Blood of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 3)

by A. J. Martinez

  “Well, some things must be left unquestioned,” the old Effeelion quoted.

  “Where are Akielas and Eckxio?” he asked.

  “Hopefully they will be here soon,” Nehushine responded. “They know better than to wander off when we need them the most.”

  Auron felt Eckxio’s presence abruptly. He looked back at Caim’s island and saw the Elf flying with his winged Valiarmos. As the Elf approached he flew around the third level and Auron assumed he was afraid of Garuda.

  “Auron! What is this giant bird?” Eckxio yelled as he orbited the third level.

  “Have no fear. It will only bite if I tell it to,” Auron joked.

  Eckxio descended and landed a dozen feet from Auron on the crescent moon platform where the council usually sat. The Elf folded his wings and his white and silver armor gleamed elegantly.

  “What is that thing?” Eckxio asked.

  “You have not met Garuda before. He is an Eedahlan. You do know what that is, don’t you?” Auron said.

  “Willow used Eedahlans but I could never identify one,” the Elf stated then looked at Auron with furrowed brows. “Ah, how come you are not using your Valiarmos?”

  “While you and Akielas were away I left it back on my island with my tribe,” Auron explained. “They are currently fixing it. I thought I would prepare for the upcoming battle with the Specters. Since I have been relying on the Valiarmos for most of my battles I wanted it to be in perfect condition. No fractures or dents.”

  Eckxio stopped to think for a moment, scratching his head, then looked at his own Valiarmos and said, “I did not know you could fix them like a common armor. I have found that mine recovers on its own.”

  “Well, I don’t know everything about these Valiarmos so I wanted to be extra careful,” Auron replied. “Like I said, I’d rather be prepare.”

  “Anyways, looks like Akielas has not returned yet,” Eckxio said. “I thought he would be here before me.”

  “Yes, and the sun is setting,” Auron added. “Hopefully Rey Ling will find the omnithium he spoke of.”

  “Oh, well it looks like Akielas is here,” Eckxio said, pointing at Caim’s island.

  Auron looked at the island and he could see the blue lights coming from the pentacle portal. Auron gestured at Garuda and the Eedahlan knelt. He mounted and the giant bird flapped its wings.

  “You don’t have to fly over there,” Eckxio said. “Just wait for him.”

  “Need I remind you that he has lost all his magic,” Auron replied then spurred Garuda and the giant bird jetted back to the demigod’s island.

  Rapidly Garuda reached the island and landed, causing a gust of wind. “Where have you been?” Auron asked as he dismounted.

  “I went back to Danteh Island in El Nido to see my son,” Akielas answered. He seemed weary and angry. “Unfortunately, I encountered Ember while visiting my old mansion.”

  “Did she hurt you?” Auron asked.

  “I don’t think I would be here if she had hurt me, but, why are you using your Eedahlan?” Akielas replied. “Don’t you have the Golden Sun?”

  “While you were gone I went to Amaranth Island to have the tribesmen fix the armor for me,” Auron answered, but he did not like Akielas’ reaction.

  “I did not know the Valiarmos could be fixed like common armor,” Akielas said. “Are you sure?” He then looked at Eckxio. “Is this true?”

  “Well, I have only had mine for a short period of time, I really don’t know much,” Eckxio confessed then looked at his own fractured armor. “I might just go to Auron’s island to get my Valiarmos fixed as well.”

  “Too late,” Auron interrupted. “The process could take two to three days so it is best if you fight in your current condition.”

  “Yes, you know that the tri-eclipse is about six days away,” Akielas argued.

  “Don’t argue with me. I know what I am doing, unlike you,” Auron snarled.

  “I thought we were fighting against the Specters, not each other,” Nehushine said as he flew in on his cloud. He descended next to Akielas carrying a large book that looked too big for him to hold. “Since you spoke to the fairy king I hope you know what to do about your condition.”

  “Of course,” Akielas said. “The fairy king told me that I would have to find a mage who knew the art of deevinacy in Maer Weeyar. Honestly, I don’t know much about that country, but the fairy king said that this was the only mage that would be able to help me with my condition.”

  “Maer Weeyar,” Nehushine repeated. “That is where the Sapphire Cosmo Jewel resides.”

  “So I’ve heard,” Akielas said then looked at Eckxio and back at Auron. “You two will have to go without me. While you search for the cosmo jewel I must find the mage in the frozen ivy forest of Maer Weeyar.”

  “Do you really think you can regain your magic before the tri-eclipse?” Auron asked.

  “I am not sure, but what do I have to lose,” Akielas answered. “You will have to find out where the Sapphire Cosmo Jewel is located. Hopefully, if we find it before the Specters we can hold onto it until the tri-eclipse is over.”

  “I think finding the sapphire jewel will be more complex than you think,” Nehushine said. “There is an underwater race called the Laguans. They are the original bearers of the sapphire jewel and for decades they had no idea where the jewel was. They discovered it was in the hands of the Maerians and went to war to recover it. The Maerian people of the spiral country were at war with the Laguans thirty years ago. After that war the jewel disappeared. It won’t be easy to find the sapphire jewel and hopefully neither us nor the Specters will find it until after the eclipse. If we have a chance at surviving then this treasure hunt will play a big part.”

  “Then it is settled. Tomorrow we fly to Maer Weeyar,” Akielas decided.

  “Aren’t we teleporting there?” Eckxio asked.

  “We would if Akielas had spent more time in that country,” Auron remarked.

  “The Maerians are extremely careful as to who enters their lands,” Akielas explained. “It’s been about seven years since I have been in that country and during that time I was still trying to figure out how to use the blue crystals.”

  “Well then, that being said, I am off to bed. I want my maju to be at its maximum in case fiends appear,” Auron said.

  “Auron, are you sure you will be fine without the Golden Sun?” Akielas asked.

  “Do you not trust me? I fought Ember way before I had the Golden Sun,” Auron answered. “You should worry about yourself. A mage with no magic is like a bird with injured wings.” He mounted Garuda and the giant bird kicked off the ground, causing a gust of wind. Auron returned to the first level of Kazenolumos where he would stay the night with an Effeelion friend he had made. Akielas might think he is still the leader but I am going to do things my way. No more waiting

  Rey Ling

  “Free at last,” the dragon said in Xaianese.

  Its voice was raspy and so loud that Rey Ling felt the vibration in his gut and it hurt his ears. Stalactites began to fall from the ceiling. The blue stones looked like icicles above but when they shattered on the ground they sounded like glass. The floor shook and Rey thought the dragon had caused a sudden earthquake. He was not sure if he was going to survive against such a beast but he was more concerned for his sister and Yochan.

  “It is time to get my revenge,” the dragon growled.

  The dragon lunged for Yochan. Rey Ling thought his assistant was finished but the dragon’s head stopped in front of Yochan. The bald man staggered back and fell, then scurried away from the dragon, panicking. The snout of the dragon was right in front of Yochan and the bald man stared into the dragon’s yellow eyes.

  “Yochan! Run!” Rey yelled but his assistant would not move.

  Rey noticed that Yochan stopped panicking and remained in the same pose on the floor with his mouth opened. Rey realized that the dragon had paralyzed his friend. The dragon bent its neck as fire filled its maw. It inhal
ed air then released a jet of fire on Yochan. Rey Ling rapidly pulled the Omnistar from his vest and opened a portal in front of his friend. The jet of fire streamed into the portal, taking it somewhere outside the cavern. The dragon roared, disappointed at its failure to burn its victim. The dragon then lunged for Yochan again with its teeth as long as swords. Rey opened another portal and leaped into it. He appeared from Yochan’s left and grabbed his paralyzed friend, rolled out of the way as the dragon’s maw tore up the ground and plowed it till it reached the far wall and crashed.

  “Yochan, wake up!” he yelled at his friend then slapped him, hoping it would end the paralysis. He could still hear Yochan breathing as his mouth and eyes were wide open with the terror. Rey looked back at the dragon and saw that it was now going after his sister. Sixiam shrieked as she ran away from the dark monster. “Sixiam! Don’t look into his eyes!” he warned her. Rey could only hear her shrieks since the dragon blocked her from view. Rey began to shoot at the dragon with his gun. The bullets could not pierce the dragon’s rough scales but they did get his attention. It turned its long neck around, looked at Rey, then groaned.

  “Ah, that face, it is you again, or perhaps you are his offspring,” the dragon said.

  “What are you talking about dragon?” Rey Ling asked and pointed the gun at the dark lizard. “Who are you and why were you sealed in this cave?”

  “A question you should know the answer to,” the dragon answered as it slowly got closer to Rey. “You are the one who sealed me. Although you look much younger than the last time I saw you, Hui Ling Cho.”

  “Grandpa?” Rey Ling questioned.

  “Ah, so you are the grandson,” the dragon responded. “What a shame. I guess I will get my vengeance with the family of the one who sealed me in and slaughtered the rest of my kind.”

  “Wait! Dragon! Wait!” Rey Ling begged. “Tell me, what did my grandfather do to you? I will do whatever it takes to repay you.”

  The dragon roared and more stalactites fell from above. The roar weakened Rey Ling’s body and he felt his maju fading. His knees began to quiver and his arms felt heavy.

  “My name is Doronshun,” the dragon answered. Its head nearly touched the ceiling while standing on four legs. Its leather wings stretched out to a hundred feet. It smacked the walls with its tail and its claws tore at the ground. It flashed its yellow eyes and Rey immediately looked away. “Hui Ling Cho sealed me away, then his offspring locked me in this cave,” Doronshun continued. “But in the beginning, me and my fellow dragons once flew freely before the Ling Cho clan began to hunt us down and kill us for sport.”

  “You are telling me that I come from a family of dragon hunters,” Rey said. “I…did not know.”

  “Just like that face of yours has been passed down through centuries in your clan, so has your lust for killing us dragons, the most sacred creatures in Odealeous,” Doronshun replied. It ceased to attack while it spoke and as he kept the dragon busy he saw his sister getting ready to cast a spell.

  “We dragons are the spirit image of the dragon gods themselves,” Doronshun explained. “The Ling Cho clan committed the greatest sin of murdering us sacred creatures. Now I must avenge my kind. I will destroy all of you or eat you alive, I have not decided yet.”

  “I understand,” Rey shouted.

  “What makes you think you can understand my hundred years of pain?” the dragon asked and Rey noticed how its claws began to extend, ready for an attack.

  “I understand that what my ancestors did was terrible but I can assure you, things have changed,” Rey tried to persuade. “I had no idea of what my clan had done in the past but we no longer kill dragons. We have changed our ways you see and…”

  “Apologies won’t heal hundreds of years worth of wounds,” the dragon said and lunged at Rey with claws and fangs larger than swords.

  Rey opened a portal, grabbed Yochan, jumped in and reappeared next to his sister, away from the dragon. He then saw the dragon slam into the wall of the sanctum and caused more stalactites to fall with the impact. After watching that he realized how quickly the Omnistar had responded.

  “Are you alright?” his sister asked. She was sweating from the panic and horror of what they were encountering and Rey knew that, much like him, Sixiam was also claustrophobic.

  “That was fast,” he said. “Really fast…I guess fear must have triggered it.”

  “Triggered what?” Sixiam asked.

  “How quickly I used the Omnistar,” Rey replied as he stood up. “It usually takes me much longer to open a portal, but…”

  “This is not the time for pondering,” Sixiam said. “You are the smart one. Think of something.”

  Doronshun turned its long neck around and spotted them. It roared and then trudged over to them shaking the earth.

  “Sixiam, I am going to open a portal to outside of this cave and you are going to leave with Yochan, understood,” Rey instructed.

  “I am not leaving you behind,” Sixiam said.

  “I love you sister, but I have to clean up the mess that father left. Just go, I will be fine,” Rey insisted.

  “This is my problem too,” Sixiam insisted. “I am as talented with magic as you. Don’t underestimate me.”

  “Foolish girl,” Rey snarled. “You don’t want to die here.”

  Doronshun was too close. Rey Ling ran towards the dragon then moved in a zigzag pattern trying to confuse it while he shot at its head. His sister ran the other way, extending her fan. The dragon breathed fire at Rey but again he used his Omnistar to send the fire outside of the cave. Rey then drew his sword from his back and stabbed the dragon’s foot, barely piercing through its thick skin. Doronshun roared then tried to stomp Rey. As he was below the dragon he realized that the underbelly skin was much softer. He took the risk of running under the belly of the dragon then sank his double edge sword into the beast. The dragon howled and suddenly glided forward to escape the pain and crashed against the wall of the chamber.

  “Found a weak spot,” Rey said. “Perhaps this is going to be easier than I thought. It is not the first dragon I have slain.”

  Doronshun spun around and shook the earth with its stomp. More stalactites fell from above and this time the dragon looked angrier. Rey Ling realized that Yochan’s body was near the feet of the dragon.

  “Come at me!” he shouted, taunting the dragon. “I am the one you want. I am the grandson of Hui Ling Cho.”

  Doronshun roared and released a blast of fire that painted the entire sanctum red and orange with its light. Rey opened a portal, again but this time he did not redirect the fire outside the cave, he opened another portal right under the dragon and the fire rose like the eruption of a volcano. Doronshun howled, burned by his own flames. Unfortunately it did not do much damage. The dragon shook its body and the flames quickly vanished.

  “You are much smarter than the last human who fought against me, before I was sealed in that statue,” the dragon commented. “But your magic won’t save you. First, I will attack your heart.”

  The dragon turned toward Sixiam and the girl shrieked. Doronshun inhaled then unleashed another jet of fire.

  “No!” Rey yelled and jumped through another portal.

  When Rey reappeared next to his sister, she had used her fan and cast an aero sphere around herself, pushing the flames aside. Her aeromancy was as strong as his. He had never seen his sister cast such a strong spell.

  When the fire faded Sixiam swung her fan shouting, “aerous ken!” and released sharp winds with her own maju. The winds merely pushed the dragon’s head back but no damage was done. Rey grabbed Sixiam and jumped into the portal again as Doronshun hurled another blast of fire. They reappeared to the left of the dragon, far from its flames.

  “Call me crazy but I think it has an attribute of darkness,” Sixiam said. “Dark magic.”

  “It’s been spitting fire all this time and you think its element is darkness,” Rey replied. “This is why I didn’t want you to be here.�
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  “Seriously,” Sixiam said and clutched Rey’s arm. “I remember. Father told me. That is why he locked it away in this cave.” Sixiam then reached inside her cleavage. The dragon was trudging towards them and Rey shot at it. She pulled out a vial with silvery fluid and pressed on the cap while whispering, “Llumvrem sols.”

  “Whatever it is that you are doing, make it work fast,” Rey urged as he shot at the dragon until he ran out of bullets.

  “Llumvrem sols,” Sixiam whispered as she held the vial. “Lumvrem sols.” From the little bottle a radiant light blinded both her and Rey. Doronshun roared and stepped away from them as the light illuminated the entire sanctum. It was as if sunlight had reached inside the cave.

  “It’s working. Keep it up, sister,” Rey said then drew another gun from the scabbard on his thigh.

  “Illumancy won’t be enough to stop me,” Doronshun said as it shied away from them.

  “How long will the light last?” Rey asked.

  “Not very long,” Sixiam answered.

  “I can work with that,” Rey said. “Well, sister, since you wanted to play hero as well I am going to need your help. Give me the vial.”

  “What for?” She asked.

  “Just do it,” Rey commanded.

  Doronshun peppered them with fire before Sixiam could throw the vial at Rey and they ran in opposite directions. The flames chased Rey, creating a trail of lava. He used aeromancy to run faster for a short period of time. His speed doubled in a pinch, ran under the belly of the dragon and stabbed its abdomen. Doronshun howled then tried to squash Rey with its claws. Rey rapidly dodged the claws then the speed spell wore off.

  As Doronshun turned its body to face Rey, he saw its tail scrape the wall of the sanctum and slam into Sixiam. The girl collapsed and dropped the shining vial.

  “No! Sister!” Rey yelled. “Get away from her! It is me that you want!”

  “No human will be left alive,” the dragon swore then lunged at Rey with fangs and flames.

  Rey jumped inside a portal and reappeared next to his sister. He quickly checked that she was still breathing then picked up the shining vial she had dropped. “I am trusting you on this one, sister,” he prayed as he plotted his next move. “Come over here you stupid dragon! I bet I can withstand your flames.”