Quickly dashing sideways to flank Telagus, Lacey and Minet both gripped their weapons tightly, waiting for Rex to close the distance front on, ‘Surely she cannot dodge an attack from the three of us at once’ he said through their connection.“Amusing,” Telagus said with a wide smile, watching the three assailants intently as they reached their destinations around him.“Won’t be so amusing when I shove my sword up your…” Lacey started to curse, getting cut off mid-sentence by a gust of air striking her in the chest, staggering her slightly.“No need for cuss words young filthy mouth,” Telagus growled, lowering his hand after pointing it at Lacey, “Your connection to each other is strong,” he continued his eyes darting to Minet and then back to Rex.‘When he hit Lacey, I felt it as well,’ Minet said.‘So did I, he must have noticed your flinch,’ Rex warned, “We must be careful of what strikes we take.’‘I’ve never seen anyone throw air like a weapon,’ Lacey added in, rolling her head fr
“If that is the case, mind telling me where we are?” Rex asked defiantly, angry at Telagus’s apparent pride at whatever he had done.“We are in a place that resides between your mother’s and your own mind, I have you in here to enjoy the show,” he replied with an evil smile.“Show? What show?” Rex asked, scowling while eyeing him suspiciously.“Oh right, I forgot, since your mother’s shell is technically in command of your actions, with my influence of course, I will help you see what you’re doing,” he continued, his eyes glowing red for a second, producing a large round disk between them.“What I’m doing…what the f**k are you on about?” Rex replied aggressively, he had no idea what was going on and was doing his best to try and stall Telagus to try and figure out a way out of his current predicament.Growling disdainfully, Telagus snapped his neck from side to side sharply, “Oh such filth from young mouths, it is disgusting to hear.”“Don’t like cuss words?” Rex asked, smiling.“I am
“You have set me up!!” Telagus roared in a panicked voice.“I did NO such thing! YOU did this, so now the sacred battle is null and void, Markus, Ley and Marcia, signal the full charge!” Rector roared.As they nodded their acknowledgement of the order, Telagus yelled at Rex, “Kill them all!!”Obeying the order, Rex immediately lit his hands on fire and began throwing fireballs into Rector’s charging army, killing scores of soldiers as they charged Telagus’s army, leaving many screaming in pain from burns.“Son, that is enough!” Rector said loudly, his voice echoing, quickly moving to be in front of Rex.“He does not listen to you,” Telagus said with an evil smile, “His connection to his mother is strong, stronger than even I predicted.”“We will see about that, Rex, that is NOT your mother, not your real mother,” Rector pleaded, staring into Rex’s eyes, trying his best to make it through the spell.Rex stopped throwing his fireballs after hearing his name called, snapping his head to
“Lizz, why have you put an earring on me? And why am I back in control of myself again?” Rex asked, eyeing Lizz suspiciously, not seeming to be able to let his hand move from the earring now firmly planted through his left-hand lower ear lobe. “Show an outwards sign of an inwards change,” she replied with a smile, lifting her hand out in front of her to show a note crumpled in her palm. “What are you talking about?” Rex asked, tilting his head with a half-smile, slightly confused. “Whatever she has done will make no difference, I will still end you all!” Telagus interjected, pushing Lizz to the side, as he did Rex could feel pain and anger suddenly rise out of nowhere. ‘What the…it feels like the connection I share with the other girls…speaking of which where are they?’ While Rex seemed distracted by the flood of unfamiliar emotions, Telagus jumped at the opportunity that arose, thrusting his sword forward quickly toward Rex’s chest. Once the sword had reached a mere inch from Re
Rex gripped the sword pommel a little tighter to ready himself to enter the fight, feeling a sudden warmth enter his palm, quickly flooding his entire body, the sudden increase in power even caused Fafnir to quickly gaze over to him before turning back to move to the side as one of Deacon’s conjured spears grazed this upper arm.‘Hurry now Rex, use the power she loans you to help me get rid of the traitor, his spears are highly distracting!’ he snarled.‘Yes Rex, let me taste the blood of the traitor,’ Sküülen said, sounding desperate for Rex to drain his blood.‘I hope I’m not going to regret this,’ Rex said to himself, getting a haughty chuckle from Fafnir and a few quizzical worried probes from Lacey, Minet and Marcia, ‘It’s fine, I’m ok,’ he reassured them, ‘I hope.’Using the extra strength and speed Sküülen was lending him, Rex closed the gap between himself and Deacon quicker than he could have by himself, so quickly that Deacon swore loudly as Rex appeared in front of him, swo
Seeing the shadow begin to grow in size and shape, Rex recognised it immediately, ‘Glad for the assistance Marcia.’Once Fafnir saw the skylark being ridden by Marcia ascending over the top of the lava beetle, he roared, “Flip the beast over quickly, we must kill it and return to dispatch Telagus!”Realising he had lost Telagus’s location while being focused on the beetle, Rex did a quick scan, spying him within seconds, fighting a group of his soldiers to carve a path through the ranks of soldiers who attempted to cut off their retreat, ‘We are losing too many men while battling this thing, we have to make this quick!’Dropping a little quicker, Ulna spread her talons under Marcia’s directions, quickly clamping to either side of the beetle’s outer shell, but before they could heave the beetle upward to flip it over, it quickly flicked its shell open, exposing the softer flesh and wings underneath. Seizing a quick opening, Marcia dropped onto the shell and drove her sword deep into th
“This time I have decided to follow your command my sweet,” Sküülen replied with a smile after a split second of deep thought, no doubt weighing up her options Rex thought. “So you will stay bound to me?” “Yes.” “Swear it,” Rex replied, watching her with fierce unblinking eyes, he remembered a lesson from Rector, ‘Ancient beings were bound by their words.’ “I swear I will remain bound to you when leaving,” Sküülen said in a monotone, clearly slightly annoyed. “Very well, come and assist me in this battle,” Rex said, satisfied. * * * As Rex’s vision began to come back to him, a strange buzzing noise began to enter his hearing, it sounded like someone was yelling at him, what was being said seemed distant and fuzzy, but with each passing second the words became clearer, “Rex!! Please wake up!” Slowly taking in his surroundings groggily, Rex felt like someone had smacked his head repeatedly with the headache he currently sported, then felt like something was wrong, he was not su
After merely a minute, Rex was regretting his decision to continue, the pain was already wreaking havoc on his body, he had heard and felt six ribs snap, and his collarbone and was pretty sure something was wrong with his spine and wouldn’t be surprised the cramping he felt in his abdomen meant internal damage. Ulna had still not moved since they began beside a few twitches, and the few times Rex had had to stop for a few seconds to breathe his way through a new wave of searing pain, Markus had quickly jumped in and checked her vitals, shaking his head each time. “Come on damn you,” Rex cursed after each time no change was found, the only thing that was keeping him going was the wave of hope he had felt through the bond he shared with Marcia, every time Markus checked Ulna’s vitals for any improvement the wave sent reassurance through him and gave him the strength to continue as his body was being broken and bent.Allowing the magic to fill him once mo
The moment Rex allowed Karinna to join him, she immediately started to mutter under her breath with her hands outstretched, slowly walking towards the young, downed woman.“What are you doing?” Cassius asked, taking a step forward to attempt to get a better view as to what Karinna was doing.“You need to stay back, the magic woven into this woman is highly unstable,” Karinna snapped, shooting a sharp glance toward Cassius, stopping him in his tracks.Raising his hands defensively, Cassius, along with Grug, retreated a few paces back and away from Karinna and the downed woman.“Grub be thinking how such small girlie make all buggies dead,” Grub asked, squinting suspiciously toward the young woman.“This poor girl has been subjected to a horrific amount of opposing magic. I am surprised she has not exploded already and killed us all, bringing this entire nest down in the process,” Karinna said, pausing her spell-casting to check the young woman’s pulse. “Before she can be moved, I must
Rex, Cassius, Hussin and Grub were on full alert as they moved through the archway and entered into the well-lit, large cavern. The first thing Rex noticed was the amount of crazak bodies strewn around. He estimated there were at least thirty here, all looking like they had died while trying to fend off an attacker.“Be alert of your surroundings,” Cassius said after leaning over and pressing his hand onto the shredded chitin of a downed crazak that was closest to the archway. “It’s still warm, I would say the fight happened only 15 minutes ago.”“These quilix died in fighting circles,” Hussin said, surveying the carnage. “It is our most used tactic for our primarily non-combat nest members. Whatever did this used raw power to overcome all present.”“To slay this many buggies, thing must be strong,” Grub said, kneeling down next to another crazak and running his hand over its limbs, tracing the deep gouges in its tough chitin with his finger. “This buggy was ripped in pieces. With stro
Godking Darius had never slept much in his old life, this habit leaked through to his current reincarnation. This worked well to keep his entourage of close advisors on their feet, as well as not allowing anyone to catch him unawares, which was in his top three of most despised things.He was currently perusing through his latest report papers, lounging back on his large high-backed throne chair, just sitting slightly offset to his large black obsidian desk. He always sat facing the doorway allowing him a good view of anyone who entered into his chambers. Feeling a pulse of energy approaching, he smiled evilly. Darius knew this weasel-featured advisor well. Turning slightly back to his table, he stashed the papers he was reading and turned back to face the door, interlocking his fingers across his chest and waited. A few minutes later, a soft knock on the door could be heard.“Enter,” Darius said, allowing a slight sliver of magic into his voice. He had learnt from his earliest time s
During their trip from the throne room, Paool questioned Rex about his incredible ability to heal wounds.After seeming somewhat satisfied with Rex’s vague explanation about being bonded with an ancient creature and sharing some of its traits, Paool then asked about how he was hiding the presence of other beings, explaining he could sense multiple scents emanating from him.“Why does smart buggy not be asking Grub about him?” Grub suddenly blurted out, appearing next to Paool, startling the crazak.“Uh, this one does not know what to ask of you delicious-smelling one,” Paool replied after a few seconds, his name for Grub eliciting a chuckle from Cassius.Before Grub was able to respond, Paool stopped suddenly, his action not being noticed by the others for another two steps.“Everything ok Paool?” Rex asked, instinctively resting his hand on the pommel of his sword while his eyes darted between both ends of the tunnel they currently traversed.“Yes, blessed one. This humble one was ju
Chapter 104Thirty minutes later, and with great effort, Rex was able to be upright without nausea or a pounding headache and was now seated at a small table in the cavernous room he was placed in.“Uh, I feel worse than ever,” Rex said, reaching out and picking up a strange blood-red coloured food object he guessed was fruit from a stone bowl in the centre of the table he was sitting at, Grub to his left and Cassius to his right. Both men, he could see, had a worried expression poorly hidden in their facial features. Turning the food over in his fingers, he could not attribute the shape nor colour to any fruit he had seen, during his time in Oak, nor even during his time in Dracoterrum and this realm.Clearing his throat slightly before speaking, Cassius broke the silence that came after Rex’s declaration, saying while also looking at the food Rex was studying, “They call it a “Smuur”, whatever that means. I have not been able to ascertain a translation to our tongue, but I believe i
“Now now Dorian,” the younger, gentler female voice said in an almost sing-song tone before Rex could reply, “I remember, gods quite a long time ago now, where a man once told me, ‘A man’s secrets are his very being. The ability to strip a man’s secrets and lay him bare is a travesty to his core.’ With that in mind, how could you allow any of us to assault his mind and take away that which doesn’t belong to us?”“Sounds like Tillian has found herself a young interest,” the older woman’s voice said, almost mockingly.“I can admit, unlike some of us, that this young…I am sorry, Rex was it?” the voice from Tillian said.“Yes, my name is Rex,” Rex nodded, finally being able to have a voice amongst the seemingly ending squabbles of beings unknown to him.“I had forgotten if you classed yourself as an adult or child still,” Tillian’s voice said softly. “I know so little about your race I’m afraid. I doubt even Gillart could shed any light on this.”“Hullans would be the closest to his race
Doing his best to keep his heart rate and thoughts on the correct path, Rex took a step back out of instinct, causing the hive queen to stop one step above where he stood and raise the two eyebrows on the left side of her face.“Do you not intend on agreeing to our deal?” she asked, her voice going flat.“Uh, sorry. Old habit to give myself room for a fight if needed,” Rex said, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead as he realised he had also unknowingly taken an unarmed fighting stance.“Hold out your hand,” the hive queen said, smirking seeing Rex relax from his fighting stance in seconds.Doing as requested, but keeping his muscles taut and ready to react at a moment's notice, the hive queen strode forward, striking the tip of his thumb with one of her claw tips so fast Rex did not even see the queen move her hand. After feeling the pinch, he looked at his thumb, seeing the blood now slowly trickling out from the tiny wound.“Uh, that’s strange,” Rex said, still staring curio
“Balrog!?” Rex spluttered, his mind whirling. “But Fafnir said she was…”“A demon?” The hive queen said, her voice almost like a low growl sending a tingling sensation down Rex’s spine.“Uh, yeah,” Rex sighed, hoping his admission did not seal his fate earlier than expected, “I believed it because he was a dragon and she didn’t look anything like the crazaks that attacked earlier on my journey, or now I’ve seen you, doesn’t resemble you either.”“Do all humans look the same?” The queen asked, raising two eyebrows over two eyes on the left side of her face while looking down at Rex.“Well, no,” Rex replied. Then it dawned on him, “Same race, look differently. I must admit I’m now curious about how that happens. Our looks differ due to quite a lot of things like race, gender, and heritage of the parents, is that the same for you?”“No,” the queen replied with a quirk to the edges of her mouth. “You are tempting and intelligent, quite the tantalising mix indeed. Our looks depend on our l
Taalook had only led the group a few hundred metres toward a large archway leading into a dimly lit tunnel when Rex stopped two paces from the doorway. “What’s this?” Rex asked, tracing his eyes over the archway, one eyebrow raised. “What’s what Rex?” Cassius asked, halting beside Rex and staring, confused at the arched doorway. “There is another film of magic over this doorway. Another shield?” Rex asked turning to face Taalook and Hussin. “You can see the zone magics?” Hussin asked, his small beady eyes growing a little larger in surprise. “Zone magics?” Cassius asked, snapping to look at the archway once more, squinting heavily before sighing and turning to Rex. “I don’t know how you do it. Is it something you can teach?” “The queen has the zetas set zones that allow certain types into certain zones, preventing those from going into places they shouldn’t be,” Taalook boomed. “Hussin can tell you about it once we meet the queen, and if you are allowed to continue living afterwa