(Not an entry into the #BattletheBeast contest).
Penny, in his trips to other worlds, stumbles upon one that houses an opportunity to summon a god. One that is trapped and yearning to break free. One that is, perhaps, willing to lend a helping hand...
The tall sour Traveller didn't acknowledge it, eyes still watching the evergreen surroundings.
Sina stood at Quentin's height, brown eyes assessing the arch.
'Penny, go get the others, now. It's time.'
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Sina raised her hands, palms up,
'Talosipei, isime lantupa'.
She implored her patron to guide them as they walked the path. Alice, Kady and Marina lead. They were all clad in white, with Janet and Sina following. The boys trailed behind.
In the clearing stood pillars of stone over six feet tall scattered about. They surrounded the smallest, standing at points to make two interlaced equilateral triangles.
Janet took a deep breath as she stood in between Elliot and Quentin. She looked at her best friend who nodded and urged her forward.
'To kill the Beast...' she whispered as her dress dropped to the ground.
Voices chanted as she approached the now thrumming stone. Alice raised her arms, crossing wrists and shifting onto the balls of her feet. She slowed her breathing in an attempt to calm herself.
She pushed away thoughts of Julia who'd been missing for days, as her voice mingled in harmony with the others.
Sina stood at the edge watching the ritual, flinching as Quentin's voice broke a third time. God summoning held a great and terrible risk. But Tekuma seemed the most reasonable.
His stone looked like a totem, carved with a number of different faces at head height. Janet looked into the face like a man's as she pressed her forehead and nose to it. She felt it inhale.
The rock started to pulsate as she made slow, elegant movements with her hands, feet, and hips before moving to touch Tekuma's stone chest.
The air grew thick with anticipation. Sina aided Quentin as he struggled to keep his end of the song spell afloat.
Hurry up. We need the shield.
Only Penny heard her. She didn't see but felt a small moth pass by her head. That left her no time or choice. When the verse ended, she turned back to see a group of men dressed in long navy blue robes.
They sang a song of their foreign god. The Bluites. A tall blonde man skipped forward, hands in pockets. He was unlike the faithful, wearing jeans and a grey woolen sweater instead of dark robes.
Sina moved to meet him, hand on her pouch. His eyes glowed ethereal blue, face tinged with a wide unsettling grin. He held up a finger,
'Before you ask, Julia is dead.'
Sina shook her dark locks, 'please, I only want to wake him.'
The man she knew as the Great Beast thought for a moment or two. Before he moved further, Sina threw a ball of Piksi dust into his eyes. She sped on powerful legs to Janet and the others. But no shield meant no time.
Her mind reached out to warn Penny who panicked but held his shaky note.
It was no matter.
Janet had her legs wrapped around the stone when the Beast snapped her neck. A great blast of sound came from Tekuma, but that's all it was.
The blue-eyed man did a giddy little dance as he started cutting through the Brakebills magicians one by one. Elliot lost his fingers as he tried to cast and Kady blindsided the Beast with a Spitfire ball.
Despite every effort, they fell behind in speed and efficiency as the Beast's fingers moved in a haze. Quentin's mind slipped as he cast a light blade spell with the wrong time of day in mind. He faltered, and his lank hair whipped back as a Bluite arrow caught him in the throat.
Alice put up an inspired effort as ever, casting Talmage's Electromagnetic Wave. But no more than twice before blood bubbled up in her pale throat leaving her to choke.
Sina cut through a couple Bluite cronies. Half of them weren't even magicians and her talisman deflected their attacks with ease.
Out the corner of her eye, she watched the group fall until only Penny stood and Eliot lay on the ground, fine shirt saturated with blood. He murmured and groaned as the life poured from his mouth.
The Beast turned to Sina, but the Traveller had already wrapped his arms around her.
'No. Tekuma!' she cried as they fell to the ground outside Talosipei's temple. The cold dirt underneath calmed her somewhat. But her hand bloodied as she touched Penny's wound.
'Sina?'
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Nava, the Histaka who led Lord Talo's temple stood on the steps. She mentally withdrew at the sight of a dying Penny, tightening her bright robes.
'Bring him in.'
They lay him down surrounded by bright coloured wreaths, red and pink, the colours of Lord Talo. Before he passed, the Traveller grabbed Sina's wrist and murmured,
'Find us... again. We n... eed y-'
They went back for the others but their bodies had disappeared. Tekuma was wounded, but still intact and the Flowers vowed to try again. Maybe the next group would work out.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed my story :)
The non-English words I used were from a conlang created by Matt Pearson called, Okuna. I can't speak it, just borrowed some words :L
