“What now?” she asked.
Lokai took her hand and twisted her wrist a bit. The hand part of her armor popped open, exposing her palm and her fingers. He grabbed her by the wrist and placed her hand on the metal wall of the tower.
A white circle appeared, similar to before, and disappeared just as quickly. The tower rumbled, and small rocks fell from the top of the underground cavern. A section of the tower’s surface opened up in the form of a door, and a bright white light shone from within.
Taylor turned back and looked at Lokai. The old man shook his head, “From here on I cannot accompany you,” he said.
“You can at least tell me what’s inside this,” she complained.
“Inside that tower lies your mother’s weapon, the most powerful weapon in the Dark Knights’ arsenal,” he smiled. “The Sword of Darkness, Valkyrie.”
Taylor stood there stunned. “My mother’s weapon,” she said quietly.
“Go, young one,” Lokai said. “Take back what belongs to you.”
She nodded quietly and entered the tower.
A flood of light hit her eyes, but she looked through it all. She could see another staircase in front of her, each step made of a white crystal that glimmered like diamonds. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the bright light and she strode up the high staircase.
The staircase went up for quite a bit, but it wasn’t long before she reached the final step. At the very top of it all stood a white pillar, a solid pillar of stone about twenty feet high. She walked towards it and placed her hand onto its surface. The whole structure rumbled. The pillar cut into two identical halves, and the lower half receded until it was a yard above ground.
Taylor’s eyes immediately glazed over, not at the pillar, but at what appeared to be floating atop it. A double-edged sword of beautiful black lay in the air above the pillar’s face, the entire weapon glowing with a mystical aura.
She was awestruck as she leaned closer to it.
It was a gorgeous weapon. The blade was a sleek black, and it glowed in a mysterious darkness. Mystical runes were inscribed on either side of the blade in pure gold. It wasn’t a radiant, bright gold, but more of a darker, ancient kind. She reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword.
The blade sliced through the air as she pulled it away. It was so light she couldn’t even feel it. But what she did feel, was the tiny vibration that was coming from within the blade, as though something was trapped in there, something alive.
Is this how it’s supposed to be? she wondered.
She felt the blade rapidly become heavier. She tried to lift it up, her body having to put in all its effort to keep it in the air. The vibrations exploded with intensity and the sword erupted into a fury of dark flames. She resisted the urge to let go of the weapon and held on tight, bearing the flames that captured her and covered her completely.
Hello, Taylor, a voice entered her mind. A voice she hadn’t heard in so long she had almost forgotten it.
“Mom?” she asked. “Mom!”
Shhh, the voice said. This is not a time for you to give into your emotions. When I gave away this sword, I infused my life energy into it, just enough energy to teach the next wielder about this weapon before my consciousness fades away.
“I can infuse more energy into the sword!” she said. “Then you can still stay right?! Your consciousness won’t fade away!”
This sword, Valkyrie, is a weapon that takes after its wielder, she said. It is a weapon that I forged along with the ancient Druids of Armorica. It will consume you if you are weak, it will thrive if you are strong. Beware, for with great power, come greater demons.
“Mom, please,” Taylor begged. “I can save you. I know I can.”
My consciousness is already fading, Taylor, she said. I loved you more than anything in the Universe, but that cannot change this fate of mine. It is time for me to take my leave.
“NO!” she yelled. “You can’t!”
Taylor, her mother’s fading voice said, her tone soothing and calm. There is nothing worse than giving power to the phantoms of your past. Farewell, little one.
With that the dark flames receded back into Valkyrie, and the voice disappeared.
Silence fell upon Taylor.
And for once, she wished it hadn’t.
***
5-2
The humming of the ship’s engines was the only thing that broke the silence. Q stared around the hull of the spacecraft he was on. Since it was a military ship, there were no items of comfort or luxury. A few buckles and straps hung from the walls and that’s what everyone used to secure themselves as the ship made the journey to the White Knights’ half-built tower.
Q was quite confused as to what had happened after Taylor and Lokai left the council room. Taylor had come back with her eyes all red and puffy, obviously from crying. Commander Lokai seemed quite emotional as well.
When Q had asked him about it, all he did was smile and say ‘I was just reminded of an old student.’
“Your Highness, I still recommend you do not make this trip,” Commander Reagan complained. He was seated right next to Q, and beside him was the Empress herself, dressed in Dark Knight battle armor.
“I will not hear any excuses, Reagan,” Andrea said. “My Palace is under threat. I will not sit quietly when all of you are out fighting for its safety.”
“Also,” Q interjected. “If she were in the Palace, then one of us would have had to stay back to protect her. I’m not sure if we could afford to lose people on a mission like this.”
Commander Reagan glared at him, and Q instantly regretted opening his mouth.
Andrea laughed, “Listen to the boy, Reagan.”
“Very well, your Highness,” the Commander sighed.
The P.A. system turned on. “One minute to drop point,” the pilot said.
Taylor, who was sitting on the opposite side of the ship along with Lokai, unstrapped herself and stood up. “This is it, guys,” she said. “Whatever happens here, we take down Levi and Albion. Just make sure you don’t knock them around too much,” she grinned, an expression which that looked quite weird along with her red eyes.
Makes her look like the devil to be honest, he thought.
He noticed that Taylor was carrying two sheaths with her, one on either side of her waist.
Ah, that gift from her mother must have been a sword, he realized. He was quite eager to see what it looked like. A weapon from the Dark Knights’ armory would have to be worthy of the legends.
Suddenly, the ship tremored violently. For a second everyone was on the floor, and then they crashed into the roof.
“The ship’s been taken down!” Commander Reagan yelled.
Q saw the hull door slowly open. The massive door pushed out until they had a good view of the outside.
Time to go, he thought. He focused and spread out his hands. Energy emanated from his very being and seeped through everyone around him until a thin layer of white light covered them all.
He glanced at Taylor and saw that he had been able to give her an energy suit as well. Since she was a sorceress now, he was a little worried that her Elementa of Darkness might go berserk on coming in contact with his Elementa of Light.
Well that theory seems to be trash now, he grinned.
He flew everyone out of the ship.
And right into gun fire.
It took him an instant to notice that the fire was coming from a series of anti-spacecraft guns on the ground.
I thought they couldn’t reach us at this height, he gritted his teeth. Levi seemed to be a step ahead of them all the time.
“Let’s see how you like a bit of sizzle,” he concentrated and threw his hand into the air. A massive bolt of lightning thundered towards the ground and fried the weapons. But he knew it wouldn’t be too long before the backup weaponry came out. They had to move fast.
“I’m taking us down, guys,” he said and they all surged to the ground. The wind roared in their ears as they shot
through the cold night sky. They landed hard onto the surface, throwing up the desert sand around them.
“My, my, my,” a voice said.
Q turned around, recognizing the voice, his body getting ready to attack in full force.
Levi walked up to them, with Albion and half a dozen White Knights right behind him. “It’s so nice to see you again, Q,” he smirked.
“I really can’t say the same,” Q said calmly.
“Well, I’ll let you beg for mercy if you would prefer it,” he said.
“Charge!” Taylor cried. She, and the Commanders rushed out to take on the enemy. Levi and Albion moved behind all the White Knights, who had instantly prepared to defend.
“We’re ready,” Lokai whispered in Q’s ear before drawing his sword against the White Knights.
The Empress positioned herself behind them all, providing support with her Druid attacks. She could use up her life energy quite quickly though, which was why she told them she would use it as a last resort.
As for Q, he closed his eyes, and focused his energy. I can feel them, he thought. I can feel the light around them.
He lowered his stance and raised arms into the sky. “Teleport!” he yelled.
A sleek, black spacecraft shot out of nowhere and headed through the sky, straight for the White Knight tower. Two figures, one in a green battle armor and the other in black, jumped out of the craft.
Chris and Razy, he realized. Right on schedule.
Q formed energy suits around them with his Elementa of Light. In seconds they were safely on the ground. The spacecraft hurtled towards the tower, ready to wreck it apart; it and everything sinister inside.
We’ve got them, Q grinned.
Suddenly, the ground tremored violently. A massive tornado of water rose out of the sand and covered the whole tower, forming a swirling barrier around it. The ship tussled helplessly in the massive vortex of water. Q watched in horror as the spacecraft was ripped to pieces by the raging torrents.
And just like that the water swiftly receded back into the ground, leaving behind a spotless tower and an utterly wrecked spacecraft. Q stood speechless as the last drop of water disappeared into the ground. He couldn’t fathom what had just happened. There was no way any machine could have pulled that much water from the ground and swirled it into a twister.
Just what the heck was that? he thought, his mind furiously searching for answers.
A sinister laugh echoed through the air, “You see, Q, there’s something I never told you,” Levi walked toward him, his green eyes sparkling with power. A river of water rose from the ground and spiralled around his body, tormenting the winds around him.
“I’m a Water Druid.”
***
5-3
Q’s mind was racing. He had never considered that Levi was a Druid, nor had he considered that he would control an Elementa as strong as the Elementa of Water.
Just how in the world did he get so powerful? he wondered. A thought struck his mind and his eyes instantly widened, in fear and surprise and disbelief.
“Ah,” Levi smiled. “I see you’ve realized it.”
“You,” Q glared at him. “You’ve reached your NOVA form haven’t you?”
“Hit the mark with your first try!” Levi exclaimed. “I must say, it’s very satisfying to play with you like this,” he chuckled as he walked towards him.
Q went into a low attack stance, his energy immediately surging into his fingertips, ready to cast an attack in an instant.
Levi dropped his hand to his side, and the water around him evaporated into a mist. “You must think I’m going to take you head on with my powers,” he said. “But no,” his voice went deep. “I’ve got something much, much, more interesting for you to take care of.”
His lifted his hand to his shoulder level, palm facing outward. Q felt an aura of power shoot past him and then everything went quiet.
“Hellloooooo,” a voice hissed.
Oh dear god, Q recognized the voice. Please don’t let it be that.
He turned around and saw Razy slowly walking towards them. His eyes had turned back to pure black, and his whole body was encompassed in a dark flame. He had reverted to the way he was the first time they had seen him - crazy and powerful. Not a very smart combo.
Razy disappeared from Q’s sight and reappeared right behind him. Q braced himself to be attacked but it never came. He turned around to see the sick Dark Knight completely ignore him and charge right at Taylor, clawing at her with his hands. She dodged each attack and pushed back at him with a series of punches, but Razy wasn’t backing down.
“The Tenebrae EcQuest is at its worst now,” Levi smirked. “The Elementa of Water is quite nifty at controlling things isn’t it?”
He controlled the parasite because it was water based? Q’s eyes widened. Could he technically control me as well then?
“Do not worry,” he laughed. “I cannot control biological beings as large as you. To be honest, I prefer the limitation on my powers,” he said. “That way all of this becomes much more fun.”
Rage clouded Q’s mind. “You think this is all a game?!” he charged at Levi.
“Q!” he heard Taylor’s voice call out to him.
Something charged into his side with the force of a freight train, and he flew through the air, landing hard on the soft desert sand. He coughed hard as he tried to get up, grimacing as pain shot through his side.
He looked up to see a domed shield around him, a shield of black energy. He looked through the shield and saw a Dark Knight behind everyone else with her hands in the air, a typical casting stance.
Andrea, he realized. She had provided support for him by casting the shield.
Razy charged into the dark dome once again, and Q felt it vibrate tremendously. Parts of it slowly began to crack.
This thing won’t hold long, he realized. I need to find some way to fight back.
The most obvious answer was to use his Elementa of Light to take Razy out, but for some reason Q could feel that his powers alone wouldn’t be enough. The aura Razy emanated unnerved him, as though there were something about his condition that was beyond him.
Based on what he’d heard of the Tenebrae EcQuest from Chris, he knew the parasite loved to suck up energy, so that meant Razy could potentially just absorb all his attacks.
The shield shattered and dissipated into the air. Right at that moment, Taylor charged into her Dark Knight colleague and sent him flying.
She helped Q up. “Why is Razy even here in the first place? And Chris too. Both of them are injured terribly. A battlefield is the last place they should be.”
“It was Commander Lokai’s idea,” Q said as he checked his body for injuries. “He figured we could use a spacecraft to take out the tower by ejecting the pilots at the very last moment and crashing the ship into the tower’s base.”
“Why did the pilots have to be Chris and Razy though?”
“They’re the only people left that we can really trust,” Q said. His heart ached as the words came out of his mouth.
He heard the sound of metal on metal come from his right. He turned to see Commander Reagan and Commander Lokai take on the White Knights Levi had brought with him. Chris stood next to Andrea, trying to fend off the Knights with her Elementa of Wind.
“We’re really outnumbered on this one,” Taylor murmured.
Razy picked himself off the ground and looked at both of them. “Helloooo,” he yelled.
“What is wrong with that kid?” Q asked.
“To be honest he was actually much crazier the day I met him,” a smile escaped her lips. She drew the sword from the sheath on her left, a standard Dark Knight sword, and charged at him.
Q backed her up. If the Elementa of Light doesn’t work too well on him, I’ll just have to use my other tricks.
A circle of fire exploded around Razy, and the flames covered him completely. Q could hear him thrash inside all the flames, but not a single sound of pain
came from him. It was almost as though the flames didn’t affect him at all.
Maybe the Elementa of Fire doesn’t affect him? Q wondered. But that was fine since he hadn’t used his Elementa of Fire as an attack, but as a distraction.
He extinguished his flames just as Taylor readied her swing. He saw her rotate her sword and whack Razy hard with the flat of her blade. He flew through the air once again, landing hard in the sand. And once again, Q was sure he was going to get up and come after them just like he’d done before.
“It’s no use,” Levi walked towards him. “That parasite is letting him expel all his energy at rates even a sorcerer can only dream of. He’s much more powerful than any of us,” he smirked. “Until the parasite consumes all his life energy and kills him, that is.”
“You still think this is all a game don’t you?”
“He’s got about a minute left I’d say,” he smiled. “Give or take a few seconds.”
Q felt the blood rush to his head. No. Calm down, he told himself. This is what he wants you to do. He wants you to be angry. Just calm down.
He saw Razy get up once again, his dark flame glowing even brighter than before.
“What is that saying your people have?” Levi asked. “Ah, right. The flame glows brightest before it dies,” he chuckled.
I’m just going to have to shut that damn parasite down, Q thought.
He charged towards Razy, “Taylor, get ready to push all your energy onto him,” he yelled.
She looked confused, but she nodded and followed right behind him. He took a stance a few yards from the fallen Dark Knight, and Taylor did the same.
“Just focus your life energy, and imagine you’re supplying it all to him,” Q said.
A wave of water rose from the ground and cut them off from their target.
“I can’t let you take away my toy, now can I?” Levi walked up from behind him.
“You’ve been interrupting me too many times!” Q yelled. A bolt of lightning struck the wave and it sizzled into misty steam.
Before Levi could even say anything Q put him inside a shield of light.
The Quest Saga Collection: Books 1 - 5 Page 75
