Willow saw Hertha’s body sink underground. At that moment, she could no longer feel her foe’s presence. Willow jumped on a boulder and surveyed below her, paranoid. She could not sense Hertha’s maju. She had never seen an earth mage sink into the ground as fast as a worm.
“I definitely have to remember that move,” she told herself.
Willow felt someone else’s presence approaching from her right. It was Naunet; he shot through the air towards her with a spear. Just before he could reach her, Ganicus cast a pulse of wind and redirected Naunet’s flight, causing him to crash into stone stairs.
“Eckxio and I will handle him,” he said and rushed to battle with his twin swords.
Willow turned her attention back to Hertha. Still no sign of the masked girl. The boulder she stood on sank. She gazed down and realized that the ground was turning to sand. Everything around her sank into the sand. The plants and wood she had summoned were being consumed.
“By the gods. I am not good with sand.” She panicked, and the boulder she stood on shattered. She jumped to a wall and hung on to golden stones. A pillar of sand rose and trapped her foot. The sand tugged her, and Willow fell. She lost grip of her Dragontooth, and half her body was stuck. She gradually sunk. She could not cast her magic in the sand. She tried to harden the sand into rock, but she had no experience or knowledge of using terramancy in such a way.
“Eckxio! Help!” she yelled, while she still had her head on the surface. The sand had stopped. Willow was able to breathe, but her buried body was immobilized. Unable to cast spells, she yelled again, hoping Eckxio or Akielas would hear her.
“Eckxio!” she called to him, but he was busy fighting another Specter.
From the sand, Hertha’s body emerged. Grains cascaded off her cloak, and she stared at Willow through the left opening of her white mask. She carried her scythe horizontally on her back with a swagger and one hand on her hip. Two Dwarves attacked her using terramancy, but Hertha swung her scythe and unleashed a slicing wave of black energy and cleaved their bodies. Hertha laughed hysterically and spun her scythe childishly as she watched the Dwarves falling into the quick sand.
“Stupid Dwarves. I would kill every last one of them, but the time has come for me to leave,” Hertha said.
“No! You won’t get away!” Willow dared to challenge Hertha with only her head above the sand.
“You got some guts thinking you can stop me, you little shite,” Hertha said. “I could finish burying you right now, and you will drown with sand in your mouth. It will be a slow and delicious death. I love watching things die. Killing is so beautiful. To watch life leave the eyes of another is as sweet as wine.”
“You Specters are ill in the mind. Your plan of ridding the world of magic will never work,” Willow remarked. “Magic belongs to everyone.”
“Oh shut up…Ugh!” Hertha took a hit on her arm before she could finish her sentence. Hertha spun around to face the threat and found Eckxio shooting white missiles, like bolts from a crossbow, using his Tharos sword. Hertha parried the missiles with her scythe. Eckxio launched a wave of white energy, and Hertha dodged it, flying away.
Willow saw him at the top of the slope of sand. Two mage Dwarves stood by his side.
“Don’t worry; we are going to get you out,” he said, and her eyes widened.
The two Dwarves use terramancy and pulled Willow’s body out of the sand, forcing it to rise. As soon as her arms and legs were free, she jumped to solid ground then ran to Eckxio and stood by his side.
“Where did she go?” Willow asked.
“I don’t know. She disappeared after I injured her arm,” Eckxio answered. His eyes determined, surveying the battle field. Willow loved when he stared so seriously. She fell in love with him even more every time she saw him in battle. It was no time for such thoughts, but she could not resist, sometimes. She quit fantasizing and turned her attention to battle.
Abruptly, she felt Hertha’s presence behind her again. Instinctively, she lowered her head, spun around, and found Hertha swinging her scythe. Eckxio parried one blow, but the two Dwarves at his side fell. The masked girl glided back, keeping a distance from Willow and Eckxio.
“Where is the emerald jewel?” Willow rasped.
“I keep it safe in my lair,” Hertha answered politely, yet creepy.
“It is useless if you don’t have the key to trigger its power,” Willow said, with a cocky tone. “Sorry to disappoint you, but only a pure soul can awaken the jewel’s power.”
“And I suppose an Elf loving whore, like you, would be consider pure,” Hertha replied.
“Willow, don’t let her taunt you,” Eckxio said, placing his hand on her shoulder.
Willow growled, steaming with rage. “The jewel gave me power at birth,” she said. “It won’t respond to impure bastards hiding their faces. Bad news for you, there is no purity in destruction.”
“Willow, careful with what you say,” Eckxio warned, but she kept shoving him aside.
“You were touched by the Emerald Cosmo Jewel. Interesting.” Hertha lowered her scythe. “I think I am done here.”
Hertha disappeared, leaving a cloud of black smoke. Willow growled, wishing she could have cast one more spell on Hertha.
“Damn her!” she screamed.
“Why do I feel like you said too much?” Eckxio asked himself.
“What do you mean?” Willow gazed at him, solemnly.
“Nevermind, now is not the time to think,” he replied.
They returned to battle and saw Dwarves finishing the last fiends in sight, but Ganicus still struggled against Naunet. Willow and Eckxio rushed to help their friend.
Ganicus
He danced with his twin swords like the desert winds. He clashed blades with Naunet. His masked foe was like none of his previous opponents. Naunet would disappear with a cloud of smoke like the other Specters then reappear behind, above, left, and right. Ganicus felt as if he was overworking his senses. It was worse than when he awakened the sixth sense and learned how to cast magic while blindfolded. His air spells were futile. Whenever he sliced Naunet’s body in half, it would substitute into water, but the real struggle was dealing with the ice spells.
Naunet released a chilly wind that slowed Ganicus’s movement. He had never felt such temperature, and he did not know what to do, except use fire. Naunet froze the prince’s legs into a block of ice, and Ganicus shot flames, setting himself free.
“Don’t like the cold I see.” Naunet laughed, gliding around Ganicus. “You should have stayed in the desert, instead of letting Akielas fool you into being a hero.”
“You masked bastards nearly destroyed my city,” Ganicus said. “I won’t let it happen again, not in my country and not anywhere else. Akielas’s alliance will put an end to your catastrophe.”
Their weapons clashed, sparks flew, steel against kaminyte. A Dwarf jumped in to attack, but Naunet thrust his spear and pierced through the silver armor. He kicked the dead Dwarf off his weapon then turned to Ganicus.
“No!” Ganicus yelled, watching the body of the Dwarf rolling down a rocky slope. He connected the hilts of his twin swords and formed a two-bladed weapon. He spun it like a windmill and wind circled him.
“A double-bladed sword. Very pretty. Let’s see what you can do with it,” Naunet taunted and lashed his spear.
Ganicus parried every stroke of the spear, simultaneously, releasing razor wind. The wind cut through Naunet’s leather garments. The Specter glided backwards and released frosted winds, a blizzard manifesting from his hands. Ganicus spun his double-bladed weapon, and his air current pushed away the blizzard, freezing his surroundings, and stopped flames from burning homes.
“Need a hand?” Eckxio asked, arriving from Ganicus’s left side.
“I would rather face this one on my own. One of them will have to pay for the damage they did to my city and the people they hurt,” Ganicus replied, without taking his eyes off Naunet.
“You are not alone,”
Willow said, arriving from his right side. “Three on one. There is no way you are getting away…uh…whatever your name is.”
“The name is Naunet. Don’t you forget it, forest girl.”
“Who cares? You Specters wear the same mask,” Willow jeered.
“Three of your friends already left you, so…”
“Just attack before he disappears again,” Ganicus bellowed, interrupting Eckxio and dashing towards Naunet.
The Elf and the forest girl followed and attacked the Specter. Willow unleashed vines and wood. Her plants rose from the ground and walls of the cave. Naunet flew swirling between tangled vines and cutting through them with his spear. Eckxio shot beams of white energy with his Tharos sword, but Naunet parried them.
Ganicus spun his wind blade shouting, “Aerorae sweyken!” He summoned a twister. Rocks and splinters were sucked into it. It chased Naunet through the cave village of the Dwarves, while shutting the fires around it. It was so strong that some Dwarves got sucked into the twister. For a moment, Ganicus regretted using that spell. The twister finally sucked in Naunet, and when it did, Ganicus changed the flow of his spell. “Aerous sphia!” he shouted, and the twister changed into a sphere of air with Naunet in its center. He had his enemy within his spell, and his heart pounded with excitement tasting victory too soon.
“Everyone, make haste. We must finish him!” Ganicus alerted. He felt Naunet’s maju trying to break through his aero sphere. Ganicus brought down the aero sphere. Eckxio and Willow ran to deliver the final blow.
“Willow, Eckxio, when I release the spell, you must aim to finish him,” Ganicus plotted. He saw Eckxio’s magic sword shining white and Willow summoning a bulky vine plant with long thorns. Ganicus contracted his maju, and the aero sphere diminished. At that moment, just when Willow and Eckxio were at the nick of taking his life, Naunet’s voice boomed, yelling out his spell.
“Frostass suz!”
A blue beam launched from Naunet’s hands. Willow was struck by the beam, and her body froze inside a block of ice with her plants. Eckxio dived with his sword but was also struck by the beam. The Elf’s body froze into a large ice cube. It happened at the blink of an eye. Ganicus’s new friends were frozen.
“No!” the desert prince screamed. He dared not rush to attack for he feared he would end up like his friends. Naunet rose and launched his beam at Ganicus. It jetted towards him, a blue light, and his heart hammered his chest when he saw it. He had no idea how to fight against the element of ice, so he acted fully on instinct.
“Pikan fahiah!” he shouted, and from his right hand, a ball of fire swelled. The blue bream collided with his fire spell, already pushing him back. Although fire was superior to ice, his spell was too weak, and he did not have the stamina to press more maju.
“Amateur, I can feel your maju slipping away.” Naunet snickered. “Akielas didn’t teach you well enough.”
Ganicus ducked and felt the blue beam stream over his head with a chilly temperature that gave him goosebumps. He glanced back and saw a stone house of Dwarves freeze into an ice pillar. He stood up shivering and clutched the medallion that hung from his neck. Naunet floated towards Ganicus, releasing cold vapor.
“As part of Ember’s plans, I will freeze towns and cities as we bring the new world. As you can see, I have a passion for freezing things, especially people,” Naunet said, staring at Ganicus. “Dying in the cold is much less painful than dying with a blade in your gut. Be grateful that I am kind enough to give you a painless death.”
Ganicus glared at Naunet. He clutched the medallion on his neck and clenched his teeth.
“I will not die today,” he swore. “I will kill you and save my friends.”
“Go ahead. Show me,” Naunet invited and laughed.
“Golden Sun! Give me strength!” Ganicus roared.
Naunet launched his frost beam. It seemed to have struck Ganicus, but the beam struggled against something.
“What is this?” Naunet asked the unknown.
The Golden Sun had cast a barrier enchanted with its fire maju. Steam rose as the frost beam collided with the barrier, creating mist. Ganicus’s body levitated off the ground. He surged with the energy of the Golden Sun. His medallion glowed like the sun itself, vanishing all darkness. A wave of light ran through the cave, eliminating all fiends, clearing the village of darkness. Ganicus’s now shined clad in gold. The Golden Sun donned the armor on the prince. The armor was round with small spikes coiling its edges. A sun embossed on the chest plate, and he stood with a gilded spear and shield.
“This…this…no!” Naunet hovered away, afraid of Ganicus. “That… is a…a Valiarmos…how in the world…did you…that’s…impossible.”
“You better believe it,” Ganicus said and let out a lion’s roar, unleashing the energy of the Golden Sun.
Naunet tossed his cloak over his body and disappeared, leaving a cloud of black smoke.
“Dammit!” he cursed, wishing he could have stricken Naunet. He immediately ran over to Eckxio and Willow, his armor clattering. Using the flames of the Valiarmos, he melted the ice and freed them from their ice prisons.
“They still draw breath. Kiss me sunlight and bless my new friends for they are still alive,” he whispered to his desert god, Majithus. The ice melted quickly, and he saw his friends shivering from the cold. Had they remained frozen any longer, they could have died.
“Ganicus!” Akielas’s voice called him from behind.
He spun around, dreadlocks blocking his eyes. Akielas arrived with Auron at his side. Both men were exhausted; sweat trailed from their foreheads, and Auron’s armor was dented. They stopped just a few feet from Ganicus and gazed at the boy as if he were a different species.
“What am I? A rare artifact. Don’t stare at me like that,” said the prince. No one had ever looked at him in such a way. In his country, women and citizens, praised and shied away from him, but never had he seen anyone stare at him with such awe. He did not like it.
“You unlocked the Golden Sun again,” Auron said, more enthused than Akielas. “How did you do it?” The red-head approached Ganicus, while Akielas ran to help Eckxio and Willow.
“I am not sure how I did it,” the prince replied. “I just called upon it then suddenly I felt its power surging within me. This power is not my own, but I can use it to destroy fiends.”
“Indeed.” Auron pondered, rubbing his ruby mustache, and stared long at the golden armor. “What were you thinking about when you triggered its power? What was it like?”
“You ask too many questions,” Ganicus remarked then walked away. It’s not that he disliked Auron, but he felt the man was too direct.
“Why don’t you answer me?” Auron persisted.
“I’ve been asking the same questions. I have yet to know how to use the Golden Sun. Why are you so eager to know?” Ganicus became annoyed. The only person that ever demanded answers from him was his father. He felt more comfortable speaking with Akielas.
“Auron is just trying to figure out how your medallion works,” Akielas said, as he lifted Willow’s body, carrying the girl as she shivered and would not open her eyes. “Auron, carry Eckxio. Let’s take them to the sanctum. I have a story to tell.”
“Ganicus, listen to me.” Auron clutched the prince’s pauldron. Ganicus flinched, and Auron’s hand burned as if he had placed it on a hearth. The Amaranth screamed and shoved his fingers in his mouth.
“You did that on purpose!” Auron yelled.
“I didn’t do anything. The armor contains fire maju. You did mention that you were weak against fire,” Ganicus said. At that moment, the golden armor glowed one last time and shrank back to a medallion hanging from the prince’s neck. He now stood in his desert garments with his twin swords at hand.
“If we are to defeat the Specters, then you must learn to control that armor,” Auron advised.
“You are telling me things I already know,” Ganicus argued.
“This isn’t the time for argume
nts,” Akielas said. “Look around you. Homes are still on fire. Bodies of Dwarves lay dead. This village was nearly destroyed, and you two are going to bicker. Save it for later.”
“My apologies, Master Akielas,” Auron said. “I have become anxious and desperately seek answers.”
“We need to save the Dwarves and turn off this fire,” Akielas said.
The Golden Sun began to glow again. Ganicus clutched it. Auron and Akielas looked at him. The medallion was flickering.
“It’s trying to tell me something,” Ganicus said and removed the medallion from his neck.
“What is it saying?” Auron asked, eagerly.
“The Golden Sun. It wants more fire,” Ganicus whispered. He raised the medallion skyward. It shined with a golden light, and Ganicus felt it burning in his hand. He had learned to control heat with his maju whenever he traveled through the desert and was able sustain it. It then began to vibrate in his hand and hummed. The Golden Sun was drawing in the fires from burning homes. All the flames that burned the village streamed towards the Medallion, like phoenixes flying towards a torch. Ganicus then realized that it had its own will. It attracted fire with a consciousness of its own. The desert prince found it difficult to explain, but he could feel it. He felt a soul of fire and light. Despite all the flames that the Golden Sun absorbed, his hand did not burn; the flames respected him. This is the power of the Golden Sun, the relic of my ancestors. Did they ever use this power? Is this why my father was so afraid? What is there to fear?
After the Golden Sun had absorbed all the fire in the Dwarf village, only smoke and ashes remained. The Dwarves were now carrying the dead and mourning the loss of the fallen.
“Ganicus, I think that medallion is the key to unlocking the power of the Crimson Cosmo Jewel,” Auron said, after seeing what it had done.
Sin of Mages_An Epic Fantasy Series Page 21
