Rick briefly examined the heavily warded stone before nodding and slipping it under his tee-shirt. Then with a loud snap he teleported himself away and into danger.
"Your healing abilities are legend, but you also see the future, Jewel!" said Maude.
"I see many possible futures," Jewel replied, "most of them lousy. At times I have supported myself as a fortune teller. Used wisely foresight is a very useful gift, though it is but one of many useful tools."
"You said four prisoners. Who aside from Ben and Soone are prisoners?"
"Through my amulet I glimpsed Moco enter the Evil Mansion moments ago. A short time earlier through my future-sight I glimpsed Moco attack a Demon to save a young elf, as a likely future. I fear now that Wolf and elf will become prisoners or worse in the Mansion of Evil."
"I can see why like myself you are often referred to as a witch. You deserve it!"
"Thank you Maude!" Jewel replied with a smile that exposed sharp fangs, accepting the complement as intended.
****
There was a blur of motion and the Demon charging Rog was gone, tackled away by a snarling fur-covered demon of another sort: a huge werewolf! With a mighty swipe of clawed hand the wolf-man tore a front leg off the dragon/pig-Demon, though the clawed hand was burned and the Demon severely bit the fore-arm of its foe, resulting in urgent howls from the Wolf.
Moments later the shocked elf regained use of his senses and powers, and he erected a strong shield around the Demon which did not much hinder its super-strong attack motions but did blunt and dull it's blows such that it could not claw or bite.
"You saved my life!" Rog told Moco, as both he and the Wolf dodged the blunted body-blows of the Demon. Even with only three legs the Demon managed to alternately charge at both elf and werewolf.
"And you dropped your cloaks and got me bit!" retorted the Wolf. "Why did you do that?"
"Sorry!" said the elf. "It was a mistake! Where did you come from?"
"I ducked in behind the Master Demon as soon as he opened the front door, then down the stairs a ways."
"Will your arm be alright?"
"It will be, in another minute!" said the Wolf. "Meanwhile you've somehow kept this thing off us a bit for now, but how do we kill it?" It was slowly growing back its missing front leg, while the torn-off leg was slowly crawling around the floor, worm-like.
"No way that I can think of," said the elf, as he dodged another annoying rush by the limping Demon.
"Well then, un-shield its other front leg and I'll slow it down some more!"
True to his word, when the thing next charged the Wolf it's other front leg was savagely torn off of it and tossed away. The act burned the Wolf's clawed hands, but those began to heal. Meanwhile the crippled Demon kicked its rear legs and rolled around on the floor in a hideous display, but for the time being it could no longer charge at elf or Wolf!
“I’m healing a little slow,” said the Wolf. “Could that be the effect of Evil?”
“Yes! But I’ll shield you!” said Rog.
Moco held out his clawed hands, which finished healing almost immediately!
“Wolf, you are an evil detection device!” said Rog!
“Yes! Injure me, and if I’m slow to heal I’m near Evil! Isn’t that swell! But thanks for the shielding, elf!”
Rog was about to ask Moco which direction they should go when the Wolf picked him up and rapidly carried him downstairs. They ended up in a long hallway with no doors or windows in sight. Like the foyer the hallway they found themselves in was huge, as if it was sized to accommodate giants, as it as it was perhaps ten-feet wide and fifteen feet high, and constructed of what appeared to be the usual Evil-impregnated stone material.
"That thing will be on us again in minutes," said Moco. "In the meantime how do we find the prisoners?"
"I was supposed to sense where they are after getting past the outside shell of this house, but that's not working!" said Rog. "This whole building must be made of Evil through and through!"
"Gosh what a surprise," said Moco. "OK, so I suppose we'll try shouting and knocking on the walls."
The pair was soon walking down the empty hallway, shouting and knocking on the Evil infested stone walls, and pausing to hear answering shouts and knocking. They sensed no reply.
****
The human and elf battle-teams found that the usual tactics employed against Demons weren't effective against the Master Demon. Lightning-like blasts from human and elf Wizards and hand-carried Norm Army weapons weren't powerful enough to dismantle the creature into manageable pieces. Sam broke two swords to fragments trying to merely slice off a Demon finger. This monster was simply too big and sturdy to be harmed!
Meanwhile the Demon struck back only awkwardly, repeatedly failing to harm its attackers. Red Eric and Lieutenant Barns watched the action from a hundred yards away, increasingly puzzled by its lethargy.
"I don't like it," said Eric. "It seems to be holding back. We were supposed to be keeping it occupied to give Rog time to find Ben and Soone but it seems to using the same sort of delaying tactics with us. Why?"
"It's giant-sized, maybe that simply makes it slow," said Barns. "I have a helicopter gun-ship coming in to cut it in two with twenty millimeter cannon-fire and hell-fire missiles."
"Maybe we should try talking to it," said Eric. "That might help keep it busy." He dropped his cloaking and took a few steps towards the Demon. "What have you done with our friends?" he demanded, using his magic-enhanced voice.
At the same time the attack helicopter appeared overhead, and its cannon erupted. Without even looking up at it the Demon waved towards it a great clawed hand that for a moment burst with lightning that shot up and blasted the helicopter to blazing pieces.
"Red Eric!" it said. "My apprentice should have killed you! But then our plans don't always go the way we wish, do they? But then sometimes things go even better than we hope they will! For example I wanted another elf captive and a short time ago one foolishly walked into my fortress home under his own power, along with an equally foolish wolf-man! There is no doubt the wolf-man was subsequently destroyed and the elf was absorbed to become my new apprentice. Isn't fate wonderful? And now here you stand! You will make the perfect addition to my ever growing guest list!"
The Demon moved blindingly fast but the Wizard teleported away even faster. The monster dove and closed its great arms around only empty space where the Wizard had stood.
Fifty elf and human Wizards sought to restrain it, but even their combined telekinetic efforts weren't enough to keep it from standing up and roaring its defiance at its darting evasive tormenters. Human guns and explosives it also easily endured. Ignoring them all, it walked slowly back to the Mansion.
There it discovered its apprentice-to-be growing new limbs while downstairs Rog and the Wolf roamed the halls, noisily looking for their captive friends and foolishly broadcasting their location. He willed the Mansion to wall them in at the end of a hallway. They could shout and carry on as much as they wanted in there; in the morning they would die, if they even lasted the night.
Next he drew in more power from the Mansion and used it bring to him hundreds more Horde Demons and Evil from the Void. There were far too many Wizards and elves too near the Mansion to suit him. It was getting dark. The puny elves and humans that opposed him would soon learn the terror of confronting Demons at night!
****
Inside their prison Soone and Ben huddled together so that the elf could attentively watch the teenager work his new spells to shape Wild Magic. For the twentieth time the old elf watched Ben weave a containment spell about a tiny bit of Wild Magic and meld it into a pea-sized stone that had been shaped by Soone.
"I can see and very much appreciate your work, Ben, but I cannot duplicate it, no matter how many times you show me. Frankly, your art far exceeds mine. If I were younger, perhaps I could manage to learn it, but not anymore." He accepted the small stone from Ben and carefully placed it in the small po
uch full of amulets he carried attached to his belt. "That's enough for me to carry about with me I think; and also enough for your own pockets. Place any others within the walls and ceiling to eat away this prison."
"If only we knew which wall if breached would lead out of the Mansion!" lamented Ben. He examined each of the four walls and the ceiling and floor where the first of what he called the Wild Moles had been planted. Each spot featured stone pitted and crumbling where the Moles had eaten away the Evil that had been holding the stone together. A two-foot deep, yard-wide depression had formed where he had placed the first Mole on the wall. A growing pile of loose rock and sand lay below the hole.
"In time all the Evil of this Mansion will be gone, eaten away by your Moles!" said Soone. "You have created astounding weapons against Evil!"
"But meanwhile the Demons kill and destroy!" said Ben. "We have to get out of here and try to use the Moles against Demons!"
"Yet in creating your Moles you use up your Wild Magic shielding," said Soone. "You make yourself vulnerable to attack."
"I've used only a little of it so far, but I'm afraid that you are correct. The Demon could well destroy us before my Moles destroy the Evil here."
"Yes, once again both good news and bad," lamented Soone. “I begin to hate that human expression, even though it contains wisdom.”
"You are tired, Gaou, you must rest now. My Moles and I will guard us through the night, or at least alert us if the Master Demon returns."
"Yes, this has been a very long day. I regret that for many it will be a longer night, for Demons do not sleep."
****
The Demon-twisted remains of the ten to twenty foot high steel chain-link and barbed-wire fence that circled Hope now served only as a useful landmark rather than a barrier for the teams of elves and men that fought on after darkness. The warded energies that once powered the fence were extinguished. Hundreds of flares and floodlights lit the sky and battlefield. Dozens of teams destroyed Demon after Demon but also suffered casualties themselves. Men and elves fought and were injured and sometimes died. Overhead unmanned drones and manned helicopters spotted and blasted hundreds of Demons that spilled out from Hope and relentlessly trudged outwards towards other towns. Through the night these towns were fully evacuated by regular Army troops.
The Demons had no need to rest and never stopped. The elves and humans napped in shifts, and their anti-Demon teams fought and destroyed Demons throughout the night. Just when they thought that the tide of Demons had been at last turned, towards dawn a new flood of demons attacked, pushing out nearly to the neighboring towns.
Meanwhile Earth news stations at last openly broadcast the unbelievable story. What had leaked out or been told in bits and pieces earlier throughout the day was now clarified and confirmed by Government spokespersons. Yes, the United States was being invaded by alien monsters that destroyed and killed everything they encountered, but the monsters were being contained, and the invasion was occurring only in one limited USA area. As a precaution people in neighboring towns were being evacuated.
No, the invaders were not invincible, the monsters were being killed by the dozens by the Army with help from friendly aliens and humans with special powers. Yes, the Army was being aided by humans with incredible paranormal powers; some of them had even been in the Army for many years!
Yes, humans world-wide have been evolving paranormal powers naturally and the Government had known about it for several decades. A few with extraordinary powers are even called Wizards. The monster alien Demons chose to attack a small town that for centuries was a haven for Wizards, because humans with paranormal powers were enemies of the Demons!
On all news stations the President outlined the situation, and details were provided by General Ismith, who then answered questions for over an hour. The highlight of the night was a set of Army videos released to the public. Several Demons were shown being successfully destroyed by teams of Army and Wizard personnel. The fact that team personnel often flew through the air, turned themselves invisible, blasted Demons with lightning generated by themselves, and did other seemingly impossible things was not lost on the captivated Norm audience!
The terrifying power and savagery of the Demons was also plainly evident, along with the fact that casualties were experienced by those brave elves and human men and women that fought them.
Many sub-stories, some of them true, also raged through media. There were mostly true stories about werewolves, vampires, and shape-shifters, but also pure fictional stories about zombies, ghosts, unicorns, and dragons. Convoluted conspiracy theories were rampant also, with Wizards either heroes or the most dangerous threat to humanity ever. It was a very long night!
****
Deep within the Mansion, Rog and Moco rested as best they could. After the hallway behind them abruptly closed, at first they expected to be soon visited by the Master Demon, but as the hours went by they thought increasingly of food, water, and sleep. The Mansion floor was cold and hard, but the Wolf had no difficulty in sleeping while maintaining a half-wolf form covered in warm wolf fur. The little elf first lay next to the warm Wolf but in the morning woke to discover that he lay curled atop Moco's broad furry back.
"Arise and provide some enchanted light for us, elf Wizard," the Wolf requested. "You have slept enough. Besides; I heard something that was not your snoring."
The elf caused one of his amulets to glow brightly. "I don't see anything but the usual stone and Evil walls," he said.
"Nor do I, but do you hear something through that wall?"
The elf sat for a minute with one big ear pressed against the stone wall. "Yes. It sounds like something chewing through our wall."
"What can chew its way through stone laced with Evil?" asked the Wolf.
"Nothing that I want to meet up with," said Rog. "How was your sleep? I don't feel very rested. I suspect that my anti-Evil shielding has been working very hard to protect us and that is tiring me out."
"I'm tired also elf; my own self-healing has worked all night to fight off the corrupting effects of Evil that works its way to me even through your shielding."
"But if morning has come our friends will doubtlessly by now be launching a rescue mission to save us," said Rog.
The Wolf shrugged his broad shoulders. "We are the disastrous rescue mission launched to save Ben and Soone. I hope that our rescuers do better for us."
****
"I can't believe we're doing this," said Ann to Rick. "When my father finds out about this he'll freak!"
"Mine too," said Rick. "But somebody has to do something."
"The rest of us agree," said Clair Jones. "In particular Jim Nater says that according to his foresight this is probably our best bet. We have close to fifty of the best Apprentice and Junior Apprentice Wizards cloaked here. If you two can detect where the captives are we'll get to work on dissolving Evil Mansion walls."
Ann and Rick worked their way slowly around the Mansion, Ann hoping to find a spot where Ben seemed close by, and Rick hoping to detect the Wolf's amulet with his. Ann felt that Rick was far away until they reached a point to the rear of the building at ground level where she felt that he was much closer. Only ten feet further on, Rick's amulet began to glow brightly.
"So which spot do we attack?" asked Mark.
"Both," said Ann. "Our friends seem to be near each other in the basement, but it could be separate rooms.
"But there is only one of me," said Rick. "I'll focus largely on the Wolf's amulet first. Maybe we can get to the point where we can communicate."
Rick knelt and placed one of his small hands on the stone wall at ground level. His other hand was held by Mark, whose other hand was held by a string of four dozen other Apprentice and Junior Apprentice Wizards of hope, collaborating through Rick as they had repeatedly been shown to do in order to destroy Evil together affectively.
Slowly the Evil in the wall was eaten away by Life Energy that was strong in the children Apprentice Wizards of
Hope. After ten minutes of effort a crowbar was used to knock away weakened wall stone, such that a three-inch deep area two-feet across resulted. While the crowbar was being used Rick shifted his attention to the second location. Alternating between the two locations Rick and his co-joined Apprentices continued eating away at the Evil and weakening the wall, a few inches at a time.
****
"Well of course they went to the Mansion to try to rescue their pack friends!" said Krell, between big bites of raw beef gratefully provided by the Army as breakfast for their fierce werewolf fighting companions. Numerous stories of selfless heroic werewolf actions against the Demons were circulating through the Army ranks.
Many suggestions were even made by Army people that werewolves officially join the Army, but to no avail. The werewolves turned them down. They retained loyalty primarily to their packs, immediate relatives, and to no others. Meeting with and befriending individuals while fighting together against Demons was a way to make individual friends and form temporary alliances, but 'joining' for several years a Government group that numbered hundreds of thousands of total strangers of unknown thoughts and scents made no sense to them whatsoever.
"The devotion of your young to helping pack friends is admirable," said Krell. "What else would you want or expect of your offspring?"
"Obedience, for one thing," said Red Eric. "Yesterday our youngsters were busy providing valuable last-resort rear-guard protection to our fleeing people well ahead of the advancing Demons. That was a horrendous day for everyone. We removed the children from all duty after that! I expected them to sleep today till noon or later! Instead they teleported away!"
"Ha!" snorted the werewolf pack leader. "Then you expected far too little of them! Is that really how you raised your children? To cower in the den while their friends are being destroyed by monsters?"
Eric shook his head. The Pack Leader made sense. He should have seen this coming. Ann would of course insist on looking for Ben and Mark would insist on going with her. It now seemed so obvious to him! But the thought of his two children placing themselves in such danger was intolerable. They could have at least consulted with him!
Apprentice Wizards of Hope Page 29
