Part 12
The beast that stood above him now Was huge and tall, with long, black arms And powerful legs poised and cocked, Like legs of dinosaurs of old, But its long arms were like an ape’s, And ended in three fingers long Which in turn ended in great claws, Great, long, red claws that glinted red, And sparkled dully in the dark. These arms sprang from a massive chest, Huge, broad, and deep, Like a great hound’s, And round this chest, upon its sides There faintly gleamed hard metal plates, That even now were venting, steaming As the beast was breathing hard. Its short, thick neck was ended in A long, long head, with a great snout And a long mouth, with bright white teeth That flashed and gleamed, how deadly sharp! Upon the top of the great snout Two long, long nostrils stretched out full. This snout could sniff out any prey At any distance, any length. And onto either side of it Were placed great eyes; great, awful eyes That gleamed and shone, A neon red, A hellish red, A red that burned Unnatural in the dark. These were the Stalkers, Built to hunt, And built to track and kill their prey. One stood now above Arius, And with their baying ringing loud Two more came vaulting to the space, And Rafiel, who cursed aloud, Spread wide her wings and took to flight. But not to flee-- Instead she swung, Her sword a shining star in snow, And whipped it fast and hard upon A Stalker’s exposed throat. But now the beast was nimble, fast, It dove and rolled, and now it moved Onto the Elementals, who Went scatt’ring like a storm. Marin went turning, pirouetting, On her toes amid a swirl Of snow, and with a sweeping arm She drew a giant spike of ice Right at a Stalker, And it struck Between the metal, past the plates, And pierced its seven-chambered heart, And there it died-- Its comrades wailed, And barked, And were upon the girl, The Water Elemental, Who could wield the ice and snow. “I won’t let you destroy them!” She was bellowing, And all about The snow took on a bluish light And howled and swirled within the air. But up above the ice, and wind, And fire that raged, And rocks that cracked, There came the sharp report of Snaps As Arius his fingers cracked, The snapping of his fingers loud Amid the snowy night. The snapping called more Stalkers there, More, more, more Stalkers, Always more. There were a thousand close at hand, They dwelt within the city’s depths, Within the Canto, red and black, The space below the city Where the Technocracy lived. “Capture the Elementals,” Arius said to them, as they came, “Obtain them all, alive, unhurt. But kill the Seraphs! Kill them both! I need them less, and less of them Are needed for my plans.” So one great Stalker bounced and lunged, With jaws that bit And claws that caught At Terry, Who went rolling past. He punched the air, and suddenly The building next to him collapsed. No! It erupted, in a burst Of hurling, blasting stone and rock Which flung itself upon the Stalker, Burying it in the stone, The old, gray stone of that old city Gray and cracked and dead. “Why didn’t you KILL him?!” Terry shouted upwards, angrily, At Rafiel, who flew above, With sword and rifle in her hands. Her rifle she one-handed shot, Its automatic fire bright With sharp blue muzzle flash. She dove, she swung, She shot into The eyes of one swift Stalker fast, And blinded it, Then her great sword With single swing from single arm Took off its head, and blackened blood Went spraying, drenching all the snow. “I’m sorry,” she said, as she fell, Descended down, her wings sank in, Into her back, And so she put Her rifle back, and now her sword Was in two hands, was held up high, In proper guard, In perfect form. A Stalker came, And Terry swung His arm out, and a burst of earth Erupted at its feet, And made it stumble, Huge black form cast down into a pit. Rafiel did not miss her chance, But lunged, Great legs carried her swift, And her bright sword came down, and flashed, And cut another head off swift. “I’m sorry,” she said, turning now, Regarding him with guilty eyes, “I made an error, but I won’t Do that again right now.” She touched her temple. <Basil, take the shot! Find Arius, and shoot him now!> <A Stalker is upon me now,> Thought Basil, and his other hand Now gripped his rapier, which with flash Parried a Stalker’s three red claws. The sparks sprang up, But his stout blade Withstood the beast’s enormous strength. He cut and thrust, his lithe, sharp blade slid in between the armor plates And drew black blood, like oil, slick, But still the Stalker came at him, It swiped its claws, He dodged and flew, His wings flashed silver in the night. His sniper rifle stood at hand, It leaned against the building’s lip. The Stalker came at it, and he Dove down, And thrust, And pierced its neck, But it was merely angered, and It threw him off, and he recovered, Dodging, stumbling back, until He’d reached his rifle, and he reached Right back and grabbed it, and just as The Stalker lunged at him, he poised, And crouched, and aimed, and looked, and fired! The sniper bullet had such strength And it was aimed at such close range That it blew up the Stalker’s brain And made a great hole in its head. The Stalker fell, and Basil touched his temple once again, And thought, <All right, it’s dealt with. Let me see.> And took the rifle, And he bent And laid upon the rooftop there And looked into the AI sight Whose monitor was bright and blue. Through this he looked, And he observed The battle raging, far away. <I can see Arius,> he said, The Technocrat was in his sights. <But there is too much chaos, too much trouble ‘round you all. My good, clear shot is gone. If I can take a shot, it won’t be clear.> <Just take it quickly,> Rafiel Thought, as with a single hand She parried a great Stalker’s blow Its red claws clanging round the guard Of her great sword, its broad cross-guard, And so she thrust its razor point Into the chest, between the plates. <Just take the shot, and take it fast Before Arius gets away!> So Basil looked, and so he saw Arius of the Technocrats, The man who’d built him, Built them all, He saw him on the battle’s edge, Saw him still standing there, and weaving, Dodging, ducking through the chaos, Showing no small bravery To stay there, still, so near to harm. <I see him,> Basil thought, and grimaced, <But the shot is still not clear!> <Just take it! Take it! Take the shot!> Snapped Rafiel inside her mind, As she went flying, Rifle firing, Spraying bullets through the air. Basil breathed deep, he looked again. A tiny window opened up. <I may have something. Small, but clear.> He poised, and breathed, then held his breath. His finger on the trigger hovered, Softly, cleanly, carefully. Then-- <Wait, it has become less clear.> <Is there a shot?> <Yes, yes, but still...> <Then take it!> Rafiel exclaimed, Within his mind, now angry, tense. <Just take the shot!> Rafiel was An Arcseraph, one of the Four, The leaders of the Seraphim. So she was his superior, And Basil sighed, and, so, obeyed. His breath was held. The sight was seen. The shot was there. The trigger pulled. The shot did not hit Arius, Who at the instant, just in time, Turned right aside—but this did not Mean that the bullet did not hit A living target For it struck Into the breast, and pierced the heart Of one who’d just come into frame A man, tall, broad, with darkened hair, And glasses on his friendly face. It pierced his heart, he gave a cry, And toppled down into the snow. “ISAAC!” Cordelia shouted then, And all the battle paused, and stopped, And all these folk, these living gods, These mighty creatures, more than men, Went halting, gasping, worrying To see a woman, red of hair With eyes as green as emeralds Run ‘cross the snow, and cry, and scream, At her poor lover, lying there Already dead Already cold, So cold! The snow came beating down, It came on thick, For Marin stood Stock-still in shock, Her heart beat fast, Her breath was cold, Her eyes leaked blue, Bright neon blue, The tears came down. “No,” Marin whispered, then she screamed: “NO!” And the snow leapt into storm, Leapt into winter blizzard that now raged and churned within the air. “What? What?” said Terry, suddenly, and turned And saw the shelter there The safe place that he’d made of rock. It had been smashed; Its roof was gone, Likely destroyed amid the mess The Stalkers had made of the space; One of them, with a swipe or roll Had taken off the upper part And Isaac and Cordelia Must both have scrambled quickly out. “Isaac!” Cordelia shouted, and she ran, and ran amid the fight Between a Stalker and Ardo, Whose eyes shone blazing neon red, With neon red flames blazing up At each of his eyes’ edges. His brilliant flames sent up hot steam As he shot jets of gouting flame, Bright yellow-orange, Against the Stalker coming down Upon him now; it snarled, it roared, It bayed as it was bathed in flames So now it lunged, its massive arm Swung fast, with such a hideous strength That its claws could have caught him up And turned him into liquid red. But it missed him, instead it hit Cordelia Who did not have time To cry aloud as she was made Into a bright and warm red mist; She merely died, an instant thing. And Ardo saw her liquify His red eyes gazed now, horror-struck Upon the space where she had been. A crimson spatter in the snow Was all of her that now remained.
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