by Jack Hammond
Wesley raised his weapon aloft and a burst of flame seethed from it. The guards attacked, swinging the maces around their heads, the sound of the metal drowned out by the crowds intake of breath. Wesley felt sorry for them; they didn’t stand a chance he thought, plunging the hammer into the ground. A circular wave of flames blew out across the Colosseum. The blaze engulfed his oncoming attackers, their bodies vaporized instantly from the sheer power.
“That’s just an awful start for you.” Wesley jabbed at the Overseer. “You give me an Elite and if I lose I will never return,” he proposed the offer to the faceless shadow. “Give me an Elite!”
“Very well…” the Overseer conceded.
A shadow leapt from the balcony, his form vanishing before everyone’s eyes. A huge plume of black smoke swirled around furiously. Before any manifestation was formed the roar of the dragon thundered out across the Colosseum. Wesley stepped back. The dragon was the first creature he had seen when he entered this world and it seemed fitting that would be the Elite he would face.
Its wings spread outwards from within the vortex, the black rock oozed larva as it splashed across the sand. The huge granite tail lashed out, before finally the gaping mouth and long neck emerged. The stone dragon was complete. It dragged his talons across the golden sand and spat flames from its mouth. Wesley felt the blistering intensity from the other side of the arena and he wondered if he really did have what it took. He was alone, he had no help, and he had been given no sketches, no cheats. This battle was up to him, to win or lose.
The Elite all rose to their feet, the crowd too, as the Overseer made his announcement. “Clash!” he declared.
Wesley held his hammer aloft; the blazing whips of energy took form as his very own burning dragon screeched into life. He swung the hammer and sent his creation at the Elite. The wings spread out wide as it approached the enormous manifestation. Its granite jaws opened, and the dragon released a torrent of flames, searing reds, oranges and yellows blended as the blast swallowed up Wesley’s attack.
A cheer from the crowd went up as Wes’ mighty beast was destroyed. The dragon reared up and pulled air into its colossal lungs. Dropping back down, the Elite expelled an inferno of flames. The blaze licked at the sand as it filled the arena. Wes raised his shield and prepared himself for the fast approaching hellfire. The inferno slammed against him, the relentless pressure moving him further and further back, until eventually he was completely encompassed in the raging fire.
The fighters in the pit watched as the flames passed their faces; soon all they saw was vibrant shades of red. With the heat not entering the pit they only imagined what Wesley had felt.
“That’s too much even for him.” Darren concluded.
“I didn’t think Wes would go out like that.” Alwin agreed.
“Couldn’t he have survived that?” Patrick asked.
Sadie shook her head. “It’s over.”
The flames fell, dying down as quickly as they had appeared. A sudden murmur rumbled across the crowd and the fighters pit as Wesley slowly got to his feet. He looked down at his buckler it was badly scorched from the attack, yet his clothes were fine. He looked across at the dragon, the larva coursing through the cracks of its body. There was more belief in him now. Wesley knew after surviving that he could finish this. He glanced back over his shoulder at the pit, Sadie, Darren, Alwin and Patrick were stunned he was still standing. Wesley smiled, that’s how I like them to look he thought.
He took a deep breath and rushed at the gargantuan monster. The Elite spun, whipping its tail around. The long solid stone appendage whooshed toward the oncoming fighter. Wes leaped into the air and threw the hammer as hard as possible. Wes put everything he had into his arm as the hammer left his hand. The mighty weapon smashed against the rock spine of the dragon. Wesley crashed to the floor with a thump, rolling quickly he was straight onto his feet. He froze as he watched his hammer bounce off the solid granite shell of the dragon and fall to the ground by its feet.
Wesley snapped out of the daze with just enough time to raise his shield as the tails second attack smashed into him full on. His body was thrown across the arena, crashing into a pillar like never before. The dragon released a roar of superiority as Wesley fell to his hands and knees. How could this be? How was it possible his attack did no damage? Wesley pushed through the pain, climbing to his feet. His hammer lay on the sand in front of the dragon, there was no way he'd get close enough to retrieve it.
“Okay…” Wesley said to himself. “Fire doesn’t work and apparently neither does my hammer,” he started to run once again at the dragon. “Let’s try ice!” he shouted as he jumped into the air. The dragon didn't react; the attack was too far away.
The shield pounded into the sand as he landed and everything went quiet. Then a rumble from beneath the dragon shuddered through the ground. Instinctively the dragon leapt upwards, using the stone wings to power its immense frame into the Colosseum sky. A huge icy rock stalagmite speared through the sand. The dragon spat a mouthful of magma, instantly melting the spear of ice before crashing to the ground. The Elite roared with delight appearing to mock his opponent.
Wesley smiled as he walked across the arena; his attack had not been genuine. The icy spear had been perfectly placed to knock his weapon clear of the dragon; in fact the down draft of the beasts landing had pushed his hammer even closer. He reached down and collected the weapon, holding it up for his opponent to see, Wes added a wink for good measure. A titter of laugher washed across the crowd, but he hadn’t got time to notice.
Incensed the dragon strode across the arena towards Wesley. The deadly stone jaws snapping furiously at him, as Wes ducked, dived and rolled out of harm’s way. The attacks were unrelenting, Wesley had no sooner dodged one, when another was almost upon him. He used the buckler to deflect the burning larva that dripped from its mouth. The jaws opened again, this time Wesley had nowhere to run, he was pinned. Holding the buckler up as his last defence, the jaws clamped around the shield. The dragon tore the buckler from his grip, followed by a growl. A deep throaty growl, mustering all its power, Wesley knew the buckler would shatter under the pressure.
He regretted challenging the Elite now; he regretted almost everything that had happened in the last week. Wesley watched as the creature forced more power into its granite jaws as the steel buckler bowed under the incredible strength of the beast. If only he'd been told what was required to defeat the beast. Wesley resigned himself to defeat, fire was useless, cold was pointless and raw power didn’t even make a dent. Then it hit him, like a hammer blow from somewhere in the back of his mind. Wesley took a few steps back; pulling back his arm he launched the hammer and himself into the air.
Wes took hold of the weapon in both hands and aimed for the dragon’s head. He swung hard and true, putting every last morsel of power he had into his final attack. The crowd were aghast as the weapon narrowly missed the creature’s nose. The hammer pounded against the steel buckler and then it happened. A sudden earth shattering noise reverberated from the shield as the vibration began to coarse through the stone dragon.
Twitching with each pulse of sound, the waves formed cracks in the beast. Slowly more larva poured from the manifestation. As Wesley landed on the ground, the dragon was already crumbling. First the wings folded in before breaking into dust, followed by the tail and the body, then finally the head crashed to the sand, crunching at first before turning to black grainy powder. Wesley could see his sturdy steel buckler in the remains of the fallen Elite. Battered and worse for wear, it still held its shape.
A cheer from the crowd and the pit filled the Colosseum louder than any dragon roar. As the ashy carcass vanished, he caught sight of the shadowy Elite sprawled out on the sand. Beaten, defeated, crushed, Wesley had conquered one of the best with no help, he had done it alone. He walked over to his opponent and looked down on him, still hidden beneath the veil of black. Wes felt his hand twitch. He raised the hammer above his head and with a
n almighty slam he smashed the flaming weapon into the shadow.
The veil suddenly shattered, for a moment Wesley was faced with the person behind the shadow. He could only have been six or seven, Wesley recoiled as he saw the boy mouth the words ‘help’ suddenly everything dawned on him. A sudden wave slammed against Wesley, it took him by surprised as it flashed across the whole arena.
Wesley sat up quickly as he woke, his body covered in a cold sweat. His hands were shaking as he thought about the boy’s face, he had seen him before. Oh my God, he said to himself as he hurried downstairs. He rummaged through a stack of papers and picked one up. Wesley wanted to scream, but he couldn’t he just stood there, unable to move as his eyes scanned the headlines. “Seven year old boy, kidnapped from local hospital” He mumbled quietly. Wesley couldn’t help but feel sick as he looked at the picture on the front page, it was the child concealed beneath the shadow. It was Thomas Kern!
To be continued…
Coming Soon
The Dark Realm
Astral Clash Series
Jack Hammond
Author’s Note
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