Three Square Meals Ch. 097

John could see the golden glow emitting from her eyes, the shining light reflected off the partially built dome. Dana's hand waved over the closest hexagon and before he could object, she had obliterated his painstakingly embossed rune. John watched in fascination as she placed her fingers on the blue tile and runic script began to appear.

"As resilient as a mountain."

She paused, then shook her head, clearing the hexagon of runes and starting again.

"As resilient and eternal as a mountain, yet possessing the fiery heart of a volcano."

John blinked at the dozen new runes that had replaced his two. "How did you know how to do that?" he marvelled, leaning closer and examining the beautifully embossed runic script.

He could feel the power locked within that phrase, the interconnected runes flowing together and growing in strength with every syllable. There was something eerie about the phrasing that seemed strangely archaic and out of place with everything he knew about the Progenitors. For a species so obsessed with slaughter and intergalactic conquest, there was a certain poetic charm in the cadence of the sentence.

Dana blinked and looked startled as she glanced at her runes. "Err, I'm not entirely sure, but I think it sounds tons better and it's stronger too..."

"Oh, I agree." He examined the elegant runes for a few moments, then admitted, "I'm not sure I can recreate what you've done here. Could you continue with the runes while I focus on creating the hexagons?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Sure!"

John was able to work much faster now that he didn't have to stop to inscribe runes on each and every hexagon. He concentrated intently on his work, building the walls up higher and higher with each tile until the dome was complete, with the keystone hex locked into place at the top of the hemisphere. Remembering to fill in the floor this time, he created a broad circle of hexes that connected up to the walls of the dome. He sat back to admire his handiwork, then was startled to see that most of the hexes were still blank.

"I thought you were doing the runes?" he asked the redhead sitting beside him.

Dana didn't reply and leaned forward to place her splayed hands on the inner surface of the dome. Runic script seemed to pour out of her fingers in waves, replicating her words on every hexagon. In less than thirty seconds, the entire dome was fully warded with glowing Progenitor runes.

"It was faster that way," she said with a playful wink.

"You are full of surprises, aren't you?" he replied, with a grin, putting his arm around her trim waist and squeezing her gently.

She shook her head and guided his hand to her svelte stomach. "I'm full of something much more fun!"

They admired their handiwork for a moment, studying the protective shield to make sure it was flawless in its construction. The dome fully surrounded the huge bed on which they all sat, measuring ten metres in circumference. It cast a bright blue light over the crew, its surface coruscating with energy from all the runes inscribed upon the hexagons. John and Dana shared a kiss, then turned back to the rest of the group.

"We're all set," Alyssa said, patting the empty space between her and Calara.

John paused before joining her, looking at the girls lying down on the bed. "The dome will protect us from external attacks, but you'll still be able to use your abilities through it. I want us to hit hard and fast when we arrive, so get ready for the aura of terror in that place. You'll feel scared out of your mind at first, but we shook it off before, it just takes some time." He took a deep breath, then continued, "I'll wait until you're all asleep first, then I'll join you. That should make sure we don't leave anyone behind. Any questions?"

The girls shook their heads, a sense of tense anticipation building in the room.

"Everything's going to be okay," John said, giving them a reassuring smile. "I love you all. We'll protect each other and keep everyone safe."

The girls knew him well enough to realise that he was putting on a brave front for their benefit, but they settled down anyway, finding comfort in his words.

John lay down between Alyssa and Calara, putting his arms around them and pulling them close. They each draped a lithe leg over his, then crossed arms over his chest, encasing him in nubile young limbs. He'd been with the two teenagers the longest of any of the girls and there was comforting familiarity in being flanked by his beautiful lovers. He rubbed their backs, feeling them both relax to his strong touch, the slow gentle stroking lulling them to sleep.

Calara snuggled in closer, her dark brown hair soft against his arm. She turned and kissed him on the chest, then moved her arm slightly, placing her hand over his sternum. Alyssa followed suit, covering the Latina's olive-skinned hand with her own. John blinked in surprise, remembering the first time the two girls had placed their hands over his heart, just after Calara had joined the crew.

"The trio," Alyssa whispered, giving each of them a loving smile.

Calara interlaced her fingers with her girlfriend's. "We've all come such a long way since then..."

John kissed them each on the forehead. "Time to sleep now, my angels. See you on the other side."

They closed their eyes obediently with John copying them a moment later, but he started watching the girls in his mind now, seeing them fall asleep one after the other. It didn't take long and soon they were all slumbering peacefully in bed.

*Good luck, John*, Edraele thought to him, her voice fraught with worry. *I wish I was going with you. Please be careful.*

*I will and I'll protect your daughters, I promise,* he replied.

She hesitated for a second, then said, *I expect I'll be cut off from you telepathically, but what will you do if our energy connection is blocked too?*

*Alyssa should have more than enough for this, it's not like we're fighting a long running battle like we did against the Kirrix,* he replied, doing his best to reassure her. He paused, the request in his thoughts but unable to ask it.

*If anything happens to you, I'll protect the Young Matriarchs with my life,* she said earnestly. *We'll flee from the Progenitor if we have to... anything to keep them safe.*

He felt overwhelmed with gratitude to his devoted Maliri Matriarch. *Thank you, Edraele. I love you.*

*I love you too,* she replied, trying to stay brave.

Glancing down the bed, he saw Faye watching him with a tense, unreadable expression on her face. "This will be over before you know it," he said with a reassuring smile. "Time moves quickly in the Astral, so we'll be awake again in minutes..."

Faye's luminous eyes gazed at him intently. "Good night, John. Sweet dreams..."

John realised he couldn't put this off any longer, the girls' bodies eagerly absorbing his load and he wouldn't have an active connection with them forever. He stopped fighting the pull of sleep and let himself be lulled into unconsciousness.

The dream started as he knew it would, blackness fading away to suddenly be aware of roiling mists in every direction. His protective dome was keeping those ethereal vapours at bay, the fog billowing around the circumference of the runed hexagonal tiles. There were gasps all around him as the girls popped into existence beside him, all just as naked as he was, feeling vulnerable and terribly exposed.

A split-second later there was an ominous thump out in that impenetrable gloom, clearly identifiable as the pounding footfall of some titanic monstrosity. That was when the wave of fear hit. John felt his throat constricting as he choked with the debilitating terror, his heart beating furiously in his chest as he fought against the rising tide of panic. One of the girls sobbed with fear and collapsed to her knees, but he was too crippled by dread to tell who it was.

The sound of more hulking creatures moving out in the swirling mists reached his sensitive ears, a multitude of vast abominations that had scented prey in their dreadful realm. John reached out with his mind to Edraele, but found his path blocked. She was entirely cut off from him, along with her bond and all the corresponding power and vitality that it provided. Now that it was gone, he was dramatically reminded of just how much that connection had grown in the last few days, because its absence left him feeling hollowed out inside.

The pounding footfalls increased their speed until a massive multi-eyed six-limbed horror lurched out of the fog and slammed into the dome. Slavering fangs snapped in salacious glee as it bit at the runic shield, a dozen insane eyes rolling in ecstasy at the prospect of sinking those barbed teeth into fresh meat.

All around him were shrill screams of terror as the girls shrank back from the hideous beast, Dana falling backwards in her haste to escape. John grabbed for her with a shaking hand, just catching her in time before she would have toppled out through the back wall of the dome. A second later a flailing, viciously-hooked tentacle whipped into the protective shield, missing the redhead's slender arm by inches. A second tentacle then a third battered at the shield, curling around and dragging sickle-like hooks over the shield as the monstrosity hungered for her flesh.

Dana screamed in terror then collapsed to the floor, scrabbling back towards the centre of the dome where the rest of the girls were huddled together around Alyssa. The blonde looked up at him with eyes wild with fear, teetering on the edge of madness as she desperately fought against the insidious aura of fear that pervaded this place.

That sight struck John to the core and a blazing burst of anger swelled within him, banishing the creeping chill of fear that had stuck its icy fingers into his heart. Alyssa gaped at him in shock, then her eyes narrowed in fury as she fed off his rage. The whimpering cries from the girls ceased almost instantly and they rose together, no longer cowering amidst the runes on the cold obsidian floor.

More of the horrific denizens of this hellish realm had arrived, united in their hatred of the living, and an insatiable thirst for blood as they attacked in a frenzy. A gargantuan six-clawed hoof nearly ten-metres across pounded down on top of the dome, the single huge eye at its centre glaring at them with loathing. Hooked tentacles, and serrated chain-saw like appendages lashed at the hexagonal shield, the runes flaring as they strained to withstand the relentless assault.

No longer paralysed with fear, the girls sprang into action.

Tashana needed no time to prepare and simply stepped forward, hands held in front of her as she unleashed a billowing torrent of flames through the shield. The six-limbed beast roared in pain, all seventeen eyes staring at Tashana in shock as she burned its hooked forelimbs. She intensified the conflagration, the fiery wave washing over its head and boiling those hate-filled eyes right out of their sockets. Its cries of pain became shrieks of agony as she incinerated its face, scorching away the rubbery flesh. It turned and ran for the fog, its entire front half shrouded in a blazing inferno.

The sudden smell of ozone swept away the hideous stench of burning corrupted meat and Irillith hurled a jagged lightning bolt into the base of the colossal hoof above them. The sizzling flash was followed by the boom of thunder an instant later and the vast creature staggered backwards, electricity arcing over the blackened crater she'd blasted in its hoof.

Sakura threw her arms wide as she gathered her will, wisps of air coiling around her limbs that quickly gathered speed, turning into frenzied vortexes that whipped around her fists. She channelled the maelstrom into a terrifying hurricane that whistled and screamed as she unleashed it on the monsters around them. The malevolent fog was hurled backwards, creating a fifty-metre break in all directions as the howling winds tore around the dome.

Denuded of the fog, the abominations were revealed in all their sick and twisted glory, their bodies just as hideous as the frightful limbs that had swept out of the grey mists. The titanic behemoth that had attacked from above was still partially concealed by the mists, but now they could see several more pillar-like limbs stretching up into roiling clouds. Its underbelly was barely visible, covered by scores of flailing limbs that looked like vines, except for the razor-sharp hooks tipping each one.

The tentacle beast behind them looked like some kind of massive squid, crossed with a hulking spider, six tentacles surrounding a beaked maw glistening with rows of serrated teeth. It wailed as Sakura's freezing winds slashed into its body, chitinous legs frosting over as it tried to brace itself against the glacial cold. It charged forward, desperate to slay its tormentor, all the tentacles hammering at the dome with freakish unnatural strength.

Dana's runes blazed with golden light as they reinforced the hexagons and John knew without a doubt that the dome would have collapsed if not for them. He summoned a two-handed crystal Alyssium sword, then dashed forward, using his momentum to bring extra force behind his overhead chop. The blade swept unopposed through his shield then bit into rubbery flesh as he hacked down on one of the flailing limbs. The squid-spider let out a shrill scream as the white metal blade cleaved straight through a tentacle, leaving the severed end flopping on the ground with a foul steam hissing from the cut. The monstrosity lurched backwards, the dismembered stump gouting black blood into the air, which froze in the icy winds and pattered to the ground like hail.

Sakura's hurricane was merciless, coating the monster's limbs in ice as the temperature dropped still further. With a tortured groan, it skidded on the slippery floor and the four right legs snapped like twigs, pitching the bulbous carcass of the beast onto the ground. The squid head of the creature tipped back as it howled in pain, tentacles thrashing as it tried to drag itself away into the gloom.

Another of the beasts was caught in the cyclone too, the enormously tall creature had its left leg frosted with white crystals as the freezing winds whipped around it. Trying to back away from the storm, it repositioned its leg, only for it shatter with a piercing crack, sending sheets of frozen flesh smashing across the jet-black ground. Somewhere above them, far up in the fog a trumpeting cry of pain ripped through the sky.

That was followed by a booming roar from far deeper in the mists, a voice that was incandescent with rage, the waves of sound knocking John and the girls to the floor.

"YOU DARE MAIM MY MINIONS! DOES YOUR INSOLENCE KNOW NO BOUNDS?!"

Ancient as time itself, that hideous dirge was accompanied by a chorus of shrill screams and pleas for mercy, the disturbing legion of voices blurring into a cacophony of torment echoing back through the ages.

Sakura's tornado began to die down, the scream of the wind lowering in pitch to merely a whistle. She looked at John in fright and shook her head. "I'm still maintaining the storm! That thing's suppressing my powers!"

More creatures lurched out of the wall of fog encircling the dome, emboldened by whatever the terrifying master of this sub-plane was doing. At their forefront was a sickening amalgamation of creatures, made up of an enormous millipede body and a vaguely humanoid torso, which sprouted four arms that ended in bony scythe-like blades. Irillith gathered her will and aimed her open palm at the creature, letting loose another jagged stroke of lightning. It lanced outwards accompanied by another peal of thunder, but the arcing bolt died almost as soon as it left the confines of the dome, petering out in a shower of sparks.

The Maliri girl looked at Alyssa in shock. "It must be some kind of psychic dampening field!"

They could only watch in mute horror as more and more creatures emerged from the mists, each one seemingly more terrifying and revolting than the last. They charged across the open space between the fogbank and the runed hemisphere, the billowing grey mists now closing in behind them once more.

John shot a worried glance at Alyssa. He'd been expecting her to start blasting these creatures with that radiant beam again, so it came as a surprise that she hadn't made any aggressive moves yet. After shaking off the aura of fear, she'd been quiet, almost as if lost in thought and seemed completely oblivious to the horde of monsters descending on them.

"Alyssa! Are you powerful enough to break that field?" he asked, trying to impress upon her the urgency of their predicament.

She shook her head slowly, staring intently at something in the distance, but what it was he couldn't tell. "No... we're playing by its rules in here..."

"John!" Calara screamed, grabbing his arm.

He snapped his head around, then flinched away from the nearby wall. The centipede creature was hammering away at a patch of hexagons, four bladed arms moving in a blur as they drilled at his psychic shield. John had been greatly relieved when the protective dome hadn't been swept away by the psychic damping field, but he could tell it wasn't going to last much longer. That creature wasn't alone in assaulting the dome and a huge six-legged beast with massive jaws was attempting to gnaw through on the other side, row upon row of yellowed teeth grinding into the shield. Above them another towering behemoth was attempting to batter through the roof of the dome, its burly limbs ending in serrated snapping claws, each impact creating ominous ripples through the shield.

The golden runes were flaring with light as they tried to maintain the integrity of the panels, but that radiance was getting patchy in places, fault-lines appearing through the protective web.

Dana clung to him, eyes wide in fright. "It's gonna bl-"

Before she finished the sentence, one of the scythed blades pierced through one of the hexagons, sundering the field. The entire latticework shimmered and blazed brightly, then exploded outwards, jagged golden shards ripping through flesh and hurling the monsters backwards through the air. The ferocious blastwave seemed unaffected by the damping field, mowing the creatures down like blades of grass and tossing them across the clearing in sprays of viscous black ichor. Chunks of eviscerated beasts began to rain down on the black obsidian floor, making wet squelches as ooze sprayed from their flayed flesh.

"The fiery heart of a volcano..." John murmured, gaping in awe at the devastation Dana had just wreaked on their monstrous foes.

There was another deafening bellow of wrath from deep in the mists, the indignant rage finally coalescing into understandable words.

"YOUR SUFFERING WILL BE EXQUISITE! YOU WILL YEARN FOR DEATH... BEG FOR IT OVER THE EONS!"

Dana grinned at John despite the fact that she was shaking with fear. "I think we pissed him off! Quick we've got to build another dome!"

John dropped his sword and held out his hands to start forming new hexagons. He had started laying out the foundation when he heard the rumbling thunder of incoming foes, the sound coming from all directions. He fought to stay calm, quickly rebuilding the first few rows of hexes, but he knew he couldn't rush this or the structure would collapse like a pack of cards.

The swirling clouds of fog had been pushed back by the runic explosion, but they'd started rolling in again and were now less than thirty metres away. Shapes began to loom out of that grey expanse, these creatures bigger than the first wave, their hulking misshapen forms covered in spikes, claws, fanged mouths or furious eyes.

Jade shimmered into her armoured tiger form, baring her teeth and readying herself to pounce. John wanted to tell her to keep away from the monsters, not wanting her anywhere near those horrific abominations, but he knew that wasn't a choice available to any of them. He tried to build the hexes faster, but the wall was barely waist high and they'd run out of time.