Dragon Falls (Indigo Apocalypse Book III)

Chapter Thirteen: Har-Har-Har, I Am Funny And A Good Spy Kid

CAMILLE:
I fluttered my tiny wings, watching as Dione eyed Brooklyn, Brooklyn's eyes lashed with power. "Stand down girl." Brooklyn did no such thing. A few feet away, in human terms, another winged creature fluttered her wings. "I will not." Brooklyn hissed. "YOu will fall in line Dione." "Or else what?" Purred Dione. Dione raised a hand. Tree roots groaned as they lashed out for Brooklyn's legs. In a swift move, she drew Katoptris and swung. The blade sank into bark and ripped right through. Dione's eyes widened as Brooklyn completed the turn, and raised her blade. Dione stepped toward Brooklyn, and a hush lowered over the grove. No, wait, no, not a hush, but, something like it, something akin to a hush, for as I tried to flutter my wings, they barely, barely moved, as if heavy weights now were attached to them. The other insect tried the same thing, and I knew she was struggling too. Because, because, because Brooklyn, Brooklyn, had slowed time down. Dione struggled to move toward her, as if she were moving through peanut butter. She scowled as she stepped forward, step, for step. Brooklyn moved easily, smoothly, lifting her blade. Then, time snapped back into place. Dione stumbled and Brooklyn lashed out with a kick, sending her flying.
"Oh shit." I thought excitedly as Dione rose, and ire lashed across her face. She raised her arms, and the entire grove groaned as trees swayed, grass hissed, dirt squelshed as roots broke the surface. Dryads began to appear, leaping out of tree trunks, spears in hand. "This'll be interesting." Murmured Sydney. Spears bristling, the dryads banded together. Brooklyn Brandished her sword. "You will die girl, die for your betrayal, to your lineage. Your betrayal to your own kind, your—" Dione paused, as if something was speaking to her. As silence reigned, Huntor winked at Sydney, who turned and, and, and, was she looking at me, her eye winked too, and I realized they'd known, they'd known I was here, I, and Diana too. I turned, butt the fluttering creature was gone, in it's place, a Tinker stood, a silver dress, tiny crown, and tiny wand. I instantly shifted into a tinker, one of glittering purple. "I will kill all of you." Dione snarled to Huntor, Brooklyn completely forgotten. Dione threw herself toward Huntor, eyes blazing with rage. Trees groaned and roots whipped out of the ground, lashing for Huntor. He dodged, water whipping out of his pocket and into existence. Ice churned, cracking as he froze roots, but more and more ripped the ground. Then, as he stood surrounded, I saw it, saw the look of pure feral pleasure. I knew Huntor, Huntor was one hell of a fighter, he always had surprises up his sleeves. Huntor was also a planner. He never went into a fight, into a confrontation unplanned, never went in without every step, every situation explored.
But that look, I had seen that look only a few rare times. The look of him realizing something huge, a lash of inspiration. His eye widened, and feral intent lit the blue depths. His face brightened and his smile was pure animal, pure wolfish. Wilfish smile, maybe that's what started the grin, the wolfish grin that Audrey had adopted. Maybe he was a fountain of ideas, maybe he always had everything planned. But it seemed inspiration could still hit him in the midst of battle. With everything he learned, with the fecund sources he explored, with everything, it seemed that even now, he could still be surprised. Because now, as that light hit, he struck, and Dione wasn't fast enough to see it, to even realize what was happening. So much for being an ancient goddess. The tree roots froze, just, froze, froze as Huntor held up his palms, and pushed forward. The trees stopped groaning, even the grass stopped swaying and hissing. Huntor slowly lowered his hands, and the roots sank back into the ground, one, by, one. He raised them again, and the roots reappeared. He twisted his fingers, and the trees groaned. The dryads shifted slightly as they stared in terror. The satires watched with varying degrees of fear and interest. "That time," said Huntor reverently. "When you forget about a possible ability, even when one was completely human, or, whatever the hell I was before this." Then, Huntor lashed out with three roots. They lashed into Dione. She screamed as they wrapped around her and threw her back.
No one moved as Dione gained her feet. "So," said Huntor briskly. "Wanna explain yourself Dione?" "Your little curs are wandering around my city unattended." "Oh now, that's hurtful." Said Sydney sweetly. "Curs is such a powerful word." "Especially when your so called city is an artifice." Said Huntor. "A bright shiny artifice, coiled around a sepulchral desolate wasteland." "You," Dione lashed out with a hand. Huntor raised his own as the root lashed out, and froze in mid air, and slowly retracted into the soil. "And now because of you, those curs are wandering my city." "My, curs, as you call them, are please." "They will die." Snarled Dione. "All of them, they will fall to the hands of my fields." "Now that's terrifying." Said Huntor dryly. Dione spun to the dryads,all be it apprehensively. "What are you waiting for,"find them, and bring them to me." The dryads fled, leaping into trees. "Leave." There was no mistaking whom she meant. The satires ran, galloping away. Dione faced Huntor, "Dodona will never give you what you seek, and she will never give her consent for her armies to fly with your's." "If I were to believe the grove was under some ancient influence of a godly nature, I would never have even bothered myself or my friends with dealing with you." Said Huntor simply. Rage lashed across Dione's face and she said, "Dodona—"Is another artifice." Said Huntor, cutting her off. "Dodona is a grove, nothing more than an ancient powerful oracle, it have no godly power, no godly force driving it, you drive Dodona, you control it."
Dione snarled, and raised her arms, a golden fleece glowed in place around her body, glowing with golden light. A black fleece draped itself over her shoulders. "That's what I thought." Murmuredd Huntor as Dione bared her teeth. "You will never destroy her." She said. "She will slay all of you, destroy all of you and paint herself in your blood." "Fascinating." Said Sydney dryly. "You will die, all of you." "And what of you?" Asked Huntor. "Do you think for one second she won't come after you? Won't come here?" "She has no reason to. Dodona—"Oh please." Said Huntor, waving his hand. "Queen of venom and darkness, of Ragni Di morte, of malice and hatred, does any of that sink in to that head? She won't care if Dodona is a peaceful place or a place filled with hatred. She'll come here and destroy it all. She'll make an example of all of you, no matter if you follow her or not. She'll kill you, and destroy this place, then build over it." "Dodona will take her chances." Said Dione. "Huntor Love, we oughta just let her face one of those spiders." Purred Sydney. "Yeah you're right." Said Huntor. Again, Sydney made eye contact with me, and winked. I turned to Diana's position, but the Tinker was gone, and she, was, nowhere, in, sight. Then, bone deep terror coiled around my bones, my tiny Tinker bones. The dress around me flickered as all the light and joy in the air was sucked away, as a Ragni Di Morte, scuttled into view. Huge, so huge, and pitch black. One eye on each leg, and two more on it's head, each football shaped, and opaque. The Ragni Di morte hissed, and venom dripped from it's fangs. Dione gaped, her face filled with naked shock, shock and horror. The golden fleece faded, it's life and vigor drained away, stolen by the huge monster. The spider spat, and venom narrowly missed splattering Dione's cheek as it flew passed.
"You do make one hell of an impression." Said Huntor coolie to the spider. My heart thumped at a million miles per hour. Talking, talking, talking to it. Why the fucking hell why he talking to that whore-bastard creature? Why was he making conversation as if they were catching up on old time? Why was he, then I looked around again. Diana was gone, not standing where she was, and, and, "Oh fuck me." I thought. That wasn't a real Ragni Di Morte. It was Diana, in the body of one. Diana, shifted into one, shifted to resemble one. "You are one clever bastard." I thought. "What, what, what, what?" Said Dione, aghast. "Go ahead." Said Huntor dryly. The spider lashed out, three legs swiping for Dione's face, those deadly claws lashing for her in three different places. Then it leapt, too fast to see. It froze, an inch away from Dione's face. She stared into it's depthless eyes, naked horror on her face. Then, Huntor said, "Ok Diana, enough playing around." Dione threw him a look of such hatred, then there was a swirl of black power, and Diana appeared, a bow in hand, and arrow in the other hand. "Hello Huntor." Dione snarled, snarled, as she realized Huntor and Sydney knew all along the Ragni was no true threat.
"Here's what you're going to do." Sai Huntor, his voice broking no argument. "You're going to give us access to Dodona, and we'll converse with it, get the information we need. You're going to relinquish the iron fist you have on your people, and give back their things, their treasures. All in that order." Dione sneered. "And if I don't comply?" "Well then." Purred Sydney."Then we'll just go to Dodona ourselves, get what we need, and start an uprising and have the Dodonians overthrow you." She grinned, a wolfish grin. "Not all in that order." "I, dare, you." Sydney gave Huntor a feral grin. "Hear that beefcake?" Huntor nodded, then turned away from Dione. "Well let's go everyone." I figured that was as good a sign as any. In a flash of rainbow colors, I rose to my normal human skin. Dione's eyes widened more as she saw me and she snarled, "Dodona will never give you the information you desire, you'll never stop the Dark Queen." "We managed to unite the Molten and Snow Kingdoms, a feet that hasn't been achieved since Draco and Draconna first lead their people into war against the dragons. I'm sure we will get what we need." He eyed Dione. "Especially since we have the most powerful Delphi in history. Don't underestimate what we all can do." Dione snarled but did not advance. "All my dryads will hunt you down, every last one of you, you will never be safe in my country."
"I'm certain we can take your dryads. Apparently my curs already slipped through their fingers, I'm sure we will too. You should be more worried about your people and the apparent uprising." Sydney purred, "One final time Dione, one final time to avoid an all out war, an all out civil war where innocence die, where you're humiliated, more than you already are, one more time, one more chance before we take you out, for good." "I'm a deity." She snarled. "I'm an ancient Greek deity." "Guess what?" Purred Sydney. "We are deities as well." Said Huntor. Power lashed into existence between his hands. Once, twice, thrice, lashing like a heartbeat. Not fire, not any source of fire, but pure light, pure lashing light. The light of day, of a true Sun Dragon. Sydney's hands echoed the lashing light, the lashing power. "I, dare, you." Dione said again, her words as harsh as the Ragni Di Morte. Huntor nodded, as if he expected as much. "Well, let us go dear friends." Said Huntor sweetly. "Let's find our companions." We left Dione glowering behind us. "Amala has caught up with us, the full might of the Rogue Armada along side her." Said Diana, her voice as clinical as ever. Huntor nodded. "Send word to her, we move, tonight." Diana nodded, and shifted into a silvery eagle. She swooped ahead, her wings as silent as her sister. You know, duhhh, as silent as Death. Ahhh, Camille is funny. As she flew off, Huntor said, "I wonder Camille, how long were you and Artemis spying?" "Since you guys crossed the border." I said. "Good good." He sent me a smile. I preened.
    I followed him out of Dione's grove, across the bridge, and into nutral trees. "She won't forget the insult you dealt Huntor." Said Brooklyn. "Good, I was hoping not." He ran a finger through his braids. "If she was willing, it would make setting up this uprising a huge waste of effort and time." "How are you gonna do it?" I asked excitedly. "We're gonna talk to a Dark Phoenix." Said Huntor dryly. "Say what now?" I asked. "You'll see." Said Sydney. But there was no resistance, not as we made our way back to the cottage, and, found it vacant. I found the cottage strangely sepulchral, like a sunk ship. "Well well." Said Huntor, toeing the door. "This means a few things, either they were taken—"Unlikely." Said Sydney. "I did say a few things." Continued Huntor. "They went on a little exploration about the city—"Now that's likely." "Are you seriously just gonna—"Yes." He sighed as she laughed. "Or they met up with the resistance already." "The ladder of the choices is more likely." Brooklyn said. "I just feel it." "Well, best we follow their trail." Said Huntor, sounding extremely bored. We turned, and was surrounded by a dryad force. "They do move silently." Murmured Sydney. "They can travel through trees." I noted. "Surrender. Surrender to the spirit of Dodona." "Jesus," I muttered. "She has them seriously brainwashed." "Yeah, they do." Said Brooklyn as she drew her sword. "Is there a point?" Asked Huntor. "In saying we don't surrender, to Dione or otherwise?" In answer, the dryads attacked.