"Who has summoned me?" Zadione says, looking straight ahead. "Oh?" She smirks. "It''s Kaioson and his buddies."


    "Forgive me, my lord. I have failed to bring him alive," Penny says.


    "Where are the others I sent with you?" She says, turning her ear to Penny. "Have these two killed them?" She uses her sword to point at Ulrika and me.


    "No clue."


    "I believe it. They wouldn''t be so silent about it."


    "Is that her?" Elred whispers out of the side of her mouth. Ulrika shushes him. "Is that the bitch who Thubet''s kingdom?"


    "Yes, now remain silent," Ulrika says.


    Zadione shethes her sword and gives us a good look before examining Garret''s vitals. Penny watches us the entire time while Zadione looks over his body.


    "Damn," Zadione says when she rolls on Garret on his side. "They got you good." I''m not able to see what she''s looking directly at, but judging by the pool of blood under him, I think Elred hit Garret''s heart. "Take him through, will you?"


    "Yes, my lord," Penny says. She hoists him on his shoulder and lifts herself into the portal using a pillar of ice. Blood drips and rolls down the ice. When the portal collapses, it shatters the pillar.


    "Gentlemen! And one unusual woman."


    "Demon bitch," Ulrika says.


    "Watch your tongue," she says, chuckling. "I wouldn''t want to cut it out in front of Kaioson." Ulrika nearly reacts to Zadione''s threat. I have to slap her chest to keep her from speaking out. We are outclassed in possibly every method. If we piss her off, we''re dead.


    "Aren''t you going to leave?" I say.


    "No."


    "Why?"


    "Well," she frowns and glances behind her to view the fighting. "I really want that to stop."


    "Huh?" Elred says. "Is that a jest?"


    "No. Watch this."


    A massive mana surge hits me like the warmth of the morning sun. Zadione flexes her arms, pushes her chest forward, and then spreads her arms to the sky. A massive portal opens above the street where the fighting is. The mana from it creates a large enough explosion to nearly knock me over. All of the cultists ascend one by one. Once the last one enters, she crosses her arms, collapsing the portal.


    "What the hell just happened?" Elred says. "Where did they go?"


    Some of the soldiers from the street look over to us. A few curious men start walking over here. The others eventually join in, and suddenly, a woman screams at them to stop. I can see a disturbance of people moving like a ripple effect down a center line. At the front of the line, it opens with Rhyndac walking out with Glysith a distance behind her.


    "Ah, Rhyndac," Zadione says. She rests her hand on the pommel of her sword. A black leather-bound book appears over her shoulder and opens to a section near the end.


    Crap! That''s the second book I have seen use.


    "Drake," I whisper with my hand mouth. "Do you recognize that book?"


    "No. I''ll have to read the cover," Drake says.


    "Greetings, my child," Zadione says.


    "Hello, demon," Rhyndac says.


    "Oh, that''s pretty rude, don''t you think?"


    "I think it''s pretty accurate." Zadione reads something in the book and closes it without touching it. "What''s in that book?"


    "Knowledge."


    "Or power."


    "Mhmm," she chuckles. "There''s some incantations here and there." She chuckles again, but longer.


    "Incantations?" Drake murmurs twice. "Is she a witch?"


    "She''s more," I say.


    Witches are known to cast spells, but they are usually language-specific incantations. Wizards like Ulrika and I don''t always need to say what spell we want to use. Zadione has shown powers that make her look like a warlock or a sorceress. She doesn''t necessarily need to read books, so why does she? Why this one?


    More people are beginning to show up behind Rhyndac and Glysith. Glysith has to put her arms out to keep people from moving past her.


    "Why are you here?" Rhyndac says.


    "I was called here," Zadione answers with a flip of her hair. "One of my men died."


    "Good riddance."


    "Nothing good will come out of it, my child."


    "Cut the sympathetic mother crap," she says, gnawing her teeth. "Get on your knees and surrender."


    "That''s not very godly of me."


    "Do as she says, demon!" A man standing to Rhyndac''s left says. Zadione abruptly clenches her hand and brings it near her face. A telekinetic tether engulfs him and makes him fly towards her. She takes one step to her left and swings her sword through his torso. His body skids to my feet. Death takes him right after his lifeless eyes gaze upon me.


    "Anyone else got something to say?" She says with her arms out, welcoming anyone.


    "That fucking bitch," I say quietly through my teeth.


    "Kaio," Ulrika says, grabbing my shoulder the second I lift my foot. "Don''t." She stares me down fiercely. Her grip tightens. The more I fight to pull away calmly, the tighter it gets. "Stop it, my love." Two men attack Zadione in my stead. They all face a horrific death.


    "Do any more brave souls wish to take a shot at their goddess?" Despite seeing three dead, more people try to take their shot.


    "Stop!" Rhyndac pleas.


    "That''s it!" Her black book comes back. "Spring forth and save me from my adversaries! Nc''tar Venus!" The pages turn green. Particles jump out of the page and into the ground. A massive tree breaks through the street. It nearly throws her off her feet. Its branches wrap around the soldiers like a snake coiling its food. It crushes and tears them into a bloody mess. "Wow!" She laughs. "Amazing!"


    "That''s it!" I say. "I had enough!" I run to her with Ulrika hot on my tail, begging me to stop.


    "Here comes the Kromagian!" She stands up to block my swing just in time. A spark flies off our blades. We lock swords. I start to overpower her one step at a time. "What''s gotten you so angry? Was it something I said?" I go for a headbutt, but she swings her face out of the way. She knees my stomach and elbows my back. "If I believed in the gods, I would have asked them why you are so pathetic," she says and then stomps me to the ground. "But I am the god. I know why. It''s just in your nature." Her ego infuriates me. I use that anger to fight through the pain.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Kaioson, stand down!" Ulrika says.


    "No, Kaioson! Face me! You can kill me if you just try harder!" She says playfully. Ulrika''s command falls on deaf ears. I can''t stand the sight of Zadione''s smug face. I want her dead and gone. She''s cost the lives of many throughout the continent. She has to die today.


    "Someone back me up!" I say. I look at all the soldiers, Paladins, and Champions before seeing if Ulrika will join me. They look at me like I''m crazy.


    "Some friends you have," she says, snickering. "They don''t want to die with you."


    "You''re wrong," Ulrika says. As she draws her sword, the wind begins to swirl around her. "I have your back, Kaio."


    "Of course, this one is not." Rhyndac steps closer to her. All of the Paladins and Champions show some hint of support for me, whether it is a subtle nod, drawing their weapons, or taking steps to close in on Zadione. "Ah, are they finally ready to slay the demon?"


    "Today we rid our world of you," Rhyndac says.


    "You can try," she says, standing boldly with her hand on her hip. "But today you won''t. Today I''m taking this city. Right... now."


    A purple haze blankets the sky, and the air around me starts to shock me. Blimps of purple lightning arch around me and everyone except Zaidone.


    Oh, no!


    "Kaio, to me!" Ulrika screams.


    "You better run!" Zadione says.


    One thick cloud appears over everyone. I run to Ulrika. She catches and squeezes close to her body. Lightning strikes at random. She uses her magic to defend me and our friends close by. The dome around us absorbs Zadione''s lightning.  Rhyndac casts a similar spell to protect the soldiers around her. Her dome reflects lightning upward.


    "Ugh!" Zadione says. "Your shields won''t be able to stop this! I think most of you will remember this one!"


    Flaming rocks hurl down on everyone and everything. Zadione looks like she doesn''t have a care in the world. She stands still, eyeing Rhyndac. When Rhyndac puts her hands over her head, Zadione takes off, full stride towards her.


    "Rhyndac, she''s coming!" I say. I ran after her. She skids to a stop, fires a massive fireball at Rhyndac, and then readies her sword to attack me. The ball of fire explodes before it reaches Rhyndac as I fight with Zadione. Her barrier breaks. The rocks and lightning attack everyone.


    "There we go!" Zadione says. A moment later, I hear explosions. I have a terrible feeling those are not her doing.


    We fight only for a short moment. Ulrika jumps in between us. They clash hard. Despite Zadione''s smaller physique, she''s incredibly strong. She''s getting the upper hand. Ulrika reverts to defensive tactics to keep Zadione away.


    "Ulrika, get back!" I say.


    "One at a time now," Zadione says. She blasts Ulrika away. I immediately return the favor tenfold. Zadione slams against a house on the second story. She stays suck to the wall as she looks down at me angrily. "You''re gonna have to hit me harder than that," she says, growling a bit.


    "I''m already on that!" I say, aiming my palm at her. DG hits her head on. Her body flies through the house.


    "Whoa! What was that?" Drake says.


    "You''re still here?" I say and then go to touch my head.


    "Yes, I am! Don''t squish me," he says, stopping my hand. "What did you cast? That one felt powerful."


    "Delayed Gasm."


    "You''ve read Mildrah''s book on how to manipulate blowback forces, didn''t you?"


    "Yeah huh," I say, watching Zdione emerge from the hole.


    She doesn''t look too happy with me. Her right arm slowly moves up. It stops halfway over her chest. She flattens her palm and aims it at me. The dust around her suddenly moves a foot forward. I pull my sword over my face to block, but nothing comes at me.


    "What?" I say. The second I relax, my sense of awareness is rocked by a crackling force. I end up on the other end of the street with my back against something hard. My entire body is searing with pain.


    "It doesn''t feel good on the receiving, does it?" Zadione says.


    "You know the spell too?" I say, straining my words.


    "Wanna see something you might recognize?"


    "No, he does not!" Ulrika says. Zadione steps back just in time to avoid getting hit by Ulrika''s arcing sword. They quarrel on the second floor. Elred rushes through the front door to get to the second floor. I try to get up, but the pain is too much.


    "Stay still," Drake says as he hovers over my face. "You''re bleeding from the mouth."


    "Shit," I say after I spit the blood out of my mouth. "Is that bad?"


    "Of course it is! You might have internal bleeding somewhere."


    "Oh... Am I going to die?"


    "No," he says and poofs to his real size. "This should save you." He makes me drink the red elixir. It cures my pain through a warm washing effect that runs down my body. "Kaioson? Did it work?"


    "Drake..."


    "Yes?"


    "I need you to gather more of this stuff in the potion room."


    "What? Why me?"


    "Because, if you don''t, we''ll die! Now go!"


    "O-Okay!"


    He takes off flying. I lunge to the second floor with the help of my sword, pulling myself up there. Elred makes it to the room at the same time I do. Zadione notices us coming and jumps back to distance herself from Ulrika. A transparent purple shield forms around her. She stands upright and acts as if we''re not a threat. Elred changes his sword into a warhammer and swings it at her face. It glides off her face and out of his hand.


    "Would you like to try again?" Zadione says. Instead of taking another shot, he creates a shield and rams her with it. She doesn''t move. Not even her hair feels the force behind it. "You can do better than that." He begins to form another weapon until Ulrika tells him to stop.


    "Save your energy," Ulrika says.


    "I think he was getting somewhere," she says, smirking. She blasts her away to attack him. The shield around her disappears the second I attack her, but it comes back almost immediately. It stays around her and flickers on and off when all three of us try to take her down. "When I saw one at a time, I mean it!" An explosion of purple fire and lightning knocks all three of us on our asses. "I''m wasting my time here."


    "Are we too much for a goddess?" Elred says behind a grunting chuckle. Ulrika electrifies her from her left side. It does nothing but make the shield Zadione wobble. She does it again and creates an opening. A portion of her arm loses its protection. The lightning shocks her with enough power to make her clench her teeth.


    "You bitch!" I cast another DG without her realizing it is charging up. Her shield around her torso cracks. The wall behind her crumbles, but she remains standing.


    "What?!" I say.


    "Twice? You should know that attacking me with the same spell after the first one failed is foolish." She raises her hand in the same way she used DG on me. Ulrika grabs Zadione''s arm and throws her out of the hole. The DG goes off, but it is too far to feel its force. She lands on her back, letting out a soft grunt.


    "You should know that doing something twice will get noticed and countered," Ulrika says.


    "Well spoken," Zadione says. "Maybe I should try something that none of you know." The black book appears around her shoulder. Her body levitates to an upward position. Once she stands upright, she stands on the ground. I form five fire orbs to get ready for whatever she casts from that book. She tilts her head, smiles at me, and says, "I don''t have time for this." She casts a thick wall of ice. A portion of it destroys more of the house. Two seconds later, the back of the house crumbles, revealing another ice wall.


    "What the hell is going on?" Elred says.


    "I think she''s trying to encase us in ice," I say. "Everyone, stand back."


    "What are you about to do?"


    "Just," Ulrika says and pulls Elred away. I summon DA (Dragon Acid) in with as much air as my lungs can fill. The fire spreads like a funnel as it bores its way through the ice.


    "Gods, that is hot!" Elred says. I fail to melt through the thick ice in one go. Ulrika circulates air into my nose to help me breathe. "Is he going to be okay? He looks like he''s dying."


    "That spell takes all of the air out of him."


    "While you''re doing that, I''ll try to break this wall." He hammers and chips at the hole. Ulrika helps me regain all the air I lost and more than I can take.


    "I''m fine, my love," I say lightly, moving her hand away from my face. "Your air is stinging my nostrils."


    "I hate it when you use that spell."


    "I hate it too."


    "Then why use it? You have other ways of summoning fire."


    "It''s the hottest." She glances at the hole. "See?" An explosion close by rocks the house when she opens her mouth. She cradles my head into her chest without warning to protect me.


    "We need to get out of here! I don''t want this house crushing us to death!"


    "I''m trying!" Elred says. "Can he do that thing again? It''ll make this job go by faster."


    "Kaio?" She says, saying my name quietly. "Can you do it?"


    "I can," I say. I pack my lungs with air several times and then summon DA. Another explosion nearly goes off.


    "I got you," she says, using her body to keep me stable. She wraps her arms around my stomach and takes a wide stance. As more explosions rock the house, the floor starts to crack. "Keep going!" I go past my absolute limit. My vision goes black for what feels like a short moment. When I open my eyes, I see Elred rubbing my chest and her forcing air into my nose. "Stop!" She screams. "He''s awake!"


    "Thank the gods!" Elred says. "Looks like you won''t have to shock him awake."


    "Kaio," she says, frantically trying to shake me awake. "We need to go." She yanks me to my feet. I catch a glimpse of the agency building in rubble before she turns me the other way. We go through a portal she opened with a ring. On the other end, Kromagian knights with full body shields are standing in front of a gate.


    "Shut it!" She closes it as Zadione''s sword comes through it. It doesn''t collapse. Her sword starts to reopen the portal in a jagged upward line. I can see parts of her sinister smile through the crack.


    "Remember this failure, Paladins," Zadione says with her teeth clenched. "All that is left is your last stronghold. See you soon!" The portal closes immediately after she pulls her blade out.


    "What did she mean by our last stronghold?" I look at Ulrika to see if she has an answer. She shrugs and looks at the knights for answers.


    "It''s this," Rhyndac says with a weak voice. The knights to my left stand aside to let her through. Her arms, legs, neck, and the left side of her face are soaked in bloody bandages.


    "Kromagia?"


    "Yes."