by R. J. Batla
Less than twenty seconds later, the rest of the team joined me.
Anton tossed me my scabbard, and as I strapped it on he said, “Who is this? And what are we in for?”
“I don’t know. It looks like the same guy who’s been plaguing us this whole time. But see that pile of ashes? That used to be a Skeptor. He just killed it with one shot.”
“Oh no,” Katy said, tightening her belt and pulling energy from the air. “How are we going to beat them both? The dragon by itself is hard enough, and if he just killed a Skeptor…”
“Leave the dragon to me and Hercules,” the old man said, coming up behind us in a suit of plate armor, complete with a helmet and spiked mace. “Kill the man as quick as you can, then help us out. I can give you ten minutes, that’s it.”
“No, old man,” I said, “you’ve done enough for us. Get on Hercules and get out of here!”
He gave me the sternest look I’ve ever seen. “Sonny, watch real close and you might learn something. Don’t let me down. It’s been a hundred years since I’ve had to duel a dragon.” With that, he jumped onto Hercules’s back. The chimera roared and took flight in a blur of feathers and fur, with the scaled tail swinging behind.
At the same time, the dragon shrieked and took off. Both creatures let out a stream of fire from their huge maws. The blasts met and a burst of air and heat exploded, pressing down on everyone like a giant heater just turned on above us. It created enough illumination that we could clearly see the man pull out a large, black staff from somewhere behind him.
“Who are you?” Royn asked the man, appearing in a flash of blue. “And why are you doing this?”
Everyone pulsed energy into their weapons, each glowing in the darkness.
“I’m the one who’s been trying to kill this Ranger since he was Awakened! Of all people, you should know, Teleporter!” he said, pulling back his cowl. “I trained you!”
“No!” Royn shouted as we stared into the face of General Sterling, the lines and scars on his face contorted into a sneer of rage, white hair, now long, shining in the firelight. “You’re sworn to defend the East Side! How could you betray us like this?”
“I am defending the East Side! That abomination should never have been allowed to live! I’m sorry you took up with him, Commander, but you chose your path.” Drawing himself up to his full height, his stature was intimidating.
“You’re the one who’s been trying to kill me this whole time? The traps, with the Int, the attack in the field…it was all you?” I asked.
“Don’t look so surprised, Jayton Baird. You should have known not everyone would agree with you being alive, that someone would try to do something about it to protect the innocent.”
“How is that fair?” I said. “I didn’t ask for this; this is the hand I’ve been dealt. I won’t succumb to the darkness.”
“I’m not willing to take that chance, vermin.”
“General, you don’t have to do this.” Then to us, Royn said, “He’s a very powerful Senturian. His Starburst Quantum is an unblockable burst of energy – if he uses it, you must dodge, do not try to block.”
“That’s a lie, Commander,” General Sterling said, visibly pulling energy from the air. “The Morsenube user blocked it with that evil power of his. But that won’t happen today, oh no, he has control now. And he won’t risk his friends. I fully expected my army to bring the whole group down on your journey here, especially with five rookie Rangers, but you have proved more resilient that I expected. Even the swamp and the ants couldn’t stop you.
“I don’t want to spill any more East Side blood than I have to. This is the last chance for the rest of you. You can walk away and live, or stay, fight, and die. It doesn’t matter to me. The only one I have to kill is the Morsenube user.” He slowly advanced towards us, swinging the staff around. The black material ended in claw-looking knobs, which added weight and crushing power.
“Guys, leave. Save yourselves. It’s me he wants. I’ll –”
“Shut up, Jayton,” Celeste said. “We’ve come this far. We’re not abandoning ya now.”
“You ever fought him before, Royn?” Troup asked, stone creeping up his frame, forming armor.
“Many times. Only won once,” Royn replied simply. Then in our heads, he said, “If we are going to beat him, it will take a coordinated effort. Surround and attack from all sides at the same time. He’s strong and fast, can use all the elements, and is pretty much a badass. That feeling in your gut is the Quantum power of Fear. Makes it harder for you to concentrate. Gives him an advantage. Katy, try to dart in as much as you can and keep him busy – you’re the only one who can match his speed. Troup, try to attack from below, Sonora from above.”
“No takers? Too bad. Your journey ends here!”
Then he attacked, thrusting one end of the staff toward us, the knob at the end shooting out on a chain. Everyone dove out of the way, but Josey was slightly too slow, the grazing blow knocking her out cold. Two seconds in and we’re already down one.
“Jay, get her clear!” Royn said, so I grabbed her and sprinted away just as I heard steel ring – Katy and her swords were keeping him occupied in a blur of motion. Euless attacked, sending a burst of energy, but a backhand from the eight-foot staff deflected it up to block an air slice from Sonora.
Depositing Josey a safe distance, I turned back with my hands together. “Energy Fireball!” I said and thrust my arms forward while opening my fists. A watermelon-sized ball of combined energy and fire rocketed toward the general, with a tail like a comet tracing all the way back to me as I poured more magic into the shot. He didn’t see the attack coming; Troup had set up a wall that he dropped at the last second. It should have hit him hard.
But the black staff spun and ignited, then spun quickly again, dissipating the blast. Anton, Leona, Royn, and Gilmer all attacked while the generals back was turned, sparks flying as he spun back around too fast and blocked them all, slamming Troup in the chest with another chained-ball attack. The Dwarf’s armor held, but with a swing, the ball jerked up, smacking him in the forehead. The blow knocked him back – please, God, only knocked out – but the general wasn’t done. He swept his staff down to strike Troup again, this time a killing blow.
“No!” I said, sliding in at the last second. Throwing up my armguard, I put all the elements together in the shield, praying it held. Stone and water were brushed aside, but the others stood firm. I felt like I was hit by a truck. The blow knocked me to my knees, but thanks to my strength, I was just able to hold it off.
“Impressive. Such a waste of talent,” the general taunted, swinging the staff away to parry my friends’ attacks, steel ringing and powers blasting from every direction.
Leona leapt back, transforming her sword into a bow, firing energy arrows as fast as she could. Even those weren’t quick enough to get through the general’s defenses, each being knocked in wild directions in bursts of light, until one hit Morgan in the shoulder.
She screamed, as another hit her other shoulder. I managed to catch her on the way down, and grabbed her and the thankfully still breathing Troup. I dashed away and deposited them next to Josey. Royn appeared next to me, dropping off Anton and Euless.
“We’re dropping like flies. Any ideas?” I asked.
“He’s too strong. He’s toying with us really,” Royn said. “You’re going to have to fight him with the Ignis, Jay, and we’ll provide cover as best we can. We only have five minutes left from the old man’s count. Let’s go,” he said, grabbing my arm and teleporting at the same time.
Mid-teleport, I turned on the Ignis, and watched as the world went white, even in the blue of the teleport. “High block, low fireball,” I heard, and obliged before the world blasted back into focus. The high block with my sword stopped a downward thrust, and the fireball knocked a leg back that was swinging for a kick at me.
“Oh, he wants to play now,” the general hissed, a wild look in his eyes, and then sent foot-long spikes of b
one, from I didn’t know where, right at the hearts of my companions.
“NO!” I screamed, flinging my glowing sword and deflecting one of the spikes enough to only imbed in Royn’s leg rather than his chest. Royn groaned in pain and my sword spun off into the distance.
I called on wind and telekinesis, pushing or pulling the others spikes enough so they weren’t lethal to my friends. Every spike still hit them though, and all were down.
“Royn, get them back!” I screamed, parrying a blow with an earth pillar and attacking with a fireball before being blown back as my shield took an explosion. “I’ll have to handle this. Cor et anima!” I saw the flashes of blue in my peripheral as my sword returned to my hand, but it took my full concentration to keep the general at bay.
My sword was a blur of steel and yellow energy, but it was deflected at every turn by the general. I fought like a rabid badger, speed and strength pushing me farther and faster in an attempt to get past his defenses. Powers were deflected easily by the black staff. My energy was ebbing quickly, and I had to let go of the Ignis. A few more seconds of swordplay and I needed a break, so I threw a blast of wind between us, skidding us both back twenty yards.
Breathing hard, I sank to one knee. Damn, I was tired. And apparently so were the old man and Hercules, who landed/crashed next to me, with the dragon doing the same behind the general. The dragon looked as ragged as us, but the general wasn’t even breathing hard! The dragon shook its head, recovering quickly after a couple of quick breaths. Crap, we were still worn out – this wasn’t good.
“We’re out, sonny. That’s your ten minutes,” the old man said, who looked like he took a bath in a coal mine. “What are you gonna do n –” the old man said, but didn’t finish, as a foot-long spike embedded in his shoulder, and a boulder hit Hercules. They both slammed to the ground in a heap.
“NO!” I turned back and the general still had his arm out, post-throw. Screw this – I pulled on my bracelet, power surging through me, my nerves buzzing.
The general said, “I am going to kill you, vermin. And then I’m going to finish your friends.” And then he laughed, turning a shade of crazy I’d never seen before, emitting a high-pitched cackling sound, sending shivers down my spine. Now he’d totally lost it. “Your blood will serve as the sacrifice for our way of life! The loss of so few will invigorate the lives of the masses! Think of it, Death Cloud fiend! You’re the savior! Just not the way you wanted to be…”
Chancing a glance at my decimated friends, I took a quick inventory. Everyone except Royn was unconscious, losing blood quickly and in need of healing. A slithering motion, like a snake, slid into the pile. I just had to hope that was an illusion. I took a deep breath. I didn’t have the skill with a blade or the energy left to take him out with my powers, especially with that black staff checking every move I made. That left me one choice, and I sheathed my sword.
That brought another haunting laugh from the general. “It’s giving up! It knows it can’t win!” he said, pointing at me and laughing more.
I flipped on the Ignis one more time.
Chapter 57
I let it all out – all the power I’d been storing. I heard Royn in my head. “Jayton, no! That much energy is way more than you can contain. It’s dangerous!”
“Too late, sir. And besides, I’m not going to contain it at all!”
My whole body swelled slightly, eyeballs burning and every nerve screaming – but I kept it hidden from the general, who stood there laughing and throwing insults my way. Why wasn’t he attacking? He should be finishing me off. His mistake.
I had one more trick up my sleeve.
Reaching behind me, I sent tendrils of healing magic along the ground, touching everyone in the group. It wasn’t enough to heal the wounds completely, but would to keep them alive. Most of them stirred, thank God, but I had to focus my attention up front if this was going to work.
I slowly advanced, fighting the whole way to keep the energy in check. “You…you think you can come over here,” I said, and at the same time, sent tendrils of transition down my arms, down my sides, and into the ground under the general and his dragon. “You fight us? Try to kill my friends? No one else is going to die for my sake. This ends now!”
Exhausted, I fell to my knees, still trying to hold all the energy in. My blood was practically boiling at this point, and I slumped over, head in my hands, completely exposed directly in front of the general.
“Foolish Senturian,” the general said taking a step toward me, twirling his staff. “I took down your whole squad. You had no chance to defeat –”
Then I moved, and moved fast. Faster than I’d ever moved before. I stood and raised my arms in one motion. “Frozen Point!” The water I’d transitioned underneath us obeyed my command, roaring up out of the ground and freezing in a perfect cone around the general.
But that didn’t faze the dragon. The black creature took a second to react, and then reared back to roar.
And when it did, I made a motion like throwing a ball. Using telekinesis, I hurled the frozen general, right down the dragon’s throat. My aim was true, and I kept pushing, forcing the cone down the dragon’s gullet, making it swallow the general whole, the bulge slowly pushing down its long serpentine neck.
Apparently, a hot dragon gut will unfreeze a block of ice quick, as the dragon looked at its own belly. Bulges moved across its stomach as the creature screeched a roar of pain. Dragon stomachs were full of acid and fire, which was where they got their flame breath, so it couldn’t have been pleasant for the general being stuck in there.
Breathing hard, I collapsed to my knees again. That had taken a lot of energy, but I still held a lot inside, and I fought it. It wanted to get out, pushing at me, trying to –
With a colossal roar, the general burst forth from the dragon, which fell to the ground with a colossal crash, the lake’s surface rippling wildly. The general didn’t look good anymore – skin marred, scratched, eaten away by the acid or scored by the flames. And he was breathing hard for the first time. He’d expended a lot of energy to get out of the now-dead dragon. Not that it mattered; an exhausted nearly dead General Sterling could still take me out, and then the rest of the team.
But I was mad. And with the anger, the Morsenube showed up. Doubled over, the Death Cloud had crept up the left half of my body, wrapped in darkness, while the other side was the white of the Ignis. I struggled against the force, my tattoo burning into me, white hot, but I was losing…
But I wasn’t. It was strong, but it had stopped. With the combined force of the Ignis and the tattoo, I could control the darkness.
“And there it is,” the general said. “The reason you’re going to die.” Standing over me, the general twirled his staff once, then raised it high over his head. He brought it down hard.
It stopped half an inch from my head, held fast with telekinesis. I slowly rose up, the general recoiling away, a look of terror staining his face.
“No more!” I said, my voice distorted, as I drew my sword, lacing it with the Morsenube. “You claim to be a leader, to fight for our people, but you would kill someone trying to do just that. I was sent by the council.”
The general yelled and attacked. I swung my sword, blocking the strike and sending the general flying backwards. Whatever power he had was useless against the Death Cloud. But that didn’t stop him. He rained down attacks, as hard and fast as he could, but with the Ignis giving me guidance, I blocked them easily, until it was the general who was down on his knees, his staff broken in two, held still by telekinesis. My sword was a blinding light of energy, pulsing along with my heartbeat.
“You will not defeat me, abomination! You should not be here, you should not –”
With a swift motion, I swung my sword, severing the general’s head from his body in one smooth stroke, blood slowly oozing from his neck as the body fell to the ground.
Fully spent, I wanted to collapse. It was over. The person trying to kill me for so l
ong was dead. I fell hard, face in the dirt, but I had to get up.
Slowly, I managed to rise and stalk over to my friends, the darkness fighting back even harder now. And it was winning.
Stumbling every other step, white and dark were fighting all over my body. I was tired. I was done. Eying my wrist, I gasped – half of the angel wing tattoo was gone. Without its help and control, I was going to lose it entirely soon! And if I lost control here, all my friends would die!
Finally I made it to my fallen squad and crashed next to them. I crawled the last few feet, straight to the one person who could help – Josey. Pulling on what little energy I had left, I healed her completely and willed her to wake.
With a gasp, she sat upright. I could feel the darkness gaining power, wanting to be free. I was out of time. I managed to croak: “Heal the others, but knock me out now!”
Josey raised her hand to my temple, and just before I blacked out, I saw the clashing energies of white and dark fading away.
Chapter 58
I woke up an hour later, very groggy and weak, but I had to know what happened. “We won, right?”
Someone had moved us inside, and Josey was feverously working on Marlin Ralls.
Leona answered, “No, Jayton, you did. You beat him.”
“I can’t believe –”
“Councilman, this is Commander Royn Crowell, over.” Royn was chugging water, speaking into his badge.
“Commander, what happened? We’d lost contact with your squad again. We feared the worst.”
He keyed the mic. “We were attacked, sir. It was General Sterling. General Sterling has been the one behind everything.”
Councilman Talco audibly gasped. “No! What happened?”
Royn relayed the story, leaving out a few of the details, but giving enough information for Councilman Ames Talco to know that we had been betrayed, and that he would need to find a new general for the armies.
