The Descending Darkness

by Michael Chulsky

  “Kay!” Isaac screamed, falling to his knees. He fell forward and pounded the ground as tears cascaded down his face.

  “Jesus Christ,” Tristan said, his gaze glued to the scene. “Sis…can you–”

  “No,” Faith whispered, tears in her eyes. “She’s…beyond my power.”

  Ellie clenched her fists, and there were tears in her eyes, too. “I’m no fan of Kay…but nobody deserves to die like that. Nobody.”

  Maedara shifted her attention to them. She brought her hand up to her mouth in faux shock. “Do I detect a hint of sadness for the traitor?”

  “Shut it, Maedara,” Ellie growled.

  “I understand you’ve just experienced a loss, if you can even call Kay dying a loss, but that’s no excuse for rudeness. I guess I’ll just have to work harder to teach you proper manners.”

  Ellie raised her hands and ice swirled around them like a winter storm. “You want another go? Let’s do it then!”

  “Ellie, wait,” Shadow called. “You can’t–”

  “Maedara!” Isaac thundered. He was off the ground and looking at her with raw, unfiltered anger in his eyes. “I’m going to make you pay!”

  Maedara tilted her head to the side in consideration. “What…oh, I remember now. You’re the best friend, aren’t you? Well…isn’t this just touching. You must have really cared for the traitorous little skank, didn’t you? Did she hurt your feelings with all of her lies?”

  “Don’t talk about her like that!”

  “Touchy,” Maedara said softly. “But I guess you’ll want to pay your respects.” She kicked Kay’s body, and it skidded across the ground, landing right near Isaac. “There you go…by the way, I’m so sorry she’s leaking.”

  Isaac let out a roar of fury. He charged at Maedara, picking up Shadow’s dropped sword on his way to her. “I’m going to kill you!”

  “This is cute and all, but I bet you don’t even know how to use that.”

  “Shut up!” Isaac spat. He continued toward her, and when he was within touching distance, he thrust the blade forward, aiming for her stomach.

  Maedara stepped to the side and grabbed the hand Isaac was holding the sword in. She twisted it until he let out a gasp of pain and dropped the weapon. “Do you really care about her that much? Is she worth throwing your life away for?”

  “I said…shut…up!”

  “My dear boy…it must hurt so much knowing that she never really cared about you. It was all a game to her, you know. We used to talk about it all the time. We sat down, drank tea, ate biscuits, and talked about how much she couldn’t stand you. Fun times.”

  Isaac spluttered a series of curse words and then kicked Maedara hard. “You’re a liar!”

  Maedara’s smile vanished. “How dare you talk that way to me, you little brat?” She doubled her grip on his arm and lifted him into the air. “I’m going to break each and every one of your bones.”

  “Isaac…” Ellie muttered. She beckoned Shadow over. “You gotta snap out of it, Shadow. Isaac’s in trouble…we’ve gotta do something!”

  “I know!” Shadow replied, sighing into his hands. “I don’t know what to do! She’s powerful, crazy, and able to take massive damage.”

  “What about your plan?”

  “I didn’t account for this kind of power when I came up with my plan. I thought she just used the Staff of Ondeyr to cast the spell, I didn’t expect her to absorb all its power.”

  “We have to try,” Ellie said. “I’m sure we can figure out something…we just have to think.”

  “Ellie’s right,” Ethan said. “We cannot give up just because everything seems hopeless. If we all put our heads together and combine our power, then nothing can stop us.”

  Shadow’s mouth went agape as inspiration hit him. He would have to thank Ethan when everything was said and done because it was his words that triggered a crazy idea. It was definitely a long shot, but it was the only thing they had. He turned his attention to Faith, who was sitting by the still unconscious Tereya and Crystal. “Faith!”

  “Yes, Shadow?” Faith asked.

  “How are your energy levels?”

  Faith paused and considered his question. “I…I’m a bit low, since healing Tereya, but overall I’m fine. Why? What do you need?”

  Shadow’s expression fell slightly, but he recovered. It wasn’t the response he wanted, but it would have to do. There was no other choice. “Alright. I need you to rest and try to recover your energy reserves a bit, alright?”

  “Of course!”

  “You have a plan?” Ellie asked.

  “I think so. But the first thing we need to do is get Isaac away from Maedara. And then we need someone to distract her.”

  Maedara dug her nails into Isaac’s arm, and smiled in ecstasy when he cried out in pain. “Now Isaac, your behavior today has been most unacceptable. I demand an apology. After all, a real gentleman knows it’s uncouth to try and hit a lady.”

  Isaac’s lips were half-parted as he breathed through the pain. He looked down at Maedara with intense hatred. “I don’t see…a lady….”

  “Is that so?” Maedara replied quietly. She turned his hand in her arm until she heard a snap, and Isaac screamed. When his screams subsided to a soft whimper, she cleared her throat. “Okay, let’s try this again….”

  “I’ve seen enough,” Tristan said. “I’ll distract her.”

  “Are you sure?” Shadow asked.

  “I’m not just going to sit around and let Maedara keep torturing him. Besides, I owe her for almost killing us.”

  “Tris, be careful,” Faith pleaded.

  Tristan smiled and pulled her into a hug. He broke away, and his face was filled with determination. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself.” He threw a glance at Ellie. “When I distract her, grab Isaac. Okay?”

  Ellie nodded. “I will.”

  Tristan returned the nod with one of his own, and before anyone could protest, he left the group and slowly inched his way toward Maedara.

  Maedara maintained her grip on Isaac’s broken arm and watched him cry with disinterest. “When you’re finished with those crocodile tears, we can get back to our lesson plan. Like how to apologize when you’ve offended someone.”

  “Go…to…hell,” Isaac spluttered. “I’m not…apologizing to you…ever. You…killed my friend.”

  “Still carrying on about that, huh?” Maedara replied, rolling her eyes. “Honey, I did the world a service killing her. It’s like when there’s a spider in the room and you grab a tissue and squash it. It’s like that, only…bigger.”

  “You’re…a monster!”

  Maedara frowned and backhanded him across his face, and blood began to blossom at the corner of his mouth. “Sticks and stones will break your bones, but name-calling will get you killed.” She held out her hand, and her nails grew several inches, like sharp needles attached to her fingers. “So let’s try this one last time.” She raked her nails down his chest, producing another scream. “Do you want all this to stop? The pain? Tell me the magic word, and I’ll make it stop. You could see Kay again.”

  “Is it ‘bite me’?” Tristan asked, sending his fist flying forward into her face.

  Maedara reeled back from the blow and clutched at her face, breaking her hold on Isaac. She dropped him and he fell backwards onto the ground and landed on a pile of bricks.

  “Ellie, now!” Tristan called. He didn’t have a chance to make sure Ellie recovered Isaac because he was forced to dodge a swipe from Maedara’s nails.

  “How dare you lay your hands on me?” Maedara yelled. “Do you know who I am? If you left a bruise, I’m going to be pissed!”

  Tristan didn’t respond. He balled his hands into fists and flames roared to life around them. He rushed at her and threw several punches.

  Maedara dodged the first few punches, but was unlucky and one caught her in the midsection, singeing her dress. She examined the scorch mark on her midsection and let out a shrill scream. “My
couture gown…you’ve ruined it!” She lunged at Tristan, dodging fireball after fireball, and backhanded him with all of her power.

  Tristan was unable to avoid her attack, and was sent flying across the ground. He tried to get up, but he was dizzy from the blow and dropped to all fours. He looked up and saw Maedara approaching, so he raised a palm and shot out multiple bursts of flames at her.

  Maedara easily evaded his flames and continued making her way toward him. “You’re so dead, you little punk. I’m going to teach you what happens when you mess with fashion.”

  Shadow stared at the scene with increasing anxiety. He knew even before Tristan went out that he’d be no match for Maedara, but it was all about buying time. “Faith, how are things going with your energy levels?”

  “I’m a bit recharged,” Faith said, but her voice was unusually high. “We have to do something about my brother…Maedara is going to kill him.”

  “I won’t let that happen,” Shadow said. “Someone else will have to go out there and take his attention off of her.”

  “What’s with the musical fighters?” Ryan asked. “A casual observer would think you’re stalling for time, man.”

  “The casual observer would be right.”

  “But why?” Ethan asked. “What’s the end result here?”

  Shadow shook his head. “It’s hard to explain…but you’ll all understand in a few moments. I just need someone else to go out there.”

  “I’ll go,” Ellie announced. She entered the clearing again, half-carrying, half-dragging Isaac’s body. “But you guys need to look after Isaac…when Maedara dropped him, he hit his head. He’s unconscious and losing a lot of blood.”

  Shadow swore loudly. “Damn it!” He motioned Faith to come over. “Faith…I need you to heal him just enough to stabilize him. Can you do that for me?”

  “Of course…but why?”

  “Because our entire plan hinges on him. If he dies, we do. Okay?”

  Faith nodded. “Understood.” She went over and relieved Ellie of Isaac, laying him on the ground near Tereya and Crystal and then began healing him.

  Shadow turned to Ethan. “Ethan…I have a task for you, too.” He beckoned him closer and whispered instructions into his ear. He pulled back and saw a look of confusion on Ethan’s face. “I know it’s an odd request, but you’ll do it?”

  “I don’t pretend to understand where all of this is heading…but yes, I’ll do what you ask.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Do you need anything from me?” Cameryn asked. “I want to help, too. Maybe I could help stall Maedara for a bit.”

  Shadow gave him a long, considering look. “I appreciate that Cam, I really do…but the best thing you can do is just stay back right now. Maedara intended to use you as a tool, and she’ll probably want to get her hands on you again. I can’t think if I’m worried about you.”

  “But I can help!”

  “Listen to him,” Ellie said. “Besides, I’ve already volunteered.”

  Cameryn crossed his arms and stepped back. “Fine.”

  “Ellie, no,” Shadow replied. “It should be me.”

  “No, it shouldn’t. You’re the leader and much more important in the grand scheme of things than I am. You stay here and work on your plan. I’ll be fine.”

  “Ellie–”

  “Don’t argue with me,” Ellie replied adamantly. “I may have underestimated her before, but I won’t make the same mistake twice.” She gave him a quick smile and rushed off. She made it in-between Tristan and Maedara just in time.

  “Ugh, you again?” Maedara groaned. “Am I getting déjà vu here or did we just do this a few minutes ago?”

  “You scared?” Ellie asked. “Maybe you know you won’t be so lucky this time.”

  “Honey, I wouldn’t be scared of you unless you were dressing me.”

  Ellie cracked her knuckles, followed by her neck. “Then bring it on.”

  Shadow looked on as Ellie and Maedara engaged. He couldn’t help but admire how fierce Ellie fought and the fact that she was able to hold her own, despite facing such a dangerous opponent. “That’s my girl,” he thought and smiled.

  Faith lowered her hands as she finished healing Isaac, and the glow around them subsided. She swayed on her feet a little bit, and her breath came out in ragged bursts, but she remained conscious. “Okay, I’m done, Shadow…I’ve stabilized him.”

  “Thanks, Faith,” Shadow replied. He examined Isaac and found that although the cut on his head wasn’t bleeding as profusely as it was before, it wasn’t fully healed and still trickling. He placed two fingers on the boy’s neck and found his pulse beating, but weaker than normal. “Are you completely drained now?”

  Faith raised an eyebrow. “I think I have enough power left in me to heal once more…maybe twice, though that would be pushing it. I could pass out.”

  “We don’t need that happening.”

  Tristan made his way back to the group, battered but in good condition. “See, sis? I told you I could take care of myself.”

  “Mhm,” Faith replied. She looked over her brother and examined the few wounds he had on his body. She turned her attention to Shadow, giving him a questioning look.

  “Don’t,” Shadow said, preemptively. “I know he’s your brother and he’s injured, so you want to heal him, but I need you to hold off on that. Okay?”

  “Are you feeling okay?” Niki asked, twirling her hair with a small stick. “Because you’ve been giving a lot of strange requests over the last hour.”

  “I’m fine. It’s all part of the plan.”

  “What is the plan?” Ryan asked. “You just keep mentioning the plan, the plan, wouldn’t it be helpful for you to share it so we don’t think you’ve snapped and lost your marbles?”

  Shadow drew in a long breath. “Guys, I’m not crazy, just let me explain. I believe that the key to defeating Maedara isn’t in brute force or our abilities alone. We’re all individually powerful, but not enough for someone like her. But more important, we’re the strongest when we’re together. And that’s why I believe the only way to defeat her…is to combine our energy into a single force so powerful it’ll obliterate her.”

  “And how do we do that?” Ryan asked. “Because I forgot my pocket-sized power combining device in my other pants.”

  Niki’s eyes went wide. “You have a pocket-sized power combining device?”

  “Niki, hush,” Shadow replied, shaking his head. “And we do that with a little help from something I’ve just sent Ethan to get…and from Faith and Isaac.”

  Faith rubbed the back of her head as a puzzled expression crossed her face. “If there’s anything I can do to help, you know I’m up for it. But I don’t know how much help Isaac will be in his current condition.”

  “His condition is exactly what we need,” Shadow explained. “Don’t you all remember? Isaac’s power is to channel energy and increase its potency. And if my theory is correct…if we all touch him while Faith heals him, his body will convert that energy into raw power. And once it’s in raw form, it can be extracted and converted into a single burst.”

  “Ahh,” Niki murmured appreciatively. “A blast of that caliber is sure to be powerful. And it’ll probably be more than her body can take.”

  Shadow nodded. “Exactly.”

  “I see,” Ryan said. “But how are we going to extract the power from his body? I don’t think any of us here can do something like that.”

  “With this,” Ethan said, descending from the sky. He landed on the ground and held out a small jewel-encrusted, wooden rod to Shadow. “The Staff of Ondeyr…I retrieved it like you asked.”

  “How did you get your hands on that?” Tristan asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

  Shadow grinned. “She discarded it at the start of the battle, remember? She thought it was useless because she absorbed all of its power. But she was wrong.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, the legend states that th
e Chest of Ondeyr held a portion of the power from a group of the original gifted ones. And their power was infused into the Staff. And I figure if the gifted of old could do something like that….”

  “Then why couldn’t we?” Niki finished for him.

  “Exactly.”

  “Shadow, that’s brilliant!” Faith breathed.

  Ryan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It’s a good plan, I’ll give you that. But one problem…Maedara may be crazy, but she’s not stupid. Do you really think she’s going to let us just channel all of our energy into an attack and not do something about it?”

  Shadow frowned. “As long as we have someone distracting her, it should be fine.”

  “Isn’t that what Ellie’s doing right now?” Faith pointed out.

  “Yeah, but look at her,” Ryan said. “She was already weakened from round one. And she’s pushing herself well beyond her limits. She’s not going to last much longer in her condition.”

  Shadow diverted his gaze back to Ellie and Maedara. They were locked in combat and both furiously attacking each other and dodging hits left and right. It didn’t take long for him to see that Ryan was right: Ellie looked exhausted and she was beginning to slow down. He could sense her energy levels depleting by the second, and it would only be a matter of time before her decreased reflexes would cause her to lose. “You’re right – she can’t keep it up much longer.”

  “So what do you propose?” Ethan asked.

  “We need somebody else to go in there and take over. Someone fast and hopefully not injured already, because the more of us injured, the better, because it’ll make the amount of energy pushed into the attack by Faith all the more stronger.”

  “Is this where I say I volunteer as tribute?” Ryan asked, raising a hand.

  “You sound more excited than you should,” Tristan pointed out.

  “I’m really not, but I haven’t gotten into it with Maedara yet, so I feel obligated to do my part. Besides, I’m still at full strength and my power is ranged. Plus, I’m quick enough to stay out of her reach. It pretty much has to be me.”

  “Excellent deduction, Ryan,” Ethan commented. “But you’ll find that you miscalculated. I am also at full strength and fast in combat. I can go out there in your stead.”