Slim Pickings
The screech came from behind him. The Ranger knew what it was without looking, and that he only had a few seconds left to live. If there had been only one red dragon, he might have survived; but against two, he and the Barbarian were done for.
For a heart-breaking second Hank froze in fear. He’d always know that there was a chance he’d die in the Realm, but he’d never thought it would happen. Despite their ages, and their inexperience, they’d always managed to survive before. They’d always won, and that knowledge had lent him an air of invincibility.
And he’d always thought they would go home. Back to the lives they’d been torn from, back to a place they were safe. He could be with the girl he loved; he’d marry her, no matter what anyone else thought.
Now that was never going to happen. He’d never even know what it was like to touch her, to love her with all his body and soul.
Sheila.
It was the thought of her that made him move. The dragon in front was inflating its chest, ready to belch fire at him, and he could only assume they other was doing the same, so he threw himself forward and twisted to the side, hoping he was fast enough, and hoping Bobby was safe. The two simultaneous jets of fire singed the side of his leg, but he kept rolling and sliding in the mud, even as the flames licked round his torso. Then suddenly there was a lurch and he dropped into a bowl in the uneven ground. Above, the flames blackened the grass, and he hid his face from the heat.
The flame died away, leaving the Ranger shaking and covered in sweat, and hardly able to believe he’d managed to get out of their way. There was the whoosh of wings as the dragons pulled up and Hank scrambled into a sitting position and lifted the Bow. He fired a volley of six arrows, all he could manage in such a short space of time, and each one looped round the snout of the nearest dragon, clamping its jaws shut.
It stalled in mid air, as it brought its arms and legs up to its face, trying to get free of the infuriating magic and started to descend. Hank knew the other was close by, but the dusk was drawing darker, and he couldn’t see far enough. But he wasn’t going to wait around. He pushed himself up, and ran.
Behind him, there was a deep thud as the dragon landed, still writhing in anger, its claws scratching at the loops of energy round its mouth. Ducking behind a boulder, Hank loosed another volley, trapping the downed dragon with even more bands of energy. It let out a muffled scream, and thrashed even more wildly, striking out with its tail and smashing anything within reach. Stone chippings showered down around him, and he covered his face to protect his eyes, still aware that the second dragon could be anywhere.
Suddenly, from beside him there was a crash, and the ground began to shake.
Hank looked up just in time to see the dragon teetering on the edge of a chasm, and Bobby the Barbarian standing proudly at one side of it.
Only an instant passed as the dragon desperately tried to right itself, but the energy ropes held it fast and instead of breaking free, it toppled over onto one side and slid over the edge into whatever lay at the bottom of the cleft.
There was a whump, and a sudden silence.
The Barbarian looked pleased, but Hank could only think of the other dragon. It wouldn’t…
A scream to his left made him jump. The dragon was so close; he could see the glint of the evening on its scales. He didn’t even have time to lift the Bow, let alone pull an arrow. Seeing its prey undefended, the Dragon moved for the kill, its claws thrust forward to deal the killing blow.
Abruptly, there was a searing pain in his chest. At first he thought it was a burn from the dragon’s fire, but there was nothing there, no heat and no flame.
He had time to draw breath, then light, excruciating white light, burst out of his chest.
The dragon reared away, trashing its head as if blinded, and let loose a terrible, piercing shriek that brought tears to his eyes.
The light still poured out. It was as if he were impaled on a beam of light, it held him fast, taking his strength and soul. He wanted to run, he would have done anything to break free, but he simply could not move.
He stood there for almost a minute and the light didn’t stop.
As abruptly as it had started, the light stopped. Hank dropped to the ground and lay there, his body limp. Pain rang through him as if he’d been crushed in a vice and all the air sucked out of him.
Nothing would ever make him move again.
Nothing.
But in a Realm without absolutes, there would always be something, and from somewhere close by, Bobby’s terrified voice broke through the pain.
‘Sheeeeilaaaaa!’
= = =
Shelia had seen broken images of the fight through a water haze. She’d seen Hank dive out of the way, and the huge waves of fire roll just past him. She’d seen Bobby duck down behind a boulder and one of the animals plummet to the ground with glowing golden bands around its snout.Then a sudden wave swamped her again, and she was pulled under, hardly even having time to draw breath. The current held her, and dragged her down, but she could just make out lights through the swirling water around her.
She tried to push up and back to the surface, just as she’d done before, but this time her strength was failing too fast; she hadn’t even had a chance to take a proper breath and her chest began to ache much faster than before. She wanted to scream out for help, but there was no way she could even managed that.
In her blind panic, she trashed against the force of the river, but she only sank further down.
It wasn’t going to work
It wasn’t…
Above the water, there was a light, whiter and purer than she had ever seen; even though the murky river it was almost too bright to look at. For a fraction for a second she feared the worst, that Hank was gone and Bobby too. In despair, she seemed to sink, and the treacherous current took advantage and dragged her further down. The light faded.
Then something changed.
Something was pushing her up, almost as if a giant hand had hold of her and was dragging her out of the current. Her chest ached as she was crushed in its grip. She inhaled water, then more water, then there was a sudden inrush of air.
The pain in her chest hadn’t stopped.
The Thief coughed up water, and gulped in air at every chance she got. To her surprise she was close to the river’s edge, away from the main flow. She was safe.
‘Sheeeeilaaaaa!’
Before she could turn, her brother engulfed her in a fierce hug, burrowing into her shoulder in a rare display of needy affection. Still coughing she held him back.
She had survived.
They all had.
She looked up to see Hank staggering towards her, looking ashen even in the dim evening light. Seeing the look of love and relief on his face didn’t stop the question.
‘How?’
= = =
Bright, burning magic died from his fingers, and the images in the Mirror changed. For a few moments, Venger watched the tender reunion of the Thief and the Ranger, and saw the tears fall. Then he turned his back on the images.It was done.
The Magician had given in so easily; it had almost been too simple. Thanks to the great weakness of loyalty, it would be over and he would have his willing slave. This time there would be no escape. He had learned from before, he had to ensure complete allegiance from the human this time. The accursed Ranger had not had enough to lose when he had fought against those repulsive little Cloudbears. He would not make the same mistake this time.
There would be no more mistakes.
But in the midst of his contemplation, Venger frowned.
There was the question of the missing weapon. What he had told the Magician was true; the Mirror does not lie. But it does not always tell the truth, either. The Cavalier could well be dead, but there was another possibility; for there was only one other thing that could affect the seeing power of a Mirror.
If that truly was the answer, then there were more players of this game than he had thought.
There would be more to lose.
And more to gain!
= = =