Sinzerklaaz shot to his armored feet. A savage look on his face. He swung his mighty double headed ask in a whistling arc.
“They dare!” he shouted.
Another explosion hit. The wall to the right of Sinzerklaazz exploded in a spray of wood and stone. Hilario curled up, arms over his head, as splinters pelted his back.
Smoke, scented of charred wood and sulfur hung in the vast room. Icy air poured through the blasted opening in the wall.
Machine gun fire zinged through the smoke filled hole. Bullets bounced off Sinzerklaazz’s armor. Sinzerklaazz let out an enraged roar. He raised his left hand. A blast of energy pulsed out from it.
“You dare to attack me in my realm!” Sinzerklaazz roared.
In answer, something shot through the smoke, trailing flame and more smoke.
It impacted Sinzerklaazz’s chest. And exploded.
The explosion hurled the giant being backward into his throne. Which broke into pieces.
What the heckity heck were the attackers using? Bazookas? Rocket launchers?
Over the ringing in his ears, Hilario managed to hear the cries of soldiers. Probably ogres. Or orkes–which would be worse. Orkes were bigger and meaner and even meaner. Vicious creatures bred for war and–oh look, there they were.
Orkes, heavily muscled, bigger and taller than a normal sized ogres, jumped over the smoking rim of the hole in the keep’s wall. Leather armor wrapped their chests and groin, but otherwise they wore no other clothing. Their skin was armor enough, thick and rough and gray. They shared the ogres’ mouthful of jagged, razor sharp teeth, but their hairless heads were more human-like. And their dark eyes glinted with malevolence and bloodlust.
The last place Hilario wanted to be was anywhere between them and their quarry.
Especially since these orkes were armed with AK-47s and shoulder mounted rocket launchers.
Apparently they had already found a way into the normal world. Or some crafty human arms dealer had.
A little bit of human magic that most of the unseen world didn’t quite understand.
As orkes boiled over the broken wall, he looked to the smoking form of Sinzerklaazz. The giant stirred. Raised his mighty head.
And oh, he looked mad.
The orkes raised their machine guns and let loose another volley. The rounds pinged and zinged off his (not so shiny now) armor.
Sinzerklaazz rolled to his side. Jumped to his feet and leapt across the room. Swung his ax in a savage arc.
Cleaved a whole bunch of orkes right in half.
Which was only a small portion of the orkes coming through the wall.
Two more orkes with shoulder mounted rocket launchers dropped to their knee and took aim at Sinzerklaaz.
Hilario unlocked his light energy reserve and pushed images into the orkes minds. Candy cane forests and cotton candy clouds.
The two orkes screamed and dropped their rocket launchers, running their clawed fingers down their faces.
Which seemed a rather extreme reaction, but whatever worked.
Sinzerklaazz swung his huge, double headed ax in the opposite direction and chopped down dozens more orkes.
He raised his left hand and let out another blast of energy. This time it was sustained. It pushed the orke army back through the hole.
Explosions blossomed against the wall of energy.
Sinzerklaazz grunted and clenched his jaw. But the energy wall held.
For the moment.
It wouldn’t last. The amount of energy Sinzerklaazz was blasting from his body couldn’t be sustained. No matter how powerful a being he was.
Sinzerklaazz dropped his mighty ax. It landed with an earth shaking clatter.
Hilario rolled to his feet. The van. He looked back. It looked fine. Not a mark on it. Well, maybe a bit dusty. Larry the ghost still shone bright in the front seat. He could dimly make out Odom and the Sapphire Witch in the back.
They appeared to be arguing.
Marco…
Oh, poop on a stick.
Marco was out of the van. Running in the opposite direction.
“Rachel! Where are you!” he shouted.
Hilario snapped his fingers at Roger the ogre, still laying prone on the ground. Though more likely out of a desire to stay out of firing range than subservience to any lords of the realm.
“Roger!” Hilario said, “Go get that idiot!”
Roger, to his credit, jumped to his bandy-legged feet and ran after the foolish detective.
“Hilario!” Sinzerklaazz boomed.
Hilario spun around. His tremendous belly carried so much momentum that he almost kept spinning. Instead he grabbed his belly with both hands and pushed the opposite way.
Really, maybe he should go on a diet.
Ha, ha. No.
“Hilario,” Sinzerklaazz said, “It’s up to you now. Here.”
The fingers of Sinzerklaazz’s right hand twisted into casting position. Something sparkled in his palm.
Hilario stood in awe of the being. Being able to hold a force shield and cast at the same time? Truly masterful.
Something swirled into existence in Sinzerklaazz’s hand. A…bag?
Sinzerklaazz threw the bag at Hilario. He tried to catch it. And he sort of it. It slammed into him, knocking him back against the van.
The bag was heavy. Made of some thick, blood-red cloth. It was open and empty, but a golden rope ran through loops at the top so that it could be cinched closed.
He looked up at Sinzkerklaazz. What the heckity heck was he supposed to do with this?
More explosions rocked the keep. Sinzerklaazz winced. He paled, his mighty face lined with strain.
“Take it,” Sinzerklaazz said, “You’ll know what to do with it. Find the woman. She’s key.”
Another explosion. The wall bulged next to the force shield covered hole.
“Go!” Sinzerklaazz shouted.
Pooperdoodles.
Hilario stuffed the bag under his arm. Ran for the van. From the corner of his eye he saw Roger the ogre running full tilt his way with a kicking and screaming Detective Marco over his brawny shoulder.
Hilario threw himself into the van.
