Ol' Flint the Crow

Flint's Second Tale pt. 17 / Finale

...A thunderous crack echoed throughout the hall. A gust of wind shot off in all directions, sending the hawk hurdling to the other side of the auditorium. The white mass of whirling gas swirled wildly around Edvrick. Letting out a cry that broke my heart, Edvrick screamed in pain. Instantly, he was enveloped in the cloud, and I could no longer see him.

Everyone in the room shook in fear: Xena, Nettle, and the hawk. They all where deathly afraid of the strange things taking place. And I was afraid too. So very much afraid. This fear caused the tiny, red orb to roll loosely in my wing, and it nearly slipped form my grasp while I stared at my friend.

Gradually, the white cloud subsided while it painfully buried into Edvrick's mouth, ears, and even tear dots. His face was paler than it had ever been and contorted when more of the twirling gas penetrated him against his will.

Edvrick convulsed, then suddenly his whole body stiffen. Hoisting himself up like he was being pulled from a string from the top of his head, he stood upright and breathed in the last remaining bits of white clouds like he was reveling it. A sly smile appeared on his face. In a flash, Edvrick's eyes jolted open towards the mossy ceiling while they glowed a fearful ivory color.

"Edvrick..." an unfamiliar voice oozed out of my friend's lips. "It's so good to be with you again my meeker half!"

Grasping onto the marble that I was supposed to have already broken, I gaped in awe at my friend's gleaming body. His voice, now deep and hollow, was just enough like my friend's that against my undeniable fear I called out to him.

"Edv?" I asked, taking a step back.

Grinning at me, Edvrick raised his finger, telling me to wait. Four things happened simultaneously, all done by my Edvrick or at least the one controlling him. The first was that he lifted his arms towards the spider; and, with the power of the wind even in spite of being cooped up in this tomb of a building, he yanked Xena down from her web and sent her skull crashing to the floor. Green slime splattered everywhere and even sprinkled over me, making me wince at the sight of the dead beast laying crumpled on the ground.

Next, Edvrick flicked his wrist and tore out a broken fang from the spider's corpse. This he used to cut down Nettle from her confinement. She fell on her ankles with a frightened howl. Rolling on the ground, Nettle whimpered while watching Edvrick resuming his merciless onslaught.

Edvrick then poised his white eyes at the spirit who had encased himself in the indestructible armor. Shaking in his suit, the hawk could do nothing but cower. However, Edvrick laughed menacingly and, with a twist of his arms, sent the heavy shell twenty feet in the air as if it were only a pebble. Thrusting his arms up and down, he violently hammered the hawk against the ceiling and cobblestone floor one after the other. This assault broke apart stones every time the armor hit the ground or the roof. Although the shell itself never showed any signs of damage from the vicious battering, the creature inside could only take so much. Gradually, the sound of cracking bones reverberated throughout the auditorium along with wails of agony inside the armor which eventually subsided and died out entirely.

Lastly Edvrick dealt with the bag of marbles that had been discarded during the struggle with the hawk. Holding it in the palm of his hand, Edvrick caused it to spin in a circle in midair. It steadily revolved faster. When the speed at which the bag was spinning became too great, the satchel sparked and was set a flame from the momentum. After, Edvrick cast the flaming bag on the ground, which burned into ashes along with the imprisoning orbs and all trapped those inside.

Once finished with his task, the stranger, Edvrick, sighed and relished what he had done while the wind he had summoned swiftly fled in every direction. He opened up his eyes again and sauntered towards Nettle who was whimpering while prone on the ground. Edvrick grinned hungrily at her as he yanked away the last bits of webbing covering her. Not daring to stand up, Nettle sat hunched over and sniffed at him. Even she sensed that something was different about Edvrick.