Archer Annie Lord Hellion’s Power Confronted

Prologue

Lord Hellion had begun his long travel into the realm of Earth, and all the while Angela Fletcher was completely oblivious that evil had begun to descend into North America. His journey was treacherous and long, but he was anticipating the eventual defeat of the Earth. With Earth out of the way, a domino effect would certainly ensue. As far as he knew, the Universe was a very weak mechanism and the forces of good were not strong enough to defend themselves. It would be like taking candy from a baby. But, he had no idea he would be dealing with the incredible abilities of some very formidable foes in the future. For, the forces of good could sense evil’s arrival and they were at the ready to deal with whatever tricks those opposing forces had in mind.

Angela was playing a game of Frisbee with her siblings when Aria flew in, chirping frantically. "Boy, Aria seems to be really excited about something.” Danielle said. "What’s the news, girlfriend?” Elena asked, innocently, her smile big and bright. Aria lit upon Elena’s shoulder and twittered rapidly, and then began to fly away into the forest. "Hey, Aria…Come back!” Alexander shouted. It was then that they all began following their feathered consort. The lovely songbird had led them to a clearing in the forest that seemed to circle around a gargantuan knothole. In the middle of the knothole was a transient liquid gateway. Flittering about, Aria directed the siblings and their eldest Sister entered the gateway. When they walked through it, they had entered a universe different from their own. Here, magic was used instead of technology. At last, Angela saw a familiar face.

"Thank God you arrived so quickly. I have urgent news to speak of with you and your family. The High Council is about ready to commence an integral meeting.” Robin Hood said, with a look of slight fear in his dark blue eyes. Angela had never seen him look so concerned before. He seemed to have rivulets of sweat running down his cheeks. Something had him so anxious that he had begun perspiring. It was then that Angela and her siblings felt that something groundbreaking was about to be revealed to them. Their emotions were an untamed vortex, and it took everything within their fragile mortal bodies to keep themselves calm. Fortunately, Angela was the voice of reason and logic. She was able to keep her youngest sister Elena calm. Alexander tended to Danielle, who was far braver than she looked. And Alexander dared not admit that he was scared beyond all rational thought.

Chapter 1—Meeting With the High Council

Priestess Helene had begun the meeting by calling all members to order. In the Elven tongue, she recited the creed, and everyone else joined in…

It is our solemn duty

To serve and protect

To uphold the Holy Laws

And give everything respect

We are united here

In this sacred place

Our Fellowship knows no creed or race

We humbly continue

The balance of our realms maintain

Dutifully ensuring that peace will reign.

Even though the creed had been spoken in the Elven language, Angela and her friends understood what had been said. In the midst of the elves, she could see the archer Celeste. She had no relation to the Priestess, but she had been chosen out of thousands of others to be the first protector of what they called ‘The Balance’. In layman’s terms, they were in charge of maintaining the vibrations of goodness coming into the human world. Despite their power they couldn’t stop evil. That was a human’s choice, and they had no control over that. But, they were able to influence some small matters. For the larger problems, they had brought together archers from near and far. Angela had pondered if there were archers such as she from different walks of life and of course that question had been answered. But, why her siblings had been brought into this whole ordeal still had her a little befuddled.

Helene spoke of ‘the encroaching evil force’ that was slowly on its way to Earth. This was the reason archers from all over the globe had been called together. All of the archers were pure of heart and of open mind. Everyone, especially Angela wanted to fight against whatever evil force was approaching Earth. Then again, she thought of her siblings.

Before she could ask, Helene already knew the answer. "They have been summoned here to fight.” Helene said, her voice as clear as a bell. "What ?! But, Helene…My siblings are too young to be fighting against a force they know nothing about. Even I am a little leery.” Angela responded. "I understand. But Lord Hellion’s arrival to your realm is far off. So we have plenty of time to train them to fight with their unique talents.” Helene responded.

With that said, the meeting had been adjourned. Angela and her siblings were prepared for whatever was going to happen next.

Chapter 2—Lord Hellion’s Boast

"Hecate, are you sure this is Earth? I don’t Before Lord Hellion could enter the realm of Earth, he entered the realm of Legend. see any human beings here. All I sense is the presence of magical forces,giving his faithful hound a scowl. The poor ” he said, Hellhound backed away a bit. She probably felt rather insignificant. It wasnlose the scent of something so detectable. ’t like her to Her shoulders slumped forward and she lowered her massive head. She moved a little further away from her Master, for she could sense his anger. Just then, the High Council, with the aide of other magical forces and human beings alike, ambushed the Lord of the Dark Abyss. This amused Hellion thoroughly. "me laugh. I can vanquish all of you into This is your cavalry? Don’t make nothingness with a mere extension of my fingerskeletal face. The expression was ghastly. …" Hellion chortled, a sinister grin on his It made Angela feel extremely uncomfortable.

But she and her siblings held their ground. With his eyes ablaze, Hellion unleashed his deadly attack. But the Elves, the archers, and the magical forces easily deflected the power.

"What?! It cannot be…but…” he thought to himself. Hecate was still off in the distance sulking somewhere, feeling badly for her mistake. Granted, she would get an earful of nagging later from her Master. Gods! How she hated being a minion of the Dark Abyss at times.

Epilogue

As much as Hellion tried, he couldn’t do anything to retaliate against the Elven Council’s immense power. He was incensed. The Foresight Bowl had mentioned nothing of this in its onyx confines. But, he had to admit. He had been hasty. But, Hecate would be punished severely for taking the wrong astral pathway to Earth. Hellhounds had keen senses of smell, but obviously she had been distracted by something. It was probably a magical cur of some variety that had taken her eye. Yet, that was no matter to Hellion. He was sore over losing to some pointy-eared freaks…and that girl. Oh, that wretched blonde-haired girl and her beloved family members had him so livid he could hardly think straight.

But he had to, or he would never have his day to revel in glory. He would have to sit and plan for a while. "Yes, their force outweighs mine. But…I believe I know how I can even the score. I have bands of demons at my command. We’ll see if they can withstand the hordes of Darkness. Isn’t that right, Hecate?” he said, gazing at a forlorn canine in the opposite corner of his throne. She gave what appeared to be a nod, although she was black and blue from bruises and burned with fire. "Good girl.” Hellion responded with a sadistic feral grin. His viscous teeth glinted in the dim light of fiery blue pillars on either side of the Seat of Power. All it took was a bit of strategy and perhaps some underhanded battle tactics. Either way, Lord Hellion knew that the future ultimately resided in his hands.

And there was nothing the Council or their legions could do to dispel it.

To be continued…

In the next chapter of Archer Annie, Lord Hellion has prepared his minions for battle. Hecate, his loyal companion is overshadowed by the Dogs of War that Hellion summons from the darkest part of the Abyss. Furious, Hecate seeks revenge with the well-bred magical Wolfhound, named Gabriel. The battle between the two forces causes a rather strange problem between the two realms. What is this problem, and can it be stopped? Will the battle end victorious for the side of Good or will Lord Hellion have his day? Read Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of War for the scintillating answers.

By: Elizabeth Berndt

December 19, 2002