Chapter 8

Alan stood there for a few moments. Though the lizard guy wasn’t really a challenge to him, it still amazed Alan the arrogance lizard guy had. Hopix was holding her anger in check. She could feel the guy was nowhere near as strong as Alan, but still, he was making threats. Looking at Alan, she saw he was deciding what to do: go after the stronger of the two or the lizard guy.

“I’m not sure, Hopix. I’m smelling an ambush in all this. I’ve never trusted any of the beings I’ve met, and I’m not about to start now. The minute I go after the stronger ones, lizard guy will be sure to show up and try to kill me while I am weaker.”

Alan stood there for possibly 15 minutes, then finally made a decision. Turning toward one of the stronger bad mages, Hopix’s eyes went wide. Why go after that one? It wasn’t the strongest. Sighing, she decided she’d trust Alan. He hadn’t been wrong yet except when he hadn’t paid attention, but Hopix felt that wasn’t about to happen again. Pulling off the ground, Alan started to levitate, pushing forward as he reached out and healed and repaired everything he could see. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a—uh ... what the hell was it, Alan thought. If he had to describe it, he’d say it was a big pile of crap just thrown on the ground. Standing outside, Alan reached out in all directions, feeling everything. Then he took aim and blew a hole through the front of the “ugh” pile.

With a scream, the owner came flying out. Damn, thought Alan, a pile of crap and a dung beetle. “I will kill you for what you have done!” The huge beetle screamed at him. “I won’t allow you to live after what you did to Groc!”

Suddenly, the beetle flew straight at him. Huh, this was new. Strengthening his shield, the beetle hit it and knocked Alan on his ass! What the hell? Coming at him again, Alan caught it ... or thought he had as it started to drag him. Letting it go, he suddenly felt the lizard guy and blasted the hell out of an entire hillside.

The screams he heard had him smiling. Ducking, Alan barely avoided getting hit again. Trying to stay calm, Alan started to go through all the ideas that had sprung to his mind. Spray? No, that was insane. What I really need is something to swat him with like a ... Alan started to smile.

“You’re dead. You can’t touch me while I am flying, but I can batter you ‘til you’re unconscious. I can...” the beetle boasted, until Alan connected with a baseball bat, effectively smashing the beetle in the head. Reaching out, Alan delved in, ripping everything he could from the beetle. Screaming as he felt his power fade, Alan just left him there. Reaching out, he did a massive freeing of the Fairixies.

Even with the new additions of Fairixies, the last bad guy still had over half of the population as its slaves. Alan could feel this last one was going to be a fight much like the first he’d defeated when he took the job. Alan freed another city, removing everything that would kill them. Waiting, he felt the approach of the large crowd. As before, he told them of the city that was theirs now. It had food and shelter; they were free. Of course, as they were walking away, Hopix had to explain to a few hundred this time before they could truly move on.

They’d only walked for a few minutes when Hopix turned to Alan. “When this is over, there is much I need to tell you.” Sighing, she took a breath. Alan was staring at her a little oddly. She had much to tell him. Damn! What had the council ‘forgotten’ to tell him now?

“When this is over, I will do all I can to sit and listen. I am just hoping it’s not another surprise the council forgot to tell me,” Alan growled.

“Oh dear!” Hopix said. “No, it’s nothing like that, but I am afraid that it might mean the end of our partnership.”

Alan had a panicked look for a second. He didn’t think he could go without Hopix again. The last time had seemed like an eternity, and though he didn’t want to admit it, he was actually starting to feel something for her. Now that she was feeling healthier, she appeared to look even more beautiful to Alan. Sighing, he knew though that it would never work. Their sizes alone were the one deciding factor against anything happening between them. I guess it was just better not to say anything and be near her than to speak up and seem a damn fool. Sighing, that was the problem though; he already felt a fool just having feelings for her.

Shaking his head, he’d eliminated another of the bad guys. Walking to the hill where the lizard guy was, he slowly approached, expecting to see the lizard fried. Coming around, he stopped short. Crap, the idiot got away again! Good god, what was it going to take to kill this ass? This was the third time he’d gotten away. Sighing, he informed Hopix, who was upset herself. She didn’t exactly feel safe with that maniac out there hunting them.

Reaching out, Alan felt everywhere; apparently, the lizard guy had run. Alan couldn’t feel him anywhere on the planet. Figures, Alan thought. I had thought he was a coward when I first met him. Now I’m sure of it. Oh well, Alan thought as he turned toward the place where he felt the last bad mage. Hmmm, Alan thought, this one isn’t going to be a pushover. Feels like he’s been here for quite a while.

“This last one is going to be a fight, Hopix,” Alan told her.

“I thought all of them were a fight for you,” Hopix replied.

“In a small way, they were, but this one has an amount of power I haven’t felt before. Hell, I haven’t really felt them compared to this. I know that if I am not ready when I go into this, I am a dead man,” Alan said, looking back at Hopix, who had stopped, her mouth hanging open.

“Alan, you can’t talk like that,” Hopix told him.

“I’m sorry, Hopix, but it’s the truth. I have to be ready. I don’t think he’ll try to retake the planet, or I feel that he’d already have tried. No, I think he’s waiting for me. Hell, I think a great many are waiting on me,” Alan said.

“What do you mean, Alan? A great many are waiting on you?” Hopix asked.

“You’ve noticed that no one else has shown up to try and retake the planet?” Alan asked her, to which she only nodded. “I think that a great many are waiting to see if I survive this, especially the dark council.” Looking behind him, Alan looked at the empty space. “Are you really that desperate that you are actually here watching?” Alan asked.

Hopix was staring at first at Alan, then at the empty space. What was he doing, and just whom was he talking to?

“We see, so you have gained far more knowledge than we at first thought,” the red-skinned leader of the dark council said.

“Yes, Reficul, I know far more than any of you realize. Alucard, Htaed, Lycaon, Noacyl, should I go on?” All the members of the council he called out each in turn gasped. “I know all of you, though I find it strange that you all have human names. I also know what saying your name forward will do. Shall we try?”

“NO!” the leader roared. “You have made your point; there will be no interference from us in any regard.”

“And?” Alan stated.

“Nor any of our agents that haven’t been here,” the leader said.

“No, how about we make it by none of your agents, period, including lizard guy. When I destroy the last one, this planet is free from you. Is that understood?” Alan told them.

“I think you go a little far,” a dark human-looking man with fangs said.

“No, I don’t, Alucard, or should I say Drac..., “ Alan started.

“NO!” the leader and the dark man shouted. Growling at Alan, then conferring with the other 11, finally the leader spoke up.

“Alright, you have your conditions, but you know we will consume you when you lose, so we’re not that worried. Ydnar isn’t a weak child as the others were; he is far older than you think.” Leaning closer, the leader continued, “We will still be watching you, Alan Glanto.”

With that, they were gone. Alan smiled. He’d almost pissed his pants; they were the foulest, most evil, and vile creatures Alan had ever heard of. Strange, but they were all creatures of human creation.

“Alan, are you ok?” A terrified and still shaking Hopix asked. She’d been terrified when the dark council suddenly showed up, plus the fact that Alan knew they were there. Looking Alan up and down, she saw no difference, but she knew that he had grown in so many ways. If only ... no! She wasn’t going to go there again and torture herself with thoughts like that. It was enough just to be near him. Then she remembered the words of the elder on the Trembly world. She had to tell him; he needed her more than she thought.

Alan looked at Hopix. God, he realized it in that second; he was falling for her. It couldn’t happen. Alan decided he had to harden his heart to the feelings he was having. Though he was starting to love her, there was nothing he could do about it. Hopix was still shaking when she saw Alan turn toward her. Suddenly, all her fears vanished. Huh? She’d never experienced this before. Alan had a strange look in his eyes, a look she couldn’t recognize though it did seem familiar. Then she saw it shift to pain. Pain? Why was Alan feeling pain? Then, almost as suddenly, she saw that he was pushing it down, smothering everything—the pain, the emotion, the feelings—it was all gone! NO! He couldn’t go into the battle like this! She had to tell him everything right now!

“Alan, you can’t push your emotions down. It will get you killed. It is how they can take you! Please, Alan, you have to feel! You have to I..., “ Hopix was saying when the last evil mage appeared.