'Come on,' he said. 'Forward.'
Holly back-pedalled to her feet, pulling No.1 to his. Behind them on the slopes, the demons froze at the sight of the disappearing imps, but now were advancing again with renewed determination. No doubt they believed that Holly was responsible for the disappearance of their little brothers.
Temporal booms echoed around the island, as chunks of Hybras spun into the time tunnel. Some would materialize on Earth and some in space. It was doubtful that any demons unlucky enough to be transported would survive. Not without concentrated magic to forge a compass for them.
Artemis dragged himself the last few steps to the bomb, dropping to his knees beside it. He wiped ash from the read-out with his sleeve, then spent a while studying it, nodding along with the flickering of its digital timer.
The numbers of the timer were behaving seemingly erratically: jumping forward, slowing down and even backing up slightly. But Artemis knew that there would be a pattern in here somewhere. Magic was simply another form of energy, and energy conformed to certain rules. It was simply a matter of watching the timer and counting. It took a while longer than they could afford, but eventually Artemis spotted the repeat. He ran the numbers quickly in his head.
'I see it,' he shouted to Qwan, who was on his knees beside him. 'It's mainly forward. An hour per second for a count of forty, followed by a deceleration to thirty minutes per second for a count of eighteen, then a slight jump backwards in time, one minute per second back for a count of two. Then it repeats.'
Qwan smiled weakly. 'What was the first one again?'
Artemis stood heaving the bomb from its cradle of ash and fungus.
'Never mind. You need to prepare to transport this place. I'll move this bomb to wherever you need it.'
'Very well, smart Mud Boy. But we still only have four magical beings. We need N'zall.'
Holly backed into the group, still firing. 'I'll see what I can do.'
Qwan nodded. 'I have faith in you, Captain. Then again I am a trusting person, and look where that got me.'
'Where do you want this?'
Qwan considered. 'We need to form a circle round it, so somewhere flat.
Look, that level spot. There.'
Artemis began dragging the bomb towards the indicated spot. It wasn't so far. And then they could all stand round in a ring and watch it explode.
Everyone had their jobs to do now. And the chances of their tasks coming to fruition were slightly less than the chances of a dwarf-goblin marriage ever taking place. And a goblin would rather eat his own feet than marry a dwarf.
Artemis had to position the bomb. № 1 and Qwan were in charge of spell-casting, and Holly had the unenviable tasks of keeping them all alive, and persuading Abbot to join their group. And all this while the island was disintegrating around them.
The volcano was literally being torn apart. Huge segments vanished into space like parts of a giant three- dimensional jigsaw. In minutes, there would be nothing left to transport.
Qwan took No.1's hand in his own, leading him to the small level spot.
'OK, young fellow. That thing you did up there, with the soldiers — that was good. I was impressed. But this is the big time. I know you're in pain. That's just because you are sensitive to the spell's breakdown. But you have to ignore that. We have an island to move.'
No.1 felt his tail vibrate nervously. 'An island? An entire island?'
Qwan winked. 'And everyone on it. No pressure.'
'What do we do?'
'I only need one thing from you. Call up your magic, every drop. Let it pass through me and I'll do the rest.'
That sounded easy enough. But calling up magic when there were arrows flying and chunks of the countryside disappearing was about as easy as going to the toilet on command, with a dozen people watching.
Who all hated you.
No.1 closed his eyes and thought magical thoughts.
Magic. Come on, magic.
He tried to open the same doors in his mind as he had when he had conjured up the human soldiers. To his surprise, he found the magic came easier now, as if it was ready to come out. The cage had been opened and the beast was free. No.1 felt the power surge through his arms, animating him like a puppet.
'Whoa there, big fellow,' said Qwan. 'No need to blow my head off. Put a leash on it until it's time to go.' The old warlock shouted to Artemis, his thin voice almost whipped away by sonic booms. 'How long?'
Artemis was dragging the bomb with some difficulty, digging his heels into the crust and heaving. He couldn't help thinking that Butler would have simply slung the bomb and its casing over one shoulder and hefted it on to the plateau.
'Count to three hundred. Maybe two ninety-nine. Providing the deterioration remains constant, which it should.'
Qwan had stopped listening after the words three hundred. He gripped
No.1's hands tightly.
'Five minutes and we're going home. Time to start the mantra.' Qwan closed his eyes and bobbled his head from side to side, muttering in the ancient demon tongue.
No.1 could feel the power of the words, shaping the magic into rising circles of blue fire around them. He held on to his new mentor and joined in, repeating the mantra as if his life depended on it. Which, of course, it did.
Holly had a new mission now. Somehow she had to draw Abbot into their little group, and persuade him to join the magic circle. It seemed, judging by the way he was waving his fancy sword, highly unlikely that he would do this voluntarily.
The demon attack was mostly in disarray now, what with large tracts of the surroundings flashing off into another dimension, but Abbot and his
Council members were as dogged as ever, forging ahead with barely a pause when some of their number disappeared.
Holly held her fire, wondering what was the best way to communicate with the pride leader. She was a trained negotiator, and suspected from her own observations and what No.1 had told her, that Abbot had
Acquired Situational Narcissism. He was completely in love with himself and his own importance in the community. Narcissists would often chose to die rather than accept what they saw as demotion. To Abbot, Holly would represent someone who was trying to remove him as pride leader, and therefore someone to be dealt with immediately.
Great, thought Holly. No matter what dimension you're in, there's a big-headed male trying to take over the world.
The demons were advancing in a ragged line. Abbot was at the head, waving his fancy sword, urging his mesmerized troops forward. The red sky was splitting into interwoven tendrils behind his head. The world as Abbot knew it was ending, but still he would not give up his position.
Death for all before disgrace for him.
'Call off your warriors, Abbot,' shouted Holly. 'We can talk about this.'
Abbot did not reply as such. Not unless howling and waving a sword could count as a reply.
The demons were spreading out even more now. Flanking her and avoiding being sucked off into another dimension all in one group.
Abbot skidded ahead, digging his heels through the crust of ash, leaning his torso back to avoid tumbling. He was completely coated in ash now, even his ram's horns were grey. Grey maelstroms trailed behind him as each lurch forward threw up a thousand flakes.
There's nothing I can do, thought Holly. This guy wouldn't listen to his own mother. If he knew who his mother was.
There was no way out. She would have to up the charge and knock him senseless for a couple of hours.
