Animi Motus

15: Mirandum

I can't swing my tomahawks fast enough. I'm in a sea of black malefica robes, chopping my way around. No time for strategy, just chopping and zapping. So far, it seems that only some of the malefica can use magic. They must be the higher-ups. Just a moment ago, one of them grabbed one of my axes, and with a quick incantation, I was unable to move it. I electrocuted her immediately, and the spell was broken. Two malefica charge at me, and I prepare to dismember them, when Asher pops into existence between us. His swords impale both of the witches. I freeze, startled.

"We're back," He says, backing towards me. "All of us."

"I can see that," I say. "These guys came out of nowhere. We saw the legatus, the ones Cinereus told us about. I think they were going to fight us, but they bolted as soon as they saw Riley. We think they're his secundum." I have to yell for him to hear me. "Go help the others!" He nods, and disappears into thin air. I refocus on my opponents. Three more malefica are waiting for me.

"Well I don't have all damn day!" I yell. "Come on!" They cackle disgustingly, and rush at me, armed with maces. I take out the first one's knee, then the second cries out as I catch her shoulder blade with the pointed end of my axe. In one, fluid motion, I twist around, sending the two malefica crashing into each other. The third is unintimidated, and lunges at me, swinging her mace. I lurch back to avoid having my face bashed in, and duck to the ground. The force of her spin throws the witch off balance for just a moment. A moment I use to my advantage. Cleanly, I separate her head from her shoulders. Her body turns grey instantly, then crumbles into chunks of rubble. I make a mental note that I have yet to see a malefica that isn't female.

I turn to face my next opponent, but they're already on me. They're larger than the malefica I've seen so far, wearing heavy black armour instead of robes. For the first time, I can't definitively say that it's a her. Or that this is a malefica at all. It's weight pushes me to the ground. I swing my axe up, but it dodges, then snaps it from my grasp. Whatever this thing is, it's strong. Too strong. It has a mace like the others. I electrocute it, but there's no reaction.

"Good try, Primus," the deep voice is cold and empty. "Ecce ego ad te."

My mind is reeling, but I can still translate. "I am here for you." I squirm, but a knee is on my windpipe. I can't breathe. It raises it's mace, and I close my eyes. Then the weight disappears. I open my eyes, and the malefica is gone. Well, on closer examination, not gone. It's hanging one hundred feet above my head. And then it falls, hitting the ground with a sickening crunch. I look back up to identify my savior. The being hovers above me, snow white wings stretching twelve feet across. The only word I can think to describe her, is angel. But I know better. This is no angel. This is Legatus Tristitia. We make eye contact briefly, and I think I see her nod before she zips away.

Back in the fight, I'm beginning to lose hope as I mow down malefica, one after the other. There seems to be an infinite amount of them. How are we going to get out of this? I'm starting to get tired. I don't know how much more of this I can take. My left arm aches from a cut I got a few minutes earlier, and my throat is still sore from almost being choked to death. I can't even see the others, except for when a group of witches rise up in the air, signaling Riley's zero gravity fields. Are they facing their own mega malefica specifically engineered to kill them? Suddenly, Asher is standing next to me again, just as I slice off a malefica's mace holding arm. He's gasping for air, and a fresh wound on his thigh is just starting to heal.

"We, we have to go," He heaves. "They... took Riley, and I can't find Gus anywhere. There's too many of them, Nessa. We're getting clobbered."

"What do you mean they took him? We have to get him!" I shout.

"He's gone, Nessa. There was nothing I could do. There was this malefica, she was massive, and she nearly got me, but Riley lit her up. Then they just swarmed him..." Asher pauses to impale a malefica trying to ambush us.