[Mummies Alive] Duty and Devotion (Ch. 5)
Title: Duty and Devotion
Series: Mummies Alive!
Genre: Action/Adventure
Warnings: None
Duty and Devotion
A Mummies Alive fanfic by Hoshikage
Part 5
Nefer-tina, paying more attention to the Shabties than Scarab, was just about to charge them when a taunting call from the wizard brought her up short. She looked in his direction and gasped.
Scarab pushed his hand straight through the barrier, the claws of his armor clamping tight around Ja-Kal's neck. Scarab hauled the falcon guardian upright and clear off the floor, his feet dangling above the ground. Ja-Kal pried weakly at the claw holding him up by the throat, gasping.
What is he... Nefer-tina thought for an instant, before she realized. Oh, no!
"Surrender, Rapses," Scarab demanded. "Give me your soul!"
"No!" Nefer-tina shouted, and charged. The Shabties blocked her way to Scarab, placing themselves in front of their master with magic staffs blazing bolts at her. She ducked and dodged the sizzling magic blasts and hurled herself at the front row of Shabties, tearing at them with her claws.
"Surrender or I will simply destroy him!" Scarab shouted, and yanked his hand back, pulling Ja-Kal into contact with the barrier. The blue lightning exploded around Ja-Kal and he screamed hoarsely, struggling uselessly to pull away from the terrible energy.
"Stop it!" Presley cried desperately.
Scarab finally moved his hand forward again, and Ja-Kal went limp in his grasp, giving a tiny involuntary whimper as his armor and bandages smoldered, charred black where the lightning had touched.
"Surrender!" Scarab demanded again.
"No, my prince!" Nefer-tina cried, fighting wildly against the Shabties that were slowly overpowering her by sheer force of numbers. "You can't give yourself to him! No matter what happens!"
Presley cowered against the wall, his green eyes huge and horrified as he stared at Ja-Kal and Scarab. "No... Ja-Kal... I..."
"Do you need more persuasion?" Scarab hissed, drawing Ja-Kal towards him an inch. Ja-Kal flinched involuntarily from the barrier, not quite touching it. Presley tried to say that he'd do what Scarab wanted, unable to bear the thought of hearing Ja-Kal scream like that again, but the words stuck in his throat and wouldn't come out. No matter what happened, if he surrendered or not, it would all come out the same...
Ja-Kal turned his head to look at him, as if he'd heard the thought. "No, my prince," he said, and Presley could somehow hear him despite the cracking of Shabties and Nefer-tina's howls of rage and anguish as she fought a losing battle against them. "You must escape. It is we who die for you... not the other way around. Don't sacrifice yourself for me."
"Pathetic sentiment," Scarab proclaimed, and slammed Ja-Kal forward into the barrier again.
Presley hid his head in his hands, clamping his eyes shut. Ja-Kal made no sound this time, all that could be heard was the wild crackling of the barrier and the sounds of Nefer-tina's battle. But Presley knew what was happening. Tears escaped from his tightly closed lids and trickled down his cheeks. There was nowhere he could run, nowhere to hide. There was no one to help him. Winter was out cold and couldn't cancel her own spells, Nefer-tina was overwhelmed, Armon was paralyzed and Ja-Kal was...
"Rath," Presley whispered in a tiny voice, not knowing why. He had no hope that the scribe would be able to suddenly appear and save them, but the words kept coming anyway, stronger and louder until his own voice drowned out the sounds of war. "Rath! Help us!"
***
Rath was trying to remember all the words of a truly obscure spell, something that had been ancient even when he was young. He seemed to recall something about dissolving barriers like a sand dune in a windstorm, but not much else. If he could remember the entire spell, he didn't think Winter could possibly have blocked something so old - but first he had to remember it correctly...
He jerked in shock as Presley's voice suddenly echoed from his amulet, a high desperate scream.
"Rath! Help us!"
Rath bolted to his feet. "Young prince," he gasped, and clutched the amulet in both hands.
"With the strength of Ra!"
He barely waited for his armor to appear around him before hurling himself at the barrier, ramming it with his shoulder. Somewhere underneath his desperate fear for the prince's safety, a logical corner of his mind thought sarcastically that since brains had failed, maybe brawn would do better.
The barrier didn't give. Rath slashed his sword at it, but the blade bounced off. Rath resorted once more to slamming his full weight against it, again and again and again.
Series: Mummies Alive!
Genre: Action/Adventure
Warnings: None
Duty and Devotion
A Mummies Alive fanfic by Hoshikage
Part 5
Nefer-tina, paying more attention to the Shabties than Scarab, was just about to charge them when a taunting call from the wizard brought her up short. She looked in his direction and gasped.
Scarab pushed his hand straight through the barrier, the claws of his armor clamping tight around Ja-Kal's neck. Scarab hauled the falcon guardian upright and clear off the floor, his feet dangling above the ground. Ja-Kal pried weakly at the claw holding him up by the throat, gasping.
What is he... Nefer-tina thought for an instant, before she realized. Oh, no!
"Surrender, Rapses," Scarab demanded. "Give me your soul!"
"No!" Nefer-tina shouted, and charged. The Shabties blocked her way to Scarab, placing themselves in front of their master with magic staffs blazing bolts at her. She ducked and dodged the sizzling magic blasts and hurled herself at the front row of Shabties, tearing at them with her claws.
"Surrender or I will simply destroy him!" Scarab shouted, and yanked his hand back, pulling Ja-Kal into contact with the barrier. The blue lightning exploded around Ja-Kal and he screamed hoarsely, struggling uselessly to pull away from the terrible energy.
"Stop it!" Presley cried desperately.
Scarab finally moved his hand forward again, and Ja-Kal went limp in his grasp, giving a tiny involuntary whimper as his armor and bandages smoldered, charred black where the lightning had touched.
"Surrender!" Scarab demanded again.
"No, my prince!" Nefer-tina cried, fighting wildly against the Shabties that were slowly overpowering her by sheer force of numbers. "You can't give yourself to him! No matter what happens!"
Presley cowered against the wall, his green eyes huge and horrified as he stared at Ja-Kal and Scarab. "No... Ja-Kal... I..."
"Do you need more persuasion?" Scarab hissed, drawing Ja-Kal towards him an inch. Ja-Kal flinched involuntarily from the barrier, not quite touching it. Presley tried to say that he'd do what Scarab wanted, unable to bear the thought of hearing Ja-Kal scream like that again, but the words stuck in his throat and wouldn't come out. No matter what happened, if he surrendered or not, it would all come out the same...
Ja-Kal turned his head to look at him, as if he'd heard the thought. "No, my prince," he said, and Presley could somehow hear him despite the cracking of Shabties and Nefer-tina's howls of rage and anguish as she fought a losing battle against them. "You must escape. It is we who die for you... not the other way around. Don't sacrifice yourself for me."
"Pathetic sentiment," Scarab proclaimed, and slammed Ja-Kal forward into the barrier again.
Presley hid his head in his hands, clamping his eyes shut. Ja-Kal made no sound this time, all that could be heard was the wild crackling of the barrier and the sounds of Nefer-tina's battle. But Presley knew what was happening. Tears escaped from his tightly closed lids and trickled down his cheeks. There was nowhere he could run, nowhere to hide. There was no one to help him. Winter was out cold and couldn't cancel her own spells, Nefer-tina was overwhelmed, Armon was paralyzed and Ja-Kal was...
"Rath," Presley whispered in a tiny voice, not knowing why. He had no hope that the scribe would be able to suddenly appear and save them, but the words kept coming anyway, stronger and louder until his own voice drowned out the sounds of war. "Rath! Help us!"
***
Rath was trying to remember all the words of a truly obscure spell, something that had been ancient even when he was young. He seemed to recall something about dissolving barriers like a sand dune in a windstorm, but not much else. If he could remember the entire spell, he didn't think Winter could possibly have blocked something so old - but first he had to remember it correctly...
He jerked in shock as Presley's voice suddenly echoed from his amulet, a high desperate scream.
"Rath! Help us!"
Rath bolted to his feet. "Young prince," he gasped, and clutched the amulet in both hands.
"With the strength of Ra!"
He barely waited for his armor to appear around him before hurling himself at the barrier, ramming it with his shoulder. Somewhere underneath his desperate fear for the prince's safety, a logical corner of his mind thought sarcastically that since brains had failed, maybe brawn would do better.
The barrier didn't give. Rath slashed his sword at it, but the blade bounced off. Rath resorted once more to slamming his full weight against it, again and again and again.