The Seventh Spirit

by Adam-Clay Webb

  Kyle grabbed Lex’s collar fiercely, a look of fiery annoyance in his face. “What the hell’s the matter with you?!” he blasted, seeing that Lex’s eyes were moist with tears.

  “How can they do this?!” Lex cried, trying to whisper.

  “You leave that cryin’ shit to Clover, you hear me?!”

  “Your brother is right, child,” the blind man said, his ears apt enough to hear them no matter how much they tried to keep their voices down. “Too many tears are wasted. Crying solves nothing.”

  “Only action will,” Kyle came in. “Goodbye, old man. If you hear news about the fall of the great Magma Town, you’ll know you met the man who felled it with his sword.” A solid smile came upon the man’s face.

  “You two stay alive and keep your will. Your tears will balance his fire so he doesn’t do anything too stupid. And your fire will give his tears purpose, and give him strength to fight for what he knows is right.”

  Kyle smiled a little. “We’re off,” he said.

  As they progressed, they passed scattered shacks housing more of the Magmalian outcasts. The sound of quickly approaching footsteps led the travellers to stop and turn around. Kyle nearly reached up for his sword. Just slowing to stop before them was a dark-skinned boy with blindingly brilliant white teeth. He was about Kyle’s height, and was heavily muscular. There was a look of mischief on his face, on his grin.

  “I’ve had my eyes on you two… Heading to Magma Town, are we?” His tattered clothes resembled those of the outcasts they saw before, but that was about all he had in common with them. He seemed the picture of health of energy, and he was certainly not much older than they were. “What for? Think you can handle yourselves out there?”

  “Listen, kid,” Kyle said in his usual tone, “we don’t have time for this. We’re on a mission here.”

  “A mission, eh?!” the excited boy grinned even more widely. “What kinda mission?!”

  “A rescue mission,” Lex told him.

  “We’ll be on our way,” Kyle said, eying Lex, like he would later scold him for talking too much.

  “Chill out, man! What if I wanna help?!”

  The two looked at each other again.

  “Why’d you wanna help us?” Kyle asked, a sceptical look of distrust on his face.

  “Cause that’s what I do!” the boy said, “I’m a superhero! I save lives! The sun rises to worship my greatness, and the earth trembles when I clench my mighty fists!”

  Kyle hissed. Lex laughed a little, wondering if the boy just had an overactive imagination, or his sickness was with his mind.

  “Very well! I will show you my super power!” the boy blasted, clenching his fists. A look of real interest came up on Lex’s face, as he considered whether the boy really had some extraordinary ability. “But only if you are worthy to see it!”

  Kyle hissed, and turned away from him.

  “You must first take me along, and trust me, then when the time is right, I will show you my strength!”

  “Let’s go, Lex,” Kyle said, ignoring the boy.

  “Come on, Kyle, look at it – what do we have to lose?” Lex considered. “We need all the help we can get!”

  Kyle stopped for a moment, not looking back at them. “Whatever,” he said, not putting a strand of faith into the stranger, “if you slow us down or get in our way—”

  “Ha! You make the right choice, brave soldier!” the boy shouted in excitement, “By the way, the name’s Mike!”

  “Lex.”

  “Kyle.”

  “Then let’s go!” the boy said eagerly, “I’ll lead the way! Know this route like the back o’ m’ hand!” He took the lead quickly. “So who are we rescuing?! It’s a rescue mission, right?!”

  “My sister.”

  “Your sis, eh? She a cutie?” the boy asked thoughtlessly. Kyle’s eyes reddened and he drew his sword quickly, making a fast and heavy swing at the boy. Mike jumped back quickly, still grinning, furthering Kyle’s annoyance of him. Lex grabbed Kyle as he tried to step toward the boy, who seemed to ignore Kyle’s seriousness.

  “Relax, Kyle,” Lex tried to pacify. “Mike, filter your thoughts before you say anything to Kyle,” he warned the boy.

  “Alright, alright!” Mike said, his hands in the air, “so where exactly is this girl we’re going after?” he asked, continuing to walk. Kyle recased his sword, still leering at Mike.

  “The Magmalian Prison. We’re going to save an old lady too – a witch,” Lex answered him.

  “Heheheh! Sounds like fun!”

  “Don’t sound so excited!” Lex blasted, glancing at the silent Kyle, “It’s not some game… So you’re a superhero, eh? You must have some superpower, then,” Lex said, sounding a bit sceptical still.

  “Well of course! What kinda hero has no superpower?!” Mike replied quickly. Kyle made another leering glance at the talkative boy.

  “Well, I too have a superpower!” Lex said.

  “Wow! Sounds great!”

  “But you’ll have to show me yours first,” Lex negotiated.

  “Thing is, my power only activates when I’m danger,” Mike said.

  “How convenient,” Kyle muttered.

  “You’ll see! You’ll both see just how strong I am! I will show you the power of my iron fist!”

  Kyle snickered a bit and shook his head.

  “If you don’t get us straight to Magma Town in two hours you’ll get the danger you need to show us that power of yours,” Kyle assured him. Lex laughed a little, though he knew Kyle wasn’t much of a joker.

  “Well, I’m an Icemaker,” Lex introduced.

  “Remember what happened the last time you blabbered about that to a stranger?” Kyle reminded.

  “An Icemaker? All the way out here?!” Mike asked, sounding a little confused.

  “Take a look,” Lex said, smiling smugly. Mike stopped and looked back at Lex with wide, glistening eyes. His heart raced with excitement and a huge grin rode upon his face. He looked in amazement at the iceball in Lex’s hands. Lex relaxed, and the sphere disappeared into a cool mist.

  “Damn! That’s literally the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, man! Iceman! Ironman!” He turned to Kyle, who had no interest in their time wasting. “You have a superpower too?!” he asked, eyes wide in wonder and curiosity. Kyle drew his sword aggressively, pointing it at Mike’s neck.

  “Kyle! Put that thing away!” Lex came in, grabbing Kyle’s sturdy wrist.

  “Listen, kid, we don’t have time for foolin’ around,” Kyle made clear.

  “Lex, his blood is on your hands if you make me kill him.” Mike stared at Kyle with a not so jolly expression, probably just noticing his seriousness.

  “So…” Lex said, after quite a while of silence, trying to break the tension, “does every town have like a king or something?”

  “Not really,” Mike answered, “each continent has a different fashion of government. Our continent, Libson, is probably the most divided of them all. Most continents are divided into far less, much larger provinces. As a matter of fact, in Notherland, which is much bigger than Libson, there is no division, just one government, one leader. This continent… it’s a joke! If even a smaller continent makes war with us, seeing our division, we’re liable to lose… Well, the Magmalian king claims he will unify the continent under him… He plans to wipe out the small, weak villages.”

  “Like he wiped out Baiku…” Kyle said, memories of his mother and father flashing through his mind. The stern, cold look on his face made Mike change his mind about asking Kyle anything about Baiku.

  Before Kyle had become furious with impatience, the infamously massive metal gates were just up ahead. It was apparent that beyond those massive gates sat a great province, no doubt, the province of Magma Town. Even from miles away, the massive stone wall that guarded the city, being almost the gate’s height right around, could be seen. Kyle looked on at the Magmalian guards, finely dressed in their impeccable uniform. They wore tightly fitted jet black l
eather trousers, each side decked with a thin bright red seam. Tucked neatly into their trousers were black tunics with shiny red buttons and a red strip across it that looked like a sash. The eight guards at the gate wore long swords cased in black sheaths. They each also wore a red beret, clear of blemish, with a black feather sticking out from it. Their blindingly shiny black boots looked heavy and uncomfortable, but definitely not bad-looking. Their leather pants tidily went down into them.

  “These soldiers are called the ‘guardians’,” Mike told them as they approached, “they dress a bit flashier than the regular soldiers, being the face of the city.” Kyle tried hard not to admire the men too much, but seeing them made him want to become a soldier even more – certainly not a Magmalian soldier though.

  “Come to think of it, why’s such a massive city called Magma Town?” Lex asked.

  “Heh. Long story that is,” Mike said, like he knew the whole history behind Magma Town’s name. “Now don’t let their pretty uniforms fool you. Under the glam is a strong mesh armour, coated by a layer of thin metal, and these men aren’t rookies to battle either.”

  Kyle looked over at Mike, wondering how he could possibly have known that much. One of the guards walked to meet the three travellers. As the soldier came closer, vivid images of Magmalians raiding his village, his home, flashed back through his mind. Suddenly, in movement he could hardly control, the boy flung his hand behind him to grab the handle of his sword, his teeth clenched and his eyes wide. Lex grabbed his friend’s wrist quickly, already beginning to fret, looking at the faces of the guards.

  Kyle slowly lowered his hand. “Oh shit,” he muttered to himself, just realizing what he was doing. The man that was moving toward them stretched his hand out behind him, signalling to the others to remain where they were.

  “It’s the general that is approaching,” Mike told Kyle, “the colour of their belts tell their rank.” Lex and Kyle had just noticed that while the approaching man wore a black belt, the others wore thin, dark-green belts. “A general joins the guards once a month I believe… You sure picked the wrong time to make a mistake like that.” Lex’s heart raced, though Mike didn’t sound afraid at all. Kyle prepared himself to start fighting. The approaching man looked like around fifty, and appeared to be a well fit, well capable, hardened soldier.

  “General Ki,” the man greeted them, a serious, militant look on his face. Though his facial hair was well groomed, the roughness and scars on him showed his experience, and Kyle knew that picking a fight with a man like him, even without the other guards lurking around, was a really bad idea. Kyle noticed the man glance up at the handle of the sword he nearly grabbed from the sheath, and look back at him. “How much gold are you willing to pay to have me overlook your death sentence?” the man asked calmly. Without looking at his companions, Kyle slowly drew for his satchel and took out the little brown bag with the money they had left. The soldier grabbed the bag from the nervous boy, and made a glance down into it. He hissed, a dissatisfied look on his face. “You are afraid,” the general said, “yet you keep a stance ready for battle, and that look in your eyes… I can see you’d fight back instead of running away… You’re stifling your temper so your comrades won’t get hurt, but you hate men like me, who take bribes and burn villages to the ground. Still, you want to be a soldier, but one who will fight with honour, and for justice… Heheh… I used to see too many faces and eyes like yours. Nowadays, I’m seeing too many youngsters joining the force for the wrong reasons, for the reasons I did; money and power. And women. Heheheh! Stumble over hordes of fine chicks with this uniform every day…”

  “What the hell’s the general ranting about out there?” one of the guards at the gate asked another, “Didn’t he see the kid reaching for the blade on his back?”

  “The general gets like this when he’s had a bit too much to drink the night before. So I’ve heard.”

  “I’m telling’ you, kid,” the general continued. Kyle realized that the look on the man’s face wasn’t so dread after all. “It’s money and women day and night. And rum! Drank a barrel just last night.” The man snickered, like the drunkenness from his drinking was just seeping in. “You three, you’re good kids I see.” The general turned around. “Fly the gates and let them in!” he commanded.

  Is this guy serious? Kyle wondered if this was all really happening.

  Paved, bustling streets, massive buildings and complexes, horsemen and carriages everywhere, soldiers on patrol – Magma Town was no less grand than Kyle had imagined it. “We’re finally here,” Kyle muttered to himself.

  “Wow… New York City has nothing on this place,” Lex said to himself, looking about.

  “Where do we start?” Lex asked.

  “Icemaker! Icemaker!” they heard a distant voice yelling.

  Lex knitted his brows and spun around quickly.

  “There’s your answer,” Mike said, a smirk on his face, ready for whatever madness awaited.

  “Icemaker needed! Queen pays a thousand gold coins to see an Icemaker!”

  The three rushed toward the sound of the voice.

  “Slow down!” Kyle blasted, grabbing on to them, “Remember how much trouble your power’s gotten us into thus far. Let’s not walk into a trap.”

  They moved slowly toward the source of the announcement. A Magmalian soldier was mounted on a slowly-moving horse, yelling through a megaphone that stretched his voice across a large radius even through the busy, noisy town.

  “This looks far too suspicious,” Kyle said, dismissing the idea of approaching the soldier without thinking twice.

  “You’re right,” Mike agreed. “Once you’re a witch, an Icemaker, a Firemaker, if you have any ability of the bloodlines of the gods, you’re considered a threat to the state. It would indeed seem quite foolish to walk into such an obvious trap.”

  “Sounds like a ‘but’ is coming,” Kyle said.

  “Heh!” Mike’s face showed his thought of risk and adventure, even stupidity probably. “Maybe walking into the trap is the best thing for us to do.”

  “Are you insane?!” Kyle blasted.

  “Mike, just what the hell are you thinking?” Lex asked, looking at the new expression of discovery and deep though on Kyle’s face.

  “You two gonna clue me in or what?!”

  “Clover is in the hands of the state. Getting captured is our best chance of finding her,” Kyle said. Mike’s smirk became more dominant, as Kyle had finally seen his thoughts.

  “You’re right,” Lex said, still considering. “If they know I’m an Icemaker, they might take me to the prison where Clover is.”

  “But then what?” Kyle asked, trying to plan things out, “How will we get out of prison with Clover? And how are we sure they’ll take us too?”

  “You guys are thinking too much into this. If you plan it all out, you’ll take the fun out of it!” Mike complained, then rushed over to the soldier.

  “Mike!” Kyle yelled, running after him.

  “What’s all this fuss about this ‘Icemaker’?” Mike asked the man, a truly puzzled and concerned look on his face.

  “Don’t know myself, lad,” the sweating, tired, annoyed-looking man answered. “The queen sent orders down the line that we should comb the streets for an Icemaker. I’m supposed to get a shit load o’ gold if I find him. She says she won’t hurt him, she just wants to help him with … something about some prophecy,” the man said, looking unsure and confused. Lex and Kyle eyed each other immediately.

  So she’s following up the prophecy, Lex thought, she shouldn’t find it hard to have the one who will help me defeat Trium later on released, then. A huge smile came upon his face, like everything was suddenly solved. Plus I’ll get some kinda help from her, and if anyone can help me with money for my travels, I bet a filthy rich queen can, he thought.

  “But what are the odds of me finding this damn Icemaker that might not even exist?” the man whined, as if he were about to quit, “I mean, there’re hundre
ds of soldiers crying their throats out for this Icemaker.”

  “Well today’s your lucky day!” Lex cheered.

  “That’s right!” Mike joined him. Before Kyle could speak, Lex was already brandishing an iceball.

  Here I come, Clover, he thought, a confident smile on his face.

  “You idiots!” Kyle blasted angrily.

  “Gonna help us up or what, man?!” Mike asked the guard, “We three are the last Icemakers in our clan!” The soldier stared down at the sphere of ice within the Icemaker’s palms in disbelief. He shut his eyes tight and shook his head, looking again at the sphere that quickly disappeared into a white mist.

  “These idiots,” Kyle muttered almost audibly, “I have no choice but to go along with it.”

  “Won’t you help us up?” Lex asked.

  The burdened horse carried the four men through the busy streets of the greatest province in Libson, creating quite a strange scene. The soldier wouldn’t dare to take the chance of asking another soldier to help him take them in at the risk of somehow ruining his strange stroke of luck and have someone steal away even a portion of his reward. After many miles of travel, they finally reached in view of the royal courts. Kyle and Lex gazed up at the royal tower, which wasn’t any great distance away; it was in the midst of a massive palace, acres of splendid gardens, orchards and mansions, guarded by a white wall thicker than the outer wall of the city. The difficult hill the horse had to climb to get near the palace hoisted them up to see the splendour of almost the entire estate. The young private rode up to the seven guards by the massive bronze gates with a level of pride he had never before felt.

  “What is this?!” the general there enquired, seemingly taken aback by the halting horse with four men riding it, the leader a low-ranked Magmalian solder.

  “Goodday, Sirs,” the Private greeted, a smug look of heroism and worth on his face, “I have completed the mission given to the Magmalian army by Her Majesty, the Royal Queen. I have here three Icemakers,” he reported in a boastful tone he couldn’t conceal.