“Mineras gantas!” Akielas whispered and from his hand, a green mandarak with square shapes expanded. He pressed the mandarak on the wall of the tower and was able to hold on without falling, as if grabbing on to a rock. He expanded the mandarak and was then able to stand vertically on the wall.
Auron came flying, shining with a golden light. The same light that Ganicus shone with when clad with the Golden Sun. The Valiarmos now in the hands of a villain. Akielas wondered why the Valiarmos still listened to Auron, then again he never really understood how it truly worked.
Auron used the same spell and stood vertically on the wall with a green mandarak beneath his feet.
“Tell me, are you happy with your choice? What will you tell your wife when you return to Burnahdujf?” Akielas asked.
“I have nothing to say to you. You wouldn’t understand anyway,” Auron replied.
“You sound just like her now. She has truly corrupted you,” Akielas said and lunged with his sword chirping with lightning.
Sword and spear collided, sparks flew, they stepped back and clashed again. Akielas’ omnithium sword was chipping away bits of Auron’s golden shield. Every time Auron lashed his spear, Akielas would block, parry and leave dents on the shaft.
“I see you got a new weapon,” Auron commented. “And you were so attached to that old sword.”
“Let me show you what it can do,” Akielas said and swung.
He could not believe how strong his new weapon was. It pierced through the shield. Akielas twisted the blade and shattered the shield into four pieces. Auron gasped and, while he was distracted, Akielas lunged for another attack. The Amaranth lunged with his spear but Akielas swung with all his might and broke the spear with one strike, followed by a palm-thrust air-pulse combo sending the Amaranth flying.
He heard Cleyross’ roar. The dragon flew in his direction. Akielas ceased his spell and tumbled from the wall of the tower. He fell on the dragon’s back and rose into sky as Cleyross tackled through fiends alongside the Effeelions.
“I don’t have time for Auron. I must find the jewels and prevent Ember from using them. I am guessing that giant needle must be her weapon,” Akielas said.
As he flew scanning the tower, he spotted Rey Ling shooting at giant bats around him.
“Rey!” Akielas called to him.
Rey immediately flew towards Akielas on his nimbus cloud and hovered alongside him.
“That needle must be the weapon she plans to use for the eclipse,” Akielas stated.
“That giant needle is going to absorb the maju of the eclipse,” Rey agreed. Wind lashed between them but Akielas had no problem hearing him. “The needle is made of omnithium and there is no limit as to how much maju it can absorb. That is our target. If we take down that pinnacle then the Specters won’t be able to use the maju of the eclipse or the cosmo jewels. But we are going to need more help. It won’t be easy taking that thing down. We must free our demigod.”
“Do not worry about that,” Akielas said. “Leave that to Eckxio. Let’s worry about that pinnacle.”
Serena
She ran on the water with a mandarak beneath her feet, keeping her on the surface. The magic circle prevented her from sinking. Around her, dark serpents coiled in and out of the water. A six headed hydra trapped her. Eyeless monsters hissed at her with teeth as long as swords, lusting to tear her body apart. She danced on the water, swaying her body and her aquatic whips swirled and lashed at those who got near her. Serena feared no sea creature. The sea was her playground.
Her mother, Zarviack, fought against the dark serpent using white magic combined with hydromancy. Her mother purified the water and all the dark creatures that lurked below would vanish. Her mother fought with ease, untouchable and finished each aquatic fiend with one spell. Serena on the other hand was wild and tackled monsters in her beast form.
A hydra head tried to swallow her but she burst through its head and ripped out its tongue. She then jumped to another head, landed on top of it and plunged an ice spear through its cranium. When the other heads tried to attack at once, she jumped back into the water and rose again in a water spout. She hurled shards of ice at the hydra. Four heads remained, another head already growing. Although it seemed easy she was not sure how to kill the creature when its heads kept regenerating.
“It’s just going to grow more heads. Why continue fighting it?” She asked herself.
One of the heads lunged at her and she rose higher in the water spout. The head went through the spout and she froze that section. She then jumped down and as she fell down to the water she used a water whip and sliced off the head while it was frozen.
When she touched the water, her blue mandarak kept her on the surface. She looked back at the hydra and it now had nine heads instead of six. They hissed, licked their chops and coiled towards her with their long necks.
“Mother, I could use some help,” she said.
A white beam of light pierced through the body of the hydra. The nine heads shrilled so sharply that it brought Serena to her knees, forcing her to cover her ears. The hydra vanished. Its body turned to ash as the light eliminated its existence.
“Every creature has a heart. Aim for it,” Zarviack said from dozens of feet away. Her tattoos were glowing as well as her eyes. “Don’t just use your brawn, my dear, learn to see your enemy’s weakness.”
Zarviack was right. Serena attacked first and thought later. She’d rather follow her feelings than logic.
Gargoyles came swooping down from above. Before it could swipe her with its claws, Serena blew a cold wind and the creature froze in midair then fell into the ocean.
“You fight with much anger in your heart,” Zarviack said as she strode towards her.
“Thank you, but it will take me years before I am as good as you,” she replied and smiled.
“Fiends are fragile to white magic,” Zarviack said.
“Don’t let your guard down. Some of them are coated with kaminyte,” Serena alerted.
Giant bats and gargoyles shrieked above and flew in their direction. Flying through the swarm of fiends they saw their new friend Rey Ling, on a nimbus. He cut through the monsters with an omnithium sword he had forged. He descended as he got closer then orbited Serena as he slowed down.
“Since you are down here I thought I might ask for you to try something,” Rey Ling said.
“Give us the word,” Serena responded.
“Do you think you can try taking down the tower?” he asked.
“Well…I…” Serena was unsure so she looked at her mother, hoping for an answer.
“I know what to do,” Zarviack said. “Serena and I will fill the tower with water. If we can freeze the inside then we can fracture the outside.”
“Water can do that?” Rey questioned raising his eyebrows above his goggles.
“Trust me, I know the power of water. Leave it to us,” Zarviack answered confidently.
“I believe in you,” Rey said and rose into the sky.
“Are you sure?” Serena asked her mother.
“Of course. Let me show you,” Zarviack said and took her hand. “Let this be the first thing that I teach you.”
Zarviack pulled her and they both ran to the tower. Zarviack chanted a spell and the tide rose beneath their feet. A wave propelled them to the island and they used the mandarak to surf. Before they reached the island, Zarviack began to manipulate the water and her tattoos glowed blue. Her mother created a spout as thick as a tree trunk and it coiled towards the tower. Serena could not believe how much water her mother could control.
“She is a real master,” she whispered.
Suddenly, a blue beam froze the spout from its root in the ocean all the way to the island. The spout broke as its weight could not remain so high. Serena gazed up and saw Naunet hovering in the air with a spear at hand.
“Just who I have been looking for,” she said and began to unleash her full beast form. Her tattoos released steam and glowed. Her ey
es became pools of black ink. Her fangs grew and nails extended. Blue and white stripes appeared on her back, arms and legs.
“Today I will literally rip your heart out and hang it on my wall as a trophy, Serena,” Naunet said from above.
“First you fool and trick me into believing that you loved me, and now you steal my words as well,” Serena replied. “This won’t be over quickly.”
“I am afraid it will, my princess,” Naunet added and laughed.
Zarviack hurled ice spikes at Naunet but he spun in the air and dodged them.
“Destroy the tower! I will take care of Naunet!” Serena shouted and her mandarak created a waterspout, rising into the air.
Naunet jetted towards Serena. In her full beast form she scowled at him and when he lashed his spear at her she caught it then kicked him, disarming him. He quickly recovered from his fall then unleashed a beam of ice. Serena cast her own ice beam and when both spells collided a sphere began to swell between them and the more they pushed against each other the more it grew.
“Outstanding, I didn’t know you were so powerful,” Naunet commented.
“It’s a good thing I never showed you what I can really do,” Serena responded and pressed more maju into her spell, pushing him back.
The sphere between them had grown into a globe with the girth of the tower. When the globe could no longer grow, it exploded causing a storm of ice shards. The shards cut her. They felt like needles going through her body but then a crystal shield appeared and blocked the shards from harming her. When she saw the shield she knew it was her mother that had helped her. The waterspout that she stood on froze as well as a mile of the sea beneath her. She climbed down the ice spout using her long sharp nails. When she reached the bottom she looked at the staff she had taken from Naunet. It was made of the same steel that Rey Ling used for his swords. She then gazed up and saw Naunet aloft. The explosion had caused snow to fall.
“You won’t defeat me with hydromancy alone,” Naunet stated. He then disappeared leaving behind a cloud of black smoke.
Serena raised her guard and scanned her surroundings. She spun around waiting for Naunet to appear. Finally, she felt his presence below the ice that she stood on. She roared, punched through the ice below, clutched Naunet and pulled him up. She tossed him with the strength given to her by her beast form, and the Specter rolled on the ice. While he lay on his back she jumped with the spear aiming to finish him. He vanished again, leaving smoke. Serena landed and the spear pierced through the ice and it cracked around her. The fish senses of her beast form warned of a threat behind her. She spun around and found Naunet about to cast another ice beam. He launched his spell and, just before the beam touched her, she slid back, swung her spear and sliced off Naunet’s hand.
Naunet howled and his hand still released the ice beam momentarily. Serena stretched an arm out with her palm wide open. A blue mandarak glowed over her hand. From the dimension of the mandarak a jet of water burst through and pushed Naunet with great force. The water jet pushed him into the frozen pillar and broke through. The pillar that was once a spout tumbled.
Just when she thought she had the upper hand, her fish senses told her that he was behind her. Before she could defend, Naunet summoned a wave of darkness that struck her. She turned around on the frozen sea, but before she could get up, she heard the voices of the dead.
“Your father will die,” the voices said. “You are a failure. Your mother does not love you. You will never save your country. You cannot stop the war. The Laguans will destroy your city then conquer Maer Weeyar.”
“Shut up!” she screamed and held her head. “Get out of my head! You know nothing about me!”
“Those are the voices from Necrovania,” Naunet said as he approached. “They dive into your deepest fears and memories and bring them to the surface.”
Naunet kicked her, Serena rolled on the ice, lost her grip on her spear and pain blasted through her ribs. She tried to look up at Naunet while she was down but instead… she saw…her father. It was King Severus Sarbock. He was still ill and worms crawled out of holes on his face and body. She screamed and scurried away.
“Father, no,” she whispered and her lips quivered as if to sob. “You are supposed to be at home, resting…why aren’t you?”
“I will make you suffer for cutting off my hand.” Her father spoke but the voice of Naunet was heard. “I am going to cut off your beautiful face as part of my trophy.”
Then a light shone from behind Naunet. Serena shielded her eyes but as she looked between her fingers, the voices began to quiet and the image of her ill father disappeared. Naunet flew away but the light kept shining and it got brighter and brighter.
“Are you hurt?” she heard her mother’s voice.
When her vision cleared, she saw Zarviack offering a hand. Her mother helped her get up but Serena’s head spun, somewhat dizzy.
“What did he do to me?” Serena asked, holding her forehead.
“He used dark magic,” Zarviack explained. “Not only did he strike you but he put you in an illusion.”
Serena wobbled almost slipping on the ice, still in her beast form. She found Naunet standing at a long distance from them.
“It’s not over,” he said. “It won’t be long now. The tri-eclipse is coming and when it does you two will be stripped of all your magic power along with all your friends and the rest of the world.”
“You won’t be here to see any of that happen,” she replied.
“I don’t think so. I will let my fiends finish you off. I have better things to do,” Naunet said. He turned into a black cloud and flew up to the tower.
“I won’t let you get away,” Serena swore and ran after him while casting a spell. “Aquara pulse!” she yelled. Her mandarak glowed beneath her feet and caused a geyser, sending her into the air.
She was right under Naunet as he flew in his cloud form. When she reached him she grabbed him from behind. Serena dug her fangs in his neck and her nails in his chest. She wrapped her legs around him and squeezed his body with all the strength of her beast form. Naunet hollered louder than when Serena had cut off his hand. They began to tumble from the sky.
“Let me go you harlot!” he yelled then disappeared into a cloud of black smoke.
Serena vanished with him, still biting and digging her nails into his chest. When they reappeared higher up by the tower she still would not let go. It hindered Naunet’s flight and he could not ascend further.
“You bitch! Get off me, you monster!” Naunet rasped.
Serena was stubborn. She bit harder and squeezed tighter, Naunet continued to scream but was unable to get her off. He flew backwards and slammed her into the wall of the tower. Serena groaned but still did not let go. He slammed into the wall again, and again, and again, but she continued to hold on. Her grip on him was so strong, blood trickled down his clothes.
“You are like a stubborn child. You whore!”
No matter what he said or how many times he disappeared and reappeared, Serena just squeezed him tighter and bit harder. Her beast form gave her great strength and she knew that he would continue to try to get her off his back. If she could not kill him with hydromancy then she would tear him apart in her beast form.
Naunet then dove into the sea hoping she would drown but Serena was a water mage and could spend hours underwater. He rose out of the water and this time he used his cosmo magic. Naunet let out a roar that echoed throughout the sea. Serena was pushed away by the force, but she took with her a chunk of flesh from his shoulder.
She landed roughly on the shore of the island and spat out the chunk of flesh. Thanks to her beast form she was able to endure the pain of that fall without breaking any bones. However, the beast form began to wear off after her fall, making her fangs and nails contract. Her blue and white stripes vanished revealing her tan skin.
“Serena!” her mother called.
She looked across the water and saw her mother riding a wave on a blue manda
rak. When Zarviack reached the island she ran to Serena and cradled her head.
“I am fine. Don’t worry about me,” Serena murmured.
“You must rest. Let me handle him,” Zarviack suggested.
“No,” Serena groaned and struggled to stand up. “I will finish him myself. He will pay for what he did to me.”
Suddenly, Zarviack was pushed back by an unknown force and, hurled into the sea. Serena looked up and saw Naunet slowly descending, with one eye glowing purple. When his feet touched the sand he marched towards her with his omnithium spear in hand.
“You have used too much maju,” he said and fixed his dreadlocks behind his ears. “You cannot fight anymore. Consider this your end. Are you ready to die, my dear?”
Serena did not answer, she only gritted her teeth and scowled at him. Naunet vanished and reappeared behind her.
“You took my hand, now I will take your life,” he said.
Serena spun only to find black smoke again.
“I must say, you are an extraordinary woman,” Naunet said and placed the blade of his spear on her shoulder. “If I was not with Ember, perhaps you could have been mine.”
“I would never be with the likes of you,” she rasped. Serena realized that she still had some strength from her beast form and extended her claws from her right hand. She spun once more, bluffing an attack, confident that Naunet would appear behind her again. When he turned to smoke again, she quickly turned back thrusting with her claws. When his body reappeared she had already clutched his heart and felt it beating in her hands. Naunet gasped and dropped his spear. He looked down at his chest in disbelief.
“I told you I would rip your heart out.” She yanked out her hand, crimson with blood, his heart still pumping in her hands. She then shoved it in his mouth, it squirted blood and she finished her sentence, “And make you eat it.”
Naunet collapsed with his heart in his mouth. His maju could no longer be sensed and his soul had fallen to Necrovania.
Blood of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 3) Page 25