Zombies On Fire & Other Short Stories

CrowScare

Atticus turned to flee himself. There was no way mere mortals could defeat this foul creature with sword and spears if his grandmother's stories were true. And up till now, he thought this monster was a thing of fairy tales.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a lone figure standing between himself and the Wraalic. Atticus hadn't even seen where the person came from. At first he thought it was a man wearing a long, flowing black cape that swirled out and around his body in the wind. But then Atticus saw a single, long braid snapping and whipping in the wind.

Was it a woman?

She had a long staff in her hands that she stretched out to the side. As she waved the staff in the wind, a long light blue hue began to leak off the end of the staff. Atticus watched in fascination as stood calmly in the Wraalic's path to give her power time to grow.

And then finally, she released the ball of light-blue energy from the end of the staff. It arced up out towards the Wraalic's raven chest. But the shot didn't even phase the creature. If anything, it only angered it because a flock of raven's shot out in her direction. Attacking her mercilessly from all sides.

The Wraalic continued coming up the street as if it were oblivious to the birds below it. It passed right over the lone person who tried to stop it.

Atticus looked back where he had last seen Cicreo and his band of brave warriors. But they were nowhere to be seen. Had they fled or been carried off by a band of crows. It wasn't like the King's Guard to flee from a good fight, even when the odds were stacked against them.

When he looked up, he was shocked to see the queen still standing on the balcony watching the Wraalic progress up the street. The king was screaming at her and trying to pull her back inside the castle. But he was old and frail. She was young and strong.

Something didn't seem quite right about this scene. It just seemed off somehow. Atticus couldn't quite put his finger on it. He backed away down the street he had come and slid into a small alley out of sight where he could still keep an eye on the queen.

The wise counselor watched as King Silvius screamed for his servants to come help them. He swore up a blue streak and threatened to have them all decapitated for abandoning him. The king begged and pleaded for the queen to come with him. But she didn't budge.

The giant Wraalic floated up to the edge of the balcony. It reached out its hand toward them. Ravens and crows descended around the king and queen.

It was a dark blur, and Atticus couldn't be one hundred percent sure, but it looked like the queen pushed the king over the edge of the balcony in the confusion.

Atticus watched in horror as the king toppled over the edge of the parapet and tumbled through the crows till he hit the ground. It felt good to see some of the Wraalic's crows getting squashed in the fall. But it was a small win. The horror of watching King Silvius' body hit the ground was gutwrenching.

Suddenly, a blue light streaked out of the surrounding chaos of crows and burst on the Wraalic's back before it could pick up the queen.

He looked, but Atticus couldn't tell where they were coming from. The mass of swirling crows blocked his view. Then there was another blast and then another. Each blast knocked dozens of crows out of the air.

Atticus couldn't tell if they were dead or just stunned, but it was a small victory none the less. The blasts came stronger and faster. Each blast knocked more crows out of the sky. After half-a-dozen blasts, the remaining crows scattered and flew off. The Wraalic stood silent and unmoving as if it had lost its power.

One final blast aimed at its ugly, bony head found its mark. And the entire creature disappeared into thin air. All that remained to remind that that what they had seen was real, were the carcasses of blackbirds scattered along the road.

The crowds roared to life and rushed back out into the street to crush the life out of any foul fowl that still happened to be fluttering or even breathing.

They cheered as they gathered around the mage with the staff that shot blue energy to destroy the Wraalic. They held her up over their heads and carried her victoriously through the city and held a great feast in her honor.

Zrele Ghelli was her name. She was given great honor by the queen.

Everyone honored the king with a great funeral procession. They mourned him like they did any royalty they were obliged to. But not because they missed him terribly. Even Atticus didn't miss him much.

The king's brother was a much more sensible man. And they no longer had to spend half their meetings discussing how to deal with the queen. They were able to focus their attention on much more important matters.

Well, there was one last thing they had to deal with. That was the fit that the queen threw when she found out that she wasn't going to inherit the throne after King Silvius' death.

It was easy for Atticus to convince the board to change a few laws. The Council of the Chosen were only too happy to pass a law that would keep Shivali away from themselves.

And the people, of course, didn't really care one way or the other who sat on the throne as long as they had food to eat and plenty of entertainment to keep them occupied.

Shivali, of course, had a few choice words for Atticus when she found out that he was responsible for her losing the crown. She issued a few not-so subtle threats.

"I saw you push the king over the edge of the balcony," he said.

"You can't prove it," she replied.

"I also don't think there ever really was a Wraalic. You only created an illusion to get what you wanted."

She smiled wanly and shrugged, "Magic is only an illusion. It's in the trickery of making others see what you want. Then there is no need for a direct confrontation."

"I always thought that the king killed his first wife to be with you, but I'm beginning to think that this was all your doing. Part of your plan all along."

"You can't prove it," she replied with another shrug.

"Well, I've got my eye on you, Shivali. I'll be watching you closely."

"Well, then watch me closely because my plan is still in motion. I will yet be queen and sit on that throne whether you like it or not. Even if it means that I have to get rid of you to bring it to pass."

Now it was Atticus' turn to smile. She was much smarter than any of them ever gave her credit for in spite of her young age. If she was that formidable of a foe, he might have to recommend that she sit in on some of their Council Meetings. She might just be able to provide some valuable insight and creative solutions to the problems the kingdom was facing.