novelraw Book 3: Chapter 79: Dance Floor
Book 3: Chapter 79: Dance Floor
Chapter 79: Dance Floor
The Shadow Queen emerged from the treeline like a nightmare, her carapace so black it seemed to drink in the very light around her. Her wings whispered with every twitch, carrying a sound that made the air itself feel thinner and caustic to the lungs. Tendrils of shadow wriggled and spread across the ground, writhing like snakes searching for prey.
Garret’s knuckles went white around his shield strap. He’d promised himself, had promised Alex, Selka, and Cole, that he’d be the wall here. Nothing was getting through him, not this time.
Henry stood to his left, his halberd planted like a stake in the earth. Greenish-blue essence wound down the large man's arms, pooling into the dirt. Already the ground trembled faintly as roots stirred below him, answering his call. He glanced sideways at Garret once, their eyes meeting. Henry gave him a sharp nod, Garret returned it silently, no words were needed. It was the bro-code way.
Eric paced forward a half-step ahead of them, his hands were already showing arcs of lightning crawling around them, sparks dancing between his fingers. He didn’t look back at Henry or Garret. But without even looking, he trusted that they’d have his six.
And behind them, Myrae stood with both hands raised and light aether spilling from her palms in waves. She didn’t throw light beams or bolts at the Queen like Allie would have, not yet anyway. Her task was harder than that. The shadows were her target. In the immediate area the darkness was almost a living thing, stretching and thickening as the Queen spread her influence around them. Myrae’s job was to do the opposite, her light poured into the area, burning the shadows away wherever they crept too close. The effort left sweat beading on her brow within seconds, and the fight hadn't even truly started yet.
The Shadow-queen clicked her mandibles once, releasing an almost dissapointed sound, before slinking forward.
Garret brought his shield down, slamming it into the dirt as he braced. The following impact rattled him to his bones, and he felt her claws scraping deep scratches across the reinforced metal. Yet he held.
Henry’s vines erupted from the ground in answer to the Queen getting too close, thick cords of plant life and wood wrapped around her legs. They tightened like shackles, bark creaking under the strength in her limbs as she pulled against them. She snapped one vine with a twist of her claws, but two more lashed up to bind her arms.
“Now!” Henry shouted.
Eric was already moving into position before Henry uttered a syllable. Lightning surged down his body, the charge so strong his hair would have stood on end, if he had any. He blurred forward, his form a white-hot streak. His palm strike contacted the Queen’s shoulder, sending a spray of black blood into the air.
The Queen chittered a pained cry in response, retreating a step from Eric. It was the first blow and they had already drawn blood. It was a good sign.
With that exchange, victory seemed possible.
But the shadows hissed their response. The darkness erupted from her body in the shape of multiple long thin spears stabbing outward. Garret stepped in front of Eric as the dark aether lances rushed towards them, shield raised high. He gruntrf as the hardened aether hammered into him again and again. Each impact made his teeth rattle, but he refused to drop his shield.
Behind him, Myrae’s voice rose higher and higher in a spell-chant.
“Lux—purga!”
Her light erupted even brighter, a golden-blue radiance banishing the immediate shadows in front of them. The attacking lances shattered into pieces, and then began dissolving into smoke, giving Garret the breathing room he needed.
The Queen’s head whipped toward Myrae. She screeched and the shadows surged toward the light mage instead. Myrae staggered backward, hands shaking as she flung light aether into the tide of darkness, keeping it back for a moment.
Henry’s vines burst from the ground again, weaving a wall between her and the Queen. The shadows struck the plant barrier, tearing through wood and leaves, but the delay was enough for Garret to shoulder in, and slam his full weight against the Queen's body, knocking her sideways and breaking her concentration.
The crack of lightning announced Eric’s return right after. He spun with dizzying inertia directly above her, his foot crashing down against the Queen’s back. This time, the lightning crawled over her body instead of directly into her, burning hundreds of thin lines into her outer carapace. She screamed, though the sound was muffled, like glass shattering underwater.
Garret roared wordlessly, slamming his shield into her while she was convulsing from Eric's lightning, forcing her back into Henry’s vines to begin wrapping her up again. Myrae seized the few seconds to prepare spell, thrusting her palms forward where light gathered, brighter and hotter, until it was almost blinding, before shooting forward.
The blast struck the Queen in the chest, searing black flesh and scattering her shadows yet again.
The battlefield stilled for a breath, the four of them standing in formation, panting.
The Shadow-queen growled bitterly and hatefully, ichor dripping from her wounds. Her eyes flashed a purple light and she spread her wings wide, her shadows flooding outward again under a new surge of aether.
Darkness swallowed the edges of Myrae’s light.
***
The Light-queen stood tall among her brood, her aura blazing so fiercely that it turned the the nearby battlefield into a mockery of daylight. Every beast near her shimmered with that golden-white glow, their movements far more powerful, and faster, their bodies more resilient than their cousins.
She raised one clawed arm and the radiance deepened, spilling across the field in a wave.
Ghrukk snarled and released a grumble in his throat,, his own aether shadows already pouring from his hands. He slammed both palms into the dirt, and a dark veil crept outward like ink bleeding through wet paper. The golden sheen faltered where it touched his aether, dimming and choking under the suppression.
Zach moved along with him, silent as ever. His shadow-weaving wasn’t forceful and flashy like Ghrukk’s, it was more precise and surgical. Strips of darkness were woven and lashed across glowing beasts like pet collars, severing the conduits of light energy that connected them to the light queen. Where his shadows cut, the glow guttered out, leaving only snarling, disoriented chimera soldiers.
“Keep the bastards funneled!” Cole barked, he had both hands raised as ribbons of water surged from the air. His magic snaked through the battlefield pushing and corralling the oncoming chimera's where he wanted them, redirecting charging beasts into narrow kill lanes and driving them toward Lance.
And Lance was waiting.
The man met the onrushing tide with sword in hand, his strikes as clean as they were brutal. He didn’t waste motion as every cut severed opponent's limbs and bodies, every dodge or block turned aside claws and fangs. Where Cole drove them, Lance broke them. Each time a chimera fell, he stepped forward, pushing the line closer and closer toward the Queen herself.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from NovelBin; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The Light-queen was pissed, with her scowl sharp enough to cut throats. Even with her boost, her chosen soldiers were being herded and cut down in large numbers. It was a losing positions, and she knew it.
The glow around her body pulsed once, withdrawing from the masses, then funneled down into three specific chimera. These ones were larger beasts than the others, all muscle and physical force. Their forms were warped under the sudden 'blessing' from the Queen, as golden veins of light streaked across their bodies until they looked like creatures carved of golden flecked marble.
“Shit, brace!” Cole shouted.
The three juggernauts barreled forward, faster than seemed possible.
Lance stepped into their path and planted himself in the dirt. The impact of the three running toward him shook the ground, the clang like a bell toll. They all struck at once, one claw raked across his shoulder, drawing blood, and his sword came up in the same breath, carving a deep gash across the beast’s glowing chest.
Ghrukk stopped generating his shadows and moved in to help Lance, slamming into the flank of the second juggernaut before it could attack. The ork's weapon, wreathed in fire and shadows, ripped into the beast’s side and dragged strips of golden light out of its body at the same time, the dark aether of the Ork's attack interfering with the Queen's boost.
The Ork howled as he tore his weapon free. He smiled as if happy when blood splattered across his chest even despite the fact his blow hadn’t killed the beast quite yet.
The third juggernaut snapped its fangs for Lance’s throat, but Zach was already there to block it. The worldstrider looked as though he stepped out of nothingness, spear flashing outward with a churning tornado of writhing dark wisps funneled at its tip. In a massive, gold and black veined explosion, the weapon punched through the creature’s eye socket and out the back of its skull in one clean motion. It died almost instantly.
Zach vanished again before its corpse even hit the ground.
Cole began to glow as he chanted, collecting water that began swirling higher and higher above his head. He redirected the streams around Lance, battering the juggernaut locked against him. The beast’s footing faltered on the slick ground, creating an instant of weakness Lance didn’t waste. He drove his sword down into its neck, cleaving deep until the light in its eyes sputtered out.
The last juggernaut roared as Ghrukk jumped and clung to its back. Shadows poured from his hands to surround the beast, eating at the golden glow in its body like a diseased rot. It bucked once, twice—then Zach reappeared, his spear stabbing down into its head. The beast collapsed, twitching, until Ghrukk finished it with a savage rip of has hands that tore its throat wide open.
The battlefield around them quieted. The four men stood together, the corpses of the Queen’s blessed juggernauts littering the dirt.
But the Light-queen didn't look worried by the outcome of that brawl. Her scowl twisted into a sharp, vicious smile. Her radiance surged higher, stronger, her entire body starting to blaze like a second sun.
Ghrukk rolled his shoulders, “Now we’ve pissed her off. This should be good.”
***
The Wind Queen’s screech split the air, a sound that carried above the cannon fire and the cries of dying chimeras all around them. A whirlwind of razor-edged currents followed her every movement, bodies of Urhara soldiers and beasts alike were thrown aside as she advanced through them.
Doran braced himself in front of her, his shield raised high. The gale struck like a hammer on anvil as the two collided, but the dwarven-forged runes along his armor glowed faintly, diffusing the pressure that would have crushed a lesser man.
Kate slipped around him, her rapier darting. Her blade moved with tight precision, every thrust trailing flames that caused the air itself to ignite in her wake. The Queen twisted and created blades of wind that cut across the ground at Kate's legs. The fire-mage halted her attack and flipped backward to avoid having her legs amputated, her flames spiraling as she landed lightly on her feet, eyes locked on her foe during the entire maneuver.
“Boost!” Peter shouted out. A golden light shimmered over Kate and Doran, and halos formed over their heads, orbiting them like living suns. Their auras intensified, and their muscles swelled with borrowed strength.
At the same time Peter conjured up minor illusions that danced around the Queen’s periphery, images that showed phantom soldiers charging at her, flickering lances and swords, distracting flashes that were designed to steal her focus for split-seconds at a time.
The Queen’s eyes narrowed. It appeared that she recognized the tricks, but the moment’s hesitation gave Devon a chance he was waiting for.
“Lighting her up!” he shouted, bracing his arcane rifle against his shoulder. The sigils engraved along its stock pulsed as he poured his aether through it, the barrel glowing white-hot. A beam erupted out, ripping through the air and smashing into the Queen’s wing. The blast scattered feathers, blood, and aether alike, the smell of burnt flesh hitting everyone's noses.
But the Queen didn't just stand still, and she was fast.
Her form blurred, streaking across the battlefield in a cyclone before anyone was able to pin her down. She reappeared beside Devon with claws raised, eyes glinting with murderous fury.
“Dev!” Peter barked, as more of his illusions spun to life around the Queen. Phantoms leapt at her, forcing her to shift her swipe wide, just enough for Doran to barrel in under her arms shield-first, like a battering ram. The impact cracked the chest plate of the queen and sent her skidding back with a snarl.
Then Kate was already on her again, fire dancing across her blade. She lunged and thrust, striking again and again in a blazing fast rhythm. The Queen countered with flashes of claws and compressed aether-winds deflecting the flame and steel. But Kate’s pressure was relentless, her style was a fiery storm matching the Queen’s whirlwind of gales.
Devon adjusted his position and began funneling more energy into the rifle in his hands. Aether circuits crackled, the weapon trembling in his grip as he sought to overload its output.
“One more—just one more shot!” he hissed.
The Queen lashed out with another tornado of claws, and Peter’s illusions flickered away as he pushed his boost to let them keep up with her. Doran shield stood like the ehart of a mountain as he pressed against the relentless gale of the queen's assault.
Devon fired again, the rifle screaming as the beam tore into the Queen’s already wounded wing and shoulder.
The area erupted in light and fire as the Wind Queen shrieked.
***
The Magma-queen’s molten heat spilled off her in waves, claws glowing like iron fresh from the forge. Each of her steps was an earthquake and each swing threatened to shatter metal and bones alike.
Aburi was the one to take point and meet her first. His sword was massive, nearly as tall as he was, and it sang as it clashed against the Queen’s burning claws. Sparks and rock scattered with molten flesh and steel colliding. His rust-pitted armor bore the scars of countless battles, yet in motion he was unshakable, an immutable fortress bracing against a living volcano.
Holly ran in past him, her form was a streak of wind-laced steel. Her blade shrieked as it carved against chitin, a cutting gale that came from impossible angles. Selka matched Holly's tempo with her twin daggers, the weapons crackling with lightning as stabbed and slashed. Each of her blows was punctuated by sparks that danced across the Queen’s body.
The two women moved like phantoms in tandem, weaving in and out of the giant’s reach to land cuts that flashed in the lava glow.
The Queen didn’t flinch against their barrage. She endured their blows, and they watched every wound sizzled closed soon after, burning red-hot lines on her body. Her counterattack came faster than expected. A claw stabbed into the dirt, grounded out Selka’s lighting and making it useless. She looked shocked the Queen was even able to manage the feat, and didn't react in time to dodge the Queen's kick that took her in the chest and sent her flying away, crashing through soldiers and chimera among the battle lines.
Holly reacted faster, she ducked, avoiding the Queen’s next swipe by a hairsbreadth, only for the second claw to slice toward her ribs too quickly to avoid.
But Aburi was there to help, his greatsword interposed between the two fighters, steel screeching behind the force. Yet a third strike came wide from the queen's tail and Holly cried out as it ripped across her shoulder, spinning her off her feet.
From below, Tom-Tom rushed in quickly. His tiny form was a blur of furious motion. His feet scurrying and his claws clutching cooking ladles wreathed in rock. He hammered at the Queen’s knees like a forge piston, every impact breaking the air with thunderous a CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The Queen’s tail snapped around again. It slammed into the kobold's cooking-pot-helmet, hurling him across the dirt in a daze. He tumbled end over end before skidding to a stop, groaning but alive.
Behind them all, Allie was finishing up a spell. One hand fired a thick, searing beam of light that exploded against the Queen’s body. The other was busy as she conjured bolt after bolt of shadow that she sent hurtling in after the light beam, each impact staggering the monster. Allie created twin forces of illumination and darkness, hammering the queen with relentless pace.
The Queen roared, fury shaking the battlefield. But Aburi stood firm to stop her from going after Allie, his attacks with his greatsword meeting her every movement and forcing the magma-queen to focus on defending from him instead.
A second later, Holly flowed back in on the wind at the same moment that Selka reappeared. Even Tom-Tom staggered upright, his helmet dented and eyes blazing as he sprinted back into the fray as well. Through it all, Allie’s spells never stopped streaking across the field, light and shadow weaving into the chaos.
The Magma Queen was a volcano, rage incarnate, heat and fury given form.
But the five of them were persistence; wind carving stone, lightning crashing from the heavens, rock holding firm. Together, they were weather and time, a force capable of wearing mountains to dust.
She was a volcano, and they would erode her.