Lucifer's Calling

Chapter Seven

I shook my head, I'm definitely hallucinating. Walking over toward Balinor I climbed onto his back. 

　　"What are you doing?" Merlin questioned.

　　"I thought we were taking Balinor," I beseeched.

　　"Are you insane we will get caught before we are halfway into the air! No, come. We shall walk." Merlin commanded.

　　"But we won't make it in time!" I argued.

　　"Arguing won't fix that statement, Lucas." Merlin walked off, grumbling I slid off Balinor and ran after him.

　　Empty fields of blades of grass with every step gently puttered underneath my feet, my new dagger stuck into my belt shined from the moonlight, making it seem like its glowing.

　　Up ahead seems to head into a forest, no not a forest it was those destructive creatures, what were they called again? Ah yes, Treants. There was no way around them, and no way going over.

　　"I hate killing nature," Merlin joked halfheartedly.

　　"Looks like we don't have much of a choice, how do I even kill these things?" I investigated.

　　"Fire," Merlin answered monocularly.

　　"Yeah, I'll be right on that," I said ironically.

　　Merlin brought his hands together and formed a giant ball of fire, I rubbed my eyes. 

　　I think I have a concussion, one minute there has been talking animals, magic? 

　　What the hell is happening?

　　There's no time for second-guessing, I have to save Ariel. 

　　"What even are these creatures, I mean they look like trees. Yet they eat people, seriously what are these?" Curious I asked.

　　 I'm so close to breaking there has been so much going on for the past seventeen hours and nothing is making sense.

　　 "They are the organism's having many characteristics of a tree, but with human-like mobility."  Merlin discussed.

　　They were still, quiet other than the wind going through their branches. We slowly made our way closer, making our way through the treants, until suddenly one dislodged itself from the ground and started walking around toward us as if it has some kind of sensors, I started running making my way as more and more treants extricated and began to attack not knowing how much the dagger can do I took it out of the case from my belt and slid it across as I'm swallowed whole by the treant. 

　　"Lucas!" Merlin exclaimed.

　　Ripping out of the inside of the treant I fall to the ground, Covered in sap and mucus. The treant lets out an ear-piercing screech as it collapsed to the ground behind me.

　　"Lucas!" Merlin rushes over to me. "Are you alright?" He asks while helping me up.

　　"I Could be better," I said while wiping off the excess mucus off my sleeve, disgusted. 

　　"More are coming boy, We don't have much time," Merlin spoke with a sense of authority.

　　Looking past Merlin I can see that we are now surrounded by treants. A deafening screech starts filling the forest as more and treants start gathering. Covering my ears I scream out.

　　"Merlin! What are they doing?" I asked coving my ears.

　　"They are calling others, we have to get out of here now," Merlin said forming a fireball in his hand.

　　"Get down, Lucas. Cover your head and don't move until I say."

　　"Merlin, what are you going to do against a forest full of treants?" I asked panicked.

　　"Listen to me, Lucas. We are both going to die if you don't listen to what I say." Merlin said with a sense of urgency. 

　　Before I even had time to respond. Merlin formed a massive fireball in his hands and shot it towards me.

　　I quickly ducked out of the way and the ball of fire hit one treant as it fell into the next and they became like flaming dominoes one by one exploding into flame as if covered in gasoline.

　　Everything was on fire as we ducked and fumbled through blazing tree branches and sounds of crackling and screeching as they fall over themselves.

　　Ashes and burning black wood cracks break and fall, as we slide out of the horror we had caused. choking on black smoke and smearing ash and mucus over my face as I fall to the ground gasping for air hacking up from the smoke in our lungs.

　　Clawing my way from the clutches of fire I see water fifty feet from me crawling my way closer to the dock as I take a large handful of water drinking getting my bearings and washing my face I came back to reality when a large hot gust of a breath hit me in the face, I slowly looked up into the mouth of a dragon with hundreds of heads all aimed at me.

Studying the massive beast that now stood before me. I could make out its multiple faces. Their dark eyes pierced me like spears one head was so close I could smell the cadaverine and putrescine and the decay of rotting flesh while pieces of fishbones littered the ground around me.

　　Panicked I fumbled trying to find my ground. Eventually finding myself trapped between the base of a tree and this massive beast there was only ten feet ahead of me.

　　"Merlin! What the hell is that thing?" I scream out shaking.

　　"Lucas! get over here now! That's a hydra. A fierce creature known around these parts for their dangerous nature. They have a poisonous breath so potent it's capable of rotting human flesh. "

　　"Okay..." I said still frozen in fear. "Then how do I kill it?" I asked watching as the hydra's heads started to hone in on my current location.

　　"Lucas, look out!" Merlin said.

　　Before I could respond one of the hydra's heads lashed out at me. I barely had time to dodge out of the way. Its head crashed half haphazardly into the tree behind me snapping it in half on impact. Shaking off the daze the hyrda looked at me letting out an earth-shattering roar.

　　I frantically started reaching for my dagger. Hoping that my hand would somehow connect to the hilt, it was too dark, I could barely make out the multiple other heads now closing in on my location, my hand finally came in contact with my knife and I pulled it out. 

　　I'm ready to face this giant beast or die trying.

　　"Lucas aim for the heads!" Merlin shouted at me. "If you can manage to cut them off one by one you might to able to kill it."

　　"How do you expect me to do that?" I screamed back currently pointing my weapon at the head that was closest to me, my arms shaking with fear.

　　Merlin chanting something under his breath, the tree that the hydra has snapped starting floating and with god-like force, it came crashing down trapping the hydra's head.

　　"Now boy, go!  aim for the neck and finish it off." Merlin enthused. 

　　Not having much time to think I rushed towards the hydra's head. screaming as adrenaline pumped through my veins. 

　　I closed in as I jumped on the hydra's neck trying to pin it to the ground. 

　　The hydra started jerking its neck back and forth trying desperately to throw me off.

　　Terrified I grabbed my dagger and sank it into the neck of the beast; Letting out a blood-curdling roar. It continued to squirm around frantically trying to dislodge itself from under the log.

　　With one last giant jerk, it flung the log to the side sending me crashing to the ground with a thud, knocking the wind out of me.

　　The hydra's head came crashing down on me. It's jaw agape and ready to kill. Quickly rolling out of the way. With all the energy I could muster I grabbed my dagger with both hands and beheading the beast, splattering me with its blood.

　　Screeching in agony, the head pulled away before falling to the ground dead as it rolled to my feet with its eyes open and the mouth ajar. Suddenly the neck I just beheaded grew another and then a second head appeared.

　　Well, shit.

　　"Great advice Merlin, really. I could really use the two extra head's" I said angerly.

　　If Merlin doesn't know how to kill this thing, what the hell are we going to do?

　　Exhausted and all out ideas I quickly turned to face the beast whose body was now making its way towards me. Screaming I charged towards it darting between its multiple heads. trying desperately to close the gap. Jaws flash past me with every move. 

　　Mustering all my courage I lash out at the nearby heads spraying blood in every direction. Finally coming face to face to the beast its size is daunting. I freeze in my tracks. 

　　"Lucas What are you doing? Lukas snap out of it boy!" Merlin screams.

　　Suddenly the Hydra's front paw pins me to the ground. Snapping out my daze. I try to squirm to no prevail. Creeping Closer its heads all hone in on me.

　　Luke a boy from a destroyed village, A foolish child that had got too involved and now...I am going to die...

　　 Gripping my dagger I try to break free from the Hydras grasp. It's grip slowly squeezing the life out of me. Jabbing one of the beasts tows I am able to break free long enough to pull my arm out from under the beasts giant paw before being slammed back to the ground. Blood pooling from my mouth.

　　This is it I'm going to die...

　　My vision going blurry with my last breath I threw my dagger at the chest of the beast before blacking out.

　　The dagger flung through the pitch black air and lands directly into the heart of the beast. Roaring in pain the Hydra reels back. Slowly slumping back into the swamp. It's razor sharp claws still clenched tightly around my lifeless body. 

　　"Lucas!, Lucas!" Merlin calls out "Lucas, please, wake up!" Merlin cried out. But as the body of the Hydra starts sinking back into the swamp it's front paw starts dragging towards to the bog. scraping the cold hard ground as it drags me towards the icy unforgiving waters.

　　"Lucas, hold on I'm coming" Merlin screams running toward me as tears began filling his eyes, he frantically tries to close the gap, as my body started slowly sinking into the murky, black abyss. 

　　"Dammit boy, I've already lost one friend, I'm can't lose you too" Merlin screams out hysterically.

　　The icy cold waters now slowly covering my face as my lungs filled with blood and the frozen waters that were soon to be my grave. 

　　Merlin reaching for my lifeless body couldn't reach me in time.

　　"Lucas, please wake up. Don't leave me," he screamed out to me but it was already too late.

　　"No! No, Lucas!" Tears running down his face like waterfalls, before the world went silent.

　　I was gone...