Enter the Crusades #1
The Crusades – humans creating conflict for the sake of killing each other. Why War and I were called to duty over any more than capable angel was beyond me, but alas, here we were. Nothing made me more irritated than being called away from my all day and night party life than to be paired up with War. The guy could suck the fun out of a Bacchus inspired orgy if given the chance. And he would never be given the chance.
And you’d think that’d be the worst of it! Nope, just a few weeks earlier we ran afoul of a being called Vlad he Impaler. A demon-infused vampyre, War and I barely escaped that mess. But that’s a story for another time. Nope, we were in the midst of a battle against the Turks. This was more of a human problem than a divine problem, but Michael asked us to continue all for one reason: to gain the Spear of Longinus.
The spear was one of the holiest of relics out there. War and I originally got involved in the Crusades due to the pushback against the church. Demons were influencing the other side and the power of the horsemen was needed to draw them out and slay the unholy creatures. But, with the discovery of the spear, this became priority number one.
Night had fallen and while trying to sneak away, the battle found us. So here we were, engaged with numerous Turks alongside the Christian warriors. “This is great fun,” War shouted in Latin.
“You’re idea of fun is so foolishly skewed!”
On top of my best friend and horse, Khloros, the two of us followed War and his steed, Pyrrha. With his great sword, War sliced down two charging Turks with the greatest of ease. This left me little to do, which was okay. I felt ridiculous in the Crusader get-up and bringing out Leviathan, my scythe, would look a bit suspicious.
War continued to wade towards the battle and not the mausoleum where we were needed. “War,” I scolded. “Enough of the battle; we need to go to the spear.”
“Death, you are no fun,” he countered. I was a ton of fun, just not in battle situations. “Just allow me the pleasure. Go get the spear yourself.”
If he was going to be a flaming dick, fine. “Do whatever you want. I have a task to accomplish.” With that, I turned Khloros and we sped off towards the mausoleum.
“Death, was it best to leave our back-up behind?” Khloros asked.
It wasn’t like I was given much of a choice. “War will grow tired and rejoin us.” Even as I said it, I wasn’t all the confidient with the prediction. “We must remember who he is.”
Khloros accepted the answer as we continued. With the wind out our backs, we made excellent time getting to our location. The grand stone mausoleum stuck out like a sore thumb. I hopped off Khloros and checked out the entrance door. The thick stone sealed in whatever secrets the mausoleum was intent on hiding. Fortunately I had the key.
My celestial fire blazed into action and with two well-placed strikes of the ghostly grey chains that formed, the entranceway was clear. And the awful smell of demonic brimstone rushed out, filling my nose with the ill-fated warning.
Looking back at Khloros, “It seems we’re not to be alone.”
------
Well that was fun! Be sure to check out my friend and fellow author, Morganna Williams, blog for her free Friday story: www.morgannawilliams.com
See ya next week!
Jack
No comments:
Post a Comment