Ignite

by Andre Pisco

  Christopher kept his eyes on Eva and didn’t answer. His soldiers laughed heartily at the whole situation, some going further and calling Neil the "fat man." Men and women, some of torn clothes and some of clean clothes, some with white teeth and others without half of them. There was no distinction between them in the ranks, and they had no trouble fraternizing, pushing each other as they laughed and ended up with one another's shoulder pretending to fall, enjoying what they had seen.

  Lucy seized the moment. She ordered the thin trunks to wrap around Christopher's left ankle and signaled to Alec, who in turn did the same to James. They were ready. All or nothing and depended on them.

  "Grandfather," Lucy began, "This ends here."

  "You're right. It is time to deal with the matters for which I came here. It is time for everyone to know that the gods are false, that we can’t depend on them." Christopher said, and smiled at her, the wound on his cheek moving as well as life itself.

  "You should pay more attention to what's around you," Lucy said, clenching her fist. The trunks squeezed Christopher's foot, trapping him there.

  He looked down and murmured a simple, "You did well.” Followed by a long, arched smile.

  "Why are you smiling?" Lucy asked, her heart beating faster. He looked to the side and already Lucian and James approached her grandfather.” Stop!" Lucy shouted, being able to feel what was approaching.

  It was too late. The boys didn’t hear her. The energy emanated from their young bodies, with exalted yells, the fury that ruled them and eliminated everything around them, made the only thing in their heads Christopher. He was the reason for all the misfortunes they had suffered since the academy and there was a window of seconds to finish with everything, to be the heroes, consecrated by their deeds. James could be valued as he always wanted, never being compared to his father again.

  Lucy raised a shield to protect herself as soon as the clash between the three of them happened. A blast of considerable size made the dust fly in all directions. Almost everyone who was there had the same reaction - they lowered their heads, their eyes and nose with their arms for seconds until the powder settled. Some didn’t do it in time and they coughed without stopping, while others ran their fingers over their cheeks, removing what had stuck to their faces. There were also those who had used shields to protect themselves. However, no one had any idea what was going on. The smoke didn’t dissipate and there was no one present with infrared vision. 8 of Christopher's soldiers approached the smoke, all of them ready to act as soon as a breach opened and allowed them to see what had happened.

  "ARGHHHHHH" a scream from James put everyone on alert.

  They looked around, unable to see what was happening. It was not long before they saw the boy's body shoot out of the smoke, shot through the air like a porcelain doll. It landed on the floor and spat blood into the air, hitting him in the face as soon as he came down. His HP came down to 10. He tried to close his hands, but he couldn’t even do that. He had trouble keeping his eyes open and was bleeding from his stomach. The red mixed with the black of the suit, and there, alone, abandoned, at the mercy of its destiny, with the desire to ask a last wish to the gods, but already not believing in them.

  "What are you waiting for? Demonic, use your power. It makes the smoke disappear." Christopher ordered. His voice had changed. It no longer carried the wisdom of an old man who went through a lot but of someone whose patience had come to an end.

  One of the eight soldiers stepped forward and waved his hands until a white circle appeared in front of him. He was dressed all in black, from his nightgown to the torn trousers and lace gloves. His thin eyebrows lost their composure as soon as the head of a tornado came out of the hole he created. He didn’t stop waving his hands until his masterpiece faded the smoke.

  Behind the curtain, two bodies were revealed. One tall, standing, imposing and jaw out, and another on his knees, a trickle of blood slipping from his lips, his hands clamped behind his back and his face filled with small ripped features.

  "Did you really think you were going to surprise me? Naive young people. Even you granddaughter… I expected more." Christopher said, "Time to deal with matters of interest. Four of you try to confirm if Evanora didn’t hide the letter, the other four pick him up,” he ordered, pointing at Lucian with his remaining hand.

  The soldiers didn’t hesitate. Lucian put his hands on the ground and froze it. The soldiers were obliged to walk slowly for fear of slipping. The young man still caught the feet of two of them but found himself unable to dispense that amount of energy.

  "Are you waiting to free your spirit animal?" Christopher asked, squeezing Lucian's neck even more. The boy tried to respond, moving his arms, trying to hit the man's face, but he couldn’t. Life was leaving his body, and little by little his head whirled, his conscience saying his farewell.

  "No... Don’t do it," Alec said, his voice coming out like a final blow.

  "Set him free, boy. And I let your friend live." Christopher proposed, "I don’t want my granddaughter to see this. Having to do what is necessary does not mean that I want her to follow my steps," he confessed, looking at Lucy.

  While Lucian thought about what to do, Neil had put himself ahead of Eve, putting his life at disposal. The soldiers approached him and surrounded him. They were not afraid of him, but they wanted to have some fun. One of them, a young man with a round face and eyes almost impossible to see as they were covered by huge cheeks, threw water balls at him. They did no harm except for the humiliation and laughter of the rest.

  Neil was soaking wet, straight hair, water falling from his clothes, his shoes rattling whenever he moved. Still, he didn’t lose control. He couldn’t disappoint his friends, or his father, wherever he might be. It was time to be proud. He'd come this far, and he was not going to waste what he'd built, the friends he'd made, Lucy and the adventures together. It was time to reciprocate. Time to end the uselessness. Time to show them that it was not just a prop in the group.

  "I'll do it!" Lucian shouted, stopping Neil at the exact moment when the boy sought to attack.

  They stopped glancing at him, they looked at Lucian. An animal spectrum left his body and gradually gained form and solidity. An imperial wolf, opening its mouth and roaring, salivating through the spaces between the teeth. He dug his nails into the ground and scored the spot with a horizontal stroke. It seemed to point out that there was the limit, that no one should dare to get past.

  "Get them. Don’t kill the boy or the wolf." Christopher said, "What about you? Stop wasting your time and look for the letter. I'm tired of being here. There's another place I need to go." He ordered and tossed Lucian to the ground. The boy was still breathing. He was in better shape than Eva and James but still couldn’t get up without help either.

  There was a clear distinction between the person Christopher was to the soldiers and the person he wanted to be to his granddaughter. Lucy, still protected by the shield, wondered if his personality was fragmented. A being that contains two people - one in the light, hidden from the world, taking refuge on the dark side, and the one that the darkness had already contaminated. Perhaps it was for this reason that her parents didn’t tell her the truth and rummaged through her memories. They might not want her to remember seeing him well. Had they been afraid that when they saw him starving, losing control of himself, would his daughter have problems in the future?

  The adventure was about to end. Four were approaching Lucian, and four others were closing the circle around Neil. Hearts were beating like someone who raises the sound at the climax of the melody, legs trembling in the face of death, and clenched fists until the bones ache. Lucy was too far away to help, and even if she was close, she would not be much help either. Not against four of Christopher's soldiers.

  And yet the boys didn’t give up. They didn’t abandon the fight, they didn’t flee, and they didn’t show fear. As long as the spark of hope still existed in their beings they would fight to the end until the last
breath leaves their mouth and their faces lose their color.

  When everything seemed lost, when the flame inside them was moments, at a simple gust, to fade, the battle had a turnaround. It was quick and unexpected. No one knew very well what had happened until Christopher's soldiers began to fly. Voices filled the main square again. Explosions at different points served as proof that they had now begun and would fight even more. It was not possible to know what was to happen and small divisions were created. Molly, Grant, and Alice were standing and avenging themselves without shame from those who had imprisoned them. The shock and spark of the swords hitting one side and the other a wind sword wounding enemy soldiers in dozens of body sites in one go. Alice stepped out of the mess and climbed into a building. Arrow after arrow was eliminating troopers, lost in confusion, trying to figure out what had happened. Relics army soldiers freed and came out to help their own. Wielding their weapons, brandishing them with courage and pride, they fought tooth and nail.

  Lucy looked at Neil and he returned the look. In the midst of the confusion, no one knew how to react. Two soldiers vanished in front of Christopher, acting as his shield. White masks covered their faces and black armor capable of handling entire attacks covered their bodies. They were not thin or fat and were, no doubt, taller than him. They had the perfect body to use the attack as a defense.

  "We have to go, master." One of them said voice stifled.

  "No! We still don’t have what we came for." Christopher said and turned to his soldiers, most of them fighting and others looking for someone to fight, "Kill them! Kill them all!" He commanded, not even hesitating. There was no pity in his voice, not even the slightest nervousness.

  "Master, we cannot risk it. The future depends on you." The other repeated.

  "You're right. Let's go. Quick," he said and gave each one a hand, "We'll see each other again, Lucy," he said and smiled. He still let out a loud "Get me what I want" before evaporating along with the two soldiers.

  The soldiers were about to catch Lucian when two of them were tossed into the air. The others looked around trying to figure out what had happened and Lucian took advantage of the distraction to freeze them. He took a deep breath and also looked around. He was so absorbed in the apocalyptic background in front of him, buildings falling, bodies tumbling on the floor, others to be decimated, a mixture of colors and energies, he didn’t even notice that another enemy had approached from behind and was about to attack him. Even the wolf was uncultivated by the approaching danger.

  A thin young man with a sharp knife in his hand, slipping through the confusion, had arrived there and took advantage now to savor his moment. His nervousness also affected him, almost tripping over himself, but after an almost trapeze movement, he remained unscathed. He moved like a shadow, without making a noise and without anyone taking notice. He lifted his arm and lowered it toward Lucian's shoulder, the knife cutting through the air. The knife scraped into Lucian's skin, leaving behind a long cut at the nape of the neck. When Lucian looked back already the other boy had been shooting away. He looked to the left and saw James landing, both hands on the ground, and half-kneeling.

  "James! Were you not hurt? What happened?" Lucian asked as he ran his fingers through the wound. They smeared with blood and a shiver ran down her spine.

  "Look who showed up," James said and pointed at Max running, with Ghost at his side, a few feet away.

  "Max! How did they get here so fast?" He asked, still dizzy with everything that had happened so fast.

  "They marched near us. We had to let them move on so we could come without being caught." Max explained," Now we have to find a way to finish this. Alec?"

  "He was also injured. It's there," Lucian said and pointed.

  "I'll heal him. After that, I run out of strength." Max said and ran to Alec.

  Meanwhile, Neil received the help of some private soldiers. They were not enough to face the enemies but were willing to die there for him to save Eva.

  "Save her. Don’t worry about us." One of them told him, ending with a smile, moments before a laser came in through his forehead and out the other side.

  Some were trapped in a square of water and drowned, trying to get out, despair seizing them but eventually falling to the end with no return. Others had their skulls broken until they were powdered, and there were still those who could barely stand, but still struggled. Neil took Eva by both shoulders and pulled her with him, dragging her across the floor, being careful to divert her from the pebbles on the floor and stopping to protect her, even if he had to use his body as protection of those who flew off without knowing where they would crash.

  "NEIL!" Lucy shouted. Her mind was still filled with confusion from all the revelations that had been made. She knew she would have much to explain to her friends, but it was no time to waste committing suicide.

  Her fingernails were covered with dirt, and the makeup around her eyes had blurred. She ran to Neil and helped him with Eva, grabbing her by the feet. They carried her to the youth group. Alec stood up, questioning what had happened and where Max and Ghost had come from.

  "Lucy..." Alec began, "Why did you hide this from us? What are you, his granddaughter?” He asked him, eyes staring at her soul.

  "Sorry. I just didn’t want them to look at me or treat me differently. That's why I went to Drexus and not to the Lyuna Academy. I wanted to grow up with those who didn’t mend all my mistakes." Lucy confessed, clapping her fist on the floor, "I just learned yesterday that Christopher is my grandfather. No matter how. I'd rather it was not, but there's nothing I can do to change it.”

  "They are still as dramatic as ever. We don’t have time for this. Speak later." Ghost said in the usual monotonous tone, "That woman's been the one who's been giving orders since their boss disappeared. We have to eliminate her. She's all alone now. It's our chance."

  "It's her! Drexus's old lady, the one who bit her lip! She's still too strong for us." Neil said, discouraged, still catching his breath.

  The struggles continued. The city became a stage for war and no one was going to give up. They struggled for different reasons, but there was no doubt that they believed in the reasons for doing so. Smoke, fire, thunder, water, arrows, knives. There was everything. Dozens of soldiers on both sides. Each one with its particularity.

  The wolf returned inside Lucian. The young man prioritized the safety of his spirit animal knowing that they would not hesitate to attack him and even hurt him, all in Christopher's name.

  "Together we can do it." Alec said, "We have to."

  As soon as he had just spoken an explosion at their feet left them dizzy. His ears were tingling, and his vision numbed. They couldn’t focus, and the world around them seemed distorted. They clung to each other, trying not to fall until much of the effect passed.

  "Look who’s here. Let's have a lot of fun." A voice said, a few feet away.

  The old woman was in front of them. This time she had no company, but still, nothing had changed. She kept the smile without the biggest of the teeth, the ones that still had yellow to them, and the brown hair with the arched tips. Frowning the nose that occupied a third of her face and wrinkles appeared on her forehead. She raised a finger and a ball of fire grew until it was the size of her face. The flames splattered the floor and she bathed in the heat, moving her finger to the right and left, smiling with pleasure.

  Chapter XXVII

  The young people recovered all their senses, but they didn’t have time for a plan. They would have to rely on their impromptu abilities. They would not have anyone's help. They were at her mercy and they knew it. The battle had not stopped, not even calmed, just because they had. Grant, Molly, and Alice were still doing their best. All the soldiers in command of Eva were doing it. Without hesitation, without questioning why. The battle spread throughout the city and rows of bursts and shots rang through the streets. The people fled to the outskirts, some sheltering friends, hiding in houses, praying to the gods they believed in so that
they would survive. A deafening noise shook the ground on which they stepped.

  The witch took a step forward and threw the fireball against Lucian. She had her eyes on them, ignoring the rest. She knew what she wanted and didn’t seem to be bothered by them being seven. Lucy fought the attack with her shield, but it was not enough. Fire spilled over the shield, burning it, scorching it, forcing an opening.

  "This is too strong…” Lucy said, getting out of breath before she finished, legs trembling, one knee falling to the floor. She was using everything she had to stop the witch's attack.

  They didn’t have time to counterattack. The shield disappeared, but the ball hit the floor in front of Lucy. They breathed a sigh of relief and stepped into combat.

  "We were lucky," Neil commented.

  "No, we weren’t," Alec replied, catching everyone's attention. Looks hovered over him, "She didn’t mean to hit us head-on. I can feel the fire beneath us, scattering. We... we're trapped," he said, looking down at the ground, his eyes following something only he could see.

  "We have a clever little boy here," the witch said, laughing like a lunatic happy that someone joined her, and snapped her fingers.

  Four red lines appeared on the floor, sliding until they met - a perfect square. They had not yet moved when walls of fire rose and trapped them in that uncomfortable space, with almost no room to move. They coughed more and more as their lungs filled with smoke and their breathing slowed, their noses closing in response to the smell of burning. The flames increased and their clothes fell to ashes. Their bodies suffered the consequences. The flames used as whips on their young bodies, marking them, the howls of ardor dissipating through the air as soon as they reached the fiery walls. Only Alec stayed the same, resisting the heat, leaning against it and gaining strength. A red layer covered his body. Neil tried to touch his shoulder but ended up with two scorched fingers. Alec was about to boil, almost exploding, not resisting the lava that ran through his veins.