Was it his need that made them cling to him? Or was it something else?
Kayleb didn’t have the time to answer all the questions that streaked across his mind. He understood how to use the fifth element now; all he had to do was to tap into the spirits that were around him. They were willing to do anything for him. So great was their desire for vengeance and retribution that they offered their power for him to use.
“We will defeat Vindha together,” he promised. Closing his eyes, Kayleb summoned his power, but instead of just focusing on earth, his element, he also borrowed from the spirits. Their power, their strength flew into him.
The mist disappeared. Kayleb could see again, and he saw Alicia as she stood still. Only her lips moved as she muttered the incantation that gave life to her spell. In a heartbeat, Kayleb understood her intentions. She had left her life force open. She intended to sacrifice herself to complete the spell. That is why she had been so withdrawn and unwilling to share and discuss her spells. She’d planned this for a long time, perhaps from the moment she understood that the magic required for closing the ground above the pit was far beyond anything she’d ever accomplished.
But nothing was beyond his limits now. Kayleb ran towards Alicia. She was in extreme danger; the rival mages had by now identified her as an intruder, and were directing their spell at her. Multiple fire bombs hit her, but her shield remained strong.
But for how long? Sooner or later, her protection would break and she would be vulnerable.
Chaos ruled. Fire, and water, earth and air; fiery arrows and sharp chunks of ice flew about. Tornadoes swept people off their feet. The earth tumbled, rose, and fell. There was an opposing team fighting Vindha’s mages. Had Seth, Maya, Jeye and Cora joined the fray, or was this another force?
Unmindful of the mayhem, Kayleb ran, jumped over obstacles and leaped after Alicia, knowing that he had only moments to spare before it was too late. If enough energy was drained from her body, she would be unable to survive. He narrowly avoided collision with two mages who sought to block his path. Leaping through a fire wall, he felt his protection shield burn and rip.
“Stop it!” he yelled. “You are not going to die today.” He lunged to catch her arm, but her shield stopped him. It was designed to protect her, and it would do so until she collapsed on the floor, dead.
As if sensing her presence, she turned her head to gaze at him. Tears escaped her eyes, but her lips didn’t stop moving. The spell was continuing to drain her energy.
He raised his hand to get her attention. “I’ve the magic of the spirits. Let me add it to your spell. It will do the job.”
She shook her head.
“Trust me,” he beseeched. “I would not lie to you. You don’t have to die to do this. We can do it together.”
Alicia faltered, and sensing the opportunity, he pushed his magic towards her. But the spell would not allow him to add his power to the effort. Alicia would have to allow him to do so.
“Please!” He pleaded. “Trust me. I can do this.”
Abruptly, she nodded and catching hold of the tendrils of his power, she added it to the energy that was being directed towards the tear in the earth. He walked towards the pit, and Alicia followed. They both stood at the edge of the narrow, jagged tear that was all that remained of the pit, he looked down into the fiery, smoldering lava that coiled in the depths of the underground river. Shadows swarmed above it. The demons, perhaps realizing that their only chance for freedom was about to close, crowded together, looking for a means to escape their prison.
Kayleb felt the drain on his element of earth, but he had more to give. Tapping into the power of the spirits, Kayleb drew upon their magic. He felt the blissful energy running through his body, experienced its immense presence within his heart—and with a loud cry, he unleashed his newly acquired power. The element of spirits was his to command.
The words he used to direct the great force were perhaps not as sophisticated as those he would have used if he had studied this power before, but their effect was instantaneous. With a loud grinding that reverberated throughout the mountain, the fissure ground shut.
For a moment, all was silent. The rival mages stood motionless, each wearing the same horrified expression.
And then the battle began once more.
Although the drain on his own power was enormous, Kayleb was exhilarated. Happiness coursed through his body. He had done it. The earth was closed, and Alicia was safe.
With a loud pop, both their shields burst open as the rival mages pelted them with simultaneous spells.
“Come on, we need to get out.” He pulled her arm and ran towards the door that led outside. Around them the air frizzled and shimmered as magical spells hit and rebounded. He ducked to avoid an incoming water bomb. Beside him, Alicia threw something in the air, and he saw a nearby mage go down as her spell hit him straight on his chest.
“That’s Jace,” Alicia yelled. “What is he doing here?” She jumped over a plant that was trying to clamp its tentacle around her feet.
What was she talking about? Were the new mages people she knew? Had King Amber sent reinforcements?
This was great news. Kayleb was already experiencing the aftereffects of the huge spell he’d unleashed upon the earth. Alicia was clearly tired also. Now, more than ever, they needed helping hands.
Kayleb swung his sword, and took off the wide maw of the flesh-eating plant. “Whoever he is, he has arrived at exactly the right time,” he said, swinging Alicia around so she would not be hit by a gust of wind that was spelled to freeze her into place. Since his shield was gone, the icy blast touched his hand, and instantly blisters appeared on his exposed skin.
“Stop manhandling me.” Alicia shrugged out of his grasp. “I am not a helpless female.”
If they weren’t involved in a mortal struggle, he would have smiled at her ire. Kayleb swung around and buried a mage, neck-deep, in the earth. With his other hand, he brought the hilt of his sword crashing down on the back of a mage who was about to attack one of the new mages.
Alicia cupped her hands and blew softly into them. Multiple bubbles, each the size of a coin, flew out. The bubbles grew in size, until each was as big as wagon wheel. With mindless determination, the wheels spun towards the line of rival mages and crashed into them, spinning mages off their feet.
“Good work,” Kayleb grunted as he swung his sword and decapitated a mage who had managed to bury two of Jace’s companions, waist-deep, in the earth. When he died, the earth spat them out, and they rolled out of harm’s way.
The new reinforcements rallied around Alicia and Kayleb. Jeye, Cora, Theodore and the rest joined the skirmish. Now, they were sufficient in numbers to repel the spells and injure and kill Vindha’s mages. Out of practice, and their own power already depleted by the spell they were weaving to capture the demon, the rival mages couldn’t contain the intruders for long.
The patrolling mages, after investigating the explosions in the ravines, rushed indoors. Three of them were killed instantly by Kayleb and his party. The battle continued indoors as both sides fought to gain an upper hand. But before long, Alicia, Kayleb and their companions managed to fight their way out of the hall, into the foyer, and out in the clearing.
Two of Vindha’s mages seized the opportunity, and dropped heavy rocks upon the party. Cora dropped, her head crushed by the large stone. Theodore pulled Jeye out of harm’s way. Suddenly, the newly formed demon mage emerged out of the building. He raised his hand and multiple fire bombs shot out of his hands. Everyone dived on the ground.
His laughter echoed in the resulting silence. He blasted them with another spell. The earth under their feet shifted, pitched sideward, and rolled over, burying three mages in the soil. Whirlwinds swept through the clearing, creating dust clouds that reduced visibility to zero. Despite the significant use of magic, the demon mage’s power appeared undiminished. He cackled loudly, as if enjoying the pandemonium, indiscriminately picking off mages, killing peop
le from both opposing parties.
The blood and gore seemed to excite him. He laughed as people dropped, injured and dead, on the floor.
Was he unstoppable? Could they do nothing to hurt him?
Kayleb threw the dagger he’d used earlier in the journey to kill a demon mage, but the mage made it explode in mid-air. This wasn’t an ordinary demon mage. For one, he was fighting even though he had not been given any command by Vindha as yet. Also, he wasn’t particular about who he hurt. He was indiscriminately picking people off, including Vindha’s mages.
The demon mage let off a ferocious spell, sweeping them all off their feet with one causal wave of his hands. As they fell about, he walked off into the forest.
“We need to go after him. That’s a live demon mage. If left to survive, he would create havoc,” said Alicia. “We have to kill him.”
Kayleb grabbed both her hands. Now wasn’t the time to act with haste. “We have done all we could today. Everyone’s tired, and we need to get off this mountain. What we came to do, we have already accomplished. Back to the ledge,” he yelled to his companions. Vindha’s mages were distracted and this was a good time to make their escape. Grabbing Alicia’s hand, he ran for the boulder that would take them to safety. “Follow me,” he commanded, hoping their friends would heed his advice.
They all ran headlong, and Kayleb dove through the boulder. Luckily, the spell was still working, and within moments they were on the ledge.
“Go on. Get down,” he told Alicia, breathing heavily. Every muscle in his body ached. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm, but his will to survive was strong.
“Not until everyone else goes down.”
“Come on, woman, can’t you once agree with me?” he yelled.
Ignoring him, she showed the path to the new mages. With eager hands, she grabbed the shoulders of a mage. “Jace, I don’t know how you followed me but I have never been as glad to see anyone as I was when you came to our rescue. Go now, we will talk once we are back on safe grounds.” She hugged him before he went down.
The ledge wasn’t big enough for everyone to stand on it at once. Many people were still outside. Quickly, she directed the mages to climb down. Luckily, Vindha’s mages still hadn’t followed them. Either they were disheartened by the fight or they were chasing the live demon mage through the forest.
Once the great majority was on its way down, and they were sure no one had been left behind, Seth closed the spell. “The boulder will not give access to anyone now,” he said before going down.
With his departure, they were the last two people on the ledge.
The eastern horizon lit with the first light of the sun. At last, Kayleb sheathed his sword. He looked at the wide panorama spread before them. To the east, the world was alive with colors and hues. The rivers, forests and meadows were awash with the streaming, dawn sunlight. And to the west, everything was shrouded in the cover of the night. Never before had he seen such a beautiful contrast.
“Finally, we did it!” he said.
Alicia pushed back her hair. “You will have to explain to me how you closed that fissure.”
He wiped the blood on her cheek and was relieved to find that it wasn’t hers. “Maybe later. After you tell me why you never told me you were planning to sacrifice yourself to achieve this goal?”
Her cheeks tinged with color. She looked away. “I thought it was the only option available.”
Cupping her chin, Kayleb forced her to meet his gaze. “Promise me that you will never plan such a thing ever again without letting me know about it. We can’t spend our lives together if you are going to keep such dangerous and potentially disastrous secrets.”
Alicia held his hand, her fingers laced through his. “Is that a proposal?”
He shrugged. “I guess.”
She glared at him. “You guess? You will have to do better than that if you expect me to say yes.”
Laughing, Kayleb pulled her into his arms. He kissed her, savoring the sweet taste of her. Finally, he raised his head. “Princess Alicia, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? I will love and adore you for the rest of my life, fight demon mages with you, and we will live happily afterwards.”
She smiled, her eyes twinkling merrily. “Much better. Yes, I will marry you, Kayleb.”
They kissed again.
Kayleb heard the approving murmur of the spirits, and knew that his friends were celebrating along with him. They had forgiven him and would remain by his side to continue this battle until the world was purged of this evil.
For now, all was well with their world. Soon, they would have to fight the ultimate battle and defeat Vindha’s forces, including the demon mages who already existed – but for now, this moment was theirs, and theirs alone.
----The End----
Book Three in The Power of Three trilogy will be released soon. If you enjoyed The Warrior Mage, please consider leaving a review at Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, or any other site of your choice to help me reach new readers.
About the Author
Sabine A. Reed is a fantasy author. The eldest among three children, she always had a book in her hand. To this date, she loves to read. When she is not shuttling her kids to and fro from their various activities, she is penning her new fantasy novel. Currently she is busy working on the third book in The Power of Three Trilogy. She can often be found at Goodreads and her website. She can also be found on twitter: SabineAReed. And on her facebook page: SabineAReed.
Her other books include:
The Demon Mages, Book 1 in The Power of Three trilogy
Serpentine Love, a fantasy, paranormal romance novella
The Black Orb, a fantasy novella
The Black Orb
Prologue and Chapter One
The old man stood in front of the heavy oak doorway. It was close to high noon but the rays of the blistering sun barely penetrated the thick canopy of the trees that hid the ancient stone structure from prying eyes. The door was covered with creeping ivy. Dusting off mud from his cloak, he stepped forward and muttered the words that had not been uttered in over three hundred years.
"La Khatam Duan Ma Yuan Veil."
A shudder went through the earth beneath him in response to the magic he invoked. He suppressed the urge to flee.
"La Khatam Duan Ma Yuan Veil."
Once again, the earth beneath his feet shook restlessly, almost as if to warn him not to proceed. Ignoring the knot of fear that wedged itself in his stomach, he repeated the same words a third time, setting in motion a sequence of events that might lead to his eventual death. The doors started to pull apart, leaving an opening big enough for a grown man to squeeze through.
He walked inside the Tomb of Issar, the long-forgotten God of War. When he emerged, the sun was nearly down. In the faint evening light, he glanced at the treasure clutched in his hand and broke into a fast run, towards the clearing where his horse was tied.
The hunt had begun. And there was not a moment to lose.
Chapter One
Aria stood at the corner, waiting for the mark to show up. Earlier, she had spotted him at the fair. He was loitering near the food stalls, stuffing his already bulging stomach with sweet cakes and eyeing the women around him with a lecherous gaze. She would have easy pickings tonight.
There he was, lurching forward on unsteady legs. Clearly, he had been drinking steadily through the night.
"Hey, handsome!" she called as he drew near. Thrusting her hip at an angle, she angled her body towards him. "Wanna have a good time tonight?"
He stopped and gazed at her out of glazed eyes. "How much?"
"For you, darling, only three silver coins." She ran her fingers through her long, black tresses and pouted at him.
"Are you mad, woman? One silver coin and that's it."
"Oh, you drive a hard bargain." Aria giggled and sashayed closer. "Do you have a room?"
"At the corner of the street." His words were slurred. "Come. I'll give you a good time
tonight."
Drawing her cloak tightly about her, Aria covered her head with her headband. She did not want the tavern keeper to remember anything about her. Her mark staggered his way to the tavern and led her upstairs. Late as it was, there were not many customers at the bar and the tavern keeper was busy cleaning in the kitchen.
Once they were inside, he closed the door and took off his cloak. "Show me the goods, sugar cake." He slapped her lightly on her buttocks.
Obligingly, Aria took her cloak off. She was wearing a low cut grass-green gown underneath, one that showed off her bosom and tiny waist to perfection.
He grinned and licked his lips. "Well, well. You're a fine looking woman. If you're as good in bed as you look, I might keep you for the entire three nights I'll be here. Come here now. Lose the gown."
"What's the hurry?" Aria nodded towards the jug of ale that stood on a table in one corner of the room. "My throat is parched. Let me have a drink first."
He took off his tunic and scratched his hairy chest. There were two leather pouches hanging on a belt around his ample hips. "Pour me one," he ordered.
As she walked over to the table, Aria slipped her hand inside her satchel and took out a small wooden box. She bent to place her satchel near the table. With her back towards her customer, she opened the box and put some powder in the ale cup before pouring the ale for him. With the box safely hidden in her hand, she offered him the ale cup.
He drank it down in one big gulp.
She took the cup from him and placed it on the table. As there was no other cup in the room, she dared not chance pouring herself a drink. The residual powder might still be in the cup and since it was a highly potent sleeping potion, she did not want her senses dulled. There was still much work left ahead of her.
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