by Aaron Thomas
Twilix tried to bring the water back from boiling, but it heated just as fast as she cooled it. She stood back up and focused on the air. The steam in turned to snow as she chilled the atmosphere inside. The snow did not last long or cool down Kara in any way. Twilix was done messing around. Finally, she pushed the steam to the roof and watched as Kara sunk through the pedestal and into the floor of the ice sphere. Steam issued from the hole that had been formed by the girl’s passing body. Twilix walked to the hole while protecting herself with a bubble of self-cooling water. The bubble made it hard to see but kept the heat from burning her.
She got as close as she could and started to cool Kara when a arch of fire whipped out of the steaming hole and sliced through Twilix’s small protective bubble. The fire caused Twilix to back away. Her blue dress was blackened around the waist where she was not quick enough to get out of the way. A second arch of fire expanded in all directions and dislodged a piece of the newly thickened ceiling. Twilix quickly climbed the melting stairs and scrambled out of the collapsing ice doorway to find the summer sun beat down upon her.
Brandon was already awake and sending men to ready the water wielders. “Twilix, let me help you.” He closed the gap between the two and picked Twilix up off the ground.
“You need to let the water out of the bowl or she will drown,” Twilix was still staring back into the bowl as the arches of fire sprang forth one after the other. The struggle would be over soon; either she would help Kara survive and have to fight her into the dungeon or she would die and possibly take Twilix with her.
The ground shuddered as part of the bowl opened and heated water came spilling out onto the wizards training grounds. Arcs of fire became more numerous and violent, turning to liquid heat at their peak. The liquid flames drenched the ground, making it hard to see the distance to the sphere. Twilix’s shoulder was grasped tightly by Brandon. She felt a flood of energy enter her body just like the flood of water emptying itself onto the training ground. Once the steam cleared, Twilix was able to see the form of a woman on fire.
Twilix did her best to pull the water from the training area and concentrate it on Kara in a snake like form. When the water from the ground was all used up, Twilix gathered the water that was let off in steam, cooling it as much as possible before it crashed into the girl who was now half buried in mud. Water bearer’s climbed the hill to stand beside Twilix and wrapped themselves in a shield of ice. An arch of flame struck the shield and it melted away. The water bearer’s built it back as quickly as they could and combined their efforts to protect the two wizards from getting burned to a crisp. Twilix pushed the water harder, recycling the steam into the stream as Kara heated it. Finally, the water touched the young wizard’s skin and the arcs of liquid fire stopped. Twilix did her best to keep the water on Kara’s skin but soon the heat overtook even the wielder’s efforts to keep up an ice shield.
Brandon collapsed onto the ground, giving into the loss of energy. A soldier ran to drag him away from the erupting inferno. Twilix watched as the water bearers started to back away.
“Take me!” She shouted.
Twilix’s body collapsed as well, but a woman of ice rose in her place. Twilix had assumed an elemental form. She knew in this form should be able to more efficiently hold Kara at bay. She was frustrated because she should have been able to subdue Kara without it. Twilx had just aged and become more powerful than she had ever been.
Twilix took a deep breath as if her elemental body needed it. She concentrated in seeking out every piece of water she could find. She did this even as Kara’s flames grew in height and strength. Twilix turned to watch one of the wielders carry her limp body away from the hole as fast as he could. She always found it eerie to look upon herself in this way.
Twilix needed to surround Kara with cold water but the dirt was making it difficult, so she used the water from the ground to lift Kara out of the mud until she could use water in the air to push her upwards. Soon, a wizard made geyser was blasting towards the sky with a Kara at its center. Only Kara’s head was exposed from the geyser so she could breathe. Twilix used the water expelled at the top to replenish the water needed at the bottom for the geyser. The water replenished itself as she cooled it and kept Kara balanced at the center. Twilix knew that she would not be able to maintain the geyser forever but set her mind to keep it up as long as possible.
A voice called out between gargled breaths, “Stop, stop! I’m awake.”
Twilix saw kara’s arms fighting against the torrent of water. Kara had awoken from her ageing. Twilix would have let out a sigh if she was in her own body. Instead, she released her control over the water and watched Kara come crashing down into what was left of the bowl.
Twilix let go of her elemental body and snapped back into her own. Her arms felt weak but still she managed to stand herself up. Brandon was already sitting up but still breathing hard. One of the wielders helped him up off the ground. The training ground was just as smoky as when Twilix and Mary would train, but this time the marks looked random, with no sense of why the attacks were made. The entire castle was quiet, waiting to see if more flames would erupt from the bowl of dirt.
Twilix wrapped brandon’s arm around her. “Let’s go see this little fire wizard. Shall we?”
“If you think it’s wise,” Brandon could barely walk after the effort he put into keeping Twilix upright. Neither of the two could hear any noise from the bowl except for the water still trickling out of the opening that Brandon had made. It took an effort to make it up the stone steps to the rim of the bowl. A wet and older version of Kara was on her hands and knees in the mud at the bottom.
Through long black wet hair, Kara looked up at Twilix, “That was a rude way to wake a person up.”
Twilix helped pull Brandon up to the top where he could be seen by Mary. She immediately covered the nakedness of her stomach and chest that the leather didn’t cover as she kneeled in the mud.
Brandon turned his back and sat down at the top of the ridge.
“If you hold on a moment I will have a cloak brought up. How are you feeling, Kara?” Twilix asked.
“I feel fine. I am a bit cold though.”
Twilix waited for a sign if she was in control of her magic or not. When the answer did not come Twilix started to come down into the bowl. “Kara, I meant… Are you in control of your magic?”
“Oh, yes. Yes, I’m fine.” She sat, still covering herself as she shivered in the muddy hole with water still dripping off of her black hair.
Twilix nodded and ran down the ridge of the dirt bowl. When she came back she carried a brown robe that seemed a bit large for Kara. Kara stood and unfolded the robe and it still fell short of the ground. She looked down at her grown body. She pushed her mid length hair out of her way and Twilix produced a small blue ribbon to tie it back with.
“I had one like this on Spring Fest. Did you keep this from my dress?” Kara asked.
Twilix shook her head as she led Kara up the slippery side of the bowl. “No. I believe that ribbon is still tied to the end of your father’s sword. Your brother once told me that he keeps it there to remember what he is fighting for.”
“I wish I had something to remember him with.” Kara stood at the top of the bowl trying to keep her flesh from the eyes of the onlookers on the castle grounds. “I apparently caused a commotion?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I think that I had a hand in making the show. After all, you wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for me.”
Brandon lifted up a hand and waved it in the air, “I suppose I had nothing to do with it at all?”
Twilix mischievously looked at Kara, “Of course you did, Advisor. You kept me steady on the top of this hill while I dealt with her.” She laughed but Brandon did not and Kara had no reason to understand what was happening. Twilix quickly tucked one of her loose curls behind her ear, “Let’s get you inside to get you cleaned up.”
“Wait, just because she isn’t throwing, fi
reballs doesn’t mean she isn’t going to light the castle on fire. You need to test her first.”
“Brandon-” Twilix started but was cut off.
“Oh it’s ‘Brandon’ now, is it? What happened to ‘Advisor?” Brandon pulled himself to his full height.
Twilix turned on Brandon and set her foot into place like she had when she was still in her adolescent age. “You know as well as I do that she should be burning all of us to a crisp right now. You know that because she isn’t, means that if you try and stop her, she could easily kill all of us.” She paused to let the threat sink in, “I would personally like to see you try and stop her from going inside.”
Twilix started to walk off to the stone stairs and stopped halfway down to wave Kara forward. Kara cautiously followed as Brandon looked deep in thought,as if trying to think of something that would keep Twilix from making him look like a fool. Kara tripped and fell on the next to last step falling onto her face.
“Yes, I should have warned you. These long legs are something to get use to. I tripped for at least the first four days while you were ageing. Brush yourself off. Were going to get you a bath and into something a little more proper.”
Kara seemed happy at the mention of proper clothes.
Twilix watched as she stared in wonder at the tall ceilings and arched doorways of the castle. Kara danced her fingers along the seamless marble walls with gold and silver veins that ran throughout. The damp haired girl would spin in circles to take in all the tapestries along the hallways. Twilix laughed when Kara asked her if they were lost, but the water wizard just continued leading through that halls.
They eventually came upon a door with a large fire carved on the thick oak. Once inside, two large beds with canopies that draped down to block out the sunlight caught Kara’s attention.
“I’ve never seen a bed this big!” She said.
Her attention was then turned to the chairs with cushions and washstands. Each piece of furniture matched one another with ornately carved forest scenes containing deer and birds. Kara ran her fingers over the detailed chisel strokes embedded into the wood. Her eyes finally rested on a large wardrobe with dark carved wood.
Twilix took Kara’s hand and made her turn face to face with her. “If you like that, wait until you see what’s inside.”
Kara smiled in a way that said she was anxious. Twilix opened the doors of the wardrobe and Kara took a breath. Dresses of every of the brightest color filled it from side to side. Each had lace, silk, and satin with laced backs and corsets, hats, and shoes to match.
“Wow, these are gorgeous,” Kara said.
Kara’s fingers recoiled from each dress as if she was afraid to touch the fine materials.
“Well, since we are almost the same size, I think that we may be able to share them if you are willing to stay with me here for a while.” Twilix proposed.
Kara smiled and jumped up and down. “I would love to stay here with you.”
Both the girls started digging through the clothes to find the ones that would suit them best.
Chapter 18 - The Crimson
Kilen still felt very safe, even being only a short ride from the Fire Realms defenses. He sat, sleepily watching the fire cook the rabbit Max had found, killed, and skinned. Jace had assured him that the small tendrils of smoke wouldn’t be noticed by the Fire Realm. Max, Jace, and Joahna had all taken a form of one sort or another to penetrate the defenses of the Fire Realm camp. Jace said they would only get one chance to get close to King Elric Rekkan.
The last couple days of riding were uneventful. Kilen had wished he could have caught up on his book. The ideas rolled around in his head about the changes in the land, a chapter on pirates, and he even wanted to write down the differences in the new and old world weapon bearers. Crackling of the wood was the only sound besides Kilen’s quill in the book. He wrote about the trees and the how they had thinned the further south he had traveled. High in the mountains the trees were low to the ground and always green. A large population of squirrels, birds, and deer had shown themselves to Kilen. He was sure that not many people hunted these woods. He was glad about that.
The area Jace had chosen for a resting place was a small opening surrounded by a veil of these trees. Max had sunk the ground down so the fire would not be directly visible if someone was looking under the trees while lying on the ground. Kilen had even aided the trees growth so that there was no space to walk between the branches that surrounded the tiny clearing.
The meat over the fire was starting to turn black in some areas, so Kilen retrieved the stick holding it in place and stuck it in the ground next to him to cool off. The trees rustled and Kilen sat up to see if someone had found him and watched the smoke coming off his cooked rabbit twist in an unnatural way.
Jace’s voice on the wind let him know he was still safe, “I am coming back inside your mind.”
Without anymore warning or time to prepare, Kilen felt the concussion. He wavered a moment, but stayed steady. His friends rarely came into his consciousness in the last few weeks. The feeling felt foreign again and he knew he needed to practice if he was to protect himself during battle. He knew it would only take one person dying before he once again felt the concussion and having that happen during battle could cause him to miss a vital block of a sword.
“I have seen every bit of their defenses. I would like to show you what it looks like,”Jace said.
Images from Jace’s elemental memory flooded into Kilen’s vision. He watched as Jace detailed the entire camp of the Fire Realm forces. Fortunately for Kilen, all the forces were facing towards the south west, where King Atmos would be forced to attack from. The front line defenses were made from hollowed out tree trunks, each of which would only hold one man. Jace showed Kilen the image of a man ducked down inside the trunk with a crossbow, ready to jump out and fire a shot before ducking back inside and reloading.
Large wooden panels had been constructed in an alternating fashion forcing intruders to weave back and forth in the battle field in order to reach the last of the Fire Realm’s men and their king. Each panel was alternated with angled spiked logs to impale mounted troops entering into the battlefield. Large pyres sat with bags of oil, ready to ignite for the use of the fire wielders. Each was twice the size Mary had constructed for her fight during Kilen’s training.
Images flashed of archers, traps, pits, and holes carved out in the thick woods to either side of the valley to stop troops from coming into the mountains. Kilen watched Jace reveal images of platforms being built up into the trees for men to stand on. The purpose of these, Kilen couldn’t figure out. He was sure that Jace would point out the reason soon enough. The rear of the camp was virtually unguarded by traps or obstacles. Only men guarded the rear of the camp. He watched each and every one of them with the images Jace showed him. The men that guarded the king all wore a red cloth tied to both arms near the top of the bicep.
The king looked familiar to Kilen. He was tall and strong. He wore only leather straps holding two swords on his back and a leather loin strap filled with colored strips of leather. Jace had paid close attention to the jewelry that laced every part of his ears, fingers, wrists, and ankles. The king was covered in small bands, all of which contained an arsenal of imbuements. He was sure even without all of his elemental friends, this king would be a tough fight.
“We’ll have a very hard time entering this camp without being noticed. I will try again when the sun goes down. If we’re going to sneak in, we will want to do it under the cover of night.” Jace’s voice sounded confident and his emotions were that of joy. Kilen knew that stealth tactics were Jace’s true passion.
A small lump of dirt rose up as it trailed its way into the camp. Kilen watched using the earth magic. He knew it was Max by the unnatural way the clump moved. He watched as a man rose out of the ground as if he was walking up a staircase. Dust and dirt fell from his head and shoulders as grass and moss took its place to look like hair. His eyes took on
a white color as he moved minerals around inside. The more accustomed to earth magic Max got, the more realistic his elemental bodies looked. He moved about the camp and he often looked at whatever food Kilen was eating as if he was hungry. The more he moved, the more details Kilen could make out about his body.
Max tossed another log on the fire, “We will wait until the others get back before I report.”
“Jace is already back,” Kilen tapped his head.
Max nodded, “How is the rabbit?”
“I’ve had worse. I can’t wait until I can get back to a civilized town and get some fresh bread. Traveling is great, but the food is not satisfying.”
Max grunted and Kilen saw the resemblance between King Rekkan and Max.
“Can you tell me about your brother?” Kilen asked picking a piece of meat of the stick.
“Elric? He’s strong, a good warrior, and his best skill of all is that he can control his emotions. He makes a great king.” Max replied with a tone in his voice that said he was honored to be his brother.
“No, I mean tell me what he’s like.” Kilen began picking off pieces of the meat and eating them. He offered Max a piece which was refused.
“He is, without a doubt, the most stubborn of all three of us. He has a thing about following orders. If the queen said to jump off the southern cliffs to see if someone could survive, he would do it without question. He likes the taste of fruit and not meat,” Max said shaking his head as though he didn’t understand his brother’s taste in food.
Joahna’s voice came echoing down from above, “He likes his women plump and loud, much like the queen, if she was his own age. Has Jace returned?”
Kilen tapped his head again.
“Good, we need to discuss how to get to the king.”
Kilen pulled another piece of meat from the stick, “Jace says that he’d like to scout the camp at night to see if he can find a way inside.”