Chapter 9 - Hallelujah

CHAPTER EIGHT: HALLELUJAH

“Now, now Argol, is that any way to treat a lady?” mocked the woman.
“You took Amy away from me once Tiamat; I won’t let you harm her again!”
Meanwhile, Matt was arguing with Hades.
“Hades, give me back my brother you bastard!”
“And why would I do that? You don’t have Underworld Shadow!” Hades replied in a cruel manner.
“Damn you Hades, damn you to hell!” yelled Matt as he drew his weapons and charged at the god.
“Precisely…” muttered Hades.
The battle had now finally broken out. Matt, with the help of Ragnor, was now fighting against Hades; Argol was protecting Amy from Tiamat, while Amy, Manta, and Skye lunged at Demon.
“You will meet your doom here today!” shouted Demon.
Matt was moving in a flurry now, trying to get any attack in on Hades. The god just stood there with two short swords, blocking all of the incoming attacks. Matt’s anger wasn’t enough to get a hit in, he needed to focus more. Argol and Tiamat were both battling frantically, both trying to kill the other quickly and end the battle. Argol managed to gain some ground by cutting deeply into Tiamat’s shoulder. The cut was deep but seemed to heal almost instantly before Argol’s very eyes.
“Fool! You forget that all dragons and wyverns have regeneration abilities!”
Argol remembered, he just needed to hold her off. Demon wasn’t doing so well though. Manta and Skye were attacking him from the front while Amy was on his back, trying to stab him in the head. Demon was a big creature, about eight foot, but he was slow. It also didn’t help that Underworld Shadow was a large mace, and took a while to swing. Amy managed to hold on to Demon’s back with one hand while he was struggling and stab him with the claws on her other. Demon howled in pain before knocking Amy off his back and fleeing the scene.
“He can run pretty fast when he wants to” commented Skye as they tried to catch up with him.
Demon just turned around, swung his mace in an arc, and sent the three flying backwards into the nearest wall, sending them unconscious. Hades disappeared in a puff of black smoke, just as Matt and Ragnor were about to get a hit in. Tiamat noticed that Demon had fled and pulled a potion out of her bag.
“See you around Argol” she teased.
Tiamat threw the potion to the ground and it created a small portal. She stepped backwards into it so that she could keep defending herself from Argol. Before she had completely gone through, Argol managed to disarm her, tossing her weapons to one side. Tiamat cursed and pulled her arms through the portal, closing it behind her before Argol could follow.
“Dammit!” cursed Argol and Matt at the same time.
Matt immediately tended to Skye while Argol woke up Manta and Amy. Matt tried to wake Skye up but when he couldn’t tears started to roll down his face. Ragnor trotted over to Skye and began licking at her hand until she eventually woke up and patted him on the head. Matt began to smile as she opened her eyes and stared at him.
“You actually had me worried” said Matt.
Skye gave out a faint chuckle before clutching her side in pain.
“I had you worried? Maybe I should get hurt more often to get some attention” Skye replied.
Matt laughed but then stopped as Skye kissed him lightly on the cheek. The two stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before Matt cupped Skye’s face in his right hand and kissed her. Her lips were warm and he could taste his salty tears on them as they trickled down his face. By now, Manta, Amy, and Argol were all watching the show in awe. Manta leaned over to Argol and whispered in his ear.
“Five gold says they stop if I clear my throat”
“You’re on” Argol whispered back.
Manta then proceeded to clear his throat, but the two still continued to lock lips. Manta looked over at Argol who held up five fingers and mouthed I win. All three of them waited for something to separate Matt and Skye, until Ragnor lay down and placed his head on Skye’s lap. The two smiled at each other and then pulled away.
“They finally stopped, hallelujah!” Amy remarked as Manta handed five gold over to Argol.
Matt just grinned and rubbed the back of his head.
“Hehe, sorry…”
Argol placed the gold into the bag he kept inside his armour.
“No need to apologize, we all had front row seats to the show” replied Argol.
Matt laughed and Skye giggled but then clutched her side. Matt lifted up her top and felt the bottom of her ribcage, causing some comments by the other two men.
“Quiet you lot. There seems to be no broken ribs but there is a big bruise near your stomach” stated Matt.
He pulled the shirt down and then helped Skye to her feet. Following their lead, Manta, Amy, Argol, and Ragnor stood up too. Argol noticed that one of Tiamat’s Sais was flowing with electricity. He picked it up and it changed into a katana.
“Underworld Thunder” he muttered.
Argol showed the weapon to Matt who decided to hold on to it for later.
“Well what now?” asked Manta.
“We follow the scent of Demon, it is most likely that Hades or Tiamat have followed him too so we need to move fast” Matt replied.

* * *

The group travelled for days until they had finally reached Scotland again.
“Why do they always come knocking on MY doorstep?” complained Matt as they entered the forest just outside of Matt’s cottage.
“Quit whining you baby” teased Skye as she kissed him on the cheek.
If she had known why he had been complaining, she wouldn’t have teased him. Being near his original home brought back the painful memories that contained the dark secret of Matt’s past. He tried to act casual but Skye knew there was something wrong with him, something she knew he would eventually tell her within time. They traversed through the massive forest for hours before coming upon a large clearing and taking a break.
“We need to be prepared, how about a practice fight? Me against Argol, Skye against Amy, and Ragnor against….hey, where’s Inferno?” asked Matt.
Argol looked around but then felt a strange presence.
“There is a group of people out there, they might be a band of thieves but they seem too skilful and they have a deep bond between them” stated Argol.
A bush nearby moved and Argol went to inspect it. When he was close enough a white wolf jumped out and tackled him to the ground. Matt went over to the wolf that was now licking at Argol’s face.
“That’s right…” muttered Matt before shouting into the distance, “You can come out now guys, good job! I forgot you were following us!”
A young woman emerged from the bushes followed by seven other people.
“Well done” commented Matt as the white wolf jumped off of Argol and sat down next to Vivian.
“Sorry Red, Hex is a bit playful” apologized Vivian as she helped Argol off of the ground.
“It’s Argol, and don’t worry about it, I’m fine”
“You’ve got leaves on your butt” shouted Amy, who was laughing with Manta and Skye.
Argol brushed them off, pulled a crystal out of his armour, and set it alight with a breath of fire.
“What is that thing doing and why doesn’t it burn?” asked Matt.
“I’m gathering my family. This crystal absorbs fire and spreads it to the other crystals it is connected with, they than glow and the dragon warriors than come to my position. They should also bring Inferno with them because he has a crystal of his own” Argol replied.
“Fancy! I guess we’ll have to wait a while for your warriors to get here” said Matt.
As he finished talking a whoosh was heard overhead and moments later some of the Dragon Warriors were starting to land.
“Maybe not” remarked Matt as the last Dragon Warrior landed with Inferno by her side. All of the Dragon Warriors then changed into their human forms.
“Sis, what are you doing here?” Argol asked.
The last Dragon Warrior walked over to Argol and came face to face with him.
“I wrecked a pair of shoes and my new dress changing into a dragon because I thought you were in trouble!” shouted Argol’s sister.
Argol looked down to see what was left of her high hells attached to her bare feet.
“Malena, you need clothes like my armour that allows me to morph without damage to it” replied Argol.
“Oh ok, the next time you are in danger I will take my time to change!” Malena yelled back.
“You two remind me of my brother and me when we were younger. I’d give anything to have him back” sighed Matt.
Matt mustered up what he could, put on a smile, and stuck out his hand to greet Malena.
“Nice to meet you”
Malena looked down at his hand with a look of mild disgust.
“Whoever you are, you may have gained my brother’s trust but you have yet to earn mine”
Matt kept his hand in place.
“My name is Matt Khan and I am the leader of the Moon Warriors” replied Matt.
“WHAT?!?! Argol, I told you to avoid them!” shouted Manta as he walked over.
“Well his wolf saved my life so I’m pretty sure he’s not evil!” replied Argol in an annoyed tone.
By this time Skye was fuming with anger and stepped in front of Malena.
“Matt is a kind man who is loyal to his friends, so you just watch what you say!” she shouted at Malena.
Things were getting heated so Matt intervened.
“Well there’s only one way to get rid of this anger…the Moon Warriors take on the Dragon Warriors!”

You are not authorized to comment here. Your must be registered and logged in to comment