that had nearly been covered in mud in his time on the ground. He sprinted towards the witch that toyed with Jack Baxter and he prepared to attack.

            The pitching scream of Azlyn struck Crow harder than any attack he’d ever felt the blow of in all his life. He nearly fell to his knees but he managed to just stop. Jack gave him one look of confusion and felt the consequence of Dibala’s long clawed hand peeling a deep flesh wound in his face. Crow turned slowly and gazed at Azlyn shuffling on her hands and knees away from the Wraith that approached in a paced walk. Mud splattered into her face as she did so. He turned again and saw Dibala now watching him with a wide eyed grin. He had an audience of Jack, with one hand over his bloody face and Dibala, waiting for him to come kill her. There she was, one of the three reasons he’d come so far, standing in the rain, waiting to be killed and he was thinking about giving her up. Seconds past as years in Crow’s mind and against all of his Vengeance stood one figure of Justice, he would save the girl.

            Seconds became seconds again and Crohan dashed through the mud. His speed newfound and his will newborn, the rain painted his face. He was halfway when the Wraith stood over her and threw a bone breaking punch into her face again. She fell limp in the mud once again and Crow quickened and leapt over the fence faster than anyone Jack had ever seen. The Wraith clenched the girl’s throat and punched her face one more time sending splatters of blood into the air to be mixed with the mud. Crow slid to his knees as the Wraith sent one more punch and caught the blow in his spine. He felt the shattering noises of the bones below his neck as he saw Azlyn fall to the ground beneath him. Jack watched him catch the blow and felt his heart drop for the way he’d saved her. Crohan took his blade and beheaded the Wraith there and then with one swift swing. It hovered over the hunter for seconds more and then in a blunt dead way it fell sideways and its head slid into the mud making its own little splash in the mud. The Wraith’s white blood mixed with the mud as Crow turned and slid one arm under Azlyn’s knees and one under her back. He lifted her whilst feeling the deadly piercing of bones in his back. In the rain he turned and saw Dibala gazing back at him with thin eyes. She vanished in a dispersing of black and grey mist and Crow looked down at his damsel. Her neck tilted backwards as far as it could and a mix of blood and rain ran down her already bruising face and into her long blonde hair. Sweat spilled down his forehead and his breath relieved itself as he felt his body overheat from the great act he’d just done. Jack smiling widely at him from across at least half a mile watched as Crow stood and then slipped back down to his knees. He’d sacrificed physically and mentally for a girl and he had no idea why.