The Elite Wizard Games (Elite Wizards Chronicles Book 1)

by Gina A. Watson

  An hour later and the circle was more than half done. The room was lit with a green glow that illuminated everything. My heart pounded and wondered if I gave enough time for my plan to work. My eyes flicked over to Joren who looked the same as before. He was sitting up, but his head was slumped down and he was looking at the floor. Something was wrong. He should have had the same amount of energy as me again. Had they tortured him again while I was away?

  The Order’s chants were dying down to a slow chant. Then I noticed the leader was drawing the circle faster. The runes looked the same as the others, I wondered how he was drawing them so fast. The circle glowed brighter, the magic within it grew stronger with every rune he added. By the looks of the circle, I knew it would be completed soon. I watched and waited until it was time. As more and more runes were drawn, more the magic built up in the room. It was so thick I could almost touch it. A few moments later, the leader drew the final rune. The circle lit up brighter, the magic pulsing from the inside crashed against anything it touched. All the members stood and marvelled at the circle their leader created. Their leader stood in the centre of the circle and turned towards his men.

  “Bring me the dragon and the dagger,” he called out.

  My heart sunk to the pit of my stomach. My eyes flicked to Joren and a sense of dread and fear fell over me. If something had to happen, it needed to be now, but by the look of Joren, his magic energy hadn’t fully returned. That was when something strange happened.

  Two of the members of The Order left the room for moment before returning, dragging a limp body behind them. Looking at the body, I noticed it was a girl. She had white hair that was matted and the rags she was given was were torn and covered in filth. Questions filled my mind but the only thing I could do was ask myself who the girl was. That and I wondered if they realized Joren was a dragon.

  They dragged her into the centre of the circle and when she touched the floor, the circle glowed red. From what I read, the circle knows if the sacrifice is a dragon and if they are, the circle— if drawn correctly— would change to red.

  The girl rolled on the floor, desperately trying to move, but the leader grabbed her and picked her up by the neck of her rags. She screamed and struggled against his grip. One of the followers crashed his way back into the room and rushed over to his leader, handing him the dagger that would complete the spell. The girl stopped struggling, stared at the glinting blade, and her eyes went wide with fear as her face grew pale.

  The leader raised the blade high above the girl’s chest and she screamed for her life. As he lowered the blade, I couldn’t watch anymore, I turned my gaze towards Joren who was now staring at the girl. His eyes quickly flicked towards me for a split second and he winked. He was fine and it was time. Just before the dagger plunged into the girl’s chest, Joren turned his head to me and nodded.

  “Now!”

  Both Joren and I rushed from our places and burst through the circle of cloaked men. Gaining as much speed as I could, I ran over the magic circle and tackled their leader. He dropped the girl and the dagger before crashing to the ground. I kicked the dragger away before making sure he couldn’t get to it again. I helped the girl off the ground, placing my arm under hers, I lead her away from the room. She was so weak that I held all her weight on me. I helped the girl to a place I hoped would be safe for now and let Joren start without me.

  Smoke quickly filled the room, stopping all of them from coming after me and the girl. As we exited the room, I heard a few of the men inside scream and at that moment, I knew Joren was unleashing his power. I ran as fast as I could through the labyrinth of a building, the girl tried to keep up with me as much as she could. Each time she stumbled, I had to reassure her that if we kept going, we would be safe. When we finally made it a safe distance from the room, I stopped and let the girl rest.

  “What’s your name? I asked.

  She didn’t speak, she sat there with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her breathing was laboured and even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew she was crying. By the look of her, she seemed to be around my age, but something about her was different, almost familiar. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. A crash sounded behind us and caused us both to jump. I put my arm around her waist again and urged her to continue. We needed to move. As we stumbled around the hallways, I could feel her blubbering.

  “Aowyn.” Her voice surprised me. “My name is Aowyn.”

  “Well, Aowyn, my name is Melanie. Let’s get out—”

  Before I could finish my sentence, the wall beside us crumbled, knocking us back towards the other wall. Winded and curled on the ground, I noticed the reason why. A cloaked figure stood on top of the rubble, staring down at us from under his hood. I tried to crawl to my knees, but a piercing pain stung in my back with each movement. The man raised his hands and two small, yellow magic circles appeared in front of them and a moment later, a bolt of electricity shot through my body. I writhed amongst the rubble as my screams cut through the air.

  He continued this over and over until I was almost begging for him to stop. I fought so hard not to give up under the electric pressure being forced through my body.

  “Give us the dragon! You have already done everything we needed of you, so I have it in my mind to kill you and take her back.”

  For a moment, he dulled his electric attack and it gave me a second to pull myself off the ground. My muscles still contracted but I pushed through it until I finally stood in front of the man. By now, I was furious. My magic was back and I needed to release it. I used my anger and ignited the fire within me, creating a ball of it in my hand. With my other hand, I sent a gust of wind towards the lightning wizard, sending his hood off his head and showing me his face. He was only a few years older than me and he had the same markings as the other members. He was no different than them.

  I flicked my right hand down, sending my flames into my whip. The man’s face stayed in the same stone-cold expression. A second later, I cracked my whip and flicked the tip around his body, wrapping him up in the flaming rope. His screams allowed me to know that my magic was back up to full power as my flames burned every inch they touched. Every few seconds I turned the flames up, causing him to scream more and more, his agony was finally showing on his face. My desperation to get out of that place was showing in my magic. Before I could continue, from behind him, I could see a cloud of smoke drifting towards us and I instantly knew that Joren was close to us and ready to fight.

  10

  Smoke and Fire

  Joren’s opponents fell through the hole in the wall, knocking the lightning wizard into the rubble. Joren’s face was covered in scratches, but nothing that seemed bad enough for him to be fazed about it. His eyes were focused on his two opponents but when I noticed his hands— they were balled into fists and smoke was surrounding them. As he waited for his opponents to stand again, Joren looked at me with a strange look on his face.

  “What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to leave?” he asked.

  “We tried, she is out of energy and can barely move,” I said looking at Aowyn. “Then this brute came charging towards us.”

  Before we could continue our conversation, one of the wizards struck Joren from behind, causing him to stumble forward. As he gained his balance and raised his head, I saw pure rage in his eyes. I recognised that look from the Games. It was the same one he had before his eyes began to glow. Joren moved forward towards one of the wizards, smoke swirling around his fists and arms. His movements became swifter than before, almost like he was gliding along the ground. Almost a second after he bolted from his place, he was in front of the wizard’s face and punched him hard with his smoky fists, pummelling him over and over. Behind him, the other wizard came running with fire flickering in his hands. Without letting go of my whip, I sent a barrage of air slashes towards him, causing him to jump back away from Joren and land on a higher pile of rubble.

  The fire wizard moved his arms in a giant swe
ep across his body and a giant red magic circle appeared sending a plume of fire came crawling towards us all. Instinctively, I used my free arm to create a water shield around me and Aowyn, but it was no use. The flames cut straight through the water. Its flames were hotter than I had ever seen or made.

  My skin stung from the flames, but I continued my hold on my whip. The lightning wizard struggled against the fire rope, but it held in place. I ignited the flames around his body and as his screams echoed against the hall, his friend advanced towards me.

  “Melanie, watch out!”

  As I focused on the fire wizard in front of me, behind me, the other wizard had taken his chance to try and take Aowyn. Her fearful screams hit me hard, piercing through any noise being caused by the fighting. Using my free hand, I froze my water element and threw my icy daggers at the wizard, causing him to stop in his tracks and turn his attention on me.

  “Aowyn, run. Hide. We will come find you!”

  She pulled herself from the rubble and crawled along the ground as fast as she could. Her energy still hadn’t returned but she needed to get away from them. Her breathing was loud and staggered as she stumbled over the bricks. I created a small barrier of water between Aowyn and the wizard following her. As he hit my barrier, his face turned red and his anger boiled to the surface. Before he could attack Aowyn or me, Joren came surging towards him. When Aowyn was out of sight, I released my water barrier and sent a barrage of air slicers towards all the wizards. Their grunts alerted me that I hit my target. Dust and smoke swirled around in the air, making it hard to see. My blazing whip was still attached to the lightning wizard, so I knew he was still there and not running in the smokescreen.

  Before I could pull my rope back and bring the wizard closer to me, a light flickered in the dust and smoke. The light came towards me in a speed I couldn’t believe. It ran down the rope of my whip and it hit my hand with great power. The bolt ripped through my body, causing me to drop into the rubble. When the dust and smoke finally dissipated, I noticed the lightning wizard’s hand was gripped around the rope of my whip and his face was lit up with a devious smile. His laugh rang out as my whip retracted and my flame extinguished. The lightning wizard raised his hands and a yellow magic circle appeared above his head. A few seconds later, multiple bolts of lightning rained down and struck me with full force. Pain erupted throughout my body and my screams shattered the air. My body convulsed on the rubble as the bolts continued without any indication of stopping. I tried to move and get away from the lightning, but it was no use.

  In the middle of my screams, I could hear Joren grunting as he fought against the others. A few moments later, the lightning stopped. I opened my eyes and waited for the blur to disappear but when I saw it, I was glad. Joren was standing before me with the lightning wizard in his hands. He lifted him off the ground and sent a smoke cloud around him. The brute inhaled the smoke and wailed. His cries were urgent and almost like he was begging to be released of the torture inside him. Joren dropped him, but before he hit the ground, Joren punched him hard, causing him to fall harder. Joren turned to me and helped me from the rubble.

  “Thanks,” I said, stumbling to get my balance.

  Joren nodded to me before returning to the other wizards. We both stood still with our hands in front of us, a grey and red magic circle appearing in front of our hands. A few seconds later, we lifted our eyes to the centre of the circle and our magic power towards it, sending a plume of smoke and fire towards The Order members. Their faces turned white at the sight of our connected powers; I could almost see the fear in their eyes. The magic was doubled in power and a sight to behold; however, I had no idea how we did it.

  When the plume finally reached its target, I saw a light from underneath. A protection orb had been activated and a layer of magic energy surrounded the wizards and protected them from the smoke and fire.

  When our magic circle finally disappeared, all the energy in my body was gone. I dropped to my knees in exhaustion. I didn’t even know how I was still conscious. I could feel the empty space where my energy had left me. Joren knelt beside me and I could tell he was in the same boat as me. We were both breathing deep, trying to get our energy back, but it was no use. My vision was blurred and a pain pulsed in my head. When the dust settled in front of us, we both gasped in shock and horror. They were still standing. The protection orb stopped our magic from reaching them. They laughed and sent back their own attacks. I was too tired to dodge so their magic hit me with full force, knocking me back and sliding me against the hard rubble.

  Joren, on the other hand, dodged with ease. His quick movements shocked The Order members and by the time he was in front of the three of them, their faces were filled with fear. Their eyes were focused on Joren’s and went wide when a magic circle appeared before their eyes. I couldn’t help but wonder how he gained the energy back to move and cast a spell so fast. Hardened smoke pummelled them, causing them to fall back and away from Joren.

  By the way he held himself, I could tell he wasn’t right, something in him had snapped. When he turned back towards me, his eyes were glowing yellow and when he took a step back, his magic energy pulsed from him, sending a wave of magic energy through the hallway. Something was wrong. Something felt different from last time Joren was about to transform. He looked pained as if he was trying to resist. His face and body were struggling against the magic flowing from him.

  I needed to fight as well. I moved against the pain radiating from every inch of my body, I needed to get closer to Joren. The force from Joren’s magic pushed me back. Fighting through the intense magic, I finally reached Joren. I placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him to face me. His face was filled with pain and rage, his eyes glowing a bright yellow and he groaned as he fought.

  Before I could say anything to him, he yelled in immense pain as his muscles contracted underneath my hands. He pushed me back, knocking me to the ground again and instantly cast a giant silver magic circle appeared over his head. A thick smoke swirled around Joren’s body making it hard to breathe. His glowing eyes focused on the circle above him as he chanted something I couldn’t understand. However, I could tell it was in Drakor. It was something a lot more complicated than I read while translating. As he finished chanting, the magic circle glowed the same yellow as his eyes and a layer of smoke covered the ceiling of the hallway. Joren uttered another word in Drakor, this one I recognised... Detonate.

  As he finished the word, thousands of tiny explosions expanded through the smoke above us. The smoke was now intertwined with fire and was rapidly moving towards everything in the room. I raised my water shield and hoped it would be enough to protect me. The fiery smoke surrounded me but in the short distance, I saw another light, a silvery light that I knew was Joren again. He murmured the word again and beside us, a giant explosion erupted from the sidewall.

  Light poured in from the hole in the wall Joren had created but it didn’t clear the smoke. Although my shield protected me from the explosions, the smoke wrapped around my body. My breathing became shallow as I fought for fresh air.

  My instincts kicked in, I crawled over the new rubble towards the light coming from outside. My breathing was staggered as the smoke was overpowering my lungs. I needed clean air and I needed it now. Before I could make it to the air that was pouring in through the hole, a figure stepped in front of me. Even though my vision was bad due to the smoke, I knew it was one of The Order members trying to stop me.

  I stood on shaky legs and ignited my flames, but the instant they were there, I could tell they were weak. I was weak. I had barely any magic energy left in my body. The wizard in front of me leaned over towards my hand and with a wave of his own hand, my fire was gone. The wizard placed his hand on my arm and a tiny magic circle appeared on my skin, wrapping around my arm. A second later, my body erupted in an intense pain. I screamed and tears pooled in my eyes. I instantly knew the sensory wizard was standing before me.

  “Stop! Please, stop!”
I cried, begging for mercy.

  “Why would I stop? So you can attack me? Oh wait, you have no magic left in your body,” he paused for a moment. “I’ve wanted to do this since you arrived.”

  I could hear him laughing through my screams. When the smoke finally cleared, I could see my attacker’s full face. His markings were the same as the other members of The Order, but something seemed different with his. Underneath his marks, something red glowed lightly. When my eyes finally met his, I gasped. His eyes were bloodshot and red and the markings imprinted his eyes as well.

  My body froze in fear as he continued his onslaught of attacks on my body. I couldn’t take it anymore. The pain was horrific and I felt as though my body was going to explode. I tried to bring forth any magic I still had in my body and urged it to pool in my hands. When I felt a small heat in my palms, I forced it to ignite and for the flames to grow in a steady heat. I pressed my hands against the sensory wizard and pushed my flames onto him. A second later, his hands were gone from my skin and his screams pierced the air.

  I crawled past him and towards the sunlight and the fresh air. Again, someone’s body blocked my way but this time, it wasn’t an Order member. The sunlight covered the figure and a bright golden glow surrounded them completely. As I got closer, I realised who it was. She said something in Drakor to Joren who was continuing his rage-filled attacks on the wizards. He stopped and dropped the man he was holding to move towards her light. His glowing eyes dulled slightly as her golden glow engulfed him.

  When the glow finally lessened, Aowyn and Joren stood with fierce looks in their eyes. The two of them joined hands and two magic circles appeared and joined. Gold and silver glowed in front of them and a few moments later, they chanted in Drakor again. The circles glowed brighter as their chant finished and all three of the members were struck by a smoky light. All three of them fell back in the rubble at the same time the circles disappeared.