Once upon a time all of humanity could cast magic, billions and billions of lights dotted around the earth. But the light diminished after the first battle, and only a handful of humans remained. Over the centuries and Millennia that followed, the power wielded by humanity had begun to fade and dilute, each generation weaker than the last and with the weakening magi, the ethereal light itself had begun to fade and dim. With every passing year that this war continued, the light died. While no one talks about it in the sanctuary, or perhaps under hushed tones, the scholars had narrowed it down to between two and three years. Two or three years until the light completely faded and there would be no light magi - all that would be left with the ability to cast would be Asrath and his generals, and that would doom this world to destruction.
Horal coughed, regaining everyone's attention.
"The destruction we witnessed in New York has spread, the entire East coast of the United States has been destroyed. It is very unlikely that there are any survivors in the areas under attack." Horal's voice barely above a whisper. "I know this news is shocking and catastrophic, but we must focus our efforts on the attack. We can end this war now, tonight, before any more innocent lives are lost."
Everyone around the table nodded, looks of shock and horror plastered on each face. But everyone kept their silence, tonight's battle would be critical to ending this war.
With one final nod, Horal and Wident opened a portal. Pulling on their light, they guided it into a steady stream that poured into the large glass door at the head of the room, within seconds the clear glass door turned purple as a smoky fog started covering the glass.
"It's time. I will go first with my team, we will take out the guards stationed around the sanctuary, we will then give the signal for Wident to move in and begin his attacks on the wards, once the wards fall we will move into the sanctuary and gold it. That is when Thomas will come through with the warriors. Everyone clear?" More nods as Horal finished his question, "good, let's begin."
Horal and his team moved through the portal, a flash of light every time someone stepped through. The rest of us waited.
Five minutes passed and no signal, everyone began to worry. I was holding Katie's hand, her big eyes looking up at me. She was scared, worried. I promised her I would keep her safe, and I meant it.
Ten minutes passed and the smoke inside the glass turned red, Horal's signal. Wident shook my hand and then he disappeared through the portal with his team.
I looked around at the warriors, they were watching me. But the fear, shock and worry had left their faces now. They were preparing for battle; these men had fought the traitors all their lives. This was every day for them.
Less than a minute after Wident stepped through the portal, the smoke turned to a bright pulsating white. Our signal.
I looked at my men again, all older and more experienced than me, but still following me blindly, fearlessly.
"Let's go."
I was the first through the portal, a flash of light blinding me as I stepped into the smoke, my lungs stopped working and my brain screamed. Seconds later, I was through. I stood in the rain, at the top of a large Street. In front of me was the black house, the wards had fallen and the roof was burning. All around the building lay bodies, I recognised a few as members of the El-Assum, but most were traitors, long black cloaks stained red.
I took a moment to take in the destruction that had already been unleashed, the front of the building was gone, blown away. The timber frame was scorched black and burning, rubble and brick had exploded into the building and to the side. Shattered glass everywhere.
One last look at Katie, a small smile, and we were moving. We entered the building through where the front used to be, we rushed along the passageway. We passed Horal's group, fighting for their lives to the west of the sanctuary, a group of black cloaks firing on them. It looked like they were winning.
Further in we came across Wident's group, it looked like they had taken the most damage, St least three magi missing. They were fighting a much smaller group of black cloaks, overwhelming them with fire. Even during the few seconds, it took to pass them, I noticed two more traitors fall.
We carried on through the sanctuary, never slowing. We came across black cloaks as we delved deeper in, they were in ones and twos, we dispatched them quickly with fire and sword and carried on.
Suddenly an explosion rocked the building, the roof collapsed behind us, fire exploded through the hallway and rushed towards us like a giant tidal wave. It was closing in on us. I felt for the light, it was always there now, just a thought away. I guided the light towards the fire, but it knew what to do already. It floated down the hallway along the floor, as it closed in on the flame it rose across the fire, blanketing it in a beautiful coat of white. The fire stopped moving. But I could feel it straining at the light, it was taking an extraordinary amount of energy to hold the fire in place, I quickly started closing the light around the fire, suffocating it.
I was sweating now, a huge display of power - but I was quickly realising my power was not infinite, it was not all powerful. There were limits, and large castings would still take a physical toll on my body. I decided I needed to practice using this power, after we finished tonight, I would need time to learn to control it and to use it properly.
The flame started to die down, in a matter of moments the fire was dead. The light returned to me, surrounding me again. I instantly felt my energy return. But I knew better, the light could be used to boost your energy, making you cast longer, stronger, move faster over greater distances, but at the end of the day when you stopped, it still took its toll. I needed to be careful just how much energy I exerted, if I overdid it, it would burn my body out, there were a few cases of death caused by it.
The warriors surrounding me looked on me with awe, it embarrassed me. I blushed and pointed down the hall, we moved on. Katie was squeezing my hand now, I think her link with me had let her feel my body tiring. She was worried.
The sanctuary was big. I mean, all sanctuaries are big, the sanctuaries aren't really in the middle of London, just their entrances. The sanctuaries are huge campuses located all over the world in remote places with no access, the scholars then used wardings to create and protect entrances in cities around the world - allowing the magi to find any new-born casters out in the world and govern them, and any who decide to leave the sanctuary.
This sanctuary was particularly big, so much bigger than mine.
We carried on down the corridors, the deeper we got into this maze of darkness the more I could feel something. Something wrong. Something corrupt. I quickly realised the feelings were coming from the light, it was sensing something and guiding me towards it. It must be them, the command.
It took us another twenty minutes to reach the council room, much like that of the red house, it stretched out across a wide Hall, an oval table in the centre. It even had the same wooden cabinet in the corner and the same glass door portal at the head of the room. To the left sat a desk very similar to Horal's, and behind it a window with a view out across London's city centre.
At the top of the room was a large group of traitors, maybe thirty. We halted as they came into view. We were hugely outnumbered. Behind the group stood a smaller group, six men. One of those men I recognised instantly. Asrath.
Within seconds we were under attack, basic training kicked in. We began shielding and firing back. Those first few seconds of battle were the worst, eight black cloaks and three fire born died in those seconds. Before anyone had a chance to shield or defend themselves.
The light was angry, the first time I had felt such a human emotion emanate from the ethereal. The light began to morph it no a sword. The light sword seemed to be its favourite choice of attack. I took the sword by the hilt, it was a two-handed broad sword of shimmering light, the blade reached out longer than my arm and built in brightness, the tip was impossible to look at.
The warriors behind me knew what I planned instantl
y, we threw up our heat Shields and rushed towards the traitors. Each of the warriors summoning a weapon of fire or shadow. Katie was still by my side, rushing across the hall. Her dragon was glowing now, her fire aura began to transform. Suddenly she was holding a long spear of fire, the handle was small and black and a long thinning flame spiralled out from the handle forming a spearhead of purple flame. She looked surprised, but quickly she was grinning as we closed the distance to the traitors.
My sword met the first traitor in a huge down swing, slicing right through his shoulder. The traitor screamed and his arm went limp, the sword of light came out of his shoulder with ease. I flicked the blade back, finishing the traitor with one more slash.
I roared. At everything. At no one. The traitors froze. The warriors moved in for the kill.
Eighteen – A Dragon Reborn
Katie was in the middle of her first battle, and everything felt so natural. She had rushed along a huge hall to meet the enemy. Her dragon had begun to heat and moments later fire exploded out of her charm. She was holding a long weapon of fire, a spear, that ended in a sharp point of extreme flame. She had seen them in a few movies she had watched when she was younger - minus the fire of course.
Thomas hit the swarm of traitors first, his huge sword of dazzling white light came swinging down into the shoulder of the first traitor, a scream broke the silence in the room, but it lasted only seconds as the sword of light flicked back to the left and the silence resumed following a small thud.
Then Thomas had roared. But it was no normal roar, power flowed through the sound, she could feel it seeping into her, suddenly she felt confident, unbeatable. Her energy was peaking and she was ready to fight. It had the opposite effect on their enemies, frozen now in terror - the warriors rushing to them, all filled with new power.
The traitors began to fall quickly, one by one they were killed by sword, spear, axe, weapons of fire and shadow - and light, swinging and slicing, stabbing and slashing. There were only a few left now, retreating to the smaller group.
Thomas held his hand up, we backed away.
"Surrender." Thomas's voice shocked her, loud and thunderous and dripping with anger and hatred. Booming through the hall like Horal's back at the briefing.
They laughed. The tall man in the middle laughed most. That man scared Katie. He had no light, only a shroud of darkness. It looked just like Thomas's cloak of light, but it was just a cloud of rolling dark. A void.
He threw a ball of darkness at Thomas, Thomas stumbled, rocked by the power of the casting. It took him a moment to steady himself and regain his balance.
Suddenly fire roared all around them and battle broke out once more, Thomas was locked in battle with the powerful traitor while the warriors fought back cloaks all around the room. Some battles were fought with weapons, but most had returned to castings of fire.
Everywhere she looked she saw fireballs roaring, dragon breath flaring. Back cloaks were falling, so were warriors.
She angled towards the man behind Asrath, he had a smaller shroud of darkness like Asrath's. He saw her coming and smiled, he started to pill on the darkness and she prayed that the wards placed around her would hold out against his attacks.
But they didn't. The small ball of darkness broke through the wards, she froze as it closed in on her. Her dragon flared. Heat pulsing. And suddenly the ball of darkness disappeared. The smile fell off the mans face.
She felt heat spread through her body and she roared. She didn't know why she roared, it just seemed the right thing, the natural thing, to do. Suddenly the man was backing up, terror spread across his face. She didn't understand. All she could feel was heat, then she saw red out of the corner of her eyes. Her vision then began to change, colours began to distort and stretch. It looked like she was wearing dirty goggles deep under water. Suddenly she could smell and hear things, things she couldn't smell or hear before. She could smell and hear, the sound ringing out across the room, a song of warmth, did fire have a smell? Well it does now. She thought to herself, for all around her she could smell the fire.
She looked around the room, her vision changed as her head angled, she could see more than she could before. My eye sight is like a wide screen TV? She didn't understand any of what was happening.
She felt so full of power and so full of heat, she roared once more, this time directing the roar at the man that had attacked her. Fire. The fire blazed from her mouth and shot straight towards him. The man ducked down low and hastily threw up his hand, darkness pooled from it from his hands, beginning to form a small ball, suddenly it spread, covering him in a protective case of darkness.
Very good, you're learning little one. A deep voice sounded in her mind, rumbling like thunder. The voice sounded old, ancient. Infinite. She felt a powerful heat rising through her dragon charm once again.
You're my dragon? She asked silently, curious.
No, you are my human. And the rumbling voice laughed deeply. But it didn't sound like the dragon was making a joke.
She looked around the room, her vision settling back into her normal sight. The battle was still raging all around the room, but there were less fights now. Maybe three or four left, and the warriors were doubled up, fighting two to each black cloak. But the traitors they were fighting were different than the others, each had a pool of darkness instead of light, like Asrath. The commanders.
In the centre were Thomas and Asrath, a whirling blur of light and dark, fire swirling around them as they circled each other, each one testing the others speed and defence. Thomas's sword of light slamming into Asrath's dark sabre, a much longer and thinner sword than the two-handed broad sword that Thomas was wielding with such terrible prowess, but no less deadly - and quite a lot quicker. Thomas and Asrath parried, stabbing low and flicking high, feinting and pivoting. A deadly dance of lethal power, one that would leave only one survivor.
Nineteen – Light Turns to Fire
I could feel myself beginning to tire. The longer the battle went on, I grew weaker and Asrath seemed to grow stronger and faster, each blow moving faster than the previous and landing with much more power.
The light was continuing to boost me, I could feel the constant stream of energy being absorbed into my body - but it wasn't enough, I was beginning to slow down. The dark blade caught me on my arm, opening a small wound that bled profusely. Another slash caught me on the top of my leg as Asrath ducked and spun, my sword moving down to block it in slow motion. A third slash along my back as I pivoted to bring a huge downward slash, he caught me mid swing, his sword snaking in and out in a blur of dark.
Each slash weakened and slowed me more. I was beginning to lose. I was starting to panic and my fear began to take over my control. I was losing my will as well as this deadly duel.
Another slash, this one catching me on my hamstring. I lost my footing and slipped. I fought to regain my feet while Asrath waited, a huge smile cracking his face into a creepy grimace. He knew he had me beat now.
I heard a roar to my left, looking over I saw Katie. She killed another Black Cloak. She was spinning around the room, unleashing fire and devastation on the traitors. She was a Dragon! I had caught it out of the corner of my eye, her aura of fire transforming into a huge dragon of flame, it had roared and destroyed the first traitor that had attacked her, flame had poured into the man’s dark shield until it had imploded, there were no remains.
I could feel my light reaching for the dragon now, asking for help, for a boost in power. The dragon responded instantly, Katie made her way towards us. Her fire began to roll out and my light reacted out to touch it.
The light and fire came together, and the light burned. I could feel as my ethereal caught fire, the blaze spreading through the light like a rippling wave. I could feel the flame burning through the ethereal and directly into my well.
And in an instant the flame coursed through my body the same way the light did, but it was different. Before, I could feel the emotions of the light, the co
nsciousness of an ancient being - now I could feel two. They worked in unison, travelling throughout my body. I felt the cuts and slashes heal. Energy brought me back to my feet, standing face to face with Asrath. A smile on my face now.
He backed away, I saw him call his darkness. He unleashed it into the roof. The building shook. The ground vibrated. And then there was nothing.
The room was in silence now, no one moving and the fighting had now come to a halt. And then a loud cackling split the night. An echoing laugh of evil rolling through the halls and bouncing off the cold stone walls.
I looked towards the sound, a cloud of darkness was rolling through the entrance behind us, the echoing laugh booming from the void.
Fear ripped through my body, I began to shake, Katie was by my side now, her hand in mine and our ethereal power combining, flowing between us. She was beautiful, glowing in fire.
The Darkest Light: Book 1 of The Inferno Prophecy Page 7
