Blood Oath (Book 2 of Alfireán age)

A Fight to Extinction

Taking a deep breath, Drake pulled the blanket away, revealing The Energizer. "As Rex said, this may enable us to beat the blood oath."

Alf grabbed the side of the hole and hauled himself up. Wiping the dirt and blood from his palms onto his torn garments, he leaned in to take a good look at the white object in Drake's hands. "What does it do?" he asked, the beginnings of hope and curiosity flooding his mud-smeared face.

"We don't have time to go into the details, just think of The Energizer as an endless battery which will let us draw an infinite amount of energy from it." Drake carefully shifted the heavy object so the others could get a good look.

Rex's father leaned over and scrutinized the weird piece of machinery as he rubbed his beard. "So, a bottomless magic pool then?"

Drake nodded.

"Hmm, that does sound useful. But if my boys' report on how strong this foul demon is, is correct, I don't see how something like this can help us," Mr. Havanger stated.

"That's actually where you come into play."

The older gentleman raised an eyebrow.

"Rex told me you're a master at shield magic."

A proud smile spread across Rex's father's face and his chest puffed outwards. "I am."

"Can you reshape an existing shield and at the same time let allies in and out without turning it on and off?"

"I can, but that's a tall order, and it takes a lot of energy. At most, I might be able to do it once or twice. After that I'd..."

Rex tapped the Energizer meaningfully, cutting his father off.

"Ah, I see. What's your plan then?"

"I'll tell you, but first," Drake turned to Gerhard, "would you use the TAG to tag this?" He held out The Energizer to her.

The tall, bulky woman nodded and motioned to Katerina.

Katerina disappeared behind one of the medical drapes and shortly reemerged with the black, oddly-shaped trans-automatic geographer. She handed it to Drake.

Carefully balancing The Energizer on one arm, he tagged it then handed the small object back to her. "Thank you."

She smiled, her white teeth shining brightly against her dark skin, then once again disappeared behind one of the curtains.

Drake turned to Rex's father. "Using the energy from this thing, I need you to make the most powerful charged shield you are capable of."

Mr. Havanger frowned then looked at The Energizer dubiously. "You just added a wad of frequencies to an already complicated piece of machinery. You sure that thing's safe?"

"I am," Drake assured him.

He huffed. "Alright, but I still don't understand what you're planning." Cautiously taking the artifact from Drake, he placed his hand on the metal surface.

The ancient, battle-hardened warrior's forearm's hair stood on end as he drew energy from the artifact. A gentle hum filled the room, and a soft blue glow enveloped the device.

Drake sighed in relief; his assumption had been correct. With growing confidence, he said, "With the help of The Energizer, once the shield is up, you should be able to bend the shield to cover all of us at will."

Alf's eyes lit up in comprehension. "You're planning on using the tactic that Kay used, aren't you?"

"Indeed, with this, Traverse Wake, and as many people as we can get to help us, we will become a giant, armored, moving battleship."