“Okayyyyy,” he said dragging the word out and eyed the two of them.
“Have you seen Assan?” Flare asked, changing the subject.
“No, but I’m looking for Adam. Odds are they’re in the same place.”
“What about Rick?” Stella asked.
“He’s up there,” he said pointing at the wall. “We talked for a little while.”
“That’s where we were going to look first,” she said.
“You’re a smart cookie,” Devlin said grinning.
“I still don’t know what that means!”
“After all these years you’d think I’d tell you now?” he asked laughing.
“Please!”
“Nope,” he said. “How was your celebration?”
“It was good,” Flare said.
“You're changing the subject,” Stella said. “Why do you call me a smart cookie?”
He shrugged. “No reason.”
“Ahhh!” she screeched. “You’re as aggravating as Rick!”
“You did say we’re pretty similar.”
“You have a couple differences,” Flare said.
“Those differences are all that mattered,” he said barely in a whisper.
Stella looked at him. “You’ve been by my side for years. Don’t think I’ll push you aside as my friend because of Rick.”
He started rubbing his forehead but smiled back. “I’ll be by your side whenever you need me.”
Flare grabbed his shoulder and started dragging him off. “Me and Devlin are going to go find the others.”
Stella watched them go, utterly confused by the whole scenario. Why was he upset? I said we were friends! What's wrong with that?
Grumbling she turned shaking her head. Her breath hung in the air, the cold evening crystalizing it. Walking across the street she opened the door to the tower and went in. The torchlight barely gave enough light to see the steps. They needed to be replaced soon. Carefully making her way up, she stumbled once or twice. For some reason, those dark steps reminded her of her mother. She didn’t have many memories of her, but one in particular was vivid in her mind. They’d been running through a dark forest with angry men chasing them. The woods smelled of smoke, even in the thunderstorm. Only flashes would come to mind, like hiding under a rotting tree, or the desperate run up the hill.
Stella wiped a tear off her cheek. “I miss you mum.”
That night was the night she became an orphan. Months earlier her father had hit his ten years and died. At least the magic killed you peacefully and predictably.
The sound of her mother's screams still haunted her. Shaking her head, she tried to focus on something else. After a while, she reached the top of the tower. The steps ended at an archway. She ran her finger along the seams of the stone. Who knew how old this city was? The history books she read claimed stone, crystals, and moss were the only things present when Taranis had discovered it. Abandoned by a long since forgotten people.
I wonder what their culture was like? She tried to picture a people able to create a city like this. They would’ve been at the height of fashion! Stella stuck her tongue out. “No.” Simple, practical, hard-working, but they had fun at the same time. “Yeah, that's better.” Remembering Rick’s jump off the wall she smiled. My kiss was so bad he jumped! Maybe I’ll cry!
Walking along the wall, she reached a covered section. Four stone pillars held up a flat roof. Rick's voice echoed from just beyond it. She drew closer.
“So that's how,” Rick said.
After a long pause, he said, “Send as many as you’d like.”
Again, there was a long pause.
“Ha, if you could send one, we’d be having a different conversation.”
Another long pause.
Who is he talking to? And why can't I hear them? She wondered. Trying to peer around the last pillars, she leaned forward. Stella slipped and stumbled into view.
“I think a—” Rick started cutting off mid-sentence. He stared at her. No one else was there. He stood there silent. Eyeing her, Rick folded his arms.
“I, uh—” she stammered getting to her feet.
“Stella,” he said waiting for her to continue.
“Um, welllllll, you see, I was looking for you.”
“And?”
“I found you.”
A slight smirk slipped through his stern face. Then he burst out laughing.
Stella breathed. Okay, he’s not mad.
“It’s always fun having a mysterious conversation with no one,” he said chuckling to himself. “At least, when someone is snooping.”
“You!” she said. “You made me nervous!”
“I’m sorry,” he said walking toward her, his arms outstretched.
“No! I don’t want a hug,” she said turning her back on him.
“I wasn't the one eavesdropping.”
Turning back, Stella glared at him as he leaned against the nearby pillar. “It was a fake conversation!” But you’d been talking before I got close? She thought. And then there was the time I heard you in the hull.
“You said you were looking for me?” he asked.
Venom, Stella cursed in her head. Why was I looking for him? And how do I pretend to be mad when all I want is to see him? “I-” She started. “What are you doing up here?”
He pointed up.
Following his finger, Stella looked up at the sky. “What?”
“The stars,” he said laughing.
He was right. Too often Stella forgot to enjoy the little things. The night sky twinkled. She smiled, staring at them. Odd how this realm had a second moon, but it had the exact same constellations.
“Hey,” she said. “Can you see the other worlds you’ve visited?”
“Nope,” he said. “Each world has a completely different sky, and I’ve never spotted a similarity.”
“I think I’d like to see that,” she said looking at him.
He moved, and now stood resting his weight on top the wall looking up at the sky. Stella walked next to him. Her breath caught looking down at the city below.
Rick wrapped his arm around her. “You’re safe.”
Stella nodded, letting out a long slow breath.
“I’m surrounded by beauty,” he said. “The stars above, the lights below, and... you.”
Stella smiled resting her head on him. He lifted her face. She felt her cheeks turn red but didn't look away. Ricks eyes looked hungry. Not for food, they always looked that way, but hungry. A slight smirk appeared on his face.
“I think you know too many secrets.”
“Why, my dear Rick, I don’t know near enough,” she said in what she thought would be a proper lady’s tone.
Rick chuckled pulling Stella into an embrace both arms wrapping tight around her. He smelled wonderful. Like the ocean. Stella closed her eyes, resting her head on his chest. She could spend all day like this.
“Let's walk,” he said pushing himself up off the wall.
Stella stumbled back, glaring at him. Grabbing her hand, he led the way. A slight smile crept onto her face.
He’s holding my hand! Yay! About time. Holding hands is supposed to come before the kiss!
To be fair he’d kissed her and then dove off the wall.
Work on your kissing skills! She thought giggling.
“I’m sorry,” Rick said.
Stella pulled back looking up into his face. “For what?”
“I figured out who T. is,” he said. “His name is Taranis and he’s dangerous.”
By the serpent's tail, that’s why I was looking, she thought. “Why are you saying sorry?”
“You could be in danger, and if it wasn’t for me—”
Stella stabbed her finger into his chest, glaring at him. “Now listen here, did you physically drag him here?”
“Not recently.”
“And did you drag me here?”
“No,” he said.
“Then shut up,” she said smiling at him.
Rick grinned that grin of his. “And if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll jab you in the chest until you do.”
Rick clutched his chest in mock horror. “Now we can’t have that!”
“What you going to do about it?” Stella said grinning devilishly.
“Get some food,” he said pivoting on his foot.
Stella let him get about two steps. Summoning the wind, she coiled ropes of air around Rick, halting him in his tracks. Walking in front of him, she put her hands on her hips.
“It’s not nice to ditch a lady,” she said. “And you do it to me all the time!”
“I wasn't ditching you,” he said. “I was leading the way to food.”
“You were too! You never asked me to come!”
With an exaggerated sigh Rick misted through the bonds. “Stella, would you like to grab some food with me?” he asked grinning.
“No,” she said scowling. This is fun, she thought.
Rick stepped close his proximity making her tilt her head up to look at him. “Oh?” He said.
He had that mysterious grin she loved. Leaning in he kissed her.
“Mmph,” she mumbled. He tried to pull away, but Stella grabbed the back of his head, kissing him back. Yes! she thought, a warmth flooding through her.
She felt like sinking for an eternity into his kiss. His hand slid around her back pulling her close. Wrapping her leg around him, she leaned into him. His other hand started gliding up and down her arm leaving a tingling sensation in its wake. Time froze. She could stay like this for forever. But after what felt like mere seconds, Rick pulled away.
“No,” she said hanging on.
Wrapping his arms around her he pulled her into a hug and squeezed her gently. His mouth resting just above her shoulder, he let out a long, satisfied sigh. Stella shivered with pleasure, his warm breath sliding down her back. He gave her another quick peck and stepped back.
“Come on,” he said. “We need to find Flare.”
Taranis threw a knife into the wall. Attempt after attempt, why wouldn’t Rick die? He picked up the Celestial collar, spinning it around his wrist. What plan was he on now? F? Something like that. But actually, this was always plan A. All the others were him hoping to get lucky.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“We are,” Justin said.
“Good,” he said. “Tell the king it’s time for plan Alpha.” If this doesn’t work, then I’ll be dead.
Good.
Shut it. You will be dead too.
I’m fine with that.
“What’s the point of fighting him in the arena?” Jayden asked.
Taranis shot him a look. “To keep him busy. I can’t risk being out in the open again.”
“But won’t it reveal our presence?” Justin asked.
“Are you questioning my plan?”
It’s a terrible plan. Stick with it.
I said shut up!
“Leave,” he said waving them away.
You are the most impudent host in the history of hosts.
I told you… I will fight you until the very end.
Who should I kill today?
The voice in his head finally fell silent. Taranis bent in concentration then attacked trying to batter his way through the remnants wall. A crack, anything. He needed in.
“Nothing,” he growled standing up. “What are you hiding Taranis?”
Chapter 21
R ick’s arms strained to hold him up. Sweat dripped from his face to the floor. Breathing in and out, he ignored the pain and counted his breaths. He was at this for a while using different muscles. First, he’d started with a position halfway between sitting and laying on his back. Now he sat with his arms holding him off the ground. Breathing in and out, he let time pass his arms screaming at him.
“Tap, tap, tap,” went the door.
“Come in,” Rick said opening his eyes.
Blinking several times, he looked around his room and dropped to the ground. With a sigh of relief, he looked out the window. It was late into the day, maybe afternoon.
How long was I at it?
The door creaked open and Stella walked in.
“You really need to lock your d—” Abruptly, she cut off looking at the floor.
“What?” Rick asked.
“You might want to put on a shirt,” she muttered.
Looking down he remembered his chest was bare. “I swear I had a shirt on when I started,” he said. He looked under the bed frame, nothing.
“Hmm,” he said looking at Stella.
She was staring at the ceiling now.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Well um, we decided to, let you um, you know, but—”
“There we go!” Rick yelled in triumph snatching up his other shirt. It was hiding under a chair. “Not sure where the shirt I was wearing went,” he said to himself. Slipping the shirt on, he looked over at Stella. She was looking at him now, her cheeks still a little red. “Sorry, you were saying something?”
She licked her lips dragging her eyes up to meet his. “What?”
Rick grinned. “Focus,” he said snapping his fingers. “You came to my room for reason.”
Stella stuck her tongue out at him and shook her head. “Today’s matches.”
“Oh, right,” he said splashing some water on his face.
“Flare and Assan are fighting now, then it’s our turn.”
Rick spun around. “And we’re not watching!”
Stella gave him a soft smile. “Your face is still dripping.”
He rubbed it with the towel. Tossing it onto the dresser, he looked at her. “Better?”
“Yes,” she said stepping up close.
Rick wrapped his arms around her pulling her close. “I’m here to please.”
“Mhm,” she said smirking up at him.
Rick leaned in close, his lips inches from hers. But then, he waggled his eyebrows and danced away. “We ain’t got time for that! We got a fight to catch!”
Stella kissed the air, glaring at him.
Rick grinned. “Don’t worry,” he said. “There’ll be plenty of that afterwards.”
“Oh, you think so?” She said crossing her arms.
Rick winked. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
With that he took her hand and led the way out of the room. Closing the door, he pressed his thumb against the blood mark. With a brief flash, it settled back to brown.
“What magic is that?”
“Blood magic,” he said walking down the hall. “That symbol seals the room off.”
At that moment the coliseum roared. Rick glanced out the window then back down at Stella.
“Come on,” he said taking off.
They jogged to the arena where the guards let them through without a word. Climbing up the steps, the two of them reached the balcony assigned to Lightning Gem. Several members of the guild sat watching the match. Adam stood at the railing and Rick joined him.
“How is this round set up?” he asked.
“Top two verses the bottom three,” Adam said,
“So that's why we aren't fighting,” Rick said looking down at the field.
“We’re next,” Stella said.
Flare and Assan still had all three opponents, not that they were putting up much of a fight. Flare and Assan each fought one, while a fire elemental kept the third at bay. Assan was battering his opponent with a sword made of ice, but Flare was having a harder time. She was trying to fight an earth Elementalist, while at the same time trying to keep control of her Elemental. In a flash of blue light, Assan’s opponent disappeared. Instantly, he ran toward the girl fighting Flare’s Elemental. An ice spear shot from his hand into it.
Rick grinned. “Nice.”
The Elemental exploded into a ball of flame knocking the girl to the ground. Assan struck, and his second opponent disappeared in a flash of light. Rick looked back at Flare. Now that her Elemental was gone, she was unleashin
g an endless torrent of flames at her opponent, who currently was encased in a dome of red-hot rock.
“He must be roasting in there,” Adam said.
The rock began to crack. Slowly at first, and then a web of cracks rapidly appeared. An ice spear slammed into the splintering rock. It melted instantly under Flare’s flames, but a hole appeared where it struck. Even up here, Rick could hear the man’s scream as Flare sent her flames in through the gap. And with that, the match was over.
“AND THE VICTORY GOES TO... LIGHTNING GEM!” Devlin announced.
“That was sick,” Adam said turning around.
“It's always fun to watch them in action,” Stella said.
Rick looked at her. “I thought you said they were already fighting when you walked in.”
“I left when the previous round ended,” she said.
“And then there’s an—,” Adam started.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! AFTER THE INTERMISSION OUR NEXT MATCH WILL BE LIGHTNING GEM’S THREE VS HOLY DEMONS TWO! PLEASE GRAB SOME TREATS FROM OUR VENDORS, THIS NEXT MATCH WILL BE GOOD!”
“Speaking of,” Rick said. “I’m hungry.”
“You can eat after,” Stella said. “It’s not good to fight on a stuffed stomach.”
Rick staggered back. Collapsing to the ground he pretended to groan in agony. Adam looked at him funny.
“How could you say such hurtful things!” he said.
Stella started laughing and shaking her head. Rick just lay there, pretending to die.
“How are you feeling, Ricky?” Flare asked striding up.
Rick raised an eyebrow at her. “Since when do you call me Ricky?”
“Since I won us a match,” Flare said a big smile on her face. “What have you done?”
“I was busy getting attacked,” he said chuckling.
“Shake it off, we got revenge to plan.”
“Revenge?” he asked standing up.
“They attacked one of my guildlings. Now they must pay!”
“Guildlings?” Stella asked laughing.
“Yeah!” Flare said waving her hands. “I’m the boss, so you're like my baby ducks!”
Adam looked at her incredulously. “Baby ducks?”
“It’s ‘cause we were the ugly duckling,” Rick said grinning.
“I don’t get it,” Adam said.
“It’s a children's story,” Rick said shaking his head.
Gemini- The Beginning Of The End Page 23
