Murder under the stars

Isra yelped and held on for her life as Qatan moved with godly speed and struck Amawas in a horizontal slash. The power was so great that the clouds parted below. Their weapons, one made of pure electricity and the other of pure darkness, clashed, and a shockwave spread outward from the impact.

Qatan gritted his teeth and then screamed as his eyes lit up further, making the electricity crackle even brighter in his sword. In the next moment, it pierced through the dark sickle and struck Amawas on the face.

But Amawas remained composed and, in return, raised her left arm up. From the ground below, a hundred tentacles of condensed dark fire rose up and shot at Qatan. Instead, they clashed against each other as Qatan disappeared.

In a zap, he appeared near the battered #212 and pushed Isra off himself to the bird. His teeth were bare, and his gaze was locked upon Amawas. This was the first time anyone had ever seen Qatan so filled with rage. He lifted his arm up, and the clouds below obeyed, then moved and formed into an enormous whirlpool, violently thrusting against each other only to disappear, all happening in a span of mere seconds.

Upon seeing this, Amawas lifted her sickle up. From the white whirlpool of the clouds below, tentacles of dark fire slithered up, following the direction of Amawas's sickle as she maneuvered them. In a few seconds, tens of them were upon the girls and #212 from all directions.

But Qatan was not going to let her harm the girls; they were his to protect. Before the tentacles could strike, he moved like pure lightning and struck them each, as they bursted in black vaporous clouds,Qatan then growled at #212.

"Take the girls to the grove and contact Golden."

***********

"Isra, thank God!" Khadija smothered her in a hug instantly, and they both braced #212 as he flew away with the speed of a comet. He was giving everything he had left, leaving a trail of blood behind him. The day had been a never-ending nightmare for all of them.

Somewhere behind them, the earth roared, and the skies wept. The cold wind brushed against Isra's cheeks as she looked back in worry. Red lightning reflected in her gray eyes as she saw the whole world behind her getting submerged in a dark, violent storm.

A cataclysmic battle was happening, and she worried for Qatan. She could not express it properly, but her heart ached for his safety. How could someone survive this? How was this fair? Qatan had saved her twice already, and now he was risking his life yet again.

#212's speed decreased gradually. The loss of blood was leaving him weak and shivering. He had bare minutes left of flight at best, and then he would have to get down and recover until he could fly again. But the aftershocks of the battle that was happening behind him left him betting on a dangerous gamble.