by D N Meinster
With a meager thrust, the section of dock they stood on disappeared, and she expected the three of them to fall into the seas.
Instead, they remained where they were, standing on air.
"Oh damn."
Streams of flame shot out of all three staffs, combining and intending to burn her alive. Grace resorted to summoning a wave up from the seas and splashing it onto the incoming inferno before it could consume her.
Though she was soaked, her enemies remained dry.
"Okay, how are you doing that?"
"You trust in Magenine," Urto said. "We trust in Neanthal."
"Who says I trust in Magenine?" Grace retorted. "You're just assuming?"
The three of them eyed one another. "So, you'd join us?"
"Now, I didn't say that." Grace began to fade away and shifted to the front of her cabin. She gazed at it longingly, like she might never see it again, and then spun to try and get away.
Instead, the three sin mages appeared ahead of her, blocking any getaway on foot.
"That was the only chance you'll get," Kas warned her.
Vines from her garden and nearby trees came alive as Grace willed them under her control, and their green appendages tightened around the torsos of her adversaries.
But moments later, the vines were dust.
"It was a decent try," Rayla taunted her. "But you never stood a chance."
The trio leaned the tips of their staffs together so that their channeling crystals touched.
Grace tried to shift again, but Rayla appeared behind her and locked her arms around her chest.
"Not this time," she whispered in Grace's ear.
An unusual white orb formed at the junction of Kas and Urto's staffs, and it swirled like a cautious cyclone before it launched forward in an attempt to consume her.
Grace watched it near her, finally understanding why no history book would mention her and why they'd come after her in the first place. By staying alone, she'd made herself a perfect target. There was no one coming to save her, and no one would even know she was gone. Her isolation was supposed to be her safety, but instead, it was her undoing.
She accepted what was about to happen, and waited for the white mist to devour her. But as she stared it at, it didn't get any closer. It'd gotten stuck.
Rayla let go of Grace as she saw what was keeping the mist back. A barrier made from nothing had formed in the air.
"How?" Grace wondered aloud, though the answer was obvious.
A mage with auburn hair and a white dress appeared adjacent to the barrier. She was brandishing a silver staff topped off by two silver wings, one on each side of the glowing channeling crystal.
Amelia studied the mist before she turned her attention to the trio. "Is this what you've been using to kill my mages?" she asked. With but a wave, the mist vanished along with the barrier.
"You'll know more about it soon enough," Kas growled.
"Oh, really?" Amelia responded. Her channeling crystal turned deep green, and with only a single step, she came up to Kas' side.
He jumped back, but the sin mage couldn't avoid the pummeling from her staff. As it struck his gut, he flew back and disappeared amongst the brush.
Urto was dumbfounded as her staff collided into his cheek. He fell into the sand and did not get back up.
While Rayla watched her partners fall, Grace spun around and sliced her staff horizontally, opening a wound on her would-be murderer's chest.
Rayla looked down and faded away rather than engage any further.
Meanwhile, Amelia picked Urto up by his collar and studied the sin mage. "Let's send Neanthal a message, shall we?" With a flick of her staff, the brand on his cheek changed shape. The heart and pyramid became a T flecked with three additional branches on his it's vertical. When she was done with him, he faded from her grasp as she sent him back to Castle Tornis.
"Why not just kill him?" Grace asked.
"Because this will be a more powerful statement." Amelia took a moment to look Grace up and down, and examine her cabin. "The Sinful Three have been causing havoc amongst our allies for years. But they've never been so brazen to attack the Islands directly. Something must have changed. Neanthal could know what we're up to."
"And what are you up to?" Grace asked.
"That's why I'm here," Amelia replied. "I haven't disturbed you since I told you of Uterak's death as I respected your need for solace. But it is time you rejoin the fight."
Grace bit her cheek as she looked into the eyes of her savior. "You don't need me."
"I disagree," Amelia gently responded. "It's clear even Neanthal knows of your importance. We will bring about the end of his reign, but we need every ally we can muster." She leaned toward her. "You are on the list."
How was she supposed to convey to her that she wasn't needed without breaking a promise? Grace chose to probe further on a tangential subject. "Are you planning to invade Kytheras?"
Amelia glanced around, fearful that someone may be listening. "I do not trust any conversations outside the manor. Come with me and I will tell you everything."
Grace didn't deserve to know everything when she hid so much from Amelia. So she shook her head and turned her back on the Grand Mage. "You will succeed without me."
"What if you're wrong?" Amelia responded.
"I'm not," Grace said as Rikki's face flashed before her eyes. She tried to walk away, but Amelia was not going to give up so easily. The Grand Mage shifted into her path.
"I cannot allow this to continue. You will come with me."
Grace pointed her staff at Amelia. "You should go."
Amelia's eyes lit up in a violent shade of green. "I defeated you once before and I will again if you make me."
Grace fully extended her arm and shards of ice began to form in the air around Amelia. Moments later, she was encased in a box of ice.
"That was a mistake," Amelia whispered in her ear.
Grace turned to find the Grand Mage at her side just before she slammed her staff into her jaw.
She collapsed back into the sand, but instead of getting on her feet to continue the fight, Grace remained where she lay.
Amelia lied back into a spot next to Grace. "Maybe it would help if you told me why you decided to exile yourself out here."
Grace stared up into the cloudless blue sky, with only the occasional gull obstructing the view.
"It wasn't solely because of Uterak, was it?"
A tear dripped from the side of her eye as she realized only the truth might finally make Amelia understand. But would revealing what had happened so many years ago destroy the future she'd intended to preserve? Could it even fracture time itself?
"I'd served many kings," Amelia started. "But none had earned my love and loyalty as much as Aergo. He was truly – "
"I'm here because of your great-granddaughter!" Grace blurted out as she bolted upright. Saying it brought up so many emotions along with relief that endless tears streamed from her eyes.
"My what?"
Grace understood why Amelia might be confused, as she didn't have a spouse or a daughter, or any family at all, really. But she wiped at her nose and went on. "She shifted into the past, not long after Neanthal conquered Faunli. She had your eyes, and your staff, but not your hair."
Amelia's look of bewilderment began to mix with concern, like she might think Grace wasn't well in the head. It was an understandable reaction, and if she didn't want to believe her, then it made telling the truth that much easier.
"Whoever was teaching her to shift didn't do a proper job of it, and so she wound up here. And she told me little things about the future, like how my name is not known to historians. And how everything in our present turns out well in the end."
Amelia stood back up, not looking at Grace. "What was her name?"
"Rikki."
"Rikki," Amelia repeated.
"Do you understand?" Grace asked, getting back on her feet. "I couldn't interfere with history. We're
going to win, but you don't need me."
Amelia faced her, completely expressionless. "History may not need you, but I do. We can fudge the facts afterwards."
Grace raised an eyebrow. "But – "
"We must maintain our perspective. As long as Neanthal rules, there is no Rikki."
"No mage has traveled into Ghumaic history before," Grace whispered.
Amelia held up her hand. "We will never discuss this again. Now, are you coming with me?"
Grace had expected more of a reaction from Rikki's great-grandmother. Maybe Amelia saw things differently, but Grace had never gotten over what had happened. How was she supposed to ignore it from now on?
"I can't pretend that it didn't happen," Grace said.
"I'm not asking you to," Amelia replied. "But I need you to focus on what is happening right now."
"If I come with you and Neanthal gets to me..."
"Do you know how we defeat him?"
"No," Grace stated.
"Well, I do, and it involves all of us, including you." Amelia held out her hand. "Please, Grace, come with me."
Grace flexed her fingers, considering what it would mean if she joined this rebellion. Her skills had dulled over the years, as her fight with the Sinful Three had shown. She couldn't take them on alone. Who knew if she could take any sin mage on by herself?
"I'm not as strong as I was."
But Amelia didn't flinch.
Grace cautiously reached her hand out until the tips of her fingers grazed against Amelia's palm. After one last look at her cabin, they both began to fade away. As she stared at the Grand Mage while their bodies were paralyzed and their surroundings changed, she only hoped that she would not let her, or the future, down.
Chapter Three
Welcoming Party
It felt strange to be out in open fields again. They'd only been in Belliore a matter of days, but they'd been forced to adapt to the bustling city, flying vehicles, and interminably high skyscrapers. Now, they were back amongst sprawling plains, with the buzzing and chirps of life that were missing in the scientists' enclave. Yet it also felt rather empty.
Rikki wasn't sure at first if they were definitely in Terrastream. Their immediate surroundings were as green as any of the environments in Faunli. Stretches of trees, brush, and grass bending with the winds were not so unfamiliar to the three Kytherans any longer. It was only when she gazed beyond what was directly in front of them that she saw what loomed in the distance.
The Enduring Mountains were as magnificent to her now as they were when she first beheld them. She felt a slight chill at first, fearful that she might've brought all three of them to the past this time, but she told herself that this was right. They were supposed to be in Terrastream.
Jagged peaks cut into the distant sky, and she and her friends gaped at them like they were more marvelous than any Bellish technology. For a few moments, they merely stood in awe of nature's beauty. But as she stared, Rikki noticed that they'd changed since she last saw them. Though they could not make out the front of the mountain, it was easy enough to see that parts of it had been smoothed and shaped by human intervention.
"What do you make of that?" Rikki asked her friends as she tried to point at the aberration.
"Can we get a closer look?" Aros asked, still admiring them.
Aros might've missed the point, but it was a worthwhile suggestion. "Not a bad idea." She held her staff out horizontally in front of her so Doren and Aros could grab hold.
Doren gazed at the silver staff but did not lift a hand toward it. "Maybe we should check out this area first."
"Don't you want a better look at the mountains?" Rikki asked.
"Yeah!" Aros was already holding on, waiting to shift.
She studied her...boyfriend? Was he her boyfriend now? Doren's black hair was getting longer and shaggier as they traveled, but his dark gray eyes were still visible behind his unruly bangs. They focused on her as he realized she was looking.
He smiled as he finally placed his palm on the staff. "Not too close."
"Right," she nodded, but before she began shifting, there was a rather obvious clonk that made her pause.
Doren was gazing down at his feet, where an arrow lay still in the grass.
Rikki immediately realized what had happened and tugged her staff away from her friends and into a more prominent position.
Another arrow was coming at them. This one she froze in midair before it had a chance to strike. She tried to spot the archer in the distance, but there was no obvious sign of anyone nearby. This Streamer had concealed themselves well.
Rikki caused the arrow to burst into wooden shards to try to send a message to anyone that was watching. But it was apparently the wrong message.
Arrows started flying at them from all directions. Fortunately, the three of them were still dressed in the armor the Bellish had provided. Most of the arrows bounced harmlessly into the gold, silver, and bronze layers before tumbling ineffectively to the ground. It was only the few that were aimed higher that she had to use her magic to deflect.
As the discarded shafts began to pile up at their feet, Aros and Doren took hold of the weapons that had been magnetized on their backs and prepared for combat. Doren's bronze shield, marked with the symbol of the Five Kingdoms and enchanted so that it would never break, stayed steady in his grasp. Though he didn't have to, he shoved it at the incoming arrows to deflect them from their path.
Aros wielded two golden swords, each with curved blades that contributed to the name he had given them: clawblades. He was ready to fight, but he kept his weapons still as the arrows struck his golden suit and fell amongst their inept companions. "Are they trying to bury us?"
Rikki gave Aros an amused look before she decided it was time to strike back. With a twirl of her staff, the lifeless arrows before them rose up and, like a snake, she sent bundles of them slithering through the air in the direction of their attackers. When she estimated their location, the collection broke apart and scattered arrowheads in the vicinity.
Whether it was because she hit them or because they realized their own weapons had been turned against them, the archers ceased firing.
Nevertheless, the trio stood on guard, expecting a second wave.
"Every time," Doren sighed.
He didn't elaborate further, but Rikki knew exactly what he meant. Whenever they arrived in a new kingdom, they were almost immediately under attack. General Kortermos' men had them surrounded in Faunli. The peacekeepers had battled them in Belliore. And now some new, unknown adversary was going after them in Terrastream. Just once, it would've been nice to be welcomed as foreign ambassadors, rather than treated as hostiles.
"What'd we do?" Aros asked as his clawblades swayed back and forth.
"Wait," Rikki ordered. Whoever was out there was undoubtedly watching. They couldn't make a move without being seen. So their only option was to react.
"Might be a good time to shift," Doren suggested.
"No," Rikki replied. The channeling crystal nestled between the two wings atop her staff began to glow. "We deal with them first."
As she scanned the horizon, she finally saw movement in the brush. Rikki let off a fireball as a warning, but the projectile didn't scare them off. Instead, it caused them to emerge from their hiding place and charge at them.
As Rikki started to count the men heading toward them, the stampede widened as more left their cover to join them. Their brawny physiques were self-evident, as the pelts they wore could not cover the entirety of their torsos and left their skin exposed. Most carried some form of blade, though a few were counting on the sole strength of their muscles as they sought engagement. What she did not spot were bows. These were not the archers. This was another contingent.
Despite the size of their incoming enemy, Aros and Doren showed no fear as they braced themselves. Rikki supposed they'd faced worse than this already, so it was almost nothing to be concerned about.
As they got clos
er, the pounding of their bare feet on the dirt and grass became noticeable, as did their grunting and panting.
"We should talk!" Rikki shouted, giving them a chance to break off before she unleashed her magic on them.
When they stayed on their path, she realized she had no choice. But she was going to approach this slightly differently.
Rikki tossed her staff at them as if it was a spear. It collided with the head of one of the men, knocking him down as his compatriots continued their advance. Her staff stayed airborne as she directed its movement. It pounded into the back of one of the men, causing him to fall on his face. Then she caused it to trip a pair of them so they rolled and skidded into the foliage.
The staff suddenly stood upright and slammed into the side of another man. He, in turn, crashed into the shoulder of an adjacent man, and they both went down in a heap of bent and broken limbs.
There were only a handful left as Rikki's staff zoomed back into her grasp. These, she let her friends take care of.
Doren thrust his shield so forcefully at his opponent that their blade broke off from the hilt as the bronze disc smashed his nose and knocked him unconscious before he even fell back.
Aros bent down and swiped at the legs of his adversary, who somersaulted back onto his feet even as blood flowed from the fresh wounds. This one had two daggers, and he brandished them while he growled and sneered. But he was taken aback when Aros returned both of his clawblades to his back. Instead, he swiped at the metal on his arm, which lit up instantaneously.
"Huh?" the Streamer barked.
Aros slapped his fingers on to the glowing grid and a beam of white light shot from his hand and enveloped his opponent. The Streamer was crispy, possibly dead, and his body gave off wisps of smoke as he fell over.
"That was overkill," Doren stated.
Aros, however, looked pleased.
Rikki watched as the more resilient of their attackers squirmed and attempted to get back on their feet. "You've been defeated!" she called out.
"Are you sure about that?" a voice replied from an uncomfortably close location.
A piercing whistle reverberated amongst the trees, sending the denhare on Rikki's back into a frenzy. Ji-Ji was not the only creature to be disturbed. Aros' purple belt trembled and two yellow eyes peeked out in search of the screech's source.