53 Raven Cres (2/2)

Sword in hand, Jake waited for the prowlers to tighten their formation around him. No matter how one sided the fight was going to be, he still wanted them to have every advantage.

One of the stalkers lost patience and broke formation. It ran almost as if it were a living shadow, the only indication of movement was it's rusty red eyes.

Jake side stepped the beast easily following with his sword piercing the mid section of the creature. A loud howl rang from the shadow prowler which gurgled off into nothing as its final breath cut short.

Since the first move was made, Jake didn't see the problem with finishing the attack early. He sprang into the bushes, slicing up every rusty red eye he could sense.

The night cried out with the prowlers howls as more joined in the attack. For each wolf which was cut down, three more took its place. Within minutes, Jake found himself within a dance of blades and teeth.

Though they were not at all a challenge while in a smaller number, when in a pack of hundreds, attacking in one solid formation was like an overwhelming wave of claws and teeth. Jake had to defend himself from all sides. It seemed he was drawn into the defensive.

As he dodged five from the rear, another five attacked from the front. No matter how many he countered, attacks poured in from all sides. Bite marks, scratches and bruises started forming all along his arms and abdomen. I guess I can't beat them with my normal power, Jake sighed. It was worth a shot anyway. Now's as good a chance as any to test my new strength. Closing his eyes and relying on his aura to fend off the attacks, Jake allowed his dark flame to materialize around him.

The flame licked the forest floor as he concentrated. All life within a foot around him burned to a crisp. The dark energy then concentrated on his sword, swirling and spinning within the weapon as if a vortex had formed around his arm. When the storm around him subsided, he was holding his new scythe, wind picking up around him as if a concussion grenade was just released among the crowd of wolves.

When dark inferno subsided around his new weapon, Jake took the small opportunity to examine it. The last time he had seen it, the scythe seemed to be an incarnation of a grim reapers scythe, completely black with a chain wrapped around it. The visage had come to remind him of the darkness within his brother being brought out as a weapon for himself, though he was surprised to see that it had evolved past his brothers darkness into a weapon only suitable to describe himself.

The blade gleamed a pure silver while the shaft wrapped itself in gold and red, symbolizing what was inside of himself. As he inspected it further, the bottom half of the shaft remained the corrupt black he had seen before. It was as if half of himself was that of a prince, while the other was pure darkness.

A sensation of relief washed over Jake as he readied his blade for combat. At least I fight this battle as myself, he thought as he felt pressure from the air around him condense into an almost touchable force. The blade of the scythe glowed a pale silver and gold as the weapon itself seemed to absorb the air and force it into an attack.

Jake could almost see the weapon pulsating with energy before the wolves came to their senses. Almost as if they could feel the energy radiating from the scythe, they abandoned their attack and ran the other direction. The young man pitied the creatures as his scythe went back in an arch, seconds away from releasing the attack.

”It's nothing personal,” Jake said as he readied the blade for the inevitable shockwave that was to follow. ”I'll make sure there's enough of you left to repopulate.” He swung the blade releasing the wind stored within. The blast came forth as if it were a miniature tornado. All of the wolves around him were picked up and flung from him. He could see some of them being ripped apart as others received only small cuts and tears within their flesh.

No longer were there any trees around him as he stood in an open field, even the clouds had parted leaving him in a spotlight of sun. As he looked in the clearing, he spotted a human shaped shadow looming behind a surviving tree. The moment he spotted the figure, it faded into nothing. No such thing as privacy is there? Jake thought as he relaxed his hold on his scythe. The moment his concentration broke, the weapon turned back to his black cross which he hung back around his neck.

The shadow that had appeared Jake knew wasn't just a figment of his imagination. It only appeared a few hours before he was to be used. Be ready brother, he thought as he looked down at the black cross around his neck.

Jake used his dark aura to gather the wolves and took back to the sky. To anyone who would see him flying, it would look as if he had captured the wolves within a net that he hauled behind him. The corpses seemed to pile in on each other, as if there were an invisible barrier holding them together.

Jake flew back into the city. He passed the large black spires which symbolized the entryway to the kingdom. As he flew over the dark stones streets, he saw many of its inhabitants following him with their states. Flying was still something that everyone had to get used to seeing.

Jake landed next to a merchant stall and unloaded the wolves in front of the owner of the stall. The old man eyed the pile while shaking his head. His wide eyes went to Jake as he thanked him. ”I'll never get used to that, you know.” he said in an old gravelly voice.

”I know,” Jake said with a sympathetic smile. ”This load is on me Argus.” he turned to take off again. ”Make sure everyone gets their fill.”

Jake once more took to the tops of the buildings. He saw the shadow within every street corner now, it's call getting harder to ignore. You better win, Will. He thought as he went back to the castle.