We need a safe place to watch the final phase from, whispering instructions to our Williynx who adapt smaller forms once more, using their claws to perch on the mountain face, slightly below the crowds looking on with interest.
“Don’t you think we should help?” Lucy poses as the Riadek releases a colossal roar, a volley of defensive charms from Odin and Neve bouncing off its armour.
“They’ll either tame it or lose control,” I say, hovering in mid-air alongside my three allies, using my love of fire to add some spice to proceedings.
“They’re going to get ripped to shreds,” Noah adds, cringing as the two shifty Domitus dart through the skies, sending out ineffective showers of light and energy that do nothing to stop the beast on their tail.
“They’re supposed to be creature tamers, aren’t they?” Conrad adds, offering me a satisfying smile, “so let’s find out what they’re made of. They wanted this duel, after all.”
It turns out that what Odin and Neve are made of is hollow courage, struggling to control the erratic flight of the Silverbacks they ride on. They dart at different angles to avoid their pursuers spiked, armoured wings, kicking hard to control their flight path as they whip out a fire charm of their own … but it has no effect … the velocity of the free Riadek too great to be stopped by clouds of fire.
As the crowds look on from the mountainside, the first mistake happens as the roaring Riadek crashes into Odin who falls from his weakened creature, enacting the flight charm to halt his fall. A single flower appears above his hand — the stem wrapping around his wrist as the flower spins in a propellor motion, easing him onto the ground.
He’s an open target now, and with Neve using an invisibility charm to hide her fall only Odin remains in danger. Why he hasn’t thought of making himself invisible is a puzzle, probably because he’s caught in a scenario he didn’t expect. He has to tame or be tamed, I realise, the entire principle that Drandok is founded on: the assessment of broken soldiers and the extent to which their minds have been darkened by battle.
Battle is the very thing Odin’s faced with now, looking up to see the roaring Silverback closing in with another chained creature occupying the taming range below. Serious injury won’t be allowed, obviously, but every move a Domitus makes in Drandok marks their future, and Odin’s future doesn’t look too bright at the moment.
If he doesn’t find a way to tame the beast, he’s proven himself unfit for duty, having already ‘lost control’ of the Riadek in the skies: a sneaky way of targeting us. It’s a pity he didn’t think of the consequences of tempting four Night Rangers to Drandok, knowing full well that two of them are already war veterans.
“I bet you any money he quits, leaving us to rescue him,” Noah says as he rubs his companion’s fire-red feathers.
“How much?” Conrad challenges, loving a bit of competition.
“Half the money I lost yesterday, thinking you wouldn’t sing: a thousand Kyals to see who’s right.”
“You’re on,” Conrad replies with a confident smile as we get comfortable, ready to find out what Odin Blin is made of.
18
A Shower of Ice
The expected bubble of light appears around Odin as the Riadek roars towards him, the activation of the Velinis charm likely to offer only temporary protection from a ferocious beast: Odin’s going to need a lot more than this to escape unscathed.
The four of us perch on our Williynx on the mountain ridge, ready to intervene if necessary. The job of a Night Ranger is to keep the peace, after all, so we can’t just sit back and watch a comrade come to harm, even if he is a potential malev in the making.
As the Silverback crashes into the ruby-red bubble of protection surrounding Odin, our Williynx squawk in an instinctive desire to intervene, but we whisper reassurances to them, rubbing their feathered coats to keep them calm. Although beautiful to look at, Williynx can be as fierce as any underworld creature, including the brutal beast that turns in flight, opening its armoured wings to smash into Odin’s fragile defences.
The taming range has been cleared on the ground below — chained Silverbacks returned to their cells at the sight of potential carnage above. I’m fairly sure Odin’s current predicament isn’t in the training manual. All eyes are on us now as the ruby-red Velinis charm cracks, leaving Odin increasingly vulnerable to the vicious creature who circles again, letting out a roar that reverberates around the mountains.
The Riadek could make its escape, of course, finally free of the chains of its captors, but underworld creatures are designed for cruelty so vengeance remains the aim: the target now scrambling to retrieve a Zombul from his jacket pocket. It’s the very artefact Alice Aradel sought out to protect herself with: a small, silver object punctuated with holes at the top.
A Zombul is able to release any creature small enough to explode from it ... the vampiric Ameedis bursting into life now swarming the Silverback as it closes in. The vicious, black birds have no impact on the creature, bouncing off its armour as they try to find flesh to sink their teeth into.
“This is getting out of hand,” Lucy says, her slight figure tensing in mild frustration.
I know what she’s thinking; we didn’t sign up to observe cruelty so I echo her sentiments, adding, “Time to move in.”
“What about the bet?” Noah asks, deciding not to pursue the point as Lucy glares at him.
“We’re still on duty, remember,” Lucy adds defiantly, “and Night Rangers protect.”
With the crowds watching from above, lining the perch framing the triangular taming range, I catch a glimpse of Orgev’s face — the muscle-bound, bearded Domitus who’s provided clarity on the purpose of
