The three wolves padded out, moving to encircle the two of them; keeping their heads turned to face their prey. They moved on all fours like animals whereas the werewolves of Ewoden’s tribe had only resorted to that stance when they had wanted to run fast and in all other circumstances had remained bipedal. One wolf was a dark black, another glossy brown. The third was a slickly yellow and a great deal more fur on its tail.
“Radek, Ambar, Kheldar!” Ewoden breathed, turning to face each of them in turn; dismay writ large on his face. “It’s me, your pack leader!” He held out his arms to them in supplication and entreaty. They snarled at him, snapping at his fingers when they came too close. They drooled like rapid dogs and growled, the fur on the backs of their necks standing up.
One of them darted in, snapping at Ewoden’s flank with the seeming intent of trying to hamstring him. The emissary moved his leg out of danger and soon he and Raziel were back to back with the wolves moving around them.
“They can not hear you Ewoden.” The blue wraith told him seriously, watching the black wolf dart past them following its movements. He was reading the tension in its body and he guessed it was only waiting for a momentary sign of weakness to attack.
“We have to kill them.” They were not going to be able to proceed until these guard dogs were dealt with and that was precisely what they were now, guard dogs. They might have been a part of Ewoden’s tribe once but whatever Ambraxas had done to them had stolen away the last vestiges of humanity.
Ewoden looked back at him over his shoulder, a stunned and incredulous look on his face. His eyes however were full of hopeless dismay.
“They are pack!” He protested almost like a dog’s whine in his voice.
Raziel supposed that was to be expected. Wolves were pack animals and Lycanthropes were no different. The community of the pack was the central theme of their strange culture and killing members of ones own pack would be unthinkable. But Ewoden had the human ability to reason and had to see past his instincts and see the facts. These creatures could never be pack again.
“Then free them from his thraldom!” Raziel told him sharply. In the event Ewoden did not have to choose to fight his former pack mates. They chose to grant him mercy from such an agonising decision and they attacked first, the brown wolf darting in quickly and leaping at them with mouth agape.
Raziel ran forward, stabbing up with his right hand. In a flash of light the Wraith blade manifested itself on his command. Its twisting serpentine blade struck the wolf full in the face and blood exploded everywhere. The head came free from the body, a twisting mass of torn flesh, sinew and bone.
The body landed on the ground with a loud thump and slid a short distance, trailing blood.
The yellow wolf snarled, foam flying from its mouth and charged; darting towards them with great speed. But Ewoden was suddenly there, tackling it head on with his arms metamorphosing into the lycanthrope fur and claws. He grappled with his former pack mate, tearing at it just as savagely as it tore at him; a manic brawl of quick bites and scraps.
With the Reaver still manifested, Raziel turned to face the black wolf. It remained cautiously distant, watching him closely and slowly padding back and forth.
The blue wraith held his ethereal blade lower, almost inviting the wolf to attack. While Ambraxas’ lobotomies had perhaps destroyed their human minds it had not robbed them of all intelligence and the wolf did not take the invitation, knowing a trap when it saw one.
Instead it quickened its pace, circling him more swiftly and when Raziel adjusted his weight to follow it, the wolf struck. It moved light lightning, darting in as Raziel began to lift his foot. It was on him before he could react, its mouth clamping down hard on his shoulder. It did not draw blood for there was no blood left in Raziel’s body to be shed but rather spiritual energy began to leak out and the wraith felt its reserves being depleted.
He tried to bring the wraith blade up by the wolf clamped its foreleg down on its right arm, pinning it to the floor.
Forced to fight back with his left, Raziel grappled with the beast; gripping it at the throat with his talons.
A short distance away there was a loud, high pitched yelp followed by a loud wet tearing sound. The black wolf looked up, distracted for a moment by the startling sound.
Raziel used that moment to break his right arm free and drive straight up into the werewolves’ chest. The wraith blade buried itself in the ribs of the beast and the damage done tore the skin from its body, smoking meat exposed.
As the body began to go limp he kicked it off him and it toppled back with a loud crash.
Raziel retracted the Reaver, dismissing it and its drain on his energy. He would be more economical he supposed, if the blade had retained the ability to feed on the souls of the beings it struck. That was not the case with its latest incarnation.
Ewoden was standing there a short distance away with his back turned to him. The emissary was looking down at the ruined body of the yellow wolf; literally torn in half with a thick mass of entrails linking the two halves. Blood and gore were dripping from Ewoden’s fingers.
 “We must push on.” Raziel told him, rubbing the spot where the black wolf had bitten him. His energy reserves had repaired the damage but they would soon need replenishing.
 “I will catch up.” Ewoden said in a quite voice, just above a whisper. Slowly he knelt and put his hand over the dead staring eyes of his former pack mate, pulling them closed. Still kneeling he began to mutter something under his breath. It sounded very much like a prayer.
“Ambraxas will evade you if you wait.” The blue wraith reminded him after a moment.
“This is more important.” Ewoden stated, turning slightly to give him his eye. The pain reflected in it was quite palpable. “The alpha wolf has responsibilities to the rest of the pack, even in death.” He turned away again. “I would not expect you to understand.”
.
“Here was another facet of the culture of the lycanthropes; the morning of the dead of their pack. While they casually accepted the loss of their members during the hunt, those lost to such corruption as this were dearly missed and sorrowed over. I could not help but feel sympathetic.”
.
Raziel stared at him for a long silent moment, before turning. He would not attempt to persuade him any further.
“Just make sure he doesn’t leave.” Ewoden added in a savage undertone. Raziel nodded without turning around and began to climb up the side of the wall, Zephon’s gift proving valuable once more as he scaled the vertical surface.
It did not take him long to reach the door by which Ambraxas-Divus had escaped at the top of his surveying balcony.
Beyond was a long corridor, another of the strange circular ones that ran through the ship reminiscent of blood vessels. It wound down a short distance and Raziel could feel that same sickening sensation even more strongly as he descended. What was at the centre of this ship to make him feel so soiled?
There was a large chamber almost directly below the first, wider with many encircling balconies around the outer wall. The door through which Raziel entered lead out onto the highest tier and he glanced over the edge down at the floor below. The air here had an even worse stench then the first chamber had had; a thick miasma that made the air shimmer.
“As persistent as your predecessor incarnations, that is for certain.” A voice said. Raziel glanced up to see that there was a small platform dangling from the ceiling, suspended by thick chains. Standing on his platform was Ambraxas, safely out of reach of harm with a gap of at least fifty feet between the blue wraith and himself.
“If you’re here to stop me from reporting you, you’re too late.” He continued, arms folded behind his back. “Our king, Raziel-Divus, already knows of your presence. I have summoned him.” Raziel narrowed his eyes. That did not leave him a lot of time and here, on his home ground, the Divus would have a far greater advantage if it came to a confrontation.
“He will be here within the half an hour, I should imagine.” Ambaraxas added. Raziel’s mind began to race quickly.
“I thought the Hylden were followers of the Keeper.” He said. “Odd that one of them should be a Divus, the highest rank in the Wheel of Fate religion.”
The Hylden blinked; perhaps surprised that Raziel should know of his people’s religious beliefs and covered his momentary confusion by readjusting his red tinged spectacles.
“The Keeper and the Elder are not god’s in the sense that the unenlightened would understand the term.” He said. “They are entities on a higher level of reality then ourselves, existing beyond the rim of time and dwelling neither in the past nor the future. But the Elder allows for a great liberty with his essence then the Keeper so long as it is to his benefit.” He smiled wryly, the effect more like a sneer of contempt.
“For the advancement of science and the understanding of the universe it was my duty to come to the Elder and implore his aid in my scientific pursuits.”
Raziel scowled at him. If perhaps the Divus had had the integrity of their convictions they might have had an excuse for their actions. But clearly this was not the case. Ambraxas at least had become Divus simply because of the benefits the station offered. Raziel was certain now Moebius had been aiming for the same reward. All utterly selfish desires had drawn them to the Elder and they masqueraded their greed behind the veil of religious authority.
“His aid won’t help when I kill you.” Raziel stated in a low tone.
 “Kill me?” Ambraxas repeated. “Whatever for? What have I done to incite your wrath?” He sounded genuinely surprised.
“The horrors you have committed seem justification enough.” Raziel replied firmly. The Hylden-Divus adopted a tired expression and rolled his eyes.
“If you’re referring to the Lycanthropes and the other Chimeras then you ought to understand that one does not get something out of nothing.” He said as if explaining the concept to a child, full of insulting condescension. “Creatures such as they were desired for the first human uprising. I had to experiment to see what blends would be necessary and more often then not that means failure.”
He dusted his hands, dismissing it of no consequence.
“My people certainly had no reservations about my work when I was loyal to them. In fact they desired it just as keenly as the Divus, for it was my work with chimera science that brought them the heart of their ultimate weapon. I made for them the Mass, a creature that could kill with a thought. When you bring results no one really desires to know how you achieved them.”
The blue wraith stood there, seeing in Ambraxas all of a sudden something familiar. He had met another Hylden recently very much like him in intent.
“I once knew a Hylden who had the same pathos as you.” He said out load. “But he had empathy for life; honour to tell him where to draw the line.”
Surprisingly the Hylden-Divus actually laughed, a mirthless sound, rubbing his temples with one hand.
“Ah Marduk, who else but my old apprentice?” He asked rhetorically with amusement. “Is that dreamer still parading around his failed theories?”
Precisely how old did Ambraxas have to be for the leader of the Hylden house of Knowledge to have once been his apprentice, Raziel wondered.
“You’ll have to drop a better name in order to impress me.” Ambraxas was saying. “All he had to his name was some preposterous nonsense about speeding our evolution.” He dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. “Doomed to fail from the start. A theory of no scientific merit whatsoever.”
The blue wraith leaned forward and then spot in an ominous voice.
“And yet he managed it.”
Ambraxas stiffened and stared at him, eyes wide behind his spectacles.
“What did you say?” He asked; his voice equally quite and strained. Raziel could see that he had broken through the calm demeanour.
“It cost him but he did it.” The blue wraith said, grinding the revelation in. “He grew wings and he flew.”
Ambraxas came to the edge of the platform, holding onto one of the chains that held it up; his face strained and teeth bared.
“You’re lying!” He spat, anger clear in his tone and face. Raziel decided to push him further into anger.
“I saw him do it.” He said coldly, watching the dismay and incredulity swim across Ambraxas’ face. “He could outduel any of the winged ancient, even Raziel-Divus, in the air.”
The fabled evolution of wings of their own would be a central part of Hylden culture, given how Ishtar had reacted when Marduk had revealed his wings. If Marduk had managed a feat of near miraculous proportions for the Hylden people it would be a blow like no other to Ambraxas’ ego.
“You dare spout such claptrap to me?!” He asked, predictably going into denial. “You dare… you…you..!!” His rage put him beyond words, knuckles turning white as his grip tightened on the chain. With a snarl he turned to look down at the bottom of the chamber.
“Balor!” He cried.
There was a long moment of silence. Then the floor of the tall chamber emitted a loud creaking noise, a churning groan as massive gears turned, out of sight. The floor parted in the middle, a luminosity green aura pouring forth to fill the chamber.  
The blue wraith stiffened, the appalling sense of sickness intensifying at the sight of the green abyss below. The effect was so strong it almost left him paralysed.
Something was coming out of that hole, some massive thing that Raziel had to strain to see through the light.
It climbed up slowly, a pair of long muscular arms pulling itself higher and higher. As it came closer, the blue wraith could make out the creature in more detail.
It was a chimera, a blending of many different animals into one. It had the vague body outline of a human being but was a giant by comparison.
The skin was a patchwork. In places down its arms the skin was torn and stitched, deep scaring lining the muscle. Across its chest it had a pale fish like scales and in contrast its back was covered in thick black fur.
Its hands were more like the paws of a bear and its mouth pulled back over shark’s teeth. The thick lips were pulled back and held wide by hooks on ropes caught in its flesh, connected to a massive black iron helmet that covered the top half of its head; obscuring its eyes. A shutter ran down the front of the helmet, fastened shut by the same ropes that pulled back the creatures lips.
Spikes jutted out of its shoulders and won its back, showing that somehow Ambraxas had obtained a demon and used it in the blend.
It climbed up towards them, propelling itself with its hind legs rather then its front with paws useless for climbing.
The chamber trembled as it moved up, a head large then Raziel’s entire body moving past their level.
“Master…” This creature, Balor, Raziel supposed, breathed in a chilling voice. It seemed to ripple as if the word had been spoken underwater.
Raziel felt himself stiffen in the monster’s presence, that same sickening sensation very strong. Balor was not the source of that feeling but his presence definitely augmented it.
Ambraxas pointed a trembling hand at the blue wraith.
“Destroy that lying wretch!” He demanded in a voice that shook with anger. “Or at the very least keep him occupied until the King arrives.”
Balor swing its head around to look at Raziel although how he could see him through its helmet the blue wraith couldn’t say.
With a low growl coming from deep in its throat he swung its body around and raised a paw high up over its head to strike him.
Raziel dove out of the way, the paw coming down where he had been a mere moment before. The entire chamber shuddered at the impact and Raziel scrambled back to his feet, breaking into a run as Balor turned its attention to pursuit.
Its paws followed him, crashing down in an attempt to squash him flat. Raziel just kept running, looking for any means of striking back at the giant without risk. One blow from those paws would shatter his physical manifestation.
“Stop running.” Balor complained, reaching around with a paw trying to catch him from the other side. “How can I kill you if you keep running?”
Raziel leap over the paw, the tips of his wings catching the claws as he jumped. The giant chimera used that momentary lag to grab his wings and drag him back, pulling him up into the air.
Dangling from a paw Raziel quickly freed his wings and had to sink his talons into Balor’s flesh to stop himself from falling.
The beast let out a grunt of pain and swung its arm back and forth trying to dislodge him.
Raziel hung on, sinking his talons in further and summoning the wraith blade with his free right hand. With one swipe he sliced open Balor’s palm. The blood that gushed forth was a mixture of red, yellow and green.
The giant chimera howled, reaching up with its other paw to try and tend to the injury. Raziel leapt from one hand to the other, sliding down the grove in the forearm muscle and into the nook of the giants elbow.
The only way to finish this battle and to finish it fast was to hit something vital with enough force to do some real damage; like the heart.
Balor reached for him with its bleeding paw and summoning the Reaver again, Raziel slashed at the arms; the wraith blade digging in deep. Balor reared back in pain and the wraith scrambled across its massive chest making for the left hand side and the heart.
But the monster arched itself forward and balancing itself with its paws outstretched and pressed against the walls of the cylindrical chamber; its monkey like foot grabbed him and pulled him away.
With his arms pinned to his sides Raziel could not use the Reaver to free himself. He struggled but the strength Balor exerted was far greater then his own. Slowly the giant began to squeeze, tightening its foot’s grip.
There was a suddenly loud snarl from above, full of hate and loathing. Out of the shadows Ewoden, in full Lupine form with claws flashing, galloped towards them. The emissary leapt off the balcony and on top of Balor’s head; his claws clattering over the iron of the concealed black helmet. Quickly the Lycanthrope scrambled down the monster’s back, climbing between the spikes of bone that jutted up out of the shoulder blades. He bit and clawed at the flesh on which he stood, thick sprays of multicoloured blood gushing out. 
Distracted by the secondary assault, Balor turned its attention and the pressure on Raziel’s body began to lessen. With a great effort he freed his right arm and holding it up high he summoned the wraith blade again, jabbing its down into Balor’s foot.
The chimera bellowed and swayed, stung by the pain. It seemed right on the verge of loosing its balance and falling. Raziel, propelled backwards by the stagger, glided to the edge of the parapet and turned back to look.
Ewoden capitalised on Balor’s dismay by swinging around the front and savaging at the monster’s throat. But the skin as thick and rubbery and resisted the lycanthropes claws and teeth. What Ewoden did cut into seemed more like blubber then flesh.
Gurgling deep in its throat, Balor reached up with his other foot and grabbed Ewoden. With a twist of its body he tossed the Lycanthrope away, throwing him to smash into the wall on the far side of the chamber.
“Nobody hurts me!” The giant growled. Slowly it raised its head up and jutted out its lower jaw. As it did so the hooks and pulleys holding its visor in place readjusted their positions and the helmet emitted the loud creaking of metal in need of oiling. “Let me have a look at you.”
The shutter across its face retracted back to the top of its head, exposing the upper face.
Raziel breathed in sharply, taking an involuntary step back by what he saw. In that stark moment of clarity horrified him right down to his soul.
Balor’s head was covered in a slimy green skin that oozed. He had no nose, just a pulsating mass of flesh for a face. Directly in the centre of his forehead was a massive eye, sitting enwrapped in muscle and glaring at him with a softly glowing blue iris.
The eye was more then familiar. Staring back at him was one of the thousands of eyes of his former master.
What horror and abomination was this that Ambraxas had been permitted to experiment on an eye of a god? At the sight of the eye the sickening feeling that paraded his body grew worse and he found himself simply standing there, unable to move.
Balor’s borrow eye trembled and then pulsated savagely, discharging from the iris a bolt of energy. It sparked as it flew, flying across the chamber. Raziel had been so stunned by the sight of the eye he left himself open to the blast. It struck him head on and on impact it exploded, the force tossing him with some strength into a far wall.
Dust from the wall fell over him as he collapsed down to the ground, smoking rising from his stunned and pain wracked body. That blow had depleted many of his reverses, leaving him dangerously low on energy. The blue wraith coughed hoarsely and knew that his form would loose its physical manifestation if he was hit like that again.
Glancing up Raziel saw Balor leaning forward, eye trembling as it prepared to discharge another bolt. Ignoring the pain in his body Raziel scrambled back to his feet and threw himself out of the way, the second bolt smashing into the ground where he had just been. The shockwave from behind caused him to stagger as he ran. Weakened he did not flee fast enough evade a massive paw that came down with a loud thud, blocking his way.
Quickly he turned about to try and flee the other way but another paw cut him off, leaving him trapped.
Turning sharply he looked up into the looming eye that Balor held in its skull, staring down on him and trembling with gathering energy.
Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound from high overhead, the clattering of metal on metal followed by a loud wrenching noise. Distracted by the sound Balor turned its head to look up, fortuitously for Raziel just in time for a shard of metal to come hurtling down to and crash into the centre of its eye.
Balor screamed, swinging back and clutching at the sides of its head with both paws; the sound accompanied by another as the eye itself seemed to bellow out its pain.
 “MY EYE!!” The monster screeched, thrashing back and forth. A shape dropped down from above, quick and fast and in the dim light Raziel could not make it out entirely. The figure landed onto of Balor’s head, a foot with talons gripping on tight to prevent itself from being dislodged.
Swiftly he slashed the chimera across the brow, leaving long gashes across the forehead and down to the side of the neck.
On the platform above, Ambraxas-Divus stared down at the battle in baffled consternation.
“Who in the name of the abyss are…” He started but then froze; mouth still agape. As Balor swung back, still thrashing in agony, the figure was put full into the light from below.
A tall vampire perhaps a head and shoulders taller then himself stood there. His skin was a pale green and seemed tough and leathery. His hair was long and snow white, loose down his back.
He wore golden armour across his shins and arms and he carried no weapon. The mere glimpse told Raziel that he had succeeded the task that had drew him to Fanum-Divus in the first place.
 “YOU??!!” Ambraxas demanded in a hoarse gasp, face going even whiter. His eyes were staring down in utter horror. “IMPOSSIBLE!!!”
Landing on the edge of the parapet away from the blinded Balor, Kain turned to give the Hylden-Divus a large evil grin.
“And yet here I am.” He said.