"Are you sure you can't stay longer?" Mother, the Green Great Dragon, pouted as she held Raymond head to her chest outside the temple doors.
He pushed away, and politely declined, again.
As he turned to leave, he froze.
Something in the atmosphere shifted. There was a magic in the air that felt strange, it felt wrong.
He saw Samantha's face, confused, concentrating, she felt it too.
Nikki and Alecia were sniffing and listening, their senses had them on edge.
Una spoke before anyone else could put their finger on the strange feeling.
"Demons."
Everyone looked at her questioningly. Her face was a mix of fear and rage.
"I'd know that aura anywhere." she said through gritted teeth. "Khalifa, she's one nasty bitch."
"You wound me, Una. I thought we got on better than that." a feminine voice, dripping with sarcasm and venom, floated out of the tree line.
All eyes turned toward the voice.
Khalifa sashayed into view, all hips and muscle, a predatory smile on her face. She stood in front of the group, leaning a hand on her hip, eyes scanning.
"Looks like you made some new friends. And is that the hero I've heard…"
Her face and bravado hit the floor when her eyes fell on the towering naked woman standing behind Raymond.
She backed into Maleek as she stepped back in awe.
It had been a thousand years but she could never forget that face.
"There's no way." She stammered breathlessly, "it… can't… be… The Mother!"
Maleek grabbed Khalifa's arm. "We must leave now!" He screamed as they melded backward into the shadows.
A couple seconds later there was a loud whistle and nearly a dozen Demons could be seen taking to the sky from all over the oasis.
They didn't even look back as they flew off at top speed.
All eyes went to Mother, an unspoken question in their gaze.
She shrugged casually as she studied her fingernails.
"Demons know their place."
It was all the explanation she gave.
In Britannia, a young male bunnykin rushed through the corridors of the castle.
The other Kings were meeting and he had been sent to retrieve King Edward
His pace was quick, near frantic. He bumped into several people, knocking over a handful of maids and priceless vases.
He learned the king was in the bath house, and made his way there at top speed.
Once there, he burst through the door and was stunned to silence by what he saw.
There was Lilith, sitting on Edward's lap, arms draped around his neck, talking and laughing in hushed tones.
The Bunnykin attendant's face turned beet red as he quickly bowed low. He was almost shouting in embarrassment as he addressed the king.
"There is an emergency meeting, Sire! Scouts have returned with news!"
The King's amused smirk fell into a concerned frown. He had gotten too comfortable and had literally been caught with his pants down.
"I'll be there shortly, go tell them I am on my way."
"As you command" the young bunny dashed out as fast as he could.
Lilith giggled as she and the King shared a brief kiss before floating out of the bath.
They dried and dressed quickly then started down the corridors at a brisk pace, their cloaks billowing behind them.
"What do you think this is about?" Lilith asked, her heels clicking sharply against the polished stone floor.
"We sent scouts to check on the Necro-King's status. If they are calling an emergency meeting, it can't be good news." King Edaward replied through gritted teeth.
Lilith cursed under her breath. "I hope Raymond makes it back here soon."
As they entered the throne room they were met by the other Kings and their attendants. Gabriel of LaSpania and Richard of Britannia.
Gabriel sat to Richard's right and there was an open space to his left for Edward.
In front of them were two adventurers, quietly waiting to give their report. They were twins, short, slim and dusty like they had just rolled down a hill.
King Edward took his seat and King Richard motioned for them to begin..
They spoke with a strange monotone cadence where every other sentence was spoken by the opposite twin. They looked and moved exactly the same, so keeping up was difficult.
"Great, distinguished, Kings of the realm."
"We regret to bring you the information we have gathered."
"At great risk to our own safety."
"But for the good of the realm."
"We were sent to assess the Necro-King's status."
"What we found was terrifying."
"In the ruins of Moscus, inside the colosseum, the necro-king and his acolytes have begun a summon ritual of some sort."
"There is a glowing black and purple portal the size of a dinner plate."
"It seems to be drawing power from a dark purple crystal on an alter in front of it"
"The acolytes seem to be feeding the gem's magic"
"The portal is small now, but it is growing slowly"
"Were you able to see inside the portal? King Richard asked
"No, my lord"
"But something came through, but was pulled back."
"Maybe someone is fighting from the other side. What came through?" asked King Gabriel.
"A claw, my King"
"The longest, blackest claw we ever saw."
"Shit." King Edaward said. "He really is resurrecting the Black Dragon."
"He's doing what? I don't think I heard you right." King Richard's face was a mask of incredulity.
King Edward sighed deeply. "I guess it's story time." He nodded at the twin messengers. "You two can go. Thank you."
As they left, he turned to the other two Kings. "Let us retire to the lounge. This is a long story, and the less people hear it the better."
The other two kings just stared for a moment. In their minds they were still stuck on "resurrecting the Black Dragon".
King Richard, his mouth gone dry, spoke to an attendant without taking his eyes off Edward, still stunned.
"Have some tea…um, wine… make that brandy, lots of brandy, brought to the lounge. Quickly, please.