Elemental Courage

by M. W. McDonald

  “She isn’t the shade anymore, I felt no darkness within her.”

  “What about everything she’s done?” Owen didn’t try to calm him down, in fact, he needed him worked up.

  “She was a vassal for hundreds of shadow-bound spirits. She wouldn’t have been able to control one of them, let alone hundreds. She was a gagged observer to the carnage. If she is lucky, she won’t remember a fifth of what the shade had done.” Owen said simply.

  “She says she doesn’t remember anything.” Alex spat, it melted through the rock on his left. He was furious that the last person to see his grandfather alive wouldn’t be able to remember taking his life. A tear started in Alex’s eye before it evaporated instantly.

  Owen continued. “The shadows themselves are to blame, and the Reaper consumed them.”

  “You expect me to let this go? When she is just down the hall.” Rage still engulfed the man threatening to ignite into a blazing inferno at any moment.

  “No, in fact, I want you to embrace it, fuel your anger and amplify it if you can. You’re a shaman of fire, your power is drawn from your emotions. Use them and help us train William. Get your revenge through William’s success.” Alex said nothing, he needed to destroy something-- he needed an outlet for his rage.

  “Do I have to hold back?”

  “Hell no, you will probably get hurt if you do.” Alex nodded to him. Owen patted Alex on the back, singing his palms.

  “Get to it then, make your grandfather proud,” Owen said feeling guilty for just a moment. Nothing would prepare William better than an angry Fire shaman. Alex needed this outlet for his wrath before he brought undue attention down on Owen’s home. If the shade of Khorynn knew where he lived then, the Reaper would know where to find him as well. Time and supplies were running out.

  43

  William was meditating in the training chamber when Dyaina and Brian came around the corner in a rush.

  “Hi mom,” William said quickly, never opening his eyes. His body was glowing softly. The occasional wisp of energy scarred the ground around him before curling itself back into the glow emanating from the boy’s skin.

  “I am getting better at understanding how this works,” William said grinning.

  “How did you know it was me?” Dyaina asked quietly.

  “I can see you.” Even with his eyes closed he could see and feel the energy flowing into the room. He was just beginning to grasp how things connected to each other. Brian leaned forward whispering into Dyaina’s ear.

  “He is learning exponentially. He isn’t bound by our rules, there are no elders here to tell him what is right or wrong. He has no out-of-bounds.”

  “That works in our favor,” Dyaina said in a whisper of her own. “William, honey, we need to talk. It’s very important.” She stressed the very. His glow subsided.

  “What’s wrong?” He said as he opened his eyes, he had seen that his mom had been crying.

  “What happened?” He asked as he stood up.

  “Khoyrnn is gone…” Dyaina said, the pain still very raw for her.

  “I know, Owen told me.” Dyaina frowned, Owen should have told her that.

  “I just don’t understand why I am training so hard still.” Dyaina briefed her son on what happened in the canyon, any blanks were filled in by an exhausted Brian.

  “So this Reaper, or Deathbringer, or whatever he is called. He did everything that caused Khorynn to break?” William asked a mounting fear was present in his voice.

  “Yes, he killed her friends to break her mind, and when she made the decision to give up the life of a destroyer, he killed her family to re-inflame her anger and vengeance,” Brian said.

  “This is one of the paths you must choose from,” Dyaina said. “You and only you can make the decision to stand and fight.”

  “There has to be another option.” William was freaking out. “Can we hide here? I don’t know if I can do this.”

  “You don’t have any other option,” Alex said as he came around the corner. His fists were clenched tightly, and steam was rising off of his body.

  “My grandfather was killed because his energy was needed to kill you.” Small flames ignited on his skin traveling up the tattoos in his forearms. He entered the chamber fully, the limiter crystals on the wall began to glow brighter and brighter as Alex released the hold on his emotions and his power. Immense heat and flame erupted outwards from Alex, causing everyone to shield their faces. The fire sucked back towards Alex and grew from his fists upwards to his shoulders. His flames stretched outwards from his shoulders like brilliant red and yellow wings. They reached across an expansive portion of the training chamber wall.

  “My grandfather always believed in the prophecy of the Archmages, I’ll be damned if I let him die in vain because you are scared. Grow a set and do what you were created to do.” Alex’s voice was hollow and powerful at the same time, of all of the emotions he was channeling empathy certainly wasn’t one of them.

  “With as much power as the Reaper now has, we cannot afford to wait for another Archmage who has the nerve to get the job done,” Alex yelled.

  “This is too much.” William held his head in his hands. “I need to think.” William turned and walked to the hallway opposite Alex. The entrance of the hall of stone shrunk and closed. Leaving only the corridor behind Alex opened.

  “You don’t have a choice,” Alex said. His eyes blazed brightly, every word he spoke spit flame from his mouth. Dyaina and Brian had moved to the wall between Alex and William, pressing their backs to the cold stone. It helped with the otherwise intolerable heat radiating from Alex. Dyaina grabbed Brian’s hand and led him into the hall where they could watch safely.

  “Mom!” William didn’t want her to go.

  The hall sealed behind Dyaina and Brian. Dyaina started pounding on the wall.

  “Will! William!” She yelled. Owen had his hand pressed into the wall. He was closing the openings.

  “What do you think you’re doing?!” Dyaina yelled at Owen. “Open it back up, let him out!”

  “No,” Owen stated simply. “He needs to know how important this is. Right now Alex is the only person strong enough to get through to him.”

  “He is only a shaman. William is going to hurt him.” Dyaina said, looking for any reasons at all to get the hall opened back up.

  “No, I don’t think so.” Dyaina calmed for a split second. “How can you be sure?”

  “The old man that Brian saw in the canyon, the one that turned into the shade, was his grandfather. Lorailyen Emberchild. He may be just a shaman, but I would rather fight Khorynn herself than to duke it out with a fueled up fire ‘chanter.”

  “Fueled up? You make him sound a like a jet.” Brian stated. “Last I checked Alex didn’t have wings,” Brian ate those words seeing as Alex did just create a set of wings. “Ok, he does have wings, but he is still missing landing gear.” Dyaina held a hand up to her chest and thumped her fingers in thought.

  “What he means is, fire shaman draw their power from their emotions. Love, passion, loss, hate, anger, all of it factors in. Lorailyen Emberchild, his grandfather, was said to be stronger than Khorynn if he was fueled up.” Dyaina said, still deep in thought.

  “Why don’t we get Alex to kill the Reaper then, I’m sure he would enjoy it,” Brian said.

  “Emotions are extremely taxing and unpredictable. They are very hard to keep consistent. If he faltered, he would die.” Owen said quickly.

  “Feels like he is focused enough to me,” Brian added, feeling the heat permeate the closed stone of the chamber entrance.

  “Get to the viewing chamber quickly,” Owen said.

  “I hope you’re right Owen,” Dyaina said she knew he was right.

  “I do too.” The three of them ran down the hall and ascended the steps to the chamber.

  44

  The chamber was sealed off entirely now. William just stared at the area of the wall where his mother had stood. He felt abandoned and
alone. He was brought back to reality by the heat that stung his face.

  “I always have a choice. Everyone does.” William said it sounded more like a question than a statement. Alex’s massive wings licked the wall, charring it. The limiter crystals were the brightest William had seen them yet, as they struggled to absorb the energy from the shaman of fire.

  “No, you don’t” Alex’s wings retreated back into his body in a flash. The flames flew from his hands, directly at William. William brushed them aside easily with a gust of air. Alex flicked his wrists. The flame William had just deflected, swirled back around him in thousands of smoldering strands.

  “You can’t make me do this,” William yelled from the whirling vortex of flame. Alex snapped his fingers, and the vortex stopped, the strands hung in the air as if it were a video on pause. For an instant, all was calm. Then, in a rush, the strands collapsed inwards, binding William like glowing rope. Alex walked forward, smoke coming out of mouth as he spoke.

  “If you give up and run, everyone you know and love will die. You might as well kill them yourself. This isn’t a game. If you don’t stand and fight, it won’t matter who fights on, we won’t win. There won’t be anyone left to bear the child to become the next Archmage.

  “If you think it’s so important, why don’t you do it?” William’s tone was selfish and overwhelmed.

  “I will hunt the Reaper,” Alex stated proudly, his flame changing from red to blue and white.

  “Then you will die!” William retorted. Alex left hand shot out fingers of flame that grabbed William’s bound body and pulled the boy to him. His right hand swung at William’s fast approaching body, and a fist of fire smashed into the boy, knocking him away. He repeated the tremendous beating multiple times. On the 4th hit he released the boy, William hit the wall hard.

  “I would rather live a minute as a hero, than an entire lifetime as a coward. That’s what my grandfather would have wanted. I will make him proud. How are you honoring your parents?” Alex’s tone was condescending. William hung his head in shame, he knew Alex was right. Alex let the strands fall, releasing William from his bindings. Flames still engulfed the man’s arms.

  “Tell me something William,” Alex smirked. “Why did you bring your mother back, when you are basically sentencing her to death all over again by not acting? Did you really want to disgrace her that badly, that you couldn’t let her have the peace of death, but you brought her back to bear witness to your bitching and moaning.” That did the trick. Alex smiled as William stood up. William wiped the blood from his mouth. William threw back his head and yelled in anger. The entire chamber shook from its core. Energy poured from William’s body, his eyes were pure white bathed in crackling bolts of essence. Larger bolts struck outwards from William, shattered the stone it touched like cheap glass.

  William breathed slowly, as he clenched his fists. Arcs of white-hot lightning danced across his fists. His hands opened quickly as bolts from each of them intertwined in front of him to make a much larger bolt of energy. That bolt split the air in front of him. The smell of burnt ozone was heavy as the beam shot at Alex in full force. Alex’s form completely engulfed itself in blue flames, expanding his massive wings. The brilliant blue-white of his wings curled in front of him protectively and ricocheted the bolt back at William. William didn’t move. Instead, he stood still, and he forced the energy to separate and reabsorb into his palms. Alex unfolded the wings; a scorching inferno poured from his eyes and mouth as he smiled.

  “My turn.” Alex’s teeth were glowing with heat. Alex sped his muscles up tremendously. He dashed at William quickly, dodging the boys repeated attempts of hitting him with bolts of energy. Alex got into the sweet spot just within reach of the young man. He ducked under one last blast, before kneeing William in the stomach. Alex then punched him in the face with flaming knuckles that launched the boy away from him. His blazing strands yanked William back. The firey wings grabbed the glowing boy and smashed him into the ground. William recovered quickly from being winded. In a flash William was gone, reappearing a few hundred feet away launching even more powerful blasts of energy at Alex. Every blast was blocked by Alex’s wings.

  “Again.” Alex would say after every blocked attack. William never had to pull from energy this deep when he was fighting Owen and Renai. He still had plenty to spare, but this was foreign territory to him.

  “Again!” Alex drew both hands in front of him, his wings combined into the shape of a dragon head the spewed pure anger at William. The flames consumed half of the immense training chamber. William had protected himself just in time, surrounding himself with a sphere of earth and wind. The fire was tremendously hot, and it melted the rock into a cloudy, glassy surface. The flames subsided, and William looked like he was trapped inside a marble; so perfectly round the glass-like shield had become. William pressed his power outwards shattering the beautiful sphere. William dashed at Alex, mimicking Alex’s own technique. He got into melee range of Alex and took awkward swings at the man. Alex was trained in many things, martial arts was one of them. He parried and dodged William’s swings easily. To add insult to injury, he pivoted and blocked and parried the boy’s attacks with one hand. William tried to mix it up and tried to kick Alex. Alex saw the opening immediately, he grabbed William’s ankle that had been approaching his face. He swung him hard, hurling the boy mightily across the room.

  “You aren’t good enough to fight me close, use what you know. Learn the new later. Again!” Alex repeated. William stood up and brushed himself off. He discarded the singed and smoking white shirt. He held one arm up. He used his other arm to brace the first at the wrist. He channeled as much energy as he could into the blast. William released his grasp on the power, and the air lit up. The bolt slashed the sky like a rift. It smashed into Alex’s wings pushed him back. Alex’s feet dug into the earth a bit with force.

  “Again!” Alex said. The last one actually stung a bit. Alex smiled. William beat him to it, he was already charging up again, he held a massive lightning storm in his hand, the tremendous crackling energies were a loud roar. The beam he launched was pure energy that was wider then he was tall. Alex folded his wings once more. The beam struck the brilliant extensions of his anger with such force that the concussion of air it caused cracked the walls. The limiter crystals were an all-consuming white. Their capacity to limit what the outside world could feel was reached. The beam continued to push into Alex, and he pressed back, spurred on by his grandfather’s memory. Alex managed to divert the powerful blast in a downwards angle. It carved a massive swathe in the floor. A shower of shiny shards began to rain on both glowing men. Alex looked up the power of their combined energies had been too much for the limiter crystals. The crystals shattered. Alex smiled then was wracked by a bout of coughing. Blood from his mouth ran down his chin. He fell to his knees. The concussion from the last blast fractured or broke most the bones in his chest area. William’s brilliant glow faded, and he ran to Alex. He stopped a few feet from the man.

  “Kill him, William,” a voice resounded in his head. “He thinks your mother better dead than alive.”

  William stared at Alex, his body began to glow again. ‘He would kill you if he had the chance. Kill him, William. Kill him.” The voice whispered to him, urgently pleading against his common sense.

  ‘He wants your mother dead.” William’s eyes sparkled and crackled as he clenched his fists again, gathering his energy.

  “Kill…him. Do it…now.” The soft whisper begged him. William’s body crackled with power.

  45

  Owen raced down the hall he hoped he wasn’t too late. The bombardment of energy that Alex beckoned from William wreaked havoc on the stone of his home. The earthen hallway showed signs of the blasts. Debris fell from cracks that had formed from the concussive bombardments. He heard the faint sound of trickling water. The crystalline statues were looking around restlessly in their stone alcoves. Owen released his hold on his crystalline statues and the
statues poured into the hall anxiously. The multitude of heavy steps echoed across the brilliant floor as Owen, and his pulsing line of golems moved to the blocked opening of the training chamber.

  “Try not to kill the boy, but do what you must to save Emberchild,” Owen said, commanding his crystal children. Owen placed his right hand along the smooth archway that led to the training chamber. Ripples washed outwards from his hands and the arch to the chamber began to open.

  “What have I done?” Owen said under his breath. The smell of ash and the tingle of electricity washed into the hall from the growing opening.

  The statues filtered into the room quickly, surrounding Alex and William. Alex was on his knees, the remnants of his brilliant wings now fluttered to the ground like glowing paper right before Owen’s eyes. Alex’s skin still steamed from the heat. William stood about 30 feet from Alex. His hand clenched. He held a crackling thunderstorm in both palms. William’s eyes were odd, however.

  His eyes were fixated, not on Alex, but beyond him. His stare was glazed and his eyes themselves looked dead.

  “William, that’s enough, he has had enough!” Owen’s voice was commanding as it echoed through the chamber. William’s face was blank and expressionless. The statues moved in a tighter circle around William. Then Owen saw it. If he were looking inches in any other direction, he would have missed it. An outline of a man, wreathed in a dark mist, was standing behind William. He was whispering to William, the barely visible tendrils of smoke coiled around William like twisted marionette strings. The room darkened noticeably. The crystalline statues glow brightened to compensate. William’s glowing form looked up and fixed itself upon Owen. In the darkness, Owen saw the flash of a fanged grin inches to the left of William’s face. Its mouth mimicked William’s own lips. William’s body reverberated a strange, eerie laugh.

  “His mind was easier to break than Khorynn’s.” The fanged grin was gone. William looked at his hands as if for the first time.