02 Wrath of Flames Page 24

  “Pretty much.”

  “What about when you turn up the heat? Every Dragon and Shaman” Another word for a demonic Caster. “will sense something not quite right and investigate.”

  “It is a gamble and we need to reach the secret passage by cutting through a place crawling with enemies. The alternative is we let Kyoko die and allow Sheedan to have her way.” Ethan gave the choice of two lesser evils.

  Their expressions all announced the same decision.

  “Let’s go already. Better pee now if you need to.” Floa piped, back on his shoulder. They all got up to relieve themselves, even if it was a few drops.

  Ellen this time would take the lead with Kira riding on her back casting spells in preparation. And they dove back out into the ferocious blizzard again. In their passing was a naked, frozen Goblin that had died painfully.

  They followed the rally point readout and got ever closer, with Ethan using his senses to navigate them around the fires. They stuck close in the run, calling out scouts which Kira took care of with magical glowing needles around her wrist. Fire and forget, that is how Ethan knew offensive spells are when a target is specified. Archers had to save their arrows for what was to come. It was still hard to see for the first fifteen minutes of the run through a blizzard.

  All until they got within a mile of the castle under siege. They paused to get a good look in the much colder area without a whiteout hiding the area. Ethan knew the air was a minimum of minus five hundred because he had to keep getting hotter to make sure his friends don’t get instantly frozen. Far away was the castle, but made of ice. Camera on zoom clarified details. It had a blue tinge to it, even behind a green barrier supported by thick vines the size of houses. In the front yard were frozen sculptures, mostly Kyoko’s display if those who broke her rules along with a maintained rock garden. Laying atop the Kitsune barrier was a light blue Dragon encrusted with ice creeping over the dome while below were torrents of flame from hundreds and hundreds of Dragons while Elves and other Demons able to do magic were sending massive destructive creations at it. The air was so cold the wind couldn’t move and was so loud it hurt the ears.

  “I’m actually starting to feel bad for Kyoko since it is only her and a fox holding all that back.” Magnus gruffly admitted.

  Those words had them on the move again.

  A mile and two more dead Elves later they nearly reached the area when Nell stopped suddenly and dove for the cover of trees. The team followed right before a huge brown dragon surrounded in fire was walking along that same path. It passed, thankfully without incident. They got up when the loud noise of the battle to the northwest was certain to cover their tracks.

  “Okay, guys, take position. Kira, Floa, Nell, take the high ground. Ellen you hold the center. Blake, Magnus, keep them off me. I’ll work as quickly as possible.”

  All of them gathered around a frozen pond. He waited as the girls climbed up for the height advantage. Kira pulled out her potions, especially the most lethal ones and made them hover within arm’s reach while reapplying every lethal spell she could prepare in advance. Orange curses lit her fingertip. Floa stuck to her shoulder. All of them checked in and Ethan grunted “Here goes!”

  He focused below and melted the pond in an instant till he past the silt and hit steel. His senses allowed him to find the metal was poured many decades ago and was a fifty foot shot straight down. He superheated it from the bottom and the steel poured into a long forgotten escape tunnel. Molten metal gushed into darkness like water and worked its way up. But while he melted, he sucked the heat out and into the surrounding rock and solidified it to melt permafrost.

  “They’re here already!” Magnus said as Zaxis brained an Elf who appeared five feet to his left and died before it could check out the cause of power not ordered in the attack.

  The next one appeared by Blake with a dozen Goblins. His twin Katanas sliced and diced through the Elf first and every other one before a reasonable defense was thrown together.

  Ellen shot three more with a bow before drawing her swords and tearing through the enemy.

  Nell drew a copper tipped arrow and fired it right through the left nostril of a gray Dragon flying in. It tore deep and made it fall from the sky before Floa clapped her hands and sent it to the crushing depths of the Mariana Trench. It wouldn’t kill the powerful Demon that could even breathe under water, but it would slow it down and really piss it off. Great satisfaction warmed the cockles of the Pixie’s heart

  Blake was about to be shot in the back by an arrow wielding Elf till one of Kira’s needles bounced off its own protective magics, but before it could find and fire an arrow into her heart, a potion broke on its arm and the few traces of iron along with the potion that melts the brain made for an effective killing method.

  A Female Elf appeared behind Kira in the same tree, but before she could strike, Nell dropped her with an iron arrow chalk full of energy.

  Some tried taking Ethan down, but he was too hot to touch in the orange, red and purple tornado swirling around him. He saw the metal below his feet glowing and said “Hold on and get down.” to only those who could hear via the communicator.

  They didn’t hesitate to stop just as a ring of fire fifty feet tall exploded from him as the focal point and all Demons were blasted away and caught on fire.

  Floa clapped her hands as soon as it passed and all of them appeared beneath the hole where Ethan yelled “Go!” and stayed behind while whispering keyed words to his gauntlets. The black gauntlets glowed with a bluish purple hue and vibrated them. “Raaa!” he roared and punched with all his might into the melted wall shaft and made it collapse by sealing him inside.

  Earth rumbled before falling down upon him.

  “ETHAN!” Floa screamed as the rest of the team looked back at the collapsed tunnel. Each one filled with dread, unable to grasp his sacrifice.

  Chapter 7

  “No, he can’t be…” Nell dropped to her knees in total shock as she stared at the cave-in sealing the tunnel.

  “He lied to us.” Kira said with deep sadness.

  “Was this his penitence for thinking he got Storm-Shadow killed?” Ellen asked.

  “Don’t start doubting me now idiots!” came his words inside their minds.

  “How are you still alive?!” Floa yelled.

  “I’m swimming through superheated rock. You guys better get back quick fast and in a hurry. I’ll be there in a second. NELL! Snap out of it. I can protect you from my flames, not secondary heat. I’m in a small volcano so get the hell away!”

  Magnus lifted his wife the moment he felt the rise in heat and the soil starting to glow from the collapsed area. All of them got away not a second too late.

  A molten burp allowed hundreds of gallons of rock to flow like thick water. A form rose from it coughing and shaking his head. Ethan got to his feet and started brushing off the now liquid earth as if it were water. They all stood in awe as he suddenly tensed and the heat and light vanished aside from Blake’s swords and the club Zaxis. Then a secondary flame appeared like a torch in his hand.

  “How are you not dead!” Floa came up and hugged his neck with tiny arms.

  “Master of fire remember?” He chuckled. “I had to seal the path and give us enough time. We have minutes. The Dragons can do just like me. If they find the hole, this mission will be over. Follow me now.”

  Ethan ran past them and thankfully the tunnel was just tall enough for him and Ellen to use, but barely. It was dark, dank, cold and lifeless. Ice appeared after a dozen feet from where the rock he made absorb the excess heat turned back into permafrost. They ran in a straight line and felt vibrations of the battle still raging above. It grew so bad they had to slow to a trot.

  Eventually they reached an open gate surrounded by four Elves, two Goblins and two female Sirens. All were tense and prepared to attack, but unlike most Demons, these were clean and well trained. The Elves wore polished Platinum armor and had perfect teeth, clean skin and calcu
lating eyes. The Goblins wore spiked armor and looked more like Ethan’s version of hellhounds and the blue skinned Sirens wore beautiful dresses that could double as bathing suits. Ethan stopped using fire and said “Team, kill the spells.”

  “But…” Kira began to argue. She stopped once she saw him turn to her and expose his back to the Demons.

  “Stand down men.” Came a feminine voice as a regally dressed Elf Shaman appeared behind the Sirens. Like well trained soldiers, the guards stood immediately at attention. Seeing them do it, Ethan’s team followed his order without further objection. The really short woman in a Japanese yukata elegantly covered in demonic runes approached. “Welcome, Fire Elemental. I saw the fight at the end of the tunnel and came as soon as I could. My name is Dallare, and head Shaman of my mistress. Sadly my mistress is too weak to travel. She will die in the next ten minutes due to the Snow Dragon and her trying her best to save us.”

  “If she isn’t dead yet, I’ll carry her to the main hall.”

  “Ethan, if she is weak, I cannot Translocate her.” Floa fluttered nervously.

  “If she feeds, will that do the trick?”

  “The power she would need would kill a thousand humans. And that would be just to stand up.”

  “Good thing I’m here then. She’ll feed off me since my power is something I have in excess.”

  The Demons all were stunned and no matter their training, that was not in the realm of possibility to be offered by an Order Warrior.

  “Are you nuts?!” Floa bit his neck and he gently pulled her off to hold her whole body in his hand. “Kyoko is a Demon Lord. Yuki-onna feed on love and bitterness. And the Spirit Energy she’ll need to eat…”

  “End of discussion, Floa. Blake, rally the guards to the evacuation point and get ready, I’ll be down as soon as Kyoko can travel and send a few Drones to screw with them and let us get out. If any cause trouble, do your thing.” Blake nodded and sheathed his swords before grabbing Floa off him and talking with the Elvin guards. “Dallare, run as fast as you can, I’ll keep up.”

  “You would do this for us?” She shook her head as she looked into his eyes and felt some connection to him she didn’t understand, nor the seriousness of his offer could be denied.

  Dallare spun on her soft shoes and sprinted as fast as she could and nearly screamed as he was right on her heels. Never had a human kept up with her, not even his size slowed him. In a calm voice he asked as she spun a corner “Is this as fast as you can go?”

  “Why… yeeep!” she yelped as he scooped her up in one large arm and his speed doubled with urgency. Her hearing picked him up asking her to point the way and tell him to stop as he was about to do something.

  Fire surrounded her, warm and inviting as he ran straight into the ice wall as if it were air. She pointed him up to the Demon Lord’s sealed quarters. She had never met someone from Order quite like him and was impressed.

  What would have taken minutes of navigating and wasting precious time was shaved down into one minute and twenty four seconds thanks to literally running up what were once ancient solid walls of pure ice.

  They ran out directly into a wall of swords, shields held by Elves, Succubai and Incubi and more Yuki-onna trying to protect their master and the dying Kitsune. Dallare realized he was about to kill everyone as his focus was singular and yelled loud in his ear “STOP!”

  His legs locked up and fire vanished not an inch from terrified guards shaking in their armor. When they saw their master’s most loyal subject, weapons slightly lowered.

  Ethan looked at his first Yuki-onna. They were both male and female and look like normal pale people with remarkable colored contacts, but had similar appearances. They have skin pale as freshly fallen snow, shock white hair and blue and white eyes exactly like a snowflake, no two patterns were exactly alike. The women wore colorful yukatas while the men dressed like samurai of old, weird bulky armor included with Katanas ready to strike. And he stood taller than everyone in the room.

  But behind the ring of steel and snow were two figures laying down. One was a Kitsune, but not like Tokala who was pure white of fur. This one not only had two fewer tails, but had red fur and was scarcely breathing. The second was an elegant young lady who scarcely looked like a seventeen year old Japanese woman. Yet her beauty was marred by deep concentration, pain and willing sacrifice to give her people a chance, even for one additional second.

  And she was downright terrified, but still she fought on.

  Power rushed out of her and into the massive storm she controlled to hinder efforts to get in while being drained by the icy Dragon laying above the dome the Kitsune erected. Somehow he knew she was using the very last shreds of her very being and would give all to protect herself and her people.

  He walked up and weapons didn’t lower. Dallare hissed “Let him go to our mistress. He wants to save her. Make room.”

  Weapons didn’t lower, but the guards backed away as he didn’t stop.

  Ethan knelt and reached forward, but the lavender hand of an Incubus grabbed his wrist and almost growled “Do not touch the princess.”

  It elicited a real growl from the Elemental and a scream from the armored male Demon of sex and lust as he was thrown clear across the room with a broken arm.

  Instead of attack him, they gave him respect for such power one moment and such tenderness the next as he gently cradled Kyoko’s head into his lap and brushed the pads of his fingertips across her frail cheek and said “Kyoko, open your eyes. You need to feed.”

  Kyoko nuzzled into his hand and the tension in her tiny face eased. Pale white lips parted and a tongue that felt thick rolled “Great Uncle? Is that you. I missed your smell.”

  “Wake up, Frosty the Snowwoman. You’ll be dead in a few moments if you don’t look.”

  “Uncle?” Unfocused eyes showed light sparks in the snowflakes of her eyes. “Where’s Dallare-chan? Did I die.”

  Ethan turned to the small crying Elf, hearing her master’s voice weaken with each syllable. He mouthed ‘Help me.’ Dallare was quick to catch on and knelt at her mistress’s side, afraid to touch, but she played along. “Mistress Kyoko-hime, I’m here. Your Great Uncle has prepared a banquet of energy. You must eat. You’ve slept too long and lost much strength. Feast now.”

  “I’m sooo hungry, Dallare-chan. Time to enjoy a meal.”

  Kyoko’s blurry eyes looked up at Ethan before closing them and breathing sharply. In an instant he felt what it was like to be fed on by a Demon, and not just any Demon. A Demon Lord. His mind realized and supplied that each breath of that magnitude would suck a hundred peoples life-force dry and kill them. It was like exercising vigorously, but by the very soul he held. But as she breathed him in, she got stronger, much stronger. Her eyes remained closed, but she sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed deep. Eating harder.

  Dallare and the other Demons were thunderstruck at seeing and sensing this. What would have killed cities of humans barely made his jaw twitch as a sign of great discomfort. And still she fed. They could feel their master’s power returning. Some broke down and cried while others hugged.

  “Kyoko, enough.” He said, but she clutched tighter, drinking copious amounts of his power. “I said ENOUGH!” He roared and forcibly jerked her away.

  Lucid eyes snapped open, startled. “Wha… Uncle?” She shook her head and glance around the room. “Uncle?”

  “No, I’m Ethan Volorum, the Fire Elemental who came to get you out and to safety.”

  “But you smell li…” She tried clearing her head and succeeded. “Wait, you’re not my Great Uncle.”

  “Welcome back to reality.” He chuckled despite a raging headache. “Kyoko, can you move?”

  She stood wobbly till a male Yuki-onna gently helped support. “I think so.”

  “Good and now that you are lucid, change the storm outside. Give them one hell of a whiteout for an added distraction. I’ve got to make extra trouble.”

  “What are you
planning, Elemental-san?” She asked while manipulating the storm anyway.

  Appearing in either hand were two Drones, softball sized fireballs of immense power. “Giving Sheedan the largest middle finger I can send.” He turned around and threw it at the wall. Twin jets of fire rocketed them through the wall without physically touching. A twinge at the nape of his neck told it dealt the fatal blow. He didn’t bother with Dragons as he learned from last time that Drones don’t work as they too used fire. “Dallare, use the hole I made and have the Goblins tear open the wall to the main hall for extraction. I’ll join up when I take down as many of their Elves and Shaman I saw.”

  “Shigure-Chan, Toshiro-kun, guard him.” Kyoko said as she was carried out in the arms of a samurai along with her guard through a hole in the wall she never knew about.

  ‘Woosh!’ sounded another volley of Drones. One zipped and scared the hell out of a huge armored Goblin tasked with protecting him. They had even carried off the nearly dead Kitsune.

  “You are not charmed by me. How is this possible?” Shigure, a golden skinned Succubus wondered as he made more fireballs that gave off no heat.

  “Sorry, but you don’t have tickle my fancy. My soul mate is to a Spirit Guide. Besides I’m also wearing Titanium which also slightly negates your ability to turn men into sex slaves.”

  “Too bad.” She stuck a seductive pose even in armor. “Even if you hadn’t saved my mistress I would have made you my first lover of my harem.”

  “That’s it. Lets get out…”

  Sound like that of shattering glass shook the castle and something heavy landed right above. A massive bluish claw cut right into the room and the Snow Dragon got a snout full of fire that actually burned its way down to its very lungs and made it cry out in pain.

  Ethan grabbed the spiked Goblin and Succubus around their middle and ran from the room as fast as possible to barely avoid slipping on the ice before commanding his boots to get better traction. Magnus was waiting alongside Blake. “That’s it! You’re the last.” The Ogre said behind his helmet.