I saw Katie summon a small flame out of the corner of my eye, u told her well done with a sour look on my face. The tables were turned now, she was making more progress than me. The excited childish look on her face washed the softness away.
After the council, had left, we sat in the throne cuddling. I kissed her forehead and I told her I loved her. She replied without hesitation. I smiled. We shared my room that night, we held each other all night like we did on the road. But it wasn't cold, there was no fear of an attack, no edginess of being on the run. Just the two of us, in love.
The days stretched into weeks now. In the daylight, I was beaten again and again by the far superior Phil, every day I improved. I moved a little faster, spun a little more stable, my footwork improved, my swing strength grew and my flicking stabbing motions matched Phil's - but in sparring he outclassed me in every way. Being able to swing a sword and stab, being able to spin and dance on the tips of your toes, none of it mattered if you couldn't string everything together. And I just couldn't master it yet. But I took comfort knowing I was improving.
Every training session was witnessed by the entire safe house. They milled around the courtyard. After a few days, they begun to take part too. Everyone would practice their sword fighting - even Wident and Katie would spar each other. This made me happiest of all. Watching my people train for battle inspired me to improve even more. And suddenly the sun was setting every night and I had less and less bruises. And then none. A day of sparring Phil into a standoff. No strikes landing on either of us. Our competitiveness kicked in then, hours and hours of each of us trying to sneak in a hit, to claim victory for the day. But the days moved on - and still we were too evenly matched. He marvelled at the speed of which I picked it up, he told me I was his first student in thirty years to match him blow for blow - and in just two weeks.
The nights were still dedicated to casting. One night water, the next storm. We started taking our lessons in the courtyard as the nights began to warm. The other survivors would join us here too. Some would drink hot chocolate and gossip, some would cheer me on, but most were beginning to take part - practising their own castings. Our people never had an environment to train for war. We would learn to cast in class and then when the time came we would be sent out to explore and patrol our cities, training took a backseat. But now we could devote all our time to this. Every night I would try and fail to cast water and storm spells. But all around me I would see the magi increasing their power and speed of casting, using it in new and ingenious ways - I picked up some tips and tricks from the others, and soon I would take the third night to practice my fire casting. I would try out the new things I had seen from the others. We would all practise and laugh. And for the first time for weeks, I felt at home. I felt safe.
When the training was done for the day, we would all wish each other goodnight. Some of us would embrace. I had grown especially close to Phil, long days spent in battle had helped form a bond between us. After the goodnights, we would leave the courtyard, Katie and I would go to our room. We would talk about what we learned that day, we would talk about the promising magi we saw around us. We would hold each other and fall asleep.
It was the fourth week when things changed. I was six hours into battle with Phil, and suddenly I knew. I knew his move before he did. I swung my practise sword high and caught his on the hill, I flicked my sword back - disarming him. I landed a strike on his shoulder.
The courtyard went silent. And then they cheered. I laughed and slapped Phil on the back. He retrieved his sword and we continued. I didn't strike him again. But I won my first sparring session with the master swordsman.
The next day, I struck him again, and the day after. Soon I was striking him twice a day. Then three times. And in the space of a week, Phil called an end to our training. He was leaving the courtyard black and blue. He asked to continue our sparring, every three days instead of two. He wished to become better himself, now that I was the superior fighter. I agreed. I had more to learn, moves I wanted to test and try.
It was three days later, after our sparring session, that I finally summoned my first lightning bolt. It shot off into the sky with a clap of thunder. The survivors cheered again. Melanie smiled at me. Katie hugged me. I was making progress now.
Water still alluded me. Soon I could summon a lightning bolt at will, I switched to training water castings every night and put storm on the back burner. I wanted to master the basic water bolt before I tried to advance at storm.
But it was no use. Still my water turned to fire when I brought it out of the ethereal.
The two days in-between sparring were now spent with Bert. We would sit in the middle of the sanctuary, side by side on the stone pavement. We would meditate. Bert would show me how to guide my light out into how surroundings. It took a few more weeks to master this skill. But soon I could sense animals over a mile away. And then two. Bert told me the most he could sense was four, and at the rate of my expansion I would far surpass that.
As my light spread out, Bert would tell me about his childhood. He grew up in Arizona - our destination. He moved to Norway when he was fifteen, he wanted to train under Scholar Uthred, an expert in biology.
Soon my far sight was perfected. I could sense every life form for ten miles in any direction. I could sense the thoughts and emotions of a lie form as small as an any, I could sense the birds in the sky. And soon I began to draw light from them. The tiniest of amounts, I was afraid to leave the animals dead or dying. But it was fantastic to feel the light guiding back to me from all these different animals and beings. When their light entered my crown, I would receive little snapshots of emotion. The freedom of an Eagle as its wings spread and it dived towards it prey. The pride of an ant that lifted its first blade of grass. And soon I was learning from this animals and insects. Their ways of life. Their methods for doing this or that. And every third evening when I practised my fire casting, I would put these ideas into action. Strengthening a basic fire ball by using the sense I received from an ant. I placed the bulk of the light into the centre of gravity and left only a slither for the burning flames. The fire ball roared across the courtyard and destroyed the practise dummy.
Three months after arriving at the safe house, their scout returned. He brought news from the rest of the world. London was annihilated. Manchester was currently under attack. Berlin was falling and the US was a wasteland. Africa was gone. Just gone. Like the black house. Swallowed by the void. The entirety of Italy was burning. An endless flame with no intention of dying out. Everywhere the scout visited was in ruin or chaos.
I was lying in bed later that night, Katie was in my arms breathing softly.
"Our time is up Katie." I tell her. She doesn't reply. Just backs up into me to be as close to me as she can.
Twenty-Seven – Fire Calling
Katie was completely and totally, head over heels, crazy as squirrel poop, in love with Thomas. Her thoughts never drifted from him. She craved his touch when he wasn't holding her. And when she woke in the mornings in the warmth of his body and his arms wrapped around her, she wanted to stay like that forever.
But she was also excited. Excited at the progress she was making. She could hold a flame in her hand now, for a whole minute. Just a few months ago, she couldn't even bring it out of the ethereal!
She was in the courtyard now with Wident. She had the flame in her hand and he was trying to guide her into throwing the flame in a ball shape at the training dummy. She couldn't quite do that yet. But her hope never died. Her excitement never faltered.
Thomas was in the centre of the courtyard. His top was off and his new abs were showing. Daily sparring with Phil had turned his healthy stomach and chest into a chiselled work of art. She loved his body. She couldn't take her eyes off it. His skin was shining now as the sweat dripped. He was ducking and spinning as he unleashed a blitzing flurry on Phil, the first two strikes were blocked - the following four landed and Phil called it.
Th
omas smiled and helped him back to his feet. His smile. She felt a warming deep inside her. More than love and attraction. A new feeling, she had started to feel at night as his hard body was pressed against her. She sighed and went back to her fire casting.
She was beginning to dread their coming journey. They would travel across the world. They would be in danger again, they would have to fight the enemy as they made their way to Arizona. But in the back of her mind was that excitement again. The prospect of learning more. Her training the last few months had made her happy and giddy as her small flame developed - the prospect of learning from a Dragon born had her shaking with excitement. She imagined the things she would be able to do. Fireballs and waves. Fire raining from the sky? Dragons breath? She couldn't wait for that. Her worry and her excitement warred within her.
She was watching Thomas again now. He was sat by the warrior woman, Melanie. Katie liked Melanie. She was hard faced and fierce, but her laugh was infectious and soft. And she laughed a lot. Thomas was holding a spark of Lightning in his hand. He was mastering storm quickly. Every day that passed his ability grew. It was close to the power he wielded with fire now.
A few days ago, he had finally summoned a ball of water. It had lasted only a second, but he had the knack for it now. Time was running out now, soon they would have to move. He spent the mornings with Bert, the afternoons with Melanie and the evenings with Gray. And the nights. The nights he devoted to her.
The day flew by and suddenly she was in his arms again. She felt that heat rising inside her now. She pushed back against him and felt something else. She pushed back again and heard a small noise escape his mouth. Suddenly his hand was moving down her chest, her stomach.
*****
A few hours later she fell asleep. Tired and sweaty. As her eyes closed and the darkness came, she heard a roar. But she didn't wake. Instead the darkness swallowed her. In the darkness was a flame. And that flame grew and grew. Suddenly thunder clapped all around her. Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap. And then she saw it above her. Coming out of the flame in the dark expanse. A Dragon. It's wings flapping, every down stroke a huge Clap of thunder. The dragon closed in and glided down in front of her.
"Come little one. Let me show you what it will be like when you master your power" the Dragons deep voice rumbling through her. She rushes to the dragon, her arms wrapped around its long spiky neck and suddenly she's - on the Dragons back, the wind in her face, she's roaring with laughter as the dragon banks and flies straight down, she almost loses her grip but her legs are buckled in, she let's go and her arms go wide and she's - in battle with a traitor, her movements are a blur, she's holding to small thin blades of fire, her arms twisting and spinning in front of her, her swords a whirlwind of fire as she moves in on the enemy and she's - standing in a field surrounded by black cloaks. Thomas is unconscious. She feels fire rising inside of her and suddenly her aura is alive. Her dragon swoops out of the ethereal and into the real world, a huge wave of fire engulfing the enemy as her dragon closes in, it's jaws snapping and traitors falling and she's - awake now. Thomas is getting dressed.
She tells him of her vision. He smiles at her as she tells the story, her voice a high pitch as her excitement bubbles out. She can feel her dragon purring.
She hugs Thomas as hard as she can and kisses him. She still feels good after what they did last night. She can still smell him. The kiss turns into something else and suddenly they're back in bed and Thomas is kissing her body all over.
*****
She knows their time here is almost up now. The days are starting to get shorter and colder as summer ends. Soon a nasty cold breeze is interrupting the sunny days. Thomas has mastered the sword and storm now, his water casting still behind. He tells her at night how much he wants the scouts to find a surviving earth born so he can master all the elements. He's starting to obsess over the elements. He tells her they are crucial to defeating the darkness. She believes him.
Thomas tells her his plan to raise an army of non-magi. She likes the idea. Soon he will hopefully be able to gift the light to them, he needs to earn their loyalty before giving them power. She agrees. He's going to leave Bert behind to raise the army. He wants Bert to make sure each recruit can be trusted completely - only good and kind hearted people will be chosen, soldiers that have fought for their country, people that devote themselves to others. He has a method for figuring out their worthiness.
She smiles as he holds her. She turns into him, kissing him. Her hands reaching behind him and her nails dragging down his back. Suddenly he's on top of her.
Twenty-Eight – There and Back Again
The sun is setting over the safe house. I walk through the courtyard to the bench in the corner. The council are there. I call them to the council room in an hour and I head back to my room.
Katie is waiting there. I tell her it's time, the council are gathering. She nods. She looks sad. I know she's enjoyed our time here as much as I have. I don't tell her how much I wish we could stay. She already knows.
I hold her and tell her I love her. And in what feels like only a matter of seconds, it's time for the council meeting.
We're the last to arrive. I greet everyone. So, does Katie. We take our seats at the head of the table.
First, I tell them my plan to go back to London. I want to see the destruction up close and personally. I need to see if there is any chance that someone survived. It takes me a few minutes to convince them. They finally agree. The whole council will go there via a portal, then we will return here. I tell them Gray, Wident, Melanie and Phil will join us on our journey to Arizona, Bert will be in command of the survivors. They agree.
The council is dismissed. I ask Bert to stay behind.
"I need you to do something for me." I tell him. "I need you to round up the non-magi. I need you to raise an army. If all goes to plan, soon I will have the power to gift them the light and I need them ready for war. I need you and the smith to train them. I have a few notes here for battle tactics that I think would work best for a war against the traitors. I've seen the smith sparring and I know he's a superb swordsman himself, he will oversee training them with the sword."
He listens and nods. He agrees to do as I ask.
"I need you to use the light to make sure they are worthy. We cannot gift the power to anyone. In our meditations we learned how to feel out a person or animals will. I need you to do that. Find us the best of the best, Bert. Can you do that?" I ask him.
He nods to me, a serious look on his face. I know I can trust him to do this. He's the only one that can.
I leave him then, I make my way through the safe house to the forge. It's just the smith now. He's sitting on a work bench in the corner, his apprentices have retired for the night.
"Are they ready?" I ask him.
He nods. I tasked him with creating suits of armour for each of the council members, and Katie. He guides us into a back room. The suits of armour are all dressed up on pikes of wood.
My armour is a brilliant white and silver, thick steel breastplate adorned with the sigils and castings I gave him. The same markings on Katie's slender suit that rests next to mine. Each one tailored to us, the weight suitably crafted for our bodies. Katie's armour is silver all over and each line trimmed with fiery red. She loves it.
I nod to the smith. I tell him of my plan for him and Bert, and I inform him I need his apprentices put to work crafting the armour for the army. He nods and shakes my hand before we leave.
My next stop is back at the council room. I go to the golden chest behind the throne and throw it open. I root around for a minute until I find what I'm looking for. It's in a small golden box of metal.
I walk over to Katie and go down on one knee. I open the box so she can see.
I see the tears in her eyes as I ask her to marry me, she immediately agrees. We laugh and I kiss her. She puts the ring on and inspects it.
I head back to the chest and take out another box, small and black. Inside an
other ring like Katie's. They're craftings. The ring I put on will allow me to see in the dark, it will also allow me to cast Dragons breath instantly without having to shape my light. Katie's crafting has wards against water, fire, storm and earth. I hope it will provide her a protection against most of the traitors’ attacks. With that I take her to bed.
We spend the night making love, it might be our last for a while. We sleep in each other’s arms and wake in the same position.
*****
We rise early in the morning and make our way through the safe house, everyone is gathered in the court yard to see us off. Katie and I move through the crowd, I shake everyone's hand and tell them it's been an honour training by their side. Katie gives everyone a small hug.
We're in the centre now, the council are already here. I nod to each of them. Phil gives me a smile and a wink. Draped over each shoulder is a longsword, two beautiful craftings. I can see the marks engraved into the length of the blade. I've seen him activate them once, he uses physical blades instead of summoning castings. His craftings ignite his blade in electricity, a single touch would incapacitate any human or animal, when they break skin the electricity courses through them; stopping their heart. It's an ingenious method, one that I started considering, but unfortunately there was no way of the smith being able to complete the suits of armour and a new blade for me.
The Darkest Light: Book 1 of The Inferno Prophecy Page 12
