Ice Phoenix

Baneyon peered out from behind a stalagmite and looked around to make sure the path was clear. He had materialised in the dogs’ lair, which turned out to be an impressively vast cavern that began at the planet’s surface and travelled far underground. Above him, giant stalactites pointed down from the ceiling and he felt as though he was a little worm wriggling about in a fish’s mouth, hoping to not get eaten. He had never been so close to the truth.

The dratkaars, or hell-dogs as Raimus referred to them, were sprawled across the cavern floor, huddled in units of about five or six. They were all sleeping, some even snoring, as they hid from the scorching suns that blistered their planet. Baneyon took extreme care to tread carefully, since the slightest misstep on his part would alert them to his presence. In addition to the fact that they would be really pleased to have him for lunch, they could also nullify his qi. If he came too close to any of them, he would not be able to return to his body. And that would pose another danger because if he stayed away from his body for too long, he would die. Baneyon sent a thought out to the others.

This is taking forever, he grumbled. Where on earth did this woman sleep?

Probably with the dogs, Quempa replied.

What was she? A flea? Baneyon legged it to the next stalagmite and looked ahead. His eyes widened when he saw what awaited him.

Lady Fless, when you said the path led down to another cave, you failed to mention it was a bridge barely three feet wide over a molten river.

Oh did I? It was an innocent reply.

You also left out the part where it’s a kilometre long!

Don’t exaggerate, Baneyon. It’s not more than three hundred metres at the most.

Baneyon growled. With the path clear in front of and behind him, he dashed out from behind the stalagmite. He raced down the path for at least thirty metres before reaching the bridge and running onto it.

Ow, ow, ow. Dartkala, my gaten’s rising!

Ooooo, Baneyon’s teasing us with a dance!

Shut it, Raimus.

Beneath him, the molten river bubbled slowly, releasing toxic fumes that could poison the senses of most creatures and send them tumbling to their deaths. Baneyon ran as fast and as silently as he could. When he eventually reached the end, he breathed a sigh of relief. Ahead of him loomed another cave, and remembering Lady Fless’s directions, he headed straight for it.

Okay, I see the fork up ahead. Taking the right one.

He stumbled in the dark and kicked some rocks loose. They clattered as they rolled, and Baneyon held his breath and remained still, hugging the walls. He waited at least a minute before moving again.

Is everything all right, Baneyon? That was Raimus.

Yeah. I nearly gave myself a heart attack. It’s dark in here.

Baneyon was getting nervous. He felt he must have walked about a hundred metres and he had not yet come across the room Lady Fless had mentioned. He hoped he wasn’t wandering down the wrong cave system.

He was about to ask Lady Fless for help when he noticed a faint glow from up ahead. Creeping forwards cautiously, he found himself inside a decent-sized, hollowed-out room. Purple glow worms clung to the sides of the walls and ceiling, providing enough light for Baneyon to distinguish various objects. There was a bed carved from earth lying against the far side, and he hurried over.

Realising the dratkaars could discover him at any moment, Baneyon knew he had to grab the pendant and leave. But as he stared down at Skra’s skeleton, a feeling of loneliness overcame him. Skra had died here, in this cave on this harsh planet, banished and alone after saving the universe. She must have suffered greatly.

Baneyon, what’s taking you so long? hissed Raimus.

Baneyon pulled himself back from his reverie, and reached for the leather thong around the skeleton’s neck. It snapped easily and Baneyon stared at the pendant. It was no larger than a thumbnail, and looked like a walnut.

“We’ll make it up to you,” he said softly to the skeleton. “To you and the ten who died for us.”

A rock came loose and rolled loudly somewhere outside the room. Baneyon spun around, his heart in his mouth as he thought a dratkaar had found him. There was nothing, only darkness.

Baneyon, get out of there! Raimus was nearly beside himself. He could sense Baneyon’s fear and it was affecting him.

This time, Baneyon listened. The room no longer seemed peaceful, and even the skeleton seemed as though it would come to life. The thought of a three-thousand-year old witch confronting him in the darkness freaked him out, and he ran out the room. Grasped by inexplicable fear, the way back to the bridge seemed longer, and Baneyon saw a hundred paths instead of one. Panic set in.

Raimus! he cried. I’m lost. I can’t see anything! Baneyon tripped on a rock and fell. The noise would have been enough to wake up all the sleeping packs in the cave, or so Baneyon thought. His breathing was ragged, his heart beating wildly.

Keep calm, Baneyon. You’re almost at the bridge. That was Lady Fless. It’s the pendant, it’s affecting your senses.

Baneyon took a few deep breaths and got back to his feet.

A few metres up and towards the right. You’ll be at the bridge. Lady Fless was still guiding him.

Struggling to quell his fear, Baneyon followed her directions, and he could have cried with relief when he finally saw the bridge. Wasting no time, he raced towards it.

He was only half way across the bridge when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He felt the dratkaar before he saw it approaching purposefully, snarling. White eyes glowed in the halo of the molten river, and Baneyon gulped at the sight of its razor sharp teeth.

Hard bone ran down the dratkaar’s head like a helmet, spreading down its neck before thick, metallic scales covered the rest of its body. Its spiked tail swept back and forth, reminding Baneyon of a hedgehog. The dog was at least ten metres away, but Baneyon’s qi was already weakening from its presence.

“Does the nice doggy want a bone?” he cooed nervously. The dratkaar growled and took a step forwards.

Baneyon, get away from it! Your qi is weakening! Because Raimus had been delegated to guard their bodies, he could sense when the connection to their astral bodies weakened.

The pendant began to slip through Baneyon’s hand, and he hurriedly retreated several steps to recover his qi and hold on to it. His movements were an invitation to the dratkaar to attack. It leapt forwards and Baneyon reacted instinctively. He dropped to the ground and rolled off the bridge, grabbing hold of the edge to stop from falling into the river. The dratkaar sailed over him to land on the other side, and Baneyon hastily pulled himself up. Then, wasting no time, he began running.

The dratkaar gave chase. Baneyon prayed that he could at least sprint the whole length of the bridge before running into more dogs. They were already stirring from their alcoves, awakened by the howls of one of their own.

The end of the bridge came into sight, along with a company of ten dratkaars who eyed him like hungry school children. The stench from their breath was foul. Baneyon knew he’d never make it past them.

Pssst! Throw the pendant.

Baneyon looked up and saw Lady Fless clinging to the stalactites above the dratkaars. Surprisingly, the hounds had not noticed her. His mouth fell open.

Throw the pendant you idiot! Then take those slobbering guys back with you.

He came to his senses and flung the pendant, guiding it with what little qi he could spare. The dratkaars raced towards him. Baneyon yelped and turned back, only to stare into the eyes of the first dratkaar that had chased him. It grinned, or at least that’s what Baneyon thought. Without knowing what came over him, Baneyon extended his right arm and shouted in what he hoped was an authoritative voice. ”Sit!"

The dratkaar shot him a loathing look and leapt. Baneyon screamed then closed his eyes and counted to three quickly.

“Dartkala’s sake! You scream worse than my grandmother!” complained Raimus, covering his ears.

Baneyon sat up and patted his body all over, thankful to have returned to it safely. He glanced at Lady Fless’s body, which was sitting very still. They were outside, nearly a hundred metres from the lair’s entrance.

“You are lucky she went in early,” said Raimus. “She actually worried for you.”

Baneyon leaned over and dropped a kiss on Lady Fless’s forehead. “Thank you,” he said.

“Sit? Did you think you were at a dog training camp?” L-Master Ana gave him a wry look.

Baneyon squinted in the sunlight and breathed out. “You’d scream too if you found yourself running into that dog’s mouth.” He shuddered. “I hope Lady Fless is okay.”

Lady Fless was not okay. With the pendant in her mouth, she leapt from one stalactite to another, digging her claws into the hardened calcium as she progressed upwards to where L-Master Ana would be waiting. It had taken only one dratkaar to spot her, and then the entire pack was racing after her. To her horror, they began leaping towards the ceiling, coming within reach.

She twisted sharply to avoid projectile spit, grimacing as the stalactite in front of her corroded. It was bad enough they could nullify qi, but the dogs of Si Ren Da could also aim and spit highly corrosive acid from their mouths.

“Uurgh!” A drop of spit touched her side and burned through her astral body. The pendant slipped from her mouth but she bit down in time to catch it.

Lady Fless, are you all right? Raimus was concerned. He could see that the acid had burned through her real body, which was still sitting silently next to him.

Got spat at. Tell Ana to get ready.

She’s already left to meet you.

“Raimus, we need to go,” said Baneyon. “Ferro and Kalum located the ship. The demons left it unguarded.”

Raimus heaved his bulbous body off the ground with surprising speed. “No argument from me on that.” He walked over to the limp form of L-Master Ana and very deftly heaved her over his right shoulder.

Baneyon did the same with Lady Fless, and together they made haste for Mire’s Point.

“Dammit!” growled Lady Fless from inside the cave. With her qi completely disrupted by her injury, she could not cling to the stalactites properly. She slid farther down the calcified protrusions and had to push herself into a somersault to prevent dropping into the dratkaars’ gnashing mouths. Another hundred metres to go — she was almost at the meeting point.

She raced across a stretch of ceiling free from stalactites and found herself coming up to another tunnel. Her heart sank. She would have to drop to the ground and sprint another fifty metres to reach it, giving the dogs the chance to tear her to pieces.

Lady Fless, throw the pendant.

To her surprise, she spotted L-Master Ana emerging from the tunnel’s entrance, using her race’s natural camouflage abilities to blend in with the background. She had seen Lady Fless was in danger so had come out farther than planned to reach her. Relieved and grateful, Lady Fless threw the pendant to Ana. I’ll try and buy you some time, Ana!

Lady Fless dropped to the ground and charged headlong into the oncoming dratkaars. She avoided the first one, somersaulting over it to land on another. She stomped on its the head and ran across the backs of the next few. Before the dratkaars realised what was happening, she had already passed the pack and was sprinting towards the bridge. The dratkaars howled their anger as they turned and charged after her.

L-Master Ana crawled speedily through the tunnel. Lady Fless had done a great job of leading the dratkaars away and she made sure her efforts weren’t wasted. The path ahead was clear and she progressed steadily upwards. A few dratkaars noticed her presence and gave chase, which was exactly what she wanted.

An unexpected explosion rocked the lair and L-Master Ana faced a new threat. The tunnel started to collapse around her, and a rock the size of a bowling ball struck her shoulder, causing her to grunt in pain. There was dust everywhere, and she had no idea if the way ahead was still open.

With a new burst of speed, L-Master Ana stretched her entire body and started to leap like a frog. In this manner, she glided through the tunnel while bearing the brunt of falling rocks. Each leap covered around fifteen metres, and finally she spotted a thin blade of light up ahead. She propelled herself forwards and broke through the gap at the end of the tunnel, landing hard and rolling several times before coming to a stop.

The tunnel caved in behind her, temporarily trapping the dratkaars, but it wouldn’t be long before they appeared again — there were a lot more tunnels in the lair. She rose to her feet and shook off the debris, then flexed her legs in preparation for another leap. She couldn’t move. Through the swirling dust, a hand had fastened around her neck. It lifted her into the air and L-Master Ana gasped in pain, unable to scream as searing heat blistered her skin.

“The fish feels pain,” said a cold voice.

“Oh? I thought it was a frog of some sort,” said another.

“Who cares what they look like?” said someone else. “Does it have the pendant?”

As the dust settled, L-Master Ana found herself staring into the eyes of a demon for the very first time. He towered above her, fair and godly, with flowing locks and perfectly chiselled face. If he hadn’t posed such a danger to her, and if she were to be objective, L-Master Ana would have admitted that she was looking at nature’s perfect warrior.

A pair of elongated incisors flashed wickedly as the demon smiled at her. There were five demons, wearing strange armour that covered sections of their arms, chests, and legs. Forged from a material she did not recognise, the armour seemed to be a living organism that flowed continuously over their bodies.

The demons were bipedal. One could easily have been mistaken for a Pophusian like Baneyon, and they had something else in common — their eyes glowed.

“So fish woman, where’s the pendant?” asked her captor. The pressure on her neck reduced a little.

“Since you blew up the barrier, ask the dogs you trapped behind!” L-Master Ana felt her shoulder dislocate and grunted in pain. She couldn’t return to her body even if she wanted to — the demons’ presence disrupted her qi and she could not control it.

The demon grinned. “That’s right,” he said, reading her thoughts. “With your qi running around in your astral body, it doesn’t take much for me to control it.”

To prove his words, the demon put both his hands around her neck. L-Master Ana felt a pain unlike anything she had ever experienced. She screamed in agony. Her hands blackened and turned to ash before her very eyes, stopping at the elbows.

“Ah — found it!” The demon reached behind her head and removed the pendant from under the fold of her fin. He paraded it in the air, where its darkness seemed to absorb the surrounding light.

“Is this it, Nashim?”

L-Master Ana shook uncontrollably as another demon stepped forwards. His face was hidden beneath his cowl, and as he reached for the pendant, she noticed a series of strange markings covering his entire arm, right down to his fingers. From the manner in which the others deferred to him, there was no doubt that he was their leader.

“Kill the fish, Garok,” he said.

“With pleasure,” replied the blond demon. He turned to her, his red eyes glowing with malice. L-Master Ana struggled against his hold but escape was useless. Realising she was about to die, she kicked out as hard as she could and caught him in the stomach. He didn’t even flinch.

“Guess we’ll start with your legs,” he said, grinning nastily. Almost immediately, L-Master Ana felt her legs burn. She screamed horribly as they turned to ash and fell away.

L-Master Anna collapsed and was slipping into oblivion when the ground beside her suddenly exploded. Her eyes flickered open as her captor and the other demons were flung back by an invisible force, and she let out a cry of relief as she saw Quempa Pillidux burst through the rubble. The area around him writhed angrily, and a belt of mud lashed out and wrapped around the blond demon’s neck. He was pulled forwards onto a spear that had risen from the ground. However, the demon’s armour protected him, and the spear failed to penetrate.

“Get out of here, Ana,” Quempa said tersely.

“Thank you,” she whispered. She closed her eyes and vanished from the lair.

Quempa had initially been hiding outside the cave, preparing to snatch the pendant off the dratkaar that L-Master Ana would have sent through. However, when he saw the demons destroying the barrier and realised both Ana and the pendant had been captured, Quempa had been forced to improvise.

He dashed towards the cloaked demon, snatching the pendant from its open hand. He didn’t stop moving as he spread his wings and took flight. Aided by qi-infused wind, Quempa sped into the air like a bullet. Behind him, the demons gave chase.

Dark clouds raced through the sky and Quempa glimpsed lightning. He had a really bad feeling. Flying as fast as he could, he headed towards a jagged mountain range ahead of him. Mire’s Point.

Hurry, Quempa! The ship’s about to leave. It was Baneyon.

On my way. The demons are right behind me.

Lightning bore down on Quempa. He swerved just in time and it struck the ground instead. The blond demon appeared above him and Quempa was too slow to react. Powerful legs hammered down into his shoulders and Quempa felt his right shoulder dislocate.

Another kick fractured his jaw and sent him flying back. Quempa’s whole world spun crazily. He managed to stop himself in midair, and rested a moment on all fours before climbing to his feet. His wings no longer fluttered; they had been torn during the attack. He was relying solely on qi to remain in the air. He faced the demon, his eyes steely with determination.

“You are strong for a little dog,” sneered the demon.

Quempa pushed one foot back and leaned forwards, adopting an attack stance of an ancient martial art that helped focus his qi. The demon he faced was extremely powerful; he sensed a qi-force unlike anything he had ever encountered. Quempa feared it.

“Why do you need the pendant?” he asked, hoping to distract the demon.

The demon smirked. “Aww, is the little dog talking to me because it’s too scared to fight?”

Recalling what Garok had done to L-Master Ana, Quempa spoke again, hoping to glean some information. “Your qi is different.”

The demon leaned back, grinning. “That’s right. Our qi is superior to yours. We don’t depend on the weak life-force of qi that you rely on.”

“Is that so?” said Quempa, surprised by this revelation although he didn’t show it.

“Enough talking. Garok, get the pendant!”

Another demon rose into the air and hovered close to the first. He was dark-skinned, with ebony hair neatly braided and fastened with the same material as that of his armour. He stared at Quempa and hissed.

“This insect has bugged me enough!”

“No, Meldogan, you’re wrong. He’s more like a flying dog,” said Garok.

Meldogan glared at Garok, who quickly fell back. The dark demon then turned to Quempa, his face as black as death. He extended a finger and lightning raced out towards the little Imeldor. The air around Quempa darkened instantly as he wove earth particles into existence. They compressed into a solid wall and the lightning glanced off it harmlessly.

Meldogan smirked. He extended all five fingers, and once more lightning raced with frightening precision towards Quempa. There wasn’t even time to blink as they cracked violently against him. Above them, the sky rumbled angrily.

A burst of steam clouded the area where the Imeldor once hovered. The demons waited for it to dissipate, and when it did, Quempa fluttered in front of them, a barrier of earth crumbling around him.

“Oooh, he’s a clever one!” said Garok. “He didn’t weave his own earth into existence this time. He used the ground instead.”

About twenty metres below, was a hole in the ground large enough to sink a house.

“He’s a strong earth weaver,” Meldogan reluctantly admitted. “Knowing that the ground would be positively charged, and therefore able to absorb my lightning. Had he woven his own, he would have fried.”

“Be careful not to damage the pendant,” Garok warned.

“It’s impervious to heat — you should know that.”

Even though he was some distance away, Quempa overheard the demons’ exchange. As much as he wished they would reveal more, he needed to escape. The demons’ attacks had sapped his strength considerably, and he was levitating in the air out of sheer bravado.

Moreover, he was concerned by the demon’s ability to draw lightning at its whim. The same feat carried out by an Imeldor would have taken several minutes of preparation, and the effort would have been exhausting. Meldogan looked absolutely charged with energy.

Quempa noticed Garok distancing himself from Meldogan, and uneasiness washed over him. It appeared the demon didn’t want to be caught up in whatever Meldogan was about to unleash. He was right.

Meldogan erupted into a mass of electricity, turning into a potential lightning bomb. From where he hovered, Quempa could feel the heat scorching his skin, wilting the hairs on his body. If he were to be struck by that much power, there would be nothing left of him, or anything else within a fifty-metre radius. For the first time in his life, Quempa feared he would not return home alive. He braced himself.

When the lightning struck, the entire area lit up in blinding light incinerating everything in its path. Even the sun’s temperatures faded in comparison to the lightning that Meldogan unleashed. In the midst of it all, Quempa disappeared.

Seconds passed and the air was filled with the heavy stench of smoke. Levitating almost two hundred metres away from Meldogan, Garok cautiously uncovered his eyes. He searched for Meldogan and spotted him floating in the distance. Garok flew over.

“Did you get the pendant?” he asked. There was no answer. Garok frowned. “Come on Meldogan, this is no time to be holding out. Nashim doesn’t like waiting.”

Meldagon turned to him with an expression that Garok disliked. Nothing good ever came out of it when he switched to berserker mode.

“The dog’s still alive!” Meldogan growled.

Garok was shocked. “He was right on target for your attack!”

“It was a clone. Someone else is with him.”

While the two demons looked in vain for the missing Imeldor, high above in the planet’s mesosphere and shivering from freezing temperatures, Baneyon and Quempa held onto each other. They stared down at the blackened hole that had once been the planet’s surface.

“Dartkala, that was bloody close!” Baneyon shuddered. “Nice work with the clone by the way. It drew the lightning away from us so they didn’t see me coming.”

“Yes,” said Quempa, looking a little singed around the head. Despite his close call with the demons, he still looked calm. “Baneyon, this is bad. The demons are on a whole different level.”

“Tell me about it. No one has ever forced me to hide this high up, ever! Dammit, it’s so cold up here!”

Quempa looked at his friend and his eyes widened. “Baneyon, you have icicles under your nose. Here, allow me.” The Donkinongan flicked the largest one off.

“Ow! That hurt!”

“Stop whining.”

Baneyon would have said something but he sensed movement from below. “They’ve found us,” he said, his heart sinking.

“So did they,” said Quempa, pointing past him. “The ship’s here!”

To their utter relief, a small silver ship came into sight; Master Ferro and Kalum had located the demons’ ship and taken control of it, according to plan. Baneyon flew towards it, while the demons gave chase.

Quempa clung to him tightly, relying on his friend to get them there. He prayed that everyone had remembered the plan, and more importantly, would stick to it. He noticed the ice crystals melting around Baneyon’s face and alarm bells rang. He plucked a hair from his head and carefully removed the qi barrier meant to protect him from the freezing temperatures of the planet’s mesosphere. The hair burned.

"Get back, Baneyon. They set a trap!”

Something flew past them and landed on the ship. Metal crunched as the ship folded in on itself, and Baneyon and Quempa glanced fearfully at the cloaked figure crouching on the ship’s prow. Cruel red eyes glittered from under a hood. It stood up, and in a flash, it vanished.

Moments later, the Imeldors were flung back violently as the ship exploded, consuming everything inside. Fire twisted and raged, reaching outwards in its hungry desire for fuel. It caught Baneyon and Quempa, and the two of them disappeared into a writhing mass of flames.