Rebellion

Chapter 20

Chapter 20~

I heard the screams and cries of demons and people before I saw them all. Let me tell you, the sight certainly was not inspiring anymore. It was brutal, sickening, and frightening. So much pain and death. But I gritted my teeth and followed Callum in to the heart of the battle.

Callum and I were separated almost instantly. He saw Zane in a difficult situation and ran to his aid. I did not follow him, for I had my own problem at hand. Three hairless Demons were headed towards me; They had long, leathery wings and black beaks dripping with blood and gore. They were using Their wing membranes to walk forward, Their back legs only like stumps, obviously only useful for perching. They glanced back between Themselves and me, clacking Their beaks and blinking Their large, black eyes. I tightened my grip on my sword. Suddenly, the One in the middle lunged into the air, attacking at my head and shoulders. I swung my blade up towards It, but It sensed my movement before I was even close to hitting It and flew out of the way, squawking at me in a mocking way. I growled low in my throat, and it lunged at me again. This time though, I was ready. Remembering my training with Callum I spread my feet apart and bent my knees. It dived at me and I stepped backwards, thrusting my blade forward. It tried to stop before hitting my weapon, but It had too much momentum forward, and lost balance, slicing It’s left wing as It desperately tried to get out of the way of my blade. It released a loud screech, causing me to wince. Not being able to fly, It crashed into the soft soil, and broke the membrane of It’s already injured wing. The other two Demons were now extremely angry with having a hurt comrade, and They both attacked me. I crouched low to the ground, causing Them to dive low. I then scooted forward, and They then grew confused with my intentions. They soared higher into the air, planning to dive bomb me one after the other. I stood up, still making sure my knees were bent, and prepared for their attack. The larger One went first, diving at an incredible speed. I ran towards it, baring my teeth. I let my blade hang low, and swung it upwards at the last possible second, impaling the Demon right in the lower abdomen. Blood instantly spurted out of the wound as I removed my blade from Its stomach. The Demon screeched and lost altitude at the pain I had caused with that injury. It too crash landed into the ground, breaking several bones in the process. I braced myself for the next attack, looking into the sky to see what It had planned now, but saw it already falling from the sky, and arrow piercing It’s leathery skin. I looked back down and saw Callum smiling at me.

“Well done Neera,” He said, gesturing to the dead bodies. My eyes happened to fall on a Demon behind Callum, charging at him full speed, dagger sized teeth bared, It’s five foot tongue swirling around, spraying saliva everywhere. I grabbed a dagger from a loop in my uniform and screamed at Callum to duck, and launched my dagger at the Demon, scoring a solid hit in Its forehead. It bellowed, shaking the ground with Its cry, and collapsed as blood poured out of the wound at an accelerating rate. Callum looked at me, eyes wide.

“Thanks,” He said.

“Don’t mention it,” I said smirking. But my moment of victory did not last long. Another Demon quickly took Its chance to attack me, and pushed me into the ground, It’s high pitched screeching ringing in my ear. I rolled away towards Callum as the Demon lunged for me, Its large hole of a mouth open and ready to scoop me up in Its jaws. I had my sword clutched close to my chest as I finally jumped up. I glanced behind me where I last saw the Demon attack me, and saw it lying on the ground, two arrows pierced in its thick, hairy hide. My eyes widened as I glanced back at Callum.

“I guess we’re even,” I said smirking. He only nodded his reply as he quickly nocked another arrow and aimed to his right and shot a Demon. I decided to join the action. I glanced around me and saw a girl who looked my age in trouble. A large Demon had her pinned to the ground, It’s large claws covering her chest, growling in her ear. Tears were streaming down her face as she desperately tried to reach for her dagger that was thrown behind her. I ran as quickly and quietly as possible behind the Demon, and raised my sword above my head before bringing it down in the Demon’s back with all the force I could muster. It screeched, lifting It’s long neck into the air and turning to face me. It had no eyes, but It’s nostril’s were huge. It’s wide wings snapped backwards, trapping me in between them. I shrieked as It squished me in Its wings, and I dropped my blade from the pressure. I glanced downwards and saw the girl I helped wriggle free of the Demon’s grasp and finally reach her dagger, clutching it tightly before aiming it at the Demon, and throwing her dagger into Its chest. The Demon let out a blood curdling scream, and twitched before loosening Its wings and letting me go free.   It twitched severely before falling limp and collapsing on the ground. I quickly picked up my sword and looked at the girl. Her dark red hair was tied back from her oval face, and her hazel coloured eyes were grateful.