The Battle of Casso Bridge – Part 3

The canal, being 50 feet across, proved no problem for the vampires to clear. Arriving on the other side appeared to be more of a problem, however. Perhaps any other army would have been distracted by a Father having his heart ripped out, but the Builders were all focus. The front line on the canal dropped to one knee and hoisted their crossbows, lining up a shot. The row behind them were holding long thick spears that were braced against yet a third row of Brothers. They thrust the spears out and the vampires that had leapt across impaled themselves. Some were lucky and it hit their heart, causing their instant death. Others hung from the spears for a moment before a Brother stepped forward and mercifully drove a stake through their heart.

The Builders unleashed a hail of crossbow bolts at the vampires, and the vampires were returning in kind by prying up cobblestones from the streets and hurling them back at the Builders with deadly accuracy and speed. Some vampires had launched themselves onto the closest buildings they could, crawling the walls and leaping onto the rooftops. Some made it, some didn’t.

Scottie and Sky watched the battle unfold around them before turning their attention back to Philip, who was in the process of tossing aside the heart of the late Father Straton and attempting to pull the bolt from his chest. Scottie growled and rushed to Philip, gripping the bolt and pushing it in further. Philp roared in pain as Scottie spoke, “Look around, Philip! The Builders, the humans, aren’t as weak as you thought, are they? I warned you. You and the Elder. You can still stop this. You can pull back and talk…”

Philip grabbed Scottie by the shoulders and gave him a rough shove. Scottie went flying back against the bridge parapet, a bloody crossbow bolt in hand. Philip pointed to him, “First you,” and then to Sky, “then you.”

By now though, Builders and vampires had charged up the bridge and clashed around the Melniks and Philip. Sky had already drawn her scimitar and Scottie pushed himself up from the ground, drawing his own sword and tossing aside the bolt.

With a throng of Builders and vampires between the Melniks and Philip, Scottie yelled to Sky, “We gotta get out of here.”

Sky nodded quickly, slicing through vampires as they got too close to her, “We do, but I’ve got a surprise. One that might stop this, at least for tonight.”

Scottie furrowed his brow, trying to inflict as little damage as possible to any Brother who got too close to him without actually killing them, “What!? How? How in the hell are you going to stop all of this?”

It was chaos all around them. The rooftops were being battled for, the canal was a flurry of bolts and stones, bodies occasionally dropping into the water as some projectile found its mark. The melee on the bridge proved to be a back and forth affair, sometimes the Churchies pushing an advantage and sometimes the vampires getting an upper hand. And through it all, Philip was trying to make his way to them. A few more crossbow bolts stuck into him by now, but none lucky enough to put him down for good. Whatever hate he harbored for the Builders, he set aside for the Melniks.

Sky dodged a blow and took a vampire’s head clean off, yelling back at Scottie, “Remember what I packed…”

By then Philip was in front of them. Claws and teeth in full view, he swiped at Scottie. Scottie ducked and rolled, hollering out to Sky, “Whatever it is, do it!” With that, he lunged with his sword at Philip.

Sky hopped up on the parapet of the bridge and ran down to the vampire side. Just before she reached them, she hopped off and down onto the little dock. Landing neatly, she sprung up and ran down the dock to the little boat. Inside it sat a green canvas bag. And within that bag, Sky hauled out a small wooden box, topped by a T-handle. She set the box on the dock and pulled up the handle. Fortunately, from her position, the vampires were too busy with the Church crossbow assault to look down. Also, the Churchies were good enough marksman to not come close to hitting her. She looked to the bridge, waiting for the right moment.

Scottie swiped at Philip with his sword, missing the first time but slicing into Philip’s shoulder on the backswing. Philip howled out as the silver edge of Scottie’s blade made contact with his skin. Philip shrunk back from the swinging blade, tripping over another vampire and nearly losing his balance. He gave the vampire a brutal shove and gave Scottie a look that could kill, “Quite the sword, little man. I’ll keep it as a trophy. Along with your wife and your head.” He charged across the bridge, pushing aside Builder and vampire alike. Scottie waited until the last moment and sidestepped Philip, swiping at Philip’s midsection and cutting deep. Philip groaned and Scottie spun around, able to spot Sky on the dock and suddenly realizing what she intended to do and shouted out, “Off the bridge! Everybody off the bridge!”

Some stopped and took a look around. Some of those folks noticed Sky on the dock as well. And those that did ran like hell, causing their comrades to retreat, though not exactly knowing why. Scottie ran too, but not before being caught by his shoulder by Philip. Spun around, Scottie found himself face to face with Philip once more, before receiving a punch in the jaw. Stars exploded before Scottie’s eyes and he swung his sword wildly. Philip grasped Scottie’s sword hand and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off of his feet. Scottie struggled and Philp sneered, throwing him backward with all of his might. Scottie flew through the air toward the vampire side of the canal and struck the wall of a building.

Philip was on the bridge alone, apparently not having gotten the message everyone else had. He looked triumphant seeing Scottie crumpled on the ground and more than a little satisfied that he alone controlled the bridge. That is, before he heard Sky call out, “Eat fire, bastard!”

Sky pushed down the plunger. A split second later the an explosion tore through the bridge. Builders and vampires fled the scene as stone and brick were launched into the air by an enormous fireball, which completely engulfed Philip. The dock on which Sky was perched wasn’t all that far from the explosion, and the shock wave knocked her back into the little boat.

When she regained her footing she climbed the side of the canal, scrambling up the stones and running the last place she had Scottie fly. Debris had been raining down and the bridge was missing a large portion of its middle. She found him crawling away from the side of the building, moving toward his sword several feet away. She scooped up his weapon and set it in his hand. He smiled up at her, his mouth bloody, and managed a chuckle, “You really do pack for everything, don’t you?”

She laughed and helped him to his feet, making sure he could walk before taking his hand, “I told you! You just never know!”