Chapter 39: Cry "Havoc!" and Let Slip the Dogs of War
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     Akfek watched the battle from the deck of the Defiant. For
now, his forces seemed to have the upper hand, despite the arrival
of rebel reinforcements. That might have been because of Sascha's
presence on the ground. She had insisted on going into battle
herself, and from what he could see, she was doing pretty well.
Perhaps he would attend the festivities too... later. First, there was
another matter to be attended to. He turned to the door, just in time
to see Cid emerge, clutching a small vial.

     "Right on time," he said. "Now, you are SURE this formula
is superior to the last?"

     "Yes, Lord Akfek," replied the scientist. "It combines the
energy of all our elementals... Shade's power's of invisibility,
Luna's morphing and energizing power, Dryad's magical protection,
and Gnome's speed and defense. We shall not fail this time."

     "Akfek steepled his fingers and grinned evilly. "Excellent.
Then, bring in our... volunteer."

     Cid beckoned to the door, and a tall dark-haired man
stepped out.

     "Greetings, Lord Akfek," he said pleasantly, "I am Lore. It
pleases me to serve you."

     "Of course it does. Cid, give him the potion." The scientist
uncorked it, and passed it to Lore, who tipped it towards Akfek.

     "To your health, my Lord," he said with a grin, then
quaffed it. A moment later, his body began to glow a golden hue.
"Interesting!" he said, and staggered backwards. Then his body
began to convulse, much the way Rokal's had. He fell back against
an idle suit of Magitek Armor. Lore's form began to grow,
becoming the size of a small building; if the airship had been
powered by anything but magic, it would have begun to drop. His
hands grew long sharp claws, and his flesh turned into a hard,
glistening black surface that seemed to absorb all light. His eyes
burned with golden fire. But even as this occurred, something else
was happening. The armor Lore had fallen against was morphing
too, becoming a part of his new body. Akfek watched all this with
dispassionate interest until finally the transformation was
complete. The creature before him looked like an obsidian
gargoyle.

     "Right then," it said matter-of-factly. "I'm off to smash some
rebel scum. Later, all!" Then it unfolded its glittering wings,
revealing a Magitek propulsion unit fused to its back. With a burst
of magical fire, it propelled itself up from the deck of the Defiant,
and began to fly down towards the fray.

*                    *                    *                    *                     *

     On the ground, Sascha withdrew her knife from the chest of a
Thamasian soldier, and watched with satisfaction as he slumped to
the ground, dead. She had killed many like him today; she had
developed a real flair for it. In battle she gave herself over to
the rage inside her, let it consume her. She could even imagine
she saw the faces of her Kohlingen tormentors on the Thamasians
as she slew them.

     She wondered vaguely where the blond-haired rebel leader
was. She had hoped for a chance to fight the ex-General herself.
She wanted revenge for their humiliating defeat at Kohlingen.
'How could we have lost?' she thought as she dispatched another
soldier. 'All our airships, and that little... WITCH beats us!' She
vented her fury by running an unprepared Thamasian through, and
shrieked with delight as he fell.

     "An impressive hit, my Lady!" She turned and saw Connor
fighting another soldier. She grinned and gave a mock curtsey. She
did not see the soldier coming up behind her.

     "Watch out!" exclaimed Connor, but it was too late. Sascha
yelped in pain and surprise as the metal of a sword cut into her
left shoulder. She turned to face the man who had attacked her.
Undaunted, he stared back at her, sword in hand.

     "You... hit me!" Sascha's rage rose. "How dare you! Argh!"
She clutched at her shoulder, which was bleeding profusely.

     "Prepare to die, Imperial scum!" the soldier called.

     "Prepare to die? But we haven't even been properly
introduced!" she said through clenched teeth. The Thamasian was
visibly puzzled by this, but his sword did not waver. "I am the
Lady Sascha DelAubre of Lord Akfek's Imperial Forces," she
continued. The soldier paled at the name. "And YOU, my friend,
are dead!" She uttered a word of magic, and he was pulled
screaming into a gate of darkness.

     Sascha sank to the ground, and examined her wound. It was
quite deep; she would have to stop the bleeding.

     "Here, let me." Connor had ripped some cloth from the
sleeve of his uniform.

     She nodded. Whatever she might think of his intellect, he knew
exactly what to do when it came to combat situations. She grumbled
as he wrapped the makeshift bandage around her shoulder. "Bloody
rebels! Hit ME? Ooh! Am I mad!" She gritted her teeth. "Attacking
from behind! What kind of honor is that? Well, if they want to fight
dirty, I'm only too happy to oblige... I'll show them... my Lunar
Magic!"

     At this Connor looked up with a start. "But... if you use that
spell, you'll hit our men!"

     "Yes, but I'll hit theirs, too!" She stood up and began to chant the
spell. Just like the first time, a golden glow began to cover the area
in front of her, obliterating all it touched. The soldiers caught in it
screamed in agony as they were ripped to bits. Fortunately, there
were relatively few Imperial troops caught in the spell's radius.

     "Ruthless," breathed Connor.

     "Thank you." Then she heard an odd sound. She looked up,
and saw and saw a dark, winged creature soaring overhead. "Cid's
latest creation..." She turned to Connor. "I'm going back to the
Defiant. It looks like everything's under control here." He nodded.
With an irritated glance at her throbbing shoulder, she began to
head for the airship.