As incredible as the scene before me was, I couldn’t enjoy it. Not with my bone fractured, not with my stomach churning as if I’d swallowed acid. Sisha limped away from the flying wyvern. I heard the rider mutter some words, but he was too far away for me to clearly hear what he said. The wyvern beat its wings then dived at the demon cat.

Its sharp talons dug deep into the demon’s back. Sisha howled, his cries made my blood curdle. I saw the wyvern beat its wings then carry the demon high up. Sisha landed heavily on the ground, which shook beneath me. I couldn’t move or think of doing anything. I couldn’t escape either.

The Church reinforcements had arrived, and what reinforcement! And I thought Raiya had a powerful ally to her side. These guys had flying lizards. I was thankful they didn’t breathe fire, or didn’t deign the fight important enough to do so. Either way, I wasn’t going to burn alive here. But was I going to live through this to tell the tale? I didn’t know.

(You do, thank the author for it.)

Sisha limped away from the wyvern again. The power-up he’d received from the demon king wasn’t enough to beat this thing. Our chances of survival were close to null at that point. I realized this and wished the wyvern would breathe fire. I didn’t want to get captured by the Church, not again. Sam would be furious about what had happened to his aunt. And given his abnormal strength, I didn’t want to fall into his hands.

The wyvern had beaten its wings again and gained some altitude. It was about to dive at Sisha. I could tell the demon couldn’t take any more hits. Blood spurted out his back, hind legs and even his mouth. The mighty cat was now reduced to a frightened pussy, limping away from danger.

The wyvern dived again and hit an invisible wall. The resulting crash was unsightly. Its wings folded forward and hit its rider in the head. The rider fell with a loud clank. Who would wear heavy armor while riding a wyvern? One fall and you’d be dead! Stupid…

Raiya appeared next to her demon. I didn’t know when or how she managed to reach Sisha. But I saw her caress his fur, where patches of pink flesh showed. She suddenly jerked her head back and spotted me.

‘You alright Zedd?’ she psionically asked.

‘Broken leg and some wounds,’ I answered. ‘Nothing serious, take care of him first!’

‘Stay there,’ she ordered. ‘And no matter what happens, don’t move!’

‘I can’t even if I wanted to,’ I replied.

‘I’ll come for you when this is all over,’ she said, reassuringly.

How did she hope to come out on top? I was about to get my answer sooner than I expected.

What I saw defined my lifestyle for many years to come; Raiya, coming to help her demon and companion. The powerful warlock I knew nothing of, was about to show the entire world what she was really capable of. It was an astounding display of power really. I’ll never forget my astonishment from that day.

First, I saw her untie her hair then cut it with a dagger she carried around her waist. Her hair was at shoulder length now. She held her silver blond hair then recited an incantation that was meant to empower her magic. I learned that later on, after the fight ended.

Her hair was instantly engulfed in a crimson fire. The fire burned brighter, the more it consumed the warlock’s hair. Sisha let out a terrible howl that echoed through the entire woods. Then Raiya, with her short hair and her leather attire, jumped over the cat, riding it. Then I saw the transformation.

Sisha’s tail grew in length, about ten feet. His back had spikes protruding from it. His muzzle elongated. His dog side had taken over. His paws became larger and his double row of claws, longer. Sisha howled once more and the wyvern cowered.

I saw a shadow jump on top of the wyvern. The rider wasn’t hurt after all. I needed to get used to the world of magic and their magic armor too. I was still a simple warrior, used to the things I’ve experienced. This was all new to me.

I was watching a fight between Raiya, riding her newly transformed demon, and an unknown rider and his flying wyvern.

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I still couldn’t see them winning. How could they, when their opponent had the advantage of being airborne?

I caught something move behind the warlock with the corner of my eye. I turned to look at it in more detail. Utar, heavily injured, was leaning against Sam. They both watched the fight, unwary of my presence. Maybe luck had to do something with this after all…

The wyvern was the first to move. It dived once more at Sisha. The latter jumped aside, avoiding the attack. He slashed with his long claws but the wyvern’s armor absorbed damage. Raiya wasn’t a spectator however. I saw her direct her long staff at the wyvern’s belly. The flying lizard was then forcefully propelled forward and forced to land on its two feet.

Sisha didn’t let the distraction go to waste. He immediately turned and jumped at the beast, his giant fangs closing in on its throat. Blood showered the floor and the nearby trees. Sisha’s lower fangs had closed in on the wyvern’s throat. His upper fangs however, got stuck on armor plates. I heard both creatures howl and grunt. I didn’t know who was in pain or who had the upper hand.

I prayed it was my side.

Raiya waved her staff once more and sent a blue aura toward the rider. The rider waved a wooden stick he held and deflected the attack. It was monster versus monster and mage versus warlock.

Looking at Utar’s state, I was sure that Raiya’d come on top. And she did. Another blast from her staff and the mage was propelled off the wyvern. He was flying backwards, rapidly, heavy with his iron plates, toward Sam. The latter merely punched the rider in the back and sent him flying a good twenty feet away, on the opposite direction.

Holy hells! Was he holding back against me?!

The rider fell behind me with a loud clank. I didn’t think he’d recover from that blow. Sam was about to run for the wyvern’s rescue, but I saw Utar pulling him back and shaking his head. What happened next was both fascinating and terrifying.

Raiya jumped on the wyvern and started pounding at its armor with her staff. The strong, gigantic armor was now flying in all directions while the wyvern wailed and screamed. Sisha’s jaws tightened around the wyvern’s neck, which was now screeching and bellowing. A loud snap later and the wyvern stopped moving.

Raiya jumped back onto the demon and directed it toward me. I was swept away from the ground by some levitating spell then placed next to the warlock.

‘It’s not over yet,’ Raiya psionically said. ‘I’ll take you to the tree house. You’ll find some potions in the living room. Take the ones that say regeneration and ether. Don’t drink more than one.’

‘What do you mean it’s not over?’ I asked. But what happened next answered my question. The sky above us darkened. The sound of wings beating against the air signaled another incoming wyvern. But with Sisha and Raiya teaming up against them, I was certain they’d come out victorious again.

How wrong I was.

As the warlock urged Sisha to speed up toward the tree. The sound of wings flapping above us intensified. By the time we reached the clearing, I counted five wyverns in the air.

‘Take those potions,’ Raiya instructed. ‘And run downstairs. Find a door that says Biarkh. There’s an underground tunnel that should lead you out of this country, out of harm’s way.’

‘What about you?’ I asked. I’d suddenly grown fond of this woman. This happens when somebody risks their lives to save yours.

‘Don’t mind us,’ Raiya replied. ‘We’ll survive this.’

Somehow, I didn’t believe her.

We reached the tree and it opened its big mouth then swallowed me in. Raiya went back to fight. I was left alone inside. My leg hurt, but I was at least out of trouble. Not for long though, if I couldn’t manage to leave as instructed.

I limped toward the high table in the living room. There was a closet next to it I knew Raiya hid potions in. My broken leg kept reminding me of the impossible task ahead. Suddenly, walking in a straight line required more effort than lifting a hundred pound rock. I persevered as the sounds of explosions outside intensified.

Raiya was outside fighting a war whose stakes I couldn’t comprehend. I was caught in the middle then I met an old friend whose herculean power was beyond comprehension. I was having a bad dream, a real nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.

‘Snap out of it!’ Eva’s voice reached deep within me.

‘Now you wake up!’ I snapped.

‘I was keeping your weak ass from imploding. Now stop whining and get those potions. We might not have enough time to escape!’

I gritted my teeth and fought the excruciating pain. I was crawling, using one knee to hop on and my two arms for support. The injured leg lagged behind. I couldn’t even lift it. So I let it sweep the floor, causing me to flinch every time I made a move.

A loud explosion echoed in my ears. It sounded too close for comfort. Then another ensued. The tree shook violently. I’d lost balance and fell on my nose. A loud cracking noise made me forget about the explosion outside. I was bleeding and my pain was renewed, this time around my nose.

The tree shook again after yet another explosion. I heard cheers outside. Many people, hundreds by the sound of it screamed outside. What had happened? I wanted to know but my leg wouldn’t let me reach the potion cabinet, let alone the window to sneak a peek.

BOOM! Another explosion sent me rolling forward. The tree swayed back and forth dangerously.

‘Zedd, if you can hear me, make haste,’ Raiya’s psionic message reached me. ‘We won’t last longer…’

I had rolled near the window. I struggled to stand and looked outside. Hundreds of paladins had surrounded the tree. Raiya was on the ground, Sisha was beside her. I didn’t know which one had it worse. I looked up, and to my horror, I realized she’d been fighting more than five wyverns at once. The Church wasn’t going to give the bones up…

‘Hurry up Myles!’ Eva’s voice urged me.