The sand dunes and bluffs exploded into bits of rock and glass as Zoldya zig-zagged as she zipped through the terrain banging herself into the edges of the Dead Space and my barrier. Her speed increased with each pass she made. Lightning surged around her, arcing from her like an untamed Tesla coil. I wasn't sure how long I could hold the barrier against her onslaught; except, I had no choice but to hold. I wasn't about to let her take down Abryi, much less her own brother.
I scoured my brain as to a way that I could stop her. Ironically, I had already made it easy to detain Hagnr as he was right now. "What to do?" I questioned aloud.
"If she keeps going like this, she's going to burn herself out." Hagnr remarked. "She's already burning through mana quickly."
"Honestly," Abryi began, struggling to keep his eyes on the ever-faster Zoldya, "I understand why you said that I didn't keep my end of the bargain. But, I really didn't authorize anyone to come to this sector of space." Abryi's usual carefree demeanor had been absent from him with the exception of his arrival. The minute he saw who it was I was fighting, his entire tone and body language shifted. This was no mere skirmish for him.
"I have it on good authority that the Amalyan Marines are in this sector." Came his response. "I came to make you pay for breaking your promise to me." Even Hagnr's tone shifted from when he first started fighting me. It was as though he wouldn't dare disrespect me in front of Abryi. Perhaps he had been only intending to see how far he could make me get angry by insulting Abryi to my face.
"I've been on Terra for the last nine years overseeing the resolution of the rebuilding measure for an old trade partner of ours." Abryi responded. "The only one who could have authorized such a breach in statute would be Eero. I left him in charge of things while I was gone. As my Minister Prime, he was to make sure that the empire ran smoothly. Except, I am hearing things about the way he is conducting the Senate. I believe he doesn't think I have ears so far out in the galaxy." He became very visibly unsettled. "First, I am going to do something about your sister before she hurts herself and then, I am going to find some way to make sure the Senate doesn't overstep it's boundaries. Eero will pay for the slights he has caused the House of Rayne."
Stamina at seventy percent. Stockpiling mana.
I took a deep breath. My eyes had been following Zoldya's rapidly blurring body. "Abryi, Hagnr. I am going to lower my barriers. Use your strongest defensive technique to deter her lightning while I trap her. I doubt Harvey can continue to hold up this whatever kind of technique this is for very much longer." I immediately dispersed my barriers.
Abryi wasted no time. "Fire Giant!" Once more he assumed the form of a burning effigy of black flames and gigantic size that made him look like a demon. This version of his form burned bright greenish black with long strong horns upon his head. Flames burned around his neck like a choker attached to chains that dragged down his arms to his wrists. His mouth emitted smoke blacker than soot.
Hagnr eyed Abryi. "You managed to retain yourself in that form I see." He smiled. "Eighth Step, Red Dragon's Scales." Like Abryi, Hagnr grew to an immense size that dwarfed the remaining bluffs. His body shifted even more into a dragon-like form that was covered from head to toe with overlapping red scales that shined in the illumination of Kestrel's twin stars. Red flames enveloped his body even more than before. He looked as though he had been doused in gasoline and lit, a walking burning dragon of a man.
Lillith, I may have to borrow more power to stop her.
Use my power. Yog's voice resounded in my head. It was so odd to hear his voice. Usually, that singsong voice of his was nothing more than trying to cajole something out of someone. My ability isn't the best for defense; but, it definitely can create a trap.
Look at you. Lillith patronized. Trying to help people.
Even better if she encases your ash in my ability. Ban'iel's voice suddenly made its appearance. His voice matched his looks, very fine and shallow, like his fair features. I could tell he was ignoring Lillith. It would drain her and revert Zoldya to her original form.
Better yet, what if I use both of your abilities with my father's ability to create an impregnable barrier? Almost like an energy-stealing barrier. I suggested. But, rather than wait for an answer, I decided to test it out. If I was going to learn how to best use my abilities, I needed to find creative ways to use them. "Abryi," I nodded to my left and then turned my attention to my right, "Hagnr. Let's do this."
Abryi and Hagnr both took to blocking her path from either side, running alongside her, using their size to their advantage to keep up with her speed. I watched as the lightning was absorbed by their bodies, barely doing anything. They were not attacking. It looked more like they were trying to corral her to a spot that would make it hard for her to avoid being captured. And, since they were taking the most of her lightning attacks, she was doing very little to the surroundings.
I eyed Zoldya as she ran about. I wasn't quite sure if she truly had control over this ability. Perhaps, she was trying to end the conflict as soon as possible. But, who would stop her afterward? Oh, right. Me.
I chased Zoldya down with whips of my ash. I split up my whips between all the bluffs and dunes to cut off her flank. Then, I got an idea. I closed my eyes very briefly, still focusing on her signature. Kratos, Kerberos.
Yes, master? They answered in unison. How can we serve?
I want the both of you to block her path.
Understood.
Immediately, my two hell-hounds emerged from the ash whips and blocked her only other paths of escape. As the four of them converged on her, my ash whips made their way through the sand and began to wrap themselves around her legs, snaking up her body until it covered it completely. I could feel her struggle underneath. None of her lightning made it through. Yet, she struggled violently beneath.
"She most certainly has lost her senses." Her brother remarked, watching from a safe distance.
None of them wanted to get too close to her; but, they also didn't want to let her break free and have room to escape. It would only make it even more difficult to catch her. She did her best to break free of my grip. Except, I was pouring my mana into it, tightening it around her more and more.
Her voice echoed beneath the ash. "Brannigan's Bolt!" All the ash surrounding Zoldya turned bright blue-grey, emitting a bright glow from within. However, none of the lightning came out from beneath the ash. The ash was doing its job. The glow became faint for a minute before bursting into bright illumination once more. She was trying to force her way out. Eventually, everything went silent.
I waited a moment. Two moments. Whatever amount of time until she collapsed. I wasn't taking the chance. When Zoldya finally stopped moving, I released my technique to reveal a young kobold woman who looked very similar to Hagnr when he wasn't transformed. They really did look like siblings.
"Finally, she stopped protesting." I said.
"You really went all out, Mara." Hagnr commented, solemnly. "I can't believe my fourteen-year-old sister gave you this much trouble."
"Still playing the stronger one, Hagnr?" I countered.
"Fourteen?!" Abyri balked. "She's only fourteen?"
"I'm only twenty-eight." Hagnr quipped. "Besides, it's because of you that she grew up like this. She forced herself to become stronger so that she could protect her people, the same as I had done."
"Well, whatever that technique was, she doesn't have control of it. Not that I am one to talk. But, I don't sense mana sickness, which means she still has quite a bit left. To have so much stamina to burn, that is incredible."
"No," Hagnr corrected, "Kobolds generally don't have much mana to speak of. What we do have is learned control. We study for about five years just to learn how to control the inherent mana in the world and to bend it to our will. Fractions like my sister and I, we have more mana, sure. But, we have nowhere close to what you have and very nearly half of Abryi's."
"Then, how did you manage to best Abryi all those years ago."
Hagnr laughed. "I didn't."