While Sels rubbed his eyes, trying to see something besides flashes and sparks, fighting raged around him. Through Arara’s eyes he could see some of the action. She was attacking the sedyu-bonded concert with Ottont, but the subdued Jegera had joined the fray with claws out and eyes blazing, standing protectively between them and the mage.
Sesay was somewhere behind him, chanting. Sels pushed up to one elbow, blurry flames dancing in his vision as he gathered the Moon magic in the air to him. Fire was his element, and he gathered the flames from the floor next to him with barely a thought.
Arara cried out and torment flared down through his arm from his shoulder. Sels collapsed, the pain preventing him from holding up his weight. The fire in his hands sputtered. He grit his teeth and pushed himself back up, doing his best to ignore the phantom pain from Arara’s injury.
Sesay completed her spell, sending a deluge of water rushing up the hall. The force knocked the Kin to the floor; Arara, Ottont, and the Jegeran girl were able to use their claws to keep themselves upright.
Only his force of will kept the fire in his hands alight as he was hit with some of Sesay’s water. His focus narrowed onto the flames and he sent them twisting out like rope, using all the control that Elric had taught him. The living flame wrapped itself around the Jegera and the Kin girl before she’d regained her footing. Their screams echoed up the corridor. The stink of burning silk, fur, and leaves seared his nose. Smoke billowed up from them; they were now thoroughly on fire.
“Yield!” Sesay cried over the din. “Yield and you’ll be spared.”
“We yield,” the Jegeran croaked out. “Please don’t kill my bonded!”
The fire fought his control, greedily demanding to devour everything around it, but Sels forced it down, tamping and strangling it with his will until only wisps of smoke remained. He’d put out the flames through strength of will alone, an exercise he’d never been able to master during practice. Elric would be proud.
Sels slumped to the floor, putting his hands over his face to hide his tears. In the moment he'd just reacted to protect his bonded, but his soul ached that one again he'd hurt someone with his magic.
CHAPTER TWENTY
THE YAKA DEFENSE
Arara led the group down the hall at a slow limp, trying to keep as much weight as she could off her front leg. Sesay had popped her shoulder back into place, but by the time she’d healed the Kin and the Jegera to the point where they wouldn’t die from their burns she hadn’t any energy left for Arara. Sesay had argued against healing their attackers, but Sels had insisted. Arara didn’t fight him on that point, she could feel how thoroughly he’d hated having to hurt them.
They’d left the two bound and gagged behind them. Arara wasn’t worried about them escaping; their minds told her and Ottont that they’d lost the will to fight. The Jegeran girl had been so grateful about Sesay healing her bonded that she’d even offered to come along and help, although Sesay had vetoed that in a hurry.
“We are here,” Arara said softly as the double-doors leading to the inner chamber came into sight. She could feel Recka, Elric, and more on the other side of the door. Even to her non-magical senses the place buzzed with magic; the feeling set her teeth on edge and raised the hair on the back of her neck. Sels was shaking, and even Sesay looked rattled, with clenched fists, eyes wide and brimming with tears, although her expression showed nothing but determination.
Arara and Ottont moved up to the doors together. While Ottont tried the handle Arara closed her eyes and concentrated on the life energy. Elric was there with two other Kin. Besides Recka, there were three other Jegera there. All the Jegera were bonded, thin strands of light connected each Jegera to their sedyu.
The longer she watched the more her hackles raised. It was subtle, but the light of the Jegera dimmed. She opened her eyes dizzy and nauseous to find Sels kneeling in front of her and Ottont at her elbow. “What did you do! Now they know we’re here.”
Ottont snarled at her, ears flat and tail lashing. “You look too long.”
Sels eyes flashed and he glared at Ottont before bringing his hand to Arara’s face and stroking the hair between her ears. “Be nice. She hasn’t had any training, Ottont.”
“Nice not save dainty Kin city,” Ottont growled but backed away.
“I’ll be fine, Sels. Now you and Sesay stand back.” Arara pushed away from him and went to stand with Ottont. Ottont looked at her, she nodded at him, and he opened the door.
Laughter rolled out to greet them.
“About time,” Elric called. “We were starting to think you’d gotten scared and gone running back home to mommy.”
From where she and Ottont stood in the doorway the floor sloped down, creating a bowl-like space in the center. The bottom of the bowl was flat and smooth with looping and swirling patterns gouged into it. The indentations in the floor had been painted bright red recently; the paint glistened in the light pulsing off the heart of the tree above it.
Recka and the other Jegera were lying unmoving in the center of the pattern. Elric floated directly opposite the door about ten tail lengths off the ground, while the other two Kin stood between the door and the Jegera.
The wide sleeves of Elric’s robes twitched and a blast of fire crackled across the air above the heads of the Kin and straight towards her and Ottont. Behind them Sesay chanted and a shimmering dome of energy appeared around them. At the same time Arara and Ottont threw up a mental force barrier, their Yaka mind powers allowing them to act almost as well in concert as a sedyu-bonded pair.
The flame tore through Sesay’s spell like it was tissue paper and impacted on Arara and Ottont’s force-field with a bone-jarring strike. Arara’s shoulder jerked and she barked in pain.
Sels cried “Look out!” and shoved her out of the way just as a second strike obliterated her shield.
Arara hit the sloped floor inside the doorway with Sels on top of her, and they began sliding. The other two Kin didn’t turn even as they tumbled down towards them.
Elric shot another bolt of fire at her and Sels. Arara used her power to push them this way and that along the floor, narrowly avoiding being hit again, although several of the strikes singed her and Sels. She wasn’t even sure if it was her pain or Sels she was feeling at this point.
Sesay shot a burst of water at the back of the leftmost Kin, knocking them face first onto the floor. Water pooled into the carved lines, diluting the red color and filling the room with the coppery tang of blood.
The right Kin spun away as Sels and Arara slid to a stop nearby. Sels rolled and pulled his knees to his chest, then pulled Arara on top of him. He pushed her away, snapping his legs as hard as he could. Arara used the momentum along with a tap from her mind to send herself shooting up and away. The shove also slid Sels back across the floor and out of the way of another cone of flame.
Trusting Sels to fend for himself, Arara twisted and landed on the back of the leftmost Kin, who Sesay had flattened with water. He was just pushing to his feet when Arara hit, driving him back into the floor with a splash. Arara grabbed a pawful of petals and lifted the Kin’s face free of the water, then put the claws of her other paw against his throat.
“Give up!” Arara growled into his ear.
The Kin started shaking, eyes rolling back while he placed his hands flat on the floor. “Don’t hurt me.”
“Go up, give yourself up to the Princess, and we’ll be lenient on you.” She waited until the Kin gave a shaky nod, than narrowed her eyes and concentrated. The Kin had no thoughts of betrayal in him. He was terrified. Elric had sold him on the scheme, but he hadn’t expected the violence to touch him personally.
Arara slid off of him and sheathed her claws. The Kin struggled to his feet, water streaming from his sodden robes as he ran towards Sesay with his hands behind his head. Arara sent Sesay a quick heads up so she wouldn’t magic him again, then turned back to the battle.
Sels was still dodging Elric’s fire. Ottont had been ha
nging back, reading Elric’s mind and warning Sels before each strike. Sels was easily evading them, but he was tiring.
SELS SHARED ARARA’S elation when she got one of the Kin to surrender to her. Enough blood had been shed already. He spun around another strike, suddenly grateful for all those years of dancing lessons he’d had to endure. However, he’d have to come up with another trick soon. They were getting closer, less predictable. The last one had singed the toes of one of his slippers, despite the protection from flames he thought'd he had. His father's magic was just too powerful. Ash burned into his nose and he wondered if he’d ever be able to smell anything else ever again. He'd been trying to cast back at Elric, but the strikes were too quick, breaking his concentration before he could consolidate the magic.
As he went he stayed well outside of the carved lines on the floor. Inside the circle Recka’s tail twitched, but otherwise he didn’t move, even when Sels called out his name.
The second Kin ran to stand underneath Elric; Ottont screamed a warning out in his head.
Elric threw out his hands, spraying fire across the entire room. Sels screamed as the wall of energy headed towards him. A surge of Sun magic energy folded around him for a brief moment, courtesy of Sesay, before it wavered and was sucked away into Elric’s staff.
A bolt hit his shoulder, spinning him around like a toy top. The energy sent him jerking and twitching as he fell. The smell of smoke and burnt grass made his eyes water. The impact with the floor came as a surprise and hardly hurt at all compared to the screaming agony in his shoulder. Another bolt hit the back of his leg. He tried to scream as he flopped on the floor, unable to control his jerking limbs.
Arara had been far enough away that Sesay’s spell had remained intact. She was trying to take the pain from him, but he resisted. With his clenched muscles, hurt shoulder, and burned leg he couldn’t move even if he wanted to, and no need for both of them to die.
A pinging noise by his head drew his attention. One of the bolts had come closer than he’d realized, or he’d been hit again in the side and hadn’t noticed, his twitching muscles must have knocked the box free of the remains of the burning leather. The catch on the lid had come loose and was partially open.
The star-metal lump tumbled free, rolling to a stop just under his chin. He couldn't let his father get ahold of this. Sels’s clenched muscles fought as he opened his mouth, he could feel Arara’s power aiding him, pushing the lump across the floor. It tasted odd as he took it into his mouth.
The air fluttered and a veritable wall of Moon and Sun magic power moved above him. His head jerked feebly as he tried to turn his head, but his addled muscles refused to obey him. When he tried to pull the power of the star-metal, Elric wrested it out of his grasp and absorbed it into himself.
“My son,” Elric wheezed. “Why couldn’t you see reason?”
A hand reached down into his vision and picked up the wooden box, only to drop it again when Elric saw it was empty. “Where is it?”
Sels groaned and twitched, but didn’t respond to the question. Elric’s assistant quickly kicked around Sels for a moment.
“Leave it. I will retrieve it later, after I’ve taken care of the rest of them.” A long sigh and the shadow moved away.
“Sesay, Arara,” Elric called, using magic to amplify his voice. “You cannot win. Your bonded are both down and your magic alone is no match for ours.”
Sels was struck by sudden inspiration. Arara had seen their life-lights dim, and Elric’s power was so much stronger than it should have been. He was turning the life energy of the Jegera into magical power.
The pain was making it hard to think, making everything blur together. He twitched as his muscles gradually relaxed, each spasm sending more agony as his burned leg and shoulder moved. He felt Arara propping him up, shoring his will. He wanted to push her away, make her save her strength, but she refused to let him.
ARARA SCRAMBLED BACK through the doorway and skidded to a stop next to Ottont. As one they raised their muzzles and howled out a prayer to the Moon God that Ottont had taught her.
The moon hung above the city, its power warped by Elric’s magic. The goddess smiled at them, her face twisted in pain at being made something she was not. Arara fed that pain into her howl, the pitch rising in crescendo with Ottont.
Side by side they faced Elric, who was slowly floating up and out of the bowl. He gave them a wicked smile.
“Ah, the escaped Yaka returns.” Elric chuckled. “The Queen, always too soft, bending to other’s whims like a blade of grass when she should have been an oak tree. Yet it took a surprising amount of magical coercion to force her to listen to reason and go through with the execution.”
Arara and Ottont both growled and struck simultaneously with a mental spear. Their attack was sharp and fast, designed to distract rather than disarm.
As she’d expected his mental defense surged up, bolstered by the sedyu bond to the Jegera lying motionless behind him. Less expected was just how strong and fast those defenses were. Even Ottont was caught by surprise and they barely got out in time, Elric’s mental shields snapped closed behind them. The glancing blow sent her senses staggering and feeling as if she’d just been kicked between the ears by a hukra.
Thankfully the attack had the intended effect, for Elric focused his attention on them, completely missing Sesay who was huddled behind the open door. While they had carried out their duel assault on Elric; Sesay used the time to cast a glamor spell. The spell flowed over the user’s image and blended them into the background. Some of the power got pulled in by Elric’s cane, but enough remained that Sesay seemed to disappear into the wall behind her.
Arara and Ottont turned and ran. Elric’s eyes blazed white and energy crackled along his staff as he flew after them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
MOONLIGHT
With Elric gone, fresh clear Moon magic rushed into him. It washed away the hurt of his shoulder and leg and loosened his still tense and trembling muscles. Sels rolled over and sat up. His shoulder oozed sap through a burn in his shirt. He could move his arm a bit, but it hurt.
However, his leg was a bigger problem. It was bent at an awkward angle below the knee and even the slightest attempt to move it sent new agony shooting through him, despite the magical rush that was distancing him from the pain.
To distract himself from looking at his leg, he examined the room. Arara’s terror tickled his mind and he could see her fight with Elric was not going well. He needed to do what he could to help her. But whatever it was he’d have to do from where he was.
The symbols on the floor crawled with magical power. As he watched the magic flared up, flowing out along the carvings then curving up in a single bright line of magic that hurt to look at. The line veered away and through the door.
Through the bond he saw Elric cast a spell just as the magic reached him. Elric was using the circle to augment and strengthen his magic; he had to find a way to awaken the Jegera and get them out of the circle, or Arara was done for.
Fire came into his hands at his command, powered by the bounty of sky-metal that was still a sharp, sour lump in his mouth. He left it there, it was easier than holding it.
Rather than the usual shades of red and orange, this fire burned purple and blue. The purple blaze crawled out of his palms and along the floor, ready and eager to devour. When it reached the first line of carvings it was repelled. Sels grit his teeth and willed the fire forward. It pounded against the barrier, but was unable to get through. He sent the fire questing out along the edge of the circle, probing for weakness.
A hand clamped down on his shoulder and he let out an ear-piercing shriek.
“Shush, it’s just me!” Sesay hissed at him and crouched down beside him. “Your leg,” Sesay reached out a hand towards it and he could see her mouthing the words to a healing spell.
Sels grabbed her wrist with his good hand and pulled it away before spitting the star-metal into his hand so he could ta
lk. “No time, we’ve got to destroy that pattern now or Arara and Ottont will fail. He’s using it to make his spells more powerful!”
At Sesay’s puzzled look he elaborated. “The circle is drawing power from Recka and the Jegera.”
Sesay turned to look. “It’s protected,” she said, pointing to the burned line of his fire on the floor as it quested around the circle. “Normally I’d never be able to break one of Elric’s shields, but he’s spread himself thin.”
She stood and stepped over Sels with care. When she got close to the edge of the circle she stopped, took a deep breath, and reeled off a complicated string of syllables while gesturing with her hands. She finished with a shouted word so infused with power it made Sels’s teeth ache. The protective shield around the carvings sparkled. Cracks formed around where Sesay stood, racing out along the dome until the entire structure was covered in them. It shattered and vanished, as if it had never been.
As it fell, Sels’s questing fire raced inside, merrily burning. Acrid smoke filled the room, black and greasy, as the flames consumed the symbols. The heat evaporated the water in the blood until it too began to burn. The heat was suffocating.
While the flames grew, Sesay dashed inside the circle towards the middle where Recka and the rest were beginning to stir. Recka staggered to all fours, and looked in horror at the purple flames burning all around them.
Sesay reached Recka and dropped to her knees, burying her face into his ruff with a muffled sob. Recka twisted, licked her face, and nudged her up onto his back. The rest of the bewildered Jegera fell in behind him. Sels reached out and parted the flames for their escape.
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