Remeberances
#3 of The wolf and the rose
I hope you enjoy this one, it was fun to write. This is the third installment of the wolf ...
I hope you enjoy this one, it was fun to write. This is the third installment of the wolf and the rose. This has been stalled for about two weeks besides I was lazy. I am sorry about that, but it is finished now.
Enjoy.
Continued from a Race Against Time...
"What is our duty?" Anton Galnikin asked and the initiates drawn up in three ranks of eight shouted loud.
"To stand as a shield to humanity against that which would destroy them!!!" We shouted in unison and my father smiled.
"Correct. Who is our most feared enemy?" He asked and we bellowed the answer.
"Vampires, Demons and Werewolves!!" We shouted as loud as we could.
"Good. Initiate Galen!" He shouted and I stepped one step forward from my place on the right of the first line. "What are each of our enemies most weak against?"
"Demons cannot stand the touch of Jade, Werewolves are allergic to silver and vampires are only slain when jade and silver pierce their hearts." I stated and my father nodded.
"Initiate Arden!" He shouted and one of my best friends stepped up next to me. "Why does the bite of a werewolf transfer the curse?"
"The curse is not a curse, it is a magic venom. When it gets in a victim's body, it alters the body's physical structure and forces the victim to obey the werewolf's master." He replied and my father nodded.
"Initiate Dronan!" He shouted and my other friend stepped forward next to Arden. "Why are vampires feared?"
"Vampires are creatures created by the dark powers to dominate humanity. Because the legendary demons cannot walk in our world, they created Vampires to do their bidding. Vampires are to be feared because no one knows how to kill a true vampire."
"Very good. You three have completed every phase of your training. You have been training for long years to reach this day." He said and smiled. "Your final test is prepared. Are you?"
A single nod was all the reply we gave. My father motioned for us to follow him. We were all sixteen and had been training for nearly ten years for this moment. When we had started training, there had been thirty initiates our age. Now only the three of us were left. The difficult physical and combat training had killed or driven off all but the hardest, toughest and most determined core of the group. Now, after losing all the others, we three were ready to face the final trail to enter the Slayers of Auré. From age ten onward, the initiates had trained against real lesser demons and even a few werewolves. The active Slayers caught them for the express purpose of training the next generation of Slayers and that was why there were so few of us left now. The final test was a test of all that we had learned. We stopped walking in a room with weapon racks lining it and my father spoke again.
"Choose your weapons." He stated and I grabbed a specially made silver longsword as well as a jade dagger and then stood in a ready stance. Arden and Dronan, twin brothers who had entered training side by side selected identical weapons. These weapons were not ours to keep, only to use until we passed this final test. Hunter Master Anton Galnikin nodded when we were ready and he turned to me. "Galen, as the head of your class, it is your honor to go first."
I nodded and he opened the great stone doors on the other side of the room from where we had entered. I walked through and into the arena-like area where we would be tested. The stone floor of the arena was stained dark with red and black blood and I took a deep breath. I had been in this arena many times. I had slain demons within these stone walls, had my blood shed in here, watched friends fall here. Always, I was with my classmates and always there were many Slayers on hand to watch the fight, to evaluate my performance. The witnesses of this, my final fight within these walls, would only be Slayers armed with crossbows that fired silver and jade tipped bolts.
They were there to stop any creature from escaping from the arena in case I failed. Hundreds of initiates and trainees had been killed in this place, along with countless demons and werebeasts. I tried to calm my heart beat as the doors shuddered closed behind me. I had done this before and there was nothing to it. At least, that is what I told myself. Four iron gates opened up in the walls, one in each direction. I waited and listened and felt my arms lift into the familiar ready position. Foot steps began to echo down the corridors beyond the iron gates. I caught six distinct treads from different directions and I tensed. Four were small and pattering, belonging to the smaller, chest high lesser demons that the vampires used as cannon fodder, creatures that the slayers had termed to be mujina. The remaining two were slow and plodding, indicating the presence of the eight or nine foot tall Oni that were the bigger, meaner cousins of the smaller creatures. I turned towards the northern entrance and watched as a pair of smaller demons hurried from it, the moonlight highlighting their yellow eyes. I set myself and waited as the right hand monster swung at me with its claws bared. I caught the claws with my sword blade and ducked the creature's other hand, then stabbed with the jade dagger. The stone of its blade dug deep into the monster's flesh and it let out a shriek as it burst into green flames.
The second creature's claws swung at me next and I took a step back to avoid the deadly weapons, and then slashed with the silver sword. The creature roared in pain as the blow lopped off an arm. The fallen limb would re-grow of course, given time. Anything but a killing blow would regrow; all it took was time. But I wasn't about to let it have the time it needed. I deflected the demon's second slash with my sword and buried the dagger up to its hilt in the beast's chest. The demon burst into green fire and I withdrew the dagger, turning to face the next threat. One of the larger demons swung hard at my head and I ducked the blow, rolling past the beast and stabbing it above its hip with the jade dagger. The creature roared in pain and I whirled around, using the momentum of the spin to add the needed force to chop off its leg with my sword. The demon balanced awkwardly for a moment on its remaining leg before toppling over backward onto the ground. Before it could move to attack me again from where it lay, my dagger was buried in its heart.
'Three down, three to go.' I thought, drawing the dagger from the pile of ash that had once been a demon. I turned to face the remaining enemy and found that they were working in concert now, the two smaller demons flanking the remaining large demon. They strode forward in concert and I retreated a few steps, keeping my distance and waiting for the right moment. It came a moment later. The smaller demons, sensing weakness, bore in swiftly, trying to claim a swift kill and I suddenly leapt past them, dealing a lethal slash with the dagger to one of them on my way past. That demon staggered as I stopped short of the larger demon's reach and spun, taking the last smaller demon out with ease. Now it was just the Oni left. I faced it and waited for it to make a move. But this demon wasn't like the others. A glimmer of steely intelligence was in its eyes and I knew I wouldn't be able to goad this one into sacrificing itself. So I smiled at it and flipped the Jade dagger into the air, catching it by its blade. Then, I threw the dagger at it. Whatever intelligence guided the creature, it didn't expect that. It staggered suddenly as the dagger hit it dead center and stared dumbly at me for a brief second before it was consumed by the holy fire of the jade that sprouted like flowers from the stone dagger.
Smiling to myself, I walked over and retrieved my dagger from the corpse. We were trained to defeat our foes by any means necessary and I knew that my father would have been proud of the move; it was one of his specialties. I sheathed the jade dagger and wiped off my long sword. I started to sheath the longer blade when I realized that something was wrong. The four doors through which my enemies had come were still open. The test wasn't over. Instead of sheathing the blade, I returned it to ready position, my hand going to the hilt of the dagger. Moments later, a howl split the night in two and I looked around, trying to spot which direction it had come from. Werewolves were more dangerous than any other foe because they were so fast. They could cover fifty feet in a blink of an eye. Not even vampires were so swift. I waited with apprehension for a moment, and then I sensed rather than saw the blow coming. I dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, narrowly avoiding the claws of the wolf. I whirled around to find only a fast moving tan blur in front of me.
Instinct warned me of more blows coming and I strived to move my sword in the way. This instinct had saved my life more than once and I moved like lightning, blocking and avoiding every deadly blow. Then, an opening appeared in the creature's defenses and I took it, stabbing the wolf's haunch. It roared and danced back suddenly, leaving me room to maneuver. I advanced even as the wolf retreated and slashed three times before following it up with a vicious stab. Each blow was deflected from hitting, but the wolf was on the defensive now. I continued my attack, driving the beast back, and then suddenly, the tables turned once more. Seemingly heedless of the pain, the wolf caught my sword in its grip and jerked it from my grasp. It tossed the weapon aside and I heard the sound of crossbows being raised and the safety catches removed from the weapons. The guards knew I was in trouble and so did I. The wolf slashed at me and I leapt backward, barely avoiding the slashing claws. It clawed at me once more and I ducked the stroke, then rolled to the side, going for my sword. I felt the wolf coming for me and I lifted the sword into position once more as I whirled around, checking the slashing claws an inch from my chest.
The wolf reached for my sword again, but this time I was ready. I bashed the groping hand away with the flat of my sword and then stabbed quickly, the point of the sword finding the wolf's heart. The creature grunted in pain and surprise and then fell back, becoming human again as it fell. I rose back to my feet after a moment and took a steadying breath. I was exhausted from keeping up with the wolf and my breath was coming in ragged gasps. It was only then that I noticed the single pair of hands applauding. I turned to find a slim figure standing there, silver-white hair fluttering in the night breeze.
"Well done." The vampire said, still applauding me. "You are quite swift."
I did not reply to it, instead I set myself once more, drawing my dagger and setting with both blades towards the vampire. This was impossible. This test was not fair in the least. No initiate had ever fought this many enemies in a row and to the best of my knowledge, no initiate had ever had to kill a vampire before either. But that didn't matter now; if I was going to survive, I had to kill him. Which meant that I had to move, and right now. I sprinted forward at the vampire, my sword slashing around quickly. The creature raised its hand and caught my sword in its grasp. Then it tugged, trying to drag it from my grip. I smiled at him and suddenly jabbed with my dagger, the jade of the blade digging right through his skin and into its black heart. The vampire roared its displeasure and released the silver blade. As I repositioned the sword blade, the vampire's hand gripped my head, its claws slicing through my skin. I gritted my teeth and refused to give in to its pull, forcing my vulnerable flesh to remain out of biting range. Then, I stabbed with the silver sword, the two blades meeting with a hollow clang inside the creature's heart. The vampire shrieked, its flesh dissolving into ash around my blades. When it had died fully at last, I staggered from the pain and the exhaustion of fighting and listened with relief as the stone doors that allowed my foes into the arena closed.
I staggered towards the second set of identical doors, the ones across the arena from where I had entered. They were now hanging open with two Slayers standing with weapons ready and I walked between the warriors. Another pair of armed Slayers were waiting for me inside the antechamber beyond the doorway with one of the order's healers. I surrendered my weapons to one of them and followed the healer as he motioned me into the next room. I knew the place we were going to. It was a room every one of my class had been to, sometimes many times. It was a place where healers patched up the wounded. I hadn't been hurt that bad in the fight, but blood was starting to trickle down my neck. The claw wounds were starting to burn and the skin around them started to itch. I resisted the urge to scratch at them, because I knew from experience that picking at an open wound only made it worse. As I walked, I held my head up high. I had survived, I had made it. But I noticed that my eyesight was getting a little blurry, and my feet were starting to stumble. The vampire must have gotten me better than I thought. I shook off the pain and continued to walk proudly, ignoring the burning that was now starting to spread through my chest.
I got about as far as the entryway to the healer's room before I felt my legs giving out. The healer came back and caught me as I fell. He was speaking, but I couldn't hear him. A funny rushing sound was obscuring his words and I saw black at the edge of my sight. My last vision before drifting off was of the stone ceiling of the healers room, a sight I had seen many times before. As I drifted away, I wondered if I would ever see it, or anything, again...
***
I rode behind my father, headed for the village I had been born in. My two friends rode behind me and I looked back, smiling at them. I had four red scars on my left cheek, and another underneath my ear where the vampire's claws had dug into me. The claws had released a foul poison into my body when they had cut me and I knew that I had nearly died. But I still lived, and now I was stronger than ever. All of us now wore the white tunics and breaches of Slayers, but mine carried the silver trim of an officer and the stylized device of an Ensign, the most junior officer rank in the Slayers. My test had been so hard because I had been the leader of my class and I had been made an officer for surviving. I carried a newly forged sword across my back whose blade had been made of silver and jade blended together using magic. I also carried two daggers of similar manufacture, one at the small of my back, the other tucked into the top of my right boot. My father's gift to me for becoming the fifth member of my family to be made an officer had been two consecrated knives, one of pure silver, the other of jade. I was well armed now and I knew that no matter came at me, I was ready for it.
The twin brothers that rode behind me smiled and nodded to me. They constituted my first command of soldiers. I grinned, turning back to look down into the mountain valley where my home had once lain. It was a strange town, self-sufficient and isolated in the remote mountains. The only reason the isolated town had survived for so long was the presence of the temple to Auré that lay against the valley wall at the center of the village. My mother was the high priestess of the temple and my father had fallen in love with her when he was a young slayer officer, much like I was now. She had bore him four sons, all of which were now Slayer officers and two daughters, who were priestesses.
My whole family was assembling to celebrate my graduation and my friends had been invited along. It was going to be a good time, I knew, because I had attended my eldest brother's graduation before I had gone off to the training cadres. Now it was my turn to be celebrated. My father waved me onward and I nodded, following him down towards the town...
***
By early afternoon, the family gathering was fully underway at our house and I was enjoying it immensely. Old friends from my childhood were there as well and it was just like old times. But, something else caused me to enjoy it all the more. A young girl my age, brown haired and beautiful, had entered the party and I instantly recognized her as Carrie, a childhood friend that had been very close to my heart. I had always liked her and she had reciprocated my affection. It had been childish and no one had expected it to last, but often in the years since I had entered training she had occupied my thoughts. She walked right up to me when she entered the house and when she spoke, I felt the old feelings return, though infinitely stronger than before.
"Hello Galen." She said, and I smiled at her. "Do you remember me?"
"Of course I do Carrie." I said and she smiled sweetly. "You were always in my thoughts."
"As were you." She said and took my hand. I felt a strange warmth fill me when she touched me and I noticed the tattoo she had on the back of her hand. It was a bright sunburst pattern rendered in jade green with a silver border around it.
"You are a priestess now?" I asked and she nodded. "Congratulations."
"And you, Ensign." She said and we embraced. While we were hugged, she whispered into my ear. "I need to speak to you in private. Can you meet me outside in a few minutes?"
"Yes." I said and she released me, then stepped away through the crowd. I waited around for a few minutes, then slipped away silently from all my friends. It was a simple matter to leave the house once I was away and when I slipped out the door, I looked around. Carrie was standing against the wall of the house and I walked to her.
"Galen, do you remember the promise we made when you left?" She asked and I smiled.
"We promised to keep ourselves for each other." I said and she nodded. "I kept to the oath I swore." She smiled broadly and pulled me into a hug.
"I love you Galen." She said, and my heart thrilled at the words. "I always have."
"I love you too Carrie." I stated. "Carrie, now that we have finished training and we are free to go our own way, will you be mine?"
"Of course I will." She said, a tear falling from her eyes. A moment later, we kissed and held each other closely. When our kiss ended, I walked with her back to the party, our hands linked. When we reentered my home, my eldest brother, who had just arrived, came up to me and got me in a headlock, ruffling my hair with his other hand.
"Guy gets a few scars on his face and he thinks he can do anything." He said, and I struggled to get free. He let me go and I went back to holding hands with Carrie. He bore the rank of Major on his uniform, and his time in the field was almost over. He would become a Master Hunter soon and begin training the new generations of Slayers. I smiled at him and he noticed that we were holding hands. He nodded to me, then went off to find my father. My brother bore scars too, many of them in fact. It was hard to find a hunter of his age that did not. I took the mug of ale that one of the servants gave to me and listened as my father raised his mug in salute.
"To Ensign Galen," He said, and everyone raised their glasses. "May Auré watch over you." With that, we emptied our glasses. But then, as the servants came back to refill the glasses, one of the town guardsmen staggered in, girded in chainmail. His armor was bloody and one arm was in a sling.
"My lord hunters!" he gasped, and my father hurried to support him as he stumbled. "A band of demons have attacked our outpost. We are outmatched. I was sent to summon your aid. Will you help us?"
"Slayers!!" My father shouted and we all stood, hands on our weapons. "We have work to do." Each of us got our swords and followed my father out into the street. As I was leaving, Carrie came up to me and we embraced tightly. She gave me a kiss and spoke.
"Good luck." She said, then kissed me again. "Come back to me."
"I will." I said, and turned to follow the other slayers.
***
As we ran towards the embattled outpost, my father spoke to the messenger. "Have any werewolves or vampires been spotted?"
"No werewolves, but three vampires have been sighted." The wounded man said and my father nodded. "About a hundred lesser demons have been seen and many more are probably hidden in the trees."
"They won't be a problem." My father stated and we paused on the edge of the forest. "You should find a safe place my friend, we will handle them." With that, we parted ways with the man, and entered the trees, headed for the guard outpost which was starting to smoke. We arrived at the edge of the field where the outpost had been constructed just as the demons were massing to attack the wooden wall once more. Guards stood waiting on top of the wooden palisade and my father turned to us.
"We will take the demons from behind just as they attack." He said and pointed towards a small knot of three vampires that stood watching the demons beneath heavy cloaks. "Arden and I will handle the vampires. Ready? Charge!!"
With that command, we rushed from the trees, charging the gathered demons in the field. Even though we were outnumbered six against fifty, we didn't care. We knew we were better. The smaller mujina were massing behind a line of Oni that the vampires used as shock troops and they did not realize that we were among them until almost a dozen had died. As the guards saw our white clothing among the demons, they cheered and began to gather behind the doors of the outpost to join us. I was grinning like a madman by the time they joined us in the brawl, ducking demon claws and striking with my sword and daggers. The fight was easy this time. With my fellow Slayers beside me, I was invincible. Jade flashed and silver was covered with black blood as we hacked the attacking demons to pieces. Outnumbered and outmatched, the demons stood little chance and were soon slain.
When the last demon fell, we looked around and found that the three vampires were laying dead in the grass, the two hunters who had gone to face them standing over them unscathed. It was a complete victory for the demon hunters today. Not one of us had been even wounded and we had destroyed many demons. I continued grinning and quickly cleaned the demon blood off my blades, then returned them to their hiding places. Dronan came over to me as I slid the sword home and we clasped forearms, nodding in respect to each other. My father and Arden walked over to us a moment later and I smiled at Dronan's twin. He too had now killed a vampire. He grinned at me in reply, but our victory was only temporary. Moments later, the voices of demons echoed from within the trees at the edge of the clearing. My father turned to the captain of the town guard and spoke to the man.
"Captain, get your men behind the walls and stand ready with bows." He said. The man bowed to him before leading his men off and my father turned to us. "We will stand before the walls and send these demons back where they belong."
We spread out before the wall of the outpost, spread out so we had room to fight. I stood at about the center of the line with the twins on either side of me. Moments after we settled into line, a huge line of demons stepped out from the trees, ignoring the bright sunlight. It looked as though an entire legion of the Burning Hells was arranged against us. Hundreds of mujina lined up in front of no less than seventy of the huge shock troop Oni, clad in black armor than seem to slither over their flesh like liquid. The amorphic armor that the Oni wore made it look like they were clad in a swirling cloud of black mist. And, behind them, I saw a quartet of vampires standing there with five werewolves arrayed before them. It was the largest army of demons I had ever seen, even in paintings and it was frightening to be standing there before them. But, when I looked over and saw my father standing there, confidence in his face, I felt my fear begin to leave me. I thought about Carrie, the girl I had loved all my life and everything except confidence left me. I would return to her today, and nothing was going to get in my way. This was no different than facing a band of demons on my own. All I had to do was rely on my training. The demons across from us suddenly grew still and for a brief instant, everything was silent. But then, one of the werewolves let out a deep howl and the demons suddenly roared, gibbering curses and who knew what else at us in their foul tongue. We Slayers didn't react, but I could almost feel the fear of the guardsmen on the wall. They were not used to fighting demons and by all rights, they should never had had to fight them.
The demons quieted moments later and I licked my lips in anticipation, shifting my grip on the sword blade. Then, my father took a few steps forward, raising his sword blade into the sky. As the blade caught the sunlight, he let out a loud battle cry. It was a heartening sound, a roar of defiance that sliced through the pale of fear that the demons had laid upon our forces. A moment later, I added my voice to his in unison with the other Slayers. The guards on the wall took up the cry and one vampire who stood a head taller than the rest waved his hand in a dismissive manner. At this signal, the demons raced forward, braying madly. As the wave of demonic creatures raced forward towards us, we stood our ground. When they were fifty yards away, my father held his sword blade out to the side of him and we stepped forward so we formed a line beside him. Twenty-five yards away and I picked out a target in the middle of the pack, one of the Oni that was overeager for our blood, loping ahead of the rest.
Ten yards away and we stepped back in ready stances, blades towards our foes. A volley of arrows lancing over out heads and plowing into targets in the demon line, felling many of the smaller demons. But the rest boiled on undaunted in an unstoppable wave. I grinned to myself and raised the blade of my sword to my forehead as a blessing before ducking under the blow of my target, my sword piercing the flesh of the Oni a moment later. It was a good thrust, using the beast's momentum against it. It lit with green fire a moment later and I withdrew my sword from the corpse that was rapidly turning to ash, parrying the blow of another of the larger demons. I slashed the beast's head from it shoulders and I felt something strange coming over me. It was a confidence I had never felt before and the battle slowed down for me. The demons and Slayers clashed all around me, arrows lanced through the air and I imagined a shell of energy surrounding me through which nothing could pass. A moment later, I became a whirlwind among the demons. My foes were painfully slow and my own blows were lightning swift. I stabbed quickly, taking down a third Oni, then drew one of my daggers and caught the claws of a mujina with it all in one motion. A quick slash with my sword and the mujina fell, to be replaced a moment later with three of its breathren. A trust and two swift slashes later and I faced one more Oni.
This larger beast was faster than its brothers had been and its quick one-two strike made me dance back a step. Its arms came out in another slash and I rolled forward on my shoulder, my blade slicing across the back of its lower legs as I passed. Hamstrung, the great beast roared, a roar that was cut off a moment later by my sword. Two more mujina fell to my blade and I stood alone amid the chaos of battle for a moment. Black blood was slicking the grass and earth around me as demons fell by the dozens. The demons were concentrating on fighting us rather than rushing the walls where the guards felled so many of their number with well aimed arrows, and I saw that all of my fellows were still holding their own. I could see my father standing a little ways away amid a complete circle of foes, piles of ash covering the ground around him as he fought. And there, standing back from the chaos of the battle, were the vampires, content it seemed, to leave the fighting to their minions. Their werewolves were still standing around them and a sudden thought came to my mind. If the vampires were killed, the battle would end. I measured the distance to them in my mind and smiled. I could do it, I knew I could.
I raced forward suddenly, my blades digging into demon flesh with each step forward, severing limbs and killing with ease. I was still moving at top speed when I killed one last Oni and found myself with only open ground between me and the werebeasts. I smiled and started to run, my sword in one hand, the consecrated silver knife in the other. The nine enemies that stood back from the battle saw me coming and the tall vampire waved his hand, sending the werebeasts to kill me. I continued to run and when they got close enough to strike, I ducked under one's out stretched hand, donating a slash with the longsword between two of its ribs and moving on to a second one. I stabbed quickly with the silver knife, its blade reaching the heart of the next beast in line as I passed it. A quick parry, then a stab and third werewolf was dead. The fourth and fifth came at me together and I ducked one blow, blocking another with my sword and weaving like a snake around the other two. The blows came again with great speed and I evaded or blocked each blow. When an opening came in their defenses, I would take it, stabbing deep with a silver blade. The two werewolves were soon lying dead beneath the sun. I stepped forward once more, advancing on the vampires quickly. The three shorter vampires stepped forward in front of the taller one and I prepared to fight once more.
I was amazed that I wasn't tired now. In the test, I had been exhausted by facing many fewer of these foes and yet here I was, as strong as I had ever been after battling my way through an army. It didn't matter how I felt though, I had to beat these enemies, so that was what was going to happen. The first vampire stepped forward quickly and a black bladed sword appeared in his hands. He slashed at me with it and I caught the blade on my sword, ignoring the strength of his blow. I twisted my sword around in a circle and with a sudden motion, stabbed deep into the creature's heart. It fell, writhing in the mud as it turned to ash. I dropped my silver knife as the other two vampires attacked me and lifted my sword in both hands. I twirled on the balls of my feet, slashing in a circle and driving them back a step. Then, I advanced suddenly and ducked under the blow of one of them in a crouch. When I came back to my feet once more, I had the dagger that had been hidden in my boot in hand. Moments later, I buried it in the vampire's chest. The other vampire retreated from me, but I would not let him go. I lunged suddenly, grabbing the creature's hood and tearing it from him.
The beast screamed aloud as the sunlight hit it and I watched with a kind of horrid fascination as the creature's flesh melted in the light of the sun. When it had died, I turned to face the last vampire and it smiled at me.
"You are an impressive warrior, young one." He said and as I suddenly advanced on him, he raised a hand and I felt my limbs snap out to the side and I rose into the air. I struggled against his power and felt it give way enough for me to slash at him with my sword. The blow missed, but I saw the vampire's smile beneath his hood. "Impressive indeed. I would know your name warrior, before I go."
"Galen, son of Anton." I said, snarling at him. "And I will be the one to kill you vampire."
"Well, Galen, son of Anton, know that I am Redamarc, a true vampire lord." He said. "Know that with but a thought, I could make you one of my own. But I won't. Not today. You have cost me much this day, many servants, and for that, I will reward you with your life. Until we meet again." He said and turned his back on me with a wave of his darkly gloved hand. He vanished a moment later and the magic restraining me failed. I dropped to the ground and landed in a crouch. I rose to find silence descending on the battlefield. I turned around and found that the entire demon army lay dead and the hunters still stood. Some bore wounds now, but it was a great victory. A demon army had been destroyed. As I stood there, I looked back along my path and saw what destruction I had wrought. Never in all my life had I moved so quickly or fought so fiercely. I didn't know how I had managed it, all that I knew was that I had done it. I smiled and walked back to the line of hunters. As I reached them, my father called out loud to us.
"Slayers, we have done well today." He called and I looked around. None of our wounds were serious and a smile came to my lips. "Now, it is time to return home and finish celebrating, for today, life is good."
We cheered and cleaned off our blades. I turned to my friends and threw an arm over their shoulders. Life was good. Grinning broadly, the hunters walked from the clearing, headed back towards the village. My grin was broader than the rest, for I knew that Carrie was waiting for me to return...