Most of the creatures are smart. They fled off into the night after the death of the lead vampire. The few scragglers who wanted to stand their ground would soon know why I am feared among their kind. Why my sword is the bane of their masters. And why my temper is something not to be trifled with.
I grip the hilt of my sword tighter and prepare the descent to-
“ALUMA!!”
Dammit. It’s Rand. He’s standing just out of the door of the club, arms crossed, wearing the face of a disappointed parent.
The other beasts notice the second holy warrior and run away.
“Don’t you ‘Aluma’ me! These creatures laid a trap for us!”, I cry out.
“That you willingly walked into. Did you even consider asking for help? Did you think when you maimed a dozen human souls without the mercy of a swift death?”
I float down slowly, my anger far too focused on my friend for me to go faster.
“You don’t get to judge me, Garrow! How long have you been coming here?! How long have you been making deals with the darkness? You offered what I could never condone. Was I to ignore that? I leave and they ambushed me. They wished to cause me harm. Yes, the vampire gave them courage to attack, but they’re the ones who wanted to. I refuse to let a mortal judge me for defending myself, especially against such an attack by the lowest of beasts.”
I touch down right in front of him. He’s thinking. Thinking about what happened here. About my words. He’s trying to find a way to turn this around. To find a way I could have avoided violence. But he knows there is none. Humans. Ever hopeful.
“You still could have come and got me.”
“I didn’t think I had the time with a wendigo at my throat.”
“No, you just didn’t think.” He turns to one of the wounded creatures. He points his hand at the beast and lets his energy pour out. The bright white beam shooting out his hand envelopes the monster and when he’s finished, there is no more.
“I’m going to take a while cleaning up here. Go patrol. We’ll rendezvous-”
“No.”
He turns and faces me.
“Excuse me?”
“You’ve been acting so morally superior all day. What is wrong with you?”
He looks around, slightly annoyed. He doesn’t get to play this game.
“Tell me Rand. Something happened between last night and this morning. Hell, something happened in the last few years. When I was last on assignment, you never would have gone to The Milton alone. You never would have defended these monstrosities.” He turns back around. I won’t let him escape so easily. “You never would have lied to me.”
“I didn’t-”
“Don’t start. Those marks on your arm this morning weren’t from a dog. It’s my turn to tell you to stop being stupid and tell me what’s wrong.”
He sighs. His head moves from left to right, surveying the carnage I wrought.
“I’m tired, Alli. Tired of fighting. Tired of this war.”
Is that all?
“You’re only human. An absolutely amazing one, but still human. Been fighting for, what, 10? 15 years? I’ve been at this for eons. Since the Morning Star first fell. The doctor isn’t as active-”
“No. I’m tired of this war. Tired of seeing pointless blood be spilled.”
Surprise doesn’t begin to describe how I felt.
“Rand… this is far from pointless.”
“Sure it is. One ideology versus another. Good and evil are merely-”
“Don’t you dare blaspheme around me, Garrow!”
“Alli, we want to protect humans, yet here are souls, wounded by your own blade. I can only purify so many before I get exhausted. Our God chooses to leave them to the wolves.”
“He leaves them to us. And we are-”
“Warriors. Spillers of blood. Violence is our nature, and he expects us to be equipped to heal the very warped souls he orders us to destroy?”
“He expects us to do our best.”
“Then I will. And if that involves me making deals and allies you don’t like, don’t complain to me.”
This is insanity. How could he have lost so much faith in The Presence?
“Garrow…”
“Don’t you ‘Garrow’ me. Humans are born into a trap. Our world pains us. Teases us. Brings us down.”
“You at least have freedom.”
He walks over to the next creature and extends his hand.
“Freedom to choose how we die.”
The white energy fires from his hand.
