An immense wave of power funneled into me.
I got to my feet and spread my legs shoulder width apart, put my arms to my sides and clenched my fists. I inhaled deep. My hair fluttered as wind rushed around me. The Celtic knots pulsed from my Oak leaf and through me. Both of my fists were aglow with warm emerald light, a light that I could not contain. In the distance the vengeful Banshee sister aimed to claw Charice open.
In a flash I was upon the hag catching her wrist. The Banshee turned to me, eyes glowing red, mouth agape in shock. As I punched her gut magical energy coursed from my fist, through her, and exiting her back leaving a scorched, smoking hole.
She fell to the ground.
Charice stared at me, not sure if she should thank me or run from me.
Screeches filled the air as the remaining Sluagh answered the beckoning call of their master. My feet moved to a more grounded stance and years of kata practice and conditioning took over. I unleashed a flurry of punches, each one emitting blast of Luck Magic. As the birds dove at me, it was as if I knew instinctively when to dodge, I didn’t even need to think about it. The Luck coursing through me willed me to move into just the right places. I blasted hole after hole through the feathered creatures of Chaos. But still they came.
I heard a familiar voice cast a spell. “Ukuqhuma!”
A purple blast filled the air. Nehemiah was back! The wizard shot birds from the sky like an expert marksman.
Donn the Red paused, confused and taken aback.
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No matter how much people dog on the show, Dragon Ball Z was, and still is, one of my favorites. And right then I totally felt like Goku. I think Donn sensed it too because he stopped attacking me and simply watched as I dismantled his forces.
“Is ó Duir rí na gcrann í? Dodhéanta,” said Donn.
I didn’t understand a word, but Duir rang a bell for some reason. Black beaks and wings caught my attention, and I blasted more Sluagh. I noticed that no matter how much Nehemiah was attacking the Sluagh, their attention was more or less focused on me as a whole. Why were they only concerned with me?
Nehemiah was undoing them with their own Bad Luck, their own Chaos. I was finally fighting with Good Luck, Order. Good Luck attracted them like flies to light.
I scanned the mayhem for Donn the Red. He gathered shadows, literally melding into the darkness. At risk of getting attacked myself, I turned from the Sluagh and began launching attack after attack at Donn. The magic blasts of Good Luck pummeled him into the staircase. He was trying to recoup but every step forward resulted in getting smashed with two or three hits. I doubted I was actually hurting him any more than someone getting hit repeatedly with barrage of dodgeballs is not really getting hurt, but I was making it difficult for him to attack. And more importantly, my theory was right. The Sluagh focused all of their attention on him now.
In a moment of focus I pushed the Celtic knots away from my hands. The lines extended out in front of me, weaving and interweaving. I flung my Luck at the lord of the dead. The Celtic knots spread rapidly over Donn the Red until he was rendered immobile.
The Sluagh as one flew at him and began pecking him and slicing him with their talons. He cried out in his foreign tongue, no doubt telling them to stop. But soon his words subsided and he was simply grunting and moaning in pain. So much for being a god.
I didn’t stay to see the Sluagh gorge on their master. Instead I grabbed Charice with one arm, my Mossberg in the other. Tain was at my side and Nehemiah led the escapees once more, but this time cradling the hobgoblin.