There was another roar and then Rhen’s dragon form burst forth through the top of the largest hangar. Dust and oil dripped down off his body as he flew up over the battle field. James gasped. He looked just like the picture of the Surpen God of War from the book that Lilly had shown them.
Rhen’s dragon form hovered in the air as his glowing red eyes took in the scene below him.
“It’s like he knew his men were in trouble,” Reed said as Rhen’s eyes narrowed in on Chara.
Rhen roared again then opened his mouth, inhaling deeply.
Chara sent her strongest wave of love towards Rhen but it didn’t seem to affect him because a moment later, with his lungs full of air, he released a jet of fire in her direction. Chara screamed and threw up her hands, expecting to be burned to ash.
“Kate!” James yelled with joy as his mother phased in front of Chara and threw up a shield to protect her.
Rhen’s fire blast pounded Kate’s shield, but she held strong, blocking his flames from the Ventarian fighters around her. Meanwhile, Surpens’ troops had joined together to form one unit. As Kate fought Rhen, Surpen’s military force inched its way closer to the castle. “Damn them,” James swore, turning to Reed. “Rhen was going down through the underground tunnels. If Chara hadn’t of put his troops in danger, he would have come up behind us.”
“Check the Castle’s other wings,” Reed said, pointing at James’ monitor.
James paled. Maybe that hadn’t been Rhen’s only surprise attack. James punched the icons on the monitor in front of him and groaned. Sure enough, the Surpens had used the bunker explosion as a decoy. From what James could see on the cameras, the Surpens had already defeated his forces between the Fifth and Fourth Wings of the Castle and by the First and Second Wings. James contacted Sage. “Where are you?”
“We have his men pinned down in the courtyard between the First and Fifth Wing.”
“They’ve beaten our forces at the Second Wing of the castle. How secure is the entrance to the First Wing?” He watched Sage glance to her right.
“Lilly’s there with the Fire and Water elves.”
“Good,” James said. “Be careful of surprise attacks.”
“James,” Reed yelled, his eyes on the icon for the area between the Second and Third Wings of the castle. The icon was red.
“What do you think happened there?” James asked. He punched his screen. The camera view was red. He tried calling the Air Elf King who was in control of the forces in that area, but he couldn’t get through.
“Check with the Wood Elves,” Reed told him.
James’ finger stopped inches from the monitor when he heard a creaking sound to his left. Turning in that direction, his mouth dropped open when he saw a fleet of soldiers on Surpen Beasts of War. “Where did they come from?” James whispered. He watched the Beasts as they made looping circles above the castle, tying cords around the decorative architectural spires on the top of the Fourth Wing of the castle and torqueing them downward in an attempt to force the roof of the castle to fold in on itself.
“It’s going to come down,” Reed yelled, ducking instinctually when the roof gave an earie groan.
“Retreat!” James yelled, as the Fourth Wing of the castle began to collapse. He hit the monitor before him to send his command to everyone. “Retreat to the inside of the First Wing.”
Glancing up, he saw Kate throwing power balls at Rhen, but her blasts were bouncing off his hide. “Why don’t they hurt him?” James yelled.
“I don’t know,” Reed snapped. “Come on.” He grabbed his brother’s arm and hauled him into the castle.
“No,” James said, fighting him. “I should stay.”
“We need to keep you safe,” Reed growled, as he manually dragged his brother into the building. He stopped at once at the sight before him.
“You see why I have to stay,” James hissed, pointing at the Castle’s collapsed Second Wing. When Reed didn’t look in the direction he was pointing, James swung about. Dust was streaming into the room from the collapsed Fourth Wing of the Castle while smoke billowed out of the Fifth and Third Wings, filling the air around the Central Fountain with a black haze. “It’s like he’s herding us,” James said.
Rhen’s eerie howls echoed throughout the interior of the castle, sending chills down James’ spine. He was relieved to see the Air Elves. They were limping down the passageway that led to the Third Wing. “You okay,” James yelled to the Air Elf King. He nodded, but kept his hand pressed against a red cloth that was on his forehead. James ran over to him, “We’re retreating to the Council Chamber, get your…” James frowned when he noticed the cloth against the King’s head wasn’t actually red, it was white. The Air Elf King was bleeding profusely. “Reed, help me out here,” James called. He reached out and took the Air Elf King’s arm and helped him around the fountain.
“Everyone to the portals in the Council Chamber,” James screamed above the noise. He was a little surprised by the number of people who were streaming into the castle. It appeared he hadn’t lost as many men as he had thought.
“Chara,” James said, when he saw her limping into the castle with her soldiers. “Where’s my mother?”
“Right here,” Kate said, landing beside him. “I placed a shield over the jetport doors, so they can’t come in that way. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, what happened? Why didn’t your power blasts work?”
“I don’t know. It’s like he has some protective coating on his hide.”
Before James could respond they heard screaming in the Grand Hallway of Corridor One. “Oh, no,” James groaned. “Please don’t tell me he’s beaten us to the Council Chamber.”
They ran down the Grand Hallway into a mass of people who were shoving each other back and forth. It appeared the people who were escaping from the wings of the castle had run right into the people who were retreating from the fighting on the outside of the First Wing of the castle. Both groups were pushing against each other, trying to escape from the direction in which they’d come. James used his powers to amplify his voice, “Retreat through the Council Chamber,” while Kate used hers to open the heavy, wooden doors to the Chamber. The mass of people flowed towards the doors, pulling everyone with it. The portals were open, so the crowd surged towards them. They didn’t care where they were going. They just needed to get off Thestran.
“There’s too many people,” James hissed. He turned to Kate. “Fly over them, tell them to go up into the higher floors. We’ll seal the door and then take turns using the portals to escape.” Kate lifted off as James turned to keep watch down the Grand Hallway.
“We should have Mom put some more shields across the corridor to slow them down,” Reed said. “It’ll give us more time to evacuate.”
James agreed and used his powers to contact Kate. He watched her fly down the Grand Hallway over everyone’s heads until she reached the Central Fountain. “That will slow them down,” James said, as Kate weaved a power seal over the entrance to Corridor One.
James pushed through the crowd into the Council Chamber. He was relieved to find Ceceta and her friends waiting where he’d told them to, halfway up the first tier of seats. He was about to call out to them, when he heard explosions coming down the hall from the Central Fountain. Behind him the people started to scream and push themselves into the room. James looked down at his monitor and watched with shock as Rhen walked right through his mother’s seal, as if it wasn’t even there. Looking up, he saw Kate closing the Council Room doors. “Seal them,” he yelled to his mother.
Kate used her powers to place a seal over the doors then flew over to James. “I’m not sure what good it will do. Once he breaks my seal, his men can walk right through it.”
They heard hands pounding on the door and people screaming. “Oh, no,” Kate said. “I’ll just zip through the wall and rescue those people who are trapped.”
“No,” Lilly shouted at her mother, but Kate had already phased through the wall into
the Grand Hallway. She reappeared a moment later, covered in ash and shaking.
“What happened?” James asked.
Kate turned towards him. Her eyes looked stunned in her soot covered face. “I was too late.”
There was a loud thump on the doors that startled everyone. The large mahogany doors shook but held firm.
“Everyone’s dead,” Kate said in a far-off voice.
Bang! The doors shook again.
“Faster,” James yelled at the soldiers, who were organizing the retreat through the portals. He noticed his family still in the room. “Go!”
“Not without you,” Reed yelled back at him.
Bang! Dust fell from the ceiling as the doors shook again.
Henry grabbed Kate and pulled her behind the family’s crescent desk. She fell in the process. When he reached down to pick her up, he was knocked aside by panicking soldiers.
Creak! The wooden doors were now bowing inward.
“Hell,” James hissed. He watched the metal jambs on the double doors groaning under the pressure of the weight that was being applied to them. A moment later, they popped and the doors caved inward, crashing to the floor of the Council Chamber. Rhen stood on top of them, his red eyes illuminating the room. He roared and lunged forward, swinging his tail out sideways to destroy the Thestran’s portals so they couldn’t escape. The soldiers and Delegates who’d been crowded around them fell backwards. They crawled away from him on their hands and knees as they searched for safety.
Rhen was about to light William on fire, when a shout stopped him in his tracks. He growled and shook his hide, lifting his feet up and down in an agitated manner as his tail quivered. Rhen’s head bobbed back and forth and thick saliva flowed from his mouth and nose. The Thestrans watched as Rhen’s red eyes darted about without focus while a strange, low, whining sound came from his mouth.
“Something’s wrong with him,” Lilly said from her place at the back of the first tier of Council desks.
“The King must have given him that potion,” Reed said. “It’s the only explanation for his behavior. Rhen is under Andres’ command.”
“What potion?” Ceceta asked. She was standing behind Tgfhi, hidden from view, not more than thirty feet from Rhen.
Sage, who was to her left, said, “The Surpen King’s advisor made a potion that would force Rhen to follow the King’s wishes for twenty-four hours.” Ceceta nodded, waiting for Sage to continue. “After that time, the potion will… kill him.”
“No,” Ceceta said. Her head snapped around to look at Rhen. “No,” she said louder, stepping forward towards her husband.
Surpen soldiers ran into the room past Rhen. They filled the Council Chamber, taking the Thestran’s weapons and pushing them into tight groups. Bosternd appeared out of nowhere. He pushed Ceceta back behind Tgfhi. “Wait,” he whispered. “Nk stopped the King from giving the entire potion to Rhen. We may still have a chance. Remain hidden.” Before Ceceta could respond, Bosternd dashed back to Rhen’s side, just as Andres and Loreth entered the room.
Laughing, Andres gazed at the cowering Thestrans. “I win,” he announced. He walked over to James’ desk and threw the papers that were on it onto the floor then sat down in James’ seat, putting his feet up onto the desk. “I told you I would win.” He laughed at the look of horror on the faces around him. “This is going to be fun.” Loreth chuckled from his spot by Rhen’s side.
“What do you think?” Andres asked his advisor. “Slaves?”
“No,” Loreth said. “Not slaves.”
“Death?” Andres asked.
“Hm,” Loreth said as if he had to consider it. “Torture.”
“As you wish,” Andres said standing up. He grabbed Henry by the hair and pulled him to his feet. “This one first?”
“No,” Kate yelled. She jumped up, but Loreth hit her with a power blast that tossed her backwards into a column. She hit her head on the marble and fell to the ground unconscious.
“Crap,” Loreth hissed. “I wanted her to watch.” He pointed at a Surpen soldier. “Go see if you can wake her up.”
The man trotted over to Kate and lifted her into his arms. He patted her cheeks a few times and then shook her. Kate’s healing powers caught up to her injuries and she opened her eyes on the fifth shake. “Stop it,” she yelled at the soldier.
“Good,” Loreth stated. “Now we can begin.”
Kate was jerked to her feet by the soldier. She watched in horror as Henry was hauled up onto the family’s crescent desk. Andres ordered four soldiers to hold him down as he pulled a knife from his belt. “No!” Kate yelled. She tried to move but found she couldn’t. Glancing at Loreth, she found the man’s purple eyes pointed in her direction. He was doing something to immobilize her.
“Let’s take off his ring first,” Andres said, lowering his knife to cut off Henry’s finger.
Suddenly a dagger flew down from the tier above, striking Andres on the arm. He screamed and dropped his knife. Turning, he found Jet standing on the stairs above him.
“Traitor,” Andres bellowed. “Get him,” he told his men.
The Surpen soldiers attacked Jet. Unlike Andres’ guards, these men had all been trained by Rhen. They knew how Jet fought, and they overwhelmed him. Disarming Jet, they dragged him down towards Andres, where the King slapped him across the face. “I’ve changed my mind,” Andres said. “It’s time to start killing them.”
“Fine,” Loreth said. “But I want Rhen to kill them one at a time in the center of the room, so they can watch each other die.”
“As you wish.” Andres nodded for his soldiers to take Jet to Rhen.
“No,” Lilly cried out, racing down the stairs towards Jet. She was stopped almost at once by a Surpen soldier.
Andres laughed. “It looks like Jet was holding out on us. A Thestran Princess?” he asked, turning towards Jet who was lying on the floor at Rhen’s feet. “If I’d known how resourceful you were I would have put your skills to good use.” Turning back to his men, he told them to pull Lilly down to the center of the room, so she could watch her ‘boyfriend’ get eaten.
Loreth circled Jet as he lay waiting on the floor. “Yes, perfect; first we’ll kill the traitor and then his girlfriend. After that I want to kill the elves. We’ll start with the Wood Elves, followed by—” Rhen gave a loud snort, interrupting him.
Turning, Loreth glared at Rhen. He watched as Rhen bobbed his head up and down erratically, his breathing growing labored. “That’s not right,” Loreth said, returning to Rhen’s side. Rhen was now leaning to his left and his head was bouncing up and down as he breathed in short, quick breaths. “That’s not right at all,” Loreth repeated. He turned back to Andres. “Did you inject the entire solution into him?”
“Yes,” Andres said. “Why, what’s wrong?”
“It’s not strong enough,” Loreth said, marching towards Andres. “I made it strong enough, but he’s fighting it. You didn’t inject all of it. I bet that idiot Nk stopped you from injecting the full amount.” He screamed with rage as he realized that Andres had failed. “You never do anything right,” Loreth shouted at Andres. “From the very beginning, you’ve failed me.”
“It’s still working,” Andres said, gesturing towards Rhen. “We’ve won. We beat the Thestrans. Why are you so upset?”
“Because he’s fighting it you imbecile,” Loreth screamed. “I gave you the greatest gift in the Universe and you’ve ruined it—”
While Loreth was yelling at Andres, Tgfhi walked down the stairs towards Rhen. He stopped beside Jet, just in front of his friend, and said, “Hey buddy. How are you? You don’t look so good. I thought I told you to stay off that weed.”
“T…” Rhen breathed in, “T…” another breath, “T… T… Tgfhi,” Rhen breathed out, as if he couldn’t get enough air.
“Look,” Tgfhi said with a grin. “I brought your trainers. You left them at school.” He held Rhen’s prized black trainers up in front of him.
Rhen grinne
d, displaying his long fangs. He was about to respond, that they were running boots, not trainers when Loreth noticed that Tgfhi was interfering. Screaming, Loreth shot a blast of his powers at Tgfhi. Rhen lunged forward, putting himself between Loreth and his friend. Loreth’s powers struck Rhen on his side. He tumbled over, landing on top of both Tgfhi and Jet, pinning them to the ground.
“Hell,” Jet cried in agony as he was crushed underneath Rhen’s body.
Rhen moaned in pain. The blast had left a large hole in his side.
“Rhen kill Jet and Tgfhi,” Andres yelled out.
The pain in Rhen’s body was so intense that he had fallen back under the effects of the potion. He spun his torso around and lunged at his friends with his mouth, but Erfce had grabbed Tgfhi and Sage had seized Jet the minute that Rhen had rolled off of them. They succeeded in pulling both men out of Rhen’s reach.
Hurt by Loreth’s blast, Rhen wasn’t moving very well. He tried to rise to his feet to go after his prey, but he was having trouble.
“See,” Andres told at his advisor. “He’s still under the potion. He’s going to kill them.”
“Yes,” Loreth said. “Tell him to hurry.”
“Rhen,” Andres said, watching the hole in Rhen’s side close. “Hurry up and kill Jet and Tgfhi. When you’re done with them, I want you to kill the Wood Elf King and Queen.”
With great effort, Rhen jumped forward. He scooped Jet up into his mouth. Jet screamed in pain as Rhen closed his mouth, but before Rhen could clamp his jaws shut, severing Jet’s body in half, Ceceta stepped forward and held up her hand.
“Stop,” she commanded.
Rhen stared down at Ceceta and froze. With hesitation, he lowered his snout towards her. His quick, sharp breaths blew her hair and robes back and forth around her body. Andres and Loreth were so shocked by the sight of Ceceta that they remained silent.
Rhen took a tentative step towards Ceceta. With caution, he sniffed the air in front of her as snot rolled down his snout and dropped onto the floor at her feet. Suddenly, he made a wounded animal sound and jumped back ten feet. Bobbing his head up and down, Rhen stepped from foot to foot before dropping Jet out of his mouth and asking, “C… C… C… Ceceta?”
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