by Ceri Clark
Moments later, Jake was up and connected to the Matrix. The crystal mind greeted him, becoming more intelligent as the seconds passed. Its thoughts joined with Jake’s as they swirled in crystal vortex. It would be easy to lose himself he realized. He thought of Mirim and the Matrix thoughts rippled with color as it recognized the image.
“Send me to Mirim.” asked Jake.
The room changed instantly. Jake looked around in confusion. This wasn't what he was expecting. It didn’t look right. His mind tried to connect to the white cord of power and the Matrix. It wasn’t there! He whirled around. He was in his body! How, huh?
Mirim was sitting on a low stool, the only other object in the white room staring at him.
“Hello Jake.”
“Where are we?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I went to Naven to see what was happening with Aras and suddenly found myself here.”
Jake paused, looking around the featureless room. There were no windows, just two doors, one in front and one to his right.
“What’s with everything being white here? And have you even tried the doors?”
Mirim only glared at him. Did he think she was an idiot?
“Be my guest.”
Jake shrugged. Mirim had been here for an hour. Why was she just sitting there? Why wasn’t she trying to escape? Aras knew the location of the Citadel, Kiera, Karl and Adra would not be safe. They couldn’t possibly hold the stronghold with only two powers against Magi magic.
He strode to the door and paused for a moment before opening it. He looked back at Mirim, but she just challenged him with that same glare. Fine, if that was how she wanted to play it!
He yanked the door open. A pale yellow mist billowed out from the frame. He coughed before it settled into a dense cloud inside the doorframe. He looked at Mirim. He tentatively moved his hand through the mist and brought it sharply back. His hand was still there. He stood taller and puffed his chest out. They had to get out of here! Taking a small gulp of air, he went back a couple of steps and held his breath as he ran forward through the door.
He expected to feel a twinge as he passed through the air but felt nothing. He let his breath go in disappointment. The room was the same. The same two doors, although on different walls. Mirim stepped into the room behind him.
“Tried the door, Jake?” She raised one ironic eyebrow.
Jake scowled, “How many rooms have you been in?”
“About twenty. I only stopped at the last one because it had a stool. There wasn’t any furniture in the other rooms I tried.”
“Where are we?”
“I think we’re in the Matrix.”
“Why?”
“The yellow mist. It’s like the air power. No one but the Matrix or an air power could create that.”
Jake’s eyebrows knitted together as he thought this through.
“Why would the Matrix trap us here?”
“Maybe it thought it was doing us a favor? I was in Aras’ castle, and you followed me. We must have been in danger.”
“O-k-a-y, but why wouldn’t the Matrix communicate with us?”
Mirim went quiet for a moment before continuing, “Maybe it can’t because we are in its mind rather than being part of it.”
“Woah. Hang on a minute. You are telling me the Matrix thought we were in danger and so yanked us out of Aras” castle and teleported us with our bodies to inside its mind?’
“Do you have a better theory?”
Jake snorted. “My gerbil would have a better theory than that!”
“Since you’re so intelligent, you find a way out!” She stormed back through the door they’d come through.
Jake started after her and shrugged again. What was with this girl? She may be older but she always gave up far too easy. He took a step forward to join her but changed his mind. It made more sense to explore this place. Mirim wasn’t going to find a way out - it was up to him.
Meanwhile in the Citadel, Adramelech stood alone in the main control room. Kiera had gone to look at the hydroponics level and would be gone for at least an hour more. He could barely hold in his glee. This was it! This was all that I have been working for. The power of his natural form was nothing compared to the power he could wield with the Citadel.
He almost laughed as he considered how easy it was to trick those idiot children into thinking he was one of them. Just one measly flame and they believed he was the Fire King. Idiots. As he walked to the crystals that made fire, the floor jerked. Adramelech righted himself but was thrown off balance by another jerk. His head turned towards one of the windows. The Citadel was rising!
No matter, with single-minded determination, Adramelech moved forward to reach the console. With a triumphal roar he touched the red crystals. The power would be his! He grasped the biggest crystals, expecting a rush of energy. He paused. There was nothing. Confused he stared down at them. Tentatively he pushed some of his power on to the crystal - it glowed for a second absorbing the power but still nothing. He moved closer and pushed more power through. The crystals glowed again for a moment more but still no reciprocal power answered his call.
The truth flashed in his mind. You had to be human to connect. His frustration grew. It was not enough to possess an element, there had to be the combination. Of course, that was why the Magi could not use this power. He glared at the crystals, and his eyes glowed red with anger.
Adramelech heard a sound behind him and turned, Kiera was standing by the door staring at him.
“What are you doing? Did you feel tha-a-?” her voice trailed off as she saw Adramelech’s face. His grasp of his human form began to fail as he became angrier. Flames licked his face as his hair became fire. Where his eyes once were, red pits of flame lingered. Kiera screamed.
Jake was getting worried. He’d walked through about ten rooms now and he was getting nowhere. At the eleventh room, he found Mirim again, sat on the same small stool.
“Are you OK?” Her voice was softer than before. She got up to draw closer to him. She’d made her point but Jake wasn’t ready yet to give in. She put her hand on his arm and a jolt of electricity arced between them. They both jumped back in surprise.
“What was that?” Jake exclaimed.
“We’re getting stronger.” Mirim’s hazel eyes were sad. “If we can’t get out it won’t help us.”
“We can’t give up. There has to be a way out. We have to at least try.” Jake grabbed Mirim’s hands. “Come on.”
She nodded and let him lead her to the next room.
“Is that it?” Aras asked as he entered Ecu’s laboratory.
“Yes, Sire.” Ecu held up the large white crystal in the palm of his hand. “This prison has hundreds of refracted rooms. They won’t even know they are in a prison. They could walk around for years and never get out. With no food or water their bodies will wither in a week.”
Aras nodded. It was a fitting death. He looked down at his own emaciated form. The living death he had been suffering for weeks would now be Malo’s fate. He grinned. He was feeling better already. Whatever power the boy was using was trapped within the prison and would not be able to affect him. Without two powers the Citadel was easy pickings.
Adramelech grunted and dove for Kiera. He flew across the control room with one bound. As he jumped he lost all semblance of humanity in a burst of fire. He caught her, careful not to burn his prize, and dragged her to the control room. If he couldn’t use the crystals he could control someone who could!
“STOP!”
Adramelech twisted at the sound of the voice and growled. The vivid reds of the flames turned blue as he recognized the speaker. Dani stood before him, one of the villagers from beside the volcano. Adramelech reached out and met the answering tinge of the fire element. So this was the Fire King. Oh, but he was weak.
“I said stop.”
“What do you want, human?”
“Leave her alone! It’s me you want. I am the Fire King.”
Ad
ramelech paused and turned again to look at the interloper. Instinctively he scanned the human’s body and laughed. This was the Fire King? The red tell-tale thread of power was clear to see - but it was no match for a Deoc.
“Leave while you still can. What are you going to do about it, little human?”
Dani moved forward and held out his hand with the red crystal prominent. “I will defeat you, foul demon.”
Adramelech laughed.
“Can’t you come up with anything more original than that?” Adramelech sneered. He almost felt sorry the boy would die too quickly.
In the crystal prison, Jake entered another room, this time the mist was red and he frowned. The mist was different in each doorway but four colors of the elements had been there, white was missing. His mind mulled this over as he went from room to room. The electric shocks from Mirim jarring him as they accidentally brushed past each other.
“We’re not in the Matrix,” he suddenly said.
“We have to be.”
“What color has been missing?”
Mirim’s gaze turned thoughtful.
“White? There is no white mist.”
“This isn’t the Matrix. Instead, it’s like the colors have separated like a prism. This has to be some sort of prison... and if it is a crystal we should be able to get out of it. After all, we get our powers from crystal.”
“How?”
“The electric shocks.” He thought aloud. “We can combine our powers and get out.” He turned his excited face to hers. “Take my hand.”
They joined hands and felt their energy moving from one to the other building in intensity. Sparks began to fly off them. Mirim let go.
“You have to trust me, Mirim.”
Mirim looked at the younger boy. Why couldn’t she trust him? She was annoyed at him, yes, but that didn’t explain it. She analyzed her feelings. She didn’t like being told what to do. That was it. No one had told her what to do before, at least not since her mother died but here was the next High-King. No, he was the High-King, he deserved her fealty and trust.
Jake saw the conflicted feelings flit across her face. He tentatively took hold of her hand again. She let him. The air temperature became warm, cold, and finally very hot. The energy was painful as it coursed between them. Mirim cried out. Jake shouted for her to hold on. The sound of broken glass surrounded them and they were free. Their astral selves hovered over an old man. In front of him was a shattered crystal. There was fear in his eyes.
Jake sensed Mirim next to him and connected to the Matrix. Something was wrong back at the Citadel. They looked at the old man once more before they raced back.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: STAND OFF
Aras sat in the throne room, brooding. He could feel his power slowly slipping away. Adramelech was no longer under his control and his fleeting telepathic ability told him that something was going on with Ecu and Marta. He felt under siege on all sides.
If that wasn’t enough, the boy was getting stronger by the day and he had escaped! The boy had to die. The pain was unbearable again. The thought of staying in bed for days because of it again was too much. The only way to cope was to leave his body for hours at a time. He couldn’t live that way. The tablets Ecu gave him kept the pain at a tolerable level but at other times... He couldn’t continue like this. His body was emaciated, he couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. The lack of exercise was making him even more tired. He had to stop the Elementi before they destroyed him utterly.
A low bell sounded through the door to the throne room. Aras got up pressing his fingertips to his forehead. The room emptied, leaving only his generals.
Talik, his head of staff spoke, “All your ships are mobilized your majesty. Fortune is ready for you. The senior Magi Council have agreed to equip her with mages. We only need your orders now sir.”
“You have the coordinates I gave you?”
“Yes sir, it will take us a day to get there.”
“We must waste no time. You are dismissed.” The generals began to leave the room.
Aras stood up. “Talik, a word before you go.”
“Yes, my Lord?” The grizzled old general indicated for the others to go before him.
“I want you to do a favor for me first,” Aras continued, “I want Ecu neutralized.” A flicker of understanding passed between them and Talik left the room.
Calling for his coach Aras left the castle with confidence. Ecu would be taken care of. It was time to sort out the real threat. He wasn’t going to miss this for the world.
Mirim and Jake fell into their bodies and scrambled up. They stiffly moved out of the chairs the others had dragged them into and looked at each other. Without saying a word they ran for the control room.
A being of fire stood by the control crystals. Its arms, consumed by subdued flame, were held around Kiera. A stranger stood arm’s length away from him holding a red crystal. They seemed frozen in a tableaux. Where was Adra? Who was the boy? An arc of pure fire leapt from the fire being and enveloped the boy. Mirim tensed. He wasn’t defending himself!
The fire withdrew for a second and Jake breathed in sharply through his teeth.
“Look at the crystal. That must be the real Fire King.” Jake shouted. He ran forward, but the heat drove him backwards.
The boy fought back, determination evident in every line of his body but the Deoc just laughed and a fresh wave of heat filled the space between the stranger and Deoc. Kiera screamed and closed her eyes. Although shielded by the creature, she could still feel the searing energy wash over her. As she opened them again, she searched for the stranger. He was gone, his crystal falling to the floor. The Deoc swung around to face the new arrivals, dragging Kiera painfully with him.
“So you are the mighty Elementi? I don’t think much of your Fire King. Who will be next?” The Deoc created a face of skin and bone and laughed at them.
Mirim strode forward.
“No you don’t.” Years of practicing her ability in the training rooms of the Citadel meant she knew exactly what to do. She concentrated on the Deoc’s outline, pulling all the air from it while creating a barrier so no fresh air could flow back in. The Deoc’s fire began to rescind. He changed back to his full natural form. The flames dimmed further as Mirim increased the pressure. Adramelech’s holes for eyes widened in horror. He rose power from the core of his being, but there was no oxygen to fuel the flames. There was a slight hiss, and he disappeared.
Jake rushed forward and grabbed Kiera who was rubbing her neck.
“Are you OK?”
“Fine, but the boy - he was the Fire King - we don’t have the fire element anymore.” They all turned to look where Dani had fallen.
“Oh hell, we’re stuffed now.”
Just then the building stopped shaking and Shenella appeared by the blue crystals. Kiera looked out of the nearest side window. “I can see the top of the water.”
They all rushed over. Shaking his head, Jake turned to Shenella.
“Shenella, can you organize the Merpeople to find out how close Aras is?” She nodded. He saw her turn her head. She was talking telepathically to someone he couldn’t see. She turned back. “They are about twenty miles away from you.”
Mirim’s head jerked up “What!”
She hurried to the window. “Oh, gods. I can see them.” In the distance, the horizon was filled with the shapes of tall ships. “There are hundreds of them!”
“Mirim, are they real? You said they have the power of illusion are they real?” Jake demanded.
“Yes, I mean no - I don’t know. They could be real. There is no way to tell unless you are close up. They won’t have any physical presence.”
“Right. Shenella, ask some Merpeople if they will swim up close. Find out how many ships there actually are.” Jake ordered.
She nodded. Her figure walked five paces to the left and disappeared into the wall.
“Okay, we need a battle plan and we need it quickly. Any suggestions?”
&nbs
p; Kiera’s thoughts whirled around. She disregarded her healing power. That would be useful later but not during the battle. What could she use to help them? She had control over volcanoes but that would damage them as much as their enemies. She had it.
“A force-field” she blurted out.
“Sorry?”
“I can use the planet’s magnetic field to create a shield.”
“Brilliant, at least we have some defense. Apart from the Merpeople is there anyone else who can help us?”
Mirim shook her head. “Everyone is too scared of the Empire. If we can defeat Aras, maybe we can change that, but for this, no.”
Kiera took one of the high backed seats next to her crystals and sat back observing the others. “What powers do the Magi have?”
Mirim sighed. At least they were all there and she wouldn’t have to say this again.
“They have the power of illusion and of course they can control Deocs. They don’t want to control other elemental beings - just the fire. Maybe they don’t know they can.”
“So we have illusion and Deocs to worry about. The sun is starting to set now. If they arrive after it gets dark, they won’t have as much energy to fight. We’ll have to distract them somehow.”
Shenella cut in. “They’re ten miles away now.”
“How are they moving so fast?”
He felt a niggling at the back of his mind. The Matrix - he’d forgotten about that. Allowing himself to connect fully again with the alien mind, he saw how he could get a better view. His panel was in the center of the semicircle. At the prompting of the Matrix merge, he concentrated on the middle of his desk. A wall of flickering white light rose opposite him against the wall. It expanded to produce a globe of light hovering above the ground. Pictures of the surrounding area outside the tower appeared within it.
Jake wished he could get a better view and the picture zoomed in on the ships. Mirim was right, there were hundreds of them. Fighting despair, he tried to get a better look at the ships. The picture responsively zoomed in again.