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Neen hovered along just above head height of the humans in the street below. Sliver followed a few metres behind. His flight was a little more erratic than hers as he struggled to shake off the effects of the blow to his head.
The people in the street scurried along, their faces filled with worry. Most of the shops were still open in pretence of normality. An illusion that was shattered by the security bars, grills and shutters that covered every shop front window in sight. News had obviously reached the city about the terrible plague that was spreading across the country at incredible speed.
They passed a corner convenience store that was packed to the limit with people trying to buy every scrap of food and other supplies they could lay their hands on. A fight broke out inside the store and it started a brawl that quickly turned into a looting spree in the street. Neen shook her head in pity and avoided the commotion by flying higher.
“These people have no idea what is coming their way. Look at them, they are acting like it’s just some terrible storm that they can weather by locking themselves inside their apartments for a few days!” she said dragging her eyes from the tablet momentarily to look back at Sliver.
“How much further?” he grumbled. He looked worse than before, he was pale and it looked as though he was struggling to breathe. She stopped and moved close to him. He tried to shrug her away, but she persisted and put her hand on his good cheek so she could get a better look at his face. That’s when she realised that his nose was broken.
“Sliver you have to sit this one out.”
“We are wasting time,” he snapped as he pushed past her again.
“Ass hat...” she mumbled under her breath. What she wouldn’t give for a touch of slumber dust to put his lights out for the next few hours and keep the stubborn jackass safe.
They continued to follow the directions of the enchanted tablet for several more blocks until they came to a street with several car yards on either side. There were new and used cars everywhere, but not a single person looking to buy. As they passed the second such car yard the tablet started to pulsate and the green arrow that had been giving them their direction started to spin.
Sliver flew over to the nearest car, dropped down onto the bonnet and drew Tathra from its scabbard. Then he gingerly lay back against the windscreen and lay the sword beside him within easy reach.
“Looks like we got here first for a change,” he said with a sigh as he closed his good eye and tried to relax.
“What? That’s it? Are you just going to lay there and wait?”
“We are going to need a distraction and the state I am in it may as well be me. You on the other hand should find yourself some concealment.”
“No way, he’s going to kill you if you try to face him alone.”
“You just make sure you put one right between his eyes as soon as you get a chance and let me worry about staying alive.”
Reluctantly Neen found a position behind a car deeper into the car park where she could easily cover Sliver from all angles and displace to other concealed firing positions if needed. She did not like the plan at all and had to force herself to stay hidden as the minutes passed.
Suddenly a gentle breeze started which quickly increased in intensity. She looked up and in the sky above storm clouds started to form in a concentrated ball that seemed localised directly over head. Then there was a bright blue flash. Neen cautiously peered around the side of the car to see two figures materialise onto the street.
The first sank to his knees almost immediately. It was Gravlok and he was suffering from teleportation sickness. It was the perfect opportunity and too good to waste! She was about to burst out of her hiding spot with guns blazing when Sliver made his presence known by emptying a full clip of one of his mini submachine guns into the air.
This immediately caught the attention of the second figure, a Minotaur, who bellowed wildly. Even as far as Minotaur’s went this one was huge, far bigger and more imposing than the orc wizard even. The beast did not wait for Sliver to finish firing even before it charged savagely towards him. Sliver leapt off the car just in time as the Minotaur ploughed head first into it, flipping it upside down like it was a toy.
With surprising speed and agility it continued to pursue Sliver, jumping from car to car as it went. Neen suddenly realised that Sliver was trying to lead the beast away from Gravlok. It was now or never so without further hesitation she burst out from behind the car with both guns drawn.
She flew quickly across the car park towards Gravlok, but the Minotaur was not so easily fooled and Neen caught sight of the used car hurled in her direction only just in time to avoid it. In doing so she dived too low, bounced across the rough tar of the car yard and slammed into the side of another car.
She recovered quickly and was back into the air and out of the path of a second flying vehicle just in time. This time she spiralled towards the Minotaur firing both guns like crazy as she went, a hale of dark elixir rounds spewing forth from one and white light enchanted rounds from the other. The head of a Minotaur was surprisingly hard to put a bullet through, especially a fairy sized one, so she fired at its chest.
To her surprise the bullets bounced off and the beast charged at her again. She dodged it and as it passed by she realised why. It was wearing nano-carbon body armour. The armour was made up of a series of plates so it did not cover every part of the Minotaur, however the parts that were left exposed were the ones where the Minotaur’s hide was at its thickest.
Neen buzzed around the beast as fast as she could and started firing at it from every direction in an attempt to hit something vulnerable. She even shot it in the head, but that just seemed to make it even angrier. She was getting nowhere and she was running short on ammunition.
Sliver suddenly burst past her, bumping her out of the way as he went. He fired his mini sub machine guns at the beast as well as he went. The Minotaur turned his attention back to Sliver who had now dropped his guns and had Tathra in his hands again.
“Get Gravlok now!” he yelled angrily.
Neen raced away from the melee and back towards Gravlok who was still on his hands and knees in the middle of the street. She could have shot him from halfway across the car yard, but she needed to get the elixir first so she flew to within a few feet of him before she stopped.
“You have till I count to ten to give up the elixir. If you do I’ll put a bullet between your eyes and finish you quick. If not I am going to let Sliver cut you up nice and slowly piece by piece!”
Gravlok did not move or acknowledge her presence. She was about to just pull the trigger when he spoke.
“Immobilise!”
She realised too late that he had already recovered. She was frozen in mid air, held in place by his will alone. Gravlok stood up, walked over to her and plucked her from the air and wrapped his huge clawed hand completely around her. Her arms were pinned to her side and her delicate wings were crushed hard and painfully against her back.
She wanted to cry out, but she couldn’t, her face was frozen in place just like the rest of her body. The only thing she could manage was to breathe and even that was difficult. She cursed herself silently for being so utterly stupid as she awaited death.
“Before I squeeze out your innards and drink them down to quench my thirst little one I will give you the privilege of first watching Sliver fight the mighty Deetas. He has been a death cage champion for three years running so it should be a notable event.”
Death caging was an illegal cage fighting league where two fighters went in and only one was allowed out alive. It earned fighters huge money and allowed them superstar status for as long as they survived. To survive for three years meant that Deetas was nothing less than a ruthless killing machine.
Neen tried desperately to get her tongue and mouth moving so she could form the words of a spell and at least help Sliver. No matter how hard she tried nothing worked and she could only look on helplessly as Sliver dodged, ducked
, lunged and parried. He swooped in close then away from the Minotaur as fast and nimbly as his injured body would allow, all the time slashing away with Tathra.
Sliver was now so focused on the fight that he did not notice the predicament that Neen was in. The Minotaur was now bleeding from each blow that he had managed to land in between the armour plates, yet it did not seem to slow Deetas down in the least. Sliver on the other hand was clearly tiring and suffering from his previously injuries.
He tried to disengage, but the Deetas pursued him relentlessly. That was when Sliver finally looked back towards her and realised what had happened. His eyes locked with hers for the briefest moment and she saw a look of longing and sadness in them that she had never ever seen before.
Sliver suddenly spiralled straight up into the air high above the Minotaur. At first she thought he was trying to save his own skin and escape, but then he looped over backwards and hurtled back towards to ground like a meteorite. Tathra’s blade went white hot and he aimed himself directly towards Deetas with the sword thrust out in front of him like a lance.
The Minotaur made no attempt to dodge him and bellowed loudly in defiance. As the two came together Deetas thrust his horned head into the oncoming Sliver impaling him right through his chest. At the same time Tathra hit its mark and plunged deeply into the neck of the Minotaur, severing a main artery. The great beast thrashed around in pain for a few moments, blood spurting from the wound like a fountain, as the glowing blade burned its way deeper into its flesh. Deetas finally collapsed face forwards. He was dead before he hit the ground and so was Sliver whose body hung limply from one of the beasts mighty horns.
Neen screamed inwardly. Part of her wanted to race to Sliver’s side in the hope that he was still somehow alive, or at least hold him in her arms just one last time. With Gravlok holding her firmly in place with his spell she was powerless to do anything an as her frustration and anger rose something snapped inside her. A part of her mind opened that she had always previously suppressed. Her mind became suddenly serene and calm as she greeted the spectre of death without feeling.
“A fitting end for both of them,” said Gravlok respectfully. Then he produced the vial containing the elixir of life from inside his robes with his free hand. “Your time has now come to an end too little one. A pity that your fate will be a little less dignified, but I do need to eat.”
Gravlok raised her above his head then opened his mouth wide ready to drink down the blood and innards that he was about to squeeze out of her. Neen wanted to close her eyes, but she could not even do that. His clawed hand started to close tighter and she felt as though her rib cage was about to implode. She was ready the pass out when she saw Heliodor appear at the end of the street. He quickly pointed his staff at Gravlok and a small fire ball raced forth and struck him in the back with a boom. The magical blast knocked him out, flung him forwards and caused him to let go of both Neen and the elixir at the same time.
Neen landed first and landed hard, but so did the elixir. The vial landed less than a foot from her and when it did it smashed to pieces on the hard tar of the car yard. The elixir itself sprayed everywhere, including all over her. She was free of Gravlok’s spell, but the landing knocked the wind out of her. She was dazed and struggling to stay conscious.