“Damn!” he cries as he quickly throws the mirror away.
“What happened?” Jiron asks. Stopping there in the road, he turns back to find out what’s going on.
“I don’t know,” replies James.
They look to where the mirror lies in the dirt on the side of the road. Smoke tendrils begin rising from it as the mirror and metal frame both begin to turn fluid. As the metal starts to drip, a fiery glow appears within the melted glass.
Jared gasps as a form wreathed in flames seems to rise from the glass.
“Fly!” yells James as he turns his horse and flees down the road.
The other two turn and race after him as the figure behind them continues to grow.
“What is that thing?” yells Jared.
“I don’t know,” replies James. Bending low against the neck of his horse, he works to make it go even faster.
A deafening roar sounds behind them as the fiery creature leaves the ground and begins to soar toward them. Even from this distance they can feel the heat radiating from it.
James lashes out with magic but the spell of force which should have knocked it backward barely phases it. “Make for the city!” he yells to the others as he reaches into the pouch hanging at his hip and pulls out one of the power crystals.
Slowing the forward momentum of his horse slightly, he turns in the saddle and holds the crystal toward the now rather close creature of flame. “Hold!” he yells and a shimmering barrier appears around the creature.
The creature slows when it becomes trapped within the barrier and begins settling to the ground. Within the barrier it’s exerting massive pressure and the power of the crystal is draining rapidly.
Tossing the crystal to the ground, James kicks his horse and races after the other two who are now a hundred yards ahead of him.
Crack!
With the shattering of the crystal, the barrier vanishes and the creature once again resumes the chase.
A crackling noise sounds behind James and he glances back to see a spear of flame flying toward him with incredible speed. Responding with magic, he manages to deflect it at the last minute, causing it to veer to the left where it strikes the ground several yards away.
Other travelers on the road see the fiery creature chasing after James and scream as they run for their lives. Wagons are abandoned as people flee into the desert for their lives.
Taking another crystal, James again cries ‘Hold’ as another barrier springs into being surrounding the creature. Just as before, the entrapped creature begins to sink to the ground as it fights to escape. Tossing that crystal to the ground, he slows his horse to a slow walk as he hurriedly begins to untie the sack of crystals from behind his saddle. He works the knot binding it closed furiously but only manages to cinch it tighter.
Removing his belt knife, he cuts through the leather thong just as the power crystal cracks and the barrier trapping the creature disappears. Roaring to life once more, the creature springs into the air.
James opens the sack and hunts for a specific pouch of crystals, one tied with a string dyed blue. Before he finds it, crackling noise announces another of the fiery bolts coming toward him and he again responds with magic. The bolt is deflected to the right where it impacts with an abandoned wagon.
Ka-Bam!
The wagon erupts in a fiery explosion. Out of time, James takes his last power crystal from his belt pouch and again confines the creature. As it settles again to the earth, he hunts for the pouch with the blue string.
“Aha!” he cries triumphantly when he finds it. Quickly untying the string he pulls out two crystals glowing a dark crimson. These crystals are the last of the ones he created to deal with the hell hounds, those creatures of fire sent by the followers of Dmon-Li. This creature could very well come from the same place.
Crack!
The crystal maintaining the barrier shatters and the creature is again hurtling forward. Tossing both crystals toward the creature, James unleashes the magic contained within them. Immediately, a shimmering blue field springs to life surrounding the creature. Its roar of pain can be heard as the frigidly cold barrier sears into it.
James adds his own power to that of the crystals as he fights against the power of the creature to implode the barrier and kill his attacker.
Crack!
James’ unbelieving eyes flick toward where one of the crystals now lays shatters on the ground and the glow of the other is diminishing rapidly. “Damn!” he cries. He isn’t going to be able to do it. Even if he drains himself to the point of unconsciousness, there’s little chance of stopping this creature. He continues to use his own magic to hold the creature while he turns his horse and begins putting some distance between them.
Kicking the sides of his horse, he quickly gets it back to a gallop. Half a minute later, the remaining crystal shatters. With that, the drain on his own reserves is too great and he’s forced to let the spell go. When the barrier disappears the creature again roars to life, the sound similar to that of a forest fire and the chase is on.
Jiron and Jared had come to a halt while he was facing off with the creature. But when they see he lost the battle and was in flight, they again bolt down the road.
As James races down the road, he removes the remaining crystals from his sack one at a time. These crystals contain spells he so painstakingly worked to get just right. With a thought he removes the embedded spells and quickly uses them to power barriers to slow the creature. Each one only gives him a minute or two to get further down the road before they fail. This creature is powerful!
Behind them in the road, a wake of burning wagons which caught fire either by the fiery bolts or by just being in close proximity with the creature, sends a billowing cloud of black smoke into the air.
Soon, the walls of the city appear before them. What safety they may afford them is questionable, but it has to be better than out here in the open.
People are fleeing in through the gates to escape the inferno roaring down the road toward them. The gates begin to swing shut before Jiron and Jared even come close. By this time, James has managed to put a hundred yards between the creature and himself. His store of powered crystals is all but exhausted, only three remain.
He comes abreast of Jiron and Jared where they have stopped near the gates. Jared is pleading with the guards on the walls to open the gate but his pleas have no effect. They are not about to take the chance of the creature entering their city.
James glances behind and finds the creature has escaped the latest barrier and is on its way. “Get back!” he yells. Removing one of the three crystals, he tosses it down to the base of the gate before moving back down the road.
Crumph!
The crystal explodes and the gate is knocked from the wall. With a groan, it tips and falls inside the walls. “Move!” he yells. A quick glance behind shows the creature gaining fast.
Racing for the gate, they bowl over several guards as they pass through. Inside the gates is mass confusion as the citizens stand in awe struck wonder at the gate now lying in the road. When James and the others race through there is little reaction other than pointing and getting out of the way. But when the fiery creature roars through the open space where the gate had stood, pandemonium erupts. People scream and flee in all directions.
They are forced to slow even though they are knocking people down left and right. Fortunately the panic is behind them, most of those ahead are as yet unaware of what’s about to make an appearance.
“James!” yells Jiron. “Where should we go?”
“I don’t know!” he cries out.
“There!” yells Jared, pointing down the road. Ahead is a rather large and sturdy looking building made of stone. Easily four stories in height with windows only along the upper floor, the place looks like a fortress. A single wooden door stands closed with two guards standing watch.