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He was the first to impact our shield, striking it like a meteor, creating an explosion of sparks and light that rippled along the entirety of the shield. Others followed, hurtling towards the shield like falling stars. Azrael signaled for the archers to open fire.
Our war with Medrion had officially begun.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
MEDRION
Iwillnotbe denied.
I gave them a choice. I offered them a chance to surrender, and they spat it in my face. No good deed goes unpunished, but my mercy has limits. These pathetic weaklings think they can stand between me, the Archangel Medrion, and the doors to my kingdom.
They will taste blood in their mouths today, and perhaps when enough of them have fallen, the rest will fall into line.
For I, above all others, have been chosen by God to bring about Her second coming.
ABADDON
“Ebon Legion,hold!” I ordered, watching as Medrion’s angels flung themselves against Helena’s shield. The Light would have seared their flesh from their bones had they beendemons, burned their bodies to ashes, but instead it only prevented their passage.
At least for a time.
Helena’s archers began firing arrows that flickered like little stars as they soared through the air. The full-plate armor Medrion’s troops wore made it difficult for the arrows to find their soft targets, but some of them did, and it was gratifying to watch thosebastardsgrimace and groan.
To our left, Azrael and her unit were preparing to take flight. They weren’t wielding weapons; no swords and no shields, but that was part of the surprise we had in store for Medrion and his forces.
“They’re coming through!” yelled one of my angels.
Directly ahead of us, one of Medrion’s soldiers was starting to pierce the shield. He was immediately peppered with arrows and sent back, but there was no time to repair the damage done; another of Medrion’s angels—holding a long, tower shield in front of them—moved in to take his place.
Arrows rained uselessly against their shield and within moments he was in, providing cover for more of Medrion’s forces to push their way through behind him.
“Now!” I roared, “Into the breach!” The Ebon Legion hurled itself off the parapets and soared toward the shield-bearing angel.
Before even two more of Medrion’s angels were through, there were six of us on top of them. With my sword raised, I came down on the leading angel feet first, driving my boots into his shield to unbalance him.
As soon as I created an opening, a whip lashed out at him, wrapped itself around his shield arm, and tugged it loose. It was Joviel, one of my Seekers, who—with a wicked grin on his face—had taken the opportunity to rid this beast of his protection, before turning to face the other interlopers.
“You,” snarled the beast. “Tyrant. I have been looking forward to this.”
His words were confident, but his stance betrayed him; he was nervous and looking for his fellow angels for backup, but they were all engaged with my men and would be of no help to him. I rushed toward him with no warning, bringing my sword down in a powerful arc aimed at his head. He pulled his sword up to deflect mine just in time, our weapons singing as they clashed, metal ringing against metal to signal the true beginning of this confrontation.
We swooped, dove, soared, and clashed, our swords sparking against each other with every blocked attack. I knew what he was aiming for, and I had spent the last few days training Helena’s men to expect it; he was trying to cut down my wings, a dirty tactic I was well familiar with because I had started it. But he was careless, his movements easily giving away his intentions allowing me to slap his attacks away like a bothersome mosquito.
My sword arm was stronger than his, my blows well placed and twice as vicious—and I wasn’t wearing a heavy suit of full-plate. When my sword cut through his left wing, slicing it clean off just above the shoulder, his eyes went wide.
Blood splattered against my face and coated the tip of my blade. I watched as the panicked angel plummeted toward the rocky ground below, his descent only partially slowed by the one wing that remained. He fell unconscious upon the rocks, no longer a threat.
By the time I had dispatched my foe, the hole in the shield had been sealed and my men had made swift work of the others who had broken through. However, it was clear that this was the only breach that would be repaired as up and down the battlements Medrion’s men had started to break through at several points. The shield would not hold much longer.
“Abaddon!” Azrael yelled, pointing somewhere above me. “More coming!”
I nodded at her and looked around quickly for Sarakiel. She was safe; her unit had not yet engaged the enemy but with the number of them bursting through that safety would be short-lived. I caught her eye, hoping she could somehow read my mind, before ordering my men to take up positions at the newly forming breach above us.
SARAKIEL
The Tyrant and his Ebon Legion had dealt first blood, but more of Medrion’s angels were starting to bore through the shield. The Tyrant had my eyes, and for a moment longer I held them, understanding his silent plea for me to be careful.
Without warning, the shield our Guardians had erected began to collapse, raining harmless shards of Light upon our heads. With no barrier stopping them from approaching our walls, Medrion’s forces plunged through the air and raced towards us, their weapons raised, poised, and ready to strike.
