FEMME FATALE

Part 3 : Mao Tang, a blazing inferno

This morning again, a swarm of noisy and restless crowd had started flooding the royal court hall. Everyone was on the tenterhooks, keeping their eyes peeled, the anticipation was overwhelming. The great hall was packed to full with people.

'Will Mao Tang appear today, as he assured while magically fading out from the hall yesterday?', the whispers grew louder.

In sometime, all the eminent had presided, the front-row luminaries had taken their seats. King Devendra, displeasure on his face, but was looking resolute. Queen Allena on his left, in her purple silk gown, was poised beautiful and looking forward, her eyes glued to the center of the hall. Queen Allena was a different person today.

More royal children had made the attendance today and they all were seated on their thrones in strict accordance to the royal court decorum.

'Commence the proceedings of the court', indicated the king in his commanding voice of an absolute authority.

Military's chief John Pinon was the first to rose from his seat.

'Your highness, intensified search operation have been conducted, possible hideouts are being raided, may we nab the offender soon', John Pinon briefed the king about action taken to apprehend absconder Mao Tang

'We are not here to hear these updates, John. we want to see the criminal here in our court, we are to deliver his sentence', King's annoyance was apparent.

Then a strange sound interrupted, 'I am in attendance, your majesty' 

With a loud thud that startled everyone, a cylindrical beam of blue fog light touched the floor forming a circle, a brilliant burst of light erupted in a dramatic explosion and then like the evanescence of the morning mist, the light beam faded away, leaving Mao Tang standing at the place, his head drooped, his arms suspended. He was still in his long black gown, torn at places.

'Restrain him', king commanded. 

'clomp...clomp...clomp', the soldiers marched in their heavy-soled combat boots, to siege Mao Tang.

When he lifted his head to look at the king, Mao's face shone like the sun, his hawk-like eyes blazed, as if dripping with spite.

'I beg your pardon, your majesty but I have not travelled thousands miles to be restrained in your royal court by your feeble minions', Mao spoke in a thunderous voice, roaring like a blazing inferno raged through the forest, consuming everything in its path. 

His arms began elongating, his hands became bigger and enlarged into giant fire breathing fingers.

As he howled with laughter, the guttural sound of his monstrous roar sent shivers down everyone's spine, and before anyone could comprehend his intent, Mao opened his palms and his fingers shot flames of fire burning ten royal soldiers down to ashes. Erupting into chaos and stampede, the crowd turned frantic, running and trampling over others, as many fainted and fell to the horror.

In the wake of this unexpected attack, upon Leon Straw's directives, the royals were hurriedly evacuated and escorted from the the court premises through the secret tunnel, by the royal protection squad.

Lieutenant Hope Cooke commanded and another troop of his soldiers surrounded Mao. 

Hope Cooke took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and marched into Mao Tang to kill him, and cut off his head, to give him the honor of his sword.

'Fight me', he challenged Mao

'I am coming to you, Hope', Mao smiled menacingly.

With a lightning speed, from nowhere, Mao unleashed a katana sheathed in orange flame, as his one hand kept generating a gout of flame on the horrified soldiers, he walked over their fallen bodies, making rapid slashing assaults on anyone still alive.

Then he turned towards Hope Cooke, he raised his hand in a magical gesture and pointed his index fingers in the direction of Hope, 'Ice power', he chanted and it  instantly turned Hope Cooke's  body into a statue of ice. 

He opened the palm of his right hand and murmured, a small glittering spear appeared and then at a breakneck speed, he hurled the venomous spear into the frozen body of Hope Cooke and as the spear ripped through his chest, tearing his flesh and ribcage, his frozen body came alive to the pain of a torturous death, his eyes still on Mao, his hand still gripping his sword but finally his life defied the great soldier in him and Hope Cooke collapsed on his knees, he stabbed his sword to the floor and kept his hand on it for support and died in a royal fashion like a highly decorated brave soldier he was.

The royal court of King Devendra was transformed into a ghastly sight of a graveyard, half brunt dead bodies were lying all around on the floor, the burnt columns and severed walls were expressing gloom of death. 

The aftermath of Mao's fury had left the kingdom's court in a state of devastation , with corpses  scattered everywhere and the mysterious sorcerer Mao Chai Tang had disappeared again.....and no one knew to where.

The councilors and ministers called an emergency meeting.

'This is not the end , this is a beginning, they will return, we must act fast', Army chief John Pinon was in stinging pain of loosing his many soldiers even without going to a battlefield.

The wise old astrologer Thang Dorjee was regarded for his ability to rede the labyrinthine prophecies. He told the king's advisers what was the most painful to hear, 'I want to remind you all of  the astrological prophecy made in the horoscope of the royals, a warning that wicked forces would attack, support to them would rise from within the kingdom and together they would destroy  our lands, the king would be overthrown and killed. It would foreshadow the events now on'

Hearing this had terrified everyone in the counsel of king's advisers.

'Sage Galous Alma!', Thang Dorjee had pondered for a while before saying this name.

'Galous Alma? ', Everyone raised their heads in attention to the name just mentioned by Thang Dorjee.

'Yes, the wise and learned Galous Alma, is the one we need to avert this impending doom', his eyes sparked in optimism.

'Galous Alma, the mystic sorcerer of great renown, is the disciple of mysterious ancient sorcerer Agastya , the one who was considered on a par with sages like Vishwamitra'

'His  centuries  great  necromancer  who can wield the great powers to summon the spirits of the dead from their graves

'He is in his fourth reincarnation in the last five hundreds years with vivid  visions of his past and future lives. He has seen them all, fought many battles with them - the energy vampires with ability to levitate, the frightening shapeshifters with invincible powers to walk through walls, the great time travelling illusionists', Thang Dorjee explained in a fervent of great passion about the Galous Alma, the immortal old sage with his supernatural  powers which he gained from his austerities after he undertook a penance for hundreds of years.

Dorjee had never seen or met mystic sage Galous but he was told about him by his great master. He recalled what his preceptor had told him when he was the student:

'The time when the evil will appear with its ferocious fangs, to annihilate the wisdom of truth, a wise old man with ocean of his timeless magical powers, would transpire to bestow the knowledge of celestial weaponry upon the one resolute and courageous to revenge', 

'Time has come', He looked up and stared on the ceiling, 'yes, the time has come'