Tree of Life Book III

Part III - Chapter 04

TREE OF LIFE BOOK III – PART III

CHAPTER 04

The Queen stepped up. The healer was on her back.

She whipped her hand forward, like she did back in the pit.

Julian cried out.

He tossed his head to the side, like she'd nailed him with a hammer. He grit his teeth. He clutched his temples.

Wrenching his neck back around, he lashed out with his hand at the enemy.

Fireballs burst forth.

They zoomed toward the Queen. She darted off to one side. They missed her—but she had relaxed her hand in the process.

Julian felt better. His brain was loose again.

He shook his head to clear it. Bending it forward, he growled at her.

No, he wasn't giving her another chance.

He fired off more shots to keep her busy, all the while, he reached to the ground with his other hand. Clasping a tree there by the trunk, he yanked it out by the roots. He cleared it off for branches. He squeezed it. It caught fire. Now it was a flaming staff like Dior's.

He raced off for the Queen like a feral beast. He slashed away at her, left and right.

She evaded him. Once, twice, three times.

He whipped another fireball straight at her.

She took to the air and it missed.

Perfect!

He caught her with his bat, as she hung in mid-air and the ringing blow glanced off her shoulder. It spun her.

Her arm was crushed in at least three places, but the healer was right there and she was back to normal in two seconds.

She retreated a distance and stopped. She was breathing quickly. She stretched out her newly healed shoulder. She stood tall.

She shot her arms up.

Iron ore popped out of the ground.

They were globs of rocks with iron mixed in, but she teased out the element as they surfaced and she shaped it into shards of metal darts. A thousand of them.

She waved her hand. They shot off for him.

Julian planted his feet. He took a big breath in. Holding forth one palm, he let loose his fire.

The blast from his palm was hot and so hot that most of the shards melted away. But some did get through and they pierced through his body, clean through his back and out again. Blood and fire spurted. The spray scorched the earth behind him.

Julian grimaced. He dropped to one knee and bent his head. He gasped for air.

"Daddy!" Wendy made to fly off for her father.

"No, Wendy!" Nicole held her back. "Stay here."

"But Daddy!"

"He'll be all right."

Wendy peered back out.

And he was all right. Julian was fine. With his sheer size and his healing powers, the arrows only slowed him for a few seconds. He was back on his feet.

Wendy faced her mother. "Mama, is Daddy really going to be okay?"

Nicole kept her eyes on the scene. She nodded. "Don't worry, baby. Daddy's far too strong."