As the blade began to flash towards Lori, Niam also saw a blade being raised against Jane. Knowing that he couldn't reach Lori, Niam trusted that his mother would be able to do something and jumped towards the soldier standing over his oldest sister.
As he kept through the air the bones under his skin began to shift and dark shaggy fur sprouted all over his body. By the time he impacted on the soldier he was in the form of the very first animal he had ever shifter into, Jake his dog. With the sudden weight on his back the soldier stumbled forward and fumbled with his blade missing his intended target.
Niam jumped off of the soldier but immediately set his teeth into the forearm of the hand that held the sword.
With a scream the soldier dropped his blade and pushed Niam away tearing the skin of his arm off in the process. He then pulled a dagger from his belt and jumped at the form of the dog that had attacked him thrusting forward with the blade.As Niam saw the soldier jump towards him he began to feel something inside him that he had never felt before. Later when he looked back he would realize that it could have been the dogged determination inherited from Jake, as like with many of his protective breed, to defend the family with all he had even if it meant his life.
But it could also have been the pure animal instinct when backed into a corner. 'If I'm going to be trapped and killed then I am going to fight with abandon. You're gonna have to earn it.'
With a burst of power that he had never experienced Niam jumped back toward the soldier. Before he knew it he felt the ice cold blaze of the blade and felt his teeth lock around the neck of the foot-soldier in his path to Jane. As Niam's weight pulled the soldier down and to the side Niam felt a crack between his teeth.
When he landed and took his stance between the rest of the soldiers and his family some inner instinct told him that he no longer had to worry about the soldier with the dagger. The rest of the soldiers looked on in shock as this boy/dog killed one of their own.
Regaining their senses they drew their weapons and began their advance towards Niam who had out of energy and had begun to shift back to his human form. He stood between the men and his sister and stared them down with his new found bravery and determination but with a burst of clarity knew that he probably wasn't going to make it. As the men closed in he reached behind himself, grabbed Jane's hand and closed his eyes waiting for the pain to come.
All at once, the sky seemed to split apart and a flash of lighting shot down and struck the remaining men, arcing through them with a clap of thunder.
The soldiers went stiff and shook for a moment then fell to the ground. As the two children looked up they saw a mage with the wind swirling around him as he stretched out his hand. "Come on over here, kids!" came a warm but at this moment stern voice.
Jane cried out "Mr. Thomas!" with some relief and nearly fell to the ground.
As Niam came to his senses, he pushed Jane towards Mr. Thomas Stormbringer, father of his best friend Bran and head of the town guard. He then spun towards his little sister and his mother to see if they were alright only to find Lori sobbing over their ominously still mother.
Niam staggered over in his exhaustion to gather up Lori in his arms. As he hugged her he looked at the body of the guard that was still standing upright with a blade in hand, frozen solid. His mother had cast her ice magic the instant the man had begun to move against the Youngest Drake child.
The tall ,white haired, elven form of Stormbringer came over to stand beside NIam and Lori and knelt to check on Niam's mother. He then looked up at the three Drakes and spoke with some relief in his voice. "Your mother is alive. She had to cast that spell at an accelerated pace and most likely had her concentration broken or interrupted at the sight of you all in danger. She completed the spell, thank Rhiannon, so the spell didn't backfire and freeze her, but she is unresponsive. The consequence of this interruption is mana back flow. Her brain is blocked or rather surrounded by magic that is not letting her wake up. She fought already in town and is slightly wounded but not in danger at the moment. We need to get her into town to a healer or a cleric."
Thomas Stormbringer picked up his wife's best friend and looked back at the kids. "Follow me, we need to get back to the square. Niam, the town has been mostly secured but still you need to go careful. Try changing into something that can blend in or hide well and go tell Lia's mother that we are bringing Sarah to her."
Niam nodded and took a couple of steps forward then hesitated and looked back at his sisters. Stormbringer noticed Niam's hesitation and spoke again. "Hurry on boy, I can carry your mother and still keep an eye on them too."
Niam nodded and turned back toward town. He then shifted into a swift windy sparrowhawk and flew towards the town square. As he cleared the town wall, he swooped towards the ground, sticking close to the buildings and always kept an eye out just incase there were any other remaining raiders.
He closed in on the Square and fluttered his wings and flashed down to the ground and shifted into a sleek grey cat. Niam bounded across the walkway and then the road. he jumped up on the window sill of a small green and brown painted building marked by a sign showing herbs and a staff crossed, the continental sign of a healer or herbalist.
NIam jumped down and ran inside. He then shifted back into his original form and began to call. "Mrs. Townsend! It's Niam! Mr. Stormbringer is bringing my mom, she saved us from some Raiders but something happened with her magic!"
A beautiful woman with brown shoulder length hair and brown eyes that were, at this moment, red rimmed and teary. "Niam? What happened? Something happened to Sarah? When will they get here?"
Niam was shocked by the teary appearance of Jenny Townsend. "Is something wrong? I mean beyond the obvious town in shambles anyway."
Mrs. Townsend seemed have a full body shudder shake her body. "Something fell on Mr. Townsend at the gate defense, Niam. He didn't make it. but we will talk about that later, I need to know all you can tell me about your mom so I can get things ready for when they get here. I'm already low on common herbs used in making low healing potions, I have a few medium potions left in my private stock. but tell me exactly what happened."