With Steel well and truly out of commission, being tortured beyond belief by the wicked red headed woman who clearly had no scruples, morals or decency, the mantra couldn't be cast, and the rescue effort by the others was doomed to fail. In short, their plan to take back the crystal node had failed spectacularly. There would be no help from the rest of the planet, no rescue, no rebellion. It was for all intents and purposes... OVER!
An overly ornate room inside the dragon council building opened out onto the courtyard that fed the bridge that had been magically rebuilt. Stuffed full of dark dragons and nagas eager to do Manson's bidding, both the courtyard and the room could hold no more creatures. They were full to capacity, with not even the slightest amount of room left, full of testosterone and beings vying to taste both victory and violence.
Only a short way away, the corpses of two nagas were being fought over by half a dozen magical species as their de facto leaders, the ra-hoon, looked on in delight at those they'd co-opted by either force or submission. Having sent out hunting parties into every part of the strange, futuristic building, they now knew that these two were the last pair of stragglers. All the remaining beings were grouped together... they could taste the staggering build up of magic, the apprehension threatening to send them wild. But they were clever, cunning and above all... patient, something they knew served them well, time and time again. And so with a sea of dark yellow gnats flitting around the corridors, and the slavering asena taking huge chunks out of the nagas' giant tails, dripping blood across their brilliant bright blue manes, the ra-hoon started to plan the attack they knew would satisfy their lust for the magic they liked nothing more than to feed upon.
Against the backdrop of loud, methodical stomping, echoing up from far in the distance (emanating from the crazed rock demon haunting the lower floors), orders had been given and it was time for the assortment of mythical beings to move out. Malevolent, dark brown lizards scuttled along the walls on all fours, tasting the air with crackling, green bolts of vicious, forked lightning as they did so. Nifoloa buzzed as trios of pixiu whipped through the air around them, pulling tight turns in the confined spaces, blasting out superheated cones of fire in front of them. Bounding along the floor and walls, frightening looking scaled apes beat their chests in pleasure at the thrill of what was to come, one of them only able to use two arms instead of the usual four as the other two had been ripped off during a previous encounter. Rowdy two-headed eagles dive bombed the gnats, as slithering snakes in a writhing mass hissed hysterically. Over all this, the sound of the scorpion men crunching their pincers together moved them all along towards their ultimate targets, with the ra-hoon, who resembled unicorns, in the background, waiting for the perfect opportunity to harvest the magic they so desired.
52
An Abrupt End
Menacing, evil grins of sickening, ancient beasts out to do them harm, letting rip with a constant barrage of colourful, deadly magic surrounded the glistening, supernatural shield they all found themselves sheltering beneath. Twisted nagas stood side by side with demonic, dark dragons, their provisional brothers in a perverted magical alliance, their only goal now to feast on the innards of the beings cowering behind the energy barrier, that at some point would run out of power. It was only a matter of when, not if.
Ignoring the murderous scowls of the cruel and vicious monsters baying for their blood, Fredric had at least managed to find a mantra in his extensive database which had silenced all the noise being made from the outside. No longer were they bombarded by the constant sound of explosions, unrecognisable magic, dragons stomping on top of the shield above them and the intimidating, blood curdling screams of individuals intent on doing them all harm. Unfortunately, neither he nor anyone else there had managed to turn the transparent barrier opaque so as to obscure everything happening on the other side. It would have helped stave off the fear a great deal if they had.
So far quite a few suggestions as to how they would go on the attack had been rejected, mainly because it meant individuals risking their lives instead of working together as a team, something they all seemed to think was the key to their survival. As they continued to rack their brains, Peter asked a question.
"Is there anything in the king's library that could be used to help? Any magical artefacts, antediluvian spells or antiquated mantras?" he added, knowing full well the library was stacked full of all these things, thanks to his unofficial visit, very much against procedure.
Both the king and Fredric shared a look that set them both thinking the same thing. Probably, they both thought, but there was simply no way to fly up to it in their current situation.
"Good thinking, my boy," quipped George, "but unless we can get up there unhindered it's probably not viable at this time. It could be worth considering later, particularly if we manage to strike a large enough blow to their force. Any sort of distraction may give one of us an opportunity to sneak up there and gather anything of use. I'll have a think about the most powerful things that should be rounded up and pass it out to everyone, then if the opportunity arises, anyone who's best placed can go forage."
Everyone nodded their agreement that it was the best idea they'd had so far.
"If only I had my ring or the trident," mused the king softly, from totally out of nowhere. And that thought led him to a forgotten question that would have consequences for nearly all of them. "Peter... where's Tank?"
Those three words caused reality to come crushing down on all of them like a ton of bricks, ripping away the young hockey playing dragon's fleeting smidgeon of happiness which he felt at being accompanied by the woman he loved, despite the desperate nature of the situation they both found themselves in. Immediately he turned towards Richie, who craned her neck right round to look at him. TANK!
'Oh my God,' she thought, realising that she hadn't seen him at all, having been so caught up in the rage and grief that had flooded her body in the aftermath of Tim's death. Scouring his memory, Peter couldn't recall at what point his friend had stopped being there. The last thing he could remember was seeing Tank tumbling end over end beside one of the soaring marble pillars that lined part of the private residence. After that... NOTHING!
Standing together atop a mountain of churned up, shiny, white marble, the would-be rulers of this wicked new world marvelled at the staggering amount of sheer luck their opposite numbers seemed to be availing themselves of, as the hulking silver dragon and the king of the nagas disappeared behind the temporary safety of the magical barrier the cowards all hid behind.