Luck Of The Claw

by Matthew C. Gill

that jerked his edge free, bidden to follow him.

  Dark viscous fluid streamed forth from the wound while bright sharp pain blinded Lady Adriana until all she could see was purple and crimson. At the sight of the beasts momentarily dropped defenses the pale light of the dragon's eyes kindled a briefly brighter spark. A coarse roar labored to fight its way free from its throat and with it a brief burst of cold fire sputtered forth. The dragons breathe even as diminished as it was threatening to wreak terrible havoc upon Lady Adriana. Already dealing with terrible pain she automatically retreated from the blast only to barely avoid the brunt of it.

  A broad and sinister grin spread across Baron Samael as he drifted overhead to view the scene now unfolding below him. "Justice will be done," he coldly intoned; his staff a ghostly pallor that now matched the white on the knuckles that grasped it. He would relish this moment for a very long time.

  - Episode 29 -

  Power hung on the air as Baron Samael held a ready word waiting on his lips, his staff in hand and a spell already drawn back like a hunter's bow. His deadly aim trained on the thing that had been Lady Adriana as he watched every moment as his sorcerer senses revealed something else reshaping her. "How very fitting, my dear," the Baron cooed. Jade light arced, lancing its way down his staff as it began building and focusing into a bright point of illumination.

  Baron Samael grimly concentrated the spells building forces, bidding them into being and waited. Already the insidious Lady was wounded and doubling back, the battle completely seizing her attention. The Baron could leisurely allow himself the precious long moments to savor his vengeance before he struck.

  Curiously though, Lady Adriana halted her flight to change tactics in mid-stride and began to circle to her left. The beast moved with its unharmed right side guarding it's left as already shadowy wisps were swirling, attempting to conjure forth fresh flesh. "No," Mal roared, launching himself into motion to intercept her. "She aims to out flank us Camden," he fought to explain their desperate need to stop the beast to the boy. "She will kill Trinity," Mal spat, certain that nothing else might need to be said.

  The old knight had been right, that single fear sent Camden surging forward. Everything else stopped existing instantly for Camden; there was only him and the monster. For him each passing breath seemed painfully long as he closed the distance in a dash. Even the creatures swift motion felt slow to Camden who already was moving in a course of action that he himself had no clue as to what it might hold.

  With a hard pounding that sent shockwaves up from the balls of his feet into his legs Camden planted his footing firmly into the dirt and pushed off hard. His momentum and speed vaulting him forward into the air on a collision path towards the things face. There wasn't time for regrets or a change of plan as he sailed through the air. Camden kept his left arm tightly tucked up before him and as the unseen force slammed home threw all his weight into an arced spin. The impact combined with his propelled force to send him swinging around the stunned foe, a flick of his wrist allowing him to bite down and drag his stout blade along it shoulder. Gravity aided the gambit driving the wound downward and slowing his harsh decent.

  Camden slammed into the ground thrown completely off balance to find he was strangely searching for his breath. Somehow it had escaped him, lost as he impacted the dirt. Struggling to both find his feet and some measure of air Camden tried to roll aside.

  Seizing upon the moment like a gleaming gemstone of opportunity Baron Samael let slip the single waiting syllable of his spell. It's deadly hum exploding to life to race downward in a violent burst of magic that was trained directly upon Lady Adrian.

  Mal didn't even have time for a curse to pass his lips before the bright flash of light swept in front of him, blanketing both the beast and Camden from his vision.

  - Episode 30 -

  Suddenly pain throbbed on the very air around him, Camden didn't even realize he was breathing again as he fought to keep from screaming. Hot pressure slammed against him and felt like a wall of lava was falling down on him. Everything before him blurred out of focus and Camden had to fight to even find his feet beneath him.

  The blade in his hand burned with an intense pain and the band on his left wrist ached against his flesh. Something deep within him seemed to spark to life given form by his courage. A slumbering power from within the small blade rose to spread through him and together with the power of his little shield he could feel it push everything back. The pain lessened and with it his vision became clearer.

  Whatever it was that was raining down ruin upon them he could now see was focused in front of him. He could see it now, this strange green spiked blaze of power was blasting the beast from somewhere above them. As he watched the creature melted from one strange form into another and as it did shadowy strands of energy swirled around it. The thing should be destroyed in that deadly torrent and instead it was shifting, becoming some sinister shadow that was already threatening to slip away.

  Something fluttered into Camden's view from the corner of his eye; at first he had trouble making it out before the sickening realization struck him. Things were slipping free from the vault, some drifted into orbit around the creature while others sped their way off into the distance. If Camden could see even this much of what was happening he had to wonder what Trinity was feeling.

  He couldn't see things the way she seemed to, he was blind to the ebb and flow of magic. But what he could see was more of the things he had seen from within the Vault which he figured he shouldn't be seeing out here. What he still couldn't see was Trinity or Mal though; his field of view was dominated by the struggling chaos between them. Even the dragon was beyond his sight, he was truly lost as to if the blast had caught them as well.

  And then he heard the scream. It was Trinity, the sound and pitch of her voice was unmistakable to him. Camden didn't think twice before setting out straight back towards his sister monster or no monster.

  - Episode 31 -

  Ancient evil arcane energy was beginning to flood its way out of the Vault of Echoes, Trinity could feel it building around her. It was beginning to choke her; the vile forces were sickening to her. And then she looked up, and she could see the intimate madness working its way into reality through the creature in front of them.

  So much festering maliciousness, it was so ancient and right now it was mingling - weaving itself together until it was assimilating the helpless entity it reshaped. Somewhere inside it, Trinity could see a vague spark of what it had once been, but already it was too far gone to save. The thought made one simple truth become all too clear to her as she recalled all the dragon corpses. Dragons were known as creatures of pure arcane power, the very natural fabric of their being, their innate essence was magical. If all this malevolent dark magic had coalesced together over the ages then it was possible it had grown into some sentient poison, a toxic magical presence that was deadly to anything living. It had proven fatal for the dragons, the very core of their being destroyed from so much prolonged exposure. And yet, a single dragon had survived!

  Trinity turned her gaze upon the weakened wonder, the last guardian of the Vault and let her mind process everything as it continued to come to her. The baneful black forces were still struggling to overcome the sapphire scaled sentinel. For some reason it had not as yet managed to overtake the beast, while instead it was seizing upon the soul of this other thing. There was some difference there, Trinity could almost make it out as it as it tugged and teased at the back of her mind.

  "That's it," Trinity declared decisively her voice muffled by the bursting spell's cacophony. Already confused by the strange events unfolding before them, Mal found himself turning to look up at Trinity as he prayed she held some answer for him. He felt powerless against all this sorcery, Mal needed to know where to point his blade and how to fight it. Trinity was his best bet to gain any real understanding, and only a fool would enter into a battle ignorant of understanding what he faced.

  "It
's the Vault Mal," the majestic little maiden started to point out to him, her eyes almost aglow with the scene around them. "There has been too much dark magic locked away in there for too long, it has become magnified and alive somehow. It wants out, to spread; so many of the things hidden in the Vault were meant for evil purposes and that core element is driving it. The dragons all died from being exposed to so much toxic power for so long."

  Trinity raised her finger to mark her point, gesturing at the last of the dragons Mal had tried to safeguard. "Only one remains because it alone had a heart pure enough to fight it with courage." As if it was his cue, Camden erupted out of the deadly magic still pouring down from above to land off balanced from a hard roll at their feet.

  "This is very bad," her brother remarked through pants while a strange shimmer made it look like he was smoldering from the magical flames. "We must warn the King," Mal stated, following Camden's lead. "Without warning this could sweep through the kingdom unopposed."

  "I think I may have an idea about that,"