I hit a slight incline in the path and tried to propel myself upwards. It was fine for a few steps but, as the path got steeper, it started to seem impossible. My massive belly kept getting in the way until I was barely managing to inch my way up. I turned to my right and tried side-stepping instead. It wasn’t much better but at least I felt as if I was making some kind of progress. Unfortunately I was suddenly inundated with streams of people exiting from a door behind me – and all walking in the opposite direction. I was banged and shoved and lost my balance, slowly toppling over. I supposed that one good thing was the vast penguin suit cushioned my landing. In fact, I barely felt it. I was, however, now sliding slowly down the path, still surrounded by people, and entirely unable to bring myself back upright.
“Hahahaha! Look at the stupid penguin,” someone said.
Great. Yes, look and laugh. Don’t try to help the stupid penguin stand back up though. That would spoil all your fun, I thought, annoyance seething through me.
“Here, let me help you,” said a smooth and spine-chillingly familiar voice.
Oh, shit. It was Endor. Red began to seep across my eyes, and I felt the burning begin, tearing through my veins and squeezing my heart. He yanked hard on one of my wings, pulling me back to my feet. I stared at him through the penguin’s head. What was he going to do now? The one major drawback of this stupid costume was that there was no way I was going to able to either appropriately attack or even defend. He wouldn’t want to alert anyone to his presence so, whatever he’d do, it would be fast and silent. Transforming into a dragon in the middle of this throng of tourists would be an incredibly stupid move. But I’d do it if I had to.
Every muscle in my body was tense. But the necromancer merely patted me on one of my wings and smiled. If you could call it a smile. Clearly he was as good at disguising himself and his true intentions as I currently was. He turned round and continued up the small hill towards the eagles while I watched, shrieking relief pouring from me, along with vast quantities of sweat. For a moment I was frozen to the spot, entirely immobile, then I hopped forward and hooked one wing round a nearby handrail to prevent myself from falling over again and used every ounce of energy I had to rush up after him. Or at least waddle up after him anyway.
When I finally reached what the park organisers had called the ‘Eagle’s Nest’ and squeezed myself through the entrance, I realised just how vast the enclosure was. There was some kind of netting, sure, preventing the birds from just up and flying away, but it was very high up and there were clearly acres of space for the eagles to roam around in. Rocks and scrub were dotted around everywhere to make the birds feel at home as possible. While I appreciated the space, I wondered why the phoenix bothered. A large cage was still a cage.
I slowly spun myself around to get a full view of the area so I could work out where the magical bird actually might be now that Endor had disappeared from view. Without the benefit of communication with anyone, I didn’t have a clue where to head. Then I had an idea. He wouldn’t like it when he found out the truth, but if it meant having the chance to save his sorry hide from Endor it’d be worth it.
I opened up my Voice to Corrigan.
Hey, I said, keeping it light. What’s happening? Has Endor shown up yet?
Hi kitten. His opening was soft, and made trippy little butterflies flap around in my tummy. There’s no sign of him yet.
Oh. Well, he was about to show his face any minute now. I could hardly tell Corrigan that though. Do you have enough people to cover the area?
We’ve got hundreds dotted throughout the park. We won’t miss him.
That’s what you think, I thought desperately. Where’s the phoenix?
I kept my fingers tightly crossed.
Safe.
Goddamn it, Corrigan, safe where? That’s good to know.
Yeah. I can see why it chooses to live here. It lords over all the other birds. The actual eagles seem to treat it as if it’s some kind of god.
Interesting. I swivelled all the way around again. Towards the middle of the enclosure was what appeared to be some kind of fake mountain, rising up out of the ground. There was nothing else around that was even remotely of the same size. If I were a god, that’s where I’d hang out. I began to waddle towards it, hoping that a penguin mascot wandering around the eagle enclosure wasn’t too weird.
So how are you? Are you still mad at me?
Um…I understand why you want me to stay away. Just like I hope you’ll understand why I didn’t, I thought.
A voice suddenly came over the Bird World tannoy. “Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, the falconry display is just about to begin. If you make your way over to the North end of the park, you’ll be wowed by the skill and mastery of these birds and their keepers.”
A surge of people abruptly headed for the Eagle’s Nest exit. There were going to be virtually no tourists left in this area. What better time was there than now for Endor to strike?
Kitten, I have to go.
Corrigan suddenly sounded strained and tense. I was relieved that he’d had the same thought as me and I wouldn’t have to find some way of letting him know that Endor was already there. I took a deep breath. We had to succeed this time. There was simply no other way out.
And then I saw him. He was striding out from behind a grassy outcrop. Or grassy knoll, I thought sardonically. He wasn’t trying to conceal himself, however. He walked right up to the mountain and outstretched his arms. Fuck. I began to waddle over in his direction; he was at least two hundred feet away, but I had to get there. I looked up and spotted Corrigan emerging from within the tower of rocks, along with many others.
“I don’t know how you knew I’d be here,” Endor boomed at them, “but you know it’s futile. You can’t beat me. Haven’t you learnt that by now?”
No-one bothered answering him. Instead several withdrew weapons, and the mages among them sparked up blue flames.
“Where’s the dragon?” Endor taunted. “Or has she worked out that it would be pointless to face me? You know you can’t break my wards without her.”
I shuffled forward faster, cursing my lack of mobility. Endor sent out huge thick streams of black towards the Otherworlders. I watched horrorstruck as they approached, then almost collapsed in relief as the black fire slammed into a ward. At least the mages had thought to construct one. It was obvious, however, it wouldn’t last for long. Already it was shimmering blue – an indication it was weakening. A few more hits like that and it would be broken.
There were some hurried voices to either side of me as the few remaining tourists were being ushered out due to what sounded like ‘preparations for a later show’. I nodded my head to myself. That was smart. A faerie began to head over in my direction, no doubt to tell me to do the same. I gave him a wave and continued forward. I was hardly inconspicuous dressed like this. With any luck, the faerie would think I was one of them and would leave me alone. Fortunately it seemed to work.
Someone broke away from the main group and began running towards the necromancer. It was Tom. My heart in my mouth, I tried to yell at him to get back, but my voice was muffled by the thick fabric of the penguin’s head. One thing the necromancer had been right about was his wards: without my blood, they were unbreakable. Tom was about to be slaughtered in front of my eyes. I was too far away to do anything. I watched helplessly as he sprinted forward. He was toast.
Several mages began throwing out blue fire towards Endor, distracting him. They may have been powerful streaks of Protection enhanced magic, but they bounced off him with barely a sizzle. I tried to run, but the costume just wouldn’t let me. Then, all of a sudden, when Tom was barely ten feet away, he threw something towards him. It was some kind of liquid, but I couldn’t make it out clearly. It slapped into Endor and his ward with a tremendous spitting hiss, instantly breaking it. Then Tom was running back to the relative safety of the mountain, dodging a spray of returning black fire as he did so. My blood. He’d thrown my blood. They must have somehow gotten it back from Tarn. I wondered what the UnSeelie Fae had demanded in return and hoped the price wasn’t too high. My relief was overwhelming, however.
With Endor’s wards broken, the mages were free to hit him with everything they had. Despite that fact, however, their streams of blue flame seemed to be doing little damage. Again and again, they smacked into Endor’s body. All he seemed to be doing in return was laughing. I was still more than a hundred feet away. I couldn’t move any faster without taking off the costume. The trouble was I couldn’t let Endor know I was there. Corrigan had been right about that: if the necromancer knew where I was I would simply provide too easy an alternative. If he didn’t turn round though, he wouldn’t see my fat penguin shape coming until it was too late.
Sweat was dripping off me as I pushed myself forward. Endor attacked the mages’ own ward again, this time with a stronger bolt. There was another sizzle, as it too was destroyed. Now it was a level playing field: no magical protection in either direction. With a roar, a group of shifters already in their were forms burst forward, fur and fangs flying. Endor took them down with one strike, as if he were simply at a bowling alley and leisurely knocking down some pins. I snarled deep within my costume.
The Fae were next. They swooped down, with speed and elegance. Several reached close enough to hit him, dancing away before he could take a shot. He produced something from within the folds of his cloak, however. Something long and sharp and pointy, and fended them off with ease.
Then, without warning, the sky darkened and there was a rumble of thunder. Nearby trees began to shake, their leaves rustling dramatically in the sudden heavy wind. Everyone looked surprised. A bolt of lightning shot out from the clouds above, landing scant inches away from Endor.
“Again,” I whispered, “again.”
Taking the opportunity, Corrigan leapt down. There was something small and brown clutched in his hand. I fucking hoped he had some idea about how to use it. The sky boiled overhead, and ropes of harsh silver rain began to beat down mercilessly. There was another strike of lightning. Then another.
