Chronos and the Rogue Hunters

by Edward Eck

The dark sorcerers immediately noticed their white-clad rivals and launched an all-out assault.

  The real Gollnick meanwhile cast a protective shield around Vincent’s illusion, making the situation look more realistic. “Proto maxil si-ta envelum.” Gollnick and Vincent were forced to maintain concentration to reinforce their spells after each impact.

  Gollnick realized this would be a distraction at best—one they could only maintain as long as they continued their focus. If they faltered or weakened, the spell would fail. Their enemies would realize the ruse and resume their search in a more dangerous proximity. Gollnick could only hope the members of the New Circle would arrive in time.

  All of the dark sorcerers in the park converged on the small pavilion from every direction, all except one sorcerer. The ground shook from a coordinated effort by the dark sorcerers below. Fireballs, energy blasts and lightning bolts slammed into the defensive shield. Vincent’s characters moved and interacted with one another to maintain the illusion, but it was Gollnick who bore the more difficult task. Reinforcing the barrier required focus, concentration and strength of will. A bead of sweat rolled down his face. He knew they wouldn’t be able to maintain the deception for long.

  With each attack, Gollnick reeled desperately to keep the illusion protected so he maintained an extended left hand. Vincent’s characters mimicked his stance and posture, appearing to regenerate the shield with each attack.

  Footsteps approaching from behind raised a concern. Was it friend or foe? Had an enemy found a way in to the castle… or had reinforcements finally arrived? Raising his right hand, he lit a fireball ready to defend against the unknown.

  Gollnick and Vincent both turned and found only Cyrus, Amber, Meagan and an unfamiliar dwarf rushing out onto the balcony. With a sigh of relief, Gollnick extinguished the flame.

  The momentary lapse of concentration, along with the relief of seeing reinforcements, was a happy one until both the illusion and shield collapsed under constant bombardment. The dark sorcerers exchanged glances and slowly approached the destroyed pavilion. A few kicked the rubble and hefted some beams, but found no sign of their target. The solitary and hooded figure who had made no attempt to assist in the attack called, “It was a ruse. Keep looking. They’re here somewhere.”

  Cyrus stepped forward. “What’s going on? How did they find us?”

  Vincent wiped the sweat from his brow. “That would be my fault. When I was under Malcolm’s control, he forced me to tell him where the castle was located. Until recently we weren’t enough of an annoyance to bother with. Now, it seems we have their attention. And not in a good way.”

  Gollnick scanned the park fields and counted thirty-two dark sorcerers now. The single hooded figure stood almost on the exact spot of their previous illusion. The man kicked a few stones and meandered around, examining the ground. After a few moments, he lowered his hood and his gaze drifted skyward. Malcolm! Gollnick’s pulse quickened. It seemed the head dark sorcerer himself had come to witness their demise.

  Cyrus stepped closer to the edge of the balcony, instinctively pointing his right fist at Malcolm. His gaze drifted down the length of his arm as his eyes lowered.

  Gollnick now noticed Cyrus was missing his fireball bracer. “Cyrus?”

  “I had to sacrifice it to the Well of Urd in order to gain the knowledge to create a new Gleipnir. It was the only way.”

  Gollnick placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “We’ll get you a new magical item…” He looked back to the field of dark sorcerers then returned his gaze. “…After the battle is over.”

  Without warning, a fireball slammed into the energy shield protecting the castle. Then another and another. Gollnick knew this meant the enemy had finally found their location.

  “What do we do?” asked Amber. “There’s too many of them for us to fight.”

  Vincent leaned over the balcony to look at the base of the castle. “Well, at least we were right about the sorcerer civil war in New York being a trap. Francois Le Rain and Deustoff Von Woonst are at the front gates working together to break in.”

  Gollnick ran to the balcony’s ledge to see the two conspirators. “They’re not trying to break in. There going after the anchor stone!”

  Cyrus furrowed his brow. “The what?”

  Gollnick focused his attention. “The anchor stone. The castle exists in a pocket dimension, not the real world… that’s why they can’t see it. The anchor stone is a magically enchanted rock that anchors the castle to the real word. If they destroy the stone, the castle’s connection to the real world will be lost. Everyone and anything still inside will be cut off.”

  Wide eyed, Amber spluttered, “W-w-we can still use the mirror to travel to and from the castle, r-right?”

  Gollnick shook his head. “No. Once the connection is broken, we will be trapped in the castle forever.”

  The dwarf stepped forward. “In that case, perhaps we should make a hasty retreat.”

  “No,” Meagan interrupted. “We can’t abandon the castle. There’s too much knowledge and power that would be lost. Besides, I’ve already lost one home to dark sorcerers… I won’t lose another.”

  Gollnick nodded his consent. “We need to retrieve the anchor stone and move it to a safe location.”

  “How exactly do we do that?” asked Cyrus with one brow raised.

  “Simple,” replied Gollnick. “We mount a counter offensive while one of us retrieves the stone and gets away. Cyrus, you need to be the one to transport the stone to safety.”

  “Me? I don’t think so. I’m staying to fight.”

  Gollnick rested a hand on his shoulder again. “Cyrus, the stone isn’t exactly lightweight. It’s probably a hundred pounds or more. Vincent and I need to stay and fight. We’ll need the girls’ powers to defend the castle. And, sorry, but I have no idea who this guy is,” extending an open hand toward the dwarf. “I would rather have someone I trust get the anchor stone to safety.”

  Cyrus’ determined expression softened as his gaze drifted to the floor. He rubbed the bare skin of his right forearm where he had previously worn the bracer, then nodded in agreement. “So what does this anchor stone look like? And how do I find it?”

  Gollnick extended his hand toward the stairs. “It has magical runes. You can’t miss it.” Turning to his niece, he added, “Meagan, show Cyrus the secret door to the island then meet us at the front gate. We don’t want to be in here when the stone gets moved.”

  Meagan hesitated, looking from Cyrus to Kallan and back.

  “Cyrus,” Gollnick instructed, “give us ten minutes to get out of the castle before you move it. We launch our attack once Meagan arrives at the gate.”

  Gollnick noticed Meagan’s hesitation as she watched Kallan. “Is there a problem here?”

  “No. Come on, Cyrus, it’s this way.” She then led Cyrus from the balcony.

  “Everyone else, follow me,” instructed Gollnick. He led the group from the room and down the stairs. Fireballs and energy blasts continued to rock the castle. Candles flickered as more and more magical energy was being diverted to protect the castle from the continuing assault. When they reached the spiral staircase, he commanded, “Stairs, front gate.”

  The staircase made no movement to comply. Gollnick kicked a few of the steps to no avail. “Stairs, front gate,” he commanded once again. With some hesitation, the stairs slowly began to shift. They descended into a large courtyard opposite the front gate. The drawbridge was still up, but the magical energy of the huge beams vibrated irregularly. Gollnick knew the drawbridge couldn’t withstand much more. They ran across the courtyard and Gollnick waited by the release to lower the bridge.

  Meagan approached from a side passage. “Cyrus is ready for to us to make our move. Then he’ll grab the stone and go.”

  Gollnick reviewed the plan. “As long as the pocket dimension stays intact, they won’t see the drawbridge lower. However, once we exit the castle, they’ll see us… and then they’ll know where the
entrance is located. We need to distract them while Cyrus gets away with the anchor stone. We can’t let the dark sorcerers have the castle. There’s too much powerful magic in here. Once we are in the open, defend yourselves by any means possible. They won’t be expecting Vincent and I to launch an attack. Once you see an opening, run for it. Find a mirror nearby and teleport to safety.”

  Amber half raised a hand. “Where exactly is that?”

  Gollnick now realized he hadn’t thought about a rendezvous point. “Go to Mount Helicon. The Muses will shelter you until I can arrive.”

  Meagan’s voice cracked. “And what if you don’t? There are too many sorcerers out there for the two of you to face alone. I’m staying with you.”

  Amber and Kallan nodded their agreement.

  “No,” Gollnick said through pursed lips. “You all need to get away. Cyrus will be carrying the anchor stone. He’ll need protection. Go with him and get to the Muses. No more arguments.”

  Gollnick turned toward the main gates and hit the drawbridge release. The bridge lowered with the creaking of heavy wooden beams and clanking of chain links until it slammed down on the other side of the moat. Gollnick lit a fireball in each hand. With a nod to Vincent, they charged out into the park screaming.

  * * *

  Max stepped out of the mirror in the library, followed by Taryn, Radimir and Tiem. He looked around at hundreds of tomes before spotting the semi-circular shaped doors. The place looked oddly familiar, but new at the same time. His first instinct was to contact the others, so they raced to the kitchen, but saw no one. A blast from outside shook the castle. Max steadied himself against a wall, then exchanged a quick glance with Taryn.

  “Balcony!” she yelled. Taryn led the way out of the kitchen, then took a left and headed for the stairs with Max, Radimir and Tiem in close pursuit. When they reached the spiral staircase, she commanded, “Stairs, up.”

  Max looked at her, unsure what she was expecting to happen. The stairs made no movement for a few seconds.

  She tried again. “I said… stairs, up.” The first step vibrated slightly then they slowly raised to the next level.

  Max cocked his head. “Interesting.” They darted up the stairs, past a suit of armor. The head of the armor creaked as it turned and raised a foot. Max looked back. “Stay!” They continued up the next set of stairs and out onto a balcony.

  From there Max witnessed a sight. In the park below, a barrier of twenty giant slabs of stone had been erected in a circle around a small group of defenders. An older man ran from gap to gap throwing fireballs while a second man pulled ice shards from the lake to hurl at the dark sorcerers. Two girls and a dwarf had erected personal energy shields to plug some of the remaining gaps. With the destruction of each stone barrier, the girl with curly blonde hair raised her arms and another stone slab rose to take its place.

  Max counted thirty dark sorcerers in black trench coats surrounding the structure, each throwing fireballs or energy blasts at the barrier, trying to defeat the meager force within. He looked at Taryn. “I take it our friends are the small group of defenders who don’t appear to be doing so well at the moment?”

  “Yep.”

  Max took a few steps back then looked at Tiem. “Don’t think, just follow me. No matter what.”

  After Tiem nodded, Max took a powerful lunge over the balcony parapet, plummeting toward the water below. He glanced back to see Tiem following. As they neared the bottom, he extended a hand and the water rose up to meet them. Two water spouts caught them and landed them safely on the ground opposite the island.

  Max looked back up at the balcony for Taryn and Radimir, but neither were there. Instead, a hawk was just taking flight. Radimir. A gigantic burst of oranges and reds stole his attention, as Max then saw Taryn, not free-falling but rather with both hands beneath her and like rockets, flames shooting the length of her arms. The force of the flames propelled her forward until she gently landed next to Max and Tiem.

  “When did you learn that?” he asked.

  Taryn smiled. “Just now. I pulled a Max—I didn’t think about it, I just did what felt right.”

  “Nice,” replied Max. “Now let’s go help our friends.”

  Max ran for the barrier. As he neared, he saw the hawk land in the stone circle. It then transformed into a large grizzly bear. Max entered the perimeter. “Hold up there, Radimir. You won’t have protection from fireballs and energy blasts.”

  Taryn caught up. “Yes, but he can’t return to normal shape without these.” She dropped a bundle—Radimir’s clothing.

  Max reached his hands between the stones. “Proto torum se-ton.” An energy wave shot from his hand, sending the nearest dark sorcerer flying backward twenty feet, crashing into a nearby tree.

  Gollnick called, “Glad you could make it.”

  Max quickly glanced around. “Is everyone here? I feel like we’re missing someone.”

  Gollnick pointed toward the island. “Cyrus went to get the anchor stone. We need to move the castle.”

  Max looked back at the little island in the middle of the tiny lake. He could see movement, but he couldn’t tell if it was the one called Cyrus or not. He then spotted two dark sorcerers approaching that position from the other side. Reaching his hand out toward the lake, tentacles of water rose. The appendages ensnared the two encroachers and pulled them under. Not even a ripple remained, and neither sorcerer resurfaced.

  A fireball blast against the stone barrier near Max’s head drew his attention back to the immediate fight. He whipped around and fired an energy wave punch at another dark sorcerer. A few seconds later, Radimir joined Max at the gap. Max snapped his head to where he’d left the grizzly bear then back to Radimir.

  Radimir smiled. “Change clothes, hurry.”

  “Okay.”

  Taryn covered the side of the stone circle opposite Gollnick so they had a fire elemental sorcerer aiming in opposing directions.

  The battle continued for many minutes. Max could see normal folk in the distance watching the ensuing conflict from behind parked cars and peeking out of windows from the safety of their homes. He wished they would just leave the area. The closer they were to the battle, the more harm could come to them.

  “Where exactly are we going?” asked a voice from behind them.

  Max turned to see Cyrus lugging a basketball sized stone with strange markings on it.

  “Get that thing out of here!” Gollnick shouted. “Find a mirror and take it to the Muses.”

  Max saw Gollnick’s face go white. “What’s wrong?”

  “I just received a telepathic message from Elisa and Hank. They teleported in just before Cyrus moved the anchor stone. They’re trapped inside the castle.”

  Max looked at the boulder still in Cyrus’ hands. “Are they okay?”

  “Yes, but the mirror that brought them in shattered during that last fireball attack. Once we place the stone in a new home, we’ll be able to get them out of there. Until then, they’re stuck.”

  In an obviously coordinated attack, multiple fireballs struck the stone barrier in front of them, shattering the massive barrier and propelling Taryn to the other side of the circle where she fell unconscious. Vincent, Tiem and Kallan were knocked to the ground as well.

  Two dark sorcerers entered through the gaping hole, arms raised and pointing at Cyrus.

  Vincent called, “Francois, Deustoff. No!”

  Instantly prepared, Cyrus dropped the anchor stone at his feet and slammed his forearms together to create a personal shield.

  Malcolm stepped into the circle next and clapped his hands. “Proto torum nese-cola-ton.” The shock wave rippled through the ground underneath Max’s feet.

  Max watched as Cyrus’ shield did little good. The uncoordinated teenager stumbled and tripped over the anchor stone, falling face first to the ground. Meagan stumbled back until she slammed into one of the rock slabs before hitting the ground. Amber lost her balance and focus on her shield before falling forwa
rd and having the wind knocked out of her. Radimir tripped on shifting rubble and slammed his head into a slab before collapsing. Even Gollnick, who was standing near a gap in the barrier, wound up pinning himself there as he slipped between the stones.

  Max tried to prepare himself, but as he reached out to the nearest stone slab, a fragment fell on his left shoulder, knocking him to the ground as well.

  Once Max regained his sense of balance he saw Malcolm point his hand at the anchor stone. “Magna fir-tor loma.”

  “No!” called Gollnick wide eyed and jaw gaping.

  A fireball shot from Malcolm’s hand and slammed into the anchor stone. Its surface cracked then split in two, a wave of light shooting out from the crevice. The color of the stone dimmed from bright white to a dull grey.

  After pulling himself from between the giant stone slabs, Gollnick lit two fireballs, one in each hand.

  Malcolm backed away.

  In pursuit of the leader of the dark sorcerers, Gollnick lobbed both fireballs at once, but Malcolm ducked for cover. Another portion of the stone barrier exploded under the impact.

  More dark sorcerers poured through the hole in the circle before Meagan could repair the damage. She yelled, “I won’t let you hurt the ones I love!” She ran to the center of their group and raised her forearms together, creating a personal shield just in front of Gollnick and Max.

  The others were slower to recover from the shock wave. Max stood on unsteady feet propping himself against one of the barrier stones. Gollnick sat in silence as he stared at the broken anchor stone. A tear ran down his face.

  Malcolm stepped from behind cover to face the members of the two Circles. Francois Le Rain and Deustoff Von Woonst stood on either side of him as even more dark sorcerers filed into their midst. Malcolm smiled. “This is the end of the line of Circles. I will give each of you this one chance. Join me or die.”

  Max peered through the gaps in the stones to find yet more dark sorcerers approaching the outside of the barrier. They were outnumbered by more than four to one at this point. He had no idea how they would escape this encounter or if any of them would even survive.