Trial by Obsidian

by Naomi Kelly

  Their narrow eyes glared at me through the taut, drawn strings of their bows.

  "They have the Gamma," Marx exclaimed, moving to the front of his line. He squinted in Reuben's direction, confused by the fact he was alive, and had a beard, "And the Beta!"

  "Do not be naive," Karnes boomed, "It is a mind trick. Those witches are fooling you all."

  Marx did not lower his weapon, but he did not advance either. The men in the Gamma legion began to stir and looked to the Beta group for support.

  "How did you survive the magician’s sir?" Marx asks his Beta. Reuben stepped forward and the entire coven wordlessly followed.

  Karnes growls a quiet order at a nearby solider and instantly four men encircle Marx.

  "You would do well to remember who your Alpha is boy," Karnes snarls, "You all would." He glares at Edvan but refuses to look at Reuben or me.

  "I did not have to survive the magicians. My life was never at risk. Magicians are not a threat to any of us. They never have been. The actions of one ruthless man with a mindset for revenge should never effect the way we see another district or group," he spoke confidently. His deep voice carried across the babbling waters with ease, although I was unsure if it was Lullalke or Karnes he was referring to.

  "You are brothers in arms. Some of you are real brothers, nephews...cousins," Reuben throws a glance to Edvan, "I would never ask you to turn on one another."

  He reached to his hip and drew his sword. As his palm wrapped around the Onyx infused handle, a bolt of lightning raced to the tip of the blade.

  There was a visible lift in the sea of men as they collectively held their breath. I bit my lip to stop my jaw from falling slack. Reuben kept his usual calm and collected facade, but I felt his shock.

  He had only connected with his power when under stress, like when his memories were returning. He had never been able to deduce energy from Onyx when awake. Heightened emotions and being so close to his clan crystal seemed to be stirring something within him.

  "Stand down Karnes," he challenged. He stood firm like the Beta he was, but there was a glint of wildness in his eyes. He was becoming the magician he was born to be.

  His snide at refusing to say ‘Alpha’ had not gone unnoticed.

  Karnes growled audibly.

  Reuben swung his blade in-front of him, cutting the air with a figure of eight motion. He bounced the weight of the hilt in his hand once more before pointing the sharp tip directly towards Karnes, "You see I truly believe that fathers and sons should not fight."

  On either side of me, Elm and Willow wielded their swords. Orange flames ignited along the blade and grew past the tip. Bryar firmly placed his large palm on his hilt but kept his blade sheathed. Adonis looked like he could vomit.

  Karnes shuffled in his saddle and roared "Aim", to his waiting men.

  A whoosh flew past my right ear as Bryar curved a fireball and threw it rapidly towards the archers. A flick of his wrist directed the energy away from the men and into a straight line that soar through every bowstring. As each burning cord snapped, it released the arrow onto the frozen ground below.

  So that's why he kept his hands free. Huh.

  It all happened so fast, that by the time Karnes called "Fire", the men were nursing singed hands as their bows smouldered on the frost by their boots.

  I couldn't help but snicker at the irony.

  "Kill her."

  Seventeen

  Reuben rumbled and bolted straight through the icy river. Like a magnet, I was instinctively pulled after him.

  "Beta team- Stand down," he ordered, "I do not want to hurt you."

  There's a moment of resistance. No one moved.

  "Same orders for the Gamma team," Edvan shouted as he hovered to my right. His sword may not have magic properties, but he looked just as terrifying and brutal.

  The men in the two legions begin to shuffle and shift but they were still hesitant.

  We scrambled to the other side of the bank, soaked and freezing. The bones in my ankles felt like they have been replaced with steel. Stiff, cold, immovable steel. Yet I continued to move forward.

  "Yes, sir," Marx barked obediently.

  He dropped his weapon and raised both hands, only to instantly be punched into the gut by one of the Alpha guards.

  A brawl sprang into action as men toppled on-top of one and other trying to protect Marx from the blows that rained down upon him. The clang of swords and thuds of fist to fist contact hailed from the growing swarm of bodies.

  We advanced towards the Alpha legion in a V formation, with Reuben taking the blunt of the men. He drew first blood and then swung them back to me and Edvan as he propelled forward.

  I formed a large thundercloud of magic. Any man who landed in my wake became enveloped in it. I surged their blood pressure rapidly and kept my hold on them until they went limp. Barely breathing and down, but alive.

  I was shocked to see Edvan obeying Reuben's order to do as little harm as possible.

  Except him being magic-free meant his rivals received the blunt hilt of his sword into the skull. I winced at his roughness but appreciated his effort. Maybe he wasn't as lethal as I had originally thought.

  Progress was gradual but slow. Having the coven behind me, meant for the first time in my life I did not have to check my blind-spot. I knew they had my back.

  Even with Reuben and Edvan's men busy fighting each other, we were still outnumbered a dozen to one.

  Karnes yelled an indistinguishable command and his men reacted obediently.

  They spread out in a flash and formed a swarming circle around us. A lump of fear rose in my throat as they encompassed us with no way to escape. Their calculated spinning was disorientating, and it made Reuben's scheme of picking off the men one-by-one much harder to execute.

  The Alpha men took a step closer to us with each full rotation.

  "Don't let them trap us," I shrieked and frantically tried to locate a gap in the tightening noose of soldiers.

  The trampling from their boots merged with the pounding heartbeat in my ears to form a deafening drum. I couldn't hear my own thoughts, let alone formulate a plan. I was working off gut instinct alone.

  As the ring constricted, Elm and Willow dropped their swords and joined hands. My black wave of energy dissolved in-front of me as they drained magic through the power threads.

  I let out a disgruntled shout. Feeling defenceless and frustrated, I reached for my sword and began copying Edvan’s tactic instead. The two of us fought side-by-side to keep our footing on the ever-shrinking amount of ground.

  Reuben paused in front of us, eyes widened and locked on the swirling men. He watched the rhyme of their movements.

  He remained still but his arched back signalled the power he was containing. He looked like a stalking wolf. A predator.

  He counted under his breath before lurching his sword forward, into the narrow space between two soldiers. As the men continued revolving, his blade ripped through the skin of the next four men in the ring.

  The fifth man leapt, sidestepped the sword and bound straight past me and into Adonis.

  My brother cupped his hands together ready to form his magic, but nothing happened. His eyes flew up, wide and panicked, just in time to see the soldier headbutt him into the stomach. Adonis folded and crashed into the ground. I screamed and ran the few steps back to him.

  The circle around us stopped rotating as the Topaz magic begins to work. The men were too fixated watching their swords slowly bend backwards to concentrate on their strategy. The soldier wrestling my brother was too engrossed with punching to notice me come up from behind. A vile crunch signified the breaking of Adonis' nose.

  I had no magic.

  I had no option.

  But I had my sword.

  I swung the weapon high above my head and sunk it deep into the guard’s spine. I rammed it hard, until I feared the tip would burst through and puncture Adonis.

  I retracted my blade as the body wen
t limp and slumped to one side. Adonis stared at me, panting heavily and covered with the blood that cascaded from his nose.

  His eyes welled. I was unsure if it was a reaction from the injury or sheer emotion. I had no time to decipher.

  "Help Bryar," I yelled and shoved him towards the Topaz sisters. Even without access to his magic Bryar looked like a flickering flame. His chestnut hair whipped as he ducked and dived to protect the girls who were vulnerable.

  I turned on my heel and caught up to Reuben. Edvan and he were now fighting back to back as they fought their way through the last remnants of the circle. I aligned myself behind them and took a deep breath as a brute of man ran straight towards me.

  With their swords bent, the stocky Alpha guards were now using their fists and kicks to fight.

  "Get out of here," Reuben growled, "NOW."

  I ignored him, and instead bent my knees and braced for impact. The Alpha guards clenched palm swings for my face. I swung at the hips and dodged his blow.

  The guard was easily double my size, but he's stature made him cumbersome. I eluded his punches as I continued to weave around him, but the frozen ground had been churned up into chumps of stiff mud that made moving difficult.

  As I tried dodge an incoming blow to the gut, I tripped and landed at his feet in a pile.

  A wave of heat rushed to my core as Willow and Elm stopping channelling the power thread. My magic swirled inside my body as it returned to me, ready for action.

  Without time to think, I blasted my energy straight into the attackers’ core. My inky fog raced around his torso, swaddling him in my magic. I yanked tight until I could hear the snapping of his ribs in my mind. I squeeze harder still until there is a soft pop. With both his lungs punctured, and heart slowing to a complete stop, I receded my magic.

  The soldier slumps onto of me, his dead weight pinning me to the frozen ground.

  In my trapped position, my squished face is locked facing the Alpha legion. Their numbers have dwindled greatly. The guards that were enlisted from Douward's legion had stepped down.

  The other half of Douward's squadron that had become part of the Beta legion, were helping in the fight against the Alpha men. It was unclear if their turn in loyalty was in support for us, sheer frustration at authority or if the men simply wanted to punch someone.

  As long as they kept their attention on Karnes and his men instead of us, I didn't care what their motive was.

  Except, where was Karnes?

  My eyes desperately scanned the crowd, although not being able to lift my head limited me to searching at ground-level. After skimming through a sea of grey pants and black boots, I finally spotted the hooves I've been searching for. I traced a path from the fetlocks, up the long legs, only to find the saddle vacant. One of the young banner-men was holding the horse by the bridle, but Karnes is nowhere to be seen.

  "Reuben! Adonis!" I cried, trying and failing to wiggle free.

  A strong kick rolled the dead man off me. Above me, stood Edvan with an outstretched hand.

  "I'm surprised you haven't killed me yourself and just blamed a random soldier," I groaned as I accepted his hand even though he's the last person I want to be grateful to.

  "I always take credit for my achievements," he explained, "But you are off limits now."

  I rolled my eyes, but appreciated his honesty, and his loyalty to his Beta.

  We both looked to Reuben who was slicing his way through the remaining men. His breathing was laboured. He was exhausted but relentless. He swung his sword smoothly and cut down the lingering guards with ease. It reminded me of harvest season in Deshure. The sickle that culled the wheat so effortlessly.

  Our previous desire for a death-free battle had been shattered.

  Instead, blood and snow descended around us in equal measure. Flashes of magic and grey uniforms whirl by in the kaleidoscope of a war we never wanted.

  "I haven't got eyes on Karnes."

  Edvan looked at the horse and cursed.

  "He cannot have gotten far, keep an eye-"

  A blood curling scream penetrated the field. I whipped around to see Willow crumpled on the ground.

  Karnes and two of his guards had skirted the perimeter of the field and crept up from behind.

  One of his men had just sunk a bent sword into Willow's thigh. Bryar released a bitter roar and a blast of fire towards the responsible guard immediately. The rancid scent of scorched flesh filled the air and turned my stomach.

  Elm and Adonis dropped to her side, shaking her roughly. Even from a distance, she looked pale and limp.

  The other guard made a beeline for Edvan, whereas Karnes barrelled towards me.

  My legs wobbled on the spot as an urge to run away is matched with the urge to run towards him.

  A strong-arm wrapped around my waist from behind and hauled me backwards onto the ground. I landed with a colossal thwack. I twisted around to see Reuben towering over me.

  "What are you doing!" I screamed as he trapped me under his cage of muscle. He inhaled deeply and said nothing, but I felt something.

  A shift in the air.

  The familiar hollow feeling in my core grew as the power threads were pulled, this time from an unfamiliar source.

  Onyx magic.

  Dark ivy-like vines wrap around his tense, shuddering arms.

  The building magic began to pulsate from his hot skin.

  His torso shook uncontrollably.

  Wincing in pain, he rested his forehead against mine.

  "He'll kill himself!" Adonis shouted in the background.

  Karnes launched himself through the air. His hands clawed and ready to attack his prey.

  Reuben erupted.

  A skin-ripping gale of air was released. An invisible dome the length of his body enveloped us.

  Karnes was blown backwards. He landed in a heap, furled in an unnatural position.

  His winds whipped around the bubble and tore up the soil from beneath us. Earth, grass and frost whisked around with such ferocity that my exposed skin begins to bleed from the abrasion.

  Our clothes flapped loudly in the whirlwind. I forced my watering eyes to stay open.

  Reuben's forehead beaded with sweat. He was channelling an immortal amount of magic, and slowly tearing himself apart.

  "Retract your magic!" I cry, but the wind stole my words.

  His face was mere inches from mine. Yet it felt like miles as I dragged myself through his tornado and closer to him.

  Clinging onto his neck, I grazed my face against his stubble until I found his ear.

  "Stop," I shouted at a pitch that I feared would make his ears bleed, "You're killing yourself."

  The air was charged with magic as he funnelled the full power of the coven. The capabilities of five magicians raced through him, but his body was struggling to even handle his own power.

  He roared something that got swept away into the vacuum, but I grasped the word "can't". He had never even used magic before, let alone knew how to give and take from the Coven.

  Lightning sparked from his shoulders and raced down the walls of the dome. I yelped as the bolt surged its way to the ground beside my face.

  His eyes were locked onto mine. Intense and unblinking, even as the blinding lighting flashed all around.

  Without saying a word, he said it all. He looked at me and I understood. This is why he would not make me an oath. He always knew he would break that promise if he made it, and he knew he was slipping away from me now.

  I realised an inhuman scream. The type that would make a banshee wail sound like a syren song.

  “You’re not leaving me!”

  I gave up using his ears and opted for his lips.

  I didn't have time to teach him to art of balancing magic, but I could distract him enough for it to naturally subside.

  It was like kissing stone, until he slowly started kissing me back.

  His confusion began to fade along with his magic.

  He was not s
ending the energy back as much as it was draining away. It took longer. Time, I feared he did not have. but the magic steadily returned to the power threads. It was not the same warm wave of relief as earlier, but an alleviating trickle began to fill in my core as my magic returned.

  Pulling on the small amount of energy I could gather within myself; I sent my magic back into him, but under my control.

  His body was in complete disarray.

  The memories which had been suppressed by the serum now flashed through his mind. The eruption of his magic had blown away the mental barriers that had constricted him for years. Magic whipped through every inch of his body. Taking a deep breath, I summoned the energy to flow through me and return to its host.

  I coaxed the Obsidian magic first. It felt most familiar in my veins, and easy to navigate. I gathered every drop of my namesake energy and sent half back to the power thread for Adonis.

  Next, the Topaz and Garnet magic use me as a vessel to return home. Their hold felt awkward and uncomfortable in my core as my body pushes away the foreign powers.

  Bryar's magic made its exit from my body quickly, but it left behind a burning sensation. My skin blotched red as a fever raced to my sweated skin, but I was not done yet.

  I bridled the scattered Onyx magic from around Reuben's body and collected it into one, windy mass. I gently coerced the energy into the dwelling between his lungs and heart, where it belonged.

  For magic is the blood and breath of a magician. No longer afraid or trapped his magic eased. It was where it's meant to be now. It was part of him.

  The dome that encased us calmed. The swirling soil settled down on the ground. The raging winds turned into a light breeze. The protective layer of air held a thin covering of snow that it had prevented from landing, making it appear like a large ice bubble.

  Reuben shakily brushed the nest of curls out of my face and stared at me with wide eyes.