Four hours later, and despite the best efforts of many hundreds of courageous fire fighters, the first of the suburbs capitulated to the unstoppable force of nature, with the demonic fire reducing the outlying areas of Richmond, Windsor and Londonderry to ash in under an hour. Nobody had ever witnessed anything like it, with the death toll already in its twenties.
Kanangra, in Boyd National Park to the south and west felt the full force of one of the other breakaway fires, stripping away bush, reducing walking trails to ash, forcing campers to flee in terror on foot in an effort to get to safety. Australia was suffering a humanitarian disaster of proportions never before seen in the country.
As ninety metre sheets of fire, flame, heat and rage converged on the city of Sydney, unsurprisingly, the culprits of the outrageous attack were nowhere to be seen.
33
Snow Point In Hanging Around
It wasn't much of a choice, even he had to admit that. Stay here in the freezing cold wilderness in the hope that a rescue could be arranged at some point in the future. Or jump deliberately through an unknown magical portal that might possibly take you to the heart of the enemy's force. Almost as one, Yoyo and his youngsters snapped up the opportunity to accompany Flash, Fredric and Vasuki and leave this dire hellhole for good. He couldn't blame them, but he worried about what would greet them on the other side. That was, of course, if they made it that far. There was no guarantee. Even Vasuki had expressed as much. Conjuring up one of the magical portals was risky enough, but to use the power from the laminium chains currently winding their way around Fredric and transferring that power telepathically was madness of the highest order. Still... there was absolutely no other choice.
Running through a last minute battle checklist deep within his mind, the ex-Crimson Guard's thoughts turned to those of his friends. Were they safe? Had they managed to achieve their objectives? Were Peter and Tim still alive? A fragment of him hoped that it was all over and that the king and whatever troops he still commanded had thwarted the dastardly plot, captured or killed Manson, and that those he loved (yes... the friends he loved, a whole new concept for him, something he now realised) were safe and sound, waiting patiently for their return. But his experience and cynicism mocked him for such soft thoughts. Nothing was that easy, and this more so than anything else. Just from what little he'd seen, the planning behind this whole scheme had been militarily precise, and if that were the case, then contingencies for almost any eventuality would have been put into place. If that were so, then even with the element of surprise, they were facing an uphill battle. Finishing off his list, he pushed all thoughts of his friends to one side, the professional in him asserting its authority. Now was the time to focus, be ready and prepared, but for what? He didn't know. But with Fredric and himself enhanced by the laminium in the chains, Vasuki hoping to free the rest of his race, and Yoyo and his band of glory hunters all up for the fight, it would take a very special kind of adversary to stand any chance at all against them.
Apprehension at what lay ahead, more for those in his care than for himself, threatened to consume Yoyo, until he fought it off with all his mental resilience. They were here because of him. He'd got them in this mess. But staying in this long lost cavern was no option at all, of that he was sure. It was what awaited them that tore away at his soul. Just the king? Boy, would he be surprised if that were the case. An entire army of soul sucking dark dragons and nagas? That was never going to go well. Being the pragmatist that he was, he assumed it would be something in between. Even that didn't fill him with confidence. But he supposed better here and doing this, than waiting for the planet to be overrun with evil, and the chance to stop them long gone. And so after tending to each, and expressing his love for them one by one, he told them how valiantly they'd fought and how much the courage they'd shown would be needed for what was to come. Now if only it could be just the king in his dressing gown waiting for them below ground in London. That would answer all his prayers.
For Fredric, it was almost as if the clock had been turned back decades. Gone were his doubts, the pain from his captivity and his almost addictive urge for revenge which had now been satisfied. These were replaced by a shining confidence that mirrored the glimmering laminium chains that criss-crossed his well honed bare chest, along with a twinkle in his eye at the thought of not only getting his best friend back, but the grandson he barely knew.
Conflicted and barely able to believe he was free, Vasuki delved deep within himself, searching for the particular type of magic needed to open a portal. It was there, lying dormant, but sprang to life instantly at his command despite the decades that had passed since he'd last used it. Opening the powerful nexus would now be possible. The issue was having the energy to keep it that way long enough for everyone to pass through. Fredric and Flash had assured him they now possessed almost unlimited magical clout from the newly transformed metal of the chains that had kept them bound in this unforgivable hellhole. If so, then it should be possible. Much as his mind was on the task at hand, getting them out of here and back to the underground capital of Britain, somewhere he'd only heard tales about, he couldn't help but question his race's involvement in all this and wonder if he had the ability to turn it all around. Would his freedom free those nagas following this dreaded being Manson, or would they still remain somehow under his spell? He supposed that, shortly, they'd all find out.
34
Sucker Punch
Staggering clumsily to his feet, Manson's scowl would surely have turned most beings to stone. But not his father, the gigantic, matt black dragon currently towering over him.
"YOU DON'T SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT!" growled the elder of the two.
Manson's rage rolled off him like fog off the sea. It was there for all to see.
"SHALL I TAKE YOUR MIND AGAIN?" mocked the old dragon, pointing a sharpened talon in his son's direction. "I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT!"
Fury, wrath and anger caused him to seethe as his temper threatened to consume him. That stupid old man had to go and do it, he thought. Had to come out and belittle him in front of everyone here, but most importantly, in front of his queen, anyone but her. But he'd done it, and now wouldn't back down, still in denial about his power and position in all of this. Still thinking this was decades ago when just maybe he was the most influential being on the planet. Not now though. Things had changed... And although he'd planned on letting his father settle the score with his old adversary, the king, they'd planned for every eventuality... even this. So redistributing all his resentment and irritation, letting it dissipate into the atmosphere all around him, a serene look, one of total acceptance, appeared gracefully on his face.