Spirit beasts unleashed, p.21
Spirit Beasts Unleashed, page 21
Levent charged at the boar, and it ran to meet him. He sidestepped it just in time as he grabbed one of its tusks, thrusting the boar towards the portal. Everett's spirit beast let out a shrill shriek as it hit the portal. It disappeared, the echoed noise of its cries slowly vanishing.
Everett dropped to her knees, her eyes wide with shock. Her purple auro faded from around her, and tears began to form in her face.
"No!" Arnold screamed in harmony with George. His heart was breaking for her. Everett’s spirit beast had been ripped away from her and tossed to one side like it was nothing, its energy absorbed by the gateway never to be seen again. Just like that, she had been turned into a menial, someone without any spirit world energy, someone without a spirit beast.
Everett looked up at Levent, tears streaming down her face. She curled up on the floor in agony. "Why would you? Is she –"
"Gone? Yes. Don't worry though, that energy is being put to good use."
Levent then passed the chalice to Otto who took hold of the artefact, grasping it with both of his hands.
"Once you drink this, I will use my blade to draw out your spirit beast within you. We will then use the combined energy of yours and the boar to open a gateway strong enough to let it pass through to this side."
Mr. Higgins stared at the chalice in Otto's hands, then placed his hand on his dagger and commanded, "Drink from the chalice, Otto. Drink, and we can end this. He can free you."
Otto had slowly begun to raise the chalice to his mouth when Arnold noticed something in the background. A noise echoed down the tunnel that led to the chamber, and it was growing louder.
A bright orange glow burst into the room, and a loud howl echoed throughout the chamber as Marrok's white wolf sprinted into the chamber. It immediately jumped into Otto, sending the chalice flying out of his hand and onto the floor. The area around the floor grew red as the mixed blood curdled with the dirt beneath them.
"What!" Levent roared, his anger there for all to see. "Who is this!"
Marrok entered the room wearing bone mail armour beneath a thick cloak with a wolf pelt hood. His shoulder pauldrons were spiked, adding to his menacing appearance.
Marrok's amber eyes first landed on the vacant Otto before switching to Levent.
"The Order of the Aegis," Levent stated furiously.
"I am here for Night-Sun," Marrok declared, his stare still firmly planted on Levent. His white wolf had bounded around the room to stand next to him, the light emitting from it reflecting off his bone armour. "You bring dishonour in trying to destroy Night-Sun. I won't let that happen. You will be punished. The council wills it."
"Your council have no laws that bind me," Levent hissed in response. "They send a pup into a lion's den." With this, Levent summoned his giant mane-less lion with the power from his blade. As it materialised, the lion let out an ear-splitting roar and ran straight towards Marrok, its face as angered as Levent's. It bared its teeth, going in for the kill.
Marrok's white wolf rammed into the lion, just barely giving Marrok enough time to dive out of the way before the lion's paw could make contact with his head.
Mr. Higgins released George and made a run for it. George immediately rushed to where Everett lay on the ground in shock from the trauma of being torn away from her spirit beast.
As Mr. Higgins tried to run by, Everett kicked out her leg, hooking it around his shin. He lost his balance and slammed down onto the floor, dropping the dagger that he used to control Otto.
"You coward!" Everett screamed, picking up the dagger from the floor.
The realisation struck Arnold. "Everett,” he yelled, “you need to command Otto! You have the dagger. He will listen to you!"
Everett looked down at the dagger, then at Otto. Otto was fixed to the spot while the lion and white wolf continued to maul each other. The lion’s far superior size had already given it the upper hand.
Levent made a move towards Marrok, and the two of them entered combat. Marrok threw punches and kicks at Levent, who repeatedly dodged these before brutally punching Marrok to the floor. He jumped on top of Marrok and started to rain down blows from above. Marrok raised his arms above his head, trying to protect himself.
"Everett!" Marrok’s muffled voice called. "You must get Otto out of here, you have to keep Night-Sun safe!"
Everett wore a panicked look as she turned to face Otto, gripping the dagger tightly to her chest. "Otto, you have to listen to me. We need you back. You have to help Marrok."
Levent broke through Marrok's defence with his relentless, ape-like onslaught as he continued slamming his fists into his head and chest.
Otto suddenly snapped back into the room. His vacant look was gone, and he immediately ran towards Marrok. Mid-stride, he began to change form once more as he dived through the air, completing the transition into Night-Sun as he grabbed hold of Levent and threw him off the top of Marrok, growling ferociously.
George ran across to Arnold and used the dagger to cut through his bindings.
"You need to get Marrok out of here," Arnold told her. "He's badly injured."
George nodded and scrambled towards Marrok, only to be intercepted by Levent's monstrous, roaring spirit beast. Judging by the colour draining from George’s face, she felt like her time was up.
Otto dived on the back of the lion and pierced its skin with his claws. He then jumped from the lion and landed in front of Everett. Now that he had the full attention of the lion, George ran to help Marrok.
"Come on, Marrok, get up!" She pulled Marrok to his feet and the two of them began to make their way towards the tunnel with Everett close behind.
Levent was back on his feet and moving towards them. Arnold set off running across the chamber, wanting to get to him before he got to George and Marrok.
"Get out, you three!" Arnold yelled. "Quickly!"
He jumped and planted a dropkick on Levent, knocking him to the ground as he ricocheted off the floor. He looked up just in time to see George helping Marrok exit the chamber and into the tunnel. Everett was just behind them clutching Otto's dagger, its soft green glow illuminating the darkness in front of her.
Behind him, Otto and the lion were taking it in turns to maul each other with their claws. Otto had managed to grab and pin the lion’s two front legs as the two of them roared, the noise of which made Arnold's heart beat even harder than it already was.
Arnold climbed back to his feet at the same time as Levent, and they stood facing each other. Levent looked as furious as ever, and Arnold had both fists tightly clenched, equally angry at everything that Levent had done.
"You think you can fight me? You think you are strong enough to kill me? You have no idea!"
"I'm not going to kill you."
Arnold ran at Levent and began with a quick one-two punch combination that Levent was able to palm away before returning his own punch, making contact with Arnold's cheek. Arnold tried again but Levent managing to block these before Arnold attempted to catch him with a kick. Levent jumped forwards and struck Arnold in the face multiple times before kneeing him in the stomach, the force of which took Arnold’s breath away.
Arnold dropped to his knees as Levent grabbed hold of him by the hair and struck him twice in a row.
"You thought you stood a chance?" Levent raged. He pulled Arnold to his feet and slammed his fist into his stomach, causing him to drop to the floor again. Arnold spat a mouthful of blood out onto the floor as he stared down at the dirt beneath him.
The lion had managed to make contact with Otto’s leg, causing him to let out a roar of pain. It then took a swipe at Otto’s head, sending him crashing through the air and into the wall beside them. The lion was quickly over the were-jaguar, slamming its giant paws into his chest repeatedly. When it attempted to bite down on him, Otto grabbed the lion’s jaws and held them tight, preventing it from clamping down.
Blood began pouring from Otto’s hands where the lion's teeth had pierced his skin.
Arnold couldn't pick himself up in time, and Levent kicked him with tremendous force, catapulting him to the side. He couldn't keep this up. He was taking a hammering. Arnold had not laid a punch on Levent. He was nowhere near strong enough to face him, and didn't know whether he would be able to continue the fight.
Arnold needed help. Despite being weakened and unable to fly from the injury it had sustained from Otto earlier, Arnold summoned his eagle, desperate for aid. The bird emerged, standing in front of Arnold with one wing outstretched as though protecting him.
Feeling a second wind, Arnold brought himself back to his feet, a wave of courage coming over him. He might not be as strong, but he was going to give Levent a good fight nonetheless.
Bloodied and bruised, Arnold stood up straight and braced himself for another round.
Levent grinned maniacally at him as he retrieved the Blade of the Spirits from his pocket, then removed his overcoat and tossed it to the floor.
A wave of panic overcame Arnold; he was weapon-less, and he knew his eagle would be vulnerable to Levent’s blade.
It was over. He couldn't match Levent in hand-to-hand combat. At least the others had gotten to safety. Maybe he could distract Levent just a little longer to allow his friends to escape the mines.
The eagle slammed its wing down to the ground, as if trying to get his attention. Arnold followed the eagle’s line of sight, his gaze landing on the broken hilt of the macuahuitl.
Clarity unclouded his mind, and he knew what the eagle was guiding him to do.
"I've had enough now!" Levent screamed as he ran towards Arnold with his blade outstretched.
Arnold dived for the macuahuitl hilt and focused, trying his hardest to keep his mind clear. His blue auro began to glow around him as he held onto the hilt. He pictured the macuahuitl in its full form, and pure energy from the spirit world re-forged the blade exactly how it had been before. From its paddle-like shaft to the blades that ran around the outer edge, Arnold now had a weapon to defend himself with.
After hours of practising with Mr. Higgins, he had finally spirit-wielded.
Levent slashed down towards Arnold, but Arnold was able to parry the attack away just in time with the newly forged weapon in his hand.
Arnold couldn't believe how light the macahuitl was in this form, having grown used to the weight it was before. The pure spirit energy now flowed through the weapon and himself, making it seem almost weightless in comparison.
"You can spirit-wield? You do surprise me. Still, the result will be the same," Levent sneered.
He began swinging a flurry of blows at Arnold, but Arnold was able to continue to parry his attacks. Behind Levent, Otto was still holding the lion's jaws tightly, which was attempting to bite down on him. His arms were beginning to buckle from the prolonged grapple.
Levent then came at Arnold again, and the two of them began swinging their weapons against each other. With the lighter macahuitl, Arnold was able to move so much faster than he usually did.
Levent and Arnold slammed their weapons against each other and drew face to face. Arnold focused on keeping his spirit energy up through his auro while Levent growled at him with pure hatred.
Arnold could see the lion's jaws getting closer to Otto. Sensing he didn't have much time, he went at Levent with a flurry of blows which Levent blocked. Each blow knocked him back slightly further. Arnold quickly swung out his other arm and made a satisfying connection with Levent's face. He hit his macuahuitl repeatedly against Levent's blade, then spun the other way and swung the blade downwards towards his leg. Levent screamed as Arnold cut through the back of his achilles, forcing him to the floor.
The lion flinched as it shared Levent’s pain. Otto pushed back against the lion forcefully and twisted its jaws. The lion attempted to fight back, but sensing the upper hand, Otto continued to twist the lion's jaws until it eventually cracked and dropped to the floor.
"Nooo! You can't do this!" Levent screamed as he fell to the floor, unable to balance with his leg injured. "I can't stop her. I can't take her dragon unless she is in this world! Sixteen years! It has taken me sixteen years!"
Levent had dropped his blade, and Arnold quickly kicked it away from him, then dropped to his knees, exhausted from the battle.
"Go on, finish it,” Levent seethed. “Have your revenge. It's over now."
Arnold lifted his macuahuitl above his head. He had wanted this revenge since the day Levent had murdered Elwood.
"Death would be too kind.” Arnold slammed the hilt of his blade into the side of Levent's head, rendering him unconscious.
Arnold stood over Levent's unconscious body as Otto limped across the room in his were-jaguar form. He did not appear aggressive, however, and seemed to be more in control of what he was doing.
Otto reached down and picked up Levent, chucking him over his shoulder. Levent’s leg was bleeding, but only slightly; the raw spirit energy of Arnold’s blade appeared to have cauterised the wound upon contact.
Otto began to leave the room with Levent cast over his shoulder, grumbling towards Arnold as an indication for him to follow.
As they began their journey to the surface, Arnold realised that they had won. He had defeated Levent.
And he had avenged his grandad, once and for all.
CHAPTER 25
Arnold and Otto left the coal mine side by side. Arnold immediately began looking around for Everett, George, and Marrok so he could check that they were all okay.
They found George sitting on the ground outside, holding Marrok who looked pretty beaten up. Everett was staring off into the distance, a blank look in her eyes.
"Is he okay?" Arnold called over to George.
"I think he will be. He just needs patching up." George was channelling her auro onto Marrok, trying to ease his pain.
Everett saw that Otto was carrying Levent and looked at a nearby tree. "Take Levent over there. Do no let him out of your sight until the Spirit Wardens get here.”
Otto obliged and carried the unconscious Levent to the tree, then shifted out of his were-jaguar form.
"You control Night-Sun now, Everett," Marrok told her, wincing from his injuries. "You wield the dagger."
"I don't want to control him. Otto, are you okay?"
Otto looked disorientated as he came around from his transformation, his bones resetting into their natural position. "I'll be fine. How is everyone else?"
Everett’s eyes filled with tears. "My spirit beast, is she gone?"
Marrok shuffled up to a seated position and took hold of Everett's hand. "I'm afraid so. I arrived too late. She was absorbed by the gateway. I think her spirit energy became a part of it."
"So I am a menial now?” Everett stifled a sob.
"I'm so sorry, Everett," George said, trying to console her but with little effect. "If you hadn't saved my fox –"
"Don't," Marrok cut her off. "You will torture yourself with what-ifs.”
"Where is Mr. Higgins? Did anyone see where he went?"
"I don't know. When we came up out of the mine, he was already gone.”
Across the field, Arnold could see a group of people approaching, and he knew from the animal hides they were wearing that they were the Order of the Aegis.
"Night-Sun, how are you feeling?" the leader of the group asked as she dropped the hood of her coyote hide to rest on her shoulders.
It seemed to take Otto a few moments to realise that she was talking to him; he was not used to going by that name. "Please, call me Otto,” he told her. “I am okay, thanks. I don't know what to do now though, now that Mr. Higgins is not in control of me. What should I do with the blade?"
"This is still a difficult situation that you find yourself in,” said the woman. “You see, you cannot hold the blade. To do so would risk your corruption worsening and you fully losing control of your humanity. Someone needs to look after that blade. May I recommend that we do this for you? Night-Sun, you are our deity, and as such, we are here to help you. Our culture exists to serve you."
Otto looked taken aback by this. Arnold could tell from his face that this was not what he had asked for, nor was it what he wanted. "Does that mean I am stuck this way?" Otto asked quietly.
"Yes. There is no way to reverse corruption. You and your jaguar’s souls are now intertwined."
Otto turned to Everett. "Everett, I want you to hold on to that for me and protect it. It's hard to explain, but I felt like I could read your soul when you asked me to help against Levent. All I could see was kindness and selflessness, and I know I can trust you with it."
Everett looked surprised at what had been asked of her, and Arnold didn’t blame her. "I will, for you, Otto. I will never command you to do anything again as long as I hold it. I promise you. You will not be a slave to this blade."
Otto smiled at her, but Arnold could see that he was saddened at learning that he was stuck this way for the rest of his life, that he would never be able to command his jaguar spirit beast again.
"Does this make me your spirit beast?" Otto tried to make light of the situation in front of the audience around them, a flicker of his old self.
"Weirdly, I guess so," Everett answered. She looked at Levent, who lay unconscious on the ground. "What are we going to do with him?
"He is coming with me to the Spirit Wardens," Arnold explained. “He murdered my grandad, and he will face the consequences for that."
"We will not interfere with your business, Arnold,” said the leader of the Order. “Should Night-Sun wish it, that is."
Otto looked nervous at the position he had been put in.
Arnold knew that Otto had harboured his own hatred for Levent, as it was he who had created the artefact that was used on Otto’s spirit beast. It was Levent’s actions that had made Otto this way.
Otto looked to Arnold as if seeking reassurance, and an understanding seemed to pass between them.
"He needs to go to the Spirit Wardens,” Otto declared. “He needs to go with Arnold."
