The Circle of Duty

by Owen Elgie

  Em stepped between Andrea and I and adopted a more ready stance, casual yet still primed for action. Andrea subtly matched what she was doing, her eyes flitting from me to Em.

  “Miss Thomich. Stand down your anger Guardian. As everyone within The Circle, he is mine and he has been giving me something I’ve never experienced before.”

  The Elders expression was whipped back to a snarl, Andrea was seething as ice formed all over an area about six feet around her and all I could do was close my eyes and hope I could protect everyone before my own anger at this ridiculous situation bubbled over. The spinning early warning system in my head cranked up and there was no longer any doubt that it was about to kick off.

  Andrea hurled herself across the space between her and Em, her hands outstretched ready to attack in human form. At least she hadn’t gone straight for the Dragon attack option. The Elder was a fraction slower but had already started to surge across the room at me, determined that I’d just been outed as defiling someone who was apparently The Circles version of holy.

  All I had available to me was to stand and fight and somehow avoid killing The Elder or, as was more likely, being killed myself. And then try to stop Andrea before she could start her very own war with Em.

  “In for a penny …” and I began to raise my arms into some form of defence.

  Have you ever been surfing?

  If you have you’ll be familiar with the sensation of being at the mercy of the water as you try and complete whatever move or action you want. At any second, your apparent mastery of the tidal forces can be turned upside down and you can find yourself at the bottom being held down by the energy of a suddenly riled and angry wave.

  What happened next can only be likened to that sensation.

  All of the senior members of The Circle were suddenly knocked on our collective rear ends as the fight was slapped out of everyone. Marks basso rumble of a voice was still expanding into the room, filling the space and threatening to push the walls down and that voice had been made a fist of order by my giant soldier.

  “HOW DARE YOU ALL,” had erupted into the room with a force of physical mass and magical will enough to stun all of us. The shadow of the words was still palpable in the room and was still echoing through all of our minds. All any of us could do was just stare at him. We’d been knocked off balance so fully that it was more shock than anything else that had poured cold water on what we had been up to.

  I tried to think through the cotton wool in my head but whatever he’d done was slowing me down. The buzz slowly began to dissipate and it was only then that I could make out the details of what I was looking at.

  In our collective thoughts concerning the plight befalling Maria and the effects it was having on the rest of The Circle, none of us had noticed Mark open the door and allow Mike in. Both men had watched as all manner of violence threatened to break out but had had the presence of mind to step in and stop what was about to unfold.

  Mark stood upright but his legs now moved like they were made of water, waves of life flowing through them as he struggled to maintain his balance. His body seemed to be sagging under the crushing weight of weeks of fatigue following what he had just done but he was still standing, the concentration on his face exhibiting an anger I had never seen from Mark. Mike was stood behind him and to the left, his right hand resting on the giant chef’s shoulder. He too had a pained expression on his face and the coronal shape around his head was still clearly visible, a fading image similar to what we had seen around the heads of the medics.

  I blinked at them both and flailed my mind to find some clear water to relax into, the waves of confusion still waging war on my senses. I knew what I wanted to say but the words just couldn’t find the path out of my head. By the looks on Andrea and The Elders faces, they were feeling much the same. Only Em seemed to be, not unaffected but certainly less than the rest of us. She looked up at Mark and Mike as she sat on the carpeted floor and her head was tilted in that by now all too familiar curious dog fashion.

  She opened her mouth to speak but then stopped whatever she had intended to say. She looked utterly confused by what had just taken place, yet another sensation she had no experience of.

  Marks legs finally gave out beneath him and the giant came down smoothly into a pile at Mike’s feet. No steeplejack could have ensured such a clean demolition even if they’d tried. He struggled to force his body to answer what he wanted to do but the signals just couldn’t get through. Mike moved his hand from Marks shoulder to settle on the top of his head and my protector lay still, an expression of not contentment but ease on his face.

  Mike was still looking at Mark when he began to speak.

  “My Lord and Ladies, please forgive our actions but we have more important things to deal with than petty squabbles.” He spoke with casual authority which just seemed to compel your attention but I could make out, even in my disorientated state, that he was scared, fearful of the reaction to what he was saying.

  “I believe I have more understanding of what is happening here from the child and by looking at the evidence which has presented itself. The Circle cannot pull itself apart. I beg of you, please forgive my outburst but it was necessary to avoid bloodshed.”

  “Your outburst?” questioned The Elder, shaking off the effects of what had happened faster than I could. “Surely it was your soldier who attacked a senior member of The Circle. Surely it is your soldier who has now shown himself to be a traitor.”

  What? Still struggling against the dead weight wrapped round my brain, things got a little more serious. I couldn’t just sit here and let everyone threaten someone else.

  “Lady Elder.” This time it was Em who was speaking. Her voice was calm and strong again, a casual return to her more familiar demeanor, any trace of whatever uncertainty she was feeling before, now wiped away.

  “Do you suggest we punish those of us who are willing to do anything they can to help us?” As before, there was no hint of emotion in her voice, no signal of an agenda she may have had, just the question, bare and unhindered.

  The Elder was able to reason but she was still under the effects of whatever Mark and Mike had done.

  “We have processes which need to be followed. The correct response to an attack from a member of our house is that the attacker is hung, drawn and quartered. Should we just dispose of all of the ways we have had for so many years? The correct response must be followed, there cannot be any excuse.” She was speaking clearly but it was a voice coming from the shallows as she beat her way through the last of the casting affecting us all. I was still so far away from being able to speak it was embarrassing. Despite my best efforts I was still floundering in the deeps. Looking everywhere I could for any kind of support, I could see that Andrea was in a similar position to me but by the expression on her face, she was still bubbling her anger at everyone, but mainly me, despite whatever had taken place.

  I was in trouble. There was nothing I could do to prevent the protagonists starting up again so all I was left with was watching as the mansion was brought down around us and who knew how many people were killed.

  Em gathered in her composure and stood up. It was a controlled movement, one which showed that she was still feeling a residual effect from the magic that knocked her over but also one which could be interpreted as being the precursor to a mindless violence. She looked down at The Elder who was still struggling to stand and spoke from a strong stance of readiness.

  “Lady Elder. We are far beyond the constraints of rigid rule. As a collective, we have to be able to move beyond the obsession with arbitrary decisions. I have seen so far that we have to be able to bend with the wind should it be needed. If we are rigid, we will break. The soldier you wish to discipline saved us from bloodshed. Would you destroy someone who stopped you killing your fellow Circle members?”

  The Elder responded by purposefully standing herself, matching the intention of Em in her posture.

  “I believe fully in T
he Circle and everything we stand for. Without rules to guide how we act though, we can descend into anarchy. I have been affected by what has just been unleashed on us but my memory of our laws isn’t changed in any way. Are you sure that you yourself haven’t been compromised by this attack? Your deviation from the correct path shows me that not only are you being attacked by the magics emanating from the child, but you have been tainted by the actions of Mr. Johns. He has been able to invade your mind as he corrupted the sanctity of who you are.”

  Both women were sure of their own position and it was clear to see that we were back to the brink of fighting. I had to get in the middle of this before it was too late.

  “As I said before, I didn’t do anything inappropriate.” I heaved myself from the floor and zombie shambled myself between the two of them. My head was spinning, both from the impending attack threat and the magical hangover. Somehow I had to talk them down. Roll the dice now Anthony.

  “I will not have my name, my mansion and my people threatened at the merest hint of a perceived slight. Lady Elder.” Now for the big finish.

  Straightening my back and leaning just a dribble of my transformation into place, my body grew at least a further three feet in height, wrecking my clothes but allowing my Dragon form to just show through. I lowered my head slightly and stared into The Elders eyes, as much stone rigidity in my glare as I could muster.

  “Remember who you are and who it is you are threatening. This is my house and everyone is a guest of mine. Act like one or you will be subject to the same law you seem so intent on upholding on my man.”

  We can all remember that one moment in our lives when our argument on whatever point was both tungsten strong as well as being delivered in the most devastating fashion. That wonderful time where there was just no counter. This was mine.

  The Elder stood with her mouth open, shock all over her features. She knew it. She knew she’d just been caught out utterly and there was nowhere for her to go. She bowed her head slightly and frowned as she accepted.

  “You are finally learning the importance of the rules we have in our system. I’m glad it was I who taught you this valuable lesson. There could be hope for you yet.” Relaxing her stance and her expression, she returned to an at ease stance and casually regarded us all.

  I didn’t take my eyes off her despite her apparent surrender.

  “Michael. You were saying something about knowing more about this situation?”

  Mike cleared his throat as he straightened his shirt, re-building his composure before speaking.

  “The child is carrying the power of the Dragon line from our Argentinian guardian, that we all know. What I have just seen makes me believe the theft of The Drake Stone is entwined with more than just disrupting our ability to call another guardian.”

  “Explain.”

  Andrea was on her feet as well now and stood just behind me. There was a great emotion in her single word answer, an urgency which was uncommon for her to show. The raggedness in her voice was unsettling in contrast to her default icy calm.

  “The Dragon energy of the child’s line is that of Fire. It has a very familiar resonance, a singular finger print marking it apart from the other energies of The Circle. Indeed, within the Fire family, the power in the child is different to that which is within you Anthony. Each Dragon is a different power and that power is what will tear the child to pieces should we not recover The Drake Stone.”

  He stopped and looked at each of us, seemingly assessing what our responses were. He had to crane his neck to look up to me but it was enough to make him feel very little indeed.

  “So? We are aware of this. What is it you think is further information you know?” Andrea had now eased passed me and carried a growing impatience at not knowing. The hulking form of Mark eased back to a standing position but there was no reaction from anyone to his apparent recovery, though he still looked a little shaky.

  “When we were with the child, as we bound her utterly to a finite stasis, I could make out that Fire power all around and within her but that wasn’t all. I could see a collection of other powers, other colours within the maelstrom of her suffering.” Mike twitched his eyes to each of us again, this time trying to register our understanding. It was clear that none of us had quite grasped what he was saying.

  “Somehow, Maria is having to fight against the power of more than one Dragon. Somehow, she is having to deal with other power being pushed into her. She was struggling against her own energy, the other she just can’t handle for long.”

  I dropped out of my partial Dragon form and closed the gap to Mike. We all did.

  “Do you know how this is happening?” Em spoke to Mike in her monotone but there was now no hint of social class being observed as there had been the first time I had seen them meet. She wanted information, we all did.

  “I’m afraid I do not know my lady.” She may have done away with the need to observe protocol but he hadn’t wanted to risk it quite yet.

  “Do you have any suggestions?” I needed him to continue analyzing the situation as it had presented itself to him. He had seen a level of information we hadn’t been able to comprehend when we’d been in Maria’s presence. He was the only person who would be able to provide the assessment of those details.

  Mike considered his words carefully before speaking, struggling to line his thoughts up to a coherent image.

  “The Drake Stone is a repository of Dragon energy. It is a perfect crystal of incredible power able to encase and control the most unbelievable power. If that power is being found around someone it shouldn’t be, my only thought would be that it is damaged in some way and the power is leaking out.”

  That couldn’t be good.

  If the stone was damaged there was no telling what was going to happen to Maria. There was no telling what was going to happen to any of us within The Circle. I settled myself back in under the Sword of Damocles and pondered what to do next.

  If the stone was damaged in some way there could be all manner of pain coming our way sooner rather than later. It could mean that we started to lose our power as the magical energy drifted out of the crystal and was lost to the atmosphere. It could also mean that someone was syphoning off the power to use themselves.

  All in all, the possibilities could only get worse the more you thought about them or the longer nothing was done. We needed to do something immediately.

  “Right guys.” Now was the perfect time to start taking charge of the situation.

  “Mike. Can you and Mark please bring us all some food so we can continue this discussion more comfortably. You are both invited to attend, your input will be vital.” Both men nodded their agreement but Mark stiffened as he did. He was being invited to sit at the top table with his perceived betters and he just didn’t understand what the correct thing to do was. They both turned and made for the door before I had continued.

  “Ladies. We are now in a position that we have to identify exactly where we have to strike and how quickly or Maria will die and any number of hideous possibilities await us. We all have to now put away any anger or resentment and concentrate purely on the job at hand. Agreed?”

  They all nodded, only Andrea taking a furtive glance at Em before she did.

  Mike opened the heavy doors to bring refreshments for the impromptu war council and took a startled step back as the doorway was blocked by the slender frame of Leatherpants, back straight and his hands clasped behind his back looking every inch the high class regular. His skin suit seemed to glisten in the lights, taking on the familiar sheen you see on the skin of snakes.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting your meeting. I had been aware of my lady’s arrival here and was surprised I had not been summoned. Is everything as it should be here?”

  He casually floated into the room, ignoring Mike and Mark as he did and looking solely at the people he saw as being worthy of his attention.

  “Everything is fine in here. How long have you been outside?
Didn’t want to knock?” He was up to something, I just knew it.

  He made his way past us all, not even stopping to answer my question, until he stood at the side of The Elder. He nodded a bow of greeting and then turned to face the rest of us.

  “I merely wished to ensure that there was no danger to my lady before I entered. I had heard all manner of shouting and screaming and by the look of you,” his scorn was blatant, “it would appear that ‘fine’ is far from the truth.”

  It was only now that I looked down at myself and realized what he’d meant.

  I was nude.

  Very nude.

  I hadn’t even registered that as I’d returned to my fully human form, the remnants of my shredded clothing had just fallen into frayed and torn heaps around my ankles. Everyone else had been just as focused on what was taking place as I had been so hadn’t picked up on it either. That or they just didn’t want to say anything.

  Whatever the state of play, it meant that I was far from my ceremonial best. No time for self-doubt, just carry on regardless.

  Jamming my hands on my hips and flexing everything just a little, I continued in as defiant a tone as I could manage.

  “The actions in here have led us to the need to move decisively to resolve our problems. You should have come in earlier, you may have enjoyed what was going on rather than just listening at keyholes.” I could feel the anger in me rising without any real effort, like he was reaching into the centre of my calm and giving it a really good twist.

  “Mr. Johns.” This time it was Em who spoke. Again she gave no hint of sensation in the words she spoke, instead remaining in the more familiar logic tone of hers.

  “You did say that we should all put aside any anger and resentment for the purpose of dealing with this situation. I can feel the anger in you from here.” She slowly slipped her arm around my waist and moved in very close to me.