Adamagika: The Spirit Within - 35. Ch 35: The Fall

CHAPTER 35: The Fall

“Ho-o,” I whispered.

Jacob, still wrapped in my arms, felt for a moment tense. His head was leaning against mine just having finished and savored our kiss. His eyes were closed but they shot open immediately as though he had received a shock. “What?”

“Ho-o,” I said again somewhat confused by his reaction. “She will keep me safe, wouldn’t she?” That was oddly my first thought. My spirit, well, our spirit, had for the most part been there for me when I needed her. Although her interruptions were few and far apart, I knew they always came when needed, even if I didn’t really understand. Having been silent for most of my life, I didn’t expect her to just pop up every time I asked her to, although I was hoping she’d have a more active role in my life – particularly in making sure it wouldn’t end. Looking deep into Jacob’s eyes, he looked worried, nervous… almost wary. “Is something wrong?”

“Is she… is she speaking to you? Now?” he asked. I noticed that he ignored my question.

“Well, not right now,” I replied as I thought about it, wondering why it hadn’t occurred to me before then. “Come to think about it. I haven’t heard from her yet. Not since,” I paused recalling the time Ho-o had warned me about the mace. I was going to tell Jacob that it was the last time I’d heard from her. Yet, something about the moment made me decide otherwise. Perhaps it was the way she showed herself to me. Describing it to Jacob would only make him more worried. That was something I did not want. This was something to discuss for later, not when I was about to fly into something dangerous. “Not since awhile.”

Jacob looked intensely into my eyes, as though he was trying to find truth in my words or perhaps something more. I could tell something was bothering him. I tried to figure out his feelings but his eyes seemed guarded as though I couldn’t read him as well as I could just moments earlier.

“Do you know if she’s alright?” I asked him. “I haven’t heard from her, not that I talk to her a lot. But, I think something must have happened to her...” I stopped as Jacob suddenly planted another kiss. Quicker this time but no less sweet. Then he placed his lips against my ears and whispered shivers down my spine.

“I’m not sure if anything happened to her,” he said. “But I know she’s still here. Thank you because I know now that you will be safe. You’re right. She wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” He said it in such a matter-of-fact tone that sounded almost rehearsed, as though he had said it many times before.

I tried to free myself from his hug so I could look at him but he just held on tightly, as though his life depended on it. After a few moments, I decided to just whisper back into his ear, “but aren’t you worried about her? Have you heard from her?”

“She’s never really spoken to us that much before, right? You said so yourself. Maybe this is just her being her. Maybe that’s how spirits prefer things. Quietly being in the background.”

I had a feeling that wasn’t it. It felt like something wasn’t right. There was something I should have known or should have figured out but couldn’t put my finger on, almost as if something was keeping me from realizing, or remembering.

“You have other things to worry about, Adam,” he said as he finally released me. “You’re going on a dangerous mission. You can’t let yourself be distracted.”

“So you’re okay with this? With me going out there?”

Jacob looked like he was thinking about it. He answered carefully, “I’m not okay with it. But I think that sometimes we have to do things that aren’t okay with those we love because we know our actions to be right.”

I frowned and wondered what he meant. Was he alluding to his meeting with Lord Raezhul? Or… was he referring to something else?

“Adam,” Rye said from behind me, perhaps more sternly than I had ever heard her before. It was just one word but the meaning was clear, we had to go.

“Go,” Jacob said, offering a sad smile and a gentle push.

I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to just leave Jacob. It felt like I was missing something, something that should have been obvious. But what?

“Just be careful, okay?” Jacob said again, this time pushing a little harder. “Come back to me.”

I nodded, uncertain if I was overanalyzing things. Regardless, Jacob was right. That was not the time to be thinking of other problems, if there were indeed any. I had more important things to worry about – like surviving till the night. “Okay, I’ll come back to you.” I nodded and gave him one more kiss. He smiled and watched me walk away. Rye turned towards the Armory as soon as I walked towards her, leaving me to jog in order to catch up.

As I reached the Armory doors, I turned to Jacob hoping to give him one last reassuring smile but he was gone, almost like he vanished into the air.

* * * * * * * * * *

I was both disappointed and bothered by Jacob’s rather unusual behavior. However, I couldn’t dwell on it too much because apparently another person was undergoing strange behavior changes that very moment. Rye who was walking beside me, rather briskly if might add, seemed awfully quiet, almost to the point of ignoring the fact that I was walking right next to her.

“Is something wrong, Rye?”

She looked over and her eyes said that something was clearly wrong. “It’s nothing,” she said as she shook her head and looked ahead again.

“Is it because of me and Jacob?”

She stopped walking and stared me down, her arms folded against her chest. “You know Brian is my twin right? I love him more than anything or anyone in the world. It’s clear to me that he’s fallen head over heels for you. He’s been taking good care of you and you’re certainly not reciprocating at all.”

I didn’t like how that sounded. It sounded wrong, to say the least. Reciprocating can mean A LOT of different things. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked as she started walking again as though she was trying to leave me behind.

“Have you even given him a chance?” she asked in an annoyed tone.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked as we walked past people in the hallway. “I love Brian but not in the same way I love Jacob. Brian is more of a big brother for me. And Jacob is... something else.”

“Whatever,” she said, “just know that you’re hurting him with what you’re doing.”

Guilt washed over me. I knew what she meant. I saw it in Brian’s eyes. I could almost feel the pain he was going through seeing me yet not being able to touch me in that way, knowing what he wanted most in the world was right there within an arm’s reach yet unable to do anything. What was I supposed to do? “I know,” I whispered softly.

“You haven’t seen him at home,” she half-shouted, as though I was arguing with her. “He’s been different since he met you. First, he’s been so happy and all he could talk about was Adam this and Adam that but now, NOW he’s been quiet and depressed. He watches you sometimes, you and that Jacob boy whenever you’re together and I can see in his eyes how unhappy he is.” The way she referred to Jacob was slightly distasteful as though she would rather not have said it. Certainly, this was a side of Rye I hadn’t endured before. I knew she could be passionate from the few times I’ve seen her in a similar mood. But having that passion directed towards me in a negative way was intimidating. Unfortunately, it put me on the defensive.

“Watching me? That sounds creepy.”

Rye grabbed me by my shirt and pushed me roughly against the wall pinning me against it. She pointed a finger at me with her other hand, the tip bristling with magic. “You...” she said but she suddenly hesitated as though she wasn’t sure what she was going to say next.

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked. Just moments ago, she had seemed fine. Days before, she was also so friendly and helpful but now it seemed like she went through a complete personality change.

She stared me at me with her finger still pointed at my face. Several people passed by us with curious looks, but also seemed to hurry along as though they didn’t want to get involved. After a brief moment, she lowered her hands and let me go. “You’re gryphon’s in there,” she said with a nod of her head towards double doors at the end of the hall. Before I could say anything, she started walking down the hall where we came from and disappeared in the steadily growing number of people headed my way. Instead of going after her, I decided to just go to where I needed to be. I didn’t want to deal with her emotions. I had enough of my own to deal with!

I walked down the hallway towards the double doors. They looked exactly the same as the ones we had for the Struthius Squad aviary. I went through with the others who were headed the same way. When I entered, the area was busy with people. I immediately noticed what I had forgotten.

I slapped my hand against my hair to check if by some sheer chance that the thing I forgot was there. As expected though, there was nothing.

“You forgot this,” said a familiar voice.

“Stanley,” I said as I noticed the boy walking towards me amidst the other Aeros and apprentices running around. He was carrying a light Aerophalanx helmet in his hands. “How did you know?”

“What did I say about calling me Stan, sir,” he said with a cheeky reference to my use of his full name.

“Okay, point taken,” I laughed. “But really, how did you know?”

“Magister Aenhol told me that you might forget,” he said with a smile. He seemed genuinely happy to see me, and certainly a lot more comfortable when Jacob wasn’t around. “Said you’d have a lot of things on your mind today.”

“Yes, I did and thank you,” I said as I took the helmet from him, not forgetting the tiny detail that again Magister Aenhol seemed to know me so well. “Do you know where Aida is?”

“Yes, I do. She’s right this way and ready to go,” he said as he led me past several other Aeros and their gryphons. I hardly recognized any of them. Most of them were clearly much older. Except perhaps for Stan, I could easily be the youngest person in the whole room. Most were also wearing blue robes with a few scattered people in green. I was the only one in maroon as far as I could tell.

“You’re really efficient, aren’t you?” I asked him.

“I try to be…” he said. “We’ve been training to be apprentices for years. So we know all facets of it from battle preparations to smithing and repairs to keeping schedules and everything. We were raised to excel and be efficient. Well, at least in my family anyway.”

“Is that how all apprentices are like?” I asked.

Stan smiled. “Nope. It’s just something I’ve wanted to do since I was younger. A lot from my family became apprentices. My uncle is even the apprentice of our own High Mage Lord Khael. That’s a very prestigious position in our city.”

“What exactly is the relationship between a mage and an apprentice?” I asked only appreciating then how much work and training they probably did. Having had Jacob as my only apprentice, I never really thought about it much. I knew he had his own training while we trained (unless he was watching) but for the most part, he didn’t have a chance to actually put his training into practice. Besides, our relationship was always as equals. I didn’t know where I stood with Stan.

He looked like he was trying to decide something. “That depends on the mage in question. Some mages treat apprentices as servants, some as friends, and others become life partners.” He was now looking intently at me as he waited for me to say something.

“I think friends sounds good,” I said.

Stan smiled widely. “I think friends sounds good too.”

Before I realized it, Stan had expertly maneuvered me in front of the stall where Aida was. I would have walked past her if she didn’t suddenly squawked to get my attention. She happily rubbed her beak against my face. It was rather uncomfortable but I didn’t really mind. She started moving her head around my robes as though looking for something.

“Here,” Stan said. I turned to him and saw him holding two of the favored gryphon treats.

“Thank you,” I said as I took the two rat-like pieces of meat and gave one to Aida. She swallowed it whole. “Don’t they feed you enough?” I asked with a laugh.

“Actually, I make sure she’s fed every day,” Stan said. “Twice to be exact. The Armory provides provisions but they just need apprentices to take care of the feeding aspect of those gryphons who have already been bonded.”

“Thanks again,” I said to him with a wide smile. I got a wide smile back. It was while I was looking at him that I noticed the stall next to me. There was a familiar gryphon and rider there but neither seemed to have noticed me. Or if they did, they decided to ignore my presence which would have been disappointing.

“Brian!” I said as cheerfully as I could manage. He looked up, smiled and nodded. He then went back to patting Anny’s beak. I turned to Aida and patted her on the beak. “I’ll be right back ok?”

Aida nodded as though she understood what was happening. She released an encouraging rawk into the air.

“Feed her this, will you? And can you hold onto this for awhile?” I asked Stan as I handed him the rat treat and helmet he had given me just moments earlier. I then moved on to the next stall where Brian was. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“I’m good. Thanks,” he said with a smile. He then quickly looked back to his gryphon.

“I wanted to talk about what happened,” I said. “Last time I saw you…”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” he chuckled. Somehow, it sounded forced though. “I’m fine, Adam. I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Me?” I asked tentatively.

Anny squawked and I had the distinct feeling she was saying oh yes, absolutely, he wouldn’t shut up about you.

“Who’s side are you on?” Brian asked with a laugh. I thought he was asking me until Anny squawked again. “Okay, fine,” Brian said as he released a heavy sigh. He then turned to me. He wasn’t smiling though and his eyes looked really sad. “Yeah, I guess.”

I nodded. “Care to elaborate?”

“I love you, Adam,” he said heavily. “Ever since I saw you that first day, I knew I loved you. I wanted to be with you. I wanted to hold you. I wanted to make love to you. And I know I can’t because you don’t love me.”

“Oh.” I looked at him completely surprised by all he had just said. I mean I knew it somehow perhaps with the talent or gift I seemed to have with reading people. Yet, hearing it out loud like that was still surprising.

“Is that all you can say, oh?” he asked sounding disappointed.

“Brian, I thought we had discussed this. I love you but not in that way.”

“Well, that way isn’t enough for me,” he said. “I thought that... with more time you could eventually end up feeling the same way for me. And then Rye drops this little prophecy detail on me then I’m no longer sure if there will be enough time for that to happen.”

“You’re waiting for me to fall in love with you?” I asked softly.

“Yes,” he said just as softly. “I’d wait forever if I had to.”

“Brian, you have to...”

“Please don’t,” he interrupted. “Don’t say stop loving you because it hurts to think that way and much more to hear it. I’ve tried. Trust me, I’ve tried but I just can’t right now.” He looked back to Anny and stroked her beak again. His eyes were glistening.

I wanted to say something more but someone had suddenly shouted over the noise calling for everyone’s attention. Everyone turned to the man speaking and I realized that I recognized that voice. It was the same one that had been giving us instructions during the aerial drills two days ago.

“Gentlemen and ladies,” he said. I looked around and noticed that there were a few women scattered around. I also noticed that all the apprentices had grouped up on the edges of the room’s different hallways. “We all know why we’re here. Our city is facing a threat that seeks to wipe out our kind. The Mage Council has declared a state of war yesterday. People like Dominic Barstow would have us flee the city as though any other city could better protect them from the coming threat.

“Lucas Brawstow’s dad?” I asked Brian.

He looked reluctant to answer but nonetheless seemed glad in the distraction. I could almost see the wheels turning in Brian’s head locking away the emotions and going into Squad Leader-mode. “Yeah, he was trying to get the Mage Council to come up with a peace treaty with the humans. If that failed, he recommended moving the population to the larger cities.”

“...a tenth of our population has already fled” I heard the man speaking to everyone say. “And more will be leaving as this army comes closer to us. With each mage that leaves, our defenses become weaker. The crystals that defend our city thrive on the magic we pour into it. Without mages to sustain them, our walls will fall. It is up to us then to strike a decisive blow against our enemies. You all know what to do. We may not all come out of this unscathed. But I want all of you to come home. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” was responded loudly to him by each person there.

“Good. We ride out in five minutes. You have your assignments. Get to it.”

As he said that, everyone hurried back to their stalls and the apprentices rejoined their charges.

“What’s my assignment?” I asked Brian realizing then that just like the aerial drills, I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

“You’re assigned with me,” he said. “It’s just like our aerial drills. You’ll be on defense while I focus on offensive spells.”

“ And with me,” came another deep voice.

“Ivan!”

“Yes, boy,” he said again, almost proudly. “It seems that fate would have us assigned together again.”

“Fate,” I said under my breath. Did fate really have any hand in this? Or was it just coincidence? No, not coincidence. I stopped believing in that awhile back. But to think that some unknown force was overhead, controlling all our moves was disturbing. It made our choice seem trivial, as though the outcome was already determined or at the very least foreseen. I didn’t like that, not with what I’ve been told of the future.

“What was that?” Ivan asked.

“Nothing. It’s good to see you again. Does that mean I’ll be shielding again while you two do the attacking?”

“Yes,” Brian said with his usual strong voice. It seemed like he was almost back to normal. Almost. “Just follow us where we fly. Aida knows the formations we will use so just make sure you don’t fall off her.” Ivan said goodbye and told us he would meet us outside. He headed down the hall towards his gryphon. Brian took my arm before I could mount Aida. “Adam, be careful out there, okay? This isn’t like the practice we had. These people will kill you on sight.”

“I know,” I said with a nod. I made a move to get out of his grip but he held on tightly. I looked back at me.

“And please,” he said with cocky smile that came out of nowhere, “don’t die.”

Instead of returning a smile, I looked seriously at him. “I won’t. I promise.”

He seemed surprised at first. Then, he nodded and let go. He walked to Anny’s side and mounted her. With a swift stretch of her wings she was airborne and headed out. Several other gryphons were also now flying and making their way out to the walls that were on a constant state of dissipating and reforming.

I stood there. I wondered how many more times I had to make that promise to the people I loved. I also wondered if I was going to be able to keep it.

“Good luck, Adam,” Stan said, which shook me out of my thoughts. He was handing me my helmet.

“Thanks. I think I’ll need it.” I placed the helmet over my head and heard a momentary humming sound. Then it disappeared and became a clear voice who was giving out instructions. He was telling different squads to form up high over the Brallic forest away from prying eyes in the city.

I mounted Aida who was lying down on the floor. As soon as I was on her back, she stood up again and stretched her wings. Within moments, we were flying out towards the night sky. Although there were no clouds anywhere near the city, there was only minimal light from the moon, which was already disappearing as the darkness came closer to giving way to daylight. It was only a slight curve in the sky and was not fully visible.

A gryphon rider in black waved at me as I flew past him leaving the city behind. I wondered if I knew him personally or was just waving in general to anyone who would notice.

“Adam, come in,” I heard Brian say.

“I can hear you, Brian.”

“Good, are you airborne yet?”

“Yes. I’m making my way over the forest now. I hope Aida knows where to go.” Aida squawked indignantly.

“I can see him,” I heard Ivan say. True enough we were only a short distance from one another. Soon I was flying above and between Ivan and Brian. I looked around and noticed that everyone else was in the same formation. I looked back towards the city and noticed the last few of us trickling towards the forest. I could also see dark shadows move over the city which I knew to be the Nyraids, the gryphon riders in black, there to defend the city at night.

“Just give us that magnificent shield of yours when we call for it and we should be fine,” Ivan said. “And Brian, don’t fly too low, we don’t know how the concentration of those tanks will affect our magic.”

“Okay,” Brian said. “We’ll try as much as possible to hit them from high above. We need to take out as many of them before they have any chance to recover. We also need to make sure that none of them get near the obelisks. Without those being powered, their entire army, despite their large numbers would be vulnerable.”

“Why are we bringing only a hundred?” I asked.

“One hundred and one now that you’re here,” Ivan said. “Aero Leader Michael was supposed to fly solo and give instructions from above. Now he has a defender, the one who was supposed to be assigned to us. But as for your question, we didn’t want to use up the entire Guard in case something went wrong. We also figured, a smaller group is less likely to be detected not that our weather and protective spells wouldn’t do that for a larger group anyway. But a huge storm cloud moving is just more of a dead giveaway.”

The gryphons at the front section started moving and soon we were flying in formation. We were high in the sky where the clouds were, probably for the cover they provided. This far from the city, the clouds were substantial. It was also freakishly cold.

“What did you mean by weather spells?” I asked. My voice shook in the coldness of the wind.

“Adam, use a little magic to keep yourself warm,” Brian said. I felt stupid for not thinking of that.

“We have a few here that excel at weather manipulation, a subset of wind magic,” Brian said. “Myself included. Wind magic is my specialty.” As he said that, I noticed that cloud almost seemed to form beneath his gryphon only to dissipate again as he move farther and farther away. “We’ll create cloud covers ahead of us as we progress. If we’re lucky that will keep anyone looking up from seeing us.”

The gryphons shifted to the side slightly as the entire group changed direction.

“How long do you think it’s going to take to get there?” I asked.

“At this rate, we could be there within thirty to forty minutes,” Brian said.

“They’re that close to us?”

“You’re forgetting Adam that while they have tanks, we have gryphons,” Ivan said. “Gryphons can travel amazing distances in short amounts of time. And with the spells we use to minimize air resistance around them, they can go even further faster.”

“Adam, try to focus your shields downwards,” Brian said. “They don’t have anything that can fly or at least they shouldn’t. That means that all the attacks will be coming from beneath us.

“I’ve read about these tanks,” I told him through the helmet. “Are they exactly like what’s described in the history books?”

I remembered reading long ago (those days in the library seemed so long ago!) a record of the Old Civilization prior to The Great Discover. It was said that the scientists that had built the machine that opened a gate into another world (whether intentionally or not) also had access to an immense amount of technology that gave them the ability to perform wondrous things without magic. It was said that we could once built metal machines that flew and transported large numbers of people over a great distance in a short amount of time. It was said that we could build cities far greater than Arantiva and create methods of transportation that could swiftly bring you from one end to the next effortlessly. It was even rumored that we were capable of sending people high into the skies where the stars dwelled!

However, The Great Discovery had caused the loss of all that knowledge, at least how it worked and how to recreate it. It was said that the machine that changed our world drained all the energy on our world plunging everything into darkness and chaos. Entire nations were paralyzed unaware of what was happening. Disputes rose and people began fighting each other, blaming one another for what happened. People back then were so busy finding someone to blame that they didn’t realize that a new threat had risen from the crater where the machine was once held. Unspeakable evils began appearing everywhere, spreading to every corner of the world slowly wiping out the human race.

It is believed that by the time the Demon Lord known as Warlord Shekkek was defeated, the number of humans were only in the millions. And with the loss of lives came the loss of knowledge.

I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Not all the things I read about technology were good things. One of these evils as I thought of them was this so called tank that was once used for war, capable razing entire cities. It had been used in the Siege of 2266 where thousands were destroyed even in the many cities that had fallen under the wrath of magic. Apparently, they didn’t learn their lesson then. Or perhaps they did… I hope they didn’t rediscover some of the other more terrible things written in the ancient records. Some accounts were so frightening that they couldn’t possibly have been real. I mean who in their right minds would invent a device that could wipe out an entire city and more within seconds?

No, perhaps technology was best left forgotten.

I think that’s why mages and non-mages could never get along. Mages could use magic to get the conveniences that technology once provided. And since the energies generated by magic seemed to nullify the electricity needed for technology, these two were incapable of existing in the same spot, the two sides became more distant, emotionally and physically. One side insisted on using magic while the other insisted on relying on technology. It was a relationship possible only with severe compromises and thus was doomed to fail.

Somewhere along the line, the hatred of mages grew almost to a belief among non-mages. Magic casters were then viewed as an entirely new breed, below human, possessed and consumed by evil spirits that granted evil powers. Hundreds of years were marked with increasing tension between those that were able to wield magic and those who advocated technology, and the fragile alliance forged during the Demon Wars was forgotten.

And it seemed that the tension was once again reaching new heights.

“Our sources say they’ve reconstructed an army of tanks,” he replied. “I don’t think they would be quite as menacing as the records shown in our history books. Perhaps the accounts are more exaggerated than we thought. We do know they have what they call guns. Or was it called muskets? I’m not so sure myself. They’re capable of propelling tiny bits of metal at extremely high speeds which can kill or injure an unprotected mage. They’re virtually useless against mage shields though. However, the tanks are something else. With enough numbers, they could overwhelmed mage shields. They’re mounted by some kind of cannon that fires explosives that can equal a powerful fireball. Either way, we have to be prepared to come against some resistance especially when they become aware of our arrival.”

“You have sources amongst the non-mages?” I asked.

I saw him look towards my direction from his position below. “Had. We lost contact with him as soon as he transmitted the departure date of their army. All the other intelligence we’ve gathered are based on aerial observations. Our scouts can’t get too close in case the tanks are generating some kind of electric field that interferes with magic. It will put our scouts at risk. Besides, we don’t want them to know that we know they are coming.”

“They’re moving an entire army, Brian,” Ivan said. “They would be foolish to think that no one would notice them moving around in mage territory.”

“Either way,” Brian said in a somewhat annoyed tone. “We don’t want them to know that we’re coming for them now.”

“What if they already know?”

This time, both Brian and Ivan looked over at me.

“What do you mean? Do you know something?” Ivan asked.

Sure, my love just told me that he thinks something terrible is about to happen to us and we’re probably not going to come back alive. I certainly wanted to tell him that. “No,” I replied.

“Are you sure?” Brian asked. I could hear the frown in his voice.

I shook my head. “Jacob thinks this is a bad idea.”

“Ahh, is this the Jacob I’ve heard so much about?” Ivan asked. Brian looked over at him and I was sure he was glaring. “Perhaps he’s just concerned for you,” Ivan continued.

“It’s more than that,” I said. I decided to take the plunge. Somehow I knew something very important was about to happen. “I think he has some capacity to sense the future. He can sometimes know when something terrible is about to happen before it does.”

“A human seer?” Ivan asked. “Perhaps the first I’ve heard of in decades.”

“And you trust this? Him?” Brian asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked in return.

Brian looked over at me and this time I was sure he was glaring.

“We believe our circle has been compromised,” Ivan interrupted. “We think they have a spy among us.”

“And you think it’s Jacob?” I asked in shock.

“I didn’t say that,” Brian said defensively.

“Do you think Jacob might be right?” Ivan interrupted.

I was momentarily caught off guard by the question since I didn’t expect either of them to agree so easily. But when I realized that I was supposed to answer, I did. “I think so. I don’t have any reason to believe he would lie to me about this.” As soon as I said it, I suddenly remembered the few instances that Jacob had lied to me. I shoved the thoughts out of my head though. Those situations were different and had absolutely nothing to do with what was happening then.

“Perhaps, we should inform the commander of this,” Ivan said.

“You want to inform him about this?” Brian asked as though the idea was preposterous. “You’re going to trust Jacob too?”

“Hey, I trust him and so should you,” I said. Again as soon as I said it, I had a nagging feeling in the back of my head that asked if I really did trust him. I knew he was keeping secrets from me. But was that enough to make me stop trusting him?

Brian and Ivan suddenly became silent but they were still looking at one another. It made me think that they were now having a private conversation, excluding me.

“Hey, I’m right here. Whatever you have to say, I’m sure I have the right to hear it.”

“I don’t trust, Jacob,” Brian said frankly.

“You just don’t like him because I do,” I protested.

“Regardless of what you two may feel about this Jacob person,” Ivan interrupted, “if Adam thinks that his warning is valid and relevant then we should inform the commander. The council has sent Adam here as both fighter and counsel. If he thinks we should inform the commander, then we should.”

“Counsel?” I asked in surprise.

“We were given order to take into consideration any input you might have regarding this attack.” He looked over at Brian as though daring him to object.

“Magister Aenhol has managed to convince the council that you would provide some kind of critical insight at the right moment,” Brian said. “How he knew that, we have no idea. He just seems to know things.”

“Perhaps this is the critical insight he spoke of,” Ivan said as though pondering the possibility.

“That was Jacob’s insight, not Adam’s,” Brian argued weakly.

“Will you stop blinding yourself,” Ivan yelled. “I know you’re in love with Adam but it’s clear he’s chosen Jacob so get over yourself for all our sakes.”

I couldn’t be too sure but I could have sworn that Brian paled under his helmet. “Fine! If you want to inform the commander of this then be my guest.” He then looked ahead as though the conversation was over and he had settled to ignoring us.

“Adam,” Ivan said, “what do you say?”

I looked over at him. “I think we should inform him.”

Ivan nodded and I could see his mouth moving. However, I could not hear him which meant he must be speaking to someone else. After a few minutes, a well built man on a rather heavily armored gryphon fell back from the front and slowly took his place near us. He was the same man who gave the speech earlier in the aviary.

“What do you have to report, Recruit Adam?” he said in a deep serious voice. “What is this about a warning?”

“Sir, I have a friend back in the city. He warned me about… a feeling he had of something terrible about to happen. He thinks something bad will happen in this mission.”

“You brought me here to discuss your friend’s feelings?” he asked in a gruff tone. Brian looked over as though to say I told you so.

“Sir, it’s more than that,” Ivan interrupted. “Adam believes that his friend may have powers of divination. This kind of feeling has occurred more than once in his life and they seem to have proven themselves accurate.”

In truth, I only know of one other instance that Jacob had this kind of feeling but I didn’t feel the need to point that out then.

“You know very well how unreliable divination is as a branch of magic, Aero Ivan,” the commander said. I looked into his eyes and I could see a sense of annoyance and disbelief running over them. I somehow knew that it had something to do with me though I couldn’t understand why.

“And yet, we put so much trust in the words of the Seer,” Ivan rebutted, putting such emphasis on the word seer that I knew he was referring to the one that dwelled in the Hallean Mountains.

“Because she is the Seer,” the commander said. “She has guided our kind for centuries. We have no reason to doubt her words.”

“But what if his friend is right, sir?” Ivan asked respectfully. “Remember what the council instructed regarding Adam.”

The commander grunted as though he did indeed remember and found the memory quite distressing. “I will take your advice under consideration. Let me tell you this though. Unless I have more proof of something foul happening here, we will proceed as planned. I cannot call off an entire mission based on one person’s feelings. If there is nothing else, I must get back to the front.” Without even waiting for a reply he broke away from us and disappeared to the front of the pack.

“I told you that was a bad idea,” Brian said.

“The fool doesn’t know how to see a real warning when it’s staring him right at the face,” Ivan grudgingly declared.

Brian frowned at him and once again looked away. “They will be within sight soon,” he said.

It was then that I suddenly felt something odd. It was familiar and yet something I had not felt for quite awhile. A tingling sensation was making its way across my skin. I haven’t felt it since that day I last went into the village with Magister Aenhol.

“Can you feel that?” I asked. Without meaning to, I had accidentally spoken to everyone around me. At least, I think I did because every face was suddenly on me.

“Feel what?” Ivan asked.

“Get off this channel,” I heard the commander yell.

“It’s a stinging sensation on my skin,” I said as I once again focused my thoughts on communicating with Ivan and Brian. “I haven’t felt it in quite awhile but I know it. I felt it the last time I went into the village and faced those black obelisks.” My eyes widened as I realized the implications. “It means they’re powering up.”

“Impossible,” Ivan said. “At this height and this darkness, they can’t possibly see us. And their tanks cannot possibly be generating enough energy to be felt at this height.”

I shook my head. “I’m sure. I can feel it and it’s even stronger than when I last felt it. Can’t you feel it?”

“No,” Ivan replied.

“What are you feeling, Adam?” Brian asked. The urgency in my voice must have caught his attention.

“I told you. It’s a stinging sensation. I felt it before just as those things were powering up. Soon they will be at full power and they will negate all magic in the area.”

“But they’ve never powered it up before,” Ivan said. “Why now?”

“They must know we’re here,” Brian said voicing the same explanation that came to my head.

“If they know we’re coming then we’re flying into a death trap,” Ivan cursed.

Brian looked over at me as though wondering if I was being honest.

“It’s the truth, Brian,” I said. “I wouldn’t play with people’s lives haphazardly.”

I looked into his eyes and I could see the distinct impression that whatever I would say, he would have believed me anyway. He nodded and began speaking. “Commander, we have a development. They know we’re coming.”

“What nonsense is this?” the commander asked. It became clear to me that Brian spoke to more than just the commander as faces were now looking curiously at us.

“They know we’re coming, sir,” Brian replied. “The obelisks are powering up.”

“Let me guess. Adam said so,” the commander replied. I could just imagine the frown on his face as he said those words.

“If you don’t believe him, then believe me,” Brian said. After a pause, he added, “sir.”

There was suddenly silence in all communication and I wondered if they were speaking privately. After a moment though the commander spoke up again. “Attention all flyers. We have reason to believe that our presence has been made known to our enemies. Initiate Plan Riviera.”

“What’s Plan Riviera?” I asked Brian and Ivan. As though in response, Aida suddenly swerved to the right and I saw our one large group disperse into three.

“It means we’re switching to arcane magic,” Ivan responded. “My specialty,” he said with a laugh.

“We’re focusing all our energies into the obelisks,” Brian explained further. “Initially the plan was to take out the tanks surrounding the area first to make sure they can’t get it powered. We wanted to take out the army while it was unprepared. Now though, we’re swooping in, taking out the obelisks and flying back. If they know we’re here, there’s no telling how well our shields will hold against their weapons at full force.” At this point, he took out his mace but didn’t expand it. I saw everyone else do the same. I, however, kept my mace in its sheath knowing it was useless.

I looked down below us and I could see them now through the small patches in the clouds. In the dim moonlight, I could see hundreds on tanks in formation all facing towards the direction we came from. The obelisks themselves were bathed in light as several spotlights were pointing towards them.

“Something’s not right,” Brian said.

“They’re lighting up the obelisks,” Ivan said. “Everything else is in darkness. Why would they do that?”

“Brian look!” I yelled unnecessarily as hundreds of small little lights flickered for less than a second across the darkness below.

“Shields!” the commander yelled. Instinctively I raised my shields to protect us. A few seconds later, I heard the deafening sounds of hundreds of explosions rocking the world around us. Bright lights and dark clouds surrounded us as the waves of energy seemed to spread everywhere. Either some of us didn’t get shields up quickly enough or simply didn’t create shields strong enough, but a few of us were suddenly swatted out of the air as rippling explosions of heat expanded. Both man and gryphon fell limply to the ground.

“Damn them,” the commander yelled. “Get in there now and take those obelisks out.”

Our group lunged downwards as did the other two groups. It seemed like we were going after the rightmost obelisk. Dozens of little lights lit up around me as maces expanded and came to life.

“Keep that shield up, Adam,” Brian yelled as we plunged into the night. Another wave of flickering lights came from the ground below and I knew that another wave of whatever they hit us with earlier was coming. I willed the strongest shield I could to protect us.

The explosions that rocked the sky around us seemed even stronger than earlier and I could feel shields strain and shimmer out. A few more gryphon riders fell from the sky. Another wave came almost picking us off one by one. From our group that split to the right, there was probably a little over half left. I had no idea though what the statuses of the other two groups were. Fortunately my shields held so everyone around me was still protected. Those on the outside though were no more.

We came closer and closer when I heard massive metallic sounds as though pieces were clicking into place.

“We’re too late,” I whispered just before what was left of our group threw several arcane bolts towards the tank that supported the obelisk. Where there should have been over twenty arcane bolts, there were maybe a little over ten.

As our gryphons changed direction midflight to fly back into the sky, I saw the arcane bolts flying crazily through the air illuminating the night and the metal machines beneath them. They looked even more frightening than the pictures on the books. The tanks were made completely of metal and had a high pointed cannon mounted on top that could either be pointed forward or up to the sky in an arc. Men were perched on each of the tanks, some manning the cannon, some holding cylindrical tubes against their eyes and looking up at the sky, their eyes were glowing eerie green orbs that reminded me of Lord Raezhul. It seemed that despite the darkness and clouds, they could see us quite clearly.

The arcane bolts changed direction as they flew and soon were flying towards the obelisk instead of the tank that supported it. I figured that was alright since it would destroy it anyway but as the arcane bolts smashed into the obelisks the large black rocks shimmered and grew brighter. It absorbed the arcane energies into it and soon there were no more arcane bolts left flying in the air.

The obelisk remained unharmed.

“What the hell just happened?” Ivan yelled.

“The obelisks have powered up,” I said. “It’s absorbing magic now. Whatever we throw at it, it will merely absorb.”

“Commander, what do we do?” I heard an unfamiliar voice ask. “The arcane bolts aren’t having any effect. We’re flying up to…” his voice was suddenly cut off by a loud explosion. Even from our place, we could see something explode at the distance.

“We should retreat,” another unfamiliar voice suggested.

“We haven’t received that order from the commander,” someone yelled. “Stay on course!”

“Incoming!” Ivan yelled as another wave of lights seemed to flicker below us. “Shields!” he yelled.

I felt several shields shimmer below us as even those on the offensive aided to defend what was left of our group.

Even with our combined efforts though, they didn’t seem to hold against the hundreds of explosions that almost seemed perfectly aimed at us. Some of the things they were throwing at us got through and I felt even my shield give way at last. I felt a sense of dread as I watched a dark object hurling into the air straight at me, almost in slow motion.

“Aida,” I managed to say hoping to get her to move out of the way since my shields were destroyed. I knew I couldn’t raise another shield in time and I didn’t feel Jacob’s presence within me to create another shield like he did before.

A pair of wings blocked my view of the approaching object. I wasn’t Aida’s wings though but they belonged to another familiar gryphon. I saw her rider look at me intently in anguish before the dark object smashed straight into his gryphon’s chest. The shell or whatever it was exploded and blood and feathers flew everywhere. The rider closed his eyes as he was forcibly thrown off the dismembered gryphon falling silently down and away from me.

“Brian! Nooooo!” I yelled as I felt a sudden pang of pain and loss course through me.

“Stay with the others!” Ivan yelled to me as he himself did the opposite. He broke off from us and surged down after the fallen gryphon rider.

What’s happening? I heard Jacob ask.

Jacob… I said as tears fell down my cheeks.

Adam, is that you?! I heard Jacob yell. I can’t believe I can hear you from here. Are you alright? I could feel you in pain.

As he spoke those words, I suddenly felt anger surge through me. Give me your power, I told him.

What? He asked in a surprised voice.

Give me your power, Jacob, I said again, as much of it as you can give. I need it.

Why? He asked which annoyed me at that moment. Remember what Ho-o said. Our combined magic will burn any single individual up. It’s dangerous. You could die.

“Give it to me now or we will all die!” I yelled out loud. I knew the others heard me because those who were left of us flying overhead looked towards me. They all seemed so lost. They weren’t panicking or anything. Years of training must have done that. But with no direction, our covert operation was quickly failing. A hundred gryphons were no match to three thousands tanks without the element of surprise. Give it to me now, Jacob, before it’s too late.

Without another word, I could suddenly feel more power course through me. I felt a momentary surprise that it worked but the sudden explosions around us seemed to return my thoughts to what was happening. “Get as far away from here as you can,” I told the others. The one closest to me who I knew had some kind of rank looked like he was about to protest. “Now!”

I turned from them and before I could even tell Aida to fly down and attack, she plunged as though sensing my thoughts. She obeyed without the slightest hesitation or fear.

I could feel a painful sensation across my skin. It wasn’t the same stinging sensation I felt from the obelisks. I knew that this pain was coming from within me as though my skin was slowly being cooked. I ignored it though as we flew down closer and closer to the obelisks. A wave of lights shimmered from the ground as more black objects were hurled towards me. There were only maybe a dozen lights that flickered so I figured they did not see one gryphon as a threat.

I formed my shield in front of me and the black objects exploded against them. The shield didn’t even flicker. I could, however, feel the energy in it slowly ebbing away as though it was being drained to another source.

“Brian,” I said under my breath. “For Brian!” I yelled as my right hand was suddenly covered in orange flames. It expanded massively in my hand almost large enough to burn Aida’s entire right side. I briefly wondered how it wasn’t doing just that at the moment.

I flew down closer and closer to the obelisk such that I could clearly see the etchings on the black stone. I paid no attention to them though as I flew within striking distance. I could see the faces of the surprised humans holding long metal weapons as I flew over them straight towards the obelisk.

Little streaks of fire flew from the massive fireball in my hand. They expanded out and exploded wherever they touched throwing people and entire tanks into the air away from the point of impact.

Adam… I heard Jacob say, his voice sounded very tired.

Aida swerved away as I released the massive fireball from my hand. It headed straight for the tank beneath the obelisks and smashed against its surface before it could be redirected by the obelisk’s aura. For a moment, it looked like nothing was going to happen other than a side of the massive fortress being covered in flames. Suddenly, the fire expanded outwards and a massive explosion rocked the area right where we were flying moments ago, swallowing dozens, maybe hundreds of tanks in the inferno. Even from the considerable height that Aida managed to bring us to, I could feel the heat from the explosion. The bright fire lit up the sky behind us as we fly away into the red-stained sky.

I felt severely exhausted as I felt the magic draining out of me. I suddenly felt every bit of pain that moments ago seemed to be just slight sensations. I looked at my skin and it looked almost melted as though I had been bathed in fire. The hairs were burned off and every bit of the surface seemed like raw skin was exposed. I yelled out in anguish as I felt all the pain take over.

Adam! What’s happening? Jacob was yelling in my head. Speak to me!

I released ragged breaths as I attempted to not touch any surface on Aida. I even tried to maintain a space between my skin and clothes as it felt painful wearing them. She seemed to understand the predicament I was in as she slowed down the beat of her wings. Aida was slowly taking me back to the city. Jacob kept yelling and asking what was happening that it was hurting my head and keeping me from focusing on making the pain go away. I tried to block his voice out and after a moment, he became quiet.

In the silence, my thoughts rushed from one to another. In the haze of the pain, I tried to remember and at the same time forget. The image of what happened came back like an angry flood, both welcomed and hated. All the deaths we received, all the deaths I had caused, all the destruction… and I didn’t even know if we had succeeded.

And Brian. Brian who flew in front of me to save me from death when it should have been me defending him from harm. Brian who looked at me last before his eyes closed, never to open again. He had died because of me.

I cried. Despite the intense pain my salty tears caused across my scarred cheeks, I cried. I knew I deserved the pain. I shook as the realization of what I had done came over me. I had just killed hundreds of people. Worse, I had just killed Brian Knightly.