Callie's Heroes

PART II - I’VE GOT THIS

Callie turned to ask Pixyl what was going on, but the little Pixie had run off as well, hot on the heels of Vanis and picking up speed. “Guys?” Callie called out sheepishly as the rest of the group all stood to see what was happening.

Vanis bolted across the field, hoping to make it in time. It was Dunni, he was casting a spell. But not just any spell, a summoning of some kind. That was foolishness by itself. But he also hadn’t laid down a Ritual Circle first. If the summoning succeeded… “Stop!” Vanis called again. “Dunni! You must stop!” But the Fairy ignored him, or was so wrapped up in his stupidity that he couldn’t hear the shout.

Despite running all out, Vanis just seemed to know he wasn’t going to make it. He could see a ring of purple already forming that would bring the creature through the Nether. What could he do? He glanced around and saw no trainers. No staff. No officers. “Stop!” he cried out again, his voice cracking hoarsely. Think, Vanis! He only knew one spell that would be helpful, Deathbolt, but he couldn’t use that. If he missed it could literally kill someone, and even if he managed to land it on target, the splash effect would certainly hit Dunni, and probably the others cheering behind him. Think, Vanis.

Wait! Of course! He had all of his skills now. But what to use! What to use! There! Would that one work? He quickly searched his brain to recall the effects he had queried earlier that morning. Yes! That would work! It was channeled, so it would not work for long, but it would work at least long enough for people to get away. The ring was rising and he could make out the shape of something forming. He couldn’t cast too soon, but if he waited too long, the young Warlock Dunni was going to be ripped apart. Vanis ran, and tried one last time, knowing it wouldn’t work. “Dunni, stop!”

With a vague whooshing sound, the purple ring finished rising from the ground, disappearing into nothingness. In its place was a squat, horned Demon with a row of visibly sharp teeth. It was short, maybe a meter and a half tall, but it was built like a wall of razors and muscle. Its skin was a sickly reddish brown and at the end of each of its oversized arms was a four-digit hand with long, dagger-like claws. And it was pissed! Really pissed! The first thing it did was to turn to its summoner.

Dunni smiled as he worked to finish casting the Summon Fiend spell. He’d done it on a dare, but would have done it anyway if just asked by the cute Elf he had been chatting with. Grinning, he looked up for the briefest of moments and saw Vanis running full out trying to get to him, waving his arms in panic. What was the Prince’s problem? He had cast the spell correctly. Summon Fiend. Here it was, a Fiend, just like was expected. But Dunni soon sensed something wasn’t right. The monster was not happy, not happy at all! What did he miss? Dunni started to slowly back away, his three friends already turning tail and sprinting. Something was going very wrong.

Vanis saw the Fiend fully materialize. Without a Ritual Circle to bind it, nothing was there to hold it in place while the Summoner took control. The Fiend was now wild. It was beyond wild, it was feral! And it would go after whomever caught its attention, and that person was Dunni. Vanis had never cast the spell that he must, so he hoped he could do it right. If he was wrong, people would probably die. Vanis screeched to a halt and dropped to one knee for stability, calling out the words in his mind…

NETHER HOLD

There was a flash of his own purple energy as Vanis let fly the only spell he could think of in that moment that wouldn’t kill a bystander. A tendril of violet snaked out, followed quickly by another and then two and then a dozen. They reached for the Fiend, the first tendril wrapping itself around its neck. A heartbeat later the others arrived and began to encircle the monster like a cocoon. A few more loops and the Fiend was bound, but only for a moment. “Run! Get help!” Vanis screamed out to anyone that might listen, but so many people were petrified with fear or confusion, or just gawking like fools. He couldn’t hold this spell. It was a channeled spell and one that was grossly inefficient since he’d had no practice with it. He could feel the Nether Hold draining his mana reserves like a bucket with a hole in it. He had maybe ten seconds, at best.

Vanis saw a flash of blue in his periphery. He couldn’t turn his head to look, but he sensed who it was. Pixyl was standing there, not even breathing hard. The foolish Pixie had run here with him!

Pixyl knew this spell, and it was the wrong one for this circumstance, plus Vanis hadn’t had time to put down his own Circle to assist. She glanced at the face of Vanis, seeing the sweat starting to bleed out of his forehead, knowing this spell couldn't last long in the hands of someone inexperienced, and it was new to Vanis she was sure. She had seconds. “I’ve got this!” she snarled to the Elf and turned towards the held Demon.

Vanis barely heard anything over the pounding in his ears, but he heard Pixyl’s words clear as the sun shone down on him. ‘I’ve got this’ she had said. But he couldn’t shout to stop her. He couldn’t dare let his attention falter more than it already had or the hold would break. He couldn’t dare tell Pixyl to get back, to run, to save herself. What had he done!

Pixyl ran towards the Fiend, summoning her two deadly Ethereal Blades. On instinct Pixyl triggered her new ability, Dash. She had queried what it did to unlock it earlier, and wasn’t shocked at all when her running speed increased ten-fold for a brief moment, a trail of Ethereal mist left in her wake, and she closed the gap to the creature in nearly the beat of a Pixie’s wing. She skidded around face-to-face with the Fiend, ready to engage as soon as the spell ended. “Let it go!” she called out.

Vanis was getting exhausted. He could feel his mana reserves were nearly drained. If that happened, he’d actually start draining his stamina and could actually injure himself. At that point it would be just a matter of moments before he collapsed. He saw Pixyl take off like an arrow, faster than imaginable, her blades of power flashing into existence. Did she mean to fight it? He poured new reserves into the spell, in panic of what the Fiend might do to his tiny new friend. He barely heard the words when she said ‘let it go’, but heard them clear enough. He saw the look on Pixyl’s face. The intensity in her eyes was focused and white hot.

“On three!” he called out weakly.

1… Vanis took a deep breath, holding it to manage just a little more time.

2… The Pixie set herself, her two glowing swords of energy at the ready.

3…

The Nether Hold dropped, revealing the rather shocked Fiend. Before it could think, there was a fountain of sparks as Pixyl’s Ethereal Blades snaked out to sever the creature's leg at the hip.

And then the blades of power bounced off!