Lincoln ignites his baculum into a long-sword and hacks away at the pipes beneath us. “We have to get down there and grab Nefer.” He quickly creates a gap to the floor below. “You first, Myla.”
I secure Kiya onto my shoulder and leap down through the fresh hole in the pipeworks, landing on back of an unsuspecting Insectus demon. The creature’s body crumbles beneath me into a pile of exoskeleton and green goo. Lincoln lands beside me.
An ear-splitting alarm sounds in the air. More Insectus demons pour in through the main doorway to the prison block. I scan the sea of bodies, looking for Nefer.
Where is she?
A wall of Insectus guards close in on Lincoln and me. We both ignite our baculum and go to town, cutting them down as fast as they approach. They aren’t necessarily hard to kill, but there are so many of them! Soon, my muscles ache with effort.
The Furor smashes more of the Insectus as well, but they swarm all over her body, chattering angrily and slashing at her with their sharp antennae claws. Fortunately, those don’t make of a dent in dragon hide.
I look up at the network of tubes above our heads. “I hope she knows which one of those leads to water.” Beside me, a pair of Insectus slash at Lincoln’s pack, tearing it to ribbons.
Man, that’s a bummer. We could have used that pack.
Lincoln decapitates another Insectus with a swipe of his sword. “And if she does find the water pipe?”
I impale another demon and toss it aside. “Then, things are going to get nasty. In a good way.”
With a great roar, the Furor dragon leaps up onto her hind legs, her scaly body shimmering with power. Insectus demons tumble off her as the Furor grabs one of the larger ceiling-tubes with her claw-hands. Yanking down the tube with all her strength, she pulls the entire pipe out and tosses it aside.
A low rumble sounds. The floor begins to shimmy and buck.
I slice another Insectus in half, and then look up to the hole in the ceiling where the pipe once was.
Lincoln smiles. “I think she knows which one leads to water.”
Liquid blasts out of the ceiling. A familiar tang fills the air. Clean water. Leaning back, the Furor dragon sucks in more gulps of water. With each passing second, her muscles grow even stronger, her body larger. Her eyes glimmer with green light, the pupils thinning into reptilian slits.
She’s in full dragon mode now.
The Furor lets out a high-pitched howl and slams her tail into the wall where the room’s sole exit door can be found. The cement crumbles in on itself, turning the only escape route into a blocked pile of rubble.
Lowering her head, the Furor opens her jaws, releasing long bolts of electricity that blast forward, burning out anything in its path. Dozens of Insectus demons fall over, dead.
I watch the electric arcs in awe. I heard that eel dragons could kill their prey with a charge like their earthly counterparts, but I’d never seen it in action. It’s terrifying and beautiful, all at once.
The Furor twists her head from side to side, sending long arcs of electricity around the room, killing every demon in her way.
Once every last Insectus is dead, the Furor retakes her human form. She stands before us, once again a willowy figure with greenish-blue hair, eyes and tail. “Thank you for freeing me.”
My own tail waves at her frantically. “Same here.”
The Furor jogs over to the control panel. “Let’s share the love, eh?” She tilts her head back, and scales appear along her neck and face. Opening her mouth, the Furor sends another arc of electricity into the panel of levers, which begins to smoke and crackle. She sets her now claw-like hand on the red lever and pulls it down. With a series of clicks, the other prison doors swing open. A mix of angels, humans, quasis and demons rush around the prison, yelling with elation, fear or both. They frantically search for an exit that no longer exists.
“How do you expect everyone to escape?” I ask.
“I don’t.” Still in her hybrid dragon-human form, the Furor scales the walls to the network of tubes that hang from the ceiling. “I only expect them to buy me time so I can get out.” She grips one of the larger tubes and shimmies inside, feet-first. “Not you, of course. I expect to see you again, very soon. I’m Ka and you’re?”
“I’m Myla. He’s Lincoln.”
“Goodbye, Myla and Lincoln.” With that, she crawls into the tube and disappears.
A familiar voice sounds behind us. “And now, it’s my turn to say hello.”
Spinning about, I see a smiling Nefer standing before us. Joy warms my heart. With a happy screech, Kiya scrambles across the prison floor and into Nefer’s arms. She holds him close to her chest. “I missed you too, my friend.” She turns to us and smiles. “Thank you.”
“You’re most welcome,” says Lincoln. “Especially considering you just increased the size of our fighting force.”
The grating beneath our feet begins to vibrate and groan. Alarm zooms up my spine.
Something’s about to happen.
“That’s Anubis,” explains Nefer. “He’ll send for us in a moment.”