Daniel
Daniel’s strained concern broke into a smile when he saw something moving beyond the heat haze. He shouted for joy when Paul burst through the wall of steam at a ground-shaking arms-pumping downhill sprint.
Paul glowed white-hot, fresh from the forge. Though he couldn’t see a face or hear his voice, Daniel knew Paul by walk and posture—though those were straighter and more confident. Although not larger, Paul must be hundreds of pounds heavier with his new armor.
The beast roared a challenge as it faced Paul’s charge. Steam clung to Paul’s thick arms and legs as he raced. Though he turned cherry red as he cooled, the soil sizzled under his steps. As Paul neared, Daniel heard music—not the screaming of bending steel but a song of living metal.
When Paul finally cooled and the steam cleared, he looked like a cross between an iron lantern, a deep-sea diving suit, and a steam boiler. A helmet replaced his candle head. It had neither nose nor mouth holes but three glowing vertical slits on the ‘face’ with tubes along the sides like a kerosene lantern. He had a barrel chest with swinging furnace door pectorals. Overall, his body wasn’t bulky but sleek and gleaming, with broader shoulders while retaining the boy’s original shape.
Paul lifted a gauntleted hand, and three lenses, a foot in diameter each, rose from the ground on stalks of glass. If their placement was planned, Daniel couldn’t guess the reasoning behind the random locations. Paul opened his palm, and an aperture there shot a ray of light at the first lens, which converged the light into a laser redirected at the beast.
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Despite the attack’s speed, despite the misdirection, the beast avoided it. The beast retreated from the chasing beam and ran along the cliff face. Even a dumb animal would circle out of range and attack the flank.
Neither Daniel nor the beast counted on Wendi. She cast off the last of the rubble burying her and climbed to her cloven hooves. Perfectly positioned, Wendi swung her fist and hit the beast’s back right knee, the crack of shattering bone unmistakable.
The beast stumbled, though Daniel was too shocked to take advantage. Had Paul gotten lucky, or known the way the beast would dodge? Regardless, the beast spun to snap at its new priority target. It missed by inches as Kenta’s hair yanked on its muzzle and Lea’s swallowed carambole tugged.
In response, Paul bared both palms to fire at the other two lenses. One converged the light to a laser that dislodged rocks high above, while the other diverged to spotlight a specific empty patch of ground.
Wendi swung again, and the beast retreated on three legs, hobbled, favoring its wound that could never heal. As the topsoil here comprised primarily of silica, the heat of the spotlight melted it to molten glass. The beast’s good rear leg landed on the conspicuously paw-sized patch, and the beast’s lower body slipped.
Daniel sent to Kenta, :Get clear!:
The Kaminoke reluctantly slithered away from the melee. Daniel cocked his fist.
From the ground, Rana gave her approval. :Strike it out!:
As he let fly, rocks fell on the beast’s spine, and Paul reached inward to open the doors on his chest. Radiance shone along the edges in the first instant, then a beam of raw power streamed into the beast’s mouth as the creature roared. A bloodless hole penetrated the beast’s side with an explosion of dust as smoke erupted from its ear holes and falling rocks broke its spine.
The beast collapsed, motionless.
Wendi stopped her rush at the fallen creature, lowered her hands, and sighed. “Ever heard of overkill?”