Mage- The Ancient's Might

by S A Edwards

  Tulia nodded. “Until I release the magic.”

  “Or your dying breath,” Rickson added.

  “Want me to reveal you?” she asked.

  “Stop it.” Kyne shoved her on.

  We rounded a boulder onto a stretch of seemingly empty land. A mound of dirt sat in the centre, but no signs of life were evident.

  Kyne continued on with Tulia close behind him. I wondered how visible she appeared with her black clothes and mud-caked face.

  We reached the edge of the land and passed through a cloud of mist.

  My vision blurred, and then it cleared.

  A scaly Hellion lay a short distance away, eyes closed. Its long tail swished and battered the blackened ground. Patches of mist floated through the air, streaming from its nostrils with every exhale.

  Tulia crouched down and half-crawled along the ground, her movements swift and silent.

  The Hellion raised its head.

  Tulia froze.

  The creature sniffed, and its eyes popped open. Black slits sliced through yellow irises.

  None of us moved. My heart thudded, surely giving away our position.

  The Hellion looked directly at us.

  I stared, wide-eyed, as it cocked its head, still sniffing the humid air. Then, it snarled.

  Kyne grabbed Tulia and raced for the wall of mist ahead.

  The Hellion lunged.

  I raised my hand, releasing a streaming burst of blue flame.

  Siren moved in unison, white flames merging with my own.

  The monster lurched back with a cry, batting the fire away like troublesome flies.

  We sprinted after Tulia and leapt through the thick mist.

  Kyne waited with her on the other side, leaning against a rock.

  “Keep moving,” I urged. “It’ll come after us.”

  “No.” Kyne shook his head. “Hellions work in territories. They claimed theirs when they arrived here. None will cross the boundaries without good reason.”

  “Honour among monsters? I find that hard to believe.”

  “A balance is always required,” Siren said. “If all they did was attack each other, there would be chaos, and none of them would gain the power they seek.”

  I shook my head. He was agreeing with Kyne now? What was going on with the world?

  The stone arch of the Underworld Gate stood a field’s length ahead, blocked by boulders, many of them so large that taking a straight path would be impossible.

  “We’re nearly there. Come on.” I rounded the rock.

  A shadow dashed between two of them, drawing my attention.

  Tulia froze, her shoulders rigid.

  “What is it?” Kyne asked.

  “Hellfires.” Her voice barely rose above a whisper.

  I touched her arm.

  She shook me off. “Go. Run. You can’t save me now.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked. “If we stay still …”

  “There’s a reason they’re called Hellfires.” She trembled. “There’s no escaping them. They multiply faster than the dawn streaks the sky, and no number of boulders will hide me.”

  As if on cue, a hideous creature scuttled over a nearby rock. Almost humanlike in appearance, it held no trace of hair or clothes. Its fingers clung like claws to the haggard, stone surface, and black eyes lay in sunken hollows.

  Several more skittered into view, surrounding us.

  Tulia grabbed Kyne. “They can’t see you. Go now, before my gift diminishes.”

  “We’re not leaving you here,” I said.

  She ignored me, staring directly at Kyne. “Just … think of me when you get home? Don’t let me be forgotten. I’m true to the cause. Let me be honoured.”

  “Always,” he said, although no true caring shone in his eyes.

  “Are you mad?” I gritted my teeth, braced to call my flames. “We keep going. Together.”

  “If you want to save your precious Charlie, you have to know there will be sacrifices,” Kyne hissed.

  The creatures closed in. The scent of rotting flesh intensified the closer they came, threatening to make me gag.

  I spun, planting a circle of blue flame around us. The heat made my skin tingle, and Rickson raised his hand against the glare. Focusing on my staff, I channelled my gift into it, embracing the build in pressure.

  Chimera bared his teeth but remained silent.

  A Hellfire leapt through the flames.

  “No!” Force blasted through my palm, increased by the power of my staff, and slammed into the monster. It careened back through the fire and out of sight.

  More Hellfires dashed through, fingers curled, noses wrinkled in a horrifying snarl.

  Siren incinerated one with his flames. Dust scattered across the ground.

  Chimera swiped at another, leaving deep scratches across its face and chest. It dropped with a thud and writhed. Black veins spread from the wound.

  Rickson ducked.

  Kyne wrapped his tarlike energy around the face of one, forcing it back through my fire, but they kept coming.

  Then two landed on Tulia.

  39

  Tulia screamed and collapsed, buried under the vicious attacks of the Hellfires.

  I gasped and lost concentration. My flames parted just as silence replaced her screams.

  “Move!” Kyne shoved me through the gap.

  I tripped over my feet, stumbling blindly in the shadows of the jutting rocks.

  A warm hand caught my arm, and the scent of vanilla drowned out the odour of the Hellfires.

  The scene rippled, the effects of Tulia’s failing gift marking her final breath.

  A line of stones broke up the ground ahead.

  Kyne dove across it and doubled over, fighting to catch his breath.

  A shiver in the air revealed we had left the Hellfires’ territory, and I staggered to a stop. Tears coursed down my cheeks. “You left her there. How could you leave her?”

  Kyne rounded on me. “What did you want me to do? Another few moments and we would have joined her on the other side.”

  I shook my head. Why did I bother confronting him? He’d never shown a shred of remorse. Maybe he was a Hellion, too. He was heartless enough for it. “That’s not the point,” I growled. “We should have saved her. We have enough power between us.”

  “Not to take on a hundred Hellfires,” he snarled. “One is difficult enough to beat.”

  “You’re no better than them.” I turned away from him. “She’s dead.” My voice broke, and reality took over. The lives lost, the people hurt, the closeness of dawn.

  Siren grabbed me. “Listen to me.”

  I shook my head, trembling in his hold. So many were hurt. So many had died. Tulia’s screams still resounded in my mind, forcing me to relive the horror of the Hellfires.

  “Listen.” Siren pressed his nose against mine.

  Comfort spread through me, though not enough to diminish the sense of grief and shock.

  “If it hadn’t been for Tulia, we wouldn’t have got this far,” Siren said. “We owe it to her to keep going. To save Charlie. That’s the goal. We mustn’t lose sight of that.”

  More tears spilled over, but I blinked them back, fighting for control once more.

  “Right.” I swallowed. “Charlie needs me.” The Gate was so close. I turned toward the arch. There it stood, closer than before, but not close enough.

  Weight slammed down on me.

  I gasped and swayed. My shoulder hit a tall boulder.

  “Clara?” Siren’s concern cut through my whirling mind.

  I could sense the Gates, every one in this world, light and dark. Their power was fading, becoming weaker. The magic pulsed, a ball of light and shadow, reaching for me in uncontrollable waves.

  Cracks streaked through the ball, and the glee of furious Hellions touched my mind.

  Siren took my arm.

  I shook him off and scrambled around the rock toward the Gate. “We have to move,” I raspe
d, fighting to hold back the failing Gates. Their magic slipped between my mental grasp, fizzling away from their designated areas.

  The moons dipped beneath the distant treetops, and the shadows pressed in.

  A huge shape collided with the ground in front of me, knocking me off balance.

  I stumbled and fell. A musty, burning scent drifted from the dust.

  A hideous creature towered with arms as thick as trunks and hands balled into fists. It swung one at me.

  I dove aside, scraping my arm.

  Its enormous fist thudded against the dirt.

  The ground shook.

  It grunted and swung again, this time aiming for Siren.

  He ducked, and my heart leapt when the Hellion’s fist grazed his hair.

  “Rickson,” Kyne ordered.

  I moved to stand, but Rickson grabbed my shoulder to stop me. Pink fluff spiralled in the palm of his hand, his expression one of grim determination and focus. The fluff grew bigger and bigger.

  I pulled away from him.

  The Hellion sniffed. Then, its eyes widened. It crouched down.

  Rickson threw the fluff.

  The Hellion snatched it mid-air and crammed it into its mouth.

  Almost at once, the monster’s pupils dilated, and all traces of anger disappeared.

  Rickson released me and smiled. “Now, we’ll see what you can do.”

  The creature cocked its head.

  “Allow us through your territory,” Rickson ordered, “and protect us from any other threats.”

  The Hellion stepped aside.

  I gaped.

  The Gates’ power faded a little in my mind, seemingly appeased by the new cracks in the winding ball of light and dark. I inhaled deeply, desperately hoping it was over.

  “Come on.” Rickson took my hand and pulled me up.

  I pushed closer to the Gate. “What just happened?” I asked.

  “You’ve discovered what the pink fluff does.” He grinned. “It may not look like much, but it packs a heck of a strike, especially with Hellions.”

  “It’s obeying you.”

  The Hellion stood still, apparently waiting for Rickson to move.

  “It’s great, isn’t it?” Rickson said.

  “Why didn’t you do this before? With the maze monster, the Hellfires?”

  “I had to be at the mouth of the maze, and there were too many Hellfires to control.”

  “Did you know this when you first gave it to me?” I asked. “We’re you trying to control me?”

  “No, no I didn’t know at that point.”

  Really? Did he really not know what effect it had on me? I doubted it. “What about when you tried to give it to Chimera?”

  “Well, yes, but you can hardly blame me. That thing is terrifying.”

  As though to confirm his words, Chimera growled.

  A spot of light appeared on the horizon, and crimson shot across the sky.

  Light and shadow rushed before the underworld Gate, and the Keepers appeared.

  “No.” I sprinted around the monster toward them, leaping over as many rocks as possible.

  Weight crashed against me, more powerful than anything I ever felt. It dragged me to my knees, restricting my movements. I crawled forward, breathless under the building pressure of the Gates’ power, and emerged beyond the rocks.

  The arch stood half a field’s length away, its dark magic pulsing like the waves of the sea.

  I could sense it, so near, yet just beyond my reach.

  All around me, Gates failed, releasing horrors into the world. Screams of suffering Mage and Mortals tore through my head. Fear, dominion, and revenge suffocated me.

  I dragged my pack from my shoulder and dug about for the whisperleaf. Its pink surface gleamed in the morning light, holding the promise of Charlie’s freedom. Hope welled. It would force Zantos out. He could be saved.

  The Keepers stood hand-in-hand.

  Hellions surrounded them with aggressive grunts, no longer keeping to their chosen territories.

  I struggled to move under the power that seized me. The Underworld Gate remained too far out. My will grazed its magic, unable to affect it.

  White flame and black tar buzzed past me and collided with two approaching Hellions.

  Chimera’s roar sounded somewhere behind me.

  I sensed another Gate fail, and a wolf with glowing eyes appeared beside me, standing on all fours.

  Chimera pounced on it and dragged it away.

  Too many Gates. Too many were failing.

  “Charlie,” I cried.

  Siren yelled, engaged in battle with an elk-like creature with bulky body and twisted horns.

  The power of the Underworld throbbed, edging away from me. I reached for it, fingers inches from accessing its power.

  People were dying. Their pain drew screams from my throat.

  So few Gates remained, and the danger I sensed from those last ones filled me with dread.

  I cried out, forcing my strength against their magic, pushing it back, but I couldn’t stop it. They would all fail. I had to stop it.

  I jabbed the whisperleaf against my chest.

  The pain vanished at once. My breath was dragged from me, and my chest turned numb.

  The Gates’ power faded.

  The screams diminished.

  Then, silence fell.

  “Clara.” Charlie stared at me on all fours, eyes level with mine. Horror glistened in his eyes, and the arch to the Underworld Gate remained intact. “You sacrificed your gifts.”

  Hot tears spilled down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Charlie. I couldn’t stop it. People were dying. Everywhere … they –”

  “I know.” He smiled, and his hands faded from view. “The balance had to be restored.” Slowly, his arms began to vanish.

  “What’s happening?” I asked.

  “My time’s up. The corruption has won out, so this part of me, the good part … it’s dying.” He took a shaky breath. “It’s funny, really. I didn’t know what was happening up here before, and now, now I understand it all.”

  “Charlie.” My voice broke.

  “It’s okay. I accepted my fate when you had to banish me through the Void.”

  I could no longer see his feet and legs. “I didn’t want this,” I sobbed.

  “I know. But I understand now, and it’s okay. It doesn’t hurt.” His voice trembled. “Listen, I’m not going to be the Charlie you know anymore but remember me, okay? Then, the good part of me can still live in you.” The fading reached his shoulders.

  “Please don’t leave.” I stretched for him, but he, like the Gate, was out of reach.

  “Don’t be afraid. You made the right choice.” His smile grew wider. “I love you, Clara. Thanks for everything.” A tear rolled down his cheek, and then he disappeared.

  40

  Iwailed. Tears splashed on the dirt between my hands.

  All at once, the sound of the surrounding monsters rushed back.

  Several of them stood before Rickson, including giants and the tall, poison-nailed Hellion that attacked me back at the bridge. None of them moved to attack, and I assumed they were newly addicted to his pink fluff.

  Siren and Chimera remained by the boulders, fighting the approaching Hellions.

  Kyne glared at me. “What have you done?”

  I scrambled to my feet and backed away, leaving my tears to turn cold. “I had no choice.”

  “No choice?” His eyes turned black. “You just sacrificed our only chance at getting home.”

  “And I lost Charlie in the process.”

  Kyne advanced on me, his teeth clenched. “That leaf wasn’t meant for you.” He raised his hand.

  Chimera skidded to a halt between us, hackles raised.

  Kyne hesitated. “That can’t protect you forever.”

  “I’m of no worth to you,” I said. “Just let me go.”

  “You owe me,” he growled. “You put us in this mess. You will get us home.”<
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  “How did I put you here? Besides, my gifts are gone. There’s nothing I can give you.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, Celeste.”

  Behind him, Lux and Umbra raised their arms toward the sky. Light and shadow spun around the Underworld Gate, stretched skyward in a whirling vortex, and spread across the expanse above us.

  The temporary prison to trap the Hellions. I supposed the Keepers knew what I’d done, that the balance had been restored. Either that, or they decided they couldn’t wait any longer to create it.

  We needed to get out or we’d be trapped in here, too.

  I searched for Siren. White flame flashed from him and blasted against a giant.

  Kyne stared at the Keepers, and then spun to me. His hands raised. His face twisted in rage.

  Black energy blasted from his palms like rope and twisted around my middle so tightly my breath hitched. He jerked and flung me up, spinning me through the air toward the Gate.

  I crashed into the Keeper’s vortex.

  Pain ripped through me.

  Kyne’s gift dissipated.

  I slammed into the ground.

  My breathing rasped, and a deep ache spread through my arm and shoulder. I lay still, fighting for strength but without being able to call forth Healer’s water, weakness coursed through my blood.

  With a groan, I forced my focus on the Underworld Gate, its magic now completely beyond my reach despite being only feet away.

  Lux slumped on the rock beside the arch, his hand raised. White covered his palm, as though he pressed it against glass. His expression of horror pierced me.

  “No.” I shuffled forward and pushed my hand against the clear side of the prison. “I’m too late.” They’d trapped us along with Kyne and the Hellions. Panicked breaths squeezed my chest. Ironic, how I’d failed to save Charlie and now faced the same predicament. And now, I carried no gifts to protect myself.

  The Keepers hadn’t been wrong about the creation of the prison taking their strength. Exhaustion clung to Lux’s features. And horror. Why the horror?

  Umbra crouched on all fours, chest heaving, just as drained as his brother.

  “Something’s wrong,” I rasped. The way he leaned against the side, the fact that neither of them left the scene to recover. Realisation hit. “We’re not in the prison. You are.”