Elevation of Mana Chapter 203 Matriarch Neera

Matriarch Neera

The beast was nearly upon us, furious, but sharp like a blade, its eyes hard as ice and obsidian, teeth bared in anger. From my side I heard Uro shouting, and the young leader acquitted himself well, a roar of power escaping his lips and slamming into the beast hard enough to make it stop.

It wouldn't be enough though, not for us to kill this thing. This one had gone the same way I'd seen the others do all those years ago, it was strong, potent, deadly, even to me. How long had it been since I'd seen something like that? How many years since my life had really been in danger? My how I hated it.

I'd not wanted to come here, not join on this mission. However there were several things that forced my hand. One, I wanted the plains that had been vacated, and had been readying to take them for some years now, getting all my people in order for the oncoming war. We'd even made some inroads there, a few small outposts reaching out before this disaster struck.

The other reason was near to me, he and the other aged one throwing everything they could at this monster. Rolan had made it clear that if I didn't join and he survived, we'd have issues, major issues. I didn't want to be here, and he may not have lived had I not come, but if I didn't and he lived? He'd kill me and I knew it, we both knew it.

“Can you hold it?” he yelled at me over the din of a dozen of us blasting away with spells.

“Not for long!” I replied, trying to keep it from getting into our formation was struggle enough.

“On my mark! Three, two, one, NOW!”

If I'd thrown a stone from the front of our formation without magic I might just have been able to strike the beast at this distance, too close, but I obliged, forming a rope of force and cold and shooting it forward to wrap the creature's legs. It was close, too close, and as it stumbled it landed upon the first rank, massive head reducing a woman to pulp as it crashed down.

The oldest of us were at the back, but I could see the Elders struggling even now to not die from the heat alone. I would have loved to help them on that account, but keeping my spell going was draining me fast. It was wrapping around the creature though, digging into its flesh as the cold cracked and tore at the beast's internal heat.

“Get back, it won't stay still long. Hit it if you can but living is more important!” I called to my own people, hoping some of them would make it to tomorrow.

Our healers poured power upon the creature, but they didn't have time for the concentrated blast they'd sent against the other one. Others wouldn't have noticed, but I did, they were also flagging, running low on energy to continue casting. If we didn't win soon we wouldn't, though I still had a bit in reserve, enough to escape should I need to.

It wasn't enough, the creature's aura flared as magic hit it, dissolving like a snowflake caught on the tongue. With another roar it thrashed violently, snapping my snare and struggling to regain its feet.

A boom sounded from far off as it got up, a small black blur slamming into one of the monsters small arms and leaving it hanging by a thread of flesh. The boy above was proving his worth, that strike and the other enough to help more than any his age should be able to. After this was over the next fight would be for him. Perhaps my companion wouldn't admit it, but whoever ended up controlling his knowledge would gain power far and above the other. The problem might only come that whoever failed to gain him might try to destroy him instead, something I was keen to prevent.

That was for later though, for now the beast screeched in rage and let loose a blast of flames. Everyone who could shield did, those who couldn't, or were too far from one who could quickly enough, burned. Uro died with little more than a cry of alarm, not quick enough. The healers had a few near them dedicated to protection though, so both Rolan and Jina survived, a shame really.

“Another snare on my mark!” the other Ancient called to me, but the monster before us rivaled our power, and it was not letting up.

The creature dove towards the group of healers, slamming its face against the pale shield. Its aura pushed against the magic of their protectors, and shoved it aside like a landslide.

“Neera!” he screamed as the remaining good claw snapped forward, catching Jina and tossing her like a child's doll.

“No,” I said, just loud enough to be heard. “Goodbye Rolan.”

There was a trick I'd devised long ago, one seldom used save for the direst of emergencies for the magic it drained was agonizing, but I used it now. Above me hundreds of feet of space crunched together, the world itself struggling as my magic took hold of such a large amount of area and compressed it. With a final look at the betrayed look on the Ancient's face I made a small hole and flew through before uncompressing the region, leaving myself well above the battle, though heaving from the effort.

He'd forced me here, and he'd try to take the boy from me, that boy's magic was like mine, and he should be mine. With his help I might even be able to make that last spell work properly without draining too much, for there was certainly something I was missing that made it so hard. No, I was done with him, we'd won, and now I could take my prizes and go. With the female dead these creatures wouldn't come for me ever again.

As I rose I saw the jaws snap down on the man's torso, sending a spray of boiling blood flying along with his legs. All below the dying screamed, trying to just live in the inferno created by the monster's very presence.

That was no longer my concern though, as I sped upwards, fleeing this place. Let the creature have his prizes, they'd be his last. For me, I'd go, up, up and to the flying ship, up away from this. I could get the boy and his apprentice to sail us away from the death, away from the monster, and we'd live on happily after; I won.

As I ascended though so too did his craft, bobbing to the side and rising as fast as I'd ever seen it move. What in the world was he doing? Trying to escape me? I could punish him later, as I was still faster. Then I felt the heat.

With shock I looked down upon the oncoming fireball, smaller than the last one this thing had loosed, but still enough. It was ignoring the dying to strike and me and the flying ship. There was no time, no room, no chance of shielding strong enough to withstand it head on. In a panic I tried to reach out and compress the world again, pushing forward as I worked to pull existence itself where I wanted it to be. My panicked aim was off though, and the edge of my magic crossed with the fireball. One field of magic met another, and both broke apart violently.

“Oh,” was all I had time to say.