by Beth Hodgson
This time, Kyle was hit. The inferno blades slashed his arms in one solid swipe, puncturing his flesh. Blood squirted out, and he screamed.
“Motherfucker!” Kyle yelled in agony, falling to the floor. Through his scrunched eyes, he saw Emerald running toward him.
“What are you doing? Get out of here!” Kyle yelled as he doubled over, afraid that the cyborg would get her.
“I can’t leave you, Kyle!”
The cyborg materialized right in front of Emerald within a vast swirling light of orange magic.
Instantly, the most intense lightning Kyle had ever seen flashed in hues of deep purplish-red, striking the mechanical man. It kept coming in waves, stronger, fiercer, and with more voltage and power.
The cyborg began to shake violently from the magic, his circuits sparking wildly. If Kyle had to guess, the damn robot appeared to be going into overload.
Not even a second later, another wave of purple energy funneled down the hall. But instead of electricity, it was a bright violet stream of glowing magic, rushing like rippling water, flowing over Kyle. The power tingled, gathering over his open wound, then repaired his flesh quickly. The strange violet magic healed him.
The hell?
Kyle looked in the direction of the healing purple energy but couldn’t find the source. The purple healing wave suddenly stopped, and the cyborg was blasted with another round of violet-red electricity.
“Get up!” yelled a woman’s voice, echoing down the hall. “What are you waiting for?”
The cyborg’s circuitry smoked profusely, causing him to move in a slower fashion. It seemed the cyborg didn’t care how hard he was hit with the electrical blast; he kept moving toward Emerald.
“Go!” commanded the woman’s voice.
“I agree with whoever the fuck that is. Let’s get out of here,” Kyle said to Emerald, grabbing her hand and jumping up. Kyle saw flashes of purple light behind them, with oranges blinking intermittently. He knew they weren’t in the clear yet.
Kyle and Emerald hurried through the emergency exit, landing on a small platform on the outside of the building. The ground below looked like a drop of death. If they fell, their bodies would be bouncing off the skyways all the way to the ground like a game of Pong. The only way off the platform was a metal escape ladder.
The humming sounds of air transports could be heard, and suddenly they were in view.
Arcadia’s authorities. They knew that their princess was there.
“Great,” Kyle said sarcastically. “Fucking great.”
Emerald grasped his hand, her eyes full of fear. “Kyle, they can’t take me!”
“I am open to suggestions if you have any,” Kyle said sardonically, watching as the air transports hovered at their level. The authorities began to emerge from hanging rope ladders as they neared the platform. “Any thoughts, Princess?” Kyle asked impatiently.
Emerald’s face froze, shocked. Her eyes were wide with alarm. “What…? You knew?”
“I’ll explain later.” Kyle paused, then grabbed her hand. “Besides, it doesn’t change a damn thing how I feel about you.”
Emerald’s face relaxed a bit, then she turned her focus to the authorities. “Kyle, we are going to have to jump,” she stated.
Startled, Kyle shot her an alarming look. “You have got to be kidding me. And here I thought I was the crazy one.”
“Ready?”
“Ready for what? To jump to our deaths?” Kyle asked, now watching the swarm of air transports hovering. “I’m supposed to die when my tattoo reaches my hand, remember?” he half joked, half shitting himself with fear. Did Emerald really expect to jump and survive? What the hell was she thinking?
Emerald threw her hands around his neck, then pulled him toward her, kissing him swiftly. While locked on to him, Emerald firmly pushed them off the edge with a sudden jerk of her boot.
Kyle’s eyes bolted open, watching the world race by. His heart dropped into his stomach, paralyzed with fear. He was really going to die.
“Holy shit!”
“Hold on to me and don’t let go!” she ordered.
He held her as tight as he could, almost too tight.
Emerald’s eyes closed as she shot her hands palms up, swiftly outstretching them. A sudden burst of intense green-yellow light enveloped them, then transformed into a hard circular shell encasing the pair as they plummeted. That very same moment, her hair revealed its true form—emerald green.
Frantic, Kyle jerked his eyes around, stunned at the impossible power that protected them, then turned his gaze back to her hair.
Insane. This is completely fucking insane.
The green magic intensified, shifting to a glowing green-blue color. Quickly but safely, the hardened bubble guided them downward, and all the while, Kyle noticed Emerald was completely focused, her face not moving a muscle.
Orange energy rippled across the city, and the buildings began to glow a soft orange. The structures twisted and warped in several directions, tangling and entwining like a massive hollow ball. It made it completely impossible to tell which way was up or down, or even where the ground was.
Emerald continued to guide them down at a fast rate as her eyes looked around at the maze, confused.
“What the hell is going on?” Kyle asked.
“Magic,” Emerald answered.
The air rippled in front of them, and the cyborg emerged from the mysterious power. He flew downward at the same rate but with much more control, using orangish-red winds to guide his body.
They continued to drop at an alarming rate, scaring the hell out of Kyle. Even with the protective shell around them, Kyle wasn’t depending on that damn bubble to save his ass.
The cyborg shot out an orangish-red blast of ice, its frosty power glazing over their barrier. It didn’t penetrate the shell; instead it just made the barrier hard to see out of.
Determined, Emerald countered by shooting out one of her hands, forming a dark-green cluster of energy. Suddenly, the strange power enveloped the bionic man, creating a magical link between him and Emerald. It ripped through the cyborg, sucking away his life force and flowing into Emerald, draining him.
For a split second, the cyborg jerked, causing the images of the twisted buildings to flash away and reappear how they were supposed to be—standing upright.
It was all just an illusion. The cyborg was creating false images.
Flashing her hands up, Emerald released the drained magic, and the cyborg plummeted to a mid-level platform, stunned. She quickly guided them to the lower levels, leaving the cyborg far behind. As they neared the ground, Emerald released the protective barrier, its greenish-blue magic fading away.
“I hope we are close to your motorcycle,” Emerald remarked desperately.
“This way.” Kyle grabbed her hand, and the two of them sprinted through the streets. Kyle could hear the authorities talking over their megaphones, but he couldn’t make out anything they were saying, and he didn’t need to know. They just wanted their princess.
Not on your fucking life, assholes.
Emerald had to be damn lucky, because she had somehow managed to land them about a block away from the parking garage where his bike was parked.
As they made their way into the entrance of the garage, Kyle heard more sirens coming their way.
“Holy fuck, I think we have all of Arcadia on our ass,” he said, hopping on his bike. Emerald jumped on after him, and he immediately peeled away.
Kyle burst through the garage exit at full speed. Above, he heard the aerial transports, the authorities continuing to yell through their megaphones. Gripping the throttle, Kyle flew through Arcadia’s streets, driving as fast as his motorcycle could go.
An orange flash rippled through the skies above.
Dammit!
Within several feet of his bike, the cyborg materialized, matching their speed as he flew next to them. With a swipe, he reached out to yank Emerald off the bike, but missed as Kyle swerved ju
st in time.
Again, the cyborg lunged at the princess, but this time Emerald shot up her hand. A magical translucent greenish-yellow barrier appeared in front of her and Kyle. The cyborg’s mechanical hand swung ferociously at the barrier, causing green sparks to fly on contact, as if he was scraping glass. He struck again and again, each time furiously trying to break the shell. But each time it held.
The cyborg burned a bright orange, then multiplied copies of himself in the distance while the original one continued to bash at their barrier. They were coming from all directions.
Kyle tried to keep his eyes straight ahead of him, but it was hard with all the magical orange and green flashes happening all around him, and now several fucking cyborgs were chasing them.
The mechanical man gave up on the barrier and flew past Kyle’s motorcycle, far ahead of them, leaving a trail of orange magical winds flowing behind the machine’s path. Ahead, Kyle saw the cyborg begin to glow an intense orange-red. With a sudden jolt, the machine threw his hands out, causing the road in front of them to instantly shake with orange power. The magic burst through the ground, causing the earth to shift and pull apart, creating a large crevice. The earth rumbled once again, and the crevice slid further apart, creating a massive canyon in front of Kyle and Emerald.
And they were heading right toward it at full speed.
“Hey, Em,” Kyle called out to her, “if you have any other magic tricks up your sleeve, now’s the time to use them. Otherwise we’re completely fucked!”
“Keep driving! Don’t stop!”
“Right,” Kyle answered, gritting his teeth. Trust her. She’s gotten us this far with her magic, he told himself. Kyle gripped the throttle tightly, keeping it thrusted upward, heading full speed toward the newly created canyon.
The authority transports were behind and above them; the sounds of sirens and yelling filled the air.
Emerald shifted in her seat, then Kyle felt one of her arms release his waist while the other held on to him firmly.
They were coming up on the canyon, and nothing was happening.
Oh God, Em, please do something!
Just as the motorcycle was about to meet the crevice, a bright-green-blue glow burned in Emerald’s outstretched hand, pouring all over the motorcycle.
The motorcycle rolled off the last piece of earth, and suddenly there was nothing below the tire.
They were airborne, flying across the canyon.
Green-blue magic continued to funnel into the bike, causing it to be guided by the power. Kyle’s stomach jumped in his chest as he saw the bottomless pit underneath his bike, as if he was looking below in slow motion. In a blink of an eye, the green-blue power flashed them across safely, and they landed smoothly on the other side of the canyon, allowing them to continue uninterrupted.
Trying his best not to shit bricks, Kyle furiously drove his way through the city on the other side of the crevice, weaving furiously in and out of anything that got in their way, from pedestrians to ground transports.
They had to make it outside the city. Or at least try.
Kyle heard more ground transports. A spotlight shone on them from the air transports overhead. Within the sea of neon flashing by him, the cyborg appeared again, enveloped in his orange energy. This time, he caught them off guard, giving him a chance to grip Emerald.
She screamed. The motorcycle swerved, spinning in a direction toward the police.
Just as the cyborg was about to yank Emerald off the bike, a violet force of energy hit the cyborg, causing it to fling off course. Kyle swerved the bike back on track, continuing on the road. Up ahead was an exit get outside of Arcadia. They were close, so damn close.
When the edge of the city’s gate came into view, Kyle saw Arcadia’s police transports blocking the way out, along with more aerial transports flying overhead. There was also a small army of the authorities on standby, waiting to take their princess by force.
Emerald grabbed Kyle, her hands trembling.
“In the name of the King, I order you to stop your vehicle now!” yelled the megaphone overhead. “I repeat, stop your vehicle now!”
The sky rumbled in response. Another violent purple shockwave shot through the skies of Arcadia, hurling the air transports in all different directions. Several transports slammed into the sides of the buildings, causing explosions.
“I think we have a friend,” Kyle yelled back to Emerald. He wasn’t sure if she heard him or not with all of the wind in their faces and the noises of the crashes above.
More transports were coming, and more ground vehicles from behind.
“Shit, don’t these people ever give up?” Kyle yelled.
“Never. My father does not like to lose,” Emerald answered loudly.
As they drove toward the barricade of transports, Kyle was about to turn sharply, but something changed their luck. A magical purple force parted the barricade as if the police transports were toys, throwing them aside in both directions, creating a clear path for Kyle. In the middle of the violet magic stood a woman with a purple mohawk. The woman’s eyes were locked onto his, glowing bright violet.
Without thinking twice, Kyle gunned it through the path, passing the mysterious violet woman.
She tracked Kyle, her eyes studying him, watching him almost as if he were driving in slow motion. He swore he saw her shake her head in disappointment as she disappeared in a violet mass of magical energy.
Kyle looked away and gunned it, passing through the city-kingdom’s border into the wastelands.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Derek’s cape flapped wildly in the wind as he exited his personal air transport. Walking briskly through the investigation site, Derek took a mental picture of how much damage had been inflicted on the building. It was half decimated, scorched and cindered from fire. It was a wonder the building was even standing considering how much damage had been inflicted with the impact.
Could this all be from Emerald’s magic?
Emerald had been spotted, Derek had been told by Emerys, fleeing from the authorities on the back of some street vehicle. A motorcycle. How absurd was it that the princess of Arcadia was on the run from the authorities? On a street vehicle. Derek understood that she never wanted to live with her father again, but this was over the top. They’d been tracking her with Arcadia’s newest technology: a cyborg. That is, until it crashed into a building, rendering it useless.
The future sorceress was right about the cyborgs after all; they were truly Damaris’s secret weapon, infused with Emerald’s blood. The whole blood appointments made sense to Derek, and by now, Emerald had probably figured it out as well. It had to be why Emerald was so determined to not surrender. Derek didn’t know if he should be thanking the witch for divulging Damaris’s secrets or hiding from her, knowing how powerful she truly was.
But above everything else that had happened, what really infuriated Derek was that Emerald was with another man. Based on the only video clip that the aerial transports captured, the man looked like some low-life abomination from the pits of Arcadia. Derek had watched the footage over and over again while en route to the scene of the cyborg accident. With each viewing of the clip, Derek twisted with greater fury seeing the princess’s arms wrapped around another man. He needed to find Emerald soon, before this fiasco got out of hand, and before rumors started to circulate about princess outside the palace, or worse, about her being seen with a low-level man.
Luckily, the whole incident would be resolved soon. Once they found Emerald, Derek would marry the princess, and they would rule together. End of story. She didn’t have to run anymore, nor did she have to be afraid. If only word had reached her that she was going to be safe under his protection.
As Derek walked through the impact site, his chest began to flare with spasms. Shooting pains rocked through his chest, causing his vision to blur. The intense pain swelled so much in and around his heart that he felt he was either going to black out, or worse, die. Sweat ran down his bro
w and onto his face, and his sight began to darken.
He needed Emerald. More than ever.
Tumbling against one of his guards, they all were suddenly alerted.
“Your Highness!” One of the guards pulled him upward as Derek leaned on him, gasping for breath. The more he breathed in, the more he felt he was losing air.
Derek reflected on Emerald. The very image of her soothed his thoughts. How soft her long locks of hair felt within his fingertips the night they danced. Her bright, big eyes. Her smile.
“Shall we escort you back to the transport?” asked the guard he was leaning on.
“I’m fine. Just fighting a cold,” Derek gasped, struggling for breath as he pushed away the guard. He took a deep breath, then forced himself to stand upright, calmly collecting himself. He ran his jeweled fingers through his sweaty curls.
“I want to see the head sergeant. Now!” he snapped.
They led him through a crumbling wall inside the lobby of the building, where the sergeant was standing, talking with his task force. The sergeant glanced over at Derek, then immediately approached him, bowing.
“How could you let her get away?” Derek asked, not even addressing the sergeant formally.
“Your Highness, as much as we appreciate your concern, there really is no need for you to be here. We are working on locating the princess.”
“There is every reason for me to be here, Sergeant. You had almost the entire task force on her trail, including an overpowered cyborg, and she still managed to escape.”
“With all due respect, Your Highness, this is a matter for Arcadia and the royals who govern here.” The Head Sergeant eyed him, giving him a signal that he took orders from no one besides Damaris.
A hot rush of anger boiled his blood. With being out of sorts with his headaches and sweat, Derek had no time to mind his manners.