Hour Of Darkness
Chapter Ten, I Should Have Known Better
John awoke to the sound of someone singing softly. He didn't open his eyes; his head still swam with dizziness. A soft cloth wiped the blood from his face, and someone tsk-tsked softly, mumbling to themselves.
I knew the neutralizing powder would have bad effects, but I never imagined this bad… Mystique's mindvoice cut through his aching mind, and he winced. The mumbling stopped abruptly. John?
John opened his eyes slowly, beholding Mystique with a concerned look on her lovely features. He turned his head away, pained at her betrayal. She seemed hurt by this, but turned away. Mystique walked over to the long table, rinsing the bloodstained cloth in a large wooden bowl. She draped the cloth over the side, wiping her hands on a white towel. Moving further down the length of the table, she examined a dish full to the brim with fruit and bread. John's mouth watered, but he made no sound.
Mystique selected a soft roll, and, walking back to where John lay, pulled off a small piece, holding it to his dry lips. John immediately turned his head away like a spoiled child, refusing to eat any food she offered no matter how loudly his stomach protested. Mystique was greatly pained by this act of defiance.
Please, John, she said pleadingly, you are weak. You must eat! John made no moves to take the bread. Mystique sighed shakily, as if she were about to cry. She left John, replacing the roll on the table. With one last longing look at John, she closed the door softly behind her, vanishing into the darkness.
John let out a huge breath, realizing he had been holding it since she held the bread to his lips. He coughed gently; luckily that seemed to be getting better. He gazed longingly at the abandoned roll, dying to eat, but willing to starve for her betrayal. John stared at it for a few long minutes, his stomach pained at the mere sight of the lightly browned roll. It looks so good…I'm so hungry…
Much to John's surprise, the roll twitched. He stared at it, thinking he was imagining things. He laughed softly. Yer loosin' it, Johnny boy… No, there it went again. John had an interesting thought.
With incredible concentration, he stared at the roll. He imagined it moving, flying to meet his hand. He stared intently, squinting his eyes behind his glasses. Suddenly, the roll moved, slowly but surely making its way across the table. However, when it reached the edge, it fell to the ground. Somewhat excited by this newfound ability, John concentrated on the bread with renewed vigor. Slowly, it scraped across the floor, then hesitantly rose into the air. John laughed, giddy with this incredible development. The old man hadn't told him he could do this!
John kicked himself. Yes he had! The old man had stated that he had the same powers himself; how could he get a ring out of a sewer with only telepathy! John laughed again, accidentally breaking his concentration and dropping the roll with a dull thud. John's face once again took on a look of complete and utter concentration, staring at the roll. It hovered into the air again, wavering slightly, but more assuredly than before. The roll drifted towards him, hanging a few feet above the ground. He called it to his hand, and it obeyed. He felt the crusty roll in his hand, crumbs falling through his fingers. He lay his head back, smiling and sighing with contentment. He imagined a small piece of the roll floating to his mouth, without opening his eyes. After a minute of concentration, he felt the soft bread on his lips. Eagerly, he opened his mouth, and tasted the sweet roll in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed slowly, savoring the fruits of his victory. Just call me Jedi John. The roll tasted like honey, and he quickly tore off piece after piece with his mind, passing it carefully to his mouth from his hand.
When John had finished, his hand empty and his stomach sated for the moment, he fell into a deep and comfortable sleep.
****
"Did he know he could do that?" George asked, speaking of John's telekenisis they had just witnessed through the scrying spell. Ringo shook his head, not able to take his eyes off their sleeping band mate. George turned to Liryl.
"I suppose we ought to start out, if we want to get to the mountains by nighttime." Ringo and Paul agreed, the former disenchanting the bowl to limbo, the latter standing up and stretching from where he had been napping on the grass. Ringo stood up, brushing bits of grass off his fraying jeans. George tested his wings in the wind, readying himself to take off. Liryl and Paul transformed, able to run faster as wolves than as humans. Ringo summoned a brilliant white stallion, this time very careful to use a ring of his own. He mounted, and the motley group, lead by the white wolf, headed towards the mountains. George flew above, his huge wings casting a ghostly shadow on the ground, keeping an eye out all around for danger. Liryl and Paul ran side by side, Ringo and his stallion at their heels. They did not get far.
After travelling in silence for a few miles, Liryl stopped abruptly, Paul and Ringo pulling up beside. George dropped out of the sky like a hawk. He folded his miraculous wings and trotted over to join the other three.
Liryl was growling viciously, the hair on her back standing on end. Paul and she looked at each other, exchanging a silent conversation. Ringo used his rather weak mind powers to tap the conversation, then quickly turned pale. George was getting impatient.
"What? What??" He demanded of the drummer. Ringo looked at him, all color drained from his face.
"The dragon."
"Oh, shit!" This was answered by a loud bellow, the sun vanishing behind the massive wingspan of the scaled monstrosity.
"Uhm…this is bad…"
The four prepared for the engagement. Ringo steadied his horse and stood on it's back, massive balls of fire hovering over each of his outstretched hands. George shot into the air, golden sparkles fizzing excitedly at his fingertips. Paul and Liryl stood side by side, instinct taking over, fur ruffled and standing on end.
The dragon circled lazily, causing massive wind currents that were no bother to the people below, but above, George was having significant trouble staying aloft. Liryl noticed this, confidence wavering as he struggled against the whirlwind.
Ringo's eyes were closed. The spheres of fire grew larger with each shallow breath that escaped his lips. Paul watched in awe at his friend, the usually quiet little drummer who pretty much went along with everyone else. Now, he was looking at a completely different Ringo, a Ringo that could take over the world. Well, earth anyway.
Ringo's eyes opened, and, to Paul's shock, they burned red. Ringo looked truly evil, his eyes crimson, his lips set into a wicked smile. Ringo peered up at the dragon defiantly, challenging the winged wonder to swoop just a little closer. When the dragon only circled higher, Ringo sighed, the fire pulsating in his palms and his eyes. He brought his hands together over his head, the fire combining into a sphere the size of a beachball. Ringo looked to the dragon, then closed his eyes.
Paul heard a whining in his sensitive ears, shuddering at the high pitch. Liryl, too heard the whistling, and the two wolves hunched down on the ground. George seemed to understand what was happening, and plunged to the earth in a sickening dive, landing not particularly well. He stumbled to where Paul and Liryl lay and bent over the two wolves, folding his wings over them and himself for protection.
As the three pairs of astonished eyes looked on, Ringo released his fuly woven spell. It shot into the air, a huge column of fire, blasting straight for the dragon. Th dragon screeched, seeing the attack coming a mile away. It quickly side stepped in midair, the pyre of flames shooting by, singing its left wing. It screeched win pain, but was far from defeated. It plummeted towards the group huddled on the ground.
George gasped as he saw it coming. He looked to Ringo for help, but his fellow Beatle was out cold, teetering precariously on his nervous mount. He fell to the ground with a dull thud.
"RINGO!!'
George stood up quickly, half running, half flying to his friends side. The white stallion whinnied and stomped at George, not letting him near Ringo's still body. George summoned all his strength, launched straight into the air, and landed over Ringo, past the white stallion. It whirled on him, and George prepared himself for the landing of the horse's giant hooves.
But they never did. With a sickening crunch, the dragon picked up the horse in its huge maw. The horse whinnied in terror, but was soon silenced. George looked away, forcing himself to look at Ringo. His friend's breathing was shallow, but he was alive. He must have expended too much energy at one. George picked up Ringo and quickly ran back to the others. Paul had changed back into human form so he could talk to George.
"What happened?" He asked, shouting over the whirlwind created by the dragon's blasting wings. He took Ringo from George, the four huddling under George's twenty foot wingspan. The dragon circled above, getting ready for another pass.
"George! You can't protect us without getting yourself killed! Everyone, spread out! George, you take Ringo!" Reluctantly, George withdrew his wings. Paul shot off to the east, transforming as he sprinted through the grass. Liryl, after looking longingly at George, shot to the west. George took a running leap and, cradling Ringo carefully in his arms, took off.
From above, George kept a close watch over his two friends. Paul and Liryl managed to run in circles, confusing the dragon somewhat. However, it made another pass. Shooting by George, it flew at breakneck speed towards Liryl. George felt his stomach lurch as the massive lizard scraped at the grass, but breathed a sigh of relief as it flew off and she sprung from the grass unhurt. The dragon shot by George, knocking the wind from his lungs. He twirled out of control for a moment, but managed to right himself, clutching Ringo tightly.
The dragon screeched, preparing to make another go. George felt utterly helpless as the dragon bore down on the tiny white speck in the field, but he couldn't abandon Ringo. He watched in terror as the dragon scraped the earth again, grass and dirt flying through the air. This time, however, no white shape sprung from the grass.
"Liryl!" George cried, his voice lost in the wind. He swooped to earth, landing near Paul. He handed off Ringo as Paul transformed back into a human. With a hop and a skip, George was in the air again, flying with all his strength and speed to where Liryl lay in the grass.
On to Chapter Eleven!
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