Happy Blog Day Everyone!
Following on from last week's festivities we have a new short Diversions for you all to enjoy!
...
What's that? It's the first of the month and the time I do a round up of the writing of the month before?
Sshhh! Don't say that part outloud!
Ahem, last week's 100th post blow out put out the schedule a little bit but we'll get there...
Before any short story, you'll have to deal with a brand new Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz!
Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz
I enjoyed writing/drawing this one, though it didn't really undergo any revisions from the initial idea, though the song Riz is rocking away to was chosen for a reason (an obvious one at that!).
Short Diversions: A Cold Voice
Today's story is another Avalon Tales Short, but it's primarily focusing on Isabelle, a bit later into her career. This was written a whole ago with the intent of submission, but I shelved it because I didn't think it worked as a stand alone. Readers of this blog will probably get context more.
Without further ado...
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A Cold Voice
“Tell me what’s going on, Robyn,” Isabelle shouted into her mouth piece. She pressed her back against the wall, and started to control her breathing till it slowed. Her hand hovered over the hilt of her sword that was locked in its sheath, an icy chill permeating it.
No, not now! Isabelle forced her hand back against the wall, she peered round the corner and saw the marching shadows that indicated that the enemies were moving in.
“Izzy! Looks like there’s been some reinforcements that the intel didn’t mention. I’m working my way along the roof to get to your position. I’ve lost sight of Bravo unit,” Robyn replied, her voice crackling as the transmission started to break up.
“Negative, keep your position! There’s about twenty threats in my vicinity, it’s too dangerous. I’ll make my way to you so we can regroup! Robyn, do you copy me!” Isabelle practically screamed into the headset, but there was no signal. She had no way of knowing if the message had gotten through. She could now see the shadows on the far wall, without needing to turn around, and heard their feet hitting down in unison. Pulling a small pistol from its holster on her side, Isabelle knew it wouldn’t be enough to put down the enemies that were closing in on her, but it would give her an opening. Counting down from ten, Isabelle braced herself for the frenetic activity that was about to explode.
Waiting for the last possible moment, Isabelle fired point blank into the head of the first enemy that came round the corner. She wasn’t fazed by the appearance of the dishevelled creature that fell to the ground, its rotten head burst apart by the shot. It had been wearing a tattered military uniform, not too dissimilar to the one Isabelle was wearing. There had been five other creatures like this in the group, all wearing different attires, and all of them turned to her, each one was carrying assault rifles that had been taken from elsewhere, some of them with the original owner’s hands still attached. A flurry of movement kept Isabelle safe from the spread of bullets, and with careful aiming, she took another three down in the same manner as the first, the other two took themselves out as she darted between them. A glance back confirmed her fears as the bodies were still stirring, the headless corpses being little more than puppets for the demonic parasites that were hidden within, ones that didn’t like their legs being damaged. From the vacant neck wounds, a slug-like creature slithered out, and each of the fallen started to rise again. Isabelle had already moved on.
The mission that she had commanded should have been a simple one, clear a demonic infestation at an old house. Clearly some idiots had either bargained for them to be brought into the world, or had simply stumbled upon a concealed nest, not that the scenario mattered, the end results were both the same. The house had been vast, hinting that whoever owned it before it fell to ruin must have had money, despite there being little evidence of that now. Isabelle had entered this place with eleven other people, breaking up into three units. She got separated when the first lot of demons attacked, causing her to fall through the floor to a badly deteriorated basement level. Seeing the Avalon uniform one of the horrors didn’t give much hope for any other survivors. It had been lucky that Robyn had stayed outside with her unit, acting as a barrier between the normal world and that of the operation they were undertaking. Had she been inside as well, things may have been far worse. Under normal circumstances, Isabelle would have been in direct contact with headquarters, allowing her to summon reinforcements and a swift extraction so they could reassess what had happened. A strange signal had blocked everything but local transmissions.
Far behind her, Isabelle heard the clicking of the demons that she’d just waylaid, but knew that it wouldn’t be long till either they caught up, or that she’d run into the first group, who had taken to augment their decaying vessels with fresh parts taken from local animals, making for some grotesque forms that had cut their way into memory. Her other problem was the amount of ammo she had to use. Being an efficient shot, she’d only wasted one bullet for each enemy she had put down, but to kill them outright would take more, and there was no guarantee that the bullets would do the job, even the modified ones that she’d been given. There was one weapon she had that would work, and even now, it whispered to her, wanting her to release it from the sheath that bound it. Again, her hand was being drawn to the hilt, a hilt that with one tug would cause the restraints to unlock, allowing the demon blade its freedom. Isabelle exerted control once more. The sword was a potent weapon, there was no question in that, yet using a demon weapon was never without risks, and the risks of Ygnir, as it called itself. Their minds shared a bond, and it promised her power. It was because of this bond that she couldn’t simply choose to not take it with her when she sortied. There was also the element of need, the sheer power of the sword meant that most threats would be dealt with, yet, she was still hesitant in unleashing it. Even now, this situation would certainly warrant it, but she needed to show herself how far she could go on her own, without having to draw from that tainted strength.
“Izz…zy!...Ca…ou…ear me?” Isabelle’s transceiver burst into life, reminding her that she was still wearing it. She was overjoyed to hear Robyn’s voice. There was a deep dread that in her zeal to find her, Robyn would have fallen into the enemy’s nest, and despite her skills, would have fallen to their parasitic nature.
“Robyn! Stay on the roof! The enemy is dangerous and we’re not properly equipped at this time to deal with them!” Isabelle ordered. While she didn’t know how much of that would get through, she hoped the important parts did, that of Robyn staying away from where she was.
“Your…ing…up! You…nt…me…to stay…ere?”
“Yes! I repeat, stay where you are! I’ll find a way to come to you,” Isabelle cast her eyes up as she said that. She imagined a path through the ceiling and beyond.
I can make that easy for you. A cold demonic voice echoed in her mind.
“No, Ygnir, I don’t need you,” Isabelle sighed. “I can do this by myself.”
The clicking noises were getting closer, so seeing that her respite was over, Isabelle made a break for it, continuing her trek through the labyrinth-like walls. While it would have been nice to come across a way up, it wasn’t a primary objective, her real aim was finding another point where the ceiling had already collapsed, giving her easy access back to the ground level.
“Any…out…ere? I rep…Anyon…th…?”
Isabelle stopped when she heard this second voice coming in on the local transmissions.
“I can hear you! Who is this?” Isabelle asked.
“Ma’am…thi...Squire…Moore, par…of…Bravo…”
Survivors. More lives that she felt responsibility for. She knew that the speaker was Squire Robert Moore. In Avalon, it abandoned the ranks that one normally associated with military duty, going with the training stages of chivalry. That made sense for the organisation considering that it had been going since the time of knights on horseback. Robert had been handpicked to join Avalon from the army following his squad’s unfortunate demonic encounter. In fact, many of the people partaking in this mission were people like that, ones that she’d chosen after scouring reports from every branch of the British military. While she didn’t want to dwell on it during, she always kept a list of those who never returned from the operations under her supervision.
“Squire Moore, where are you? How many others are with you? I repeat, how many others are with you? Are you encountering any resistance?” she fired the barrage of questions as quickly as she could manage.
“Comm…is…at…you? There…four…us.”
“What is your location, Squire, tell me now!” Isabelle stressed. With the communication having caught her attention, she was aware that the demons were coming up behind her fast, their stomping boots in a strange beat that indicated a faster movement then the bodies should have been capable of.
“We’re…led…up…the first…Few…threats around.”
“Stay put, I’m coming for you!” Isabelle set off faster, pushing herself more. Her increased pace hadn’t gone unnoticed from those chasing her, as they too moved to give haste.
It didn’t take long for Isabelle to find a spot she was looking for, as she turned a corner and spotted a beam of sunlight that was pouring in from a hole in the ceiling, the perfect size for her to climb through. She had to watch her step, the last thing she wanted was the ceiling she was climbing on, to further collapse. Using the walls, she leapt up, pushing herself up with her feet. The first time she did this, she slipped back down, but the third try was successful. The demons arrived too late to catch their prey and instead started climbing each other to reach up. Isabelle readied her gun again and aimed for the lower parts of this growing mass. Again, knowing that it wouldn’t kill any of them, she still took the shots, which caused the tower to tumble before they had a chance to get to her, buying her precious time to reach the next floor.
“Robyn, if you can hear me, I’m heading to rendezvous with the survivors. We’ll need an escape route.”
Isabelle didn’t know if her order would be carried out, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it, the demons would be with her again in a moment if she wavered.
Being on the ground floor was just the beginning of her problems. She had emerged in what used to be the main entrance, a grand hall that would have looked majestic when it was first built. Now it was dilapidated, with any wrong step sending her back to where she’d crawled up from. Bravo Squad could have been holed up in any part of the first floor. She needed something to go off, a sign of a firefight or anything.
My power could help you, even in this situation. Ygnir was trying a different approach, but the effect was the same. So far she’d managed to block out the temptations, and she’d do her best to keep it that way. A noise she didn’t want to hear had the effect of upping the tension, as the sound of something heavy being dragged on the same floor as her rang out. The source seemed to come from one of the hallways that split away from the hall. She didn’t hear anything other than wood on wood, so doubted that it was any of her comrades that she wanted to save. A quick scan of the room revealed two large staircases, either which would get her to the required floor; however, one set had been ruined, with the upper part being completely inaccessible. This meant that there was only one option. Isabelle didn’t like being forced to choose a route, she strived for control over her hectic life, and having to relinquish some of that established control, caused a pain in her mind, like a thousand glass shards being pushed in her head. She endured it for her duty, she had a goal to achieve.
A shape appeared in the doorway where the previous sound had come from, the shape could have been generously described as humanoid, but was far more bestial with some of it’s limbs, limbs that it had too many of. The presence of animal tissue hinted that it was one of the first batch of demons, yet Isabelle couldn’t recall seeing it in the melee that erupted when the demons attacked her forces. The creature wasn’t wearing any clothes, but its body was heavily scarred, but what put Isabelle on edge, was the fact that amongst the scars, was evidence of stitches. Fresh looking stitches at that.
Those weren ‘t caused by any demon. She told herself. Judging the distance, she noticed that the creature was between her and the stairs, and the more time she spent evading, the greater the chance it was going to get reinforcements while she was outnumbered. She could have called for her own back up, plead with the other survivors to come to her aid, but that would be an affront to her. She was their leader, and she always tried to put her best foot forward. A solid belief in this doctrine meant she would have to face this demon, whatever type it was. Killing it would raise an issue, no question, though she hoped that merely disabling it would do the trick, and allow her to pass it with only a little time wasted.
“Come on, demon, you’ll learn against messing with the forces of Avalon,” Isabelle spoke in confident tones. She didn't know if the demon could understand her or not, and it didn’t matter, it was mainly for her own benefit, psyching herself up. There was a response from the demon, but it was clicks and a rasping breathing to accompany it.
I think your challenge was accepted, time to unsheath me! Let me taste this demon's blood! I may even be able to help you identify what alterations were made to it.
Looking at it from a purely fact finding view, Ygnir’s offer was the strongest yet. Still, Isabelle used all of her will not to grasp that handle. There was no contest in any argument about the usefulness of his power in a fight like this. The ice blade would make short work of these parasites, she could cleanse the entire building in no time at all. All it would have cost is giving the demon inside the blade more access to her. She’d used the demon blade numerous times before, and each time, the lingering presence that Ygnir left made her question who was in charge of who. All this introspection had wasted time as the demon she was supposed to be facing off against, was running at her. Each thunderous blow of the demon’s foot caused the building to shake. The demon shouldn’t have been able to move, let alone run, its body so misshapen due to the animalistic limbs that were either grafted on after the fact, or added due to the demonic influences, that it shouldn’t be balanced enough to stand. It had closed the gap between them, and it was lucky for Isabelle that she was deft enough to roll out of the way. The beast howled through four different mouths that opened widely, ready to devour. One of these mouths was attached to a long thin arm that emerged from the beast’s shoulder. It was this limb that was sent out to attack Isabelle, its hunger evident from the way it smashed its teeth together. Being pragmatic, she responded by putting the gun barrel its way and firing. The bullets tore through the flesh with ease, breaking teeth and causing the torn up limb to retreat.
With one method of attack denied to it, the demon barrelled towards its prey, choosing to strike with its fists, smashing the floor up wherever it hit. One such hit revealed the other demons, much to Isabelle’s dismay, and they too started clambering up to join the fight. She took aim again, picking off any that dared to poke its head up, but she was running out of ammunition, and the feat of getting away from the demons was slowly moving out of reach.
It’s time, you know you need me. We can end their lives together, or are you willing to let yourself die in vain? Ygnir sounded confident. Isabelle cursed herself, there wasn’t a lot she could do about this, other than releasing the demon weapon. The bigger creature was standing in the way of her goal, and the longer she hesitated, the more likely all the other monsters would become an issue. Her marksmanship was good, but she wasn’t a god with the gun, with the sword however.
Do it, release me! Do it! Do it! Ygnir chanted. With no will to resist, Isabelle allowed her wandering hand to grip the handle of the demon weapon, turning it ever so slightly clockwise, which started up the release mechanism for the sheath, and with a hiss, the locks moved from their positions. The demons surrounding Isabelle stood still for a moment as an ungodly chill went through them, they still went to press on their attack, none of them realising what it meant for them. The first sign they properly took notice of, was the last one they would ever see.
The demon that had blocked her progress to the stairs, noticed with an absent minded gaze that snowflakes were suspended in the air. It reached out to touch one of them, forgetting about Isabelle for the moment, afterall, she seemed frozen in place to their eyes now. Touching the snowflake was the last mistake the demon would ever make as no sooner had its flesh touched the icy construct, did its arm freeze solid. The other demons, taking notice of what happened tried to distance themselves from the falling snow where they could, but Isbelle put paid to any notion of them leaving this fight alive. With Ygnir’s power coursing through her, she swung the sword in a graceful arc and the first few demons that the blade touched, shattered like glass. The bigger demon, either in a desperate attempt to survive or an act of madness, charged forward. In response, Isabelle calmly stepped forward to meet it. The other remaining demons, now being affected by the cold temperatures, could barely move, none of them could offer any support. The charging demon was almost frozen to death by the time it came into range of Ygnir’s blade, and with brutal efficiency, Isabelle only needed one strike to kill it, bisecting it and watching as it broke apart from the wound. This left the other demons that had once been eager to kill her. Just like the others, she put them all out of their misery.
We’re not finished here, there are still demons lurking around, I can feel them. They’re afraid of you. Freeze this entire place, let none of them survive!
Isabelle heard Ygnir’s words and through glassy eyes, she scanned her surroundings, looking for any signs of these threats the demon sword was so confident about.
“Izzy!”
A voice had managed to overpower Ygnir’s, one that made Isabelle look up, the trance she was in, broken like the demons that she’d shattered with her blade. Robyn came down from the ceiling, suspended by a rope and landed like a cat as she leapt from it.
“Robyn?” Isabelle asked, as all notions of rank and professionalism melted away.
“Izzy, I guess you didn’t need my help after all…” Robyn quietened down as she saw that Ygnir had been unleashed. “Don’t you think you need to sheath that blade now?”
Don’t listen to her, there are still enemies here. A good soldier kills all their targets. Only then do they put their weapons down. You need my power.
“I…” Isabelle shook her head, as if she was trying to get the rest of her words out.
“Come on, Izzy, I know you’re better than this,” Robyn took a step closer. She knew that she should be terrified, being part of Avalon meant seeing what happened when a demon weapon had taken over its host, abandoning all pretence of a symbiotic relationship. Yet she believed in Isabelle, she’d swore to trust her, to trust her strength that had guided both of them to this point.
If she tries to force us to part, she’ll be declaring herself an enemy! Listen to me! Ygnir pleaded. Robyn was now within arms reach of Isabelle, and gently, she put her hands around Isabelle’s hand that held Ygnir in a tight grasp. The cold that the blade was generating was cutting through Robyn’s gear, but she’d swear that she didn’t feel it. With no resistance, Robyn guided Isabelle’s hands towards the sheath that would silence the blade, for now.
“You know what you have to do, Izzy,” Robyn smiled, her mouth trembling from the intense chill.
Isabelle’s eyes returned to their normal warmth, and with little fanfare, she forced Ygnir back into the sheath as the mechanical locks snapped shut, sealing the blade once more.
This is not over… Those final words were a common threat.
There was a silence between the pair, one that lasted a few minutes before Isabelle spoke, her decor taking over her once more, and as much as she wanted to embrace Robyn for her strength, strength that she needed to put the demon blade away, she also knew they still had a mission to complete.
“We need to get to the survivors, then we head for extraction.”
“What about the remaining demons?” Robyn asked, looking at the shreds that were left, she figured there would be a handful, if that still wandering the mansion's ground.
“We’ll return, with proper equipment, and we’ll exterminate them all,” Isabelle replied coldly. “Thank you though, Robyn. I’ve still a while off having mastery of Ygnir.”
Robyn was taken back by the contrast between Isabelle’s two statements, but knew it wasn’t the time nor the place.
“You’ll do it, I know you will,” those were the only words that she could think of at the time, and they were empty platitudes. Not to say she didn’t believe that Isabelle wouldn’t do it, but they were useless in changing anything. Isabelle smiled all the same, and the pair headed up the stairs to the first floor, to reunite with the rest.
They encountered no further demons.
It was long after they’d gotten back to the base with the rest of the survivors did Isabelle allow herself to react to the events. She stared at the letters she was going to send out to the families of the ones who died under her command. Generally, these were pre-typed, with more mundane explanations for why they weren’t coming home again. A part of Isabelle wished she could have done away with the feeble false explanations. However, the truth would only have done more harm, or at least that’s what she believed. The fight against the supernatural threat of the demons was not meant for the eyes of the masses, and if that meant lying to the bereaved, then that’s what it would take. Still, regardless of what the content of the letters were, she hated herself for having to write them. Each one stood as a testament against her leadership. She kept a document for herself, and in it, was the names of every person who ever died while she was in charge, even if she wasn’t personally leading the operation.
Despite being in her private office, she could still hear the calls of Ygnir from where the demon blade was stored when she didn’t need it. It’s mocking laughter turned into a chant of all the names she despaired over, and the message was clear, it said: they wouldn’t have died if you relied on me.
A knock on the door allowed her to relinquish those thoughts, and dull the demon weapon’s voice. It was Robyn who entered, with almost everyone else likely to have been turned away. She walked over, and put her arms around Isabelle, hugging her tight. The pair didn’t need to say anything else…
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That's it for this week!
Till next time,
Keep on writing!
Peter James Martin
Quick Links
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 1
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Book 1: A Boy and A Rat
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 2
Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Volume 1
Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Fade to Noir
Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Hubble Bubble
