CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“This way,” Gillan said, guiding others into one of the hundreds of large boats. “Stay calm. Everything will be fine.”
Close by on the pier, Caycee watched the sky as Khothu filed past her.
Several Erinyes and Corinthians with griffins landed on the dock, attacking and scattering the Khothu in all directions.
Caycee took aim with her bow and nailed an Eriny with an arrow to the head. She quickly fired off another arrow, killing a Corinthian.
The now riderless griffin went after a small Typhon girl, who fired what little flames she could to slow the creature down as she ran.
Caycee fired an arrow and hit one of the griffin's hind legs, but the animal barely paused.
Tripping over her feet from running so fast, the girl fell and cowered in the fetal position. Just as the griffin was about to take a bite, Nasia seemed to come out of nowhere and slashed the creature's side with her sword.
Writhing in pain, the griffin had no chance of avoiding the searing hot fire Nasia then doused it with. As the creature looked for any way to escape it tried to fly off, only to fall dead into the water.
Nasia picked the crying girl up. “There, there now. You'll be fine. Let's get you out of here,” she said. With the commotion ahead of her, she ran off with the girl towards another boat.
As Gillan continued cramming as many people on the boat as he could, Melkor arrived on the dock with Kemik close behind.
When the Erinyes turned their attention to him, Melkor came to a dead stop, holding his son behind him.
Kemik shook in fear at the sight of Erinyes growling as they approached and took up the whole width of the dock. “Do something, Dad!”
Waiting for the right moment, Melkor caused a chunk of wall to break and levitate between himself and the Erinyes. It suddenly shattered into dozens of smaller, very sharp shards that shot into the Erinyes.
Gillan was familiar with Melkor's abilities, but even he was stunned with the visceral way the Komodo disposed of the enemy.
Caycee continued to provide covering fire.
When they finally arrived at the boat, Melkor helped his son on and began to walk back down the pier.
“Dad,” Kemik yelled. “Where are you going?”
Melkor stopped. “I am needed here. You go with the others.”
Kemik hopped off the boat. “No way! I'm staying with you!”
It was difficult for Melkor to face his son. He didn’t want Kemik to see the worry in his face. “Don't argue with me! The Pelasgians are ruthless savages, and they won't think twice about killing you.”
A tear rolled down Kemik's face.
Melkor softened up a little. “I promise we'll see each other again,” he said, hugging his son. “But I can't do my job if I have to worry about you. Now please, go.”
Kemik reluctantly boarded the boat. “Fight well, Father.”
The boat now full, everyone on the pier had to turn back, and it was slow going with so many people.
Caycee was now on the dock helping people. She never noticed Piscoro, a Caidoz, jumping out of the water and landing a few yards not far behind.
Piscoro had a long armored tail with a stinger she used to swat several Khothu away.
Caycee sensed the terror from the Khothu around her and turned to see what was happening. Before she could react, though, Piscoro's stinger was in her stomach.
With a quick whip of the tail, Piscoro sent Caycee soaring over one building and into the wall of another.
Many of Caycee's bones broke as blood shot from her mouth.
Gillan made a torrent of water crash into Piscoro with enough power to knock most people down a street. Letting up, he was stunned to see her standing as though nothing had happened.
“Allow me,” Melkor said, with the ground taking hold of Piscoro's feet and a wall of earth rising up to tip over on top of her.
“Hurry,” Gillan said running. “We have to find Caycee.”
As they reached the dock, Melkor watched as Piscoro poured out in liquid form from under the wall and reshaped herself in seconds.
Gillan and Melkor didn’t know what to do. Piscoro took one step toward them before bursting into a cloud of mist from a fireball that struck her from behind.
Gillan breathed a sigh of relief seeing it was Nasia who saved them. “As if the Pelasgians weren't enough,” he said. “Who was she?”
“Who knows,” Melkor replied. “But it looks like she has friends.”
Gillan could see the ram-headed Eisar further down the dock wreaking havoc with a mace of fire.
On the opposite side of the dock, Quasairu didn't appear to have a weapon until he opened his beak and belted out a loud squawk that could shatter glass a hundred yards away.
While the Pelasgians retreated, Marduk walked up behind Cesni and Ivee watching as the Caidoz appeared throughout Tiamat, attacking at random and causing widespread destruction.
“I almost feel bad for them,” Cesni said.
Ivee giggled. “Almost.”
Suruta could easily be confused for a Minotaur, but her femininity was definitely more apparent and she was much more deadly with a hammer that could crack the ground open like an earthquake.
Imigen also had a beak, but his weapon was a whip that flailed around like it had a mind of its own. As he stood in the middle of the plaza, an ethereal twin kept randomly appearing within nearby, doing his actual fighting.
Neccra had a giant crab claw that could cut steel like a hot knife through butter or punch holes into walls. She demolished many of the buildings on the shoreline.
On one of the islands, Oel used his lion claws to set anything he touched ablaze. Even the ground he walked on was smoldering.
Uratistagis reached back into his horse-like mane of fire and pulled out an arrow. Taking aim with his bow, he shot the arrow at a building, causing it to erupt into a ball of flames.
Even if she didn't have the gills of a fish, Cipess could stay underwater indefinitely. She leaped straight up out of the sea, throwing a stream of water like a spear so fast it went through several buildings.
Nasia ran down the dock, unleashing a fireball from both hands that engulfed Eisar. But to her horror, the Caidoz ran out of the blaze at her.
“Run away,” Melkor yelled, with the Typhon Chief doing just that.
Princcora suddenly came crashing through a building onto the dock. Having horns the size of an ibex goat, nothing could stand in her way. She also had gauntlets that covered her hands and much of her forearms. With a single punch, she caused a huge section of the dock to break apart.
Unable to keep her balance, Nasia was thrown into the water.
Gillan immediately dove in, quickly locating Nasia and helping her to a narrow beach path under the docks.
Melkor collapsed a huge building onto Eisar and Princcora.
Though even with all that weight on them, both Caidoz easily tore their way out.
“Give me a break,” Melkor said in frustration.
As Nasia lay on her side coughing up water, Gillan climbed onto the dock. Eisar and Princcora stood between him and Melkor.
The sound of screeching wyvern drew Gillan’s attention. He looked up to see Perak fly past with a strong gust of wind in his wake.
Gillan noticed the wind didn't seem to affect Eisar much, while Princcora was carried a good distance and knocked into Quasairu.
Eisar raised his mace as he went after Gillan, but before he could bring it down, the Leviathan prodigy called up a wave of water that turned the ram-headed Caidoz into a cloud of steam.
“That's it,” Gillan said.
Perak made another pass.
The wind threw Princcora into the water where she struggled to stay afloat. Quasairu, who wasn't affected at all, let out a deafening squawk.
Covering his ears, Perak and his disoriented wyvern crashed into the roof of a building.
“Melkor,” Gillan called, pointing to Quasairu. “Kill him!”
Melk
or made a quick gesture with his hand that made a spike of earth shoot up through the docks and into Quasairu, causing him to vanish into air.
“Finally,” Melkor said, exhausted.
Gillan had seen where Caycee was thrown. So, it didn't take long for him and Melkor to find her.
The sight of Caycee's body was unsettling. If she weren't Vesuvian, most would have thought she was dead.
Gillan lightly shook Caycee. “Please wake up.”
Though all Caycee could do was barely open her eyes and mutter. “Blood...”
Gillan gave Caycee one of her blood marbles.
In seconds, Caycee's bones reset themselves and she was back on her feet.
Not far, Rovgi and Bilar came around the corner. Both groups spotted each other at the same time.
“Who are you?” Gillan asked.
“I can't sense either of them,” Caycee said.
A powerful blast of wind blew against the Rheans and Bilar shot down the street towards them.
Melkor quickly caused the buildings on one side of the street to explode, crushing Bilar under a pile of rubble.
Rovgi pointed her sword and made a large piece of rock fly at the three Rheans.
Just before the rock could crush them, Melkor used his power to stop it in midair. “Gillan...go!” he said, straining to keep the debris at bay.
“I'm not going anywhere,” Gillan said. He quickly conjured a small quasi-hurricane of water directly on top of Rovgi.
Caycee fired an arrow, hitting Rovgi in the leg, but the Caidoz wasn't affected by anything that was happening.
Melkor began trembling from concentrating so hard, and still the boulder slowly inched its way closer.
Caycee fired her last two arrows before noticing movement behind her. Seeing Eisar, Piscoro, Princcora and Quasairu several yards away, she screamed.
As the Caidoz began to close in, bolts of lightning struck all of them, temporarily bringing them to one knee.
The Rheans were also briefly incapacitated by the light and sound.
A serpent-headed Caidoz with skin like a snake stood in the middle of the street.
Rovgi nodded. “Shuo Pu Chi.”
Caycee grabbed onto to Gillan waiting for something bad to happen.
Looking at the Rheans and then Rovgi, Shuo Pu Chi let out a long hiss.
At that, the rest of the Caidoz dispersed into their incorporeal forms.
The Rheans stood weary as Shuo Pu Chi pulled a piece of jade from his pocket and tossed it to Gillan's feet before vanishing in a flash of lightning.
Melkor fell to the ground exhausted. “What on earth was all that about?”
Gillan picked the green stone up examining it. “I don't know,” he said, placing the rock in his pocket. “But I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of them.”
Still watching from afar, Cesni was disappointed. “Hey, I thought there were only twelve of them!”
“Oh,” Ivee said, frowning. “Looks like Mr. Know-It-All doesn’t know it all, after all.”
Marduk, who couldn't care less, pushed his cohorts aside as he walked away. “We're done here.”