Book 2, Chapter 14

The tension in the room was palpable. Steve the unfortunate focus, standing blocking the doorway with his sword out ready to be grabbed. The blade dug carelessly into the thick carpet, adding a rip into one of the few carpets that had survived the event untouched. The sword’s size was still ridiculous. Usually the blade went deeper into the earth, but here in the dining room it had not been pushed into the floorboards so the guard of the sword was at the level of Steve’s chin. Such violent power on display.

The fake police woman from last night was also in the room off to the side of Steve, already busily ticking off the list held in a clipboard in her hands.

The usual post Armageddon spread of cereals, long life milk, jam, bread, vegemite and something like bacon that was cut thicker than most people would be used to was laid out on the buffet table.

Cereal and coffee and maybe some bacon later.

There was no one that he was close with down in the room, so he chose a random table where the occupants looked as isolated as he felt. The food felt plain and tasteless, the coffee only hot.

A man and two women stood and marched pointedly towards the door. Steve plucked the giant sword, his wiry frame somehow moving the sword that looked far too heavy to shift. Adrian knew it was a skill like his magic focus that increased Steve’s strength whenever he wielded massive weapons. It still made his stomach flip every time he saw Steve use that sword. If they made it of plastic, it would still have been unwieldy and the sword was not a prop. Conversation stalled across the room, eyes from every table swiveled to face the exit. Even those with back turned shifted in the seat to watch. An elderly lady even stood up and walked away like a bar fight was about to explode.

One woman walked up to Steve, getting right into his personal space. “I need to see my family.”

“I was ordered to keep everyone here.”

The woman talking was a level nine summoner. “I am going,” the words were said with finality

“Everyone stays.”

“You can not stop me.”

“Us,” the man behind her said “I want to see my family too.”

“No one has the right to give orders anymore,” the summoner continued “There has been no election. No one is in charge.”

“Sally said to keep everyone here.”

“That cow,” the summoner spat. Steve’s muscles tensed, “does not have that right to order me around.”

“Cheryl, there's going to be an announcement and Sally wants everyone here.” While Steve kept his voice steady, the man was visibly unhinged. A vein on his forehead throbbed and the giant sword had been subconsciously lifted into a battle stance from where it had previously rested on the ground.

“I'm going to see my family now. I did not survive the Apocalypse to end up being dictated by some stupid cow on a power trip.”

Cheryl stepped backwards, once then twice and then a third time. Magic flowed into and around her. It was a new flavour. Her lips had turned into a contemptuous snarl. Violence was threatening in every movement of Steve's facial muscles. She started chanting and power was forming in front of her. The words were gibberish, but it was clearly some form of spell. New flavour, weird energy movement and her class was a summoner. She was going to bring something here.

“Stop,” Steve took a half step forward before exerting his self-control and stepping back to rest against the wall. The actions of man wanting violence but obeying orders not to initiate it. At least not physically.

She did not.

“This doesn't have to happen,” the man said, supporting Cheryl. “Just let us go.”

“I want to check in on my pa.” The third woman chimed in. She was fifty plus, so her father must have been pretty elderly.

“Stop,” Steve repeated.

The pitch and volume of Cheryl’s chanting reached a crescendo. There was an audible sound of tearing electricity and a flash of light. Just to the left of Cheryl, an ugly creature appeared. It looked like a developed Imp.

Earth Demon

This summoned creature is a vicious fighter and enjoys spilling blood. Once it has engaged an enemy, blood lust will overtake it till it destroys the enemy. During this time, the Summoner can neither command nor dispel it.

People close to the entrance were backing away.

The man was a level 11 Fire mage, and a fireball was forming in his hand. The other women supporting Cheryl was a Level 9 Druid; she was also drawing energy into herself to cast magic. With magic focus, open white energy ran through the ground from her feet to under Steve’s. Something was going to come out of the ground to get him.

“Attack!” the words were spoken softly into the deep anticipatory silence ordering the earth demon.

The flash of red went over the Demon. It would now not rest till Steve was dead. The other man and woman both finished their spells. A fireball launched at Steve while thorny vines splintered out of the floor at Steve's feet. This was not a duel, it had just turned into a death battle.

“NO!” his own voice joined the yells of protests and the screams of fear, anger and more often than not denial.

How had things deteriorated so quickly?

Premeditated was the only answer. Cheryl had always planned on trying to kill Steve.

As the demon moved, Steve was an explosion of strength. His sword met the imp neatly decapitating it and continuing on to intercept the fireball. He leapt away from the still growing vines with his enhanced strength. The thorns kept hold, ripping deeply into his poorly armoured legs, leaving red streaks behind him. Landing with the sword held casually in two hands. The imp was dead, and the two starting spells of the magic users effectively counted.

Steve had won.  But, his face was cold and Furious

“We will wait,” Cheryl stammered.

“You tried to kill me.”

“No,” the protestation was weak as everyone had seen the fireball and those with the skills would have recognised the demon's blood lust.

“You are always a vindictive cow and now you think you have the power to get away with murder.” His eyes flicked at the others “with the help of moralless cretins.”

Cheryl's hands were up in a pacifying gesture “no need to be violent”

“You started it.” Steve had a brief smile on his lips as his massive sword drew back before swinging at Cheryl

She screamed.

The flat of the Sword angled down into her shoulder. Steve was using the weapon like it was a baseball bat. It hit with a splat; the sound was like half a watermelon falling onto concrete.

Splat.

Cheryl’s body collapsed, the shoulder falling inwards while the body was propelled diagonally down with prejudice. Her left hand stretched out to break the fall, but the bones in the arm splintered. Shards of the ulna cut through the skin and blood went everywhere.

Steve kept moving, a vicious elbow slamming into the chin of the woman who had cast the vine spell. The fire mage was trying to draw on his power with a flame spell half formed in his hands. Spinning out of the blow on Cheryl, Steve swung the sword hard at the man's legs. Once more presenting the flat end to create blunt force trauma rather than lobbying off an entire limb. It collided with the man's knees and he fell, losing control of his half-formed Fireball. It fell apart in his hands as he fell with flames splashing down onto his chest. Adrian knew firsthand how easily and painful your own magic backfiring could it be. The man kept screaming with the flames still burning vigorously on him.

Steve stepped back, positioning himself back to guarding the door, and he positioned the sword in the same position as previously to avoid further damage to the carpet.

It had taken only moments. Literally seconds. Everyone was still alive. Cheryl had the worst damage and was whimpering on the floor with a pool of blood expanding around her. The man was screaming with flames still burning on his chest and the woman got the kindness treatment of them all as even though teeth had gone flying she been knocked out cold when her head had hit the ground.

Ice mist in his hands as he was running towards the burning man. Other healing spells were flying. The cool magic flowed from his hands, devouring the flames encasing the burning man’s chest with a thin layer of ice. The cold was probably soothing.

Lay of hands was not even possible as his Mana was too low so he stopped his rush to let others get close enough to make a difference.

In moments all three were healed and all that was left to the brief fight was the blood red streaks on Steve's legs, the demon body and the pool of blood where Cheryl had fallen. There was lots of minor blood splatter and teeth elsewhere, but unless you were the obsessive type, it would go unnoticed.

Cheryl lay on the floor staring up at Steve. Her hatred could not have been clearer. With that arrogance, he had always associated with a certain class of undesirables. She pushed herself to her feet. Defiance and fury in her eyes. "You are nothing better than a brute.”

Steve grabbed the sword and was swinging it before anyone could react. There was no one between him and Cheryl sword slammed into her leg with an almighty crack.

She fell screaming. Again.

The glob of Steve's spit landed on her at the same time the healing spells did.

“You started, I finished. Behave or next time I will cut off your legs.”

Adrian was not sure how many people knew, but the healing they had available probably could not restore the legs if he amputated them. The threat was more than idle. Breaking legs was temporary pain, having them cut off was permanent.

This time she said nothing. The contempt, anger and defiance was gone, replaced with fear.

“We will wait,” she made it sound like it was her decision.

The police woman with the clipboard had reacted like many to a violent confrontation. She had frozen but now the altercation was over she visibility gathered up her courage.

“Everyone,” she yelled, steeping deliberately in front of Steve. “You are here for your own protection. You will be able to leave shortly. We just want to give an update on the Lucu.”

Steve stood calmly in his guard position. The fire mage hurried forward to help Cheryl to her feet, and together they retreated to the back of the room. The aura of violence faded.

On the way back to his seat, he went to get another coffee of course there was a line. The brief fight had got everyone onto their feet. So a lot of people had migrated to top up their beverage of choice at the same time.

“Did not realise we were prisoners.”

“Do you think it's a coup?”

“I will say nothing”

“Cheryl was doing a stupid power play.”

“She tried to kill him”

“Yep, she deserved everything she got”

“He won he did not need to hit them”

“Who hits a woman?”

“Cheryl’s fine if she had won, Steve would be dead. That's a big difference.”

The crowd seems to be mostly against Cheryl, though there was an undercurrent of resentment directed against Steve. That was fair enough. Steve’s decision to continue the attack was wrong. He should have stepped back and let a neutral party meet out proper punishment. After all, most of the people here would have been willing to testify that Cheryl and her accomplices had smashed past the line.

Finally, the girl fussing in front of him finished making a cup of tea after taking the time to dunk a tea bag seven times while people were waiting in line behind her.

A spoonful of coffee, a splash of milk and boiling water, and then he cleared a space for the next person. Back at his table eavesdropping on the surrounding conversations. Cliques were forming, those that appreciated the fact that a dangerous beast was targeting them, those who thought that it was a devious ploy to let someone take over the town. Apparently locking all the magic users in here left the town defenseless.

Susie entered the room from the stairs. She looked around and seemed to understand that something had gone wrong. She chatted to the people around her as he grabbed breakfast sending a number of pointed glances in both Steve and Cheryl’s direction.

“Are you going to say anything?” Susie asked, sitting down next to him. “After all, you are the Bird-slayer your opinion matters.”

“I'm sure the announcement will clear the stuff up”

“You've seen the Lucu, you know it actually exists. You should,” she waved a hand towards the group on the next table that were still arguing that it was all a conspiracy

“My word will change the minds of lunatics. After all, if I say anything I will be another pawn of the mastermind.”

“Bad mood?”

“Just processing” he nodded towards where Steve stood at military attention with blood still on his leg.

“I heard it was bad.”

“The victims,” he made inverted commas when he said those words “attacked to kill. If Steve was yours, or Julie’s, or Kozzie’s level, then Steve would be dead.”

Susie just looked over towards Cheryl, the fire mage and the druid. They were sitting in the centre of attention of a wider group of flunkies.

“I see.” The three of them were clearly still alive and unharmed.

Sally came through the door.

Was she going to be pouring kerosine or water?