My cheeks warmed, and I smiled. “I try to be wild sometimes.”
We both chuckled, knowing I’m the complete opposite of wild. All I cared about was surviving most of the time. I wasn’t really into taking risks. Especially not when my sister was involved.
“I’m glad we’re doing this though. Not many can say they’ve gone to The Magical Realm and became masters.”
I turned to Felix. “You think we’ll beat The Ancient Master?”
He gave a half smile. “With your new explosive power, Triana’s brains and telekinesis, Bradly’s fire, Cas’ sword ― he’s great at using that thing, by the way ― Beatrice’s Ice, my lightning, and Cristania’s everything,” he chuckled. “Hell yeah, we can beat him.”
I raised a brow. “What makes you think the master is a man?”
Felix furrowed his brows and changed the subject. “So, how come you can see a warlock instead of your fears?”
I licked my lower lip and glanced at Triana. “My fear is the loss of my sister. He probably couldn’t figure out a way to show that without actually hurting her, and I would’ve never let that happen.”
Felix nodded.
“Alright guys,” Cristania started. She whipped out the map and opened it, then spread it over the ground for us to see. “First thing in the morning we’ll travel in this direction.” On the map, she pointed to a glowing blue line that led to the center of the forest where there was a massive giant tree. “Once we’re here, I think we need to find a way in. The master is somewhere on the inside of the tree. We’ve gotta really work together on this one or―well, you know what will happen if we don’t defeat the master, so we must win. After that, we drink from the pond and will be on our way home. Got it?”
We all nodded.
“Great. Now are there any pairs that work well together?”
I couldn’t really answer that because Beatrice and I mostly ran and didn’t get the chance to use our powers together. Felix and Cas only shrugged at each other, which meant no, and Bradly and Triana both raised their hands.
“We work great together,” Bradly said. “Her smart and my brawn make the perfect combination.”
Cas chuckled. “Sounds more like someone has a crush.”
Bradly frowned and slowly turned his head to Cas, then punched him on the shoulder. Cas chuckled and rubbed the spot Bradly struck.
Cristania folded the map and tucked it away in her jean pocket, then turned back to us. “Well, as far as I go, I only know small tricks and how to use a broom. I mostly depend on my physical capabilities than magic since I’m not aware of my inner power yet. My first specialty is healing, so I figured it has something to do with that, but I can’t be sure until I use it.” She looked away from my eyes and turned them to the fire. “So, I’ll do everything that I can to help.”
“You say it like you haven’t helped enough already,” Triana spoke softly.
Cristania cracked a smile. “Thanks, Triana.”
Felix stretched out and plopped onto his back. “Guess we should be getting some sleep now.”
“I’ll take first watch,” Cas said. “If the barrier fades, I’ll let you guys know.”
Everyone seemed to agree and lay on their leaf pallets.
Even when it was silent, I knew that everyone was still awake with anxiety and anticipation.
Tomorrow, we were supposed to fight the ancient master of magic. The first master and protector of The Pond of Strength. This was someone that was told about in bedtime stories of how he or she was the first to open the portal and fight the demon that was using the power from the pond to create a massive amount of black magic. If it weren’t for the master, black magic would’ve been the only magic that was used by witches and wizards, eventually turning them into warlocks. Something that demons fed from.
Of course, this was a simple bedtime story back then.
Now, we all knew that it was true.
It made me wonder, after everything we’ve experienced so far, when were we going to meet a demon? I hoped no time soon.
Chapter Eleven: The Temple of Stars
We walked silently through the forest in a formation that Cas set up based on strengths. Cristania was in the front with Bradly and Felix. Triana and I were in the middle, and Cas and Beatrice were watching our backs.
None of us were excited about what we were about to get ourselves into, but there was a sense of confidence that we would succeed, excited or not. I mean, we were a nice sized group with different abilities and some with hidden inner magic that may reveal itself during the fight.
As we walked, I wondered what the master would be like? It’s been thousands of years, so did he or she look a thousand years old? Was it a man or a woman? Was he or she as strong as the stories say, or did some of his or her power fade over time? It was best that I didn’t underestimate the master. Wouldn’t want to die because of my stupidity.
“How close are we?” Bradly asked.
Cristania looked up and pointed upwards through the mist. “Look.” She was pointing at a massive tree with thousands of branches and vines hanging towards the trees much further below it. I wondered how we hadn’t spotted it while in the air, but figured it had something to do with magic because there was no way that we could miss that tree. It was colossal and very much intimidating. “We’re very close.”
And she was right. After a few more miles and a stop for water, we were directly under the shadow of the tree. What we needed to do was get to the base, but we should’ve known it wouldn’t be so easy.
“Raven?” Triana called in a worried voice.
Looking ahead, small vines were slowly popping up from the ground and gently poking at her shoe, but they weren’t gentle for long. When she tried to move away, one vine snapped out and wrapped around her ankle.
“Triana!” When I tried to move forward, I found myself falling face first onto the ground. My arms and legs were instantly captured by the vines and pulled me in the opposite direction of my sister. “Triana!”
“Felix, look out!” I heard Beatrice yell.
I watched as Bradly burned the vines around Triana’s feet, then was thankfully saved by Cas, who used his sword to cut through the vines around me.
I quickly jumped to my feet and started for Triana when the ground beneath us began to rumble and shake.
Triana and Bradly looked back at us with wide eyes before the ground began to shift and sway like the ocean water.
“Everyone towards the base of the tree! Now!” Cristania yelled as she sprinted off.
“Go, Triana!” I yelled before summoning my familiar, Bubbles, a baby dragon. “Watch after those kids!” I ordered bubbles, and so she did, spitting flames at any vine that tried to capture them.
Cas was busy helping Beatrice get up so that they could run for safety, then Felix took my hand and we sprinted along side them.
Vines snapped at us from every direction, but we were too vigilant and too fast for them to grab us. With the ground moving into large and low hills though, there was only a matter of time before one of us fell, and then we’d be done for.
Cristania, Bradly, and Triana were far ahead with a path cleared for them by Bubbles, but after they passed, the vines formed together again and were coming straight for us.
Cas ran up front and slashed his sword from left to right as he cleared a path for us, but it wasn’t enough to stop them from coming, and it was obvious that he was tiring by the way his movements slowed. Apparently, he wasn’t as healed as he thought.
“Beatrice, you’re ice!” I yelled as I ran up a hill that dropped when I reached the top. It nearly made me topple over when Felix caught me.
Beatrice nodded, then yelled to Cas. “Fall back!”
Cas did as he was told and fell back with us, then Beatrice took in a deep breath and dropped her hands to the ground, freezing nearly everything in front of us. Even the waves stopped, but we could feel the vibrations under our feet as they tried to move again. Her ice stopped
spreading a few feet behind Cristania and the others, who were now trying to find some kind of way to enter the tree.
Sprinting as best we could, we slipped and slid over the ice until we were close to the base of the tree, then the ice finally cracked from the shift of the ground, but it was too late.
With a leap, the four of us jumped from a rising hill and landed with a crash by the safest part of the forest. At least it felt safe with nothing moving, squirming, or wrapping around our arms and legs.
Once we stood to our feet, the ground instantly stopped moving and the vines pulled away into the shadows of the forest.
“Well, that was fun,” Cas said. “I think I’m really starting to like magic.”
I shook my head and walked over to Cristania. “So, find anything?” I asked.
Cristania shook her head with her hand against the tree. “Nothing. I don’t feel much of anything here.”
“But there is a doorway,” Triana said in a low voice as she continued to scan the tree. “I know there is.” When she placed her hand against it, both hers and Cristania’s hands began to glow, like light was illuminating through the center.
“Whoa,” Bradly said. “Let me try.” His hand did the same when he placed it against the tree.
“You guys do the same,” Triana commanded.
Trusting the gifted intuitionist, we did as we were told, and in only a matter of seconds, everything had gone dark.
The Masters of Magic
I couldn’t see anything, but I knew that I was inside somewhere. My feet felt like they were on flat ground, and there was somewhat of a cool breeze. Not like the dull breeze in the forest, but like a breeze in the night that made you pull the covers tighter over your shoulders.
“Guys?” I panted.
A hand quickly grabbed mine, and from the size, I could tell that it was Triana’s. “Raven,” she whispered. “We’re here.”
“Where?” I asked.
“The Temple of Stars.”
A moment later, the ground below my feet began to sparkle with thousands of colorful tiny stars. They spread out in front of us, traveling up four sets of steps and onto two large statues of a male and female master at the sides of an empty stone throne. Behind that, the stars moved up the tall walls and onto the massive ceiling until the entire room was covered in sparkles.
Now we could see our surroundings and were each in awe at its beauty. The temple was bigger than any room I’ve ever set foot in with statues of masters dressed in cloaks surrounding us in a circle. Unlike the two star covered statues, these ones were each glowing a different color with their staffs held in front of them by both hands. They were a considerable distance from us, but upon looking into their eyes, they looked as if they were going to attack, and I wasn’t going to put it passed them.
“This place looks dream-like,” Bradly said as he turned in a circle with his eyes pointed upwards.
“Yeah, but don’t get things wrong,” a female voice sounded. “This place is extremely dangerous for you.”
Chapter Twelve: The Last Task
I snapped my eyes back towards the stone throne to find a young girl around my age sitting down with a star covered staff in her hands. It would’ve thrown me off at how young she looked if she didn’t already look incredibly weird. I mean, she was beautiful with full lips, arched eyebrows, and brown eyes, but her face was black and white, like when a television has no color, and her afro was made of stars and swirls of blended rainbow-like colors, only sharper.
This was The Ancient Master. A girl with a colorless face, surround by stars of hair. She wore a black cloak with pink fur around the hood and cuffs of the wrist along with a pair of black leather pants and tall black boots.
“Wow,” Triana said, slipping her hand from mine.
The master drew her eyes to Triana before smiling. “Hello,” she started. “It’s been a while since I’ve come across others. You must be seeking The Pond of Strength.”
Although young looking, her voice sounded deeper and older, but unexpectedly soft. Like a mothers.
Cristania stepped forward. “We are. There’s a war taking place soon between the hunters and the covens, and we are the worthy ones chosen to enter The Magical Realm in hopes of drinking from the pond and becoming masters.”
The master turned to us. “Ah, Cristania, is it?”
Cristania’s eyebrows shot to her forehead.
“Yes, you are the leader, are you not?”
Cristania glanced to us before nodding. “I suppose so.”
“And you led them to come and fight me?” the master grinned before leaning down and resting her elbows over her knees.
“If we could avoid a fight, that would be nice.”
The master chuckled. “There is no way to avoid fighting me. Your group was chosen because they were worthy, but I test your strength, and from the looks of it,” her eyes scanned over us. “None of you will be passing.” She stood from her seat. “As the protector of the pond, I must test your worthiness and strength, because the weak grow desperate, and the desperate cannot drink from the golden cups.” She slowly began walking down the steps. “So, feel free to attack me at any time, but don’t wait too long, or you’ll lose your chance.” She stared at us, a smile growing over her face.
None of us moved.
The master shook her head with a giggle. “And you’ve waited too long.”
My eyes widened when she raised her staff and pounded the bottom of it over the floor. In a blast, magic burst from the bottom of her staff and sent us flying back through the air.
When I landed, I slid over the floor on my side until my back collided with a green statue. Feeling as if I should look up, I saw that the statue was looking down at me, then it moved to point the ball of its staff at my face.
Before I waited to figure out what would happen next, I rolled to my feet and left it standing there frozen again.
The statues are to keep us from passing, I thought. We can’t retreat.
A clanging noise caught my attention and I turned to my left to find Cas throwing a flurry of attacks against the master, but she was calm and only blocked using her staff with one hand.
“Cas, duck!” Bradly yelled.
Cas dropped to the ground, avoiding the scorching hot fire that passed over him, but all the master did was step to the side and smile.
That’s when Beatrice dropped down to the floor and tried to use her ice to freeze her feet, but with a glance, the master stepped onto the ice and cocked her head to the side, mocking her.
“Oh, come now. You can surely do better than that?” the master asked.
Felix released a streak of lightning from her right, but she only dodged her head back and watched as it collided with a yellow statue. In response, the statue aimed its staff and sent back his lightning, causing Felix to drop to the ground.
There’s no way to beat her, I panicked. We’re nowhere near her level. What were the masters thinking?
The master then turned to me and gave a soft smile. It was confusing, but I wasn’t going to let her fool me. She was our enemy, and because she was our enemy, I should have been fighting her, but for some reason, I couldn’t move. I was frozen. Afraid.
If you don’t move, I’ll kill you. Her voice echoed in my mind. What’s the matter? You weren’t this afraid when you attacked that warlock.
Her thoughts in my head only frightened me more. Not many masters could read minds, but she was ancient. Incredibly ancient and powerful.
When I didn’t move right away, the master flashed towards me in a blur, but I was suddenly pushed out of the way by Cristania, who was impaled by the blade at the bottom of the master’s staff.
“No!” my voice echoed as I slid over the floor.
Cristania stood in place with the staff sticking through her back, covered in blood and dripping onto the floor. She didn’t move but grabbed onto the staff and held tight, then released a wheezing sigh.
The master leaned down to
make eye contact. “Quite brave, you are.”
Cristania swallowed and looked up. “Only because…I knew…you wouldn’t discover my true power.”
The master cocked her head to the side in curiosity before smiling.
“And I bet you don’t know the kid’s either,” she said through clenched teeth. “Triana, scream!”
Triana took in a deep breath and released a scream so loud that it stunned me and everyone else around her.
The master clenched her teeth and squinted as she grew rigid, then she smiled. “I knew I sensed black magic,” she grumbled. “A natural born. Now, that’s rare.”
When I turned back to Triana, I saw that her eyes had turned completely black as they have a few times before. She was only able to use this kind of magic during serious situations, and although dripping blood from my ears, I was glad that she could.
Snapping my attention back to the master, my hand itched to touch her, and I suddenly had a craving for magic. Her magic. It was powerful, and my senses could feel it. Without thinking twice about it, I scrambled to my feet and nearly tripped as I reached out to grab her forearm.
When the master saw what I was doing, she tried to pull away, but not even she could move at her natural speed through Triana’s scream, and I grabbed her wrist.
The moment I grabbed her though, I was deflected as if I had run straight into a trampoline. Her ancient power spread through my body in a burning flash and caused my vision to blur before I even hit the ground.
I could barely see until Triana stopped screaming and ran over to me. Surprisingly, Cristania was at my side as well. “But you…”
When I looked towards the master, only a misty pink smoke remained where Cristania had just stood, impaled.
“My gift is hard to explain. Multiply, regenerate ― that kind of stuff. I had the feeling she was watching us, so I pretended that I didn’t know what it was. I needed the element of surprise, and it worked.”
“But―”
“I found out what your power was the day you nearly took out Beatrice,” she quickly said as she helped me stand. “It’s rare. Anyways,” pink smoke appeared and swirled beside her, then formed into a second Cristania. “It all worked out. You have the ability to take and expel. Use it when you think you have a clear shot. The only way to win is to hit her with her own magic.”
The Masters of Magic Page 6