Crimson Claws & Fangs ch.01

*Howl of the Heavens and The Awakening continue in this series as the powers of both meet and clash*

 

In the far reaches out on a forgotten sandy road in Arizona’s deserts a single large silver van like vehicle with shaded windows and an odd dump truck like hatch for its rear speeds kicking up a cloud of sand. Inside the vehicle are four black robed and hooded figures and one wearing a red hooded robe. The red hooded figure holds in his hands a large tricorder like device. He tells the others that their target is nearby. The van stops and from it they all pour out and form a circle thirty feet from the vehicle. The robed men then begin to chant an exorcism.

 

     The men are suddenly caught in a dust devil that encircles them. From the dust devil a large coyote like face appears with glowing blue lights for eyes. The face laughs like a wild dog and speaks to the men, “An exorcism? For me? You really shouldn’t have?” it laughs again at its own joke as the men continue their chanting, “Are you trying to ignore me? Heh, worthless little creatures, came all the way out here where no human lives and somehow found where I was resting, invisible to all human senses and devices…or at least I would have thought so. You must know I am not a devil, your chanting means nothing to one who predates your very religion.”

 

    The red robed figure gestures for the men to stop. He says, “This is the Dire we were looking for, time to take it out.” He pulls from his sleeve a remote control and clicks a button on it. The back hatch of the van opens and out steps an eight foot tall grey colored bipedal humanoid robot. The robot’s body looks like some rip-off of an old transformer’s toy minus any vehicle parts, looking very blocky with black rubber like joints. The head was made to look like a knight’s helmet. It had blue diamond like crystals on the sides of its calf blocks, shoulder blocks, and forearm blocks. It also had octagon shaped blue crystals in the palms of its hands.

 

    The sand face retracts from the inside of the cyclone to the outside and looks at the odd robot, tilting its head like a confused dog. The robot fires blue energy beams from the crystals in its palms at the base of the cyclone causing it to collapse back into the ground. The robed men take advantage of the moment to hurry to the van and rush off down the road leaving the robot to deal with the Dire with out them in the cross-fire.

 

    A smaller dust devil rises from the ground with the Dire’s face on it. He simply states, “Burning sands and blazing winds strike down my unworthy foe.” From the dust devil a storm of glass shards blazes forward like a blizzard engulfing the robot, but its to no effect on the metal body which glows with a blue aura, accompanied by a glow from the crystals on its body. The robot speaks in a monotone voice, “Paladin unit 001. No civilians detected. Demonic presence confirmed. Beginning attack mode.”

 

    The robot aims its right arm at the Dire dust devil and says, “Illusion disrupter beam.” From the palm a blue energy beam fires a direct hit at the dust devil causing it to collapse, and a large area of the air nearby becomes wavy like it is very hot, the waves vanish like a mirage to reveal a giant canine monster, standing ten feet at the shoulder with a fox like head and long shaggy tail making it around twenty feet long. This creature had a fur pattern similar to that of a coyote.

 

    The robot in its monotone voice speaks again, “you are now finished vile demon.”

 

    The Dire now revealed from its illusion speaks to the robot, “Pathetic golem of science and sorcery, I am Khyte the trickster god son of Rhuen god of darkness and Versa goddess of the wilderness, I have lived on this continent since the time when over half of it was covered in ice. I have more power than some pathetic machine could ever unleash. Till now I have simply been using tricks, now I shall end this pointless battle.” He rears up on his hinde legs bring his front paws down like a big cat striking its prey. The paws are stopped short however by a blue energy dome around the robot. Sparks fly off in all directions from the points of impact. Khyte smiles a wide toothy grin at the robot, “My weight alone seems to be draining this thing of all its power. It is all it can do to defend; it can’t even attack right now. This battle is already over.”

 

      As the robed figures drive away they hear a sudden shake of the ground and see behind them a massive explosion. They quickly brake as parts of the robot fall down around them, the only way that could have been possible is if the monster had not only blown up the robot but guided the majority of the parts somehow towards their vehicle. This fact occurred to them and what it implied, with out need for words to pass between them the driver screeched the van as fast as he could away from the scene down the road.

 

      A half hour later the men are relieved that they don’t seem to be followed by the Dire they had come to slay, yet still apprehensive at what could still happen way out here in the middle of no where. Their fears are confirmed as they are forced to come to halt due to a road block of black armored vans with tinted windows across the road. Appearing from thin air three black helicopters appear and surround the van on its sides and from behind.

 

    A tall Caucasian woman steps out from the helicopter behind them, this woman has waist long black raven hair and unlike her cohorts she is not wearing the men in black styled suits but rather a black latex outfit showing off her cleavage and short shirt that barely covers her crotch yet seemed to stretch unnaturally to allow her to walk normally. With out the use of a megaphone saying in a voice lauder than should be possible for a human and even lacking the strained sound of a yell she said to them, “You will be coming with us!” With a wave of her hand in the air all the men from the black vans pull out strange hand guns that look more like mini-gatlins on a hand gun holster than normal weapons, and from the helicopters come many more men with the strange over board looking weapons. The woman continues, “and I hope that wont be a problem.” The robed men discovering their radios and other contact information to not be working have no choice but to surrender and hope the lord will come through for them.