by P. G. Thomas
Even though Panry was unable to sense his Earth Mothers, he saw a black haze that surrounded them, being uncertain if one was who he searched for.
“I thought you would like to see your daughters.”
When Lauren’s jaw dropped, as she had not taken any of the magical berries, Zymse saw the look of satisfaction that he had dreamt about for so long.
Ryan called to his rage, hoping it had saved a reserve, but before anybody could react, the trollmare handler released the chains, allowing the beasts to race towards the house. Before the black haze vaporized, the creatures leaped forward, and blood-curdling shrieks filled the courtyard.
As Lauren screamed in horror, Ryan pulled her anguish into his chest, as the berry she had created was not strong enough to defeat the unimagined sights.
Ryan called out, “Panry, give it to me!”
The elf did not move.
“THAT IS HOW I WOULD HAVE REACTED WHEN YOU HUNG MY SON, EARTH BITCH! HOW DOES IS IT FEEL?” Zymse calmed down. “While I have no need for them anymore,” he pointed to John, “him I do need.” Deep lines formed in the solidified mud that trapped their feet, moving those who blocked John to the side, clearing a path for him, and the rock that had him trapped moved forward. “As I was impressed by that machine of yours, I am hoping you could provide me with the painful details of how you created it.”
“HELP ME!” screamed John, but then a soldier tied a gag over his mouth, securing his hands with leather bindings.
Reaching down to his ankle, Steve undid the clasp, withdrawing the snub nose revolver, and squeezed off four shots. After he saw Zymse stumble back, he saw him stand, and to his horror, saw black mists drop the spent bullets. Before he could fire off the last two, a black tendril whipped forward, pulling the gun from his hands. Then the stone block that trapped his feet began to move him forward and towards the stone golems.
Angered, Zymse spoke his command, “QUARTER HIM.”
As Steve felt the pressure release from his feet, soldiers grabbed him, securing his wrists and ankles to the strange statues. When he screamed as they began to pull, the soldiers quickly silenced him with a gag.
When Zymse released John’s feet, two black armored guards lifted him by his arms. “We are done here. Kill them all.” Then the man who favored black turned towards his house.
*******
The large stone statues had blocked most of the chaos at the back of the compound. Thus, the excited yelps from the wasp attacking the reserves went unnoticed, as Zymse focus had been on the group in front of him. It was different on the walls because all of the Black Watch looked for any with the feather tattoos, marking them with poisoned tipped crossbow bolts delivered by assassins.
Jedimac turned to Croy, “Call to your Bastard brothers and make me a damn storm, NOW!”
“How did you know?”
I know everything in this town. Even though Jedimac wanted to scream his order, he whispered it, so those below would not hear his final ace played, “The Champion needs a storm.”
Croy called out, “BASTARDS—”
Jedimac jammed his hand over the young Earth Guard’s mouth, “Quietly.”
Croy whispered to the other young Earth Guards, “We need Sister’s storms,” and they all began to rub their blue feather tattoos.
*******
When Steve felt his knee implants pop out, he screamed into the gag.
Chapter 27
Reaching inside his tunic, Panry pulled out a small wooden box, handing it to Jasmine. “I want you to have this.”
Zymse stopped, turned. “THE ONLY ONE HERE THAT WILL GIVE ANY GIFTS IS ME, AND MINE TO YOU, IS YOUR DEATH!” He pushed one of the black armored guards forward, who grabbed the item held by Panry. When Zymse opened the box, he saw the small glass orb filled with a liquid. Pulling it out, he crushed it in his hands, “Such a trivial—” Then he began to scream in excruciating pain when large blisters exploded from his hand. “KILL THEM, KILL THEM ALL.” Stumbling back to his house, he cradled his hand, as agonizing pain raced through his arm, and the black armored soldiers moved forward to slaughter the stone-trapped intruders.
Not able to wait any longer, Jasmine pulled out a wooden stick suspended from a piece of leather around her neck, breaking it, she dumped the contents out onto her shadows. With the three suns high overhead creating a multitude of overlapping shadows from the Crimson Shields, the black powder flowed from one to the next. Then the three individual shadows from each elf merged into one, solidified, and stood upright, advancing to meet Zymse’s forces. From their shadow scabbards, the featureless black elf-shaped fighters withdrew their swords forged in the absence of light to engage the battle. Even though those who fought for Zymse’s struck first, their swords easily passed through the insubstantial opponents, yet the weapons created by Mother sliced deep into their Darkpaye adversaries that screamed in agonizing pain. Those who still stood took cover behind the stone golems, failing to understand the strange opponents that advanced on them. While trollmares lunged and snapped at the black insubstantial shapes without effect, the beasts created to fill the night with terror screams, howled in pain when one of the dark swords sliced into them.
Panry looked down to his feet, absent of shadows, turned to Jasmine, “Shadow Guards?”
She called out, “FREE US, NOW.”
Looking down at the ground, Lauren thought of Tranquil’s words. Mother’s magic will still answer your call. She concentrated, and in her eyes a horror unpunished exploded, as a vengeance denied grew in her heart, “MUD!”
When Bor whistled, Ironhouse answered, stepping forward now freed.
Horac called out, “Pull the heat from one statue, transferring it to the next, then move it to another.”
One of the Rockeaters crashed his hammers together overhead, gifting sight to his brothers, who advanced to the rocks that fought back.
“Panry, the belt now!”
When the Crimson Shield captain stepped forward, he reached inside his cape, and undoing the leather binding, he tossed it back.
Catching it, after Ryan felt the stored magic race back into his body, Rage Heart roared in anger.
Turning, seeing the fresh anarchy erupting, Zymse pulled two golden objects from his pocket. Throwing them to the ground, he raced to where the guards were dragging John back to the house.
Panry called out to Cethail, Catic, and Erust, pointing to the fallen black armored soldiers, “Find all the brands and remove them.”
Ryan, now a twelve-foot tall rock monster, moved to the stone golems, and picking up the first, he threw it into the closest, causing all to break.
*******
Steve felt all of his major sockets stressed to the point of rupture, and even without the gag, his screams would be silent since his vocal cords were raw. [Online. Failure imminent. Engage reconstruction.] Feeling the pain lessen, he figured the nerves had snapped, thinking his end was near. With his eyes closed and in excruciating pain, he never saw his clothes meld to his body, nor did he see them transform into the dull silver-gray metal. [Engage countermeasures.] When his body began to vibrate, with his eyes squeezed tight together, he just concentrated on the red light forming, waiting for the downtown train to arrive. Then he felt himself fall, thinking he had boarded it, but the hard ground shocked him back to reality. Rolling over, he saw the first two stone golems absent of arms. Then he saw his legs and arms, both metal now. Standing, he drove his metal fists through the two closest golems, shattering them.
This world had taunted, confused, and scared Steve. It had shown him indescribable horrors, undeserved deaths, and even confirmed the existence of gods. At times, while he felt in control, he had also felt like a pawn. His frustration, anger, sorrow, and hate all merged into one single thought. [Analyze situation. Odds unfavorable. Primary objective dead. Request executive command.] He pulled out the gag, “IT PAYBACK TIME, BITCHES!” [Augment structure. Attributes: Size. Strength. Speed. Increase all.] Steve grew by over six feet, his
bulk increasing by twice, and even though he was unable to see it, the sunlight sparkled on his metallic teeth, as he turned the next golems into piles of rocks. Seeing Ryan battling more, he went over to him, grabbed the nearest, pounding it into the courtyard. “I have these ones, Kid. Go kill Zymse!”
Pushing the two golems out of his way, as Ryan started to run to the house, a new threat stood in his way.
Two gigantic trollmares blocked the view of the house. They were over three-hundred feet long, covered in scales, having large bat-like wings. Each had ten legs with oversized claws, a gaping jaw filled with pointed teeth, and while watching, one unfolded its wings, taking to the air.
*******
John saw both the blistering hand and the angered eyes above the veil, but even though he tried to struggle, Zymse kept dragging him towards the house. Concentrating, John called to the magic, sending it from the bracer to the injured hand. A scream exploded from behind the black veil, causing Zymse to grab his hand that was beginning to droop. Letting go of John, Zymse called to his Dharvile, wrapping his dark magic around the new injury. When the pain had subsided, the black veils looked down on John, “I was going to make your death painless in exchange for information on your machine, BUT NOW YOU WILL SUFFER!”
Then John saw two large trollmares, six feet long, rushing towards him.
*******
Racing towards the house, when Ryan saw the large bat-winged beast, he never stopped until he felt his feet lifted from the ground.
*******
The Bastards, heating the golems, had caused them to become so fragile that some even cracked when they stepped forward. Bor led Ironhouse into battle, attacking the rocks covered with dwarf blood with such aggression that it motivated all of the clan. Tiny saw the Rockeaters step forward, raising their hammers overhead, and heard the tremendous metal concussion, but after two steps, they would stop, repeating their actions. When they did this, they were vulnerable to attacks, and after seeing several knocked backwards, he looked for a way to help them. He picked up the giant hammers that the tallest Rockeater had used, and bending at the knees, he raised them overhead, filling the complex with vision for the unsighted dwarves, who now advanced to the rocks that fought back. However, after only three times, he struggled to even lift them from the ground.
Lauren, surrounded by her Granite Guardians, had seen the Shadow Guards push back Zymse forces. Having watched the Crimson Shields continue their assault, she had also seen Ryan transform to deliver his rage, knowing the metal man who now fought in front of her was Steve. When the hammers started sounding, she covered her ears, turned, being surprised to see the large midlander wielding them, and in the courtyard, Ironhouse was attacking the stone statues. When he faltered, she called to Mother’s magic, “Strength.”
Tiny raised himself up, beating the hammers together with such force that it was deafening in the courtyard, and those who used sound to see advanced on those who never heard the anvils clash. Zack, Sam, and Hope had joined the battle, but before they had, Zack had given Aaro specific instructions. When the triceratops appeared, Rockeaters climbed onto each, and they took the fight to the advancing twenty-foot tall golems.
When Lauren turned her gaze to the forward chaos, she saw the Shadow Guards begin to falter, becoming more transparent, and by the time they faded away completely, they controlled the attack.
*******
Ryan saw two men, who equaled his twelve-foot height, appear out of nowhere. Their chests and arms were bare, except for a scale-like tattoo that even covered their faces. Sensing his power diminishing, when he made himself smaller, they did the same. Making long razor sharp spikes appear on his body, they changed to rubber, and when he heated his body, they mimicked his actions.
*******
Feeling the trollmares rip into him, John was free of pain because of his magical skin-armour. While still horrified, he was able to task the magic, changing the calcium to potassium in their bones. Even though still disoriented, he called out, “Zymse, this isn’t over yet.” He wanted to shock the man who wore black, wanted him to see John heal before his eyes, so he tasked the magic. Be gone. Abruptly, he felt the magic evaporate—before it had heard the remainder of his command: damage.
*******
While Steve had annihilated most of the stone statues from the front of the group, the Shadow Guards and Crimson Shields had killed most of Zymse forces, but trollmares of varying sizes and shapes raced across the courtyard, attacking without discrimination, until mithril armored and armed dwarves riding on the fur from the north slammed into them. Gayne and Mirtza watched the Bastards from Alron, who had encircled them, as they pulled heat from the walls, feeding it into the remaining golems, and when dwarven hammers greeted the hot rocks, stone shards filled the air.
When a dark shadow filled the sky, the Granite Guardians pulled Lauren to the ground, as large claws from the sky wrapped around several of the Alron Bastards. Two Guardians raced their wolves over to Rockeaters, commanding them to help. As the terrifying beast swooped down again, mithril-clad dwarves called out, and the giant dwarves threw them into the air. With their elongated weapons, they gained a foothold on the winged monster, and using dagger and sword, they began to scale it as it roared in pain flying higher.
Watching from the wall, Jedimac realized he had not hidden enough aces, and wondered if he would be able to negotiate his way free from the bets he had accepted that night. Turning, he commanded the Bastards to make the storm arrive faster. Those who surrounded the Earth Mother in the courtyard now outnumbered the medium stone statues, as most of the opposing soldiers were no longer standing, yet the largest stone creations were on the verge of attacking even though the three strange mounted beasts were doing their best to halt the advance.
He looked to Krisp, “Do something!”
*******
Lauren could see Ironhouse faltering, as the battle was taking its toll, and she called to the magic, “Strength to Ironhouse.”
*******
Krisp looked to the elf, “What did she say?” Hearing the words, she repeated the message, and the attacks by Ironhouse amplified, as if a thousand dwarfs had marched into battle.
*******
Steve heard Ryan scream, as he struggled with two very large men with scaly skin. Picking up the closest golem, slamming it into the ground, he raced up to the new fight. Grabbing the first strange man-shaped creature, he peeled it from Ryan, smashing it down, but it bounced back, wrapping around him.
*******
Feeling his sword dig into the terrible beast, Dax Steelfire plunged his dagger into the monster that soared higher, and kicking his boots into the lower wounds, he raised himself up, continuing his ascent on the creature that roared in pain. Looking down, he realized this was no place for a dwarf, but he was more than that, he was Granite, and only hoped his other brothers or the legends would be able to tame the second. When they crested the back, Dax and Siletz dug their daggers and swords into the beast as it zigzagged across the sky, hoping the source of its pain would plummet to the ground. Once at the base of the skull, they began to carve leg holds into the meat underneath them, grasping their embedded daggers to hold them in place. When holes of sufficient size bled, they pushed their legs into the gaping wounds, grabbed their massive two handed war axes, and began hacking into the thick bone that connected the body to the skull.
None would ever know of the dwarves’ heroic efforts, as the altitude exceeded the dwarven eyesight, and opponents more substantial occupied their vision, yet Torango on the walls watched in amazement.
When the beast began to falter, its flight became more erratic. Feeling the direction change, Dax and Siletz saw the beast point towards the ground, and with increased ferocity, they began to hack faster at the exposed meat and spine of the trollmare. After they had severed the head, watching it fall forward, they both stood, raising their bloody axes up, and at the top of their lungs, with all of their dwarven strength, screamed out one wo
rd, “GRANITE,” and then they slammed into the hard courtyard stones.
*******
Panry burst free from the madness, raced past the battle that engaged Steve and Ryan, running towards the house with Jasmine behind him. He had never believed that the Earth Mothers had died, suspecting nothing more than a dark diversion from the one who favored black. However, between him and the house, a trollmare that dwarfed all of the buildings in the complex stood. It vomited out a black acid, which they both dodged, and what little fell on them, the Crimson capes defeated. Panry grasped the jar he had taken from Gingaar, and sprinting forward, he threw it into the gaping mouth. The beast so large, the container so small, it bit down on the inconvenience, swallowing the contents. Then the monstrosity raised itself onto its back six legs, preparing to vomit out more black acid. Coughing out blood, it rolled onto its side, dead from the concentrated Sweet Release poison.
*******
As John focused, tasking the magic while looking at Zymse, what happened next, he had never anticipated. With his good hand, Zymse pulled out the snub nose revolver. Like a scene playing out in a slow motion movie sequence, he saw the muzzle flash. While it may have been his imagination, in that brief second, he thought he saw the projectile speeding towards him. The bullet slamming into his chest shattered more than his ribs, and before dropping to his knees, he felt a second shot rip into his body. Looking down at the red liquid pooling in his hands, he fell onto his side, as his life flashed in front of his eyes.
*******
As the clouds overhead had been gathering, the sky had been darkening, and when the thunder sounded, lightning announced the arrival of the final ace. Stepping back from the battle, Eric raised his sword straight up, “FATHER’S RAGE, TO ME NOW.” Lightning began to slam into the sword, and with it being so loud, even the Rockeaters saw an image of the Champion, and they began to back step, knowing what was about to arrive. Eric’s sharp anger sliced through the deafening eruptions, “FATHER’S RAGE, THESE CREATURES ARE UNNATURAL. DESTROY THEM!” Gigantic bolts of electricity rained down from the heavens into the tall standing golems, shattering them instantly. Then bolt after bolt began to crash into the sword.
