by T M Caruana
“Think force field, think force field,” I reminded myself.
My dragon form took shape easily as I remembered the conversion, still focusing on keeping Tarus in the security of the force field bubble. The bubble that surrounded him was like a soap bubble, shimmering with all the colours of the rainbow and allowing nothing to penetrate his body. As he ran ever faster, the soldiers were sent flying to one side, like bowling pins in a long strike. My wings were just as big and grand as Tarus’s, but brighter, elegant and feminine. I stretched them up in a twitch, as stately as a Doberman’s ears. My eerie shriek made everyone cover their ears and made Nina, together with some of the soldiers, faint. Hunter grabbed her before she fell to the ground and he gave a weary look.
“Fly, fly now. Quickly!” Hunter shouted at me and waved in a pointing motion towards heaven.
To travel hundreds of miles in the clear blue sky, and to play in the few clouds that hung like cotton balls in the air, seemed tempting. Without losing velocity on the stones, I hurled my lizard-like body high into the air. I reminded myself to defend my own body in a protective bubble as well as Tarus’s. My hawk eyes focused on their prey, and when I was right above Tarus’s orange cat form, I turned to gather him up from the crowd of soldiers, leaving a long strip of fire between them.
The emotional transfer of my love to him happened effortlessly. I loved him and didn’t think he would misinterpret it. His sudden movements made my grip on him hard to keep as he flung himself wildly about, as if he was on fire. His skin turned black and his back pushed out his extravagant wings. If I could, I would have smiled until my cheeks formed deep dimples. Now we were two dragons, with the same forces and the same ambition. We soared through the air; performing graceful tricks like swifts in spring. When we were close enough to the ground, a sea of flames flowed down towards the defenceless Bomi men, and then we returned to the castle and landed gently beside the others. Our bodies had turned back to human form at the same time and our answering smiles needed no words to express the love we had for each other.
“I love you,” He said again, his voice was full of sadness and his face looked agonised.
He held my hands in his and kissed my fingers, which were the only things visible between his large mitts.
“And I, you.”
My next question was too late to ask as he sheathed his sword in reconciliation and walked up to Leo to hear his plans.
“What is your idea?” he asked, knowing that Leo would have already plotted something, to wipe out their enemy.
“They are so many even for my powers,” groaned Leo in turmoil, desperately trying to finalise the details of a master plan.
We had no more than a minute before they began storming the giant wooden door.
“What do we do now?” Tarus shouted at Leo as if he wanted to shake him out of his daydream.
“I’m thinking! My powers are weak since my stay on Teli and I want to use the power I have left wisely. You should do the same. We don’t want to be too exhausted when the army storms in through the gates.”
Tarus was aware that his powers were limited and he had already spent much of his energy in his tantrum. It made him angry that Leo always had all the answers. It wasn’t often that Tarus wanted Leo to be right, even if that was mostly how it was played out.
“I’m not going to stand here and wait to be attacked,” Tarus snapped. “I won’t let them violate the women and kill the children. If you need me I’ll be at the gate!”
We were all impatient, but Tarus seemed more impatient than anyone else. It seemed as if he had already assumed that we would win, even if we wouldn’t all survive, and he wanted to do it quickly and get it over with. I felt an aching in my chest when I thought about how he often acted out of frustration rather than out of reason. The question was whether his reason this time would even help. As I felt the ground shake under my feet, I wondered whether it was here that everything would end. Was this how I was going to be murdered? Everything had taken place according to the prophecy. It was here that the prophecy had predicted my death. I went over the poem in my head to prepare myself for my life’s destiny.
You shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, See that you be not troubled for all these things must come to pass, but the end isn’t yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you to be afflicted and killed, and hated of all nations for your name’s sake. And then many shall be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Enough was enough. We were all safe so far, and I was supposed to be the most almighty person in the worlds; if someone could change the prophecy, it surely must be me.
“Concentrate Susy, you can do this, you know how to get rid of uninvited guests,” I urged myself and felt the flow of ideas storm to my brain.
With my power of thought, I began to shape a natural defence. A bright flash of light exploded like a lightning bolt across the sky, striking down towards the crowd. I saw the men fall lifeless to the ground before my sight went black.
<><><>
“She used the deadly Apocalypse Lightning Spell!” Tarus shouted when he heard the bang.
He had rushed back sooner than he had realised was possible to catch Susy’s body, before it fell all the way to the ground.
The Apocalypse Lightning Spell was the most powerful and the most deadly spell that Susy knew. She was able to give life, but also to take life. No one other than Susy could have shaped this bolt of lightning that wiped out life in such a radius as she had chosen; slightly away from the castle for fear that it would reach the city. She had only had to use this type of magic in self-defence once before, but that was many millions of years ago and Tarus had forgotten its strength. It had taken Susy many days to fully recover from the mass extraction of her energies. Now the question was if she would survive, when she was already weak from her earlier extended stay on Teli. Even though the lightning was much weaker than before, Tarus wouldn’t stop worrying until she opened her eyes again.
“You’re crazy Susy, to sacrifice yourself like this, I could have knocked them all down with just my sword. But you must not die like this,” he pleaded over a body without breath, without any muscle contractions, with no signs of life.
His thoughts continued to mull over explanations and he realised that it was probably through the black holes that the army had been able to penetrate Pixi without being seen by the Gatekeeper. Nomnat must have known the coordinates. Tarus wasn’t sure of how he came to know them, but as usual, he wanted to blame everything on Eutychia. If she couldn’t squeeze into Pixi because of Leo’s magic, she would at least be able to ensure that others could; others with equally evil souls as hers.
“Leo!” he cried without knowing where Leo was, and without taking his eyes away from Susy’s closed eyelids.
Leo could have been down at the gates, or right next to him, but it was too much for him to analyse in his frustration over the lifeless body. Sitting on his knees with Susy in his arms, he rocked his torso back and forth in agony.
“Leo! Help!” he shouted again, louder than necessary as Leo was just behind him.
He bent down and put his hand on Tarus’s shoulder and looked tenderly at Susy. He looked at his almighty defender, who had done everything she could to save them in exchange for her own life.
“I don’t care about the consequences, tell us what you know about the future, tell me if it ends like this!” Tarus requested and was consumed with sadness.
Frustrated, he could do nothing to control the situation. In a jerk, he lifted Susy in his arms and carried her into the castle and laid her down on the princess decorated bed. The purple colour made him only more furious. Everything reminded him of her glory and her vulnerability.
From the castle room, he could hear the b
anging on the wooden gate. It wouldn’t be long before it was demolished into shards and the men would storm into the city. Thanks to Susy there would only be about a hundred men instead of millions, but it didn’t comfort him now, as she lay lifeless. He would have to leave her here, even if he never again wanted to leave her side. But if she woke up and found out how many people had died while he was unhelpfully seated next to her, she would go mad. Her mood was nothing to play with when she was really angry. He smiled to himself and tried to remember her angry. Sure, it had happened a few times…then even he, as the most feared ruler of the seven worlds, had taken shelter.
Outside, they all stood in a line inside the castle walls with an army of men and some stubborn women waiting for the door to give way. Because of their speed, Hunter, Nina, Net and Simona were in front of Gabriel, Kora and Tailja. They all stood in front of the rest who were sat on their broad, majestic, white horses. Probably not wide enough for Finor compared to the ox he used to ride, which had twice the width of the horse and would probably feel like sitting on a too narrow saddle. Samuel, who still wasn’t on good terms with Kora, had appeared next to Luke on one side and Harriett on the other.
Harriett’s courage was admirable after all she had been forced to absorb in the few hours since she had been freed from her captivity. It didn’t make the situation better that she still couldn’t understand that there were people in the group that she couldn’t see. People whom her husband seemed to hate more than the plague. It was lucky that their opponents were from Bomi and not Angi, or she wouldn’t stand a chance of killing even one of them. For that was all she was expected to achieve, a glorious death in the hope of at least saving some of those she held dear. Given her enemies’ muscular bodies and propulsive fury, she was probably happy if she could at least hurt someone enough that someone else could then finish her job. After she persuaded Samuel to allow her to take part in the battle, he had explained to her about Nirvana. Maybe to give her courage, but perhaps it was also to convince himself that her happiness was more important than anything, even if it meant he would lose her again.
Michael wasn’t ready for a battle and took care of little Harold whilst he watched over Susy. Hunter had got everyone to agree on a collaboration as he wanted to honour Susy with what would have been her last wish, if she never woke up. Tailja, submissive to their request out of respect for Kora, stood focused and ready. Her hair was in a messy knot at the back of her head and she had added fearsome paintings on her face. She was aiming her bow at the door, and it would go off at the first sight of the opponent, even if it were Victorina who got in her way.
Net, who had taken his role as leader out of habit, had placed Victorina and Luke far away from Tailja in order to avoid any ‘accidents’.
Leo and Myra were a horse length behind the group, in what could be criticised as being cowardly, though they were in fact as fearless as the others, with the same determination to achieve their common goals. Without physical weapons, they were still far stronger than the others, and their magic was able to reach further than Tailja’s arrows. The two were undoubtedly the biggest threat for the opponents.
Tarus had Gabriel on one side and Lance on the other. Under the rule of unicorns, Tarus wasn’t allowed to ride on him, which was a shame as Lance’s speed would have been an advantage for anyone in the group. But as stubborn as Susy, he stood with Tarus before the others, eager to defend life’s existence.
20
LOVE CONQUERS ALL
When the first axe broke through the gate, it made the splinters land right in front of their feet and hooves. Everyone in the crowd prepared their shields in readiness and crouched down to protect as much of their body as possible from anything that would flow into their beautiful city.
“Hold the line steady, remember that we are stronger than them!”
The light voice wasn’t Net’s, who was in command, but came from Hunter. He had strong leadership instincts and was to the assembled people, a father figure.
“When the first swarm of fireballs plunged through the air, I will see to it that their speed will be reduced to fall and hit themselves, but it takes a lot of power and it won’t hold them for long,” Leo informed.
Hunter nodded at Leo’s plan and saw how he raised his hands to the sky. His concentration was intense, and his figure was frozen, as he made the swarm of menacing fireballs lose momentum and fall onto their own warriors, causing many deaths. The warriors stomped nervously, intimidated by the screams of their fallen compatriots. Their tight line was broken and they scattered, none of them giving a second glance towards his fellow-soldier’s injuries to help them. They were brutal, there to only obey their orders; to kill.
The people of Pixi prepared for their counterattack. They raised their bows, aimed their spears and gripped their shields and swords. They were confronted with a terrifying wave of trained fighting machines who poured in through the totally demolished gate. The mere look of them and the sound of their roar caused chaos and fear throughout the crowd.
“Attack!” shouted Hunter in an attempt to motivate the people and make their adrenaline pump.
The battle was brutal and Hunter could see his men fall one after another as he tried to defend himself and as many of the others as he could. His sword was thrown, stabbed, flung and screwed into the demons’ flesh with all the power and speed he could manage. His blood-filled hands held firmly onto the sword he had created himself for the inevitable occasion and he observed every movement of his enemy. He eventually found himself face to face with their leader; an equally skilful swordsman, facing a battle where neither of them would give up until one was dead. Nomnat gave a superior smirk. Hunter had long wanted the chance to kill Nomnat. He was stronger and faster than him, but he had spent too much of his strength already and was exhausted. He would need to rest a little before he could gain the upper hand. He smiled back, trying not to show his fatigue. He wanted to give the impression that he was going to enjoy destroying him slowly, whereas in actual fact he was trying to gather his forces.
In another part of the battlefield Tarus noticed that Admiral Milo had spotted him. “Nice to meet you again,” Admiral Milo mocked as he approached Tarus without fear and without even raised his sword; even though Tarus was sure he hadn’t forgotten his earlier promise to send the Admiral to Hell.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Tarus answered brutally to prove that Milo had failed to cause an ounce of fear that would affect his battling technique.
His body language and facial expression revealed no emotion, it was stiff and focused, even though he had been waiting for the chance to take his revenge since Milo had tortured him and forced him into a blood link with Michael. He had promised Milo that he would return the torture and wouldn’t miss this opportunity. Patience was something Tarus had learned to master, considering Susy’s stubbornness, and so he waited for Milo to throw the first swing. He did not want to die, having underestimated his opponent by charging at him too soon. He needed to keep his anger under control.
The resistance became harder and strengthened the resolve of the dark soldiers who were pushing the people of Pixi further into the city. A sudden swirl of water paved the road through the dark crowd, killing many of them in its wake, before Leo stopped and then disappeared into invisibility. Samuel, Victorina and Luke had the same talent and in four places soldiers were felled as the four invisible warriors worked to cope with as many as they could before their power weakened. Kora and Tailja stood at a safe distance behind two erected shields and let off arrow after arrow to counter some of the new incoming warriors at the gate opening, as well as helping to destroy others as they tried to attack from behind. Virginia circled her opponent like a wolf around its prey before she leapt to the attack.
A cry was heard above the melee. It was the first familiar voice that seemed to be in danger and Victorina turned around to try and locate her compatriot. Finor lay on the ground with his head twitching and teeth clenched. A sword stood
up from his chest and he was trying to pull it out and stem the blood that was flowing from the wound. Luke stood with his back to the wounded body to fight off the attacking men. Victorina looked at Finor and understood that the help had come too late. He would never survive. Furious, she turned back to continue the attack.
Another ear-piercing cry split the air around the defenders. With a powerful thud, an arrow had pierced Victorina’s heart. The last thing she saw was Virginia’s mocking grin before she fell lifeless to the ground.
Tarus was dominating the battle with his opponent and could afford to throw a careful glance around him to analyse their odds of success. From the corner of his eye, he saw Harriett and felt a little sympathy for her performance, as she was inferior to everyone. She really had the courage to go to war and didn’t let the blood stains on her face disturb her concentration. It was clear that she had a little help from her invisible husband, but it didn’t lessen his admiration. A man approached her from behind as he was watching and Tarus couldn’t resist sending a swift fireball to stop him in his tracks.
After having defended himself against a few more of Milo’s sword attacks, he noticed a little boy who was far too young to participate in the brutal battle. The boy couldn’t be older than…perhaps seven Teli-years. However, he was still alive with impressively many dead Bomi warriors in a circle around him.
“Simona, beware!” Net shouted.
A spear coming at her from above surprised Simona. It was within Net’s sight, but he lacked the ability to do something that could save her life. The massively thick spear penetrated easily into the small body and dug it down into the gravelly soil.
“No!” Net screamed, and using all the remaining power that he could summon to fight off his aggressive opponent and rush to Simona who was trying to lever herself up on her elbows.
