George and Fredric, their most powerful offensive magical spells already lined up, opened up their hands and thrust out their arms in the direction of the gruesome twosome. Instead of the brilliant, bright display of colourful, powered magic they'd been expecting, a few dying, supernatural embers sparked across the lifelines of their palms. They too, had had all the magic sucked right out of them.
Witnessing the earth shattering events that seemed to be playing out in slow motion, and against everything the healer in him believed in, Yoyo, still tending to the unconscious Vasuki, leapt to his feet, turned to face Manson and with all the willpower, experience and anger that flowed through him, rattled off the most vicious, most despicable and evil mantra he knew, looking to kill the rogue dark dragon leader there and then. Nothing happened, except a sense of total and utter bewilderment consuming the experienced dragon physician.
One bound from his powerful legs had his magnificent new form surging through the air, heading out through the shield on course to tackle Manson and his psychotic queen. That is until every atom within him had its supernatural power torn asunder, leaving him bereft and alone. Too much for any normal being to take, even for Flash it was a shock. So much so, that instead of maintaining flight, which in theory should have been possible even without all his magic, he just crashed nose first into the marble, tumbling to a halt against a massive pile of debris.
Aghast at what had transpired all around her, Captain Battlehard sought the magic of her birthright and prepared an all out attack with everything she had, in an effort to keep the king and his friends safe. Suicidal at best, she could see no other way out with beings around her losing their magic left, right and centre. Grasping the power within herself as she’d done thousands of times before, she attached her iron force of will and prepared to strike with everything she had. Just as the words started to form deep within her consciousness, the magic itself started to slip away. Desperately she tried to cling on, but it was like water slipping through her hands. Nothing she did stopped the undeniable leak through which her power was being drained. In an instant it was done, with every last particle being stripped from her body. Despite her training, panic threatened to take her. It was all she could do to remain frozen to the spot. All around the fearless captain, others suffered the same effect. Those that she’d fought alongside, and Yoyo’s brave band of young dragons, underwent exactly the same ordeal, none of them coping nearly as well as Amelia Battlehard. Dragons behind the shield dropped to their knees like chestnuts falling from a tree during a storm. It wasn’t just their magic that had been siphoned off either. Any vestige of hope had all but disappeared, replaced instead by a deep sense of terror, dread and overwhelming apprehension.
From his position high up in the shadows, a sense of panic surged through the master weapon smith's soul that was Fu-ts'ang. Utilising more than a lifetime's worth of courage and passion, and without any thought for his own safety, he surged towards Manson and Earth's position, knowing that if he wanted to save his friends, Janice and Flash, as well as the others, there was only one thing to do: he had to kill the murderous couple, and he had to do it now. Faster than a speeding bullet, imbued with ancient Chinese magic and empowered by righteous fury, the speeding blur of the cold, frosty blade extended out like a tail, making him look like some kind of blazing comet in the night sky. Unseen by every other being, as they all had their eyes glued to the now defenceless group of heroes, the tiniest hint of satisfaction ran along the weapon's shaft, knowing that he was about to not only save his friends, but kill two of the most vile beings he'd ever had the displeasure to encounter. As the blistering speed closed the gap between them in units of time so small they were almost impossible to measure, the mighty, feared and dreaded Fu-ts'ang arrived unnoticed within two arms' lengths of impaling the lovers.
Entwined in the bliss that was the combination of their magic, Manson's frenzied state allowed his magical abilities and senses to extend far beyond their normal reach and in doing so, he'd constantly had his eye on the futuristic looking blade that had done so much damage on the field of battle up until this very moment. He'd assumed that it might have sought them out after the barrier had been destroyed, and of course he'd been right. Letting it get as close as he dared, without even turning he whipped his right arm around towards its trajectory and let rip with the surprise he'd been saving up especially for it.
Dark, gruesome magic forked out of Manson's extended fingers, rippling its way through the space between them and Fu-ts'ang, covering the distance instantaneously. The master weapon smith had no time to react, no time to deviate, change course or mount any sort of defence. Black, soulless magic bored into the shaft and the hilt, piercing the weapon's very essence, tearing away its psyche, sending its spirit spiralling into the afterlife, its physical form exploding out into a thousand tiny pieces.
From amongst the group of light sided heroes, Janice's scream rang out, before she too dropped to the floor, her mind in tatters from the surge of feedback through what remained of the link to her friend. Peter draped his monstrous dragon form over the top of her, immediately offering a modicum of protection, cradling her broken mind and body.
As the shards of what remained of Fu-ts'ang tinkled to the ground, Manson and Earth let go of each other's hands. Straight away, the supernatural power that had encompassed both of them disappeared.
Taking two steps menacingly forward, the leader of this dark new world, the one that had schemed and manipulated events for so very long to reach this exact point, bared his teeth in a wicked grin, and declared for every being there to hear,
"Isn't this nice?!"
Close by, the taint of the primordial, abhorrent magic used by Manson and his queen woke up the dormant, roaring lion inside the slumbering kitten. An agreement was quickly established and reality returned. If magic was a rock concert, then all that had happened so far was the warm up. The headline act was about to begin.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul Cude is a husband, father, field hockey player and aspiring photographer. Lost without his hockey stick, he can often be found in between writing and chauffeuring children, reading anything from comics to sci-fi, fantasy to thrillers. Too often found chained to his computer, it would be little surprise to find him, in his free time, somewhere on the Dorset coastline, chasing over rocks and sand in an effort to capture his wonderful wife and lovely kids with his camera. Paul Cude is also the author of the Bentwhistle the Dragon series of books.
Connect with Paul Online
Bentwhistle website: bentwhistlethedragon.co.uk
Blog: thesoberhockeyplayer.co.uk
Twitter: twitter.com/@paul_cude
Facebook: facebook.com/Bentwhistlethedragon
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BENTWHISTLE THE DRAGON WILL RETURN IN 'A FIERY FAREWELL'