Shadow Play, Chapter 16

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14
Chapter 15 - Chapter 16

Defenders began to come out of the woodworks. Aisheena lobbed fists full of light at her opponents and Lightning Lenny dodged them with his unmatched speed, leading them right into the range of Kourage Korbat’s stupefying sonar. Judge Hog lifted another crate in one hand as though it was a pillow, and tossed it at an Eyrie flying for him, while Blackwing flung energy and wisecracks in equal measure.

Amidst the fracas, Zoltan motioned for the others to join him as he ducked around the corner of the warehouse. He slid his paw through the air as though he was closing a curtain. “That’ll give us a little time to catch our breaths,” he panted. “Are you all right?”

“Just fine,” Hyren said, and Terra and Blynn nodded.

Isengrim crouched down and hugged his family. “Just so you know,” he said, “I never would have given in to Vile. Ever. And I never would have let him hurt you, either.”

“We know,” Terra said, hugging him back. “You’re awesome like that.”

 

“You didn’t really think he’d gotten us, did you?” Blynn asked.

“He just startled me for a moment, that’s all,” Isengrim said. “I had faith that Zoltan had kept you safe.” He smiled up at the battlemage.

Zoltan smiled back. “I vould never let you down. Now, ve must find Vile. I am sure he’s trying to escape, vherever he vent.” He reached his paw toward the shadowed wall—and then into the shadow itself. He concentrated for a moment, his magic streaks surging, and then he broke away. “Ah, he drank a Potion ofConcealment!” Zoltan said. “He’s headed for zhe river!”

“Let’s go, then!” Isengrim said. “Everyone, stay with me! We’ll let the Defenders handle Vile’s underlings!”

They charged back around the corner and made a dash for the river. Of course they attracted attention, but the Defenders had Vile’s cronies spread so thin that those who decided to attack Isengrim’s group were easily dealt with. A few mages tried to sling spells at them, but Zoltan flared his cloak and the magic bounced right off, thanks to his embroidery work.

A Shoyru swooped down from a rooftop toward Terra, and the human brought up her sword to block her. The Shoyru parried with her own blade—and then with a warrior cry, someone spun through the air and kicked the Shoyru away.

The Emerald Amazon stuck the landing with unbelievable agility, her amulet glowing green as her orange braid whipped behind her. “Glad you’re all right!” she said. “Judge Hog sent the Masked Intruder and me to look for you!”

“Have you seen Malkus Vile anywhere?” Isengrim asked. “We think he went this way!”

“I just saw him go in that warehouse!” the Amazon said, pointing to a building ahead. “Want me to come with you?”

“You take care of things out here!” Isengrim said. “We won’t lose him again!”

Zoltan prepared a spell in his paw and said, “Not on my vatch, ve von’t.” He nodded to the Amazon in thanks before they dashed away.

The warehouse doors were open, and inside was a cluttered mess of equipment. “Malkus!” Isengrim called out as they entered. “We don’t want to hurt you! I earnestly want to help you!”

“There he is!” Hyren said, pointing to a figure in a hat and trenchcoat behind a conveyor belt.

Vile turned around and his eyes widened, and he staggered back as Zoltan leaped for him with a pawful of magic. The Kyrii’s paw connected with the Skeith—and Vile dissipated into purple sparks.

Zoltan stumbled to the ground, and the warehouse doors slammed shut. “Bones and curses!” he snarled, leaping back to his hind paws. “An illusion spell!”

Isengrim sheathed his sword and rammed one of the doors with his shoulder. On contact, the door gave off purple waves of energy, and the Werelupe yelped in pain and fell back.

“Isengrim!” Terra shouted as she rushed to his side. “Are you okay?!” She knelt down and helped him pick himself up into a sitting position.

“Ugh…” he grunted as he held his shoulder. “What was that?”

Zoltan crouched next to them and handed Isengrim a small bottle full of pale yellow liquid. “Here,” the Kyrii said. “It’s a healing potion.” As Isengrim drank, Zoltan stared hard at the doors and took a deep breath. “Zhat’s a powerful spell on zhose doors—no, zhe entire building. Nobody touch zhe valls.”

“Can’t you do anything about it?” Hyren asked.

Zoltan extended a paw and the light in his magic streaks intensified. After a moment, his paw began to tremble, and then he flinched and clutched his chest. “It’s too strong,” he gasped.

“How can it be too strong?” Blynn asked. “You’re like, a super awesome magic user. Way better than any of these amateur wizards.”

“I’m sensing zhe magical signature of quite a few vizards on zhis spell,” Zoltan said. “I’m outmatched by sheer numbers. And I have expended nearly all my energy shadow-valking and knocking people out.”” He buried his muzzle in his paw. “I can’t believe I fell for such a simple trap.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Hyren said. “Happens to the best of us.”

“Anyway,” Blynn said, “it’s not a problem. Check this out!” She pulled out another potsherd from the pouches on her belt, and fired it at the doors. The shot exploded into fireworks in the shape of an enormous Pandaphant that raised its trunk in a silent trumpet as it charged for the doors. However, when it got there, again the magic flared, and the sparkling Pandaphant dissipated.

Blynn frowned. “That’s the opposite of what I wanted to happen.”

“We got ‘em, boss!” someone said outside. “The wizard, the Werelupe King, and his family! They’re all in there!”

“I’m a battlemage,” Zoltan sniffed under his breath.

“Excellent,” Vile said. “You made the spell nice and strong, right?”

“Of course,” someone else said. “We all cast it together. I doubt Fyora herself could break through that barrier.”

“Clearly,” Isengrim muttered, “they have never actually gone up against Fyora.”

Vile chuckled. “Oh, this is too good. Thought they could play hero… yeah, this is what being nice gets you. Slick, go tell Judge Hog I wanna have a chat with him. Let’s see how much I can wring outta those Defenders in exchange for the safety of their informant and his pathetic family.”

Isengrim’s hackles rose. “Nobody calls my family pathetic and gets away with it,” he snarled.

“And nobody holds us for ransom, either,” Terra said. “We just have to figure a way out of here.”

Zoltan, who had been looking pensive for a moment, finally opened his muzzle. “I know a vay,” he said, looking at the floor.

“You don’t sound too happy about it,” Blynn said.

“You’re not going to like it,” Zoltan said.

“When you put it like that,” Terra said, “then yes, probably not.”

“Let’s at least hear him out,” Hyren said.

Zoltan looked around at each of them. “I can overload my magic,” he said, “and burn out zhe spell. That will allow the rest of you to escape.”

Isengrim narrowed his eyes. “That sounds dangerous. For you, I mean.”

The Kyrii’s ears drooped. “It doesn’t matter vhat happens to me. I just vant you to be safe. My mission is to fight evil vith all of my strength. If zhis is what it takes…”

“No,” Terra said, stepping toward him. “You’re right, I don’t like that plan at all. And I won’t let you do it. You’re our friend, Zoltan. You are just as important as the rest of us.”

“I don’t see any other vay,” Zoltan said.

“Let us help you,” Terra said. “You’re not in this alone, remember? I have faith that if we put our heads together, we can come up with a solution that will keep all of us safe. Please, Zoltan. Care about yourself as much as you care about everyone else. Do it for our sakes—how do you think we’d feel if you got hurt? Can you really call that a worthwhile sacrifice?”

Zoltan looked at her for a long moment. His gaze moved to Blynn, to Hyren, and finally to Isengrim, who nodded. The Halloween Kyrii looked down at his paws as though weighing his options—or, perhaps, seeing himself for the first time as someone he needed to protect, too.

Finally he looked back to Terra and smiled, shaking his head slightly. “All right,” he said. “You vin. Are you happy?”

“Yes,” Terra said. “And I’m proud of you. Let’s figure something out together. What are our resources?”

“A magic slingshot that doesn’t work in here,” Blynn said, twanging the rubber of her weapon.

“And two swords,” Hyren said, “that I’m guessing also won’t work.”

“Three swords,” Terra said, summoning her own blade.

“Four swords,” Zoltan said, and his own scimitar appeared in his paw with a flick of his wrist.

Terra chuckled. “Oh, right. Sorry.” She watched the dark magic swirl around Zoltan’s blade and saw droplets of light fade from her own, and she began to get an idea. “Hey—wait, Zoltan,” she said. “You said this sword has some powerful light magic in it, right?”

“Yes, it does,” Zoltan said. “In zhe hands of a battlemage, it vould be quite the formidable veapon.”

“Could you use the magic in it?” Terra asked. “If those wizards could combine their power to create a stronger spell… what would happen if you combined the magic in this sword with your own magic?”

Zoltan studied her weapon for a moment—and then his ears perked and his eyes widened. “Ah—zhat could do it!” he said. “An anti-element vortex!”

“You’re gonna have to explain that one,” Hyren said, “for those of us who aren’t magically inclined.”

“You know how each of zhe six Neopian elements has its opposite?” Zoltan asked. “If you combine any of zhose complementary elements in a spell, if you’re not careful, you get a very powerful burst of chaotic magic. Usually it’s done on accident by clumsy students, but if you know how to control zhe vortex, zhat’s another story entirely.”

“Do you know how to control it?” Blynn asked.

“Yes,” Zoltan said. “I have been honing my craft for a long time. I ventured down many paths of study to try to gain zhe advantage over malevolent magic-users.”

“Let’s do it, then,” Terra said. “Do you need this sword?” She offered it to him.

“It will work better when the magic is coaxed out by you,” Zoltan said. “Tell it to lend its energy to me.” He held out his own scimitar. “Ready?”

Terra nodded and planted her feet firmly on the floor, not sure if she should expect any force feedback. She stared at her sword, mentally urging it to give its power to Zoltan.

The Kyrii frowned in concentration, his magic-streaks flared, and he clicked his blade against Terra’s. The gems on Terra’s sword glowed like miniature suns, and the metal seemed to give off a white fire. It licked at and swirled into the purple mist from Zoltan’s sword, and the two magicks twined together above their heads, growing larger and larger until they were a churning ball of colour and light. The energy from the vortex was so strong that Terra could feel it, and she held her blade steady, trying to give Zoltan all the power he needed.

With his free paw, Zoltan reached up labouriously, stretching his claws toward the vortex. Breathing hard, he splayed his fingers. The spell jerked. “Stand back!” he yelled, and then he brought down his arm and sent the vortex flying at the doors.

The magic collided with a fantastic ripple of energy that seared through the barrier spell and blew the doors off their hinges. As the vortex hit the night air, it unraveled up into the sky, leaving sparks in its wake.

On the other side, wearing looks of utter astonishment, stood Malkus Vile, some of his henchpets, and several Defenders.

“Well, that simplifies things considerably,” Judge Hog said.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14
Chapter 15 - Chapter 16