high into the air. “Brothers!” she shouted, and immediately all eyes turned to her. “We have less than two minutes before that gate opens again.” She pointed to the Iron Gate. “Now hear this: thousands left for war, but only nine will return.”
Valoel’s words froze me in my spot. Not one of the warriors made a sound.
Gideon stood beside Sela, and both of them watched Valoel.
Valoel continued her speech, “Brothers, I’m not going to promise you tomorrow. The truth is, we are going to die, and the best we can do is to take as much of D’s army with us as we can!” The warriors cheered. “Do we want our families to weep tomorrow for their loss?” Valoel asked and the warriors shouted together, “No!”
“No!” she continued. “Tomorrow, we want them to toast to our victory!” The warriors shouted in agreement. “So raise your swords, brothers, and fight! Fight and kill!” The warriors raised their swords and shouted cheers. “We are at war!” Valoel threw her hands into the air, and then suddenly, the sky was filled with flaming arrows, all of them heading toward the gate.
The gates blasted open the moment the arrows reached it, and then chaos started. My eyes met Gideon’s before he disappeared. I drew my sword and inhaled deeply as the chaos around me grew intense.
Valoel appeared behind me. “Abby, you have to fight. Kill anything and anyone you don’t know,” she said.
“The warriors, why don’t they care that they will all die?” I asked, trying my hardest to block out the cries around me.
Valoel smiled and said, “It’s simple. Any angel would rather die for Tristan than live, because without him, none of us would be alive. He’s our savior. The warriors would rather have him live to protect their families than live themselves and die with their families.”
I didn’t understand. “But what are they afraid of? What is it that only Tristan can save them from?”
“Gideon,” she replied, and then she was gone. She left me alone, standing in the middle of a battlefield.
It seemed that whenever I thought Gideon couldn’t be all that evil, I was proven wrong. I hadn’t known Tristan or Gideon were that powerful and feared. I was terrified, but I was also highly alert. I clasped my medallion, breathed in deeply, and joined the battle.
The first creature my sword slid into turned into ash, and I almost dropped my sword and ran. But, with the thought of Tristan on my mind, I moved though the creatures like they weren’t terrifying and dangerous, sliding my sword through them.
“Abigail, watch—” Valoel warned, but she was too late, my hand was already bleeding from a gash. I screamed out in pain.
The creature behind me, who looked like a human, smiled evilly when I looked at him. His breath was filled with smoke, and his eyes were cold, unnatural orbs. He raised his sword again, and I blocked it with mine.
After I slit the creature’s throat, it too turned into ashes. I ducked just in time to avoid what looked like a green light flying past me. It hit one of the Grandinian angels behind me, and immediately the angel turned into ice. Seconds later, he shattered into a thousand pieces.
Spears flew toward me from every direction. Both the Lumenian and Grandinian warriors were skillful. All sorts of colorful illuminations flew from every direction. Many creatures, both Underworld warriors and angels, fell from the air and turned to dust upon impact. There were screams of pain, and I even heard laughter. Smoke billowed from nooks and cracks.
“Is that a human?” someone behind me asked. I didn’t have time to turn and look because a sword swung right in front of me.
“In the name of the devil, it is!” It was Panic who answered.
“But what is she doing here?” a male asked.
“I don’t know,” Panic answered. “But I am about to find out.”
“Abigail!” Gideon shouted my name, and I turned around just in time to dodge the arrow Panic sent flying at me.
When my eyes met Panic’s, I drew my own arrow and I let it fly. I watched as the arrow went straight toward Panic, not stopping until it pierced her chest. She cried as she fell. Gideon stood somewhere at the far end of the battlefield, looking at me with a shocked expression.
I didn’t have time to enjoy my victory because suddenly I was sinking.
I screamed as I slipped into a tornado swirling down into the ground. “Help!”
“Abigail!” both Sela