Jake followed the line of Humvees and jeeps as they raced towards the Grand Hotel near the center of the city. The monstrous edifice loomed some thirty-six stories into the air, with three casinos on the bottom floors and hundreds of rooms on the upper floors. In the center of the building stood a waterslide that raced down eight stories before landing in the basement where a huge waterpark had been built for the guests. Jake had seen plenty of advertisements for it, saying the grandest architects of Los Vegas had built the glittering desert town in one place.
Jake hadn't been inside it, the cost of one night's stay was two hundred dollars for the cheap rooms, and more than three thousand dollars for the expensive rooms. Before stumbling on the dwarf gold, he'd never imagined seeing that much cash, let alone having it.
Volgelson's troops deployed the moment the cars pulled up to the entryway, startling the doormen on duty and frightening several well-appointed people as they stood gaping on the door mat. Many troops didn't even wait for the vehicles to come to a complete stop as they bolted down the back ramps or out of doors like bird dogs catching a scent.
The soldiers poured into the hotel in front of Volgelson, who walked with the first wave of men dressed in full combat gear, her general staff walking with her. And Shyla. They'd decided (with Volgelson's insistence) that she have a military escort the whole way, and now two squads, or twenty heavily armed men, escorted her inside at a trot.
The others were already inside, having filtered in an hour ago. Shyla's ignorance spell had been cast on everyone, and no one had looked twice as they had baldly walked in through the front doors and spread out.
What happened inside Jake couldn't know, but he feared for the safety of his friends; the Mud Master had proven resourceful in their previous encounter, and now he had literally an army at his command, only waiting to be turned into mud men.
Long moments passed before Jake felt the shield snap into place. He breathed a sigh of relief; one way or another the battle had started, and he had his own role to play.
Landing on the side of the building, he clutched at the concrete like a cat climbing a tree and peered inside. From his unusual perspective, he could see the penthouse and a bit of the floor beneath it.
On the bottom, he could see Shyla standing with arms spread wide and head thrown back, muttering inaudibly while soldiers stood with their guns pointed at the ceiling.
Above, Asbiorn had dropped his human guise and the centaurs had arrows drawn as they surrounded a large couch sitting in a sunken platform where a man sat seemingly unconcerned.
Jake got a good look at him as Rachel spoke firmly to him. He looked to be of average height, solid, with ropes of muscle as if he'd been wrestling or working outdoors all his life. His skin was a warm nut-brown hue complementing his sandy-blond hair. He was dressed in slacks and a white turtleneck; he seemed more like a polo athlete than a monster who could transform victims at will.
What passed inside Jake couldn't tell, but the man stood up calmly and turned around, presenting his wrists.
Jake was stunned. He'd never imagined that the man would simply give up! In fact, none of their plans had ever considered the possibility, which when he thought about it appeared to be a glaring hole in their planning.
Rachel seemed as startled as any of them, but she quickly unstrung her bow and approached him cautiously, ready to bind his hands.
Someone else moved in the back and Jake realized Volgelson had managed to get there at roughly the same time. She seemed grimly satisfied with the turn of events and was speaking firmly.
Everyone cut off when Serena stepped forward unexpectedly. She'd come in human guise and remained human, dressed in a blue dress wound about with runes they'd found written down in Shyla's spell book. They'd hoped he'd think her just a good witch and therefore underestimate her importance in the expected battle, giving them another edge.
Before Rachel could touch the Mud Master, Serena brushed her aside and grabbed his hands herself. The Mud Master opened his mouth in an apparent scream, attempting to wrench himself forward.
Serena's grip proved stronger than him, however. Unable to move, he could only shake like a leaf while Serena glowed like a miniature sun, the white light washing out everything in the room, even to Jake's eyes.
When he could see inside again, the Mud Master was on the ground apparently unconscious. He looked much different than before, with almost no muscle in his arms or legs, but a good deal in his stomach. His skin had a waxy, almost pale look to it and his greasy hair was dark brown.
Serena stepped back panting. The effort involved had apparently drained a good deal of her strength.
Volgelson demanded to know what had happened, judging from her wild gesturing and pointing, but what Serena's answer was Jake hadn't the foggiest notion.
He guessed that his sister had used her magic to break the dark magic present in the Mud Master. What strength it had cost her, Jake couldn't fathom, but it had been a good deal. She couldn't cast spells as easily or as cheaply human as unicorn, and the effort usually exhausted her.
Now Rachel quickly bound the man's hands with her bowstring, and they hurried back to the door. More soldiers waited just outside, and they formed a ring around the guards and the prisoner as they descended the building in the elevators.
Jake released his grip on the building and soared away after remaining behind for several minutes to watch the room. What he'd seen inside convinced him that there would be no easy answer to any riddle they had before them. But he would hold his peace until the meeting.
He observed them hustle everyone into an APC and start their journey back to base. Jake noticed a news helicopter closing in and chose to zip past it, making the machine dip and spin wildly as the pilot struggled for control. Seeing the stubbornness of the people inside, Jake made a second pass and the pilot gave up and turned away.
After that, the journey went smoothly. Jake kept a sharp watch for anything out of the ordinary or pursuers, finding nothing.
At the base, Jake watched them take the man inside one of the smaller trailers. An interrogation room, I wouldn't doubt. He figured that would be the best place for him, and he felt glad Shyla had gone in with him, and Asbiorn with her.
He carefully landed outside the trailer, flashing patches of his nose or tail as a warning to anyone foolish enough to try and step on him. They'd decided, and Jake agreed, that revealing himself to everyone would cause a mass panic so it would be better if he stay concealed, at least when the news cameras were around. A bunch of them had parked on the outside of the fence surrounding the camp, cameras all directed at the comings and goings as reporters tried gamely to make themselves seem interesting as soldiers walked to and fro unconcernedly and uninterestingly.
Jake placed his eye right up to the door so he could see inside the trailer.
Inside the trailer had been split into two sections. The first held several chairs, monitoring equipment, and Volgelson, her aides and his friends. Past them, through a window that Jake figured was probably one-way, Shyla and the prisoner sat across from one another at a bare steel table. Next to Shyla sat a red-haired lieutenant whose stern and forbidding air mooted the fact that, had she been smiling, she might have been cute.
The red light from his eyes filled the trailer, making everyone in the first room look at him. The soldiers inside licked their lips nervously while his friends smiled in relief.
"Turn up the sound so everyone can hear it." Volgelson barked, perhaps a trifle harshly. His gaze had an unsettling effect on most, so she could be forgiven at least.
An aide turned a knob and Jake could hear the words being spoken on the other side of the glass.
"Why did you walk into this shop?"
"Hey man, it seemed like the thing to do. I walked in, this crazy chick offered me a chance to gain power and wealth, and I jumped on it."
"Didn't you find it strange that she would offer unlimited power and wealth?"
"Nah, why should I? If it works, it works. If not, I'd continue like before."
"Well, after you got your power, why did you start attacking people?"
"Why not?" Came the chilling reply. His voice was slightly raspy, as if he'd not used it much in his life and wasn't sure how to form the words.
"What was your mission? Surely she had you doing something to earn your power?"
"Oh yeah, but I'm not telling you yet. That'd spoil the surprise!"
"You know you have committed treasonous and terrorist acts." The lieutenant had gone from being a stern principle to an executioner; cold, hard, factual. "You can legally be thrown into Guantanamo Bay prison for the rest of your life, without legal representation or the chance of parole. There would be no one who'd know where you'd gone, no one to care either. If the heat, bugs, or disease didn't get you, your cellmates will. If you work with us, I can suggest you be given over to a federal penitentiary here in the states with legal representation, good food and the possibility of parole." She offered.
The man laughed. "I don't think so. Not that the offer isn't enticing." He smiled. "But I know you won't be able to do any of that. You won't have time." He laughed again, a harsh croaking sound not dissimilar to a crow.
Part of the wall ripped away. Everyone jumped in surprise and fright, cowering as a red light filled the space.
Dragons have enormous personalities, enough to overwhelm any that they desire. This power is sometimes called the Glamour of the dragon and Jake had it turned completely up.
"What do you mean by that?" Jake demanded.
"I—I don't know man! I swear!" he squeaked. Jake heard the lie on his lips and let his fury begin to show.
"You lie." He growled. "I can hear it. Tell the truth Sirrah! Or we will see if you like my belly more than a human prison!"
The threat gave the man pause, and he began to tremble. "L—Look, all I know is that something big's going down tonight and—" he cut off abruptly.
"Not completing your thought would be a very bad thing for your health," Jake said softly, drawing it out into a long hiss.
Silence followed as the man grappled with his fear. A clock chimed six-o'clock somewhere.
At the last tone, a change came over the prisoner. A broad grin broke across his face and he started to laugh—a deep belly laugh that filled the room, surprising everyone.
"It seems you have accomplished your goal of keeping us distracted." Jake guessed. The laughter cut off abruptly and the strange look the man gave him was enough to provide confirmation.
"How did—no matter. It's too late now man. The ritual has been completed, the summoning happened. The master will come now, and there's nothing you can do about it!" he sneered.
Jake eyed him silently, struggling against the urge to bite his filthy head off and have done with it.
He settled instead for a smile of his own, wide and toothy. The bravado on the man's face faded.
"Excellent." He almost purred. "With his defeat, the demons will be too afraid to stick their noses out of Hell for all time."
Rachel walked in then, looking at him almost fearfully, and Jake left the rest of the interrogation in her hands, walking away before anyone could penetrate his deception.
Minutes later Serena found him sitting invisibly at the forest's edge, looking up at the rapidly fading light.
"I was a fool." He admitted to her quietly.
"We were all played." Serena argued. "We couldn't have known all of this would be like this. He had to be taken out before more innocents were turned or killed. We've accomplished that. Now we defeat the warchief. Once we've accomplished that, we can rest for a bit and be with our families again."
"How can you be so confident?" he asked.
"How can I not? We were created for a purpose and I believe that purpose is to heal and inspire mankind to do greater things, bo be greater. These soldiers? The civilians? They are counting on us to do that and I know we are up to that challenge."
Jake thought about her words. He said nothing, but abruptly his camouflage was gone. Standing illuminated by the setting rays of the Halloween sunset, he roared a fearsome battle cry that flattened soldiers and reporters alike and sent bird winging into the sky.
Serena whinnied, a unicorn once more, rearing on her hind legs and pointing her horn at the sky.
In response to her call, the forest came alive with the calls of bird, beast or tree that melded into one terrible din. The forest began to move towards them, like waves on a beach while from under their dim branches hosts of animals strode out grimly.
The soldiers stared numbly at the sight of the forest moving towards them and a few clutched weapons or looked for a way of escape. A feeling of calm determination emanated from Serena, defusing the tense moment.
Rachel hurried up to them, not even fazed by the sight of the strange army advancing on them.
"I've got more information." She announced. "As I see you've already guessed. We're going to the park."
"Where all of this began." Jake nodded. "It's somehow fitting."
Everyone wished each other luck and Rachel hugged Serena. Brian clapped Jake's foreleg (being unable to reach his shoulder anymore). Stacey flitted over to Serena's shoulder and rode comfortably in the hollow between her shoulder blades. Tom sat more easily on Brian's shoulder, and the great Cat form of Asbiorn loped easily along with the others as they hurried to the trucks to take them to war.
Jake flew into the sky, bathing in the last light as he flew overhead. To his allies he proved a cheering sight, inspiring confidence and determination. To those that challenged his strength he seemed terrifying and alien. Both were good feelings.