by Oxford, Rain
Three salamanders sauntered in. These were each about three feet long from forked tongue to tail. The skin on their backs, tops of the head and tail, and outside of their legs, was black, which blended into the dark. The top of their clawed and webbed paws was dark ash-colored. Their underbellies, the inside of their legs, and the bottom of their snouts were yellow that darkened to red and faded into the black in flame patterns. On the tip of their black tails were flames half as large as that from my torch. My torch fire died suddenly, which only made the salamanders appear brighter.
My instincts urged me forward, but I refused. “Are you fire elementals?” I asked, not really expecting an answer from burning amphibians.
“Yesss…” The word, both serpentine and ominous, wasn’t in my mind, but it certainly wasn’t from the mouth of the salamander.
Shit. That wasn’t creepy at all. “I need to defeat a very powerful enemy who is killing and possessing students at Quintessence. He has magic, so I need a weapon that can counter it. Can you help me?”
“Yesss…” The three salamanders turned and sauntered off down a tunnel.
I groaned, tossed aside my dead torch, and followed, mindful of traps. “I’m following burning lizards,” I said after a few minutes. None of the salamanders commented. My instincts, to my surprise, were calm. These were extremely powerful and likely volatile creatures, but they were non-threatening.
At least for the moment.
I worried about the traps, but even when we passed areas I knew for sure were trapped, nothing happened. It was as if the elementals could disarm them. As much as I felt bad about thinking it, they were better guides down here than Henry. Plus, they were their own torches.
It took about half an hour before my sense of danger fired up. I stopped before entering the room right in front of me. “Something’s not right,” I said. The salamanders stopped in the middle of the room so I stepped inside, hesitantly. My instincts were warning me strongly of danger, but I didn’t feel the need to get out of the room. When a door slammed shut behind me, I didn’t panic. “I followed you because you said you can help me.”
The salamanders melted together and grew and, as it did, the color and texture of the creature changed. The end result was a beautiful, yet creepy woman. Her skin was caramel, her hair was black, and her body could only have been a product of design. I had no doubt whatsoever that this entity intended to be unbelievably attractive, which didn’t seem fair since fire was supposed to be masculine. Of course, the gnome was male. While my mind knew that and warned me to stay away, my body never got the message.
“You have come to us seeking a weapon of immense power, Devon Sanders. This is not something we will hand over to you easily. Unlike the undine of water and the gnomes of earth, we are not trusting of mortals.”
“I need it to save at least five people.”
“You wish to sacrifice one life to save others? Do you take it upon yourself to weigh souls, Devon Sanders?”
“Gale has killed people. Who knows how many more are going to die?”
“You have the right to take his life because he took the lives of others? By that logic, we should kill you. How many lives will you take before another young mortal comes to us, asking us for a weapon to take your life?”
“I don’t want to kill anyone.”
“Then why do you ask us for a weapon?”
“I don’t know how else to save them.”
“You are not ready.” She started to fade.
“Wait! Stop!” She did, but she glared at me. “Whether I’m ready or not, these people are going to die if I don’t do something. I will kill Gale, even though I don’t want to. Even if I die in the process. Besides, you came to me! You’ve been following me around since Len got sick, so I know you want something from me.”
She frowned thoughtfully for a moment. “We might be willing to help you, Devon Sanders, but it will come at a price. You are surrounded by enemies of balance. Dothra is a world of death, and all wizards of Earth are stained by it. Destroy the tower so that no more of the tainted can enter our world.”
“I would have to get the fourth key.”
“Promise us, Devon Sanders.”
“It could take years.”
“Time is for mortals.”
“Then I promise that after I defeat Gale, I will get the key eventually and destroy the tower.”
“Then you may have the weapon you seek, but this will require wisdom to attain. You will choose between three weapons.” Between us, three circles of fire appeared in a row, each about four feet in diameter. Inside the circle on the left was a wizard’s staff. The middle circle had a spear, while the circle on the right contained a sword. All three weapons were floating in midair.
“No gun?”
“The first is a staff, which will allow you to slow your enemy but it will consume your strength if you use it for an unworthy purpose. The second is a spear, which will kill your enemy with the venom of a dragon, but it will poison your mind if you use it for an unworthy purpose. The third is a sword, which will blaze with an inextinguishable fire as long as you believe in it, but it will burn you to ash if you use it for an unworthy purpose.”
“What do you mean by an unworthy purpose?”
“That depends on the weapon you choose. Choose wisely, for it will decide your fate.”
“If I die, I can’t destroy the tower.”
I considered the weapons. I crossed the spear out of the equation first, because I didn’t know how to use one and I didn’t want to kill Gale with venom. The sword had fire, which was fine, but the staff could slow Gale down, hopefully enough for me to do some magic. I wouldn’t have to get as close to him and he wouldn’t be able to pop away before I could attack. Many of the professors at Quintessence were of the mind that competition was healthy. After everything I learned, I knew I could defeat him with elemental magic if I could slow him down.
“I choose…” Adrenaline shot through me as my instincts kicked on. It wasn’t that I was in sudden danger but that I was about to make a horrible mistake. I had to struggle for a moment just to breathe.
“You choose what?” the woman asked impatiently.
“I choose the sword.”
“So be it.” The other two circles and their weapons vanished. “Remember that every life you take will weigh on your soul for eternity. Before you can take the weapon, you must be purified.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” I approached the circle carefully, still wary of traps. “Do I just have to take it?”
“Yes.”
I contemplated the magic I knew that could put out the fire. I could create a rainstorm, do the air-bubble, or get creative to blow it out with wind. Instead, I scuffed my shoe across the ground to kick dirt over the fire. This actually worked just long enough for me to slip inside the circle, and then the ring of fire resealed itself.
The sword was double-edged with an extremely simple black handle. I thought it should have been a lot more glamorous if it was a magic sword. I did actually feel my hand touch the sword for a split second before pain lit every nerve in my body. My eyes were forced closed, but I saw too much. I saw memories I had forgotten and some I had tried to forget. Every happy and horrible memory, every kiss, every bit of passion, every fight, every moment I got angry… pretty much my entire life flashed before my eyes. That, coupled with the unbelievable pain, convinced me I was dying.
This went on for some time, until my mind couldn’t take the pain anymore and I felt a sort of separation. I could feel the pain, but it was like my mind just went into another room. All the while, I was still experiencing my life on fast-play. There were several moments, as fast as they were, that left me feeling ashamed. Oddly, this was the only emotion that lingered, even when I didn’t feel ashamed at the time. Everyone made mistakes and did stupid stuff in their lives. I saw everything differently. The hatred I once felt for vampires now seemed uncalled for, the way I used Regina to sooth my loneliness was selfis
h, and pushing away the woman I loved felt like an overreaction.
It wasn’t that Astrid did no wrong. My anger was perfectly appropriate. However, had I given her five minutes to explain, I would have known right then and there what my subconscious had been telling me for years. My hatred of vampires was completely irrational, because my subconscious was trying to tell me Astrid was not at fault for what she did. Had I given her five minutes to explain, both of our lives would have been vastly better.
When it got to my encounter with John Cross, the memory slowed to real-time. I had to relive murdering him. The difficult part was that my thoughts were independent this time to see it from a new perspective. As many times as I wished it had gone down differently, I spent the entire memory wishing I could stop myself. Then, when I saw his last moments, the only thing that came to mind was he deserved worse.
Fire wasn’t like water or earth. Fire was power and anger and passion. It was ferocious. It consumed almost everything in its path. What was so powerful about fire, however, was that in the wake of its destruction was creation.
“Devon?” I heard Astrid’s voice and sat up, completely disorientated.
“What happened?” I asked. We were alone and it was completely dark except for the penlight Astrid had. I laughed then, because I remembered that she gave me my first penlight. She was so much a part of who I was that I could never really be rid of her.
“Are you okay?” she asked, obviously concerned that I was laughing.
I stood as gracefully as I could manage on wobbly legs. “I’m okay.”
She leaned over and grabbed the sword off the floor by my feet. “Is this what you came here for?”
I took it from her, but it didn’t do anything. “Maybe I didn’t pass their test.” Even as I said that, I knew something happened. I felt different. I felt… clean. It wasn’t that I suddenly hadn’t gone through all the shit I did, just that I could breathe easier and move on.
“Maybe you have to use fire magic.”
I swung the sword lightly and as I did, I simply thought of fire. The blade glowed bright red, only to fade back when it stilled.
“That’s amazing.”
“It doesn’t exactly seem like a powerful weapon,” I said. She widened her eyes dramatically. “How did you get out of the cell again?”
She shrugged. “I sensed you were in trouble. I’ll always come when you’re in trouble, even if you don’t need my help.”
“If I ended up trapped in Hell, I bet you would break in just to walk with me.”
She smiled. “If you ended up trapped in Hell, I bet it would be my fault. Come on. Let’s go put me back in my cage.”
“Do you think you need it? It doesn’t seem to do much good.”
She grabbed my left hand and wrapped it around her as we left. “Either that, or you can just strap me down on the bed. You could tell me how bad I was for leaving and punish–”
“Don’t start that down here. I have no idea what problem might be waiting for us up there and I don’t want to face it thinking about smacking your ass.”
“Yeah? Good luck with that.”
* * *
The mood soured the first time a blade shot out of the wall and nearly took my head off. Between my instincts and Astrid’s hearing, we were able to avoid most of the spikes, landmines, and swinging blades. Unfortunately, Astrid was serious about wanting to pull every tripwire she found.
Then we lost half an hour and I lost ten years of my life when Astrid stepped in a bear trap. The damn woman laughed as I tried to get the trap off her and told me it hurt less than getting shot with silver. Fortunately, due to her knee-high boots and a well-placed dagger that acted as a wedge, her ankle wasn’t broken and she was able to walk with minimal assistance.
We seemed to realize at the same time that this was the perfect time to talk. Thus, we both made the rest of the journey in complete silence. I had no idea what I wanted from Astrid, and I was starting to think she wasn’t any more sure about me.
When we finally reached the top floor of the underground level, I took Astrid back to her cell. Before I closed it, I kissed her. The door sealed itself, a feature which Hunt had added after the first time she escaped. There really wasn’t much point.
I returned to my room and told Darwin what happened. Of course, he had heard about the “flaming sword” and was excited to see one for himself. I was a little underwhelmed, since the blade wasn’t actually on fire.
“Have you ever used a sword before?” he asked.
“A friend in college had one I held at one point, but it wasn’t a real one. It had a cobra handle. I suppose it can’t be too difficult to use. They’re not too different from guns; you point and poke instead of aim and shoot.”
His expression suggested I was out of my mind. “Maybe you should ask someone to teach you.”
“Like who?”
“Anyone. Watson seems like someone who would know.”
I sighed and went back to the infirmary. Jackson was helping Dr. Martin prepare synthetic blood with an IV in his arm. He pulled the pole with him as he moved between two work benches. It occurred to me that, despite being extremely temperamental, Jackson seemed to like working with the doctor.
“Where is Professor Watson?” I asked.
“He died again,” Dr. Martin said, unconcerned. He rifled through a drawer as two test tubes poured into a beaker in front of him, presumably by magic since no one was holding them.
“Okay. Let me know when he’s back.”
Chapter 13
Darwin and I returned to Henry’s town in better spirits than we were in the first time we visited. We arrived about noon, so the streets were bustling with shoppers and marketers. We had a more difficult time finding the address Hunt gave us to Henry’s parents’ house, despite knowing that he lived on opposite end of town from them. When we pulled up to the three story white house with pretentious pillars, we gawked for a moment. We couldn’t believe that two people would need such a large and showy house.
We got out of the SUV and paused. “Do we sneak in?” Darwin asked. “I bet they have full-time servants.”
“Full-time, yes, but not voluntary. They would have left as soon as their paychecks ran off. We’ll walk right in and if anyone stops, I’ll–”
“Oh my god, you have to make a Star Wars reference.”
“Maybe.” We walked up the long driveway to the front door, which was unlocked. The inside was cleaner than a museum, and just about as impersonal. Everything was lavish, but there were no pictures, personal items, or signs of use. It looked like a model house.
“Why do I get the feeling Henry’s parents are drug dealers?” Darwin asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past them, but let’s not go there now.”
We searched every room on the first and second floors without finding anyone. On the third floor, we found Henry in one of the rooms, chained to a bed and in bad shape. His face looked like he had been punched multiple times and then given a week or so to heal. His arms were a different story.
Although silver wasn’t as dangerous to shifters as it was to vampires, the prolonged exposure caused the metal to burn into his flesh, so his wrists had deep welts and I had to peel it out of the wounds. He opened his eyes as we unchained him without a word.
“We should have come for you sooner,” I said. He shook his head, still without speaking. “Is Gale still here?” Again, he shook his head. “What’s wrong? Open your mouth.” He started to move away as if to argue, but then stopped and opened his mouth. Two of his top teeth, which would be his fangs in his shifted form, were torn out. “Shit! We should have come for you sooner!”
“They will grow back in a week or two. This is not even the first time they were ripped out.”
“Don’t talk if it hurts too much.”
“Gale got a visit from Astrid about an hour ago. I didn’t hear what she said, but he was very happy about something. Then he took off without saying anything to me.”
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“So either he’s at the house waiting for us to bring him the amulet, or he found out we have a weapon,” Darwin said.
“Vampires are fast. Since he’s controlling Astrid, she probably told him about the sword. Let’s go back to the castle and get you some ice.” We got in the SUV and drove back to the castle in silence.
* * *
When we pulled into the driveway three hours later, Henry didn’t head to the infirmary. Instead, he went to our room, where he pulled… nothing… off his shelf.
“You okay, bro?” Darwin asked him.
Henry ignored our young roommate and continued messing with what appeared to be empty space. He shifted his fingers of his right hand just enough to have claws, which he used to slice his left palm before shifting his hand back to normal. He moved his hand horizontally in front of him as if wiping it… and the blood smeared across an invisible object.
At that point, he unlatched it and opened the object. A small treasure chest, only about six inches in length and a few inches deep, appeared in his hand.
“Okay, Henry the wizard. Any chance you’re gonna clue us in here?” Darwin asked.
Henry sighed and tilted it so we could see that it was empty. “Astrid is more clever than I thought. Right after we defeated Gale the first time and I got the amulet, Hunt gave me this box and told me not to say a word about it. He did something to it so that only my blood unlocks it. Astrid took my blood a few days ago to get into this.”
“She stole the amulet?” I asked. He nodded. “How did she know it was there?”
He snapped the box closed and it vanished again, but he had to wipe the blood off with his shirtsleeve. When he set it down, I realized how Astrid found it; the invisible box had a shadow. “I want to know how she knew to use my blood,” Henry said.