Halfblood

Chapter 18

I've never seen Pythonia so angry. Even when she was trying to kill Spectrum and I -- (come to think of it, I never found out why she was doing that, but I'll address that later) -- she was less emotionally charged, more contained and in control.

"WHAT ABOUT MY DAUGHTER?" I have to cover my ears to avoid being deafened by her yell. In the span of that one sentence, she had transformed from a 6 foot tall elven warrior to a 300 foot tall hulking brute of a being, with blade like forearms and an overly muscular build. "DID YOU FORGET HER, OR DO YOU JUST NOT CARE?"

"I um. Uh....." Mardil cowers under the beast's glare, but to no avail.

"ANSWER ME!" The creature scoops Mardil up in one hand and shakes the poor elf. "I SAID ANSWER ME!"

Spectrum and I exchange a look. But it seems neither of us know how to deal with such a giant creature.

So I do what seems best. Firmly gripping the staff in my hands, I shout at the creature. "PUT HIM DOWN!"

All Pythonia/the monster does in response is to bellow. "NEVER!"

That does it. I am going to free Mardil no matter what. Moving the staff to my right hand, I pull on the energy inside me and weave it into a cable. Suddenly, the staff glows, and I see a long stream of light shoot from it right up to Mardil. I have no clue where I got the idea, or why it worked, but something told me to run up the light. So I did. I ran up the ramp of light, lasered Pythonia in the hand, and pulled Mardil to safety.

"Now what?" Mardil cannot stand on the light like I can. I have to physically hold him up and keep him from falling through. And to make things more difficult, Pythonia is now trying to knock us both off the bridge I made.

"Let go!"

Is it just me, or is Spectrum clueless as to how gravity works? "I can't. A fall from this height..."

"Trust me. I know. Now do it!"

I sigh. It doesn't seem that I really have a choice. I can't hold him up forever, and to be fair, he did neglect to mention Rosalyn. I let go, ignoring Mardil's screams until they stop. Only then do I dare look down...

...To see the elf standing safely on the ground with Spectrum next to him.

So, one problem down, one giant shapeshifter to go. I just take a short breather before raising the staff to try and shoot a laser at the creature's head. But to my surprise, I end up having to jump as the beam is deflected off her bladed forearms. This is going to be much more of a challenge than I thought, as proven when it turns that blades attention to me. I duck the first slash, but the second is too low.

I bring the staff up in a feeble attempt to parry, not really expecting it to do anything. To my and her surprise however, as soon as the blade makes the slightest contact with the staff, it and I are surrounded in a bubble of light. A strong one at that, judging from the three wild swings that simply bounce off the bubble.

This might actually be a fair fight. This creature has strength on its side, and can block my attacks. However, I have the staff on my side... a very unpredictable yet strong weapon.

Come to think of it, I've never really explored the limits of what the staff can do. Sure, I know it can shoot lasers, create giant light beams, make bubbles of light, and allow me to interact with light as if it were a physical object, but what else? What other uses could there be for my skills that I have not yet explored? What else could I do with it that could be useful in this situation?

A bright enough beam of light could blind Pythonia if aimed correctly, but then what? Should I follow it up with a laser, or something else? If I need to do something else, what else? And if the solution is something else, how can I be sure that I can do it?

Or I could try to--

But a simple action cuts my thoughts off. With one smooth motion, the creature picks up the light ball, winds up, and flings it...and me...high into the air.