by Ben Hale
A body flew past Tess, causing her to duck as the man's boot nearly clipped her skull. When she stood Varson was in front of her, unbridled fury twisting his bloodied features. Blood poured from under his black hair and lined his face like wicked claw marks.
"You don't deserve to call her Master," he yelled, and sent a blast of fire at her.
She knocked it aside and struck back. Purple lines grabbed his outstretched hands and yanked him to the ground. He snarled, and tore them apart. Launching himself into the air, he rained fire down on her.
She cast a speed spell on herself, and dodged left and right, steering clear of the lethal volley. She might have been able to drain or even absorb a fireball from a normal mage, but Varson's missiles were bright blue and sealed, preventing her from tampering with them.
The ground exploded in her wake as the balls of fire struck, cracking the rapidly weakening summit. Poisonous gas and ash erupted from the growing fissures. At a glance Tess realized that the volcano was on the verge of an eruption. She clenched her jaw. She had to deal with Varson before she could do anything else.
Whirling, she spun a tornado of air at the next fireball. Intended to crush her skull, the ball of liquid fire entered the tornado, slowed, and then reversed its flight. As if released from a slingshot it streaked toward Varson.
He sneered and absorbed his own spell. "You think you can defeat me with something so simple?" As the brilliance to the fire faded his eyes widened. Torn from the mountainside, a boulder the size of a car lay hidden in the wake of the returning fireball. It slammed into him with bone crushing force.
Varson tried to evade but it was too close, and too big. It struck his shoulder and knocked him away. Careening out of control, he crunched into the snow and slid toward a cliff. Tess only felt a twinge of regret as she saw his blood slick the ice behind him. She doubted he was dead, but didn't have time to find out. For the first time she looked at the battle being waged around her.
Hawk was engaged in mortal combat with the iseonix. Fire and freezing currents split the air, making contact and tearing into magical flesh. The icebird was even larger than Hawk, yet appeared equally as fast as the smaller phoenix. Blood curdling shrieks and war cries came from both of them as they fought for supremacy in the morning sky.
The steel giant had demolished the Harbinger ranks, and nothing appeared able to stop him. Grasping struggling men and women in his hands, he tossed them off the mountain or crushed them outright. Still forms lay in his wake, and blood darkened the snow.
Several tried to raise an arch of stone to protect themselves. When his fist proved ineffective, the steel giant's arm lengthened and turned into a huge hammer. Raising it high, he brought it down on the refuge.
Crack! The stone flattened in an instant, and the shouting men inside went silent. Its skin marked and scratched from the attacks, the steel giant sought for other foes—and found Alice in his path.
He accelerated toward her, his legs powering into a sprint. His feet smashed into the ground, leaving massive footprints. He closed to thirty feet before Alice calmly sent a burst of yellow magic at him—and he tripped.
The steel giant's toe caught on an unusually dense shard of stone, and he went down. The ground rippled as the steel giant slammed into it. Snow swirled away as it obliterated a drift. As it began to rise the iseonix struck.
Behind them Tess saw that Hawk had been hit—hard, and was struggling to rise. She cried out a warning to the steel entity, but it was too late. The iseonix curved its wings and released a devastating blast of cold at the rising giant. Steel cooled and the giant's movements stiffened. Fighting to stand, the giant forced himself to his knees, and then to his feet.
The icebird was drawing closer as it poured cold into the steel giant. Its body turning solid, the steel entity grabbed a shard of ice. Raising it high, he slammed it into the iseonix’s face. The icebird issued a screech of pain, but it sounded more like anger. As the steel giant reached for another weapon ice crystals formed on its body, and spread until its entire form barely moved. Then the steel giant came to a halt, frozen and stiff.
Tess was already in motion, and was sprinting to give aid. She never made it. The iseonix placed its huge jaws at the steel giant's side and issued its unholy war shriek. Every single soul except for Alice stumbled to the ground, unable to endure the horrendous sound. The steel giant's body began to shake violently.
Then it shattered.
Pieces of frozen metal blasted in every direction, clattering off rocks and embedding into ice. Tess raised her arm to protect her head, and felt hundreds of pieces pepper her arm. Horrorstruck, she looked at the spots of steel dotting the ground. They looked like drops of blood, and she knew the steel entity was gone.
She rose to her feet and sent a ball of fire at the iseonix, overcome with rage. It struck the icebird on the side of its great head, and singed a line across a pre-existing scar. The iseonix turned to her and released a blast of the coldest air Tess had ever felt.
She shielded herself, screaming in defiance of her impending demise. The colossal cold sapped her power, her strength, and her very will. She fought back, but knew she could not last. Every passing second she felt her strength waning. Then abruptly the cold cut off.
She looked up to find Hawk standing in front of her. Fueled by his wrath, fires exploded off his human form, melting the air, the snow at their sides, and the stone at their feet. Unable to penetrate Hawk's defenses, the iseonix's breath struck the fire shield and cascaded away.
Tess stepped to his side and added her own fire to his. Together they kept the end at bay. Then Tess felt a creeping touch at her legs. Glancing down, her blood ran cold when she saw the Dark swirling at her ankles. She knew that it was stronger than her—and Hawk. Trapped as they were they could not move, or fight. They were at the mercy of the Dark.
It would subvert their will, rob them of their senses, and manipulate their fears. It would seek to control them, to own their minds. In minutes their consciousness would be gone, and they would become part of the Dark. They would be dead, and the Dark would use their bodies and power to expand across the Earth. Side by side, their flesh and magic would destroy cities and armies, and help to add more people to satisfy the Dark's hunger.
It was over.
They had lost.
Chapter 50: Unmasked
"Wait!" Tess screamed.
The tone in her voice caused everyone to pause, including the expanding Dark. Turning to Alice, she addressed her birth mother, "If I submit to you, will you allow my friends to live?!"
The cold assaulted them from one side, and the Dark waited on the other as the Master considered the offer. Then she gestured to the iseonix, which reluctantly cut off its attack.
"Don't do it," Hawk growled, using the reprieve to gather the flames at his feet. For the first time Tess noticed the bloody gashes on his body.
"I have to," Tess whispered, and then sent a mental message to him. Draw from the deep.
Hawk blinked, but gave no other sign that she had spoken to him. Tess turned back to Alice. "Do I have your promise?" Just another few seconds, she thought.
Alice's eyes narrowed. "If they too submit, I will spare them. Any who stand against me will join the Dark."
Tess nodded and slumped her shoulders in defeat. Facing Hawk, she said, "Please Hawk. It's better that we survive than die. As the oracle I am meant to join the aurens and mages. If we unite with Alice it will save millions, don't you see that?"
Hawk shook his head, but didn't respond.
"Kneel," Alice said. "Prove your loyalty."
Not ready! Tess thought, and pretended to hesitate. Alice quickly became impatient, and raised a finger towards them. Sweat blossomed across Tess's forehead as she cast about for some way to stall her. Not yet! she mentally screamed.
Can I help?
The voice touched on Tess's consciousness, and she blinked in surprise. Iris?
Who else? I've got one of your dad's sate
llites trained on your position. I've been watching since Ranson pulled the Sword.
Tess had a rush of gratitude that Iris had taught her how to communicate with auren signals. Then she jerked as she had an idea. Just as Alice opened her mouth to speak, Tess said, "I think there's something you should see first, though."
Alice stared at her, her eyes narrowing. Tess used the precious seconds to tell Iris her plan and cast more spells. Then she said, "If you have a news orb you might want to turn it on."
Alice didn't blink, but after a moment she gestured to one of the surviving Harbingers. The man pulled a ball from his robe and tossed it into the air. It stopped midway to Alice and expanded like a projector screen. The images on it caused everyone on the mountaintop to gasp.
Surprise, shock, and then rage flitted across Alice's face as she watched Ranson pull the Sword of Elseerian from the fire and open Draeken's portal. The words of Ducalik were clearly heard, followed by Alice exiting the ice and confronting him. Alice then confessed her role in the Brokins attack and exposed all the Harbinger's carefully laid plans.
Tess imagined the millions of stunned aurens watching the same video on their TVs, computers, and phones. In seconds it would be uploaded to the internet. Then it would be unstoppable. Those sleeping would wake up to the news, and every citizen of every nation would turn their whole attention on the mages. With so much scrutiny the mages would have no choice but to reveal themselves.
The man that had tossed the orb sidled up to Alice and spoke to her in a rushed whisper. "It's on every signal, mage and auren. Keidon can't stop it. He thinks there are thousands of techno mages working together to cause it. They've hacked our network. They know everything—"
The man crumpled as if struck by an unseen hand. Then the large screen shattered. Alice spoke into the resulting stillness. "You revealed our world now?" Her voice was a lethal calm.
Tess ground her answer out. "Stripped of anonymity you become the enemy of every nation on Earth. As of this moment, mage and auren alike know what you have done, and what you are attempting to do. No one will follow you now. It's over."
Ducalik bared his teeth in a snarl, his eyes darting between Tess and his new Master. Alice's expression was naked fury, but bore a frightening measure of calculation. Tess could almost see her trying to figure a way out of the situation. Then she rose to her full stature.
"You have merely demonstrated our power for us," she snarled. "If the mages do not submit by choice, the Dark will make them. It is time for your decision, daughter." Yellow energy burst off her form in a surge of crackling power, and her voice took on a thundering timbre. "Make your choice, Tess! Make it for everyone on Earth. Show them what they have to look forward to. Kneel . . . or die!"
Tess nodded to Hawk, and conveyed a wealth of emotion in a single look. Side by side, they dropped to one knee. The moment they touched the ground, the mountain quivered. The shudder rippled through the stone, the ice, and the snow. Several Harbingers lost their balance, their eyes wide as they looked at the ground.
"What have you done?" Alice demanded, her tone rising with the ambient heat.
"What was necessary," Tess growled.
Stone cracked, releasing bursts of hot, poisonous gas. Tess grasped the lines of gravity and fire that she'd sunk into the top of the volcano over the last few minutes. Bellowing her hatred, straining at the weight, she launched herself into the air. Hawk was at her side, pouring fire into the crumbling rock. Bereft of its strength, the stone disintegrated as the lava exploded toward the surface.
Chunks of sizzling rocks pierced the iseonix's wings, and it bellowed at the sudden pain. Then Tess lost sight of them. Faintly she heard Alice calling out orders, but she couldn't make them out. The next instant lava geysered into view.
And Mt. Elbrus erupted in a mighty blast of heat, fire, and endless ash.
Chapter 51: Released
Lava surged into the sky, spewing ash and massive cinders with it. The explosion incinerated the lower summit of Mount Elbrus. Faster than Tess thought possible the concussion blast streaked away. Whole trees were flattened, smashed to the earth like giant toothpicks. The very air reeled from the volcano's might.
And yet it was all directed sideways. The greater summit remained, and had shunted the eruption through its smaller companion. The result had erased the smaller summit and left a huge gash in the side of the mountain. The saddle and the second peak were gone, obliterated by the force of the volcano's eruption. Boiling lava spewed from the jagged hole and poured down the mountain. Remaining snow burst into steam as the searing liquid poured through it.
"Do you think they will survive?" Tess asked.
They had used the explosion to escape and had flown to a mountainside several miles away. From a distance they watched the ensuing destruction.
"I have no doubt," Hawk said. His voice was laced with fatigue and pain. "They have proven themselves powerful and resourceful."
Tess released a troubled sigh that didn't dispel her weariness. She wasn't sure if she wanted their blood on her hands, but at the same time it would have been easier if the eruption had killed them all. She frowned, not liking her flash of hope that they had died.
Hawk began to chuckle, drawing her attention to him. "What?" she asked.
His gaze fell on her. "I admit that in the last few days I thought I would die—twice. Between my mortal enemy, Alice's betrayal, and Ducalik's release . . ." He shrugged. "I should have, and yet you have saved my life. Perhaps you have saved many more with what you did."
Tess shifted uncomfortably. "I actually thought you might be upset with me."
"For revealing us to the world?" He shook his head. "The way things were going it was only a matter of time, and if it had been done according to Alice's plan many millions would have perished. All things considered I think it couldn't have been done better."
The tightness to Tess's chest began to ease, and she swallowed against the sudden knot of gratitude and relief. "So what now?"
"Can you help us contact the Guild?" he asked. "You have set things in motion that will have repercussions. We will need to move quickly to consolidate our allies."
Tess nodded, and then slipped into her magesight. Thousands of distinct colors filled her vision and she sought the faint purple lines that indicated an auren signal. After a moment she found one of the threads that Iris had shown her. Hesitantly, she began to open it and cast a redirect charm. Her actions encompassed the entirety of her knowledge regarding techno magic, so she held her breath that it would work. She released an explosive breath when Iris's voice sounded in the snow filled glade.
"Tess?" Iris's voice was garbled, but after a moment it cleared up. "Nice job connecting to the satellite. It makes it so we can speak in an audible format."
Tess had no idea what thread she'd used, so she was just happy it was working. "We're on a hilltop a short distance from the mountain," she said. "Hawk needs to talk to Janson." She raised an eyebrow at him, and Hawk nodded.
"Hang on," Iris said, and after a moment her face shimmered into view in front of Tess.
Tess blinked in surprise. "How did you do that?" she asked.
"Just one of the many tricks of a techno mag," Iris said. Then the image dissolved and separated. A few feet away Janson's head appeared facing a tree. Hawk stepped up to greet him, and the two of them fell into subdued conversation. Tess turned back to Iris, but found Derek in her place.
Tess felt a surge of hope and warmth at seeing him. "It's alright, Derek, we made it out alive."
He nodded, his features twisted with worry. "I'm just glad the steel entity arrived in time."
"Who figured out my message?"
"I did," Iris called, and Derek flashed a tight grin. "By the time we figured out where you were there wasn't enough time to get to you. The steel giant was our only hope."
"Well, it saved our lives," Tess said fervently. "And so did Iris's help. How did she broadcast the projection to everyone?"
/> "Apparently she has been creating her own techno guild to fight Keidon and the Harbingers." A flicker of pride crossed his features. "She called on former and current students, friends, and pretty much any techno mag anywhere. I think some of her teachers are even part of her army."
Tess felt the urge to laugh. How could she have done anything without Iris? Then her thoughts turned to the impact of what they had done.
"Has everyone seen it?"
Derek's head was pushed out of the way and was replaced by Shorn. "People are going nuts here. Most everyone saw Ranson open the portal, and then watched him die. No one seems to know what to do except run through the streets."
Tess threw Hawk a glance. "I think Hawk's working on that."
Derek pushed his way back into view. "Did Alice really . . ."
"Try to kill me? Yes." Abruptly weary, she rubbed her neck. "But at least now everyone knows who she is."
"I doubt she's happy about that," Derek said.
Tess gave a sour laugh. "No, I don't think she is."
Iris appeared again. "I wish I could have contacted you before." Her tone was regretful. "I managed to break into part of a Harbinger message, and it referred to the Master as a she."
"Don't worry about it," Tess replied. "I doubt it would have made much of a difference."
"Tess?" Hawk's voice was one of warning, and so she turned away.
He jerked his head to her, causing her to step to his side. "What do you see in the ash cloud?" he asked quietly.
She shrugged. "A cloud of ash. What else would I . . ." Then she saw it. Her stomach tightened and she peered through the brightness of the morning light. The change was subtle, but unmistakable. There was a black tinge to the erupting volcano that hadn't been there before.
She cast a vision spell on herself, and as an afterthought, Hawk too. Her stomach tight with rising fear, she scanned the summit of Mt. Elbrus. With her enhanced vision it didn't take long for her to spot the source.