by Logan Byrne
“I mean they can hurt one another. The golem I was on, he skimmed his head with his sword and a chunk of stone came off. If we can trick them to hit one another, maybe by baiting them, we might stand a chance,” I said.
“What about popping their heads off?” Aidan asked.
“That’s going to be hard on one of them, let alone all of them. The space up there is tight, and I’m not sure I have the strength to do it alone. We’ll have to for the last one, though,” I said.
“We’ll do it all together. First we need to get them close to one another. Each one of us should take a golem and bait them into coming towards the middle of the courtyard. They’ll be in too close quarters to not make a mistake,” Aidan said.
“Watch out!” Adam yelled, shooting up a wall of rock to protect us from the top edge of a sword that came for us as we strategized.
“Don’t let it faze you! Let’s go!” Aidan yelled.
The golems lumbered along as we ran. We spread out, each of us taking a different one to attack. I opted for the one to the left. I taunted him, slamming my sword into his legs as he looked down at me. His sword swung downwards, slowly, and I ran between his legs, dodging the attack.
I looked over, seeing Aidan shoot flames at the body of his golem while slinging attacks with his sword in between the bouts of fire. Tyvin was floating around, the golem far too slow to land a strike, and Adam picked up bricks and rocks and pelted them at his golem. “Come together,” I yelled, as my golem finally turned around.
I backed up, keeping his attention on me, as I gripped my sword tighter in my hand. I breathed heavily, my heart racing, as I tried, maybe too hard, to anticipate whatever move was going to come next. “Come on, make a move,” I whispered to myself.
He walked towards me and I felt the rumbling of the others’ golems coming closer as well. This was it, this was the moment. “Watch this,” Aidan said, before running up his golem’s sword.
The golem raised the sword as Aidan ran up it, holding his own sword behind him and digging it into the stone, using it like a rudder so he wouldn’t lose his balance. He jumped up next to the golem’s head before shooting out massive flames at the golem I’d taken on. I felt the heat above me before I looked up to see the air around it distorting.
I shielded my eyes, the intense light blinding, before I ran off to the side. My golem, with flames scorching his face and his body, picked up his sword, swinging it forward to try to stop the attack.
The sword moved in slow motion, though the flames didn’t stop. “Aidan, get out of there!” I screamed.
“Not yet!” he replied, his entire face and body lit up in the garish orange glow. The once lumbering giant cocked back his arm, before he reached the tipping point and his sword flew forward like it was on a spring.
“Aidan!” I screamed.
“Now,” he said, the flames extinguishing from his hand before he jumped off the golem’s shoulder. Tyvin jumped up, grabbing him and floating him down, before they looked behind them and watched the chaos.
The golem Aidan had attacked struck the other, gouging a massive chunk out of his body as he struggled to stay upright. My golem backed up, looking around, as if he were wildly confused and couldn’t figure out what had happened. Within seconds, Aidan’s golem fell to the ground, its head popping off and rolling down the mountainside.
“That’s only one out of four,” Adam said.
“What if they only have to stumble into one another?” Tyvin said.
“I can’t lift one of those things, though,” Adam said.
“You don’t need to. Just put up something for it to stumble on at the last minute. Like some rocks jutting upwards as he’s about to step,” Tyvin said.
“You better make it quick,” Aidan said, pointing towards the now angry golems watching their brother die.
“Adam, do it now!” I said, as my golem began to lumber towards us.
“Here goes nothing,” Adam said, slamming his palm into the ground. The golem stepped forward just as a few slabs of rock pushed upwards on his toes, sending him off balance.
He began to stumble backwards. Like a boulder rolling down a hill and picking up speed, the golem fell and couldn’t recover, slamming into Tyvin’s golem. The two of them cracked and crumbled together as they crashed to the ground. It was far too much force to withstand.
“There aren’t any left to crash the last one into,” Adam said.
“Leave it to me,” I said, standing up.
“Kira, I don’t think this is a great idea,” Tyvin warned.
“I agree with him,” Aidan said, grabbing his side.
“This is my feat and my burden to bear. You three have done a lot already. I won’t ask any more of you,” I said, gripping the hilt of my sword before running into battle.
I saw more than a golem waiting for me as I charged forward. I saw my kingdom, its citizens, and my mother standing there, cheering me on. The fae had been around for millennia, and I wasn’t going to bring shame to them by letting others finish my battles. I was strong, a warrior princess, and I was fierce even without my elemental powers.
The golem gripped his sword, which was resting on the ground, but a second too late. I jumped up on the blade, running up it, screaming, as I felt a fire ignite within me.
“My name is Kira Frost, Princess of the Fae, and Hell is the only place where you belong!” I screamed as the golem lifted his sword upward.
I felt the force against my body, my knees bending with the pressure, but I didn’t falter. I jumped off his sword and found myself face to face with the last golem. I ran around the back of his head, trying to shove my sword in, but it wasn’t enough. The sword was too thick, unable to reach inside the small crevice. “Come on, Kira, think,” I muttered as the golem began to thrash around.
I looked down, seeing the blade Adam had given me strapped against my calf, glistening in the sunlight. Smiling, I sheathed my sword and pulled out the dagger, stabbing it into the void and slamming downwards.
The golem went lifeless, his head becoming loose, and I felt the elements beat against his front. I looked around, seeing fire and feeling gusts of air and the impact of earth as they beat against the golem’s head before pushing it clear off.
I jumped down, Tyvin catching me, as the golem began to crumble under the immense pressure of our abilities. I looked around at the golems lying in ruins. It was over. We’d beat them.
The other guys ran over, all of us embracing, laughing, smiling, and reveling in our victory. I looked up at them, all of them, and smiled, feeling something within me that I couldn’t deny.
The job wasn’t over, though. I looked down at my necklace, and I knew that while the golems had fallen, the scroll was still hidden inside.
6
The entrance to the temple was barren and weathered. Strands of moss hung down around the opening, the entryway dark and unforgiving. “This place looks haunted,” Adam said.
“There is spiritual energy here, but not enough to manifest itself,” Tyvin said.
“Great,” Adam gulped.
“Here’s a torch,” Aidan said, taking four torches from a basket on the wall. His hand engulfed in a small flame before he lit each torch, illuminating the temple.
The walls were adorned with mosaics and murals of introspective-looking monks sitting and practicing their meditation. There was something fae-like about it, at least the air elementals, though I didn’t believe our people were here.
“Where do you think the scroll is?” I asked, looking around.
“My guess would be someplace deep inside. We might need to split up,” Tyvin said.
“I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” Aidan said. “We should stick together and make sure we don’t lose sight of one another.”
“The sunlight will be gone before we know it. Maybe Tyvin is right, maybe we should split up,” I said, reversing on what I’d thought the plan would be before.
Earlier I was adamant about staying
together, but now things looked different. It was easy to think about this temple as an in-and-out job when we were in the sanctity of our camp, but being in here and seeing the grandeur was another thing altogether. I wasn’t sure we were capable of finding the scroll without splitting up.
“Kira, I would strongly advise against it,” Aidan said, with conviction in his voice. “We don’t know what’s in here.”
“I have to agree with Aidan on this one. It seems risky,” Adam said.
“We’ll be fine. I know it,” I said, smiling and trying to get them to relax. “Once we get the scroll, we’ll focus on getting out. We’ll signal each other somehow.”
“Are you going with Tyvin?” Adam asked.
“Seeing that I need to find the scroll, and he’s an air elemental, I believe it would be best, yes,” I said.
“As you wish,” Adam replied, bowing.
“We’ll take this route. If we don’t find anything within an hour, we’ll head back this way,” Tyvin said.
“Agreed,” I said.
I knew Aidan was a little apprehensive, either because I would be alone with Tyvin or because he really did want us all to stay safe together, but I had to get away. Yes, I did think splitting up would help us find the scroll easier, but it was more than that. Knowing what I did with Aidan in my tent, and also knowing that I hadn’t given the other men true chances, I couldn’t leave my future or fate up to that.
Tyvin was sweet, caring, and smarter than any man I’d ever met before, aside from Telerius. Choosing a fire elemental when I didn’t know if someone better was out there was just irresponsible. If I were to make things the best they could be, Adam and Tyvin needed equal chances as well.
“How does it feel for you? Being here,” I asked, when Tyvin and I were finally alone walking through the hallways of the temple.
“It feels surreal. I think about the things that have taken place in this temple over the years. How many debates, philosophical discussions, and spiritual awakenings. It’s only sad that the temple is now abandoned and in ruins,” Tyvin said.
“You really love this kind of stuff, huh?” I asked.
“How could one not? Do you not love the arts?” he asked.
“I don’t know, I guess I do. I’ve never given it much thought, with all my training and duties,” I said.
“Maybe one day I’ll show you some of my favorite pieces,” he said, smiling a little.
“Yeah, maybe you will,” I replied, matching his expression.
“Do you ever get sick of it? Your duties?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I suppose so, but then again it’s all I’ve ever really known. I’ve been training since I was old enough to walk and talk to prepare myself for the throne. What else is there?” I asked.
“Another life outside those walls,” he said.
“I’m not privy to those things,” I said, laughing.
“Why not? Just because you’re a princess means you’re never allowed to enjoy the life you were blessed with? Being a leader is an important thing, but how can you become a great leader if you cannot love and enjoy your own existence?” he asked.
“You’re really something else, you know that?” I said, nudging him a little.
“In a good way, I hope,” he said, laughing.
“In a great way,” I replied with a smile.
“Kira!” he exclaimed a moment later, gasping, before grabbing me and pulling me forward. A stone wall slammed down, inches from crushing me. I held onto him, shaking.
“What…what happened?” I asked, in shock.
“You stepped on something, a tile, and it moved. I saw it just before you were going to step up. I guess the traps in here aren’t just urban legends,” he said.
“You saved me,” I said, looking up at him, his hands still on my arms.
“Well, I couldn’t let the woman I might some day marry be crushed under a door, could I? That would be an awkward wedding,” he said, laughing.
I didn’t know why I did it, maybe it was the adrenaline or hormones, or maybe the air was thin in here and becoming poisoned with carbon monoxide, but I kissed him.
Standing on tiptoes, my hands pulling down on his arms and bringing his head down, our lips touched. I breathed in strongly through my nose as I felt a blast of butterflies in my stomach. They felt awfully similar to that kiss last night with Aidan.
“I…I don’t know what to say,” Tyvin muttered, after I pulled back slowly.
“Was it okay?” I asked.
“It was beautiful,” he replied, brushing my hair back behind my ear.
“We should keep moving before we get trapped in here,” I said nervously.
Why had I liked the kiss so much? I mean, yeah, Tyvin was attractive, I’d thought so since the minute he walked through the doors in the castle, but I liked the kiss just as much as I’d enjoyed the one with Aidan last night. It felt natural, not forced, like it was supposed to happen. How was I expected to pick a man if they were all that good?
Shit, Adam was left! What if he found out I’d already kissed both of the other men and not him? What if I liked kissing and being with him just as much? No, that wouldn’t happen. None of that was going to happen. Things would reveal themselves to me soon enough.
I slammed into something, stumbling back, only to notice two other torches, with Adam and Aidan standing there. “Looks like the tunnels meet up,” Aidan said.
“It must mean we’re close. Did you two find any traps?” Tyvin asked.
“There were arrows that shot out of the wall, but Adam sensed the holes before we stepped on another. How about you guys?” Aidan asked.
“Tyvin saved my life,” I said.
“Oh?” Aidan asked.
“There was a door, made of stone, that fell from the ceiling. It was lucky,” Tyvin said. Looking at him, I could tell he was a little nervous because of the kiss. He obviously didn’t know about last night, and maybe he thought something would happen if Adam and Aidan found out about what happened back there. As much as we were a team, this was a competition, and I couldn’t say that I blamed him.
“I can feel something close, an open room,” Adam said, holding his hand against the wall.
“Let’s keep moving,” I said, walking ahead of the guys.
We walked for five more minutes before the ceiling opened up and we were standing in a dome. “It must be a hundred feet up. I didn’t see it outside,” Tyvin said.
“Maybe we’re at the back of the building,” Adam said. “It looks like an observatory.”
“There,” I said, pointing towards the other side of the room. The scroll sat upright on a podium, flanked by tarnished golden caps on either side of the paper.
“It’s this easy?” Tyvin asked.
“I don’t feel anything out of the ordinary,” Adam said, looking around.
“The scroll is yours,” Aidan said, extending his hand.
As we walked over I scanned the floor to make sure no little tiles were about to move and try to kill me again. I didn’t feel like dying today.
I approached the scroll, which was covered in dust and cobwebs, then took it off the altar and held it in my hands. “This is it, this is what I was sent to get. It seems…underwhelming.” I laughed a little, shaking my head, before looking over at the guys. “I know it’s important, or else they wouldn’t have made it my feat, but damn,” I said, laughing.
“The council works in mysterious ways,” Aidan said.
“Let’s hope they’re all like this, sans crazy murderous golems,” Adam said.
•••
Standing outside the temple, I pressed the amulet and it began to glow. Within a minute, static filled the air and a purple portal opened in front of us, sucking in the light around it.
“You retrieved it,” Telerius said, walking through the portal. “I thought I would greet you for your first feat. It looks like you four had quite the experience.”
Telerius looked around, seeing the slain bodi
es of the golems, before nodding and looking impressed. “I’ll make sure this gets into the right hands,” he said, as I handed him the scroll.
“What now?” I asked.
“Now it is time for your feat of earth,” he said.
“How do we get there?” Aidan asked.
“I take it you don’t want to walk?” Telerius asked.
“Not particularly,” Adam said.
“Then here, take that portal,” Telerius said, extending his hand and creating another portal just feet away from his. “Good luck.”
Telerius’s portal closed, the other one staying open, before I shrugged and the guys followed as we all walked through the portal together.
A stinging chill bit my body as I surveyed our new surroundings, seeing a snowy landscape that was as harsh as it was unforgiving. Maybe we should’ve walked.
7
“Here,” Aidan said, snapping his fists downward. He was trying to make fire, heat, but it was in vain. The bitter chill of the frigid air was far too powerful for even a fire elemental like him.
“We have some warmer clothes. We need to get dressed before we catch frostbite,” Adam said, opening his sack.
As I got dressed I scanned the area, looking up at a hulking mountain that seemed too large to scale. I tried squinting my eyes, looking for the flowers we were searching for, but they were nowhere to be seen. They must really be at the top.
“I have an idea,” Tyvin said, his finger pointed in the air. “What if Adam uses his elemental powers to thrust us up to the top? He could create a shelf, a landing, and push us upwards like an elevator.”
“Great idea,” Aidan said, zipping up his pack. “Anything we can do to get out of here quicker.”
“Do you think you can?” I asked, looking at Adam.
“Psh, no problem,” he said, winking. “Everyone gather around me.”
We huddled around Adam, our bodies creating at least a little warmth that made the elements seem less brooding. Adam stomped his feet, but nothing happened. “Hm,” he mumbled, shaking his head. He tried many forms, but the rocks didn’t budge, not even an inch.