"So far so good!" said Rog, "but this is only the beginning. As the field of Evil weakens, we will compress the containment wards, shrinking the field as we tighten and strengthen our circle around it. We will eventually form a double circle, and then a triple circle, as we all the while increase our consumption and containment of the Evil. We will continue to shrink the circle until the Evil is completely gone!"
"The bad news is that this could take hours and despite our shielding we are being assaulted by being in close proximity to the Evil," said Jim Nater. "If any of you start to feel dizzy let Miss Sharp know and she will replace you with one of the others that continue to arrive here."
"Yes, I will instruct people on your spells as they arrive and see that they are placed where they are most needed," said Sharp. "I have already identified Wizards with healing powers to aid those who suffer from Evil effects."
"Will destroying the Evil kill the Demons Mr. Rog?" a small girl asked the elf.
"Oh no, not at all," admitted Rog. "They carry Evil within themselves. This will merely weaken them. Killing them will be up to others, such as Ben King. I hope to never in my lifetime as much as see a Demon!"
"And like you said, we have other allies such as Ben King," said Sharp.
"But isn't Ben King in prison?" said the girl.
Imprisoned both within the Hope government complex and within his own mind, Sharp noted, but she said nothing.
****
CHAPTER 12
Breakout!
"As usual, there's the good news and the bad news," said Red Eric. "The good news is that I sense that the wards of our prison are greatly weakened. The bad news is, that means that the linked wards of the Hope central facility are being stressed elsewhere. That can only be a bad thing! Moco, the distant thunder that you thought that you sensed is perhaps evidence that the Council is under attack!"
"It sounds like it's time for us to break out of here and help the good guys," said the Wolf, "assuming that we can tell the good guys from the bad." While in his strongest man-wolf form he ran full tilt at the door and struck it with his shoulder with a loud thump, then slowly sank to the floor in pain. The door appeared to be unharmed. "Damn that hurts!"
"You broke your bones in several places!" said Eric, as he ran his sensitive hands over the Wolf. "Not easy to do with magic strengthened bones stronger than steel!"
"You have half healed yourself already though," said Soone. "You made an impressive and valiant effort just now, Mr. Wolf-man, but if we are to break that door we must do so in concert! We have the magic of myself, Eric, Ann, and Mark to add to your great physical strength!"
"Even so I estimate that our combined efforts would be inadequate," said Eric. "The door wards are still far too strong."
"Perhaps I could be used as a battering ram by the rest of you," said Ben.
"That's not happening, Cub," growled the Wolf, as he stretched and flexed his completely healed body.
"Maybe it's worth a try!" said Mark. "I mean, Ben is pretty much indestructible."
"But if even a sprite could barely keep hold of him to fly about with him, how would we propel him against a door with enough force to break through it?" asked Ann.
"She's right," said Ben. "Besides, if you try to throw me violently against something I'd probably blowup in your own faces. My shielding is probably more likely to hurt you guys than to hurt the door."
"And anyway as I said, it's not happening!" growled the Wolf.
"But perhaps Ben's shielding can be used in another way," said Soone. "Eric, when Moco struck the door I sensed a surge of energy flowing through the surrounding walls and ceiling, but hardly a change at all in the energies flowing through the floor, which remained immense: many times the energy of the walls and ceiling. The floor is not warded the same as the walls and door. What does that mean?"
"The ward energies for the entire complex flows through the floor here, that's why the cell was conveniently located at this place," explained Eric. "A barrier ward for a cell wasn't needed for much of the floor; the incidental ward energy flow is barrier enough. Besides, this is the basement. If anyone broke through the physical floor and the ward conduit, there's only solid bedrock below it."
"But what happens if that energy flow is blocked?" asked Soone.
"What are you getting at?" said Moco. "Are you thinking of using Ben's shielding to block the ward energy flow for the entire building complex? Even a wolf-man can figure that we'd probably all get blown to hell! And who knows what would happen to Ben? That ward's way more powerful than anything he has tested his shield against!"
"But the elf may have something!" said Eric. "It wouldn't be as risky as trying to use him as a battering ram. I could monitor Ben and yank him out of the flow if I see that he's in trouble, and I'd pull him out after only a few seconds anyway. We only need to block energy powering the door for a few seconds, we don't want to stop the flow permanently; for all we know, good guys are using the wards somewhere else to fight bad guys. Soone can shield us all from possible explosion, in case that happens. Moco can rip a hole in the physical floor and then open the door when the flow is disrupted. And that leaves my Ann and Mark to run through the door and set it open from the outside for the rest of us."
"We will play our part!" said Mark, speaking for the twins.
"Nope, it still sounds too dangerous for the Cub," said Moco.
"I want to do it!" said Ben. "We have to get out of here now and this sounds like our best shot! Besides, all this is my fault! You have to let me help!"
"Your fault? What do you mean?" asked Moco.
"All this started happening when I returned to Hope," said Ben. "I should have stayed with the Unaligned!"
"You're smarter than that, Ben King!" said Ann. "You didn't bring the Demons here; you warned us about them already being here! You're a hero even without having control of your powers!"
"I'm very certain that the Demons have been getting onto Alure and Earth before you came along, Ben," said Soone. "You play an important role in things but you are not the source of our miseries. Quite to the contrary, you are a source of hope for us!"
"Enough talk!" growled the Wolf. "I'm not going to let my stubbornness and concern for you actually prevent your rescue, Cub. Soone's idea and Eric's plan to carry it through is the best chance we've got. Now let's do it and get ourselves out of here!"
****
Above the glass Dome that stretched high above the Courtyard far below, two dozen levitating Wizards used every power at their disposal, but had thus far succeeded in merely breaching the masking wards that blocked visual observation; they were unable to break their way through shielding and into the Dome. They could only watch on hopelessly as below them a monstrous Demon battled Hope Attack Wizards. On the Courtyard practice field, magic was not ward-muted, and the Attack Wizards individually and in pairs and larger groupings attacked the Demon with every weapon and spell they had at their disposal. Ward-hardened spears and arrows and balls of exploding fire and lightning bolts cascaded down on the creature almost continuously, without appearing to do it the slightest damage! The Demon appeared to be unhurt and clearly had the upper hand.
The Wizards tried unsuccessfully to imprison the monster in freezing water that only steamed away before ice could form around it. Norm weapons such as machine-guns and burning napalm had no damaging effect at all! Wizard efforts to levitate the creature were hopeless; it could apparently control its weight to off-set any such efforts! Nothing could stop it!
Many violent Wizard attacks were reflected back at the attackers themselves. A vat of red-hot molten steel levitated above the Demon and was dumped over it, but it exploded off the creature in red-hot molten gobs that badly wounded two Wizards. Wizard thrown lightning power-bolts similarly reflected off of the Demon and instead savaged the attacking Wizards!
Meanwhile although the Wizards skillfully dodged and shielded, the Demon killed them off one by one. The victim Wizards tried to dodge the blows
while their companions tried to mask and shield them and draw the Demon away, but the monster was relentless in its dogged pursuits once it became fixated on a particular victim. It focused on one Wizard after another, increasing their weight to slow them down and restraining them telekinetically while blasting them with burning bolts of power! Three Attack Wizards perished, then four, and their mere deaths weren't enough to satisfy the Demon. In each case at the last the victim was grasped by the Demon and blasted into glowing dust and smoke while their companions screamed their impotent anger and dismay!
"Does it seem to you that the Demon's blasts are getting weaker?" Sam Putt asked Bruger.
"Not from where I'm standing," the younger Wizard replied. "It's still way stronger than us! But maybe we can wear it out!"
"Except we're wearing out faster than it is!" said Sam.
While gradually the Demon decimated the ranks of Hope's finest fighting force, high above them the numbers of Hope citizens that watched the battle gradually increased to over a hundred! Alan and Elizabeth welcomed newcomers to their ranks gratefully but even the growing multitude could still not breach the Dome! There was such a crowd of Wizards gathered that Elizabeth barely noticed when two dozen more Wizards joined their ranks via teleportation, led by a plucky ancient looking old woman that that was greeted especially warmly by Alan Dale.
"Elizabeth, this is Maude Philips!" said Alan. "And these are Wizards from around the world, brought together by the League!"
"We come at Alan's request," said one of the male visitors. "He is far too important to the League for us to let him be harmed by Demons or by Hope Wizards!"
"This is Win Chan of the Chinese Delegation," said Alan.
"Your help is welcomed! All of you are welcome here!" Elizabeth added, as she stared at the new Wizards in amazement! They appeared to be of every race and nationality imaginable! Despite a scattering of Hope Missionaries across the globe, most Hope residents were from the United States or Canada. There were Wizards elsewhere, but most refused to come to Hope. But her attention was drawn most strongly to the old woman! "I remember you!" she said. "From when I was a small child! I've guessed your identity for years, and now I know my guesses were right!"
"As well you should, Granddaughter," said Maude. "We still have the red hair in our line, I see. Mine has been silver for a long, long time. Yes, I'm one of those crazy radical folks that ran-off to the freedom of the Unaligned from the strictures of Hope society. There are many more of us ex-Hope folks out there than the Hope authorities let on!"
"My Mom said you were dead, before she died herself!" said Elizabeth.
"Not hardly," said Maude, as Elizabeth floated into Maude's waiting arms. "Your Mom disowned me when I left Hope."
"Conduct family reunions and introductions later," said Alan. "Now we need to break inside the Dome and help the Hope Attack Wizards fight the Demon!"
"I don't see how that will be possible," said another of the visitors, a huge blonde man who spoke with an Irish accent. "I ken the Dome to be too strongly warded, even for the likes of us!"
"And most of us are not trained for attack as are many of the Hope Wizards," said another of the visitors, an exotically dressed black woman. "Most of us don't have nice warded buildings like this one where folks can freely practice magic skills. Most of us need to all the time apply all our skills to hiding from the rest of humanity."
"And to getting those of us that don't hide very well out of trouble," said a very British sounding man. "But that usually involves finesse rather than battle."
"Very few Hope Wizards are trained for battle either," said one of the Hope citizen Wizards. "But we'll do what we can, though we can't do anything until we get inside the Dome!"
At that moment the Courtyard Dome abruptly stopped glowing!
"The wards are down!" someone shouted! Wizards began to drop down towards the Dome!
"Don't knock down the Dome!" shouted Alan, too late, as large sections of Dome glass were shattered or disintegrated by the descending Wizards. At that point he belatedly realized that the gathered Wizards lacked planning and training to attack a Demon!
Wizards and Dome remnants together fell down towards the Demon, who stood in the center of the Courtyard and gathered his energies for a huge welcoming explosion. "How convenient!" the creature muttered, "most of you aren't even shielded!" It was a vulnerable mob of more than a hundred citizen Wizards that was attacking, not a trained fighting force!
****
Deep within the Hope High School and government complex, Ann and Mark emerged smiling from their holding cell. But as the prison door slammed itself shut and the ward powered up again, before them stood Troy Grim, holding a handgun that was pointed at them! His eyes were wild and he looked as if someone had recently beaten him up.
"What's happening Troy?" Mark asked, in as friendly a tone as he could manage.
"You look like the twin Tuttle brats, but who are you really?" Troy asked suspiciously.
"You know us, Troy!" said Ann.
"I know who you look like," said Troy, "but that don't mean shit. I saw Fred Hanes turn into some kind of monster and tear Frank and John to pieces. It would have got me too if I wasn't fast on my feet! I looped back and followed it, that's what I did! Then next thing you know it turned into my Dad and then back into a monster that massacred the Council! I want you to tell me what the hell is happening, Tuttles! I sure as hell don't know! The cops say my Dad is dead! Killed by a Demon! Did you know that?"
"I'm sorry," said Ann. She had never liked Horace Grim, but not to the extent that she wanted him to be murdered. "No, of course we didn't know!" As they talked, Ann edged towards the cell door controls.
"We've been locked up and just got out, so there is a lot we don't know and had nothing to do with," said Mark.
"But we do know that Demons that can shape-shift are attacking Hope," said Ann. "You aren't our best buddy, Troy, but you aren't a traitor to Hope, are you? Or a Demon?"
"Me? Of course not!" said Troy. "I just want to get my cut of wealth and power! Without my Dad how the hell am I going to make it in this town?"
"You're still a great football player, right?" said Mark. It was the only positive thing about Troy that he could think of.
"I guess," said Troy. "But first I have to live through this day! And maybe you guys are Demons too!"
"If we are Demons that gun wouldn't hurt us anyway, and if we aren't you don't need to point it at us!" reasoned Ann. "So how about putting it away and we'll talk." Meanwhile she used telekinesis to push the lever that controlled the cell door ward. Troy didn't even notice.
"Talk?" said Troy. "Yeah; that's why I came down here. I wanted to talk to you prisoners and maybe figure out what I should do, though I expected you all to be locked up! Besides, that King kid claims that he can tell who is a Demon. I figure that could come in handy."
The heavy but unlocked and un-warded wood and steel cell door suddenly shattered into wood splinters and twisted metal scraps, as the Wolf almost casually stepped through it. "We think so too, kid," said the big wolf man, who with his Wolf hearing had listened to the teens talking.
Troy was startled when Ann next used telekinesis to knock the gun from his hand!
A moment later the Wolf picked it up and casually crushed it in a huge clawed hand. "These things are pretty useless against Demons," he remarked.
"Hey it's Troy! What's happening out here, Troy?" asked Ben amiably as he, Soone, and Red Eric stepped out of the cell.
"I could probably rip that information from your mind, Troy," said Eric. "But if you vocally tell us what has happened since we were imprisoned that would be preferred."
****
On Alure, the Master Demon pursued elusive flying, fleeing elves that defied his every effort to kill them. His energy blasts seemed to merely repulse and push aside the individually shielded ellipsoidal personal pods shielding each elf, without causing any real damage to any occupants. More strange yet, elf evasive maneuve
rs and shielding consumed most of their energies by far! The fleeing elves only occasionally fired at him feebly. That didn't make sense! They weren't seriously trying to destroy him! Instead they were simply evading him and drawing him further away from the remains of the Council Chambers.
Only when he attempted to recharge himself using the Evil at the Council Chambers did the Master Demon begin to suspect their real strategy. He found that he could only withdraw half as much energy from his stores of Evil as he expected to! That could mean only one thing. While he was out chasing elves, other elves must be destroying his caches of Evil!
He teleported back the demolished Council Chambers and verified his suspicion; a hundred elves mobbed his Evil stash and were rapidly nullifying it! There wasn't enough Evil left on Alure to support his planned Demon apocalypse! Perhaps there wasn't even enough for him to escape Alure!
****
CHAPTER 13
Battle at Desolation Glen
Above the practice fields of the Hope High School Courtyard, a hundred Wizards descended from the remnants of the shattered overhead Dome towards the monstrous Demon that awaited them. More than a hundred additional Wizards remained above the Dome, cut off when the Dome wards reasserted themselves.
Having the Dome wards back in place suited the Apprentice Demon perfectly; the Dome enclosure would greatly magnify the deadly effects of the destructive blast he was planning. He was disappointed to find that he could draw far less energies from Desolation Glen than he expected, but nevertheless, the explosion that occurred when the first of the descending Wizards reached ground-level was enormous.
The effects however, were disappointing for the Demon. While a few of the closest human Wizards were indeed crushed or even vaporized, most of the effects of the blast were greatly muted by one of the human Attack Wizards, who had interposed himself over the explosion and absorbed most of its deadly effects! Instead of most Wizards being killed outright almost all of them were only stunned.
Apprentice Wizards of Hope Page 19
