_ Chapter 3 _

_ Julian to the Rescue! _

Two Weeks Later…

It had come time for Galen, Uniko, Zhal, Silva, and Luso to stay in Mel’Andrea again to maintain the Coven’s secret. Tommy was going along as well, as the Sha-Lem clan had taken a liking to him. They also thought that Zhal and Tommy were in love, which was not far from the truth. In fact, it was the truth.

After Chaos dropped them off in the van a couple miles from the village’s gates, everyone was in good spirits. They all walked along the road, conversing with each other on what they wanted to discuss with their families and friends in the village.

“I wonder how my sister, Nimara is doing?” Galen wondered.

“Last time I talked to her, she had knocked out a man who was hitting on her and didn’t know how to take a hint,” Uniko said jokingly.

Galen raised an eyebrow at Uniko.

“Kidding, whiskers!” Uniko chuckled. “Anyway, I’m sure she’s fine,”

“I wonder how your folks are doing, Zhal… Do you think your little brother, Jun is doing good in his studies?” Tommy asked.

“Last letter I received seems to indicate that,” Zhal said. Tommy smiled, and nuzzled Zhal a bit as they continued to walk.

Soon they arrived at the village gates. Galen went over and let the gatekeeper know they had arrived. He opened the gate swiftly.

As they stepped into the village, it seemed to be business as usual. Everyone was going about trading in the market, tourist shops were selling trinkets to travelers, and the delivery scooters for Uniko’s old pub, Uniko’s Delights, were zig zagging through the town square.

As they walked, Galen, Uniko, and Zhal noticed a shiny clearcoat gray Dodge Viper GTS 960-S parked at Uniko’s Delights. Standing next to it was a male hybrid lion, a horn growing out of his forehead that resembled Uniko’s, but was shorter than the one the masculine unicorn had. The lion bore light brown fur on his body from what could be seen, with a wild red mane adorning his head. He was dressed in blue jeans and a white-gray t-shirt, with a white denim overcoat. He was holding what looked like a type of camera in his hand. It was pointed at Galen and his friends, though the horned lion didn’t hold the camera up to his eyes, so it was hard for Galen to tell if they were being recorded by this individual.

They walked over to the Sha-Lem temple and residence, as Ofret Garam, Iroy, and Nimara had told them in advance three days ago that they wanted them to meet at the Sha-Lem’s estate.

As they walked into the temple, shutting the door behind them, the group noticed how quiet it was. Galen, Uniko, Zhal, Silva, Luso, and Tommy walked forward, into the main living area.

Sitting in the living area was Ofret, Iroy, and Nimara Dhaelos, with Izan and Rama Sha-Lem, with their youngest son, Jun. They were all sitting as if in meditation, not making any noise, all of their eyes closed. Incense was lit at their feet in the center of the room, which was lit by candlelight. Their furrowed brows suggested anger and aggression. Galen and the group quickly sensed something was not right.

“...Mother? Father?” Galen asked. “What is going on, this is unusual for you-”

Galen didn’t get to finish his sentence as Ofret suddenly jumped up and sent a spinning kick into Galen’s side, sending the Civibelos Lion flying into the stone wall!

Zhal tried to get to Galen’s side, but was pounced on by Izan! Uniko was barely able to sidestep and avoid his aggressor, Jun, who jumped into the rafters and dove down at the unicorn as if his body was a coherent bolt of lightning!

The group tried to fight back, but were quickly overwhelmed by their families, who were quickly joined by masked thugs pouring into the room! The group was quickly restrained.

“Mother! Father! What is the meaning of this?!” Zhal demanded. “Why are you attacking us?!”

“Because I programmed them to,” An all-too-familiar voice said.

Walking into the candlelight a few seconds later, was Cailus Foxmorre! The Phoenix Coven’s mortal enemy!

# # #

Tommy watched with a mix of anger and fear as Cailus walked up. He couldn’t do anything if Cailus decided to harm anyone, which the Sepharthian Dragon was worried about. He remembered how cruel and violent Cailus was, and did not want any of his coven brothers to experience Cailus’ cruelty first-hand!

“Just admit it: All of you should have seen this coming,” Cailus said in a rigid tone. “You didn’t think I would eventually have my revenge for what you put me through, meddling in my plans to gain my brother’s influence and killing me the first time on the Azure Flux?”

“You brought that on yourself!” Uniko snapped. “Plus if I recall, it was Anthony who shot you with the fatal blow!”

“Yes, my ungrateful, stupid and naive son… He’ll get his share of my vengeance soon enough, him and his amphibious shark boyfriend.” Cailus said with a sickening sneer. “Your capture is only going to mark the beginning of my plan. Soon, I intend to have the entire coven under my grasp, and when I do… Let’s just say I intend to personally put all of you through the thirteen circles of a special kind of hell that only I can dream up for you… Then, when that is done, you and your precious coven brothers will soon be serving a new master: Me! And I promise you, I will not be as… Lenient as my brother is.”

Galen let out an enraged roar, struggling against the thugs that were holding him down! “You will not get away with this you sick bastard! The rest of the coven will come for us, and when they do, you will wish they hadn’t-”

Ofret quickly silenced his son with a full-blown gut punch with all the strength the old line could provide.

“Well done, Ofret!” Cailus applauded with a slow clap. “I see you will be most useful in this endeavor! After all, you and the others are living proof that my new control bio-chips not just work, but work effectively, unlike the buggy ones I put into Willbringer and Silva!” Cailus turned to the others. “I trust the example has been made of your coven brother of what happens when you defy me?”

Zhal leered Cailus with daggers in his eyes. Uniko, however, took his response a lot further and spat in Cailus’ face!

Cailus was not pleased by Uniko’s defiance. After wiping off his face with a kerchief, He quickly pulled out an energy switchblade, flipping it open in front of Uniko’s face!

“No!” Tommy cried out, struggling with all his strength. “Don’t hurt him! Please, don’t hurt him!”

“He made his choice, Tommy.” Cailus said coldly. “It is clear that the horsey needs to be broken in…”

But before Cailus could carve any type of mark into Uniko’s flesh, a gunshot rang out! A blaster bolt flew from the rafters, hitting Cailus’ hand, causing him to let out a yell and drop the illegal knife!

A sudden rain of blaster bolts then came down on all the thugs and Cailus, who quickly took cover, instructing his new brainwashed minions to do the same! This left an opportunity for Galen and the group to deliver some cheap shot strikes on their aggressors, and they quickly ran for an exit door, the group going deeper into the temple!

Galen turned around and saw a figure dive down from the rafters in the main room. It was the horned lion from before, in the market square with the camera! He quickly shut the door behind them, and using a laser torch retrieved from his coat, fried the heavy metal doors shut at the seams!

“Good luck getting through that, suckers!” The lion stuck his tongue out, blowing a raspberry at their aggressors through the barred doors, then turned around and showed his rear, slapping his own ass a few times to taunt them further. Then, he ran up to the group. “Galen, you and your coven brothers follow me! I’ll help get you guys out of here! There’s a lot I need to catch you up on!”

“Hold on!” Galen said firmly. “Who are you, how do you know us and why are you helping us?”

The horned lion winked at Galen cockily. “Answer 1: The name’s Julian Montreal. Answer 2: Remember the rules that govern transportation?”

Galen and the group quickly figured it out: Julian was a Transporter, which most likely meant he knew Mick Daniels, the coven’s closest ally!

“Okay, you made your point, friend,” Uniko said. “Now let’s get out of here before the baddies get through that door!” Uniko motioned over to the barred set of doors, which their aggressors were in the act of trying to break down!

“Fair enough,” Julian then took the lead and started running, Galen and his coven brothers close behind!