THE END OF BEGINNINGS

SEVENTEEN (Part 3)

The impending attack by the infuriated animal never came.  A fiery board arched out of the smoke enveloping the plaza, crashing against the creature's thick shoulder.  A fissure of hot embers sprayed across its back as the smoldering plank bounced off its body.  Three heads turned at once in the direction the broken board had come.
Where there had been rows of onlookers happily witnessing a sacred ritual, three teenagers stood alone amongst a scene of destruction.  Gerania was near one of the blazing debris piles.  She pressed another board against the the tall, snapping flames.  In front of her, the boy named Hasha stepped aside as Shero immediately followed his lead.  The taller youth threw splintery, fire-capped plank high above the trampled ground.  It arched through the smoke, colliding against the ribs of the wild animal.
The dea'esh snarled in pain, some of the molten embers slipping through its armor of wiry hair.  It turned its body to the attacking kids.  They had drawn its attention away from Moros and Sidonia.  Hasha took the next fire-wrapped board from Gerania and hurled it across the plaza.  The creature was ready this time, swiping it away before it could strike him.  It roared across the small gap between them, then charged.
Moros and Sidonia jumped to their feet at the same time.  They leapt to the side of the platform and the last remaining clasps holding the captured dea'esh in place.  The aggrivated beast bucked wildly.  It growled loudly at the two pairs of hands struggling to set it free.  This was a commotion that did not go unnoticed.
"Oh, no," Shero shouted.
"Moros," Hasha yelled.
The dea'esh was above them by the time Sidonia and Moros looked up.  Its big, deadly body was descending out of the smoke with its claws leading the way.

*         *         *

Geras slid to a stop on the other side of the plaza.  His heart was in his throat.  He'd seen the long, massive body of terror and destruction suddenly turn away from the ruins of the guests' gallery.  The raging beast rose onto its hind legs at the embattled cart.  An overwhelming panic flooded through Geras' body.  He watched in horror as the towering creature dropped its clawed feet into the smoke around it.
But there were no screams.  There was no terrible cacophony of bones being crushed or flesh being torn.  He had heard Hasha call out.  He knew who was in mortal danger.  Yet, when Geras pierced the veil of hot, choking smog and skidded to a stop amongst the sea of debris, he did not see the death of his family.
His eyes widened at the miraculous sight he beheld at the long platform.  Sidonia and Moros were braced against each other at the wagon's front corner.  He could only see their heads and shoulders from where he stood.  Their faces were lit by the same brilliant radiance illuminating the pair of dea'esh.  The ball of warm refulgence was coming from the extended hands of his wife and son.  It made the eyes of the male dea'esh hovering over them glisten like stars.  It was nearly washing out all of the creature's other features.  And that, Geras quickly realized, was bad.
They had been able to pause their impending doom.  The combined power of Moros and Sidonia pushed against the weight and might of the deadly predator.  But, it was much larger and stronger than them.  Its determination was unshakeable.  Geras watched, immobilized, as the seconds passed and the impassioned animal began to fight back.
Sidonia cried out as Moros grunted and moaned.  As the creature pushed down against the energy holding him up, it was crushing the pair with their own powers.  Geras looked to his right.  The three teens amongst the gallery could only watch helplessly.  The wounded watchmen on the ground were of no use.  Geras could rush in, he had to rush in.  But, without a distraction, any move would surely be suicide.
Then, Geras looked up.  Hovering a few dozen feet in the air was the little, metal sphere with the bright, blue lens.  In an instant, Geras knew exactly what to do.
"Seegan," he said loudly, looking back down to the scene at the cart.  "Flash-bang!"
"What?"
"Flash-bang!  NOW!"
A high-pitched whistle suddenly flooded the ruined plaza.  It grew louder and louder by the second, drilling into the ears of everyone and everything around the holy place.  In the air, the little sphere descended closer to the cart, its round body shaking more and more wildly.  Then, it stopped.  In the same split-second, the weather-stained hemispheres of the round robot separated with a loud and ominous CLICK.
All at once, a storm of blinding, white light swallowed the android and everything around it.  A shockwave of eardrum-shattering noise spread out across the plaza and the village beyond.  The starburst of tremendous light and sound brought the terror of the night to an immediate halt.

*         *         *

Underneath the startling blast, Moros couldn't see anything.  He couldn't hear anything.  A painful ringing leeched onto his eardrums.  He had lost his focus, dropping his hands the moment the hot light had filled the plaza.  His body expected to be crushed.  But, the creature wasn't there.  Nothing landed on them.  Is this death, the boy thought.  It can't be.  He moved his right hand through the cracked clay of the plaza floor and felt the rough edge of a stone wheel.  Farther up was the beam of the wagon's side, dented by the skull of the male dea'esh.  A little higher and Moros blindly found the flint rings holding the tangled bindings in place.  He gripped the taught, fraying cords between his fingers.  Inside of himself, he sought out the energy he knew was there waiting to be used.

*         *         *

Geras opened his eyes as the white-hot light wained away.  The concussive blast of noise was still ringing in his ears.  It didn't matter.  He was already standing at the dea'esh sinking toward the ground.  It was as blind and deaf as everyone else.  It roared soundlessly when Geras' own powers launched it sideways through the smoke.  He watched it hit the ground, rolling over itself once and then twice before settling to a dizzy stop.
GO, Geras shouted through his thoughts.
The deadly predator tried to roar in protest.  It tried to find him.  Geras pulsed his powers though his hands once more.  The once-latent energy surged, passing easily between the long, wiry hairs on the animal's body.  It was too disoriented to form its armor and too confused to fight back.
GO NOW, Geras shouted through this thoughts again.
Suddenly, there was a pulse of warm incandescence over his shoulder.  Geras turned around to spot Moros holding the thick rings of chiseled stone in one hand.  Tendrils of smoke curled away from the loosened belt.  The female dea'esh could feel the leather strap go slack on her body.  She pushed upward and off the platform.  She was blinking her eyes madly as she staggered around the long cart.  The once-captured creature roared into the night.  Her call was barely audible through the lingering tone holding onto everyone's ears.  Then, it called out in a different way.
The psychic pulse passed through Moros, then Sidonia.  It found its intended audience just past Geras who turned back to watch the the male dea'esh stand up unsteadily.  It blinked its eyes hurriedly.  Its vision was starting to return.  Geras felt himself fall into the tempered creature's blurry gaze.  He could feel it studying him for a long moment.  There was no feeling of impending attack.
Go, Geras thought once more.
The dea'esh in front of him considered the voice it sensed echoing into its mind.  Without looking away from Geras, the wild animal snorted hotly.  It moaned and growled before slowly joining its mate.  Neither looked back as they walked away from the plaza and out of the village at last.
It was only when they were out of sight that Geras Aurallio breathed out with relief.