The Oblivion Trials (The Astral Wanderer Book 3)

by D'Artagnan Rey

  “Did something go wrong?” the swordsman asked and gestured around them. “Your mana is leaking everywhere. I felt it way down the passage back there.”

  “It is?” his friend asked, genuinely surprised. “That isn’t good. Hold on.” He drew a deep breath and closed his eyes. His anima formed around him and the errant mana condensed closer to his form before he used Vita to control it. “I guess I couldn’t tell. I’ve had an awful headache ever since I escaped from him. It was hard to concentrate.”

  “I take it you haven’t come across Asla, then?” Devol asked and the boy shook his head in response. He produced the signets he had acquired thus far. “I was sent into the forest above the cave and only returned a little while ago. I wanted to find you both before I tried to get my last signet.”

  “At least you weren’t foolish enough to go after Koli by yourself,” Jazai muttered. The swordsman kept his thoughts to himself for the moment as his friend rolled his head to look at him. “I’m sorry for shooting at you. I guess you startled me.”

  He waved a hand dismissively. “I assumed as much. Fortunately, you don’t seem to be a great shot at the moment. I was in almost point-blank range.”

  The diviner rolled his eyes as he forced himself to stand. “I’ll try harder when we train back at the Order.” He snapped his fingers and his tome appeared in his hand. “Let me see if I can pinpoint Asla and see how she’s doing.”

  Devol nodded and they both looked at the pages. For a few moments, they were blank as Jazai struggled to both find her and deal with his current condition. Eventually, words did appear, along with a somewhat sloppy sketch of the cat wildkin.

  Chase them, hunt them…they attack but are too slow… You can win… You will win… Never again…never again.

  “It doesn’t exactly look like her thoughts are calm or collected.” The scholar winced.

  “Is she in a fight?” Devol asked and looked at him in concern. “Can you not get a good connection?”

  “I don’t write the words, Devol,” he snapped. “Whatever is happening, she’s in trouble. I can lead us to her—” When they looked down again, directions were being written on the page. “We need to get to her. If it is what I think it is, we’ll probably have to talk her down.”

  “Do what?” he asked as his friend stepped quickly toward the opening.

  “I’ll explain on the way,” he said as he climbed out of the small hideaway, turned to him, and beckoned for him to hurry. “And if she tries to claw your eyes out, don’t hold it against her, all right?”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Ramah placed his hands against the stone wall and a veil of red mana shimmered against the rock. “Tiso,” he muttered, formed a fist, and rapped against the wall with no response. The last time he’d felt Zed’s mana was in this direction. It was gone now so he was probably doing his little shadow trick. There would be no need for this much preparation unless he had indeed found Koli, although given those who had pursued them earlier, perhaps the merc had come across someone else who needed to be dealt with.

  Then again, if the corpses behind him were any indication, it seemed he had already done that.

  The wildkin looked at his fist for a moment. He could probably break through and even if he didn’t, he would certainly get the attention of those inside. But he knew the merc leader wanted Koli all to himself, and if his actions cost him that chance, he would have to deal with his current boss’ anger. The kid had been right earlier. Zed wasn’t exactly a compassionate man, at least not normally, but he had made a pledge to him for now and would honor that as long as he kept breathing. He sighed, sat against the wall with his arms folded, and began to meditate while he awaited a victor. Either he would walk out of there with his comrades or he’d be the one to avenge them.

  “Down here, Devol,” Jazai instructed and they dropped into a deep chasm. The swordsman saw a glowing blue light on the ridge and his friend nodded as he pointed it out, held the book up, and closed it to indicate that they had finally found her. The scholar caught his arm and blinked them to the area with the light. A pool of water with veins of cobalt surrounding it was the source of the glow.

  They saw Asla immediately. Her anima formed the signature feline appearance around her as she circled a female magi who held a staff out in front of her to defend herself. A dryad lay seemingly unconscious behind her.

  “Dammit, what are you?” the woman demanded. Blood poured from a tear on her left arm and the stomach of her robes. She looked briefly behind her to see the two and her eyes widened. “You two, I could use a hand here.”

  Jazai snickered and shook his head. “Mara, you do remember this is the Oblivion Trials, right?”

  “Besides,” Devol added and pointed at Asla. “We’re with her.”

  She sneered at them and reached for her bag. “To hells with this. I’ll simply—” The momentary distraction was enough for the wildkin to dart toward her. Mara held her staff up to block the swipe, although it appeared to have protected her thus far and was now at its limit. The staff shattered from the assault and when Asla bounded to the side, she kicked off the ambassador and knocked her off her feet. Her head impacted with one of the cobalt veins and the blow knocked her out instantly.

  The swordsman uttered an impressed whistle and clapped. “Nice work, Asla. Now let’s get—” Jazai held a hand out and shook his head.

  “You want to give her a wide berth for now,” he stated. They both looked at her where she remained on all fours. Her anima hadn’t powered down and she stared at the ground and shuddered as she dragged deep breaths in.

  “What’s the matter?” Devol asked and tried to take a step forward but the other boy pulled him with a firm hand on his jacket.

  “It’s her majestic,” he explained and put his tome away. “You might recall when we first met her that her majestic allows her to tap into her more animalistic traits.”

  He nodded. “Right, but that merely means she’s faster and has better senses, right?”

  “Normally, but that’s because she holds herself back,” the scholar revealed and pointed to her form. “The more she taps into the power of her majestic, the more feral she becomes. She’s worked hard to control it, but I guess her fight pushed her too far.” He released his jacket as they regarded her with both caution and concern. “It’s a tradeoff—willpower for strength.”

  “So what does that mean?” the swordsman asked and frowned with sudden anxiety. “That almost makes it sound like a malefic.”

  Jazai shook his head. “Majestics bond with their user but that takes time. We’re…abnormal circumstances, even in this case.” He looked at Asla’s gauntlets. “Her majestic was sacred in her tribe. It was wielded by the best warrior they had. When he passed on, it was given to her. She should have worked up to wielding them but once she discovered that she was compatible, she almost instantly started to train with them. She’s been growing into the power but there have been some issues along the way. The last time she lost control like this, she destroyed a large part of the dining hall in her frenzy.”

  “Then how do we help her?” he asked. “What do we need to do? You stopped her before.”

  The other boy nodded. “In a sense. Freki and a few other Templars kept her occupied until she simply ran out of mana to power it.”

  He went slack-jawed. “That doesn’t sound like a solution.”

  “It is, technically,” Jazai replied with his gaze fixed on Asla. His lips pursed. “And it doesn’t look like we’ll have much choice.”

  The wildkin had noticed them now and stared fixedly at them as she began to move forward. He held his hands out to stop her. “Asla, we aren’t going to—”

  She hissed and leapt at them. The diviner caught hold of his friend and blinked them across the pool of water. She slid along the wet ground but her claws cut into the earth and slowed her to a stop.

  “It’s all right!” Devol shouted while Jazai formed a shield. “No one else will harm you, Asla!”<
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  “I wish she was saying that to us,” the other boy muttered and finished the shield as the wildkin crept forward again. “Get your sword out.”

  “I won’t hurt her,” he replied and glanced briefly at him but returned his full focus to her after a second or two.

  “And I don’t want you to but you will have to defend yourself,” the scholar informed him as Asla prepared to pounce. “A shield like this won’t hold her back for long.”

  That was an understatement. Once she leapt at them, her claws slashed at the mana barrier and ripped it apart. The two boys jumped away and Devol drew his blade instinctively and held it defensively in front of him as she turned toward him.

  “Come on, Asla,” he pleaded and stepped back as she moved forward. “I know that you aren’t in total control right now, but you can snap out of this, can’t you?” Achroma began to brighten and her eyes closed to block the light. “We still have to finish these trials together, all right?”

  The wildkin hissed and slammed her claws into the ground as her anima grew in size. He worried that he had inadvertently made things worse but a moment later, her body loosened, her legs fell back, and she pounded the rocky surface with her fist. Her anima expanded a little more before it finally dispersed, shook the cave around them, and made both boys slip as it rumbled and shuddered.

  Devol pushed quickly to his feet and ran to her, picked her up, and shook her lightly. “Asla, you all right?”

  She muttered something he could not hear and her eyes fluttered for a moment before she simply nodded and fell into a slumber. He sighed with relief and looked at Jazai, who approached more slowly. “It looks like she’s out but all right. That wasn’t so hard—did you even try to talk to her last time?”

  “She wasn’t exactly in the mood,” the boy replied sarcastically. “And I think it was more than merely a pep talk. Back then, she was still new from what I was told with no real connections with anyone. I guess she was able to collect herself enough to recognize us.” He looked around the cavern. “Still, she released a ton of mana. We need to get out of here. I’m sure that will draw someone to us.”

  He nodded, shifted to drape Asla’s unconscious form over his back, and hoisted her up. As he walked to Achroma to pick it up, he caught a small glint in the dark from something perched on a piece of jagged rock across from him. He lifted the blade and blocked an incoming arrow, then jumped back as Jazai fired a volley of mana missiles to blow up the area as the figure vaulted off, landed in front of them, and aimed a crossbow at the scholar.

  “Are you kidding me?” the young magi growled as his anima charged.

  “This is that hunter from before,” Devol stated as he held both Asla and his sword.

  The diviner nodded and cursed himself for not being more careful. “Yeah, it is. It looks like he stalked me all this way.”

  “It was a clever ruse earlier.” Yule growled belligerently as he began to squeeze the trigger of his crossbow. “But I don’t like anyone playing with my head.”

  Jazai motioned for his friend to run. “Get Asla out of here Devol.”

  “I won’t leave you,” the swordsman proclaimed.

  “I didn’t say to not come back,” his friend responded and the rings on his fingers began to light up. “I’ll need your help to finish this.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Yule fired an arrow at Jazai. It flashed with green mana and several more arrows appeared around it. The boy activated one of his rings quickly and created a shield to block the projectiles as his adversary reached behind him and took a circular blade from his belt. He tossed the chakram at Devol, who stepped back and knocked it away. It hung in the air, spun rapidly, and launched itself at him again at double the speed.

  He dove out of the way but slipped due to the slick ground. Both he and Asla tumbled close to the edge and she almost slid off before he threw himself closer to her and caught one of her arms before she fell. The assassin pointed his crossbow at the prone swordsman but Jazai dropped his shield and pointed at him. “Immolate,” he invoked. The man yanked his hat off and tossed it at him, and it caught fire in midair when it intercepted the spell. Without looking at the blaze, he fired the arrow.

  Devol was able to pull Asla up with one arm as he swung Achroma to launch a mana slash toward the arrow. It destroyed the projectile and continued toward the hunter magi. Yule ducked under the attack and fired more arrows at him in rapid succession. Mana arrows simply slotted in and the exotic crossbow automatically pulled the string back.

  He hoisted Asla onto his back again and deflected the arrows as he had done with the dryad archer before. Unfortunately, he was soon overwhelmed as the assassin could fire them much faster than she could.

  Jazai held a hand out and a cone of frost blasted out of one of his rings. Yule whipped his cloak off and threw it in the way. He ran out of the scholar’s path as he pointed a finger at him. His chakram came back to life and flew toward the boy, who pointed at it. “Missile.” A mana missile streaked into the enchanted weapon and blew it apart.

  Their adversary moved closer to Devol, who swiped at him with Achroma. The man ducked below the attack and placed his palm against his chest.

  “Pulse,” the hunter invoked the two friends were launched off the platform and into the ravine.

  “Devol, Asla!” their friend called and launched a wave of lightning from his rings. The assassin turned and fired a white arrow that burst apart to reveal a brilliant white light. Jazai was blinded for a moment before an arrow pierced each leg. He cried out and fell to his knees as something restricted his arms and legs. When the light vanished and his vision began to return, he fell on his side and realized he had been bound in mana chains.

  He struggled against them as Yule walked ominously to him. “Do you hold a grudge?” The diviner grunted and tried to disperse the binding chains, but it appeared that this hunter used more than enchanted weaponry to achieve his reputation. He was no slouch in conjuration magic.

  The assassin kicked him onto his back and placed a heavy boot on his chest before he pointed his crossbow at the bound scholar. “If you had stayed in the shadows, I would have passed you by,” he stated as he placed an arrow in his weapon. “But you did manage to get one over on me so you deserve to be treated as an opponent, not merely some kid.”

  “Should I take that as an honor?” Jazai snapped, checked his rings, and realized that he had no more spells prepared. This could be the end but he wouldn’t go out begging.

  “I suppose that is up to you,” Yule said as he began to press the trigger. “I think it was foolish.” The boy closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as he waited for death. A second later, he felt a familiar anima flare and heard a crack and a surprised shout from his opponent.

  He opened his eyes and focused on Asla, who fought the hunter with tooth and claw. Her fast movements made her a difficult target as Devol climbed onto the platform and hurried to his friend.

  “I see Asla finished her nap,” the diviner muttered and powered his anima in an attempt to blow away the chains.

  Devol swung Achroma and destroyed a few of them. Lessening the bonds allowed Jazai to finally free himself. “Yeah. She woke after he shot us off the cliff. I yell quite loudly according to her,” he stated and helped his friend up. The diviner’s legs were still wounded and blood spurted from his left calf. “Did he get you?”

  “Lucky shots.” The scholar grunted and used his mana to try to repair the wounds as quickly as possible. “I don’t need my legs for spells, though. Are you ready to end this?”

  The swordsman nodded, raced toward the hunter, and arced Achroma into a surprise attack. Yule had no choice but to use his crossbow to block the strike but the blade drove through it with a loud snap. The man leapt back and drew a pair of daggers as Devol and Asla prepared to attack together.

  They both attempted an assault on the assassin, who ducked under the boy’s strike and parried a blow from the wildkin. He was able to inflict a sm
all cut on the swordsman, but Asla bounded off the ground and kicked the hunter with sufficient force to almost topple him. Yule recovered and sprinted toward Devol with both daggers held back for a decisive blow but mana chains wrapped around the weapons and connected to the floor, courtesy of Jazai.

  Devol pointed his majestic at the hunter and used its magic to extend the blade. Yule released his daggers, rolled under the blade, and attempted to retaliate with a punch to the boy’s gut. The wildkin leapt in with a flying kicking and he hurtled back into one of the cobalt nodes. The diviner blinked in front of him and pointed his hand in his face as lightning crackled around it.

  The assassin looked at him, not with hate or fear but an eerie calmness. He looked down and chuckled. “Respect,” he muttered and opened his hand. Two orbs fell out covered in red markings.

  Jazai jumped back and formed a shield. “Explosives!” he shouted a split-second before they detonated. Yule flung himself away as the explosion rocked the caverns. The diviner increased the field of the shield until it formed a barrier around the three friends as rocks began to fall from above and the pillars cracked around them. “Cave-in!”

  Mara and Calipsi finally began to awaken amongst this chaos and the dryad checked her robes. “Where’s my signet?”

  “You’re worried about that?” her partner demanded and rummaged in her bag. “We need to get out of here! To hells with this contest.”