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Marlena, her father and Fergun were moving fast between the long corridors of the Hive.
Captain Grendel told Fergun his idea about speaking to the Queen. Fergun nodded, and they were moving along a parallel line to the main chambers of the High Council. There was a special meeting with all the council members on what they should do. Marlena didn't keep in contact with the dwarf Fergun. It had been a long time since the academy. Marlena spent most of her time onboard her father's ship. She sighed, thinking how her father's ship was now destroyed and sinking to the bottom of the ocean on Earth.
Nobody accosted them as they traveled. Most of the military personnel were gone, whisked away to a destination the Vvong was supposed to attack. Fergun told them they had only a few of the spaceship pilots left to defend the Hive. Yet, when the Vvong came in numbers at their doorstep, Duke Volterus told the pilots not to fight but to wait. Fergun didn't want to wait, but wanted to fight. He was about to suit up in his flight suit when Captain Grendel called them. His crew was waiting in their hanger bay, ready to take flight as soon as Fergun commanded.
"Where are the non-military people?" Marlena asked.
"They are still in the Hive, hidden in buildings near the middle. The High command was going to let the people go onboard the freight ships, but Duke Volterus stopped that. We thought the Vvong would destroy the ships," Fergun said.
They were quickly approaching the Council's main hall. A few elven and dwarf guards were stationed in front of the entrance. Fergun and Captain Grendel led the way up the stairs.
"Halt!" an elven guard said.
"My name is Captain Grendel, and this is Commander Fergun. We want to gain entrance. We need to speak to the Queen."
"No, we cannot let you enter by order of the Duke," the elven guard said.
"You don't understand," Fergun said. "We need to get in there. The Vvong is going to attack."
The two groups stared at each other. Marlena didn't like this. She pulled closer to them. The guards took out their weapons and pointed them at them, all except the cloaked dwarf in the back. It was a dwarf wizard.
"Stop!" the elven guard said, "or we will have to use force."
Captain Grendel said, "I am General Commander of the fleet."
The guards hesitated for a few seconds. Marlene felt her magic coming forth. The door opened.
"What is happening here?" said a commanding voice.
A dwarf came out. He was older and had gray streaks in his brown hair and beard. "We should not fight against each other. The Vvong is our enemy. What do you want, Captain Grendel? We thought you were on a top-secret mission."
Captain Grendel said, "We have just come back and we have some important information."
"This meeting is only for the Council members. You cannot enter."
"We have to enter," Fergun demanded.
Marlena walked closer to her father. She knew the man in the doorway. She said, "Greive, we need to get inside. This message is very important."
Greive was special secretary to the High Council. Marlena thought Greive was still thinking. She moved a step forward. The guards quickly stepped before her. She saw the dwarf Mage was conjuring a spell. Lightning tendrils flared in the Mage’s hands.
Greive said, "Guards, let them through."
The guards stepped aside. They walked through the front doors, and Greive led them down the long hallway. He didn't ask them about the information. They stopped at a set of large dark-wood double doors. Greive knocked. They waited patiently for a few milli-cycles.
Greive said, "They must still be talking."
He knocked again. Greive tried the door. It was locked.
Captain Grendel said, "What is wrong?"
Greive said, "This door is never locked. We need to get inside."
A large explosion noise reverberated from within the chamber. Guards ran toward them.
Greive said to the guards, "Break down the doors."
The royal guards rushed forward with their weapons in hand. The Mage was incanting a spell. Marlena felt something odd, like a rush of arcane power, and it wasn't coming from the Mage guard.
She said, "Get back!"
The doors exploded, sending wood and metal shards into the room. Marlena held up her hands, shielding her father, Fergun and herself from the damage. The elven and dwarf guards who rushed forward were not so lucky. They were torn apart by the shards and the magical energy that blasted toward them. The dwarf Mage held up an arcane shield.
Through the rubble and dirt they saw the remnants of the table and chairs all broken apart. Dead council members were strewn along the room like small toys. Duke Volterus held up a hand. He blasted the elven Queen with a spell, but Eastros was there, barely holding up a protective shield.
Eastros saw them. The magical powers Duke Volterus commanded were enormous. The arcane energies sizzled and sprouted. Marlena's shield was faltering. Captain Grendel grunted in frustration. Suddenly, the magic ceased.
Duke Volterus said, "So, Marlena, you are back from your journey. I can now kill all of you at the same time."
The dwarf Mage shot a red-orange fireball at him. Duke Volterus swatted it away like an insect.
Duke Volterus said, "You’ll have to do better than that, Mage."
The elven Queen said, "Why did you betray us? You're my brother."
Duke Volterus didn't speak to her but held up a green stone. A noxious yellowish color shone from the crystal. The Duke’s face seemed to change to a hideous insectile creature for a brief second, and then back to his elven features. Marlena shook her head in disbelief. Her magical shield still surrounded her father and Fergun.
The dwarf Mage ran and yelled at Duke Volterus, conjuring a lightning bolt from his hand. Before the dwarf Mage could complete his offensive spell, Duke Volterus turned to the running dwarf. A yellow light shot from the green stone and enveloped the dwarf Mage.
The Mage bellowed and let out an ear-piercing scream of horror then fell to the ground, dead.
