Tainted by Aurora Kryan (read e book .txt) 📕

I could hear ahead. I could hear the battle befor I saw it. There were sounds of growling and metal clashing. When Hans’ broke through the heavy canopy of the forest I heard someone yell. It was Bayne, she was divining down at Camille. One of her wings was misshapen and bleeding. Well she was covered in blood so I assumed her wing was bleeding.

Her whole right side was bathed in blood. She continued her battle cry as she made contact with a sword. Camille had a double edged sword she was defending herself with. Bayne growled in frustration. I looked around quickly for Raven. When I found her she was on the far side of the blood stained field with Beowulf and Perce in horse form.

“Raven, Beowulf, Perce.”

I yelled over to them. That caught Camille’s attention and she pushed Bayne away to turn to me and strike. I didn’t have time to dodge. I saw her coming for me and behind her Raven yelling my name with tears in her eyes. And then I saw blood. There was a pressure on my arm a light weight feeling and then I crashed to the ground. The pressure on my arm released and Raven was on me crying fluttering her hands over me.

“Oh Matt oh are you ok? Thank you Bayne oh Matt.”

Bayne? I looked over at her. There was a new cut on her back next to her good wing. She stood in front protecting us. She clenched her scythe and threw the chain end at Camille who dodged it with a little effort. She spun and flung her sword at Bayne.

I saw Bayne tense and dodge but out of nowhere her body flung backwards and slammed into a tree. Her scythe clattered next to me on the ground. She gasped out as a sickening crunch filled the clearing. Bayne bowed her head forward n coughed blood.

“Now now Bayne don’t die just yet. I thought you wanted to kill me.”

Camille was over her in no time. Pulling the sword from her wing and holding her to the tree by her throat. Raven helped me up and supported me on her shoulder. She began to pull me back to the end where she was when I first arrived. She motioned Hans’ over and I got onto his back.

Perce came over to letting Raven on. I gassed into her eyes and saw that she was determined to do something. She gave me a slight smile and tugged Perce’s main so head turn toward Camille and Bayne.

“Hey Camille come and get me.”

Raven charged Camille with her Valkyrie spear from Perce’s saddle. Camille shrieked as it dove into her back and ripped through her other side. She grew angry and broke Raven’s spear. Perce took to the air as Camille whipped around to slick Raven down. Hans’ charged at Camille next and I strung my bow that was in Hans’ saddle.

Just befor Camille lashed out with her sword Hans’ took to the air and I planted the arrow in her sword arm. She shrieked again. As Hans’ climbed higher in the sky I looked down and saw Raven getting Beowulf. Perce fallowed me up and I caught a glimpse of Bayne’s wings disappearing in a black cloud. I looked over at Raven and questioned her.

“What are we doing?”

“What Bayne wanted us to she said that if you came and she was in trouble to get you to the corner of the clearing where we were.”

“Why that corner?”

“You will see soon enough, let’s go back to the clearing.”

Beowulf interrupted us. He seemed on edge more then was necessary even if we were if a battle. His face was grim, he knew something we didn’t. Hans’ and Perce slowly spiraled down through the clouds. The air was cool and moist till we came to the bottom half of the clouds then it became warm n dry. We circled down to the corner that Raven and Beowulf were at befor.

Hans’ and Perce changed back to their crow forms. Perce was uneasy and hopped back and forth on Ravens shoulder. I embraced Raven and she snuggled into my chest. She was uneasy too. So I’m the only one out of the loop. Bayne yelled again and drew my attention to her. She didn’t have her wings anymore and she was still covered in blood. Camille was to but not as bad as Bayne.

Bayne’s attack was cut short buy something in Camille’s had. It was a golden ball that had electricity sparking around it. Bolts flew toward her and shocked Bayne making her battle cry turn into screams of pain. The shocks continued till Camille covered the orb with a sleeve.

Bayne dropped to the ground on one knee panting. She flicked the chain at Camille to bind her. It worked and Camille fell to the ground wrapped in chain. Bayne stood up and walked over to us. She broke off a black diamond from her belt and handed it to Beowulf. She whispered.

“Adamas nigrum quomodo mundus moritur et omnes fines tueri pecata caros mihi et qui pecata mihi non sustinet.” (black diamond as the world ends and all dies protect thous who are dear to me and thous who are no threat to me)

“When it glows all of you put a hand on Beowulf. It will protect you. Just do not let go of him until all the feathers disappear. Got it?”

Feathers disappear? What is he talking about? We all nodded at Beowulf. I turned my attention to Bayne walking back to Camille just as she broke free of the chains.

Dark Tainted

I walked back to Camille as she broke the chain end of my scythe. It didn’t matter if she got free or not she was going to die soon anyway. She looked angry and took out the orb again. She was going to shock me again and if she did I was going to die. I dodged one bolt of lightning and tumbled to my scythe.

I stabbed the staff in the ground and threw the chain at Camille. She was too busy making the lighting turn around to strike again to dodge the chain. I grabbed the staff as my body burn to the point I thought I was going to be cooked alive. And then a sharp pain in my left hand and it was gone. I had successfully conducted the lighting to her.

The lightning made Camille scream and I took my chance. Pulling my scythe free I pinned her to the nearest tree. She tried to pull it free from her shoulder but I planted it too deep in the tree. I let out a long breath and prepared myself. Bowing my head I closed my eyes. Letting my hands go limp at my sides and calling my wings back to me, healed, I let them hang limp behind me to. I let Raven argue with Camille as I centered myself.

“Bayne what are you doing you fool. You’ll kill everyone!”

“You’re the fool Camille. With all these relics you’re using to control and kill people. You’re lucky Bayne’s parents didn’t put you in jail for possessing them.”

I finally centered myself. I let my energy course through my body feeling for the power of the diamonds center, looking to unlock the power hidden in me. There! I opened my eyes as I let the energy surge though me. A bright light came from my chest energy radiated out from me.

It disappeared for a moment only to return creating a whirlwind around me. I threw my head back letting the raw forbidden power consume me. My hair whipped around my vision. And then all was still.

“Bayne don’t. don’t you don’t want to kill me do you?”

I looked at the pleading Camille. She was terrified, struggling against my scythe opening a wound in her shoulder. She didn’t care that she was hurting herself she wanted away from me. I saw my reflection in her eyes. My eyes had a thick black ring around the iris. And the normally deep blue of my eyes was a pale grey and looked almost like it was burning.

My hair had grown long and still blowing around me wildly. The black bar on my lip was gone and the three claw marks that where on my face had jagged edges instead of its smooth ones. I looked at Camille with a dead expression like I had no care in the world, like her life was meaningless.

I was still looking in her eyes when I noticed a glow in them. It was the diamond I had given Beowulf. I concentrated on it. He was holding it looking at me through Camille’s eyes while I looked at him. Raven and Matt had a hold of his shoulders and they held Perce and Hans’ in front of them.

All safe. Beowulf nodded like he heard my thoughts. I refocused on my reflection in her eyes. So this is what it looks like. What a Reaper who’s taken the souls of men looks like. It’s scary and real. It’s what I am. My hair blew straight up and I stretched out my wings. I spoke the next word as lifelessly as I looked. And never took my eyes off Camille.

“Armageddon.”

A black humming light surrounded me. In seconds it exploded from me like a bomb. I heard my friends scream but I knew they were safe. Camille on the other hand wasn’t. She screamed as loud as she could. I kept looking into her eyes watching everything play out and watch her realize she was doomed. As the light made it to the trees they blew back, some broke off and flew farther into the forest.

Once the light reached its maximum coverage of eight hundred feet it shot to the sky engulfing it to. Turning whatever the light touched colorless like an old movie. Small flames appeared in different places and colors. The vibrant yellow and red ones were animals and good people. And then there were the one that were purple in the center and faded out toward the edges, the souls Camille’s followers. I had enough of this it was time to end it.

The ground under my feet collapsed and I sunk down about a foot. The wind around me died off and my silver hair fell down against my back. Then it began to rain fire and feathers. The earth burned where ever fire touched it. One landed on Camille and began to burn her hand. She was still screaming but it raised a few pitches as she waved her hand around trying to make the black flames go out.

The black feathers that came down with the fire didn’t float they came down like arrows. Piercing through trees and ground disintegrating anything they touched. My friends were safe because I could see the feathers being deflected and the fire rolling down the barrier the diamond made around them. I held out my hand and my scythe flew to me.

More and more purple flames appeared and wondered around. I held my scythe up and they floated to it like a beacon. I’m sorry you got caught up in this. But she and the other evil ones are at their end. It had to be