Amgyptapan

Chapter 38: Canine Tribe And Calamity Clash!

Laughter radiated from within the backyard. Nothile and Molahs were playing with the twins, Ioyazi, and Takai. The game was tag. Today was Sunday; barbecue day.

Hessa looked on fondly. A sad smile appeared on her lips as she thought of the size of her family. All she'd known growing up was just her father and brothers. Now, she had a mate, a twenty one year old son, a sixteen year old niece, ten year old twin son and daughter, a sister-in-law, and her original family.

Hessa was lounging in a lawn chair. She was about four months pregnant. Sitting in a chair next to her was Trinity. Trinity was showing her pregnancy more than Hessa was.

Akiva was paying attention to the barbecue to make sure it wouldn't burn. Chandrakant was sunbathing. Akiva was cooking traditional barbecue meats; hamburgers, hotdogs, ribs, and sausages. Also being cooked was lamb and veal.

The sun glared down at the family below. The temperature felt in the high hundreds. It was actually just ninety five degrees. After all, it was summertime.

"Mama, I'm hungry!" Erudite complained as he, his twin, his father, his older brother, his grandfather, and his cousin stopped to cool off.

Hessa chuckled as her ten year old son snuggled next to her and lovingly replied, "Patience, Erudite, patience. Your Uncle's cooking takes time. He does like the food he cooks to be perfect, after all."

Erudite sighed sadly. Sympathetic, Hessa signaled Nothile that she wanted him to take Erudite inside for a snack to tide him over. The only reason she wasn't doing it was because her mate was...overprotective. Even at four months, Nothile thought that Hessa could miscarry if she exerted herself just the tiniest bit.

Nothile nodded his understanding and led his son into the kitchen. The death deity instinctively knew that a peanut butter and jam sandwich was what his son would want. For some reason, Erudite absolutely craved his PB&Js. Perhaps it was because both peanut butter and preserves were spread onto the bread so thick they made the sandwich thicker by one and a half inches.

"Thank you, Papa!" Erudite exclaimed, getting some milk for his sandwich.

Nothile smiled and replied, "You are welcome, my treasured munchkin."

Erudite giggled. He loved his father's pet names for him. Nothile ruffled his son's hair playfully. Temptation hit him as he brushed a finger against his son's right puppy ear accidentally.

The ten year old stopped chewing to lean against his father's hand. Nothile chuckled at how...cute his son was being and obliged. It was rare that his son would allow him to rub his ears, so Nothile relished this. In fact, all three of his children hated their puppy ears being touched and wouldn't allow anyone to touch them, especially Nothile.

Back outside, Molahs was lounging in a lawn chair to the left of his daughter. Serena still had energy left. She was currently running around despite the intense heat. Ioyazi and Takai were watching from under one of the trees.
After an hour, after Nothile and Erudite returned, Akiva announced that the barbecue was done. Everyone gathered around the outdoor table. The night before, Nothile had prepared other foods for this meal. There was potato salad, ranch-style beans, coleslaw, macaroni salad, casserole, and assorted garnishes.
Just as they were about to prepare their plates, a rumble was heard. The only ones who didn't hear it were Nothile and Trinity. The reason for that was because the rumble came from about a mile off. The rumble seemed to sound like the sound of huge feet.
"Pack up and eat later?" Akiva asked.
"Pack up and eat later." Hessa confirmed.
Everyone groaned but complied. The ones who had heard the rumble were curious as to what had made it. The meat was wrapped in aluminum foil and plastic wrap put on the containers the rest of the meal came out of. Once that was done, everyone set off to where all but two had heard the noise.
What they found astonished them. Standing at eight feet tall was a being of nightmarish proportions. Erudite and Serena whimpered and hid behind their parents for comfort. Upon hearing the twins, the being turned to face the family.
"What in the name of the gods, the new and old, is going on?" Hessa asked.
"I have actually heard of this creature. It is called the Calamity. It was created by the gods of evil to wreck havoc on mankind. It was deemed to be invulnerable by even the best fighters." Nothile explained.
Chandrakant piped up, "That is all well and good, but how do we kill it?"
Nothile replied, "That is just it. We do not kill it. According to legends from my root culture, the Calamity can not be killed, but it can be stopped."
"Fine," Chandrakant growled, "how do we stop it?"
"As the stories go, the Calamity has been forced into dormancy around five times. Each time, a human sacrifice was offered...a child sacrifice. Now, I am not saying that sacrificing a child is what we should do, but it is a plan I have read that will not fail. If we can avoid it, we will; that plan is our ultimatum for if nothing else works." Nothile informed.
Molahs asked, "Are you sure that there's no other way to defeat it?"
Nothile returned, "In truth, not much is really known about the Calamity. If there is a way to kill it, obviously no one has come across it. I suppose that if there is another way besides a sacrifice, it is up to all of us to find and exploit it."
Chandrakant remarked, impatient, "Are we going to just stand around talking or do something?"
Nothile quipped, "And how do you think Erudite and Serena are going to fare opposed to the rest of us? The minute we turn our backs, the Calamity will evade us and head for them!"
Chandrakant opened his mouth to respond, thought over what his brother-in-law said, then closed it again. He had to admit, the Egyptian was right. Out in the open, the twins weren't safe. Before an epic battle could begin, Serena and Erudite had to be hidden without the Calamity finding out about it.
In order for that to happen, the Calamity would have to be distracted completely. Even allowing, even for a single moment, this new enemy to catch sight of either twin would risk both ten year old's life. As Nothile, Molahs and Chandrakant had multiple powers at their disposal, they couldn't be spared from leading the Calamity astray. However, Trinity, despite having gone through a ritual to keep her from being overcome by her mate's demonic blood, was still a human woman and only possessed longevity.
Once it was decided that Trinity would hide the twins, the more powerful of the family set to anger the beast. Since the Calamity craved prepubescent children, Ioyazi was not exempt from fighting, not that she minded. In addition, Hessa, along with Trinity and the twins, had to stay out of the battle due to her pregnancy. No doubt that the Calamity would go for an unborn baby, if given the chance.
Nothile focused his spiritual energy, a power he hadn't used since defeating the Hun-Ply over four thousand years ago, into the center of the Calamity's chest. As he expected, the blast did no damage. Instead, the Calamity lunged for the death deity. Before Nothile could be struck, a thin, yellow, beam of light struck the Calamity across its face.
The beam came from Molahs. To his and everyone's surprise, the light whip left a charred impression on the Calamity's black skin. Out of curiosity, Nothile blasted again. This time, the impact seemed to burn their opponent.
An unspoken agreement rose between the six fighters. Each took a single spot to form a six-point star. A mist of spiritual and demonic energy sealed in the Calamity and the Canine Family. At once, each, inside their own section of the six-point star, unleashed a steady blast of their individual power.
Nothile's blast consisted of spiritual energy. Molahs's was made of toxic poison. Chandrakant and Akiva's were plain demonic energy. Takai's was made of fire. Ioyazi's was made of ice.
The Calamity howled in pain. Its attackers could see that their combined powers were beginning to erode several parts of its body. Slowly, the erosion spread. At last, the Calamity's body could take no more and began to disintegrate until only ash was left.
All six fell to their knees in exhaustion. It had taken all of their strength to keep up a steady stream of their powers. Hesitantly, Trinity, Hessa, Erudite, and Serena came out of their hiding place. They breathed a sigh of relief that their loved ones were unscathed.
Their relief, however, was short-lived. A figure came out from the shadows. The figure was the woman Nothile had met: Lavonda Dawn. Before anyone had a chance to do anything, Lavonda grabbed Erudite and dragged him out of sight.