War for Maicreol

by Dawn Chapman

  “Thank you, Akillia.” He turned to me then, as well. “Maddie.”

  “I’m glad I could help,” I said. “But there are consequences in being down here. You know that, right?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, we believed we were coming in to find our friend, but the deeper we got, the more we realised it was a hopeless quest. Leading us to eventual doom. With no hope of ever getting out.”

  Roul looked to the large demon. “You’re with him, though?”

  “Yes. Something wrong with that?”

  It was as if he flicked a switch in his head because his attitude changed in the blink of an eye. He glanced to Akillia and winked. “No, if you can get us out of here, we’re good.”

  Jessica returned to us, and Maroc waited on the wall for Koth to return to him. It was hard to see the two of them exchange words as the large demon climbed over the wall with Maroc holding out a hand for him. Koth wouldn’t take it at first but then did so, their eyes locking. I watched them with interest as their words became heated, then emotional. Koth embraced Maroc for a brief moment, and then they parted ways, Koth taking several of his lesser demons with him in a whirl of action.

  Maroc walked toward us. “My father is returning, and we shall leave back for Maicreol as soon as he does.”

  “So soon?” Akillia said.

  “Time down here is not the same as upon your plane of existence. I’m sorry.”

  “What?” Akillia looked forlorn. “We must leave immediately. Why is it so fast? What happened?”

  “It seems Port Troli’s plans to make a move on the desert plains are sooner rather than later. The first few battles and casualties have started.”

  I panicked myself then. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have left, I wouldn’t have been down here… but my thoughts froze because I would have done this. It was part of the quest, part of the journey that Tibex and the world of Puatera were leading me on.

  “Then we leave immediately.”

  This seemed to perk up Clarice and Michal. Clarice attempted to stand and actually now had colour to her pale face. “How?” she asked. “We can’t go back the same way we came in, surely?”

  Oragor? My heart instantly hurt, I reached out to ask, What is it?

  Double-crossed. It was a trap. We fought back, but…

  All I got was instant anger and pain.

  “How did you get here?” Maroc questioned with a dip in his aura. He was fishing here for security leaks I was certain, and I can’t say I blamed him.

  “There was a device we used someone sold it to us. Helped us see and gain entry.”

  “Maroc…” My eyes met with his. “Kamaal’s injured!”

  I wanted to question Clarice more too, but I heard the roar of a beast. Something was clearly very wrong.

  Jessica let out a scream as we all realised the Tromoal wasn’t coming into land. He was falling. She threw up her wind, instantly buffeting the fall somewhat. The others scattered, and he crash landed, debris and dust bursting forward as the structure took a huge battering. Maroc rushed to the aid of Kamaal and Patrise.

  I placed my hand to Oragor’s nose, feeling his energy levels.

  Instantly, there was a pop-up.

  ORAGOR - HEALTH 17%

  He was dying fast. “Jessica, Akillia!” I shouted.

  The two of them were by my side in seconds. “What can we do?”

  I had no idea. The only healer I knew was Chalice, and she was back in Maicreol. “I don’t know. I’m not a healer.”

  “Can you try?” Patrise came up behind me. “I know Kamaal would be devastated if we lost him.”

  “You guys are more powerful than I am. What can I do?”

  Akillia touched the side of my arm, her face softening. “Maddie you’re the Queen of the Skies, the leader and matriarch of the Tromoal. You know what you can do. We’re only here to help.”

  I saw Jessica smile at me as her hand touched mine too.

  I remembered what Shalice had done, and the amount of love and hope I’d had that she could heal Alex, only to realise it was me doing it, and all I had to do was think about it.

  There were healing spells, potions, and by my side, Jessica started to pool her magical energies together, much like she had with aiding Akillia before. The colour to her eyes changed, and I knew she was accessing her own stats to do what she could for me.

  I turned back to Oragor and placed both hands on his nose this time. With both of them at my side, I felt stronger, and I really was.

  Dalfol. I said. I…

  You do not need to ask. Your council will provide.

  His words were filled with pain enough already. I didn’t know if it was because he had just lost his mate or because he knew without Oragor there would be little to no hope of us getting through to them or to bring the Tromoal back to Maicreol.

  If there had been any other way for me to draw energy, I would have tried.

  Maddie, they’re already in a weak state. If you take too much, some may not survive.

  I almost took a step back but knew if I broke contact with Oragor, he might lose his life all the quicker. He wasn’t as close to death as Alex was.

  I didn’t need to voice my concern across from Tibex to Dalfol. His words came through sound and sure. Maddie, we need you, don’t worry. What losses we take, we will.

  I will try not to take more than I need.

  We trust you. The council’s hundred voices chorused back to me.

  I focused back on Oragor, and with the ring glowing slightly in the growing darkness, I brought up his energy levels.

  ORAGOR - HEALTH 22%

  We needed to get him to at least the halfway mark. I glanced back to Maroc and Patrise. Kamaal stood with his head in his hands, but there was something else going on there. Fuck!

  “Akillia, you need to see to Kamaal. Jessica too. I’ve got this.”

  The two of them looked away, and I heard Maroc curse, as he realised his father had not just been injured but badly. Both of them shared a look and then disengaged.

  The loss of their energy made a difference to me, and I saw something else scroll across my face.

  They were numbers from the Tromoal.

  They were moving up from one to the other as before, not as fast as when they’d been fighting, but that wasn’t down to my direct cause, this was…. this was different. I was asking for their life force, they were giving it, and it ended the existence of some.

  Oragor stirred before me. Maddie?

  ORAGOR - HEALTH 39%

  It was a good push, but the energy slowed down, and I felt weakened greatly from it. My knees wobbled, and I had to check my own health.

  HEALTH - 67%

  I could push myself some more, maybe get down to less than half. I had potions back at the Hog I could use, or I could just rest. I’d be okay. But Oragor needed this.

  I delved deeper and found as I focused more on him, my mind went through into his inner body. I could see all through the layers of skin, fats, muscles, bones, sinews and then more.

  I saw him on the DNA level, which I didn’t think I could. He wasn’t just code and numbers. He really was a living creature. I smiled at this.

  I wanted him to live, and he would.

  When his eyes opened, and they met mine, there was something else there. I felt Kamaal behind me. “Maddie, he’s asking for something I don’t want to grant,” Kamaal said.

  I looked up into the demon lord’s eyes and saw pain and fear there. “I know,” I said. “But if I can free him, and you really care for him, you should let him go. If he comes back to you, then that is on your friendship not because he’s bound to you.”

  He placed his own hand on Oragor’s nose and the two shared a moment that I knew wasn’t mine to be a part of, but I was.

  Kamaal then turned and walked away. “I need debriefing of what happened here,” I heard him say to Koth. Koth then went with him, and I turned back to Oragor.

  “I need access to your inside stats if you�
�ll let me?”

  He flicked his head slightly, and his eyes rolled back. This was something I’d never dreamed I’d be able to see. I really did have full access, and I wondered if this was what Steve saw when he looked at me.

  ORAGOR – DEMON TROMOAL

  HEALTH – 52%

  ORAGOR – BOUND TO KAMAAL

  ONLY THE DEMON LORD MAY RELEASE YOU

  “Kamaal, you must release him,” I said and waited for him to do so. Then there was another message.

  ONLY THE MATRIARCH CAN FREE YOU

  MADDIE VIES AS MATRIARCH YOU ARE REQUESTING THE RELEASE OF ORAGOR UNDEAD TROMOAL. DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE?

  Y/N

  My mind hovered over the Y, but I hesitated

  MADDIE, ARE YOU SURE?

  Was this Tibex asking, I wasn’t sure? I clicked it.

  “Yes,” I shouted to the world, “I AM SURE.”

  Then there was a lot more. I could see his actual main stats and click through just like I could my own. I could have spent hours here looking through his numbers I was sure. I’d no idea why Puatera did this to a technically living creature, but, the fact was, they were all following Dresel’s digital world code. It impressed and scared me.

  Knowing Oragor’s allegiance and everything else already, I flicked through quickly. He was an immensely strong creature. So powerful and yet he’d been taken down by trickery.

  I looked away from the sheet for a brief moment. Watching out there to the ploy that had almost been the demon lord’s undoing.

  “No, this won’t end here. They’ll learn, and they will know that the Queen of the Skies takes no prisoners. From now on, no one will cross me. I will not be lenient. I will hurt, and I will take them down.”

  With one more push, I forced myself up and out of Oragor’s stat sheet.

  His eyes had changed colour, and so had his skin tone. Was he actually self-healing?

  I’d never seen anything like it. But yes, he was.

  His skin, muscle, and mass increased a hundred times. He was no longer almost bones and sinew. He became something else, and I saw in him something I hadn’t. You’re royalty?

  Oragor bowed his head to me, dipping his nose, so his eyes looked at mine, and the second layer that was regrowing blinked.

  You’re…. And somehow, I knew. You were Riezella’s father, weren’t you?

  He moved his head to the side, and he nodded. Yes, I was. And she is no more because she passed on leadership to you, and she went into battle with my brother. There’s much you do not know about our homelands, but if I return with you, there will be a battle to end all. To bring back the Tromoal to Maicreol, we must defeat my brother, Xanou.

  The truth was Sakril had fled, and he fled because he couldn’t fight. I needed someone to do that, and that someone was Oragor. I couldn’t take on a fully grown Tromoal, I knew that.

  I placed my hand to his fully formed and blood pulsating nose. He breathed out on me, and I felt the heat and fire he now had within.

  “We can do this together.”

  Chapter 32

  Of course, there were to be extras hidden in the quest, I was almost going to be sure of that. I looked back to Akillia and Jessica now, who stood watching, and they really were unsure as to what was coming.

  I approached them both. “I don’t expect you to come with me. I know this might be something you haven’t signed up for.”

  Jessica looked to the wall where all the creatures had been trying to get at us less than moments ago. And this time, she frowned. “I want to, but I don’t know. How long will this take?”

  I didn’t have the answer, and she knew it.

  Akillia stepped toward me. “I’m here. I am trusting you, and the amazing woman I’ve seen.”

  I tried to smile at her, but it didn’t come out quite as I had wanted because there were tears suddenly there. I stood straight, I felt something but wasn’t quite sure it was amazing.

  She took hold of both hands, and she stared right at me. “Puatera needs someone to guide her. If that’s you, I’ll stand with you, and everything you believe in.”

  “Thank you.” I looked at Jessica. “Maroc will look after you. But we need to complete the next stage of this. You need to return to Maicreol to fight now.”

  My attention turned to Maroc, and he lowered his head at me. “I will see to it that she returns, and we will defend it if we need to until you return.”

  “I hope you don’t need to do so, that we’ll be on time and that...”

  I didn’t want any more death. I really didn’t want any of it.

  Jessica moved in to hug me, and I hugged her gently back. “Do everything you can for them.”

  “I will. Is there anything you need?”

  I tried to shake my head, but the words tumbled out before I knew it. “Would you go down to the caves, see the main nest, and tell Tetsu I am coming back for him.”

  She cocked her head to the side and asked, “Who is that?”

  I looked to Akillia, and she placed a hand to her mouth. “Alex Dubois. He was a Visitor, but something happened to him, and he needs support. Give him what he needs.”

  “A Visitor? You mean like us? But now he’s a dragon egg?” She used their name for him, but he wasn’t really one of them. He was so much more. Jessica smiled. “Of course, I’ll do anything you need. If he needs extra watching, I can do that or give him anything else he needs.” Her eyes sparkled with her energy, and I knew she was the right person to send back to the caves. Even if I really wished it could have been me.

  I turned back to Oragor, and he lowered his body as much as he could to help me get on. Akillia came up behind me. “Are you sure? You can go home,” I said.

  She smiled. “You need backup. I’m it, and I’m sure.”

  I offered her a hand up first, then she did the same for me.

  Within a few seconds, Oragor pushed off into the skies above the Darklands, and once more, the chilling air of the world started to seep into my bones. I tugged my jacket around me and wished Jessica had been with us. Her warm air around us now would have been wonderful.

  Instead, I only had a cold to keep me awake, and the lights blinking up ahead to let me know that we were heading to a better and more civilised place.

  But then Oragor moved, and the ground below us dipped and changed just like it had for Kamaal in bringing us here.

  Did you just...

  No. Kamaal released us.

  There were no more lights. There was only colder air.

  Shining lights burst forth up ahead, and this time, I knew it was Oragor that did this. I shivered as we got nearer, and then, once again, everything blinked out. Akillia shouted to me, “How long will this take? I’m freezing!”

  I didn’t know. I only knew that where we were going was indeed many miles away. Taking my life in my hands, I pushed myself up from holding onto the spiny part of his back and walked around where she was sitting. I sank back down behind her and wrapped my arms around her, gripping onto the spiny bit she had hold of.

  I leaned in close enough to feel her warmth through her clothes and hoped she could feel mine too. “Thank you,” she said. “That’s better.”

  I knew it had been the right thing to do, and I whispered in her ear. “No, thank you. You’ve given me everything in support. It’s only fair that I do something for you.”

  I knew the ring worked well enough for me, and it had for Lila back in Tridon. So, when I made to twist the ring on my finger, I expected exactly the same reaction.

  There, however, wasn’t any.

  I swallowed and tried again.

  Nothing?

  What the hell?

  I tried to focus, on something, anything inside my mind, my stat screens, my health, but there was nothing showing up.

  I reached out for Oragor inside my mind and also got nothing. Then there it was.

  What is this? Why is nothing working?

  Then I realised something else. Akillia had stiffened. “Aki
llia, what is it?”

  “You don’t know, do you?”

  I didn’t have a clue to what she meant. I tried to think, to understand what I was going through, and what was needed from me, but no...

  I looked out to the lands which stretched before us, and I gasped.

  She squeezed my hand. “We just crossed into the real world. Don’t ask me how, but I swear we did.”

  I’d never realised before, there was something about the real world that got me the last time I was here—with Abel. I’d only been focused on the one thing, and that was Alex. But that then meant Akillia was alive or at least conscious here and asleep elsewhere? “Akillia, what does this mean?”

  “I don’t know, Maddie. This is beyond anything I’ve been through. This is or was supposed to be a game. It was supposed to be fun.”

  “And it isn’t?”

  I felt her shiver, and it wasn’t just because of the cold. It was sheer fear.

  “Maddie, I don’t know what this is. I don’t know how to process it, and I don’t know what it means for me to be here… I’m supposed to be pixels in this world, a game character who has special something or other. I level up, I get stronger and better, and I do more and more.”

  “How do you feel?”

  “I feel normal, just like I am me, nothing else. No magic, nothing.”

  “Did you feel special in Puatera?”

  “Yes, like I could do anything. I’m scared.”

  I held onto her and squeezed tight. “Don’t be scared. We can get through this. We can get the Tromoal to return with us from where ever we are.”

  “What if we can’t?”

  I didn’t know what would happen then. Would we be stuck in this world, this part of the universe that I’d no clue where it was?

  As we drifted in the sky, I saw the light brightening. Was it becoming morning or was there something else going on? I shivered myself, but then felt the warming rays of the sun. Here ahead of us was a land she’d never seen, a land I’d never dreamed of. The true land of Trofoth and it started to spread out before us in the vast, beautiful strokes that only a god of an artist could have mastered. I hugged tighter so that I could just make out Akillia’s eyes. They were full of the wonder of so much happiness as to what she could see. “What is it? What do you see?”