Pure Requiem - Aja James Page 0,64
locating Erebu.
He is near, I can feel it. He must have disguised himself if Ishtar cannot see him with her eyes.
What is he going to do?
The weight of foreboding and terror for my son’s life almost crush me, but I cannot afford to be distracted, as swords and javelins stab and slice my way.
I must have faith.
Goddess, please.
Give us strength.
Lead us to victory this night!
Chapter Fourteen: Fools, You Do Not Know
*EREBU*
We’re fucked.
No other way around it. I see it as clear as day.
Inanna and Gabriel are back to back holding off three warriors each. Both have sustained heavy injuries already, their strength flowing out with copious amounts of their blood.
Ishtar is shifting from Great White Beast to regular-sized snow leopard to vampire form depending on the situation and opponent. With her climbing agility, she’s focused on attacking the warriors who shoot at us from a higher vantage point.
Her Beast form protects her from most projectile weapons, her hide much thicker and stronger than in regular animal and humanoid forms, but it’s not impenetrable. The tip of a broken spear is embedded between her neck and shoulder, but she ignores it, pouncing on yet another enemy soldier that’s about to fire upon Tal.
Valerius and Cloud are attacking the Paladin in concert, while also keeping a half dozen other warriors at bay. Every time they advance upon Medusa’s ring leader, they lose ground again having to answer the strikes of the horde of enemy soldiers.
They also have to hold back with Dalair, because they don’t want to kill him. (And also, they’ve been warned about Sophia the Destroyer, so they can’t afford to kill him). The effort of dealing debilitating blows that don’t also kill is a tricky one to balance. I’ve seen both of them pull back strikes at the last possible moment. Must be frustrating as hell.
And then there’s Tal.
The General is a killing machine.
I watch like a star-struck cheerleader on the sidelines as he stands with legs braced wide in the middle of the creek, wielding that long, double-tipped spear like it’s an extension of his body.
He’s so fast, his movements are a blur. Or rather, he seems to move a moment before an attack comes, deflecting and redirecting the hits with incredible ease.
Unlike the others, he’s grounded. Without sight, he can’t easily climb the jagged cliffs on either side. He doesn’t know this space and doesn’t have time to explore it. He can only hold his position and defend himself.
He’s a sitting duck.
But then, that’s the point. We planned this.
I am not sure Medusa cares enough about Ishtar any more to want her back alive. I think she’s completely forsaken her sister, and the feeling seems more than mutual.
But Medusa will still want Tal.
She’s obsessed with him. And she’s obsessed with revenge. The greatest revenge she can exact from Ishtar is to take Tal once more. It would destroy both of them, which will delight Medusa above all else.
So, Tal is bait.
I expect that Dalair is the one sent to “retrieve” him. He’s probably the only one of Medusa’s army who can over-match Tal’s skills and take him alive.
The other soldiers are skilled, but Dalair has been strengthened and amplified in other ways (as I am well aware, since I oversaw the process myself). And Dalair is a born military tactician. He might be mindless, but he’s smart.
It’s why Medusa targeted him to turn. She wanted a leader for her armies. Of all of the Elite warriors, Alexandros, Leonidas and Dalair have the most experience as military commanders. It’s why they were targeted for abduction and turning, while Valerius was simply targeted for annihilation.
I think Medusa would have wanted a shot at Maximus, the Chosen’s Commander, too, but he was always guarded closely by his familiar, Simca, and now, ever accompanied by Ariel, his Mate (who looks exactly like Simca in animal form, which honestly confuses the hell out of me, but I digress).
Speaking of which, three streaks of white, black and gold shoot through the pitch-black night like missiles, taking out a handful of enemy soldiers at once.
The cavalry has arrived! Maximus, Ariel and Rhys have joined the fray.
I’ve taken on the appearance of a deceased foot soldier, keeping myself out of the heat of battle.
In this disguise, the Pure Ones cannot place me, and they pay me no mind since I am not trying to kill them. Medusa’s soldiers ignore me as well, since I am supposedly one of them, though I hold a sword in