Adamagika: The Spirit Within - 38. Ch 38: Deception

CHAPTER 38: Deception

“Do you know even where you’re going?” an irate Marcus asked as we walked down another corridor… or perhaps the same corridor the third time around.

“Yeah, of course I do,” I said. I tried to keep my voice calm, even though I was nervous. I was trying to find my way back to that place Brian brought me to and it was taking a lot longer to get there without him. It’s been nearly twice as long as the time it took just the two of us to get there.

“If you tell us where you want to go, maybe we can tell you where it is,” Javier offered. He sounded like he genuinely wanted to help but I knew even his patience was wearing thin. We had been walking along windowless corridors of the lower levels in the Administrative Tower for quite some time. The place was steadily growing colder despite the torches lighting the path.

“There,” I said as relief washed over me. I pointed towards a section where familiar looking corridors intersected to a seemingly plain and empty wall.

“What are we doing here?” Marcus said in an annoyed voice. “Doesn’t this lead to storage?”

“It’s not what’s down the hall that matters,” I said. “What we need is behind this wall.”

“There’s something behind this wall?” Javier asked with interest.

“A secret passage?” Jacob asked.

“Where does it lead?” Phillip piped in, sounding suddenly very excited.

I looked over at them. They all stared at me as they waited for answers. I took a deep breath realizing I’d have to explain more if I was to bring them with me. “Okay. I think I know why that army wants our city destroyed so badly. They want something from us and that thing is hidden beneath the city, through a tunnel behind this wall.”

“What is it?” Marcus asked, all indications of his earlier irritation gone. “And how did you know it’s here?”

“It’s a weapon, a very powerful weapon,” I said as I moved my hands over the surface of the wall. I knew Brian pushed four spots on it that formed a Z. I just needed to remember where those spots were. “Something made a long time ago. It has been kept under the city for a very long time. In fact, I’ve been told that this city was built to keep that item secure.”

“Is that why we’re here?” Javier asked. “So we can use the weapon?”

“If it’s so powerful, how come the other mages don’t use it?” Jacob questioned.

“It’s a little complicated,” I said as I tentatively pushed at a section of the wall. “The weapon used to belong to a powerful Demon Lord. I’m not sure if we can even use it. But I’m sure it’s what they are after.”

“You’re not talking of Shekkek are you?” Javier asked with a laugh. “He’s the only Demon Lord I know of.” Javier’s eyes widened probably at the serious look on my face. “You can’t be serious. That was like hundreds of years ago.”

“They’re keeping that thing here?” Marcus asked as I pushed a second spot, which I guessed was where Brian pushed before.

“Yes, it’s being kept under the city. Heavily protected and kept in a prison by the same shields that power the city,” I said as I moved my hand over the third spot.

“Well if it’s protected by the city’s shields then it would be safe then, right?” Phillip asked. “I’ve been told it’s virtually impenetrable.”

“The blue lights!” Jacob suddenly yelled. His voice carried down the hall and I was worried someone unwelcomed would come and find us. “That’s what those blue lights floating away from the city were. Those were bits and pieces of the shield being drained away.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Outside, the city’s shields are slowly failing. With time, the shields holding the prison would also give way. We have to get that weapon. Even if we cannot use it, we have to keep it from them. Who knows what they plan to do with it.” I tentatively placed my hand over the fourth spot trying to decide which place to push.

“But I thought non-mages hated anything to do with magic?” Marcus asked with a frown. “It won’t make sense for them to want a weapon that reeks with magic.”

I pushed at the fourth spot and stood back before responding, “that’s something I haven’t figured out yet.” I watched and waited for the lines to appear. Nothing happened though.

“Well,” Phillip said into the silence, “that was exciting.”

“There are supposed to be lines that will appear between the spots I touched,” I complained as if my words would reason with the wall. “They’re supposed to open up to the hidden room.”

“Wait a minute,” Javier said as he approached the wall. He moved his hands over the surface of the wall remarkably in the same way Brian did. He then smiled and turned to us. “I know how to open it.”

“You do?” I asked curiously.

“Yes, you have to know what you’re looking for,” he said as he pushed on one spot. “The spots aren’t always in the same place so you have to be attuned to it,” he paused and pushed another spot, “in order for you to even sense it being there.” He pushed another spot. “Otherwise, you’ll never be able to find it no matter how hard you try.” He pushed a fourth spot and stood back.

Small lines started appearing between the spots he pushed in the same way they did when Brian did it. This time though, instead of forming a “Z”, the lines formed an elaborate looking “A”. More lines appeared and burned a fiery red until the letter was encased in the familiar circles. A cog appeared in the middle of the letter. Javier pushed on it and it sunk beneath his hand. Clicking sounds came from the other side and the wall split in half along the lines of the “A”. Soon, we stared down the very dark hallway I had seen before. Blue torches slowly lit the way into the darkness.

“How did you do that?” Jacob asked with a frown.

“I’m a Bienvenido,” he said as he puffed his chest out. “I recognized the patterns of the enchantment from my grandfather’s study, which my great grandfather owned before him. Its doors use the same spells as this wall. My great grandfather in his time actually poured a lot of funds into strengthening protections within the city. This kind of magic was one of them. We kept the city’s most guarded secrets secure.”

“If it’s so secure, how come you could open it,” Marcus pointed out.

At this, Javier looked somewhat sheepish. “Erm, my great grandfather made sure that his descendants were able to open anything that was… err… funded by us.”

“Right… so that means your family has full access to all the things others thought were secure,” Marcus said.

“Excuse me,” Javier said indignantly. “Are you implying we’re not trustworthy? My family happens to come from a noble and dignified stock.”

“Okay,” I interrupted. “We do not have time to discuss this.”

“I’m just saying,” Marcus said as though he did not hear me, “that if my father knew of this he would have taken steps to make sure that our most guarded secrets were indeed well guarded.”

“This is well guarded,” Javier said his voice rising slightly. “This is secure. We do not just tell anyone these secrets. Do you think I just go around telling all my friends stuff like this?”

“Isn’t that what you did just now?”

“Are you saying it would have been better to just let us be stuck out here while the city crumbles around us?”

“Guys,” I said. They did not even look at me and just kept bickering. I shook my head.

“What are they even talking about?” Jacob asked.

“They’re comparing whose great grandfather had a bigger penis,” Phillip mused. Indeed, their arguments had devolved to which ancestor did more things for the city.

I sighed and turned to enter the hallway. Jacob immediately followed me but Phillip seemed torn between following me and staying with his partner. After a couple of seconds, Marcus must have noticed that I was no longer with him.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Marcus declared, a disgruntled Javier and a smiling Phillip following in his wake.

I turned to them and the look on my face must have been extremely frightening or something because the three of them stopped in their tracks. Even Phillip stopped smiling.

“Look,” I said quietly but loud enough to be heard by them. “If you two can’t work together, then the two of you are better off staying behind. You’re no good to me if you’re gonna be fighting each other.”

“Hey,” Javier interjected. “I opened that wall for you.” He shrank at the glare I no doubt was giving him.

“I think this is the time you two say sorry,” Phillip said, the ghost of a grin playing on his lips.

After some uncomfortable shifting from one foot to the other, they both said sorry to me.

“Not to me,” I said, “to each other.”

The two looked uncertainly at one another but I knew they had no choice. It took long enough but they finally said sorry and even shook each other’s hands.

“Okay. Are we all good then?” I asked everyone. They all nodded somberly. I continued walking along the blue hallway, which reminded me once more of the cave that led to the Seer. I knew Marcus and Javier had more things to say but they kept silent about it. They knew I was dead annoyed at their behavior and apparently, I could be downright intimidating if I wanted to be. Marcus and Javier were both from very wealthy and powerful families. It would probably take a lot for them to get intimidated by another person their age especially one from little to no background such as myself.

That realization about me was both gratifying and frightening.

It did not take us long to reach the end of the hallway with the bright yellow lights. The scene that greeted us took any previous thoughts away from me.

There was a mage lying in the middle of the round room. He was on the lower floor where all visitors would have to pass. His chest was punctured several times by something large and blunt. His robes were soaked in blood.

“That’s Master Clarke,” Marcus said. “Isn’t he a bookkeeper? He owns a shop in the trade district. My father often goes there to buy books.”

“It’s possible he went there for more than just books,” Javier said as he looked at the man’s wounds. I thought he was trying to imply something about Marcus’ father but apparently it was just an observation. “It looks like he was tortured.”

“I’ve seen him here before,” I said. “He’s the one who guards the entrance to the prison.”

“Wait,” Jacob interrupted. “You never did tell us how you found out about this place.”

“Brian showed it to me,” I replied.

“Brian?” Jacob asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “He said it was something I needed to see.” Jacob looked at me as though he did not quite believe me. “Something the Seer told him to do.”

“The Seer told Brian to show you this place?” Marcus asked.

“Hey, there are more bodies up here,” Phillip said from above. At some point, he must have walked up the stairs that led to the balcony. That path was shielded the last time I was here but clearly there were no shields there then. “Three more but they’re not quite as bloody. They look quite dead though.”

“We need to get through that door.” I pointed towards the door that led to the prison. “Phillip, is there anything up there that looks like a switch?”

“There wouldn’t be one,” Javier said flatly. We all looked at him. He was looking uncertainly at Marcus as though unsure how much he should share.

Marcus nodded. “Go on.”

“Well, this is based only on stories that my great grandfather had supposedly shared. These stories were then passed down through the generations. I’m guessing this isn’t just an ordinary door. It’s probably unlocked through magic and probably keyed like the wall we had just gone through. I doubt it would work the exact same way though. Wouldn’t make much sense to have the same protection twice. If you could get through the first, you’d get through the second without trouble. Besides, I can’t sense the same patterns with this one. Or even any patterns really.” He looked at the surrounding balconies as though trying to imagine living mages standing along them. “No, if I had to guess, I’d say this is a Keeper’s Door and it can only be opened by a Keeper and maybe a specific spell to unlock it.”

“And who is the Keeper?” I asked though I somehow had a good idea who it was.

“Master Clarke probably,” Javier suggested as he looked down at the bloody old man.

“Well he’s dead,” I said, “and whoever did this to him is probably behind that door waiting for the shields to go down. Is there any way to get through without the Keeper?”

“Maybe,” Javier said as he furrowed his brow in thought. He walked towards the door and knocked. I thought that was stretching it a bit expecting someone to open it from the other side.

“Woah…” Jacob said and woah indeed. The wood in the middle of the door started stretching out until a massive bald looking head made of wood was stretching out from its surface. It looked like it belonged to a rather grumpy old man.

“Yeees?” the wooden face asked. It sounded like its voice hadn’t been used for a few centuries or so.

“I am Javier Bienvenido,” Javier began, “great grandson of Gabriel Bienvenido of the Bienvenido Mage Clan, proprietors of the defenses of this place including you. I seek passage through to the other side.”

The wooden face raised a wooden eyebrow. “Well, Javier Bienvenido, great grandson of Gabriel Bienvenido of the Bienvenido Mage Clan, proprietors of the defenses of this place including me… that is all very impressive but only my Keeper can open me willingly. Him and those with the right blood and password.”

The wooden face reminded me annoyingly of the wax face on Magister Aenhol’s letter except perhaps this face was less annoying. I wondered…

“But we need passage through,” Javier said almost as a whine. “The safety of the city is at stake. We need to get through to what is kept behind your door.”

“I’m sorry but as you are neither my Keeper nor of the right blood, you cannot pass.”

“Who else knows the password?” Phillip asked. He rejoined us by then and was standing next to Marcus. “And what does he mean of the right blood?”

“The High Mage Lord might know,” Javier said as he thought about it. “But I don’t know what he means by the right blood. My father never told me anything about blood being involved in any of these things.”

“Mmhmm,” Jacob said, “so now we just have to look for High Mage Lord Khael and tell him we need him to open up some secret door beneath the castle that we aren’t even supposed to know about.”

“I thought members of your family knew how to get through defenses you built,” Marcus asked.

Javier looked carefully at Marcus for a while. Apparently seeing nothing hostile in the other boy’s intentions, he answered. “Well if my great grandfather knew about the password and blood, it wasn’t passed down onto me. It’s possible that this door predated him and although he was aware of its existence, he might not have known exactly how to open it. Besides, even if I did know about the password, and assuming it hasn’t changed after all these decades, we’d still need to meet the blood component, whatever it is.”

Looking at the strange wooden face, I really couldn’t help thinking of the younger face that had appeared in Magister Aenhol’s wax seal. No… it couldn’t be that simple.

“That could take forever,” Marcus said as he stretched his hands out as though preparing to cast a spell.

Large bricks shifted with loud thuds all along the room. Holes appeared along the surfaces of the circle and fire spewed from them like molten lava. The entire wall was drenched in fire as it revolved around the room by some invisible force engulfing everything but the door that led forward. They were hot enough to make the heat sting but not enough to burn us to crisps… at least not yet.

“Your hostility has cost you your lives,” the face said indifferently. “Have a good day.” The fire slowly grew stronger as it moved faster and closer to where we were pinned in the middle. Javier and Marcus raised shields and unless I was mistaken, Phillip was channeling the air in the room to us probably to keep us from suffocating.

“Wait,” I said to the face and I realized I couldn’t be heard over all the noise being created by the fire as it surged around us. “Pixels tuponto,” I screamed. “PIXELS TUPONTO!!!”

The fire slowed down and after a few moments, they were drawn back into the holes in wall. We were surrounded once again by just stone walls. However, I could still feel the heat radiating from them.

The face on the door squinted his eyes as though trying to get a better look at me. “Ahh,” he said as though he had just come upon a great realization. “It’s you. He told me to expect you. Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Without waiting for a response, the wooden face shrank back into the wood. Unless I was mistaken, he winked just before he disappeared. Several clicking sounds came from the other side and soon the door was being pulled apart. It opened up to another hallway slowly being lit by blue lights.

The five of us just stood there dumbfounded.

“I think we should go through the door,” Jacob said.

“Good idea,” Phillip managed to say as we dashed for the door before the face and fire could return. As soon as we were through, the door closed behind us but unlike last time, no thick blue shield shimmered before it.

“What just happened there?” Javier asked. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew what the blood meant?”

“I didn’t,” I said as I took several gulps of air. I realized then that I was indeed being choked in that room.

“How did you know the password then?” Marcus asked, also taking deep breaths. “And he recognized you, although I wish he recognized you sooner.”

“And who’s he?” Phillip asked. “The door said he told me to expect you. Did Brian set the door to be able to open for you?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. I think… I think it was Magister Aenhol. I got the password through a letter from him. So I guess it was him who set it such that I could open it.”

“He knew you’d come here?” Jacob asked frowning.

“I guess,” I said having no explanation to offer. Jacob continued frowning and I knew he was thinking about something as though trying to make sense of things.

“So, what do we do now?” Marcus asked. “How many more doors and walls do we have to go through before we reach this weapon?”

“Just one more actually,” I said as I straightened up again. “And it’s along this corridor. We need to find a certain wall.” I began patting the wall to my right as we walked down the hall. “Check the other side. It might have moved. One of the walls here only looks like a wall but is actually just an illusion.

We started patting our way through the hallway. The others kept asking about what just happened but I really didn’t know what to say. I had a lot of my own questions I wish I had answers to. Did Magister Aenhol really know I’d be coming there? If so, why wasn’t he there helping me then? If he knew about what was hidden beneath the city, why didn’t he better prepare me for what was coming?

I was in such deep thoughts that I might actually have missed my hand falling through the wall if I didn’t suddenly feel an icy sensation engulf my fingers. I stopped and pushed my hand against the wall once more and it disappeared into the cold concrete.

“You wouldn’t even know it’s there if you weren’t looking for it,” Javier said.

“It’s a magic barrier,” Phillip said. When we all looked at him with grins that likely would fit the expression duh, he laughed and continued, “what I meant is it won’t let anyone without magic enter. If I weren’t a mage, this wall would just be a wall. I can’t be sure-sure but I think that’s what this is. I’ve heard of stories about this from my tutor. I told you about him before, Adam. Anyway, it’s a way of hiding small settlements from non-mages. It’s an old kind of magic. Kinda outdated really since most mages have moved into larger settlements for greater safety. A human army could walk by this corridor for a lifetime and never find it. And if the stories are true, this entrance will keep moving so we should go through before it finds another spot to appear at.”

“Well, if you’re right, then that means whoever might be in there is a mage,” Marcus said.

I made the others turn to me. “Okay, you guys stay here while I go check it out.”

This was then answered by several loud protests which I was worried would attract the attention of whoever had gone ahead of us.

“It could be dangerous,” Marcus said. “Someone’s already been here and killed four mages, four adult mages. We’re not letting you go in there by yourself.”

“That is exactly why I don’t want you guys coming in,” I said. “I’m not going to risk your lives for this. I have no doubt now that this is my responsibility, not yours. So you guys stay here.”

“No way in hell are we going to let you go in there by yourself,” Jacob said.

“Maybe one of us should go back and inform someone,” Phillip offered.

“And how are you going to get through the first wall? That’s assuming it is safe to go back into that room with the fire,” Javier said. “I’m the only one in this group that can open that other wall and I’m not going to leave you guys here with a killer, or even killers.”

“Then it’s decided,” Marcus said. “We all go in.”

“No, we don’t,” I said. “Come on guys, I’ve let you guys come this far. I have to do this last part by myself.”

“Exactly, you’ve brought us this far,” Javier said. “What’s the point of leaving us here now?”

“This isn’t some fantasy, adventure story guys,” I protested. “We could actually die here.”

“Exactly,” Marcus interrupted in the exact same tone as Javier, “which is why you’ll need our help to face whoever it is that is behind that wall. Javier is right. For all you know, it could be several people. If you go in there by yourself, you’re toast for sure.”

“There’s no use arguing with us,” Jacob said. “Either we all go or none of us go.”

I looked at each of their faces. They all seemed intent on coming with me. I even gave Phillip a questioning look since I had a feeling he wanted to get more help. I didn’t think he was scared or anything but I think Phillip just wanted to look for adult authority figures that were probably better suited to this task. I think that was just the way he was. “I go where he goes,” he said with some finality as he nodded his head towards Marcus. He even managed to smile.

“Okay,” I sighed. “Just be careful, okay? Don’t try to be a hero.”

“Now you’re starting to sound like Brian,” Jacob chuckled.

We once again faced the wall. I placed my hand tentatively on it and it still went through which means the path hadn’t moved to another place yet. I took a step forward. For a while, I couldn’t see anything as I walked but soon my eyes were assaulted by a bright blue light and the sounds of electricity sparking.

The room was just starting to come into focus when someone yanked my arm down and whispered, “get down.”

The room had changed since I last saw it. We were still on the raised platform that ran around the side of the huge cavern. It wasn’t however as bright as before. The crystals around the cavern were glowing weakly. It was clear that whatever energy was stored within them was almost drained away. The pylon in the middle was nowhere near as massive as I had seen it. In fact, it was almost transparent now and I could see something dark underneath.

The three large metal rings that rotated around the pylon were still there. However, they shook in place as though they might fall at any moment. Little bits of electricity were still shooting around the room but it seemed like it was taking a lot more energy with each strike. I could see blue energy seeping from the pylon upward into the ceiling instead of the downward motion I had seen before.

“Who is that?” Phillip asked. I looked to where he was looking and was surprised I didn’t notice it earlier. Someone was standing on the steps that led to the Pylon watching as the energy seeped out of the crystal prison.

“Wait a minute,” Marcus whispered as his eyes narrowed. “I’d recognize that hair anywhere. That’s Madame Rooste.”

“Your teacher?” Phillip asked. “The one that got you expelled?”

“That’s her alright,” I said as I watched her form silhouetted by the light from the pylon.

“I knew that bitch was evil,” Jacob cursed. We all looked at him as one. “What? It was so obvious.”

“Did you just call her a female dog?” Phillip asked. The same question was on my mind.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Jacob responded. When we continued staring at him uncomprehendingly, he shook his head. “You don’t know what bitch means?”

“A female dog?” Phillip repeated with an air of utter obviousness.

“Forget I said anything,” Jacob shook his head like he’d just been sorely disappointed.

“So what do we do?” Javier asked somewhat confused. He probably did not understand Jacob’s use of the word as well.

“We have to keep her from getting the weapon,” I said. “We have to somehow get it before she does. We’ll take it as far away from here as we can.”

“That might be a little too heavy for us,” Marcus said as he peered over the balcony.

“There are five of us, she can’t possibly beat all of us if we attack her at the same time,” Jacob said.

“No,” Marcus said. “I mean that might be a little too heavy for us.” He then pointed a finger towards the pylon. I looked over the ledge and realized what he meant. Another layer of the shield must have been ripped away because now I could see what was hidden within.

It was an axe – not just any axe, but one big ass axe. It may have been over six feet tall with a blade almost four feet wide. The blade curved over half the length of the axe. It seemed to have dried blood on its blade. The handle was made of some kind of angry red and orange metal. Elaborate carvings of what looked like little winged demons stretched across the entirety of the shaft. Jagged spikes that looked like sharpened dragon’s teeth adorned the top and bottom of the axe.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it must have weighed a ton.

“How the heck are we supposed to get that away from here?” Jacob asked as we once again crouched out of sight.

“Are you a mage or not?” Javier asked. “You can use magic to lift something several times your weight.”

Jacob looked over at Javier with an irritated look. “Oh, and are you suggesting no one will noticed a huge axe floating down across the street all the way to the next populated mage city? How the hell are we going to get that out of here without drawing attention to ourselves?”

“Let’s worry about that later,” Marcus said. “We have to worry about her first. Maybe we can incapacitate her. Hit her with something so we can knock her unconscious before she realizes we’re even here.”

Jacob’s eyes widened as he listened to Marcus. “Move,” he whispered.

“What?” Javier asked with an upset tone. It almost sounded like he wanted to start a fight.

“Move,” Jacob said more urgently as he seemed to shout his whisper. “Now!” Jacob grabbed my arm and before I could protest pulled me away from the spot we were at earlier. The other three looked perplexed for a moment and were about to follow us when the wall right where Jacob and I were crouched suddenly exploded. The three of them were forced back towards the other direction. A large hole and smoldering debris occupied the spot where the platform was.

“How did you know?” I asked Jacob with a whisper.

He didn’t get to reply though because we heard a cold laugh reverberating on the illuminated walls of the cavern. “I know you’re here, Adam,” Madame Rooste’s voice echoed. “I can smell your stench. Are you here to stop me boy? You think you can stop me?”

“What do we do?” Jacob whispered as Madame Rooste laughed again, her voice seemingly amplified in the large space. I looked across to the other three. Their eyes were filled with fear and it was clear that they were waiting for me to decide something.

“You won’t succeed, Rooste!” I yelled over my head. Jacob pulled at me again. A moment later, the wall over us exploded as lightning streaked from the pylon and smashed into the wall.

“Oh,” Madame Rooste said. “I see you’re not alone.” She breathed deeply. “You have brought other students. You know I’ve always hated students. You walk about pretending you understand magic when you have no idea, no idea at all, of what real magic is.”

I watched as the wall over Marcus, Phillip, and Javier was suddenly blown to bits. The three of them huddled to the ground and shielded their heads from the debris.

“I have to do something,” I told Jacob. I made a move to stand up but Jacob pulled me down.

“What are you going to do? She’s using that damn thing in the middle like a weapon. We won’t stand a chance.”

“Then we’ll have to take the pylon out,” I said. “I’ll distract her and you take it down.”

“How the heck am I supposed to do that?” he asked. I didn’t respond though as I suddenly stood up and started running around the platform. Madame Rooste noticed me quickly and raised her hands over her head. The pylon beside her started glowing and a streak of lightning smashed into the wall behind me. I fell to the ground as the debris fell. A moment later, the balcony wall next to me was blown apart and I was showered in dust and rock.

“Is that all you have to offer?” Madame Rooste asked with a laugh. She waved her hand once again over her head and I knew I would be toast within seconds.

A ball of fire flew from the other side of the room though and smashed into one of the rings around the pylon. It exploded and ripped the metal apart. Lightning bolts started flying through the air from the point of impact as though being released from within the pylon. I took the opportunity to hide behind an undamaged section of the platform.

For a moment, I thought the lightning would strike down Madame Rooste but she created a red shield around her that blocked all of it. After a few seconds, the lightning bolts subsided. The damaged and blackened ring was now rotating around the pylon at an awkward angle.

I peered through a tiny crack in the wall created by the force of the lightning bolts. Madame Rooste was looking at the damaged ring as though studying it. She was smiling. “Do you know how easy it was to manipulate your kind?” Her eyes were searching the room probably for the source of the fire spell. “Those humans attacking you now actually believe that you have a weapon in here that you will use against them. They don’t even realize that the technology I gave them in those obelisks is entirely based on magic, the kind that feeds off all worldly energy. They don’t even realize that the obelisks are beyond their control. Once the obelisks gather enough of Arantiva’s magical energy, they will explode with such intensity that it would change the very face of this land. It shall mark the beginning of the new age. An age where Darkness shall reign. And it all begins with the destruction of this city. But oh, not to worry, I will be safe and far, far away before that happens.”

She waved her hand and a streak of lightning smashed into a section of the platform. Immediately, Marcus was exposed surrounded in his grey shield. Madame Rooste was about to send another lightning bolt when Javier appeared from the other side, an expanded mace in his grip. It was likely the one on his belt earlier. Its tip shimmered and a fireball charged towards another metal ring. The explosion caught Madame Rooste’s attention. She surrounded herself again in a red shield as electricity from the pylon exploded around her. She screeched as a portion of her dress was struck and caught fire. She put it out as soon as the lightning subsided.

Another section of the shield around the pylon was absorbed into the ceiling. The weapon was clearly visible and if it weren’t for the thin shimmering air around it, I would have thought that the pylon was completely gone.

Madame Rooste once again laughed. “You do not want to know the future that awaits mankind,” she said as she looked around the room. “It would be so much easier for you if you just let me kill you now. You do not want to live through the next age.” She waved her hand and three lightning bolts streaked and destroyed different sections of the platform. At that rate, we were going to run out of places to run to. “Warlord Shekkek shall once again lead the demons you have thwarted. We shall rule this world.”

“Hah!” I yelled over my head. “The Seer told me about him. He’s the one who had the crap beaten out of him by mages.” I moved aside as the wall behind me exploded.

“Really?” she said as though she was enjoying the conversation. “Is that what she said?” Perhaps it was my comment that distracted her because she didn’t notice Jacob come up from the platform behind her. I could sense magic gathering in his arms. He threw a massive orange fireball at the last undamaged ring and it exploded with enough force to rip the metal ring in half and then some. The middle ring collided with the bottom ring and electricity shot through the metal. One particularly large bolt streaked straight to Madame Rooste as though it was drawn to her. Before she could raise a shield, she was hurled back and into the air down the steps to the bottom of the cavern. As she descended, she was engulf in flames.

“You did it!” Javier yelled as Madame Rooste smashed onto the cavern floor in a burning heap. “Well, we were only supposed to incapacitate her but I suppose that would do.”

I heard the metal around the pylon creek. Javier yelled for us to all duck. A second later, it exploded and bits and pieces of metal was thrown in every direction. The energy around the massive axe dissipated at last and the weapon smashed onto the rock below destroying everything it hit, crushing crystals and rock as if they were glass. The five of us looked out into the middle of the room where the huge weapon was now lying down.

“We did it,” Phillip said with one of his trademark happy smiles. I looked over at Jacob who looked relieved and happy. The five of us made our way down to the base of the cavern through the many stone steps that led down. We had to dodge the large crystal spikes that were pointed up to the ceiling.

I stopped when Jacob suddenly yelled, “wait!”

The five of us stood there.

“Does anyone smell fried chicken?” Phillip asked.

A movement from where Madame Rooste had fallen caught our attention. The blackened corpse shifted and slowly stood up. The burnt skin fell off with sickening cracks. What was left of Madame Rooste’s mouth stretched as what looked like a sharp beak poked out. Something red and slimy extended over her neck and her hair seemed to change shades as it became white and red. Her hands were covered in scales and the tip started sharpening like talons. Sharp feet broke through the burnt remains of her footwear. Her dress fell off as it was ripped apart by the sudden increase in her size. I was speechless as I realized what was covering her new skin.

“Feathers?” Javier asked with a confused frown.

“She looks like a chicken,” Phillip said unnecessarily.

“I am not a chicken!” Madame Rooste yelled. I would have found it funny if her voice didn’t sound demonic. It reminded me of the way Lord Raezhul spoke – her voice sounded like several voices talking at once as it echoed through her throat. “I will make you pay for what you have done.” Her beak moved as though smiling. “But I must thank you first for hastening the destruction of the shields. I must say, I thought it would have been unsafe to damage to rings.”

There were suddenly clicking sounds behind her and two thick shells with pointed ends started extending from behind her rising into the air. It was supported by long dark red-shelled appendages that looked remarkably like scorpion tails, except of course that these tails was several feet long and seemed a lot more malleable than they should have been.

“Okay, not a chicken,” Phillip said as the two massive things loomed over Madame Rooste from behind her. With a shock, I now realized what had caused the wounds on Master Clarke.

She raised her hand forward and hurled a massive fireball towards Javier. He managed to deflect it with a shield from his mace but the weapon must have absorbed some of the heat. He yelped as it flew through the air steaming. He ducked as another fireball streaked past him and exploded against a crystal. Jagged shards flew into the air.

Jacob and I must have had the same idea because we both threw huge balls of fire at her. They collided against her shield which seemed to shimmer momentarily. I knew then that our magic could overwhelm hers.

Marcus caught on quickly as he waved his hands in an elaborate pattern before him. Little crystal shards flew from the grounds and streaked forward towards Madame Rooste. Her shield blocked most of them but one managed to get through and imbedded itself on her leg. Madame Rooste released a demonic cry as one of her long tails smashed into the ground. Marcus was thrown backwards as the ground beneath him suddenly exploded. The room shook and several huge crystals from the ceiling separated and came crashing to the ground. I moved through the room quickly dodging falling debris. I could see Jacob pulling Javier away from falling shards. Marcus and Phillip were nowhere in sight.

One particularly large crystal exploded behind me and I fell to my hands and knees. I tried to get up but my robe was pinned. I looked behind me and felt dread come over me as I realized that one of Madame Rooste’s pincer things was pinning my robe down. She must have moved fast to cover that much distance in that short a time.

She smiled victoriously, well as much as beaks could smile anyway. “I will tear you to smithereens,” she yelled.

“Hey!” I heard Phillip yell from behind me. “What the heck are smithereens anyway?”

“What?” Madame Rooste shouted indignantly as though she couldn’t understand how anyone could not know what smithereens were. I watched as Marcus appeared from a crystal formation behind her. He had an arcane bolt in his hand and it looked like he was about to faint from the effort of maintaining it. He fell to his knees as he threw the bright blue bolt at Madame Rooste who was completely unaware of what was happening behind her.

The arcane bolt smashed into her back accompanied by a crunching sound. She arched her back in pain as the arcane energy spread behind her, quickly disassembling her parts. I hoped she would dissipate into a cloud of feathers but I wasn’t that lucky. However, the two appendages fell limply to the ground freeing my robe from their grasp. I moved back and away from her and felt something warm on my right hand. I looked beneath me and realized that I was touching the massive axe.

As I looked on, the weapon rapidly changed shape. It was shrinking. The blade pulled back as did the handle. It shriveled and before I could say or think anything else, it became a sharp jewel-encrusted sword in my hand, looking no less evil than its previous form.

“No! Phillip, run!” Jacob yelled desperately. I looked to him and saw his eyes filled with fear and an unfamiliar certainty of something terrible about to happen.

I turned my attention back to Madame Rooste who looked towards Phillip ignoring Jacob’s outburst or even the fact that I was just beneath her. Phillip was still standing in the same spot, looking satisfied. She raised her hand towards him and made a motion as though crushing him. A massive crystal formation next to Phillip suddenly exploded showering him in debris and knocking him to the ground.

Without even thinking about it, I raised the sword in my hand and stabbed her through her feathery bowels.

“Raaaaaaaaaa!” Madame Rooste yelled. She looked down at her stomach where the surprisingly light sword was now sticking through. “Impossible,” she said as she fell to her knees. I kept the sword in my hand, hard against her penetrated body. She looked at my eyes as though seeing me only for the first time. “Impossible.”

Madame Rooste suddenly started glowing red. She cried out in pain as the glow around her body shrank. She screeched as more of the red aura was absorbed into the blade until there was nothing left. I pulled the blade out of Madame Rooste’s limp body and as I did, the body shrank.

I watched as each part became smaller and smaller until there was nothing left but what undoubtedly was a rooster with a large stab on its body.

“You did it,” Javier said as he moved to my side. We were both looking down at what remained of Madame Rooste. “She really was a chicken.”

“Adam,” I heard Jacob’s panicked voice say. He was kneeling beside Phillip’s still form. He looked desperately at me and I immediately noticed the cause. Phillip’s shirt was covered in blood.

Javier and I ran over to him. I gave a glance towards Marcus who looked exhausted on his knees. He nodded at me as we moved away from him towards Phillip.

I moved to Phillip’s side and gently raised his head onto my lap. “Phillip?” I asked softly.

Phillip opened his eyes and barely managed to speak, “Adam?”

“I’m here, Phillip,” I said as I looked into his eyes. His eyes seemed confused and dazed. I checked the damage on his body. Huge crystal fragments were sticking out of his chest from multiple points. Some of them were still glowing and sparkling. I turned to Javier. “Can you heal him?”

“I’m not a healer. I don’t know any healing magic that could fix this,” Javier said as a tear suddenly made its way down his cheeks. I knew what that tear meant.

“Even trained healers will have a very hard time healing that,” Marcus said as he limped to us. He knelt down next to Phillip’s bloody body. “You did great partner.”

“Did I?” Phillip asked with a cough. As he did, blood trickled out of his mouth and down the sides of his chin. He then turned to me and whispered. “Did we do it, Adam? Did we save the city?”

I smiled at him as my own tears fell from my eyes. “You did, Phillip. You saved the city.”

Phillip’s smile broke through his bloodstained lips. Despite his state, it was as it has always been the most beautiful smile in all of Arantiva. “I’m glad,” he whispered. He looked at me one last time and I could see joy reflected in his eyes.

And then, he was gone.