Chapter fifty seven
The men were drawing closer. And by God, he had not the least ability in him to limp any further with his bad leg.
Maybe he could just give up, sit there and let them find him. Death couldn't be all that bad, could it? At least it'd mark an end to his suffering. Or maybe not.
It took every ounce of bravery in him to move away from the giant oak tree behind which he'd been hiding. Now, Martin Tonnel stared at his foes weakly, tiredly. Just as they stared back at him in shock and a teaspoon of excitement.
"Kill him," one whispered to the others with him.
Oh if only they knew what he planned to do to them.
***
Samlong Singh could be called anything but incapable. His opponent was glaring at him solemnly with her eyes glittering with a light familiar with the shades of larva.
Rada had two dead sharp daggers clutched in both fists. Just the way she held them showcased expertise.
But Sam swore he'd rather die a loser than live a coward. He gave a swift and perfect turn of his sword, stalking around the same circle as she was. This could be his last day on Earth, this he was certain. He saw it quite fair a deal though than watching these people die.
Just until…
"That's enough!"
All eyes pointed towards the source of order. Even the disdainful demons wanted to know who'd interrupt such a painstakingly important dual.
Among them, Martha gawked most disapprovingly. "Brother?"
And it was an expected shock to the rest of them.
Nicholas forced his horse into a jog trot before a final tug on the reins brought it to a complete halt. The part of him that suddenly thought of such a daredevil plan still surprised him.
The demon ignored every existence of his sister while he walked closer confidently to Samlong.
After hitting a fist lightly on his chest as a fair acknowledgement, he glared at Ozii. "I suggest you leave as we speak or I'll send word to Abraham. That could happen even quicker than you hail lightning."
"And your mention of the fire djinn is supposed to be a scare or what, Nicholas?" Ozii's frown deepened. As much as he feigned nonchalance to the threat, he studied his pack of wolves, his demons and finally, the other team of mortals. Clearly, a vein of reluctance popped up.
Something Nicholas knew quite too well. Oh he knew everything. "Take it as you please, Ozii. But even if you do manage to tear down Decresh, Abraham and his allies, Vizal included, will hunt you down and rip your non-existent souls to pieces or my name is not Nicholas."
The name, Vizal, stole the frown away from the djinn's perfect face. What a better definition of a shocker. By then, it was certain he was going to back out.
"Do not let him scare you, Ozii!" Lucian shouted from upon his caramel brown horse. "We all know Vizal would never agree to fight for them."
But on the contrary, Ozii did believe it.
Slowly, his gaze fell to the sandy Earth. Why did he suddenly feel betrayed, downcast, forbidden. He felt like a joke, and no one was allowed to make a joke out of him. For no other reason, his frown returned, much darker than before.
"Let's leave," he finally said.
"What?!" Martha looked between her leader and her brother. "You can't tell me you let my brother scare you, Ozii?"
The thunder djinn faced her. When time passed and it seemed he was going to completely ignore the remark, he sighed. "It's not fear, Martha. It's strategy. I have a much better plan."
One hitch of his breath later, the legion of demons had gone out of sight.
***
Angelic was an understatement. Inside, the walls stretched high and wide. It was simply like a palace. Even Abraham gawked.
He stalked through the doors, his feet placing rhythmic stamps upon the marbles. With an awe, he let his eyes take in the gorgeous beauty of Vizal's own home.
But it was empty, silent. The only sound predominant was the whooshing sweep of air gushing in through the tall, distant windows.
As he rested himself on a stool before the drink counter, he gave the house the last of his admiration before helping himself with a decanter of wine.
Vizal must have known he was being tracked. And his escape was flawless and admirable. However, keep your feet off the ground and he won't feel you. So that was the simple plan.
The King of Decresh was ready to sit back and wait a while for whenever it was this djinn was ready to return. Surely he wouldn't stay away forever.
And yes…legs off the floor.
***
Nicholas felt it best to work behind the shadows. If he could not directly join the eight and go to arms against Ozii, the least he could do was save some lives. With Samlong and Decresh certainly out of harm's way, Martin was next.
Having gone through a spiral, dimensional portal, he arrived South of Sunderland; preoccupied with evergreen forests.
Nicholas descended his filly, beginning an indefinite stalk forward, a book in one hand…a sword in another.
Maybe he did truly know where exactly Martin was. And just maybe he'd also intentionally granted Abraham ambiguous coordinates and lied that he didn't.
Not because he was a backstabber of any sort though. But because he found enough pleasure saving Martin while the King sought for the last of his allies, Vizal hopefully. Ozii had seemingly gone away with loads of misdeeds even for a djinn.
His feet crushed dry, brown leaves littering the jungle path he was sure was his destination. Not just because of the glow from the sphere, but because he picked up the tasty scent of blood.
Unfortunately, this one was not lunch.
Just a stone throw away, there was the abducted Prince in every shade of misery. Impressively, he'd managed to free himself of every binding they'd put on him.
But then, the Prince just decided to nullify that good action with another as stupid as what he was doing now.
Was that Martin Tonnel challenging five henchmen while he looked like a half dead being already? Plus a bad foot?
Apparently, pride flowed in their veins. All of them.
And also apparently, the Prince's soul would be going to the ferryman soon if all he did was stand there was study the scene.
With that, he strode over and placed a gentle hand on Martin's shoulder.
When the fourth Tonnel son felt the gesture, he suddenly turned around in fear and attacked on impulse. However, Nicholas caught his fist. "I'm not a foe."
Martin Tonnel believed instantly. Because even though he knew this magnificent man was a supernatural, he was certain he was not for Ozii. Turned out Abraham did remember him. "Where are my brothers?"
"Do you want me to answer that or save your life?" The demon had his eyes on Isaac's angered men.
They all glared at him, successfully shielding the fear he knew they had behind their cold, sadistic faces. And for some reason related to that, he took the task of killing them a little more personal than it really was.
So before the Prince could even answer, Nicholas flipped his tome book open and stalker forward. "Step aside. And you might prefer to look away too; this could get uncomfortably bloody to watch."