Chapter 218 - Trinity - The Horde Arrives (VOLUME 2)
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Trinity
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I watched on, my apprehension growing by the second, as that purple swirling smoke moved ever closer. This was it. This was the start of the battle that would determine the future. Not only my future but Reese"s, my family"s, the pack"s, the entire world"s. This was the battle to end all battles for us. We needed to eliminate Edmond here and now.
All around me, s.h.i.+fters of various types, vampires, and warlocks all a.s.sumed their fighting stances. Different though they may be and unique in and of themselves, they were all ready to fight for what was right. I was proud of every one of these warriors, no matter their species. For now we were all one pack, all one family, fighting to protect those we cared about.
The first monster appeared seemingly from thin air, nothing there one second and the next a twelve foot tall monstrosity. The first beast I saw was a tangled ma.s.s of limbs and torsos. This creature was so different from the last ones we had fought that I almost didn"t think it was the same thing at all.
What we had seen before was a mixture of two s.h.i.+fters somehow blended and molded together like some sort of horror villain in a claymation movie. They were grotesque and vomit inducing but manageable somehow.
But these horrors, these beasts that slowly marched towards us, they looked like cutting room rejects from a monster movie. Sights so horrible that they couldn"t even be put into the final production.
These beasts had no less than four s.h.i.+fters or people melded together. There were parts that looked more human than anything else, no partial or full s.h.i.+ft, just human flesh and bones. Perhaps they were warlocks or some other shadow creature.
In these tangled ma.s.ses, I saw multiple heads in and around the areas that I guess would be considered the neck. Some had two torsos, and most had multiple extra sets of arms and legs. There were some very animalistic qualities as well, proof of s.h.i.+fters in the mix. Wolves, bears, felines, birds, deer, they were all blended into these mixes.
There were so many horrors that it was hard to look anywhere without feeling pity and anger at the same time. Edmond had created a new army after experimenting on even more people. I would not let this slide. I would show him what it meant to hold the life of another person in his hands and have the ultimate power of destruction or life at your fingertips. There was nothing he could do to redeem himself or save himself, he will be dying this time. I will be ending his life.
Once the initial shock and anger of seeing these creatures, these once men, had worn off it was time for us all, especially me, to get down to business. I pulled my magic out of me, wrapping twice as much of it around me as I had grown accustomed to. Once my magic was swirling around me, invisibly but still somehow physically, I summoned my arrows as my primary weapon. I saw Reece summon his whip and sword and ready himself for the battle before us.
Those at the front of the lines, the first to meet the beasts, had already begun to fight. The warlocks were both s.h.i.+elding our troops as well as sending out attacks. I watched as one monstrosity took a s.h.i.+ning yellow ball of light straight to the chest and was immediately pounced on by a large black bear, a member of Trevor"s pack. The bear bit down with his powerful jowls and clawed at the thing"s face and arms. But even with the team effort they didn"t seem to be doing very much damage at all.
I couldn"t believe my eyes when I saw the monster"s injuries. There were bright red lines and gouges but no blood or anything. And to make matters worse, the beasts didn"t seem to be phased by the attacks at all. What had Edmond done to them this time? How had he changed them?
While I watched a particularly nasty looking beast rise in front of a group of warriors I released a barrage of my arrows, two of each element just to be sure. Half of the arrows seemed to have no effect at all, only the wind and the fire even seemed to affect the thing.
When the monster was struck by the fire arrow, it didn"t pierce its skin but it did set the beast on fire. The wind arrow, made of nothing more than fast moving air, was the only one that was able to pierce its flesh.
I didn"t have the time to loose another set of my arrows just yet. The group in front of that beast, and therefore in front of me, began to scatter as the flames rose and swelled into a ma.s.sive blaze. The next thing that I knew the thing had fallen forward and looked like a giant bonfire lighting the field.
I readied more arrows, prepared to take out more of the monstrosities as they waged their attack. I focused on the wind and fire arrows, summoning hundreds of them. I attacked at least a dozen creatures, but only two of them seemed to be affected this time. What was going on?
That was when I looked more closely at the monsters lumbering around us. They were all similar in their blended, melded looking appearance, but there were also differences I hadn"t noticed at first. Some of them seemed to be made of dry, cracked, paper looking, albeit very st.u.r.dy, skin. That explained the burning of the first monster.
Other beasts looked like they were covered with something more like flesh colored sludge. There were others, also seemingly made of different elemental backings. One even seemed more bark-like than fleshy. What had happened to them all.
I guessed that the different flesh types would be susceptible to different elements. I tried a lightning arrow on the sludgy, fluid looking monster that was built like a tank. Those arrows did their job. That was good.
I tried again with fire, attacking the wooden, paper, and mud looking beasts. The wood and paper ones burned, turning into giant bonfires, and the mud looking monster hardened into what looked like old clay and began to crack and crumble apart. Good, I was figuring out how to handle them.
I saw another type of beast, that was unlike the others. It was flickering and slightly orange, like it was made of fire, or more so like it had fire under its skin. Those beasts I attacked with water and ice. The attack was a success. Thank the G.o.ddess.
Next, I wanted to try the water looking ones. They looked soft and pliable but were hard as stone. I knew right away how to fight that one. Shane and I had that advantage. Lightning would fry them from the inside out. Sure enough, once it was. .h.i.t by an arrow of pure lightning, the thing began to thrash about and fell to the ground, lying dead at the feet of the other warriors.
There was one more type I didn"t know how to deal with. This monster seemed to be blowing things over as it walked. Its wind affinity was so strong it was like a walking hurricane. How did I fight that one? How do you fight the wind itself?
This would take some contemplation. All my arrows were knocked away from the beast instantly. And most warriors were blown away before they could get close. What was I to do?
While I contemplated I contacted everyone that was fighting. I focused on my mindlink with them all. I needed to tell them about the elemental issues.
"Everyone, focus on the element of the beasts. Some are dry and wood like, they can be burned. Also, use fire against the mud looking creatures. The water creatures can be handled by lightning, Shane you will have the upper hand there. Use water from the surrounding area to fight the flickering creatures, it will douse them and make them easier to kill. These ones are stronger than the ones we fought before."
"Yes Luna." There was a resounding chorus of the call from my pack that was followed by a much louder one.
"Yes, my queen." That mental chorus was from all the warlocks, vampires, and other s.h.i.+fters. The vampire part of it confused me. Did they recognize me as their queen as well? But they were ruled by their emperor, Dietrich.
"Stay strong and fight hard. We will win this fight." I encouraged them all.
"For our queen." Through the mind link I noticed that every mind I was connected to seemed to have the same thought at the same time. Seriously, did these people spend hours planning amongst themselves how to respond to me or was this just f.u.c.king instinctual. Whatever it was, it was kind of creepy.
"Ok, time to get serious." I curled my fingers and prepared to fight some more.