Arc One: Awakening

Chapter 31: Attack on Azuris

The car raced across a choppy stretch of road in a frenzy of sand clouds and beaten wind. Alek scarcely registered the jolts and bumps as he shoved the mesh netting aside and stuck his head out of the window. As they approached the main gate, they veered from the central pathway and accelerated towards a side entrance. A few laycrawler stragglers noticed their hasty change in direction and gave chase.

"Your plan worked, but some of them spotted us," Alek yelled amidst gusts and thrown grains, angling his warning back into the vehicle. "Stay on track."

With a firm control, Rhena manoeuvred the gear stick to its limit and slammed the gas pedal, coaxing the motor to accelerate. Engine bellowing and wheels thrumming with each rotation, she tuned into the rhythmic warble.

Alek braced himself as the momentum altered and clutched the vehicle's frame, splaying his fingers towards the laycrawlers drawing near. Deep breaths resonated within his rib cage, and exhaling calmly, he absorbed the pulsating, enraged magic and mutated it into an opposing energy, unleashing it in a vicious stream. The leading creature detonated in a mist of green and scattered components. In its spiralling plunge, it incapacitated a second. He replicated the attack, and verdant pops filled their slipstream.

"What's happening back there?" Rhena called, straining to glimpse the commotion in the rearview mirror. "Are they still following us?"

"I took out a few, but they're flocking," Alek replied. He compelled one to collide with the next, triggering a chain reaction within the horde. From the steam of their fallen kin, more surfaced. "How much farther until we reach the gate?"

"Not far."

Alek attempted to tap into the laycrawler magic again, but the creatures proved quick learners and evaded the attempt with a click and a cautionary hiss. "Rhena. I need you to do something."

"What?"

"Make a left swerve, and when I instruct you, steer onto the road."

"On your mark."

The mage prepared for the oncoming enemy, monitoring their motions and patterns. "Left!" he shouted, squeezing his fists into the roped netting as the vehicle jerked off the track. The swarm stalked the movement. "Get ready. Wait for it. Little longer. Now!"

Once Rhena steered them back to the uneven gravel trail, the laycrawlers attempted to pursue the shift. Alek predicted their trajectory and marked the aerial spot with enchanted symbols in the seconds before they made impact. One by one, he wove the magical pulses to keep them steady, spending his lightning-fast reflexes to capture each burst and divert the remains from the moving vehicle.

"Got them," he said as the final one perished. Settling into his seat, he wiped at the perspiration dotting his brow. Excess magic sparked on his fingertips and he flicked off the specks to prevent them from burrowing beneath his skin.

Shaky-handed, he took a few sips from the water cannister in the door holder. The drink had since gone warm, but he didn't care. He had to preserve every bit of strength.

They broke through the barrier and Alek strained his eyes to make out the towering gate through the shadow cast by the converging laycrawlers clamouring on the border protection.

"How strong is the shield?" he asked once they'd passed into the city, draining the final drops of water and propping a forearm on the passenger seat to get a clearer view of the streets of Azuris.

"It's powerful," Rhena responded, "but it was built to protect us from the elements, not magic metal monsters."

Alek refocused on the swarm as a cluster broke free from the cloud and fought to breach the boundary, damaging themselves in the process. They remained unaffected, craving the exhilaration of the hunt, and a crowded city provided the ideal playground for their pursuits.