World of Gods: Blackwater

Chapter 20: Last Resort

Devastation sank in the moment Lucine could see the timing gear on the box had been obliviated. Dread set in as her heart rang in her ears. The fear crept up her spine that they would lose, or worse, be killed at that very moment because they couldn't continue with their plan.

"Lucine!" William shouted.

The roar of her name caused her to snap out of it. "The timing gear! We need to fix it!" but there just wasn't any time. Everyone was on their way, as they'd planned it.

"Can you do it quickly!?" he asked.

"I don't know, but not in five seconds!" Lucine knew they were nearly out of time.

Having recovered from the blast, Saverious laughed wickedly as he realized their carefully laid plan was now broken. "Now you have nothing! Your plan is as empty as your head, Lucine!" he motioned for more guards to come. They had been waiting, and the clattering of armor filled the room as William, Abigail, and Lucine were forced to come closer together. Their backs were against the crate. Extending his hand once more, the three of them were electrocuted by his magic.

"I have you right where I want you! Say goodbye to your friend's!" Saverious called out gleefully.

"Forget about me?"

Saverious had barely turned around before Alex backhanded the bastard in the face. The force was so vicious it sent him flying off the stage and across the room. His body crashed into the various chairs with a deafening crunch. The dragon busied himself as he used his sword to cleave through their enemies.

"Hey! Don't die on me yet, old man. Don't think I hadn't noticed the blood!" Alex yelled at William as he fought.

"It's a scratch! Most of it is blood from the enemy!"

With Alex there, they finally had the upper hand. Saverious's guards charged at the four of them.

'We're actually doing this!' Lucine thought to herself. Despite the fact that the timer was broken, it was going pretty well. She had hoped that they would beat back Saverious and his men. Then she could somehow find a way to fix the bomb. That was until Elyan and Talia burst through either exit of the room.

"Miss me?" Elyan asked.

"Fuck... I thought they would at least take a bit longer." Alex said.

"Forget it! We have to get that thing up and running!" Abigail shouted.

"Lucine, we'll hold them off. Try your best!" William urged her. Lucine hurried and fought her way to the crate while William and Abigail did their best to protect her. She leaned over the edge of the crate and finally got a good look at it. The dial was barely hanging on and she could see it was mostly disconnected. The only way that the bomb was going to go off now was to manually set it off. Taking a bobby pin from her hair, she worked to get it in place instead. It would act as an aid in manually setting the device off, but it would leave little to no time to escape.

Alex could see them out of the corner of his eye, as they dealt with the soldiers. Though Elyan and Talia were already rushing him, Alex met the ax with his sword. He barely had time to dodge Talia's attack at his side. It nearly forced him to drop his sword. He noticed she wasn't using her fire magic, as it would just serve to power Alex up.

"I can't wait to slice into you, dragon! I bet you'll squeal more than my toy! I had fun breaking him!" Talia teased him.

It was a big mistake, however, as Alex's eyes flashed murderously. "Touch a nerve?" She continued, "His blood was as sweet as his screams."