Awakened Spells Box Set

by Logan Byrne

  “Mom! Dad!” I screamed, as they disappeared. “Where did they go?” I asked, turning to Kaia. Mona and Randall were gone too.

  “They are gone. Summoning their spirits like that is no easy feat. They cannot sustain that forever. They came because they love you, and they knew you needed their guidance,” Kaia said.

  “Will I see them again?” I asked.

  “Of course, Lexa. You will see all of us again, but for now we must go. We will be inside you, guiding you, so long as you look inside,” Kaia said before fading away. The entire garden fell in on itself, and I was thrust through black space before opening my eyes to see the bright moon above still shining down on me.

  I wiped the tears from my eyes, sniffling a little, before taking out the wand and holding it in my hands. I stared at it, nodding, as I began to realize that I had what it took.

  I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and it definitely wasn’t going to be fun, but I had what it took to defeat Kiren, and to do it in a way that would allow me to sleep at night. Others might not love my choice, some might even chastise me for it, but I was the one chosen to defeat Kiren, and I would do it the way I saw fit.

  I stood up on the hill, overlooking the camp, as I gripped my wand tightly and felt the power surge through me.

  Kiren Nightstorm, this message is for you. My name is Lexa Blackmoon, and I will be the one to defeat you and end your tyrannical reign, if it’s the last thing I do.

  I hope you’re ready, because I’m coming.

  1

  Drops of water fell from above into an otherwise still puddle five feet to my right, just inside the cave’s entrance. I walked in slowly, trailing my hand against the wet rock as a cool and wet smell tickled my senses.

  I looked behind me, glancing at Britta as she cautiously followed me. We were hunting a Gorgon, a creature rarely seen in the magical world. She had something we needed, a necklace, that was said to contain magical powers, the source of which I did not know.

  The Gorgon was somewhere in the cave, slithering around the rocky labyrinth as she likely smelled us in the air. I stepped down, stumbling a little bit, holding my wand out and ready for action. “Candelae,” I muttered, illuminating the small area around me.

  “Where is she?” Britta asked, walking up beside me. We had to be careful, not only because the Gorgon was a deadly creature, but also because of what she could do without so much as a single lingering touch. Her eyes were potent, more than any creature’s venom. They could sting you with a strike so powerful it would turn you to stone.

  “She’s somewhere, watching, I’m sure of it,” I said, before we started to walk further inside. The stalactites hanging above us looked like melted candles, small deposits of minerals slowly seeping down along the rock. I kept my eyes down, trying not to look up, in case she decided to attack.

  “Which way?” Britta asked, as we came to a fork. The passage split left and right, and both tunnels looked exactly the same.

  “Should we split up or stay together?” I asked.

  “The faster we get it, the faster we can leave, but I’m not sure about the Gorgon. I think she’ll be too hard for us to take on alone, even with our powers,” Britta said, looking around.

  “Let’s go left, I have a hunch,” I said, motioning my head towards the left-hand side of the tunnel.

  Gravel crunched under my boots, sliding me forward a little bit, as I lost and quickly regained my footing. I shook my head, keeping my breathing steady as our walk turned into a hike. We climbed up ten feet of jagged rocks and scaled what felt like a small cliffside.

  “There it is,” I said, standing at the top. The necklace was sitting atop a stone pedestal in the center of the room.

  “No, this is too easy,” Britta said.

  “Let’s just get it and get out,” I said, walking forward. I suddenly stopped, hearing a hissing sound, as I waved my wand around and tried to illuminate the surrounding area.

  “Where is she?” Britta asked, panicked.

  “Stay calm, she’s near, but we’ll be okay. Just keep your eyes away from her,” I said, keeping mine down. I wanted to peek up and look around, but I didn’t, managing to keep my gaze focused on the ground in front of me.

  “Lexa!” Britta screamed, but when I turned around she was gone. I could hear her struggling, trying to get away.

  “Candelae Maximus!” I yelled, the glow from my wand intensifying. I saw the massive snake-like tail slither into the darkness, one of Britta’s feet moving ever so quickly before the noises stopped.

  “Come out, now!” I yelled, spinning around, keeping aware of my surroundings. She didn’t appear. Instead, I heard a faint laugh, a snake-like hiss accompanying it, as if this were just a giant game to her.

  “Did you think two children were a match for me? You dare to enter my den and steal my precious artifact as if you are worthy? No, child, you will pay the price, just like them,” she said, her final words so loud I thought she was right behind me. I pivoted around, shining my wand. My expressed turned to one of horror as I took three steps back.

  There were people, tons of them, all frozen into solid statues, lining the perimeter of the cave. Their faces were all the same, transfixed in a look of terror as their final seconds on this planet were immortalized in stone. I shook my head, running as fast as I could, as I tried to reach the necklace.

  She jumped out and I looked at her, avoiding her gaze, but I could clearly see her calloused hands, her nails reptilian and sharp. She knocked into me, tossing me down. The light from my wand extinguished as it fell out of my hand and rolled along the rocky floor.

  I got on all fours, closing my eyes, as I felt around for my only weapon against the Gorgon. I traced the tips of my fingers across the ground, not even sure which direction the wand went, before I felt the air become cold around me.

  “I can smell the fear within you,” she said, as I smelled the caustic rot of her breath. It singed my nose, seeping through my eyelids. I felt as if my eyes were on fire. I kept strong, breathing through my mouth, not giving up my search for the wand.

  “If you just open your eyes, perhaps you can find your precious wand. Just open them, and it will all be over,” she said, a tinge of a laugh in her tone.

  “Never,” I said, before standing up and facing her. My eyes still closed, my fists clenched, she slithered around me, sizing me up, as I heard her bulky tail slide across the floor.

  “Defiant, you are. I’ve met many travelers like yourself throughout my lifetime, but you feel different,” she said.

  I calmed my mind, my breathing becoming shallow, and I started to feel my wand lying on the ground as if I were using radar. It was in tune with me, my mark guiding the way, even if my hands weren’t glowing. I turned around, walking slowly, as each step pushed me in a slightly different direction.

  “I’m afraid I cannot let you leave alive,” she said, keeping right near me as I slowly walked.

  “I’m afraid I have no plans of leaving without that necklace, and my friend,” I said.

  “Your friend is here to stay in my collection, and so are you,” she screamed.

  I jumped forward, grabbing my wand, before swiping it in front of me, forming a spark that hit her in the face as she screamed and hissed.

  I ran towards the necklace, grabbing it, before turning around, the Gorgon in my face. I gasped, my eyes meeting her stare for a fleeting second. She smiled as I pushed her and tried to move towards Britta. I couldn’t. I looked down, the cold embrace of stone forming around my feet as they fused to the ground around the pedestal.

  She took the necklace from my hand, placing it back on the pedestal, as the stone quickly scaled my legs towards my stomach. “You were a worthy opponent, but I’m afraid a Gorgon always wins, my love.”

  As the icy death formed around me, I looked at her one last time, before the top of my head was encased.

  I gasped, pulling off the simulation headset, shaking off my discomfort and rubbing the back of
my neck. “I hate that,” I said, as Britta stood nearby.

  “I was a goner, but you had the necklace. I think you’re getting better,” Britta said, her arms crossed.

  “I still got caught. If I can’t even do this, then there’s no hope against Kiren just yet,” I said.

  “Kiren isn’t a Gorgon, no matter what other powers he has. There’s no way he’s going to gain the upper hand on you. You can’t compare these two things, considering there won’t be any Gorgons on the battlefield,” she said.

  “How can we be sure?” I asked.

  “Because Gorgons can’t sit and bask in the sun, and even at night there’s enough light to freeze them in place. That’s why they slither around in damp, dark caves off the beaten path,” she said.

  “Will Lexa and Britta please report to my tent?” Pote asked over the intercom, catching our attention.

  “Guess that’s our cue,” Britta said.

  It had been six days since Mirian, Pote, and I visited Alornia and got the help, albeit hesitant, of the high elves. We’d heard many reports about Kiren trying to sway different magical creatures and beings into joining his cause, and the high elves were definitely getting antsy about the entire situation.

  I thought most of them, at least the ones on the council, weren’t too thrilled about going into battle once more, even though Kiren’s reign would quite obviously affect them greatly in the future. They claimed they’d moved past it, and that their kingdom was safe, and Rafael could only hold their attention for so long as we tried to ready our own troops and create a plan of attack that would be beneficial for both sides.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked, as Britta and I walked into Pote’s tent. Mirian was standing beside her, as well as the boys, as they all pored over a map on her desk.

  “As you know, Kiren has been running his reign of terror upon the various creatures of the realm. We have word that he’s attacked a tribe of Minotaurs, trying to scare them into joining him. Having them on our side would be a great advantage, but more importantly we need them to know they have safety on our side and that we would never attack them to try to intimidate them,” Pote said.

  “We want you to go there as a sign of good will and try to broker an agreement between the resistance and their tribe,” Mirian said.

  “Is this safe to do?” I asked.

  “Minotaurs, while quite aggressive in battle, are usually quite docile in nature unless something provokes them. This tribe isn’t large, and they’re spiritual and shamanistic creatures that want to live a life filled with peace. They just want to be left alone,” Faus said.

  “So do you think they’ll agree to fighting with us, then? Given their peaceful nature?” I asked.

  “I think they’ll do what they need to do to keep their way of life and not all be slaughtered by Kiren’s forces. I think they would be a great asset to our division,” Faus said.

  “Then we’ll go,” I said, crossing my arms. “I just hope they’re receptive to us.”

  “Well, we can’t say for certain that they will be, at least not at first,” Mirian said. “You have to remember, humans have been attacking them, especially mages, and they’ll be a little more than cautious when you approach. Just remember to keep calm and show them you aren’t affiliated with Kiren or his duskhowlers.”

  “Faus, maybe you can help?” Britta asked.

  “You want me to shift in front of them,” he said hesitantly.

  “It would help. Maybe they would see you’re one of them,” Blake said.

  “Partially I am, sure, but you know how I can get when I shift. I don’t want to get into a fight with a full-blood Minotaur,” Faus said.

  “We’ll be there to support you. Let’s go in there, and even if they attack first, don’t cause any damage to them or their village. Be the better people, even if they charge you and try to impale you,” I said.

  “I vie for the day where someone doesn’t try to kill me anymore. Just one day, that’s all I ask,” Charlie moaned.

  “Soon enough, it will all be over,” Mirian said.

  “You may leave in the morning. It’s too late now, and you’ll need sunlight for this mission. I don’t trust you being safe out there in the dark,” Pote said.

  “Here, take this,” Mirian said, pulling a rolled-up parchment from his bag. “It will help you with your journey.”

  “A map,” Faus said, as he unraveled the parchment.

  “It’s a map of the Minotaurs’ territory. It’s all we have on it, but we believe it to be accurate. I think it important for you to study the topography of the area to better position yourselves,” Mirian said.

  “I need to speak with Mirian in private. I look forward to you bringing home their people,” Pote said, shooing us off.

  “So do you have a lot of experience with Minotaurs?” Charlie asked Faus, as we walked outside Pote’s tent.

  “Not really, no. I guess my family has always pushed away that side, and besides, they aren’t too thrilled about cross-breeds like me. These aren’t my tribe, at least by lineage, but I’m betting they’ll all be the same,” Faus said.

  “I wonder why they were angry about you being who you are,” I said.

  “Magical purity has always been a thing amongst many different creatures,” Britta said. “A lot of creatures out there, to make sure their species and races survive, like to keep their bloodlines as clean as possible, in their own words, to ensure it stays around for the future.”

  “It seems like something Kiren wants, doesn’t it?” I asked.

  “It’s exactly what he wants, but in a different way, I suppose,” Britta said.

  “He wants magical supremacy and for non-mages to submit to those who have magical powers. Keeping goblins from breeding with merpeople is a different story altogether,” Blake said.

  “Well, I’m just hoping if we find them and I do shift, they don’t automatically shun us or attack,” Faus said.

  “They’re peaceful enough, it should be fine. I think we need to err on the side of caution, though, with our approach. They’re going to be apprehensive and fearful, but they’re a peaceful tribe, they won’t want trouble,” Britta said.

  There was a set of criteria, a list, that I always tried to follow before I went out on missions. This one wasn’t covert like some of my others, though, meaning I didn’t have to pack as light as when we went into the forest.

  I always brought a single set of spare clothes, just in case we needed to stay out longer than usual. I could get multiple days out of one pair of clothes, but doing that reminded me too much of my upbringing. That feeling was a little too close for comfort.

  I always tucked away some snacks, jerky, that I swiped from the mess tent. There was something special about their food that my magic just couldn’t replicate. “Wand,” I whispered, mumbling to myself, before feeling my sheath.

  I checked it twice, as if my wand would somehow not be there the second time, feeling a tinge of paranoia that I knew was present in the mind of every witch and wizard out there. Going into the field without my wand would be detrimental not only to myself, but also to my team, and I took their safety very seriously.

  “You ready?” Charlie asked from outside the door to my tent.

  “Yeah,” I said, pushing it open as I walked out, my backpack slung around one shoulder.

  Faus was scanning the map near where the portals were.

  “Found a spot?” Charlie asked.

  “I think this will be good,” he said, pointing towards a small spot on the map with his dirty fingernails. “It should be up high enough that we’d have a vantage point without being so high that we couldn’t get down.”

  “Let’s go,” Britta said, pulling out her wand.

  “I thought you needed to know where you were going,” I said.

  “While you’ve been busy mastering your mark, I’ve been doing some brushing up of my own,” she said, smiling. “I’ve got this.”

  “Fancy girl,” I said, l
aughing, before we were sucked up in a flash of light. We soared through the air, twisting and turning, before slamming down onto the peak of a small mountain, looking down at the dizzying, spiraling fall below.

  “Whoa,” I said, taking a couple steps back.

  “Yeah, that landing wasn’t the best, but I got us here,” Britta said.

  A strong breeze rolled over us, blowing my hair violently to my left, as I looked over the landscape of rolling hills and gray, rocky mountains. The land was as vibrantly green as a goblin’s skin, the unkempt grass whipping in the wind tunneling through the valley.

  “Over here,” Blake called from the other side of the plateau.

  “That doesn’t look good,” Charlie said, as Britta, Faus, and I approached.

  Smoke rose up and filled the sky, swirling in the wind and blackening the air. The Minotaurs’ village, a small outpost in the expansive basin, smoldered as dying embers roasted their homes and ancient grounds. It was disgusting.

  “All of this because they didn’t want to get involved,” Faus said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

  “He will be stopped,” I said stoically, as I fixed my gaze on the ruined village.

  “Do you guys notice something? There’s nobody down there,” Charlie said, his eyes shifting to their jaguar form as he scanned the horizon.

  “You don’t see any movement?” Britta asked.

  “Not from any Minotaurs, that’s for sure. Get us down there,” Charlie said, looking at Britta and me.

  “What if it’s a trap?” Blake asked, stopping us as we took out our wands.

  “By who, them?” I asked.

  “By Kiren’s men. What if some of them are down there, hiding? Maybe they knew Pote would send people to investigate. After all, he must know she has an interest in protecting them,” Blake said.

  “That’s a concern, and a valid one, but what if they aren’t there? We can’t just leave and strand any survivors who might be hiding,” Faus said.

  “I agree,” I said. “We need to check for anybody left behind, or any clues as to where they went.”