Elion collided with the warlock, his world vanishing, blocked out by the billowing robe. Venya staggered backwards under the force of Elion’s surprise attack, falling to the ground with Elion on top. She was lighter than Elion had expected.
Trees still obscured their presence. Elion cursed, grappling with the woman as she tried to free her long stick from her robes. They rolled, and Elion threw his weight backward, pulling the warlock over him and throwing them both out into the daylight.
“Help!” Elion shouted, trying to draw the attention of the Walkers. See how this reflects on your family reputation , he thought. He dove on top of the warlock, pinning her, trying to prevent her from reaching his wand.
“I’m under attack!” the warlock gasped. “He’s found me!”
Their eyes met, and she struggled beneath him. Her hood fell away, black curls of hair spilling out across the lawn as her pale skin shone in the sunlight. Her red lips no longer smiled knowingly, her dark eyes widening in fear and surprise.
The warlock regained some composure and used one hand to cast a spell. A small blast of purple twisted through the air, hitting Elion in the mouth like a tennis ball.
Elion’s jaw popped, and he tasted blood, but he didn’t let go, leveraging his relative weight advantage.
Nearby the air cracked, a tremendous boom that rattled Elion’s teeth. He glanced and saw a cube of metal erupting from a swirl of purple ribbons. These evaporated into mist as the metal cube slammed into the sod and began unfolding itself into an arachnatronic, teal light glowing from within.
Cara and her friends screamed, now noticing the fighting going on. The warlock threw Elion, who landed hard on his face in the lawn. The taste of grass mingled with blood in his mouth as Elion rolled over. Scrambling to her feet, Venya drew her wand and blasted. Elion dodged out of the way as the blast struck the ground, sending chunks of dirt flying.
The air cracked twice more, and two more arachnatronic cubes slammed into the yard. The first contraption had nearly finished unfolding itself. Then, rapid as a string of firecrackers, six dark robed warlocks popped into existence, accompanied by thunderous booms and twisting purple ribbons of light.
Snickers came flying across the yard and leaped at Venya’s face. The warlock went down again. The first arachnatronic finished unfolding. A warlock climbed atop of it, riding across the yard toward Cara and her friends. Two other warlocks began using their staves and a warp heart to create a new portal.
Elion looked at the butter knife in his hand. The black cloth wrapped around his arm tugged him toward the portal.
A security guard came running around the corner of the house, gun in hand. One of the warlocks immediately enveloped the man in a bubble of shimmering violet. The man floated slightly off the ground and hovered in the bubble, firing his gun. The bullets struck the bubble, warping it as they slowed to a stop and forcing the warlock to renew the spell.
The guard ran out of bullets and dropped his gun, and the bubble burst as the warlock staggered, gasping for breath. The guard fell to the ground flailing his arms and legs.
The screaming from Cara and her friends intensified as a the arachnatronic reached them. Even from across the yard Elion saw the sheer panic on their faces. The arachnatronic grabbed Cara, lifting her off the ground, the warlock atop it casting a numbing spell over her. Elion caught sight of Aunt Cathy, huddled near the clubhouse, phone to her ear.
Snickers howled as Venya gained the upper hand and pinning Snickers down. Snickers’ claws tangled in the warlock’s robes.
Elion pulled himself to his feet and ran to help the cat, as the remaining two warlocks ran toward him. He threw his arm beneath Venya’s shoulder and behind her neck, and reflexively brought the butter knife to the woman’s throat. He felt the softness of her flesh as he breathed in her scent; fresh, floral, and invigorating.
The warlock stopped fighting. Snickers snarled and hissed, extricating himself from the woman’s robe and dropping to the ground.
“Please,” the warlock whispered. Elion realized that the woman had no way of knowing that Elion’s weapon was as dull as a… well a butter knife.
“No need for this,” boomed a voice that Elion recognized. Dorian. The man walked toward Elion, and everyone stopped to watch. The screaming had stopped, Cara and her friends hanging limply from the maws of the Arachnatronics.
“What did you do to them?” Elion demanded.
“They’re fine.” Dorian edged closer to Elion as he approached. “Don’t do anything too hasty there. Let Venya go.”
“You let my family go first,” Elion demanded.
“Woah,” Dorian said, taking another step forward.
“Stop,” Elion said. “You need to leave.”
Dorian dropped his wand, the large rod landing on the ground with a dull thud. He gestured, palms up, arms wide. “I’m not here to fight,” he said.
“Where did you take Liora?”
“She’s safe. She’s home, Elion, where she belongs,” Dorian said. “Put down your weapon. Come to Kylios with us.”
Elion looked around, at the warlocks and arachnatronics which had invaded the grounds. He looked at all the other people caught up in this mess; the security guard, Cara and her friends.
“I don’t believe you,” he said. “You killed my parents.”
Dorian looked hurt, like Elion had slapped him across the face. “Is that what Zev told you? He’s a liar. I am trying to help you. Rescue you and your sister, bring you back to your birthright.”
“Don’t talk about Zev,” Elion spat.
“He abandoned you,” Dorian said. “He’s not coming to protect you this time.”
“What did you do to him?”
Dorian just smiled.
“If you didn’t kill my parents, who did?” Elion asked. “What happened to them?”
“I don’t think you can understand the truth,” Dorian said. “Not through your earthly perspective, not until you have gazed upon the secrets of Erod, and seen true power with your own eyes. Come with me. I promise you, safety, protection. You seem fond of these people here,” Dorian said with a gesture at Cara and her friends. “Come with me, so that we can leave them alone. Aren’t you curious to see your true home?”
Elion’s strength slackened. Dorian made a good point; he had never really felt like he fit in here, like he belonged. Kylios sounded like an incredible place, full of magic, power, and mystery. Curiosity gnawed at him.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“You’ll leave everyone else alone?” he asked.
Snickers rubbed up against the back of Elion’s legs, hissing at Dorian as though he could understand the conversation.
“Come with me to Erod,” Dorian said. “Visit The Palace of a Million Stars. See the land of your people, your heritage. Reclaim your birthright, as a Starholder.”
If I don’t help Liora, nobody will.
“Okay,” Elion said. “I’ll go with you. Just don’t hurt anyone.” Elion released Venya. The woman staggered away from Elion, rubbing her throat.
“Seize him,” Dorian commanded, and two warlocks cast tendrils of power which bound themselves around Elion’s arms, pulling them roughly behind his back.
“Hey,” Elion exclaimed, struggling. He stumbled forward, approaching Dorian and the portal. “I said I’d come willingly!”
“A precaution,” Dorian said with a shrug, as the two warlocks approached to grab Elion. One of them raised his hand, preparing to cast the numbing spell.
“Wait,” Elion said, feeling betrayed and frustrated with family members imprisoning him. A sinking feeling in his stomach told him that he’d made a bad decision, that Dorian was not a man to be trusted. At the same time, his mind told him that only one way out of this mess remained.
He looked at the swirling portal just a few steps away.
Zev had said that portals like these could be hard to direct. If Elion could cause some chaos…
The warlocks were nearly upon him. He closed his eyes, preparing to charge between them into the portal.
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