Chapter VIII

Flame and Shadow

The guild members got up early and quickly packed up their things and start on the road. Nix was still angry with Cerulean for the incident around the fire pit and Cerulean ignored her glares for the most part. Gale kept flight overhead or walked beside the cart while the rest rode inside. Arbor let out a sigh and looked back at the guild members. “I’m sorry,” He began causing them to look up. “for lying to you I mean. I haven’t had an easy life and when I saw all that money just sitting there,” He shook his head. “I figured my luck had finally change.” Gale touched down and walked next to the cart.

“Apologizing won’t change our decision,” She said bluntly. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, but she turned her head away from the man. “but thank you and it will your case knowing you agreed to come back willingly.” Sunset looked out in front of the cart and her eyes widened in shock.

“Stop the cart!” She yelled as she gripped Arbor’s shoulder. He pulled on the reigns roughly and the horses came to a sudden halt that made the other’s stumble. Gale toppled on top of Cerulean with Nix on top of her.

“What’s the big idea?” Nix yelled as she stood up. Sunset walked out of the cart with the others following. She stared at the ground as if she were looking for something she lost.

“There!” She pointed her finger at a patch of earth ten feet in front of the cart. She shot a small fireball from her fingers and the patch of earth exploded upwards. The horses were startled and neighed.

“Someone’s put magic seals here.” The guild members all put their guard up. Sunset took in a deep breath and focused her magic. Her stomach dropped when the entire road in front of them was laid with more of the mines. “We can’t get through this way!” Amber’s ears twitched and she turned towards the side of the road.

Talis stepped out of the trees wearing his dark cloak. “Who are you?” Amber yelled out as the others turned to face the new threat.

“Who I am is of no concern of yours, what I want is another matter.” The voice was deep and grim. An armored hand pointed to the cart. “Return what was taken and I will make your deaths as painless as possible.”

“Tempting offer, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.” Cerulean said as he pulled out both his axes. The stranger reached inside their cloak and pulled out a large double edged sword. If it could even be called that, the blade alone was taller and wider than Talis. The metal was black as night and seemed to match the armor on his hand. The sword was more like a massive piece of sharped metal. Talis pointed the sword with one hand at the group.

“So be it.” He raised his sword and brought it down. A bright line of magic erupted from the edge. The group quickly dodged the blow, but the horses were not so lucky. The slash cut through them like a knife through cheese. In the blink of an eye the stranger was in front of Sunset with her sword over her head. As she brought her blade down, Sunset made a barrier in front of her. The barrier was cut down as if it were no stronger than paper. Amber then charged in and went to lad a right hook.

Talis simply reached out a hand and caught her wrist. Amber tried to wiggle free, but the man’s grip was like an iron lock. Talis applied more pressure and Amber cried out in pain as she felt her metal gauntlet starting to bend and dig into her skin. Talis raised his sword just as the ground from underneath him opened up and pieces of rock went flying. He released Amber’s wrist and jumped up high into the air.

He turned his head to see Gale ready with her sword, it’s blade crackling with electricity. Once again Talis raised the massive cleaver as Gale brought down her blade. Talis was thrown to the ground by the force of the blow, yet landed on his feet, barely a scratch on him. Talis laughed in a low cruel voice. Cerulean shot several arrows at him which were deflected with ease. Talis slashed at the air and the arrows were cut before they got within three feet of the man.

Once again Talis vanished from sight and the group was on the defensive. Cerulean turned as he felt a hard fist crash into his chest. The blow sent him flying through the cart and into the woods beside the road. Nix pulled out her batons and started shooting out purple bolts of magic at Talis. He batted them aside as if they were nothing more than flies. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around her face and picked her up.

Nix clapped and pressed her hands on his arm. Purple sparks flew and the shadows vanished revealing an arm covered in dark armor. Talis slammed Nix’s had into the hard earth several times before her body went limp. He tossed her aside just as Gale charged with her blade. Talis caught the sharp edge with one armored hand. Gale let go of the sword handle and slammed her scaled fist into his face.

Talis’s face jerked to the left as her fist collided with the side of his face. He hissed as she whirled around to land a kick. Talis wrapped his hand around her leg three inches in front of his face. He gave a hard twist and a loud snapping sound filled the air accompanied by a pained cry from the draconian. Talis went to throw her, but her wings flared and she balanced herself on her good leg. The right one was twisted in an unnatural way.

Talis charger at her and gripped her arm as she tried to get another punch on him. With another quick movement, he broke her right arm before kneeing her in the stomach. Gale dropped to the ground and vomited blood. Talis was then tackled to the ground by Amber who started smashing her fists into his face and chest. Talis grunted and caught both of her fists before forcing her off him. He gripped her wrists roughly and went to slam his head against her’s. Amber moved swiftly and slipped out of her gauntlets and backed away as his head came forwards. Amber then slammed her bare fist into his gut and grunted in pain as she felt her fist hit hard metal.

Amber looked to see the attacker stagger back, then toss her gauntlets aside and started wailing on her with his armored hands. Her world became one of pain as fist after fist collided with her face, chest and stomach. She crumpled to the ground and could barely move. He was about to step on her neck when a large fireball crashed into his back. He grunted in pain to see Sunset with her staff glowing and tears in her eyes. She let loose a volley of fire and rage at Talis.

He pulled out his sword and deflected the blasts away from him as he made his way closer to the fire mage. Sunset reached out and pulled the three injured women closer to her. She then put all her concentration into making a massive firewall separating him from them. Talis simply walked through the flames as if it was nothing more than a warm breeze. The shadows surrounding him were burned away revealing jet black armor and a helm that looked like death.

She fired off more and more fireballs as he wrapped a hand around her throat and squeezed. Sunset was gasping for air and could feel his grip tighten as she continued to struggle. “Stop!” Arbor yelled as he came out with the black box. Talis seemed to focus on the box and Sunset gasped for breath. “This is what you want right? Let them go and you can have it.” He gulped. “They got nothing to do with this!” Talis looked at the box and then back to Sunset and tilted his armored head to the side before dropping her.

Sunset hit the ground and grabbed her staff as Talis walked over to Arbor and stared at him, he could see the shine of sweat on his brow and the fear in his eyes. Talis leaned forwards and Arbor could hear him sniff like a dog would to another dog.

“You stink of fear.” The gruff seething voice said. Arbor gulped and eld out the box to the man. Talis ripped the box from Arbor’s hands and inspected it for any signs of damage. He chuckled and put the box underneath one of his massive arms.

“So,” Arbor said as he felt the sweat starting to seep through his clothes. “do we have a deal?” Talis looked back at the man and laughed.

“Yes,” He hissed as he put out his hand to shake. Suddenly, every survival sense he had told him to duck. In an instant he was flat on the ground just as an ice arrow past overhead and buried itself in Talis’s helm through one of the horizontal slots. The hulking man cried out in pain as he staggered back and dropped to one knee as he dropped the box. Arbor looked behind him to see Cerulean standing with another arrow drawn.

“Get the others!” He hollered. Arbor scrambled to his feet as Cerulean shot three more arrows into the man. Two into each shoulder joint and the third shattered against the breast plate. Arbor got over to Sunset where she was checking on, Gale, Nix and Amber. Despite the pain, Gale was still conscious, but barely. Arbor checked Nix and Amber’s vitals and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized they were still alive.

Talis roared and pulled the shards of ice from his body. Talis pulled off his dented helmet to show his snow white skin and shaved head. His left eye was shut and bloodied from his arrow and his right cheek was bruised from Gale’s punch from earlier. What was most striking was his right eye, the iris was a dark shade of orange and the surrounding part that was supposed to be white was pitch black.

He tossed the helmet aside and charged at Cerulean. The archer let several arrows fly that the man deflected with his arms or dodged. Cerulean kept firing and ran off the road away from the wrecked cart. Talis followed him into the trees in a blind rage. Talis kept after him and jumped down into a narrow river bed. He turned to see Cerulean grinning like a cat as he made a large ice arrow and let it fly from the bow.

Talis simply moved his shoulder and the arrow flew past him. “I am going to take you apart piece by piece boy.” The grin didn’t leave Cerulean’s face as he pointed behind the armored man. Talis turned and saw the water around his legs starting to freeze. The frost slowly creeping up his legs and around his neck. He turned his head to see that the archer was gone.

Cerulean dashed back through the trees and knew that wouldn’t stop the hulking mass of muscle for long. He quickly got back to the road and dashed to the cart on it’s side. As he turned he saw Sunset gripping her staff and Arbor with one of his knives out. The two relaxed as they saw the man and they lowered their weapons.

“Did you get him?” Sunset asked in a panicked tone.

“No, just slowed him down.” He as he knelt down next to Gale and set his hand on her injured arm. Gale cursed as he encased it ice.

“Gale, can you still hold a sword?” Gale bit her lip and nodded before she gestured over to where it lay. Arbor ran out and grabbed it just as Talis ran out of the trees with his sword firmly gripped in hand. Arbor tossed Gale her sword as Cerulean shot more arrows at the man. He quickly deflected them as he started to charge.

“Now!” He yelled as Lapis jumped out of bushes. Talis stopped his attack and just stared at the small dragon. He seemed mesmerized by it, so mesmerized that he didn’t notice the three arrows shooting over head. Two slammed into the man’s feet and froze him to the ground while the third buried itself in the man’s chest.

The dragon then breathed a breath so cold it made Talis’s skin freeze and crack like dry clay. He slowly moved his leg as he tried to break free from the ice restraints. Lapis pulled back as a large bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck him. He cried out in pain as the electricity shot through his system. He dropped to his hands and knees as he coughed up a torrent of black blood.

He looked up at the group and cursed violently. He saw his shadow on the ground and turned his head to see a large spell circle above him. He looked past Cerulean and saw Sunset focusing her magic with her staff raised. The air around him crackled and sputtered as he was encased in a pillar of flames. The fire roared on for several minutes before the flames subsided.

Sunset dropped to her hands and knees as she panted heavily. As the flames sputtered and died Cerulean cautiously approached the charred man. He grunted heavily as he heard Cerulean’s footsteps. “You are one tough bastard.” Cerulean said as he aimed an arrow at the man. Arbor walked over with the black box in his hands.

“What’s so important about this damn thing?” He yelled as Talis let out a low chuckle that soon grew into a loud menacing laugh. Cerulean felt something crash into his already damaged chest and flew onto his back. He looked forwards just in time to see a long sword pierce through Arbor’s chest. Sunset screamed as a tall man who’s face was wrapped in shadow held the blade. Cerulean tried to get up, but felt a metal boot press on his chest.

He looked up to see a shorter figure clothed in shadow. The taller man then looked towards Talis who was slowly getting to his feet.

“Thank you sir,” He was cut off as the tall man made a motion with his hand as though he were squeezing something. Talis dropped to his knees and clutched at his chest. “Lord Cinder?” He said through gasping breaths.

“Be silent.” Cinder hissed. “I will deal with you in a moment.” The feeling in the man’s chest grew tighter. He then pulled the sword out of Arbor’s back and Cerulean saw him trying to crawl away from the stranger. Sunset screamed again as he buried the blade through the farmer’s head. His clawing at the ground came to a sudden halt.

Cerulean struggled to get free as the one pinning him pulled out a rifle with a long bayonet and pointed it pointed right at his chest. The man flicked the blood from his blade on the ground and took one knee before muttering something almost as if he were praying. “Shax,” The fourth man gave a nod and Arbor’s body became wrapped in purple flames. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as Shax picked up the box that was at the burning man’s side. He examined it as if it were a piece of art before handing it to his master who reached inside his cloak and pulled out a large iron key. The metal was dull grey, but runes danced across the surface of it.

He inserted it into the lock and the loud sound of the lock opening echoed. Cinder opened the lid and he reached inside. He pulled out something that made Cerulean’s blood go cold. A large oval shape that was a deep maroon color, just like what he had found in the ashes of the black dragon he killed.

“I completed my mission sir.” Talis said as he still gasped for breath.

“Indeed you did Talis, however you went against my orders and attacked on your own.” Cinder said as he put the egg back in the box. “On top of that rather than dispensing them quickly, you drew it out and now look at you,” Cinder’s tone was cool and calm which made it all the more terrifying. “on the ground whimpering like the dog you are.”

Talis bared his teeth as he grunted. “Dogs that can’t obey get put down.” Cinder twisted his hand and loud snapping sounds were accompanied by the large man screaming in agony. His chest plate burst open and a heart colored black flew into Cinder’s hand. Cinder looked down at his dead subordinate and shook his head. “Such a waste,” He said before he crushed the organ in his hand and the body was wrapped in purple flames.

Cinder turned his attention back to the guild members. His eyes narrowed. “Kill them.” He said in a calm tone. The one above Cerulean nodded and cocked the rifle, but before they could pull the trigger, Lapis latched her teeth into Siren’s arm. A cry let out as her shot missed Cerulean’s head, but her bayonet dug into his shoulder. Cerulean kicked Siren's feet out and rolled away. Cinder and Shax were frozen as they glared at the tiny blue dragon who stood to protect her owner.

“So, the dragon blood still flows.” Cinder mused to himself. “Take the boy and his pet, kill the rest.” Shax pulled out a long handled mace and stood next to Siren as Cerulean got to his feet clutching his heavily bleeding shoulder. Hot air started to billow at his back and the wind seemed to tear at the trio’s cloaks. Cerulean and Lapis turned around to see Sunset, levitating off the ground while flames poured out of her eyes and mouth.

The fire encircled her entire body as the fire singed the trees and the cart started to catch fire. The killer’s cloaks turned to ash and both henchmen were blown back while their master stood tall against the inferno. The flames danced and whipped at his shadows which seemed to be eating up the fire. Sunset started to chant an incantation a tongue foreign to Cerulean. With a blinding flash of red light, the sorceress and her companions vanished.

After a long moment Cinder clicked his tongue and huffed. “Shall we go after them sir?” Shax asked eager to ease his master’s temper. “They can’t have gotten far.”

“No, we must depart immediately.” He said in a firm tone. “We have what we came for and we must leave, else wandering eyes may turn to us.” Cinder waved his hand and a portal opened in front of the three. As he stepped inside, he couldn’t help but smile maliciously.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed this!