Divided

by Rae Brooks

  “Please,” she mocked. Her eyes shone with fake sympathy. His jaw clenched, but tears continued to fall from his eyes. “He’s saved your pathetic Elyst for now, Calis Tsrali, you ought to be pleased.”

  Pleased? Pleased? Calis would have seen Elyst perish a thousand times if it would have spared Taeru this fate. His body quivered, and he shook his head wildly. “Let him go! Fight us! Telandus and Cathalar will defend themselves! I’ll get into the bloody crystal myself! Send your creatures, millions of them, but let Taeru Lassau go!” She chuckled with amusement as she watched him.

  The hum in the air built so that there was a constant ringing in Calis’s ears. The creature before him was unmoving, somehow managing to look amused in its grotesque form. Calis could barely see her, as his mind drew and redrew the picture of Taeru behind him, within the crystal with that pain—so subtle, and yet far too obvious to ignore, etched into his face. “A deal is a deal, Prince. Your precious little Taeru neglected to mention himself in his request, and now he’s paying the price.”

  Calis narrowed his eyes, and with one quick movement, he drew up his sword. “Enough…” The hilt burned beneath his fingers, as if aching to be used. His jaw clenched tightly enough to send pangs of discomfort up into his mind. “I will see you burn, witch,” he snarled. Without another pause, he leapt forward, using both hands to swing his sword downwards into her body.

  Her evasion was less effective this time, and his sword caught in a few of the vines. In response, one of them lashed forward and entangled about his sword. Not intending on losing the weapon, Calis propelled himself forward and cut further into her twisted body. She shrieked, and one of the vines moved upwards and cut across his cheek. Then, another moved forward and slung him backwards so that he slammed into the obelisk.

  His body dropped so that he landed on his knees in front of it, and he pulled himself back upright. “Taeru,” he whispered. His eyes glanced backwards at the small form still ensnared in the crystal. Then, his eyes changed to the demon who’d put him there. “I won’t let her have you—I swear it.” Again, his body moved forward, only this time, rather than charging directly, he changed tact and moved, cutting into the side of her face.

  This time, she let out a loud moan and leapt back as more vines shot outwards towards Calis. He growled, cutting through them and springing in her direction more quickly. His sword reached the vines again, and he cut across them, slicing pieces of them to the ground. Her body suddenly became more agile, and she managed to flip backwards and leap into the air, supporting herself with those disgusting branches.

  Without pausing to think about it, Calis’s sword sliced through the vines, cutting them easily, though the painful bolt of shock they sent up his sword reminded him of the crystal. He carved again, and her body crashed to the ground before him. “Give him back to me!” Calis cried. The moment her body landed, he drew up his sword and stabbed into the perverted form. One of her arms, which was simply another entanglement of branches, shot towards him and wrapped around his neck.

  She pulled him down towards her, and he used his foot to slam into her body. The foot was entrapped there, and he used his sword to slash into the vines again, freeing his foot after a few strikes and then placing another incursion across her cheek—the only part of her that was truly solid. When he struck it, she let out another scream of pain. There was something inside of Calis that needed to hear that, that needed this vengeance.

  A wave of energy slammed into him, though, and he was flung backwards again. He skidded against the murky ground, and then he forced himself back to his feet. “You can do nothing for him!” she shrieked. His eyes narrowed, and his body quivered at the idea. He may as well not exist if there was nothing he could do for Taeru, and he would ensure that he did more than exist.

  This time, when he leapt forward, her vines shot out simultaneously and pierced across his side as his blade sunk into her throat. He pulled back, and then he brought his sword into an arc so that it cut the width of her throat with unannounced death. Her head snapped backwards, hanging blankly as her body began to shrivel before him. He let out a breath, and without bothering to wait, he completed the split. The head severed and bounced across the ground. His fingers didn’t release his sword, and he stared blackly at the body that continued to shrivel.

  Finally, he let his eyes move behind him, still finding Taeru where he had been before. His hands bound against the black cross, and his head still slumped in unconsciousness. Calis whimpered, and his head snapped back to the beheaded creature. “Let him go!” he shouted. “Let him go now!” he cried to someone whose life he didn’t know if he’d just taken.

  More tears streamed down his cheeks as the silence echoed through the air. He took a step backwards—if he couldn’t fight the woman, then how could he protect Taeru? She wasn’t dead—she wasn’t dead because she still had Taeru trapped in that bloody crystal. “Fight me, bitch!” he screamed. Her body was all but gone, and her head was just staring at him without life.

  Rather than standing and waiting for something, Calis turned back to the crystal obelisk and slammed his sword into the gemstone again. His sword cut into the violet, and sparks flew around him as the thrum of pain lit into his body. Sparks of energy flew from the creation, and when his sword reached the bottom, he saw the strange scratch that he’d made. He repeated the process, heedless of the pain. His sword barely sliced into the crystal, but it did so. He stared blankly at Taeru’s cataleptic face. His eyes narrowed, and he pulled his sword back, slamming it into the crystal with renewed force upon his next blow. This time, with the sparks of energy, there was a howl from somewhere that he could not understand. “GIVE HIM BACK!” he shouted.

  The ground behind him shook, even as Calis slammed his sword into the crystal another time. Inevitably, though, he turned to face what he knew would be round two against the Magister Aleia. A roar pierced the air before he’d managed to turn, and what he saw when he turned would have been horrifying to any other man. A dragon. A dragon that he had been assured only existed in tales that had long since passed. Dragons of old, with their scales, and large wings that extended the length of six men. Teeth that could tear through the hardest of metals with the slightest of touch, and eyes that could see into the soul of a man and tear it out—or so said the legends.

  The dragon before him was solid, unlike the other forms that the Magister had taken. Her eyes were the same—yellow, as they stared at him, intent on causing tremors of terror to gnaw at his body. Though, the only tremor that possessed him was one of anger and desperation. The creature stood his height five times, with claws that rested on the ground and looked no less sharp than her teeth, a tail with a barb at the end of it that swished through the air with menace, and three backwards horns that twisted upwards from the back of her eyes, coming out the back of her head—even they looked as though they could have impaled Calis. And her width was the largest of all, spanning what felt like a thousand paces. The creature was white, with a black stomach, and yellow eyes and teeth. “You are but a man, Calis Tsrali, you cannot hope to stand against me,” her voice echoed through the air.

  “Come and get me, then,” he snarled. If this was a way that he could free his lover, then he would fight it without batting an eyelash. He held his sword in front of him, and fear remained completely absent from his mind. “Witch.”

  Taking the challenge, she let out a terrifying roar and opened her mouth to release a strange, black fire from which Calis leapt away. The fire destroyed all in its wake, not simply burning the ground, but charring it, leaving it without life. And yet, as Calis stared at it—he only thought of Taeru—was that what this monster was doing to him? Desperation exploded through him, and he shook his head. He ran towards the dragon, a feat that most would have considered insane.

  The dragon turned to face him as he slid along the ground, cutting along its stomach with a risen sword. She let out a slight groan of frustration, and then she let out another wave of fire away fr
om which he rolled. He wished fervently that he’d had a shield, but there was no guarantee that one of those would dissuade the life-sucking fire either. The dragon leapt towards him with surprising agility, and the talons reached down as he jumped aside, catching her stub of an arm with his sword. When she landed, she turned to spew that fire again, and he was forced to dive to the side.

  The dragon’s wings spread, and she raised momentarily, landing against his body with one of her back feet. He let out a shocked cry of pain, and the weight began to slowly crush his body. His hand somehow managed to keep its grip on his sword, and the Magister angled herself so that she could shoot the fire at his trapped form. He squirmed, pushing his sword into the foot of the beast with desperation. When nothing happened, he pulled back and stabbed upwards once more.

  When she lowered her head enough, Calis managed to pull his body just far enough away that he could raise his sword so that it nearly pierced the skin of her throat. She growled, and as she let out another burst of fire, he lunged forward, leaping behind the tail of the monster. Unfortunately, she was well aware of his presence, and the blunt side of the barb on her tail slammed into his side and sent him skidding across the grove. Mud shot upwards, slicing into his eyes with a mild sting.

  He pulled himself up, though, readying his sword for another round. As he watched, the dragon spread her wings again, and this time she launched fully into the air, flapping the massive appendages and somehow managing to bring her disturbing form far above the grove without much effort. His eyes widened, and he stepped backwards. The dragon turned to face him, and as she started her path towards him, Calis saw her take the breath to launch the fire again. Not needing any more warning than that, he leapt aside as the fire scarred the grove with its power.

  The dragon turned at once, and yellow eyes glared at him, murderous intent blazing in them. Gone was the composed confidence the Magister had held as the woman—no, she was angry with him. Good, he thought. Working to keep his eyes from Taeru, for he knew it would very surely end in his death, he prepared himself for another dodge. A vine beneath his feet, though, shot up and rooted him to the spot. Realizing a moment quick enough, he stuck his sword downwards, freeing his foot, and then, rather than pulling himself to the right or left, he ran towards the dragon as she flew towards him.

  Raising his sword again, he caught the bottom of the monster a second time. His sword wavered, though, and rather than creating a full gash—it was thrown to the side, and it nicked the wing of the creature. She let out a screech, and all at once, she rose herself back into the air. Then, instead of launching another attack, she aimed the fire down, shooting from well beyond his reach. He moved aside, though she fired again, and he was forced to dodge another time. The process continued, and he realized that he was losing time. She was not going to come back down. “Are you afraid of me, Aleia?” he snapped. “I am but only a man!” he repeated her words.

  Her eyes widened, but she shot another bolt of fire towards him, and he staggered out of the way. “Surely, you do not intend to manipulate the Magister of Manipulation, little Tsrali?” she asked. There was a smugness in her voice that he knew must be due to her imprisonment of Taeru. If he couldn’t reach her, then he could not kill her—and if he could not kill her—then he could not save Taeru. Horror clawed into his mind once more.

  Without bothering to think about the consequences of his actions, Calis stepped backwards, and with a solid thrust, he launched his sword upwards, at the dragon. He surprised her, for the beast’s eyes widened in unexpected confusion. The sword caught along the side of her wing, nearly crippling it, but then, she caught the sword and let out another roar. “Your desperation makes you foolish,” she informed him.

  Then, her eyes watched him and, turning in the air, she angled herself for another strike. After all, with no sword, he was all but helpless. He prepared himself, finding that he was nearly excited at the prospect that she would lower herself to his level once more. Even without a sword, he ought to be able to do something. He lowered his body so that he was near to the ground. She flew downwards, and as he stepped back, her tail lashed out again and wrapped about his waist, flinging him onto his back. As she positioned her body over him, predator to prey, he slammed his foot upwards into her stomach’s thick hide.

  Reaching frantically towards the back of his belt, he slammed a dagger upwards into her stomach. The damage was small, but she let out a groan. Rather than pulling back, though, she roared and prepared another bolt of fire. Pinned to the ground beneath her talons, his body flailed in an unabashed desperation. The fire exploded from her mouth, and Calis jerked his head to the side, thinking only of the boy still trapped in the crystal. Though, rather than feeling the tear of the destructive fire, there was a sensation of wind, as though the fire was drawn from him.

  Blinking, he glanced at the dragon. The fire was swirling about him, and it was being dragged towards his chest, yet it didn’t appear to be striking him. He blinked again, and this time, he looked at his own chest where the Cathalari amulet swirled, consuming the fire into it. His shock did not match hers, and using the momentary confusion, he reached to grab the dagger and then twisted so that he slammed the thing into her tail, pinning it just before the barb. Then, he wriggled away and put distance between them. Risking a glance towards the amulet that he ought not be wearing, he touched it, and it hummed with energy.

  The dragon didn’t waste much more time, she shrieked and pulled against her tail, removing the dagger and launching into the air another time. Calis stepped back, and his eyes narrowed as he looked into the dragon’s. “You can’t have him,” he whispered. “I won’t let you take him!”

  The path towards Calis was immediate. With the sword still clutched in one of her talons, the dragon pierced through the air towards him. Then, with a shocked cry, the dragon stopped abruptly, and his sword clattered to the ground. Calis blinked and immediately darted for his sword, rolling and obtaining it before the dragon could realize that she’d given it back to him. When he obtained enough distance, though, he saw the cause for the lapse sticking from the creature—an arrow. Calis let out a breath, and when he turned, he found he was not alone.

  Taeru’s sister stood, bow raised and aimed at the dragon, surely the position from which she had fired. And beside her was Lee, looking wary as he removed himself from the horse that he rode. He had, in his hand, a shield and a sword, and his eyes were narrowed. Calis’s own widened, and the dragon turned her wrath on the two newcomers to the battlefield. Not wanting to lose the moment, Calis leapt forward, and his sword rended the scales of her back. She used her tail to swat him into the air. The barb tore into his skin, through his armor, and he rolled along the ground after he landed.

  When he glanced up, he saw that Aela had drawn another arrow—despite the fact that the dragon was about to burn her alive, and Calis severely doubted that she had any magical amulet that would protect her. He really didn’t want to chance that, either. She released the arrow, and it slammed into the dragon’s neck but ineffectually fell away after a moment. “Lee!” Calis shouted. Lee was already moving, and he’d pulled the young girl out of the way just before the fire pierced the ground where she’d stood.

  Calis pulled his body upwards fully, and he darted towards the dragon and, consequently, his new allies. The dragon, though, launched herself back into the air. Aela readied another arrow, but the monster fired her own weapon first, and Aela was forced to duck away. As Calis reached the other two, he breathed unsteadily. Aela was staring blankly at her captive brother. Calis’s teeth pressed together painfully, and he shook his head. “I have to get him out of there!” he choked. “She won’t let him go! She stopped attacking the land—why won’t she let him go?” he asked, screaming for an answer.

  Lee stared upwards at the monster, who was hovering and firing at intervals, causing them all to have to dodge into separate directions. Her yellow eyes were glowing as they watched Aela, clearly more interested in Taeru�
��s sister than the other two. “Because Taeru didn’t tell her to,” Aela choked. “He’s such a fool. He was so worried…” Her eyes were filled with tears, and Calis would have felt sympathy if he hadn’t felt more pain than he’d ever felt in his life coursing through him. “He only held her to the part of the promise that would save the land, he wasn’t even thinking about himself. But he was what she wanted most. She hates him, for proving her wrong again—and for what his ancestor did!” Calis wasn’t sure what Aela was saying, but he didn’t particularly care.

  Lee, though, felt compelled to explain to him. “Long ago—a deal was made. Taeru is actually not Veyron’s son. His mother was with another man, and that man was a descendant of a hero who brought peace to Telandus and Cathalar long ago, so that the Magisters wouldn’t destroy them both! Aleia was so angry at the failed destruction that she made the Hero pledge his life and his descendants, as well as the lands, should the peace ever be broken.” Well, that described what Taeru had been trying to do.

  “But the peace isn’t broken—there is no war!” Calis choked, anguish riddling his body.

  “I know! Aleia isn’t upholding her end of the bargain,” Aela said weakly. “She is obliged to it, but only if the words are invoked. Taeru only entreated the part about the lands, not his own life.” Her eyes were spilling tears, and they were filled with weakness. Calis let out a strangled cry.

  Taeru, you promised…

  “Selfless, little fool,” she whimpered.

  “Invoke the words, then, Aela,” Lee said, and his voice was as calm and neutral as always. Calis’s head snapped to observe his advisor. Lee had a little blood on him, though the rain had washed most of it away. “The deal says nothing about Taeru having to speak them. Call the Magisters, now! Aleia will have to let him go!” Lee’s eyes moved weakly towards the obelisk, and then he looked away, as though in pain—Calis knew the feeling.