“Marina, run,” Mike hissed.
She glanced over her shoulder and gasped. Behind them, the black tentacles had transformed into thick spears that were moving through the maze. Bursting into a run, Marina focused on the opening. Behind her, she could hear Mike’s steady breath, the sound of his feet hitting the ground, and the snapping of wood as the spears struck the limbs of the bushes behind them. She bit back a cry of frustration because she was unable to protect the century-old plants.
“Hang on!”
The sound of Mike’s voice penetrated her mind a second before his arm wrapped around her waist, and they went flying through the air. Mike turned, holding her against him before they hit the ground and rolled.
Breathing heavily, they looked over their shoulders at the entrance to the maze. Jagged, sharp points a foot apart sealed the entrance. They would have been impaled if Mike had not grabbed her and jumped out of the maze.
“It must have sensed something was in the maze,” she whispered, watching as the deadly tentacles slowly retracted.
“Yeah,” Mike said, rolling onto his back and staring up at the starlit sky for a moment. Above them, he could barely make out the silhouette of Drago as the Dragon King flew across one of the bright moons. Rolling to his stomach, he pushed up off the ground and held his hand out to help Marina up. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, I think so,” she replied, bending to pick up Mr. Bow off the ground before she grabbed Mike’s hand. “What do we do now? How can we fight such a creature?”
Marina didn’t want to admit that she was terrified. This creature the Sea Witch had under her control was far more powerful than anything she’d had to deal with so far. The Hellhounds were bad enough, but at least she knew she could kill them. This creature was different.
Mike glanced around. A slow, menacing smile curved his lips. He turned and pulled her along with him.
“Come on. I have an idea,” he said, heading for one of the buildings.
* * *
Mike cut around the side of the building, making sure it was safe first. Peering through the window, he grunted. He could see an open door on the other side. Keeping his back to the wall, he turned the next corner. A large cart stood next to the building, a few feet from the open door. Beside it stood two men petrified in place. One held a large bag while another carried a bundle of wood under his arm. Their heads were turned back toward the palace. Their stone faces etched with expressions of confusion and fear.
“This is what she did to the entire population of dragons except for the Dragon King. In some ways, I wonder if it would have been more merciful than to live with the fear of knowing what could happen,” Marina quietly said, walking up to run her fingers along one of their faces.
“As long as there is one person who can stand up to Magna and fight, there is always a chance of breaking the spell and freeing those who were imprisoned,” Mike sharply retorted.
“How can we fight her and that creature?” she asked.
Mike could see the hopelessness seeping into her eyes. Stepping forward, he turned her around to face him and cupped her face. They wouldn’t give up now.
“Trust me, Marina. I swear I will do everything I can to free your people. Tonight is the night. Believe in that. We have a kick-ass team with some of the scariest warriors I’ve ever seen in my life. If anyone can defeat Magna and that black thing, we can,” Mike softly and passionately vowed.
He saw her swallow, and her look of doubt and despair dissolved into determination. She nodded, rose up on her toes, and brushed a kiss across his lips. Pulling back, she gave him a shaky smile.
“What is your plan?” she asked.
“Fire! Just about everything hates fire,” Mike said with a confident grin.
“Except dragons,” she said.
Mike raised an eyebrow at her and tsked. “Okay, I’ll give you that. I’m willing to bet my collection of autographed baseballs that thing doesn’t like it though,” he said.
He watched as a glimmer of excitement lit up Marina’s eyes. She bit her lip and glanced at the cart. Walking over to it, she began gathering up some materials. She searched the cart, opening several jars until she found what she was looking for.
“What are you doing?” he asked, following her.
She glanced around, her eyes darting to a pile of debris off to the side of the building. “I need several long poles,” she whispered, lifting the cloth and the jar. “I can make torches.”
Mike gave Marina a sharp nod. “I’ll get some,” he replied, turning toward the pile.
He returned and watched for a moment while Marina set the items she had collected down on the ground and straightened. Glancing around, she rummaged in the cart again, pulling out the largest clay bowl she could find. She returned to the other items on the ground.
Tearing the material into strips, she placed them to the side while she poured the contents from the jar into the bowl. She glanced up at him when he held out four poles, each one approximately three feet long. In his other hand, he held a small box that had been on the ground next to the pile.
“These should work,” she said with a nod.
Mike watched as she took one of the poles and quickly wrapped the cloth around the end. She attached the strips to the remaining poles and dipped the fabric ends into the thick gel.
“Do you have any more of that gel?” he asked, placing the box on the seat of the cart.
“Yes, there are several more jars. Look for the ones with a red stripe. That shows they are flammable. What is in the box?” she asked.
“I’m going to make some Molotov Cocktails,” he replied, pulling out several of the small jars and lining them up on the edge of the cart.
Mike grabbed one of the jars, pried the lid off, and carefully filled it with the thick gel. He continued to do this until he had filled three dozen jars before placing the lids back on them. Opening several crates, he discovered a stash of wax and wicks.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small knife and cut a two-inch piece of wick for each jar. He used the corkscrew on his knife to punch a hole in the top of each lid. He carefully threaded the wick through the holes. He reached back into the box and pulled out a long candle and a round metal tube that he discovered was a lighter. Flicking the top back, he aimed it at the wax on the candle. Marina watched in fascination as he sealed the top around each wick.
“What does this Molotov cocktail do?” she asked, curious.
Mike grinned. “It makes a big fire. When I was a kid, I was grounded for a month when I made one and threw it on a pile of firewood my dad had just chopped. I spent the month chopping wood to replace what I had torched. It wasn’t so bad, though. My dad helped me, and I grew to appreciate how much work it took to chop that much wood,” he replied with a mischievous wiggle of his eyebrows.
“Most children would have resented their father for making them work so hard,” she replied with a glitter of amusement in her eyes. “Why didn’t you?”
Mike held up his arm and bent it to show off his muscle. “Most kids didn’t end up with huge muscles by the end of the summer,” he replied with a grin. “All the girls in school were after me that year.”
Marina gave him an indignant sniff and lowered her head to focus on her torches. “I can imagine they would have been anyway. I was popular with the boys in my village. None of them could handle a powerful bow the way I could,” she retorted.
He softly chuckled. “I don’t think it was just the bow, Marina,” Mike murmured.
She looked up and raised an eyebrow in inquiry. “Why do you say that?” she asked, her breath catching at the fiery look in his eyes.
Mike leaned forward and cupped her chin in his hand. “While they may have been aware of your prowess with the bow, I believe they were definitely just as aware of the beautiful woman holding it.”
“Mike, you know I love it when your voice gets deep like that,” Marina breathed before her eyelids fluttered closed as he leane
d in to kiss her.
Several seconds passed before he reluctantly ended the kiss. As much as he wanted to continue kissing her, now was not the place or the time. Still, he couldn’t resist brushing another quick one across her lips when she released a soft sigh. She opened her eyes and gazed at him with a slightly dazed look.
“There really is magic between us. This is something special, Marina. When this is over, I want to make a life with you,” he said in a guttural tone.
Marina bit her bottom lip and looked at him with a somber expression. “Even if it means you may never see your world again, or your sister?” she asked.
Mike was silent for several seconds before he leaned back and looked down. From the rigid expression on his face, she knew he was thinking about all that he would leave behind. Something deep inside told her that she could not go to his world. She didn’t understand why, but it was as if something warned her that she would not be allowed to exist as she was.
“We’ll discuss this more when this is over,” he replied, looking back up at her. “But the answer is yes. I would leave my world behind to remain here with you.”
He saw the relief sweep through her eyes. Her joy was tinged with regret. She knew that making such a decision would always haunt him.
Mike turned and finished making small, powerful fire bombs while she picked up the torches in one hand. Mr. Bow muttered under his breath that he did not like being near anything that could make fire.
“You know, I’m made of some of the richest wood on the isle. Elder trees do not burn gracefully,” Mr. Bow muttered.
“You do not need to worry, Mr. Bow. If all goes well, you will be back to shooting arrows soon,” Marina assured her bow.
“I can do it if Mike is near,” Mr. Bow informed her.
Marina looked up at Mike with a raised eyebrow. “Is that true?” she asked.
“He said he felt normal when I held him,” Mike informed her, packing the jars into a large, leather knapsack and pocketing the lighter.
“I truly hope he is. We may need his assistance,” she replied.
He paused and looked at her. “Are you ready?” Mike asked.
“Yes.”
Even from a distance, Mike could see the mass of black vines moving against the palace walls in the moonlight. Nodding, he motioned for her to lead the way. They would walk through the open area near the lake and work their way around to the front courtyard and gates. Looking up, Mike saw Drago begin his descent down to the lake. He took a deep breath when he saw the dark shadows of Orion and his men emerging from the water.
“Orion and Drago have arrived,” Mike pointed out.
“We must meet up and warn them of the vines,” she said, swerving toward a wide path leading toward the others.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The white pebbled path shone in the moonlight. As much as Marina hated the sound of their footsteps echoing in the night, she disliked the dark patches in the soft grass even more. Behind her, she could hear Mike keeping pace with her.
They reached the circular fountain at the same time that Orion and his men did. Behind the group, she could see Drago in his dragon form baring his teeth at the wisps of black tentacles.
“This looks like the evil magic that Magna has cloaked herself with,” Orion said as a greeting.
“She has spread herself out too much in an effort to secure both the interior inner and outer areas of the palace,” Drago observed.
“Why would she do that? Surely she realizes that it would weaken her defenses,” Kapian said.
“You need to be cautious. Even as thin as these appear to be, they can be deadly,” Mike warned.
Marina nodded. “We came through the maze. The black mist came together into deadly spears. It can exist in many different forms. We barely escaped,” she said.
“Kapian has two men working on opening the gates for Nali. We must get inside the palace. Do we know if Koorgan and Ashure were successful in securing the villages?” Orion asked.
“Yes, I saw them come ashore. Remind me to never make Koorgan or his men mad. There were a few stray Hellhounds on the loose that didn’t make it back to the palace before nightfall,” Drago shared.
“What happened to them, if I may ask, your Majesty?” Kapian inquired.
Drago gave everyone a sharp-toothed grin. “Let’s just say they pop when you step on them. The farmers are going to have a large area of fertilized farmland for a while.”
“Gross. At least with my magic arrows they disintegrate,” Marina replied with a shudder.
“I will remain by your side per my orders from Queen Jenny,” Kapian stated
Orion shook his head and chuckled before he turned to Marina. She saw his expression turn to one of cold determination and knew he expected her to lead the way. Marina nodded and turned on her heel.
She gripped Mr. Bow in one hand and the torches in the other. She kept a wary look out for the black wisps. She wasn’t sure how they were tied to Magna. Her biggest fear was that the Sea Witch was already aware of their presence.
They made it to the front of the palace. The walls all the way around were covered in the black vines. She was surprised that they had not encountered any of the Hellhounds so far. The thought had no sooner flashed through her mind when she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye.
“Look out!” she cried, turning as three Hellhounds emerged from between the stone captives littering the courtyard.
“Protect the statues,” Orion ordered, pointing his Trident at the Hellhound in the lead.
Marina instinctively lifted Mr. Bow and uttered the magic spell she had used so many times before. The bowstring glowed faintly before fading as she tried to pull it back. She reached for it again as the second Hellhound turned toward her.
Power surged through her when she felt Mike’s hand on her back. Mr. Bow hummed to life, the powerful glow of the string vibrated in her hands. Marina pulled back the string and released one magical arrow after another at the beast. The third arrow struck it through the forehead and it disintegrated into a puff of ash mere feet from her.
Marina turned on the third Hellhound. Two of Orion’s men were firing bolts of electricity at the beast. Her arrow struck it in the side at the same time as the men buried their tridents into it. The beast glowed brightly before dissolving into a pool of ash.
“Orion!” Mike shouted.
Orion had sprung upward, flying over the head of a snapping Hellhound. He turned and landed on its back. Raising his trident above his head, he brought it down on the Hellhound’s neck with such a force that the creature stumbled before its head was severed, and its body rolled to the side. Marina turned and fired arrows into both the body and the head.
“Look out!” Mike yelled, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her down to the ground.
Long tentacles from a black vine crawling along the palace walls struck out with deadly force. Three of Orion’s men grunted and crumpled to the ground as sharp spears pierced their bodies. Drago turned and ejected a long blaze of fire on the vines, driving them back.
“There!” Marina breathed out, pointing to one of Orion’s guards who was fighting against the moving vines. “We have to help him!”
“Stay back until I tell you,” Mike ordered, rolling to his side and pulling one of the small jars out of the knapsack. Yanking the lighter out of his pocket, he lit one of the Molotov cocktails. “Now!” he shouted as he tossed the flaming jar at the vines.
They both rushed forward as the jar exploded, sending flames up the withering vines. The guard fell back several steps and glanced at Mike in surprise. Mike tossed two of the small jars to the guard. The man nodded in understanding. Throwing the jar toward the top of the vines, the guard aimed his trident at it and fired a bolt of electricity. The flammable liquid exploded, raining fire from the top of the vines downward.
Mike turned and threw three more jars while Marina lit two of her torches from the burning creature nearby. She gave one to
Mike. They jabbed them at the twisting vines, sending the thorny limbs into retreat while Orion and his men worked at killing the half-dozen Hellhounds that had converged on the courtyard to stop them.
Marina’s anguish cry echoed above the sounds of fighting and the crackle of the fire. A large Hellhound had knocked over two of the statues which shattered and turned to ash. Her fingers trembled as she pulled back on Mr. Bow. The Hellhound was heading straight for Isha. The glow of the bowstring faded when she pulled it back.
“Mike! We need Mike,” Mr. Bow frantically said.
“Mike!” Marina screamed, searching for him through the smoke.
Mike turned to her. He ran toward her, but Marina knew he wouldn’t make it in time. Her lips parted on a scream of denial as the Hellhound raised a sharp paw to swipe Isha out of its way. The scream died on her lips when the Hellhound was suddenly lifted in the air and tossed against the front doors of the palace.
“What the…?” Mike choked.
Marina felt him grab her around the waist and pull her to the side as a swarm of monsters swept through the courtyard. The Cyclops, Minotaurs, and Centaurs circled around the statues, forming an impenetrable wall.
“It is Nali!” Marina half-cried, half-cheered as the Empress stood protectively over her brother.
“That’s Nali… and Charlie?! How in the hell did Charlie get here?” Mike whispered in shock, staring up at the monster that was the size of a giant before his gaze lowered to the pup that was excitedly barking next to Isha’s statue.
Nali lifted her head and snarled. The ground trembled with the sound. Marina pulled her gaze away from Nali when Kapian came up to them.
“Hurry!” Kapian ordered, turning and firing on another Hellhound. “There are more than we thought. Nali and Ashure will handle the ones outside.”
“Ashure! He shouldn’t be…,” Marina started to protest.
She glanced over her shoulder when Mike grabbed her left arm while Kapian held onto her right. They pulled her to the front doors of the palace that now stood wide open. Drago burned away any residual vines that had survived.