Frank was cowering, curled up in a foetal position in his mind. This was him protecting him from the trauma being played. He had lied, he didn't run away with a twisted ankle. He ran away to save his hide, forty years ago. He left his wife and young twins at the mercy of a Duke.
He had never told anyone, that was why he had become a recluse. No one knew he'd had a wife and family. Yet now he was relieving that moment over and over again. Initially, he had known it was a mental attack and had resisted, nevertheless, it was still a fact and slowly his hope was chipped away.
He finally accepted this was his punishment and through the darkness, he managed to utter, "Leave me."
Winjoy heard those words crystal clear and she turned to face the man on the ground. Doing so she lost concentration and her shields lowered momentarily. The sword swung downwards aiming for her neck.
A resounding clang reverberated throughout the night air.
Howard clenched his teeth as the vibrations travelled down his hands into his body and down to the ground. Winjoy looked up in shock and surprise as he pushed away from the humungous ethereal sword.
The Duke's green eyes narrowed watching the newcomer.
Crow, I thought you said the sword wasn't physical, Howard thought. He was shocked when a reply was forthcoming.
{It may have slipped my mind to let you know the bracelet has a habit of equalising. }
The Duke threw a punch hoping to get the human off guard. An ethereal silver shield sprung forth from the bracelet and received the impact.
Another slash of the sword was quickly parried by an evenly sized white energy sword that again sprung from the bracelet.
The Duke howled in rage and suddenly a curtain of darkness appeared. The bracelet shone brightly and numerous tendrils of white light shot forth from it aiming for the curtain of darkness.
A tornado formed as the light and darkness were intertwined. At first, it seemed like the darkness would overpower the light. However, after three minutes of darkness, a bright light sprung out of the eye of the storm, engulfing the darkness rather than dissolving it.
A deep crater was left where the tornado had been.
A purple light illuminated the area and Howard looked around expecting an attack. He calmed down when he saw Nike and Violette approach them.
The two exchanged a few words as she pointed to the hole. Nike doubtfully looked at her and then warily approached the crater. He took his hammer and swung it on the ground. On the fifth swing, he grunted and pulled up a golden box.
Violette took the box, touched it lightly and then got to her feet approaching Howard. She wordlessly handed him the box and went back to her colleague.
{Yes that's it, don't open it here, we need to go NOW.}
Howard gave the signal for everyone to get back to the van.
The ride back was quiet. Howard took the wheel while the ladies tended to the two men. The Crow was sitting on Howard's shoulder in a sullen mood. The golden box safely tucked between Howard's feet.
Back at the house, Juma watched enjoying the silence. Howard had been afraid that he would have been seen and heard talking to himself but the crow had covered that angle.
The box was displayed at the centre of the dining table, the crow hovering directly against it.
It turned to face Howard its eyes glowing. Howard felt his mouth open.
"That was a dismal performance," he heard his voice. "You were all turned into helpless babies by the run-of-the-mill creatures and you claim to be top-notch!"
Frank opened his mouth to protest, but the possessed Howard's withering look stopped him. The others all looked down.
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't let you go now,"
The crow through Howard looked hardly at each of them until they looked away.
"Nike and Violette, are you two the same ones who vowed to do away with me if I wasn't human?"
Frank looked up in shock at the two who wished the ground would swallow them.
Howard rolled up his sleeve, the bracelet still wrapped around his hand.
"Fine then, why don't you attack me?"
He waited but neither made a move. "Then I will."
As soon as the last word left his mouth, Nike was slammed to the floor and a blade tickled Violette's throat. He turned to Winjoy who was ready to attack. A glare from his eyes made her rethink.
"For an assassin, your knife is easily accessible," Howard said removing the gilded knife from Violette's throat. She grabbed it from him angrily.
"When we are done with this assignment, that's it," Howard told them. He took the golden box and marched to his room.
"What was that all about?" Howard asked once the door was shut. He faced the crow that was perched on the headrest of the bed.
{You forget I am the leader, their performance was below par.}
"I don't mean that, I mean taking control of me,"
{Did you want me to show myself to them?}
Howard sighed and flopped onto the bed. The crow flapped both wings, then stretched them out, a leg behind, as only a bird could do.
Howard took the box and looked at it. Five of the faces were plain with not a mark. Another outstanding feature was that it had neither seams nor any opening mechanism.
On the last face, it had a lightly etched wing at the centre. He traced the wing with his pinkie finger and felt the box vibrate.
A tinkling sound reminiscent of a music box came forth from deep inside it. After the last note, the walls of the cube vanished to reveal a golden chubby cherub atop a plumb golden egg nestled in a golden four-wheeled chariot. The wheels had green specks of jade around the rim.
The chariot itself was made of gold but had diamonds encrusted at the top. The egg itself was a masterpiece. A tiny silver sword was at the top, and the cherub was stationed in such a manner as if it was guarding it.
"What do we do next?"
The crow landed on the bed approaching the egg. A thought flashed through Howard's mind as he half expected the crow to sit on the egg. The crow flashed Howard an angry look before turning its attention back to the egg.
{What's the time?}
Howard put up five fingers to indicate the minutes left to the hour. The crow grabbed the egg in its claws and flew with it to the bedside table, positioning it squarely at the centre.
They then waited for the hour to strike.
Back in the sitting room, the five hunters ate food silently. Juma had no issue with the silence. He had been monitoring the situation from the house and he reluctantly agreed with Howard that the team had performed poorly.
Violette was still fuming at the embarrassment she had received from Howard. So was Winjoy, she couldn't believe that his look had completely disarmed her.
Nike and Frank on the other hand weren't letting their feelings cloud their judgment. What Howard had said was true. Frank knew he was a complete mess but no one would ever know why. He thought he had buried that memory deep in him but the duke had found it almost immediately.
Nike also had a secret but unlike Frank, he accepted it as it was.
"We have to find a way to fight against mental attacks," Nike finally spoke up. "Most if not all of our battles have been physical and that's why we have been so good."
Frank nodded in agreement.
"How bad was it?" Juma asked.
"Imagine reliving your worst experience in 3D, not as an observer but as a participant and being helpless to do anything. Imagine watching your loved ones murdered right in front of you, your house going up in flames as you watch, hearing their screams."
Violette put an arm around Nike.
"Well we have two options, we could leave as we aren't fit to continue or we could work on our weakness."
Everyone looked at Winjoy who continued, "He is right, and we all know that. I don't know about you guys but I am old and I am tired of running. I had decided to stick around with Howard until I am incapable of breathing."
Frank coughed, "He is my only family left. Juma you saw how he saved me back in the field. I don't think I need to say more."
Winjoy stifled a smile but inwardly she sighed in relief. At least Frank would be with her.
Nike looked at Violette.
"What?" she asked, "He has money, I love money that's what matters."
"One of the effects of Magnarr is creating a doorway to what I call a training field. Since it is night, they will not need us so we can go and train but remember that it is going to be hell."
When they all nodded, Nike swung the hammer on the carpeted floor and this time only the hilt glowed. The five were then sucked into a portal that disappeared immediately.