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The Gift

Edward's Storyline, Chapter 5.4

copyright comidacomida 2018

I glanced around warily; they'd seen three Humans and two Spirits, but I only saw two. A moment later I heard a rustle from an alley behind me and a voice dripping with threat caused a shiver to run up my spine. "You made a big mistake coming here,,. especially if you don't plan on using your resources to their fullest."

I turned around, somehow putting two and two together; if the other Spirits had possessed Humans, he obviously meant that the Spirits there with me were at a disadvantage for not doing the same with me. Smirking, I was ready to tell the Spirit off and tell him that not all Spirits had to play puppets with Humans, but the words got stuck when I saw myself barely a dozen feet from a humanoid Spider holding a knife. I'm not arachnophobia, but something about seeing THAT guy... well... it made me second-guess my phobias.

He seemed almost as surprised by my reaction as I was at seeing him, his eight, red-glowing eyes widening as he gasped "A Seer?!?"

I had no doubt that I was in way over my head so I quickly fell back behind Tom and reached for my phone to call 911. Only once I'd moved so that Tom was between me and the Spider did I realize mu mistake; the Cur and the Spider were on either side of the group so there wasn't technically a 'behind' at that point. Shrugging that thought off I pulled out my cell. The Dog Spirit pointed at me with his bat. "Hey! Looks like we got a Weaver! I bet that's the shithead who called the cops!"

I turned and raised my phone, shouting back at him. "Yeah? And I'll do it again! You should be warming a prison cell somewhere instead of--"

The words stopped coming when the phone exploded in my hand at almost the exact second a gunshot rang out on the street. My gaze slowly trailed over to the girl a short distance from the Dog and I found myself staring down the barrel of a gun. Most of her face was hidden by the weapon and her arms, but I saw the edge of her mouth quirk up into a grin. Her voice carried with surprising clarity. "Smith & Wesson M&P Shield, 9mm-- best selling semi-automatic pistol in the United States. Fast reset for accurate firing."

My life flashed before my eyes and, even as her finger moved on the trigger my view of her was blocked by Treboada. The retort from the gun echoed off the buildings and a loud wooden thunk resounded as the Wolf took a step back. I'm no gun expert but I realized that a wooden shield couldn't stop a pistol round. As if echoing my thoughts, Treboada announced "She's a Spirit, not a girl..."

I stated the obvious. "She looks like a Human, not an animal."

During our conversation the girl took a step forward. The pistol fell out of her hand and disappeared in a wisp of purple smoke. She took a much more stalwart shooting stance and in the blink of an eye she was holding some kind of rifle. Her smile returned as she addressed me directly. "Do you like it, Weaver? Smith & Wesson M&P15-- best selling semi-automatic rifle in America. I already have my opinion regarding this gun but I'm eager to hear about what you think."

She took aim, but the gun was knocked from her hands after a cloud of smoke appeared from Medved's black powder pistol. "Old gun. New gun. Popular or not-- guns work better when you use your finger and not your tongue."

The girl's eyes glowed a deep purple and a snarl appeared on her lips as she spoke aside to the Dog. "Kill them, but leave the Weaver."

A deep, rumbling growl came from behind me and I heard the sound of the Spider make his move. I knew it was only a matter of time until the Human-looking Spirit pulled out some other gun so I kept my attention on her, hoping that The Ancient One was as capable as Green seemed to think he was. Sure enough, she pulled what looked like some kind of shotgun out of nowhere but Treboada was already upon her, knocking the weapon aside with his battle axe.

She didn't seem phased in the least and her left hand recovered first, drawing a revolver. I remember thinking she wasn't wearing anything with enough pockets or bulky enough to hide all of those weapons and it made me wonder where they hell they were coming from. The Wolf wasn't as distracted as I was so he had just enough time to raise his shield to protect himself from the shots.

The Dog stepped in with his bat to attack Treboada but his swing was pulled up short when he was forced to use the weapon to protect himself from Medved's metal-studded crop. The Wolf and Bear squared off against the Girl and Dog and, only then did I feel comfortable glancing behind myself to see how The Ancient One was faring. I had never seen someone bodily ripped in half before and, frankly, I still wish it was something I hadn't experienced.

Holding the Spider over his head, knife imbedded in his shoulder, talons digging into one of the Spirit's legs and the other holding him by the neck, Green let out a roar as he pulled in either direction and the Spider was torn in two. The Dragon's expression was probably the most disturbing thing about the sight: there was no doubt in my mind that he was enjoying himself and his long, forked, reptilian tongue gleefully wiped the blood from his face.

I looked away from him to the fight going on at the end of the street. Medved had the Dog on the defensive, keeping the red-eyed Spirit busy with his lash while he bludgeoned at the Curr with the hilt of his pistol. Treboada, on the other hand, looked like he was not faring all that well. The purple-eyed girl had an endless stream of guns and he spent most of his time focused on them, which left her clear to kick, elbow, and even head-butt. She was surprisingly quick, and was using some kind of martial arts training.

Treboada swung at her with his axe, which she nimbly ducked and shot her hand out, hitting him on the wrist and forcing him to open his paw; the weapon disappeared as it fell from his grasp. She was scornful in her assessment. "You are old and tired. You don't belong in this world anymore."

She brought another pistol around to bear but he slammed her forearm with his shield and grabbed the gun out of the air, spinning it around to face her. "Ah'll adapt... Ah alwehs do, Lass."

Before he could fire she grabbed the barrel, pushed, then pulled, taking the weapon apart in one smooth motion, and then threw the metal right at the Wolf. She repeated herself. "Old and tired."

He raised his shield to bat the junk out of the way and she pulled out another gun, aimed it at his leg, and, without bothering to say a thing, pulled the trigger. The gun was knocked aside at the last minute by Medved, who had slapped it with his riding crop, but it opened him to an attack by the Dog, who slammed him in the ribs with his bat. The Bear took a half-step back but steadied himself, seemingly none the worse for wear by the strike, but the Dog followed up with a double-pawed overhead smash down on Medved's head. I shouted out "NO!"

I'm not sure what happened or how, but the bat turned aside, splintering to pieces without actually connecting. All of the spirits stopped for a split second, glancing back toward me on the street. The girl recovered first, raising both hands which were armed with pistols again, and she began unloading; I'd be dead if Tom hadn't been right there to interpose himself and his shield between me and that bitch. He spoke to me over his shoulder. "Find cover, Edward. I cannot help them if I must stay here to protect you."

I weighed my options as I looked from the fight near the building to Tom and then to Green, who was already stalking down the street with Spider Spirit blood covering him like he'd taken a shower in it. His aggression was one thing, but the sound of even MORE gunshots from the girl made me wonder just how well any of my Spirits would do against her. I--