Ellyne sat on a bench, tapping her fingers on the gun at her hip, shifting her gaze to the sky, hoping to see some action. She sighed and picked a bit of dirt from under a fingernail while the city’s inhabitants slowly emerged and resumed their activities. Some stared at her, and others paid her no mind, but those who knew made sure to give her a wide berth.
They had a look of terror mixed with curiosity as they passed her. She chuckled, comfortable with her status. They were prisoners and didn’t know it. She would free them since they couldn’t free themselves and, once that was sorted, she could finally address the whole magic thing and determine what was best.
Ellyne didn’t see them at first. The ship floating high above masked them in its shadow as they descended—speeding to the ground before they spread their wings and circled, rotating slowly until they dropped to the street nearby.
Eight hulking Golgolonar snarled at Ellyne, baring their fangs in what was either a grin or a growl. She couldn’t tell which it was, but it made no difference. Three appeared to be the same caste as the one she’d previously fought. She assumed these were basic warriors. The other five, however, surprised her.
“Two heads, two tails, and four arms,” she said, getting up from the bench and yawning. She stretched for a moment and smiled. “Are you two lizards sewn together or something? I mean, whoever your tailor is… they’re really good. I can’t even see the seams! Exquisite work all around. Bravo!”
These new Golgolonar were smaller in size but appeared just as menacing as the other three. They stood behind their warriors, however, which Ellyne took to mean they might have been spell casters of some kind. The Kithrak’s powers and stature supposedly increased in proportion to the number of eyes they possessed. The same could hold true with respect to the lizards’ arms, legs, tails, heads … whatever.
Did anyone actually know a damned thing about these aliens?
“So, what?” she continued. “You guys sent your supervisors down here just to fight me? Do I get to speak to a manager or something?”
“You will come with us,” one of the two-headed creatures growled.
“That’s no way to speak to a lady—especially one who just kicked your ass in front of the entire city. I have a counter proposition for you.”
“You are in no position to—”
“You will leave Seralune. You’ll leave and never return … or I will destroy all of you. That’s my proposal. Take it or leave it.”
Several Golgolonar laughed. At least, that’s what Ellyne thought it was. She couldn’t read them well with their vague facial expressions and guttural growls. They could be smiling or snarling, and she wouldn’t know the difference. Not that she cared.
Whether they laughed or growled, the outcome was going to be the same—their annihilation.
She laughed with them for a moment before unleashing a blast of energy from her open palms. It hit one of the warriors squarely in the chest, searing a sizeable hole through its body. The alien had barely enough time to look shocked before it fell to the ground, smoke rising from its corpse.
“Wait, what? I don’t hear you laughing anymore. Was it something I said?”
The Golgolonar exchanged glances which, again, she couldn’t read, but she surmised there was probably some concern involved.
“I have no time for insipid conversation and threats. So, let’s get to the part where you fly back up to your little ship, pack your asses up, and leave Seralune. Nobody wants you here.”
“This changed nothing,” the one lizard scowled, regaining its composure. “You will come with us, or you will die.”
“As I said before, I—”
Ellyne was interrupted by a blast of energy from one of the smaller Golgolonar. She felt her strength drain away and collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath.
She struggled to stand, finally rising to her feet, barely able to support herself. “Okay, that was a freebie, but one’s all you get.”
Three of the smaller Golgolonar raised their arms and fired several bolts of multicolored light. Ellyne gasped, but instinct took over and she, too, stretched out her hands.
The projectiles impacted something mere inches from her palms which shimmered with each colliding bolt. The Golgolonar fired more but those, too, dissipated harmlessly.
“See?” she laughed, inspecting her hands as if there was something to see. “I told you! You’ve got no idea how badass I am. You should really take me up on my offer.”
“I only wish I knew how I did that,” she thought. “Hopefully I can keep it up.”
There was little time to ponder, however, as they renewed their attack with crackling, shimmering rods of energy appearing in each one’s hand.
“Well, that’s new,” she mused. “Look, I can see you’re having fun … uh, gripping your rods and all, so I’ll just say this one more time and you can go on enjoying yourselves. Leave this city and this planet. Don’t come back.”
The two Golgolonar attacked in unison, one stepping over its comrade’s corpse. They swung together in a coordinated effort, but Ellyne ducked and rolled backward, feeling her strength gradually return. When she got back to her feet, crouching, she thrust out her hands again so they could join their fallen ally.
There was no blast of energy this time.
The Golgolonar paused briefly, expecting an onslaught, but recovered quickly once they realized there was no danger. Ellyne swore one of them actually laughed this time.
Confused, she tried again and failed. “What the—”, she growled, having no time to continue her thought as she jumped backward to avoid the Golgolonars’ attacks.
She felt the crackling energy swing past her, narrowly avoiding both attacks. “What’s the problem here?” She tried again and was met with disappointment. “What good is this garbage if it only works randomly? Come on, flocia, do your job, you piece of crap!”
Ellyne jumped behind a bench, trying to hide her concern from her attackers. Fear and doubt began to replace her confidence, but she hid that, too. Surely, with enough persistence, she’d be able to command flocia properly.
“Hey, listen,” she quipped, “how about we talk about this? I mean, you still need to leave but maybe we can help pay for your fuel on the way out? I know a place that has some badass snacks—perfect for a road trip.”
One Golgolonar growled while the other sneered and swung at her, its energy baton colliding with the bench, sending a shower of sparks into the air. Ellyne could feel the heat and her arms tingled.
“No? Okay, then, how about this instead?”
She grabbed her gun and emptied all eight bullets into the enemy on her right, pleasantly surprised when she saw purple blood.
“At least some things are still reliable,” she muttered, dodging more attacks. The bench shattered into flinders and twisted metal, so she backed up, not only keeping her eyes on her attackers, but trying to determine what the other five Golgolonar were doing. As far as she could tell, they hadn’t moved.
They simply stood in the distance, apparently observing. She thought it foolish to stand by and watch when they had greater numbers and could easily press that advantage, but maybe they were all big, dumb lizards who brute forced everything. For what it was worth, she was happy with their lack of strategy. It was an easier fight if they didn’t join in.
Her two adversaries pressed their attacks, and she danced around the street, trying to keep away from them until she thought of a plan. They were relentless, allowing Ellyne no time to reload her revolver. She didn’t dare try to channel a flocia attack that, if it failed, would leave her vulnerable.
The injured Golgolonar slowed and struggled with its attacks, trying to gulp air through raspy breaths that sometimes produced purple spittle. Ellyne holstered her gun and drew her blade, unsure of how effective it would be against them. It was all she had, however, and she was struggling to devise a counterattack. She could at least outlast one of them. If it fell, then it was much more of a fair fight.
It wasn’t long before the injured Golgolonar’s energy rod winked out of existence, and it sputtered. The other lizard, however, paid it no mind and continued pressing the attack as its ally died in the street behind it.
“Don’t you want to check on your friend?” she asked wryly as the lizard swung and missed. “No? I mean, that’s pretty rude, don’t you think? I guess you two weren’t close? Maybe he owed you money or something and never paid it back?”
Her opponent merely growled, showing its teeth, and hefting its energy rod, preparing for another assault.
“You can’t beat me,” she laughed. “I’m the most powerful being on Seralune and you’re just another scaley asshole with an overbite … holding a magic rod. If this is the best you guys got, then I’m sorry to say your existence here is going to be brief.”
The Golgolonar lunged with incredible speed, catching Ellyne off guard. Indecision took over and she tried to dodge and defend at the same time but lost her balance and fell to the curb. Before she could react, the beast was on her, striking with its baton.
She convulsed, cutting her scream short as every nerve ignited in a paralyzing fire. The lizard grinned as it stood over her, watching her shake and obviously enjoying its handiwork.
It attacked her again.
She coughed spittle into the air and tried desperately not to bite her tongue as pain wracked every part of her body. She writhed on the ground until it pulled back the baton, laughing at her pain.
“Is that all you got?” she asked, trying to laugh but mostly just gasping for air and trying not to show the fear building up within her. Why was flocia not doing what she wanted?
She questioned her abilities, wondering if she’d miscalculated. Maybe she wasn’t as powerful as she’d thought? Had she walked willingly into a trap? Her fear threatened to overcome her, and, for a moment, surrender seemed like a valid option. If she surrendered now, she’d at least have more time to devise an escape strategy.
But that fear, as strong as it may have been, was mixed with anger. Fear was a relatively new emotion for Ellyne, but anger … anger was an old, familiar friend she wrapped around her—always with her, whether helpful or not.
The Golgolonar struck her with the rod again, sending her into painful convulsions. Either it believed this was the only way to fully incapacitate her or it simply wanted to cause her pain. Either way, it seemed to enjoy its actions and didn’t appear to want to stop.
Ellyne’s fear increased, along with her rage as her vision blurred. She would have her revenge on her attacker, even if it meant forfeiting her own life in the process. Her mind focused on her enemy, funneling hatred and fury at it as if they were a laser.
If she died here today, would she become a martyr?
She balled her shaky fists and grunted through clenched teeth, trying to regain control of her limbs as the Golgolonar readied for another strike. She knew this might be her last opportunity before she eventually blacked out, and that determination was all she needed.
The lizard struck.
With monumental effort, Ellyne rolled to the side and knelt on the pavement, still gasping for air. The energy rod crackled and sparked as it collided with the ground. The lizard looked at her, its face unreadable, but she hoped it was surprised.
It lunged at her, swinging the rod wildly and missing as she again rolled to the side, coming up in a kneel. Though it felt as if she were moving through water, she was still able to dodge, but she wasn’t sure for how long. The urge to draw her gun was overwhelming, but it was still unloaded and there simply wasn’t enough time to reload with her shaky, sluggish fingers. Her blade might have been ineffective, but it was the only weapon she had.
It swung again and, this time, she instinctively countered with an uppercut. Using the full force of her body as she stood, she leapt upward and connected her fist with the lizard’s chin.
But there was more behind it. She knew it was flocia this time. For a moment, she felt powerful again—invincible—and she embraced it fully. She wanted more.
The creature’s neck snapped with a sick, audible crackling sound and it crumpled immediately, its glowing rod disappearing as it collapsed in a heap on the pavement.
“Ha!” she yelled, looking down at the body. “I told you, I’m the most powerful person on Seralune.” She lightly kicked the corpse and then threw her glance to the other five Golgolonar—each with two heads, four arms, and two tails.
Any ill effects from the Golgolonars’ weapons dissipated, replaced by unnatural strength and energy. If flocia cooperated for just a minute or two longer, this fight would be over easily.
“Your turn,” she shouted, pointing at them. If they had any emotion, they didn’t show it. In fact, they didn’t even move. She couldn’t tell if they were observing her or waiting for her to challenge them. They may as well have been statues.
Ellyne ejected the empty cartridge from her revolver, slid another in its place, and slapped the cylinder in shut.
Except for the six of them and three Golgolonar bodies, the area was empty, though Ellyne could see curious bystanders huddling in alleys and behind buildings, unable to turn their gazes from this conflict. Curiosity mixed with fear—it was a strange combination, but the more people who saw this fight, the better.
She approached the five Golgolonar and, as she got closer, they slowly fanned out. She knew her reckless approach wasn’t the best strategy, but she wasn’t about to back down. Even when they formed a circle around her, she stood her ground. The urge to panic was strong, but she suppressed it, instead tapping into her confidence and strength. This was new territory to her.
She fired off all eight bullets, choosing multiple targets and hoping to drop at least one of them. But each bullet harmlessly bounced off something—whether it was their thick, scaly hide or some kind of barrier, she wasn’t sure. She’d seen mages with magical protections before, so it wasn’t a surprise.
“Okay, fine,” she groused, reloading her weapon again and shoving it back in its holster. “Don’t bring a gun to a magic fight, Ellyne. I get it.” She drew her blade and extended it.
The Golgolonar didn’t budge. Even when her bullets threatened them, they stood steadfast and motionless, completely undaunted. They thought they were in control. Ellyne hoped to prove them wrong.
“Did you not see what I did to your goons back there? Do you actually think you can do any better simply because there are more of you? Or is it because you have more arms and shit?”
There was no response.
“No? Nothing? You must be super fun at parties.”
They merely glared at her, making no move to attack or defend themselves. Were they that confident? Or maybe this was a stall tactic until reinforcements arrived. She looked up at the ship floating high above but saw no additional enemies approaching.
“Well,” she growled, “okay, then, I guess let’s do this already.”
She made a move toward the nearest enemy with her blade in hand but, before she could take more than a few steps, weakness overcame her, and she struggled to remain standing.
She felt drained and exhausted. This couldn’t be a natural consequence of flocia given how often she’d tapped into it before and never felt this way. Had she finally found her limits? Had she somehow channeled more than she could handle?
She took a labored step forward and dropped to one knee, staring up at her adversaries through clouded vision. The lizards remained motionless with their clawed hands outstretched in her direction.
“What are you doing to me?” she asked, her voice shaky and quiet. The Golgolonar ignored her, focused on whatever it was they were doing. Ellyne’s rage subsided, now replaced with fear and exhaustion. No, this had to be their doing—either a spell or something else.
Fighting to stay conscious was all she could manage. Standing upright or walking were out of the question, let alone mounting any kind of attack. Whatever was happening to her, there was no way to counter it.
She tried with one last effort to channel flocia, grasping desperately for any shred of power and strength, but there was none. Her vision dimmed and she gasped for air, feeling as if walls were closing in. Her blade clattered to the ground.
“Sonofa,” she muttered before she collapsed.