Ralice shook his head irritably. “Just get to your little hunting trip, soldier.”
A humiliated Darcy shuffled back to the rest of his hunting party as they continued on toward the outskirts of the Fortress, leaving her and the prince alone together. Selina found it hard to breathe as soon as she realised that fact.
“And you?” he asked. “Don’t you have duties to do?”
“No. I have a lesser Rakarn doing them for me. Well, she might struggle, so I’ll probably have to beat her into bettering herself.”
Ralice chuckled at her, as if she was a fool.
“What?” she snapped, before remembering who she was talking to. “I mean, what is it, my prince?”
“I know you have ambition Selina.” She tried not to react as he said her name. “You have climbed up the ranks here, but want to climb higher still. You want to be a leader, yes?”
She nodded, at once lost for words.
“Great leaders shouldn’t stand idle whilst others do all the work, or have their lessers fear them.”
“I…I disagree,” she forced herself to argue. He smiled as she did so.
“Fear makes your followers obey your every command.”
“So does loyalty. And loyalty makes your men less likely to betray you when the time counts.”
Selina cackled. “If anyone dared betray me they’d sit in the castle cages until they were skeletons.”
“And you’d be one follower less,” Ralice countered. “Better to have more followers than less people who fear you.”
“Then why are you always killing the Rakarn here?” She blurted out before she could stop herself.
The great wolf, Agoth, growled deep in his throat, stalking toward her until she shrank against the castle wall.
“I find your lack of formality amusing,” Ralice remarked, studying his gauntlet casually as he spoke. “But do not overstep your mark, young lady. My familiar grows hungry, but I’m trying to wean him off human meat, understand.”
She nodded wordlessly.
“Now, I must depart. My beloved mother has returned at last.”
“The Queen, the queen is back!” Finally, she could reveal what she knew. “I…I must speak with her at once.”
Ralice observed her, still faintly amused.
Even though Selina was a veteran of countless missions and had slain Venators with her own hands, only a select few had the honour of convening with the Queen herself.
“Please, take me with you, I must see her.”
The Prince cocked an eyebrow. “Why I think that’s the very first time I’ve heard you use manners. It must be important. Come along then. Though if she’s in a bad mood she’ll probably kill you.”
Ralice turned with a swish of his cloak and walked on ahead, leaving her to watch him, frozen. Despite the fear gripping her, she hurried after him.
Chapter 9- Strike Plans
The remnants of a strange nightmare flashed in Evan’s mind as he awoke.
At first, he couldn’t quite remember why he’d woke up so suddenly, or what had scared him. But then the images came flooding back. He remembered seeing Taija, black blood leaking from her ears and mouth as she summoned more demon magic than he thought possible. He’d seen Kalkavan too, before the Disciple conjured his black fire and hurled it toward him. The fire obscured Evan’s vision as it flew toward his face, just like it had done only weeks ago.
On instinct, he rubbed the patch of burned skin over his cheekbone and across to his ear. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to it, nor could he forget the being who’d did it to him. Evan kept finding himself wishing to meet Kalkavan again, only to get revenge. The fact he had such thoughts surprised him, but he couldn’t deny them.
He lay in bed for a while, his body incredibly still, but his eyes wide open. He felt strange, almost hollow inside. His skin tingled unpleasantly and somehow, he knew the exact reason. Either his body, or maybe his mind, was craving the demon magic.
The realisation made him feel sick.
It felt like he hadn’t used his dark sorcery in so long. Too long. He knew he shouldn’t ever want to wield it again, but he did.
The Emerald Shade kept the demon magic from him, even if he wanted to summon it. Evan was glad. What if the temptation became too strong and he did call upon that terrible black mist. Why! Why was he even thinking such things?
Is it the demonic in me? Is my demon side growing stronger?
It wasn’t the first time his body had felt this way. As well as the hollowness inside, it was almost like his skin itched. But it had never been this strong before.
He wanted to ask Brooke if she’d experienced the same troubling feelings, maybe it was a side effect of the Emerald shade? He’d ask Brooke the next time he saw, only he was too scared. If she hadn’t felt any of these things, she might get creeped out that he had. What if his demonic side was too strong for him to overcome and one day it would consume him?
There was the fear that had been at the back of his mind ever since he’d first learned he was only half human. Would he one day wake up and be totally demonic? Or was he already slowly changing now, losing his humanity more and more?
Out of paranoia, he jumped out of bed and strode to his bedroom mirror, making sure he was still human.
Yep, there was the same old Evan Umbra staring back at him. Apart from the charred black flesh across his cheek, he looked the same as he always had. Or maybe the scarlet specks in his grey eyes had grown brighter, or more numerous. He peered closer. No, he was just being paranoid, wasn’t he?
As the fog of sleep left him, Evan realised he was incredibly late. Only the very brims of the suns had risen, but practice would’ve started ten minutes ago.
For the past three weeks, Nova had held Arengi practice every single morning. Due to the ever-changing nature of the arenas in each match, there was a lot to prepare for, and they had no idea what they’d actually be facing.
They trained in the fields at the crack of dawn, where most Venators were tucked into their warm beds in the Fortress, whilst the team ran around on fields, muddy, wet and freezing.
Now that they’d joined the team, Evan, Zeke, Jed and Brooke got to wear armour whilst the team split into two halves and practised eliminating one another with attack spells in a myriad of situations.
They’d already practiced shooting at targets whilst underwater, using one of the large ponds in the forest, as well as casting their spells whilst suspended high in the air, or balancing on narrow beams.
Evan hurried through the castle, hoping he didn’t encounter anything that would make him even later. In Veneseron, you never knew what you would see when you turned the corner. The Fortress was always filled with a bevy of creatures. Already, Evan glimpsed a trio of gremlins trying to get into a locked door and some pixies who’d snuck inside to steal ornaments. The team of gnome porters were forever chasing the forest creatures through the passageways, desperately trying to kick them out and retrieve stolen property.
Evan ignored all of it, and in no time was jogging across the fields. Bright lights flashed by the forest, his team’s spells no doubt. The air was biting, and the drizzle of rain was steadily coming down harder.
He climbed up a steep hill and raced down the other side, spotting the rest of the Raging Squids.
“You’re late, Umbra” Nova called out.
“Sorry, I overslept.” Evan panted, coming to a stop before the group.
He saw his friends grinning stupidly at him. “Hey, I did bang on your door as we left,” said Jed. “I thought you’d be just behind us, sleepyhead.”
Nova scowled at him for several moments, before smiling. “You’re lucky you’re cute, Evan, or else you’d be in serious Ushk. Don’t let it happen again.”
Evan nodded gratefully, even as he felt his cheeks blush.
He’d gotten to know the other players on the Raging Squids team now. Like Rudy, a goofy High-Realmer who was stick-thin, but had huge feet, Rin Yuki, a tall Japa
nese girl with pink hair. Dusty Coop, a large farm boy from America and Cece Lumiere, a girl Jed had once saved from Evan’s ex-girlfriend and her insane father.
Iris, Nova’s best friend, was the team’s vice-captain.
After the team were split into two halves, Nova produced the Arengi orb from her bag. It was a deep blue crystal a little bigger than a tennis ball. “It doesn’t look too special,” she said. “But this little orb is indestructible, as are the pedestals.” Nova pointed out the thin, silver plinth.
The pedestal was unremarkable, standing six-foot-high and its only feature being a circular basin at the top. “The orb slots inside the basin, winning us the game. Got it?”
First, Nova placed the orb up a tree, then at the bottom of a hot spring, then behind a magical forcefield, and each time they worked to get the orb before the other team and get back to their pedestal to slot the ball inside first.
“The Arengi orb is either hidden inside the arena, no matter what type of arena it is, or in plain view, but it’s always behind magical barriers or traps,” Nova said, before calling a halt to the practice and asking them to gather round.
“Me and the team have played matches in arenas that were rainforests or where the ground was literally volcanic. The number of different battlefields is endless, but the rules of each game remain the same, eliminate every player on the other team, or get the orb on your pedestal. To our new players, our next game is in three days.”
“What!” Brooke exclaimed.
“You can’t be serious.” Jed cried.
Evan gulped, his throat to dry to speak.
“Don’t worry.” Nova grinned their way. “Our team lost four players from last season, all of them graduated Veneseron to become full-time Venators. So we needed four newbies to take their place, you’ll be substitutes. It’s very unlikely any of you will actually enter the match.”
“Phew,” Jed sagged in relief. “Not that I was worried or anything.”
Nova nodded. “As the captain I can make three substitutes each match, and I can’t sub in a player once his armour’s been struck twice. So there is a chance, however small, that I might sub one of you in if the team takes too many hits early on.”
Evan’s anxiety skyrocketed again, but he reassured himself he wouldn’t be the one subbed in. In practice, he’d proven to be the least talented player compared to Zeke, Jed and Brooke. There was more chance of one of Jed’s chat up lines actually working then Evan playing the game in three days.
*
Today’s classes had been a blast, quite literally in Energy Control; where they’d learned how to blast apart energy shields, but now Evan’s last lesson of the day had come.
His anxiety piqued as he headed to Dreamwielding. Vanderain wasn’t yet back for him to ask advice, so he’d just have to wing it and hope he didn’t encounter any more spectres, or even enter the dream realm at all.
Evan was relieved when Li’Azar informed them at the start of class, “I dreamed throughout Veneseron earlier to banish any spectres haunting the place. More will drift inside in time, but for now the way is safe. I cannot figure why that spectre attacked Evan.”
He shifted uncomfortably as his fellow trainees stared at him.
“But I am confident,” Li’Azar continued, “that it was a freak accident.”
“Why can’t we always banish the spectres, sir?” Xavier asked.
“Because it takes an immense amount of ability to perform the spell once, let along multiple times. My sorcery has been drained,” the Master replied sternly. “Now, all of you pair up and prepare to Dreamwield.”
He and Jed paired together again as Evan nervously did as asked.
“Remember,” said Li-Azar, just before they fell asleep. “Any injuries you sustain in the dream realm will affect your real body. We can, however, use this to signal for help. As none of you are strong enough to wake yourselves out of the dream world yet, you must prick your finger instead. This small amount of blood is the signal for your partner to wake you from this side. This is only a precaution, on the rare event something bad happens and you need to escape the dream realm at once.”
“Yeah, because nothing bad ever happens in this class,” Jed said under his breath.
Evan laughed hollowly.
They needn’t have worried, though, as his expedition in the dream realm went without a hitch. Although he still had no idea why the spectre had been drawn to him, Evan was proud that he’d faced his fear. He just hoped Sintian and his awful brother weren’t taking the incident as more proof he had dark magic.
*
Sintian ran a hand through wavy hair, his foot drumming on the wooden floorboards as he perched on his stool. It was quiet in the recreational room, save for the crackling of flames and the rain lashing against the windows.
Sypher reclined on the sofa opposite him, his obsidian eyes poring over the ancient book he held in one hand.
Everyone else cast Sintian’s elder brother respectful and admiring glances. Sintian could sense both their envy and their fear of his older brother. Sypher ignored them, focusing entirely on the book, searching for its secrets of dark magic.
He’s more obsessed than I am. Yet even as he thought it, Sintian admitted that he didn’t honestly know who was more obsessed with power out of the two of them.
They took up residence in one of the more secluded lounges Veneseron had to offer. The recreational chamber hadn’t always been secluded, not until Sypher had marked it as his own.
A dozen Venators filled the lounge, murmuring quietly to one another, mainly to fill the silence.
His brother’s followers were a bizarre lot, and there was a reason Sintian didn’t hang out with them when Sypher wasn’t around. He felt pretty uncomfortable now, and took to gazing out of the window. Dawn had broken only an hour ago, and he could see Nova and her team were still training near the Fortress. They must have met even earlier than when Sypher had summoned them all here. He had no idea why his brother insisted on a meeting so early. Nor why Sypher had ignored them all since they’d entered five minutes ago.
Sintian couldn’t take it anymore. “How much time are you going to waste before acknowledging my existence?”
“Until I finish my chapter,” Sypher replied in a lazy yet authoritative tone, never keeping his eyes off the book.
“I suggest you read faster then.”
The other Realmers in the room muttered angrily, complaining to one another about Sintian’s lack of respect. Lickspittles.
Sypher’s expression didn’t change, he merely said, “you must learn patience, brother. I don’t know how many times I’ve told you to quell your temper.”
Sintian curbed his reply as two young Novices entered the chamber with brooms in hand, no doubt on the Masters orders to clean it.
“Out,” Sypher snapped without glancing at them.
A handful of Sypher’s cult-like followers sniggered as the two children scurried away with a whimper.
Sintian merely shook his head, trying to keep himself calm.
Although his brother had ensnared a dozen Venators with his natural charisma, Sintian knew he only trusted three of them. The three who were as ruthless as him; almost.
The first was Korey, with his stick thin limbs and rat-like face full of freckles. He was a deeply repugnant individual, which was why the menacing Ivor practically served him as a bodyguard. Ivor was short but bulging with muscle, and nearly as ugly as Korey. The rumours said he had dwarven as well as goblin blood in his veins.
Then there was Masune, a Venator from an ancient Venator family who claimed to be descended from the Egyptian pharaohs themselves. He was very tall, with heavy lidded eyes and razor-sharp cheekbones.
“You know they’ve banned me from the Marathon this year, right?” Korey was complaining to Ivor. “All because I pulled a knife on Sasha last time. It was only a prank, but they won’t believe me.”
Korey stopped talking as a Mid-Realmer strode into the room.
> “Out,” Sypher repeated.
“You don’t tell me what to do,” the Mid-Realmer replied.
Sypher made a subtle gesture and Ivor promptly removed the Mid-Realmer from the room whilst Korey howled with laughter.
As Ivor returned to his seat, Sypher at last snapped his book shut and turned to face them. “There is much to do. I hadn’t been away from Veneseron for this long since I took the Proving Trial.” Sypher switched his gaze to him. “Speaking of, it’s about time Veneseron allowed you to embark upon your own Proving, brother.”
Sintian nodded. “I know. They’ve only given me three missions so far. I don’t know why I’m still in training.”
Sypher tutted disapprovingly. “But on to the matter at hand. There is an enchanted ring in the city, which enables the wearer to go without sleep for several nights at a time. Ivor, I want this ring, but my sources tell me the goblin merchant will not sell. Convince him, in any way you see fit. Oh, and whilst you’re in the city, shakedown that pesky faun, Fabius. He still owes me seventy scion shillings in accrued interest.”
The brutish Ivor nodded, grunting obedience.
“Korey,” Sypher continued, “travel to Landoe’s shop just off of Thendon way. They have a pendant I’m interested in, buy it for me. Then locate the bookseller Mavis, and increase your threats until she gives me what I asked for.”
Korey nodded eagerly as Sypher tossed him a small bag of gold. “Right away Stray, right away.”
Sypher turned to Masune last. “We both know that you are by far the most intelligent, and subtle, out of all my friends.”
Sintian shook his head in disdain, noting how they barely reacted to Sypher’s insult to the rest of them.
“Thank you,” Masune inclined his head. “What do you require.”
“A man such as myself regards both intelligence and subtlety highly. I want you to keep a close eye on the Umbra boy, do you know him?”
Sintian stirred. He and Sypher had kept the demon magic between them, but was Sypher about to tell everyone now?
Angels and Elves- Act I Page 14
