Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1)

by Bagwell, Travis

  It wasn’t much, but it might give him a few seconds to react to an attack.

  Finn went still, eyeing the mists, and quieting his breathing. He strained to catch any sound that might indicate that he would be attacked. He quietly ordered Daniel to stay close, the fire elemental hovering beside his shoulder. Finn couldn’t afford to lose the AI. He needed someone to watch his back.

  His thoughts were racing, trying to come up with a strategy for fighting Vanessa. This was a terrible environment for him. He was basically in a flat field with no obstructions that he could use as cover. On top of that, the water and mud greatly slowed his movements. Even if he dismissed his blades, it would be challenging to hide, each step causing the water to splash and ripple.

  Finn suddenly saw a dark silhouette in the mist. Acting on instinct, he resisted the impulse to have his daggers attack the target.

  “Attack from behind—” Daniel called out.

  Finn ducked. The Ice Bolt sliced through the air above him and slammed into the ground nearby. The shard exploded as it hit the surface of the paddock, instantly freezing the water and creating a thick coating of ice about three feet wide. Finn stared in surprise at the point of impact.

  A variant of Ice Bolt maybe? Or maybe she charged the spell before firing? Finn thought to himself. It seemed that Vanessa had saved some tricks during her duel with Zane. Perhaps some of her ego was justified after all.

  Another Ice Bolt cut through the mists. This time, Finn intercepted it with one of his blades, slicing it in half. Surprisingly, the bolt didn’t detonate this time. Perhaps the explosion only triggered on impact.

  However, Finn’s analysis was cut short as Daniel shouted another warning. His eyes widened, and he dove to the side, narrowly avoiding a third missile and drenching his tunic in the process. Soon, another patch of ice had been formed along the ground.

  What the hell? Finn thought to himself. How had Vanessa cast those three spells in such quick succession? She should only be able to channel one spell, and he had observed during her fight with Zane that the cast time of her Ice Bolt was a couple seconds.

  Unless she can channel two spells…

  “Damn it,” Finn muttered to himself.

  “I see you’re starting to understand your predicament,” Vanessa called from the mists. The sound came from his right, and Finn turned slightly.

  “Water magic really does have some interesting tricks,” she continued. This time, the voice came from the other side. She must be using her doppelgangers to speak to him and keep the presence of the real Vanessa hidden.

  To pull off that trick, Vanessa would likely need to be channeling mana into the clones as well. How was that even possible? That meant she was capable of a minimum of two channels or possibly three? Or maybe she shifted one of them to the clones after she cast the Ice Bolts?

  He needed more information.

  Finn didn’t bother to respond to Vanessa. Instead, he immediately dashed toward the sound of the first voice. He soon caught sight of a dark silhouette and stabbed his blades forward, aiming for the legs. His daggers easily cut through the limbs, and the clone toppled to the ground, its torso already beginning to dissolve.

  However, Finn had a chance to see Vanessa before the clone disappeared entirely. Clutched in her hand, was a wand that he didn’t recognize. The entire weapon was crafted from a glimmering sapphire crystal, intricate runes carved into the base of the rod. At the top, a fist-sized gem had been fused to the weapon, glowing with a soft blue light.

  That’s new. Finn had never seen a weapon like that in the requisition hall, and his guess was that Vanessa had smuggled it into the duel in her bag. Finn could also vaguely recall one of his conversations with Brutus. His instructor had explained that there had once been staves and wands capable of channeling multiple spells. It seemed that Vanessa had found one – as a novice mage.

  Or the far more likely answer was that someone was cheating.

  Shit. Shit, shit, shit, Finn thought, gritting his teeth. He was in a terrible environment that seemed to be tailor-made for a water mage, and she somehow had a crazy rare wand? There was no way he could believe this was a coincidence – not at this point. Although, this realization did little to help him at the moment.

  Another bolt speared out of the mists, and Finn cut it down with a stroke of his daggers. He glanced at the UI in the corner of his vision, noting that his mana had already dwindled by about 10%. He couldn’t afford to keep up the channel indefinitely, and meanwhile, Vanessa was currently free to continue pelting him from the mists, giving herself time to regenerate her own mana.

  Which meant that Finn needed to get rid of this damn mist. He had an idea for how to do that, but he would need some time, and he couldn’t afford to let Vanessa continue to pelt him from every direction.

  “Daniel,” Finn murmured.

  “Yes, sir?” the AI replied.

  “Update my UI to show the rough trajectory of each bolt,” he instructed quietly. “We can assume that Vanessa has a control range equal to mine or less. You should be able to triangulate her rough location based on the angle of the attacks.” The AI flashed once in response.

  Vanessa could only form the bolts within her control range. Right now, she was close enough to be able to fire at Finn from all directions. That meant he needed to create some distance. That would give Daniel a chance to home in on her location.

  In short, this next part was going to suck…

  Finn didn’t give himself time to second-guess his plan. He sprinted toward one edge of the paddock, heading in the opposite direction from the previous bolt. As he ran, a rain of Ice Bolts sliced through the mist, Daniel shouting out the occasional warning. Finn dodged and wove, destroying the bolts where he could and only sustaining a few close scrapes.

  Finn’s UI continued to update, lines tracing the trajectory of each bolt. The angle of attack was narrowing the farther he ran. That indicated that Vanessa and her clones were all behind him now. Then Finn’s UI finally flashed, and he glanced over his shoulder. Daniel had highlighted a rough circle about 10 yards behind him.

  That meant she could only attack from one direction now.

  Finn abruptly stopped and whirled, his daggers sliding back into their sheaths. He dropped to a crouch and raised his arms protectively, his fingers already twining through another spell as he held his breath. Flames began to curl through the air, the heat causing the ambient vapor to hiss and evaporate. Finn felt an Ice Bolt slam against his shields, the force of the blast causing him to stumble slightly and coating his forearms in ice. Yet the molten armor soon ate through the ice, freeing his limbs.

  His fingers never stopped moving.

  A veritable torrent of flames soon swirled around Finn, the heat so great that it was pushing back at the mists. Vanessa showered him with a flurry of bolts now, but the lances were half-melted by the time they struck his armor, the ambient heat acting as a shield.

  Then Finn completed the Fire Nova.

  Flames raced away from Finn in an expanding ring, burning across the field. The mists put up little resistance in the face of the inferno that blazed through the paddock, soon evaporating and drifting away in ghostly tendrils. As the flames finally cleared, Finn rose, keeping his arms up protectively. He resisted the urge to re-summon his blades, giving his mana a chance to regenerate.

  Streamers of mist and steam drifted above the field and lifted off Finn’s wet clothing. His Magma Armor was in rough shape, but he had managed to remove the Obscuring Mist. He found himself facing five clones of Vanessa that stood passively in the field, watching him with an appraising expression. At some point, she must have blasted the ground around her clones, creating a patchwork circle of ice. Her plan was obvious; she intended to fortify that position and make it difficult for him to approach.

  Vanessa snorted, all five clones mimicking the movement perfectly. “An interesting strategy. You removed the mists, but that won’t help you,” they said in unison.

>   Finn just smiled, his eyes blazing with burning energy.

  Actually, removing the mist helped a lot. The fact that there were so many clones and they were all perfectly mimicking her movements was proof of that. Vanessa must have recognized Finn’s Fire Nova from their encounter with Brutus and realized that Finn intended to clear the mists. She couldn’t stop him with his armor; therefore, she had cast more clones in anticipation of losing the concealing fog.

  Finn had also made an assumption. Namely, that Vanessa’s fancy new wand could only channel two spells. Concealed within the mists, Vanessa could use those channels to fire more bolts. But now she was forced to give up a channel to maintain the Doppelgangers. In order to maintain the illusion, Vanessa would need to be able to summon Ice Bolts near the clones within her control range. Otherwise, Finn would know which Vanessa was the real one. That meant devoting at least one more channel to her Ice Bolts. Plus, she was going to have to keep pressure on him now that he could see her.

  He could work with that.

  Vanessa frowned at the smile painted on Finn’s face. In response, she started summoning more Ice Bolts. The clones followed suit, ice soon drifting through the air beside them as five bolts homed on Finn’s position. She then shifted the channel to her wand and began summoning five more.

  10 bolts. 8 are likely illusions, Finn reasoned.

  “Keep track of the source of the bolts,” Finn whispered to Daniel. “Maybe she’ll mess up and won’t vary the pattern among the clones.” The AI flashed once in acknowledgment.

  Finn didn’t have much time to think after that.

  He raced forward, his feet pounding at the water. At the same time, Vanessa began her barrage. Shards of ice sliced through the air in a torrent and Finn dodged and wove. His daggers soon re-emerged, flames curling around the blades. With deft fingers, Finn directed their movements as he ran, chopping bolts in half or knocking them off course. Most dissipated into harmless globs of water that promptly splashed back into the paddock.

  The clones shifted, turning to follow Finn’s movements. Despite his excellent defense, the barrage proved to be too much. One bolt slipped past his blades, and Finn barely raised his arm in time. The shard sliced through his fractured armor, and the molten armor finally failed. The missile exploded, icy shrapnel piercing Finn’s skin. He could feel a dull ache in his shoulder and felt warm liquid running down his arm now.

  That wasn’t water.

  Shit. “Daniel?” Finn managed to gasp as he ran.

  “She is varying the pattern,” the AI replied, his voice sounding harried. “I can’t determine which clone is the real Vanessa.”

  It was worse than that. Finn couldn’t keep this up forever. His stamina was already depleting swiftly just from trudging through the water and mud. Not only that, but the occasional missed bolt froze the ground, creating little islands of ice that made it even more difficult to traverse the paddock. Running through mud and water was slow, but he also couldn’t maintain his balance easily on the slick ice. If Finn kept this up for much longer, there would be more ice than water.

  He needed to create some space and regroup.

  Finn changed course again, putting some distance between himself and Vanessa. A smirk curled her lips as he retreated and she gave him a moment’s reprieve, likely allowing her own mana to regenerate. She knew she still had the advantage.

  Finn didn’t spare her that much attention. He plucked a few half-melted shards from his shoulder, his fingers coming away slick with his own blood. His thoughts were racing, and his fire mana surged in his veins. He needed a way to identify the real Vanessa from the clones. That was the only way he was going to win this.

  He inspected the circle of ice where the clones stood. There had to be something. Some tell that would give them away. What had he missed?

  He noticed the clones shift as Vanessa took a careful step forward, avoiding the defensive patches of ice. Finn’s brow furrowed. Vanessa hadn’t managed to freeze a perfect circle in the ground, and some of the clones stood in ankle-deep water. If he had trouble maintaining his balance on the ice, then so should Vanessa – the real Vanessa. A clone, however, wasn’t likely to slip and fall. That might offer a way to identify the real Vanessa. She would be the one that avoided the ice or exercised more caution.

  The obvious solution was to throw a few Fireballs at the clones, forcing them to avoid the blasts and step onto the ice. Although, that would still require him to move closer and he would only be able to maintain one dagger. That wasn’t going to be nearly enough to block all of the ice bolts.

  Besides, that only addressed one problem.

  Even if he identified the real Vanessa, he would still need to get within range to attack her. He doubted that he would be able to hit her with a Fireball outside his control range. His daggers would work best. However, that would put him at the edge of the circle of ice or inside it, and Finn was also skeptical that she would give him time to deal much damage before she retreated. If she gave up the clones, she could also re-summon Obscuring Mist. Which meant he would only get one shot – and his window would likely only be a few seconds.

  If only there were a way to win without killing her…

  Finn froze as a desperate, stupid gambit flitted through his mind’s eye. If he could identify the real Vanessa – even for a moment – it might work.

  “This is going to hurt,” Finn murmured to himself.

  “Sir?” Daniel queried.

  “Change of plans,” Finn said quietly. “Instead of focusing on the trajectory of the missiles, look at the movements of the clones. I’m going to circle Vanessa and pelt her with Fireballs, forcing the doppelgangers to change position. Any clone that steps onto the ice without hesitation isn’t real. Highlight the fakes in my UI.”

  Finn glanced at the glowing orb of flame. “Got it?”

  “Without both of your knives and given the data from your previous attempt, you will likely only be able to withstand the assault for 90 seconds. This doesn’t seem…”

  Finn frowned. Was that worry he detected in the AI’s voice? “We don’t have time for a debate. That’s the plan,” he snapped.

  “Yes, sir,” Daniel replied reluctantly.

  Then Finn turned to face Vanessa. She was watching him passively, her mana likely near full already. His eyes skimmed to his own UI, noting that his stamina had replenished along with most of his mana. He had lost 15% of his health on that first try, but it was slowly beginning to regenerate. He was glad he had chosen to invest a few points into Vitality. He quickly recast his Magma Armor along each arm.

  He had to hope this would be enough.

  Then his eyes locked on Vanessa, and Finn felt his mana surge. Liquid fire was flowing through his veins and the energy swept away his own doubt. He almost felt too anxious to stand still.

  So, he decided to give in to the sensation.

  Finn raced forward, taking a path diagonal to Vanessa’s position and heading in the opposite direction of the small field of ice that he had created after his first attack. Vanessa just shook her head, summoning another barrage of Ice Bolts. She was likely thinking he intended to repeat his previous tactic.

  That was fine. Finn preferred that she underestimate him.

  His fingers began twining through a rapid-fire series of gestures, and a single dagger slid from its sheath and a Fireball soon erupted in the air beside him. Without any hesitation, Finn launched the ball of flames at Vanessa and her clones. He wasn’t focused on hitting a clone, only on the angle of attack, trying to force each version of the water mage to step onto a patch of nearby ice.

  Finn saw one version of Vanessa step back onto the ice without any hesitation, and her foot didn’t slip on the slick surface. Daniel immediately highlighted the clone in Finn’s UI, and he felt a moment of triumph. He could do this; he just needed to keep it up.

  However, that proved to be tough. With only one dagger and with the water of the paddock slowing his movements, Finn was struggli
ng to fend off the barrage of Ice Bolts. Identifying the clones also did little to help since Vanessa would randomly select a version of herself as the origin of a real missile. He was forced to take the occasional hit or use his armor to deflect the blows.

  Within less than a minute, Finn’s body was riddled with scrapes, and more than one shard of ice was embedded in his skin, a product of a series of close calls. His Magma Armor wasn’t in much better shape. One arm was now completely exposed, and the armor on the other was already crumbling, but he didn’t have the time to recast it. The silver lining was that four clones had been highlighted in Finn’s UI, indicating that the real Vanessa stood in the center of the group.

  He eyed his health bar in the corner of his vision. He had 60% health left. It would have to be enough for what he had planned next. He felt his fire mana surge through his body in a fiery torrent – responding to the sudden spike in adrenaline as he prepared for one last headlong dash.

  Finn abruptly changed course and sprinted directly toward Vanessa. At the same time, he summoned his second dagger, the flaming blade sliding from its sheath. Vanessa just smiled as she watched his charge, perhaps assuming he had given up or was making one last-ditch effort.

  Good, Finn thought to himself.

  Finn dived under a bolt, sliding across a sheet of ice even as more missiles slammed down around him and exploded in a shower of ice. Then he was back on his feet, continuing his mad dash. He was almost within range, keeping a watchful eye on the translucent line that marked his control range. As the real Vanessa came within range, Finn launched a blade forward. However, he aimed for a clone instead of the real version.