Elemental Courage

by M. W. McDonald

  18

  Alex traveled swiftly across the land. He used his power of flame to excite his blood speeding up his limbs. He was careful as to not cause flash-fires from his body heat as he crossed yards and under-developed fields. He didn’t care if Vincent could feel him now.

  “Stand your ground.” His grandfather’s voice had been echoing in his mind for hours now. If running wasn’t the best course of action then at least Alex was going to pick where this would go down. He crossed the main highway that cuts east-west and slowed after a mile and a half into the un-mechanized country. He came into a clearing void of trees that had a shallow brook winding through it.

  “Stand your ground.”

  “It will happen here Grandpa,” Alex spoke as he unhooked his limiter and set it on the ground. He flexed his chest and stretched. He took a few deep breaths and released his hold on his power. Flames erupted from the elaborate tattoos he had on his forearms and shoulders. His shirt instantly turned to ash. He concentrated, making sure not to release too much, as he began to pulse his energy outwards keeping time with his heartbeat.

  “Come and get it, Vincent, I’m done running.” His flames scorched the area around him with a white-hot heat. The smell of scorching rock and burning grass wafted into Alex’s nostrils.

  Vincent felt the difference immediately. He felt the energy of his prey grow into a bright beacon beckoning him. Vincent smiled.

  “Brilliant Alex,” Vincent left the diner were an irate and very wet older man held his hairpiece in his hand and demanded to speak to the management. He dashed across the city, his movements concealed by shadows. His body ached for the release of combat, his blades whispered anxiously. “Soon,” he thought. His prey had stopped running and waited for him now.

  “Soon.”

  19

  Dyaina had recovered quickly after the first night. At least she recovered quicker than anyone expected. Upon the next morning, she was able to move around, albeit a bit sluggish. She had gotten up, much against David’s wishes, and sat on the futon next to William. She looked him over and even asked David to help roll William on his side she could better survey the rift burns. She was relieved to see that while yes he would have extensive scarring, at least it wouldn’t be the painfully compact webbing of scorched muscles across his back that she was looking at now. It was swollen and inflamed, but she saw his skin trying to regenerate. She re-dressed his back, speaking softly to him the entire time. She talked about everyday things trying to get a response other than his ragged breathing. She kissed William’s forehead. “Come back to us William.”

  Dyaina left William’s side and sat back down on the sofa, watching him intently. She talked to David about all things and at great length about William’s life. What he had experienced growing up and the challenges he had overcome. She asked and learned about Michael’s life as well. She had been away from David for so long. She fell back into the rhythm of marriage with him as if they had never been apart. They sat, Dyaina leaning into David’s chest as she watched William sleep, keeping a sharp eye out for any change. They held hands.

  “You really need to get some food in this place,” came Brian’s voice from the kitchen. He followed shortly after carrying a bowl of ice cubes as he sat down in a chair behind the sofa.

  “Are you eating ice cubes?” Dyaina asked, laughing.

  “Actually m’lady, this is ice cream. It’s only missing a few things like milk, flavor, my patience. You know…ice cream.” Brian sat back and crunched a corner of an ice cube giving David a sad, pitiful look on purpose.

  “How’s that working for you?” Dyaina asked. She liked Brian’s humor. She couldn’t help but smile at him.

  “It isn’t.” He said comically as he bit into another cube. “But, your dear hubby over there has only a six-pack of beer in the fridge, and it’s accompanied by something resembling a kiwi fruit that, upon closer inspection, I just found out was an orange at some point.” Dyaina looked at David and exaggerated her frown as she smacked his chest.

  “What?” He recoiled. “I’m seldom home, food would just go bad. Check Michael’s room, Brian, I know he had a separate freezer installed a couple of months back. Good luck getting to it though, his room is a mess.” Brian put the ice chips down with mock reluctance, intrigued at the prospect of something other than a frozen elemental reminder.

  “Where is Michael anyways? I haven’t seen him yet.” Dyaina asked both men.

  “I sent him out to observe a disturbance I felt near the northern state line. I should have asked him to pick me up some burgers or something on the way back.” Brian poked his head back around the corner to look at the couple. “Do burgers travel well in the rift? Or is that like microwaving it all over again?” Dyaina laughed. He smiled and turned back around as he proceeded to Michael’s door and opened it. Brian noticed the Stainless steel doors of the freezer on the other side of the room. It seemed impossibly far away as he surveyed the minefield of empty pizza boxes, discarded clothes, and worldly souvenirs from his years of rifting. He started to make a path to the freezer, tossing things from the center of the room to its edges. He tipped toed around a few things.

  “Come to daddy my hopefully full metal beauty,” Brian said, focused intently on the freezer. Dyaina was curious now.

  “You can feel the energy that far away?” She asked.

  Brian stepped in something. “Ah hell, Michael is so paying for my next rounds of shots for this,” Dyaina repeated her question.

  “You can feel the energy from that far away?” Brian realized he was being spoken to.

  “Oh sure, my father had a knack for it, and he taught me. One of the few good things he did for me actually. Now if I could only find a way to warn against rift wolves while I’m showering.”

  “Who was your father?” Pure curiosity drove Dyaina’s question.

  “No idea, he left when I was little. I only know a few things about him. I know my mom used to write to him all of the time. She never put his name on the envelopes, just his initials. V.C. He showed up when I was 19 and taught me the “feeling.” I was always particularly sensitive to energy, but his techniques seemed to amplify that. Oh! I do know he was a hunter.”

  “Hunters are annoying bastards. I had one chase me for years before I had had enough.” Brian finally cleared a path to the fridge. He didn’t see any handles or latches.

  “How does Michael get into this bloody thing David,” Brian yelled over the rubble of the war zone he just traversed. His hands were running up and down the freezer door.

  “He rifts into it,” David said smiling from the other room and Brian could hear it.

  “Of course he does, everyone rifts into a freezer for food.” Brian was mumbling under his breath now. He was so hungry that he just grabbed an ancient looking wooden totem from the wall and started swinging the wooden totem at the door aimlessly. He kept muttering “Let me in.” He had apparently hit the door hard enough at one point, causing the door to open. He felt like an idiot.

  “Pressure latch, right I knew that.” He flung the wooden totem behind him, not caring where it landed. In the living room, David and Dyaina saw the wooden symbol fly down the hall. Brian swung the heavy door open, and the angels began to sing.

  “Jackpot!” Brian yelled. There was meat packaged neatly on shelves, ready for heating and eating. “Your son should do all of your shopping David.” Brian grabbed a few packages and began the treacherous hike back through the wasteland of Michael’s room.

  20

  Alex knew it wouldn’t be long until Vincent arrived, he wasn’t that far ahead of him, how could he be? Alex sat motionless, leaning against a large boulder. His eyes were closed, his concentration knotted his forehead. Alex was intensely focused, trying to keep all of his senses open. His reflexes were set on a hair trigger. He had chosen this spot for its defense, there was virtually no place to hide for hundreds of yards in either direction. He was confident that if someone were to attack him from that far away
, he would see it coming and could act accordingly.

  Alex suddenly felt an intense feeling of dread hit him squarely in the chest. He looked around quickly, scanning for its source. The horizon began darkening. It grew more and more ominous in the light of the afternoon sun.

  “Very interesting.” Alex thought to himself. Vincent was trying to approach from a different angle. Alex stood up and faced the darkening shadow, his forearms ablaze with renewed flame.

  “I’m ready for your Vincent,” Alex said, noticing that the tree line beneath the foliage was now a liquid black, almost tar-like. The sun put off shades of yellows and reds, bright in comparison to the void under the leaves. The blackness of the tree-line seemed to spread. Alex began to question his decision to fight. The moments ticked by.

  Alex never knew what hit him. His attention was so focused on the black mass and its ability to consume the life of its surroundings. He never saw nor heard Vincent when he shadow stepped behind Alex, appearing in Alex’s own shadow. His blades flew from their sheaths in a metal whisper. The edges crossed Alex’s throat. Alex froze.

  “A diversion?!” Alex said frustrated and confused that Vincent wouldn’t come at him head-on and that he used the tree-line as a distraction. Alex looked at the trees once more. The shadow was still getting closer. Vincent didn’t bother to answer his question.

  “Flare up and die, I’ll be gone before your body hits the ground.” Alex didn’t move as Vincent shadow-stepped both of them back into the tree-line opposite of the growing void. He tossed Alex away from him as he came into the trees. Alex slammed hard against a tree, winding him for a moment. He got up quickly and caught his breath. His arms were now a dazzling flame at this point.

  “Calm yourself, or we both die,” Vincent said in a hushed voice. He wasn’t even acknowledging Alex now. Instead, he was watching and feeling the shadow out intently.

  “I’m done being hunted you hear me?” Alex snarled, the flames on his forearms twisted and lurched with his mood. Vincent didn’t even turn around, he just shook his hand at Alex as if shooing away a fly.

  “Yes, yes we are done,” Vincent replied. Shadows enveloped his suit slowly as he removed his limiters. His limiters were different, they only masked the bulk of his power, but never hid his skills altogether. He could break through the thin veil at any time, but right now he didn’t need to exert the extra effort.

  “You were a decent hunt. Prey doesn’t elude me for as long as you had. I would use up too much energy killing you.” Vincent said, as his shadow continued to wrap around his body.

  “Who says I would be the one to die?” Alex scoffed, his pride hurt. The corners of Vincent’s mouth turned upwards into a small grin.

  “Instinct,” Vincent replied again simply, his voice quieter. “That same instinct is screaming at me to get the hell out of here, but my body and all of my years of training are yelling back to stick around for the fight of my life.” Vincent’s eyes never left the darkened trees as he whispered. “I would tell you to get out of here now, but you would never make it. I hope you know how to use those flashy abilities of yours.”

  “Why?” Alex wasn’t buying the charade. He wasn’t going to divulge any information to someone whom he suspected of still being his assassin.

  “Makes very little difference to me, I could have killed you in the field if I had wanted to. I just couldn’t chance getting hurt.” Alex knew he was right. “I am simply curious because something far stronger than me is after both of us now.”

  “Another one of your tricks,” Alex said, still not trusting the man.

  “I wish,” Vincent said, his voice was light and almost cheery. He was having a great time. It had been ages since Vincent felt like his life was in any danger at all. He was always better than his prey, always more calm and collected. He didn’t make mistakes, and he prided himself on that. He would have preferred to be the underdog every time, but that’s not how things worked out. Now he was a real underdog. This being had been tracking them carefully now, it was pure and genuine evil. Vincent’s blood raced with adrenaline, this is what he wanted, what he lived for. He smiled broadly, and Alex got chills. This was the first time Alex had ever seen Vincent show emotion, and it made his blood run cold.

  “That shadow isn’t mine. There is no honor in that energy.” Vincent said, his body tensed up as he felt the energy focus upon them. “I hope you’re ready Alex.”

  “Why?” Alex was still not convinced, he was sure that if he turned around Vincent would kill him.

  “Because it coming,” Vincent drew his blades from their sheaths, each making a distinct metallic whisper. An inhuman scream of a thousand voices echoing the same need erupted for the darkened tree line. It echoed for miles. The cry embodied anger, hatred and raw all-consuming hunger. Alex’s head snapped toward the direction of the scream.

  “Say I believe you, what do we do?”

  “Move! NOW!” Vincent leaped from his perch as the piercing howl of the shadow came tearing through the trees closest to them. Tendrils of darkness came rushing at them immediately. Claws and hooks emerged from the black mass, gouging deeply through trees and rocks as it passed. The tendrils broke off into two separate tentacles of blackness as the men split up.

  Alex abruptly turned around and planted his feet. His hands were at his sides slightly away from his body with his palms facing forward. He concentrated, and his upper body erupted into flame. The flame was white hot, burning with his resolve to survive. He swung his arms in front of him in two large arcs clapping in front of him. The flame that had engulfed his body rushed outwards in massive, rolling, waves. The fire devoured the shadows, forcing them to retreat. The shadows howled in frustration with a thousand voices. They withdrew to a tighter mass then struck again as a massive tendril of midnight. Alex was caught off-guard, he stared too long.

  Vincent turned just in time, his blades pulsed their own unique black glow. He launched both of his swords at the base of the shadow, making the shade lose its focus. The tendril evaporated around Alex, narrowly missing its target.

  “Stay away from the shadows!” Vincent yelled as he dodged a series of quick attacks from another large tendril. The attacks got faster and faster, each attack narrowly missed its target, felling large trees like matchsticks. Vincent dashed away, new blades now formed in their sheaths.

  “Alex run!” Vincent was running parallel to Alex but off a considerable distance to the left, to keep the shadow spread out. He would shadow step away from any attacking tendril and launch his blades at them. Alex dodged the best he could, but Vincent was far more nimble. Vincent seemed like he was dancing with the dark mass, ducking, and flipping around it launching and cutting the shadow at every opportunity. Vincent was smiling wickedly, enjoying every second. Alex took in measured breaths increasing his body heat exponentially. Smoke began to come off of the trees nearby. The grass beneath his feet burst into flame. His eyes began to glow as he spread his arms and exhaled, spewing fire from his throat like a flamethrower. He bathed the entire area in flame.

  “Try and hide in the shadows now,” Alex said black smoke was billowing out of his mouth as he smiled with red-hot teeth. He moved his hands in small circles and began to will the fire to surround the shadows. The mass howled in anger and frustration. It couldn’t find a single shadow to strike from. The flames grew taller, ultimately closing its flickering fingers over the tar-like mass, surrounding it in a dome of flame. Any darkness that tried to escape was devoured by the hungry fire.

  Alex stood, flames arcing out of his shoulder blades like a massive human exhaust system. Flames enveloped his hands and began to change color from red and orange to blue and white. The dome of dancing flames got smaller and smaller. Alex, focused harder, he could feel the hatred of the shadow pushing back against his will.

  The shade was furious this inferior shaman had fought against it long enough. It had grown tired of these games. Alex was sweating profusely, focusing on crushing the beast. The dome su
cked inward suddenly, not of his doing, then exploded outwards. The force of the blast put out the flames and bent trees to the breaking point. Alex flew 30 yards and crashed into a tree. Alex struggled to see the shadows, but his vision was blurred by the impact. He looked at the charred earth where he had contained the shadows, and saw nothing but the embers of grass and leaves swept up by a breeze. Alex breathed raggedly, feeling some pain in his chest. He had to have broken or bruised some ribs with that impact. He couldn’t see Vincent anywhere.

  “Figures,” Alex said as he grunted and stood up as a frigid breeze carried a maniacal laughter to his ears. He looked up too late. A brutal looking blade pierced through him just to the right of his left shoulder, pinning him to the same tree that messed up his ribs. Alex screamed in agony, his skin was red and glowing around the blade like hot ash. The shade appeared in Alex’s own shadow. Slowly rising out of the abyssal dark, it extended a clawed hand and grasped the blades handle. Its hooded face was just inches from Alex’s, but to Alex, the cowl felt a mile deep. The glowing eyes beneath the hood squinted in amusement, obviously enjoying itself a great deal.

  “You dare to resist.” The shade hissed. The other voices echoed “Dare to resist” It twisted the blade, Alex grunted in severe pain not giving the shade the satisfaction. “You should feel honored.” The laugh that followed was spine-chilling. Alex felt his essence being tugged outwards through the blade.

  “Yesss.” The shade hissed again, its glowing eyes shut, savoring the moment. Vincent suddenly appeared in the shadow cast by the shade, Alex took a deep breath. Vincent winked at Alex and drew his sword high over his head. Alex exhaled as much flame as he could manage with his wound. The gout of heat and fire funneled into the cowl, bathing its wearer in its scorching heat. The shade screamed in a multitude of angry voices.