He watched in awe as Reezara peppered Talia with little bouts of flame. She had the same color fire as Talia. Of course she did, he thought quietly to himself, they were incredibly similar in spirit down to their short temper and sharp wit. Even their color matched, Talia's crimson hair and Reezara's ruby scales were perfectly paired. They were incredible together. His heart ached as he watched them fight.
'Things weren't supposed to be this way... I took every precaution. Anticipated every danger...' How had he failed to see the minotaur? Had it followed them? And if it had for how long? How had he not noticed?
"Nico get the damned dwarves out of here!" Reezara screamed in his mind. He winced in pain at the splitting of his skull at her mental attack. He reached back down for Bromyr.
"Lets get everyone into the temple for now until we can get on our feet." He mumbled through gritted teeth. Bromyr slapped his hand away with a growl,
"You got broken arms lad, stop trying to help me up!" Nico hissed at him slightly as he looked to the other dwarves. Killo and Rombier were the only two left standing.
"Killo get Floki up and get him into the temple! Rombier get Grimor!" He ordered as Bromyr struggled to his hands and knees. The dwarven prince slowly started to crawl towards the entrance into the temple. Nico would have followed but he was still enamored by the battle between Talia and Reezara. The dragon was working tirelessly to drag Talia's mind back from the edge of the void.
The only problem was that while she was trying to dart in and out of Talia's range the minotaur was doggedly trying to destroy her. Or at least incapacitate her. His attention was focused entirely on the two of them making it easy for the dwarves to slip under his radar. Now all they needed was Lotus and for Talia to return to herself. Well, he had to also add a dead minotaur but that was asking a bit much.
"Nico!" Bromyr hissed from inside the temple. Nico turned to see all the dwarves huddled together. Grimor and Floki looked glassy eyed and unaware but they were standing at least.
"Get in here!" Bromyr waved a hand with an irritated scowl. Nico looked to the battle again with a twist in his gut. He wanted to help her but he knew there was nothing more he could do to help. To kill a minotaur they would have to remove one of its horns and pierce it through the head or heart. The dwarves couldn't even reach its armpits let alone its horns, they were all going to die.
Inside the temple he leaned against the wall to take a few deep steadying breaths. Bromyr lay his hand on his shoulder,
"It'll be alright lad. We just need to regroup." He looked more sure of himself than he sounded. Nico could see the terror lurking deep within his eyes.
"Regroup? I've got broken arms, Grimor and Floki have head trauma, you're barely on your feet as it is... Killo and Rombier are the only two left with minimal injury! Not to mention Talia's possessed by a demon and Reezara is actually attacking her because she would just love to kill us all. How do we regroup from this? We'll be lucky to survive." He seethed as he shook Bromyr by the shoulders. The prince had no answer, Nico could see it in the depths of his gaze.
"Talia can't be completely gone, else the dragon would have went with her. It's only a matter of time before she claws her way back and when she does..."
"She'll what? She hasn't done anything yet. Except get her ass beat." Nico wanted to cross his arms but he was in far too much pain to attempt such a gesture of annoyance. Though the harsh annoyance was covering his crippling fear.
"We were caught off guard. So was she. Not to mention the effects of the city walls." He motioned out the door. Nico raised an eyebrow. City walls? What did they have to do with anything? Bromyr seemed to notice his cluelessness,
"The walls and some of the buildings within the city are created from Moonstone, a rare mineral that absorbs mana. The dwarven kingdom was contracted to mine it and craft it into bricks when the city was built. This used to be a scholarly place for magi, the added challenge of overcoming the constant drain was what made them some of the strongest wizards in history." The dwarven prince explained quietly as thundering destruction continued just outside the walls.
"So you're thinking that's having an effect?" He had never thought to look into minerals and metals and their effects on mana. As a necromancer his own mana didn't work in the same way as other magi. Bromyr shrugged as he stepped back,
"It's likely considering our weakened state. Specifically hers since she manifests mana differently than us. Lotus and Talia both are probably having a very difficult time utilizing their magic."
"But Talia's a highly trained killer with years of combat experience in the most difficult of disciplines. Even without mana..." He paused as he recalled her constant use of mana to augment her own movement and agility. She had been doing it for years, perhaps without that added boost she was struggling far more than he had thought. She still knew how to fight, muscle memory alone should have been enough.
"Not to mention she's practically starving." Bromyr added grimly. Nico flinched. They all were. But it wasn't the time to consider what they didn't have.
"Reezara's currently trying to charge Talia up with more mana." Grimor managed to grit through his teeth. Nico was surprised the dwarf could manage to speak at all considering the blank look in his eyes.
"How can you be so certain?" Nico peered out the entryway. Reezara was still peppering Talia with little bouts of flame and the beast was still swinging his axe around like a madman. They were in a stalemate.
"Every time Reezara manages to burn Talia for more than a split second Talia's movements slow and her eyes dim. I think it's evening the playing field between her and the demon which would mean she's supplying Talia with mana." The dwarf explained slowly. His words were slurring somewhat but he spoke clearly enough. Nico watched for a few moments just to see if what the dwarf had said were true. To his amazement it was.
'So there is some hope here after all.... Hephatus please lend us your strength, allow us to win this battle and continue to serve your will.' He prayed silently as he shrunk back into the shadows.
"So what do we do?" Telling Talia the layout of the battlefield now would do no good. He couldn't raise an army of the dead. He couldn't draw a blade and fight. He was useless. And so were the dwarves.
"Wait it out? Flee? Wait for Lotus?" Bromyr shrugged noncommittedly. Nico sighed as he contemplated the best option.
"Reezara can you... Feel Talia?" He didn't know how else to phrase it or how else to ask. All he could do was hope the dragon understood his intent.
"Sometimes, like the flicker of a dying candle, I can hear her calling to me." Reezara affirmed darkly.
"Good. I'll keep the minotaur distracted for a few minutes, you put everything into getting her back!" He didn't pause to consider how stupid he was being. He stepped back out into the night to face the raging beast.
"Hey... Fuck face!" He shouted with more bravery than he was feeling. He wasn't sure if the insult would work, it sounded like something Talia would say and she had a particular penchant for making enemies almost instantly. The minotaur paused and turned after throwing Talia back several feet.
"Do you want to die little human?" The beast turned to face him head on. Nico could feel his body start to shake with the growing threat. He didn't want to break any more bones, he didn't want to get choked into unconsciousness, he wasn't a brawler. But all he had to offer Talia was time.
"Do you think I can?" He asked darkly as he raised his least damaged hand. The night cooled quickly as he pulled on the thin veil between death and life. The dead were still reluctant to heed his will but it was enough of a threat to give the beast pause. It's dark eyes wandered across the rubble and abandoned buildings as if he expected haunts to swarm him. Nico started to sweat as Reezara slammed into Talia's head knocking her back to the ground.
"I know you will." The beast turned back to him before charging. Nico jerked sharply and fell to the ground just as the beast forged past him. He panted harshly as stars dotted his vision. He couldn't breath...
'Thank the gods these beasts move just like the cattle...' He blinked past the pain and got to his feet again. He could remember a time years ago he watched a bedazzled performer fight a bull using a brightly colored cloak. He would hide behind it then dart to the side just as the bull would have mowed him down. The creatures couldn't turn sharply when charging. The man would wait for the bull to put its nose to the ground and charge. Only when it was charging would he dart away.
"Heh... You're nothing more than a glorified steak." He wiped some mud from his chin as he got to his feet to face the beast again. The demon was panting, his shoulders sloped with mounting weariness. His body was oozing blood and his wounds were showing signs of rot. Nico's nose wrinkled as he smelled the festering wounds too.
"I'll show you a steak!" The beast roared as he charged again. It was almost too easy to rile it up, he was starting to see why Talia enjoyed pissing people off so much. An out of control enemy was far easier to manipulate. He managed to stumble out of the way just in time to avoid getting squished yet again as the beast barreled past.
"Tell me you're close Reezara!" He struggled to his feet again. He had never realized how hard it was to regain his feet with broken arms. By the time he managed to steady himself once more the minotaur was already charging. This time he didn't fall out of the way as much as was knocked down and to the side by the minotaur's thick shoulder. He choked on the fetid stench of the rotten flesh.
"She's..." Reezara's voice faded into uncertainty. Nico clenched his jaw and his eyes closed as he clambered to his feet as quickly as possible.
"Yes?" He opened his eyes to see the minotaur grinning psychotically as he turned again. He also saw Talia lying on the ground several yards away, her empty eyes staring up into the sky. She wasn't moving.
"She's frozen like this." Reezara landed next to Talia, her wings flapping and her tail swirling in what he could only imagine to be a panic attack. He quickly stumbled his way over to her where he fell to his knees and held his only functioning hand to her head. She was burning hot and he could feel a pulse thrumming just beneath her skin.
"What did you do? What is this?" She looked dead, her eyes were trapped between the glowing colors of the demon and her own natural colors. Her skin was still painfully pale with dark veins marking every inch of her. But with each passing second she regained color and the black cobweb-like veins were disappearing.
"I think she's just... Fighting the last of it on her own." Reezara took a deep breath to steady herself. A dragon without a rider was vulnerable, a baby dragon without a rider was dead. She could see the minotaur advancing with each passing moment.
"Then we just need... A little more time." He mumbled as he turned to watch the demon as well. There was no avoiding his next attack, not unless he wanted it to kill Talia. No, they needed to stall a little longer. His heart was racing, his legs shook as he stood again.
"I'm going to wear you like a suit next you worm." The demon snarled. Black mist started to pour out of every wound on the creature. Nico gulped,
"Good luck." He didn't even know if demons could possess necromancers. It was sort of like a pyromancer fighting a pyromancer. The battle could be a harsh one but in the end the two similar mana types cancelled each other out. There was no definable winner or looser. He only hoped he was right in assuming it wasn't going to work.
"I won't need it." The minotaur's thick fingers wrapped around his throat again as it lifted him off the ground. He closed his eyes to try and stop the tears as he choked on the last little bit of oxygen he had left.
'Hephatus please make Talia hurry! I don't want to become a demon's puppet.' He kicked his legs in desperation. Would his soul still find Hephatus if he died becoming a demon's meat suit? Or would he be consumed by the monster as it overtook him? He hoped the goddess would answer his prayers so he wouldn't have to find out.