Meridian Chronicles: Keepers & The Soul Key (#4)

Untitled Part 68

Meanwhile, Relic and Kieren were fighting off a group of demons. Each hurled with open mouths filled with sharp teeth. The guides dodged the repeated strikes of the demons with their razor-sharp claws. Injured, they both had wounds that trickled with blue blood, soaking their clothes. Winded and tired, they kept going, fighting off increasingly incoming demons with their modest weaponry.

"I can't keep this up, Relic! Where are the others?" Kieren shouted.

Arianna, Farrah, Charity, and Pramlee, had barely made it out to the bells, and the sound of help shot out through the realm as they furiously rang the bells. Etherians from all through the realm, not on Earth, tending to their humans, were alerted to the calling. They wasted not a moment getting to the castle, as they already knew the demons had arrived.

The room began to fill with Etherians. Some of them afraid, others angered by all they had suffered at the hands of Warrick. Bringing with them weaponry, even with the trained guards of the castle, barely made a dent.

Relic shouted to Caius, "It is like they are coming in from somewhere!"

Meanwhile, after they rang the bells, Farrah lead the others back to Warrick's chamber in search of his secret portal from which he used to go to the dark realm. She motioned them, "Here, look here!" Farrah said.

There toward the very back of Warrick's quarters, there was a large and heavy shelf that moved. Heat could be felt several feet from what was an opening to somewhere. Together the guides pushed the shelf away for a better view. When they did, a violent heated wind struck them backward. It pushed them down onto the floor, where another flock of shadowy black apparitions flew over their heads and out of Warrick's chambers.

Some of them had the heads of lions, strangle reptilian birds. Many of the demons had bodies with two heads, much like a snake. Jarred and frozen in fear, Pramlee sat back in shock, barely able to collect herself, "What was that?" she said.

Charity helped her to her feet, "Pramlee, those are the demon soldiers."

Farrah tried to push the shelf back to its place in hopes of closing the portal.

Arianna said, "What are you doing? That will not stop them. We need Selena!"

Quickly they left the quarters, dodging the incoming animal-like demons. The spirit guides left in a hurry back to the main area of the castle, where most of the attack has taken place and had erupted further. As they arrived, Caius was first in their line of sight, and he was rushing to Meridian's side as she struggled to hold off Astaroth and to acquire the quartz sword from her grasp.

Talon rushed to Caius, "Caius! You are out!" Talon shouted on his way over as he dashed over to assist him, he quickly charged Astaroth. Still, he remained in confusion as to which one was the real Meridian. The actual Meridian saw Caius's eyes looking at the both to discern who was who.

Meridian held up her wrist, exposing the sacred infinity mark, "Father!" she hollered as her arm waved in the air. Astaroth shot her body onto Meridian, and as she plummeted herself onto the spirit guide, Caius took her by the neck and lifted her up from the ground, her feet dangled and shook while she tried to release herself. Talon said, "I have the sword!"

Meridian watched Talon pull at the sword that Astaroth held onto and showed that she would continue to fight. As she choked in Caius's grasp, she still maintained her twisted ways, as she let out a laugh underneath her gasps. Five demons hurled into Meridian, knocking her away from where she stood, where she fell to the ground. Before she had the chance to pull herself to her feet, the one demon who had left the dark realm without warning, the very one who had kept himself hidden reemerged. Ipos engaged in one swoop from the air with his long and dragon-like wings, picked her up, crashed through the window, and disappeared.

On his heels was Valefor in full demon mode, he marched in. He watched Warrick as he defended himself against the fallen, he had cast out of Etheria. Valefor never lifted a finger, his eyes fell on Karma and he waited for her to descend from the air, so he could get the key to the Hall of Soul, to attain entrance and steal Angel's cosmic energy source.

Talon now had been distracted from Meridian being stolen. He held the sword in his grasp, Astaroth took advantage and plunged her claws into the arm that held her, knocking herself from Caius's grasp. She moved quickly to Warrick, who struggled to keep the fallen held back. Talon quickly tossed the sword to Caius, who had taken full charge through the crowd after Astaroth.

The nymphs saw Meridian taken, and without a second thought, they quickly shot out of the same window to follow Ipos. Still, before Karma could make her exit, Valefor opened his mouth and shot out a horrendous fireball at high speed. It knocked her to the ground, where she suffered a small injury to her wing. Valefor shot over to her, where he unleashed several blows to her face with his large hands, one right after the other before she was nearly knocked out.

Relic and Kieren, with a few other fallen, engaged Valefor by attacking him, but not before he got the key away from Karma and dashed to the entrance to the hall of souls. With so much fighting and chaos, things happened so rapidly everyone was confused.

Meridian soared through the air, within Ipos's death grasp taking her through Etheria far from the castle, with his own plan to stop the Spirit Guides. With all Etherians dash to the castle, Etheria seemed like a ghost realm to Meridian's eyes. Ipos descended from the air and found a vacated home of an Etherian. He plunged through the door with Meridian in his arms, who still fought him with every inch. Once in the house, he threw Meridian down onto the floor, kicked her side with his large foot.

Meridian balled up in pain, she held herself while she coughed. Before he could give her another kick, Meridian was on her feet to face the demon. Their eyes met, and Ipos quickly locked onto Meridian's memories of times past in Etheria, her time as a human until the moment of their meeting.

"You aren't the only one who can read memories, demon!" Meridian shouted, "You left the dark realm! You coward! Because you know the fate of you all! Why did you come back? Why are you here now, demon!"

Ipos caught off guard, struggled with the words she heard from Meridian, "How do you ...how do you know? How can you read my memories of visions of the future?"

Meridian smiled and laughed, "I am the chosen one of Etheria! That's why!"

"You can't hurt me without your precious sword, where are your keepers now? Where are they to protect you!" Ipos arrogantly said.

Siren emerged, and with her sound, that strangely had no effect on the demon. She lunged toward him with her palms facing outward, she shot out a ray to him. He simply lifted his hand and deflected it back onto Venus, who arrived right behind her. Lotus stepped in front of the return death ray. Upon impact, an aqua shield emerged, protecting them from the shock, and it quickly dissipated into thin air.

"You are no match for me. Etheria's time has ended, and the demons will take the source of power from the angels. It is our time now; we will have all power over the realms. Kneel before your master!" Ipos shouted.

Meridian lunged at the demon, "You lie! That is not what is deep in your own memory of your vision! The time you warned the other demons what would come to pass! What do you think you can do, rewrite the future?"

Ipos grinned, "No, but I am sure I can find a way to sway you. Your human mother, your Tallulah, how about I have my way with her? End her and Esmra and their precious coven?"