Chapter 147 - 143: Surviving the Tempesta

Chapter 147: Chapter 143: Surviving the Tempesta

Shaking their fur, Lobo and Demos step away from Tufaan, who lies motionless.

The announcer announces: "New rules at this stage of the competition. To speed up the matches and protect the beasts, the defeated beasts will be carried from the arena and taken to the Healing Center."

FINALLY. Why they didn’t do that before, I don’t know.

A magical orb, different than the challenge one, floats down and emits a blue beam that draws Tufaan upward. A mighty fire serpent, he dangles limply, his coils sagging.

CRAAACK.

Tempesta makes a terrible sound, wings beating the air as viciously as if it offended her. A power player, she uses Tufaan’s defeat as an incentive.

[Tufaan has fallen. But he will recover. And I will teach you the power of thunder and fire.]

Lobo bares his teeth in respect. [Good. We would expect no less.]

My eyes follow the airlifted Tufaan, spirited away out of some aperture or door I can’t see. All seamless, without detracting from the spectacle and the fighters.

Demos and Lobo regroup, blotting out whatever embers have landed on their fur. All their attention focuses on Tempesta.

[Can Minette and Vedette reform that?] I ask Demos and Lobo. [The web, I mean.]

Lobo grunts. [No. Not this match. They had to sustain it. That drains their energy.]

Demos grunts as well. [And even if they could, our opponents breezed through it. Eventually.]

[Still, it’s impressive.]

Lobo woofs. [Did I not teach you anything? Don’t get locked into a single strategy!]

My little brother, lecturing me as if he’s older. It makes me proud. Proud and annoyed. [So, what are you going to do?]

[No more talking! She’s gathering her storm!]

Sure enough, Tempesta spins rapidly, as if trying to drill through the air. Maybe create a wind tunnel or funnel of her own. Instead, lightning crackles around her, becoming a different ring of power that shoots out mini-lightning bolts. Pivoting, Demos and Lobo scatter to the sides, trying to gauge the range of the lightning.

WHOOSH. CRACKLE. The lightning kisses the arena, not denting it, but making sparks shots up wherever it touches. For several moments, there is no safe place to run. Demos and Lobo keep one step ahead of the onslaught. Of course, whenever they veer toward the edge of the platform, they leap back, even if they risk landing on one of the hot spots. A little shock is preferable to falling off the platform.

Tempesta is inexhaustible, battering them with lightning. The air smells electric and metallic. I can’t get that disgusting metallic taste out of my mouth when I breathe or pant. Poor Lobo and Demos. They must be going bonkers attempting to find safety, or a place to stay still enough to attack. How long has it been? Can they Super Jump?

[Can the two of you get to higher ground?]

Demos grunts once again. [Not able just yet. The spark has to come back.]

[Then can you huddle together? Safety in numbers!]

Lobo woofs. [Or a way to both be eliminated.]

Demos lets out an "ufff". [Well, we don’t have a plethora of options. Let alone good ones. It’s worth a try.]

Flattening themselves, furry mounds, they hide their faces and their vulnerable spots. The lightning storm rains down around them, but somehow doesn’t touch them, because they keep inching away. They use their senses to measure to the edge of the platform.

[Good! Stay down.] I watch them move slowly like furry slugs. It works, because the lightning bolts don’t fall in any decipherable pattern. [Maybe she will run out of ammunition soon.]

Indeed, Tempesta’s ring of lightning dissolves eventually. Like any other spellcaster, Mistral must recharge her energy with potions or patience or both. She looks decidedly impatient, tapping her foot. But then, she only has one combatant on the board.

Mistral communicates in a melodious voice. "House Riddlehoeven. I, one of the stormcallers of our house, require time to regain my energy. It will do my beast good as well."

Vedette calls out, "How much time?"

Mistral brushes back her wild storm-tossed hair. "Only a few minutes."

After putting their heads together, Minette and Vedette accede to the request.

The announcer calls out, "Cooperation between beast tamers! This is beautiful. What a display of fellowship and sportsmanship on both sides. House Riddlehoeven is giving grace to House stormbound after defeating Tufaan, the serpent tamed by Typhon Stormbrand. Huzzah!"

Take that, System. We are being civilized. We are treating each other as people. And intelligent beasts who have hearts and minds, not to mention bodies that can be hurt. After the dearth of sportsmanship yesterday, this restores my faith.

Lobo woofs. [I communicated with Tempesta.]

Even the thunderbird’s voice is stormy. [I can hear you!]

Lobo continues, unruffled. [Then you tell Blaze and the others what you told me.]

Tempesta still booms. [You flattened Tufaan. Fortunately, he is robust and will recover. I should not forgive you, but for the sake of my human, I will be lenient now. For the moment.]

[Your magnanimity is legendary, O Wise One.] Demos, for once, oozes sincerity.

Of course. There’s little to be gained by provoking Tempesta when she sits dormant.

Minutes tick by. Minette and Vedette approach Mistral, offering support and commiseration. Although not touchy-feely, Mistral does not shun their graciousness.

After several moments, Tempesta wiggles and flaps her wings, shaking off the doldrums. She really is a magnificent specimen of a bird. Her eyes, glittering with starlight, fix on us. [Time. It is time. Defend yourselves.]

Mistral communicates to Minette and Vedette that battle has resumed. Lobo and Demos position themselves close to Tempesta in a tripod position, with both of them like the legs of the tripod. Two against one.

A swirling rainbow-and-silver halo forms around her, coruscating, blazing power. It seems that she has an infinite supply of haloes or rings that she devised.

[What is that?] I ask Lightning and Einswine.

Snorting, Einswine answers. [Unknown. But if I were Lobo and Demos, I would be very judicious about approaching until I knew what it did.]

Lightning agrees. [I can smell it from here. There is a storm inside that gorgeous halo. Maybe part of the plan is to dazzle them because it looks so beautiful. But they’re not fooled for a minute.]

She spoke too soon!

Whirling at a dizzying speed, the rainbow halo transfixes Demos and Lobo, who stare at it like furry statues. Even I feel drawn into it. It’s so pretty. And it spins liker a whirlpool, pulling me under. Down. Down. Down.

[BLAZE!]

Kaline’s voice breaks my spiral, and I shake off the mesmerized mind. Curses! I should know better. [You’re not hypnotized?]

[NO! No one is. No one human, at least. Or elf. Or halfling. It seems to just work on beasts, from what I can tell. Master Niall agrees.]

I growl. [How do we break it?]

[Vedette and Mother are trying. But it’s not working fast enough. Look!]

Tempesta has inched closer to our friends, and opens her wings and her claws, ready to swoop down for the decisive blow. NO! We’ve come too far now!

[DEMOS! LOBO!]

My cry doesn’t jolt them out of their stupor. Think! Think! I can’t physically interfere, but maybe I can privately message Lobo...

[DAMON! WAKE UP!]

I try making the sound of an alarm clock. Improbably, it works. RIIIING! An alarm sounds through the link, and Lobo starts to awaken.

[Wha....What is going on? Such pretty lights.]

[Damon! If you ever trusted me and called me brother, MOVE! Push Demos out of the way. Hit the deck!]

[Deck?] He’s still befuddled.

[Hit the platform! DOWN!]

As if moving through quicksand, he shoves Demos hard. Blinking, Demos snaps back to reality...just at the moment that Tempesta’s wing sweeps towards him. He drops and rolls away. A second later, Lobo tumbles to the platform, flattening himself against it.

I bolster him with encouragement. [That’s it! Now, don’t look at it, whatever you do. She can’t sustain that psychedelic halo forever.]

Indeed, the rainbow circle starts to fray and weaken. Tempesta has sustained it for several minutes, but it’s an impressive continuous effect that is draining her energy. Now it looks piecey and full of gaps. Tempesta’s wings beat the air, and the roll of thunder fill the arena. Lightning flashes above her.

I give them guidance. [She won’t be expecting it. Both of you. Super Jump on her!]

Lobo woofs. [I am less than sure about this...]

A hint of impatience creeps in. [You have to strike before she regenerates her energy!]

Scrambling, Lobo and Demos launch themselves into the air, the parabola of their leap peaking and then falling as they descend on Tempesta’s back. Faster and faster they fall, Shooting Stars warming up on their feet, until they slam right into Tempesta’s wings.

"UMPH!"

Tempesta squawks, her wings shuddering with the impact. They flap erratically, and she begins to spin out of the sky, spiraling toward the hard platform with Lobo and Demos clinging to her!