Chapter 37

Tarvo wasn’t planning on standing around and letting the flood of spiders come to him. He raised his mace into the air and charged ahead. The Terra warriors behind him all yelled out loud battle cries and ran with him, each one marked with the tribal paints that designated which city-tribe they came from.

Tarvo ran headlong into the army of Rooks. They were slow to react and their eyes looked empty. He smashed his mace into soldiers but didn’t stop to watch them fall. He was on a direct line for the Rook leader. It didn’t take him long to get to him. The man seemed lost in whatever power he was unleashing. Tarvo could see the spiders still flooding out of his hands. They climbed and poured over everything, including the Rook soldiers themselves, although they didn’t seem to even acknowledge the Rooks’ presence. They all seemed to be on a course for the Terra warriors and only the Terra warriors.

A mass of spiders suddenly switched direction and scurried toward Tarvo. He dropped his mace and his form shimmered. A huge, shaggy bear with dark brown fur took his place, roaring loudly.

The spiders weren’t overly impressed with his new, stronger and more savage body. They continued surging toward him, swamping him with their sheer numbers. They began climbing over him, their mutated limbs catching purchase in his thick fur. Their mandibles tried to bite down, but his pelt was too thick. They couldn’t get in a good bite.

Tarvo roared with berserker rage. He swung and lashed his huge claws through the air. They sliced spiders apart with ease. He tried to shake the spiders that were crawling all over him off, but they refused to budge. So he did the next best thing. He dropped to the sand and rolled around, smothering them. They were still living creatures, sort of, and still needed air. Without it, they started dying in droves and just fell off his fur and onto the ground.

Tarvo got up and let out another roar, this one of triumph.

The warriors behind had waded into the fight as well. They were doing marginally okay, until the spiders crashed into them. Several hundred Terras quickly changed their forms into flying birds. They took to the air to get away from the creepy, mutated things. The rest weren’t so lucky. There were several that changed into animals that were marginally effective. One warrior shimmered into an armadillo and rolled itself into a ball. Its thick hide prevented the spiders from getting to him. He saw Chibbi transform into her lioness and stomp and smash the spiders into the dirt. A different Terra warrior turned into a lion and started slashing and biting at the spiders. The lion didn’t really fare that well against them, however. There were too many. They swarmed over him and bit down. The lion jerked, and tried to shake them off for a couple of seconds, but then it abruptly stopped fighting. Its eyes went glassy before it whirled on another Terra and attacked. It clamped its huge jaws onto the warrior and bit down. Blood flowed and the warrior screamed as he went down. The lion released its jaws and then latched onto the warrior’s jugular. The warrior struggled for a little more and then suddenly went still.

Things like that were happening up and down the Terra lines. Each time a spider sunk its mandibles into someone’s spinal column, they took control, with devastating effect. The corpses of Terras littered the ground in just a few short moments. The infected ones, when they finished their gristly killing, went and joined the Rook ranks. They looked emotionlessly at their former brothers and sisters in arms with no remorse or guilt. Their weapons bristled in front of them as they prepared to fight.

Tarvo growled in anger. They were his people. His people!

He turned his massive head and tracked down the Rook leader again. He was an easy target standing out in the open with no protection.

It is time to end this, Tarvo thought and ran, full steam, toward the man. He had no trouble knocking aside anyone or anything that got in his way. The Rooks and the infected Terras were no match for his brute strength. He charged through them, heedless of even protecting himself. His thick, shaggy coat managed to hinder a lot of his peoples’ weapons, and the Rooks’ bright, killing fire was easily seen and dodged.

In a few moments, he was standing in front of the Rook with the burned face, who still had his hands out to both sides, the spiders continuing to fall out of the disgusting mouth-holes in both palms.

Tarvo shimmered back into his human form, scowling.

“Fight, coward!” he taunted, his big fists clenched tight. “You send your twisted creatures to do your bidding. You send those abominations out to fight for you. Well, I’m right here! Face me.”

All of a sudden, the torrent of spiders ceased. The mouth holes in his palms sealed themselves closed and looked as if they’d never been there. He peered curiously at the intimidating Terra Chieftain.

“Ah.” His voice seemed to slither through the air. “The earth-talker King. Do you think you frighten me? Do you think you have any chance of defeating one as powerful as I?” The man laughed and Tarvo actually flinched.

The man’s voice hurt. It felt like blades were ripping their way through his ears.

Tarvo gritted his teeth, his eyes watering slightly from the pain.

“You are not powerful. You are weak! You hide behind hideous creatures. You infect people and warp them only so you can send them to die in your place. And you took my daughter!” Tarvo yelled out that last sentence.

“Stupid earth-talker,” the man replied, smiling grotesquely. “It wasn’t I that took her. A pompous, ignorant underling did that and his foolish judgment cost him a great deal, I can assure you of that. Because of him, your daughter and the Prince were awakened. Do you realize how much destruction I could’ve wrought had they stayed dormant for even a few days longer?” Tarvo looked at him, confused. “Nevermind. You cannot comprehend the mind of a god! You…are…only…human.” He spit the last word out as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Before Tarvo could get his bearings, the burned man attacked. He was so fast. One minute he was standing there, gloating, and the next he was just inches from Tarvo.

A cloud of nanos flew out and formed into a long, night-black blade. It slashed through the air and would’ve sliced Tarvo completely across his chest and abdomen if a lifetime’s worth of combat experience hadn’t jumped in and saved him.

He reacted without thinking. As soon as the burned man appeared, out of seeming nothingness, Tarvo was already moving. He jerked to the right, back and away from the falling blade. His hand lashed out and caught hold of the Rook’s wrist. He could clearly hear the bones there grinding together, but the man didn’t seem to feel it. He smiled that ugly, chilling smile again.

“Pain is for the weak,” the man chuckled.

Then a hideous mouth formed in his palm again and spiders started crawling out. Tarvo jumped away, revolted, and the burned man took his opportunity.

The blade whipped out and forward, almost catching Tarvo in his gut but he managed to block it aside with an armored forearm at the last second. The blow was shockingly powerful. It sent tingles and icy sensation up from his arm and into his shoulder. He wasn’t sure if any bones were broken but he didn’t have time to worry about that.

Another slash came at him and Tarvo ducked down. He swept a leg out in a low, sweeping crescent kick that took out the burned man’s legs. He fell on his back in the sand and was trying to get back up when Tarvo jumped on top of him with one of his knees grinding into the man’s throat as hard as he could. There was intense struggling for a minute or two and more spiders came pouring out. Tarvo watched them come for him but before they started crawling onto his skin, he shimmered into his bear form. His already hefty weight suddenly quadrupled. His furry knee grinded further into his opponent’s throat.

The burned man struggled and for a second, Tarvo felt the thrill of victory. Then, inexplicably, the Rook started laughing. It was low at first, and he mistook it for desperate attempts to breathe. Then it got louder and he recognized it for what it was. A cold wash of fear ran through him before the man bucked with terrible strength. Tarvo, as a bear no less, was thrown through the air.

He landed on his back, dazed but mostly unhurt.

“Fear,” the man’s voice slithered through the air again. “A very alluring scent, especially in a man that doesn’t usually feel it. You finally begin to understand the power you are up against, earth-talker.”

Tarvo got back up to his feet with a growl. He attacked with all the savage skill and brutal strength he could. His claws lashed out, but didn’t so much as tear a hole in the Rook’s clothes. He lurched forward, trying to tackle him to the ground but the man dodged out of the way, faster than the eye could track.

The burned man’s blade sprang back out and dealt a very painful blow to Tarvo’s back as he sailed past. He roared as he felt blood seeping through his fur and soaking it. He turned himself around, oriented, and attacked again. There was nothing in this world that was going to stop him from bringing the Rook down.

Nothing.

Blak was smiling again as he watched the Terra come at him. The man was blind with anger and rage therefore he was considerably easier to manipulate. He let him come close, dodging clumsy swipes with huge, clawed paws and predictable snaps of a muzzle.

It was almost too easy.

“I feel this has gone on long enough,” Blak said, bored.

Tarvo, still in his bear form, roared even louder and renewed his efforts.

“Time to die, earth-talker. I won't need to add you to my growing army. You will serve me better as an example to those that think they can defy me.”

His words were lost on Tarvo, who was too involved in his fury and rage to hear them. He attacked again, so intent on killing the Rook that he missed the trap. The man dodged again, but this time he quickly changed direction as Tarvo went past and leaped onto the massive bear’s back. He locked an arm across its throat and bore down with his incredible strength.

The bear fell to its knees.

“Count yourself lucky,” the burned man whispered. “You won’t have to see what happens next.”

With that, he plunged his blade into and through Tarvo’s body, just beneath his ribcage.

The bear roared in pain and confusion, not understanding how things went so wrong. He tried to keep fighting but his body wouldn’t respond to his demands. Instead, it went weak and limp. He fell into the sand and didn’t get up again. His bear form melted off of him as his human one took shape.

The Basilisk was finally succumbing to the Dragon and the Roc’s combined efforts when Tarvo was injured. The Roc watched the Dragon jerk, its body stiffening. The Basilisk saw its chance and tried to sink its deadly fangs into her body again, but the Roc blasted it away with a howl of screeching winds. It went tumbling over the desert and laid still.

[DAD!] Keiara screamed, her voice loud and painful.

Then the Dragon took off, ignoring the Basilisk altogether.

The Roc watched her run for the middle of the battling armies. The Terras had managed to beat back the spiders and were actively engaged in fighting with the Rooks again.

His sharp vision caught the last seconds of the fight between Tarvo and Wilhelm.

A dark blade was poking out of Tarvo’s chest. His massive bear form hung there for a minute or so and then slumped onto the sand. He changed back into a human as he bled out.

The Dragon was there and at his side about two minutes later.

The Roc turned away from the scene and looked for the Basilisk. It was no longer there. In its place was a pale, shivering form with light blonde hair.

He was looking up at the Roc, his eyes empty and blank.

The Roc landed and Rone became human again. He raced across the distance between himself and the boy.

“Niku!” he shouted, hoping to get something out of him. Even anger would do. He knew Niku hated him more than almost anything. “I’m coming, don’t move.”

He closed the distance and when he got to within a couple feet of the Terra, something fast and strong crashed into him and sent him tumbling across the sand dunes. It felt like he’d just been hit by a speeding hover bike.

When he could focus again, he rose to his elbows and saw Wilhelm leaning down to pick Niku up. He held the boy like a baby while looking at Rone and smiling that hideous, skeletal smile.

“Enjoy these last few days on Purga, Prince,” Wilhelm said, his voice sounding crazed and insane even through the mechanical voice box implant. “With the third on my side, you have no chance of defeating me.”

With that, he turned and sped off. He was gone after a few moments.

Rone cursed silently to himself and lay back down on the sand.

How do we get Niku back?

No answer came.