Rise of the Young: Warriors are not made; they are forged (The Ascended Book 2)

by Bygott, Hugo C.

  Inessa carried an elegant wooden staff. The handle in the middle was wrapped with linen to protect her hands from the roughness of the staff. She swung her staff at surprising speed as she walked around the circle.

  “Good, who will challenge?” asked Seranay.

  There were several students eager to fight.

  “Siri, step forward,” said Seranay.

  Siri glanced angrily at Eclipse as she entered the circle. No doubt, the Iron Maiden was still fuming about having her hair cut earlier.

  Siri carried two moon-crescent blades with a diamond in each hilt. They gleamed in the light as she wielded them.

  Eclipse may not have liked her, but the craftsmanship of the two blades was impressive, very much like Svana’s sword which Svana was now sharpening.

  “Begin!” said Seranay.

  Svana and the Iron Maidens cheered Siri. Siri and Inessa walked around in circles for some time, both waiting for the other to strike first.

  “We haven’t got all day,” said Seranay.

  That was the signal. Inessa swung her staff, flipping it sideways, and made a strike for Siri’s waist. Siri deflected the attacks with her moon-crescent blades, forcing the staff away. Inessa had not stopped there and shifted her weight so the other end of the staff would strike Siri’s other hip. Inessa’s attack made contact and knocked Siri down. Inessa smiled and walked around swinging her staff.

  Eclipse was not impressed with the bravado and would have advised her not to lose focus. As Inessa turned her back for a brief moment to bathe in her moment of glory, Siri blinked behind her and struck violently with her blades. Inessa barely avoided being cut as she deflected the blades away, but as she did so, she lost her footing. Siri could see the opening and kept her attacks on her, striking the staff and pushing Inessa back. Inessa could no longer keep her footing and fell to the ground. Siri continued to strike from above as Inessa used her staff to hold the blades at bay, but Siri pressed down harder as she wanted to go in for the kill.

  Eclipse noticed no one intervening, not even Seranay who seemed to be in delight at the way things were progressing. It looked as if they wanted the students to die. She pulled Kuro from her scabbard, stepped into the circle and struck Siri’s blades away from Inessa’s face.

  Siri was enraged and turned to face her. Another Iron Maiden, with a spear in hand, entered the ring and began to encircle Eclipse with Siri.

  Eclipse called out to Inessa to move to safety. Seranay had said nothing, but there appeared to be some recognition when she saw the black blade in Eclipse’s hand.

  The Iron Maiden lunged forward with her spear, but Eclipse was too fast and cut the spear in two. Siri attacked from behind while she had the chance and almost made contact, but Eclipse rolled away and then with two swift movements disarmed Siri. Both of the Iron Maidens stood weaponless, embarrassed at how easily they had been disarmed.

  “Eclipse, where did you get your blade from?” asked Seranay.

  Eclipse turned to her. “Why?”

  “It looks strangely familiar,” said Seranay. “It can’t be, though…” She seemed deep in thought.

  Did she know her mother? If she did, was she friend or foe? Eclipse became anxious at the thought. Her mother had trained here before she became a Blade and must have made friends. Seranay looked a similar age to her mother.

  “I challenge!” said Svana as she entered the circle. She looked at her friends with disappointment.

  Siri picked up her blades with embarrassment, while the other Iron Maiden blushed as she picked up her broken spear before leaving the circle.

  Svana held her sword in two hands and bent her knees awaiting the order to start. Eclipse turned to her, Kuro in hand, just as eager to fight. Students from other areas began to join the crowd, anxious to see the sparring match. Although to Eclipse, it felt more like a fight to the death.

  “As you wish,” said Seranay. “Remember, you may not use your User abilities to aid in your speed and strength. You must fight with your weapon as a part of you with what you have. Now, begin!”

  Unexpectedly, Svana did not move and remained in her stance. Eclipse was sure she would make the first move, but Svana was playing a different game. It would be her who would have to attack first.

  Eclipse wielded Kuro and circled Svana, occasionally extending the tip of her blade forward to test Svana’s defenses. Each time, Svana responded by changing her stance and deflecting Kuro.

  This continued for some time, and then she saw Svana’s weakness. She could see that Svana’s feet were too far apart and it would be easy to make her lose her balance. Eclipse came forward and struck Svana from above. Svana deflected the strike, but Eclipse swung Kuro around and followed through with an attack from below, attempting to sweep her off her feet. Everything was going to plan, but Svana seemed to be expecting such an attack and jumped over Kuro, kneeing Eclipse in the face as she did so.

  Eclipse stepped back in surprise. She had not seen it coming. As she tried to regain her balance, Svana was now on the attack, swinging her sword toward her. Eclipse moved fast and deflected Svana’s sword away, holding it at bay. But Svana was getting faster, and her strikes were hitting harder. Eclipse perhaps had underestimated her.

  Eclipse tried to keep focus as she made her own offense, striding forward with several attacks from every angle. Svana was already aware of each strike and easily defended herself. Now the students all around the dojo were cheering, the circle widening to allow them more space to dance their duel of death.

  Eclipse ignored the shouting and tried to disarm Svana by flicking her wrist, but Svana knew what she was attempting and strengthened her grip, positioning herself in a way to make it difficult for her to lose her weapon.

  They continued back and forth, blade against blade, steel against steel, the clashing resonating in the dojo as the students cheered for a victor. Neither one backed down as they continued their battle. Eclipse was becoming tired, and so was Svana, both sweating as they swung their weapons. They swung at each other once more, the blades clashing against each other, Eclipse looked into her eyes as she pressed her blade against hers. Svana only showed contempt as she pushed back.

  “That’s enough for now,” said Seranay, entering the circle and breaking them apart with a blast of energy.

  Eclipse and Svana fell back from each other, falling on the blue mats. Svana looked ready to murder. “Why?” Svana shouted.

  “This fight was going nowhere,” said Seranay. “For now, it’s a draw.” She ignored Svana’s protests as she gave her hand to Eclipse pulling her up.

  “The fight could have ended,” said Eclipse. She was surprised how far the fight had gone and had underestimated Svana. They were evenly matched, if not for their lack of User speed and strength.

  “Not without the sun setting,” replied Seranay. “Impressive footwork, though. You remind me of someone.”

  Eclipse held her tongue.

  “Have you ever heard of Nightshade?” asked Seranay.

  A shiver ran down Eclipse’s back. “No…I haven’t,” she lied.

  Seranay watched her carefully. “Funny. You look and move like her, and the blade you carry resembles her own.”

  Eclipse returned Kuro to its scabbard. “Who was she?” she asked, perhaps hoping for an inkling of the relationship Seranay had with her mother.

  “She was a legendary User,” said Seranay. She looked Eclipse up and down. “She was also my friend before she became a Blade.”

  Chapter 7 – Catacombs of Paris

  The stench was terrible. He placed his hand over his nose. Of all the places in the world, this was the one she had to choose!

  Rush waded in the dark tunnels under the streets of Paris. He had been searching for Geminae across Europe, and thanks to local rumors of disturbing screams coming from the catacombs under Paris, he had finally found her. No doubt, the screams were of Geminae’s rage and her failure.

  He sensed the powerful presence of a User not far f
rom his current location. His hand emitted a small source of energy which brightened the dark tunnels ahead. Without his User sense, there would be no way to navigate through these catacombs without getting lost in here forever. It was said that six million people rested here, their remains buried in the never-ending darkness, four-hundred miles of darkness.

  Rush focused his hand to light the way and turned another corner, following the User presence of Geminae. He quickly covered his mouth to avoid retching as the smell worsened. As he looked up, his eyes widened in disbelief. All around him were skulls placed neatly in a circle, the remains stretching out to make a wall of bones. Somehow, he had walked into one of the several ossuaries inside the catacombs. The lifeless skulls stared at him, trying to understand why he was here. How he wished he could leave this forsaken place. The other thought that came to him was how Geminae kept sane by hiding down here. At that moment, a scream echoed deep within the catacombs. Well, it seemed that she might have lost her mind.

  Rush moved on from the room of skeleton remains and followed the source of the screaming. Despite the power he had, it still brought chills down his spine. There were hundreds of stories about the catacombs of Paris, and it brought many urban explorers to discover the dark secrets below. The catacombs were banned to the public, but some sections were open for special tour guides. However, that did not stop the many cataphiles from entering through many of the secret passages under Paris. Rush smiled to himself, thinking that now he would be classified as a cataphile, an explorer illegally gaining entry into the catacombs. Yet, this was no simple exploration. This was a search for a powerful and deadly User assassin, and she held hostage a man who had the knowledge to bring down civilization. He hoped Dr. Rhodes had not been hurt, but knowing Geminae, those odds were unfavorable.

  Rush had now been searching for Geminae in the catacombs for several hours, and the source of her presence seemed to vanish periodically. It was never a good sign when a powerful User presence just vanished, especially one such as Geminae. Users with enough skill and focus were able to hide their presence if required, but the side effect was the mental drain. For Geminae, her state of mind was in disarray and was likely the cause of her unpredictable presence. He quickened his footsteps, running down the tunnels, his urgency to find Geminae increasing. Time was not on his side for he knew he was not the only one searching for Geminae. The Shadow Government had most certainly sent other Blades to bring her back. A rogue User was a dangerous thing. He would know, he was one.

  He felt a sharp spike in Geminae’s presence from the tunnel ahead and knew he had found her. As he reached the end of the tunnel, he found himself in another ossuary. He was surrounded by a wall of skulls, but Geminae’s presence once more vanished.

  A cold sensation filled the ossuary, and the eye sockets of the skulls were filled with a blue flame. Sensing a trap, he rolled across the floor and formed his barrier, the energy glowing brightly in the darkness.

  Shards of ice came at him from every direction. He forcefully pushed back the onslaught, keeping his barrier intact.

  “Nice to see you haven’t changed,” said Rush. The smile on his face must have enraged her as hundreds of ice shards darted at him from the darkness. His barrier was holding, and he knew she could not keep this attack up for long. “Why so angry?”

  There was a bone-chilling scream, and the ossuary shook from side to side. Rush maintained his balance, but a gigantic force blasted him from behind, knocking him into the wall of skulls.

  “That’s not very nice!” said Rush, as he returned to his feet, brushing off the skeleton remains. “I’ve come to talk. Can we?”

  The screaming now was replaced by a mocking laughter. “No!”

  Rush was unable to deflect the powerful source of energy and was tossed across the room. By the time he returned to his feet, the cold sensation had gone, and so had Geminae’s presence.

  “Never easy…” he said to himself.

  Geminae could not have gone far; she would stay in this forsaken place until she was driven out. Again, the bursts of periodic User energy emanated from her. Rush kept his barrier up and sped forth to end this chase once and for all.

  He pushed on, turning several corners and going deeper within the catacombs. A faint muttering from the distance caused him to stop. It was coming from a passageway up ahead. Rush disguised his energy, making sure Geminae would not see him coming. He moved closer, the voices now loud enough to understand. He stopped by the edge of the passageway and listened.

  “That knucklehead! Why did he have to get himself killed? We were a team. Damn that man!”

  “Calm down. It wasn’t our fault. He tried to fight them alone and was taken by surprise. He never was smart.”

  There was another scream. Rush could hear two people speaking, but there was only one presence.

  “Now we have another idiot chasing us! I thought this place could be our new home…at least for a while.”

  “Let’s stay positive. We did a good job of knocking him down. We can finish him next time.”

  “Positive? How? I just want to burn everything around me!”

  The cold sensation he had felt previously was gone, and a growing warmth reached out to him. The heat became stronger causing him to sweat. He was well aware of Geminae’s split personality. She truly had no sanity left. This was going to be far more difficult than he had expected.

  Rush prepared himself, strengthening his barrier, and leaped around the corner toward Geminae, but he only passed through empty air. The burning heat surrounded him in an instant, and he was engulfed in flames.

  “You shouldn’t have followed me!” Geminae snarled.

  Rush clasped his hands and exploded with energy dissipating the flames around him. “You know why I’ve come,” he said. There was a deadly seriousness in his tone.

  Geminae was surprised by his sudden change of manner, but quickly ignored it, and sprung forth once more with renewed hatred. Bursts of flames shot out from her palms toward him, but Rush swiped them away with his own energy. He maintained his control, uncommitted to attacking, and focusing his thoughts only on defense. Geminae was engulfed in flames, but her hair was shimmering with a blue frost. Her split personality was now an avatar of herself—two different people trapped in one body. The hatred that poured from her was unending.

  “You can’t run forever,” said Rush, as he blocked a fireball. “You’ve nowhere left to run.”

  Geminae screamed, her bone-chilling voice echoing throughout the catacombs. “I’ve nowhere left to go because of you!”

  Rush was unsure how this would end, but he already sensed two other powerful Users had just entered the catacombs. “Do you sense them?” he said, hoping their presence would change her mind.

  Geminae stopped to consider his words. “No! No! No!” she said, shaking her head.

  Rush took this opening and slammed into her. Geminae fell to the ground, shifting between personalities, but Rush brought his fist down and struck her barrier before she could regain her senses. “Listen to me!”

  “Why should I?” she said, her eyes piercing his soul.

  “Because deep down, I know you were not always like this. You were a friend of Nightshade, a sister to Alana, and the twisted form you are now is not who you are!” He hoped he was right. The only thing that gave him this insight was the way Geminae had reacted to the revelation of Kry’s existence. He had seen it in her eyes, and Dominus had seen it, too.

  Geminae stopped struggling against him and just stared. The flames around her dissipated and all that was left was her icy hair. “Everything is ruined,” she said. “The Shadow Government have found me at last.”

  The presence of the two Users was approaching their location. Rush could only imagine the Shadow Government had ordered the remaining Blades to track Geminae down, and it seemed the first Blades had reached them.

  “We don’t have much time, Geminae. Where is Dr. Rhodes?” said Rush. The fact that Dr. Rhodes was no
t with her made him feel uneasy.

  Geminae shook her head furiously. “Dominus was a fool!”

  Rush could see the pain her partner’s death had on her. They had worked together for some time, and despite Dominus being a stubborn and arrogant oaf, he offered Geminae protection from the other Blades. The two of them together were strong, alone they were prey to other Blades, and even outside Users who wished to join the fold.

  “I still don’t understand how he was killed? Kry, the energy he wielded was impossible!” Geminae continued to shake her head, unable to comprehend the reality.

  “He’s your nephew. Don’t you feel anything? He’s the last family you have now that your sister is gone.” Alana’s death weighed heavily on him. She had taken the name Julia to undertake a new identity away from her past. Unfortunately, the past always catches up in the end.

  Geminae returned to her feet and hissed. “Impossible. You lie to me.”

  “I’m here to help you because the Shadow Government wants you as much as they want me,” he replied.

  “That may be so,” she said with finality. “But that doesn’t change the fact that Kry is not my nephew. It’s impossible!”

  The other Blades were closing in. Rush had to find Dr. Rhodes as soon as possible. “Forget what you know. He is your nephew. Alana and Konrad were his parents. You are his aunt! He is family,” said Rush. “Tell me, what have you done with Dr. Rhodes?” He was almost afraid to hear the answer.

  Geminae glared at him, watching him closely trying to figure out the truth of the situation. “He’s safe,” she said at last.

  Rush gasped a sense of relief. Dr. Rhodes was the only precaution against the activation of those monstrosities, the Purifiers. “Geminae, where is he? It’s not too late for you. There is redemption still.”

  Geminae laughed mockingly. “Redemption you say? There was no redemption for Dominus, and there will be none for me. My only chance is to give Dr. Rhodes back to them. Perhaps then they’ll accept my failures, and I can re-enter the fold.”