It wasn’t long before Commander Voltross appeared, staring at him with clear disdain.
“Things have settled down after your little outburst,” Voltross said. “I see you have finally settled down as well.”
Lance was too tired to speak, or even to acknowledge the Drakaran. He barely had enough strength to lift his head to see him.
“The power you displayed is… different than we have seen,” Commander Voltross continued. “It is almost as strong as some of our stronger mystics. This is most troublesome for us. You see, I think we should just kill you now and be rid of my problem. Others think you are too valuable to waste. It is a dilemma for sure.”
He scratched at his bald head and then tapped the cell bars while thinking. After a few moments of tense silence, he let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “I will let you live for now. This is your last warning. Do not test me again.”
* * *
Charlotte’s heart finally stopped beating a thousand miles an hour, her breathing returning to a somewhat normal level. After Lance was taken away, Charlotte ran and found a temporary sanctuary in what appeared to be an empty warehouse. The layers of dust on the floor made her feel confident that no one had been here for some time and therefore would not likely interrupt her much needed time to compose her thoughts.
She had not expected to tell Lance she loved him. She had only known him for a short time, but he always treated her differently than any other guy had before. The thought of seeing him about to be killed made her want to tell him in case it was the last time she saw him. He had a way about him, a strong drive to succeed and a kind heart she found attractive and rare nowadays. But it was more than that. She knew it from the first day he joined the ranks of red robes. The moment he spoke, there was an undeniable connection.
If they didn’t kill him, he would surely be kept under closer supervision now. It pained her to know she was so close to him but unable to do anything. If only Master Sellius were here. He would know what to do.
Charlotte strained her brain to come up with her next move. Eventually the arena would wear Lance down and the strange and horrific creatures they matched him against would kill him. Whatever crazy power Lance discovered in himself would not always protect him from so much death headed in his direction.
Charlotte finally came up with an idea, albeit risky. She had to get him out of the cell, and to do that, she would need a distraction. Her plan would also require Lance to have more metal to break himself out when the time was right.
Her mind made up, she left the warehouse in search of more metal she could break down for him. With more time on her hands, Charlotte could make sure the metal was broken down into smaller specs so as to not endanger Lance’s throat.
It took a while to find a suitable piece of metal that had no one in the area, and she swiped it from on top of a barrel, running back to the safety of the warehouse. She had a lot of work ahead of her if this was to have any chance of succeeding.
Chapter 7
Lance was kept to his solitary cell for days, the silent mystic guards sitting on stools in front of the reinforced cell bars. At least he was feeling healthy again. Lance kept busy by pacing the cell so his busted leg didn’t cramp up. The few times he tried to ask the Drakaran mystics questions, they ignored him in stony silence. Whenever he made a sudden movement or sound, they turned their beady red eyes to glare at him in the darkness. It was unsettling.
The loneliness that came with sitting alone for so long was taking its toll on him. Lance lost all track of time and his hope to ever return home was dwindling with each passing minute. He felt that he was going to go mad if he was here much longer. His ability to search his mind for that raw power he stumbled upon in the arena proved too difficult without any metal or immediate threat to his survival to stir him on.
Suddenly there was a loud crash followed by several screams. The noise came from further into the under pit of the arena where more of the cells held others.
One of the mystics stood up and began to move off to investigate.
“Our orders are to guard the human,” the sitting Mystic reminded his counterpart.
The mystic hesitated and then sat back down. The loud screams of guards running and calling out orders clearly made the mystics worried, but they were well-trained and loyal to their orders.
Lance strained his ears, even adjusting his capacity to hear with magic. Despite the enhancement, Lance couldn’t make out what the men were yelling. Whatever had made the loud noise was causing a lot of Drakaran to rush toward it.
It was then that Lance got a burst of hope. He knew Charlotte well, and a timely distraction like this one could mean she was attempting to rescue him. That meant he had to be ready. The two Drakaran mystics guarding him were each powerful. He could sense their strength and their strong willpower. It would not be easy without any metal in his system. This wasn’t some training exercise back home at the palace. This was real life, and technically he was only a yellow robe, well short of becoming a Master. He might have the raw, natural power within him, but his training was sorely lacking and he knew it.
Suddenly Charlotte appeared in front of the mystics, wearing her mystic disguise. Lance knew right away it was her.
The other mystics stood up with his arms up, waving the newcomer away.
“What are you doing here? No one is allowed down here. What is happening up above?” One of the mystics asked, but was slammed against the bars with a burst of energy. Charlotte capitalized on the element of surprise and used some of the silver power she ingested to knock one mystic down.
The other was on her fast, slamming her into the far wall and pinning her.
“That was a mistake,” the mystic who she attacked said, standing up and straightening out his robe. While pinned against the wall, he stepped toward her. “You will pay for that.”
Charlotte struggled against the powerful magic grip and managed to reach into her robe and toss a bottle filled with copper flakes into Lance’s cell.
Lance grabbed it, pulled the stopper off, and downed the flakes. While they coursed through his body, Charlotte struggled against the mystics, their combined strength far too much for her to do anything but shield herself as they began to pummel her with attacks.
Her energy waning, Charlotte screamed as her shields wavered against the mystic attacks. She could hear her shields cracking, the cracks growing wider, reaching out like spider webs until it was barely holding together.
The sound of her voice combined with the metal flakes now digested into his bloodstream was the catalyst Lance needed to find the energy in his mind again. They would not hurt Charlotte so long as he was still breathing.
* * *
The first mystic erupted in flames and flew into the wall, collapsing into a pile of ashes in a grizzly display of power. The second one turned his attention from Charlotte, whose shield was hanging together by a thread, and focused on the more present danger. The mystic got his shields up just in time to block a ferocious attack from a jet of flame, its intense heat starting to melt the shield.
The mystic cried out in shock for help as the flames erupted around him, the intense heat unbearable. Energy crackled as he strengthened the shield, redirected all his energy to hold Lance’s attack at bay.
The call for help was heard, and three Drakaran guards wearing obsidian armor charged into the hallway, swords drawn.
“Look out!” Charlotte warned.
Lance waved his arms and a gust of hurricane force wind blew down the hallway and slammed into the mystic and Drakaran guards. Lance was careful to spare Charlotte as the focused wind knocked the Drakaran through the air to slam against the wall with a resounding thud. They were either dead or unconscious. Either way, the way out was now clear for the time being.
Lance grabbed Charlotte and pulled her toward him. He felt the strength within him granting him confidence. He kissed her passionately, both their eyes closed as they savored the moment. They both knew they h
ad to leave and that they were far from out of danger, but it felt right. He let his lips linger a few moments, staring into her wide, innocent eyes. He he had wanted this moment for so long and he hated that they couldn’t stay longer.
“Come on!” Lance said, grabbing her hand and leading her down the hallway toward the exit.
* * *
Lance knew it wouldn’t be long until Drakaran reinforcements showed up, and his powers wouldn’t last forever. They exited the darkness of the arena cages and made it into the bright sunlight of the red Drakaran sun.
In the far distance was a tremendous amount of black smoke rising into the sky. The source was unknown, but Lance guessed Charlotte had a pretty good idea.
They crept along the side of the arena wall until they came to a tunnel leading directly into the main city. It was about a quarter mile long, its walls made from sturdy lumber reinforced with steel every so often. Hurrying along, Lance suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Something wasn’t right.
He turned to look back down the tunnel, but there was nothing there. Maybe his imagination was getting the best of him.
When Lance turned back in front of them, he skidded to a halt. Charlotte bumped into him from the sudden pause.
Commander Voltross stood in front of them, blocking their exit. In his right hand he held a staff with a large crystal at the top. He wore obsidian armor similar to the Drakaran guards, only his had red paint along the torso, a design of some sort of symbol, its meaning lost on Lance.
“There are only two ways an arena slave leaves the arena,” Commander Voltross said, his voice echoing down the tunnel. “Either you die, or you win fifty arena battles. As soon as you stepped out of your cell today, you made clear which one you chose.”
“Out of our way!” Lance yelled, his arm shielding Charlotte, keeping her behind him.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Voltross replied calmly. He rubbed his free hand over the length of his bald head and wiped the sweat off on his cloak wrapped about his shoulders. “I’m actually glad you made this choice. It gives me an excuse to ignore the opinions of others that want to keep you alive for the time being. Enough talk. I’ll end you and your girl just like I will end all of humanity.”
Commander Voltross slammed his staff into the ground and a shock wave swept across the tunnel. Lance raised his hand and a magical energy field took the hit. Despite putting a tremendous amount of strength behind the defensive spell, the force of the blow shattered the shield and pushed Lance and Charlotte, sending them stumbling backward.
“He’s too strong,” Lance acknowledged. “Get out of here and I’ll join you when I can.”
“I’m not leaving you,” Charlotte replied.
Voltross marched forward, glaring at them as he grew closer.
“There is nowhere for you to run,” Voltross said. “Meet your fate.”
Commander Voltross held his staff out and a blast of dark green plasma shot from its head. Lance pushed Charlotte out of the way and then cast a wave of energy. The two forces crashed into each other, sparks flying throughout the tunnel and lighting it up in an incredible display of power.
“Your newfound sense of magic is not strong enough,” Voltross stated. “Humans are weak creatures.”
Voltross pressed and Lance began to falter. He was drawing upon energy he knew little about and it wasn’t strong enough against the Drakaran Commander. The plasma began to push forward, Lance’s energy wave slowly fading.
Suddenly Lance felt the energy strengthen, reinforced by another mind joining his effort. Lance glanced over to see Charlotte adding her strength to the spell.
For a minute, there was a stalemate, neither side moving either way. However, slowly and surely, Voltross’ seemingly endless reserve of energy began to win out and the plasma came forward steadily. The tunnel walls glowed green as the plasma expanded.
“Enough! This ends now!” Voltross bellowed. The plasma surged forward. Lance dove out of the way as his energy stream faded. The plasma seared his shoulder, his skin boiling and bleeding as he narrowly dodged out of its destructive path.
“Ah!” Lance yelled as he gripped his injured shoulder. It felt like his skin was being boiled alive. The searing pain lanced down his shoulder, into his arm, and all the way down his side as the plasma hissed from the sound of burnt flesh.
He stood up on shaky legs and tried to ignore the pain. It was so unbearable that he had to fight to maintain consciousness. With all of his weight on his good leg, Lance dove back into the recesses of his mind, searching for any other hidden reserves of power. He gathered everything he had left as Commander Voltross came closer, marching with a determined confidence toward the two humans.
Commander Voltross held up his hand and a flame appeared, hovering just above his outstretched hand. It grew larger and brighter as he stepped closer and then burst forward.
Lance tried something he didn’t think was possible or knew how to do, but an instinctual feeling to survive deep within him gave him the urge to try as a last ditch effort.
A blue portal shimmered next to them and Lance grabbed Charlotte’s hand as they stumbled into its waiting depths. He had no idea where it would take them or if they would simply be torn apart by his creation, but it was better than facing the Drakaran Commander’s fury. The ball of fire hit the tunnel wall where they had been standing seconds ago.
“No! After them!” Commander Voltross yelled as several obsidian Drakaran guards rounded the corner on large wolves and entered the tunnel.
“Gather the mystics and hunt them down!” Commander Voltross ordered.
Chapter 8
Lance felt like he was falling off of a cliff for several minutes straight. His arms and legs flailed about uselessly. All he saw was a bluish blur as he spiraled through the portal. He could feel a hot wind pressing against his body, suspending him in the center of a long tube-like structure the portal made up.
After a few minutes, Lance began to grow nervous that he had trapped himself in a bluish hell that would never end, a creation of his own doing that would not only kill himself, but take the life of the girl he loved.
A few more minutes went by before the portal disappeared and spit him and Charlotte out onto the edge of a forest. They landed hard, each of them groaning as their tired bodies rolled with the momentum until they came to a stop, badly bruised and dizzy.
“What did you do?” Charlotte whispered, her voice weak.
Lance rolled over to look at her, his body completely beat up, his shoulder still in an extraordinary amount of pain from the fresh wound.
“I have no idea,” Lance answered honestly. He looked around at their surroundings. This was no forest back home. The trees were monstrous, their trunks a light purple hue. Their leaves were mostly green, but they were larger than any leaf back home he had ever seen. The Drakaran’s red sun peeked just above the tops of the trees.
“We’re alive,” Lance added. “That’s what’s important.”
“Now that we’re together, we have to get back home,” Charlotte said. “Can you do the portal again to take us home?”
Lance shook his head. His body felt weak and injured all over. It begged him to lay back down and rest.
“I barely got us here, wherever here is,” Lance replied. “I don’t even know what I did to summon it. We’re lucky to come out of it alive.”
Charlotte reached her hand out and held his hand. “We have to find a way home. This place is terrible.” Her voice softened as she looked at his shoulder. “Your wound. It needs attention.”
Charlotte stood up and shook her head to clear it. She began to wave her hands around.
“No. Save your energy,” Lance said. “I’ll be fine.”
Charlotte ignored him. He was being stubborn and overly cautious about her ability. The wound looked terrible. She did what she could to seal the wound, using the little bit of iron she had left in her blood to practically pull his skin back together. S
he stumbled, landed next to Lance, and laid her head down on his chest.
They both fell into a deep, much needed sleep.
* * *
A twig snapped.
Mallagan shifted, turning her head to glare at General Crowl.
“For heaven’s sake, would you try to stay quiet?” Mallagan asked in annoyance. “This isn’t exactly easy.”
General Crowl swallowed his real response and nodded. He needed Mallagan. The entire Drakaran operation depended on her. He was growing impatient waiting for his companion to set up for her trance. Then it would be three whole days of silence. It would be agonizing, but well worth it.
They chose a clearing in a forest not far from the border of Delvin. It would provide enough room for the Drakaran armies to come through the portal while maintaining its secrecy.
Humanity would soon lose their bravest and strongest in the battles to come. Then they would submit to their future of slavery, hauling resources to and from the portal. The Drakaran had done so for hundreds of years and would continue to do so as far as Crowl could tell.
Mallagan continued to grind some type of powder around the circle of crystals she erected into the soil. She sat in the center, chanting words that had no meaning to Crowl.
He left her to finish her preparations and went for a walk to clear his head. There was something about this planet that wreaked, a pervasive smell in everything that he walked by. Maybe it was the air. It had a salty, dry taste and carried with it humanity’s marks on the environment. Truth be told, General Crowl missed his home planet. The bloodshed and excitement of the arena, riding the Great Wolves through the desert, the trial and games of solstice time.
Underdog Mage Chronicles_The Captive_Book Two Page 4
