by Jordan Baker
"You must hurry, Stavros," Ehlena whispered. "Aaron cannot wait much longer."
"Ehlena," Stavros said, his voice a raspy whisper, as his magic expanded around her, allowing her to see him. "You have returned."
"Yes, and I bring you a warning," she said. "Calexis is very close to being able to sense what you are doing."
"Come now," the mage said. "I have used my best magic to obscure this work."
"And yet I could still find you," Ehlena said. "Kenra is a god of lies, secrets and shadows. His obsession with trickery and the power of the shadow is what now resides in Calexis and Aaron cannot distract her for much longer. He says you must hurry."
"We have imbued and realigned most of the crystals," Stavros said, his eyes dark from lack of rest. "There are only a few more we need to shift and then we can deal with the final crystal in the Temple. If we had more time, I would rather realign all the crystals in the city, but even with Calthas and a young mage named Coraline, who escaped from Calexis' spell, there are still quite a number of them. It will require more power this way, but we are ready."
"Coraline," Ehlena said, catching her name. "Yes, I remember her. She was the one who ran from the temple."
"It seems that you know a good many things, Lady goddess," Stavros commented.
"I hear things on the wind," she said.
"I think you might whisper a few things as well."
"Perhaps," she admitted with a tired smile, then she frowned. "Stavros, I am very worried about Aaron. I do not think he believes he can destroy the shadow with his power."
"Aaron has the potential to be more powerful than any other mage I have ever seen, even Zachary, and his fire burns true," Stavros said as he began to climb down from the roof. "If he cannot best the shadow...if he falls prey to it, then our chances become very slim."
"Aaron knows it may come to that, and that is why I am worried," Ehlena told him. "He said that when the time comes, we should not hold back, and the way he spoke, it was as though he has already resigned himself to a certain fate."
"If everything my brother wrote to me in his letters is true, then you need not worry about that," Stavros said as he leapt from the edge of the roof to a nearby wall, as Ehlena floated along with him as he walked along it. "Tarnath always talked about how Aaron would drag his heels and try not to promise much when it came to tasks that were put before him, but when it came down to it, he would always do more than he was asked."
"That does sound like him," Ehlena said, remembering how they first met, and while it warmed her heart to think about how he helped her without question when he barely knew her and owed her nothing, it also caused her some concern. "That is what worries me. After what happened with the Ansari, I am worried that Aaron might intentionally sacrifice himself, and the shadow has a way of taking away thoughts of hope."
"Let us not dwell on such thoughts," Stavros said, with a frown. He hopped down from a low point in the wall and landed silently on the cobbled street. "Come, I must return to Calthas' workshop, and have Coraline reimbue this crystal. It is truly an interesting form of magic, this." He reached into his robe, then he held out a crystal that resembled the one atop the building. "The resonance of one crystal can be passed on to the others, almost perfectly and I can already think of a number of spells that I might create this way."
"I cannot stay, Stavros," Ehlena said. "I must travel again, for our time grows very short. Please hurry, and be careful."
"I am always careful," Stavros said, giving her the best reassuring smile he could muster as the girl goddess wisped away into the night.
The grey cloaked, grey haired mage sighed tiredly. Ehlena had every reason to be worried, and he could plainly see that she was not well, despite the spell she had placed upon herself to hide it. He gritted his teeth and hurried along the street toward Calthas' shop, cursing the fact that he could not travel with his magic without the sound of it waking up the entire city and Calexis, along with everyone else. As much as he did not want Ehlena to worry about him and the others, and had tried his best to reassure her, he knew the danger they might face at any moment, and he hurried his step, making his way back to meet with the other two mages. Based on what Coraline had told him about the magic of the crystals, and what he had observed in the way the gemstones were arranged throughout the city, they would be able to disrupt and alter the spell with the stones they had realigned thus far, and the ones they missed would likely resonate along with the others, though it would require a little more power on his part, but if they were truly out of time, then it would have to be enough.
Stavros was relieved to see that Calthas and Coraline had returned, and they had already imbued their crystals with power, ready for the last and most dangerous step in the spell. He handed the crystal he carried to the young mage who had escaped from the clutches of the dark god, and she began to impart some of her energy into it, making it resonate so that it would counter the large crystal at the temple, while appearing not to have changed. It was a subtle shift in the magic, and Stavros would simply be able to pour in his own energy to increase the power of its resonance. Even though Coraline was beginning to recover some of her power, and she no longer looked as aged as she had when she had first appeared, he could tell that it still required a lot of effort for her to imbue the crystals.
She shook a little as she wiped the sweat from her brow onto the long sleeve of the oversized shirt that Calthas had found, along with some other clothes that fit her just as badly. Stavros noticed that if it were not for the lines on her face, with her sleight build and wearing such clothes, she looked almost like a stable boy, a far cry from the black robed mage that she had been, but perhaps better than the unnaturally elderly child in a smock she had looked when she had appeared in Calthas' study. More than the way she looked, Stavros noted the sadness in her eyes, a kind of heartbroken look that she could not even try to hide, and he hoped that she would be able to find her way back to some sort of life if they succeeded at getting rid of the shadow. A lot had been taken from her, and the best he could do was express his gratitude and hope it would raise her spirits a little.
"Your help has truly been a godsend, Coraline," the elder mage told her. "I can't help but wonder if one of the gods had something to do with it."
"It is luck," Calthas said with a smile. "The Lady herself, may have sent you."
"I am just glad I can help try to undo the damage," Coraline told them. "And with some luck, we might succeed."
"Let us hope," Stavros said.
CHAPTER FOUR
Calexis awoke from what felt like a fitful sleep to find Aaron already awake and staring into the dim light of early morning, with a brooding expression upon his face. When she moved, she ached as though her body had been beaten while she slept, though she did not appear to have been injured, and she quickly gathered her power to her, using it to drive away the pain and give strength to her flesh and bones. Irritated at the weakness of her physical form, she pondered how, once she was able to claim the dragon gift, that she could take on such a form, one that could better handle the sheer amount of power she had gained, as well as the even greater power she would soon claim both from the crystal in her temple and from the young man who almost literally was in the palm of her hand but remained just beyond her reach. Calexis wondered that Aaron was able to handle the immense energy that coursed within him, and she toyed with the idea of simply taking over his body and forcing him to take hold of his power, but she knew that would likely prove far too difficult, for now. It was also far more amusing to taunt him, and she enjoyed the pleasure of it and how useful her current form when it came to such things. She rolled over and crawled across the mess of silken sheets, then sidled up to him, resting her head on his chest.
"You did not rest?" she asked, her voice sweet with concern.
"I did," Aaron replied. "I am awake now."
"Perhaps you are too pent up," Calexis said, sliding her hand down his stomach and under the sheets. "W
hy not relax and enjoy yourself, since you are here."
Aaron turned away.
"You may bend me to your will, but you have yet to break me," he told her. "Until then, you will get no pleasure from me."
"Your flesh says otherwise," she teased.
"Why would it not?" Aaron said, coldly. "Do you think that it truly means I desire you?"
"Most certainly," she said as she shifted herself under the covers and slid a leg over him.
"You flatter yourself," Aaron said.
"Come now," Calexis replied, her sharp claws gently teasing him.
"Enough," Aaron told her, and tried to push her back off of him, but he felt her power grip him and the darkness of the shadow began to cloud his thoughts. He fought the temptation to seize his power, and instead he used the energy that he had gathered in his limbs and pushed her again, but the effort of it made his vision blur, and he nearly lost consciousness. There was a loud crash, and the sound of wood splintering, and Aaron's vision returned. To his surprise, he saw Calexis picking herself up off the floor, with her neck bent at an odd angle. She grabbed the side of her head and twisted it straight, then she hissed at him angrily and strode toward the bed.
"You continue to fight me," she growled, the sound of her voice becoming guttural as she grabbed him by the hair and lifted him up off the bed. "You know that I will have what I want. I can feel you weakening every moment that passes."
She tossed him back against the heavy, wooden headboard and it cracked from the impact. Aaron coughed. The little bit of power that remained in his body was barely enough to protect him. He had used too much of it when he had thrown her against the wall, which had not been his intention, and Aaron knew his grip on his actions was beginning to slip.
"You may have your way," Aaron said, looking up at her. "And what you want is not what you truly want."
"You think you know better than I, what it is that I desire?" She glowered at him. "What is that?"
"What you truly desire, is to be destroyed," Aaron replied and she stared at him for a moment, then she burst into laughter.
"You know nothing," she spat. "But you will learn, soon enough."
Calexis turned and walked to the window, and she looked out over the city, still dark from the fading night, and kept darker still from the dark clouds that blotted out the stars. She reached out with her power, listening, feeling the tremors in the world as a battle raged to the west, and she felt movement to the south, a power that she recognized from long ago, and she smiled. It would not be long before those she sought to defeat would come to her, and soon she would claim their power and be the only one that remained. Calexis felt another tremor, somewhere far closer than she had expected, in the city itself, and she felt it echo within her, the way a spider could feel a vibration on its web.
"What is this?" she hissed, and Aaron felt her power envelop the entire room and beyond. Dark tendrils of shadow out of the palace and worked their way through the city like vines of darkness, as Calexis searched, leaning on the stone sill of the window. "Something is wrong."
"Are your Darga making a mess of the city?" Aaron asked. "It seems they can somehow resist your power."
"You will be silent," she growled, and Aaron felt his jaw clamp shut as shadows swam around him, thicker than ever. Calexis did not even bother to look at him, so fixated she was on the city, and Aaron cursed in frustration, for he knew that it was as he had feared. She leaned forward a little more, staring, searching, then she sniffed. "Now I see you, and I can smell your power."
Aaron focused his will and managed to remove the shadows from his mouth.
"You think I am unable to use my power while you have me here, that I am completely helpless?" he asked, and Calexis turned and glared at him as he smiled at her, doing his best to bait her anger. "In your arrogance, you assume too much, or perhaps the shadow has clouded your thoughts."
"This is your doing?" she shrieked. "No, that is not possible. Your power is mine, trapped here. I can feel your power, and your resistance to it weakening as it builds up inside of you. No, this is not your power I can feel. You are trying to trick me with false words!"
"Am I?" Aaron asked, his face expressionless, his voice an apathetic challenge.
"Your foolish insolence will not go unpunished," she said. "But first I will deal with this treachery."
Calexis turned and leapt out of the window, her body shifting partly to shadow and leather wings sprouting from her back. Aaron struggled to rise from the bed, then he hobbled to the window and watched as she flew from the palace toward the city, with shadows and darkness billowing around her. Aaron regretted his mistake, using so much of the power in his body to ward off the Xallan queen, but he managed to focus a little bit of power to his hand, and he snapped his finger as loudly as he could. The sound of it echoed through the city, not noticed by Calexis in her rage, though Aaron did not care all that much if she did, but hopefully the sound would be heard by the mages in time for them to escape her fury.
*****
Stavros stopped outside the temple doors as a sound echoed in his ears, a distinctive noise, so loud it was as though someone had snapped their fingers right next to his ear, and he could tell the direction whence it had come. He recognized the echo of Aaron's power and he knew it was a warning. Stavros reached for his power and felt the malevolent power closing in fast. Quickly, he grabbed Coraline and, with a loud crack, he tossed her through a travel spell that opened barely enough for her to get through and she disappeared. The mage could feel Calthas reaching for his power as well, and the dim light of morning suddenly turned dark as ink, as a deathly stench filled the air. Dark grey and black shadows flowed over the temple and Calexis appeared in the sky overhead and she dove toward them, firing blasts of black and purple energy.
Stavros managed to shield himself at the last second, while Calthas dove to the side, narrowly dodging the attack. The dark magic seared the ground around them and Stavros felt it draining his power through the barrier he had created. He let go of his power and stepped back, as a substance that was like dark pitch fell and splattered on the stone cobbles, then he cast another shield and began weaving another spell. Calthas rolled to his feet and ran as Calexis shot dark energy that chased him across the square. He sent a stream of fire toward Calexis as she landed heavily upon the ground and it engulfed her completely.
"Calthas, run," Stavros yelled as the younger mage continued his assault.
"I've got her," Calthas said, but then he glimpsed Calexis through the flames and saw the smile on her face as she began to walk toward him.
"You will have to do better than that, little mage," she said, reaching her arms out, as though reveling in the heat.
A chunk of stone dislodged itself from the temple behind her, and with a wave of his hand, Stavros sent it flying toward Calexis. It slammed into her back and she stumbled forward from the heavy blow, but it barely slowed her down. Pieces of rubble and dust fell to the ground as she stood up and leapt forward, parts of her turning to a blur of black smoke. Through the flames of his magic, she grabbed Calthas by the throat and lifted him from the ground, causing his fire to shoot out in all directions. Calexis grinned at him cruelly, then she smashed him to the stone street. Another chunk of stone slammed into her, then another, and another, making her stumble away from Calthas, who lay on the ground in a crumpled heap, his fire extinguished, and gasping for air. Stavros followed his attack with a weave of magic and it was as though a thousand chains appeared and wrapped themselves around the Xallan queen. He pulled them tight, trapping her in their grasp, then he ran toward Calthas.
"Get up, Calthas," Stavros said, trying to lift the younger mage. "We must flee this place."
"I cannot move," Calthas rasped, and with his mage sight, Stavros saw that countless bones in his body were broken, and he knew that if he moved the younger mage as he was, it could very well kill him. As quickly as he could, with one hand, he weaved healing and binding spells to hold Calth
as' bones in place, but he felt the chains he held in his other hand begin to slip, and he saw shadowy black smoke pouring out from between them.
"I cannot hold her," Stavros said as he helped Calthas struggle to his feet. "We must go. Can you heal yourself?"
"I can," Calthas told him, gritting his teeth through the pain, and he began using his magic to repair the damage that wracked his body.
Stavros summoned his power to use his traveling magic, but a hand suddenly appeared at his throat, followed by a thread of black smoke that trailed behind it. Another hand grabbed Calthas, and the chains that had held Calexis fell to the ground and disappeared. Her grip was like ice, and the two mages felt their power being sucked away from them as she lifted them both from the ground as her body solidified from the shadows.
"Two little mice," she said. "Now what have you been up to, I wonder?"
"We've come to put an end to your madness," Stavros choked through the grip on his throat. He blasted Calexis directly in the face with a spell of ice and felt her grip loosen for a moment as her body froze, covered in frost. Both he and Calthas tried to wriggle free, but shadows shot forth from Calexis' body and surrounded them, and the layer of frost began to dissipate.
"You are surprisingly powerful, mage," she said, then she glanced at Calthas. "This one, not so much, but I know that neither of you are so foolish as to think you can challenge me. Why are you here, at this temple? What is it you thought you could accomplish?"
Stavros used his power to rip more stones from the front of the temple and large chunks of it smashed against Calexis, but her features began to shift to a more reptilian form and she ignored the attacks as though they were merely pebbles, as they bounced off her hard scales. Stavros reached out with his hand and the heavy, wooden doors of the temple collapsed to the ground, revealing the large, dark, glowing crystal inside.