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
“So Rex,” Kiri began once they packed their cooking utensils. “I believe there is a part to this story you have not told us.”“What part is that?” Rex asked, raising one eyebrow at her.“The part where you earned the ‘blessed one’ title,” Kiri replied with a smirk. “I am most curious as to who has blessed you to elicit such a respectful response from a creature powerful enough to kill almost all of us.”Kiri’s question seemed to draw all eyes to Rex, even Cassius and Grub, even though they already knew the story.“Well,” Rex began with a little sigh as he gathered his thoughts, “I was originally tasked with performing a deed, in return for a favour. The queen then brought me through a portal to a place to have the agreement sealed by someone she called an ancient. She cannot deviate too far from some mission she was brought here to do, or something like that. Anyway, there were more ‘ancients’ than first agreed upon, almost like a council-type setup. The agreement was then changed to
“So this ‘dragon’ that is bonded with your soul is what has given you your potent abilities and now has unlocked some of your weaker magic?” Venya asked, for the fifth time. Rex had explained his meeting and bonding with Fafnir in great detail, but it seemed like Venya still did not believe him to be telling the truth. “Dragons are myth and you’re telling me your whole family line has bonded with one?” she had retorted, each time he tried telling her.“I too find his story to also be a touch fanciful, but it would also explain how he has performed such incredible feats that we have ALL witnessed. So I think it to be prudent to believe him. He has never lied to us before now, has he?” Kiri replied, finally being the one able to silence Venya.Rex had just begun to thank Kiri when Queen Ullysarius’s voice wafted across the magical space, silencing everyone.“Blessed one, we must speak.”“Sounds like I’m needed once more,” Rex sighed.“I can’t wait to be back in the real world and away f
Rex had only just erected his archway for Grub and Cassius to pass through when he was stopped, turning to face who had called out his name.“Before you go, blessed one,” Paool said, tilting his head slightly in respect. Her magnificence would like you to focus on binding the conduit. She has informed me of the importance of unlocking your once powerful magical talent for what lies ahead of you.”Rex was about to ask what he meant by that, but before he could utter a word, Paool had spun on his heel and with a faint crack, had disappeared.After the momentary shock wore off, Rex clicked his tongue in amusement at how Paool had chosen to take his leave, then spun and entered his archway.Once the quick lurching sensation from the portal had worn off, Rex’s mouth dropped open almost instantly. His spiritual space had expanded exponentially. As he took in the new surroundings, he was accosted before his brain could register what was happening.“Rex!!” a familiar growl entered his ear. Fo
Not wanting to see how Taalook had ‘Dealt’ with Norian, Rex moved on with his plan.“Anyone else wants to travel the same path as Norian?” Rex asked, watching everyone intently. He noticed the remaining squad members all wore a mixture of shock, and fear except for Barton who had disgust written over his face.“Well Barton,” Rex continued, walking up to the kneeling man. “If I release you, will you still pursue us seeing as your commander has perished?”This question elicited a moan from Brend as he struggled against his bindings.“Something to add Brend?” Cassius asked, coming to stand before the man.“Blessed one, I should warn you,” Taalook growled, stomping up to Brend, clenching two clawed hands on his right side. “He was the most aggressive fleshling. That is why his bindings are so tightly wrapped. The insect was annoying me.”Allowing Taalook to remove Brend’s gag, it did not take long for Brend to also decide to not take Rex’s lifeline.“You do not know how the godking’s army
“Well,” Rex coughed, “How do you know they came with ill intentions?”“They confessed under duress of course,” Queen Ullysarius said, casually waving her two left-sided long-clawed hands dismissively. “Do you wish to unveil the fleshed ones? Or shall I?”Turning toward Cassius for guidance and getting a confused shrug, Rex turned back, “I’ll do it.” Rex noticed the queen seemed to deflate slightly at his answer. ‘Strange response,’ he thought.“Shall I accompany you?” Ullysarius added in, quickly sidling in next to Rex, her eyes shining eagerly.” You know, in case it is decided they will visit the beyond. I would be honoured to send them there myself, blessed one.” Rex noticed she put extra emphasis on the title.Rolling his eyes, Rex moved to the first covered figure, reached under the hood and flipped it back.“Brend?” Rex asked, shocked to see Rosie’s squad leader kneeling before him, a strange black substance stuck over his mouth to prevent speaking, and his hands and elbows were
The moment Rex allowed Kiri 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 Kiri was doing.“You need to stay back, the magic woven into this woman is highly unstable,” Kiri 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 Kiri 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,” Kiri said, pausing her spell-casting to check the young woman’s pulse. “Before she can be moved, I must separate and sec
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